Heres the next chapter! I should probably tell you there's mentions of rape, murder/torture, but its just Thorin worrying.
Go check out Heizeru-Chan's version from Bilbo's point of view.
A couple of hours later, Thorin and Bilbo had exchanged numbers and arranged to meet at his apartment after work for Bilbo's first lesson. Just as Bilbo left the phone rang, he hurried to answer it, waving through the shop window.
"Hello, Erebor Coffee." Thorin sighed, watching Bilbo walk away down the high street, 'Now I think about it, he has got quite a nice-' A happy cry of "UNCLE" shook Thorin out of his thoughts.
"Fili, Kili, why are you calling me at work?" he demanded. "How did you even get this number?" They began to answer but he interrupted, "Are you both using the phone at once?"
There was silence for a few seconds then a chorus of "Yes". His nephews really were inseparable, they were rarely seen apart, they almost never approached him separately, and best of all they agreed to both work for the price of one person and split the wages.
"We can call back later if your busy uncle?" Fili said. 'Am I ever really busy here?' Thorin asked himself.
"Yeah, we don't want to disturb you at work" Kili added. 'We hardly get any business, Dwalin keeps spending the profits on his shopaholic tendencies, and were significantly understaffed.'
"No, it's okay lads, I'm not busy, what did you want?" he said into the receiver.
"We just wanted to ask some of the particulars about the job…" Kili began.
"Like what time we should show up," Fili interrupted
"And the uniform," Kili added.
"And the hours." They finished in unison. Thorin always wondered how they could do that, he and his brother, Frerin, had never been able to complete each other's sentences so consistently. He missed his little brother a lot, especially in the last year or so, with the stress of his business beginning to fail. He'd always been there to lighten Thorin up when he went into one of his moods, in a way his sister couldn't. He was a lot like Kili, with the cheeky, lovable outlook, but he had golden hair like Fili, and the same fiery temper when anyone insulted those he held dear.
In the end it took him forty five minutes to explain to them they had to be in at eight AM, ready to open for eight thirty. They could wear whatever they wanted within reason (half of the time was spent telling them that showing up dressed as a pantomime horse was inappropriate for a workplace environment), and they could work as many shifts as they liked, as long as it didn't stop them from getting their papers done. There were two shifts every day, the morning shift was eight 'til Twelve thirty, the afternoon shift was twelve thirty 'til five. Except on Sundays when they were closed. 'Really, it's not THAT complicated.' Thorin thought, when he actually got off the phone. The rest of his workday passed in a haze of customers and annoying phone calls from Fili and Kili.
When it was finally time to close for the day, Thorin wiped over all the tables with cleaner, put the mugs and plates in the dish washer, and moved the money from the till to the safe in the back. He locked the doors, stinking of coffee and cheap lemon scented cleaner, and made his way round to the rickety metal stairs that lead to the apartments above. As he ascended the spiral staircase to the top floor, he walked past the door to Dwalin's apartment only to hear Queen being played rather loudly. He rolled his eyes at Dwalin's horribly screeched lyrics to Killer Queen and carried on upwards.
He flung open his apartment door and threw his keys in the general direction of the table. In the grand scheme of things his apartment was quite big, but it felt cramped because it was always a mess, the sitting room-come-kitchen had a large sofa and two armchairs around a book covered coffee table, towards the other end of the room was a dining table and kitchenette, covered with unwashed pots. In front of the coffee table there was a large Victorian style fireplace. Above it Thorin had hung an Ancient Elvish Sword that he had gotten almost for free from a market so long ago it felt like he'd had it forever. On each side of the blade there was a runic inscription that read "The Serpents Tooth", and the handle looked like it was whittled from a dragon's fang. There were two doors and a staircase leading up to the converted loft that he used as a bedroom. One door lead to the bathroom, the other to a room he was using as an office. His walls were covered with framed vinyl records and band posters. Underneath all the frames and posters the walls were bare brick and stone, there was only one large window at the far end of the room across from the door.
