The moment the door shut behind them Thorin spun Bilbo to face him with a hand on the boy's shoulder. The vast marble hall was empty, their soft breaths the only sound in an otherwise silent corridor. Blue eyes flicked over his form and Bilbo felt himself flush brightly, his earlier revelation stark in his mind.
A wave of shame swept over him, his insides twisting with it, and Bilbo stared down at his faded sneakers uneasily. If he were in a story, the teen was almost certain who the damsel in distress was.
Although, if he were the damsel, did that make Thorin…?
No, stop it.
"Are you injured?" the older boy asked gruffly, dark eyes settling on his face. Bilbo shook his head mutely, and Thorin sighed, his hand leaving the smaller teen's shoulder to run through his hair. From this close Bilbo could see a handful of silver strands at each temple, and found himself wondering what could make a 16 year old go grey so early.
Bofur's words from earlier sprang unbidden in his mind, and Bilbo flinched.
…missing 15 years, no one knows what happened to him. Assumed dead.
A lump formed in his throat and Bilbo hastily dropped his gaze to the safety of his shoes. The memory was a stark reminder of just how little he knew of the teen in front of him, of his family and friends and what they had been through.
"I-I'm sorry," he blurted out, and Thorin paused, staring down at him in question, "I should have done something…I just…" he trailed off uselessly, shame twisting in his belly.
Growing up in the shire (a small town where everyone knew everyone) he had never needed to deal with bullies, let alone gifted ones. Sure, there was the occasional Took or Brandybuck who thought it would be funny to steal his schoolbag for the day or the Sackvilles who he had often quarrelled with- certainly never anything like his confrontation with Azog.
And yet, Thorin had shown more courage in that one moment than Bilbo had in his life.
No hesitation.
Thorin said nothing for a long moment, before placing a hand on both Bilbo's shoulders. With a small squeak of surprise, the younger teen's gaze flicked up to meet warm blue.
"When I say this, I say it in the nicest way possible. You're an idiot."
Bilbo blinked up at him stupidly, and Thorin shook his head fondly.
"Didn't I tell you to stop apologising? Stop overthinking things for once," he punctuated this with a soft flick in the middle of the boy's forehead, letting out a snort of amusement at the responding pout.
Lips twitching at the edges, Thorin released him and turned toward the outer door at the end of the marble hall, a hand casually grazing the white wall.
"Come on, the others were looking for you," he said over his shoulder, walking resolutely ahead. Bilbo stared after him a moment before shaking his head with a wide smile, jogging to catch up.
And if his cheeks were just the slightest shade of pink, no one needed to know.
/
The following few weeks passed in much the same way, and before Bilbo knew it Thursday had arrived.
His classes had been nothing like what he was used to, even the non-gift related ones. Saruman, he had quickly learned, was not one to be trifled with and often gained amusement from obscure punishments or psychically flinging stationary at students who nodded off in his maths class.
English with Galadriel wasn't too bad, but somehow she always knew which students failed to complete their homework or weren't paying attention. Bilbo had a strong suspicion the beautiful teacher was a telepath, but no one seemed to know for certain.
Physical education with Beorn continued to be a source of embarrassment for the teen, as the man had recently begun nicknaming him 'little bunny', as he claimed Bilbo was as fierce as, well, a bunny.
The teen in question refused to find this as funny as the rest of his class.
He had found he rather enjoyed history, much to his friend's disbelief, and genuinely looked forward to these classes with Balin.
Gandalf's gift use class had quickly become a favourite among the students, despite the man's habit of smacking foolish pupils over the head with his staff. No one knew what his gift was, though Bilbo had heard the third years had a betting pool going.
Most classes, the older man stood at the back of the room, monitoring things with a sharp eye and a pipe in his mouth. Roughly half the class were convinced it was weed, and Bilbo rolled his eyes each time they debated this during lunch.
In the days following what had come to be called 'The Dining Hall Azog Thing' (Kili, as it turned out, was not particularly creative), Bilbo had barely seen Thorin. Arena fights were in full swing, and the tall teen's practice commitments often conflicted with normal dinner or lunch times.
