Bilbo Baggins Will Destroy the Ring and Find His Husband Again!

Talks & Fellow Burglars-Thorin's Family Can't Wait For His Wedding

Bilbo couldn't believe Thorin remembered! It was like he was being rewarded for destroying the Ring. He would have crawled up Mount Doom if this was what lay on the other side.
"But the story, Master Boggins?" Fíli asked and Kíli gave him a smile. His heart was melting at the sight of his sweet boys, whole and healthy.
"Sméagol went fishing on his birthday with his brother. His brother Déagol caught a huge fish and it pulled him right out of the boat! When Sméagol finally managed to pull him back in, Déagol was holding something. Something precious. Sméagol was convinced it was his birthday present and in a fit of madness, hit his brother with a rock. He ended up killing him and that is why hobbits give gifts on their birthday instead of receiving. Sméagol was also the first case of kin killing in our records."
"Can you imagine the look on ma's face when you told her you hacked down THE Sméagol?" It was obvious Lobelia was having the time of her life.
"Lobelia's ma runs a historical women's society." He explained to the others.
"In my defense, he chewed my poor ear off. I'm never going to show my ears again." He was surprised at how upset he was over the fact. Ears and feet were important to hobbits. He gave Thorin a considering look. Dwarves didn't care about that so perhaps all wasn't lost.
"Bilbo, let's go freshen up before your dwarf invites us to dinner." He waved goodbye to everyone and let Lobelia drag him away.
"I like him, Bilbo! I always thought your other half would be beyond the boundaries of the Shire." He couldn't help giving her a tender embrace. He was so glad he got to know her. She really was a sweet lass.
"Enough of all this sappy talk. Let's go buy some clothes!" He said and her eyes lit up. Before the quest, he had rooms dedicated to clothes. It was his obsession. He loved dressing up for outings and trying on different outfits.
"Lead the way, cousin!"
They ended up in a colorful marketplace with vendors shouting out greetings from their booths.
"Bilbo, we don't have any money." Lobelia stated and he held up the coin purse he had stolen from Lin. Once a thief, always a thief as Nori used to say. She covered her mouth to hide her laughter. They wandered around and Bilbo could feel the eyes watching them. He knew most dwarves had never seen a hobbit before and ignored them.
Someone ran around the corner and collided with him. Hands held him up and a familiar face looked him over.
"You alright?" Nori asked and quickly looked behind him. Bilbo could see the guards running up to them and laced his arm through the startled dwarf's. Lobelia copied his action and they pulled him along.
"Stop right now! Let go of those two creatures!" A red haired dwarf called out and they were surrounded.
"Excuse you? Our friend was just showing us the sights. We've never been so far from home before." Bilbo said and stood protectively in front of Nori.
The guards did a double take when they looked at him and started whispering between themselves. Lobelia raised her eyebrows and he shrugged. Maybe he had something in his teeth?
"That dwarf is a thief, Sulkhalûkh." The guard explained and Bilbo narrowed his eyes.
"Fine. How about this? You can search his pockets and if you don't find anything, you let him go." The guards shared a look and started patting down Nori.
"We're sorry for bothering you, Sulkhalûkh. Please enjoy your stay in the mountain." They bowed and scurried off.
"Yavanna's green garden Bilbo, did you wave Sting around when I wasn't looking?"
"Why did you help me?" Nori asked and crossed his arms over his chest. It looked like he was trying to intimidate him and Bilbo found it cute. The Ri brothers were the first ones to talk to him when he joined the Company. Nori had taught him some tricks and he had found a reading partner in Ori. Dori would make him tea before he went to sleep. They hadn't cared that he was useless or that he didn't know how to fight. Bilbo had loved them for it. It was like he had gotten a small piece of his family back.
"Because I think you're cute." He handed over the big gem he had stole from Nori's pocket and continued "and next time, don't get caught." He patted his cheek and walked away.
"Bilbo, did you hear what those guards were calling you?"
"I know! I'm pretty sure it meant big squash! Who even says that?"

~~~~~~

Thorin hummed as he walked into the dining room. He stopped when he saw how many people had joined them for dinner. Fundin and his sons were in attendance as were his parents. Since they had all gotten older, they usually only ate breakfast together.
"Why are you all here?" Dís shot him a dirty look.
"What do you mean, nadad? Frerin has been telling anyone with ears that you have been enthralled by a golden haired fairy." Frerin blushed and stuttered out.
"I have not!" He pinched his nose and sat down.
