"Master Boggins!"
Bilbo looked up from where he was chopping a few potatoes for their supper next to Bofur.
"Master Boggins, come over here!" Kili's face popped out from above a shrub at the edge of the camp, leaves and sticks clinging to his hair as if he were one of the plants. Fili's hand came up and shoved his brother down, "Don't shout, Kili!"
The blond dwarf's face turned towards where the hobbit was looking at them with raised eyebrows, "Hurry, Master Baggins, before the sun sets too low."
Bilbo let out a little sigh but smiled as he put aside the knife and potatoes he had been cutting. They had spent another fruitless day looking for the secret door along the side of the Lonely Mountain and had come up with absolutely nothing. Bilbo and Balin had come back into camp as the sun set only to be met with the sight of Thorin stomping around muttering something about how he was going to find every thrush within fifty leagues of Erebor and 'knock' all of their heads against the rocks personally.
Their leader's mood was quickly degrading the longer it took them to find the door, but Dwalin had shaken his head when the hobbit had made to move towards his friend.
"Let him be a while, laddie," the dwarf had spoken to him softly, "he just needs some time to think."
And so Bilbo had nodded, feeling a bit unsure but trusting Dwalin's judgment regarding their leader and had started to make a large supper with Bofur.
Walking over to where the two brothers had disappeared behind a wall of thick shrubs, Bilbo pushed his way through tangled and altogether very pointy plants. When he broke through the other side, the hobbit saw Fili and Kili waiting for him beside what looked to be a narrow path in the dirt.
"Follow us! We have a surprise, Master Boggins!" Kili said eagerly as he grabbed Bilbo's arm and started to pull.
He followed the brothers through thickets of charred trees and some hardier shrubs that had grown at the base of the mountain. "Where are we going?" he asked with slight suspicion, hoping this was not another of their pranks.
"You'll see," Fili looked back at him with a smile. They walked through the closely laid dead trees until Bilbo saw another cluster of bushes.
Grinning at him, Fili and Kili wedged themselves through. Bilbo stared at brush for a moment, eyeing the spiky things coming out with some trepidation; he didn't think he'd be able to get through with gouging himself accidentally in the eye repeatedly.
"What are you waiting for?" came Kili's voice from though the plants.
The hobbit grumbled but decided to push through. When he came out the other side he couldn't help but let out a gasp as he face broke out in a wide smile. There was a small clearing filled with the most wonderful flowers, reds and blues and yellows dusting the ground.
"Knew you would like it!" Kili grinned at him from where the dwarf was laying at the edge of the patch of flowers.
Fili puffed a few clouds of smoke from his pipe with a smile, "We thought it looked a little like your garden in Bag End, Master Baggins, a little taste of home."
The hobbit knelt down to take a closer look at the small petals. They were… he thought they might even be the same kind he had planted in his garden oh so many years ago.
"They're called Winter's Kiss," Bilbo said softly, "they only bloom when the weather gets cold."
He had some planted in his garden for just that purpose. It made him sad, he supposed, to see the flowers die every autumn. To have all that beauty and life fade away, even though he knew they would be back the next spring. These flowers, though, these flowers only started to bloom when the others began to die. They were hardy and beautiful and stayed the hobbit's winter melancholy as long as they flowered.
Bilbo reached down and plucked up one of the deep blue ones, small white lines curving around the edges of the petals. Twirling it between two fingers, the hobbit smiled down at it before closing his eyes and bringing it up to his nose. Taking a deep breath in, Bilbo caught the small fragrance emanating from the flower. It smelled like home, like something familiar and soft but there was also… something wilder in the scent. As if the nature of the mountain itself had imbued some of its essence within the bloom.
"Do you like it, Master Boggins?"
Bilbo opened his eyes slowly and looked over at the brothers with a chuckle, "Yes, very much Kili, thank you both."
The younger dwarf grinned up at his brother, looking very pleased with himself. Fili patted the ground next to him and waved his pipe with a wiggle of his brows, "Join us, my friend, this may be the last time we have to relax until something very scaly and angry decides to make us its dinner."
The hobbit glared at Fili who simply laughed back as he walked over to where his friends were sitting. He took the pipe from Fili and drew on it for a long moment. They sat together in companionable silence as the light from the sunset started to fade from the sky. Despite the beautifully painted clouds, Bilbo couldn't take his eyes off of the flowers. It was… reassuring to see something alive and growing near the dragon's wreckage. Like the earth itself had sensed Thorin's return and wanted to show them that hope was still alive even in the face of such ruin.
