Disclaimer- I don't own a thing...
BILBO POV
I looked around the room and saw that almost all the dwarves were asleep. I looked at Fili and Kili, who were sleeping on each other. Little moments like these warmed my heart. I decided to sleep with the company instead of my cosy bed, almost afraid they would leave me again.
When I woke, Bombur and I fixed a large breakfast for the company, who were quite appreciative, before leaving my home. I made sure I had my handkerchief this time as well. Before leaving, I took the time to attach a letter to my door.
It read:
TO MY COUSIN DROGO, I leave Bag End in your possession should I not return within two years. Promise to stay away from the Brandywine River, leave the fishing trips to Hamfest Gamgee, please.
TO THE SACKVILLE-BAGGINS, I leave nothing. Good day. And stay away from my silverware!
I smiled to myself, saying goodbye to my home, wondering if I were ever going to see it again. I found myself thinking that if I didn't, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing. I had already lived a full life, maybe it was time for something more than Bag End and the Shire.
It was an uneventful walk to the ponies which were located at the Prancing Pony in Bree, as were the rest of the supplies.
Once we were on the ponies, I found myself sneezing and wheezing. I took out my handkerchief and blew my nose accordingly as we rode through the woods, headed east.
KILI POV-
Fili and I rode at the back of the company, side by side on our ponies, Daisy and Bungo. I looked over to Fili, who was absentmindedly playing with one of his mustache braids.
"Don't play with it, you'll undo it, then I will have to fix it!" I yelled at him, who quickly realized what I was talking about and let it go.
"You're going to have to fix them soon anyways, Kee." Fili said to me laughing.
"And what makes you so sure that I will?" I asked him jokingly.
"Nadadith, you've been braiding my hair since you were barely five years old, you're the only one I trust with it." Fili said making me smile. It was true, I had been the only one to ever braid Fili's hair in the past 72 years, yet I'd never had mine braided.
The only thing I had in my hair was a single clasp. It was one that Fili made me for my coming-of-age party when I turned 65. In turn, I had made him one as well, and neither of us had taken them out since.
I had always been the odd one in the Blue Mountains. People made fun of me for my beard, or lack-there-of and my height, not to mention my lack of braids as well, said I looked more like an elf than a dwarf, but Fili always stood up for me. It wasn't until Thorin had named us both as his heirs that the comments mostly stopped.
"Fee, do you think I look like an elf?" I asked him randomly. I noticed his eyes shoot directly over to me, frowning.
"Of course not, Kee. You may not have a full beard, but neither do I! See?" He said, rubbing his chin. It was true, he had about the same amount as me, but he also had his mustache, which was long enough to braid. "You are just as much dwarf as I am, brother." That comment made me smile as we continued on down the path.
Quite a few hours later, we finally stopped for the night on a cliffside.
"Fili, Kili, you have first watch." Thorin told us after we ate, as the others set out their bedrolls and quickly fell asleep.
Fili and I sat against a rock wall as I whittled away at a stick, Fili smoking his pipe.
"Want some, brother?" Fili offered and I took a slow drag of smoke from his pipe, making me relax a little.
We saw Bilbo walk up and sit on the log next to the fire, warming his hands. Out of nowhere we heard a screech.
BILBO POV
"Orcs." I said as I heard the screeching. Fili and Kili raised their eyebrows at me "What? I know what an Orc is. Nasty, revolting, cruel creatures they are." I muttered more to myself.
"What would you know of Orcs?" Thorin asked, walking over to me.
"A great deal more than I am willing to share at the moment, thank you very much." I huffed. Thorin grumbled something before walking away to the cliffside. I shuddered at the memory of the Orcs killing my parents during the winter many years ago.
"I wouldn't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most, to hate Orcs." Balin began retelling the tale of the Battle of Azanulbizar. Everyone woke and was caught up in the story of the prince turned king.
Thorin thought Azog the Defiler to be dead, but I knew first hand that he wasn't. From the look Gandalf and Balin exchanged, they knew as well. I couldn't just tell him, he would never believe me that the Pale Orc was still alive and hunting us.
I soon found myself asleep, needing to sleep off the pain in my thighs from riding on ponies all day, and the old memories that had been resurfacing.
Fili POV
"I think our burglar is hiding something." I told Kili who was leaning against the rock face.
"I think so as well. How would a simple hobbit know how to wield a sword, or know about Orcs? From what Balin told us about hobbits, that doesn't sound right to me." Kili replied.
"I wonder if he's been on any adventures before? Maybe that's how he knows these things. I would say we could ask him, but with the way he spoke, I don't think he wants to remember whatever it is." I told him. Kili nodded and we decided to leave the subject alone for now.
"So tell me, brother, did any other ladies try anything before we left the Blue Mountains?" Kili asked and I looked over at him, chuckling.
"That one, Daeryn, hasn't stopped since I told you the first time. Maybe this quest and us being gone for so long will make her realize that I do not, nor have I ever returned any feelings she may show towards me." I told Kili, who looked almost relieved. "What about you, brother?"
"You know how it is, Fee. All the ladies flock to you, 'the handsome one'. I don't care much about them anyways to be honest, never have. Do you think we will ever find our One's?" He asked and I looked over at him. I thought about his question honestly.
Did I have a One out there? To me, it felt like my heart was already full. I had my mother, Thorin, and Kili, though Kili took up most of the room. How could I love another when my heart was completely full already?
"I'm sure you will, nadadith." I told him, smiling.
"And you, nadad?" He asked questioningly.
"I don't think I have a One, Kee. My heart and soul are complete, I do not feel as if something is missing." I told him honestly. I hadn't since the day my little brother was born.
"How do you know if they are complete? How can you tell?" He asked curiously.
"I'm not sure. I didn't know until after my missing piece found it's way home. I guess you'll just know." I told him honestly.
"What was your missing piece?" He asked and I ruffled his hair.
"You, brother. The day you were born, I felt complete. That's how I know." I told him smiling as he smiled back up to me.
Okay, so the twist should be in the next chapter... DUN DUN DUN! I love me some Durin feels. And no, Fili doesn't suspect anything with his brother. Yet. DONT KILL ME! Bex.