"FRERIN!" Thorin fought against the men holding him back, trying to get to his younger brother. A sharp pain in his shoulder stilled him in his movements and the tip of a blade protruded from his left shoulder. Thorin's lips opened in a gasp and he whimpered as tears jumped into his eyes. He heard a loud scream and after a moment he realised it was his own…
Thorin shot up in bed panting heavily the scream still burning on his lips, as much as he tried he couldn't shake off the nightmare and go back to sleep. He looked around his room, frantically trying to find something to calm him down, save him. His eyes locked in on the family picture that hung from his wall, straight across from his bed. After a few minutes he slipped out of bed, shivering as his feet touched the cold wooden planks of his apartment. Thorin made his way to the bathroom and stripped of his clothes. He stepped under the shower, the scorching hot trails of water on his skin relaxing his muscles and distracting his mind.
His hands brushed trough his short hair and massaged his scalp, remembering that he needed to go to the store in the morning calmed him down. Reminded him that he was no longer stuck in a war zone, that he was at home and that everything was okay. When he finished his shower he stepped back into his bedroom, the towel slung loosely around his waist. Thorin slipped on a white shirt, a pair of jeans and put on his white sneakers.
A quick glance at the clock told him that it was five in the morning and he turned off the alarm set at six, once again not needing it. The look that crossed Thorin's face was one that could only be interpreted as one of deep sadness. His phone rang and he picked it up, checking the caller id before answering.
"What do you want Dwalin" he did his best to sound like he just woke up, his friend didn't need to know that he woke up screaming from nightmares. A deep laugh from the other side of the line shocked him.
"You never were a morning person, Thorin" the familiar Scottish accented voice made Thorin smile. He had known Dwalin and his older brother since he was younger. Thorin and Dwalin grew up together, had the same friends, played the same sports and went through military training together. There were countless times the friends had sat next to each other's hospital beds. Sometimes even being in beds next to each other, when they had done something stupid. Like when Dwalin had got his first motorcycle for his eighteenth birthday. The friends had stepped on it, not bothering to put on helmets, and had sped over the highway. It was a miracle that they only had a few broken bones after the crash and no permanent damage. Of course the first thing they did after they were fully healed was making a proper ride, helmets and all, on the repaired motorcycle.
"No, so why don't you tell me why you called me and bugger off." Again the deep laugh sounded through the horn.
"I was just wondering if you wanted to go out for breakfast, is all" Thorin knew his friend well enough to know that he was grinning broadly.
"Sure, same place as always?" before Dwalin could respond the voice of Dwalin's brother, Balin, was heard distantly "is that Thorin? Tell him to come over, I haven't seen the lad in ages" Dwalin said a quick 'shut up' directed at his brother. The antics of the two brother drew a small chuckle from Thorin. The shopping would have to wait another day.
"What's so funny Durin?" came Dwalin's trademark grumble. Thorin just responded by laughing at his friend.
"Whatever, same place as always be there at seven." Thorin agreed and Balin was heard again in the background "tell Thorin to come over". Thorin knew that Dwalin would never ask something on behalf of his brother he was to stubborn for that. He took a deep breath in and screamed at the phone with all his might.
"Sure Balin I'd love to come over!" at which Balin screamed back "Great, I'll have tea ready" he heard Dwalin groan. "If the two of you continue like this I will be as deaf as Oín before the day is over". Thorin felt like he could forget everything when he was with his friends, like had always been the case with him and Frerin.
"I guess I'll be picking you up at home then?" Dwalin saved him before he could get lost in haunting memories of the past. But his mood had gone down severely.
"sure see you at seven" they said their goodbyes and Thorin was again left alone with his thoughts in the dark of the apartment. He knew that his apartment wasn't warm or welcoming to strangers by any means, but he wasn't either. You could say that the apartment was a perfect copy of its owner, hard and cold on the outside but many hidden secrets.
