A/N: Hey guys :) longer chapter this time and some bagginshield!
Dis and Thorin sibling feels~
Thanks so much for all the reviews and favourites- you guys are the best xx
Also much better summary, am I right?

In retrospect, Bilbo supposed he really should have seen it coming.

Fili and Kili were the first to lose the bet, wagering Bungo would be slurring in another two drinks. Bilbo couldn't help but be thankful his father was so articulate, god only knew what the twins would demand if they won.

The thought made him shudder, even as he spared a slightly pitying glance at the two sulking across the room.

At some point Dis had moved to join the other adults (excluding Frerin, though Bilbo had his doubts the man could be classed as such) by the fire, Gandalf calling her over cheerfully. Bungo had become slightly more subdued at that, the rate at which he drank decreasing as the three became engrossed in conversation about their teenage years, of all things.

Hearing something about a perm, Bilbo blanched and hurriedly turned his attention back to the plate of miniature sandwiches beside him.

"Oi, Broody Mcbroody pants!" Frerin called across to his brother, the latter jumping slightly before scowling at the blonde. "Quit having majestic introspective musings and join us!"

Thorin glared darkly, arms crossing over his chest as he stubbornly stayed where he was on the opposite side of the room. Frerin sighed, planting a hand in Bilbo's curls and bending slightly, face almost cheek to cheek with the spluttering teen beside him.

"Well ok, I guess it's just my favourite student and I then! Probably for the best, really."

Thorin's jaw clenched as Bilbo flushed, the blonde ruffling his curls with a smirk.

"I-I really don't think-" he stammered, his weak protests cut off as Thorin stalked toward them irritably. With a smug sounding chuckle, Frerin released the auburn haired boy, letting his hand fall back to his side.

Bilbo hurriedly retreated a half step, eager to have his own space again. His insides still twitched and twisted with nerves, and he focused on calming down.

It really wouldn't be good to use his gift with his father in the room after all.

"What do you want?" Thorin all but growled, and Frerin smiled widely. The brunette's eye twitched just slightly, a tell Bilbo had come to recognise whenever the older teen was holding himself back from violence.

"Do I need a reason to talk to my favourite little brother?"

"Don't call me that."

"Would you prefer sister?"

"No."

"It's ok, you know we'll support you as a family~"

"Do you even hear what comes out of your mouth?"

"So brave! You just hang in there little buddy!"

"I swear to god if you don't shut your fucking mouth-"

"You're doing so well! Already up to the anger stage-"

"Frerin-"

"-acceptance is around the corner-"

"Frerin-"

"-we could call you Thora?"

"…"

"Of course you're right- Thelma is much better!"

Thorin's face darkened considerably, and his fists clenched by his sides, Frerin smiling all the while. Wary of the arguing siblings beside him, Bilbo cautiously reached out for the silver platter of sandwiches to his right.

Suddenly the ground lurched violently, causing several pieces of furniture to shake and catching most of the room's occupants unawares. A glass shattered somewhere, the sound almost lost in the cacophony of groaning rock.

Bilbo pitched forward with a squeak, unable to catch himself on Frerin as he lost balance. Closing his eyes, the teen tensed as the marble floor rushed to meet him.

Several seconds of silence passed, before Bilbo seemed to realise he hadn't hit the floor. The ground felt still below his feet, the only sound in the room Fili and Kili groaning somewhere to his left. He could feel pressure on his arms and warmth beneath his palms. Hesitantly, Bilbo opened his eyes.

A firm chest clad in a white uniform shirt was the first thing he noticed. He could feel hard muscle beneath his palms through the thin material, the fabric doing nothing to shield the heat of the skin beneath. With a sense of dread settling like a lead weight in his gut, Bilbo slowly looked up.

And promptly forgot how to breathe.

Dark cobalt stared down at him in concern, guilt flickering somewhere in those depths. Belatedly, Bilbo realised Thorin's hands were grasped around his biceps, faces mere inches apart.

Or he would have, if he could actually get his mental faculties to respond.

"Are you alright?" Thorin asked slowly, eyes searching.

