A/N
I had fun writing this chapter but I feel it's rather long and silly. I had just reread the first few chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring when I wrote this, so.

Chapter 10

daisy

Samwise's birthday party was a nice little gathering. The party was in the middle of Hobbiton, in the field by the town center. Most of Hobbiton showed up - though mostly families with wee hobbits that were Sam's age. He was delighted, dashing about with his friends while the adults talked. Samwise also proudly boasted that he would have a new uncle soon; an uncle who was a dwarf who made toys! He proudly showed off the rabbit toy Bofur had made, as well as a few other things Bofur made in the week he had been staying with the Gamgees.

Bofur stayed near Clover during all of this, politely introducing himself to any who asked. Despite being told about hobbits by the old Took in Bree, Bofur couldn't help but be surprised by the amount of food that was at the party. Several tables had been set up earlier in the day, and another one had to be set up once everyone started arriving. There were meats, greens, pastries, and everything else the hobbits could think of. It was a party, and that meant food.

The party went on late into the night with music and dancing. Bofur had secured himself a spot at a table, where some of the children swarmed him, asking about toys and a story. Samwise was at the front lines of the group, begging his soon-to-be uncle for a story about dwarfs. Laughing, Bofur gave in, taking a seat at the table before he pulled the kids in with the tale of Erebor and the dragon that took it over. The children gasped at the right parts, throwing out questions about what had happened next! Where were the dwarfs now? Bofur assured them that the dwarfs were fine, living in new homes now in different mountains.

The children seemed fine with those answers and asked for more stories. Bofur happily started another tale, though this one he was making up on the spot. It was a tale of a hobbit lass who loved flowers, and how her flowers grew taller than some of the trees in all of the Shire! She talked to the flowers while she tended to them, encouraging them to grow. The tale went on, with the flowers sometimes causing more harm than good. And when the hobbit lass was about to start cutting them down, due to folks complaining about allergies, some trolls wandered by, wanting to cause trouble.

Except, due to the enormous height of the flowers and the amount of pollen they were producing, the trolls left, eyes watering and sneezing, and they were unable to see the hobbits and their homes. The lass was considered a hero now, and every year, her flowers continued to grow.

The kids seemed to enjoy that story as well, finding it less frightening than the dragon one, and because it had hobbits.

Clover came up behind Bofur, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Oh, children, may I take him away for a dance? I will return him once I am done!" She begged, smiling. The children grumbled a bit, but Samwise nodded, giving his permission. It was his party, after all, so he allowed it.

Bofur started to protest as he was dragged from his seat, stumbling along after her. "I cannot dance!" He exclaimed. Clover just looked at him, a playful grin on her face as she pointed at his feet.

"Boots. Off." She commanded. "Can't have feet being stomped on!" He hesitated, but quickly slipped his boots off, following her to the dancing. The dance was upbeat and playful, with couples spinning each other in a circle. Clover pulled Bofur to her, taking his hands in hers as they joined the dancing. Bofur let her lead, doing his best to follow along. Once or twice he did stumble, causing them to bump into another couple, but no one was offended or mad.

The song ended, the couples bowed in thanks, all while Bofur was rubbing his feet. These hobbits and their feet! He wondered if he would have to start going without his boots from now on. He didn't mind, really, it was something he could get used too, but he knew it was going to take some time for his feet to toughen up.

Clover tugged at one of his braids gently, smiling brightly. A new tune started, a waltz, and Clover looked eager.

"Once more dance! This one is simple." She said. Bofur straightened up and nodded, a smile on his face. "I promise! Just a waltz, really."

"Aye, I cannot deny you a dance, lass." Bofur replied with a laugh, taking her in his arms and pressing a kiss to her forehead. Clover's eyes lit up. She immediately took control, placing one of his hands on her hip while taking the other in her own hand. Her free hand moved to his shoulder, and, still smiling, she kissed him on the lips before leading him in the waltz.

Bofur was the first one up the next day, his feet aching from the dancing. The two dances turned into three, then four, and he danced with Clover until the party ended. That was all his choice, though, as he slowly grasped the concept of the hobbit style of dancing.

