"Thorin?" Bilbo called from the bedroom. "Are you sure this isn't too formal?"
Thorin came into the room and beamed at his fiance. "I am sure," he answered, taking in the sight of Bilbo in the suit he had especially ordered for him. "You look beautiful."
The younger man snorted. "Yeah, right. My hair's sticking up in all directions, not to mention it's full of tangles. I can't find the right tie to match with this suit. And I don't feel beautiful."
Thorin chuckled and wrapped his arms around Bilbo's waist.
"It's not funny," Bilbo argued, trying not to melt in Thorin's embrace. "Let me go; I have to get ready."
Thorin released him and leaned against the bedpost, watching Bilbo's hurried movements. "Love, don't worry. Tonight is just about you and me."
"That's the point," Bilbo said quickly, running around in all directions as he tried to get his head straight. "I'm supposed to be making myself perfect for you on our special night and I know I can't be as perfect as you but I at least need to try to make myself presentable for you and-"
"Bilbo Baggins," Thorin said sternly, grabbing the younger man by the shoulders and looking into his emerald eyes. "Do you not believe me when I say you are perfect in every possible way?" Bilbo looked down at the floor. "How can you try to be perfect for me when you already are? Bilbo, get dressed and meet me out in the car. Alright?"
"Okay," Bilbo answered quietly. "I'm sorry."
"It is fine," Thorin said, pulling Bilbo into a strong hug before kissing the younger man's curls. "I am nervous too."
"You are?" Bilbo asked, his eyes wide and looking up at Thorin.
"Yes," Thorin replied, giving his fiance a small peck on the lips. "Now, get ready. I will be outside waiting for you."
Bilbo nodded and watched Thorin go.
Fifteen long and agonizing minutes later, Bilbo emerged out of the house apparently dressed-to-impress. Thorin, who had been leaning against the hood of the car and glancing at his watch every few seconds, quickly straightened when he saw Bilbo. A broad smile broke out across his face as the younger man came closer, fiddling with his cuffs in a nervous manner.
"Hey," Thorin greeted, the smile not leaving his face. "Are you ready?"
Bilbo shifted nervously and Thorin's smile disappeared.
"What is wrong?" he asked, tilting the younger man's chin up to look into his eyes. "Do you not... wish to go?"
"Oh, no. Thorin..." Bilbo gasped out. "I am just... I don't have..."
Thorin's brow creased. "You do not have what?"
Bilbo shook his head, straightened himself, and opened the car door. As the younger man climbed in the car, Thorin's smile returned as he realized what the man was panicking about.
"Love?" Thorin asked and Bilbo glanced up at him. "Would you like to borrow one of my ties?"
The younger man shook his head; his cheeks turning a rosy shade of embarrassment. "No, I'll be fine."
Thorin chuckled and leaned against the open car door. "No," he said. "I shall go fetch you one, otherwise, you will be pouting the entire time." He laughed when Bilbo shot him a glare. "And I do not like it when you pout."
"I thought you did?" Bilbo asked, clearly interested about Thorin not liking his famous pouts.
"I do," Thorin answered, the words reminding him of their future wedding day. "When you are teasing me," he finished after Bilbo's confused look. "But when you are worrying over something that you can simply share with me, I do not."
Bilbo nodded and glanced up expectantly at Thorin. "Are you going... or not?"
Thorin smiled. "Bossy, bossy," he tsked before entering the house to retrieve a decent tie. Once in their bedroom, he chuckled at all the ties Bilbo had strewn around the floor, the bed, and the dresser. Thorin opened the closet door and grabbed his box of ties. Scooting most of Bilbo's ties aside, Thorin dumped the box on the bed and scattered the ties to find the right one. He like several of them but there wasn't one to match the tie he had on. After many grunts and grumbles, Thorin grabbed the best alright looking tie and headed for the door. He was halfway to the front door when he remembered he had older ties that he had not worn in years, and one of those ties happened to match the one he was wearing. Swiftly turning on his heel, Thorin retreated to the bedroom and dug in the closet until he found the exact tie he wanted.
