Pluviophile (Definition): One who loves rain; one who finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days.

English weather truly loves to give the middle finger sometimes, especially on a day out you planned weeks for in advance.

But this is England we're talking about, so despite the already dwindling faith you put in the weatherman, you prepare for every possible element for when you step out the front door.

I was glad I had this in mind when packing for a week trip to the Lake District. Windermere is notorious for giving not one, but two middle fingers, having more rainy days than dry in the year.

'And today was one of those lovely days,' I thought, watching as the rolling grey skies grew darker from the curtains of rain hammering down into the soil. Periodically, the shuttle bus would sway slightly from the aggressive wind, creating a silent feeling of unease for the small group of passengers taking the ride to the hostel.

Sensing the symptoms of fatigue from a long trip, I leant my head on the vibrating window, trying my best to ignore the consistent head drilling from both the engine and rain. Twisting slightly to get more comfortable, I squinted at the foggy glass in attempt to sight see between the streaks of rain racing across my view. At best the only clear thing was my reflection and the stone wall flying past, dangerously close to the bus as it twisted down the narrow road. Everything else merged together into large, blurred masses of green and grey.

Leaning down to pick up and rummage through my bag, I pulled out a small book on glaciers. Kay had practically thrown it at my head once I had proposed the idea travelling up to the lakes. We spent a week packing, with Kay almost bringing down the entire bookshelf trying to find her geography books, that now took up the entire bottom of her rucksack. Sightseeing with your friends in fun but going with one that will see one (1) rock and spend an hour reciting its origins like Tolkien would looking at a tree is a lot more entertaining and educational.

My drooping eyes looked to the left to see that Kay was still in her shrimp position, headphones on and back hunched at an odd angle with her knees drawn up to prop up the iPad she was drawing on. I decided to leave her be and propped my own legs up, resting the book on my knees as I took out the bookmark and started reading from where I left off, tuning out the murmurs and whispers of the other holiday makers around us.

Around twenty minutes of quiet passed, until the driver up front announced our arrival would be soon, causing a stir as everyone began to gather their bags. Kay still had her headphones on, so I nudged her knee with the book in my hand, waiting as she slipped her headphones off and around her neck,

"Pack your stuff away," I whispered, "I'll make sure to get the booking up."

Both of us began our respectable jobs, Kay making sure everything that had been brought out on the ride was back in its place, whilst I scrolled my phone until I brought up the booking reference. Considering the rainy weather, we both slipped on our raincoats before slinging the bags over our shoulders, waiting for the bus to slow to a stop. Soon enough, with both hoods pulled up, we squeezed down the aisle along with everyone else and stepped out into the fierce winds and rain.

The sound of the continuous downpour and gravel crunching underfoot filled my ears as I scoured the surrounding area for the hostel. Said hostel was some ways down the winding lane in front of us, nestled within a wide valley surrounded by green, speckled hills smothered with trees, curving down to cradle the small building that stood politely at the bottom. Running from the top of the valley down past the hostel was a small river, threatening to burst at the banks from the onslaught of torrential downpour.

A freak gust of wind and the noise of the shuttle bus pulling away seemed to usher everyone forward, and we began the trudge through the churned up mud and soaking puddles. By the looks on everyone faces, we were all desperate to escape the miserable weather as swiftly as possible.

"Tomorrow better be the light clouds we were promised," Kay groaned over the noise, face twisting in further annoyance as she looked down to find her shoes and trousers were already caked in mud, "cuz I don't wanna be stuck in a dingy hostel waiting for all this to blow over."

I hummed tiredly in reply, agreeing since despite how much I adored the rain, this type of weather wasn't ideal for hiking up mountains in, no matter how much of an adventure it would be. But tomorrow could wait, since right now, nothing but a warm drink and comfy bed could satisfy us until tomorrow.

After slipping over almost twice, whilst quietly laughing at those who did, we crossed the threshold of the hostel, kicking off our mud clogged hiking boots immediately as to not tread dirt all over the place. We also made sure to give one of the men from the bus stink eye as he trampled past, doing quite the opposite, smearing whatever, wherever, much to the dismay of the poor lady at the desk. Thank god any carpet was yet to appear.

Approaching the desk, I gently placed my boots on the floor as I displayed the booking on my phone to the lady behind it. She reached under the desk and brought out a set of two keys, handing them over. We thanked her politely and wandered further into the building, leaving her with the now nervous man who had finally noticed what was on the bottom of his shoes.

Meandering upstairs and down a few corridors of the small hostel, the door sign eventually matched the key.

"Finally!" I exclaimed in relief, excitedly twisting the key in the lock until I felt a click.

Kay turned to me with a face of exasperation that I couldn't tell was fake or not.

"13?" She questioned. "Weren't there at least ten rooms available with a different number?"

"It's my lucky number," I stated nonchalantly, using my shoulder to budge the door open. I emptied one hand of luggage onto the floor to flip the light switch. "It's quite funny watching the looks on people's faces when I tell them."

With an amused roll of her eyes, Kay followed in and dumped her own bags on the floor. With light now illuminating the room, we turned to inspect our surroundings.

The room was nothing special, just a plain and simple double bedroom; two single beds; a pair of small bedside drawers sat in between, small lamps on top; two wardrobes pushed against the walls at the foot of each bed; and a few portraits depicting the natural surroundings hung up on the walls.

Like I said, plain and simple.

Tucking my shoes into the corner, I crossed the room with Kay trailing behind and clambered over the creaking bed on the right to reach to window. Gazing out into the valley, I realised the rain had slowed to a stop, now able to make out the details of the thick forest outside. Picking up a key that had been left on the windowsill, I flicked off bits of rust that had begun to form on the metal before carefully slotting it into the keyhole and twisting. Pulling the handle up, I swung open the window, taking a deep inhale as I breathed in the fresh breeze that replaced the stagnant air inside.

After taking in our weeklong view, an hour or so was spent putting away everything we had brought. I had overpacked as usual, so Kay lent me half a drawer, in exchange for the window side. Shoes and wash bags were left by the door since the bathrooms were communal instead of personal.

The remainder of the day was us mostly chilling in our room, taking a couple visits downstairs to explore the rest of the building and eat in the small canteen, before heading to bed for the night.

The next few days trudged by contently as we explored the surrounding area, visiting the nearby towns and returning to our room with a concerning amount of bags brimming with gift shop items. I had gone a little crazy after spotting a shelf of glass animals, if the bag containing half a dozen at the foot of my bed said anything.

However, tomorrow's plans were different.

Hello again! Welcome to the first chapter of my Kíli x reader fic! Hopefully you've enjoyed the introduction of the two main characters, see you on the 24th March for Chapter 2!