He crept down the hall to the kitchen, only stopping to look in on Clover. She was fast asleep, windows shut with her blankets kicked off to the foot of the bed. He let himself in and quickly covered her back up, leaving a kiss on her cheek before he left to the kitchen. Humming to himself, Bofur started getting breakfast prepared.

A yawn from the doorway caught his attention.

Clover still looked sleepy, still in her night dress with her curls a mess. Bofur couldn't help but smile. She looked beautiful to him.

"You're awake earlier than I thought." She mumbled, rubbing her eyes. He chuckled softly as he got the tea ready for her.

"Well, I got enough sleep as it is, so thought that I'd make breakfast today." He replied, pouring her a cup once it was ready and setting it in front of her. She smiled and mouthed thank you before taking a sip. "I thought you'd still be asleep. You danced the night away!"

"Mrhmm." Was the grumbled response. Bofur chuckled as he served up the breakfast onto plates. Bacon, toast, eggs, and some fried tomatoes. He set the plates around the table, taking a seat next to Clover before he started to eat. She took a bite of her food, then reached up to brush his hair out of his face. "Braids are a mess. Take a bath and I'll fix'em."

Bofur nodded and sipped his tea. "Aye, sounds like a plan, darling."

She smiled and stood up from the table, heading back to her room. Bofur watched her leave, a bit of a frown on his face. Her food was barely touched, and he was starting to worry that perhaps she was feeling ill again.

Thankfully, the worry left him when she returned, her hands behind her back and a smile on her face.

"Now, with hobbits' birthdays, we usually gift each other. I picked this up for you in the market shortly after we arrived here and, well, I hope you like it." She explained, pulling out a small package and passing it over to him. "I saw it and thought of you, so..."

Bofur was quite surprised, but took the package. He pushed his plate aside as he unwrapped it, laughing in delight when he saw what it was.

"A hat!" He exclaimed as he put it on his head. "With wings!"

Clover laughed, reaching over to adjust the hat a bit. "Aye, I saw it when I went to the market with Bell. For some reason, I thought of you."

Bofur just smiled and gave her a kiss.

Bofur was left with Hamfast and Samwise for the day, while Bell dragged Clover off to get fitted for wedding attire. While the ladies were off doing that, Hamfast had pestered Bofur with questions about where they'd be living after the wedding.

"You could stay here, with us, until you secure a home." The older hobbit mused, leaning on his shovel. "But I don't want to make you both uncomfortable." Though what Hamfast really meant was, find a place soon, please.

"Well, I was hoping you could help with that. We talked a bit this morning, right before you lot got up." Bofur began with a shrug. "She expressed desire to live here again, to raise her kids here. I couldn't help but agree. It is lovely here. And the mountains where I'm from aren't a proper place to have a hobbit or our babies."

"Babies?" Samwise asked, looking at the two. Hamfast patted his son on the head.

"Well, let's get looking, then. And don't mention babies again. I don't want to know what you two have been up too." Hamfast glared, shaking his finger at the dwarf. Bofur just grinned.

Hamfast took his son's hand in his, leading the trio down the path and away from their homes. Vacant homes were often rare in Hobbiton, as most were kept in the family. However, things happened and places were abandonded, such as the end of a family line dying out or people moving to other parts of the Shire.

The three inspected the four vacant hobbit holes, all within a decent walking distance of Hamfast's home. The first one place smelled awful - like rotting vegetables and fish. They immediately eliminated that one off the list.

The second one was a bit better, but instead of the rotting smell, it was full of chickens. And smelled like their droppings. Samwise refused to step foot into that house.

Now, the third hobbit hole was practically non-existent. The door and windows were there, but once Bofur opened the door, they could see it was caved in.

"Well. If needed, I could dig this place out..." The dwarf mused. Hamfast shook his head and pulled them along to the last one.

The last one was in shambles. Thankfully, no cave-in of any kind had happened, nor did it have the smell of chickens or rotting food. It was just... dirty. The door was barely hanging on its hinges, while some of the windows were broken. The furniture inside, what was left of it, was still in tact, thankfully.

They inspected the place, taking note that the interior was sound. No risk of collapse, despite no one living in there for a few years. It would take fixing up, but it was nothing Bofur couldn't do with a bit of help from Hamfast. Yes, Bofur could picture them living here. It was perfect.