So here is chapter three finally, I literally cannot apologise enough for how late this is. I know a week was a bit optimistic but I never expected it to take this long, I ended up literally doubling the word-count of the story. I don't know when the next update will be, in the next couple of weeks I assume. Don't forget to go read Heizeru-Chan's version from Bilbo's point of view.

Yes, that is some Khuzdul down there, not a really bad typo, I'll put a translation at the end.

Thorin awoke with a start the next morning. At some point in the night he seemed to have hugged Bilbo and refused to let go. The bright autumn sun was streaming through the window, making sleeping Bilbo's hair shine like gold. 'Gold' he struggled to push the recollection of his dreams out of his head. They seemed vaguely familiar, and yet not so. He peered around blearily, taking in his room. It was quite a mess really. He glanced at the clock, it was 9:30am, 'Well, I should probably get up'.

He tried to untangle himself as kindly as possible from Bilbo without waking him; he was just too adorable to wake up. After about five minutes of trying to carefully tease Bilbo's fingers out of his hair, he was free, and now he had to go on a quest for clean jeans. There weren't any in the wardrobe, or in the pile of clean washing that he still had to put away, 'Do I actually own more than one pair of jeans, or is it all in my imagination?' he asked himself as he descended the stairs to search the washing machine.

He switched on the kettle as he passed, and opened the door to the washing machine. 'What the fuck? I think I'm losing my mind.' Apparently last night he had put eight pairs of jeans in the same wash. He grabbed the comfiest and made his way to the bathroom. On the way he noticed the empty beer cans littering the coffee table and surrounding floor, vowing to clean them up when he got out of the bathroom.

He caught sight of his hair in the bathroom mirror; it really was quite a state. He knew he had to do something with it. 'Well, I could cut it, but no, fuck that. Could just tie it up, but I like it down. Hmmmm… I could braid it.' He mused to himself as he pulled on his jeans. He grabbed a brush and roughly combed out all the knots in his hair. After that he started looking for something he could use to secure his braids, he caught sight of some of the dreadlock beads that Fili had left there back in his hippie phase.

He left the bathroom just as the kettle flicked off. He made coffee and began searching for protein shake ingredients. He was supposed to be going to the gym later with Fili and Kili, but chances were they were both too hung-over from the previous night. He stopped to send a text to Fili,

"Good morning my favourite alcoholics. I'm assuming you have the world's biggest hangovers and won't be going to the gym." He set his phone down and began adding ingredients into the blender.

He'd blended half the stuff when his phone vibrated against the counter; it was a message from Fili. He'd sent a picture of Kili, passed out, with his face resting on the rim of a toilet, and Ori in the background sleeping in the bath. "Does this answer your question?" He chuckled and went back to making his shake, 'Maybe Bilbo would want to come with me'. Just as he had that thought he heard footsteps approaching behind him, he turned to see Bilbo trying to scramble up to sit on the worktop. He was still wearing the shirt Thorin had loaned him; he looked like he'd crawled out of bed, pulled his jeans on and stumbled downstairs.

"Morning" Thorin smiled as he added protein powder to the blender. Bilbo mumbled something in reply, yawning and rubbing his eyes. Finally he managed to string together a coherent sentence,

"What you making?" he asked, peering into the blender. Thorin snapped the lid into place and mixed it a final time.

"A protein shake" he answered. He reached up to the cupboard above him to get a glass, 'Why do I even drink this stuff? It's disgusting.' He poured out the contents of the jug and handed it to Bilbo.

"Here, try it. Its gross" he looked expectantly at him, nodding towards the glass clutched in his fingers. Bilbo sniffed at it tentatively and raised an eyebrow at Thorin. 'His reaction is going to be hilarious' he smiled to himself, still trying to look as innocent as possible. Bilbo took a sip, then looked up with a shocked expression.

"That's really nice!" he exclaimed. 'Marry me Bilbo.' He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. 'Wait, I can't say that. If nothing else I'll come across creepy' his internal conflict went on for about twenty seconds, he realised he'd been staring at Bilbo the whole time.