Thorin made his way over to the living room, ignoring the shining golden award for his services and bravery while in the face of danger hanging in the kitchen. Dís had been so proud of him for receiving it and he couldn't bring himself to tell her that he hated the thing, everything it stood for and everything it reminded him of.
He knew that if he looked at it he would panic, but he knew how to avoid it. When he had just put it up he tried to cover it but it seemed like the gold shone through everything he used to cover it. It was impossible for the gold to shine through the various blankets he used to cover it and Thorin knew that too, it was all in his head.
Seven luckily came by quickly and the familiar horn of Dwalin's motorcycle told Thorin he had to bring his helmet. While leaving his apartment he grabbed his wallet and keys, he had once forgotten the keys inside the apartment and had to ask Nori, an old member of his squad and now a locksmith, to help him out. Luckily for him the man hadn't charged him for it, he was poor enough as it was.
"Are you coming or are you just going to stand and stare at your door?" Dwalin loved to tease him and at his voice Thorin turned to him. The tall man sat on his motorcycle and held his helmet under one arm. He was quite impressive to see, with his broad shoulders clad in a leather jacket, dark jeans and army boots. The tattoos on his head were the only ones visible, but Thorin knew of the countless others hidden under his clothes. Dwalin had once proudly sported a Mohawk but when they came back home from war he had shaved it off.
"oh shut up Dwal" the tall man grinned and put on his helmet, Thorin copied his movements and stepped on the bike behind Dwalin.
They had ridden on this bike so many times before that Thorin wrapped his arms around the other's torso without any awkwardness. In fact it felt normal, it calmed him down to know that his friend was here, still with him. The restaurant they often had breakfast was a ten minute ride away from Thorin's apartment and time flew by. They parked the bike and walked inside laughing loudly at their own jokes.
"You're insane, do you know that" Thorin laughed as he recounted the time that his friend had put a hole in a wall by running into it head first. "Nah, I'm just tough" he smirked.
They took a seat at one of the free tables and a waitress soon came to their table.
"The same as always?" The blonde smiled at them as they nodded, she walked towards the kitchen and yelled "Thorin and Dwalin's regular orders" this caused both men to chuckle, it stayed funny.
They just made small talk before a little boy came up to their table, the men looked at each other before looking at the boy again.
"Is he your boyfriend?" The little boy asked Dwalin while pointing at Thorin. Dwalin looked from the little boy to Thorin, and back again. "No, he's my best friend" The boy frowned "but I saw you hug on the motorcycle?" before either Dwalin or Thorin could come up with a response two women rushed to the boy.
"Nathan! That's very rude. Apologise to these two nice men" the boy mumbled a sorry before the second lady led him back to their table. The first stayed for a moment longer. "I'm so sorry for my little brother" she ran a hand through her hair and let out a sigh "I'm watching him this week and he is so tiring sometimes" with and apologetic smile she continued her rambling "I'm so sorry, I thought it would be nice for him to go out for a little bit. Again I'm sorry for bothering you" the other woman now came back and put a hand on the other woman's arm. "breath, Luna" the first stopped her rambling and smiled sheepishly at Thorin and Dwalin. "it's okay lass" Dwalin said to the woman. They both smiled and walked back to their table.
Dwalin glanced at Thorin, who had not said anything the whole exchange. "They were pretty cute weren't they" Thorin shrugged, Dwalin always tried to set him up with girls. He had time left, he was only 26 after all and Dwalin was 28. "Come on mate, you haven't had a date in years" not since we came back. Dwalin didn't say it but the words didn't need to be spoken.
They sat in silence before the waitress came and served them their order. "thank goodness I'm starving" Dwalin exclaimed before digging into his eggs. Thorin's lips curled up into a small smile and he took a bite of his food.
They finished the food quickly and after paying made their way back to the motorcycle, Thorin glanced at the two women once more before he wrapped his arms around Dwalin's torso and they drove.
Balin and Dwalin's house was quite big with 3 floors and a big garden, they had inherited it when their parents died. Dwalin parked the motorcycle and they both got off. The moment Dwalin opened the door Balin came around the corner and a smile split his face in half when he saw Thorin.
