Tolkien One-Shots Book 2!

Growing Love (Beorn x reader)

(The only description of the reader is that they are shorter than Beorn, who is theorized to be somewhere between 7'3" (220.98cm) and 12' (365.76cm) tall.)

When you had first accidentally stumbled upon the house in the woods, you thought you would die. After all, there was a giant, great bear right on your heels. You managed to find a small space to hide where the bear couldn't get you. A few hours later, after the bear had left and you calmed down, you were approached again by a very large man. While you were intimidated, he did not seem to want to hurt you. In fact, upon hearing your story, he offered you a place to stay.

You grew to enjoy working alongside Beorn. You cooked together, took care of the livestock and ponies together, and kept bees together. But your favorite thing to do with Beorn was work in his garden. For such a large being, Beorn was as gentle as could be with his garden. He talked to his plants, nurturing them the way a parent would a child. He taught you about the various things he grew and how to care for them.

Time passed as you stayed with Beorn while you were trying to figure out where to go and what to do. Some days, you felt like a burden to the skin-changer. Still he never said anything like that to you nor did it seem that he was tiring of your company. You often caught him staring at you in what appeared to be deep contemplation. Like you were a riddle he couldn't solve. One day, you would figure out exactly what Beorn was thinking.

Beorn had given you your own patch of land to grow flowers alongside his crops. You were tending to those flowers one morning when you felt Beorn's eyes on you again. "Is something wrong?" you asked him, straightening up. He cleared his throat as if he were embarrassed to be caught staring. He paused for a moment, contemplating his words carefully. Given his usual brash nature, you were happy to wait for him to get his thoughts together.

"I have discovered something. Something unusual," he replied after a bit. You cocked your head to the side as you gazed up at his face. "Oh?" He nodded and brought a hand up to his chin, the manacle on his wrist jingling slightly. "The thought of you...leaving. It does not please me. At all. I find myself getting rather angry at it. I had heard of feelings like this, but did not believe in them."

His confession threw you for what felt like hours. His intense gaze never left your face as he watched you take in what he'd said. "I...are you saying that you care for me?" You could have smacked yourself at how unsure you sounded. He nodded once but then his brows furrowed. "Perhaps care is not a strong enough word. I believe what I feel for you is deeper. Much deeper than simply caring."

You felt your entire body heat up. Was he really saying what you thought he was? "Beorn? Are you telling me that you might love me?" He thought for a moment before confirming your words. "Yes. My love for you has grown, I believe, much like the blooms you have tended to. A tiny idea, a seed, of what life could be with you by my side for the rest of our days began this and now, like your flowers, I feel something blossoming and maturing in my heart that I have long thought was incapable of such things. And now I need to know if the same can be said of you. Do you-Could you...love me?

A smile crept its way to your lips before you could stop it. Beorn simply stared at you until you realized that you hadn't answered him after nearly a minute. "Beorn, of course I could love you. It is possible that I already do and have been denying myself the joy of it, thinking you would eventually tire of me and I would have to leave." You removed your gardening gloves and slowly reached over to take one of Beorn's hands in yours.

"We could live a thousand ages and I would not tire of you," he admitted slowly. You beamed up at him as tears of joy pricked at your eyes. Beorn smiled down at you but suddenly stiffened. Your brows furrowed as he straightened up and sniffed the air. "What is it?" you asked in confusion.

"Orcs. Get inside, bar the door, and don't come out until I return." You knew better than to argue. Instead, you merely agreed and Beorn turned to leave. Before he got too far, you called out to him. He glanced back at you over his shoulder. "I love you," you confessed. He smiled again. "And I you. Now go. I shall return." You quickly ran inside, the door barely closed behind you when you heard the growling of a great bear. "Be safe," you whispered. You had no idea that, very soon, a company of dwarves, a wizard, and hobbit would change your lives completely.