"I-I'm going to the gym later, if you want to tag along?" he stuttered finally. 'Since when do I stutter?' he asked himself.

"Yeah sure I'll go," Bilbo smiled, "I don't have anything else planned for today." Thorin grinned like a fool.

"Great!" he said, as he made himself another shake, letting Bilbo keep the first one.

"What's in this by the way?" he asked, glancing over all the strange food products lying on the worktop.

"Hmm, there's; milk, protein powder, raspberries, cream cheese, raw eggs. Errrmm... A potato and some orange jelly I found in the back of the fridge." Thorin replied, wracking his brain for what he actually put in. Bilbo looked horrified for a few seconds, then shrugged and carried on drinking. He was busy adding ingredients to the blender when Bilbo's stomach made a surprisingly loud noise. 'Oh Mahal, I didn't even offer him food. What kind of host am I?'

"Did you want some breakfast, Bilbo?" Thorin said, 'Durin's sake, what else do I have in?' "I think I have some bacon in the fridge. Did you want a bacon and egg sandwich?" he added. Bilbo smiled and nodded eagerly.

Thorin pulled the bacon out of the fridge, thankfully it was still in date, not that he would've minded but he didn't want to give Bilbo food poisoning. He put a frying pan on the hob to warm up as he unwrapped the bacon. Bilbo had taken it upon himself to butter the bread cakes. Thorin set about cooking the bacon, throwing it into the pan. It began to hiss and splutter, splashing his arms with hot fat. Thorin jumped back and he did not screech in pain, no matter how much Bilbo said he did. Bilbo laughed as he rubbed his forearms to remove some if the burning grease, soon he joined in.

Thorin finished making the sandwiches, but he ended up eating most of the bacon before it even so much as touched the bread. They were sat at his newly cleared dining table eating their breakfast. He looked up at Bilbo, bacon still in his mouth,

"Hey Bilbo?" Bilbo looked up at the sound of his name, "Since we've shared the same bed and studied the same courses, I've been meaning to ask you about yourself. I hardly know you." He thought he should ask at some point, after all he should really get to know his friends, in case they were serial killers or something. Bilbo was silent for a moment, putting his empty plate down on the table.

"Uhm… well, I live by myself, I'm a university student as you already know. My parents died when I was young and a distant family member is paying for university fees." He put his hand to the back of his neck, then appeared to sniff the borrowed shirt he was wearing. 'Holy shit! Is he smelling my shirt? Haha what a fucking loon.' Bilbo laughed nervously as Thorin raised an eyebrow at him.

"Hehe… I'm a big gamer really, all I do is go on Skyrim and go to work. Really, I'm not that interesting." Bilbo continued. Thorin nodded in understanding, 'He sounds quite lonely' he mused.

"So then, what about you?" Bilbo inquired. Thorin paused, what could he say. When he thought about it he did have quite a traumatic backstory.

"Well, I run the coffee shop downstairs, and I own the building. Dwalin rents the middle floor for a cut rate because he's an old friend. I have a master's degree in folk lore, with a minor in politics, all paid for by my grandfather's company." He began, thinking of what to say next. "However, the year I left university he was ruthlessly overtaken by Smaug enterprises, and he was killed not long after by the local mafia ring. Not a day goes by that I don't curse their don, Azog, for what he did to my family. Once we had discovered what had happened to my grandfather, my father did his best to salvage what he could, but fell into depression and went missing not long after." He realised he was getting a tad off track. "Then I was left to fix what had happened. So I started a business to try and fund those that had suffered the most from this turn of events. I meet up with a group of them every once in a while to see how they're getting on and everything. About five years ago my brother was gunned down, we assume by Azog's mafia." 'Don't cry Thorin, don't cry.' The family had really taken the loss of Frerin hard, especially Thorin. "So now it's just me, my sister and my nephews. But yeah I'm rambling," he smiled sadly, blinking back the tears that had made their way to his eyes.