"Here you go," Thorin said, handing the tie to Bilbo who had been leaning his head against the seat.
The younger man took the tie with a wide smile that made Thorin's heart flutter. "Thank you," he replied, getting out of the car to put the silver and green tie on.
"Let me," Thorin offered, lifting his large hands to cover Bilbo's smaller ones and proceeding to fasten the tie. Bilbo smiled as Thorin's rough hands ever so delicately laced the tie around his neck. Thorin, meanwhile, remained focused on the task before him; with the presence of his fiance, who always made him act like a lovesick teenager again, he had slightly forgotten how to put on a tie. Bilbo giggled as Thorin had to restart the process twice, though he admired the man's endeavor to be the perfect gentleman he could possibly be. Bilbo had a feeling that he would enjoy tonight as he knew Thorin would strive to make him feel very special. "Alright," he heard Thorin sigh.
"Thank you," Bilbo said softly, resting his hand on Thorin's chest before gasping.
"What?" Thorin asked, startled by the sudden noise.
"Your tie!" the younger man exclaimed. "I love it!"
Butterflies and a warm feeling welled up inside Thorin's stomach as Bilbo held the tie in his small hands. Thorin enjoyed seeing the other man happy, especially when he, himself, had caused it. He had been so mesmerized with his fiance's expression that he didn't realize the younger man had spoken to him until he received a swift punch to the chest. "What the?" he suddenly asked, rubbing the sore spot.
"Did you not hear what I just said?" Bilbo huffed.
"No," Thorin answered sheepishly. "Could you repeat it?"
"I asked," Bilbo began, "when did you get this tie?" He folded his arms across his chest and waited for an answer, pouting as he did so.
"I bought a tailored suit for Dis' wedding way before this whole mess started," Thorin explained. "I chose this tie because..." His mouth ran dry and the nervousness that had plagued him when he first laid eyes on the younger man returned. "Because it reminded me of... you."
Bilbo gasped lightly before standing on his toes, wrapping his arms around Thorin's neck, and giving the man a lovely kiss. He felt Thorin's arms shift to support him in case he lost his balance; oh, such a loving gesture that made Bilbo simply want to cry with complete and utter happiness. He clung to the older man as he broke off the kiss and plainly hugged him, standing higher on his toes. He squeaked as he felt himself tip to the side as he lost some of his balance, and as a result he hugged Thorin tighter.
"I have got you," Thorin's gruff but comforting voice soothed as he wrapped his arms around Bilbo's waist. "You are not going to fall."
Bilbo buried his face in the older man's shoulder; Thorin's hair was, unfortunately, tied in a ponytail and out of Bilbo's grasp. "And if I do," Bilbo mumbled into Thorin's shoulder, "you're coming down with me."
Thorin laughed heartily and squeezed Bilbo tight but not too tight. "I love you, Bilbo," he said quietly but deeply.
"I love you too, Thorin," Bilbo answered, shifting his head to kiss a patch of skin underneath Thorin's beard. He giggled as Thorin's grasp tightened and he heard the man groan in pleasure. He kissed the same spot again to see what Thorin would do, and he nearly yelped in surprise as Thorin shut the door of the car and firmly pressed him up against it. Before he had time to register what the heck just happened, Thorin's mouth was hot on his and his tongue was licking the walls of Bilbo's mouth. The younger man gasped and, with his arms still around Thorin's neck, he tugged the man's long hair free. He smiled against Thorin's lips as he felt the wavy black hair caress his hands.
"Bilbo," Thorin grunted into his fiance's mouth, grinding his hips against Bilbo's own.