The hobbit absently plucked a few of the yellow flowers and started to weave them together as he had some so many times as a child. He had almost forgotten how many days he and he mother had spent sitting in the grass making braids and crowns from the plants around them. After his father had passed away and he and his mother lived together alone in Bag End for a few years. His mother grew older and lonelier even though she never wept nor did she pine for her dead husband. They had lived many long, good, and happy years together. They had shared a lifetime of moments and happiness and love. But… after Bungo had passed on, his mother had missed her husband. She missed him like a limb, like something else so terribly essential had been taken from her.
She did not mourn him, for he had gone quietly and happily in his bed, but for the first time in what seemed like endless years of a happy summer, Belladonna Took Baggins was without her other, without her partner, without her best friend. Bilbo saw the spark of loneliness that crept into her eyes whenever she would go to make a witty comment over her shoulder where her husband used to linger. When Bilbo would bring her breakfast in the mornings, he would see his mother had slung an arm over space in her bed where Bungo used to sleep, like she was still holding him even in her dreams.
His mother grew older and spent more of her time in bed, as all the older hobbits of Hobbiton were known to do, and Bilbo would pull up his chair, a basket of flowers placed on the small table, and they would weave their stems together. They weaved crowns for gallant kings, wands for mysterious old, grey wizards, and braids to place in Belladonna's silver hair. They weaved until her wizened hands could weave no more and then it would just be Bilbo, every day sitting beside his mother, making floral creations until the winter frost wilted his tools and his mother went to join her husband in the one place Bilbo couldn't follow.
He didn't lament his parents. Bilbo Baggins knew it was natural and they had lived as good of lives as anyone he had ever known. But every spring and summer when the flowers he had planted over their resting place on the top of a nearby hill, Bilbo would pluck enough to make a wreath for his parents. To remind himself that a life well lived was not something to remember tinged with sorrow once it came to an end.
"What are you doing, Master Baggins?" Bilbo heard Fili ask him curiously as his hands worked almost unconsciously, intertwining the stems.
The hobbit smiled up at him, "Nothing really, it's just something my mother taught me when I was little."
The blond dwarf peered over to look at Bilbo's hands more closely, "What is it for?"
The hobbit laughed as he twisted the end of the last yellow flower, completing the circle, "For this!" He placed the flowers on his head as Fili's brows rose.
Kili looked up from where he was laying on the ground and took one glance at Bilbo before letting out a loud laugh, "Very fetching, Master Boggins, you make a fine maiden."
The hobbit rolled his eyes before removing the flowers, "I can practically smell your jealousy, Kili, it's rather unbecoming for a prince." Bilbo's face splint into a wicked grin, "But Fili… I think this color would go very well with that golden mane of yours."
Fili's eyes widened slightly as Bilbo's swiftly thrust the crown of blossoms on the dwarf's head. Kili started to practically cry with laughter at his brother's disgruntled face, "Oh, Master Boggins, you are a genius! Now everyone will have to respect our future king. Even if he is an elf."
The blond dwarf glared at his brother before appearing to decide that acting like he cared would be letting Kili win and he was most definitely not going to let that happen.
"I do not need the stone crown, brother. A true king needs no crown," Fili gestured to the flowers with a flourish, "Though I don't think anyone could deny that it is very becoming, perhaps the hobbits are on to something."
Bilbo grinned at the brothers and started to weave together another wreath with the red flowers, "Don't worry Kili, I'll make another. Erebor's princes should never be without crowns."
The younger dwarf laughed again. "Well, I wouldn't want everyone looking at Fili when I am clearly more handsome."
Bilbo tied the last red flower and stood up, putting on a mock somber face, "Sir Kili, Son of Dís, Nephew of Thorin Oakenshield, I crown you and Sir Fili princes of the mountain flowers." The hobbit placed the red flowers on Kili's head with a bow and backed away still bent over in exaggerated respect.
The younger dwarf pretended to wipe away a happy tear from his eye and stood up with his chest puffed out, a leather clad hand pressed over his heart. "I promise to serve my subjects," Kili gesuted with a wide, sweeping hand towards the cluster of flowers on the ground, "as a true king should."
