A/N: I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I hope you'll have fun reading! Thank you all so very much for your lovely reviews and for favouriting/following - it really means so much to me :')

Anyway. On with the chapter... XD


Bilbo made it to his own room that night, not having consumed enough alcohol to render him unable to manage. If Thorin was honest, he was a little disappointed that he didn't have a reason to hold his hobbit close just for a little while as he escorted him to his chamber. But when Thorin lay down on his bed that night, music still ringing in his ears, he could still feel Bilbo's hands in his and the warmth of his smile.

He was rudely awoken the next morning by a loud knocking at his door. He opened his eyes groggily and lay for a moment while he woke up properly. Surely it was too early to be up? Especially after the party...

'Your Highness?' a voice said from outside. 'An important message has arrived for you.'

'Just a moment,' Thorin called back and heaved himself out of bed, pulling on a rich, fur-lined robe and answering the door. A page stood there, looking nervous but determined and clutching a small piece of parchment in one hand.

'A raven arrived just a moment ago,' he said and held the note out for Thorin to take. Thorin accepted the little square of parchment and glanced at it. Inwardly groaning, he thanked the page, who scampered off.

Looking back down at the note as he closed the door, Thorin let out an actual groan as he read.

Dearest cousin,

Our journey has been unexpectedly and mercifully uneventful and we are ahead of time. I estimate we shall be arriving at midday on the morrow.

I look forward to seeing you again after all these years.

Dain Ironfoot,

Lord of the Iron Hills

Thorin grimaced. He supposed he'd have to get their rooms ready.


Bilbo got up later than usual, relishing the lie-in and languishing in bed for a while longer. But he could hear noise from outside and many shouted orders, so he dressed quickly and hurried out to find out what was going on.

It was pandemonium, as maids rushed around carrying bed sheets and furs and dusters and all manner of things. Bilbo stopped one of the maids rushing past and asked what was happening.

'My lord Dain has sent word that he'll be arriving tomorrow afternoon,' she replied, 'so His Highness has ordered the rooms to be made up in the guest quarters.'

Judging from the chaos that was currently surrounding them Bilbo assumed there was no actual order - everyone was trying to do everything, it seemed, so he immediately took control of the situation. Getting the maid to call out loud enough to get everyone to stop, he faced the many dwarves in front of him and spoke.

'Right, I'm sure the rooms will need another clean before they get made up so you lot' - he pointed to a group of about ten dwarves - 'go and give them a final going over while you' - another group - 'go and fetch the bed linens and sheets. When that's done you can all make up the beds together to make it quicker. Finally you five can go and get the furs and drapes and other things to add once the beds are done.'

His voice was firm and thankfully more authoritative than he felt, never having given orders to such a large group of people before - and dwarves at that. They all bobbed little curtsies before running off in their respective directions, some sort of order and efficiency now achieved.

He let out a small sigh of relief when they'd all gone and made to go back into his chamber but a laugh made him stop and look up. Dís was smiling fondly at him and Bilbo smiled back.

'That was well done,' she said. 'Although you manage just fine with my brother, so I know you can hold your own.'

'Yes, well. Thorin's not so very difficult, once you understand him,' Bilbo said modestly.

'Is he not? I've known him for 181 years and I can't say that I understand him, so you're ahead of me there.' She was laughing, and Bilbo couldn't stop the grin that slid onto his face at the infectious sound. Really, it was a wonder how Dís and Thorin could be so similar in looks and yet different in character.

'Do you know, it's a shame you're not the Consort,' Dís began but was interrupted by Bilbo choking in shock. She patted him on the back until he could breathe again, looking at her with eyes wide. 'We dwarves are by nature chaotic, and we could do with your organisation...'

She trailed off and narrowed her eyes at Bilbo, who let out a squeak and promptly disappeared into his room, leaving one satisfied dwarrowdam chuckling outside and himself with a knot in his stomach.


The rest of the day was spent busy overseeing last minute preparations and making the grand halls presentable for the Lord of the Iron Hills. Bilbo was left with no time to think about Dís' words that morning and by the time he rolled into bed he was too tired to do anything other than fall asleep.

He woke early the next morning, jolting from his sleep with a start and one thought on his mind:

What clothes was he going to wear?

Should he wear those in the dwarven style, all furs and rich fabrics and buckles encrusted with a few gems (he'd deliberately limited the number of jewels that adorned his clothes; he wanted no repeat of the ...incident. ) But then there was the fact that he wasn't actually a dwarf, despite the company's claims that he was as good as one if not better; would Dain take offence at a hobbit dressing in dwarven attire? But then came the fear that his hobbit clothing wasn't good enough - never mind the fact it was all rich velvets in deep colours with real gold buttons, they weren't the sort of clothing one wore when meeting royalty.

