Summary: Bofur is a homeless man, struggling to find any place that would hire him. He went from city to city, hoping that someone would show him kindness. And he finds that kindness with the Durin brothers, whom offer him a place to stay as long as he becomes their 'maid'. Now, this usually would be humiliating for Bofur, but having lived on only scraps and rags for the past five years, he doesn't find himself so embarrassed whenever the brothers try their best to humiliate him. Well, that is until he finds out their uncle is one of the most breathtaking men he has ever met…

"The winter's pretty cold…" Bofur muttered to himself as he rubbed his hands over his arms, hoping to find some warmth.

It was the middle of the Christmas season in New York City, meaning snow was everywhere and most smart people were already inside their homes, warm and protected from the bitter winds outside. Unfortunately, even if Bofur was smart enough to know this, he didn't have the recourses to warm himself in a safe environment.

He had been homeless for the past five years because of some bad business decisions and even worse love choices so he could never find much shelter for a prolonged amount of time. Sure, there were the shelters, but he didn't feel like being harassed for his custom made hat tonight.

"Another winter without home…" He sighed as his eyes drifted to find a young couple laughing and hugging, rushing their way to warmth.

Now Bofur wasn't usually a sad man. He chose to see the glass half full rather than empty, but he wasn't completely ignorant. He hadn't seen his family ever since he came to America which had been more than ten years ago. And he knew that he had missed out on a lot. His cousin Bifur got himself into quite a predicament that left a rather large dent in their monetary balance and his younger brother, Bombur, got married. He even had children now, and Bofur wasn't around for any of these moments.

He had come to America hoping to open his own toyshop. He had started out by becoming an artisan and selling his creations to whoever would buy them, and with the money had made he hoped he could both buy himself a small space to claim as his toy shop and bring his cousin over to help him with the toy making.

A year into his 'adventure' Bifur was mugged. That was nothing unusual or usual in their small town on the outskirts of Scotland- these kinds of things happen everywhere, you see- but it left lasting effects on their family. Bifur was never the same again.

"Hey, you bum! Watch where you're going!"

Bofur's reverie was interrupted abruptly by harsh hands falling onto his shoulders, knocking him down so quickly that he didn't even have time to notice he had fallen, just that he was now somehow on the floor and there was an angry young man fuming over him.

"You're useless, you know? Not only do you damage this fine city's ambiance with your pitiful self, but you also can't seem to notice where you're walking!"

"Jeff, come on, we don't watch where we're going at times, it's only human."

That was when Bofur noticed there was a young boy standing beside the angry young man, but he was much shorter and younger than the one that had knocked him down.

"Shut up, Sam! He's a bum, he's useless, and he got my jacket dirty! He needs to be taught a lesson!" The young man, Jeff, growled at the young boy, which made him whimper and run back.

"I'm going to tell mom!" Sam screamed as he took off running, making Bofur follow him.

There was a woman sitting down on a bench with dozens of bags surrounding her, letting him know she had just finished some last-minute Christmas shopping.

"Look what you've done, jackass!" Jeff hissed as he lent down and grasped Bofur's shirt collar, glaring darkly at the fallen man.

"Now, lad, I've done nothing to you except for not pay attention to where I was walking. Nothing more, nothing less. You were the one that sent your baby brother away by scaring him." Bofur pointed out with a calm smile and closed eyes, which managed to anger Jeff even more.

"I'll teach you a lesson, stupid bum!"

And Bofur closed his eyes and flinched away from the inevitable contact of the lad's fist, but found himself waiting too long for it. There was a second of silence in which nothing happened and Bofur kept his eyes closed, then he heard a yell and sounds of scuffling.

This interested him, but he didn't dare open his eyes. He knew that the city was rough and he knew there wasn't much love for 'freeloading vagabonds', so he wouldn't be surprised if more kids arrived to beat him up.

"Why don't you pick on someone your size, jerk!?" A new voice surprised Bofur enough that he finally opened his eyes, only to find a scene that shocked him.

"I really hate Christmas." Kili grouched as his brother laughed loudly at his brother's expense.

"You really shouldn't! It's not Christmas' fault that the nice cashier didn't give you her number! It's your fault because you were so creepy!" Fili laughed loudly, slapping his brother's back.

Both men were making their way down the snow-filled streets of New York after having gone on an ice cream run, which had ultimately ended with Kili making a complete fool of himself in front of a cashier he thought could be his 'soul-mate'.

"And she was so perfect too!" Kili groaned, slapping his face with both hands. "She had an Arrow button! It's like we were meant to be!"

Fili only shook his head at his brother's theatrics as he scooped up some of his chocolate ice cream, but his good mood slowly faded as he saw a dirty looking man being knocked down just a few feet away from them in the sidewalk.

"Fili? Aren't you going to chastise me about falling in love so quickly?" Kili asked as he looked up at the blonde, only to find him glaring at something before him.