He trudged forwards and all but face-planted his sofa, Pressing play on his iPod dock on the way. 'I am not getting up from this spot for at least six hours.' He was laid on the sofa listening to the opening of Pink Floyd's 'The Wall', when he suddenly remembered about inviting Bilbo over. He jumped up off the sofa, vaulted the coffee table and ran into the bathroom, making a mental note to tidy up when he got out of the shower.
He turned the shower on and stripped hurriedly, while he waited for the water to warm up. Eventually he dived into the still not quite warm shower, trying to scrub the coffee smell from his hair. After a while he gave up and accepted that he would always have a faint aroma of coffee. He left his conditioner to soak in and he used some weird strawberry scented soap he'd stolen from Dwalin last time he was over. At least that would cover up the coffee.
When he was done he jumped out, wrapped himself in a towel and hurried upstairs on an epic quest for clean pants. He was running around his room for fifteen minutes, hairdryer in hand, before he found where he'd thrown the clean washing. He threw on clean jeans and his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt, glancing at the clock, it was ten to seven. He almost dived down the staircase, and began trying to tidy the room into some form of order.
He'd just thrown the last of his many books into what he hoped looked like an artistic stack; all he could see was a haphazard pile, when his phone vibrated against the now clear coffee table. It was a message from Bilbo,
"I'm outside now… dunno how to get in x" he smiled to himself, remembering he hadn't actually told Bilbo where the door was. He went on a hunt for his keys as he frantically messaged back,
"Haha, okay I'll be down in a sec x" He finally found his keys, on the floor, three feet away from the table. He ran out, and down the spiral staircase, almost falling and breaking his neck as he flew past Dwalin's door, his horrible Freddie Mercury impression still audible. When he got to the bottom he stuck his head out, his hair billowing in the evening breeze, even though it was tied back. Bilbo was standing just round the corner, leaning against the shop door. He turned towards all the noise Thorin was making. Thorin smiled,
"Come on up!" he grinned, Bilbo smiled and walked towards him. Together they went around the side of the building and back up the stairs to Thorin's apartment. As they went past Dwalin's floor, his ear splitting, one man version of Bohemian Rhapsody was issuing from an open window. 'Does he even know we can hear him?' Thorin pondered. He'd have to tell him some time, or maybe throw queen references into their conversations from now on and see if he notices. He became aware of the growing silence between them, racking his brain for something to say as they approached his door,
"Mine's the top floor seeing as I own this building" he said with what he hoped came across as a reassuring smile. Without further ado he swung open the door to his newly tidied apartment and invited Bilbo inside with a wave of his arm. Bilbo hastily went through and shut the door behind them, once he turned to face the rest of the apartment he stopped in his tracks, staring at the room.
"Nice place you have here" he muttered. 'Ah yes, I've tidied up so well. Look, he's positively speechless at how clean and tidy my flat is.' He smiled at his apparent success,
"I've literally just tidied up so excuse any mess." he laughed 'As if there's any mess' he thought proudly, and chuckled to himself as he sat on the sofa. He looked properly at Bilbo for the first time since he had arrived, his hair was curlier than it was that morning, but it suited him. He was wearing an oversized navy Mordor University jumper, and tight fitting jeans. Thorin only just noticed that his guest had removed his shoes, putting them near the door. He had abnormally large feet for someone of his size, almost the same as Thorin's, maybe even bigger.
He was thinking on this new revelation when a loud cough from Bilbo brought him back to his senses. 'Oh right, I'm supposed to be teaching him about the Valar, not wondering how his feet came to be that large.' he remembered.