Once or twice he had toyed with the idea of making time to see the elder Durin, but had always chickened out at the last moment. Besides, it was easy to lose himself in the company of the others and he found himself getting to know them all quite well.
Although, it didn't help that each time he glanced at the empty seat beside Dwalin, Bofur would shoot a smirk at him.
Stupid Bofur and his stupid intuition…
The sound of a throat clearing broke Bilbo from his musings, glancing to his left to find Gandalf casually leaning on his staff.
"Shall we try again?"
Bilbo nodded, slightly embarrassed he'd been caught day dreaming. With a sigh, the teen began to jog on the spot once more, probably for the tenth time. As his limbs began to ache, and his breathing became somewhat laboured Gandalf nodded to him.
Closing his eyes and breathing through his nose, Bilbo focused on lowering his rapidly pounding heartbeat.
"If you can forcibly lower your heartbeat, I believe you shall gain far more control," Gandalf explained after a minute or two, as Bilbo's pulse began to steady.
"And I won't go invisible by accident anymore, right?"
"For the most part, no. You will not go…invisible…unless you mean to do so," he replied, and Bilbo noticed his hesitation, furrow appearing between his eyebrows.
"Gandalf, is there something-"
"I think that should wrap things up!" the elder man cut in cheerfully, already turning away from the indignant student and striding towards the doors.
"W-what?" Bilbo spluttered, and Gandalf gave him a wave before all but fleeing, hurriedly making his way out the doors and into the dark academy beyond.
"Definitely weed," a familiar voice called out, and Bilbo glanced up as Kili and Fili walked into the room, Kili's words echoing from the marble walls.
"He is a little…eccentric, isn't he?" Bilbo murmured neutrally, sinking to the floor in exhaustion. Wiping sweat from his brow with a grimace, he laid on the cool stone floor with a sigh.
Fili poked him with his shoe, and Bilbo only had the energy to huff.
"Didn't realise your gift used so much energy," he said with a grin, as he continued to poke his friend's ribs.
"I didn't even use my gift," he grumbled, weakly swatting at the blonde's faded sneakers, "I spent an hour jogging on the spot repeatedly."
"How is that meant to help?" Kili asked curiously, flopping cross legged on the ground beside Bilbo's sprawled form.
"He thinks if I can lower my heart rate I won't have a mini panic attack and go invis."
"I guess I got off easy, didn't I?" Fili said smugly from above them, and the other two scowled.
"Smartass. Just because you have weapon manipulation," Bilbo grumbled, and Fili snickered.
The elder twin's gift meant he could expertly wield any melee weapon with the skill of a master. All the blonde needed to do was touch it, and the knowledge and control were already there.
"You should see the way he hovers at my practice sessions in P.E! Every time I miss he just smirks at me, the bastard," Kili growled, as his brother rolled his eyes.
"Which is practically never, you twat. All those years of archery actually came in handy," Fili shot back, and Kili aimed a mock kick at his legs.
"Shooting energy arrows is so not the same as shooting normal ones!"
"Pfft, what's so difficult? Draw, aim, shoot."
"Well clearly I'm so skilled I make it look easy."
"It looks easy because it is easy," Fili taunted, and Kili threw himself at his brother with a snarl.
Laughing, Fili dodged and ran towards the door, Kili in hot pursuit. Not wanting to be left behind, Bilbo scrambled to his feet with a groan and jogged after the loud laughter and expletives.
"Oi! Slow down, you two!" he yelled, lungs burning once again. Spinning neatly, Fili side stepped his brother before catching him in a headlock, the resulting shouts and taunts bouncing loudly throughout the room.
Bilbo came to a stop in front of them, hands resting on his knees as he gasped for breath.
Maybe I should have spent less time reading and more time…nah, reading wins, he thought wryly, the flare of pain in his side a clear reminder of how unfit he was.
"Admit I'm Batman and I'll let you go," Fili grunted out, pinning his twin's flailing body with great difficulty.
"Never!"
"Admit it!"
"Calm down, Robin!" Kili shot back, face turning pink with exertion.
"Don't even-"
The scuff of fast footfalls echoed around the room from the hallway beyond, and all three paused, Fili dropping his brother unceremoniously to the ground.
