Thorin Oakenshield's company continued much as they had the past few weeks. After the ordeal at the mountain, the group had moved off of the more mountainous terrain to travel through forests and hills.
Bilbo Baggin's was having mixed feelings, which was unusual for him. In the Shire, if Bilbo didn't want to do something, he wouldn't. If something annoyed him, the hobbit would grumble for a few minutes and then either fix it or move on, none of this continuous torture that the adventuring seemed to contain.
Despite the lack of a comfortable bed, familiar neighbors, and the delightful normalcy of routine, Bilbo found that if he didn't think about the soreness of his legs from pony riding, the constant rumbling of his stomach without his regular seven meals a day, and the appalling state of his wardrobe; he could at least try pretend everything was as it should be.
If Bilbo prided himself on anything so far on this journey, it would be his ability to push all the uncomfortable experiences into tiny, little boxes that he shoved deep into the back of his mind, never to be reexamined except for very late at night when he needed a good pity session.
It wasn't all bad though, Bilbo supposed, at least things were better than when he began this exercise in self-deprivation and pain. After he had saved Kili from the orc – though save, as he reminded Fili and Kili as they recounted the tale with vigor, was a very strong word – the brothers had seen to taking the hobbit under their collective wing.
Bilbo found himself more often than not flanked on either side by the brothers during their travels. Dwarves, it appeared, took this whole live saving business very seriously. Which… confused Bilbo, who still thought he hadn't done anything especially heroic. Still, their friendship was a welcome one to the hobbit who had been feeling increasingly lonely.
They often tried to include Bilbo in their pranks and even when the hobbit tried to refuse, the dwarves merely laughed and each hooked an arm around one of his own and dragged their reluctant companion along anyway.
The more time he spent with the two youngest of Durin's Folk, Bilbo felt his affection for them grow. He hadn't begun the journey with the dwarves expecting to make any lifelong friends, especially given their initial reception of him, but in their two wide, grinning faces, Bilbo saw a strength of spirit that he couldn't help but admire.
They were setting up camp one night when Bilbo first truly felt the chill of autumn start to nip at his skin. The blanket that his mother had made him, though warm, was not enough to keep the cold out.
The company had finished dinner and most of the dwarves had either gone to sleep or sat quietly in their own thoughts. None of the dwarves, nor Gandalf, had expressed any discomfort at the ending of the summer nights, so Bilbo knew any of his complaints would be met with a rolling of eyes and advice to 'buck up, Master Hobbit.'
'It must be the beards and all that hair,' mused Bilbo as he wrapped himself tightly and gazed longingly at the fire, hoping to will some of its heat over to his stiffening limbs.
Thorin, as usual, sat near the fire keeping the first watch while his nephews were away scouting the area for the best route to take the following morning. Bilbo discreetly watched the dwarf prince from across the camp trying to figure out just how exactly to become, if not friends, then at least cordial.
Bilbo thought of himself as a goal oriented hobbit. It was the stubborn Took in him, he supposed. Once he set his mind to something, very little could persuade him otherwise, thus bringing Bilbo to what he referred to in his mind as his 'little project.'
The hobbit had hoped since their leader's nephews were now clearly fond of Bilbo, that Thorin would at least attempt to not frown at him all the time. Oh how wrong he was, Bilbo thought disappointedly, how very, very wrong…
It shouldn't have surprised him that Thorin's friendship was hard won, but Bilbo couldn't squash out that little spark of hope he felt that his smiles would now be returned instead of scoffed at.
If anything, the hobbit's newly forged companionship with Thorin's nephews made the dwarf dislike him even more. There seemed to now be a constant look of disapproval when he caught the three laughing amongst each other. Fili and Kili assured him that was due to their uncle being 'jealous because he secretly wanted to have fun with the rest of them but had an image to uphold.'
Bilbo had laughed with the brothers at the thought, but also felt his stomach turn uncomfortably. He hoped that he wasn't breaking some dwarf taboo about a commoner associating with princes… The two brothers were about as fun loving and mischievous as any hobbit he had met, but Bilbo had read enough of the stories that resided in Bag End to know that kings and princes lived by a different sort of rules.
