Finally, here's the next chapter.
I know I've been absent for a while, but for the ones still reading, enjoy.
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Bilbo strolled into a tavern, deeply sunken into thoughts.
The doubt quickly had set in after he ran from Erebor.
Was this really the best way to handle his troubles? Would running away solve anything?
Yet it hadn't made him stop. Instead of going back, he kept walking, his feet automatically leading him to Dale.
"Can I have an ale?" He asked, as he sat down at the bar.
"Sure thing, lad." The warden answered, eying the halfling curiously. "Only an ale, or are you looking for a room to stay the night?"
"Let's start with an ale." Bilbo replied. "We'll see from there."
The warden gave Bilbo his ale, still eying the halfling curiously.
Bilbo, who normally wasn't the biggest of drinkers, downed the ale immediately.
"Can I have another?"
"Someone seems quite thirsty." The warden stated as he replaced the empty pint for a full one.
Bilbo shrugged. "Havin a bad day, that's all."
" I would almost be tempted to ask you what's bothering you." The warden replied. "But then again, I keep my nose out of other people's business."
Bilbo once again downed the whole pint immediately. "Fair enough… another one please."
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Thorin was waiting at the altar, expecting his one to arrive any moment.
The guests were all seated, the orchestra was playing beautiful music on their harps and his best man, Dwalin, was right by his side.
Finally, this day, he would come to marry the one he loved. He would make Bilbo Baggins his husband.
His gaze shifted to the door as he heard it open, however it only was Frodo who made his way inside.
The sight of the young halfling being alone made him frown, for it was he who would lead Bilbo to the altar.
Frodo quickly made his way towards Thorin, keeping his head down as he moved along.
"He is gone." He whispered upon arrival. "Uncle Bilbo is gone. Left nothing behind."
Thorin took the halfling by his shirt and led him a bit further away from the guests. "What do you mean, he is gone?"
"He wasn't there anymore when I went to get him, Thorin." Frodo said silently. "There's was nothing that could indicate where he went. I looked into the hallways and called out his name. Yet I never received an answer."
Thorin's heart dropped when he realized the halfling was serious. Once again, Bilbo ran away from him, although he promised never to do so anymore.
For a while he stood there, speechless, not knowing what to do, letting the pain of his loss wash over him.
"What is it you want to do now, Thorin?" Frodo eventually asked, being very aware of all the eyes that were looking at them.
"Call of the wedding." Thorin simply stated, before he started to walk away.
"Wait, what?" Frodo asked, going after the dwarf. "You won't go look for him? You don't want anyone to go find him?"
Thorin turned towards the younger being. "No. By running away from me, Bilbo made it very clear he does not wish to marry me, or to be with me for that matter! There will be no more wedding and there will not be a search party. If he want's to come back, he can do it on his own! And if you can now excuse me, Frodo. I'd like to be alone!"
As he hadn't been careful with his words, or the volume he had outed them towards the halfling, a lot of gasping and murmur ensued from the guests.
Thorin didn't pay attention to them anymore. They just as well might know, that would save him an explanation. The dwarven king quickly walked out of the room and made way to his kingly quarters.
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He had been in his quarters for a while, brooding, feeling hurt and betrayed by his one, when a knock came to the door.
"Leave me alone!" He called out. "I'm not in the mood for company!"
He didn't want anyone to see him when he felt like this, not to mention the trail of tears that were still visible on his face.
His visitor didn't seem to care though, as the door opened anyway.
"Thorin." Dwalin stated as he saw what a mess the dwarven king was. "Why are you cooped up in here? You are miserable, go find Bilbo already."
"And why should I do that, Dwalin?!" Thorin snapped, starting to pace trough the room. "He made his choice! He doesn't want to marry me! Then why would I go find him?!"
"You do not know that, Thorin." Dwalin replied, eying the dwarven king with compassion. "Who knows what made him leave. We all know Bilbo to be a bit impulsive when he gets nervous. Maybe he just got cold feet."
"He promised me to never run away again!" Thorin cried out, his eyes blazing with anger. "If he had any doubts, he should have talked to me about them! But no, what does he do, he runs away, again! Abandoning me! Making me look like a fool in front of all our friends and kin! Breaking my heart, once again!"
Dwalin sighed, then walked towards Thorin and placed a hand on the other dwarf's shoulder.
"You're hurt." He stated.
"Of course I am!" Thorin yelled, yet he didn't move away. "How can I not be?! I never had a clue he wasn't happy!"
"Still Thorin, are you going to leave him out there alone?" Dwalin questioned. "Who knows what trouble he will run in. We all know it doesn't take much for Bilbo to run in to it."
Thorin sighed as he realized Dwalin was right. Rather than drowning himself in self-pity, he should go search for Bilbo.
He had been to caught up with his own pain, he had forgotten about the well being of the halfling.
And although the halfling hurt him, he couldn't leave him to his own devices.
"Let me get cleaned up a bit." He spoke a little calmer now. "You're right. We must go find him. And then, he has some explaining to do."
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Bilbo was nursing his sixth ale between his hand, staring into the distance, rethinking what he did for the hundredth time.