Fili yanked his brother down with a laugh so the younger dwarf fell face first into the bed of flower, "Sit down, my king, be with your people."
Kili pushed himself up and spit out a mouthful of flowers and lunged for his brother with a laugh. There was a few minutes of elbows and knees thrown about until Fili had somehow flipped his brother over and was now sitting cross legged on his back, crown slightly askew but looking as regal as a dwarf wreathed with flowers could.
Bilbo simply rolled his eyes and started to absently make another one with the deep blue flowers. It soothed him to do something so familiar with a dragon lingering after ever thought. To let his fingers work and his mind wander away from pictures of stone doors and terrifying beasts. They heard Bofur distantly call them all to supper. Fili and Kili shot up eagerly and started towards the camp but looked back as they saw their hobbit wasn't following.
"You coming, Master Baggins?" Fili turned back towards his friend. "It'll be gone if you wait too long," Kili added with a sage nod.
"You two go ahead," Bilbo smiled at them, "I'll be there in a moment, I just want another minute."
Fili smiled back with his kind blue eyes and the hobbit knew he understood what Bilbo meant, "Of course, my friend, we'll make sure Bombur doesn't eat your share."
Bilbo sat alone amongst the flowers until the sun had all but set, thinking of home and of family. But also of friends, both new and old. It felt… strange to him that this quest would soon be over, one way or another. When they found the door, and he was sure they would, either they would find a dragon waiting for them or they wouldn't. And if the dragon was there, then they would either die or they would somehow defeat the beast.
He was frightened… of course he was. Terrified might even be a better description of the rapid thumping of his heart whenever his mind lingered over red scales and sharp teeth. But he was also determined. They were so close now, so close to getting Thorin his home back that even though he could all but feel another fainting spell coming on again, it was not something he could turn away from anymore.
Of course he was free to leave, free to go home any time he chose, but at the same time he really couldn't. Thorin needed him now more than ever and Bilbo Baggins was not a hobbit to abandon his friends. Bilbo glanced up as he heard Bofur's call once more and decided he should get back to camp before the sun set and he inevitably got lost and eaten by some mangy mountain wolf.
Bilbo stuck his hand through the blue wreath of flowers so it sat on his forearm and made his way towards the smell of stew and the sound of talking. As he walked into camp he saw most of the company was grouped around the fire. Though many of the dwarves were more subdued that they usually were given the prospect of food, he could only assume the weight of their quest was weighing down on more than a few shoulders.
The hobbit had been about to make his way over to the fire when he spotted Thorin sitting at the edge of the camp, his back facing the company and his eyes turned towards the towering mountain. Bilbo paused for a moment, not sure what to do. He was hungry and his mouth started to water at the scent wafting from the fire but… Even though Dwalin had told him to let Thorin think, he couldn't help but feel this tug at the back of his mind, pushing him towards his friend.
The hobbit turned abruptly and made his way over to where the dwarf was sitting on the ground. He… he wasn't sure what he would say to Thorin, what comfort he could offer but maybe what mattered most right now wasn't what he said, but what he did.
Walking up to the dwarf's side, Bilbo stood beside his friend for a moment, allowing Thorin time to tell him to leave or stay or whatever he needed right then. The dwarf looked up from the corner of his eye, saying nothing. He didn't smile, nor did his face lose its look of dark contemplation, but he also didn't send Bilbo away. As the hobbit looked into Thorin's face he saw something that made his stomach sink. He saw the same expression that he had seen the night in Mirkwood's cells, like something dark and savage was building inside the dwarf, eating away at any sense of peace that remained in Thorin.
But this time he didn't have a distraction. There was no urgent escape needed and their lives weren't in any danger… yet. Bilbo wanted to have the right words, the right anything to assuage the tumult of emotions he knew to be running through Thorin's mind. As he shifted his hand, he felt the light tough of leaves and petals scrape past his wrist, the forgotten wreath still hooked around him.
The hobbit eyed the flowers, debating for a moment. Glancing between the crown and Thorin's head, he knew that he shouldn't, but maybe… Maybe a little absurdity was exactly what his friend needed. Something to distract him for a small while at least. Bilbo unhooked the wreath and placed it gently on the dwarf's head before sitting down next to him. Thorin looked down at the hobbit, his face the picture of confusion and Bilbo couldn't help but grin back. At least his friend's face was no longer looking tortured, just very… perplexed.
