Chapter 17 – A night to remember

As Midwinter approached an excited atmosphere started spreading through Erebor. Everyone was looking forward to the midwinter festivities and Thorin's birthday party, which both promised plenty of food and entertainment. Despite the huge turn that Bilbo's life had taken less than two weeks ago, he couldn't help but marvel at how little had really changed for him.

He still took all his meals with the Company and spent most of his time either in the library or the kitchens, helping his friends with whatever tasks they were currently performing. Even his evenings were similar to the ones before – he usually spent them in his quarters in Thorin's company, talking or listening to the dwarf play his harp while Bilbo worked on the tapestry.

The only difference were the plentiful kisses that were now a regular part of his every day. Just remembering them made Bilbo blush a little every time he thought of Thorin. The dwarf always found the time during the day to come and see how Bilbo was doing, which often served as an excuse to drag Bilbo somewhere out of sight and kiss him soundly. Not that Bilbo complained. If it were up to him, they would be spending entire days curled together in front of the fireplace in Bilbo's quarters.

Bilbo couldn't help but feel a little amused with their situation. Here they were - a majestic dwarven king and a respectable hobbit, sneaking around the dark alcoves in Erebor to steal kisses like a pair of smitten youngsters. More than once it made him wonder why he found such a ridiculous thing so thrilling, but he could never find a satisfying answer.

Maybe it was the novelty of it all that caused his heart to give an excited flutter every time Thorin walked into the room. Maybe it was the fact that he had finally gotten his wish, after so many weeks of uncertainty.

Or maybe he was just in love.

His mind no longer shied away from that thought. Instead, he welcomed it, enjoying the rush of joy he felt every time Thorin looked at him or touched him. And touch him he did. Now that Thorin knew his advances were welcome, he couldn't seem to get enough of Bilbo. More than one evening had been spent in slow exploration, their questing hands skimming over buttons and under shirts.

They still kept their clothes on, though, because their friends from the Company had lately developed a most annoying habit of barging into Bilbo's quarters unannounced to "chaperone" them. Bilbo thought it was a bit ridiculous that anyone thought they needed a chaperone at their age, but the traditions demanded it, and since Thorin was supposed to lead by example, they had to at least keep up the pretence of upholding the traditions. Still, judging by Thorin's growing frustration at getting his private time interrupted, Bilbo thought it was only a matter of time before they went and threw the traditions to the wind, propriety be damned. Bilbo thought that day couldn't come fast enough.

Midwinter brought frost and a new wave of snow, which made the mountain's inhabitants appreciate their warm clothes and fireplaces. Nobody was too eager to trample through the snowdrift outside or climb the freezing mineshafts, so everyone was pleased when the celebration gave them an excuse to stop working for three days and just enjoy the plentiful food and ale.

Since this celebration was meant to be a time for friends and family, there was only one feast in the Great Hall at the eve before Midwinter, where Thorin thanked the assembled dwarves for the work they had done the previous year. For the Midwinter dinner the Companions gathered in their usual dining chamber, their number now increased thanks to the various members of the dwarves' families who had been invited to join them for a private feast.

Bilbo now sat on Thorin's right hand, where he had been persuaded to move a few days after their unofficial announcement. The position gave him plenty of opportunity to talk to Thorin during the meals, something that he enjoyed immensely. The dwarf was normally a pleasant companion, happy to talk about things that interested him, but this night he was quieter than usual, his thoughts turned inward.

Occasionally he gave Bilbo a contemplative look or answered a question aimed directly at him, but otherwise did not contribute to the conversations around the table. Bilbo let him be. Either the dwarf would talk to him about it later, or he would arrive at a solution to his problem on his own. Instead Bilbo turned to talk to Fíli, who wanted to know if hobbits celebrated Midwinter.

Bilbo was just finishing the main course when Thorin finally leaned over to him, looking strangely nervous.

"Will you come for a walk with me after dinner?" he asked Bilbo.

"Of course," Bilbo told him, wondering what the dwarf had in mind.

He spent the rest of the meal in quiet anticipation, trying to guess what Thorin was planning that he had to act so mysterious about it. He didn't have to wait for too long, because the dessert flew by in a breeze and for once in his life, Bilbo couldn't care less what was on his plate.

Thorin waited for him to finish his last pie and they rose from the table in tandem, bidding the rest of the company good evening. They slipped from the dining room, leaving their friends to carry on the celebrations without them. Rather than going for a walk around Erebor or even to the front gate, however, they ended up in front of the door to Thorin's quarters. Thorin opened the door for him, gesturing for Bilbo to come inside.

