Chapter Text
Bilbo smiled at Thorin as his dwarf was gentle as he guided him down from Ravenhill. He might have recovered enough to leave the tree but he found that his movements were stiff and he didn’t have the grace he was used to. He allowed Thorin to stop them for breaks whenever the dwarf felt they needed one.
What was Bilbo supposed to do besides smile?
Thorin lifted his head from where he’d rested it against Bilbo’s as they’d stopped to sit on a large rock just off the path for a moment. He frowned at the sound of voices drifting up to them from down below. “Give me a moment, love,” he whispered. He pressed a kiss against Bilbo’s hair and then stood.
Reluctantly, he released Bilbo’s hands to look over the edge. “Oh,” he said as he turned back to Bilbo with a smile. “We’re about to have company.”
Bilbo perked up a bit at that. “Who is it?”
Thorin glanced back down before he turned back to Bilbo and shook his head. “You’ll see.”
“Thorin,” Bilbo laughed as he held out his hand. He smiled fondly as Thorin wasted no time in taking it back into his. “It must be members of the company if you’re smiling like that. Shall I guess?”
Thorin dipped his head to press another kiss to the side of Bilbo’s head. He stayed close for a moment just to feel the way Bilbo’s curls shifted against his skin. “If you’re going to guess, you’ll have to do so quickly. They’re almost here.”
Bilbo hummed as he allowed Thorin to wrap an arm around him and pull him close. “Can’t be Fili or Kili. They’d be much louder.”
Thorin did not feel guilty about the bark of laughter that escaped him. “While that’s true, I can tell that you’re stalling.”
Bilbo grinned as he turned his head to press his nose against Thorin’s cheek. “Have all the members of the company come to visit me?”
“Yes,” Thorin rumbled as he pulled Bilbo closer to his side. “Of course.”
“Really?” Bilbo asked as he pulled back enough to blink up at Thorin. “Even Oin and Gloin?”
Thorin made an unimpressed sound as he looked down at his hobbit. “Gloin has not stopped talking about bringing his son up to meet you and Oin visits you as often as he can. He likes looking for hidden meanings in the way the bark of your tree grew.”
Blinking back tears, Bilbo rested his head back against Thorin’s shoulder. “If that’s the case then I don’t think I could guess. I shall simply have to be surprised.”
“You won’t be the only one,” Thorin reminded him as the voices grew louder.
He tensed just as three familiar dwarves rounded the path. He knew they would be excited but he wasn’t about to let Bilbo get hurt just because they hugged him too hard
“I hope that apple is for me,” Bilbo called with a smile.
Bofur, Bombur, and Bifur all froze on the path. Slowly, they each looked farther up.
“By my beard,” Bofur breathed.
“Bilbo!”
Bilbo laughed as Bombur scrambled to keep himself from dropping a basket of fruits. “Hello, my dear friends. I’m so glad to see you.”
Bofur spluttered for a moment longer before he grinned.
Bombur, having caught the food he’d been taking to the tree, blushed as he sheepishly held it out to Bilbo. “I brought the ripest stuff so that I might leave it in the roots to give your tree some nutrients.”
“Oh, Bombur,” Bilbo said as he slowly got to his feet. “You are truly one of the kindest people I know.”
Surprisingly, it was not Bombur or Bofur who hugged Bilbo first.
Bifur shook himself out of his surprise. He let out a gleeful shout before he stepped past his cousins and scooped Bilbo up into his arms.
Laughing, Bilbo threw his head back and tried to breathe through all the dwarven hair that suddenly engulfed him. He could not hug Bifur back as his hands were pinned to his sides. “I missed you, too!”
Bifur said something in the guttural language of the dwarves.
“He said that you should know that he remembered what you said to him at Beorn’s and that he’s always tried to live by your words since then.”
Bilbo smiled as he managed to meet Bifur’s gaze. “I feel honored that you would treasure our conversation so much, Bifur. I am so lucky to have you as a friend.”
Bifur responded before lightly tapping his forehead against Bilbo’s.