"What…" The dwarf began gruffly, reaching up to pull off whatever Bilbo had placed on his head.
"Not so roughly!" the hobbit said with a laugh, waving his hands to stop Thorin's movement, "you'll break it."
Thorin made a face at him, his confusion seeming to have done nothing but grow more apparent.
"Here, I'll get it for you," Bilbo chuckled lightly and reached up to take of the blue flower crown and handed it to Thorin.
"It's… flowers," the dwarf spoke as if saying the words out loud would make them less odd.
Bilbo shrugged with a laugh, " An astute observation, my friend, you will make a wise king."
Thorin glared back at him but his eyes quickly turned back down to the wreath that sat delicately in his hands. "Why did you…" the dwarf trailed off again, turning the crown in his hand to examine each flower.
"I made your nephews one each," Bilbo grinned up at the dwarf, "Couldn't have the King of Erebor without a crown."
Thorin sat quietly, still gazing at the flowers in his hands for a while. "Is this how the hobbit's crown their kings?"
Bilbo laughed at the notion with a shake of his head, "There are no kings in the Shire, Thorin. Never have been, never will be."
The dwarf stared at him rather blankly as if Bilbo had just missed something. "I was joking."
The hobbit stared back at his friend for several silent moments, "What? Really?"
The dwarf rolled his eyes before placing the flowers back on his head, "Yes, really. I've been known to do so from time to time."
Bilbo laughed again as he patted Thorin's shoulder. "I suppose you could try, go to the Shire and declare yourself our king but don't go expecting anyone to listen to you."
The dwarf raised a brow, "Even with such a fine crown?"
The hobbit gave Thorin an impressive Baggin's eye roll of his own, "Even with such a fine crown."
"Thank you, Bilbo, it is a worthy gift." Thorin was facing the mountain again, his face looked tired and tinged with worry, but no longer did look as if the weight of all the stone inside rested on his shoulders.
"Oh come now, no need to make fun. You've had your one joke for the season, wouldn't want you to strain yourself," the hobbit gently shoved Thorin's arm with his own.
The dwarf gave him a small smile, "I am serious, it is a fine gift."
Bilbo looked at him for a few moments but saw nothing teasing in the dwarf's face. "Surely you've gotten better," he said with a slightly disbelieving chuckle, "your family is royalty after all."
Thorin gave a little shrug, "I have been given many gifts in my lifetime, yes, but they were… it is an obligation. Yours is given freely. There is no hidden motive I need to decipher and that is a relief." Bilbo glanced up at the crown with raised brows, not having expected Thorin to do anything but throw it off again.
"Those gifts all had favors attached. This," he gestured up to the flowers, "I couldn't trade or sell for anything." Thorin looked down at the hobbit, his face the picture of earnest honesty, "And I wouldn't want to."
Bilbo looked back for a few moments, seeing something in his friend's eyes that he hadn't really before. Perhaps it was just the stress of the day. "We'll find the door, Thorin, I promise."
The dwarf nodded turning back to the destroyed statues that guarded Erebor even in their own ruins. "I know…" he trailed off, sounding like he had told himself the same thing over and over throughout the day.
Bilbo reached out and grabbed Thorin's hand swiftly and hard, but letting go almost immediately, "Tomorrow's the day, I can just about feel it." The dwarf's hand gave a slight twitch as soon as Bilbo's left it, but otherwise Thorin was completely still.
They sat together in silence as the moon started to creep across the sky. The hadn't talked in what Bilbo thought to be most of an hour when he moved to pull his jacket tighter around him to hold the shivers at bay. Thorin glanced down at him with a frown and Bilbo immediately felt the dwarf shift closer to him so they were sitting with their sides touching, Thorin's great coat almost on top of him. And they sat longer, not talking, but Bilbo could tell that his friend's thoughts had quieted from when he had seen him earlier in the evening.
The hobbit hoped that what Thorin needed right now was a friend, just someone to remind him that he would never have to be alone, even when thoughts turned dark and the future was a mysterious expanse of horrible unknowns. Bilbo felt the dwarf's breathing in a steady rhythm and in turn felt his own calm in a way it hadn't in moments of quiet when his thoughts usually turned to the dragon. They would do this together, whatever happened next, and that thought filled him with an unshakeable hope. Hope that this would all turn out for the best somehow. That in the end, if they worked together, if they helped one another, then the future was bright as a summer day in the Shire.
