It's Friday again, so guess what? Yes, another chapter! :) Thank you all for following/favouriting/reviewing over the last few parts, it's really great knowing you're enjoying this 'fic so far! :D

Here's chapter eight, in which we get a little more Bilbo/Fili moments (friendship huh? Don't let your minds wander too far ^^) and Fili isn't exactly at ease with our favourite hobbit's questions. Actually, Fili isn't having a very easy time at all, but I guess a little angst has never hurt anyone, right? ;)

Well, I won't delay you any longer, on with the story! :)

To the whole company's dismay, it rained throughout the whole of the next day, and the mud their ponies were walking through was really slowing them down. On top of affecting the pace they were going at, some of the dwarves were really in a foul mood, like Dori for example, who kept asking Gandalf if he could use any of his magic tricks to just make the rain disappear. Gandalf simply laughed, saying that the rain would continue to do so until it was done, and that if they weren't satisfied, they could just go and find themselves another wizard. He then went on then, talking about the five wizards: the two Blue Wizards, Saruman the White, Radagast the Brown and himself, Gandalf the Grey, after some of the dwarves had inquired about who the others were.

The back of the company weren't doing much better, actually, they were probably in a worse state, being on the receiving end of the mud the ponies kept lifting up off the ground and tossing behind them as they walked along. It was probably one of the worst traveling days he'd experienced since he'd left the Blue Mountains with his brother.

Fili felt as if his coat had doubled in weight, and he was having a hard time trying to keep both it and the packs from slipping and falling. His protection against the rain was useless now, as he was already soaked to the bone and freezing cold, barely feeling his fingers at all, but what else could he do with it? The muddy jacket had gotten quite heavy, with all the water that had been running down its sides, and was seriously beginning to weigh the dwarf down.

Suddenly, his pony gave a slight stumble, which made him lose his equilibrum, and he leaned forward in his saddle, tough luckily catching his balance and not falling off. However, the content of the morning's quick breakfast rose in the back of his throat, and Fili tried his best to swallow the horrible burning sensation. Being jolted around on the uneven terrain didn't exactly help tough. He tried not to think about it, surely the feeling would pass, wouldn't it? It wasn't as if this was the first time such a thing happened, and even though it was most unpleasant, Fili tried to ignore it as much as possible, after all, most of the time he just put up with it for an hour or so and the sensation would then slowly dull down to nothing.

As they moved on, he found the ill feeling was actually getting worse. The upset stomach hadn't stopped and he could now feel the unpleasant taste of bile rising in the back of his throat, the awful soreness was back again with a vengeance. Fili looked around, desperately hoping he'd find something to make the sick feeling stop, as it was most discomforting to ride with. He wished for a quick break, if only for a minute, just to be able to halt his pony and take a deep breath, maybe even force himself to hurl if it would get rid of the awful taste in his mouth, but he knew Thorin couldn't afford it, so he decided to keep his problems to himself, actually grateful for the sudden shower of rain and how it didn't allow his brother to see how bad he felt. Even if he managed to hide some of his troubles to Kili, the archer still had a remarkable talent in reading him, and Fili didn't want to worry him, any of them actually. If they should be concerned for someone, it should be Bilbo.

Why was it happening though? Fili was familiar with the ill feeling, he'd often been dealing with it in the past months, but he'd never let anyone know about it. Usually, he managed to handle it on his own, either he'd throw up or he'd give it a half an hour and the feeling would dull down. Besides, he knew better than to bother his mother or dare ask his father for help, and Kili didn't need to have extra weight on his shoulders, he already had enough. Despite racking his brain until he felt a dull headache, Fili couldn't understand why it was happening, now of all times. He hadn't eaten anything since last night, and even at that, it had only been a half-bowl of soup, the rest he'd poured into Bilbo's bowl while he hadn't been looking, making sure their hobbit had what he needed. He couldn't possibly have anything to throw up, and yet the feeling of sloshing in his stomach was still there, reminding him that he shouldn't have eaten so much, and no matter how hard he tried to find out what he possibly could have swallowed to make him feel like this, he couldn't put his finger on it. To be honest with himself, Fili didn't really want to know, and in fact, he couldn't recall eating anything really substantial since Kili's name day, which had been eight weeks ago, and if he included the few weeks prior to the event, over two months…