Bilbo tried to reply, he really did, but his mouth didn't seem to be working.

Nope nope nope too close too close too close-

He felt his face flush a brilliant scarlet, unable to tear his gaze away from the dark blue above him. The lead weight of earlier seemed to have taken residence somewhere in his chest as Thorin froze, a faint blush creeping over his face.

The pair sprang apart, both backing up a few steps and steadfastly not looking at each other.

Bilbo took a deep breath, willing away the bright flush he knew lit up his face.

"Thorin," Dis growled, and the teen cautiously glanced toward his sister, arms crossed defensively across his chest and staring at a point over her shoulder.

Thorin flinched as he noticed the disarray of the rest of the room. Silver platters and various ornaments lay scattered across the floor, sandwiches littered beside them. One of the coffee tables by the fireplace was lying on its side and Fili and Kili were still sprawled on the ground in a tangle of limbs.

To be fair, that last one could be blamed on their own stupidity, he reasoned.

Grudgingly, he followed his sister out of the room, ignoring the sympathetic glances and chuckling behind them.

Frerin nudged the bright red teen in front of him, as Dis continued teasing Thorin. Bilbo glanced up at the blonde irritably as he grinned widely. The auburn haired teen braced himself for the teasing which was sure to come, silently debating if it was worth disobeying the healer's orders and using his gift.

"I win."

Bilbo's musings screeched to a halt, and he blinked up at the man in confusion.

"…What?"

"I win," Frerin repeated, nodding to Bungo's place by the fire.

With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Bilbo glanced to his father (carefully avoiding catching the man's eye) and noticed the lack of glass in his hand.

Thinking back, he swore he heard a glass break before he fell…and Frerin had bet that Bungo would spill his drink before Elrond arrived.

"…Damn it."

Frerin smirked, draping a hand over the boy's shoulder.

"First lesson young caterpillar-"

Caterpillar?

"-never hustle a hustler," the blonde finished smugly, and Bilbo stared at him in disbelief.

"Are you-are you trying to tell me you made Thorin lose control of his gift for a bet?!" he exclaimed incredulously, and Frerin widened his eyes innocently, pointing a finger to his chest.

"Who, me?" the blonde asked in mock surprise, lips twitching into a grin and giving him away.

This time Bilbo really did slap a hand to his forehead.

"Aaaand since I won," Frerin began, grinning once more, "the three of you are going to help me fix up my fixer upper~" he trilled, and Bilbo sighed deeply.

This is why gambling is wrong, he thought firmly, running a hand through his curls in exasperation. Glancing toward the wooden doors, Bilbo couldn't help a pang of sympathy for Thorin.

Absently, he rested a hand over his middle, gaze sweeping the room optimistically only to drop forlornly a moment later.

No survivors, Bilbo thought mournfully, his stomach growling in what could only be sorrow as he stared down at the sandwiches scattered across the marble.

/

The wooden door fell closed behind him with a resounding thud, and Thorin couldn't shake the sense of finality about it. The sound echoed through the empty corridor, each reverberation against the marble a small ripple against his senses.

Dis glared at him, dark eyes flashing as she crossed her arms across her chest.

This is it, he thought dejectedly to himself, Frerin was right. This is how I die.

Steeling his resolve, Thorin grit his teeth and held his head high. If he was to leave this world, it would not be as a coward.

Dis rolled her eyes, shaking her head slightly.

"Are you being dramatic again? Honestly Thorin, you're as bad as that blonde menace in there at times," she said with a huff, and Thorin firmly kept his chin up.

No matter how much he wanted to relent, Thorin would not show weakness. He would be strong, even in the face of certain peril. Years from now, people would write songs of this moment, he was sure-

His thought process was interrupted as he gave an indignant yelp, glaring at Dis as he rubbed his forehead absently.

"Flicking on the forehead is for children," Thorin grumbled, and Dis rose an elegant brow.

"Perhaps once you stop behaving like one I won't need to anymore."

Touche.

"I was going to yell at you for losing control like an idiot- and we will have words later," she added, glaring at the teen, chocolate eyes narrowed in fury. Thorin subtly tried to burrow into himself, shoulders rising defensively.

