Even though it seemed like it took an eternity to Thorin, he did eventually finish the pot in his hands. It seemed to have taken longer than it should have, but that could have been because Bilbo's heated gaze was still making it difficult for him to concentrate on shaping the metal as he imagined something entire different being worked under his hands on that anvil. But eventually he managed it.

When the sound of the hammer stopped for more than a few moments, the smith came out of the adjoining room where he had retired to give Thorin privacy to work. He knew that dwarves jealously guarded their trade secrets and was more than willing to surrender control of his forge knowing that having a dwarf working there would bring more than enough monetary compensation to make up for that small indignity. He was shocked to see that Bilbo was still there, and had clearly been permitted to watch as the dwarf worked.

He knew that Bilbo had disappeared for a year sixty years ago and that dwarves were rumored to have been involved, but he hadn't realized that Bilbo was close enough to them that they would let him observe them at work. It boggled his mind. As did the flush across both Bilbo and the dwarf's faces. As far as forges went, it wasn't that bad in there. It was a cool day and there was a bit of a breeze. It made no sense that the dwarf would be flushed.

The smith cautiously approached the pile of objects Thorin had completed. He wanted to inspect the workmanship but didn't want to risk insulting the dwarf. He knew that they were a proud race and worried that it would be seen as offensive that he wanted to look. He hated to think that he might drive the dwarf to another forge. But rather than be insulted, Thorin gestured with a hand at the pile and nodded with a smile on his face.

Thorin had no objection to the smith checking his work. It had been done well and would pass any inspection. Even so, he would have expected no less. As he was working for the hobbit, any flaws in his work would reflect poorly on the smithy and would result in a loss of business. It was not out of distrust that the hobbit checked, or any hostility. It was simply self-preservation.

But the hobbit need not have feared. All of the work was flawless, the places where the two metals met nearly invisible. The dwarf had known what he was doing and his work reflected the knowledge.

"This was well done, Master Dwarf," the smith said with a smile as he held a pot aloft.

"Thank you," Thorin replied with a slight bow. "I've had much practice with iron." The hobbit smith nodded. Thorin's practice was apparent. "Is there anything else you wish for me to do today?"

"No," the hobbit replied with a shake of his head. "I have nothing else to do. This was all of the work for the day. If you would be willing to return after lunch tomorrow I will have found more work for you."

"I will return, Master . . . " Thorin gestured for a name. It would be more polite than continuing to call the hobbit 'smith' and it appeared that they would be working together for some time. It was truly an agreeable set-up. With Thorin coming after lunch, the hobbit would work the forge in the morning and Thorin would take over until dark.

"Tom," the hobbit supplied. "May I have your name as well or do you wish to continue to be known only as 'Master Dwarf'?"

"Thorin Oakenshield," the dwarf replied with a bow, "at your service."

"Master Thorin, then," Tom said with a smile and a small bow of his own. "For tonight, I will bid you farewell."

"Farewell until tomorrow, Master Tom," Thorin replied before gathering up his outer layers and replacing them before following Bilbo into the rapidly dimming evening.

They had only gone a short ways from the forge when Bilbo's hand brushed his. He glanced down at the hobbit and saw him looking coyly up at him through his curly bangs. The desire Thorin had seen earlier still burnt in his hazel eyes and caused an uncomfortable tightness to coil within the dwarf's stomach. This needed to be dealt with. Soon.

They continued back towards town, Thorin's eyes scanning for a suitable place to waylay the hobbit where there was the least chance of them being caught or interrupted. Suddenly a suitable alleyway came into sight. Glancing around quickly to make sure that there was no one around, Thorin grabbed the hobbit by the upper arm and drug him into the darkness. Bilbo looked at him with wide, surprised eyes as Thorin pinned him to the wooden wall of one of the buildings.

"Thorin, what—" Bilbo had time to ask before Thorin's lips were on his. The kiss a nearly aggressive declaration of desire and intent.

"Do you have any idea how difficult it was for me to focus on my work today?" Thorin growled before beginning to kiss and nip his way down Bilbo's neck. The hobbit panted at the unexpected attention and tipped his head back to allow the dwarf better access.

"It couldn't have been that difficult," Bilbo panted out as his throat worked convulsively trying to keep his own desire at bay. Thorin couldn't mean to . . . not here. "You-you managed it well enough."

