Hey guys! Remember when I said one to two days between updates? :D Well, shit. Took a whole week. I'm not even going to make up excuses. Sorry! And this chapter was a bit awkward to write anyway. Enjoy!

Light blue eyes squinted against the sun's rays. They scanned the room around him. The eye's owner thought, 'This isn't my house…' As he shifted his arm from beneath a weight, he realized what had happened the night before.

"Sam, get off of me…." The man next to him grunted, resulting in a tug of his goldish curls and a knee in his gut. Frodo slid one leg out from under the covers of the bed, finding it to be completely bare, giving the man next to him another tug of his hair. He slipped the rest of his body out of the bed having thoroughly abused Sam, strolling over to the dresser opposite the bed, checking his phone for messages. One missed call from Bilbo….and a voicemail…

Frodo snatched his underwear from the floor, lazily pulling them on and leaving the room to listen to the message. He shut the door, rolling his eyes at the sound of his "friend" getting up. The message played, "Hey, I think it would be nice if you were to come over and." A crash was heard, "-meet Gandalf's friends. So…come over whenever."

The message ended, and Frodo contemplated calling back. The bedroom door opened and Sam asked, "What are you doing out here?" Frodo pouted, reentering the room and tossing his phone on the bed as he put on the rest of his clothes. "My uncle wants us to visit today. Do you think we should?" Sam perked. "We haven't gone to visit in quite a while, I think that it would be great. Oh, but doesn't he have company over?"

Frodo's large eyes shifted around. "Yeah, but he wants us to meet them. Friends of Gandalf…that could mean anything…." He looked up at Sam now in defeat, "Well, since they've managed to be kept by Bilbo for more than two days, I guess they can't be that bad. And…I was the one to put this on him…why not check up on him?"

As he let Sam babble about their last visit with Bilbo, Frodo began to wonder about these guests. He could almost hear his uncle's jaw lock up when that crash occurred. He shook his head. "Oh, you don't think so?" Frodo spun around with a worried look, "What? I wasn't paying attention." Sam sighed. "I said, don't you think it's strange of Bilbo to allow people he doesn't know into his house? Remember the first time you brought me over and he kept eyeing my funny…" He began a new tangent, to which Frodo spaced out again. 'And how could he allow them to break stuff? Bilbo would have had Sam's head on a pitchfork. Maybe Gandalf has something to do with it…'

Looking at the clock, it read noon. "Well, now is a better time than any. Still early enough to seem like we've spent the whole day, but late enough to not seem we didn't want to come."

~An hour prior~

By this point, Thorin was about to explode. "Why should he have to unpack our stuff!? He never agreed to take on this duty!" Gandalf strode up to face him, "Would you not like to allow your host to see your new home?" Thorin rubbed his hand against his forehead, "That's completely different. He shouldn't have to work on it!" Gandalf leaned in very closely to whisper in Thorin's ear, "Look at him. Take a GOOD look at him."

Thorin sighed. He always stared at Bilbo. He knows what he looks like by now, from every angle. 'Maybe I should lay off a bit…' "Do you see it?" Thorin rolled his eyes, "See what?" Gandalf smiled at him, "That's the look of a man that doesn't get out very much. I think he needs this. Just for today. He won't have to go out and do this ever again if he doesn't want to." Thorin continued to stare until Bilbo finally turned to them both, to which he instantly turned his head.

Gandalf wandered off down the hall, and Bilbo stood where Gandalf had been in front of Thorin. "Is he talking about me again?" Thorin looked down at him awkwardly, but shook his head. 'Why can't I speak?!' Bilbo nodded and said, "Crazy old man. Thinks I'm some…dependent child. What was he talking about anyway?"

Gandalf called from the kitchen. "I'm sure you'll find out soon," he replied straight faced. Bilbo headed off, leaving Thorin to follow with a slight tremble. 'How will I be able to talk to him if I can't do so without freezing up?'

"Why would I want to do such a thing?" he heard from down the hall. 'I guess I should be in there as well.'

"Do you not want to see your guests' new home?" Thorin walked in to witness the ever confused look on Bilbo's face. "I…I don't see why I-"Gandalf interrupted, "Truly, I'm not giving you a choice. You have to go." Bilbo looked down in defeat.

Everyone eventually piled out of their rooms, gathered around the dining room table, and looked around to see who would make breakfast. Of course it was Bilbo, silently cursing the old man who currently discussed this day's rotation. Bilbo, Nori, Ori, and Gloin. It seemed Balin would just be staying at the house. Even if he was old, he didn't look feeble…

After breakfast, Bilbo went out to the porch to clear his mind. To calm himself, he tried to remember which men he'd be working with. 'Nori was….the one with strangely shaped hair, right….Then…his brother, Ori. He…looked to be the youngest. And Gloin-' "May I sit out here with you?" Bilbo looked up to find Balin. "Oh, of course, please." He slowly lowered himself on the bench and stared at the back of Bilbo's head.

Bilbo could feel his eyes, so he awkwardly tried not to turn around and look at him back. Balin started the conversation, "So if we were to stay for one week more, what would we owe you?" Bilbo turned, completely in shock, "I'm sorry, what?" Balin smiled, "How much do we owe you for our stay here? We must pay you back for such hospitality!" Bilbo looked out to the street. He truly didn't even think about pay. "I don't really need any- wait! Isn't that something you guys should have considered before coming here?" Balin chuckled, "Isn't it something you should have decided before allowing strangers into your home?"

"Money isn't much of an issue for me. And I really only did this because…." He looked down to the railing he leaned on. "My family noticed that I've been quite lonely."

Thorin heard Bilbo's voice from the other side of the door, very quiet and calm. The front door was slightly ajar, so he leaned in close to it and listened. Balin pressed, "And why is that, lad?" Hoping to lighten the mood, he added, "Especially if money is no issue…" Thorin would have covered his old friend's mouth for saying such a thing, but he did not want to interrupt. Bilbo sighed, "I don't know. I don't care to get to know other people I suppose. I don't find myself needing company, but…I guess I don't like to be alone either…"

"Time to leave!" Gandalf called throughout the house. 'No, I want to listen….' Thorin straightened up, swiftly rushing past Gandalf, who gave him an odd look. He stepped out from the front door to see Bilbo looking morose, his head down and fingers nervously moving around. His head rushed up as he heard the slaps of the old man's sandals on the ground and he met Gandalf's caring blue eyes.

He gave a small smile, turning to Balin. "Maybe we'll talk about this later, then?" Balin rose, turned to Gandalf and said, "Oh, I think I'll come along for this and see how horribly the others have wrecked our new home so far." Bilbo was surprised, but nodded and followed Gandalf down to his car. It looked a bit crap, but what do looks matter? It ran.

As everyone piled in the car and drove away, Thorin couldn't help but be a bit sad. 'Why do you hate me, Gandalf…?' He shut the front door and turned to everyone in the living room. Fili was on his laptop with his brother's head resting on his shoulder. The rest either stared blankly at the television or slept on the comfortable furniture. 'What will I do today, then?'

The doorbell rang. Thorin immediately ran up to it, peering out the peep hole.

All he could see was a sandy haired man staring away from the door and down the path. He waved his arms, and soon there was a boy with dark brown curls at his side. Thorin wondered if he should open the door, then his older nephew looked to him asking, "Are you going to open the door?"

He swung it open, and the first man's eyes gave a twitch of fear. The other however just looked up in surprise, his hauntingly pale blue eyes widening and pupils dilating.

When his nephews pushed past him to let the men in, he knew that they should fear for their well-being.