That interested Kili and he forgot about his heartache as he saw a burly man scream at a small kid.

"What the hell?" Kili asked softly as his eyes narrowed, his right hand twitching around his ice cream cup.

And that's when the guy raised his fist. This of course did not sit well with either brother, but Kili being the more impulsive of the two, quickly gave his ice cream cup to his brother and bolted to the men in front, only to tackle the aggressive man.

Now that he had a better look at him, Kili could see he was just a muscular teenager with short blonde hair and dark brown eyes that burned with anger. This, of course, angered Kili and he pinned the younger to the ground.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size, jerk!?" Kili yelled as he held the boy's arms down, all the while he struggled to be freed.

"Get off of me, you lunatic! I can file a report against you for assault!" The boy threatened, which got an eye roll from Kili.

"The only person getting charged with assault would be you, kid."

Kili looked up to find his brother standing before him, the homeless man he had just saved looking at them with wide eyes from his seat on the ground.

"And it would be attempted assault, by the way. Not such a strong crime, but still could get you jail time." Fili drawled in a disinterested voice, feeling kind of upset that he couldn't help the man on the floor because his hands were occupied with the ice cream.

The boy's eyes widened at Fili's words, but before he could try to make himself sound dumber, his mother and brother arrived.

"Jeff, what were you thinking?" The woman scolded as she and her son ran to help the homeless man up, "I am so sorry about him, sir. He's usually not like this, but he just had a fight with his father and his girlfriend broke up with him-"

"Mom!"

Bofur chuckled softly at the woman, patting her hand gently. "Don't worry, ma'am. He didn't hurt me. Not sure if he would have, but that young man over there stopped him."

The woman now turned to find Kili still pinning Jeff to the floor, and she blushed. "Would you mind getting off my son? I know he was attacking this man, but-"

Kili instantly jumped up and nodded at her, but Fili only handed the ice cream cups to his brother and crossed his arms.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, ma'am, but if this man wishes to press charges, he can. From what I saw, the only thing he did wrong was walk on the same sidewalk as your son." He spoke in a business tone, one that Kili only heard whenever he was being a bad kid.

"Oh, please don't!" The woman exclaimed, turning to Bofur with tear filled eyes. "He's going to graduate this year with a scholarship in football! If he gets convicted, he'll lose it!"

Bofur was taken aback by the woman's tone, having completely expected to be threatened into silence, but the kindness made him kind in return. "I won't file any charges, ma'am. Just, get him to control his anger some. He shouldn't be speaking so rudely to his brother."

The woman gasped at his words, and before Bofur could react, he was being hugged tightly by her. "Thank you so much! I'll get him to a therapist! Football season ended so he has nothing to take his anger out on!"

Bofur mechanically hugged her back, unsure if this was what she did before she attacked, but was surprised when she turned to Jeff.

"You and I are going to have a long talk, mister!"

And with those words, she grabbed the teen's ear and walked off with him, little Sam chasing after his family with all of the bags in his hands. Bofur smiled at the child's back, finding it heartwarming how caring the small being could be, but frowned when one of the young men that had helped him cleared his throat.

He turned around, only to find the one with the black hair grinning wickedly while the one with the blonde hair shook his head softly.

"Uh… Thank you, lads, for your help. I think I really would've been hurt if you hadn't stopped the boy." Bofur said lamely, but that just made the brunette's smile widen.

"Come on, Fili! He's funny! Hey, Funny Guy, you hungry?" Kili asked suddenly, which made Bofur stare at him in a stupefied manner.

Fili rolled his eyes at his brother's antics, but looked at the man, wanting to know the answer for the question. The man was just a few inches shorter than himself, and seemed to have a wider body build, but the clothing he wore hung on him, making him seem thinner than what should've been healthy.

Bofur looked from one man to the other, then blinked and scratched at his neck. "Well, I'm a might bit hungry, but I don't see how that's any of your concern…"

"Let me buy you some dinner!" Kili immediately jumped beside him, grabbing him by the left elbow.

"Kili! Don't assault the poor man!" Fili chastised. "One time was enough!"

Kili pouted at his brother now, "But Fili! Because of him I completely forgot about the evil cashier! Come on, let's repay him!"

Fili sighed at his brother's words, all the while Bofur blinked in shock and confusion. Evil cashier? Dinner? Just what was this boy going on about?

"Follow me, Funny Guy! I know this awesome little burger place that will give me one burger for free if I buy two more!" Kili started off in the direction of the small place, dragging Bofur with him.

This, naturally, immediately confused and worried Bofur, but he didn't have it in his heart to stop the taller man as he continued talking so animatedly. So, he just looked back and fond the blonde shaking his head with a soft smile… Bofur didn't know if this was a good thing, or an extremely dangerous bad thing…

Hope you liked it. Please review.