Prompt Post 2 (Closed to new prompts)

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Prompt post 2
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Jasmine Tea and Coffee Kisses, 33/?

[rata_toskr]

While his voice was even, there was a hint of uncertainty in his eyes and the older man felt guilt well up within his heart. Any doubt that Kíli was now feeling was the fault of the florist, for with everything that they had shared already, Bilbo should have mentioned this. It was only his cowardice which had kept him from speaking before and he owed his boyfriend more than that. So the older man opened his mouth to let the truth pour out.

“I haven't mentioned them because they're bastards and they hate me and I never wanted you to have to deal with that.” Bilbo said, the words stumbling over one another in a rushing tide. “They're the worst kind of high society vultures: completely obsessed with their image and they would sell each other in a heartbeat for a bit more power in their hands. My father was practically disowned by his siblings when he 'married beneath his station' and my preferences certainly didn't help to change their minds. I haven't seen anyone but Otho and Lobelia since the funeral because no one else would talk to me and those two just want to get my house.”

“So it wasn't that you didn't want them to meet me?” Kíli whispered, the hurt finally beginning to disappear.

“No, never. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me and I'd be proud to show you off.” The florist promised as he wrapped the younger man in a tight hug. “If anything I didn't want you to meet them. They'd tear you apart for dating me and I guess I was worried that you might start to see their side.”

“Sometimes you're an idiot, Bilbo.” His boyfriend responded, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “So it's a good thing that I like you as much as I do. You can't pick your relatives and I'm hardly going to let some bigoted assholes scare me off. Will you trust me on that?”

“I do,” The florist protested, before admitting with a frustrated sigh. “I just have trouble believing this is real sometimes. I mean you're just so... why would you stick with me?”

“You know what? We should go to this reunion of yours.” Kíli declared in what seemed to be a complete non sequitur. But he was entirely serious and as the older man stared at him in bafflement, he went on to explain. “That way you could see if all of your relatives are as bad as you remember and maybe you'd finally believe me when I say that I'd walk through hell for you.”

While part of Bilbo was pleased at the younger man's offer, none of his past asshole boyfriends would have ever considered that, the rest of his mind knew: this is a terrible idea. So when he finally managed to stop gaping long enough to find his voice, that is what came out.

“Seriously, this is a terrible idea. I can't even... “ The florist trailed off, shaking his head. “They'd probably throw us out the instant we walked through the door and you shouldn't... You don't have anything to prove to me. I know I'm just being stupid and I don't need you to suffer through my relatives just to reopen old wounds. Because you can't fix everything, you know, and sometimes you shouldn't try.”

Jasmine Tea and Coffee Kisses, 34/?

[rata_toskr]

“Why don't you let me be the judge of what I'm willing to do,” Kíli replied obstinately and Bilbo was forcibly reminded why stubbornness was not always an attractive trait. “Besides, you went to meet my family even though the thought terrified you, why shouldn't I meet yours?”

“Because your family is actually made up of decent human beings!” His boyfriend shouted in exasperation as he finally lost his temper. “But you know what, fine! If you want to have a miserable evening that badly, I'll call Longo back and tell him we'll be there at five with the rest. So when the bastards spend the entire night making snide comments behind our backs, at least I'll get to say I told you so.”

“Fine! I'll see you then.” The younger man growled in agreement before gathering his stuff and stalking out the door. He paused only to shout, “I just want to fucking make you happy, asshole,” before the florist heard his bike roar off.

Bilbo sank back onto the couch with a growl of his own, kicking at a cushion in frustration. Stupid bloody-minded bastard. Why can't he just accept that some things suck and leave it at that? But no, he always has to be the fucking hero so now we're going to walk blindly into the viper's den and they're going to try to rip him to pieces. And he's either going to kill someone and end up in prison for the rest of his life or he's finally going to realize what a mess I am and dump my sorry ass.

That had been their first real fight and the florist's anger was quickly turning to misery as he replayed it in his mind. Even if Kíli was being stupid, and he was, Bilbo knew that he had severely overreacted as well.

So now he was committed to attending the damn thing, terrible idea or not, and he picked up the phone to call Longo before he lost his nerve. There was no way the older man was going to back down, not after the speech he had given, and he certainly wouldn't be the first to apologize. Though it was rather lonely to go to bed alone, trying to ignore the way that Kíli's toothbrush stared at him accusingly. Even Bilbo's mattress seemed too large now for all that he had slept in it for years and it was a long time before he managed to fall asleep.

Things didn't seem much better in the morning, if anything the florist just felt worse, and dragging himself into work that day was nearly impossible. Truthfully, he might as well have stayed in bed since no one wanted to buy flowers from someone who looked like his heart was breaking and and every time Bilbo checked his phone to see no messages, his heart sank a little more.

At least Kíli wasn't at the cafe that morning because seeing him would have sorely tested the older man's resolve. But for all that he didn't want to imagine losing his boyfriend, if I can even call him that anymore, the florist refused to beg and they would resolve this as equals or not at all.

But the younger man didn't call him and so he spent several hours wallowing in his loneliness before he finally gave up and went home. At least there he could indulge his misery with ice cream and maybe tomorrow would be a brighter day. However, waking up alone sucked just as much the second time so when his phone finally buzzed, Bilbo shoved the bouquet he was holding into the window and rushed over to see what it said.

Jasmine Tea and Coffee Kisses, 35/?

