AN: Alright, I know I said it would probably be a while before I updated this story again, and that will be the case for any future chapters that I choose to write, but I just couldn't get this piece out of my head. I hope you all enjoy it.

PS: There are some spoilers from The Lord of the Rings that I have changed slightly to fit my version of the story. You have been warned.

Many years passed and every raven that Thorin had sent out to find Bilbo had been sent back with little to no news of the hobbit's whereabouts. It seemed that his One was trying very hard to stay out of everyone's eye and doing a very good job of it. Gandalf had already told them that the secret mission Bilbo had set off to do was done and that he had saved the world at great expense to himself. Yet, Thorin could not believe that there was even a chance that his hobbit was already dead despite the warnings that Balin cautioned him with. He never showed any of this to his sons, who had become very beloved princes and were very close to the king himself. Everything that he did to find Bilbo was done in secrecy in order not to get their hopes up.

The boys were older now. They were, in fact, coming upon their majority and hoping, as they did every year, that Bilbo would somehow make it back for their birthday. They never showed how disheartened they got when he did not make an appearance for their birthday, but Thorin could see that it was weighing on them. It wouldn't be long before they figured out the truth of the whole thing. Thorin was actually pretty sure that they would have already done so if they didn't have so many other diversions to occupy their time. Fili and Kili especially liked to distract them with their games and tricks despite them being twice the young one's age.

It had been many years and Thorin wanted more and more to head out and find his hobbit no matter what he had to do. Especially when his sons insisted on the entire company coming out of the mountain in order to have a picnic. Apparently, that was a favorite thing of Bilbo's when they were young and they liked to do it as often as Thorin's schedule would allow. The king could hardly say that he liked it any less.

The company, which now also included Thorin's sister, Dis, was currently having a party for the twins' majority just outside the mountain. There would be another one in a couple of days for the whole mountain, but they liked to celebrate the day of their birth with just friends and family.

"There is a group of men heading this way," Kili said suddenly. Other than the twins who had gained their dad's sight, which apparently was much better than that of dwarves and men though not as great as that of elves, he still had the best sight out of everyone.

"What could they want here?" asked Fili even as he and his brother continued to spar with the twins.

"Perhaps they wish to bring gifts to the princes," Balin suggested. He could not yet see the men except for a mass far in the distance, but the dwarves had been receiving such gifts from all over the place in the last couple of weeks. The men of Laketown especially paid their respects with many gifts.

"We will find out once they come," Thorin shrugged, having glanced over and not been able to discern any threat from the men so far away. Dwalin was alert, and that was enough for them to at least have warning if an attack should come. They were supposed to be enjoying his sons' birthday, and he would not let suspicion of neighbors ruin that. He had already learned that lesson during the Battle of Five Armies.

They did not, however, have to wait for the men to come all the way to them. Frodo stopped mid-spar, forcing his brother to block a jab that Fili would not have otherwise been able to divert, and dropped his weapons before taking off towards their visitors. "Daddy!" he screamed and every other dwarf was suddenly standing without realizing that they had gotten up. Frerin, who had raced after his brother without even knowing what was going on, faltered for a short step before picking up his pace, catching up to his brother, and racing alongside him to get to the person that they had missed for so long.

Thorin could barely hold himself back from racing towards the group as well when a small figure leapt from the saddle of a pony and held his arms out to the boys. They were bigger than him now and used that as an advantage by picking him up and swinging him around as many of the dwarves had done to them over the years. The king clenched his fists and stayed rooted where he was, not certain if he would be welcome in such a reunion, but wanting so badly to go and see if his husband was truly alright.

It seemed like ages before the little figure mounted the pony once more and the group set off with two young dwarves to accompany them. The twins were clearly chatting happily to their dad, which set Thorin's nerves a little more at ease. If Bilbo had been hurt badly, they would have looked more worried than that. Still, he felt tense as he readied himself for what was sure to be a very awkward meeting. Gandalf had said that there was great expense to Bilbo.

