The day started out very much the same for Bilbo; he'd take Frodo to school then catch a cab to work. He would run in, shedding his over coat revealing his maid uniform for the Lonely Mountain Suites. He would say hello to the guard on duty; Nori never missed a thing when it came to the cameras. A smile and a snide joke on the maid's behalf usually ended those short meetings. Bilbo hurried to his locker to hang up his stuff and his best friend was sitting waiting for him. His collar was coming undone in the back and Bilbo fixed it before they both went to their carts and headed to the elevator. They began to chat easily enough.
"How are you?" Bilbo was adjusting his shirt, hoping it didn't look as crooked as it felt. Ori was watching the numbers count down on the elevator.
"Frodo's father can't take him, so I have to watch him this week and my mother is going out of town." Ori perked up. He was shy usually, but Frodo got the timid man to open up, so Ori always had a soft spot for the child.
"Does that mean he'll be coming to visit?" Bilbo looked at him sideways and Ori chuckled. The elevator dinged and they cleared out of it to start working on their designated rooms. Ori gave Bilbo the memo of who was coming in and who was checking out as they worked around each other.
"Ugh, I hate when he comes to stay, he never knows how to use the little silver knob on the toilet." Ori complained. He was taking off the sheets on the enormous bed in the equally enormous suite. Bilbo had to help Ori with this one or it would never get done. The regular resident often left the suite in complete disarray and never tipped. Ori had tried to get someone else to clean it, but he was the newest, so he got stuck with the job. Bilbo, being one of the senior maids he had no qualms with helping his friend clean the disgusting room.
Being a maid was not Bilbo's first career choice, but his mother had ensured him a job by grandfathering him in before she died, so he would always have at least a steady job albeit not a luxurious one. He groaned at the amount of crude and sexist remarks he had to endure when he brought up his job. It was one of the many reasons that Bilbo preferred the company of his foster child and his coworker/best friend.
"Did you hear?" Bilbo shrugged his shoulders as he was pulled out of his day dream. He had an arm full of towels and was stocking the bathroom with fresh linens. "Thorin Oakenshield is going to be in town." Bilbo poked his head outside of the bathroom to give Ori a quizzical look. "And he's staying here." Bilbo went back into the bathroom, his arms now empty, but positioned on each hip.
"And?" Bilbo grabbed some shampoo and conditioner samples and set them in the bathroom. He glanced at himself in the mirror as he looked up from the sink. He was nothing spectacular he knew. His shirt fit snuggly against his frame. The black and red fabric bringing out the copper tones in his otherwise blonde hair. He was short on the male scale and he was too polite to go out to meet anyone. His manners usually got him overlooked. He couldn't bear the thought of having to carry on a conversation with someone who wasn't even remotely intelligent. All in all his standards were too high, for his low standard life. He took a deep breath and walked out once again. Ori attempting to put the sheets on the California King sized bed. He was huffing and grunting as he tried to cover the corner. Consequently the other corner came undone and Ori nearly yelled in frustration.
Bilbo chuckled and helped out the young man. Ori gave a weak smile as thanks. They continued to talk for some time as they moved on to the next room. It was pristine except for the few items of luggage that were sitting around in the lounge area. Ori and Bilbo had specific instructions as to the care of the valuable items. As they began to take out the man's attire Ori spotted something in the closet. He pulled out the outfit and marveled at the design and dared to run his fingers over the fabric. Bilbo looked up and saw Ori nearly drooling over the clothes,
"Ori!" The younger man jumped and put the outfit back in the closet. "Stop that." Bilbo chastised and Ori hung his head in shame.
"But look at this stuff!" Ori tried to defend himself. Bilbo raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Bilbo!" Ori motioned to the outfit. "It's in your size too." Bilbo shook his head again.
"No, Ori, let's just finish this up before the owner comes back." Bilbo continued to set up the room the way he was directed to. Ori persisted,
"Oh Bilbo when will you ever live a little?" Ori groaned and grabbed the clothes off the rack again. He moved to stand in front of Bilbo.
"When I have enough money to pay for anything stupid I do." Bilbo knew he probably would never reach that point, so he stared pointedly at Ori. Ori didn't seem fazed at all my the older man's stern glare. "Put it back, Ori."
"Bilbo, just for a minute." Bilbo crossed his arms and shook his head. "Bilbo please!" Bilbo didn't see why it was so important to wear the outfit. "I live vicariously through you, give me this one joy!" Bilbo put his hands on his hips and quirked an eyebrow at Ori. In all reality he really really wanted to try on the outfit, but the guilt would eat at him if he did.