“He said-“
“I understand,” Bilbo said softly as Bifur set him back on his feet.
“Oh,” Bofur said as he pushed his hat back on his head. He could not stop grinning, though he wasn’t trying very hard. “Did your magic tree teach you old dwarvish?”
“What?” Bilbo asked as he laughed. He patted Bifur’s side before he approached Bombur. “No,” he said over his shoulder to Bofur before he took the basket from Bombur’s hands and set it on the ground. Then he wrapped the dwarf up in a hug that felt amazing as it was returned.
“Oh,” Bofur managed again. He watched with his hands on his hips and his grin still stretching his mouth as Bombur and Bilbo embraced. Only once his brother pulled away and wiped at his tears did Bofur nod his head. “Makes sense.”
Bilbo shook his head as he turned to face Bofur’s smile. He knew the dwarf well. Traveling as they had allowed him to get to know each of the dwarves in the company. Which was why he knew that Bofur was barely holding it together.
“Come here,” Bilbo told him as he held his arms open. “I promise you that I’m real. I’m so sorry that I disappeared for a while.”
Bofur made a sound in the back of his throat before he scrambled to hug Bilbo. He lifted their hobbit from his feet and let out another sound as his arms found that Bilbo was indeed solid and not some specter.
Hugging his friend back as tightly as he could, Bilbo laughed again so that he wouldn’t sob. “I missed you so much.”
“Thorin,” Bofur all but shouted over Bilbo’s head. “Can you believe it?”
Thorin shook his head as he smiled fondly at the other dwarves. “No,” he said quietly as he watched Bofur gently put Bilbo back on his feet only to sweep him up into another hug. “I think it’ll take me some time to believe it.”
Bofur laughed as he wiped away tears. He took his hat off and threw it into the air before he scrambled to catch it before the wind stole it from him. “Bilbo,” he cheered. “You’re back!”
Bilbo grinned as he returned to his spot at Thorin’s side. He sighed as he settled back into Thorin’s grounding hold and just looked at the three dwarves before him. “I’m so glad I’m back. Now about that fruit?”
XXX
“Are you going to surprise everyone?” Bombur quietly asked as they made their way along the road.
The dwarves that did not know Bilbo from the earth stopped to bow at Thorin and the others. They curiously looked at Bilbo but didn’t speak as Thorin guided him by.
Bilbo shrugged as he looked up at Thorin. He quite liked how he could walk next to his dwarf with Thorin’s arm wrapped protectively around his shoulders. “I suppose I should. Is everyone spread out in the mountain?”
“Shouldn’t be too bad,” Bofur said. He nodded at whatever comment Bifur added before looking back at Bilbo. “You’ll have Dwalin at the gate, since he’s always there when Thorin goes up to Ravenhill. And I suspect Balin and the lads are in the offices or the receiving hall.”
“Ori might be with them,” Bombur added as he shifted his empty basket between his hands. “He’s been working hard with Balin.”
“Don’t know where Nori is,” Bofur said with a grin. “But that’s sort of the point of a spymaster.”
Bilbo blinked at that. He figured he was going to need some time to get used to the things that changed while he’d been asleep. He just hadn’t expected so much. “Dwalin first, then.”
Bombur shifted his basket again as he peeked up at Bilbo. “Would you mind terribly if we hosted a supper for you tonight? I’ll have it served in the royal dining room. Just for the members of the company, of course.”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Bilbo said with a smile as he reached out to touch Bombur’s arm. “I would love to share a meal with all of you again.”
Bombur turned pink as he grinned down at his feet.
“We’ll see you there,” Thorin said as he lifted his head to catch the commotion happening on top of the gate. “And if you see any of the others before us, don’t ruin the surprise.”
Bilbo elbowed him but the dwarves just smiled at each other.
XXX
“Sir!” a guard barely old enough to hold a spear panted as he staggered up to Dwalin.
“What?” Dwalin gruffly asked without uncrossing his arms or standing up from where he was leaning against the wall.
