The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings -oneshots II

Philomath - Company

Warnings: nope
Word count: 1263
Other: Philomath - (noun) a lover of learning. Some changes made to the plot so the story works. Platonic relationships and a gender-neutral reader!
Requested: nope

The dwarves come to your house looking for information, and you are willing to give it to them. They find out that paying you will turn out more difficult than anticipated.

The company had been on the road for days, following Gandalf who had promised that he knew someone who could help them understand the map better. They had just arrived in a small town. They were yearning towards the inn and its warm beds and cold ale, but Gandalf hadn't even spared it a glance. He kept walking until he reached a large house just at the edge of the city, its covered windows and glum shell had the dwarves on their toes, nervous.
"What are we doing here?" Thorin growled, glaring at Gandalf, impatience radiating from each word.
"We are here to find help. Since you refused to let Lord Elrond help, they are our last resort. We need someone to translate that map and Y/N is our best hope in doing so." Gandal gave the door a sturdy knock with his staff, and a voice sounded from deep inside the house.
"I'll be with you in a moment, come in." Gandalf pushed the door open, the dim light inside making them suspicious, but as Gandalf entered, taking his hat off as he did, they had no other choice but to follow.

As they entered the house, their eyes widened as they took in the sight in front of them. The walls of your house were stacked to the brim with books, the shelves bent under the weight of so many tomes stacked atop one another. Nearly every surface of the house held books, whether they were piled on top of each other on the table or placed on the steps of the ladders.

You appeared from behind a stack of books, one still open in your lap as your eyes continued to trail along with the fading words on the parchment.
"Excuse m-" Thorin was silenced with a poke from Gandalf's staff just as you lifted your hand into the air, asking them to wait. You calmly finished the page you had been reading before you carefully marked the spot and closed the book. You lifted your eyes toward the company for the first time, a smile appearing onto your lips when your eyes landed on the wizard.
"Gandalf!" Your tone rose as you were pleasantly surprised to see the elder gentleman at your doorstep once again.
"What brings you and your companions here?" As Gandalf started to explain the journey they had taken and a practiced, false version of the reason behind it, the dwarves looked around. They were too scared to move, as they feared that they would bring one of the tall towers of books into their backs if they bumped into a table. So they stood still and listened to Gandalf's explanation to you.

Gandalf finished his long tale, and you nodded, looking pensive.
"And what of the payment?" You asked, lifting your brow and turning to Gandalf, who sighed.
"We have gold," Thorin said, sounding slightly insulted at your underlying accusations that they were just poor travelers. You shook your head sternly, crossing your arms.
"I don't want gold. I want knowledge." The company looked confused, turning to Gandalf for an explanation. The wizard just shook his head, turning to look at you.
"Tell me something I don't know and I will help you with your map."
"How are we supposed to know what you know and don't know." Your lips twisted into a smirk.
"I suppose you'll just have to try until you find something."

The day was slowly turning into night and the dwarves still hadn't come up with anything that you were interested in hearing. They had tried everything. Smithwork, gems, the history of the dwarven race. But none of that interested you, you just deemed that you knew everything you wanted to about such topics.
"How about the way we work metal? That is a secret method, kept tightly engrossed into our race, you cannot have heard of it." Gloin suggested, partly desperate and partly orgulous that he had finally come up with something that you would definitely not know.
"I am well versed in dwarven metal-making culture, thank you very much." Your voice was level and your face expressionless as you responded, your eyes never leaving the book in your hands.
"How?!" The dwarves cried, now truly out of ideas. You marked the page you were reading and carefully balanced the book on top of a teetering pile of books. When you deemed it was stable enough, you fetched a ladder, looking around, tapping your chin with your finger as your eyes ran over the shelves. You finally seemed to find what you were looking for and climbed atop the ladder, the dwarves hurrying to steady it as it was so tall that it seemed like it would tilt over at any moment.

You pulled out a book, smaller than your head but so thick that your arms strained with the effort of lifting it. You returned back to floor level and placed it on the table with a loud 'thunk'. The title of the book was highlighted with silver, and all the dwarves could see the words clearly. "The magical metalwork of the dwarves." Bilbo read out loud, impressed.
"Where did you come by this?" Thorin demanded to know, and you shrugged your shoulders.
"A friend bought it for me."

Bilbo stood aside as the dwarves desperately tried to come up with something that you would accept as payment. He tried to be as inconspicuous as possible as he tried to shoo off one of the flies that had been flying around his head.
"If you have trouble with bugs, a small rosemary bush in a pot might help with keeping them away," He stated absentmindedly, still trying to shoo off the last stubborn fly that refused to leave him alone. You blinked, tilting your head, gesturing him to continue with your hand all the while silencing the dwarves with a look.
"It grows best when there is direct sunlight, like that windowsill there." Bilbo gestured to it, and you were silent for a moment.
"If I could see that map." The company looked confused.
"But we haven't-" Kili's words died out when an elbow from Thorin jammed itself into his ribs.
"But you have paid me. Your friend provided me with the information I didn't know, and a deal is a deal." You simply stated, grabbing the map from Thorin. The dwarves gave Bilbo a stunned look, and he deemed it right to just shrug, trying to hide the smug smile that tried to creep up on his lips.

This one was so much fun to write! I'll have to write platonic more often!

I'm running out of ideas, so I am opening requests again! The requests will open on the 9th of this month at 12.00 (Finnish time, UTC +3).
I will read through all the requests before I choose the ones that I like for my line! I liked this method last time, it helped me be more organized about the process, so I am doing it again.
I am going to my parents' house in a few weeks, so the requests might take a little longer, but I will get them done.