A/N Alright, next chapter's the battle, then after that the rebuilding will start, along with some of the meatier details about what Smaug's planning.
Thranduil called to us loudly from outside Erebor, demanding that Thorin come to meet him. The dwarf lord's face turned dark, his teeth flashing behind his lips, blue eyes cold as ice. I caught his sleeve as he tried to stride past me, and he jerked, snarling down at me. All that did was make Smaug growl and drag himself to his feet. He towered over all of us and his eyes bit like fire. He didn't need to exert even the faintest traces of effort to snatch Thorin's arm from my hand and grip it tightly enough that I imagined it had to hurt.
"I care little of your feud with the elf lord, but don't dare take it out on Bilbo, who is only trying to stop you from doing something foolish, as it seems he often must." Thorin took in a deep, shuddering breath, eyes closing for a moment before he nodded towards me.
"Apologies, Bilbo. I'm only tense." He said it more like he was trying to convince himself, and Smaug's eyes narrowed, but still he stepped back, shrugging.
"As you say. I will follow you in your discussions with the elf; perhaps my presence will dissuade you from acting like such a dwarf." Thorin obviously thought of saying something, but in the end, he stayed silent and nodded, leading the dragon outside the mountain and staring down the elven army.
I couldn't hear what was said clearly, but Thorin spoke loudly and the anger was clear in his tone. Smaug too was loud, but there was no anger there, only authority. Thranduil I couldn't even hear, really, beyond a few snippets of his voice, and I wished desperately that I could get closer but there was no way to sneak away from the others and put on my ring.
Armor clanked outside, the familiar sound of bows being drawn, and I held my breath. Thorin got louder, loud enough that I could finally make out what he was saying, though by then it was nothing but angry, bitter curses. My heart stopped; Smaug spoke hurriedly, still low and strong, and at last Thranduil raised his voice some too. I wriggled where I sat, the other dwarves huddled tight around me as we all tried to figure out all that was happening.
For a moment, everything fell silent, and my only consolation was that I heard no sounds of arrows flying. Finally, very slowly, Thorin and Smaug reentered the underground city, the both of them with clenched fists and heads held high and proud. I doubted that either of them would've appreciated the comparison, but there was an air of nobility to both of them, pride and the might to back it up in equal measures.
"Balin, Dwalin, come help gather some gold. Apparently they're quite determined to collect on a debt I do not recall, but we have more than enough. Parting with a few bags to get them to leave should be little trouble." I could hear the effort in Thorin's voice as he spoke; I could hardly breathe. Smaug came and settled beside me again, edging the dwarves who'd taken his spot out of the way and tossing an arm over my shoulder. Balin and Dwalin left for the treasury with hardly a sound, Thorin following after them with his back straight and his hands clasped behind him.
"Perhaps you were closer to right about him than I imagined, Bilbo. I did not think that he would agree to give up even a single piece of that treasure." I snorted, still shaking a little, and rolled my eyes. I smiled mainly in an attempt to reassure myself that all was well, even if it felt false on my own face.
"See? It's best not judge with no knowledge; if the dwarves had done that, after all, they'd have tried to kill you and not heard a word you said." He laughed, loud and long, fixing his stare on the other dwarves around us and shaking his head.
"Don't be foolish; had you not asked it of them, they'd have fallen upon me with their blades faster than I could blink. I was not attacked and a deal was made for your sake alone; perhaps they are not as cold as I'd imagined, but they've yet plenty of time to prove me wrong, and there are things here far more valuable than a few little bags of gold." Kili crossed his arms tightly about his chest, glaring more at the ground than Smaug himself, and at least he was acting a bit more like himself, even if only to be angry with Smaug.
"Should we see that as a threat?" Smaug stretched, cat-like and graceful, but his eyes were narrow still and his shoulders were tense.
"Trust me when I say that I do not threaten; that only gives a warning as to what will happen, after all. If I wished to harm you, I would simply do it, and though I admit you tempt me, I've made a promise and I keep my word." Kili, bold as ever, turned his angry stare straight to Smaug's face, chin defiantly high even as he shifted and flinched because of his injured leg.
"I've made no such promise, dragon." Smaug shrugged.