“You said,” the young lad gasped before he sucked in another breath and stood up a little taller. “You said to tell you if it ever looked like the king might have had trouble. He’s returning with four other people around him. One of them appears to be helping him walk.”
“That idiot,” Dwalin grumbled as he shoved past the young dwarf. “I swear if that fool of a king got himself injured again, it won’t just be Oin that he’ll have on his ass!”
“Move out of the way!” Dwalin roared as he approached one of the best lookout spots at the top of the gate. “Stop gawking and move it!”
The dwarves he’d been training since they reentered the mountain scrambled to get out of his way.
Dwalin huffed as he settled his hands on the edge of the gate and looked down below. He could see Thorin walking with Bofur, Bombur, and Bifur. It was the fourth figure that snagged his eyes and made him freeze up.
“It cannot be,” he mumbled as he stared down in shock.
It wasn’t until Thorin caught Dwalin’s staring, leaned down and whispered something to the person under his arm, and Bilbo Baggins looked up at him and smiled that Dwalin was able to breathe again.
His breath, when he sucked it in, burned his lungs in the best possible way. He threw his arm out and pointed at the group below him as he scowled. “You! Don’t you dare fucking move!”
Bilbo’s tinkling laugh followed him as he turned away from the edge and stormed back through all of the dwarves that were in his way.
Dwalin shoved a young guard out of his way as he threw open one of the side doors that allowed people to move in and out of Erebor without having to hassle with the huge gate, though it was partly open for the day.
Stomping, he marched toward Bilbo and Thorin, ignoring the other three as they slipped away back into the mountain. “What in the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?!”
Bilbo’s grin softened as he watched Dwalin bear down on them. “Dwalin!”
“Don’t Dwalin me!” Dwalin spit just as he came to a stop in front of Thorin and Bilbo. He crossed his arms over his chest as he scowled. “Do you know how long you were gone?”
Thorin looked at his best friend for only a moment before he kissed the top of Bilbo’s head and squeezed him tighter to his side. “Dwalin is the one who found you after you healed me.”
Bilbo’s mouth fell open in shock and understanding as he looked back up at the irate dwarf. “Dwalin.”
“No,” Dwalin said as he swiped one of his hands through the air. “We didn’t even know what happened! We thought you’d died.”
Bilbo untucked himself from Thorin’s hold and approached Dwalin slowly. He reached out and rested his hand on Dwalin’s arm, still crossed over his chest, as he looked up at the larger dwarf. “The last thing I remember was you calling out to me. I knew that he was safe because you’d arrived. I knew that I could rest.”
Dwalin huffed again as he tightened his arms. He stared down at Bilbo as if daring the hobbit to disappear again. “You were stone.”
“I was,” Bilbo agreed as he stepped a little closer. “I didn’t know that would happen. I just knew that I couldn’t let Thorin die while I had the ability to save him. Thank you, Dwalin, for taking care of him.”
“You fucking-“ Dwalin cut himself off as he grabbed Bilbo and crushed him into his chest in a hug so strong that the air was forced out of Bilbo’s lungs. “You can’t fucking thank me when you’re the one who gave your fucking life for him!”
Bilbo heaved in a ragged breath as Dwalin managed to somehow squeeze him tighter. “I’m so sorry, Dwalin, for leaving you to find me like that.”
“You little,” Dwalin shut his mouth as he gentled his hold and dropped his forehead until he could rest it on top of Bilbo’s head like he had so many times before. He let out a wounded sound at the feel of Bilbo’s curls shifting against his skin instead of the coldness of stone he’d become used to. “You don’t ever get to leave us again, do you hear me?”
Bilbo smiled as he slumped in Dwalin’s hold. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Good,” Dwalin muttered before he lifted his glare to settle it on Thorin. “And you! Don’t think I’ll be letting you out of my sight again for a while!”
“Me?” Thorin asked with a bemused smile though he did not try to argue with Dwalin. “What did I do?”
Dwalin set Bilbo on his feet without letting him fully go so he could point an accusing finger at Thorin. “You’re the reason he turned to stone in the first place. I’ll be keeping two eyes on you!”
