Chapter 3 is here! I hope you all like it. I do apologise if there are any mistakes as I was very tired for the majority of the writing of this, though I have checked so it should be ok. It's explained in this chapter, but hobbit Omega's go into a mock heat when they first touch the skin of a potential mate, its how they are able to tell who potential mates are. Also, I've changed the pairings a little from when I first started writing this. Enjoy!
Chapter 3
Bilbo felt the heat begin to leave him after what felt like an age but had probably been less than an hour. He laid there in shock as he felt himself calm and his breathing return to normal. The dwarves around the campsite had noticed their burglars change but since he hadn't spoken yet they chose to wait and see what would happen.
TWO! Bilbo thought furiously. Two potential mates amongst this small group of dwarves. He hadn't come across any potential mates in his whole life in the Shire and as soon as he leaves, he stumbles upon two! One of them a prince! It was obvious that his mate was not meant to be a hobbit. It was rare but it still happened, that a hobbit found their mate amongst another race, whether that be dwarves, men or elves. Race didn't mate one iota to a hobbit, it was all what was felt with the heart, which is what made Yavanna's gift even more special. It didn't matter who they fell in love with, hobbits would take on the life span of whoever first got them with child during a heat. So that they are better able to care for their young. It would be a horrible fate to pass when your child hadn't even reached adulthood, as would have been the case of elves and dwarves and their slow aging.
It was also one of the reasons that hobbit omegas were so fiercely guarded and rarely left the shire. Hobbit omegas were once very sort after by dwarves and elves, both races notorious for cherishing their young as well as having low birth rates. It got to the point where the Shire closed itself off, baring strangers from entering. And though it had been centuries since that time the Shire still remained relatively isolated. Bilbo would bet that no dwarf had entered since those days, until his company had come traipsing in and turned everything on its head. He felt a shudder run down his spine, of a completely different kind, as he imagined the hullabaloo that would be happenig in the Shire when they discovered that he had left.
Thankfully it seemed that most had forgotten about the hobbits and their unique biology. Well, this group of dwarves had anyway.
But what was he to do now? Bilbo wondered. He had never before been faced with the prospect of a potential mate. If he was at home, the potential mate, if interested would begin to court him but he didn't see that happening here. He didn't even know if he wanted to be courted by said dwarves, he hardly knew them after all. He would wait and see how things would progress, he supposed.
Though it did bring to light another thought. It would be very inopportune if he was to touch a dwarf he hadn't touched as yet and have a mock heat start in the middle of a battle, or if they were running for their lives. Not that he expected to do a lot of that on the journey, but one never knew. Perhaps he should go around now and touch everyone to get it over and done with. Sure, it would seem odd to the dwarves, but he could pass it off as another strange hobbit oddity. He needn't worry about going into a full heat, that wouldn't happen until he was with a potential mate, and he felt safe and secure and ready to be mated. It was another clever fact of hobbit biology, making it nearly impossible to force one into an unwanted mating.
Decision made. He felt more settled as he sat up and looked around their campsite, noticing for the first time that all eyes were on him. He flushed again, remembering how he had writhed and panted on the ground not too long ago. He shifted, bringing his attention to the cooling slick settling in his undergarments, ugh he would have to find a way to clean that up soon.
Bilbo cleared his throat awkwardly, tugging on his shirt as he thought about the right words to say.
"Would it be OK, if I were to come around and touch each of you on the hand? I need to see something."
A few eyebrows furrowed at that.
"I just want to make sure that what you just saw doesn't happen again at a time when it could put us all in danger" Bilbo explained carefully.
"And you won't explain further, about what just happened?" Thorin asked with a dark look, glancing first at Bilbo and then Gandalf.
"N-not just yet. It is a closely guarded secret of my race and not one that we speak of lightly."
Everyone's faces cleared at that; they could understand not wanting to talk about such important matters of race secrets with dwarves that you'd just met. Besides Bilbo had said not yet, which meant there was a good chance he would explain in the future.
"Fine" Thorin said with a wave of his hand, and a few of the others nodded in agreement.
"Thank you" Bilbo said, a soft blush dusting his cheeks as he made his way to the closest dwarf.
It was Ori, who he was pretty sure he'd already had skin to skin contact with, but just to be sure he reached out a hand. Ori reached back without a hint of hesitation. Their hands clasped and Bilbo enjoyed the warmth and the rough callouses that rubbed against his palm, but there was no shiver up his spine, no heat building within his core.
He gave Ori a soft smile before moving on to Dori who was next to his younger brother. He repeated the process and again nothing. Nori was next but he already knew that Nori was a potential mate, so he skipped him, ignoring the raised brow as he did so.
Next was Oin, Gloin and Bombur, he was beyond thankful when he garnered no reaction from the three as one was quite old and the other two married already. All three looked rather bemused at his actions.
Dwalin was next and the large dwarf eyed him curiously as he reached out a small hand, the larger dwarfs engulfing his with ease. He felt it as soon as their palms touched. Electricity shot down Bilbo's spine a shiver raking his body as he stumbled forward into a firm chest.
"Oh, Dwalin" Bilbo gasped out, flushing prettily.
The older dwarf had frozen at the shock of finding himself with an armful of trembling hobbit, ignoring the dark looks Fili and Nori sent him, he set the hobbit on his feet.
"Do you need to lay down again?" Dwalin asked seriously, keeping a steady hand on Bilbo's elbow.
And while Bilbo did feel weak and warm and flustered, he knew what to expect better this time and shook his head.