"Thorin! It's been ages" the small man gave Thorin a small hug. His greyish hair tickled Thorin's chin as he did so. "Balin" Dwalin whined as he felt embarrassed by his older brother. The two were not even close to the same age, Balin was 49, 21 years older than Dwalin, but they had a very close bond especially because their parents had died while Dwalin was only 10 years old and Balin had practically raised him. Balin took Thorin's coat from him and then proceeded to drag the younger man to the living room. A smile crept up on Thorin's face when he saw that Balin had already made tea.
"how's everything going Thorin? Found a job yet?" Dwalin dropped himself on the couch next to his brother, which earned him a scolding slap on his knee. "Ah… no" Balin's smile fell "You can't live from small jobs every once in a while forever" Thorin sighed and nodded "I know Balin, but what am I supposed to do. There's nothing I can do. All I know how to do is fight!" Thorin had resigned from the army along with his entire squad after the Battle of Azanulbizar. All others had found new jobs, Nori as a locksmith, Dori as a male nurse, Bifur as a translator for sign language for television, after he lost the ability to speak due to a head wound, Bofur as musician and comedian, Bombur as a cook, Oín as a doctor, though his hearing had got damaged because of an explosion near his head, Gloín as an accountant, Balin as a history teacher and Dwalin a military teacher, but Thorin, he couldn't find a job he could hold on to.
"It's okay laddie, you will find something" Thorin nodded. "Oh and have I told you about this really talented boy in my class, Ori is his name" Thorin stopped hearing Balin as he suddenly though back of Moria. His body started aching at the memories.
Thorin stood on a hill, trying to overlook the battle. He had quickly found the general of the Orcs, as the people of Mordor were called. The Orcs were all extremely tall, but Azog was the tallest. The man, if he could even be called that, stood tall as he hit opponent after opponent with his mace. His scars a sharp contrast against his pale skin. He held on tightly to his gun, as he started to make his way down into battle again. The Orcs were cruel people they had guns but if they could they would use blades, to hurt their opponents more.
Thorin felt a sharp pain in his wounded shoulder as an Orc placed a hand on top of it.
"Thorin are you alright?" Balin had his hand on Thorin's shoulder and his eyes were filled with worry. Thorin shrugged the hand off.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I am just a little bit tired, because someone" here he gave Dwalin a pointed look "decided to call me out of bed at 5 in the morning" Thorin smiled but if one looked well they would see that the smile didn't reach his eyes.
The three continued to talk, it was mostly Balin though, and shared things that were happening in their lives. For example, Balin spoke of his very talented student, at history, writing and art, Ori who also happened to be Dori and Nori's younger brother, it's a small world. Dwalin told them about his new recruits and Thorin spoke of his sisters new born baby, Kíli. He showed them pictures of when he had first held Kíli and how Fíli had taken his task as an older very seriously and hadn't left Kíli's side except if it was really necessary.
By the time the moon had started to present itself Dwalin gave Thorin a ride home. "See you later" Dwalin yelled before driving off again. Thorin waved once at his friends retreating back and stepped inside his dark apartment. He turned on a few lights, grabbed a blanket and settled on the couch with a book. The ghost's child by Sonya Hartnett, the book was very lovely one and Thorin enjoyed it a lot. He heard his phone ring and was met by a voice he had not heard in a while, 4 years to be more exact.
"Hello is this Thorin Durin? It's Gandalf" Gandalf had been their supervisor during their stay in Moria and a trusted friend of his father.
"yeah?" Gandalf had the nickname the wizard for his skill with his weapon and his communicational skills.
"I heard you were looking for a job? Balin called me." Of course Balin would try to arrange something for Thorin.
"yes that is true" surely Balin would have told Gandalf that Thorin had no education whatsoever.
"There is a job opening at the local police department, you can start on Monday if you want." Working at EPD, Erebor police department, could he do it?
"Sure, tell them I'll do it" He finally had a chance for a new start.