Morning came with Bilbo still sitting up at the fire. The flames had died down and all there was now were red and orange glowing coals, but it was no longer needed as the sun was rising and would soon offer all the warmth they would need for the day. Sleep had not come to him, and instead he had kept watch, sending Kili back to sleep when the young Dwarf had woken to take his watch. Spending the better part of the night thinking about the events of that night, Bilbo was beginning to feel more curious and frustrated than frightened after Thorin's unexpected response.

When the company awoke Bilbo finally pulled himself out of his thoughts and rose up to help take care of the camp. After their run from the Wargs most of them were still fairly tired, but Bilbo needed something to do to distract him, so he moved about to help gather food and supplies.

Well into the afternoon Thorin hadn't said to word to him, and Bilbo tried not to over think it as he moved to the stream to fill the water skins.

Kneeling at the water's edge, Bilbo found a clean area and worked at dipping in the water skins and filling them to their brim. The air was quiet and his thoughts were distracted, so when Thorin approached and dropped down a couple more skins at his side the poor Hobbit nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Oh, goodness. You startled me, Thorin!" Bilbo exclaimed, rubbing his hand tenderly against his heart as it beat rapidly within his chest.

"My apologies," Thorin responded, kneeling down by the creek with Bilbo as he took up one of the skins and dipped it into the water. Bilbo watched quietly, wondering if Thorin wanted to talk or if he was merely helping with the tasks. His bruises were looking better, but Bilbo could tell Thorin was still sore.

The short answer drew Bilbo to silence as he took another skin and dipped it in. When they were all filled Dwarf and Hobbit returned to the company and parted ways, taking up different tasks.

"What's wrong with you, Bilbo?" Bilbo was startled out of his thoughts as Fili approached, grinning cheerfully as he tossed down a deer that Kili had shot down and then knelt beside it to begin skinning.

Shrugging, Bilbo watched as Fili used his sharp hunting knife to pull the skin from the deer and then begin cutting the meat into cookable slices.

"Hope you like venison," Fili teased with a grin. Deer and rabbits were plentiful here, but deer were easier to shoot than the quick footed rabbits. Fili cut the skin out and then laid it aside as a sort of tray to place the meat slices on so they wouldn't get dirty. Helping where he could, Bilbo took the meat as Fili cut it and set it aside out of the way.

"Have you ever been in love, Fili?" Bilbo asked suddenly, glancing up at Thorin's eldest nephew. Fili glanced up in surprise and raised an inquisitive brow.

"Odd question, why do you ask?" he replied, giving Bilbo an interested look and held a maturity that had seemed uncharacteristic for the impish dwarf. Kili was much younger and still held a youthful energy, but Bilbo could see that despite his immature antics Fili was well on his way to becoming an adult.

"Nevermind," he mused quietly, feeling foolish for posing such a question on the much younger Dwarf. Fili paused in his cutting to shoot Bilbo a concerned look, but the Hobbit offered a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure the others are hungry, we should get this finished up and brought to them so it can be cooked," Bilbo added, trying to distract the Dwarf from the topic and Fili seemed satisfied to comply as he shrugged and dug his knife into the carcass once more.

The day wore on and Fili and Bilbo finished with the deer, bringing the meat to the campfire and beginning to set it up for a decent meal. The other Dwarves gathered around, and Bilbo glanced around curiously as he looked for Gandalf. The Wizard was gone again, however, and Bilbo sighed as he wondered where Gandalf had gone off to this time.

The day was slowly drifting into afternoon as the scent of cooking deer soon filled the air, and Bilbo had finally been able to let his thoughts drift off and he found himself laughing and talking with the Dwarves as the meat cooked and they waited to be able to eat.

"Bilbo, will you come here for a moment?" Thorin's gruff voice broke through the chatter and Bilbo glanced over, suddenly feeling nervous again as the serious Dwarf waited expectantly. Feeling a bit meek, Bilbo moved over quietly. "I need some help with some firewood," Thorin added when Bilbo finally approached, and the pair made their way through the forest.

They reached a gentle clearing by the stream and Thorin started to picked up some braches and bits of wood. Feeling confused but a bit more relaxed, Bilbo quickly aided as he started picking up some firewood as well.

"About last night," Thorin suddenly continued, however, and Bilbo swallowed nervously. Here it came. "How long have you had these feelings?" Bilbo blinked in surprise. Okay, this was different. The Hobbit watched Thorin inquisitively and shrugged.

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. I just... I just looked at you one day and saw you differently," he confessed, just as bewildered by his emotions as Thorin seemed to be. Thorin contemplated this answer quietly, picking up a couple more branches. Deciding it was as good a time as any, Bilbo continued the conversation cautiously. "Last-last night you, you said you were thinking about it..." Bilbo said hesitently, and Thorin looked up at him.

Leaning against a nearby tree, Thorin glanced down at the branches in his arms, seeming deep in thought as Bilbo waited in suspense.

"I think," Thorin finally said before pausing a moment, as if to gather his thoughts and figure out what he was going to say, and Bilbo tensed in anticipation. "I'm not sure what I feel, but I am willing to explore these feelings." he finally said and Bilbo let out a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding.

"What?" he asked, as if sure he had heard Thorin wrong. The Dwarf chuckled lightly, dropping the firewood and dusting himself off as he looked over at Bilbo.

"I'd never had cause to think of having feelings for you, but after you mentioned it I thought about it, and it does not seem like such an impossible thing anymore..."

Bilbo stared in amazement, unsure of what his emotions were doing. He felt shocked, relieved, and frightened all at once. Had he truly heard Thorin correctly? The proud Dwarf was willing to consider such a thing with a Hobbit? With Bilbo?

Thorin chuckled and motioned Bilbo closer. Bilbo hesitently complied, coming closer to stand near Thorin. The Dwarf took the firewood from the Hobbits arms and dropped them into the pile before taking the Hobbit's chin in his hand.

"They will be expecting us back soon, but..." Thorin swallowed, seeming somewhat nervous for the first time. "I wanted to try something," he said cautiously, and Bilbo watch him closely, his stomach fluttering at Thorin's touch.

"W-what?" he asked nervously, and Thorin smiled.

"This."

Thorin leaned forward slowly, and though Bilbo had never kissed anyone before, he tried to react by leaning in as well, their lips coming together in a hesitent first kiss. Bilbo's heart leaped in his chest at the contact, and his eyes fluttered shut slightly as Thorin cupped his cheek with his free hand and deepened the kiss, counting on instinct to lead him before they finally pulled apart. It was then that Bilbo realized he'd panicked and failed to return the kiss as Thorin raised a brow at him.

"Are you going to kiss me or not?" he asked teasingly, and Bilbo swallowed the lump in his throat before mentally kicking himself and leaning in again to fix the situation by pressing his lips against Thorin's in another kiss, this one returned by the Dwarf.

After a moment they pulled back again, both feeling quite breathless after this one, and both smiling lightly at the rush in their heads. Bilbo was feeling quite happy, and Thorin's smile matched his. Finally, Thorin bent down and picked up an armful of firewood again.

"We'd best be getting back before they miss us," he mused, and Bilbo nodded distractedly as he quickly gathered up the rest of the firewood into his arms and they comfortably made their way back to camp.