Kili yelped in indignation but the others ignored him as whoever it was grew closer. By now the three could hear the sound of laboured breath, a steady huff beneath the constant squeak of sneakers on marble.
A hand slapped over the doorframe and Bilbo tensed, half contemplating using his gift. He knew he had no reason to be nervous, yet something just…
Something doesn't feel right…
Ori pushed through the doorframe, face red with exertion as he leant against the cold marble wall. Leaning his head back, the teen sighed in relief at the chilled stone.
"I've…been looking…everywhere…for…you guys," he gasped out, the sheen of sweat glistening on his brow leaving his unkempt hair damp with it.
Bilbo hovered in front of him in concern, wanting to help but knowing the boy needed some space to breathe. The twins stayed slightly behind them, glancing at each other in that way they had that meant some silent conversation was taking place.
"Are you alright, Ori?" Bilbo asked after a moment, and the other boy leaned forward, hands braced on his knees.
"You…you three need to get to the headmaster's office, like straightaway," he huffed, already walking towards the door again. Bilbo's eyes widened in surprise, the two Durins behind him having similar reactions.
"Why?" Fili asked, and Ori impatiently waved them over as he stepped into the hall outside. After a beat, the twins and Bilbo followed, the tension thick and cloying in the air.
"I don't know- Thorin should already be there, but Elrond said it was urgent."
"Elrond came and got you?" Kili asked incredulously. The headmaster was known to rarely leave his quarters and office, the only exception being school matches, and despite everything Bilbo felt his curiosity piqued.
"What? No of course not, I was already there when he got this message-"
"What were you doing in Elrond's office?" Fili piped up, and Ori huffed irritably.
"It doesn't matter- something about one of my drawings- but he got this message and his face just went white. I don't know what is happening, but I'm worried," he finished, teeth worrying his lower lip as the small group ascended the staircase outside the headmaster's office.
Staring at those gold trimmed doors once more, Bilbo felt a wave of nausea crash over him, dread settling like a lead weight in his belly. The tug to use his gift was tempting, but he forcibly ignored it.
Casting a glance at the twins behind him, Bilbo recognised the same feelings playing across their faces. With a breath, Bilbo nodded once to Ori in thanks before pushing open the doors.
Unlike last time Bilbo was here, the office was dimmed and cold, the faces of the occupants stressed and pinched. No fire crackled away in the corner, dull glowing embers leaving little of the warmth and light of the previous week.
Around the large mahogany desk sat Elrond and Gandalf, Thorin standing to the side with both arms crossed over his chest. His dark brows were drawn together in a stormy expression, and his back was rigidly straight. Seeing the others, his face cleared only slightly as he nodded to them.
Without a word, the three teens cautiously stepped into the room, pulling up a chair at Gandalf's nod to do so. Instinctively, Fili and Kili sat almost shoulder to shoulder and Thorin drifted over to stand behind them, wariness rolling off him in waves.
Bilbo flinched at the loud scrape of wood on marble as he pulled up a chair, roughly a metre to the right of the others. Kili rolled his eyes and tugged it closer until he was forced to sit right beside the other boy. A small smile sprang unbidden over Bilbo's lips at the gesture, one that was returned briefly.
All too soon the tension of earlier returned, settling over the group in a blanket of unease.
Thorin squeezed a hand on the back of Fili and Bilbo's chairs, a reassuring presence behind Kili's seat. Elrond pinched the bridge of his nose with a deep sigh, the weariness of the sound almost bone deep.
Beside him, Gandalf looked as morose as Bilbo had ever seen him, the usual present twinkle in his eye all but gone.
He looks old, Bilbo realised after a moment, as if the spark that lit up the older man had flickered too low. He swallowed past the lump that had formed in his throat, almost flinching from the sandpaper quality of it.
"I am glad the four of you are here. It…is not good news I am afraid," Elrond started, clasping his hands on the desk in front of him.
"Just spit it out already," Thorin all but growled, knuckles white against the dark wood of Bilbo's chair. Elrond hesitated, sharing a heavy look with Gandalf before looking each of them in the eye.
"The bodies of Belladonna Baggins and Vili Durin were recovered this morning."
A/N: Hey guys sorry for the late update! As always let me know what you thought and thanks for all the support :)