Thorin had never seen such a man before. His mustache and gravity-defying braids were quite a sight but... There was something about him. Thorin didn't know what it was, but he was instantly attracted the second their eyes locked.

"Oh, Thorin!" Bilbo greeted after a second or two of tense silence in which Bofur and Thorin continued staring at each other, Kili and Ori hugging the other tightly as they saw the older men walking into the room.

"Dwalin? What are you doing here?" Ori asked his boyfriend, quirking an eyebrow when he saw Nori smirking mischievously at him.

The large man frowned softly as he saw his boyfriend and his best friend's nephew hugging an unknown man, but shook his head and did his best to smile.

"We passed by the apartment to take you boys out to dinner but Nori told us we'd find you here. We were planning on going to-"

Kili had quirked his ears as soon as he'd heard dinner, but when Dwalin continued, he felt like he just had to interrupt the older man.

"You were going to take us out!? Oh, Dwalin, you shouldn't have!"

Dwalin glared at the younger male, feeling annoyed at the interruption, but Thorin cleared his throat before the two could begin one of their now famous arguments.

"Bilbo. Who might this be?" Thorin greeted, doing his best to maintain all composure while inquiring about the handsome man being squeezed tightly by his nephew and said nephew's best friend.

Clearly Dwalin didn't like the fact that Ori was hugging the man so tightly and, quite frankly, Thorin didn't like it either. Kili really should know better than to choke others like that. And if he felt a little something on seeing the beautiful man being hugged like that, well... No one else had to know.

Bilbo blinked in slight shock, surprised to find Thorin actually talking to him without needing to be pushed by his nephews. Before, when the breakup had still been fresh, Thorin didn't even want to look at him. Maybe he'd finally moved on after the years, though.

"Well... Uh... This is Bofur Broadbeam, Thorin. Bofur, this is Thorin, Kili and Fili's uncle." Bilbo introduced them, all the while Bofur smiled nervously at the older man.

Thorin did his best to smile back but his nephew interrupted once more, "Thorin, if you're going to take us out for dinner, you should let us bring Bofur as well! Ooh, and Bilbo too!"

Kili couldn't see it and the rest weren't able either, but Bilbo sent a deathly glare at the young man for a millisecond before composing himself and chuckling at his words.

"Oh, Kili. I am sure your uncle was not planning on taking so many people with him to lunch. Anyways, I have already eaten and must be going on my way. I have to look after my shop, after all." Bilbo chuckled softly, placing a heavy hand on Kili's shoulder to start squeezing it harshly.

Kili did his best to keep his composure as Bilbo hurt him and continued smiling. "But I am sure he wouldn't mind two more!"

"I wouldn't at all." Thorin spoke up after clearing his throat, grabbing even Kili's attention. "We were already taking the boys and Nori. Two more really wouldn't be a bother."

Bofur smiled softly as Kili cheered and Bilbo retracted his hand, smiling as well, but tense in annoyance.

Fili- unlike the other dense men in the room- actually was able to notice all of the emotions coursing through not only Bilbo, but Bofur and Thorin as well, and he couldn't help but smile. First of all, it was about time his uncle moved on. And secondly of all, Kili really needed to learn how to keep his mouth shut.

Now the group of eight were eating in Fili and Kili's favorite restaurant, the three best friends seating with Bofur in their booth while the older men sat in the booth in front of them. They all had already ordered and were waiting for the food while Kili and Fili colored in the paper place mat usually given to children.

"I'll get the chicken to cross the road before you can!" Kili gasped as he used his left hand to bump in Fili's right while the blonde growled at him.

"You do that again, Kili, and I will cut your hair while you sleep!" Fili threatened, and Kili squeaked in fear, moving to the right only to bump into Ori.

Thorin, while his two nephews did this, groaned softly and shook his head, wondering just from which side of the family they had gotten their innate stupidity from. Bilbo and Nori were both amused by the younger men while Dwalin was feeling kind of annoyed with his boy friend being touched so much by them.

As they continued their Stupid Games- as Bilbo lovingly called them- Thorin turned to Bofur. "So, Bofur, right? How did you come to meet Bilbo?"

Bofur looked up from the boys' games to look at Thorin, actually shocked to find the other man speaking to him. From the information given to him by Kili and Fili, Thorin wasn't really the kind to talk. Or socialize. Or want to meet new people. Or be around people he knew that weren't his friends.