Once the door closed behind them Thorin walked over to his desk, where stood an angular box made of dark polished wood. He didn't open it yet, running his hand gently over the lid before he turned back to face Bilbo. He took a deep breath.

"Has Ori told you about dwarven courtships?"

Bilbo nodded, not sure where the question was headed. Thorin took a step closer.

"Then you probably know that the courtship we have is unorthodox at best. We may have told our friends that we are courting, but in the eyes of the old traditions we are still not courting properly and the way we have been carrying on these past few weeks would be considered quite scandalous if anyone knew about it."

"But I already asked you!" Bilbo protested. A sudden shard of memory came back to him, giving him a flash of insight. "Oh, the rule about the older partner." He looked at Thorin, who nodded. "It has to be you, doesn't it?" Bilbo asked.

"Yes," Thorin said. "As brave and much appreciated as your offer was, I am afraid that it did not quite satisfy the conditions set by the tradition." He gave Bilbo a look. "I am aware that we could simply sidestep those rules and continue courting as we have been for weeks, but I would like to uphold the old traditions, at least in this aspect."

He stepped back to the desk and picked up the wooden box, carrying it over to Bilbo. Bilbo's suspicions got fulfilled when Thorin lifted the lid of the box, revealing the Arkenstone. The gem was just as beautiful as Bilbo remembered it. He gave Thorin a bewildered look.

"You can't give me the Arkenstone!" Bilbo protested. Thorin shook his head.

"The stone is mine and I can do whatever I wish with it. In the past it has caused only madness and death. I think it is time for its fate to change." He took a fortifying breath, looking Bilbo straight in the eye.

"The Arkenstone used to be my grandfather's most prized possession and his greatest pride. His love for the gem contributed to the downfall of a kingdom and the ruin of our kin, causing him to forget about his friends and family and focus only on his own greed. I almost followed the same path as he, letting gold blind me to the point of madness. I may have survived the battle for Erebor, but it was not until you left that I finally saw my own blindness.

"Since then, I have tried to learn from my mistakes and I swore never to get drawn under the thrall of gold again. Right now, there is only one gem that I treasure and it is not the Arkenstone."

The expression in his eyes when he looked at Bilbo made Bilbo's breath catch in his throat. Thorin gestured to the Arkenstone.

"Gems like this are found every day, but you are one of a kind, Bilbo Baggins. I waited almost two hundred years to find you." He lifted the box with the Arkenstone, offering it to Bilbo. "This is the Heart of the Mountain - my heart - and I give it to you freely. Will you do me the honour of marrying me?"

All objections against the Arkenstone died in Bilbo's throat when he saw the emotion in Thorin's eyes. That crazy, romantic dwarf. How was he supposed to protest something like this?

Bilbo gave him a sincere smile.

"Yes, of course I will marry you. Now put this ridiculous thing away so I can kiss you."

Thorin returned the box back to the table, barely sparing the Arkenstone a single glance. Once his hands were empty, he promptly wrapped them around Bilbo's waist and drew him into a kiss. They spent several enjoyable moments wrapped up in each other before Thorin pulled back and led Bilbo over to his large armchair in front of the fireplace, where they curled together to resume their leisurely exploration.

"Why were you so nervous before?" Bilbo asked him a while later, giving Thorin a curious look. "Surely you must have known that I wouldn't refuse you this time."

Thorin lowered his eyes.

"You have already refused me once. When I made my offer the first time, I was so wrapped up in my arrogance that it never crossed my mind that you might say no. Hearing you dress me down provided a rather harsh awakening for me. I am afraid that I did not react well to you censure of my shortcomings."

He took Bilbo's hand, caressing the palm with his thumb.

"I am still a little astonished that you were willing to forgive me for everything, much less agree to a courtship. You must have hated me when you left here."

Bilbo shook his head with a smile.

"No, I never hated you. I was angry at you for a long time, and a bit hurt, but I never hated you. Mostly I was just confused with the whole thing." He gave Thorin a look. "There's one thing that I still don't understand to this day – why did you ask me in the first place? No matter how many explanations I tried to find for it, your first proposal never made any sense to me. Was it a mistake?"

Thorin sighed.