"So then, have you brought the stuff you need?" Thorin asked needlessly, he could see that Bilbo's bag was even fuller than the last time he'd seen it. As he reached forward to pick up one of his old college notebooks, he felt his ponytail start slipping out 'Seriously, I need to do something with my hair'he thought as he brushed the loose hair behind his ear, 'Maybe I should braid it'. But now wasn't the time for such things, he sat back with the notebook clutched in his hand, watching Bilbo as he nodded.
"Yup, I've brought my books, my iPad and my funky lucky pens!" Bilbo grinned madly and patted his bag, 'Never, in all my years, have I ever seen some one so excited about stationary' Thorin couldn't help but laugh at the look on Bilbo's face when he thought about his beloved pens. Realising that Bilbo had probably walked there across town and would most likely be thirsty, he stood up and addressed his guest,
"Good! Did you want a drink before we start?" he replied. 'What do I actually have in?' he wondered, he definitely had coffee, what with him running a coffee shop and all, he probably had some beer left over from last weekend when he had Dwalin and some old friends over. Maybe he had some tea somewhere.
"I've got beer, coffee, and some tea I think" he added as he got up and made his way over to the kitchen counter. He refilled the kettle and turned to Bilbo; he had his arms crossed and was thinking about his get together last weekend. Dwalin had come with his brother Balin, who was an accountant for his and many other businesses. His distant cousins Oin and Gloin (also cousins to Balin and Dwalin) had brought enough beer for an army, how on earth they had managed to afford it he would never know, Oin was an alternative medicines healer, and Gloin was more of a house husband than anything else. Needless to say, the second Fili and Kili heard the words 'free' and 'alcohol' in the same sentence they practically materialised on his doorstep.
"Uhm…I'll have a tea please!" Bilbo answered, dragging Thorin back to reality. He began searching cupboards for the second time that day. The coffee was easy enough to find, but the tea eluded him. On his third try he managed to find some poncey looking tea that he'd "borrowed" from Dwalin.
"Uh, I have this" he said, showing the package to Bilbo. "Peach and Cherry Blossom Green Tea" he read aloud, "Sounds like your kind of thing. I stole it from Dwalin last time I was round… It smells like flowers" he added, giving the package a brief sniff before turning to Bilbo.
"That sounds lovely!" Bilbo called from his seat on the sofa. 'Right then, how the hell do I make this stuff?' According to the packet it was just like normal tea. Apparently his confusion was visible because seconds later Bilbo shouted from the sofa,
"You're not supposed to put milk in green tea, and sometimes you can put lemon in." Thorin nodded in acknowledgement, 'Well, that's good. I don't have any milk anyway' he thought as the kettle boiled. He quickly made the drinks and returned to the sofa.
"So, what have you been learning so far?" Thorin asked, it was only mid-October, surely they couldn't have gotten through much.
"Well, in our studies of the Valar, we've done; the beginning of days, the creation of the three races, and were just starting a study on the evil of Melkor." He answered, while counting them off on his fingers. "And in our First Age Study we've learned about; Tuor's coming to Gondolin, and part Tύrin's childhood." Thorin nodded, thinking back to his first year at MU, he'd have to read up on the first age, but the Valar he could handle. He remembered Gandalf's rather lackadaisical attitude toward exams, deadlines and just grades in general.
"Do you have any exams or papers due in any time soon?" Thorin asked casually. 'Probably best I know what sorta deadline I'm working towards here' he thought. Not that it would help much, Gandalf used to spring tests and assignments on them all the time. Bilbo's brow furrowed in thought,
"Err, I think Gandalf said something about a test this time next month" Bilbo answered. Thorin thought back to his time in Gandalf's class, suddenly he remembered the fiasco after the first exam of every semester.
"Have you had any before this one?" he asked frantically. Back in the day Dean Saruman and Vice-Dean Elrond would kick out anyone who got less than 50% in the first exam of the year. And the way Bilbo's notes were looking, that would be difficult.