"Master Baggins, your dinner's gettin' cold, are you eatin' or what?" Bofur called over to where they were sitting from the campfire. Bilbo hesitated, not sure if he should leave Thorin alone when he had just gotten his friend calm.
"Go on, Bilbo, you'll need strength for tomorrow," the dwarf said from beside him.
"Are you – are you sure? I can stay…" The hobbit's stomach took that moment to growl loudly and he felt a flush creep onto his face.
Thorin's face grew into a small smile as he let out a soft chuckle, "I am, go eat before your stomach draws all the wolves to our camp."
Bilbo glanced around the camp nervously as he stood up, "do you, uh, think that's possible?"
The dwarf rolled his eyes once again, "Let's not find out."
The hobbit gave Thorin's shoulder one last squeeze before he made his way over to the campfire. Bofur quickly dished him up the remaining stew, which he accepted gratefully.
"Why don't you join us over here?" Bilbo looked up to see Ori smiling at him, a quill in hand and his notebook open to what looked to be some sort of portrait.
"What are you doing?" he asked curiously, trying to see just what the young dwarf was up to.
Ori scratched at the back of his head as he smiled sheepishly back at the hobbit. "I'm drawing everyone's portrait. You know, so if we don't, uh… make it, then at least there will be a record of who the company was."
Bilbo felt his brows raise, "You mean if we get incinerated by the dragon then future foolhardy travelers can identify our charred corpses?"
Ori nodded vigorously, "Yes, exactly!"
Bilbo couldn't help but laugh at the dwarf's face as he sat down on a log.
"A dragon is no laughing matter, Ori, you would do well to remember that." Dori sniffed from a few feet away, sitting upright and rigid, as was his nature.
Ori smiled at his brother and resumed inking Dori's portrait, "I know… it's just… with something so terrible as a dragon, just about the only thing you can do is laugh."
Bilbo shoved a mouthful of stew into his mouth as he watched Ori draw and chewed quickly, "I think you're right, Mister Ori, no sense getting too worked up over it if we can help it."
Dori let out a snort, "I'm sure you'll both be just positively ecstatic when you see it's massive jaws, razor sharp teeth, and oh, did I mention the promise of a fiery and incredibly painful death?"
Bilbo swallowed his mouth of stew in a large, nervous gulp, "Well when you say it like that…"
Ori shook his head with an exasperated sigh, "Don't go frightening Master Baggins, Dori. You're being rude again."
The older dwarf glared at his brother with indignation, "Rude? I, dear brother, am simply being a realist. Not that anyone else in this foolhardy company would know anything about that."
Dori shifted so he sat up even straighter if that was possible, "I merely want everyone to be prepared for our certain, and most painful, impending deaths; what is rude about that?"
Ori glared at his brother, "Our deaths are not impending, Dori, you're just being dramatic. Anyway, I'm finished so why don't you let Master Baggins take your place and go make some tea or something."
Dori raised his nose in the air as he stood up to walk away, "It would be my pleasure."
The older dwarf stalked off and Bilbo stared nervously between the brothers, "Is, uh, everything alright?"
Ori sighed as he motioned the hobbit over to where Dori had just been sitting, "Nothing to worry about, Dori's always been like that. He can be a bit prickly, Master Baggins, but he has a good heart." Bilbo sat down on the stump and tried to position himself so that the fire cast light on all his face. Ori flipped over the page with his brother's portrait on it and began to quickly lay down his ink in familiar strokes.
"Have you been working on these all day, Mister Ori?" Bilbo asked, trying to move his mouth as little as possible so as to not disturb Ori's work.
"Just since we got back to camp, you and Thorin are the last ones, though…" the young dwarf glanced over to where their leader was sitting, still facing the mountain in silence, "I wasn't sure if I should disturb Master Thorin so I think he'll just have to wait for another day…"
Bilbo nodded slightly in agreement, "Probably not a bad idea, he has a lot on his mind."
"It's too bad…" Ori muttered to himself quietly as he laid down more strokes of ink.
"What's too bad?" the hobbit prodded.
The young dwarf glanced up quickly as if he hadn't realized he'd been speaking out loud, "I… just that… well," there was a slight flush on the dwarf's cheeks now, "I got Master Fili and Master Kili with those flowers on their heads. I would never have thought Master Thorin would let anything like that anywhere near him, but when you came back to camp with those beautiful blue ones…" The dwarf trailed off slightly, his cheeks reddening even further before he added quietly, "I would've liked the set."
