Bilbo Baggins closed his eyes wearily, fingers trembling slightly with cold as he tugged the edges of his jacket closer. His neck and back ached from the stiff red seat of the train, the fabric faded and torn with age, pale foam stuffing spilling out in places. He watched the scenery pass by with a sense of detachment as the fields of green steadily became fewer. The cool pane of glass against his cheek was a stark contrast to the warmth of his father's car, the sleek black SUV no doubt hours away by now, winding through familiar twisting roads and hills.

This will be the farthest from home I've ever been, Bilbo realized with a start. Biting his lip, the thought did little to comfort him.

After all, what was one more uncomfortable revelation after the week he'd had?

The train gave a weak jolt, and Bilbo frowned in discomfort as his head bumped the window, scooting across a couple seats dismally. No, this was definitely not his father's SUV anymore. He almost wished he were back in the Shire, putting up with his younger cousins and complaining about homework. Even Lobelia's face would be a welcome change from the-

Cutting himself off mid-thought, Bilbo shook his head resolutely and straightened in his seat.

Clearly he was borderline insane too.

Voices filtered through from the corridor outside his compartment as the door slid open with a click. Sinking lower into his seat, Bilbo prayed the intruders wouldn't see him from his place among the second row of seats, or if they did they would have the sense to sit in the first or third row. Running a hand through his curls nervously, he tried not to think about the way his breathing quickened or the swell of panic as his muscles tensed. For a moment his insides gave a sickening twist and he closed his eyes, focusing instead on slowly inhaling and exhaling, forcing himself to calm down.

"You'll get used to it soon," Haldir had told him in a way that was meant to be comforting, as Bilbo smothered his nausea and nodded mutely. He glanced up in time to catch his father leaving the room.

"What if I don't want to get used to it?" he asked quietly, almost in a whisper, and the Gifted had placed a hand on his shoulder lightly.

"Sometimes we don't have much of a choice, I'm afraid."

Mentally steeling himself, Bilbo cracked open one eye warily. The carriage was silent and there was no sign of whoever had opened the door, to his immense relief. Maybe his luck was better than he thought-

A hand descended on each of his shoulders and he bit back a shriek.

Two grinning faces appeared on either side of his seat, one with scruffy dark brown hair and the other a somewhat neater blonde. They must have hidden themselves in the row behind him, he realized with a sinking feeling.

Bilbo had only a moment to be proud of his control before the brunet boy vaulted over the back of the seat, perching himself on the frayed cushion beside him. The boy grinned widely.

"Can I…can I help you?" Bilbo asked, fiddling with the sleeve of his coat. Catching the action, the brunet grinned wider and Bilbo suppressed a shiver.

"Don't tell me we're the first? I thought for sure the others would be here by now!" he exclaimed, glancing around the compartment. Bilbo felt his eyes widen as the cushion dipped again, the second boy sliding over the top of the seats to sit shoulder to shoulder with him.

"Except Thorin. He's always late."

"Ah…ok…well I'm not exactly sure who that-" Bilbo began, before the blonde boy cut him off with wide eyes.

"Oh! How rude of us, we haven't even introduced ourselves yet! Fili-"

"And Kili-"

"At your service," they finished together, bowing their heads in sync.

Bilbo blinked stupidly at them for a moment, unsure how to respond. Definitely brothers if the dual talking was anything to go on, he supposed, straightening a little in his seat. Strange introduction aside, Fili and Kili seemed friendly enough.

"Bilbo Baggins at yours," he replied after a moment, remembering at the last second to duck his head slightly in a small bow, not wanting to offend either teenager. Neither boy seemed to notice his awkwardness, and so Bilbo counted that as a win.

"So…are you a first year? You must be right? What's your gift? Will you be in alpha or-" Kili broke off as Fili smacked the back of his head, rolling his eyes. Bilbo tried not to blanch, the nervous tingling returning to his insides once more. Exhaling again slowly, he willed away the sensation.

"Kee, you're doing it again."

Kili rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry, Boggins…"

"Baggins," Bilbo automatically corrected.

"Boggins-"

"Baggins."

"Ah! Sorry, Boggins," Kili stressed with a grin, and Bilbo couldn't help a small huff of annoyance, "are you a first year?"

Bilbo chewed his bottom lip for a moment, his sense of melancholy returning. Honestly, he was surprised it had left at all.

"Yeah, first year," he confirmed, and Fili cocked his head to the side.