"Well I suppose he's not wrong. Bilbo's hair is beautiful and he does remind me of a fairy. But why is he here?" He pointed at an innocent looking Thranduil and scowled.
"Prince Frerin invited me, of course." He gave his brother a foul look. Thranduil was going to try and steal all of Bilbo's attention!
"-and the Bilbo snuck a handful of lemons into her pie! The whole Shire was gagging every time someone mentioned blueberry pie for a year!" One of the guards escorted the hobbits in and bowed.
"Thank you for the tale, my lady. Please let me know if you need anything, Sulkhalûkh." Bilbo opened his mouth to say something but the guard had already left. Lobelia was the first to see all of the people waiting and she let out a laugh.
"Bilbo, your dwarf moves quickly! He has already invited his kin to dine with us!" Thorin blushed and was thankful the others didn't know hobbitish. He could hear his sister and Fundin let out a gasp when they actually saw Bilbo. Bilbo bowed and Lobelia gave a curtsy.
"Bilbo Baggins and-" "Lobelia Bracegirdle" "At your service!" They said together and his nephews giggled at the production.
"Please sit! It is a long way from your homeland." His father said and Bilbo sat next to him.
"Thorin, why has every guard I've come across called me a big squash? Is there some hobbit joke I'm not understanding?" Bilbo asked as he started loading up his plate. Balin spat out his drink and started coughing loudly.
"They are not calling you big squash." Thorin said awkwardly and Bilbo waited for him to finish.
"They are calling you tiny dragon." Bilbo wrinkled his nose.
"I haven't even seen a dragon!" His kin was watching him intently and he glared at them.
"It's because Uncle is called Dragonslayer! He's been drawing pictures of you for ages!" Kíli said around a mouthful of food and Thorin wished the floor would swallow him up. It was all Fundin's fault for passing his drawings around! He didn't know what the old dwarf had been thinking.
"That's so sweet!" Bilbo cooed and patted his hand. The hobbits hadn't seemed bothered and just kept eating.
"You don't mind? I will tell them to stop, if it bothers you!" Thorin said and Bilbo laughed.
"I'd rather be called that than barrel rider!" Thorin laughed. Hobbits hated water and he was sure that had been the worst part of the Quest for his One.
"Hey Bilbo, you never finished your story earlier. Why were you riding an eagle?" Fíli asked and Dís hushed him.
"My apologies, Master Baggins. They are still young."
"Nonsense! Everyone here is free to call me by my first name." Giving someone permission to call you by your first name was huge within dwarven society. It showed you thought of them in a favorable manner.
"That is very kind of you." His mother said and Bilbo grinned at her. He watched her blink a couple of times before smiling back. Bilbo could make friends with an orc, he was so charming.
"So where was I?" Bilbo pretended to stroke a beard he didn't have and the boys laughed out loud.
"You had just gotten your ear chewed off!" Kíli shouted and Glorfindel, who had just snuck in, winced.
"Ah yes. That was nasty business. I still can't believe you didn't get an infection, Bilbo."
"Hobbits are a hardy people." Bilbo gave a sniff.
"So after Lin bandaged my ear, Gwaihir appeared. I had sent him a letter through a raven and thank Yavanna, he had gotten it." His siblings gave him a suspicious look. It was known across Arda that ravens served the Durin Line. Thorin actually didn't have anything to do with it and was pleasantly surprised the ravens listened to his beloved.
"Yes, Lin thought we were going to walk to Mordor! Can you imagine?" Lobelia laughed and Thorin froze before turning to Bilbo.
"Bilbo, what is she talking about?" Bilbo slowly finished chewing before responding.
"You promised you wouldn't be mad!" He reminded him.
"It turns out my trinket was the One Ring so I had to take it to Mount Doom." Bilbo said in a rush and Thorin could see the edges of his vision turning dark. He took some staggering breaths as Bilbo watched him worriedly.
"It wasn't that horrible. I did make Lobelia promise to push me in if I faltered though. Didn't want another Isildur situation." Bilbo gave a nervous laugh. Thorin rubbed his temples.
"And then what happened?" Bilbo fidgeted in his seat.
"The mountain exploded." They had seen smoke rising from Mount Doom. They had sent word to Gandalf so he could look into the situation. He hadn't dreamed Bilbo would be involved.
"Ah Bilbo, don't forget about all of the orc's we had to face or the giant spider." Glorfindel added and Thorin paled.
"Bilbo! You hate spiders." He shivered and nodded furiously.
"I know. Thank goodness, Gwaihir threw her at the incoming lava."
