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Behind closed doors in Thorin's chambers, Thranduil’s cheeks warmed when he found himself falling into his love’s unwavering stare. His breath caught in his throat, and his shoulders ratcheted up a notch when Thorin spoke those unforgettable words, “I am listening.”
"I have heard rumors, Thorin...rumors that you have taken a lover - a dwarf you’ve known since your childhood." Thranduil said, his gaze locked on Thorin's.
Thorin's unreadable expression did not change, but he shifted slightly from one foot to the other.
"And what of it? What business is it of yours?" Thorin asked.
Thranduil clenched his fists, and took a deep breath.
"It is my business, Thorin. Because I love you. I have always loved you, since the first time I saw you standing next to your grandfather. You were young and proud and beautiful, and I wanted you more than anything. Me a king and you a young prince, at that time. Both of us lonely, both of us longing for something more. We were happy together for the longest time," Thranduil said, his voice trembling. “I miss you so much, Thorin.”
Thorin looked away from Thranduil's face for a moment. He felt a twinge of sadness and regret, but he also felt angry and defiant.
“And whose fault is that, Thranduil?”
“All mine, I know. I’ll hate myself forever for what I did to you. But, hear me out Thorin, please...you’re my One, and-”
"How can you say that with a straight face, Thranduil? How can I be your One? I couldn’t be for you to do what you did to me. You are an elf, and I am a dwarf. We are enemies by nature, by history, by fate—and your actions reminded me of that fact. You betrayed me, Thranduil. You betrayed the love I thought we had," Thorin said bitterly.
Thranduil nodded his head. His chest hitched as he felt his composure beginning to crumble.
"I know, Thorin, but I never meant to betray you...I didn’t. You’ve got to believe me. I-I was just so angry with you. You wouldn’t listen to me about leaving that sleeping dragon where it laid. I felt like you were pushing me away, like you didn’t care about me, yourself, your family, or your people. I was hurt. That night, Elrond came to visit and during dinner, he and I got to talking about you, Smaug, your gold...and yours and my relationship. My somber mood overtook me and before dinner was over, I’d excused myself and retired to my chambers while he stayed at the table. I continued to drink in my chambers and remember crying, ranting, and raving loudly about the stubbornness of dwarves. Elrond must have heard me through the door on the way to his room because he knocked on my door, and I let him in. We sat on the couch and talked some more. I remember being distraught over the thought of you possibly being killed by dragon fire, so Elrond went to pull me into a hug. His lips brushed the side of mine accidentally and the next thing I knew, we were kissing. We stumbled over to my bed, and-"
"Spare me the sordid details.” Thorin stopped him with a wave of his hand. “Do not speak to me of not caring for anyone or anything, Elf, for it is you who does not care for me. You only care for yourself. You only want me because I am the King Under the Mountain, because I have wealth, power, and prestige now. You do not love me, Thranduil, you only love what I can give you." Thorin spat at him.
Thranduil felt tears sting his eyes. He gazed at Thorin with a mixture of sadness and anger.
"That is not true, Thorin. That is not true at all. I love you for who you are, not for what you have. I love you for your courage, your honor, and your passion. I love you for your flaws, your faults, and your fears. I love you more than anything in this world, or any other. I always have, and I always will. You’re my husband...I love you, Thorin Oakenshield," Thranduil said, earnestly.
Thorin sighed; rubbed his forehead.
"Enough of this nonsense, Thranduil. What do you want from me? What do you expect me to say?"
Thranduil took a few steps closer to Thorin until he was directly in front of him, then he dropped to one knee, and looked intently into his eyes. "I want you to tell me the truth, Thorin. Is Dwalin your lover? Or is it that other dwarf I saw you hugging outside your chambers earlier this morning?”
Thorin just stared at him, exasperated now. “Were you spying on me?”
“No. Yes. It doesn’t matter, just please tell me, Thorin. It’s killing me knowing someone else has been sharing your bed for months now.”
“It- It’s not Dwalin. It’s the other dwarf. His name is Karlum, son of Kardeer, son of Karangus. I’ve known him longer than I’ve known you, Thranduil. He’s a trader on the river.”
“Why am I just now hearing of him?”