"You seem pretty nervous, did your parents not bring you to last year's orientation? I don't remember seeing you there, come to think of it…" Fili trailed off, and Bilbo froze.

"Freaks and abominations, queer folk with even queerer customs if ye' ask me. Thank the gods we don't have to put up with their sort here in the Shire," his uncle Longo would often say, Otho his pudgy son nodding along with a scowl. Bilbo felt himself pale at the memory, his knuckles white where they clutched the fabric of his sleeve.

Before he could think of a decent excuse, the door slid open with a loud clack, the chipped green wood almost slamming into the edge of the metal runner.

Is he…even a teenager…? Bilbo wondered in mute horror.

"Dwalin!" Fili and Kili chorused as a large boy sank into the seat in front, twisting around to lean over the back of the chair. Broad shoulders, a dark Mohawk and burly muscles all marked him as someone Bilbo would have happily avoided, but as he turned to them a small smile softened his face.

"Don't know how you got stuck between these two terrors, but god I feel for ya," he muttered, shaking his head in pity.

Two indignant squawks of "Oi!" and "Hey!" were ignored as the door slid open again, revealing three more teenagers.

The first was a little scrawny compared to the others, a book clutched to his chest and his brown hair scruffy. With a shy smile, the boy sat down beside Dwalin, mirroring his twisted around posture to face the others. Dwalin thumped him on the shoulder with a grin which was returned after a slight wince. The second teenager nodded to each of them cheerfully, sinking into a seat in the third row and leaning forward, an old wooly hat crammed on his head. Another boy with his red hair in a bizarre three-pointed style sank beside him, whistling nonchalantly to himself as he propped both feet up on the chair opposite. Catching Bilbo staring, the boy smirked and winked cheekily.

He reminded Bilbo of a starfish.

"That's Bofur, and the other two are Ori and Nori," Fili murmured under his breath to Bilbo, nodding to each of them.

"Dwalin and Nori are both second years but Ori and Bofur are first years like us," Kili added.

Glancing around the now rapidly filling compartment, Bilbo stared at the brothers warily. Though there were three rows, very few seats actually remained, hence why it had taken Bilbo so long to find a compartment to himself.

Fat lot of good that did me, he thought a little irritably, jumping slightly as Dwalin laughed boisterously beside his ear.

"Just how many more are there?" he whispered to Fili with a frown, "and why this compartment?"

"Almost everyone's here," Fili assured, grin widening.

"You still haven't explained why-" Again the teen was cut off as the door opened, revealing another broad shouldered student with thick ginger hair, followed by-

"I-is that an…?"

"An axe? Yup."

"…but it's…"

"Yup."

"Ah." Bilbo mumbled quietly, forgetting most of his irritation. It really wasn't every day you saw a teenage boy with the metal head of an axe lodged in his forehead. The teen spoke gibberish, signing rapidly with his hands while the others greeted him.

"Meet Gloin and Bifur," Kili pointed out, and Bilbo simply nodded.

Clutching his coat closer, Bilbo shifted as far along as the old seat would allow, wincing at the creak it made when the other two boys flopped down. Resisting the urge to sink into his seat, Bilbo wondered how on earth he went from an empty compartment to sitting shoulder to shoulder in a group of rowdy teenagers.

Clapping him on the shoulder, Kili jumped to his feet, balancing on the cushion with a loud whistle. Fili shot up beside him with a grin, and the rest of the room glanced up at them in interest.

Bilbo just hoped they didn't step on him.

"So, since we know you-know-who is probably lost again-" Kili began.

"-and will take forever to get here-" Fili added, as a snort of laughter went through the group.

"We wanted to introduce our new friend, Bilbo," Fili finished, gesturing to the wide eyed teenager below.

"Bilbo Boggins," Kili corrected, grinning at his brother.

"Baggins!" Bilbo snapped, embarrassment lost in the surge of irritation. Fili shot his brother an approving look.

"Yes, Boggins, that's what I said!" Kili agreed, and Bilbo huffed.

Feeling the eyes of the rest of the compartment on them, Bilbo swallowed his annoyance as a wave of unease came over him, butterflies of nervousness tickling his stomach.

Noticing Ori's head tilted in confusion, Kili shook his head with a sigh.

"It's an inside joke, you guys wouldn't understand."

"We met half an hour ago…" Bilbo murmured.

"And now look at us; already we're the best of friends! Isn't that right Fili?"

"The closest of friends," Fili agreed seriously, lips twitching faintly as he struggled not to smile. Shaking his head to himself, Bilbo wisely chose not to argue.

