...

The Company returned to Erebor Towers and took the elevator up to floor 27 where Dís was waiting for them. Oín was not able to focus enough to use his powers, and everyone was beaten and bloody, but they were all alive. Dís hugged both her sons, then her brother, before smiling brightly. "Smaug is dead. We won!" The weariness of battle seemed to fade at her words and a series of cheers went up from the Company.

"We really did it," Kíli said in amazement. "Things can go back to normal now."

"As normal as they ever are for us," Fíli added with a grin.

Thorin regarded his nephews. "The battle is won, but not the war. We still have no idea who set Smaug against us."

Bilbo watched the boys' smiles fade and frowned. "We're all tired and hurt and in need of good news. Let's celebrate the fact that there's no dragon trying to roast us alive."

"There is still a villain out there who needs to be stopped-" Thorin started, only to be interrupted.

"There's always going to be another villain! We have no leads right now. There's no harm in taking a few days to rest."

"I suppose you're right..."

Bilbo crossed his arms and nodded. "Of course I am."

…

"With Smaug gone we can bring Gimli home!" Loni told her husband with an excited smile.

"What about the mastermind behind all this? He could be planning something else."

She sighed and looked at the floor. "You're right, he's probably safest where he is. I just hate having our family split up."

"I do too," Gloín wrapped two of his arms around his wife and pulled her close. "But we need to keep our boy safe."

"As much as I don't like the White Council, Gimli sounds like he's having a great time with Thranduil's son."

"He doesn't get enough time with kids his own age. I'm glad he's made a friend."

"We'll have to make sure they get to spend time together once this is all over. I'm sure the others wouldn't mind Gimli inviting a friend for a sleepover."

"That's a great idea!" Gloín said with a smile. "You know, with Smaug gone, it's probably safe enough for us to go visit Gimli for the day..."

…

Dís pushed the keyboard back and dropped her forehead to the desk with a heavy thud. "I've tried everything I can think of to trace Smaug's code back to its programmer, but it's no use."

From his seat beside her, Bifur reached out and smoothed a hand over Dís' dark hair in a soothing gesture.

"I know, Bifur, it's no good to get myself worked up. But this is so frustrating!" She rolled her head to the side and looked up at him. "If he wasn't trying to kill us, I'd be impressed. I've never seen code like this."

Bifur continued to stroke Dís' hair gently and occasionally nodded when she reached a particularly ardent part in her ranting.

Eventually she ran out of momentum and sat up with a slight smile. "It's funny... Even though you can't speak, you always know the right thing to say."

...

"How's the wing, birdbrain?" Nori asked, leaning against the balcony railing and looking down into the city.

"Still a little sore, but usable. Apparently Oín doesn't know much about avian physiology, so he had a bit of trouble patching me up. I'll live though." Bofur shrugged, looking everywhere except at the thief.

"Maybe we should order him a book on birds. You know, just in case you get hurt again..."

"Yeah, that's a good idea..." Bofur absently adjusted his hat and frowned. "Why does this feel so awkward? We've been best friends for years..."

Nori sighed and raked a hand through his hair, mussing up his mohawk in the process. "I think that's gotta be why. If you were some random guy I wouldn't be so worried about fucking this up."

"Why do yeh think you'll make a mess of things?"

"Because it's me. I ain't exactly an upstanding citizen, you know. If I wasn't part of the Company I probably would have landed in jail years ago. I'm not... I'm not good enough for you."

Bofur laughed outright. "Seriously? That's what yer gonna go with? Every possible excuse in the book an' yeh choose t' play the not-good-enough card?

Nori blinked, clearly confused. "I'm not playing a card! I wanna be with you, but I'm trying to be honest..."

"I know." His wings spread to catch the breeze, but he stayed grounded. "We've been friends since high school, thief. I already know yer trouble."

Nori's shoulders hunched forward in defeat. "Then why'd you kiss me?"