Thorin cast his eyes downwards, thinking about all that he had lost throughout his life. A single tear ran down his cheek. He let his hair slip down, covering his face. Suddenly he realised Bilbo was stood about half a foot in front of him, even though he was currently having a minor breakdown he couldn't help but notice how quietly Bilbo moved. He reached out and latched onto Bilbo's arm, pulling him into a tight hug. They were frozen like that for a moment, Thorin with his arms wrapped around Bilbo's waist, Bilbo's hands gently stroking his hair.

It was comforting, just to hug someone. Bilbo's smell reminded him of something he couldn't quite place. It was like a memory that danced on the surface of his mind, but as soon as he reached for it, it slipped away. It filled him with a sense of serenity, hazy images of rolling hills and babbling rivers swam before him. Suddenly they were replaced with a blurry hearth and familiar song. He couldn't hear the tune or words, but it seemed to resonate with his very soul, like he had known it well all his life. It was important to him, he knew it. As soon as they had come they were gone, and he was left with harsh reality.

He let his hands fall from Bilbo's waist; Bilbo followed his hands and knelt down in front of him, catching his gaze.

"It's going to be okay, Thorin." He said comfortingly, gazing up at him, again Thorin noticed how striking his eyes were, they seemed to shine with a light of their own in the morning sun, leaving Thorin in awe.

"I can see your eyes glistening with the ghost of your past, Thorin" Bilbo said quietly. 'Hang on a minute. Did he just? I think he did.'

"I bear my heart and soul to you and you make a Harry Potter reference, you little shit." Thorin smiled as Bilbo ran a hand through his hair. The looked at each other for a while, 'Why do his eyes look so familiar?' he pulled himself out of his thoughts,

"So… Uhmm, when do you want to go to the gym?" he asked, tearing his gaze away. If they left soon they might catch Dori and Ori at their yoga session. Dwalin would probably be there anyway, he practically lived at the gym. Bilbo stood quickly, tugging at his shirt,

"Yeah!" he exclaimed. 'Errr ok then, I'm assuming he means now. "When do you want to go?" "Yes." How does he actually mange to communicate with anyone around his blushing and inability to form coherent responses?' Thorin pondered.

"I didn't bring any clothes… as you can see." Bilbo added, with a sweeping gesture towards his torso. 'Do I have anything that would fit him? Anything that wouldn't be too big, I'd never live it down if I showed up with him looking that adorable.' He paused for a moment, racking his brain for the locations of any unworn clothes.

"I should have some of my nephews old shorts somewhere, they'll fit you." he replied. He stood from his seat and began his search for gym clothes. They were likely somewhere at the bottom of his wardrobe, so he hurried up the stairs and into the loft.

He wandered into his room scanning the area for the clean washing pile; he might as well get changed while he was up there. The clean clothes eluded him; he went to dig through the wardrobe for something for Bilbo. For the second time in twelve hours he had his head stuck in his wardrobe, searching for clothes he hadn't seen in months. He was roughly throwing garments out behind him as he went, 'They have to be in here somewhere… AHA!' he thought as he grabbed the edge of one of Kili's old Guns and Roses shirts that he had cut up in a fit of trying to be fashionable. Sure enough there were some shorts underneath.

He whirled around, now on a quest for his own clothes, examining the shorts too make sure they'd fit Bilbo, then suddenly he was falling. He'd got his foot caught up in the clothes he'd thrown. As he tumbled forwards he put out his other foot in front of him to try and stay balanced, but as it happened the leg of the bed was only a few inches from him, and he kicked it full force stubbing four of his toes in the process and creating a rather loud bang. He stumbled backwards, his toes throbbing, when he trod on some Legos that Fili and Kili had left on his floor. Why his, apparently mature, nephews were playing with Legos on his floor he would never know. He stumbled again, now with both of his feet in agony, and got his legs tangled in some stray trousers lying on the floor. This time he wasn't so lucky, and was sent crashing down with a loud cry.