"Especially since you should always have full control, and god knew what could have happened if it was worse," she continued, and Thorin focused on becoming smaller and smaller.

He could sense a 'but' coming, and where Dis was concerned, that could not be a good sign.

"But… oh my god you two are adorable!" Dis squealed, suddenly sounding less like a 33 year old woman and more like the shrieking 15 year old fangirls he saw around campus.

Thorin recoiled as if he had been struck, heat brightening his cheeks.

"Bilbo was it? Oh you two were so damn cute! Is he your boyfriend? When did you meet? Is it love? I hope you've been discreet-"

Thorin spluttered for a moment, mouth opening and closing uselessly at the onslaught of questions. He knew he had vowed to be brave, but cowardice was looking quite attractive right now.

"-and the whole soulful staring, gazing into each other's eyes…" she finally trailed off with a sigh.

Thorin wondered if he should save himself the pain and let the marble swallow him whole, quite literally wishing (and considering) letting a hole open in the ground beneath him. Fili and Kili's muffled laughter sounded from behind the door, and suddenly burying the two alive sounded much more attractive.

Homicidal thoughts tended to relax him, Thorin had found.

"Dis, it really isn't like that. At all," he added at her insistent look, and he ran a hand through his hair distractedly.

Something in his chest seemed to tighten, even as his shoulders drooped and he stared fixedly at the cold marble flooring.

"I'm almost certain he hates me, actually," he admitted quietly, scuffing a worn sneaker against the stone. "We…well, I…I fucked up. I keep opening my mouth, but instead of comforting him we just end up arguing again…"

Movement in his peripheral vision made him glance up as Dis fixed him with a knowing look.

"Thorin…"

He sighed heavily, turning away from her. Dis had always seen more than he wanted, and this was no exception.

A small hand squeezed his shoulder gently, sliding down to rub at the small of his back in a familiar motion. Vaguely, Thorin realised the last time Dis had done so he was a child.

"He doesn't hate you, of that I'm certain. You always have been too quick to place blame on yourself," Dis murmured softly, and Thorin shrugged mutely.

"How…how could you possibly know he doesn't hate me? You've known him all of an hour or two," he finally replied, self-consciously shrugging off Dis' hand and looking up at her.

Shaking her head, Dis smiled at him indulgently.

"Trust me on this one, not everyone is as dense as you lot."

Thorin scoffed, but couldn't find it in himself to disagree. Seeing this, Dis smirked and turned back to the wooden door behind them.

Pausing with her hand resting on the cool metal of the handle, she turned her head to gaze at him thoughtfully a moment.

"Just…promise me something, ok Thorin?"

Thorin blinked at her in confusion, the serious tone of her voice catching him off guard. After a beat he nodded, and she turned back to the door.

When Dis did speak, it was quiet, almost a whisper. Thorin found himself straining to hear.

"Don't take anything for granted. Treasure every moment with the people you love."

Thorin stared at his sister's retreating back as she entered the room once more, the noise level suddenly rocketing upward in the empty corridor.

He stood unmoving, suddenly thinking of another moment altogether.

Another corridor at another time, guilt roiling just as unpleasantly through him then as it did now.

"…Thorin?" a familiar voice called, the soft tone barely audible over the clamour of voices echoing into the hall.

Thorin raised his head, blinking away the memory as Bilbo looked at him expectantly from the doorway, Fili and Kili waving at him cheekily from behind.

"Are you ok, Uncle?" Kili asked after a beat, head tilted to the side in concern.

"I…" Thorin began, before the twins rolled their eyes. Before he knew it, they were tugging him forward, one under each arm as Bilbo chuckled.

Unseen, Thorin smiled softly.

Maybe Dis is right…he thought to himself, frowning a second later.

Reminder to self: never let Dis know that.

/

Bilbo bit back an 'I told you so' as Fili grudgingly picked his phone up from the floor, glaring up at his twin the whole time.

"Kee, what part of this do you not understand?"

"The core concept, obviously," Kili shot back, rolling his eyes as Fili huffed.