Bilbo pressed his face to Dwalin’s chest as he laughed.
XXX
Bilbo heard him before he saw him. The boasting voice brought a smile to his lips as he and Thorin paused in the hall just around the corner from where they knew he was.
“And my wee lad is helping my lovely wife on their journey here now. They’ll arrive soon! He’s surely bound to be so much bigger than the last time I saw him.”
Bilbo sucked in a deep breath before he nodded at Thorin. Holding hands, they turned the corner together. “Personally,” he told the dwarf that Gloin had cornered. “I cannot wait to meet him.”
Gloin froze before he managed to turn his head to just look at Bilbo. The hand he’d been holding out with the picture of his wife and child for the other dwarf to see fell limply to his side.
Bilbo smiled as he looked up at Thorin. “What about you, love? Aren’t you excited to meet Gimli?”
“Bilbo,” Gloin managed as Thorin made a soft noise of agreement. “How can this be?”
Grinning, Bilbo looked up at Gloin. “I don’t know and I don’t really care. What’s important is that I’m here and that I’m so very glad to be with you all again.”
Gloin made a sound in his throat before he found it in himself to step forward and hug their hobbit. “You can’t do that again,” he whispered as he held Bilbo tight. “We can’t go through that again.”
Bilbo made a sound of understanding but did not make any such promise. Instead, he wiped at his eyes and smiled up at Gloin once more. “Tonight, we’re having a supper all together. I’m greeting everyone before we eat. Please don’t say anything about me being here.”
“I’ll be there,” Gloin promised before he knocked his forehead gently against Bilbo’s. “I’ll be there.”
Bilbo hugged him again before he took Thorin’s hand so they could continue on their way.
XXX
“We should stop here for the night, lad,” Balin said as he tiredly rubbed his eyes. He frowned at the stack of papers that needed to be looked at before he sighed. “We’ve done good work today, Ori. Go home to your brothers and get some rest.”
“Are you going to rest, too, Mister Balin?”
“I sure hope so,” a familiar voice said from the doorway to the office. “You both look tired.”
Balin stumbled to his feet as Ori gasped. He turned to find their hobbit smiling sheepishly at them from the doorway with Thorin just behind him. “Bilbo?”
“Hello, dear friends,” Bilbo said as he took another step into the room. “I was hoping you’d be close to finishing for the night.”
“Bilbo,” Ori said in a high-pitched squeak.
Bilbo turned to smile at Ori as he plucked at his green cape. He was so very thankful that he could wrap it around himself as he moved through the mountain. “Ori, I really must thank you for such a wonderful gift.”
Balin took another tentative step forward as he looked up over Bilbo’s head at Thorin. “What happened?”
“We’re not sure,” Thorin said with a shrug. “But the tree opened up and Bilbo came out of it restored.”
“A bit tired and a little hungry but otherwise just dandy,” Bilbo said with a grin. He kept his hands by his sides so as to not overwhelm the two dwarves still blinking owlishly at him. “And in desperate need of a bath.”
Ori made another squeaking sound before he started moving. Once he got his feet to work, he found he couldn’t stop. He scooped Bilbo up into a hug and buried his face into his neck. “Bilbo!”
Balin leaned heavily against the desk as he watched Ori hug their hobbit. “Thorin.”
“I know,” Thorin said to him softly as he joined Balin as Ori and Bilbo hugged. “But I don’t want to question it because he’s here and he’s safe in my arms.”
“What sort of magic do these creatures have?” Balin asked in awe. “He was stone.”
Bilbo, having caught at least part of their quiet conversation, stepped back from Ori without letting go of his hands. “I can’t tell you much beyond all hobbits have a bit of magic that we keep a secret from all others. I broke our rules when I used it to heal Thorin. I can feel it still, though I had thought at the time that I was giving it all to him.”
“What sort of magic?” Ori couldn’t help but ask.
“Magic that can extend our lives or allow us to let things grow,” Bilbo softly explained as he looked away from Ori and Balin to meet Thorin’s gaze. “I have a spark that sits in my chest that burns with life. I gave it to Thorin when he was dying so that he might live.”
