A/N- Last filler chapter, I promise. I really need to get some actual plot going before it leaks out my ears and I forget it. I own nothing of Tolkien's. Teenage Durin bros make me happy/sad.
It was Dori who Bilbo found next. After stopping for lunch and a lovely cup of tea with Balin and Ori, the producer found the older male in an office, sitting behind a desk and arguing, rather crossly with his brother. Nori was sprawled rather lazily over an arm chair, his legs dangling over one of its arms.
"I don't see what the big deal is," the mohawk sporting man was saying lazily, picking at his nails "Thorin gave me a job and I did it." Dori bristled and brandished a pen in his brother's direction.
"Don't give me that nonsense! Thorin may have given you an order but that's no excuse to act like a Yankee hooligan and do as you please." The older man reprimanded, wagging the pen at Nori who shrugged.
"Look, what's done is done. Just let it be, alright?" He sighed before noticing Bilbo at the door as the producer cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Is now a bad time?" He asked, feeling like he should leave. "I can um... come back later if now's a bad time." But Dori gave him a welcoming smile and stood up, ushering Bilbo to sit.
"Nonsense, Master Baggins." He said kindly. "We always have time for you." Bilbo sat slowly as the older man spoke and Nori shot the producer a lazy smile and wave. As curious as he was on what they were talking about, Bilbo felt it was none of his business so he coughed gently.
"Yes, well, Bofur had said you wanted to see me." He said, diverting his mind to the matter at hand and Dori smiled warmly.
"Indeed, I did. We can't have you waltz into the dragon's lair, so to speak, without proper documentation. Master Oakenshield has asked for me to compile a proper resume for you." He said smoothly, both he and Nori looking at Bilbo at the words 'dragon's lair', appearing almost hopeful. Bilbo nodded, not seeming to notice their hopeful looks.
"Seems reasonable. I suppose I can't say that I'm the man he tried to blow up." The producer chuckled a bit weakly and both men looked disappointed for a moment before Dori smiled, throwing his brother a bit of a look. Nori still looked a bit crestfallen but shrugged, stretching out on his chair. Dori returned his attention to Bilbo.
"So, Master Baggins, we must craft for you, a convincing, skilled persona. One who will be all but guaranteed a position in that...let's call him a man...in his office." Speaking with authority, Dori took out his laptop and cracked his fingers, wiggling them slightly. Nori snickered.
"You got him started now, Bilbo." He teased, stretching out and idly sliding a hand through his mohawk. Bilbo chuckled.
"I suppose I'll need an alias then? Some sort of different name, yes?" Dori nodded, tongue sticking slightly between his lips.
"How about... William Underhill?" He asked, peering up at the curly haired male who pondered, fingering his chin.
"Underhill...Underhill. I quite like that." Bilbo said cheerfully and Dori typed away. All sorts of things needed to be carefully crafted to make the producer seem like a far more skilled man then he actually was. It almost made Bilbo felt inadequate. He chuckled lamely as Dori added more embellishments.
"Gracious, I'm not even sure I can pull off the basics of those tasks." The producer joked and Nori chortled behind him.
"You don't HAVE to pull anything off. You just have to act like you can. Enough confidence and anyone will buy into it." He offered easily and Dori peered at his brother over the top of his laptop before looking at Bilbo again.
"He's quite right, Master Baggins. We don't expect you to be there for an extended period of time. Just enough to find some things out and get the evidence we need to clear our names." The older man said kindly before his eyes traveled back to the screen. "Well, it looks about in order. We'll just need to add a few more things and you'll be a fully certified Underhill." Dori beamed quite proudly while Nori hefted himself from his chair, moving across the room for a few moments before coming back with a rather large shopping bag. Bilbo was about to ask but it landed in his lap before he even had a chance to speak.
Nori smiled easily, and shrugged as Dori gave him a bit of a glare. "You gotta look the part, Master Baggins." He said smoothly, Bilbo inspecting the contents of the bag with growing curiosity. Suits. Expensive suits with expensive shoes and he even found a little box that contained an INCREDIBLY expensive looking watch.
Bilbo gawked. "Heavens, I don't have money for something like this!" He spluttered out but Nori snickered, waving a hand.