"It took every ounce of self-control that I possess not to bend you over the anvil and take you right there. Hobbit sensibilities be damned," Thorin growled as he began to unbutton Bilbo's shirt and waistcoat. Thorin did intend for it to be there and only the right—or wrong—words from Bilbo would be able to stop him.

Despite himself, Bilbo found that mental image extremely arousing. He had never been one for public displays of affection, not really, and had never dreamed of exhibitionism, but the thought of Thorin claiming him in such a public fashion—in the Shire, of all places—had his mind wandering and him gasping for air. He could only imagine the look on the smith's face if Thorin had done it. It would have been priceless. True, they never could have left Bag End again, not after something like that but it would have been worth it.

"Why didn't you?" Bilbo asked breathless at the scenario his mind had conjured up—or it could have been the unadulterated lust in Thorin's blue eyes.

"I didn't want to scandalize the neighborhood," Thorin said, the pad of his thumb stroking Bilbo's face and his voice little more than a purr. "And I assure you, the entire neighborhood would have heard us. As it is, unless you tell me to stop, they still may because I will take you right here against this wall." The decidedly predatory smile on his face only served to excite Bilbo all the more.

Bilbo said nothing but instead pulled Thorin down into a searing kiss that left them both floored at the desire that was evident in it. It wasn't a kiss of passion, but something filled with want and longing so pure that it shredded the last vestige of restraint that Thorin had been clinging to. With a growl, his hands slid under Bilbo's shirt, popping the last remaining buttons, before he removed both it and the hobbit's jacket in one movement and dropped them unceremoniously to the ground.

oo*O.O*88*O.O*oo

Some time later, they stood motionless, both enjoying the closeness that comes after such an intimate encounter. Eventually, with a pleased and sated sound in his throat Bilbo turned slightly and placed his cheek against Thorin's warm chest. The dwarf gasped at the movement, but smiled and released Bilbo's hands—which he had still had pinned to the wall—and used the hand that wasn't wrapped around the hobbit's waist to stroke the side of his face.

"I needed that," Bilbo sighed contentedly. Thorin laughed quietly in response.

"I think we both needed that," Thorin replied before slowly moving away from Bilbo and beginning to rearrange his own clothing while Bilbo saw to his.

"Do you intend to repair this?" Thorin asked with a smirk as he showed Bilbo the rend in his undershirt that the hobbit had created while ripping his clothes from him.

"Only if you intend to re-sew the buttons you popped off," Bilbo replied with a smirk of his own, wincing slightly as he bent to retrieve his trousers. That was one thing that he had forgotten: the soreness that occasionally followed an unexpected coupling.

"I hurt you," Thorin said, sadness in his voice.

"No," Bilbo replied automatically. He shifted uncomfortably as he felt the dwarf's icy stare bore into him. Thorin could see that he had. Bilbo was moving far too gingerly. He felt shame wash through him. He should have known better than to let loose. Bilbo was a hobbit, not a dwarf. No matter what Bilbo continually insisted, hobbits were fragile creatures by comparison.

"You didn't," Bilbo said, trying to reassure the upset dwarf. "Not really. I'll be fine. It's just . . . it's been a very long time. I'll be alright." Thorin gave Bilbo a small smile in response but made a mental note to never ravage Bilbo in an alleyway like this again.

Thorin didn't have to worry too long over his shame at hurting Bilbo through his rough treatment as there was another prepared to take its place. They hadn't exactly been quiet and as Thorin had threatened—not knowing that he spoke the truth—the entire neighborhood had heard them. They exited the alley only to see a small gathering of hobbits standing in the street looking at them with wide shocked eyes. Despite the fact that Bilbo continually told the dwarves that hobbits were a prudish race, they had known exactly what those particular sounds had meant. They had also recognized both cries as belonging to males. And despite their embarrassment at listening to others in the throes of passion, they couldn't resist the urge to satisfy their curiosity as to which of their neighbors was engaging in delinquent behavior.

They were only mildly surprised to recognize Bilbo as he walked out of the darkness, his hair mussed, face flushed, and his shirt and waistcoat gapping where buttons were missing—in other words, looking thoroughly ravished. His behavior was odd enough that him engaging in same sex relations was only mildly gossip worthy. What they wanted to know was who had been with him. That was the truly interesting thing. A thing that only became more interesting as they realized that his companion was not only another male, but a male dwarf. The same one that had been so polite to in the market earlier.