“And you turned to stone,” Balin said as he leaned heavily against his desk. “You thought you were dying.”
“I did,” Bilbo admitted.
“But then how are you alive?” Ori asked after a moment of charged silence.
Bilbo smiled before he let go of Ori’s hands to press his fingers against his chest. “I didn’t give it away. Not fully. We share it now.”
Ori made a sound of understanding.
Balin snapped his gaze up to look at Thorin. “The burning in your chest. You spoke of it while you were healing.”
“Yes,” Thorin answered. “It was Bilbo’s magic. I could feel it when I touched the tree.”
“And I could feel him,” Bilbo told them. “I think the tree and Thorin’s presence there every day helped restore me. We made that little acorn grow far faster than any tree should.”
“I knew it wasn’t normal,” Ori muttered to himself. “Nori tried to tell me I didn’t know what I was talking about.”
Bilbo bit his lip as he looked at the dwarves in the room with him. “I will gladly tell the other members of the company this secret but we must make certain that no one else finds out. Hobbits were chased out of their homes long ago because the other races thought that we could save them.”
“If you’re gonna be telling secrets then maybe don’t do it in a room with an open door where just anyone could be standing in the hall,” Nori said as he sauntered through the door. “You’re lucky I made certain no one else was around.”
Bilbo grinned as he allowed the dwarf to pull him into a tight hug. “I heard that you have much to tell me, Nori.”
“Aye,” Nori said as he pulled back to just smile at Bilbo. “But I heard that you might look cute under Thorin’s arm and that your cape is finely made but you’re in desperate need of a new shirt.”
Bilbo smacked the dwarf as he huffed. He pulled Ori’s cape tighter around him as he turned up his nose. “Any dwarf saying that should learn to mind their own business.”
“Bilbo,” Balin said as a smile finally graced his lips. “It truly is you.”
“Yes,” Bilbo said with a snappy little bow. “Of course it is.”
Balin shook his head as a few tears managed to escape his eyes. “I hadn’t dared to hope that you’d be returned to us.”
Bilbo sighed as he crossed the room to finally hug the older dwarf. “Neither had I.”
Nori let them hug for a moment before he cleared his throat. “Come on, you’ll need to hurry and get cleaned up before the princes find you. They’ll never let you live it down if you show up looking like this.”
Scowling, Bilbo ran his fingers through his messy curls. “They make enough jokes about me looking like one of the fae. I suppose coming out of a tree won’t help with that.”
“Think about it this way,” Thorin said as he wrapped his arm around Bilbo’s waist just to feel him again. “They’ll be too distracted tonight to do any teasing. And you’ll be able to keep them talking about what you missed for months.”
“And then their mother will arrive,” Balin added.
Thorin winced at that but still nodded. “And then their mother will arrive.”
“All right,” Bilbo said with a huff. “Let’s go get cleaned up. I’ll see the three of you at supper.”
XXX
Dori huffed as he hurried through the halls to Thorin’s rooms with a few different clothes in his hands. He wasn’t entirely sure why he was being summoned the way he was but Dori wasn’t the type of dwarf to question a king.
Much.
He calmed himself just before he knocked at Thorin’s door. “Thorin,” he called, “I brought what you asked for. Would you mind telling me why you need them?”
Thorin opened the door and grinned as he stepped back to allow Dori into his room. “I don’t think I can properly explain it so I figured I wouldn’t try.”
“What are you talking about,” Dori scolded as he swept into the room. “Did you spend too much time outside again? Oin’s going to have you by the ear.”
“Don’t worry,” a new voice piped up from further in the room. “I made sure he was perfectly safe.”
All the clothing that he’d been holding dropped to the floor at his feet as Dori spun to catch sight of Bilbo standing in the doorway that led to the bath with naught but a towel wrapped around his waist. “Bilbo.”
Bilbo tipped his head as he smiled. “Master Dori, I am in need of some new clothes, what with mine being torn a bit by a tree.”
