It was dark, the sun was long since gone, Thorin and the company were tired of their journey; they had walked in the heavy rain all day long. But here they were at last, hiding in a little cave Kili had found; a cavity just big enough to shelter thirteen dwarfs, a tall wizard and a hobbit. Now that Thorin looked at it, the said hobbit was acting a little bit suspicious; Bilbo was sitting in a corner, far from the fire.
He would normally try to be near the warmth and not hiding in the shadows, far from its source. He was also sitting his back to the troop; the hobbit was shuffling, searching in his bag and looking for who knows what. He apparently found what he was looking for, because Thorin heard the little content moan the hobbit made while cradling a little package to his chest. The halfling seemed then to withdraw even more from the others, hiding with his little package deeper in the shadows. Very, very suspicious indeed.
Bilbo didn't talk to anyone that day, first there was the rain that got his hair wet, sticking to his face and making it hard to see ahead. He was also cold, in a bad mood and, worst of all, Kili and Fili wouldn't stop bothering him. Well, they were bothering everybody if he had to be honest, but today they seemed even worst that usual. Bilbo could hear Gandalf laughing in is beard not far behind him; the old man didn't seem in a hurry to calm the two rowdy boys.
But at last, Kili and Fili decided to go look for a dry shelter; or rather Thorin decided for them. No one wanted to sleep under this flood. Of course, the two brothers made a game out of it; the first to find somewhere to pass the night and to come back first would have the right to make the loser do anything he wanted. Knowing them, the poor looser would have to take care of the other's chores.
No more than an hour went by before a black mass of wet hair made its apparition. He was all smiles, looking around briefly to see if his brothers had made it before him. The concerned was not long to arrive. Well, the good news was that they had somewhere dry to sleep tonight. Joy! The bad news, it didn't take two seconds before Kili was all over the poor hobbit, dragging him around like he was a doll. After a while, he took Bilbo and the others to a small opening in the rocks; Bilbo thought for a second that Gandalf and Bombur might not fit threw it.
The entrance of the cave looked pretty much like the troll's lair they had found their swords in. It led down in the ground; the walls were covered in moss and grey mushrooms, not the edible kind if he remembered correctly. Maybe it was best not to touch them at all... Once the whole company was comfortably seated, Thorin made most of the dwarfs go look for fire wood and food. As predicted Kili made Fili go in his place, quite happy to take advantage of his victory. Bombur stayed to prepare everything for cooking and Gandalf took a seat, his pipe in hand. Bilbo began to unpack is blanket, wishing it will be dry by the time he goes to bed.
After most of the dwarfs came back, some of the others still wandering outside, food was prepared and eaten in a noisy meal; Thorin and Gandalf were arguing about their plans for the next day, Bilbo and Ori were sharing some words while eating and there was also Kili who had tried to begin a food fight, but petrified when a part of his food hit Thorin in the face after a launch. At that moment the hobbit and some other dwarfs looked at the scene with a horrified look on their faces as Thorin slowly turned to look at his poor nephew. He didn't say anything, but the warning shining deep in his eyes said it all and Bilbo was sure he would throw is nephew out of the cave or worst...
After the incident things went more smoothly and most of the company was calmly chatting around the fire; Gandalf was making rings of smoke to Ori's amazement, Bombur was eating the remains of the others' plates, Thorin was now sitting next to Dwalin and Balin, Fili was comforting Kili and so on. Bilbo would have gladly eaten more, but he preferred not to try and take food from a still hungry Bombur.
He couldn't really complain about the lack of food on these times, after all he couldn't go pick berries anymore; after the last scare he gave the company, Thorin didn't allow him to participate in the group's chores anymore. He had never been very good at hunting, but he always could find a lot of berries, roots or fruits, sometimes even mushrooms if he was lucky… well, not that anybody knew about the mushrooms; he usually ate them alone with no one around to see him, it was his special treat.
Talking about eating in secret, now, if he remembered correctly, he had a little something in is bag that he found some time ago. He had… borrowed it from the elves. It's not like they were going to notice some missing pieces; fourteen to be exact. He hadn't really had the time to eat them, with everything that happened; the prison, the barrel and all.