He landed awkwardly in between his bed and the bathroom door, defeated. He sighed and stared up at the ceiling for a moment pondering why all this stuff had to happen to him. He turned his head slightly and gazed under his bed. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a pile of clothing, lying just under the bed on the opposite side. 'Ohhhhh, so that's where I put it.' He untangled himself from the impromptu booby trap and went to fetch his gym clothes from the pile. He quickly changed, avoiding tripping over all the mess he'd made, making a mental note of the Legos near the bathroom door.

"Found them!" Thorin exclaimed in triumph, holding the clothes above his head as a symbol of his eventual victory. He launched them in Bilbo's direction, remembering just as he let go of them that Bilbo couldn't catch to save his life. 'Ah well, I'm sure if he spends enough time with me he'll soon learn.' As expected Bilbo failed to catch them and they hit him square in the face. He squealed loudly and stumbled back onto the sofa.

"Sorry!" Thorin shouted, "I keep forgetting you don't expect to have things thrown at you!" Bilbo gasped for air as he dragged the clothes from his face, Thorin had the decency to look bashful, smiling guiltily at Bilbo as he rubbed his nose from where his glasses had been hit.

"It's okay. I guess I'll just have to learn to catch" Bilbo joked. "Errr, which door was the bathroom again?" he asked, holding up the clothes Thorin had given him. Thorin gestured to the door nearest the stairs. Bilbo gave him a lopsided smile and hurried past him, 'Who gave him the right to be so cute? Like seriously, how is this guy still single… wait… SHIT I HAVENT ASKED IF HES SINGLE. Dammit Thorin, get your shit together!' he was too busy fretting to notice Bilbo quietly slip out of the bathroom.

"Okay, I'm ready to go." Bilbo said from behind him. Thorin whirled round in surprise, catching sight of Bilbo as he walked over to the armchair and grabbed his bag. He couldn't help but stare; it was a mixture of shock at how quietly he moved and the fact that the clothes suited him so well. He had pulled his shirt down at the front so it revealed part of his collarbone, the sleeves stopped just below his shoulders, showing the tops of his arms. He had more muscle than Thorin had expected, giving his arms shape, but he wasn't solid either. At least these clothes weren't too big for him.

Bilbo threw on his oversized MU jumper from the previous night, while Thorin rooted around in the cupboard under the stairs for a coat. He turned around clutching a faded blue leather jacket; the jumper made Bilbo look even more adorable, if that was even possible. 'That is literally the cutest thing I have ever seen. Oh Durin, I'm going to buy him a life time supply of oversized sweaters.' Thorin smiled, he would never get over how adorable Bilbo could be.

"Okay, let's get going then." Thorin said as he grabbed his keys and wallet from the table and made his way to the door.

He swung the door open and stepped out into the late morning sunshine, on a clear day you could see all the way to the university from this high up. He gazed out across the town, Bilbo joining him at his side.

"So, whereabouts do you live, Bilbo?" he asked, turning to head down the rickety metal stairs.

"Oh,I live just a couple of blocks away actually; I can see it from here." Bilbo replied, following behind Thorin. Thorin turned to look at Bilbo and noticed he was pointing to a block of flats considerably taller than the rest.

"So you're not that far away then" Thorin mused, more to himself than to Bilbo.

"It's only, what, a fifteen minute walk, I walk past Starbucks on my way down, but now I don't have to go in because A) It's expensive, and B) I go to Erebor coffee now." Bilbo smiled in response.

"You've only been in once you little shit, buy a loyalty card then we'll talk." Thorin said quietly.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs they turned onto the street and Bilbo pulled out his phone,

"For the sake of Yavanna!" Bilbo sighed exasperatedly, "I have thirty unread messages and fifteenmissed calls." He said presenting his phone to Thorin. He did indeed have thirty unread messages and fifteen missed calls.

"How, by the white shores, do you have that many texts and missed calls?!" he asked, bewildered. 'Is there even enough time in a day to do that?' Bilbo laughed and shrugged,

"It happens every time my friends get drunk without me." He said, taking his phone back from Thorin. 'Oh no, did I keep him from going out with his friends? Is that what the young people are doing these days? Going out and getting smashed? Not much has changed. Speaking of which, I wonder how old Bilbo is, I know hobbits age a little differently but, he doesn't look that young… MAHAL IM NOT A PAEDOPHILE AM I?' He decided to push these uncomfortable thoughts out of his head before he ended up grabbing Bilbo round the shoulders and demanding to know if he was of age.