Panicking at this indecision and a sick feeling in his stomach, Bilbo hurried to his wardrobe and inspected the clothes within closely, picking out every fault and going over every decision for and against in his head.

Eventually he gave up and stopped, plucking his favourite items from the wardrobe - one set of hobbit style, another dwarven - and slipped out of his room and made his way to Bofur's. The dwarf looked confused as he peered blearily round the door but when he focused on Bilbo he gave a great grin and greeted him loudly.

'Come in, Bilbo,' Bofur ushered him into the room, grabbing him a chair and sitting opposite him. When he saw the piles of clothes bundled in Bilbo's arms he frowned slightly, and Bilbo explained.

'Bofur, I - Dain's arriving today and I have no idea what's appropriate for me to wear!'

'What do you mean?' Bofur asked, confused. 'Why wouldn't it be appropriate?'

'Well, a hobbit in dwarf clothes... Too under-dressed...' Bilbo explained, gesturing to each pile of clothes. Bofur frowned.

'Well, I'm sure I don't know,' he said lightly. 'Just where whatever takes your fancy... Your hobbit stuff's mighty nice.'

Bilbo lifted the plum velvet jacket and studied it with a critical eye. 'But is it appropriate for meeting Dain?'

'Why wouldn't it be?' Bofur sounded confused. Bilbo made a little distressed noise and gathered the clothes back into his arms, just as a knock on the door sounded and Nori appeared in the doorway.

'Nori!' Bilbo said before the dwarf could say anything, 'which clothes?'

Nori indulged him and dutifully looked at both sets of clothes, before he pursed his lips and pointed to the dwarven style. 'Wear these ones,' he said and Bilbo whined a little in the back of his throat. Why couldn't this just be easy?

He thanked them both before hurrying out of the room; he could hear their soft laughter. He paused on his way back to his rooms; he hadn't breakfasted yet so perhaps he could go and find some food while he waited for the answer to present itself. So saying he made his way to the kitchen and the cooks made him up a plate of sausages and eggs, which he tucked into gratefully. As he munched he continued to think about this little problem, but as soon as he nearly made up his mind an argument against it presented itself to him and he went back to deliberating.

He just wanted everything to be perfect... He wanted to do Thorin proud. Show Dain that Thorin was a worthy King and his companions were too. Bilbo couldn't bear the thought that he might be a disappointment to Dain and thus to Thorin too - that idea made him feel physically ill, so he pushed his plate away and after thanking the staff he hurried back to the dwarves' quarters.

The others were waking now too, low chatters being heard from behind the doors as families all got up and dressed. Still stuck, Bilbo was on his way to his own chamber when he gave in.

Yavanna, he'd just go and ask Thorin. He was the King so who would know better than him what Bilbo should wear when entertaining royalty?

So saying he turned and went to Thorin's chamber, knocking on the door and waiting until it was answered by Thorin, his hair still mussed and customary scowl gracing his features, which softened when he saw Bilbo.

'Bilbo,' he said, drawing the door wide so Bilbo could enter. 'What are you doing here?'

Bilbo clutched at the piles of clothes in his arms, then released them before he could crease them. It seemed a bit trivial now and his throat was dry, but he was here now.

'I need your help. I... I don't know which clothes to wear.' He saw a smile tugging at Thorin's lips and hastened to continue. 'No, I don't mean it like that! It's just... Do I wear the dwarven or the hobbit style? Would Dain take offence at my dressing in dwarf clothes?'

Bilbo looked down at the clothes wretchedly, and there was a silence in the room. He looked up at Thorin uncertainly, whose brow was furrowed as he thought. His voice was low when he spoke.

'Wear your hobbit clothes. They are more than good enough and... They're you. You're a hobbit; why pretend otherwise?' His voice appeared to crack on the last words and he looked away for a moment.

'You're right,' Bilbo said, nodding, not noticing Thorin's momentary pause. 'Thank you. I just didn't want to let you down.' And he smiled at Thorin in such an open, happy way that Thorin's heart twisted painfully. Bilbo was gathering up the clothes and making to return to his chamber to change when Thorin stopped him.

'Bilbo?'

'Hm?'

'You... You can change in my bathroom.' There was a pause and then Thorin was babbling, trying to cover his embarrassment. 'I mean, so you don't crease the clothes when you're carrying them – I – Sorry, I-' He stopped.