Rolling onto his back, Bilbo accepted that with the cold being like it was that evening, he would not be falling asleep anytime soon.
The hobbit had hoped to make at least some progress on his 'little project' since the night where he had taken care of Thorin's wounds. Bilbo thought he had maybe impressed the dwarf a small bit and perhaps even earned a little respect, but Thorin was a dwarf of few words and those he did choose were rarely directed at the hobbit except to offer what Bilbo thought was wholly unnecessary criticism.
Thorin seemed to think that even the smallest action would somehow end in Bilbo fatally wounding himself or that his distasteful hobbit ways might rub off on his nephews leaving them as soft and helpless as Bilbo knew the prince saw him.
It was hard for Bilbo not give Thorin a piece of his mind, despite knowing that not all of his precious limbs were likely to escape that encounter intact. One of the few things that stayed Bilbo's tongue were Bofur and the brothers' kind words and friendly comforts after Thorin's scathing remarks.
The hobbit knew based on his conversations with those particular dwarves that Thorin, despite all the harsh words, did care deeply and intensely for all the dwarves in his company.
With that bit of knowledge kept close to his heart, Bilbo decided that no matter how long it took, he would prove to Thorin that he was worthy member of this company and that with every glare the dwarf gave him, Bilbo would give a smile in return, no matter how forced it looked.
This tactic seemed to amuse Fili and Kili greatly, both of whom caught on quickly and would try to intentionally goad the hobbit into one of his now infamous rants. But! Bilbo was determined while in Thorin's presence to not let his frustration show and would settle for discreetly kicking their shins in retaliation.
Bilbo's musing was interrupted by the return of Fili and Kili to the camp. They looked tired in the firelight but were laughing with each other as usual. Bilbo watched them walk up to their uncle.
"Well, we checked out the path and along the sides," began Fili who adjusted the various knives on his person, "and it looks like it should be all clear for tomorrow!" Finished Kili with a bright smile on his face, pleased that the scouting had gone without so much as a hiccup.
Thorin looked at his nephews, a rare and small smile on his face, "very well, go get some sleep the both of you."
Fili and Kili grinned at each other, "good night, uncle," they said simultaneously.
Bilbo thought he would never get used to their uncanny ability to say the same thing at the same time with frightening accuracy and frequency.
Bilbo closed his eyes hoping sleep would come to him soon, if only so that he wasn't conscious of the cold any longer. That was until he heard two pairs of footsteps grow louder until they stopped right by where he was trying to rest.
"Do you think he's asleep?" He heard Kili not quite whisper.
"Hm… I think I saw his eyes open a second ago but now I'm not so sure," Fili answered his brother quietly.
"Look at the poor little fellow, he's shaking like a leaf in the winter wind!" Bilbo heard Kili say with mock pity and with that he frowned.
Finally opening his eyes to look at their grinning faces, "you are aware that I can hear both of you…"
They laughed in unison, "Of course Master Boggins, we just wanted to see how long it would take you to respond!"
Fili glanced at his brother then down at the hobbit again, "but you do look rather cold my friend." Bilbo was touched by his concern but he was equally determined to not let his discomfort show, especially while Thorin was still in earshot.
"All is well," Bilbo smiled, though somewhat unconvincingly due to the shake in his shoulders. "I'm just not quite used to this weather yet. Autumn has taken me a bit unawares, but I'm sure I'll be used to it soon enough."
Fili and Kili looked at Bilbo with matching frowns, then at each other, then back to the hobbit again. Bilbo felt his confusion grow as the silence stretched and the two brothers appeared to be doing their unique brand of silent communication.
"Alright it's settled then!" Kili's smile broke widely as he settled his pack to the spot directly on Bilbo's left.
The hobbit's forehead creased, unsure what, exactly, had been settled between them without having used any words. "What are you –"
Fili interrupted him as he dropped his pack on Bilbo's right. "Well, Master Baggins, we can't have our burglar freezing during the night! Especially not when you've been so useful recently," Fili gave him a conspiratorial wink.
