Bilbo sighed. How on earth had things turned out like this? Only this morning he'd been enjoying the nice day and going about his usual routine and now…
When he'd met the odd man earlier, he'd been a little surprised to put it mildly. After all, it wasn't every day that a tall bearded person, with hat and staff came wandering about in the Shire, let alone around where he dwelled. He had barely been able to sit down and manage to pull out his pipe when this old wizard-Gandalf-had talked about going on an adventure, and informing the others… Needless to say, he'd been quite confused, if not very confused. Hobbits didn't like adventures anyway, it wasn't in their nature, so why did the wizard come to him of all people to talk about it?
The rest of his day had been, thankfully, quite uneventful, meaning he discounted the bothersome Sackville-Bagginses, who kept coming after his house. Despite how many times he must have told them that he cared too much about his dwelling to part from it (and thus to hand it over to them), they seemed insistent that he reconsider his opinion.
All this negotiation business had quite drained the poor hobbit, and when the clock in his hallway stroke dinner time, he'd let out a sigh of relief he hadn't known he'd been keeping. A good meal, with a well-filled plate full of the Shire's best food was always something he could seek comfort in. Eating was a moment when he thought he could escape his problems in, at least for a while. Needless to say, tonight was definitely one of those moments. Taking his mind off wizards and hobbits, he decided he'd enjoy tasting each and every one of the items on his plate.
Bilbo had been about to start his evening meal, and had almost forgotten about the old man and his nonsense about adventures when the first knock came around. Startled, he got up and made way to his hall door. Opening it, the last thing he'd expected to see that night was an imposing dwarf, and he almost fell back himself, not quite believing his tired eyes. The dwarf, however, just strode in and after presenting himself as Dwalin, to put it bluntly, ate his meal for him after inquiring about a "supposed" supper waiting for him. Why was he here in the first place? Bilbo had refrained asking him, fearing what the dwarf would do to him, being quite intimidating and all, when a second knock came to his door. It couldn't just be coincidence, could it?
The second dwarf was much shorter and looked quite old, with his long white beard testifying his years. Balin, he'd introduced himself as, and despite being much less threatening than his younger brother Dwalin, he still didn't manage to ease poor Bilbo's nerves. He tried talking to them both after catching them moving stuff in and out of his kitchen, but wasn't very successful as both brothers went about looking in his cellar and bringing out food. He'd barely been noticed when he heard an other knock at his front door. Of all people, why was this happening to him?
Opening again, he tried to suppress a sigh as two more dwarves stood in front of him, much younger than both those already in his house, probably brothers by the look. Before he could say a word however, he was cut off by the blond one's "Fili, and Kili, at your service!" He recomposed himself just in time to try and close the door on both of them, not wanting anything more to do with a bunch of dwarves when the darker haired one-Kili-, managed to twist his words against him and strode in merrily, the younger first, his brother on his tail. Defeated, Bilbo watched as Dwalin clasped Kili's back, inviting him into Bilbo's dining room, offering him a seat and mentioning the need to prepare for the others.
Others? Didn't Bilbo have enough dwarves in here already? Four dwarves wasn't something a hobbit had every day around for dinner, and he fretted when he remembered that dwarves tended to consume a lot. He didn't ponder on his question however as the doorbell rang again, and Bilbo tried stopping this mess when he opened the door once more. This time however, it wasn't just one or two dwarves greeting him. At his feet, eight more lay there, after stumbling though the entrance. And behind them, Bilbo laid eyes on the old wizard, Gandalf. So it had been his plan all along… Reluctantly he let them in, where his "guests" happily reunited with the rest of the company and setting dishes and food all along Bilbo's dining table.
The poor hobbit resigned himself, after all, how bad could a meal with dwarves be?