Dori made a sound before he quickly scooped up the clothing he’d brought and herded Bilbo back into the bath as Bilbo laughed. “Yes, yes, we’ll get you properly dressed once again, Bilbo. Don’t you worry. I won’t have anyone saying you don’t look proper. Not in my mountain.”
“It’s our mountain,” Thorin muttered as the door was shut with a snap.
Bilbo laughed as Dori quickly dressed him. Then he happily allowed the much stronger dwarf to hold him for a long while.
When they pulled away, neither spoke of the tears that they had to clean from their cheeks.
XXX
Oin rapped his knuckles against the door before he pushed it open without waiting for anyone to answer. He dug around in the bag of supplies he’d brought with him as he walked into Thorin’s room. “You best just tell me now what you did so we can get you on the mend, Thorin. The men talk, I already heard that you were helped back to the mountain. I don’t want to hear any of that usual nonsense about you being fine.”
Bilbo and Thorin exchanged confused looks before Bilbo cleared his throat. “I wasn’t aware that you could really hear anything you didn’t want to.”
Oin’s bag fell in a heap on the floor as he jerked his head up in surprise. “Bilbo?”
Grinning, Bilbo threw his arms out so that Oin could see him in all his glory. He really did like the clothes that Dori had brought him. “Hello, Oin.”
“What are you doing here, lad? I’ve been searching that tree high and low for any sign of you for days.”
“Is that what you were doing?” Thorin questioned quietly as Bilbo slowly approached the old healer. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“Of course not,” Oin scoffed. “I won’t go giving anyone false hopes. Especially you.”
Thorin scoffed but didn’t say anything further as Bilbo shot him a glare.
“I should thank you,” Bilbo said as he looked back at Oin and smiled. “I heard that you took excellent care of everyone while I was resting.”
“Couldn’t do anything for you, laddie,” Oin reminded him gently. “And I’m sorry for that.”
“No,” Bilbo almost yelped as he stumbled forward to take Oin’s hands in his. “No, I’m the one that’s sorry. I didn’t know that would happen. I didn’t mean to put you all through such heartache.”
“Laddie,” Oin said as he carefully studied Bilbo’s face. “You allowed us to keep Thorin. And now we have you back. We’re in your debt twice over.”
“Never,” Bilbo said as he allowed Oin to pull him into a hug. “We’re friends. There is no such thing as a debt between us.”
“Aye,” Oin agreed as he held their hobbit tight.
XXX
“Thorin Oakenshield,” Bilbo scolded as he planted his hands on his hips. “We do not have a lot of time before supper begins and I want to see my boys.”
“They aren-“
“You better not finish that sentence if you know what’s good for you,” Bilbo snapped as he crossed his arms over his chest. “The last memory I have of Fili is him being dropped to his death. I didn’t even get to see Kili. I want to hold them in my arms now.”
Thorin reached out to brush his fingers along Bilbo’s cheek as he inched closer to his hobbit. He wasn’t entirely sure of his welcome considering the way Bilbo’s arms were crossed over his chest. “Burglar,” Thorin murmured as Bilbo let him closer. “I was only saying that they’re not going to be as gentle with you as the others were. Are you sure you’re ready for them?”
Bilbo huffed but allowed Thorin’s gentle hands to move his arms and pull him into a hug. “I want to see them.”
“Then we’ll go find them.”
“Do you even know where they are?” Bilbo asked without lifting his head from where it was resting against Thorin’s chest. “Do you know where to start looking?”
Thorin chuckled as he ran his hand down Bilbo’s back to soothe him. “I haven’t the faintest idea. They get up to all sorts of mischief that I’d rather just not know about.”
“Then how will we find them?”
“Don’t worry, Master Burglar,” Thorin rumbled as he dipped his head to press his nose against Bilbo’s curls. “They have the uncanny ability to show up when I least want them to.”
Bilbo lifted his head and blinked slowly as he looked into Thorin’s eyes. “But you want them now. That means they’ll never show up.”