"Papa!" Frerin ran over with a grin on his face, which kind of shocked Thorin. Frerin, the older of the twins, was a much more stoic dwarf than his brother, so much so that Thorin sometimes accidentally called him Fili, and never really left the other's side. In fact, Thorin had more than once mistakenly called the twins by the names of his nephews and vice versa even though both the twins were much more subdued than their cousins at that age. It made him feel bad at first that he couldn't get their names right, but then they finally divulged that Bilbo would sometimes do the same thing. "Come and see! Daddy has returned!"

The king could no longer deny it. He had to go over and now he actually had permission to go over. His feet moved faster than was probably respectable, but he managed not to run to his husband. It was a close thing, though. If anyone would ask him, he would tell them that the eagerness of his son was what had him moving so quickly, but the company would not ask because they already knew the true answer and that was not it.

Bilbo looked mostly unharmed the closer Thorin got to him. There were a couple small scars here and there that the king knew hadn't been there when they were at Laketown. There were no missing limbs, though, and that was a good sign at least. Bilbo did not look pale or thin. He looked well fed and tan just like a hobbit should. Yet, there was still something that Thorin could feel was wrong. He knew that he saw it, but for some reason his seeking eyes could not tell exactly what was the matter.

"Papa!" Frodo greeted as Frerin moved back to his side.

Bilbo startled, ducked his head, and would not look at Thorin. It made the king clench a fist behind his back until he felt his nails digging into his skin. Had he really done such damage to his One? If he had, he only hoped that it would be possible to make it up to his husband and the only way to do so was to start now. "I see we have guests for your birthday boys," he said, bringing up the best smile he could. "We have man-sized rooms in the mountain if you would like to stay."

"We cannot stay," the man in front, closest to Bilbo. "We have only come to see Bilbo Baggins safely here." He slowly reached out and touched Bilbo's shoulder, making the hobbit look over at him. "Will you be alright from here?"

"I will be well taken care of," Bilbo replied with a smile. "Go back to your wife and kingdom, Aragorn."

Aragorn, as Thorin had heard a couple of months back, had returned to Gondor to reclaim his right to rule it just after the One Ring had been destroyed, leaving the only remaining son of the steward, Faramir, to marry into his rule at Rohan. Thorin, of course, had sent every congratulations as fit one ruler to another, but he had never known that either of them had known Bilbo when it was obvious that Aragorn, and probably Faramir, had. It made him angry, but he reined it in for Bilbo's sake.

"Very well," Aragorn inclined his head. "Then my men and I will be off."

"Safe travels to you," Bilbo nodded. "Remember to write to me."

"I will do my best," Aragorn laughed before turning his horse and heading off.

"Do his best indeed," Bilbo rolled his eyes. "I don't know that that man had ever written a letter to anybody before he became king and I'm not even certain that he has done so since."

"He was a king?" Frodo asked with wide eyes as though meeting such a royal was so amazing even though he was a prince and knew quite a few royals including Thranduil, his son Legolas, and the new king of Dale, Bard.

"Indeed he is," Bilbo nodded. "He is the descendant of Isildur who first defeated the Dark Lord thousands of years ago by cutting the One Ring from his finger. Though, he's even better than his ancestor as, when I showed the ring to him he was able to resist its temptation when another man I had known was not able."

"You had the One Ring?" Thorin gasped, making Bilbo jump and look back down at his hands, which rested on the pony's saddle.

"I found it in the Misty Mountains," Bilbo nodded. "It once belonged to the creature Gollum, or Smeagol was actually his name according to Gandalf."

"That was what was helping you become invisible, wasn't it?" Thorin asked.

Bilbo nodded slowly and Thorin realized suddenly that his words might have sounded accusatory. He was certainly not making a good job of this attempt to make everything up to his husband. He was, in fact, only making it worse. That he could not allow. "I am sorry that you had to carry that burden."

"It was not your fault," Bilbo replied with a shake of his head. "I was the one that picked it up after all."

"You would not have even been in those mountains if we had not forced you to come along on our quest with us," Thorin denied.

"That is true," Bilbo nodded. "But I don't regret a single moment of that adventure. Nor do I regret picking up that ring. It is destroyed now and the Dark Lord can never come back. That is worth everything. The only thing that I do regret is missing you all for these many years that I have been away."

