A/N:
Dear WesternFlame;
You have no account, but you kindly left a review for this story anyway. In that review you gave me a very lovely idea as to how to continue this particular story. If you had an account, I would have sent this to you in a reply e-mail, but as it stands the only way you can see this is if I post it here.
Thank you so very much for your idea, and I hope it meets your expectations.
Regards,
JaneMartin906
To All Readers:
Remember, the best way to help your favorite authors continue writing is by leaving them constructive criticism in a review.
Bilbo mumbled and stirred, but went back to sleep easily. Fili cast a stern look at his brother and held a cautionary finger up to his lips; Kili mouthed 'sorry' before continuing with the task at hand. Bilbo had said that he brushed the hair on his feet, but judging from the tangles that they encountered it must have been a long time ago. Very, very gently they ran their fine-toothed combs through the mess of knots until the hair was smooth and neat. "He should really do this more often. They look lovely now," Fili whispered softly in Kili's ear.
Kili nodded. "He'll thank us for this one day."
"But, maybe not today."
They both grinned wickedly.
Suddenly a very loud "PSSST!" came from behind them both. They whirled about, desperately hoping Bilbo would stay asleep as they shushed the interloper. Bofur crept up quietly, whispering "Sorry. What're you two doing awake? Yer watch shifts aren't 'till after mine."
"We're-" Kili began before Fili clamped a hand over his mouth. Fili knew that Bofur was very fond of, and more importantly, very protective of the hobbit. If he had any idea that they were playing a prank, there was no telling what he would do- Fili always knew to beware the quiet ones.
"We're... We're helping Bilbo! We thought it might be a nice surprise for him to wake up and find his feet neatly brushed and braided! He hasn't had much time to do it himself, you know, he's been so busy..."
Bofur smiled warmly. "Oh, that's awfully nice of ye both. Tell ye what- let me borrow a comb, I'll work on his head!"
The brothers smothered their smiles as they worked quickly.
Bilbo woke the next morning noticing odd but approving stares from nearly everyone, with a few smirks added. Even Bifur, who probably didn't even know the hobbit's name, gave him an odd glance before nodding in appreciation. The only ones that didn't look at him were Fili and Kili; in fact, they were trying very hard to avoid eye contact, keeping their heads low over their breakfasts and sniggering. Bilbo, suspicions aroused, approached them both, giving an amiable "Good morning!" as he sat down next to them. They mumbled something inaudible before returning to their food. Bilbo stared around him in dismay; just what was the matter with everyone?
Bofur sat across from him, smiling expectantly. "So, Bilbo, what d'ye think?"
"What do I think of, what?" he asked cautiously. Bofur pointed to his feet; he looked down and gasped. His toes had been braided delicately, the hair looping in intricate patterns from toe to toe and up to his ankles.
Fili and Kili glanced at each other over the hobbit's head before slowly trying to slip away. But they were caught by Bofur's smiling remarks, "Oh, t'was Fili and Kili's idea! We did it while you were sleepin'. And they had me do the stuff atop yer head too! Ye look grand, ye do! Wish I had a mirror t' show ye!"
Bilbo reached up to touch his head, jaw dropping as he felt a great many braids lining his scalp; he imagined he looked very much like either a young hobbit-lass or an idiot. He had half a mind to throttle the two youngsters standing behind him shaking with mirth, but on the other hand, none of the other dwarves seemed to mind. If anything, they approved of the braids. And then there was Bofur, his first friend in the company, sitting there across from him, expecting an answer, no doubt expecting approval; to say what he really felt would be the equivalent of kicking a puppy. So, breathing deeply, he put on a smile and gave the warmest "Thank you" he could manage, which satisfied his friend to no end.
Now it was time to deal with the masterminds. Bilbo stood and turned to walk their way, nearly stumbling blindly into Thorin. The dwarf lord looked puzzled as he reached out to touch the copper colored braids. "Hmm" was all he said.
Bilbo sidestepped their leader and set off after Fili and Kili, who by now had a substantial lead ahead of him. A good distance away, the brothers had collapsed into fits of laughter, broken by cries of "The look on his face!"
"You two!" Bilbo cried. They stopped only for a moment or two before laughing even harder. He waited, fuming, until they wiped the tears from their eyes and quieted themselves. "All right, you two. You had quite a lot of questions for me yesterday, now it's my turn to ask you both a few. Why? Just... why? Why would you braid my hair? And was braiding my feet really necessary? And that's another thing- what is this sudden obsession with my feet?"
"Why?" The brothers glanced at each other before Kili asked, "Why not?", which brought about more sniggers and more laughs from the both of them.
"Can't you be serious for one blasted instant?" Bilbo shouted. "For heaven's sake! And you had to drag Bofur into your little scheme, too? All wide-eyed and innocent, looking at me like he just gave me the bloody moon! What was I supposed to say to that?"
"You know, he was right," Fili chimed in. "You do look grand."
"Yes, I would say he did a rather splendid job!" Kili smiled.
He quickly saw he was getting nowhere with these two. Beside them suddenly came the sound of footsteps tramping through the greenery around them; turning, they saw Gandalf come into the clearing. "What on earth is the matter here-" He stopped abruptly at the sight of Bilbo's hair. "Oh, my. You're adapting to Dwarfish culture a lot sooner than I thought!" he praised.
Bilbo blinked. "I have?"
"Oh, yes! Braiding is a very important part of male Dwarf fashion! Braiding each other's hair promotes a special kind of bonding!" The wizard laughed, patting the bemused hobbit on the shoulder. "Congratulations, Bilbo. You've been adopted!" With that, Gandalf strode back towards the campground, smiling to himself.
If Bilbo could have kicked himself, he would have. He turned to meet the smiling faces of Fili and Kili, gazing at him innocently. "You were saying?" Fili said.
Bilbo swallowed hard before responding. "I was saying... a lot of insensitive things. And for that, I apologize." The brothers nodded graciously. "But that still doesn't explain why you two seem to be obsessed with my feet!" he added quickly.
Kili protested, "They're huge, they have long hair, and they don't smell no matter how long you've been walking! How can we not be? "