"Well... Uh..." Bofur struggled to find a credible story, but lucky enough, Bilbo answered for him.

"Bofur and I were friends back in Ireland. You know how I spent a few of my childhood years over there before returning to England?" Bilbo asked Thorin, who nodded. "Well he was my best friend back then."

And, seeing how this was a lie he could run with, Bofur added to it, "We lost touch back when Bilbo moved to England but I found him a few years ago. I recently moved here to America so Bilbo was nice enough to take me in until I could find a stable job and somewhere to live."

Thorin nodded at the story, completely believing it, and turned to Fili as he cheered in victory.

"I told you I would win, you annoying cretin!" Fili laughed while Kili's eyes filled with tears, pouting at his brother's words.

"You don't have to be so mean about it..." Kili mumbled and Fili rolled his eyes.

"Well you didn't have to try and cheat, but you did. So that's what you get."

"So, Thorin, the boys tell me you're a lawyer?" Bofur asked, ignoring the boys this time to continue talking with the older male.

Thorin nodded, "Yes, I work in my family's firm along with Dwalin. He's the head of our security."

Bofur nodded at the bearded man then turned to the only man there that had yet to speak to him. "And you, uh... Nori?"

Nori perked up at the mention of his name- seeing how he'd been in too enthralled in his own mind to pay attention to the conversation- and turned to find the new guy looking at him with slight curiously.

"Huh?" He asked somewhat lamely.

"What do you work as, brother?" Ori asked to not have Bofur repeat it.

"Oh. Well, Bofur, I'm a jack of all trades. My job just depends on who's contracting me and how much they're paying me." Nori shrugged with a smirk.

Bofur nodded at it- even though Nori had not answered completely- and turned to the boys once more. Kili was still sulking over his loss while Fili smirked down at him, rejoicing in his victory. He found this somewhat funny, how the two boys interacted, then looked up when their food arrived.

The men's small talk continued as they ate and as Thorin spoke to him about a recent case he was on, Bofur couldn't help but wonder just why Fili and Kili had been so adamant about their uncle meeting him. Sure, if he'd known that his nephews had taken in a homeless man from the streets, Thorin might have been a bit angry. But right now, as he spoke kindly to him while the rest of the table continued in their own endeavors, Bofur found himself kind of annoyed with the boys for not letting him meet their uncle sooner.

"Thank you so much for the meal, Thorin!" Bilbo spoke up as the large group exited the restaurant, Fili and Kili in front of them wrestling about who would get the leftovers.

"It was nothing, Bilbo." Thorin answered even though he was looking at Bofur the whole time. "It really was a pleasure to meet you, Bofur."

Bofur could feel his cheeks reddening at the way Thorin addressed him, but still smiled. "The pleasure's all mine, Mr. Durin."

"Hey, Thorin, we'll start heading over to the car." Nori cleared his throat as he wrapped an arm around Bilbo's shoulders, pulling the smaller man in closer.

The man had a mischievous glint in his eyes and Dwalin could tell he was up to no good, but from the way Thorin's face brightened up at the idea of being left alone, he just sighed with a shake of his head and started to walk towards their car. Kili and Fili followed after the other four men, still horsing around and bumping into each other with large smiles on their faces.

Bofur smiled after the group then turned to Thorin when he cleared his throat.

"Well, Bofur. I know we've just met, but I..." Thorin gulped now, feeling a bit embarrassed with what he was about to say to a man he had just recently met.

But his nephews had pushed him to be a bit more adventurous and they seemed to trust Bofur enough. Maybe he should take a risk and go on a limb for this Bofur fellow.

"Well, you were looking for employment, correct? And you can cook?" Thorin asked, which made Bofur cock his head to the side slightly.

"Aye. I believe I can hold my own in a kitchen."

"You see, there's just been an opening in my building's café, they need a busboy or something along those lines. And I know it's not the most glamorous of jobs, but considering how hard it's been for you to find anything I thought it might be a good option for you."

Thorin had at first felt a bit embarrassed for offering something so stupid, but from the smile Bofur sent his way, he knew he had done right. "You think you could help me get an interview for that, Thorin? Oh, that would be perfect! I would even take a job scrubbing floors if it meant finally getting an income!"

And much to both their shocks, Bofur threw himself at Thorin and hugged him tightly, smiling extremely brightly.

It seemed like, finally, after so much hardship and pain, things were looking up for Bofur.

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