Bilbo had never seen Thorin so distressed that he lost his composure, and especially over something so small. Maybe he was still a little drunk…?

'Thank you, Thorin,' he said, 'that's very kind of you. I think you're right.' He smiled up and Thorin just looked at him wordlessly, before coughing loudly and showing Bilbo to the bathroom. When Bilbo was safely inside, Thorin groaned and slumped into an armchair, covering his face with his hands. Now Bilbo probably thought he was an idiot… The thought of Bilbo reminded Thorin that Bilbo was here – in his room – getting changed

He swiftly stopped his thoughts right there. It wouldn't do to be thinking of Bilbo in that way, never mind how much Thorin wanted to…

He was interrupted by his chamber door opening, and he looked up, intending to yell out his frustration on whoever had opened the door without knocking first, but stopped when he saw his nephews. They were already dressed in their finery and hair neatly braided, and they were laughing as they came in. They stopped when they saw Thorin, slumped in a chair and still in his nightclothes.

'Uncle, you know Dain will be here soon?' Fíli said, his expression changing to one of uncertainty as Thorin got up and approached them.

'You two, get out,' he hissed, 'quickly. Now.' He began chivvying them back towards the door. He really didn't want them here, not when Bilbo was too…

'What? Why?' Kíli said, looking hurt. 'Mama sent us to check on you-'

'I don't care, but please just leave-'

'Thorin, is this al-' Bilbo's voice sounded and then stopped when he saw Thorin manhandling his nephews out of the door. Everyone was still, Thorin cringing and Fíli and Kíli staring at Bilbo, clothes bundled under his arm as he walked out of Thorin's bathroom…

Suddenly, Thorin's mussed hair and nightclothes and his desperation for them to leave took on a whole new meaning.

'Oh!' Kíli said loudly. 'We didn't know we were interrupting something-'

'We'll just leave,' Fíli nodded, backing out of the door.

'What?' Bilbo sounded confused. 'You're not-'

'Don't worry, Bilbo, it's fine,' Fíli said, and Kíli winked at the hobbit. 'We'll leave you two be.'

At Kíli's wink, Bilbo immediately flushed a bright crimson. 'Oh! Oh, no, no, no! No! It's not that – I was just asking Thorin-' He buried his face in his hands in the most adorable gesture Fíli and Kíli had ever seen. When he looked back up his face and neck were still flushed and he was avoiding Thorin's eye, but his voice was steady.

'It's nothing like that, boys, I promise you. I just needed Thorin's advice on what's appropriate for today.'

He picked up the pile of clothes he'd dropped in his embarrassment and walked to the door, squeezing past Fíli and Kíli but avoiding Thorin. 'I'll, er, I'll see you all later,' he said, and quickly scurried away, leaving Fíli and Kíli looking at Thorin, who gave them the darkest death-glare he'd ever managed.

'Well done, you two,' he said sharply. At least they had the grace to look embarrassed.

'Uncle, we're really sorry,' Fíli began but Thorin just waved him away, and the boys took their cue and left, shutting the door behind them. Thorin sighed and leant back against the wall, an unpleasant prickling sensation in his stomach. Bilbo had avoided him; he hadn't been able to look him in the eye… what if he thought…? What if he didn't want to be around Thorin any more after this? The thought made his heart impossibly heavy; heavier than ever before and Thorin wondered if eventually the weight of it would pull him down.

If Bilbo didn't talk to him after this, his nephews would suffer for it… Yes, he'd put Fíli in charge of running the accounts - and he'd like to see how much Kíli enjoyed cleaning stables…


Fíli and Kíli raced back to their mother's room, barging in through the door and causing her to look up from where she sat braiding her hair.

'Mother, you'll never guess-'

'You should have seen-'

'Bilbo was in Uncle's room!' They stood there, both breathing heavily from their run through the corridors and a little wide eyed as they grinned.

'Getting changed,' Fíli added.

Dís sat still for a moment, and then a smile slowly broke out over her face. 'Bilbo was dressing in Thorin's room?'

'In his bathroom,' Kíli amended. 'He said it was not because of that but…'

'He couldn't look Thorin in the eye afterward,' Fíli finished. 'It was… more than awkward.'

Dís continued to smile and she motioned to her boys to come and join her at the dressing table. They slipped down next to her and she wrapped her arms around them, pressing a kiss to each of their foreheads. 'Well done, boys,' she laughed. 'I knew I could rely on you two.'