[rata_toskr]

'I still think I'm right. But I'm sorry I hurt you and I want to understand. Can we talk?' The message read and for all its grudging nature, this apology made the older man laugh even as the knot in his chest began to ease. It was just so Kíli, brash and honest to a fault, and if the barista had been someone different, Bilbo wouldn't love him like he did.

Which was a revelation that the florist would revisit later on. For now, he simply typed: 'I'd like that. I still think I'm right too, but I may have overreacted a bit. My family has always been a touchy subject.'

'Will you tell me why?' was the near instantaneous response and Bilbo flushed with pleasure at the knowledge that Kíli must have been waiting anxiously as well.

'I'll try. There's so much history that it's hard to know where to start. They're just horrible, they've always been horrible and I can't see that changing anytime soon. You know Lobelia tried to get me to sign over my parents' house at their funeral? She couldn't even wait a fucking day and Otho was plastered as usual, not that I can blame him too much considering his wife.

But they're all like that. Too caught up in social status and appearances to be decent human beings. When I was a kid my aunts and uncles would drop by our house just to berate my father for his choices and they were always trying to convince him to leave my mother for some high class trophy wife.

They don't even care that I prefer men, not really. I could sleep with as many men as I wanted and my relatives wouldn't bat an eye as long as I had an official wife to bring to social functions. Lord knows uncle Polo has never been particularly faithful but he's discreet and no one cares as long as there's no scandal. So really they're shallow greedy bigots who bend over backwards to accommodate public opinion and I don't understand why you would want to meet them at all.'

It was strangely cathartic to write out this explanation, almost as though the resentment had festered and speaking of it lanced the wound. The distance of texting helped as well, giving Bilbo time to gather his words without pressure, and he felt lighter once this message was sent.

'All right, so they do sound pretty bad.' Kíli admitted after a long delay. However, the florist should have known that the barista wouldn't give up so fast. 'And I know you won't want to hear this, but can you be sure that they're all like that? You said yourself that you haven't seen your relatives in years, so some of them might have changed.'

These words made Bilbo want to lash out again, scream at the younger man to let the damn thing go. But that was what had gotten them into this mess in the first place, so this time he forced himself to stop and think about the other's words instead.

'Honestly, I don't know. Some of my second cousins were all right when we were children and Aunt Rosa married a Took so her kids were always a little different than the rest. But most of them are around your age now or a bit younger and I seriously doubt that they're any better than their parents were back in the day.'

'Don't you want to be sure before you give up on them completely?' Kíli wrote back and it seemed entirely unfair that he could sound so earnest in a text. 'I mean, my family drives me crazy sometimes but I know they'll always be there for me and if even one of your relatives might give you the same support, wouldn't it be worth finding out?'

'I'm not the one giving up on them! They abandoned me after my parents died and I know when I'm not wanted. Why should I risk feeling that pain again?' The florist typed back hotly, an echo of old grief flaring in his chest.

'Longo did call you, maybe he finally wants to try. And if your cousins were just children when everything happened, they probably thought that you didn't like them anymore. Who knows what their parents told them after all? Just go this once and see what happens, please? I'll be there with you and if everything goes horribly wrong at least you'll still have tried.'

Jasmine Tea and Coffee Kisses, 36/?

[rata_toskr]

'You're too damn convincing, you know that? You should have gone into politics instead of coffee because you'd have won everything. But fine, we'll give it a shot and I suppose it might be good to have some closure if nothing else.' Bilbo relented, knowing in his heart that his boyfriend was probably right. It would be nice to see Drogo, Adalgrim and a few of the others again, and if they truly thought that he had abandoned them, the older man needed to set the record straight. Besides if everyone was just as horrible as he remembered, Bilbo could leave without feeling guilty and Kíli wouldn't be able to bother him about it anymore.

'So does this mean that I'm forgiven? Can I come in?' This text was accompanied by a quiet knock and the florist looked up to see his boyfriend waving hesitantly through the window of his shop.

At the sight, Bilbo couldn't help but smile and he gestured the other man inside. “Come here you silly bastard,” He said, wrapping the younger man in a hug and after a moment, Kíli relaxed within his arms.

“I really am sorry you know,” The barista murmured against his neck as he held on tight. “I don't like fighting with you at all.”

“Me neither,” The older man replied, determined to make things right again. “And I'm sorry I got so angry. I know you were trying to help and I probably did need to hear it - I just didn't want to. Maybe next time we have a disagreement we can try it without the yelling and storming off because I'm rather used to having you around.”

“Deal,” His boyfriend agreed, leaning in to seal it with a kiss. Somehow that turned into making out against the counter and while the florist was enjoying himself too much to stop, he did spare a thought to hope that no one was getting a show as they walked by.

However, eventually Bilbo's conscience got the better of him and the older man drew back with a reluctant sigh, knowing that he shouldn't let Kíli distract him like this. “As much as I would love to continue what we're doing, it should probably wait for later. I am supposed to be working and I really can't leave the shop unattended right now.”

“There's always the storage room,” His boyfriend told him with a cheeky grin, a wicked light shining in his eyes.

“You know, I do believe you're right,” The florist responded, unable to resist the temptation of that heated gaze. So he flipped his sign to closed and locked the door behind him before pulling Kíli toward the back. He had a boyfriend to ravish and if anyone needed flowers, they could wait 'til he was done.