But now he had the time; very slowly and discreetly, as only a hobbit could be, he withdrew himself from the troop to a far corner, taking his bag with him. Once comfortably installed, he began his search, silently picking stuff and putting them aside. After a brief moment he finally found what he was looking for; he couldn't suppress the content sound that escaped his lips. While lifting the little package to his chest with one hand and using the other to put his stuff back in his bag, he was no longer paying attention to his surroundings. So when a tall figure crept close behind him, it was by chance he didn't drop his precious package right there and then.
"What are you doing, hobbit?" Bilbo almost jumped over his bag; it would probably have been painful because of the wall just in front of his nose. "I hum… was just… taking care of… getting rid of all the wet things in my bag, to get them dry! Yes, get them dry…" He nervously cleared his throat, putting his fist in front of his mouth and all the while trying to hide his other hand holding his package under his coat. "You already did, hobbit; your blanket is drying next to the fire and since you just put back the rest of your personal effects back in your bag, I'm supposing they were dry. What are you hiding?"
The large dwarf didn't wait for a reply, his hand flying for the nearly hidden package. Bilbo couldn't do anything but watch as the king under the mountain stole his treasure. Thorin took the green leaf wrapped package, turning it around before opening it. Inside were little pearls as big as an eye and of a dark brown color; they were gently reflecting the light from the fire.
"What's this?" Thorin gave Bilbo an inquiring stare. Bilbo didn't have the time to answer that Gandalf did in his place. "It's chocolate, my good friend; a sweet delicacy that our young hobbit seemed to have "found". I can say it's a big favorite of his race; they love it almost as much as mushrooms. Wouldn't you agree with me my dear Bilbo?" The said hobbit couldn't contain the blush that spread on his face; he could feel his ears heating up. The wizard knew about the mushrooms; who knows what else he knew!
By now, most of the dwarfs were looking at him; all listening eagerly to what was to come. "And if I can add, he was about to eat it. Tsk, tsk Bilbo; it's not very polite of you to keep it all to yourself. You should share like the good, respectable hobbit you are." Fili seemed to take the hint because he got up, pulling is brother with him. "Yes master Baggins, you should share! I'm sure everybody would love to have a taste, wouldn't we?"
And so, this is how thirteen dwarfs and a wizard stole his chocolate; each of them took a piece until only the empty package remained. Gandalf was chewing his piece in silence, a big smile on his lips, Bombur had swallowed his without a second thought, what a shame, Fili and Kili took a malicious pleasure to eat theirs in Bilbo's face, the said halfling thought he saw Balin give his to Dwalin, Ori ate his with a sorry look in his direction and well, everybody seemed to appreciate the unexpected treat except him. He felt like crying; he didn't mind sharing, but he wouldn't have mind having some too! He didn't even know if it tasted good, he didn't even have the time to smell its sweet fragrance!
So there he was, sitting on the cold ground, the others already going back to their business as if nothing happened. He felt more than he saw when Thorin came beside him again, sitting next to him. Bilbo raised his eyes to meet Thorin's dark ones and then the king extended his hand under the hobbit's nose. In his hand was the last piece of chocolate.
Bilbo couldn't believe it; Thorin had kept his part of the loot and was now offering it to him! How sweet of him, he didn't know that dwarfs could be so considerate. Bilbo made a move to take it, but then at the very moment he was about to close his fingers around it, Thorin withdrew his hand, taking the sweet treat into his mouth.
Bilbo froze, his mouth hanging open and stared at the dwarf, dismay written all over the hobbit's face. How dared he!? Thorin answered Bilbo's glare with a small smirk on his lips, satisfaction clear in his eyes. Bilbo was so furious! So he acted without thinking about the possible consequences. He quickly put his hands on both sides of Thorin's face, securing his grip and in a second his lips were connecting with the king's rougher ones.
The hobbit felt the dwarf's shocked movement, but he didn't pull back; he was probably too surprised. So Bilbo took advantage of Thorin's stupor to part his lips and to slip his tongue in his mouth, seeking the flavor he craved. Thorin's mouth tasted incredibly sweet thanks to the chocolate and Bilbo found some of it was still in the other male's mouth; so he skillfully slid his tongue past the king's teeth, over his warm tongue and finally retrieved what was his.
He withdrew quickly, licking his lips with the smile of the victorious. Acting like nothing happened, Bilbo took a look at Thorin; the tall dwarf was staring at him like he had grown another head. No one seemed to have noticed what just happened, so Bilbo gave Thorin a small wink while licking his lips a last time.
He had to admit that when Thorin blushed, it was Too. Damn. Cute.