I'm excited to see the interest in this story! Please continue to enjoy! All proper credit where it goes and all that jazz. Only the madness is mine :D Please continue to enjoy!
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"Uncle Thorin…?"
At the small sound the Dwarf King turned and smiled at Frodo "Yes? Are you prepared for the journey?"
The young Hobbit eagerly nodded at him, since finding out they were going to the legendary Elfish kingdom little Frodo had talked about nothing else and had packed immediately. Of course he needed some help deciding what he truly needed and what could be left behind. Needless to say the amount of bags had dwindled substantially.
Now Frodo was looking down at his feet shyly as he obviously struggled with his reason for coming. Unlike his Uncle he sometimes had trouble voicing his opinions or what he wanted. Thorin had learned patience however and knew that if given enough time Frodo would gather his courage. Indeed finally the young Hobbit looked up and asked "Would you braid my hair?"
Since coming to stay in Erebor Frodo had learned much about Dwarf culture. Bilbo often had a few small braids in his hair that were lovingly done by Thorin and they glistened with small beads of gold that he was able to get in. Bilbo resolutely refused to have more than that woven in, but Thorin had contented himself that in this small way he had marked Bilbo as his, though no one in the mountain kingdom had any doubt about that.
So Frodo knew that by asking Thorin to braid his hair he wanted people to know that he was under Thorin's care, that they were family. Clearing his throat of the emotion he found swelling up he nodded and roughly patted a chair "Of course Frodo, have a seat."
The young Hobbit was obviously relieved that his request was not denied and hurried to the spot to sit obediently.
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When Bilbo found them he paused in the doorway and didn't make a sound as he simply watched. Thorin was doing small elaborate braids through Frodo's hair, and in them he wove small beads of silver and a few that were decorated with small sapphires. He felt himself getting a little teary eyed at the scene and fumbled for his handkerchief. He knocked on the door and the two looked startled as he walked in "Well that looks very nice Frodo…"
A large smile blossomed on Frodo's cheeks and he chuckled and gave return smile to the boy. He then turned his attention to Thorin "It looks lovely Thorin…"
The Dwarf King gruffly muttered something about members of the Royal Family needing to look their best, but Bilbo could see that he was touched by his praise.
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Finally the time came for them to leave for Rivendell.
"But Uncle Thorin!" Kili whined as he picked up Frodo "We can't be separated! That would simply be too cruel!"
The young Hobbit was laughing as he was tossed from one Uncle to another; Fili caught him next and said "He even has proper braids now! That means we're family, we have to stick together."
Leveling all of his nephews with a piercing look Thorin put an end to their nonsense "Yes we are family. However you two fools have to stay here to make sure Erebor is safe while we are gone."
He ignored the pouts he got from the two overgrown children and picked up Frodo out of Fili's grip. "Now you little Hobbit need to run along before your Uncle is worried sick over you. These two are being bad influences over you as it is."
Frodo laughed knowing that it was all in good fun "Okay Uncle Thorin. Bye Uncle Fili and Uncle Kili! I'll bring you a present from Rivendell okay?"
The three Dwarves watched as Frodo ran off to find his Uncle Bilbo and then Thorin turned on his nephews "Erebor had better be in one piece when I get back. This isn't a handful of ponies I'm asking you to look over…"
The two brothers pretended to be properly chastised "Yes Uncle." They said in unison before Thorin gruffly pulled them into a hug.
Ever since the Battle of the Five Armies when he had almost lost them; when he had almost lost everything, he had tried to be more open with his affection. It was a marginal improvement but the thought alone was enough to make his nephews smile.
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"Have a safe journey Uncle." Fili said as he waved him off
"Don't let the Elves bite!" Kili called before tossing Frodo a small pouch "Bofur made some toys for the trip."
Frodo clutched the toys protectively "Tell Uncle Bofur thank you!"
Finally they were headed off to Rivendell.
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In Rivendell
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Elrond watched the road as the Dwarf company approached. He knew that he had Bilbo to thank for this meeting even happening. It seemed that the small Hobbit held great sway over the Dwarf King. When they arrived he was not surprised to see the young Frodo Bilbo had told him in his letters with them. He smiled graciously "Welcome to Rivendell my friends."
His elf ears heard stumbling behind him and gracefully turned as Aragorn clumsily made his way over. The toddler was very stubborn already and always insisted on being in with all the action. He gave a fond smile before introducing him "This is Aragorn son of Arathorn, known here as Estel. I think you and Estel will have fun together Frodo."
The young Hobbit was staring at the human child with curiosity and gave a glance at his Uncles to make sure it was okay before he came forward and put out his hand. He was a head taller than the toddler and smiled as he said "Frodo Baggins at your service Estel."
The toddler's silver eyes looked up at him for a moment before wordlessly taking Frodo's hand and dragging him away "Room!" He demanded letting Frodo wave goodbye to his Uncles before taking him to see his toys.
Bilbo watched and smiled in amusement "Well there you go. Seems they'll get along famously." When there was no answer to his statement he saw that Thorin and Elrond were politely looking everywhere but each other. He sighed and wondered why the children seemed to be the most mature.
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While the adults stiffly went about their business with Bilbo playing mediator the children were busy with their own antics. Estel had shown Frodo to his room and would silently bring Frodo his favorite toys for him to inspect. The Hobbit smiled, he was used to being the youngest and smallest with the dwarf children he played with so it was nice to have a change for once. He pulled out the toys that Bofur had made for him and began to play with Estel.
He saw the young prince was looking at one toy in particular and pulled it out to show him. "This is Smaug, he was a dragon that drove the Dwarves away from Erebor and hoarded all their gold. But my Uncle Thorin won it back with Uncle Bilbo and my other Uncles. I have a lot of Uncles you see but it's the easiest thing to call them. We live in Erebor now, I used to live in the Shire but my parents died in an accident so I live with my Uncle Bilbo and Uncle Thorin now." Frodo smiled as he made Smaug fly in the air and land on Aragorn's head.
The human child blinked up at him before smiling brightly and picked up the dragon himself and began making flying noises as they ran around the room.
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Finally all the business they had come to do was accomplished and it was time to return to Erebor. Bilbo was pleased to see that the farewell exchanges between Thorin and Elrond had a warm tone to them, and a sincerity he hadn't heard before. He smiled at the reasons for the change.
Off to the side Frodo and Estel were holding each other in a tight embrace and both looked as though they were seconds away from crying. Finally Frodo pulled apart and gave a small smile to the dark haired boy "Here Estel, I want you to have this okay? We'll see each other again I promise."
In his hand he was holding out the wooden Smaug that Bofur had carved and painted for him. Estel's eyes went wide as they carefully took the toy and the little boy held it to his chest as he said softly "Goodbye Frodo…"
Seeing the distress in his charge Elrond was quick to put reassuring hands on Estel's shoulders "I believe we will see young Frodo again Estel."
Estel silently nodded and then gave one last hug to Frodo before Thorin helped him onto the pony in front of his Uncle.
As they road off Frodo turned and waved cheerfully "I'll see you again Estel! I promise!"
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Not as long as I had hoped but I just thought this was the perfect place to end! Anyways I hope you enjoyed the over load of sugary cuteness that I have created here! Thank you for reading! Some darker stuff coming up.