Thorin huffed. “There was no reason for you to know of him. Other than Bard before he became the Master of Lake-town, what other commoners do you personally know? You only associate with dwarves of royal linage, anyway.”
Icy-blue eyes bored achingly into darker blue ones. Thranduil could not refute Thorin for all that he said was true. But, it didn’t matter, that dwarf was sleeping with his husband on a regular basis.
“My King, I want you to tell me how you feel about me...honestly."
Thorin hesitated for a moment before answering. "Even with all that's happened and the lost years between us, I still love you, Thranduil. I've never stopped loving you. There, I said it. Isn’t that what you wanted to hear?”
The elf nearly fell face forward onto the floor trying to get his hands on his dwarf. Thorin slapped them away before he could touch him. “However, I have been with Karlum for a year now and we have grown close.”
“You are my husband, Thorin, I love you. We took vows and committed ourselves to one another.”
Snorting, Thorin asked, “Are you seriously going there, Elf?”
“Yes, yes I am. What I did with Elrond was a one time thing and has never been repeated.”
“Well, what I repeatedly do with Karlum wouldn't be happening if you hadn’t done what you did that one time with Elrond in the first place. Again I ask you, Thranduil...who’s fault is it?”
Snatching at his robe, Thranduil dragged himself up, made his way to a well worn armchair in front of the crackling fireplace, and plopped dejectedly down onto it. His chin drooped nearly touching his chest. Thorin went to stand in front of him, touched a finger under his chin, and lifted it up to make eye contact.
“Thranduil-”
A pale hand snaked out to gently cover the larger one holding his chin. “Are you in love with this Karlum, Thorin?”
“As much as I would like to keep you dangling in doubt, no, Thranduil, I am not. We are only together out of shared loneliness. The sex is awesome, though, I must say.”
Thranduil cringed at the thought. “Please don’t say. You know...we could have awesome sex, too. Right now, if you’d like – your bed’s right there.” He pointed behind him.
“We could, but we won’t – it wouldn't be fair to any of us. I still have to think about things, and whether you like it or not, I just can’t stop seeing Karlum on a moment’s notice. In fact-”
Someone rapidly knocked on the door.
“Ah, he’s here now. He and I are to have a private breakfast together before I get to work. Would you like to stay and meet him?”
The elf jumped out of the chair nearly knocking the dwarf over. “Now why would I do that? I hate him! He’s doing my husband.”
Thorin chuckled as they both headed to the door. “Knock it off, Thranduil. Just say hello, he’s really nice.”
Thranduil sniffed. “I think not.”
As Thorin opened the door, a dwarf a few inches shorter than he swept in. A long, dark brown, intricately braided beard sat on his broad chest. His shoulder length, thick hair of the same color was tied into a ponytail with a piece of black leather. A knee-length duster hovered over stout boots laced just below his kneecaps.
The little Thranduil had seen of him in the hall didn’t do him justice. Even he could see that the dwarf was gorgeous with a wild ruggedness about him. Nowhere near Thorin’s level of beauty, of course – but honestly, what dwarf was?
“I’m sorry I'm so late, Thorin, I got caught up in river traffic on the way back from Lake-town.” Karlum cupped his king’s face, tilted his head, and favored him with a deep kiss which Thorin enthusiastically returned.
Thranduil gritted his teeth, sure he’d seen tongue involved.
Letting him loose, Karlum’s eyes drifted over to Thranduil. “Is that…?”
“In all his lovely glory. Thranduil this is Karlum. Karlum, Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm.”
Karlum bowed deeply, popped back up, then finished with a stiff salute. “At your service, my Lord.”
“Thank you. Well, I have to be going. Thorin, I trust we’ll be continuing our conversation soon?”
“Yes, Thranduil, but only if you can stay in Erebor for a few more days. I still have a lot of meetings to get through.”
Thranduil gave Karlum a subtle once over on his way out the door, then said coldly, “I’m sure you do. A little advice from one king to another...don’t commit to anything right away. There’s always room for negotiation with another - no matter how pretty the package presently presented. I’ll leave you to it, King Under the Mountain.”
***Next***
Thorin has a tiny talk with his good friend. Oooo...Smaug gearing up to let loose fire would have nothing on how heated Thranduil would be if he knew what his hubby was up to right now.