The plane was set to take off at ten in the morning but it was eleven and it still hadn't left yet. Thorin sat in the airport with his head in his hands and no bags. He probably looked a little suspicious but he didn't plan to stay where he was going very long. The first person he decided to find was Balin. The older gentleman was one of Thorin's closest friend and he always understood the brooding man better than anyone else. He had moved to live a quiet life in Scotland last time Thorin checked so that was where he was headed.
There he would also be picking up Balin's brother, Dwalin. Unlike Balin he hadn't settled down for a quiet life and was a professional hit man. He was quite noticeable for being so tall and having tattoos on top of his bald head and forearms. Thorin had always admired his passion for the job and Dwalin always loved Thorin's brooding.
After Dwalin would be Bofur. When Thorin called off their company he started working as a toy maker in northern Scotland. It was a strange occupation but Thorin assumed he did it because he wanted kids. Of course in their life of work that was impossible but Bofur always seemed to dream. He was one of the happiest people in their company and even when he wasn't being the brightest, Thorin admired those qualities about him. He brought joy and jokes to their cold hearted leader and that was something everyone loved.
Nori, Dori, and Ori were next on the list. The brothers lived together in a house out in the country. They played music for some of the local folk and tried to keep a low profile as much as possible. Honestly, Thorin didn't know how they all lived together. Dori's natural ability was computers and so he worked with them most of the time. Nori and Ori were a lot less skilled in that area of expertise and got along better with each other then Dori. Thorin was constantly yelling at the three for fighting.
The last one he would find in Scotland was Gloin. He was the only one of them that actually had a family of their own. He had a wife and a son. Thorin knew that he was eager to get back to them and was fairly happy when that actually happened but he didn't want to leave the company nonetheless. The redhead lived with his family in a small town and he did a pretty good job of keeping his family from knowing what he actually did. Thorin actually felt bad for coming back into his life and taking him away from one of the only things left he had to care about in this world.
Thorin heard his plane being called over the loud speaker and he stood slowly to find it. He never had a fear of planes, not that it was surprising. Being a spy there really wasn't a lot you were allowed to be afraid of. He had jumped out of his fair share of planes in his day. Sighing he leaned back in his chair and tried to catch up on an hour or two of sleep that he missed last night.
When he felt the plane jolt he shot up in his seat and grabbed the knife that was attached to his leg hidden by his boot. The guy sitting next to him looked scared out of his mind. Thorin felt bad but didn't know what to do about it. His natural reactions to being surprised were kicking in. At least a stewardess didn't try to wake him and have him accidentally stab her. That would have been awkward and very hard to explain to the cops. He was surprised that his skills still worked well enough after a year for him to actually sneak a knife onto the plane.
The plane started to land and he looked over the beautiful green that was Scotland. It was a wonder why he didn't go there more often. An announcement came over the speakers that everyone should buckle and they would be landing in a few minutes. Thirty minutes later he was off the plane and through the customs. Balin's house was about an hour drive from the airport. Thorin rented a car and started off towards the house he had never seen.
He looked at the address he had written down and arrived there in the right amount of time he had assumed it would take. It wasn't small by any means but it wasn't what he had imagined. There was a perfectly cut lawn and a cobblestone walk way leading to the front door. No one in their right mind would assume a highly trained killer lived in this house. Thorin walked to the front door and lifted his hand to knock. He got one knock in before the door swung open to reveal a short man with white hair. It was the same man that Thorin had called his best friend. Balin's eyes widened and he grabbed Thorin, pulling him into the house.
"It's been a year and you decide to show up at my house unannounced." Balin stated turning towards where Thorin was now scanning his house for any trace of the brilliant mind it housed. There were none that he could find except a few pictures of Dwalin and himself that stood on the fireplace.
"Balin-" Thorin started to say before being hugged tightly around the waist. The taller dark haired man let out a huge sigh of relief and he gripped his friend back. "I missed you."
Balin let go of Thorin promptly and coughed a little. It was clear he felt awkward about hugging his friend. Former killers don't hug each other as a greeting but Balin had never been a normal person in any way possible. That was something that the dark haired man was grateful for. It allowed him to be more personable than he normally was allowed to be.
"Not that I don't want you here, but why are you here?" The short man asked Thorin. He wasn't quite sure how to phrase what he needed to say. If he outright said what he needed then Balin might not take it as harshly as if he tried to beat around the bush. That wasn't going to work and lying wasn't either. The older man would clearly be able to tell if he wasn't telling the truth.
"I need you. I need everyone again. Last night I got a phone call." Thorin started. For the next hour he went on to tell Balin all about the phone call with Bilbo. It wasn't a really complicated story but they also talked about what both of them had been doing for the past year pretending like nothing had happened.