Getting scared of where his thoughts were bringing him, he shook his head, flinging away the droplets of rain that had managed to cover his face, and tried to focus on just following Thorin. A part of him argued that he'd need to face them eventually, but Fili didn't feel like putting up with the inevitable right now. He knew it was cowardly, he knew he ought to be disappointed in himself, but he just wasn't up to it. Besides, he could care less about the state he was in…

His little grey pony was still giving the occasional jerky movement from left to right, but the terrain seemed to have evened out a bit, and the blond dwarf sighed in relief when he didn't feel like he was being thrown in every direction quite so much anymore. His grip on the reigns relaxed slightly, and he sat back in his saddle, the nauseous feeling having lessened. Fili tried to listen into bribes of conversation here and there, but with everyone trying to talk over each other and cover the sound of the falling rain, it just ended up giving him an awful headache.

"Do you know where exactly Gandalf and Thorin are leading us?" Bilbo suddenly piped up, from beside him.

Bilbo, who had initially refused anything to do with the dwarves, had had a last-minute change of heart, when he remembered Gandalf mentioning the Took side of him, and luckily had been accepted among the dwarves (well, Thorin still needed some convincing, but most of the others seemed okay with him joining…). It was as if he'd been riding for ages, he couldn't feel the slightest muscle in his bottom at the moment. Adding to that his soaked red coat and his freezing hands, he wondered how on earth the dwarves managed to hold on that for so long without complaining of aches all over…

By chance, Myrtle was a very nice pony, and she didn't cause him any extra trouble other than the aching he felt all over, and she was relatively calm, even under the rain. Despite his bruised backside, Bilbo decided he enjoyed pony riding, and promised himself he'd thank Fili later for staying next to him, ready to help him if ever any problem arose.

Although Bilbo hadn't been talking much to any of the dwarves, those with whom he did speak were quite welcoming, especially Balin and Fili. The elder dwarf seemed to consider Bilbo like if he were a younger member of his own family, and often sent him a comforting smile, reassuring Bilbo hadn't anything to fear among them. He liked the way Balin always seemed to be able to keep calm, no matter the circumstances, even when facing Thorin's frustrated outbursts. Bilbo could see in the elderly dwarf a decent amount of knowledge too, for he was certainly an educated being. However, even if Balin did spend some of his time with Bilbo, the hobbit also noticed he was often up at the head of the company, beside Thorin. He knew he shouldn't, but he felt a slight pang of jealousy concerning their leader. He envied the way everyone looked up to Thorin, and obeyed every command he'd give them. It wasn't so much Thorin he envied, rather it was the trust that he had with each and every one of the members of the company, which Bilbo wished he could have too. He'd never say it out loud though, he was a much too respectable hobbit to hurt the dwarves in that way, even Thorin. Never the less, Balin still found time for him, letting him in on the track they'd be taking, giving him some details about such and such member of the company, or just telling him old dwarf stories, sometimes legends, other times, it would be memories he'd shared with Thorin or both of his nephews. Even if Bilbo had never experienced anything of the sort, he quite enjoyed listening to the dwarf, grasping a bit of what each member was like.

Fili, Bilbo had noticed, had also stayed around him from time to time, much to the annoyance of his brother, who kept beckoning him to ride by his side. Bilbo would have expected a thousand times that Fili give into the brunette's incessant demands, yet he still remained by the hobbit's side. The blonde had seen to it personally to make Bilbo feel at ease among them, and despite his quiet nature, Bilbo decided he quite liked Thorin's heir. He knew Fili could have been off next to his brother, or even ride alongside his Uncle, yet the fact that he chose to look out for the hobbit made Bilbo appreciate him even more. Maybe Gandalf hadn't been so wrong after all.

There was a slight pause in the air, and Bilbo was the one who decided to fill it.

"So… What's it like to be Thorin's nephew? A royal heir?" He asked innocently. If he was to go along with these thirteen dwarves, he may as well get to know them, and as Fili was beside him, he could start with him. "I'd be ready to bet your father is really pleased at what you and your brother have become. You're quite the pair, you two." He added with a wink, even mischievous hobbits didn't compare with this duo.

Fili tensed up in his saddle. This was most certainly not a topic he really liked talking about, but attempting to change it would probably only make Bilbo more curious, so he tried answering with simple phrases, without giving away the truth.

"Well... It's not always easy, you know, having to balance a social life and obligations…" Bilbo snorted, of course it wasn't. He liked his normal simple days in the Shire, were anyone to bestow such duties upon him, he most definitely would not be too pleased with his life.

