A/N: I'm sorry for the late update! My summer job just ended this morning after a LONG four day weekend weekend full of 13 hour days. Updates should be back on scheduled for now, but next week I leave to work New York Comic Con... I'll have my laptop with me and try my damnedest to get updates posted on time, but it's going to be a crazy week, so we'll just all have to keep our fingers crossed.

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...

The plan was laid out in detail and if anyone questioned where Gandalf got his information, they didn't voice it. Instead the entire Company had to admit that the plan had the potential to work, even if none of them particularly liked it. Their best chance to defeat Smaug was to overload the circuits in his mainframe and it just so happened that they now had the means to do it.

"No," Dwalin said, slamming a fist down hard on the tabletop. "No way in hell!"

"It's the wisest course of action," Gandalf said softly. "Ori is the only one among us who can possibly hold enough power to disable Smaug."

"Ya can't ask him to do this! The last time he only took a little of Bolg's power and it was horrible for him. Taking enough to down the dragon could kill him!"

Ori looked sickened, but put a gloved hand over Dwalin's to calm him. "Are you sure it would work?"

Gandalf shook his head slowly. "No. And I cannot guarantee you would come back from it."

"That's what I was afraid of." Ori pushed back his chair and stood up. "I need a few minutes."

"Take all the time you need, boy. We'll make all the necessary arrangements so that we're ready regardless of what you decide."

…

"Do you think this plan could work?" Bombur asked, leaning over the rail of the balcony and looking down at the city below. The headlights of an occasional car moved along the streets, but otherwise the world was still.

Bifur shrugged and shook his head, clearly as uncertain as his cousin.

"I'm not sure I want t' find out," Bofur responded, his gaze far-away. "Not if it means there's a good chance Ori won't make it back."

"We put our lives at risk every time we go out on patrol. It's part of the job."

"But it's not a job Ori signed up for. He doesn't want this life." He tugged angrily at the ear-flaps on his hat. "It's not fair."

"Life isn't fair," Bombur pointed out softly. "I get the feeling that you might be more worried about Nori than his brother..."

"He's avoiding me," Bofur sighed. "It's probably for the best though. What with this plan an' all, there's a good chance that any of us might end up dead."

Bifur put his arms around his cousin, wings and all, and pulled him into a tight hug. Bombur laid a hand on his brother's arm and for once, none of them needed words to be understood.

…

Dís sat at the computer with her sons sitting side-by-side next to her. None of them spoke as she typed, cycling through Smaug's code for the umpteenth time, hoping to find something she missed. Both boys could feel the tension in the room and were unusually quiet and clingy.

"I don't want anyone to die," Kíli whispered, breaking the silence.

"Me neither," Fíli admitted, releasing the breath he'd been holding.

Turning to look at her sons, Dís found herself blinking quickly to fight back tears. "My boys. You're old enough to make your own decisions, but part of me wants to make you stay here where you'd be safe."

"Mom," Kíli half-whined, his lips forming a pout.

Fíli managed a brief laugh at his brother's expense. "The big bad hero still needs his mommy... Nice one, Kíli."

"Shove it, Fee." He elbowed his brother in the ribs.

Dís rolled her eyes and managed a genuine smile at her sons. "And here I was thinking my boys were all grown up..."

"Sorry, mom," they chorused.

"Get over here, you two." She held out her arms and both boys fell into the hug without hesitation. "No matter what tomorrow brings, you will always be my babies."

…

"We might actually win this," Gloín said, leaning back against the pillows with two arms crossed behind his head.

Loni curled beside her husband on the bed, resting her head on his chest. "It's a good plan, but that doesn't mean I agree with it."

Wrapping his other arms around her, Gloín sighed. "I don't want anyone to die, but we need to be rid of this dragon. Think about Gimli! He could develop powers at any time... I don't want our son to have to spend the rest of his life hiding away."

"I don't either! That's no way for any of us to live... but Ori is so young. And he doesn't want to be a Super. It doesn't seem fair to ask him to do this."

"It'll be his choice in the end. No one is going to force him to use his powers."

"You have to realize there's no choice." Loni shifted to look up at her husband. "Unless we come up with another plan, if he doesn't do this we'll all die. Maybe not right away, but Smaug will stop at nothing to destroy us."

Gloín could think of nothing to say.

…

"You don't have to do this, little one," Dori told his youngest brother. "We'll figure out another way."

"You shouldn't do this," Nori admonished. "It's a stupid idea that's likely to get you killed."

Ori stared down at his gloves, his shoulders shaking slightly. "Can we not talk about this, please. I just need some time to process everything."

Dori nodded and tucked his arm around his brother's shoulders. "Whatever you decide to do, we'll support you."

"I know you will. You guys are the best brothers anyone could ever ask for."

"Of course we are." Nori managed a weak smirk. "And we take care of our own."

Ori chewed on his lip for a moment. "I don't want to think about the plan any more tonight. There are more important things to worry about."

"More important than Smaug?" Dori raised a brow.

"Yes." He turned to regard Nori. "Why aren't you sitting with Bofur? You always sit with Bofur."