"So, you want the whole company to come help with this quest?" Balin asked trying to sum up everything that Thorin had told him in the past hour. Thorin nodded slowly attempting to read the expression the older man was giving him. Smirking slowly, Balin patted him on the shoulder and then stood. "Well, what are we waiting for? Time to pick up every one else."
Thorin laughed honestly and hard for the first time in a year and patted Balin as well. He always knew the man was his best friend. Balin grabbed his jacket and then walked out is front door without doing anything else. They both headed towards the ex spy's care and started off to where Balin said he could find his brother.
When Thorin and Balin walked into the old apartment building they both covered their mouths, coughing at the dust. It looked as if nobody had lived their in months. The younger of the two walked towards the door and knocked hard. Footsteps could be heard on the other side of the door but it didn't open. Rolling his eyes, Thorin stepped back and then kicked the door open. Dwalin had a bagel in his mouth, a gun in his hand, and was about to hop out the window. Thorin raised an eyebrow at the state of his old friend and then eyed him.
"Thorin?" Dwalin whispered starring at the man who had just busted through his door. Balin stepped out from behind Thorin and smiled up at the his younger brother. "Brother!"
The two swiftly walked up to each other and embraced. They always had a close relationship. Thorin just folded his arms and leaned against the doorway with a smile on his face. He briefly wondered how long it had been since the brothers had seen each other and was happy that he could bring them together again. He would have to go find Bofur next and that would be interesting.
"Balin can stay here and explain what's going on. I have to go get Bofur. I'll be back to pick you two up in an hour or two." He stated like the leader he once was but both brothers just nodded and sat down. Dwalin handed Balin a bagel and the older of the two laughed, accepting it with ease. The feeling of the company was returning to him and he was learning to enjoy it again. Thorin hopped into his car and started heading North to where he assumed Bofur lived.
He reached the house quicker then he had thought possible but he stared at the door for a few minutes before stepping out. Bofur was an interesting man but Thorin never thought that a toymaker could make enough money to afford the house that was sitting in front of him. It was so large it looked like a castle and it was built out of stone. The sad thing though was that he lived in the house all alone. Carefully Thorin walked towards the front door and knocked three times. He stayed perfectly still waiting for Bofur to come answer the door. When nobody came Thorin sighed and grabbed the doorknob and pushed lightly. It opened slowly and Thorin took a step inside. The house was a mess and it looked like stuff had been thrown everywhere. His eyes widened and he pulled out his gun that was strapped to his chest.
He pointed it out and stepped over the mess walking towards what he assumed was the living room. His heart stopped when he saw Bofur's body laying on the ground not moving. Thorin ran towards hi friend and gripped him tightly. He willed the other to wake up and not be dead. This was his friend and even though he hadn't seen him in a year he still wanted him alive.
All of a sudden Bofur screamed, kicking Thorin in the chest and rolled backwards so he was now on his feet with Thorin's gun in his hands. He was pointing it straight at the ex-spy who was now confused as hell. He raised his hands in defeat and waited for Bofur to realize it was him. Slowly as the smaller man started to take in the other he noticed it was his old friend.
"Thorin?" Bofur asked softly cocking his head a bit. Thorin smirked at the other and reached into his back pocket for something. He pulled out the stupid hat that Bofur had always worn back when he was part of the company. The taller of the two tossed it to him and then watched as happiness lit up the man's face. "My hat! I thought I lost this a long time ago."
"Bofur, it's good to see you again." Thorin stated walking towards his friend and then grabbed his gun back, strapping it to his chest again. Bofur laughed and hugged his friend tightly.
"Welcome to my home. Why exactly are you in my house?" Bofur commented cocking an eyebrow at the other and then sat on his couch. Toys were scattered everywhere but Thorin didn't mind. He just shoved them out of the way and sat down next to him. A small smile was placed on Bofur's face the whole time he listened to Thorin talk about what he needed them to do. It was clear that he was perplexed but eager to follow.
"I need to find Nori, Dori, and Ori next. After him is Gloin and then I'm done for today. We will get the rest of the men tomorrow." Thorin told the other and Bofur's face lit up like he knew some kind of huge secret.
"I know where we can find Nori, Dori, and Ori! I've seen them performing some times. They're actually pretty good." The younger stated placing his hat over his head and pulling his jacket on his shoulders. Thorin nodded and walked out to start his car. Bofur hopped in and lightly ran his hand over all the things inside. Thorin smirked at his friend and then they started driving into town.
Bofur directed them to a cavern where he said Nori, Dori and Ori were playing. It was an interesting place but he stepped out of the car followed closely by Bofur. They walked in without bringing much but a few glances their way. Thorin's eyes drifted around the room until he spotted his three friends sitting on stage playing music. He smirked and folded his arms, nudging Bofur. The smaller man looked up and chuckled a bit at his friends. He knew they were really good at playing music though and grabbed Thorin, pulling him to sit at a random table.