"Because underneath all the crap yer an amazing person." Bofur cupped Nori's jaw with his hand and forced their eyes to meet. "Yeh put up a good front, but I know yeh."

"I'm still a thief."

"Yer my thief," Bofur replied plainly. "An' the only thing you've stolen is my heart."

Nori took a step back and laughed, dispelling the awkward tension. "Did you really just say that?"

"Yup." Bofur grinned, obviously pleased with himself. "Get used t' it. When it comes t' dating I'm the king of corny one-liners."

"Dating, huh?" He teased, quirking a brow. "Is that what we're doing?"

"I hope so."

Nori grabbed Bofur by his braids and pulled him forward, crushing their lips together in a fierce kiss.

...

"You're suck a jerk, Fee!" Kíli growled, jamming his elbow into his brother's side. "Stop cheating!"

"How am I cheating?" Fíli laughed brightly. "You're the one who's winning!"

"You just used a combo move I've never seen before! You have to be cheating!" Kíli mashed the buttons of his game controller and glared at the screen.

"We have a super-computer in the other room. I googled all the special attacks the other day."

"See! You cheated!" The younger boy shrieked.

Fíli shoulder-checked his brother. "That's not cheating. That's using every available resource."

"Yeah, well, you're still a jerk," Kíli pointed out, tapping out a button combo on his controller. "And I'm still going to beat you!"

The older boy grinned and focused on the game. "We'll see..."

…

"You love me," Ori whispered from where he lay sprawled out on the bed wearing a broad smile, his gloves, and little else.

Dwalin laughed and brushed a finger over the freckles on the boy's shoulder. "Like I said the last three time ya repeated that... Yes, I love ya."

"This is all so unreal. I didn't expect to live through that fight, but you saved me." He frowned suddenly and sat upright. "Maybe I am dead and this is my heaven..."

"As flattered as I am that yer version of the afterlife is bein' naked in my bed, I can guarantee that yer still very much alive."

Ori's eyes fluttered shut as Dwalin's fingertips mapped over his chest, tracing downward along the sparse path of hair. "Yes, I think you're right... heaven couldn't feel this good."

Dwalin hummed his agreement and leaned up to capture Ori's lips with his own. "I love ya, lad."

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing you say that." He returned the kiss and let his own gloved hands wander lightly across the span of Dwalin's hips, raising goosebumps along the tattooed flesh.

"I love ya," Dwalin repeated as his fingers drifted lower over Ori's body, causing the boy to buck against his hand. "And I'm gonna show ya just how much..."

…

"Why is it that every time we get one problem dealt with, another springs up to take its place?" Balin muttered as he looked around the table for answers.

"Because we're Supers," Bombur replied with an honest shrug. "It's part of the life."

"Well, someone really should have mentioned that before we signed on."

Gandalf cocked a brow. "Would that have truly made a difference?"

Balin sighed. "No, I supposed not."

"Like it or not, this is the life that has chosen us." The wizard smiled knowingly. "All we can do is make the most with the skills we've been given."

"Unfortunately, our skills don't seem to be helping us figure out who was behind the Smaug attacks," Oín pointed out with a frown. "Someone wants us all dead and I doubt we'll be getting any peace until we find out who it is."

"We'd better find out soon," Dori growled. "It's one thing to risk our lives against the usual cast of villains during patrols..."

"...But another entirely to be at war with an unknown assailant," Gandalf finished with a nod. "I do believe the only course of action is to hope for the best, but expect the worst. A storm is coming, I only hope that we can weather it."

…

"I'm quite certain that you owe me dinner," Bilbo said as he sat down beside Thorin on the couch.

"Yes, about that... Would you be willing to take a rain check? We still have a criminal mastermind to catch."

"No, I don't believe I would." He shook his head steadily.

Thorin's eyes darkened. "Excuse me?"

"Stopping villains is important, but there's more to life than that. If I'm going to be in relationship, it's not going to be with someone who constantly puts the job first."