"I want to finish" he managed to gasp out, moving on to Balin, who elicited no response. He skipped over Fili just as he had skipped over Nori. Kili reached out his hand eagerly but there was no reaction. The young dwarf tried to hide his disappointment as Bilbo moved on to Bifur, who shook his hand vigorously but again nothing.
By now Bilbo could feel his slick starting to leak, rubbing between his bottom as he walked, thank fully it was impossible to tell that he was blushing over his already flushed face. Hopefully nothing soaked through to his pants though.
Bofur was next, and the hatted dwarf smiled at him as he reached out, even as Bilbo could spot the concern that shined in his eye. They clasped hands and Bilbo felt a now familiar shiver run down his spine, he bit his lip painfully to try to hold in the moan that was building in his chest. Bofur's eyes widened in surprise, and he looked loathed to release the small hand from his own. Dwalin who was still holding Bilbo's elbow shot the miner a look before helping the hobbit along.
By now Bilbo was feeling quite weak, his legs were barely supporting his weight, but there was only one dwarf left…Thorin.
Deep blue eyes watched as he approached, hand already outstretched to grasp Bilbo's own. Bilbo wasn't sure if it was relief or disappointment that swam in the dwarf king's eyes as his touch garnered no reaction on the hobbit.
"Well, well, well, Bilbo. Four dwarves." Gandalf said with a smirk as he gently took Bilbo from Dwalin and helped him back onto his bedroll.
Ori hurried back to Bilbo's side and started wiping his face over again, while Dwalin hovered over him.
When his second mock heat finished Bilbo was exhausted. He thanked Ori quietly for helping to keep him cool, then promptly rolled over and fell into a deep sleep, ignoring the curious stares of the dwarves.
The curious stares were just as persistent the next morning. Bilbo knew the dwarrow must be terribly curious, but it just wasn't something that was really spoken about outside of hobbits. Perhaps when he got to know them a bit better, especially if he ended up mating one of them. He knew nothing was set in stone though.
As it turned out terribly curious didn't even begin to cover what the dwarves were feeling. Dwarves were a curious bunch to begin, add in Gandalf's half given explanations back at Bag End and now the peculiar actions of the hobbit, all of the company were exceedingly interested in just what was going on with Bilbo Baggins.
Why had some dwarves given Master Baggins such a strong reaction, while others elicited nothing. What did it mean?
It didn't help that the four who had elicited a reaction in Bilbo; Nori, Fili, Dwalin and Bofur were strutting around like they were something special, even though they had no clue what it all meant either.
Bilbo ignored it all, packing his bag and stretching out his tired aching muscles after the stress of the mock heats and a night of restless sleep on a hard ground. He ate his breakfast greedily, needing the energy after what had been lost the night before. He even stealthily shoved an apple into his pocket for him to munch on during the day. It wouldn't do to take more than his fair share, but he couldn't survive on only three meals a day, he just couldn't!
"Let's get moving!" Thorin called out, climbing onto his pony, from his place at the front of the column of dwarves. Balin and Dwalin at his sides and everyone else traipsing along behind them.
Bilbo was pleasantly surprised to find Bofur had waited for him, his ever-present smile on his face as he looked at the smaller being.
"How did you sleep?" Bofur asked, eyeing the dark circles under Bilbo's eyes.
"Not great, I'm not accustomed to sleeping on the hard ground" Bilbo explained, ignoring the snort of a nearby dwarf. He shifted restlessly on his pony.
"Ay, it does take some getting used to" Bofur said understandingly. "Bifur and I have travelled around a bit so its not so unusual for us." Bilbo's expression softened as he looked at the dwarf, thinking of his own youth spent with his cousins, not that he saw much of them the last few years.
"I'm sure I will be much the same. Once I get used to sleeping on the ground, I will hardly miss my big comfortable bed back in Bag End" Bilbo said with conviction that had Bofur grinning down at him.
Bofur opened his mouth to ask Bilbo a question about the Shire, only to find himself waylaid by a grinning Kili, who had trotted up between the pair with nary a word.
"So where have you and Bifur travelled" Kili asked conversationally.
Bofur blinked in surprise for a moment, staring at the youngest dwarf.
"Oh, well no where quite as far as Erebor" Bofur explained glancing at Bilbo, only to find Fili was now beside the small hobbit chatting away animatedly.
Bofur glared at Kili, but the archer just grinned back unrepentantly, what were brothers for after all.
Bombur and Bifur, who were travelling just behind the group frowned at the underhanded tactics. Bofur had as much right to talk to the hobbit as anyone.
Though Bofur couldn't stay annoyed for long, not when he heard Bilbo's laughter ringing through the trees.
"I don't believe you" Bilbo chuckled to Fili as they walked along the worn forest trail.
"I swear it's true! Kili at the ripe old age of 33 declared himself an elf. He tried to live in a tree for a whole week before finally calling it quits. I thought Thorin was going to glower himself to death before Kili came down! After that he declared that elves weren't for him."
Bilbo laughed again at the story. "Perhaps we will meet some elves on this journey" Bilbo said excitedly his eyes shining happily. "My mother used to tell me so many stories about elves, I'd love to meet some."
Before Fili could respond Thorin spoke up from near the front of the line.
"Figures you'd be fond of those bloody tree shaggers" the exile king grumbled.
Bilbo looked momentarily surprised before frowning slightly.
"Well, I don't know if I'm fond of them or not seeing as how I've never met one before" Bilbo responded tartly, turning back to his conversation with Fili and ignoring anything else Thorin may have wished to say.
Dwalin let out a bark of laughter, oh this hobbit has some fire about him he thought with a grin that would've scared most people but only made his brother, Balin, look concerned.