They walked along in companionable silence for a few minutes, before rounding a sudden corner and approaching the gym. It was a large square building, coated in peeling white paint, there was a big rusted sign bolted to the front that read 'ProFitness'in comic sans. It wasn't the best place in the world, but it was cheap, and this is where his friends were, and really that's all that matters in the end, but, ever the fighter, that's not the way Thorin saw it. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world, but sadly, this was not Thorin moment for a revelation, and his moment for that particular revelation would not come for a long time.

"Huh. I thought it'd be further away" Bilbo mused, dragging Thorin out of his wildly downward spiralling thoughts. He looked up at Bilbo, pushing away the imaged of gold and fire that had filled his head.

"Yeah, this is it; you'll probably need to sign up at the desk before we go in." Thorin said as he heaved open the temperamental automatic door, allowing Bilbo through before himself.

"Good Moring Tauriel." Thorin sighed, he'd hoped she'd have been fired by now; she never did her job, just chewed gum and ogled the dwarvish customers. She looked up at the sound of Thorin's voice,

"THORRIIIINNNNNNNNN" she screeched, "Fancy seeing you here!" she readjusted herself in her seat, dragging some papers toward her, and subtly pulling her shirt down about an inch, "You're looking extra muscular today" she smiled unappealingly in his direction.

"I'm here every Sunday, and I look the same as ever." He said exasperatedly, 'This fucking elf I swear, when will she take no for an answer.' He though, sparing a glance in Bilbo's direction. However when he turned to his companion he noticed that Bilbo was staring straight at Tauriel with a look that said 'Shut up or I will stab you in your face.' He raised his eyebrows, 'And to think Bilbo seemed like such a well-mannered gentle hobbit, maybe it's just her.'

"Who's your friend?" she asked staring back at Bilbo... Thorin could've watched the face off all day, but he felt he should intervene.

"This is Bilbo," Thorin said, laying a hand protectively on his shoulder, "He wants to sign up" he gave Bilbo's shoulder a comforting squeeze and nudged him toward the desk. He stepped back and leaned against a filing cabinet.

"Okay, good! I'll just get you a form." She said to Bilbo, rising from her chair and coming straight at Thorin, he instantly realised his mistake. He'd stood against the cabinet that contained all the blank paperwork, by the looks of it the draw she wanted was the one directly above his head. As she drew in closer apparently his unending horror at what was unavoidably about to happen to him became obvious, at least to Bilbo, judging by the looks he was sending Tauriel's way. She stopped just in front of him, pulling open the draw, virtually pinning him to the cabinet, with her arm on one side of him and the wall on the other. He saw her start to reach further into the draw, her chest getting ever nearer to his face, he turned his head in Bilbo's direction, terror etched into his face, and began rapidly mouthing 'Help me, FOR THE LOVE OF ERU HELP ME BILBO!' Thorin was pushing himself back into the cabinet as far as he could, but it still wasn't enough to completely escape. 'Oh Mahal no. Why does she do things like this to people? Maybe she'd have more luck at this if she wasn't flat chested. Haha. BOOM. Go Thorin. But seriously she needs to get her tits out of my face' Tauriel seemed to reach the back of the draw when she was about half an inch from Thorin's face, he was still looking horror stricken at Bilbo when the draw was slammed above his head and she leant back clutching a clean form. Thorin scurried away blushing and gasping for air, sitting on a threadbare chair against the wall.

"Here you go." Tauriel said, roughly shoving the form and a pen into Bilbo's hands. Thorin was soon joined by a rather agitated hobbit, who began angrily filling in his details.