"H-hello," Bilbo said awkwardly, running his hands through his hair in an attempt to smooth it down with a nervous chuckle. They had been caught.

"L-lovely evening, isn't it?" He asked trying to break the tension. None of the assembled hobbits said anything, though their looks weren't particularly hostile, more shocked than anything else. "Even so, I suppose we should be returning to Bag End now," he continued before grabbing Thorin's arm and dragging him in the direction of home at a very brisk walk. Not a run, but a very brisk walk.

This time, the hobbits didn't even wait until they were out of earshot before the gossip began. The most outlandish theory that anyone had come up with turned out to be true. Bilbo Baggins and Thorin Oakenshield were lovers.

ooOO88OOoo

They didn't stop walking until they reached Bag End where Bilbo promptly plopped down on the bench in his garden with his head in his hands. Thorin sat next to him, growing concerned as he noticed that the hobbit's shoulders were shaking.

"Bilbo?" Thorin asked quietly. He hoped that the hobbit wasn't too upset that they had been caught in a rather compromising position. He was shocked when he heard what was undeniably laughter from the bent form next to him.

"Did you see their faces?" Bilbo asked, looking up at Thorin with tears streaming down his face from laughing so hard. "I thought their eyes would pop from their heads."

"You're not angry?" Thorin asked cautiously. He didn't want to incite Bilbo to a rage, but his reaction made no sense. Every time anyone had mentioned their sex life Bilbo had flown into a temper, but now he was laughing hysterically.

"Angry?" Bilbo asked. "Heavens no! They had to find out eventually and can you think of a better way to break it to them?"

"Actually, yes," Thorin replied with a snort. He wasn't embarrassed to have been caught in the act with Bilbo. That had happened before during the quest. However he was embarrassed to have been caught in the act by hobbits. His dwarves hadn't cared, but the hobbits . . . they had cared. And it surprised him that Bilbo did not. At Bilbo's dismissive gesture, Thorin felt his eyebrows come together. Even though this was more like the Bilbo that he remembered, it was not the Bilbo that he had seen lately.

"They were traumatized," Thorin reminded him. "By morning everyone will know of our indiscretion."

"They'll get over it," Bilbo replied with a smile. "Besides, no one will believe them. A male hobbit, and a male dwarf, having sex, in an alleyway in the Shire. Everyone else will think that they were a little too far into the cups. Mark my words."

"If you believe so," Thorin said with a sigh. If Bilbo wasn't upset, he saw no reason that he should be. It would either work out or not and there was nothing that he could do about it now.

"I do have one question though," Bilbo said, mischief in his eyes.

"Yes?" Thorin prompted. He had no idea what the hobbit wanted to know but he would do his best to answer it.

"Âzyungâl," Bilbo said suddenly. "What does it mean?" Thorin looked at the hobbit in shock. When had he heard that word? The dwarf couldn't remember having ever said it. Since Bilbo didn't speak Khuzdul Thorin refrained from using it around him when he could. He felt a small rush of jealousy as he wondered what other dwarf had dared to use that word towards his hobbit.

"What?" Thorin asked, trying to tamp down his jealousy. Even had another used it, Bilbo had been well within in rights to take other lovers. Thorin had been dead; he had no right to complain if Bilbo had sought companionship. Even if his other lover had also been a dwarf.

"What does âzyungâl mean?" Bilbo repeated. "I know that you dwarves don't like to give out secrets, but I hoped that after what you said earlier you would be willing to tell me."

"Where did you hear that word?" Thorin asked quietly, some masochistic part of him needed to know who had whispered it to Bilbo. At the hurt in his lover's blue eyes, Bilbo wondered if he had been mistaken. He had assumed it to be a term of endearment, but Thorin's reaction made him think that it must not be.

"You," Bilbo answered his voice uncertain due to Thorin's reaction. "You said it a bit ago while we were . . . " Bilbo trailed off with a blush as he tried to find the right word to describe what had just taken place between them. At the thought that it shouldn't cause him to blush to talk about something he had been able to do, his blush only deepened.

