Fili had been about to start a third mug of ale when he noticed him. The hobbit. He hadn't paid much attention to their "host" up till now, as a matter of fact nobody had really, the others were just too busy enjoying the food and drink to take notice of the troubled fellow, even the quiet Ori and the calm Bofur. His brother was probably helping himself to a fifth service already whereas he himself hadn't even remotely finished his first one. He'd taken a few bites alright, and the hobbit's food wasn't half bad (better than he'd initially expected), but after a while, he'd just been moving the content of his plate around with a fork, losing interest in the eating part of it completely.
Bilbo, the poor hobbit had been running around back and forth since they'd started eating, begging the dwarves to try and be clean, not to throw things everywhere, take care of his precious belongings, or to take reasonable amounts of food in Bombur's case, which was completely understandable. After all, they were having a party in somebody else's home, and they were helping themselves to his food, without even really asking him. Looking down at his mug, still half full, Fili felt guilty, it wasn't in his right to help himself to any of Bilbo's meals, let alone serving himself with the hobbit's drink, and set the mug down almost instantly, regretting the loud bang! it made, even if nobody heard it over the loud shouting and joking they'd been doing.
Looking around for their unlucky host, he spotted him just as he made his way around the door, leaving the dwarves to their feasting, and probably slumping down somewhere to rest his nerves. Poor thing, he probably wasn't used to the dwarf way of having a good time, even though Gandalf had told them hobbits tended to be quite festive too. Maybe giving a small mug of ale might not be a too bad idea? It wasn't really a gift, as the ale in itself belonged to Bilbo, but Fili still wanted to show some form of gratitude towards their host, who had been putting up with their ruckus for a while now.
Bilbo was exhausted, to say the least. The dwarves were indeed a merry gathering, as Gandalf put it, but they frustrated him to no end. After destroying most of the plumbing in his bathroom, emptying his cellars and almost giving him a heart attack with the way they threw plates and cutlery to each other across the table as they had a little fun to a merry song (well, at least they were trying to not leave the place too dirty, that had to count for something…), he'd decided to take a few minutes to himself on the stairs, where he could hopefully calm his nerves and recompose himself before going back to join his "guests".
He was startled when he heard a gentle –plump-next to him as one of the dwarves, the blond one, settled down next to him. Fili offered him a mug, with ale he'd managed to save from the prying of the others, his brother especially, and Bilbo looked up, thanking him before draining the whole mug down in one go. He couldn't remember the last time ale had tasted so good.
"Thank you" Bilbo almost coughed, after emptying the mug to the last drop. Surprisingly, he confessed to himself that he should have taken one long before now. "You have no idea how I actually needed that" and he leaned back against the stairs, taking deep breaths in the process. True, the ale was definitely helping. It may not make the dwarves disappear, but he could feel himself relax, even if it was only slightly.
"I apologize for the way the others are going on, it's not that they have no manners, , it's just, they tend to lose a bit of self control when they attend parties, especially when they get their hands on ale. If Uncle could see them…" Fili wanted to apologize on the behalf of his companions, he knew it wouldn't change anything but if it could make the hobbit understand that they weren't really here just so that they could empty his cellars, it would make him feel better . Bilbo was probably thinking dwarves as uncivilized savages when it came to food, thanks to the number they'd pulled off, and even if dwarves tended to be a bit rough, they weren't totally devoid of manners.
Bilbo himself shot up, the dwarf had actually apologized? He wouldn't have expected any of them to be remotely polite, after seeing how they went on at the table with the food, but this one, Kili-or was it Fili?- Was here, apologizing on their behalf…
"Don't worry about it, there's nothing much to be done now, I guess, just make the most of it" he sighed as he turned around and made his way back to the remaining dwarves, who seemed to still be having the time of their lives.
That was until they all heard a knock at Bilbo's front door, and silence fell in the room.
Please not another one, Bilbo begged, not ready for more food acrobatics.