In the end Ori won and he was wearing the outfit.
xXx
Frodo didn't often leave school, but the nagging feeling in his gut wouldn't go away and he had to see his father. He caught the bus to his father's work. He often got much chastising from his peers that his father was a maid, but his dad got to meet famous people left and right. And he knew that his dad would do anything for him and that was good enough for him. He got off the bus and made his way through the employee entrance, a familiar face greeting him at the door.
"Hey there, Frodo, what are you doing out of school so early?" Frodo didn't like to lie, but he couldn't help he was good at it.
"We had a half day today and dad told me to come here when school got out." Bombur nodded and let the young boy in. The chef slipped him some food from the kitchen before sending him on his way up elevator. Frodo nibbled on the pastry as the elevator came to a stop, but not on the right floor. The door opened and three men and a dog got on the elevator. The dog's ears perked up at seeing Frodo. Frodo made a sound of excitement and pet the dog despite one of the man's glares. Frodo was finished petting the dog when he finally noticed the men. He hardly contained his glee at seeing none other than Thorin Oakenshield. Frodo held out his hand and hid the pastry behind his back.
Thorin gave a small smile, crouching down to his level to shake the boy's hand.
"I'm Frodo Baggins. Nice to meet you Mr. Oakenshield." Frodo managed as he shook the man's hand. He had always had a fashion with the young prince since he could start to read. He wanted no one else to be his king than Thorin. The two other men looked at each other, amused, then back at the boy.
"Thorin will do just fine, Mr. Baggins." The dog nudged Frodo's hand and with his free hand Frodo pets the dog. "What would cause you to be out of school at this hour?" Frodo at least had the decency to look ashamed, but it only softened Thorin's resolve to not turn in the little escapee.
"I have stage fright and I didn't want to speak in front of my class." He pat the dogs head as they continued up the elevator. "Hey, Mr. Thorin, would it be alright if I played with your dog for a little bit?" Thorin straightened and tilted his head. Balin moving to speak, but a look from Thorin silenced him.
"Sure, let's go check with your father and we can take Ol' Smaug to the park." Frodo was bouncing on his heels as he waited to reach his father's floor.
xXx
"You know Bilbo, if I didn't know any better I'd think that you lived in one of these rooms rather than cleaned them." Bilbo admired himself in the mirror. He thought he did look quite charming if he did say so himself. He would never tell anyone else that. He took a deep breath before turning around to Ori,
"Alright now it's time to take it off." Ori groaned and people could be heard in the room. Bilbo's blood ran cold and Ori was quick to think. He grabbed the jacket and put it on Bilbo. Frodo came into sight with a rather large dog and three other men. Bilbo's first reaction was to grab Frodo and ask him why he wasn't at school but seeing the shy boy so open and chatty he couldn't help but revel in it for a moment. Then Bilbo noticed the men he was with. One of them being Thorin Oakenshield. The Prince of Erebor. The man who was in line for the crown. Bilbo took a deep breath and Ori put all the tags back into the outfit. Bilbo nearly forgot how to walk. Thorin seemed just as taken aback. Bilbo's ears then began to cooperate and he could hear Ori whisper in his ear.
"Vicarious remember." Bilbo nodded and Ori spoke to the rest of them this time. "Alright, Mr. Greenleaf. You're all set. Go enjoy your time." Ori disappeared after blushing at one of the men standing next to Thorin. Frodo was bouncing around next to the dog.
"Can we go to the park? Can we dad? Please?" The dog was then getting riled up and Thorin had to hiss a command, so he wouldn't bowl over the young boy. Bilbo stared dumbly at the entire scene. Finally his instincts took over and he held out his hand,
"Thranduil Greenleaf, at your service." Thorin held out his hand as well. Bilbo had to suppress the urge to kiss the man's hand. He didn't know how to act around royalty.
"Thorin, no need to be of any service to me." He gave a sly smile. "That's what these two are for." He motioned to the two men behind him. One of them looked ready to give a rude gesture, but took the small boy into consideration and refrained. Bilbo felt like melting into a puddle on the floor.
"Dad!" Frodo wined and Bilbo remembered his surroundings.
"Uh? Oh yes, sure, let's go." Thorin smiled and told Dwalin and Balin to go back to the room; he'd be back within the hour. They both looked at him with trepidation, but after a hard glance they both nodded slowly and left. Leaving Thorin, Frodo, and Bilbo in the room. Smaug looked excitedly at Frodo and began to get riled up again.
"Well we should leave before they destroy you're freshly cleaned room." Bilbo chuckled and that eased some of the tension in his body.
"Yes I believe that is a good idea." Bilbo gave a genuine smile and accepted the elbow provided for him. Smaug and Frodo running along ahead.