The other man moaned as Thorin's hips moved so swiftly against his body. He knew they shouldn't be doing this now... when they had a date to go on, but he didn't want this pleasure to end just yet. After a few breaths in between kisses, Bilbo was unable to take it anymore. He unlaced his hands from around Thorin's neck and buried them deep within the man's clean black hair. He roughly tugged and pulled at those long, precious locks of silver and black, hearing Thorin's deep growling grow stronger all the while. As Bilbo's hands grasped several braids on the side of Thorin's face, the older man reluctantly pulled back and Bilbo pouted.
"We had better get going if we are to make that reservation," Thorin said, kissing away Bilbo's pout.
"Reservation?!" Bilbo squeaked. "You didn't tell me!"
"I hadn't planned on it, but..." he trailed and Bilbo nodded; they had almost lost track of time just now. Thorin moved to the side of Bilbo to open the car door. Already beginning to be the gentleman that he was, Thorin waited until Bilbo was secured inside the car before closing the door and joining him on the other side. Sliding in the car himself, Thorin turned on the engine and smiled at Bilbo who smiled back. Taking a deep breath to remember the road to the restaurant, Thorin pulled onto the street from the driveway and reached for Bilbo's hand.
When they arrived at the destination, Thorin had Bilbo's hand securely laced in his own.
Breathing in deeply, Thorin turned the car off and unbuckled his seat belt before glancing at Bilbo, whose eyes were covered by his long chestnut curls. "I... I should... b-braid." Bilbo frowned at him, and Thorin took a deep breath before trying to say the sentence again. "I should... braid your hair..."
Bilbo frowned slightly, though a small smile lay on his lips. "Why?"
"Because... it's in your... way," Thorin managed, glancing at Bilbo for a mere second before staring down at his own lap. He felt a small hand press against his forearm. He looked up to see Bilbo giving him a gentle smile.
"Do not be nervous, Thorin," he said. "Being with you makes me happy enough."
Thorin nodded and leaned over to kiss Bilbo sweetly. When he broke away, he opened his door and had one leg out when Bilbo made a move to leave as well. "Stay," he commanded and Bilbo smiled but leaned back into the seat.
Bilbo watched as Thorin exited the car before traveling to Bilbo's side. He bit back a giggle as Thorin fumbled with the door handle a few times before swinging it open in a very professional, but shaky, manner. As Bilbo got out of the car, he noticed that several cars were crammed into the parking lot and a long line flowed out the restaurant's doors. He gaped at the name of the restaurant; he knew this place was overly expensive. Glancing at Thorin, who had closed the car door and now had a protective hand pressed to his back, Bilbo gave him a look that pretty much said 'how long ago did you reserve this date?'.
"I reserved it the night I proposed to you," Thorin answered, leaning over to kiss Bilbo's locks.
"But-"
"After our little..." Thorin waved his hand as a gesture to what they did that night. "I called to make a reservation for tonight."
Bilbo smiled and shrugged Thorin's hand off, causing the man to grunt in disapproval. As Thorin lifted his hand to return it to the same spot, Bilbo caught it and laced their fingers together. He giggled at Thorin's expression of surprise but love. For about ten steps, Bilbo was content on holding hands with his fiance until he stopped short, nearly tripping Thorin who hadn't been paying attention to Bilbo but to his own thoughts instead.
"What is it?" Thorin asked, a concern look growing on his face.
"The engagement ring," Bilbo said breathlessly. His heart started to beat fast; how could he have forgotten his own engagement ring?! Thorin was going to be so mad right now. Bilbo hesitantly glanced at Thorin who, surprisingly, had a smirk on his face. "What are you smirking at?" To Bilbo's gratefulness and slight annoyance, Thorin pulled the silver band from his pocket and held it out to him. Yanking the ring from his fiance's hand, Bilbo shoved it onto his left ring finger and glared at Thorin. "You had it this entire time?! And you didn't tell me?!"
Thorin chuckled and wrapped his arm around Bilbo, ignoring the younger man's squirming protests. "I did not have it the entire time," Thorin confessed.
