I own nothing you recognize. Only original characters and storylines are my own.
Dwalin
When the large and, if he admitted it, terrifying dwarf stood on his doorstep Bilbo didn't know what to think and over the course of the night became even more wary. As they traveled he continued to keep his distance from the surly dwarf, afraid that one wrong word or misstep would result in one of those impressive axes cleaving him in half. It was this fear that kept him from forming a bond with the warrior until fate conspired to bring them together and forge a bond that was stronger than mithril and would last until the end of their days.
...
"Halfling! We don't have time for your opposition. You've injured yourself and require assistance." Thorin practically growled at Bilbo as the hobbit glared at him and leaned heavily on the walking stick Bifur had kindly carved for him as they camped the previous night.
"I require nothing of the sort. I may have sprained my ankle but I can hobble along just fine. I manage to keep pace with Bombur." Bilbo argued and Bombur shot him a look, practically begging the hobbit not to draw him into an argument and Bilbo just continued. "Besides even with an injury my large feet will do better on this muddy ground than your bloody boots."
At the hobbit's curse and tone the Company stilled with shock. They didn't even know that Bilbo knew such language, let alone would use it. The most shocked was Thorin, who didn't believe it possible for such a small creature to not only defy him but to curse at him in such an undignified manner. After a moment he schooled his face back to his normally bored expression and growled to Dwalin.
"Pick him up, we don't have time for his whining." He said with an air of finality and Dwalin simply grunted and lifted the hobbit off of his feet and slinging him over his shoulder while the walking stick clattered to the ground.
"No..." Bilbo said sadly as his beautiful and sturdy stick hit the mud but didn't have to remain saddened for long as the large dwarf reached down and picked up the stick, carefully holding onto the hobbit as he did so and once he was upright again they resumed trudging down the wet and squelching mud, deeply regretting the loss of their ponies.
...
"How's the air up there Mister Boggins?" Kili asked with a snicker and his brother elbowed him but grinned.
"It's Mister BAGGINS, you great dolt, but still how is the air up there? It must be thin up so high." Fili said seriously but dissolved into giggles which were stopped abruptly by Dwalin's growl.
"If you're so interested laddie I'd be glad to carry you around like a sack of flour." Dwalin said in a deadpan voice and Bilbo watched as Fili immediately looked contrite and lowered his eyes.
"I meant nothing it Mister Baggins." Fili said quietly and Bilbo could do nothing but smile at the elder heir.
"It's quite alright, no need to apologize. The air is actually quite nice up here and I daresay the lack of movement is helping my ankle greatly." Bilbo said in an attempt to keep the peace and show Dwalin some gratitude. "I just wish I didn't have to be so undignified."
As the words left Bilbo's mouth he felt Dwalin's shoulders shake in quiet laughter. While some part of him was happy to know that the usually stoic dwarf could laugh and be amused from time to time another part wondered if he should be offended. As he contemplated the question Dwalin spoke and surprised the hobbit.
"How is this undignified hobbit?" Dwalin asked, his voice laced with amusement and Bilbo huffed before he twisted his face up in thought.
"I am not a child Mister Dwalin and it's not proper for me to be carried around like one. I do concede that we are making better time than we would have otherwise but it is humiliating to be carried on your shoulder." Bilbo said hotly and Dwalin immediately sobered.
"You don't know what humiliation is laddie, and may you never learn that lesson." Dwalin said with what the hobbit thought was affection and that stopped their talking for the rest of the day.
That night as they gathered around the fire for warmth and heat Bilbo made sure to get Dwalin an extra bit of the rabbit Bombur had prepared for their meal as a thanks for his help during the day. As Bilbo handed him the meat Dwalin grunted in thanks before he resumed his earlier conversation with his brother and Bilbo nodded and walked back to Bombur to get his own food before he went around the fire and sat beside Bofur i a companionable silence. As they ate he noticed that occasionally the warrior dwarf would look at him and incline his head, the meaning of which Bilbo had no idea but he would return the gesture, receiving a look of approval from Balin. Pleased that he'd done something right Bilbo went back to his meal and listened to the story Bofur was telling, feeling comfortable for the first time in a long time.
...
The next day was more of the same. The ground was still too treacherous for Bilbo to walk on so it fell to Dwalin to carry him again, but this time Bilbo kept all complaints and gripes silent. He didn't want to seem ungrateful to the large warrior and he had to admit that the rest had done his ankle some good and he would be able to walk on it in a day or so. With this train of thought he kept to himself, not doing anything to upset or annoy the dwarf acting as his ride and trying to make it less of an inconvenience. However, when they stopped for the night he couldn't help the relieved sigh that came from his mouth as Dwalin set him down and noticed a similar sound come from the warrior. Again they parted without a word but Bilbo received one of those shallow nods again and returned it, smiling all the while.
"Master Hobbit, help Bombur." Thorin ordered Bilbo after everyone was unloaded and the hobbit simply nodded and held in his weary sigh. He'd get to rest soon enough so, for now, he'd keep silent and do as he was told.
Bilbo puttered around with Bombur, cutting wild herbs and tubers that they found on the way as Bombur dressed the squirrels Kili had managed to shoot during one of his scouting excursions in preparation for the stew they were going to prepare. it was easy work and he found his eyes moving around the camp as he worked beside the cook. Fili and Kili were heading further into the forest to collect wood for the fire while Dori ran a comb through Ori's hair and spoke quietly to Nori who was suspiciously nosing around Bofur's pack. The toymaker was with his cousin, listening intently as the other spoke in his Khuzdul while he worked on something on Bilbo's walking stick. The sight made the hobbit smile and he made up his mind to pay back Bifur in some way for his thoughtfulness. As he thought about the debt of gratitude that he owed Bifur his eyes drifted to where Dwalin sat in deep discussion with Thorin. As they spoke Dwalin removed his boots and socks and grimaced with pain. Bilbo found himself grimacing too as he saw the nasty blisters and rashes that seemed to cover his feet. It looked painful and Bilbo knew he was partially to blame for the current state of those feet. He managed to tear his eyes away and finish preparing their meal before an idea implanted itself in his head and he knew just what to do for the dwarf. Still smiling he turned back to the fire and figured out just what he needed to get together to help Dwalin and keep him in the dark about it.