The three brothers started to play music and Thorin listened slowly tapping his foot along. It wasn't bad but it wasn't something that Thorin would normally listen to in his free time. The music stopped after thirty minutes and Bofur was silently eating the food he had ordered. Thorin only ordered a drink and was sipping it, waiting for the brother's show to be over.
When it finally ended Ori noticed two familiar faces in the crowd. Eagerly he tapped Nori on the shoulder and pointed towards their table. The older brother's eyes widened grabbed Dori, pulling him off the stage as Ori followed close behind him.
"Bofur! Thorin!" Ori called out and ran towards his friends. Nori and Dori awkwardly followed behind their younger brother who was always much better with people than they were. Thorin let Bofur hug Ori but watched as the other two seemed more careful to show their affections.
"What are you doing here?" Dori questioned eyeing the two guys who had just walked back in to their lives after a year. Thorin knew that some of his company members would be less than excited to start their old lives again. He knew that he wasn't really that excited either.
"I've come to ask you three to join me on one last quest. Balin, Dwalin, and Bofur have already agreed to join me." Thorin stated with his hands in his pockets. He normally wasn't this awkward around people especially his old friends but now he felt like he was asking too much. Damn Bilbo for dragging him into this.
"You want us to just leave our life and come with you?" Nori asked pulling Ori backwards a little. Dori had folded his arms and was standing next to his brothers silently.
"He's asking us to help save the United Kingdom, Nori." Bofur explained clasping his hand on the other's shoulder. Nori gently brushed him off but Ori glared at his both of his brother's harsh demeanors.
"We're going to help them. They're our friends." He stated, smiling at Bofur and Thorin. It warmed Thorin's heart that at least one of his friends still cared about him.
Rolling their eyes, Dori and Nori followed the other three to the car. They all piled into the care and Thorin drove off for the final time to go to Gloin's house. He lived about an hour away and so all the men in the car started singing, happy to finally be together again.
Thorin sighed deeply. Gloin was the last person he wanted to drag back into this life. His family would miss him so much and Thorin knew it would be his job to make sure the older man didn't die. He needed him to return to his family after all this was over. Out of his car he spotted Gloin and his son Gimli out in the yard playing a game. He'd met Gimli once or twice and the kid loved him. Now that he was taking his father away he wondered how much he would be welcomed or liked.
"Gloin," Thorin called out waving his hand with a small. The other four in the car tried to make themselves invisible, afraid that Gloin would see them and get mad. Gloin's eyes widened at the sight of his former friend. He was confused as hell about why he would be at his house. Thorin didn't even live in Scotland.
"Thorin!" Gimli yelled and started to run towards the taller man, before Gloin grabbed his arm and yanked him back. The sight hurt Thorin's heart. He was sad that his friend didn't trust him around his son anymore. That was to be expected though and so he tightened his expression and stared at the other.
"Thorin. What are you doing here?" Gloin stated pushing his son behind him. Thorin's chest tightened but he made so sudden movements. He knew that Gloin wouldn't fight him in front of his son but the fact that it even crossed Thorin's mind was painful.
"The company is getting back together for one last quest. We need you." Thorin told Gloin. Gimli looked up at his father expectantly waiting for his father to accept and go be a hero once again. That was the best part of his father's job. He was a hero.
"No. I have a life now. You don't get to leave and come back a year later expecting all of us to jump happily at the sound of your voice." Gloin snarled and started dragging Gimli towards their front door. His wife grabbed her son and pulled him inside. Just as Gloin was about to walk inside the other four decided it would be a good time to help Thorin out.
"Gloin. It's really important." Bofur called out. Gloin's eyes widened at the sound of that familiar voice. He whipped around and saw Bofur, Nori, Dori, and Ori all standing next to Thorin. Sighing heavily he decided to at least listen to what Thorin had to say. Slowly he walked back to the others. His wife nodded at him from inside and made a motion to signal to him that she was okay with whatever he chose to do.
For the fourth time that day Thorin told Gloin what was happening, only this time his friends helped out. By the time they were done explaining, Gloin was ready to go. He jumped into the car so he was sitting next to Ori, who smiled gently at him. He pat the smaller man on the shoulder and jerked as Thorin started driving them back to Dwalin's apartment.
Tomorrow he would gather the rest of his friends. The two he was most nervous about facing again were his two nephews. He felt responsible for them being involved in this life and then he had thrown them away. It was bad enough he didn't contact them for a year. Sighing he drove off until he reached Dwalin's apartment. He and Balin were sitting inside watching TV and chatting like the brothers they were.
At the sight of Dori, Nori, Ori, Bofur, and Gloin all walking into the apartment, Balin and Dwalin jumped up to embrace their friends. Thorin leaned against the wall and chuckled to himself. He was starting to be happier about that call from Bilbo by the second. Then he remembered that he should probably call the guy. Brushing it off, he decided he would do that tomorrow after he had picked everyone up.