"I did?" Thorin asked, surprise evident in his tone. He didn't remember switching to Khuzdul. But, truth be told, he couldn't say with any certainty that he hadn't.

"You did," Bilbo confirmed with a wry yet fond smile. "Apparently the blood that usually fuels your language skills was otherwise occupied. I don't know that I have ever heard so much Khuzdul from you before. Or at least when you weren't swearing at orcs or elves."

"I wasn't aware that I said it," Thorin said honestly relief flooding through him as he realized that Bilbo hadn't had another dwarf as a lover. His answer, and Thorin's surprise at having said it, caused Bilbo to laugh once more. He had never seen Thorin say or do something that he hadn't meant to.

"Well, you did," Bilbo said trying to tamp down his amusement. "Now what does it mean?"

"It's meaning varies slightly depending on the surrounding context," Thorin said with a relieved sigh and a smile, "but it either means love—as a term of endearment—or lover." Even if he hadn't meant to say it, he didn't mind if Bilbo knew the meaning of that particular word. The hobbit could already swear in the secret language of the dwarves, he may as well know how to say at least one nice thing. Even if it was a word that only Thorin should ever hear pass his lips. Or if others heard Bilbo say it, it had better at least be directed at him.

"Hm," Bilbo replied, tilting his head to the side slightly as he thought. "I like it."

"Then you shall hear me say it more often," Thorin whispered as he claimed his lover's lips for another kiss, this one gentle and filled with promise.

ooOO88OOoo

Frodo and the dwarves were just sitting down to a late dinner when they heard the front door open. Frodo looked up hopefully. Even though the dwarves had been fairly well behaved, he was greatly comforted by the fact that his uncle and Thorin—who was the only one who could actually control them—were back in case they decided that the time had come for more mischief.

"Just like Bilbo," Bofur muttered an affectionate smile on his face as he nudged Frodo warmly. "Your uncle always did show up once everything had been taken care of and all he had to do was eat."

"Be fair now, lad," Balin interjected, cutting off Frodo's question about what Bilbo had been doing and causing the younger hobbit to flush at the answer. "It wasn't always his fault. Poor lad couldn't help the fact that Thorin drug him away from the group when he was feeling amorous."

"He could have said 'no.' He didn't have to give in every time Thorin asked," Bofur argued. "It might even have been more interesting for him if he had tried to frustrate Thorin. Might have made it more passionate when he finally gave in."

"And who says that we needed more passion?" Thorin called suddenly from the entry. Bofur froze. He hadn't realized that he was talking loudly enough for Thorin and Bilbo to hear him. He had also thought that it would take longer for them to get through the house to the kitchen. He turned to try to gage Thorin's response to his words, but they still weren't in sight. He had just been louder than he had meant to be.

"Besides," Bilbo chimed in with a wry smile at his lover and humor in his voice, "saying no would not have changed anything. When Thorin sets his mind to something nothing can change it. You should know that as well as I do."

"I for one am thankful that Bilbo never said no," Dwalin said gruffly, taking Bilbo's joke as permission to comment on their past romps. "I've seen many vile things in my life, but I think that the sight of the two of them writhing together in the middle of camp would have haunted me forever. That is an image that my eyes did not need."

"But you did catch us," Bilbo said a curious expression on his face. "I remember. And I must say that the look on your face was priceless. Though why you walked in on us I never have been able to figure out. You had to know why we had left camp so suddenly. Subtlety has never been one of Thorin's strong points when desire takes him." At the slight insult to his self-control Thorin gently elbowed the hobbit, earning himself a smirk from Bilbo.

"What was I supposed to do?" Dwalin asked his voice sounding almost distraught at the memory. "With the way two of you were both crying out and bellowing I thought that there was a battle going on. I was expecting to wipe orcs of the face of the earth, not needing to wash my eyes out."

"Oh! It couldn't have been that bad," Bilbo scoffed. "We're both fairly attractive males. There is no way that seeing us naked scarred you for life. Especially with all the incidental nudity that comes from traveling together with fourteen people for nearly a year."

"It wasn't the nudity that I objected to!" Dwalin replied with a smirk. Bilbo was behaving much better now, perhaps Thorin's talk with him had done the trick . . . or something else had. Dwalin hadn't missed the sly looks that passed between them, or the rumpled look that they both had.