"Only partially. Even before we came to Erebor, I had admired you for your courage and resourcefulness. I had planned to try and court you slowly after we had reclaimed the mountain to see if you were at all amenable to the idea. Then the gold fever took over my mind, magnifying all my impulses tenfold and filling me with greed. It turned my anger into murderous rage and admiration into a savage need to possess."

He ran a gentle hand up and down Bilbo's back, resting his chin on the top of Bilbo's head.

"When I called you into my tent after the battle, I had every intention to apologise to you for my previous conduct, but then you walked in and all my good intentions flew to the wind. What had remained of the fever surged up, driving me to present you with the most inappropriate marriage proposal Erebor has ever seen."

"It was rather shocking," Bilbo admitted with a small chuckle. "And wholly unexpected. I had absolutely no idea that you might be thinking about me like that. After you banished me, I thought you would hate me forever. Getting the invitation to Erebor was certainly a surprise."

Thorin grimaced.

"It took me two years before I was even willing to listen to what Balin wanted to tell me and even longer than that before I admitted to myself that I had indeed treated you horribly. Bofur came back from his visit to the Shire a few months later and then spent several weeks talking about you, which made all the others excited to see you again. At that point I was too ashamed of my actions to try and explain to them why you did not wish to come to Erebor."

"Whose idea was it to send Nori?" Bilbo asked.

"That was a group effort," Thorin said, a small smile appearing on his face. "Everyone was hoping that he would be able to either convince you to come back, or find out why you did not wish to leave the Shire. Imagine their disappointment when he came back empty handed." He gave Bilbo an amused look. "Is your curiosity satisfied now?"

"Yes," Bilbo nodded. "Everything makes a lot more sense now." He remembered something. "No, wait. There is one more thing I would like to know."

"What is it?"

"What made you try and court me again after I came back to Erebor?" Bilbo gave Thorin a searching look. "You couldn't have known that I would be open to anything romantic, when we were barely on civil terms at that time."

Thorin looked mildly embarrassed.

"I am afraid that was a minor lapse of self-control on my part." He raised his hand from where it rested on Bilbo's knee to run his thumb across Bilbo's cheekbone. "Dwarves only love once in their lives," he said quietly. "Seeing you again after five years was like a punch to the stomach. I had long come to terms with the fact that I would never have your affection, and yet I could not help myself and kept seeking you out, hoping to at least forge a friendship with you if no other option was available."

He sighed.

"It was hard to keep away from you. You were always so close and yet so far away, your vibrant presence like a beacon at the end of a mine shaft, tempting me to come closer. It took all my willpower not to touch you. The only thing that stopped me from approaching you was the knowledge that my advances would not be welcome."

"They are welcome now," Bilbo said, reaching up to lay a hand at the side of Thorin's neck. He gave Thorin a long, lingering kiss before he pulled back with a smile. "You can touch me as much as you wish."

"I know," Thorin's eyes darkened and the arm around Bilbo's waist tightened a bit. "Your offer is very tempting, but I would like to be able to spend the night with you properly – to have you wake up next to me in the morning and not have you run away in the middle of the night, because my relatives had barged in on us and shooed you away."

Bilbo grimaced.

"As much as I hate to say it, that scenario is more than likely." He gave the bedroom door a speculative glance. "Have you installed those locks yet?"

"I have, but no lock can keep my sister out when she is in one of her moods," Thorin said, making Bilbo chuckle. "I believe your new quarters should solve all our problems. You can move in on my birthday, before I make the announcement. Once our relationship is made public knowledge, no one will be able to claim that I am just using you for my own pleasure."

"It is not using when the pleasure is mutual," Bilbo told him with a smile, leaning in for a kiss.

One kiss led to another one and a third one, the heat between them rising with each new touch. They ended up tangled together on the rug in front of the fireplace, where they lay in a pleasurably rumpled state and watched the fire as they waited for their breathing to slow back down.

"I am rather surprised that they have left us alone for so long," Bilbo remarked some time later, running an idle hand over Thorin's chest.

"Dís knew about my plan for the evening," Thorin said. "I believe she is holding them back for the moment to give us some privacy."

"That's nice of her," Bilbo said. "Still, we should probably straighten up a bit and engage in some wholesome activity before one of our friends barges in."

"Do you have any ideas for such an activity?" Thorin asked, making no attempt to move from his prone position.

"Would you be willing to sing for me?" Bilbo propped his chin on Thorin's chest. "You have such a beautiful voice, but I haven't heard you sing since the time we claimed back the mountain."