"Well," Bilbo began, "how did you get it?"
"When I lent you that tie," Thorin explained, kissing Bilbo's head. "I saw the ring on the dresser. I got it, knowing you had forgotten about it."
Bilbo huffed but playfully thumped Thorin's shoulder, receiving a deep laugh. "I did not forget..." Thorin gave him a knowing look. "Alright, fine. I did forget..." Bilbo narrowed his eyes as the other man laughed again. "But that was only because I was in a hurry to look perfect for you."
Thorin released a very un-gentleman-like sound as Bilbo ran his small hands through his hair, smirking at the reaction he got. Though both were still standing in the parking lot, Thorin didn't care that the whole world saw him with the man he loved so dearly, but they did block foot-traffic. During their little 'moment' on the blacktop, Thorin had received several pushes from people that passed around them, while Bilbo was oblivious to the people's obvious glares, pointing, and shoving. Once, a brave, young, male, straight teen waltzed up to Bilbo and Thorin to pick on the couple, who both had been in a lip-lock at the time. The teen got as far as raising his right hand to rudely shove Bilbo when Thorin snarled at him, and the teen quickly backed away as Thorin's sapphire eyes grew deadly cold. Thorin glared at the other pedestrians as if daring them to disturb their little moment together. When he was sure no one would interrupt them again, he nipped at Bilbo's nose to get the younger man's attention.
"Mhmm?" Bilbo asked, smiling up into Thorin's face.
"We should get going," he answered.
"Alright," Bilbo replied. He smiled as he felt Thorin's large hand rest on the small of his back; with the amount of pressure Thorin placed there, Bilbo could tell the man was in his very protective mood.
"Mr. Oakenshield," the male waiter greeted, with a smile, as Thorin and Bilbo passed the scowling people waiting in line. "Right this way."
Bilbo forced down an 'in-you-face' grin when they walked by most of the people that had shoved them in the parking lot. They had begun to follow the waiter and Thorin's hand was still tightly pressed against his back; Bilbo swore he would never get tired of that wonderful feeling. The waiter led them to a small table next to a curtain-drawn window. He set the menus down before standing back and looking expectantly at Thorin.
"Domaine de la Romanee Conti la Tache, Nineteen-ninety," Thorin said fluently, smiling at the waiter who nodded and left the table.
Bilbo was about to ask Thorin what he had just said when the older man pulled out Bilbo's chair. Bilbo smiled shyly and sat down, loving the way Thorin guided the chair as he sat. He took a nervous breath and watched Thorin sit in a chair on the other side of the table. He felt himself begin to blush as Thorin reached out for his left hand, running a rough thumb over the silver band.
"Are you alright?" Thorin asked when Bilbo fanned at his face.
"Yeah," he answered. "It's just... hot in here."
Thorin winked at him. "It must be me."
"Oh, ha ha," Bilbo replied in a mocking tone, sticking his tongue out. "Very funny. I'm laughing hysterically."
Thorin chuckled and brought Bilbo's hand up to his lips, his beard tickling the younger man's fingers. He gently kissed his fiance's knuckles as any gentleman should when on a loving date. Returning Bilbo's hand to the table, Thorin glanced at the other man who still looked uncomfortable. "Are you sure you are alright?" he asked, sending Bilbo a concerned look.
"Yes," Bilbo answered much to Thorin's dislike. "I am fine. I'm just..."
"Just what?" Thorin pressed, needing to know if Bilbo wasn't feeling well.
"Your wine," the waiter interrupted, setting the bottle down on the table before leaving.
"W-wine?" Bilbo asked, his mouth involuntarily dropping open. "Y-you... wine?"
Thorin smiled as he opened the bottle and poured Bilbo a glass before serving himself. "Yes," he answered. "The finest wine in France."