...
Dwalin sat by the fire and rubbed his sore and aching feet. The miles and added weight hadn't been easy on the warrior and his feet had taken the brunt of it. Still you wouldn't hear him complain, a bit of discomfort was nothing in the face of what they were going to accomplish and their burglar needed the assistance. Who was he to refuse someone in need, even if they refused to admit it themseves? He smiled to himself and put his feet by the fire and took out his pipe. Gandalf had recently popped up and given them some pipe weed that he'd conjured from somewhere and Dwalin was grateful for the one pleasure in the dreariness. As he smoked he closed his eyes and was blissfully free of the ever present weight on his shoulders for a minute when suddenly someone sat beside him. At the tentative movements and nervous fidgeting Dwalin didn't even have to guess who it was.
"Can I help you with something, Mister Baggins?" Dwalin asked without opening his eyes when suddenly his nose was assaulted with a smell that was both sweet and savory and he opened his eyes and saw the hobbit with a mortar and pestle grinding herbs together in a green paste, obviously trying to figure out what to say.
"Well, uh, Mister Dwalin, I, uh, noticed your feet are in a bad way and I, uh, thought I could help with that." The hobbit said quickly as he put all of his concentration into grinding the herbs and Dwalin sniffed the air, suprised to smell a whiff of mint and...pipe weed?
"What are you mixing there?" Dwalin asked and Bilbo suddenly smiled at him, bright and cheerful.
"This is an old family recipe I got from my Granny Took. You see, hobbits aren't born with tremendously thick soles to our feet. Yes they're thicker and tougher than some but they still need a bit of toughening up as we age. Well, younglings often have sore feet and blisters and such as they age so Granny discovered a mixture that would take the pain away and I can tell you that it always worked." Bilbo said happily with a tinge of pride and Dwalin just watched before his curiosity got the better of him.
"What's in it?" Dwalin asked as he took another sniff of the pleasant smelling concoction.
"Let's see...I have some mint, sage, a few crushed peppercorns and the remainder of my pipe weed. You see-" He started and Dwalin stopped him with a hand to his arm.
"Why're you wasting good pipe weed lad?" Dwalin asked, almost horrified by the fact that Bilbo would waste something so precious on a balm. Bilbo just smiled and gave his mixture a good stir.
"It's the main ingredient, my good dwarf, I don't know just how it does it or why but it dulls the pain and if the batch is strong enough it numbs it. Here, try some." Bilbo said as he handed the balm to Dwalin who looked at him suspiciously for a moment before he took a small dollop out and tentatively rubbed some on the side of his foot. Almost instantly his foot cooled pleasantly and that helped somewhat. I wasn't until a few moments later when he noticed that the ache there had dulled to something more manageable. He smiled in a way that was a slight upturn of his lips then looked at Bilbo.
"Not bad master hobbit. Let's see if it works on the rest of the foot." He suggested and Bilbo gladly handed over the balm, carefully watching Dwalin rub it on his feet. Once it was on Dwalin sighed and leaned back once more, allowing the mixture to do his work. "This is good, you could sell it."
"Oh no, Mister Dwalin, it's an old family recipe. Something we only make for our young hobbitlings or dear friends in need. I just wanted to share it with you as a thanks for all that you've done for me for the last couple of days. Thanks to you I can walk on my ankle again without hobbling and you kept hold of my walking stick which means a great deal to me. Making this balm was the least I could do." Bilbo smiled with such genuine warmth and affection that Dwalin was dumbstruck before a realization came to him.
"You consider me a friend laddie?" Dwalin asked quietly and Bilbo nodded.
"Of course, I doubt anyone but a friend would carry me for so long on such sore feet without complaint and I hope that you consider me a friend as well or grow to." Bilbo kept smiling and Dwalin laid a heavy hand on his shoulder.
"Aye, Mister Baggins, I consider you a friend. How could I call anyone who gave up the rest of their pipe weed to help me anything else?" He laughed and Bilbo joined in, relieved and pleased. After that they sat side by side as Dwalin shared his pipe with the hobbit who took it for the gift it was and truly treasured this peaceful moment in the chaos his life had become.
The next day Bilbo tested whether he could truly walk like he had told Dwalin he could and was pleased to find that he hadn't been a liar. He managed to keep up with the group but by nightfall he was flagging and had never been more grateful to hear Thorin's harsh bark telling them to stop. As he finished his duties he settled himself a bit away from the others and rubbed his somewhat sore ankle. It wasn't bad enough to keep him off his feet but it was uncomfortable and he needed to fix that. Humming quietly to himself he hardly noticed the shadow that fell over him until he saw boots in his line of sight, familiar boots, and he looked up to see Dwalin reaching out with a small leather pouch in his hands. Bilbo looked from it to Dwalin and when he noticed the look on the dwarf's face he raised his hand. Once Bilbo took the pouch the warrior walked back to the fire and his customary spot beside Thorin and sat to sharpen his swords. Curiosity got the better of the hobbit and he opened it without further ado, grinning when he found a few decent plugs of pipe weed and a sprig of wild mint. Still grinning, he looked up and when his eyes found Dwalin he was pleased to see the dwarf smile at him and incline his head in a nod, Bilbo returned the nod and tied the pouch back up. There was no way he was going to lose this gift, not when it was the first from his friend.