It finally dawned on Bilbo that to two brothers were planning on sleeping next to him. Right next to him. On either side. Bilbo's eyes widened in horror as he imagined Thorin's face and inevitable disembowelment that would follow. He glanced from Thorin, whose gaze was currently set on the forest opposite of where they were, to shifting between the two brothers.
"Uh, well, not that… not that I don't appreciate the offer or anything but, uh, but wouldn't… wouldn't Thorin be, I don't know, absolutely furious?" Bilbo ground out trying to sound sarcastic but he as he felt the words pass his mouth, the hobbit realized with disappointment he sounded just as nervous as he felt.
"Nonsense, Master Boggins!" Kili rolled over to face him on his mat, a blanket pulled over his body. "Our uncle is a practical dwarf and will surely understand just how practical not letting you turn into a hobbit icicle overnight is."
Bilbo frowned, not even in the slightest seeing the logic to that argument, but as usual, found it hard to disagree with Kili when he got all smiley and enthusiastic. Bilbo turned his neck to look at Fili who merely shrugged and grinned as if to say, 'can't argue with that.'
Bilbo frowned, facing the night sky again and for the umpteenth time marveled at how strange his life had become.
"That is unless…" the hobbit heard Kili begin and turned his face to look at the younger dwarf, "we are making you nervous Master Boggins…" Kili gave him a comically large wink before the two brothers burst into laughter.
"Oh come now brother, I'm sure Master Baggins has parade of lovely hobbit lasses wishing to come snuggle with him to stave off the cold," Fili added, his voice light and teasing.
"Tell us, have you a pretty hobbit to snuggle back in the shire?" Bilbo felt his face redden as he gave Kili one of his most fearsome Baggins glares.
"That is – that is completely irrelevant," the hobbit spluttered trying to sound impressive but utterly failing, "and keep your dwarf noses out of my business, though I know that might be a bit hard considering how ridiculously large they are!"
Fili and Kili laughed loudly as Bilbo reddened even more, crossing him arms in a huff.
"Oh my, Kili, I think we may have offended him!" Fili gave Bilbo a playful shove with his shoulder, "well then Fili, we of course must make amends!"
"Our deepest and most since apologies," Kili began trying to keep a straight face.
"And our everlasting promise to keep our, what did you say? Oh yes, our 'large dwarf noses' strictly in our own business," Fili finished not even attempting to pretend there wasn't a large grin on his face.
Bilbo still refused to look at them, trying to will the red from his face. "Apology accepted. Though I retain the right to inform your uncle how un-princely his nephews have behaved."
Fili chuckled as he gave Bilbo a knowing look, "a most fearsome threat indeed but I think in order to follow through you might have to actually talk to him to report us."
"You make a… you make a convincing argument," Bilbo muttered conceding the gaping flaw in his threat.
"Glad to see you can be shown reason," Fili grinned as he scooted close to the hobbit, Bilbo shivered again as a gust of wind blew across their camp.
The hobbit felt the blanket being pulled up and the edges of two more thrown over him as Fili and Kili situated themselves closely to the hobbit on either side. Soon, with their combined heat under the blankets, the two dwarves and Bilbo were huddled together and feeling comfortably warm.
The hobbit smiled, thinking of the Fili and Kili and what their friendship had begun to mean to him. "Good night," he said quietly before adding an almost silent, "and thank you."
"Good night Bilbo," they said together before silence fell over the camp once again.
Bilbo thought he felt eyes upon him and looked towards the fire to see Thorin gazing where his nephews lay on either side of the hobbit, an unreadable expression on his face.
They held eye contact for a few long moments. Bilbo was unsure if he was about to be reprimanded, but then saw Thorin let out a sigh and shake his head minutely, breaking their eye contact, and turning to watch the forest once more.
Bilbo smiled again to himself, perhaps Thorin was as his nephew said: a practical man. And so began a trend that continued from that night on: whenever it was cold, Bilbo, Fili, and Kili would huddle together sharing blankets and stories until sleep took them under the watchful eye of Thorin Oakenshield.