"You tap the screen, bird flies up. Don't tap the screen, bird falls. Don't touch the pipes," he said slowly, as though speaking to a small child.

To be fair, there wasn't a lot of difference.

Kili huffed irritably, holding his hand out expectantly. Fili glared for a moment in warning and his twin rolled his eyes again. Reluctantly, the blonde passed over the phone.

"You know, even Uncle can get past the first pipe," Fili grumbled, ignoring Thorin's indignant scowl.

"I do know how to use technology, smartass."

"What did you score?" Bilbo asked curiously, and Fili snickered. Thorin glared at both of them.

"…Six," he muttered almost inaudibly, bristling as Frerin tittered from behind him.

"Oh Thorin, we can't all have such awe inspiring manual dexterity as Fili and I," he continued, mocking smile on his face.

Thorin's no doubt witty comeback was cut off as Kili threw the phone again, glaring at the small device as it clattered to the floor.

Fili gave a wordless growl and bent to retrieve his phone (again), pocketing it straight away.

"This is why we can't have nice things, Kee," Fili muttered, shaking his head as his twin sighed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Sorry, just that fuc-ffffudging, that fudging bird makes me so angry," Kili quickly substituted, as Dis glared at him from her place by the fire.

"She always knows!" he whispered indignantly, and Bilbo fought an amused grin.

Glancing over, he caught his father turning away, continuing whatever conversation the adults were having. Bilbo bit his lip worriedly, as he fought the sinking feeling in his stomach.

Bungo had seen Thorin lose control, and Bilbo didn't know what to feel about that.

On the one hand, his father was obviously old friends with Gandalf.

On the other, this was his father.

His father, who had always seemed so uncomfortable around the Gifted, made Bilbo feel like an outsider in his own home, who even hesitated talking about gifts, had witnessed a Gifted lose control today.

He couldn't help the tiny curl of resentment for Bungo that raised its head from somewhere deep in his heart. Bilbo sighed, running a hand through his curls.

A curt knock at the door interrupted the awkward feeling, and a moment later Elrond swept in.

Pausing at the mess that greeted him, the headmaster simply smiled in amusement before taking a seat at the (thankfully) undisturbed desk at the end of the room. Elrond motioned for the adults to join him, three chairs already opposite the desk.

"Good afternoon, I trust you all had a pleasant morning?" Elrond greeted, though his smile never quite reached his eyes.

The other's murmured various greetings of their own, as Gandalf took his place by Elrond's side. Insisting he was not as frail as everyone seemed to believe him to be, the elder man chose to lean on the gnarled wood of his staff rather than sink into a seat.

Bilbo bit his lip, joining his friends and dragging over a chair behind the others. He clasped his hands nervously in his lap, glancing every now and then towards his father to his left.

Elronds's expression grew sombre, and he rested clasped hands on the smooth surface in front of him with a sigh. His frame seemed to stiffen, tensed as if for battle, and Bilbo couldn't help the feeling of dread that unfurled in his chest.

"First of all, I would like to say I truly am sorry for your loss. All of you," he added, gaze encompassing the teenagers in the room before resting on Dis, Frerin and Bungo once more.

"Vili Durin's memorial will take place as per our previous discussion, is that satisfactory?"

Dis gave a calm nod, and Frerin placed a hand on her shoulder in support. He smiled at her arched brow.

"If you don't mind, Mr Baggins, I feel it would be best for us to hold a combined memorial here, on the school grounds. I understand that Belladonna was not Gifted, but her sacrifice should be honoured. Particularly given the circumstances," Elrond reasoned, and Bungo nodded easily.

"Provided nothing impacts the funeral arrangements already underway, I have no problem with it," he said slowly, eyes narrowing as Elrond's expression turned apologetic.

Elrond sighed, and Bilbo straightened in his seat.

"I regret to inform you that Belladonna Baggins has been cremated, as per the government's instructions."

A/N: Anyone else know the game they were playing? I know that feel ._. horrible game
Anyways, as always, let me know what you thought and flick me a review :D
Update soon xx