Bilbo let out a loud laugh at Ori's flustered expression, "Don't worry, Mister Ori, I can always make him another one when you draw his portrait."
The dwarf looked up quickly, "Oh really? Do you mean it?"
The hobbit chuckled again, "I do, though I would recommend not mentioning it to him, Thorin might get embarrassed."
Ori looked up at him, his face all earnest and wide-eyed, "Of course not! I wouldn't want Master Thorin to feel self-conscious!"
Bilbo stared at his friend until they both burst out laughing and he couldn't help but think the picture of Thorin decked out in flowers from head to toe with his token expression of gruff indignation on his face was also running through Ori's mind.
They sat together in amiable silence as Ori's hand worked deftly across the paper. Thankfully he had the warmth of the fire to keep him from shivering too badly. The late autumn winds had started to pick up since they had reached the mountain and Bilbo could just start to sense the biting hints of the winter frost.
"All done, Master Baggins," Ori spoke suddenly, finishing his last stroke with a flourish.
Bilbo glanced at his companion, blinking several times, "Already? You sure work quickly Mister Ori."
The dwarf chuckled from behind a knit clad hand, "Would you like to see it?"
The hobbit nodded eagerly, "Of course!"
Ori turned the book so the drawing now faced Bilbo and he saw… well, him looking back. But he looked… different from how he remembered. It wasn't like he hadn't seen a mirror since they had left Bag End, but it was as if Ori had captured the change in his state of mind, as well as how his face appeared . There was a slight quirk to his lips and a much easier confidence in his expression than he had ever thought to see before.
"Do, uh, do you like it?" Ori sounded slightly nervous and the hobbit realized he hadn't spoken for a good minute.
"Yes, yes, it is wonderful Mister Ori. Sorry, I was just thinking…"
The dwarf nodded and Bilbo knew that if any of them understood drifting off into thoughtful spells of silence it was Ori. "I'll just hang onto these then," the young dwarf started to pack away his things, "better keep them altogether so The Records won't miss anyone."
Bilbo shifted so he was closer to the fire and held out his hands to get some warmth from them, "The Records?"
Ori smiled at him as he stuff his leather sack with supplies, "It is an order of dwarves tasked with keeping the records of our people. They have grown… more and more sparse in the last age, but," the dwarf's face set in determination, "I believe their work is essential. And I have left instructions that if we fail and someone should, uh, find us, then all of my notes will go to the records." Ori slung his pack over his shoulder, "One way or another, Master Baggins, the world will know our tale, I'll make sure of that. Goodnight."
Bilbo waved his friend off to bed, "Goodnight, Mister Ori."
The hobbit sat by the fire alone, warming himself by the flames as the rest of the company went off to bed knowing they would be up early enough the next day. The moon had risen up to middle of the sky now and it hung large and full.
"Tea, Master Baggins?"
Bilbo jerked in surprise and looked over to see Dori staring imperiously down his large nose at him. "I, uh, I think I'm fine, thank you though Mister Dori."
The dwarf sat down next to him anyway and started to pour a second cup of tea, "Nonsense, of course you want tea."
The hobbit glanced between the cup and Dori's face, something in it told him not to argue, "I... alright. Thank you."
The dwarf handed the cup over to him and Bilbo took a whiff of the strongly scented tea. It wasn't any kind he recognized from back home and smelled… earthy? Almost like the essence of a mountain was imbued in the leaves. "
It's my own blend," Dori added shortly as he watched Bilbo with narrowed eyes.
The hobbit realized he was probably waiting for him to take a drink and quickly sipped it. The tea was good, no not just good, very good. It was wild and woody but there was warmth to it. It tasted like home. The tea didn't remind him of Bag End, but it reminded him of something safe and familiar, but also slightly foreign; like it was someone else's home but a home nonetheless.
"It's very good, Mister Dori, you're quite adept at this tea business," Bilbo smiled up at the dwarf who almost visibly preened at the compliment. "
You are too kind, Master Baggins, and a true compliment as I know hobbits also care for the more… refined things in life, unlike my kin," Dori glared over to where the rest of the dwarves were sleeping.