Thorin gave him a smile.

"I can sing for you, if it makes you happy."

He straightened up into a sitting position, drawing Bilbo to rest against his side and started singing in a low voice. The song was in Khuzdul, but Bilbo did not need to understand the words to know that it was a love song. He rested his head on Thorin's shoulder and closed his eyes, letting the dwarf's deep voice wash over him.

"You will have to translate it for me some time," Bilbo said when the song ended.

"I may," Thorin smiled. "Or I can teach you Khuzdul and you can translate it yourself."

Bilbo's eyes lit up.

"You would do that?" He was well aware by now that the knowledge of the dwarvish language was one of the dwarves' most closely guarded secrets.

"I would," Thorin nodded, looking pleased with Bilbo's reaction. "Shall I sing some more?"

Thorin managed to sing another two songs before the door to his quarters opened and Dís walked in, taking in the scene before her with sharp eyes. Her gaze slid from the two of them sitting cuddled together in front of the fireplace to the box with the stone lying abandoned on the table, a small smile appearing on her face.

"I take it that everything went well?"

They both nodded. Since she seemed determined to escort him back to his quarters, Bilbo disentangled from Thorin's embrace with some reluctance and went to stand beside her. They were almost at the door when Thorin cleared his throat behind them. Bilbo turned around to find himself face to face with a wooden box.

"You forgot something," Thorin said, pushing the box into his hands. Bilbo gave him a weary look.

"I still think this is utterly ridiculous," Bilbo informed him. "I'm taking this back to the treasury first thing in the morning."

The last thing Bilbo saw before the door closed behind him was Thorin's fond smile. Dís looked thoughtful when she walked by his side. They were almost at his door when she finally spoke.

"I haven't heard my brother sing like that for years," she told him quietly. "I have heard him sing of treasure and revenge, but never about love." She gave him a look. "Thank you for giving him a second chance."

Bilbo smiled.

"I think it was a second chance for both of us."

He bade her goodnight and entered his rooms, the box with the Arkenstone tucked safely under his arm. He put it on the table and opened it, still in disbelief that the stone was really in his possession.

Looking at the brilliant gem, he couldn't help but feel awed and a little humbled by the obvious depth of Thorin's regard for him. He of all people knew well how much that stone meant to Thorin. The easy way he had given it to Bilbo spoke volumes of his affection for the hobbit. Bilbo thought that Thorin must love him very much indeed, to be willing to part with his greatest treasure.

Closing the lid, Bilbo gave the wooden box a smile. It was only good that Thorin held such regard for him, because Bilbo loved him too.

°O°O°O°

The next week passed in a blur of preparations, all the inhabitants of the mountain looking forward to Thorin's birthday celebration. For Bilbo the joy was of a more personal nature – this would be the day when he would finally be presented to the world as Thorin's betrothed. That thought filled him with eager anticipation and he found himself counting the days that remained towards the celebration.

He would feel a bit silly for it, if he didn't know that he was not the only one to feel that way. Thorin hid his impatience well, but even he was growing frustrated with the mandated chaperoning and the strict rules that the courtship imposed on them. There was always someone nearby to keep an eye of them, so they barely got any time alone.

Their forced separation only worked to heighten their anticipation. Bilbo became hyperaware of Thorin's every move. Whenever the dwarf walked into a room and looked at him, the air between them thickened until Bilbo could almost taste the tension in the air. There was a new current of awareness between them, the air heavy with a thrum of promises unspoken.

After much waiting, Thorin's birthday finally came. Bilbo woke that morning with a smile on his face, the anticipation making him almost giddy. He gave his quarters a fond look as he packed the last of his things and put them on a pile with the rest of his possessions. Over the past few days he had gathered all his things in the sitting room, where they now waited for Bilbo's friends to come and help him carry them into his new living quarters.

Bilbo wasn't terribly sorry to leave the rooms behind. Yes, they were nice and comfortable and he had grown reasonably fond on them in those ten weeks that he had spent in them, but his attachment was not so strong that he would insist on staying in them when presented with an infinitely superior option.

The moving itself didn't take very long. It took four dwarves only one journey to carry all of Bilbo's things from one set of rooms to the other. Bofur and Ori came back for the weaving loom and Bilbo made one last sweep of the quarters to make sure that he hadn't left anything behind. Content that he had everything, he made his way over to his new rooms, feeling way more excited than a simple change of accommodations would warrant.