By now, Thorin should have found out he was gone, which made him feel guilty, as he knew the dwarven king's heart got shattered into pieces.
It was to late to turn back now though, knowing well enough that he wouldn't be welcomed by Thorin with open arms.
Then there also was the fact that he didn't dare to come down from him stool, as the six ales clouded his mind and probably also his balance.
He would like to think he was a bit tipsy, but if he had to be completely honest, it leaned much more to being drunk.
He was still sunken into thoughts when a taller figure sat down next to him, whom he didn't notice until he scraped his troth.
"Well hello there, master Baggins." The figure spoke as Bilbo looked up at him.
Bilbo received the fright of his life as he met the stormy blue eyes from the dwarf sitting next to him.
The stormy blue eyes that were filled with anger, disbelief and pain.
Bilbo tried to back away, not remembering he was still on his stool, making him fall backwards and hardly landing onto the ground.
"Bilbo!" He got to hear Thorin call out before everything went dark.
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When he awakened again, Bilbo found himself in a cozy soft and warm bed.
Having a temporary case of amnesia, it took him a while to figure out where he was.
His head was hurting real bad though and the light in the room didn't make it any better.
He stayed still for a while, trying to focus on what had happened in the last couple of hours, trying to remember what he had done and how he ended up in the bed.
"Someone's awake." He heard a warm voice speak. "Welcome back among the living, Bilbo. How are you feeling?"
Bilbo's stomach turned around as he heard Thorin's voice. Everything that had happened the day before coming back to him at once.
He felt so stupid for what he had done and the guilt quickly made itself master over him.
"Thorin." He managed to get out in a raspy voice. "Thorin, I'm sorry."
The dwarven king came into his sight when he hovered over him, placing a hand underneath his head for support as he set a cup with a beverage to his lips.
"Drink this, it'll make you feel better." Thorin said as he assisted the halfling. "Then we can talk."
Even though Thorin was helping him, Bilbo noticed the dwarf was distant and the pain in his voice when he talked was hard to ignore.
Bilbo swallowed the liquid from the cup before Thorin placed his head back onto the pillow.
The effect of the liquid was almost immediate, as Bilbo felt his headache fade away.
Within a few minutes, he felt good enough to sit up, which he did, to find Thorin sitting at the edge of the bed, staring at the wall.
"Thorin." Bilbo softly spoke. "I didn't mean to disappoint you, or to hurt you."
He could see the dwarf's shoulders tense as he talked, making him feel sick to his stomach once more.
"Then why, Bilbo?" The dwarf coldly asked, still staring at the wall. "Why did you run away from me again?!"
Bilbo swallowed hard before answering. "Because I had second thoughts about our marriage, Thorin. And I impulsively acted upon them."
"You don't want to marry me." Thorin concluded, his voice breaking. "After all we've been through, after all this time, you figured I am not your one."
"You are my one, Thorin." Bilbo replied, shifting closer to the dwarf. "Don't ever think you are not. It's not because I had my doubts, you are not my one."
"Then why did you run away from me?" Thorin asked. " Why didn't you come to me with your doubts? Why didn't you confide in me when something bothered you? You can tell me anything, you know that. Still you seem to fail in doing so."
Bilbo shifted a bit closer to Thorin again, almost being able to touch him. However his hands remained by his side.
" Every time I tried. We ended up in a fight. And you promised it would become better." Bilbo started to explain. "But it never did. Every time you relapsed into your old habits and for a while I thought I could live like that. That you loving me and knowing it would be enough. But then, when I'm about to marry you, I started doubting. Because it isn't enough Thorin."
Bilbo closed the last inches between them and placed his head against the dwarfs shoulder. "I don't want to feel alone in our home. I don't want to beg for your attention, or to fight for it for that matter. I know you are busy as king under the mountain. But I expect to get some attention from my husband as one becomes so."
Bilbo looked up at the dwarf when he felt his shoulder tremble, seeing the tears that streamed down from his eyes.
"I failed you." Thorin stated, his voice broken. "I know I promised. But with everything going on, it clouded my mind. And you had to pay the price."
Bilbo crawled onto the dwarf's lap and wrapped his arms around him. "I was wrong for running, Thorin. I should have told you how I felt many times, when instead I pushed my feelings away. You are not to blame for that."
"Then where does that leave us, Bilbo?" Thorin asked, stroking trough the halflings hair. "Since I don't think we are getting married anytime soon now."
" I love you, Thorin. And I want to marry you." Bilbo answered, placing his hand on the dwarf's cheek. "But first, let's work on our relationship. Let's make sure we are on the same page and that we know each other's expectations. Besides, we don't need to be married to be with each other"
Thorin smiled. "To think I was so mad at you."
" I would've been mad to if you did something like that to me." Bilbo replied. "Don't worry, you have every right to be angry."
"I'm not angry at you anymore." Thorin said, as he moved his face closer to the hobbit's. "But if you ever run from me again, I will chain you to the walls of the dungeon to make sure you can never do it again."
"Fair enough." Bilbo replied, before closing the last few inches between their lips.