Of Dwarves and Men {Boromir/LOTR}

Chapter 51: Thorin Oakenshield's midlife crisis

Chapter 51:

Thorin Oakenshield's midlife crisis

    It has been two weeks since the marriage of my brother, and one week since the marriage of my sister.  And more than these two, a great many things have occurred in this lapse of time.  Not only is my mother pregnant now, but Bren and Pyrrhin themselves.  In this way, I am both ignored and coddled at this point of time.  The females in my family have practically forgotten about me in their own change of health, whereas the men cannot leave me alone for a second.  My father seems to be in a crisis, now realizing that I am the only child that he still has under his wing.  Furthermore, the female cousins that my family usually spend time with now are MIA, leaving me with the whole army of male cousins; this means many hours are spent with Typhon II and Thrain, if not Frerin and the older princes in addition.

    In this way, Boromir has been more than hesitant to spend time with me.  It's not like he fears or loathes my family, but with Thrain's first performance, he is more than hesitant to sit with him.  Typhon, of course, is as cordial and welcoming as ever, though he will do nothing to stop one of Thrain's teasings.  Honestly, my patience is starting to seriously falter, and I wish, more than anything else, for female company or that of Boromir's.

    The man of Gondor has found a new pastime in counseling with my father during the days.  It seems as if he has taken on our intended duties as advisors and ambassadors to the kingdoms, leaving me behind with my meddlesome cousins.  To be honest, the fact that my One is now spending many hours with my own father is more than worrying, especially in regards to Boromir's change in demeanor these last two weeks.

    Ever since the wedding of my brother, I've been thinking more on the prospect of marrying the man of Gondor.  And though I first expected that Boromir was pondering the same, his great amount of absences from my side bodes a different story.  Maybe it is my father, or the vision of my home, but he seems less than desirous to claim me as his forever.

    This whole notion makes his invitation for me to join him on a walk all the more surprising.  Awaking on this random morning, I did not expect Boromir to still be waiting in bed with me, given his new habit of rising before I awake, nonetheless his offer to walk later in the afternoon.  Of course, I agreed without a second thought, yearning for his attention if only for an hour or so.

    I spend my time in our chambers that morning, wishing to avoid my cousins and to look my best for Boromir.  Of course, I fail to adorn a dress, as I will never do so willingly, but I put on my nicest pair of gray trousers and a deep blue shirt.  My feet are bare, as I typically wear given the opportunity, and my hair is wavy down my back.  But these preparations take very little time, and I find myself making up games in my chamber in order to keep myself busy.

    Somewhere between the time of one-person tick-tack-toe and a planned round of hopscotch, Boromir enters the room to find me in a state of utter boredom.  HIs eyes light up in humour at my splayed position on the ground, and my obvious excitement as I rush to my feet.  I do believe I hear muffled chuckling as he moves towards me, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear, but I will never be sure.

    "Did you dress up for me?" he asks, looking down at my fit and clean clothing that is so different from my typical looks.  I blush at his words, lowering my eyes at his own nicer clothing of multiple blues.  My father is rubbing off on him, to be sure.

    "Only you," I relent, tucking my head upward to smile at him.  Boromir matches this look, leaning over to leave a warm kiss on my cheek before pulling me from the room in a hurry.  My excited laughter rings through the corridors as he locks the door behind us, pulling me deeper into the Lonely Mountain with each footstep.