Bilbo swore his heart stopped when Thorin said 'finest'. He glanced at the bottle and saw huge dollar signs on it (figuratively). He turned his attention back to Thorin who held the wine glass to him. Bilbo smiled, taking a small sip... it probably wouldn't hurt even if he was... nevermind... he'll just drink the wine. "It's lovely," he said, smiling at Thorin.
"I am glad you like it."
Bilbo smiled nervously at Thorin who had a similar expression on his face. Both men sat there for a good five minutes thinking of what to say without acting like a complete fool in front of the other. On one hand, Bilbo was panicking over a small, little, miniscule, tiny detail that might have slipped his mind this morning, and he was now worrying himself... almost sick... over the detail that... oh, well... Dis... mentioned. And on the other, Thorin thought of topics they could talk about... and sure, he had plenty of topics in mind... it's just... getting them out of his mouth was the problem.
"I, uh-" Thorin began.
"Well, I-" Bilbo started at the same time. "Oh, sorry. You go first."
"No, you," Thorin replied. "Bilbo, go."
"I... I need... to talk to you... about-"
The waiter appeared at their table, ready to take their order. Bilbo shot Thorin a 'what do I do' look, and the other man nodded. Bilbo sat back and watched Thorin place their orders though Bilbo didn't even open the menu. The waiter left a short while later, putting all of Thorin's attention on Bilbo.
"Yes?" Thorin pressed, frowning at Bilbo's paleness. "Are you alright?" he asked, sitting up straighter in his chair and leaning towards his fiance.
"N-n-no," Bilbo managed, wiping the sweat from his upper lip. "I..." He closed his eyes; he knew he shouldn't burden this on Thorin and especially not right now. "It's nothing. I'm just... nervous that's all."
Thorin nodded very slowly, eyeing Bilbo closely. "Just nervous?" he asked, needing to know the truth.
Bilbo gave him a confident smile. "Yes, I am just nervous about making this night perfect."
That seemed to satisfy Thorin because he returned the smile and winked at Bilbo. He laughed when Bilbo blushed violently and smiled shyly at him. "Do not worry," he said. "This night shall be very perfect."
And perfect it was.
Throughout dinner, Thorin and Bilbo held small but interesting conversations that had both men laughing and endlessly teasing each other. Bilbo enjoyed seeing Thorin grin and laugh and be... natural with him; it gave him hope of maybe telling his love, one day, what was really on his mind. Bilbo also loved the delicious, but small, steak Thorin had ordered for him; the small piece of meat had a fancy name but Bilbo didn't care, so he didn't remember. He had polished off one and a half glasses of wine before stopping himself and going for water instead. Thorin had pretended not to notice Bilbo's sudden change in drink, although his action made Thorin wish the younger man had told him what was bothering him earlier. After Bilbo took a few sips of wine, Thorin decided to not pressure the younger man in telling him the truth; he knew Bilbo would tell him when he was ready. At the end of their date, Thorin had paid the bill (which he didn't let Bilbo see) and escorted his fiance to the car where they joked, teased, laughed, and talked all the way home, holding hands as they did.
Thorin knew his life with Bilbo couldn't get any better. The man was perfect in every possible way, and Dis had accepted him for who he is. Thorin could not wait until his love became Mr. Bilbo Oakenshield at their wedding, which still needed to be planned. As Thorin held Bilbo's hand, he chuckled as he just enjoyed hearing Bilbo's sweet voice. He would do anything for Bilbo, anything in the world.
But that commitment would soon be put to the test...
DUN Dun dun! Cliffhanger! hahaha I won't be updating again for about six days or so (I'm going out of town for Spring Break)... So there ya have it! What is going to happen next? I guess you'll have to wait six, long days... *laughs evilly*
Oh, but don't let that stop you from... reviewing, favoriting (i know that is not a word, but I like it), and following! XD! Oh, and I'd like to thank Google search for the type of wine Thorin ordered and I don't even know how to pronounce it! :)
See ya in six days with a lovely, suspenseful, and maybe angst filled chapter! :D