His friends decided to stay for a few hours and chat with him while he put away his books and clothes, so Bilbo decided to try out his new kitchen and made them all some tea and cakes. Thorin stopped by briefly after lunch to inquire whether the rooms were to Bilbo's liking, using the pretext of examining Bilbo's new study to steal away a few kisses before he left again, going back to the Great Hall to oversee the preparations for the celebration.

The dwarves left after teatime, leaving Bilbo with plenty of time to prepare for the evening. He chose to wear his favourite crimson vest with golden buttons and the cloak that he had worn for the celebration of the dragon's death. When he was dressed, he went to the wardrobe and dug out his present for Thorin that he had carefully hidden among his other clothes to prevent his friends from accidentally finding it during the moving.

Now he shook it out and gave it one last look to make sure that it looked presentable. Pleased to find his work intact, he carefully wrapped the cloak in brown paper to hide it from prying eyes and went back to his living room to sit down for a while and relax with a nice book, since there was still plenty of time left until dinner.

Thorin knocked on his door an hour later and gave Bilbo an appreciative glance when the hobbit came to open the door for him. Bilbo went back to the bookshelf to put away his book before he turned back to Thorin, smiling.

"I hope that my choice of attire meets your approval," Bilbo told him.

"It does," Thorin said, "very much. I used to find your way of dressing extremely impractical when you travelled with us, but now I have to admit that it has a certain charm." He ran a finger over the patterns on the edge of Bilbo's cloak. "Indeed, it would be a waste to force you to wear our fashion when these clothes suit you so well."

"I am glad you think so," Bilbo said with a smile. "Thank you for the winter coat, by the way. It is magnificent."

"Ah, the fur coat," Thorin remembered. "The fur came from the huge white warg that led the warg army in the battle for Erebor. I slew him myself before I got beset by orcs. After the battle I decided to keep the pelt as a trophy and kept it rolled up in my bedroom. A present for you seemed like the perfect way to use it."

He gave Bilbo a smile.

"Come, let us join the celebrations. I am required to give the opening speech, but I should be free to dance with you afterwards. Will you stand by my side for the announcement?"

"Of course," Bilbo said. "Let me get your present and we can go."

Bilbo picked up the wrapped parcel and followed Thorin out of the room. The dwarf gave the packet in his hands a curious look but didn't ask, leading the way to the great dining hall. The assembled dwarves looked up eagerly when they entered, the hall filling with excited whispers.

Thorin made his way over to the small makeshift platform that had been built behind the Head Table for the speech. He raised a hand and the hall fell silent, everyone turning to listen to him.

"Today is my two hundredth birthday," Thorin began, "and I am very pleased that I can celebrated it with you today, here in our old ancestral home of Erebor. It was through your combined efforts that the mountain has been restored to its previous glory in such a short time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for the work you have put into the restoration. Without you there would be no Erebor today."

He paused as a cheer rose, the dwarves clapping and yelling. When they calmed down, he spoke again.

"Before you all go back to your entertainment, I would like to use this occasion to make an announcement." The hall fell silent. He held a hand out toward Bilbo, who climbed up and took the offered hand with a smile. The crowd tittered excitedly but nobody spoke, waiting for Thorin to continue.

"It is my pleasure to inform you all that I have found someone I want to spend the rest of my life with and will be getting married next year," Thorin said. "Citizens of Erebor, I present to you Bilbo Baggins as my chosen husband and future Consort."

"YES!" Calls and cheers rose around the hall, the assembled dwarves whooping and stomping in joy.

Thorin and Bilbo both smiled at the enthusiastic response. Bilbo couldn't help but be a little surprised at the easy acceptance he had gotten from the dwarves. There were one or two faces in the crowd who looked a little shocked, but other than that, the reception was uniformly positive.

"Kiss!" someone called. A few others heard it and decided to repeat it. "Show us a kiss!"

Bilbo and Thorin exchanged a glance. From his limited knowledge of dwarvish etiquette Bilbo knew that it would be highly unprecedented for an unmarried couple to kiss in public, but then, the two of them had never been very good about sticking to the traditions. He gave Thorin a small smile and a nod and couldn't help but feel amused when the cheers grew deafening as Thorin leaned over to him.

They exchanged a short kiss, taking care to keep it chaste to avoid scandalising the assembled dwarves more than they already had. They pulled back to look at the crowd, their smiles growing wider as they stood in front of the cheering crowd.