Bilbo had returned to his rooms after leaving Thorin's, too embarrassed to go and face anyone else. His cheeks were still flaming but he tried to calm down; it had just been an innocent misunderstanding – Fíli and Kíli were young and mischievous, that was all… he pushed away the voice that insisted upon asking why would they think it was that in the first place?

Instead he washed his face with cold water until his face stopped burning – his ears were still bright red though – and finished getting ready, brushing his hair so the curls fell neatly and making sure to wash his feet thoroughly, even combing the hair on his feet. As he did so he regarded his feet thoughtfully – would Dain find him strange? The Company had grown used to him but he had been the object of some funny looks from the servants back at the beginning. He'd become accustomed to being the only hobbit among a lot of dwarves, but at that moment he felt a little pang of homesickness shoot through him.

He had finished getting ready, shaking off the feeling, and then had gone to find Dori. Now that Ori and Nori had both found their Ones, Bilbo worried that Dori got lonely, especially now he had no one to mother, so Bilbo went to Dori's chamber and allowed the dwarf to make a fuss of him, making him a pot of tea and plying him with biscuits – not that Bilbo minded that – and good-naturedly assuring Dori that yes, he was warm enough, and no, he was perfectly well. Bilbo didn't mind; it had been a while since he'd had someone mother him so since his own mother died and it made Dori happier – the dwarf was always a lot more relaxed and cheerful after he'd been allowed to vent his fussing on someone. And if Bilbo got free tea and biscuits from it, well, he wasn't complaining.

And it was also a way of avoiding Thorin. Bilbo knew he'd have to talk to him when Dain arrived; at that moment in time, however, he still felt a little unsettled and wanted to regain his composure. It was silly, really, but that's just how it was…

At midday he and Dori made their way to the courtyard, where the rest of the company, the children and some of the household staff were waiting, gathered together much as they had done when waiting for the new arrivals before. They were all resplendent in their fine clothes – even the servants had fur and gold adorning their uniforms. Thorin had immediately caught sight of Bilbo; when the hobbit had offered a small smile Thorin had smiled in reply. It grew even wider when Bilbo walked straight to him without any encouragement on Thorin's part. Perhaps Bilbo wasn't as embarrassed about it all as he'd seemed – or was at least able to put it behind him.

When Bilbo had seen Thorin looking at him he'd felt a little trickle of embarrassment threaten to turn his cheeks pink once more but he resolutely ignored it and went over to join his friend. The sentries on the gate blew on the warning horn, alerting them all to the impending arrival. Thorin quickly turned to Bilbo, and spoke hurriedly.

'Bilbo, I wanted to let you know – Whatever happens, after this, I -' he paused, and tried again, '-I lo - I don't ever regret choosing you as our burglar.' He said it rushed and messily, and Thorin wanted to kick himself. That wasn't even what he'd wanted to say...

Bilbo had flushed ever so slightly - although it could have been the wind chapping his cheeks - and he gave Thorin a heartfelt smile. Thorin ducked his head as he added, 'And you look - you look lovely.' Because he did - Thorin wanted more than ever to smoothe those wind-buffeted cheeks, run his fingers through those neat curls. But he didn't, of course.

'Thank you, Thorin!' He sounded genuinely surprised and happy. 'I only want to make you proud,' Thorin heard him mutter; Thorin's heart swelled at those words and he might honestly have abandoned all caution to the wind and pulled the hobbit into his arms right there and then, but at that moment the gates opened and Dain and his delegation were riding in.


Bilbo had been... wary,to say the least, about meeting Dain. Thorin had told him about him - bit evidently not enough to explain the frown Thorin wore even as he greeted his cousin. He had drawn Thorin into a hug, smashing their heads together and laughing uproariously. He was dressed in scarlet, chains of gold links adorning his clothes and belts heavy with studded jewels. Next to him, Thorin almost resembled a raven in his deep, sombre blue; but that didn't stop the thought flickering unbidden through Bilbo's mind that Thorin was definitely the more handsome of the two.

Dís and Fíli and Kíli were presented to Dain, and then it was Bilbo's turn. He was ushered forward and Thorin placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. Its warmth gave Bilbo the courage to look up and meet Dain's eye before he swept into a low bow.

'Bilbo Baggins, at your service,' he said, and Dain looked at him appraisingly.

'Dain Ironfoot, at yours,' he replied, returning the bow. His eyes swept up and down Bilbo, widening slightly when they took in his larger-than-normal hairy feet, but then they flicked back up to his face and he flashed Bilbo a friendly smile. 'It is good to finally meet the halfling who helped reclaim Erebor. From what Thorin has told me, it couldn't have happened without you.'