"I can't believe you destroyed the One Ring. Your names will go down in history!" Thranduil cried out, his eyes wide in awe as he looked at the hobbits.
"No thank you. We don't need all of that nonsense." Lobelia said primly.
"Yes, we didn't do it for recognition. It needed to be done so we did it. End of story." Bilbo continued.
"There's no reasoning with them, Thrandy. They threatened to twist my ears right off if I told anyone!" Both elves shivered in fear and Lobelia cracked her knuckles.
"Can I be the one to tell Gandalf?" Thorin asked, his grin cheeky.

~~~~~~

Thorin froze when he found his family waiting for him in his room.
"What's going on?" He looked everyone over to make sure they weren't hurt.
"Is Bilbo your One, Irak'adad?" Kíli blurted out and Fíli hit him on the head
"Good job, Kíli! We were supposed to be sneaky." Kíli's lip started quivering and Thorin hugged his youngest nephew.
"We do not hit, Fíli. Apologize to your brother." Fíli gave a half hearted apology.
"To answer your question, yes. Bilbo is my One."
"How did you know what he looked like?" Dís asked him suspiciously.
"I dreamed about him." It wasn't technically a lie. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Bilbo.
"It is a blessing from Aulë." His mother said, her eyes shining with joy.
"Do we even know how hobbits' courtship works?" Frerin asked and they all looked at him. He opened his mouth to answer and realized he had never asked Bilbo. They both knew they would marry and the topic had never come up. Then he went ahead and died.
"You don't know, do you? You'll have to wed in the customs of both your people and his." Dís said. His father gave a shout and said "two weddings! How wonderful." Thorin rolled his eyes at him. Dís had always wondered how he had been so solemn when their father was so cheerful during their first life. It was probably because he had to lead his homeless people all over Arda.
"Stop, all of you. I haven't even spoken to Bilbo about this. He-" he took a pained breath "he may not feel the same way." Frerin walked over to him and smacked the back of his head.
"Anyone with eyes can see he feels the same way, you idiot." Fíli shook his finger at him and said "you can't hit your brother! Uncle said so!" Thorin gave him a smug look as the boys forced him to apologize. His family wished him well and filed out.
He plopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He had prayed he would be reunited with Bilbo but never in his wildest dreams did he think he would remember as well. He swallowed thickly as he thought of the Gold Madness and what he had done. They would need to speak soon. As if summoned by his thoughts, someone knocked on his door.
"Thorin! Are you awake?" He flung himself off the bed and yanked the door open. Bilbo had changed his clothes and gave him a grin. The guards were watching them and he swore one of them whispered a blessing for their health.
"Thank you so much for the help! Thorin and I just need to have a little talk!" He waved cheerfully at them and pulled the door shut.
"Hi." Bilbo said happily and Thorin couldn't help wrapping himself around his beloved.
"We need to talk." Thorin said softly and hated the shadows in Bilbo's eyes.
"Yes, we do." They sat opposite of each other and Thorin started.
"Bilbo Baggins, you are my other half. Aulë had chosen you to stand by my side and my actions have shown that I was not worthy. Not only did I unjustly criticize you from day one, I also gave my kin the impression that they were allowed to do the same. I did not welcome you as I should have and I'm sorry. During my Madness, you proved your loyalty and heart by hiding the Arkenstone from me. Instead of rewarding you for saving us, I did the opposite. My actions on the wall that day were shameful and I cannot apologize for how I have hurt you-" Bilbo wrapped his hand around his mouth so he stopped talking.
"Thorin Oakenshield, do yourself a favor and stop flapping your gums." This was not how he had envisioned this conversation going.
"In my later years, I asked Elrond something. The One Ring fed off negative emotions. We theorized that it was the reason you could not break free of the Madness. If I had known-." Thorin pulled the hobbit closer.
"It was not your fault, my heart. It seemed like we were both to blame." Blibo gave him a bitter smile.
"Would you like to hear what happened after you died?" The next two hours were spent in silence as he listened to all of the pain his Amrâlimê had suffered without him. Bilbo spoke of his darling nephew who would sail to the Undying Lands barely in his middle age, of Arda coming together to stop an unspeakable evil, of a wizard dying and a wizard embracing evil. By the end of his tale, all Thorin could do was hold him tightly.
"There was one good thing about it." Thorin gave him a look filled with disbelief.
"Thranduil's son fell in love with Gloín's boy." Thorin laughed as he imagined the Elf King's face.
"Didn't he call wee Gímli a goblin?" They laughed even louder as a weight disappeared from their shoulders. Everything wasn't suddenly perfect but they were together again.