Hiding Myself. A fem!Bilbo Bagginshield fanfic

Chapter 13

This fic will mainly follow the book for some time. Towards the battle, I will be adding a plot twist of my own. Expect a show of brotherly love and a Bella/Legolas friendship. There will be Kiliel for those of you that ship it and possibly some Fili x Legolas.... I haven't made my mind about them. Very unlikely btw

Bella woke, surrounded by a feeling of warmth and contentment. The scent of Thorin Oakenshield filled her senses and wrapped around her. She smiled. He smelled of wood, and pipeweed, the forges he'd worked at most of his life, and a heady scent that reminded her of the forests of the East Farthing.
In short, he smelled of home.
The dwarf stirred, his eyes opening to reveal bright blue eyes that quickly focused on the hobbit.
"You're awake. " he observed, his voice muddled. She smiled and looked out of the window.
"Of course. "
She heard him sit up and move to the door when barely audible footsteps approached. The person on the other side of the door knocked once and entered. Legolas looked from Bella to Thorin before speaking.
"Gandalf wanted to make sure you were awake. " he said, nodding respectfully towards Thorin and smiling politely at Bella. The dwarf nodded and turned his gaze back to Bella.
"We'll be down soon. "
Legolas smiled and left, the door barely making any noise behind him. Bella groaned in annoyance and pulled the blanket tight around her. She was just getting settled when....
Ach-hoo!
Thorin hurried over and handed her a handkerchief. "Are you okay, Bella? "
She nodded. "I'm fide. " she said, her voice sounding stuffy.
"You sound sick. " he noticed. The dwarf ran his hand through her golden curls until she fell back asleep. He sighed, got up, and joined the rest of the Company downstairs.
"Morning, Thorin. " Balin greeted. Thorin nodded in acknowledgement and walked over towards Gandalf.
"Where's Miss Bella? " Bofur asked. Kili instantly jumped up.
"She's still asleep upstairs. I think she caught a cold. " he muttered. Kili raced upstairs before anyone could catch him, Oin following at a more leisurely pace. Thorin watched his nephew and the Company healer disappear before turning his gaze back to the dwarves sitting near as they made plans for the remainder of their journey.
His thoughts, however, were far from their travels. Instead, they resided with the small hobbit lass upstairs.

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That night, Thorin entered Bella's small room and made his way over to the hobbit quietly. He crouched near her and moved a few curls away from Bella's face.
Her nose was still bright red from her cold, a bottle of medicine on her bedside table. Thorin sighed. Instead of going to his own bedroom, as he should've, the dwarf king decided to stay right where he was.
With Bella.
His Bella.
He set his sword by the bed and lay on the opposite side as Bella. He had just began to lay his head down when he heard Bella's stuffed up voice beside him.
"Whad are you doin here? " she mumbled. He rolled his eyes half-heartedly and turned to the hobbit.
"Going to bed. "
She attempted to shoot him a look, but instead sneezed wildly. Thorin smiled and pulled the cover over the both of them. Bella's eyelids began to flutter closed despite her best efforts to keep awake.
"I-.... " she murmured. Thorin chuckled and rubbed her cheek slowly.
"Go to sleep, my dear Ghivashel. "

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When Thorin stepped outside for a breath of fresh air, he certainly did not expect to find Thranduil's son sitting near the house. The elf seemed focused on whittling a stick, presumably for an arrow. A small pile had already formed beside him. Thorin could not help but chuckle when the stick was dropped. Legolas turned towards him speedily.
"What? "
"Nothing. " Thorin murmured. "Nothing at all. "
Legolas looked up to Bella's window before his gaze fell on the dwarf king. "You really do care for her, don't you. " he said. Thorin could the that the elf prince was not asking a question.
"What made you think that? "
"Many things. Even if she had not told me herself, I still would have jumped to that conclusion. "
Thorin looked up to the stars as a distraction from the truth in the elf's voice.
Mahal, have we been that obvious?
"Quite. "
Thorin jolted around. "What? "
Legolas smiled, leaning against a lamppost. "You were thinking aloud, Oakenshield. "
Thorin nodded. "Apparently. I had not noticed. "
"Indeed. You don't seem to notice many things. "
The dwarf ignored the obvious jab and returned his eyes to the stars. "Like what? "
"Like those looks Bella gave you. I only saw a few, but Fili tells me it's been going on for some time. " Legolas said. Thorin raised an eyebrow. So, his nephew had been discussing the hobbit and Thorin's 'feelings'.
"I-...... I didn't know what to make of them. " Thorin muttered. "It was quite new to me. "
Legolas snickered quietly. Thorin kept his gaze on the sky. Why he was discussing feelings and such with the son of Thranduil was a mystery to him.
"You should be getting back inside soon. They might come looking for you. "
Thorin rolled his eyes and turned to the door. He heard the elf turn back to his arrows before he shut the door.
Thinks he knows everything that elf does.
The king sighed as he climbed the stairs to Bella's room. He slipped inside and lay back down next to the sleeping burglar.
Bella's face was illuminated by the moonlight, her hair gleaming gold like the precious metal Thorin had worked with nearly his entire life. An unwanted smile found it's way onto his lips as he stared at her. Mahal, he never acted like himself around her. She made him feel like a young dwarrow upon seeing gems for the first time.
Maybe, just maybe, she held a worth greater than that of the Arkenstone itself.

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When Bella awoke she saw Thorin's cloak draped over her on top of the blankets already heaped upon her sick form. She breathed in the warm scent it emitted and sat up, albeit a little slowly.
She felt a little better today. That is, if better means that her forehead no longer feels like it was on fire.
A knock startled her out of her trance. It was reminiscent of the heavy sound before Thorin had made his appearance.
Bella was quite unsurprised when Thorin entered, seeming oddly meek.
"Good morning, Bella. " he murmured making his way over to her and lightly kissing her forehead. Her cheeks blended in nicely with her red nose after he did that.
"Hab I slept long? "
He chuckled. "It's nearly afternoon. " he told her. Her shocked expression made him smile, what with her impossibly wide eyes and open mouth.
"Doh.... "
"Are you feeling any better? "
She shrugged, closing her eyes as she did so, but only for a moment. "A liddle. " she mumbled. "Whed are we leavin? "
Bella's eyes closed again when Thorin caressed her cheek almost lovingly. "As soon as you feel better, Ghivashel. "
"Whad does dat mean? " she murmured. "You keep sayid it. "
"What? Ghivashel? " she nodded, her head leaning on his hands. "It is part of our language, an endearment we use. It means 'treasure of all treasure', or 'beloved'. "
Her eyes shot open at 'endearment', and widened when Thorin explained what it meant. He smiled reassuringly at her.
"Do you really mean that? " she whispered and her voice was clear for a moment.
"Of course. I would not lie to you about something of this magnitude. "
His truthful words were all that Bella needed to fall back asleep. Thorin smiled as he watched over the sleeping hobbit before he lay her head on the pillow gently and departed.
She was indeed something special.