Nori flushed and muttered something unintelligible in response.

"I didn't catch that," Ori said, exchanging a glance with his oldest brother.

"I said Bofur kissed me."

"Oh. And you didn't want him to kiss you?"

Nori sunk down in his seat like he wanted to disappear. "No, I wanted him to."

"Then what's the problem?"

"He's my best friend. I don't wanna mess things up."

Dori tutted softly. "And you think avoiding him is the solution?"

"It's a solution. I ain't saying it's the best one..." Nori sighed. "I don't wanna loose him."

Ori looked pointedly at his brother. "So, tell him how you're feeling. Tell him you want to be with him, tell him you want to stay friends, just tell him something. Because if you keep running away like this, you are going to loose him."

Nori blinked in surprise. "When did my baby brother get so smart?"

"I've always been smart. I was raised by the two of you."

…

"I don't like this one bit," Balin muttered, unwittingly making a handful of tiny pebbles spiral around his hand. "This plan risks too much and guarantees too little."

"You're concerned for the safety of your brother's partner, that's understandable." Gandalf traced runic patterns onto the tabletop with his fingertip. "I'll admit a fair amount of trepidation myself."

"I would have the same concerns if it were any of us. We're asking the boy to use a power he is unfamiliar with to take down a dragon! This has the potential to be a suicide mission!"

Oín leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands. "Perhaps we will find another solution? Another virus to upload, another tactic to try...?"

"That's doubtful," Gandalf replied with a heavy sigh. "The dragon must be dealt with and that task has fallen to us. Like it or not Ori is our best solution."

Balin rubbed a hand over his eyes, looking far older than his years. "There's not one among us who likes your plan, wizard."

"And yet here we are, trying to work out the logistics."

"We don't have much of a choice," Oín pointed out. "If Ori agrees to this madness, we will see it done."

Gandalf smiled sadly. "Yes. I do believe you will."

…

Bilbo sat on the blue plaid couch and stared sullenly out the window. Part of him wanted to go comfort Ori, but he knew his friend needed time alone with his brothers. Instead, he felt at loose ends- worried about the plan, but thinking of nothing he could do about it.

"The waiting is the worst part, isn't it?" Thorin asked, startling Bilbo out of his thoughts.

"I don't know, the threat of impending death might be worse."

"You make a good point." Thorin sighed. "May I sit?"

"It's your house," Bilbo said with a shrug.

"You're as much of this team as anyone else, burglar. You've proved yourself willing and able."

"And yet I still feel unwanted and out of place."

"I think some of that is my fault." Thorin sat down and regarded Bilbo uneasily. "I owe you an apology."

Bilbo blinked in confusion. "What for?"

"I... I'm not good with people." He rubbed at his eyes as if the very confession pained him. "You admitted to being attracted to me and I did you an injustice with my response. I was rude and I apologize."

"Err, it's quite all right. I don't know what I was even thinking... Of course you wouldn't be interested..."

"I am."

Bilbo stopped rambling, his mouth gaping open slightly. "You are?"

"Yes." Thorin nodded. "Once this fight with Smaug is over, I'd like to take you out to dinner..."

"Well, in that case we'd best try and live through the fight."

…

As the hours crept on most of the Company turned in for the night, trying to get a bit of sleep before taking on whatever the morning had in store for them. Ori pulled himself away from his brothers with a slight blush and headed down the hallway, ignoring their knowing glances. He paused outside Dwalin's door, raising a fist to knock, then deciding against it and letting himself in.

Dwalin stood up as he entered. "Ori..."

"You left right after Gandalf told us about his plan. I thought you might be avoiding me."

"No, I just needed time to think."

Ori smiled sadly. "You and me both."

"I don't want ya to do it." Dwalin's voice was gruff. "I don't care if we have to stay locked in this building forever, I don't want ya to risk yerself."

"Smaug would pick us off one by one. We'd never be safe."

"I know that! But it would give us time! I've only just found ya, I'm not ready to lose ya!"

Ori moved across the room, throwing his arms around Dwalin and pulling him into a breathless kiss. His gloved hands found purchase on the other man's shoulders, pulling their bodies flush against each other. Dwalin responded in kind, wrapping his arms around the boy and holding him close. At length their kisses ceased, though they stayed clinging tightly together.

"I don't know what will happen tomorrow," Ori whispered brokenly. "But for tonight, please don't let me go."

Dwalin's breath caught in his throat. "Ori..."

"This might be all we get... Please don't ask me to leave." His eyes were beseeching and bright with unshed tears. "Give me tonight..."

"I'll give ya anything ya ask for," Dwalin breathed, his fingers shifting down to tighten on Ori's hips.

"All I want is you."

...

Morning came and the Company gathered around the table for breakfast. Waiting until everyone else sat down Ori stood at the head of the table and took a deep breath. "I'll do it."

...

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A/N: Again, I'm sorry for the late chapter. I'll try to be better about it! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Will Gandalf's plan will work? Will Ori survive it? Will Thorin and Bilbo FINALLY get their shit together? Find out on Friday! But first, on Wednesday, Nori's origins as a thief are reveled!