“I highly doubt that,” Thorin crooned as he gently settled his other hand on Bilbo’s cheek. “I don’t particularly want to be disturbed right now.”
Bilbo shuddered as Thorin’s fingers slid into his hair. He gasped as his dwarf used his hold to shift Bilbo’s head just so he could run his nose along the edge of his jaw.
“I expect them to come crashing through that door any second now,” Thorin whispered against Bilbo’s ear. “Purely to stop me from kissing you.”
Bilbo whimpered as he wrapped his hand around Thorin’s wrist and weakly tugged at his dwarf. “Then you better kiss me quickly.”
Their lips barely touched when the door to Thorin’s room was slammed open.
“Uncle!” Fili cried as he stormed in.
“Uncle!” Kili yelled as he stomped in after his brother.
Thorin smirked as he pulled away from Bilbo far enough to rest their cheeks together. “Told you,” he whispered.
“You should have said that you were still hurting and couldn’t go to visit Bilbo alone! We’ll go with you tomorrow,” Fili declared as he planted his hands on his hips and huffed.
Bilbo lifted one of his brows as he stepped out of Thorin’s arms. He supposed he could forgive his boys since the bulk of Thorin’s body was blocking him from their view. “And why would he need an escort to visit me?”
Kili tripped over nothing as he spun so quickly to face the sound of Bilbo’s voice. “Mister Boggins!”
“Bilbo?” Fili gently questioned as he blinked hard. “Truly?”
Bilbo held out his arms as he stepped around Thorin so they could see him. “And what is with everyone thinking Thorin was injured today?”
Kili made a whimpering noise before he scrambled to fall into Bilbo’s arms. He snuggled in as their hobbit held him tight. “Someone saw Uncle Thorin return to the mountain. Said someone was under his arm, helping him walk.”
“It was you,” Fili said as he finally stumbled forward a step. “You were walking with Uncle!”
“I was,” Bilbo said with a grin as he let go of Kili only to hold one arm out to Fili. “Now come here. I want to look at both of you. I heard you were both confined to beds for a while after the battle.”
Fili winced but still moved to allow Bilbo to hug him.
Having two dwarves in his arms was a lot but Bilbo wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“You saw Azog stab me and then drop me over the edge,” Fili muttered as he wrapped his arms around Kili and Bilbo. “We’re still not sure how I lived.”
Bilbo inhaled sharply as he squeezed Fili tighter. “I’m so glad you’re alive.”
“Me, too,” Fili replied.
Kili made a soft noise as he was squeezed by two of his favorite people. “I was so mad about Fili getting hurt that I was a little reckless. Bolg got the drop on me but Tauriel was there. She fought him off and healed me as best she could until Bifur carried me down to Oin.”
“I think we’re all going to swear to each other right now,” Bilbo told them as he hugged them as tight as he could, “that we’re going to stay healthy and safe for as long as we can.”
“I think that’s a deal worth making,” Thorin told them as he finally stepped forward and wrapped his arms around all three of them. “I could not bear to lose any of you.”
Grinning, Bilbo held his dwarves and felt at peace.
XXX
Sitting in the dining hall with his favorite people around him, Bilbo caught himself smiling. His grin only grew when he caught Thorin looking at him.
A supper that they’d shared so long ago came to mind. It was so very different and yet still full of joy and laughter just as it was the first night they’d all met each other in Bilbo’s home.
His home had moved, as he’d discovered that it wasn’t so much the smial he’d grown up in but rather the friends he’d made and the family he’d found that made a home.
And as he listened to his dwarves tell him story after story about what happened while he slept, he couldn’t help but promise himself that he’d do anything to keep this one. To keep the love that he’d found, there was no cost that was too great.
XXX
“I told you there was nothing to heal because I knew he’d work it out himself,” Gandalf said as he shook his head and turned away from Thorin. “Now, we’ve other things to discuss.”
Bilbo had to slip his hand into his beloveds to remind him that wizards are pompous idiots, much like certain elves, and it’s best to just ignore them when one can. Especially when he's being cross because someone else kept a secret for once.