He moved with grace and routine. After finally getting used to being home again, no adventures, no risk of getting killed by orcs, Bilbo found that he quite like it. Bofur made everything different, but so much better. For once, he was not decorating alone, thinking if years past when his parents did it with him. There were no neighbors he was trying to impress.

The smell of hot chocolate hung thick in the air. Oh, how he just wanted a taste! But, like the cookies in the oven, they were not done yet. Bofur was, surprisingly, a wonderful cook. But then again, he did have Bombur as a brother.

Bilbo began to whistle. Despite the snow outside, the inside of Bag End was warm and cozy. He had not even changed out of his pajamas; it was not as though anyone was actually going to drop by any longer.

Bilbo was quite fine with that. Now, he found decorating to be fun rather than a yearly chore. He hung up decorations and wreaths everywhere. His family had a lot of decorations, and they needed to go to good use. His mother would not want them rotting away, completely forgotten, and catching dust.

"Bofur!" Bilbo called.

"What?" Bofur called from the kitchen.

"Would you come in here and look over the decorations for me?"

"I already did!"

"That was in the kitchen!"

Bofur trotted in, his hat slightly lopsided on his head. "I will admit," he said, looking around, "it looks nice. You did well, Bilbo."

"You think I'm finished?" Bilbo wiped the sweat off of his brow. "I have hardly even started. Do you know how many more rooms that I need to get?"

Bofur frowned. "Do I want to know?"

"Likely not," Bilbo said. "But thank you for the comment. It makes me want to finish faster."

Bofur shook his head. "Come eat some cookies first. I cannot have you starving."

"But Bofur-"

"No buts!"

Bilbo had to keep himself from laughing; when he spoke like that, he sounded a lot like Bilbo.

"Fine," he said, "but you have to help me with a few rooms!"

"What?" Before then, Bofur had remained a comfortable distance away from the decorating.

"You do! If you join the family then you have to." He grinned. "You will like it. Besides, you are taller than me; there are some places that I need you to reach."

Bofur raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I see. Now come eat."

The cookies were delicious, but they were nothing compared to what Bilbo felt. Bofur was going to decorate with him!

Once they finished eating, Bilbo leaned forward and quickly kissed him. Bofur blinked in surprise, but then grinned.

Bofur helping Bilbo feel happy again was worth thousands of kisses.

"Follow me," Bilbo said. "I will show you the rooms. There are some boxes that I will need you to carry as well."