Thorin was watching Bilbo write absent mindedly, when he suddenly realised that Bilbo was filling in his birthday, 22nd September 2890. Thorin did some math. 'Let's see, its 2941, so that makes him… 51. Oh. I didn't see that one coming… he's only 144 years younger than me….' Thorin looked back to see Bilbo signing his name at the bottom of the form with the thick red pen that had been handed to him. He stared at the signature a moment, it stirred something within him. He tried his hardest to focus on it, just for a second he saw a hazy image. A long piece of parchment, it must've been over four feet in length, covered with miniscule writing, at the bottom there lay three signatures, drifting in and out of focus.

Signed Thorin son of Thrain

Witnessed Balin son of Fundin

Burglar Bilbo Baggins

He blinked a few times, willing the vision to return, so he could see more of what his and Bilbo's signatures seemed to be upon. But it did not return, and he was left with an empty space beside him as Bilbo was talking to Tauriel about something. 'Why do I keep zoning out? I think I need more sleep.' Thorin was contemplating going to bed as soon as he got home, when Bilbo walked back over clutching a membership card covered in Tauriel flowing writing and a locker key.

He gave Thorin a crooked smile, Tauriel glaring at his back like she wanted to gut him in the street. He rose from his seat and they walked over to the door into the locker room. The door was locked with a card scanner, so you needed to scan the code on a membership card to get in. Thorin pulled out his card, trying, and failing to cover up his name with his thumb. When he'd first got it Tauriel had dotted the i's in his name with hearts. He ended up having to point it directly at Bilbo 'Fucking piece of shit scanner I swear to Mahal.' He heard some stifled laughter coming from Bilbo's direction, blushing violently he eventually got the scanner working and the door clicked open. Thorin quickly yanked it wide enough for him to slip through, knowing how temperamental the doors where in this place, expecting Bilbo to follow suit. However he heard a yelp from behind him, and turned to see Bilbo stuck half in and half out of the door. He tried to hide his amusement as he put his weight against the door to rescue poor Bilbo.

When they finally got through the door Thorin began scanning for faces he knew, it was quite empty compared to normal. 'Well there's Dwalin, as usual, I wonder how long he's been here.' He nodded in greeting, receiving a wink and gesture in Bilbo's direction. He couldn't help but face palm. 'Mahal, he probably thinks I got laid. Ha, he would. Who else is here?' He cast his eyes elsewhere, spotting his nephews friend Ori teaching his yoga class with his brother Nori. Noticing Dwalin's brother, Balin among the class, as well as his friend Bombur, who ran what was arguably the best restaurant in town. It was literally impossible to get a reservation there, unless of course, you were Thorin Oakenshield, and were personally responsible for funding the entire business out of your own pocket.

They walked into the changing room; it was small, with lockers covering most of the wall space. Thorin pulled open his locker, turning to address Bilbo.

"You may as well but your bag in with mine, there's enough room." He said with a smile, as he half threw his bag into the locker. Bilbo had to stand on his tiptoes to reach. 'And just when I thought he couldn't get any cuter.' Thorin took a moment to look Bilbo over as he tried to manhandle his bag into the locker. 'He doesn't really need to lose any weight, well, having said that, he could lose a couple of pounds, but he's cuter this way. I wonder if it's socially acceptable to tell him how cute he is… No, wait I'm getting off topic. I doubt he could even lift his own weight; we need to work on that. His legs look quite strong though, he probably does a lot of walking.' Thorin was brought back to reality by Bilbo slamming his locker closed after finally managing to get his bag in. Bilbo gazed at him with an eyebrow raised, glancing toward his chest and biting his lip. 'Oh fuck, did he catch me checking him out? Wait. Is he doing it back?!' Thorin blinked a few times and turned to lead Bilbo back out into the gym.

Thorin stopped near the stairs and turned to Bilbo,

"Right," he announced. "First five minutes on the cross trainer and treadmill, then we come down here for weights and stretches." He received a nod in response and carried on up the stairs to the balcony. The upstairs was mainly for cardio and weight loss, whereas the downstairs was for weights and muscle building. There was also a section in the back corner for gym classes, like Ori's yoga and work out classes. He lead the way to the cross trainers, climbing almost effortlessly onto one, while Bilbo stumbled haphazardly onto the one next to him. 'By Aulë, his legs are soooo short.' He thought, watching Bilbo attempt to work the oversized machine. 'Crap, he's looking at me looking at him. Do something Thorin.'