They sat next to the fire sipping tea for a while longer, their bodies warmed by the drink and the flames. Bilbo considered the dwarf next to him as they sat in silence. He seemed… well, as Dori had put it, refined. Bilbo remembered the night when all of the dwarves had come to Bag End and Dori had stuck out to him as being especially well dressed. At least compared to his brothers and the rest of the company. Not that that was saying much, but he was sure the only dwarf to look finer had been Thorin, with his great fur lined coat and fine mail shirt.
Bilbo could tell Dori thought himself something of a sophisticate, if only because the finest wine he had had in his cellars was gone faster than he could utter a protest. He knew from what Ori had told him of his brothers that Dori cared very deeply for them, had set aside the family business and his entire life to follow Ori and Nori on the quest, to keep them safe from harm. And he did protect them. Despite whatever Bilbo had thought based on Dori's general appearance, there was no denying the he was one of the strongest and fiercest fighters amongst the company.
He had seen Dori crack a warg's skull with a single blow. Though the dwarf had complained the loudest after every battle about getting blood and other unsavory bits on his person, Bilbo knew that even Mister Dwalin would have a fair fight if he ever went up against Dori. He hadn't really had much opportunity to talk with the dwarf and found his youngest brother's company a bit less pessimistic, but he supposed he would have liked Dori no matter what after the things Ori and Nori had said in favor of their elder brother. Bilbo couldn't help but like anyone who had such love and devotion towards their families.
"Ori said I should apologize."
Bilbo glanced up from the fire to look at Dori curiously. "For, uh, for what?"
Dori rolled his eyes and took another sip of tea, "For being rude earlier, he said that it was unbecoming of me and I should say sorry."
Bilbo chuckled into his cup of tea, "Not a problem, Mister Dori."
The dwarf nodded, his nose in the air, "That's what I told Ori, but he insisted."
Bilbo leaned forward so he was closer to the fire before turning his head to look at his companion, "You must care for him great deal, Mister Dori."
Dori raised a silver brow at him, "Of course I do, we're brothers. Though you'd never be able to tell given the lack of respect they show me."
Bilbo chuckled at the dwarf's indignant face, "I'm sure they don't mean to, Mister Dori."
The dwarf huffed and took a long drink, "And I'm sure they do, but it won't stop me from doing what's best for this family even if they try to undermine my efforts at every step."
Bilbo thought of kind Ori who tried his best to keep his family together, who wanted more than anything to make his own mark, a new mark on history. He thought of Nori who had given up most of his life to keep his family blissfully unaware of the troubles their parents' mistakes had caused. And he thought of Dori who took up their family's mantle, who tried his best to be the parent that Ori needed when their own weren't enough.
"I think they know that… I mean, that you're doing what's best for your family, even if they don't say it much."
Dori considered him for a long moment, his face no longer in its usual pinched displeasure but instead one of cool contemplation. "Do you have any brothers, Master Baggins?"
The hobbit shook his head, "No, uh, just me. No siblings to speak of."
The dwarf continued to stare at him, "And your parents? Were they kind and caring?"
Bilbo nodded slowly not seeing exactly where this was going, "Yes, they were."
"Then I suppose there's no way you could understand what it's like to have parents that you saw once every moon and that was only to criticize how poorly you were at running their business," Dori face grew tight as he turned to face the fire, "there's no way you could understand what it's like to have one brother look at you with disdain and the other love him more no matter how hard you try."
Bilbo looked at his companion wide-eyed, "I'm sure that's not true, Ori and Nori love you very much, I've heard it from their own mouths."
Dori scoffed at him, "From their own mouths, have you? Then would you care to enlighten me as to your technique, Master Baggins? It would appear that I've been doing it incorrectly all these years." Dori shifted on his stump with agitation, "Perhaps Nori no longer looks at me like I sat by and did nothing while he save our family, but he certainly shows me little good will these days. And Ori… well I did the best I could to be something of a father to him but all I would ever hear is 'Nori taught me this,' and 'Nori said I could do that,' and he wasn't even around most of the time."
Dori narrowed his eyes at the fire, "I raised him but Nori was the only one he wanted around. And my brother would show up after months or even year away, laden with gifts like that would make everything fine again." The dwarf looked over at Bilbo, "And you know what the worst part is? It did. Ori has always been quick to love and forgive but one quick drop by our home from Nori and it was like nothing bad had ever happened before, like he had never been away."