"He's a bit strict at times slapping you senseless when he deems your conduct isn't fit of your title, and he can be a little harsh with his treatment occasionally forbidding you dinner when Mother is not around and making you watch as he relishes in a warm meal, and he's a demanding teacher too beating you black and blue when sword training and forcing you to make up excuses to Mother to explain the bruises and cuts, but it's not as if he's only grooming Kili and I to become future diplomats, he does spend time with both of us too, Father has his "little games" too, like joke contests or playing tactics and strategy in Kili's case, or holding a flaming candle to your skin and threatening you not to cry out should you want any worse, and he is overall a caring father to most of us at least."

Fili had never let word slip past his lips of his father's outbursts, knowing the consequences would be oh so much worse. Many times, he'd wanted to tell Thorin when his Uncle would have him wrapped in his arms, he'd wanted his mother to save him when she would smile kindly at him, but seeing Kili and their father and how they would both laugh and roar farces in each other's presence, he knew he couldn't take that source of love away from his brother, Kili deserved a caring paternal figure, one he could be proud to call father. Besides, Fili was too scared to speak up, he was too afraid of what might happen to him should he do it someday.

"It's still a bit of pressure make that a lot, knowing people will be looking up to you some day what could I possibly have to give them? And despite what you hear about princes and kings, Mister Baggins, it's not always the fairy tale you grow up with." Fili chuckled, trying to drift away from his dark thoughts.

Bilbo laughed too, true, he was suddenly appreciating the simple hobbit life he'd lead. Although he'd always been interested in many uncommon things, for hobbits at least, he could recall both his parents giving him the same life lessons Fili's father had obviously given the dwarf too. At least, they weren't so different, and Bilbo held on to that resemblance they both had, it made him feel that much more a part of this odd group of travelers.

"I'm sure your father is very pleased with you, if he's anything like Thorin." The dwarf at the head of the company may not be the one for displaying emotions, but when Bilbo caught him glancing at Kili or Fili, he could see the pride in his eyes, he could see how Thorin was more than content with how his two nephews had grown up, and he no doubt had great plans for them in the future.

No, he'd rather I was never born, that I never existed. Fili wished he could somehow voice his thoughts out to Bilbo, wanting him to be the friend he could confide all those things to, wishing he could at last share all this with someone, instead of keeping it bottled up inside of him, like he'd been doing for years, but seeing the hobbit smile and sensing how tranquil he was, forgetting momentarily the inconvenience that was the rain, he couldn't bring himself to, and Fili kept the memories to himself, as he'd been doing for who-knew-how-long now. Besides, speaking up would never change what his father had done to him, and nobody needed to know anyway. The dwarves and Bilbo were here on Thorin's (and Gandalf's) request, and despite how Bilbo must feel a little underwhelmed about their leader, Fili hoped he could make the hobbit understand that Thorin was a decent person, that they couldn't have wished for more.

"I know Uncle can come off as gruff Mister Baggins, but he's a caring person, except that he's too proud to let it show. At least, when Uncle came to visit, we could often spend the day together, just the two of us, and he would accept me in his arms when Father would not. But Thorin, despite trying to deny it over and over, well… he has a big heart, and sometimes a big heart is all one could ask for…"

The blonde hoped he could get that feeling across to Bilbo. Yes, his Uncle wasn't the most outspoken person, and at first sight, tended to come off as a bit antisocial and quite harsh, but beneath the stern façade, Thorin was the best Uncle one could ever ask for, he was so different it made him special. Despite knowing their leader cared little for Bilbo, Fili did care for their companion. For what felt like the first time in years, he felt he could unwind when next to the hobbit, a feeling he didn't even find with Kili very often anymore. It wasn't much of a sensation, probably one the others would be able to experience daily, but Fili didn't, and Bilbo offering him this privilege, it was really more than he could ask for.

Bilbo had been looking from Fili to Thorin, and was making his head do the rotation a few times after the dwarf riding next to him had described this Caring Uncle Figure. Thorin? A considerate dwarf? He didn't doubt Fili's words, it was just so strange picturing Thorin with a warm smile while playing around little children, laughing and hugging them. Bilbo could even feel the edge of his lips twitching as he imagined it, and gave a soft chuckle.

Hopefully, he might be able to see this side of Thorin too. After all, the stern dwarf had to have some joy in his life, no?