"I'm gonna work you so hard today." He blurted, 'Oh, what the fuck did I say that for? Now I sound like a sexual predator. Oh well, better go along with it.' He thought, grinning at Bilbo. He looked suitably creeped out, so Thorin began setting the display settings up for him.

In hindsight it might not have been the best idea to warm up on the cross trainers, given that Bilbo was really too short to use it properly. 'Well A+ for effort, I can't fault him there.' Thorin mused as he watched Bilbo almost have a heart attack. He offered a few words of encouragement as he completed his own warm up. He stood behind Bilbo to get a better view of the display, yes… definitely the display; he only had thirty seconds left.

"Come on Bilbo, you're almost there." He encouraged. It reminded him of when he trained his nephews; at least Bilbo wasn't complaining as much as they did. The machine beeped loudly, and he stumbled off, almost collapsing into Thorin's arms. He offered Bilbo his water bottle, which he almost completely emptied.

"Bastard!" Bilbo hissed between breaths, "You almost killed me on that thing!" he gestured to the cross trainer. 'He's so endearing when he's angry.' Thorin chuckled.

"Haha! That was only the warm up!" he replied.

Next they went on the treadmills, Thorin thought it unfair to push Bilbo to his limits so they had a nice chat instead. Bilbo was asking Thorin about the running of his shop and his friends. He asked about the guitar in the corner of Thorin's room, prompting Thorin to tell him about his band 'The Heirs Of Durin' with him on guitar and vocals, Dwalin on drums, and Gloin on bass. Bilbo seemed mesmerised by Thorin's life, no matter how boring it seemed.

When they were done Thorin took Bilbo downstairs so they could get more drinks and work on weights. As Bilbo was refilling his bottle Thorin wandered over to Dwalin. He was greeted with a knowing smile,

"I'm sure you had a fun night." Dwalin remarked. "Though I'd have thought you would have chosen someone a little more…"

"Durable?" Thorin supplied, the pair looking over to where Bilbo was trying to work the water dispenser. "For your information nothing happened. I'm just helping him study for his degree." Thorin retorted, receiving a look that said 'if you say so'.

After a relatively short time in his oldest friends company, they got into a bench pressing contest. They were quite evenly matched, being around the same height and build. Once they conceded that neither would win, Dwalin left Thorin with the weights and wandered off somewhere. Thorin gazed around looking for Bilbo, and eventually found him stood near the barrier leading into the gym office. Rather alarmingly Tauriel was leaning over the barrier staring at him. He looked away quickly, missing Dwalin scaring the life out of Bilbo.

They ended up leaving about one thirty; Thorin had introduced Bilbo to some of the people he knew. Balin had taken a particular liking to him, probably because he saw someone that reminded him of his younger self, Thorin had decided. After he had suitably decimated Bilbo with weights training they had decided that it was enough for one day and were currently on their way to 'A charming elvish café' that Bilbo had recommended, needless to say, Thorin had his reservations.

Apparently it wasn't far from them, in the city centre near the Starbucks. 'It would be' Thorin mused, 'Those elves are all alike.' They were walking through the market square, Thorin was idly browsing the stalls while he followed Bilbo to Durin knows where. Suddenly Bilbo darted across his path at an extraordinary speed, toward a stall somewhere in the depths of the marketplace. Thorin tried to follow but he couldn't weave through the crowd fast enough.

Eventually he caught up with Bilbo; he was just about to ask what had him running so fast when someone roughly grabbed his arm. He spun around, only to find his friend Bifur's face about three inches from his own, the axe protruding from his forehead gaining several worried glances.

"Bifur! Fancy seeing you here." Thorin exclaimed, still a little shocked at being grabbed.

"Shamukh Thorin" Bifur answered, it was rather unfortunate that Bifur couldn't speak anything but Khuzdul, however most dwarves who were still in touch with their heritage could speak enough to get by. "Zûr zataganagzu 'ala ghiluz?" It took Thorin a few seconds to work out what Bifur was saying, given the speed at which he spoke and his fluency.