"It was the sounds, and . . ." Dwalin stopped talking with a shudder. "I thought hobbits had some shame but you showed me that I was wrong. The two of you were doing something that I hadn't even known was possible." At his words, the Bilbo blushed and Thorin looked smug at the reminder of what exactly they had been doing when Dwalin caught them and the rest of the dwarves wondered what in the name of Mahal it could have been to make Dwalin shudder. Frodo had absolutely no desire to know. If seeing them kissing had been traumatizing, he had no wish to see what would traumatize the dwarf that seemed to have no shame himself.

"Though from the look of the two of you, nothing has changed," Dwalin continued, a wry smile on his face as he took in Bilbo's mussed clothes and missing buttons as well as the marks on his neck Thorin had left. He had only been teasing Frodo when he suggested that they were going to make up, but he saw now that he had been right.

"This?" Bilbo asked pulling at the gaping fabric of his clothing and attempting to close it. "I have no idea what you are talking about. Nothing of the sort happened."

"Really?" Bofur asked, with a smirk. "The two of you didn't have a little encounter on the way home? How then do you explain the state of both of your clothing and the fact that you are both sweaty, dirty and that you're limping?" Bilbo blushed slightly but was spared from having to answer by Thorin.

"We were at the forge," Thorin said simply, choosing to omit what had happened after. "Forges tend to cause one to be sweaty and dirty."

"And the limp?" Dwalin asked, refusing to let the topic drop. Any fool could see that there was an intimateness between them that hadn't been there when they left. It was clear what had happened, the only question was where.

"And what about his missing buttons?" Balin asked. "You can't tell me that he lost those at the forge. Even you two aren't so bad as to have done it there. Not on Thorin's first day." Bilbo's flush was answer enough. And at the sight of it, the rest of the dwarves bean to laugh. They didn't realize that it hadn't been in the forge proper, but the where didn't particularly matter.

"Tell us that you were at least discreet about it," Bofur said around his laughter.

"They better have been after the lecture we got about talking about sex in the market," Dwalin grumbled. "If so much as one hobbit caught them . . ." It was a baseless threat and they all knew it. Dwalin was more amused than anything else and if Bilbo had been caught in the act by hobbits. . . well perhaps there was some justice in the world after all. Even so, Bilbo and Thorin both looked a bit sheepish at his words.

"Well . . ." Bilbo said slowly, a satisfied smirk spreading across his face, "I did say that subtlety is not something Thorin is good at." More laughter followed his words, though none of them dared to ask just how many hobbits had caught them. They were just happy that Bilbo seemed to be in a better mood. Dwalin smiled in satisfaction. Perhaps the suggestion that got him in so much trouble with the hobbit earlier had been right. All Bilbo had needed to fix his irrationality was a little carnal attention from Thorin.

The only person not laughing was Frodo. Mainly because he was under the table having passed out at the sight of his disheveled uncle and his equally rumpled dwarven lover and their rather frank admittance to having had sex on the way home from the forge. The three dwarves in the know exchanged meaningful glances and wordlessly agreed that they would figure out who deserved credit for this one later.

ooOO88OOoo

Here's a new chapter for y'all! I hope that you enjoyed it. And as promised, there is a smutty outtake posted as a separate story titled Past and Present Entwined if you want to, feel free to check it out. If you do tell me how you think I did.

As always, thank you to everyone who took the time to read this chapter or to add it to your alerts or favorites.

And a special thank you to those of you who reviewed. I've answered them in PM this time because I was gently reminded that uber-long AN's are against the rules so I figured that I had better play by them for. So . . . looks like we're back to the PM system though I will still reply to anonymous reviews here.

Vrukalakos: I'm glad that you are enjoying it! And Yep, he's figured it out. And it'll still take a bit but eventually they will figure it out and the ring will leave Bilbo's possession.

Guest: Don't worry there will eventually be a Company reunion party. And I may even find a way to get them there as a surprise so that their shock gets to be public ;). And I tried to make this one a bit longer. Before the outtake it was actually one of the longest. And it is definitely the Ring. As to the ruining. . . .we'll just have to see.

That's all for now folks. I hope you enjoyed it and would love to know what you think (even if you hated it) so please leave me a review if you have time and/or feel so inclined.

Stickdonkeys