A fill for the Hobbit kink meme. Thilbo courtship and flower language
The first time Bilbo saw Thorin Oakenshield his heart skipped a beat, then went crazy even while the dwarf mocked him, and he would be lying if he said that wasn't what made him run out the door the next morning. What he wouldn't tell anybody was that even while running he made sure to stop and store a small bouquet of Gloxinia's on his vest, just above his thundering heart. He its pretty sure that this loud, rough and cave dwellings beings courtship methods must be as different from the hobbits as they could, he has some vague fantasies about jewelry and precious stones being traded back and forth, but he makes sure his first approach is a subtle one.
The opportunity comes right after Balin's retelling of the battle of Azanulbizar, Bombur sends him to pick Fennel from the edges of the camp close to where the king keeps watch. Sensing a golden opportunity, away from any possible public humiliation, he gathers his wits and present's him with a small flowering branch. Thorin eyes it, and him, with a blank face then thanks him obviously confused, Bilbo leaves so sure now that the dwarf wont have any idea of his intentions that he misses how the branch disappears on the folds of a furred coat. His next one its more bold interweaving a fern he found by the abandoned farmer house on the other bridle, he only gets a raised eye this time but the fern stays. The same night, he messes up and almost gets them all cooked, but the proud king dropping his sword for him had been the last thing he expected so he puts some pretty and small Agrimony's on the coat pocket after they explore the troll cave.
The advantage of bunking with the elves made themselves know quick when he can actually get some cultivated flowers and do a white Lily's bracelet that he attaches to the leather gauntlet always on Thorin, there are other dwarfs close by but the few faces that drift toward them keep a blank expression and don't linger long. Looking in retrospective Bilbo should had suspected something when the normally overwhelming company had kept so quiet while he covered their fearless leader in flowers, but he remained blissfully unaware on his private fantasy were he could court a king without fear or heartbreak. Not wanting to miss the opportunity he grabs some dawn dew-drenched Gardenia's while they leave, this time they end hanging from Thorin backpack like little snowballs.
From there on the travel turns into a living nightmare of hail, thunder, rocks, goblins, rings, wargs and orcs. Is not till he almost loses him just to barely get him back by sheer force of will, after everything changes between them at the top of a stone spire with a hug and they are all safe, finally, that he has the luxury to think of flowers again. Gandalf's friend, Beorn, happens to like bees a lot, they are big fluffy things and there are flowers everywhere, its here that he first gets a flower back. With their new found attachment still fresh they had barely left the other presence for long but Bilbo's heart still skips a beat when, after presenting the dwarf with a honey flower from the multicolored patch they are currently sitting, he gets a Daisy in return, scarily appropriated. Thorin's face is guileless and open at his side tough and he convinces himself the dwarf was only trying to return the favor of his flower obsessed friend without any idea of meaning or intention, even after he gets a soft kiss on his hand.
Its the second one that decides it, halfway there on the Mirkwood path and slightly apart of the rest that he finds himself braiding small Heliotrope's on the black and white locks of hair, when their owner presents him with a ragweed branch. For a second he its baffled to be presented by a weed but only for a second, then he alternatively pales and reddens, as if his body was unsure if to react to the knowledge he has been making a fool of himself or to the meaning of this new gift. He settles for trying to run away and hide his shame, but between the prohibition of leaving the path and the superior fitness of his companion he doesn't make it very far. He gets kisses and reassurances instead of the laughs he would expect while being held against a tree trunk, in the end it turns that while dwarfs do indeed court with stones and metal, hobbits are not the only ones to court with flowers and this dwarf's have been around men's a lot, also that flower language its the kind of thing a prince would be expected to know.
They have no time to relish on their love cloud before everything goes to hell yet again in a rush, and even when Bilbo finds him again on the elvish dungeons, after thinking him lost, he dares not to slip anything bigger than a small fragile dandelion trough cell bars. Is till Esgaroth that they manage to do time and Bilbo gets him red Carnations, from the same flower stand Thorin fills his short curls with the white version, there is a lot of sun that day, Thorin's hands are warms and Bilbo smiles till it hurts, the memory's of that day would carry him when the darkness that would follow threatened to choke him.
There are no flowers in Smaug fields, nor there are any on Erebor and even after the dragon death Bilbo its cold and lonely. Thorin drapes a glittering white metal chain-mail over him and sits him on his knees while on the throne, but his eyes glitter in gold and his gaze is lost, so far away Bilbo fears he cant reach him anymore. Its that light what stops Bilbo from giving him the opalescent secret hiding in his backpack, a light that turned worse with each passing day and with the threat of war looming in the horizon. Thorin doesn't even notice he its gone when he gives Bard the Arkenstone, his mind lost in gold and war, but his words don't hurt less for it and Bilbo spends his banishment days eating bilberry's till his lips bleed and his tears dry. There are no flowers in war either, just black over black, and red all over the earth, so much red, red like the carnations, on that day that now seems a lifetime ago, red and white carnations, red and white like Fili and Kili, white bandages with flowers of blood, lying like broken dolls on the healers quarters. Red and white like Thorin, dying, his blue eyes finally free of the light of gold and war, Thorin kissing Bilbo's tears away, apologizing and consoling as if he were not the one on death's door, Thorin doing a bay leaf's crown to rest on Bilbo's curls, joking he'd asked Nori to steal them from the kitchen, Thorin kissing him, Thorin eyes closing.
Bilbo didn't know how much time he ran, since he found it impossible to gaze behind the veil of his tears, but by the time Gandalf found him you couldn't even see the battlefield, just the lonely mountain looming over them and Mirkwood on the horizon, he begged to be taken home. He refused to think of gold or flowers, and every familiar spot on the way back was just another layer of shadow on his heart, not even Rivendel gave him more cheer that the tough he was close to home, finally. He had to hunt for his furniture and his garden was ruined but that just gave him a good excuse to redo it, and if the whole of the shire quickly grew worried that Mr. Baggins was sullen and silent and that his garden only had Mourning Bride's, Asphodel's, Cyclamen's and had just planted a small Locust tree, well that was their problem not his. And if he dreamed of red and white carnations dripping in blood, And if his days grew darker and he found himself touching the ring way to much, well, that was nobody's problem but his.
In the overall it was a wonder he didn't straight up die when a year after his return, 12 dwarfs appeared uninvited for dinner and Thorin was late but he brought a forget-me-not bouquet, so he just fainted. They married on April 25 with orange blossoms in their hair.
See below for meaning in order of apareance:
Gloxinia -Love at First Sight
Fennel -Force, Strength, Worthy of all praise.
Fern -Fascination
Agrimony -Thankfulness, Gratitude
Lily (White) -Virginity, Purity,It's Heavenly to be with You, Majesty,
Gardenia -You're Lovely, Secret Love
Honey Flower -Sweet and secret love.
Daisy -Innocence, Loyal Love, I'll Never Tell, Purity
Heliotrope -I adore you; Devotion
Ambrosia(ragweed) -Your Love is Reciprocated
Dandelion -Faithfulness, Happiness
Carnation (Red) -My Heart Aches For You, Admiration
Carnation (White) -Sweet and Lovely, Innocence, Pure Love
Bilberry (OED: aka whortleberry) Treachery
Bay Leaf -I change but in dying.
Scabious Mourning Bride -Widowhood
Asphodel -Regrets beyond the grave.
Cyclamen -Resignation and Good-bye
Locust Tree (green) -Love beyond the grave
Forget-me-not -True Love, Memories
Orange blossom -Innocence, Eternal Love, Marriage and Fruitfulness
Original prompt: . ?thread=519358#t519358