'Oh, well...' Bilbo replied modestly. Thorin's hand, which he had removed when Bilbo bowed, had returned to its place on Bilbo's shoulder and now the fiery heat pouring off Thorin was making him rather flustered. He looked at Thorin, who was giving Dain an unreadable look, but then motioned for Dain to meet the rest of the company. As the two men walked off, Dís appeared at Bilbo's side.

'You know, you shouldn't listen to much of what Thorin might have said about Dain,' she whispered. 'He's mostly just bitter that as young dwarves, Dain was the only person who couldn't beat Thorin at sword play. I've never seen him get as competitive as he did when practicing to compete against Dain.'

Bilbo gave a chuckle, but was stopped from replying as Dain motioned for the group of richly dressed dwarves on horseback to rejoin them. They dismounted and Dain began to introduce them. There were about twenty dwarves, plus their contingent of guards, and most of them were females. This surprised Bilbo a little, as he had thought the number of dwarf women was smaller than men, but he quickly returned to focusing on putting names to faces and committing them to memory.

When they had all been introduced - and Bilbo had been the subject of many brilliant smiles as the women took in this little creature with the innocent features (which Thorin vehemently protested at to himself, and he made a mental note to keep Bilbo close).

If his sister was any indication, these dwarrowdams would be cooing over Bilbo in no time and stealing him from Thorin. And seeing as Dain's cheerfulness was already grating on Thorin's nerves (for no other reason than that Thorin was utterly at a loss as to how he was so happy all the time) Thorin was going to need Bilbo's diplomacy skills.

He led the company and the guests to the large receiving room where ale and some food would be served before they were taken to their rooms. Dain spotted the chess set in the corner, the one that had been Thorin's grandfather's with pieces of diamond and opal and the board made of veined marble, and suggested that Thorin play with him while the others all settled down on the various sofas and chairs in the room. Bilbo and Thorin alike were glad to note that Fíli and Kíli were at least behaving themselves.

Dís was ensconced at the opposite end of the room with the dwarrowdams and she motioned Bilbo over. He joined them and they plied him with questions about where he came from, what was it like there, did he like Erebor and did all hobbits have such large feet?

They were all very kind to him and Bilbo found himself warming to them instantly - and he was now used to seeing females with beards, so he made sure to compliment them on them. That seemed to do the trick and after that they wouldn't let him out of their sight. When it came for them to go to their rooms and have a rest before dinner, they were sad to leave Bilbo but he couldn't say he wasn't grateful for this respite.

While Thorin and Dís showed Dain to their rooms, Bilbo made his way slowly to his, lost deep in thought. He thought he had an idea...

Once safely in his room and he rummaged around on his mess of a desk before finding the book he wanted. It was the one he'd taken out all that time before when Thorin and he were walking back from meeting Lorin. He gently traced the title page, the leather worn and ink fading.

Kingship and its Trials
by
Thorin, first of his name, of the line of Durin

Written by one of his Thorin's ancestors... Bilbo hadn't read it, but he opened it up now and gently turned the pages, trying to handle them as little as possible to avoid crumbling the paper. He saw a page entitled 'Important Aspects of Being a King'. There was a list and there, the third one down, it read,To keep order and maintain power over one's people, one must present a powerful outward image. When are we stronger than when united? Therefore it is clear: a King must marry, and marry well...

Bilbo gave a laugh, which turned into a cough as his dry throat was irritated. He tried to cough away the sudden dust, but the lump in his throat remained.

Thorin wasn't married. And Dain had come to help him become a King. The majority of Dain's party were dwarrowdams of noble birth... Bilbo knew what Dain was trying to do.

He wondered if Thorin knew... Sometimes Thorin could be a bit slow on the uptake, though... Maybe Bilbo could help. He thought of his success with Ori and Dwalin and Nori and Bofur, ignoring the voice that tried to point out that it was luck and not skill on Bilbo's part which had brought them together, and decided it couldn't hurt to try. Maybe Thorin would thank him, in a few years from now when there were little dark-haired dwarflings running around...

Strangely, Bilbo couldn't imagine that. Every time he tried to picture Thorin in a domestic scene he failed miserably, his imagination letting him down.

With a sigh, he moved on to the chapter on Dwarven Courtship.


A/N: Eeeeep did you enjoy it?! I told you things would start to happen :P It's Fili and Kili though. They're so much fun. :D Please let me know what you thought, and I really do hope you enjoyed! :3