"But..." Thorin gaped, obviously not expecting to be turned down.

"No buts. You're one of the most devastatingly handsome men I've ever met, but I'm not looking for a quick tumble," Bilbo surged on, his words rushing together. "If you'd truly like a chance with me, this is it, Thorin. It's now or never."

"Get your coat."

…

The restaurant Thorin chose was a small Italian bistro three blocks from Erebor Tower. Even though it was late afternoon, the shades were pulled to give the dinning room a sense of intimate darkness. Red-and-white checkered fabric covered the tables and small white votive candles burned in glass holders. The waitress seated them at a corner booth and handed over the menus with a knowing smile. "Enjoy your meals."

Bilbo worried his lip as he looked around the room. "This is... nice. Do you come here often?"

"No. This is my first time. Gandalf suggested it..." Thorin smoothed the lapel of his jacket, looking uncomfortable in civilian clothing.

"Ah..." Looking down at the menu he ran through the selections, noting there were no prices listed. "The, uh, eggplant Parmesan sounds delicious..."

Thorin nodded enthusiastically. "I was thinking about the Chicken Florentine, myself..."

They placed their orders with the waitress, then sat sipping their wine in awkward silence.

"You really aren't good at this, are you?" Bilbo finally asked with a short laugh.

"I told you that! There's not much time for dating when you're leading a team of Supers."

"At least you have a good excuse. I was an executive assistant. A secretary, as you so kindly put it." He shrugged and toyed with the stem of his wine glass. "I spent most evenings at home, microwaving leftover take-away and watching old movies."

"You were never interested in dating?" Thorin inquired.

"Oh, I went on a date here or there, but it never lead anywhere. I guess I never seemed to find the right person."

The waitress turned up with their food and the conversation stalled out while they ate.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question?" Bilbo said, stabbing his fork through a piece of eggplant.

"Only if I can ask one in return."

"Fair enough," he agreed with a nod. "What would you be doing if you weren't a Super?"

Thorin took a bite of his chicken as he considered the question. "I'm not really sure. I've had my powers for so long that it's difficult to imagine life without them. My father was an architect... My grandfather too. I think in a different life I might have followed in their footsteps."

"I do believe you'd have been good at it. You have a knack for planning." Bilbo smiled and sipped his wine.

"My turn for a question," Thorin said, his voice low. "Would you like to have breakfast with me tomorrow?"

"Breakfast? The Company always has breakfast togeth-... Oh..." Bilbo blushed as he realized the implication. "You're asking me to stay the night."

"I just thought maybe we could skip the rest of the awkward getting-to-know-you bit..." Thorin trailed off and shifted nervously in his chair. "I'm sorry, that was probably too forward..."

"It was rather forward," Bilbo agreed with a flustered nod. "Normally there's a second date, or at the very least a kiss before..."

"I told you I'm absolute rubbish at this."

"Well, you certainly are a bit lacking in decorum. But, yes... Yes, I'd very much like to have breakfast with you."

Thorin offered him a genuine smile and reached across the table to lace their fingers together. "Good. I'm enjoying this evening and don't want it to end."

"Then we should order desert. Something sinful... perhaps chocolate torte with berries and cream..."

Thorin leaned across the table and Bilbo mirrored his movement, licking his lips in anticipation of a kiss. Suddenly Thorin frowned and pulled back. He removed a com unit from his pocket and glared at it spitefully. "Damn it. I'm sorry, it's an emergency signal."

Bilbo sighed. "Of course it is. Duty calls..."

Thorin slid the earpiece in and growled, "This had better be important, Dís."

"Sorry to interrupt your date, but we just received an encrypted e-mail from Great Goblin. He's taking credit for the Smaug attacks and wants to set up a meeting with you."

Thorin relayed the news to Bilbo and regarded him with pleading eyes. "You understand how important this is..."

"I'll take a rain check on that breakfast," Bilbo said as he flagged down the waitress. "Check, please!"

...