"No, this will be the first one of the year!" Bilbo smiled, "Actually I'm sorta looking forward to it." Thorin was not the calmest person right now, 'Shit shit shit shit shit shit fuck fuck fuck shit fuck oh holy fucking shitfuck' that was all that was going through his mind. 'How can I tell him nicely' he wondered.
"Haha, errmm Bilbo? I don't want to be the one to piss on your bonfire… but errrm, back in my day, if you didn't get over fifty per cent on the first exam of the semester, the Dean and Vice-Dean could kick you off the course." He was never the best with words; in fact he was one of the worst.
"WHAT?!" shouted Bilbo, "Why didn't Gandalf say anything, he said there might be a little test, not a massive exam that my entire future depended on." Thorin felt for the kid, he really did, but he was more concerned in stopping Bilbo from having a brain haemorrhage.
"Calm down Bilbo, it'll be okay." He said, becoming increasingly worried for Bilbo's wellbeing as he had jumped from his chair and begun pacing the room. He'd stopped at the fireplace and was gazing at the sword that hung above it.
"I mean how am I ever gonna pass if I can't even get the creation of dwarves right." He ranted, turning away as Thorin rose from his seat on the couch, he paced around the room.
"I knew I should never have left home, my cousins said as much, but oh no, I'm a Took, I have to go on giant adventures." His voice cracked was he finished his sentence. 'Oh well done Thorin, you made him cry.' He joined Bilbo by the window that he had wandered too, and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Please don't cry Bilbo." Thorin whispered. They stood there in silence for a moment, then, with a tiny peep of nope, Bilbo fell straight into Thorin's arms.
He was stunned for a few seconds, just stood by the window holding Bilbo, when his brain kicked in. 'Crap! What do I do? Did he hit his head? Is this normal? Do I have any smelling salts? WHAT IF HES IN A COMA LIKE THIS FOREVER?!' He starting rushing round his apartment aimlessly carrying Bilbo to and fro, with absolutely no idea what he should be doing. Eventually Thorin laid him on the sofa, sitting in the chair opposite and having a mental breakdown. 'What if he doesn't wake up? I don't even know where he lives, who do I call? Does he have any family who will miss him? ALAS MY POOR BILBO, your life cut short by my stupidity!' This went on for quite some time. When Bilbo began to stir on the sofa he was on the verge of tears. Bilbo rubbed his eyes and made to sit up, but Thorin was at his side almost immediately,
"Don't sit up too quickly." He said, "Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself? Do you need a minute? Here, drink your tea." He fussed while handing Bilbo his mug. Bilbo looked at him, catching his gaze, and burst out laughing.
"Calm down Thorin, I'm fine. Really!" he chuckled, "I just fainted, that's all, nothing serious." Thorin gave him a calculating look, when he could detect no deceit he sighed and replied
"Well, if you're sure you're okay." Bilbo smiled and nodded, reminding him that he was supposed to be teaching him about the Valar, not mothering him. So they got back to studying, Bilbo was an excellent student; Thorin ended up telling him some of Thror's old legends that Thorin had been told as a child. He was certain that it was just Gandalf's pipe fumes that were making Bilbo fail.
They had just finished the creation of the elves when Thorin got up to get more drinks. He'd torn the ribbon out of his ponytail in frustration about an hour ago as it refused to stay put. He walked over to the fridge as Bilbo was colour coding his latest set of notes. He pulled open the fridge door and gazed vacantly inside.
"Bilbo, I'm afraid I only have beer left." He called, with his head in the fridge. He really needed to go shopping; there was a half open crate of beer in the bottom of the fridge, a pack of bacon shoved roughly onto a shelf, and a lone potato. Not to mention a horrid smell issuing from a card board box that Kili had put in there, calling it "an experiment". He hoped it wasn't human body parts, but you could never be sure with his nephews.