The applause finally died down and they could climb down from the platform and mingle with the crowd, where they immediately got beset from all sides by enthusiastic well-wishers. Bilbo managed to slip through the crowd after a while, leaving Thorin to deal with his admirers on his own while he went to search for his friends.

Ori caught him at once and handed Bilbo the parcel that he had been holding for him during the announcement before he went back to Bofur, who was waiting for the young librarian by one of the side tables. Bilbo watched them head to the dance floor and wondered whether Thorin would be able to tear himself away from his adoring subjects for long enough to dance with him. Kíli walked over to him at that moment, giving him an amused grin.

"I would ask you for a dance, but Thorin might tear my head off for that." He shot a glance at the king, who was still engaged in a conversation with one of his officers.

"He wouldn't do that," Bilbo told him with a smile. "He likes you too much."

"Liking me didn't prevent him from giving me a week of patrol duty after I danced with you at the annual celebration."

Bilbo gaped at him.

"Thorin did that?"

"Yes," Kíli nodded. "I thought it was hilarious. He didn't dance with you at all that night because he was sulking that you didn't congratulate him on his victory in the tournament."

That made Bilbo chuckle.

"I remember that I spent the whole evening wondering what offensive thing I had done to make him frown at me like that."

Thorin chose that moment to walk over to them, taking in their identical looks of entertainment.

"Dare I ask what is so amusing?"

"Congratulations on your victory in the tournament," Bilbo told him, grinning. "You were very impressive." Before Thorin could say anything, Bilbo handed him the wrapped parcel. "Here's your birthday present. The hobbit custom is to give presents on one's own birthday, not receive them, but I decided to make an exception for you. Happy birthday."

Thorin took the present with careful hands, his eyes flickering between the parcel in his hands and Bilbo's face.

"What is it?"

"See for yourself," Bilbo told him. He noticed that Balin, Dwalin and Fíli had come over to them as well, probably drawn by their curiosity.

Thorin pulled away the brown paper to reveal the blue fabric underneath. He ran a palm over the soft surface before he carefully grasped the edges and shook it out, drawing gasps from the bystanders when the fabric unfolded.

The cloak reached almost to the ground, the waves of rich dark blue swaying gently in Thorin's grasp. The fabric was of elvish make, light but durable and the intricate golden embroidery gleamed in the light of the lanterns. Thorin raised his hands a little higher and Fíli and Kíli pulled at the bottom corners to give everyone a chance to see the pattern in its entirety.

The majestic slopes of Erebor took up most of the space, the shape of the mountain unmistakeable to anyone who had seen it before. Above the mountain were the symbols of Durin's insignia, displayed proudly across the shoulder blades of the cloak's wearer. The edge of the fabric was decorated with a long string of dwarven runes that together formed a phrase in Khuzdul.

Thorin ran a finger over the words, turning a questioning gaze at Bilbo.

"Is this-?"

"Mahal's blessing, yes," Bilbo nodded. "Ori helped me with the runes for it, because I still can't speak a single word of Khuzdul. I hope I got it right."

Thorin's eyes flew over the runes, reading swiftly.

"You did," he told Bilbo with a smile. He put the cloak around his shoulders, clasping it together in the front. "This is a most excellent gift, thank you."

Bilbo smiled at him.

"You're welcome."

"I believe that I promised you a dance," Thorin said, offering him a hand.

"I believe you did," Bilbo answered, letting Thorin lead him to the dance floor. The rest of the Company stayed behind, watching them with pleased smiles.

"That cloak must have taken a lot of work to make," Thorin said once they found a free spot to dance. "I did not know that you can make clothes as well as decorate them."

"I'm no tailor," Bilbo shook his head. "A cloak is simple enough to make, but I wouldn't be able to create anything more complicated. I noticed that you seemed to like the cloak that I have when I first wore it, so I decided to make one for you as well."

"It was not the cloak I was looking at that night," Thorin confessed. "Your cloak is a beautiful piece of art, but I was always more interested in the person wearing the cloak than in the garment itself."

"Oh," Bilbo said, feeling his cheeks heat up a bit. How was it that Thorin could make him feel this ridiculously happy with such a simple thing? "You look very handsome tonight," he told the dwarf and had to smile when Thorin lowered his eyes for a moment, obviously unused to such compliments. Bilbo made a mental note to compliment Thorin as often as he could, because he found the dwarf's reaction endearing.

