Thorin was vain. Exceedingly vain.
The healers had patted him on the back a few nights ago saying he was nearly good as new. He had taken one step from the cot before an intricately designed stick of oak was handed to him. He looked at the dwarf holding it with much anger and refused to take it because he was definitely not old. Balin eventually came through and forced the cane into Thorin's hands and told the dwarf prince that he had to use it at all times due to the injury in his left leg. Thorin snarled a vicious agreement just to make the old dwarf leave him, but the healers had stayed behind.
So Thorin, cane and all, limped from the healing tent. He had wanted to escape the eyes of his kin who were unmistakeably judging the cane in his hand. He couldn't go into the mountain because that's were all of the Company and/or Bilbo might be, and he sure as hell wasn't ready to see them. These other dwarfs that did not travel with him on the quest were one thing, but to see the disapproving eyes of his own friends and lover would surely tear at him.
Many times he tried to rid himself of the blasted cane, but it seemed that the cursed piece of wood would find it's way back to him. He didn't hate it because an elf crafted it, but because he didn't need a cane. The great Thorin Oakenshield who had come back from the dead did not need a cane! He could walk perfectly fine on his own!
"Thorin, what have I told you? You cannot walk perfectly fine on your own," Bilbo scolded after catching the dwarf setting the cane against the wall.
"Yes, I can," he argued grouchily though he had not moved from the arm of a sofa since he let go of the cane. "I am a dwarf. I will endure."
"You a dwarf, but you are an idiot," Bilbo corrected. He held out that dreadful cane in front of Thorin. "Take it."
Thorin turned up his nose.
Bilbo's patience was running thin; the dwarf had been doing this quite often. "Thorin, take it. All the healers recommend you use it every minute of every day. Even the elves say so!"
"My people cannot see me this way," he growled. "I look weak with it. I get so many stares and judgmental looks when I supervise the cleaning and rebuilding. I don't want that thing anywhere near me. A King does not need help to stand on his own!"
"Oh Yavanna, we've been through this so many times," Bilbo groaned. "I thought the only look you cared about was the one I give you." He pressed the cane into the dwarf. "Please."
Thorin narrowed his eyes angrily but snatched the cane, muttering a few curses under his breath.
Bilbo grasped the dwarf's shoulders and made him look him up. "Let's go for a stroll to get your mind off all this," he suggested, careful to use the word 'stroll' instead of 'walk' because Thorin had nearly bitten his head off the last time he said that. "Just us. Somewhere in the forest where we have our own privacy." He watched the dwarf shrug. "Maybe you could practice walking without the cane?"
His eyes lit up for a split second before turning dark again and Bilbo pulled him up.
"Come on," Bilbo smiled happily, pulling Thorin further into the forest.
"You're not taking me to the elves, are you?" the dwarf grumbled almost teasing. "Already tired of me?"
Bilbo scoffed. "No, silly. I want to show you something. I discovered it when Dwalin and Bofur took me through the forest to find some fruit. Speaking of fruit, there are the most magnificent apple trees here and hundreds of bushes with wild plums and berries. They're all safe; I checked with a few elves." They brushed past many trees until they were a good distance away from the mountain though it was still visible through all the branches. "What do you think?"
Thorin smiled softly as his eyes landed on a medium-sized lake. He looked side-ways at Bilbo who was practically jumping up and down in excitement. "You getting in?" he asked knowingly.
"You forgot I can't swim," he replied.
"Aye, but you can float."
Both hobbit and dwarf stripped down to their briefs and only the dwarf (minus the cane) began wading into the water. He groaned with content as the water soothed his aching muscles (especially his legs which he would never admit to needing that darn cane to anyone! Hey, he was still determine to walk without it). He thought Bilbo would join him soon after the hobbit got past the initial shock of cold of the water, so he started to leisurely swim the length of the lake. He was on his way back to where he started when he noticed he hadn't heard any splash to indicate Bilbo had joined him. He stopped swimming and stood up with a frown, looking at the shore.
Said hobbit was shivering at the edge of the lake, in the water up to his ankles. An internal conflict was busy going in circles and he was stuck where he was. He didn't want to go in for fear of the water but he didn't want to leave because Thorin would never let him forget it. So he just stood there.
A loud cackle came from the water. "You were so eager to come here. Now you're shaking like a leaf because you're so scared!"
"Stop laughing at me!" Bilbo whined. "You know picturing this moment is one thing but actually doing it is a totally different thing!"
"Listen, you lift your left foot and take a step, and then you take your right foot-"
"Shut up!" Bilbo laughed. "I'll be in the water in a minute."
"A minute? It took me a minute to swim around," Thorin replied. "Fili and Kili should have tagged along so I could make them throw you in."
Bilbo squeaked. "You wouldn't!"
"You doubt me, Hobbit?" Thorin chuckled, wading closer. "Fili and Kili take after me, remember. Mischievous. You're courting a king, but that doesn't mean I have to act like one!"
He grumbled and took a few more steps into the water until he was knee deep. "Better?"
Thorin grinned. "A little more."
More steps. Mid-thigh deep. "Yes?"
"Bilbo."
Waist deep.
"Hobbit, come on. The water's not going to bite," Thorin complained.
"Don't pressure me," Bilbo huffed. He walked a little ways more before the water was up to his chest. Now, he was entitled to panic.
Thorin was instantly at his side, seeing the growing fear in the hobbit's eyes. "I'm right here, love," he soothed, putting his hands on Bilbo's waist. "You're alright."
Bilbo wasted no time in securing his arms around Thorin's neck, hanging on for dear life like he did so many months ago. But this time, it wasn't awkward at all to be this close to the dwarf prince. "You'd think that after learning to float, I wouldn't be so scared of the water," he muttered, trying to calm himself.
"That was just one time. With practice, you'll get used to being in the water," Thorin rumbled. "You want to try floating again?"
He shook his head and tightened his grip on Thorin.
"Need I remind you who it was that dragged me here?"
"Just give me a few seconds." Slowly but surely, Bilbo loosened his death grip on the dwarf and was able to stand on his own, minus the firm grasp on Thorin's forearm. He let out a heavy breath. "Okay, I'm ready."
"I need my arm," Thorin reminded him.
Bilbo narrowed his eyes and grumbled under his breath, reluctantly letting go of the other. "You won't let me drown?" he asked timidly though he already knew the answer; he just wanted to be sure.
Thorin gave him a look. "Where we're at, it's not that deep."
"Dwarf," he groaned.
"I won't let you drown, my hobbit," Thorin laughed, cupping Bilbo's face with his hands and kissing his sweet lips. "I promise."
"I love you," Bilbo sighed with a light smile on his face.
"Such a change from the first time we did this," the other mused. "Though I liked the way you blushed in my arms before."
"Oh, you noticed that?!" Bilbo giggled.
"How could I not when I felt the same way," he added with a grin. "Ready to float?"
"I guess," the hobbit hummed. "It's now or never since it was me who brought us here."
This swim/floating lesson was a lot better than their last one, mind you. Bilbo perfected his floating and learned how to hold his breath under water though it scared the bejeezus out of him. Having sturdy Thorin, who didn't laugh without his permission (because he was so horrible at this), by his side made getting water up his nose worth it.