"I'm fine thank you, how about you?" Thorin answered, thankful that Bifur could at least understand Westron, his Khuzdul was frankly awful and if Bifur wasn't providing the relevant Iglishmêk he would be totally lost.

"Sul ghelekh barkûr ra turg" he replied with a smile and a friendly pat on the shoulder. Thorin looked over Bifur's shoulder to see Bilbo looking up inquisitorially at them.

"Bifur, this is Bilbo" he said, gesturing to his companion, "Bilbo, this is my old friend Bifur." Bilbo looked up at Bifur, taking in his rather deranged appearance.

"Errm, hello." Bilbo stuttered. Bifur grabbed Bilbo hand and shook it rather violently,

"Zai dashunizu ra barufizu!" Bifur announced proudly, going slightly cross eyed half way through. Bilbo held his gaze and smiled politely, then all of a sudden Bifur pulled Bilbo into a tight hug. Thorin chuckled at the look of horror on Bilbo's face.

After a moment Bifur released his captive and turned to hug Thorin instead,

"Mud ganag." He muttered to Thorin as he returned the hug.

"Okay, good bye my friend." Thorin said when he was released. Bifur addressed both of them,

"Mukhuh Mahal udnîn zu ra sanzigil umkhûh zu" and with that he wandered off back into the crowd. Thorin looked down at Bilbo to see him gazing after Bifur, an unreadable look on his face.

"Thorin… you have the strangest friends."

Eventually they made it to the café Bilbo was talking about, it was a small shop front built into a row of ancient buildings. The sign was painted a vivid green colour with 'The Lembas Mill" scrawled across it. 'Oh no, what have I gotten myself into?' his mother had always told him not to judge a book by its cover, but frankly he was starting to doubt her wisdom. Bilbo pushed open the door and a bell tinkled somewhere in the depths of the shop. It smelt thickly of flowers and fresh bread. As they entered Bilbo smiled to the elf behind the counter and they made their way to a booth in the corner.

They sat down and Bilbo handed Thorin a menu,

"How about I buy you lunch?" Bilbo smiled, looking down to his own menu.

"You don't have to do that!" Thorin blurted, "Surely you have better things to spend your money on." Bilbo was a student wasn't he? Weren't the always poor all the time? Aulë knows he always was.

"Really Thorin, its fine." Bilbo replied with a chuckle. "I've already paid my bills for the month, and my pay check comes in next week." Thorin had never met anyone who regarded money in the same way as Bilbo, usually his family and friends saw spare cash as something to be hoarded, not almost given away without a second thought.

"Well, if you insist." He agreed, surveying the menu. He'd never even heard of half the things on it; Mushroom Croustade, Aloo Gobi, Panzanella. 'What the hell is a focaccia?'. After a moment he was mightily confused, the main ingredient in almost everything seemed to have been grown on one plant or another.

"Bilbo?" he asked as casually as possible, "Where's all the meat?" He'd been hungry since they got to the gym, and vegetables just weren't his thing.

"Haha, oh Thorin, you are funny. It's a vegan restaurant silly!" Bilbo giggled like he was having the time of his life, but only one word was going through Thorin's mind.

"WHAT?!"

Khuzdul Translation

"Shamukh Thorin." - Hail Thorin, its the equivalent of saying hello.

"Zûr zataganagzu 'ala ghiluz?" - How fare you this day?

"Sul ghelekh barkûr ra turg." - All is well with Axe and Beard, Equivalent of I'm fine.

"Zai dashunizu ra barufizu!" - At your service and your families!

"Mud ganag." - I must go.

"Mukhuh Mahal udnîn zu ra sanzigil umkhûh zu." - May Mahal guide you and Mithril find you, Common farewell.

Okay so there you have it, I hope you like the story so far. Your reviews are appreciated, and I have tumblr btw, if any of you crazy cats wanted to follow me or anything... My url is bagginsgotdabooty