A/N: Written for a prompt I deviously deviated from (after asking the OP whether it's fine to do so):

The dwarves need to make a contract (for reasons) with the shire and by dwarf custom they generally seal the deal with a marriage so both sides are linked. Generally it's someone from the royal family but die to smaug ('we kinda need all out heirs') they offer up a young apprentice who had neen training to be a scribe who had tagged along for training.

The hobbits not wanting to really argue with the armed race on their doorstep offer up bilbo who's not married and already has a big family home of his own. Bilbo agrees (for reason I don't really care about) so long as he can stay in the shire. Cue cultural differences and awkwardness.

+10 if ori braids bilbo's hair really awkwardly because he never really expected to get married

+100 if a hobbit sees a dwarf breaking in and when they tell ori he's all 'OMG nori is visiting!'

Well, I since I do not care much about mpreg, I decided to deviate from the prompt by genderbending Bilbo. Because I can, and if it fits, I shipz! Also, I like to screw with the timelines and canon, hopefully it will still make some sense...

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the strawberry dumplings I'm just devouring.

One

If someone asked Ori he certainly would say that their first meeting could have gone much better.

Like - he learnt that his main purpose on this whole journey was to be married to the first available person nearly right at the beginning of their journey, to seal the treaty the dwarves were so desperate to sign with those... hobbits. Attack of dragon Smaug left Erebor in great danger of starvation, as the beast burned most of the fields around the Lonely Mountain and Dale, effectively crippling their ability to feed their people, and not even the elven kingdom in Greenwood could help them as long as both Erebor and Dale needed. King Thror, his son Thrain and grandson Frerin died in the attack, and while it would usually be the new king, or one of his siblings, who would suggest such treaties, it was time where the rightful royal blood was needed in Erebor, leaving only those of family of Ri, with the drop of royal blood in their veins thanks to an indiscretion of one prince of long past, to travel to close such deals.

Funny how people can overlook you through your entire life, only to use you to escape an arranged marriage themselves.

Those people living in the Shire... Their land was plentiful, and from what Ori learnt, they were willing to trade, and actually offered even better conditions for trade with the two kingdoms, at least in the beginning so they could get back on their feet and then the trade would get its usual conditions. Still, it seemed like it surprised them quite a bit when the leader of these people, the Thain, had been told that in order for the treaty to work properly, one of his kin must marry one of the dwarves. Despite their surprise, Thain had been very hospitable, and Ori was amazed how much Thain wanted to know about him before he sent for the one he would in all probability marry.

It took several days for his spouse-to-be to arrive to this place, to those Great Smials, and didn't Ori immediately stuck his foot in his mouth.

"Good morning. You must be Ori, son of Rivka. I'm Bella Baggins, and from what I understand, we are to be married soon."

"I'm going to get married to a woman?!"

-o.O.o-

For a moment Bella looked at him, unmoving as if he just slapped her, so he immediately rushed to her side, guiding her to the nearest armchair. "I'm sorry!" he blurted. "I... well, you see, I'm no one all that important, apart from being distantly related to the royal house of Erebor, and the dwarven women are rare, so I never would have thought I would get married, much less to a woman, and can we please start again?"

Bella blinked several times, and then her lips formed a small smile. "I'm sorry," she offered, "for overreacting. You see, I'm granddaughter of the Thain, but it's not like there are people lining up to ask to court me, which is why Gerontius asked me whether I would agree to an arranged marriage." She gave him a sombre grin. "You see, I'm no one that important either, but maybe together we could be important to each other in time?"

Ori felt himself blushing at the intense look the woman in front of him was giving him (she was pretty, had amazingly blue eyes and even if she didn't have any beard, she still looked too good to be true), but before the embarrassment could stop him, he dropped on one knee in the gesture he read in the books, and taking one of her hands in his, he said: "I would like to do this properly then. Would you do me the honour of marrying me, Bella Baggins?"

Radiant smile and a shy "yes!" had been the only answer he got, but it still felt like the most important thing in the world.