They danced another two numbers together before they returned back to the table, where they were forced to sit down at the seats of honour and listen to an endless string of toasts made in Thorin's name. They toasted Bilbo too, which embarrassed the hobbit to no end, but he couldn't help but smile when he saw the acceptance in the faces around him.

The dwarves around them got progressively drunker and the entertainment grew in volume as the evening passed, but neither Bilbo nor Thorin drank much. They spent most of the feast talking quietly together and watching the dwarves make a spectacle of themselves. The hour was growing late when Bilbo realized with a surprise that nobody was paying any attention to the two of them anymore.

"Do you have any more pressing duties to attend to tonight?" Bilbo asked Thorin quietly, leaning close to avoid being overheard. Thorin gave him a speculative look.

"Not as such, no."

"Do you think they would mind if we stole away?" Bilbo looked up in question and was pleased to see the interest in those eyes.

"No, I am sure they can spare us for the night," Thorin told him. They stood up slowly and started walking along the wall at a casual pace, taking care not to be noticed. Thorin put a discreet hand on Bilbo's lower back and steered him through the crowd, until they finally managed to slip through one of the side doors into the empty corridor beyond.

They maintained a respectable distance while they walked towards Thorin's quarters, but the moment the door closed behind them they latched onto each other, kissing hungrily. Thorin backed him into the wall, running his hands over any available surface in reach. Bilbo buried his hands into Thorin's hair and pulled him closer, pouring all of his excitement and frustration into the kiss.

They were both wearing too many clothes but Bilbo did not hurry to remove them just yet. Even though most of his attention was occupied by the dwarf that was enthusiastically kissing his neck, part of his mind was still aware of the fact that their departure probably did not go completely unnoticed and that they were likely to get a visit from their friends soon. His prediction became reality not ten minutes later, when an impatient knock sounded on the door. Bilbo pulled back from Thorin, giving the dwarf a weary look.

"Give me a minute to get rid of our overprotective envoy."

Thorin let him go reluctantly, his eyes going dark when he took in Bilbo's rumpled appearance. Ignoring his own impulse to turn back and just continue what they had started, Bilbo went to answer the door, not even bothering to straighten up. He had lost his cloak and vest somewhere in Thorin's sitting room and his shirt was untucked and half unbuttoned, but at that moment he couldn't care less about his appearance.

Balin and Dwalin stood in the corridor, giving Bilbo's dishevelled clothes identical knowing looks.

"No, you can't come in," Bilbo informed them, blocking the door with his body.

"But the traditions-" Balin began.

"No," Bilbo repeated firmly. "I have a great respect for your traditions, but tonight is Thorin's birthday and we are going to spend it in whatever manner we wish." He sighed when he saw their dissatisfied faces.

"Oh for-" Bilbo said. "Thorin is two hundred years old and most hobbits my age already have at least three children. We do not need a chaperone. Go back to the party and enjoy the celebrations. Good night." Before they could say anything in protest, he shut the door in their faces, turning the key in the lock.

He turned to Thorin, who was watching him from the bedroom doorway with an amused smile.

"I see that your diplomatic skills are effective as ever."

"They got better over the years," Bilbo replied, coming closer. "Your traditions are ridiculous, by the way. I can understand the caution when the pair is a young reckless couple that could end up with a child before the wedding has even taken place, but having a chaperone at our age seems downright absurd."

"I am glad you sent them away," Thorin said, a dark glint entering his eyes. "It leaves us with more time for much more interesting activities."

Bilbo grasped him by the edges of the cloak, drawing him closer.

"So, where were we before they interrupted us?"

"Here, I believe."

Thorin leaned down for a kiss, the bedroom door falling shut behind them.

Neither of them ever found out about the many bags of gold that exchanged hands that night.

°O°O°O°

Many years after that day Bilbo sat down at the desk in his quarters, turning the book open to the last page. Now, after countless rewrites and additions, he finally felt ready to write an ending for his book. Paying no mind to the smiling dwarf who was reading over his shoulder, Bilbo tipped his quill into the ink and brought the tip down to write the last sentence of his book:

"And then he lived happily ever after."

The end

AN: It's done! Thank you so much to everyone who has read this far! I am glad you have made the journey with me and I hope it was worth it. I have spent two wonderful months working on this story and I enjoyed every single minute of the process. I am still a little surprised with the amount of feedback I got for this fic, since this is my first project of this size that I have been able to complete successfully and I still have plenty to learn.

Thank you so much for commenting and leaving kudos. I appreciate every one of them.