The hobbit reached out hesitantly and patted Dori's shoulder, he wish he could just tell Dori what Nori had told him, but the dwarf had made him promise never to do so lest he receive a good knifing. "I'm, uh, sure Nori would have been around more if he could—"
The dwarf cut him off, "Oh, I know what Nori was doing, I know exactly and I know he told you about it. Who do you think kept the nobles off his gang for so long? Who do you think found the gold to pay them off and to make sure all his little rivals stayed clear?"
Bilbo couldn't help but gape at the dwarf who was clenching the cup with white knuckles, "I know better than anyone what Nori did to help our family. He may think he's smarter or subtler than me, but I've known him his whole life and there's not a thing Nori could hide from me if I really wanted to know."
Dori looked over to where the hobbit was staring at him, "And I heard you both talking the night before we escaped from Mirkwood, I heard him spill all his secrets to some hobbit when he wouldn't even tell his own brother. I saw the relief on his face the next day, like some giant weight had been lifted from him. A weight I could have lifted if he trusted me enough."
"I'm – I'm sorry, Mister Dori, I had no idea…" Bilbo started, gripping his cup tightly.
"Oh, don't apologize, Master Baggins," Dori groaned the word as if it disgusted him, "I'm trying to rant here and you're ruining it." The dwarf clutched his face with his hand and then pulled it down as if wiping his face would clear his troubled thoughts. "I know it's not your fault…" Dori trailed off, gazing into the fire, "It seems I owe you another apology, I didn't mean to take that out on you, Master Baggins."
The hobbit felt his heart clench a bit, knowing that if the brothers just sat down and talked to one another, then there wouldn't be this rift between them. "No harm done, Mister Dori, but I… I think maybe if you told them what you told me, everything would be a lot easier."
The dwarf looked over at him with a sad sort of grimace, "Don't you think I haven't thought of that? Nori, perhaps. But if I spoke to Ori about what happened, Nori would never forgive me. It's not my place to tell Ori about what Nori did for our family. I would never want to—" The dwarf paused to take a large gulp of tea, "I wouldn't want to be the one to cause any mistrust between them."
"I think Ori already knows more than he lets on, Mister Dori," Bilbo began quietly, "and I know Nori would appreciate all you've done for him if only he knew…"
Dori let out a somber laugh, "You know, do you? And how long have you known us? A few moons? I've known them their entire lives, what makes you think you could possibly know any better than me?"
The hobbit raised his hands in placation, "Of course I don't, but I think if you let the things of the past fester and go unmentioned then the longer you wait, the harder it is to speak of."
"And despite whatever you think," Bilbo set down his cup and turned to face Dori fully, his mouth set with determination, "I know they both love you more than anything. You're brothers, you're family; and no matter what has happened in the past, you'd forgive them just as they'd forgive you. What would be worse is never taking the opportunity to talk about it, to give them the chance to know what you've done." Bilbo crossed his arms, unwilling to give Dori the opportunity to interrupt him, "And I think that today would be the opportune time to do it, seeing as how if there actually is a dragon inside," the hobbit gestured up towards the mountain, "this might be the last chance you have."
Dori stared at him for several long moments, "You are a very impertinent hobbit, has anyone ever told you that?"
Bilbo stared back in silence until he saw the corner of the dwarf's mouth twitch and he started to laugh quietly, "Only about half my neighbors and distant relatives."
The dwarf sighed and looked over to where Ori and Nori were talking quietly at their bedrolls. "Perhaps you're right, Master Baggins. If we all die in a few days there's not much to lose anyway."
The hobbit patted Dori on the shoulder once more, "I think they would appreciate that very much, Mister Dori."
The dwarf picked up Bilbo's cup off the ground and gathered up his tea before resolutely making his way over to where his brothers were talking at the edge of camp. The hobbit watched long enough to see Dori sit down next to them and start to speak before he stood up himself, brushing off his pants. It didn't take him long to see where Fili and Kili had set up their bed rolls and, much to his pleasure, that had set up his too, right in the middle. Bilbo pulled out the blanket from his pack and just as he was about to lay down, saw that the brothers still had the flower crowns on their heads. The hobbit couldn't help the smile that grew across his face nor could he stifle the laugh that crept out. At that moment, he only wished he could draw as well as Ori so he could've captured the two princes of Erebor, asleep with their legs and arms sprawled out and flowers in their hair.