"Perish the thought, Master Baggins." The mohawked man said simply and Dori gave him another glare. Nori sighed.
"NO, I didn't get it THAT way. Must you be always so suspicious?" He grumbled, Dori scoffing at the question. Nori rolled his eyes. "I'll have you know, these were all purchased. Quite legally. And I've never gotten so stared at in my life." He added before grinning at Bilbo. "Seems Thorin really wants this to go well." He added with a wink before slinking back to flop in his armchair, throwing his legs over one of its arms.
Bilbo stared at the watch, slowly turning it in his fingers. It was very high end... he felt richer just by holding it. He also didn't want to question just how exactly Nori got the money to pay for all these things and carefully set the watch down. "I don't even know how to thank..." He began but the mohawk sporting man cut him off.
"There is nothing to thank us for, Bilbo." He waved it off easily. "You're putting yourself on the line for us and there is no way that some trinkets and fancy duds will cover for how much you're actually doing." Nori said calmly and Dori smiled, reaching over the desk to pat Bilbo's hand. The producer managed a smile. He couldn't quite believe he was actually going through with this...But Dori's hand on his own calmed him down. The smile grew more confident.
"Well, I do hope I can pull this off. Wouldn't you feel silly if I get there only not to get hired?" Bilbo laughed but the other two didn't seem as amused so Bilbo simmered, coughing. "Right. No, I will try my very best." He paused, studying the two men. "You are certainly putting a lot of faith in me. Especially for a stranger. Especially when everyone's been acting like they've seen me before." He added almost curiously and the brothers exchanged a look. They looked almost uncomfortable. Bilbo's curiosity grew.
Dori cleared his throat. "Well, it's a tad difficult to explain..." He began a bit weakly but Nori overrode him.
"Let's just say you remind us of someone." He said evenly and Bilbo quirked an eyebrow.
"Remind you of someone?" He echoed and Nori looked at his brother before nodding.
"Someone from a long time ago." The mohawk sporting man said almost gently and Bilbo's curiosity piqued.
"...What happened to them?" He asked slowly and the two brothers exchanged looks again. This time, it was a bit more...almost sad. Nori was the first to regain himself.
"He...We lost him." He said slowly.
"Lost him to something utterly foolish." Dori added gently, fingers idly ghosting over the keyboard before reaching up to rub at his eyes.
"Did he die?" Came the question from Bilbo. Dori flinched.
"Well, no, not exactly. It's...a bit of a complicated situation, Master Baggins. It's hard to explain." He finished a bit lamely and Bilbo frowned.
"It's just been a really long time since we've seen him and you just sort of...fit the role." Nori put in helpfully. Dori looked a little distraught. All these questions and Bilbo still showed no signs. How was this possible? Maybe they were wrong? Maybe he just wasn't meant to remember them at all...
Nori appeared to be thinking the same but was doing a much better job at hiding it. Dori's expression swam a bit before landing on a kind smile. He patted Bilbo's hand.
"Don't worry about it, Master Underhill." He said kindly, trying to get used to Bilbo's new name and the producer smiled gently after a moment.
"If you say so, Master Dori." He said at last, Dori handing Bilbo his finished and neatly typed up resume and letting his smile linger.
"There you are then. All set. Now off you go. Fili had said he needed to speak to you?" Realization hit Bilbo and the producer hefted himself out of his chair, dragging the shopping bag with him.
"Thank you kindly, both of you." The producer said easily, giving the both a gentle bow before scampering out of the room. When the door shut behind him, Dori collapsed in his chair once more, rubbing a hand over his face. Nori shot him a look.
The older man looked suddenly exhausted. "Maybe we're wro..."
"Don't." Nori cut him off sharply, finally hefting himself off the arm of the chair and swinging his legs around to hit the floor. "Don't say that and don't think it. You'll just make things worse for yourself." Standing, the mohawked man walked over, clapping a hand on his brother's shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "He had faith in us before, right? We gotta do the same for him." Dori looked almost startled but shot his brother a smile.
"No. You're right. Of course. How silly. Right then." Patting his brother's hand, Dori nodded firmly before returning to his work, Nori slinking back to his chair for a little nap.