"Well then you have to make it up to all of us," Frerin said.

"By coming to our party picnic," Frodo continued.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea!" Bilbo clapped his hands. "Though I must warn you that I don't have any presents to offer." Generally, as the twins had explained to the rest of the dwarves in the company, it was the birthday child that gave out presents in hobbit culture, but Bilbo had been determined to keep using both cultures so they had instead swapped presents on that day. The dwarves were more than happy to oblige this little ritual and many well-crafted and beautiful things were exchanged on every birthday of the entire company.

"That's okay," Frodo shook his head.

"You're here," Frerin commented. And that truly was the best gift that Bilbo could have given at this moment anyway.

"I'm here," Bilbo nodded with a small serene smile. "Now take me to this picnic you were speaking of."

"It's this way!" the boys said together before running off towards the rest of the group. Thorin readied himself to follow, but was stopped when Bilbo said his name.

"Thorin, are you still here?"

The king startled and about-faced so quickly that he heard his back crack with the force of it. He stared at Bilbo with wide eyes, but the hobbit did not look back at him. The hobbit could not look back at him. Now Thorin could see what he felt was wrong about his husband earlier. Bilbo's eyes were dim and faded and they never once looked straight at someone. The only time he had come close to doing such a thing was when the human king had touched his shoulder.

"Thorin?"

"I'm here," Thorin said quickly, reaching out to touch Bilbo and show him where he was. Bilbo jumped at the contact, however, and the king withdrew immediately.

"Sorry," Bilbo said, looking back down at his saddle. "I can't see anything so sudden touches like that tend to surprise me." Thorin cursed himself silently. Of course a touch that wasn't seen coming would scare anyone. He would remember that for next time. "I know you probably don't want me to stay here, but I was wondering if you would allow the boys to come and visit me sometimes. They are princes of Erebor now and I know that means that they will not be able to get away very often, but there is even less of a chance that I will be able to travel back up here again. Especially with my new problems."

"If I asked you," Thorin replied, "would you stay?"

"You would want me to stay?" Bilbo's eyes widened as he looked in Thorin's direction. "I would not want to be a burden or to get in the way of your life again."

That's when the king's mind was finally made up. He hadn't been too sure if it would be good for Bilbo to stay in a mountain where there are dangers around almost every turn, especially for the blind, but he could not let this hobbit escape from him again. No, that wasn't right. He could not chase his hobbit away again.

"May I touch you?" he asked, cautiously reaching out, but remaining just far enough away that there was no contact until Bilbo nodded. He took the soft, which would always be surprising after all that Bilbo had been through, hand into both of his own and caressed it with a gentle touch. "I did not remember you. All that time I had thought that my father had married me off and that I would never get to meet my one. But the moment I walked into your door in Bag End I knew you were special. There was something about you that made me feel warm inside. My mind didn't remember you, but my heart always did. I did not lie when I told you that you were my One as children. I did not lie when I told you that I love you in Lake Town. And I do not lie now when I tell you that I wish with all my heart that you would consent to stay here by my side as my husband and give me another chance. A chance that I do not deserve, but one that I am begging you for nonetheless." Only then did Thorin allow himself to look away from their hands and up to Bilbo's face. The hobbit was also looking towards their hands, biting his lip as tears cascaded down his cheeks. For a moment the king thought he had said something wrong, but then Bilbo's teeth slipped from their perch and he began to speak.

"I- I do not know what to say," he said even as a small smile crept onto his face.

"Just say that you will stay for now," Thorin replied, not willing to try to force something more out of his husband. "The rest can come later."

Bilbo nodded slowly, then nodded again with more conviction. "I will stay."

"Thank Mahal," Thorin whispered, pressing a kiss to Bilbo's hand as his whole body, which he had not even realized had tensed, relaxed. "Thank you Bilbo. I will do everything in my power to deserve you."

With one last kiss to Bilbo's hand, Thorin took the reigns of the pony, which he only just now realized hung in front of the beast instead of anywhere where Bilbo would have been able to control it, and led the both of them back to the picnic party.