"Okay then. I'll have beer, I suppose." Bilbo replied. Thorin grabbed a can and launched it in Bilbo's direction without thinking; he heard a thud and a muffled yelp. Looking up he saw Bilbo pushing himself back into the chair, having narrowly dodged the flying can aimed perfectly at his face, and a dint in the wall here it had apparently hit and rolled under the sofa. He couldn't help but laugh at the shock and terror on Bilbo's face. Once he had calmed down he grabbed another and threw it a lot more gently, Bilbo caught it this time. He picked up the rest of the crate and dumped it on the coffee table.
Thorin glanced up at the clock, then did a double take,
"Holy crap!" he blurted, half dropping his almost empty can of beer onto the table. "Is it really 2AM?!" he brushed his hair from his face wondering where all the time had gone. Seriously, last time he'd checked the time it was ten thirty.
"Oh god yeah, it is and all!" Bilbo cried and started shoving seemingly random objects into his bag. He began running around the room, suddenly stopping and glancing around for something.
"Why are you rushing around?" Thorin asked confused. 'I hope he's not planning on going home, he'd get mugged before he reached the end of the street' he worried.
"Gotta get back, its late!" Bilbo answered loudly, whirling around and searching the room for some forgotten object. 'What if he got beat up, or stabbed, or kidnapped! My poor Bilbo tortured for six months at the hands of his captors, then brutally raped and murdered, his corpse washing up on the riverbank a year later with half the organs missing and a rotten face!' the thought was too much.
"It's a really rough area here at night; I'm not letting you walk home at this time." Thorin stated. He was putting his foot down; he would guarantee Bilbo's safety. 'Why do I feel so responsible for his fate' Thorin wondered. Bilbo was in the middle of putting his shoes on when he stopped and turned slowly to face Thorin, blushing. He whipped his glasses off in what appeared to be a failed attempt at a Clark Kent impression, and sent them hurtling heroically towards the floor. Thorin found it hilarious.
"Are... Are you asking me to stay the night?" Bilbo stuttered. Thorin nodded and smiled, 'That is the most adorable thing I've ever seen' he fawned. "Uhm… Where will I sleep?" Bilbo blushed. 'He seriously blushes at everything, it is so sweet.'
"I have a sofa bed, if that's okay with you?" he said as he started haphazardly throwing cushions from the sofa.
"Uhh… Do you have any other beds? I have a really bad dust allergy and my asthma could flare up at any moment if I sleep on that." Bilbo rambled. 'Did he just imply what I think he did?' Thorin cleared his throat trying to discern if Bilbo's statement had a hidden meaning,
"There's only one other bed, and that's mine…" he said trying to read Bilbo's expression, "I could sleep on the sofa and you can have my bed if you want" he added just in case. He tied his hair back into a ponytail so it didn't get messed up while he slept. Last time he'd slept with it down he'd woken up to dreadlocks, although that might've had something to do with Fili and Kili staying over.
"If that's okay with you." Bilbo answered awkwardly. Thorin nodded, 'He better not get his beautiful hair all over my bed' Thorin brooded.
"Come on, I'll show you my room" he said, tearing his eyes away from Bilbo's hair. He led the way upstairs with Bilbo following. Thankfully his room wasn't too much of a mess, he had some stuff on the floor, but it wasn't bad. As Bilbo was looking around Thorin attempted to break the silence,
"Yeah, well, this is my room…or as my nephews call it…the love loft…please don't ask, they're both idiots" Thorin chuckled and cringed internally, 'Why the fuck did I just say that? Nice job brain, well done. Now he probably thinks I'm mental.'
"The bathroom is just through that door; if you need anything just shout." He said, trying to salvage his reputation. He got a warm smile from Bilbo, then he turned and approached the bed.