Bilbo meanwhile had stopped in his room, dropping off the bag of clothes before finding Fili. The lad was once more glued to his computer screen with Kili lounged upside down on the couch next to his brother, shoulder length unkempt hair dangling over the side to the floor with his legs propped up on the couch's back.
"Fee, I'm so booooooored. Uncle won't let me go out." The younger man whined and Fili snickered, eyes not leaving the computer as he reached down to flick his brother's nose. Kili whined again, making his brother laugh a bit louder.
"You know it's for your own good. 'Sides, you heard Elrond. He says Smaug knows about us. Can't have you traipsing around London, blowing our cover." The older lad said reasonably and Kili grumbled.
"But I'm so booooored. You've been glued to your machine and Ori's off to his nerd haven. What's a guy to do?"
"Well for one, you could get your feet off Master Elrond's couch." Came the reply from Bilbo and Kili jumped slightly, tumbling off the couch with a yelp and a hoot of laughter from Fili.
"That was practically comedic timing, Master Boggins." The older brother said cheerfully as Bilbo chuckled, walking around the couch to help haul Kili to his feet. The teen look a bit hurt for a second but it was soon forgotten as he launched himself at Bilbo in a big hug. The producer reminded himself that he still had to get used to the young man's disregard for personal space and laughed, ruffling Kili's hair. Kili let go after a moment and beamed, flopping down on the couch again and leaving room for Bilbo between himself and his older brother.
Bilbo sat down with a smile and Fili bumped himself against the older man as a genuine sign of affection, pulling his legs up on the couch and resting his laptop on his thighs. "Now then, Master Boggins, since you're all set with your new found persona, we need to get you some IDs. We'll of course need a picture with you in the prosthetics and Bofur has informed me that those are almost done." Bilbo studied the older brother for a moment.
"So...do you even need me for this?" He blurted out and Fili laughed.
"Technically not but Kili has been hell these past few hours. And we both thought you could use some agreeable company."
"As agreeable as the bunions on my great gran's foot." Bilbo sniffed and Fili laughed brightly, Kili snickering on the producer's other side.
"Those must have been quite the bunions then." The younger brother giggled.
"They were heinous." Bilbo affirmed, the lads bursting into laughter.
"Then we're so glad to be on that level of agreeability." Fili snickered, finally distracting himself from typing and yawning quite loudly. Bilbo chuckled, patting the older lad's shoulder.
"Have you eaten or slept at all?" He asked in a fatherly manner and Fili smiled sheepishly before fixing his expression into a smug smirk.
"Sleeping is for the weak. Justice never sleeps." He said brightly and got a paperclip thrown at him by Kili. Fili grunted and sunk back against the couch cushions as his smile softened.
"Uncle had said he wants everything ready for you, so I've been trying to get everything finished. All we need now is the picture for your ID." The older boy said with a shrug and Bilbo tutted.
"Well, that's all well and good but you still need sleep and food." He said simply, hefting himself up from the couch and leaving the room. The brothers exchanged looks before the producer returned about 10 minutes later with a tray of food. He set it down on the table, revoked Fili's laptop and pointed to both of them, then the food. "Eat." He said simply and had to laugh as the lads practically threw themselves at the food.
Bilbo let them eat in peace, sitting down once more and letting his eyes close for a moment. His thoughts wandered. Just who was this man Dori and Nori spoke of? Both men looked quite distraught when Bilbo questioned them and the producer wondered what it was that actually happened. But... it was no use worrying about it, he supposed especially as Fili let out an incredibly loud belch beside him and both he and Kili rolled with laughter. What a terrible time to be introspective.
Sighing, Bilbo let his eyes open, shooting the lads a look. They both grinned innocently and Kili grabbed up a napkin, pretending to be all proper as he cleaned off his face from crumbs. The producer couldn't hold back a smile. Maybe he'd just let it be for now. And he had discovered that he rather enjoyed spending time with everyone. They were all such wonderful people that Bilbo could barely believe that the government wanted them as terrorists.
If these people were terrorists, then Bilbo was a 90 year old cat lady.
He really hoped he could help these men...and not get severely injured in the process.