"And I made no agreement to not defend myself, dwarf. If you attack first, I will kill you." He said it as lightly and easily as one describing the weather. I sighed.
"Both of you, stop it. I suspect we've better things to do than start fighting amongst ourselves. He will not hurt us, Kili; if you refuse to take his word, then take mine." The young dwarf smiled, then, but it did not entirely reach his eyes.
"You trust too easily, Bilbo." I'd been told as much before, in my younger days, but it had been so long that I'd almost forgotten how the words made my heart ache. Still I didn't see how it applied then; Smaug had let myself and my family live once, even helped us, and he'd given no sign that he would betray his word now. I smiled, planning to speak and explain as much, but Smaug spoke again before I could.
"That's quite true, I'd expect. He is kind, and has always been so judging by my first experience with him. I'm sure that has burned him more than once and I assure you that his excess of trust for you all bothers me precisely as much as his excess of trust for me bothers you. Still, he has saved my life more than once, and I owe him for that." Fili edged forward, mumbling something in his brother's ear, and the younger dwarf finally nodded, lips twitching up and eyes shining with amusement. Fili, when he pulled away, looked much the same, if slightly more sedate.
"Alright," Kili said, shrugging. "I can accept that." He'd only needed a reason, then, something more than trust and good will. In a way, I almost understood; Smaug was a dragon. There were not many legends that spoke of them doing anything for nothing. Perhaps it was even true, but somehow, as Smaug leaned a little more firmly against me, yawning, head dropping on my shoulder, I suspected that there was more going on than only a debt.
"Don't think we'll go easy on you now, though," Fili said, the other dwarves nodding, and Smaug huffed. Almost without my consent, I felt myself trying to smile.
"I wouldn't dream of it." A few minutes later, Thorin, Balin, and Dwalin returned from the treasury with the gold. Smaug dragged himself up, cracking his back on the way, and took what Balin and Dwalin carried so he could follow Thorin outside again. I smiled, lightly and mostly to myself, while the dwarves crowded around me again, more determinedly this time. Whenever Smaug returned, I supposed, he'd have a bit more of a fight to get his spot back. I chuckled; never before would I have imagined the thought of a dragon pouting funny, or vaguely cute, but much had changed in the last months, and I could not bring myself to be upset by that.
There were no raised voices outside, that time, not at first, and when I first heard someone yelling, I recognized the voice immediately as Gandalf. What worried me more was the one word I heard clearly: orcs. Smaug stormed back inside in an instant and pulled me thoughtlessly from the dwarves, not bothering to even play at annoyance, and I knew then that it had not been a mere passing mention. I caught sight of Thorin sweeping inside, even if it was only a glimpse from over Smaug's shoulder, but even with that it was easy to tell that he was bothered.
"Gandalf says that there are orcs coming. The dragon agreed; smelled them on the wind when it changed. The elves say they will stay and fight, but we cannot rely only on them for fear that they will turn and run as before. I sent Gandalf to give word to the men; hopefully fear will spur them to fight. I've also sent word to the Iron Hills. I know not if they will arrive in time, but we will need as many as possible. Come, we must search the treasury for armor." There would be war. After everything, still there would be war. All we'd done, every step we'd taken… I clenched my hand in Smaug's shirt, and he sighed, clutching at me a little more tightly.
"I will protect you," he said, firm and serious, and I shook my head.
"I don't need it. Help me protect them, and yourself." I could hardly even hear my own voice, but he seemed not to have any trouble.
"I will do all three." I gripped him like a lifeline, staring at my dwarves and then into his eyes. His lips were pressed thinly together and his jaw tense. I smiled, nodding once, firm and certain. Smaug kept his word. Not entirely certain why, I stretched and pressed a soft, quick kiss against his lips, too fast for the dwarves to see, and he grinned like a fool.
"Thank you." His smile took a long while to fade. It was a warm moment, and a pleasant one, one I somehow knew I would hold forever in my heart. Smaug kept his word; we would all be alright, even as the haze of war fell over Erebor. I squirmed, and he let me down to help in the search for armor while he, Thorin, and the others who had experienced a battle in a war before sat together to plan. I nodded to myself resolutely as I dug through the treasure piles; we'd fought too long and too hard to have anything but a joyous ending, and I would do whatever was in my power to see it.