"Uhm… I didn't pack anything to sleep in..." Bilbo mumbled whilst twisting the hems of his oversized jumper in his fingers. 'What do I have for pyjamas?' he thought, he went to his wardrobe and began rummaging through, throwing clothes out behind him. 'Sweet Durin, this will make him look absolutely adorable, look how big it is for him' he mused as he found his old Charlemagne shirt from his Heavy Metal days. He threw it at Bilbo from across the room,
"There you go. Okay then, I'll see you in the morning." He said quickly before leaving the room. On his way down the stairs he sighed, 'Am I reading this guy right?' he thought 'Sometime it seems like he's flirting with me, but seconds later he has no clue.' He sat down on the sofa, switching the TV on quietly, just in time to catch the news.
There was some live breaking news report about the local council hall; somehow they'd managed to get a reporter on the scene at this time in the morning. He was watching with scant interest, when suddenly two very familiar people began dancing in the back of the shot. 'I'm never gonna let them forget this' Thorin chuckled as he pulled out his phone and began recording his nephews drunkenly dancing around like idiots on national TV. Eventually their friend Ori appeared trying to drag them out of shot.
Once the report was over, he sent the video to Kili with the caption 'Nice to see you're spending your college grants wisely', knowing he would likely treasure the video forever. He decided it was time for him to get some sleep; it was getting on for 3AM. He took off his t-shirt and jeans, he couldn't be bothered to go and find clothes to sleep in so he just rolled with it.
He entered a fitful sleep under the itchy woollen blanket that he kept with the sofa bed. His dreams were filled with strange people and creatures, at some point he was being chased by Orcs, even though they were only myth, and he and his company? Is that what he had called them? Ended up in an elven city. His nephews were there, as was Bilbo. Something felt off, but he couldn't place it.
Suddenly he was being prodded awake by a bony finger in his shoulder. He mumbled something to do with his dream, then realised it was Bilbo trying to wake him. He yawned and dragged his hand over his face.
"Oh… Bilbo, it's just you…" he mumbled almost to himself, "Hmmm. What is it?" he asked, finally looking at Bilbo, his eyes shining in the darkness like glass. Thorin could almost feel Bilbo blushing, even though it was too dark to see.
"Uhmm… I know this is weird but… I feel lonely in that big bed… and stuff." Bilbo explained, Thorin stretched and gave another loud yawn.
"It's okay" he reassured Bilbo. "It's easy to feel lonely in that bed." He had himself, on many occasions. "I'll come up if that's okay?" he rose from the sofa, glad to leave the unforgiving blanket behind.
"Yeah, that would be fine…" Bilbo responded, 'He sounded a bit eager.' He smiled to himself as Bilbo turned on his heal and went back upstairs, Thorin in tow. When they finally got upstairs Thorin half fell into bed and sighed. He loved his bed. He was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillows.
He was surrounded by fire; it seemed to be issuing from all around him. His surroundings were vaguely familiar but he couldn't quite place them. The room was vast and overflowing with gold, the air burned his lungs. As he looked around trying to work out where he was, he saw a shadow moving through the heaps of riches. It seemed to spit fire.
When he tried to move he just sank deeper in gold, it was freezing despite the flames. The more he struggled the deeper he sank, when suddenly he saw a glittering light far ahead. He tried to move toward it, he felt like it was the most important thing in the world, he must have it for his own. But he was just sinking deeper and deeper. The shadow curled around him, forcing his world into darkness.
All of a sudden there was someone grabbing his hand and pulling him free of the icy grip that surrounded him. The blinding light grew closer; all he could see in front of him was a short figure with honey curls and glittering eyes. But the draw of the light was too strong; he pushed the figure aside and hurried toward the luminous orb.
As he reached out to grasp it, it seemed to shine with the light of a thousand suns. The instant his fingers made contact with its surface he found himself back inside the treasury, surrounded again by fire. He held the globe in his hand; it twinkled innocently at him and began to burn his palm. He couldn't bring himself to cast the stone away, and found himself falling deep into the frigid hoard once more.
So there you have it, were going to try and update once a week. All your reviews are appreciated!
By the way Thorin is dreaming of Erebor's treasury and the Arkenstone (if you didn't already realise)