"Bofur and Bifur, at your service," the boy with the wool hat piped up from behind, as he and the axe headed teen bowed their heads to him.

"Dwalin," Dwalin grunted, nodding briefly.

"Ori and Nori, at your service," the smaller teen in front of him added, nodding at the same time as the starfish teen.

"Gloin, at ya' service," the burly red haired teen said with a grin, bowing his head.

"Oh! Ah…Bilbo Baggins at yours…?" Bilbo responded, ducking his head awkwardly. They either didn't notice his nervousness or didn't care as Bilbo received nothing but nods and smiles in return. He breathed a sigh of relief.

It must be a Gifted thing, not a Fili and Kili thing then, he reasoned, and stored the information away for later.

From beside him, Kili nudged his shoulder with an elbow.

"You never did say what your Gift was?" he asked after a moment, and something must have shown on Bilbo's face as the teen hastily attempted to backtrack. "Not that you need to tell us or anything…uh…'cos you know it's none of our business and Mum is always on my case about being too-"

"Annoying?" offered Dwalin as Kili pouted.

"No-"

"Irritating?" added Gloin.

"No!"

Bifur made a quick series of signs, hands almost moving too fast for Bilbo to keep up before the others roared with laughter. Kili spluttered, pink creeping onto his cheeks.

"Screw you guys!" the brunet exclaimed in false anger, the twitching of his lips giving him away. Bilbo soon found himself almost smiling as slowly, the ball of nerves that was his insides began to loosen.

An odd buzzing sounded, and Fili dug his mobile out of his pocket while Kili continued arguing. The soft glow of the screen lit up his features, casting a bluish tinge to his face. Grinning widely, deft fingers tapped out a quick message before dropping the device back into his jacket. Bilbo barely had time to wonder at the message before the door slid open once more.

"Uncle Thorin! You finally made it," Kili greeted brightly.

Bilbo tried not to stare.

Thick, black hair tied into a low ponytail at the base of his neck, streaks of grey flecked through the temples. His long, dark blue coat swished faintly as he turned to close the door, broad shoulders visible even through the thick fabric. He couldn't quite place it, but something about the youth gave him an almost regal air, from the way he held himself to the way he scowled down at the twins.

That's an odd thought to have about somebody, Bilbo realized with a small frown, tearing his gaze away before the other boy noticed him. Then again, it had been an odd few days.

"I thought you said this place was easy to find? I got lost twice," he grumbled, voice a deep baritone.

"Same place as it was last year," Dwalin said bluntly, and the other boy, Thorin, Bilbo corrected, rolled his eyes.

"He got lost last year too," Nori added with a smirk, and Thorin bristled.

"Well maybe if we met somewhere easier to find-"

"This is Bilbo, Uncle!" Fili interjected with a smile, and Thorin seemed to notice him for the first time.

Sharp cobalt locked onto wide emerald, and Bilbo tried not to look too much like a deer caught in the headlights. A buzzing sounded in his ears as his stomach plummeted with nerves, the weight of the other's gaze making him suddenly feel very small.

"…Uncle?" Fili murmured, but Bilbo barely heard him as his hands began to shake.

Bilbo felt as if his skin was burning, a constant tingle running over his limbs. His breath caught in his throat as the now familiar sensation of falling swept over him.

Oh no no no no-

Blue eyes narrowed slightly before widening in shock.

Bilbo felt himself flush as several gasps of surprise rang out. He fought the urge to cover his face in his hands, his chest tightening with shame. Biting his lip, Bilbo focused on his breathing and tried to ignore his surroundings.

The world around him had faded to shades of grey, the shapes of his fellow students shifting blearily, as if he were underwater. Shuddering, he squeezed his eyes closed.

Slowly, Bilbo became visible again.

There was a lengthy pause, the only sound in the packed compartment his own heartbeat pounding wildly in his ears. Bilbo stared down at his hands, unable to meet anyone's eye. He swallowed heavily, willing the nausea to abate. Any moment now the names would begin, he knew, just like before-

"That's really cool," Kili murmured in awe, and Nori let out a low whistle. Bilbo jerked his head up with surprise, eyes wide in uncertainty.

"What?"

"Aye, that'd be a handy Gift to have," Gloin added, nodding to himself. Bilbo opened and closed his mouth stupidly for a moment, before Fili elbowed him in the ribs none too gently. Before he could muster up a thank you, or anything really, Thorin stepped forward, leaning against the edge of the seats.

"So, this is your new friend?" he asked, and Fili and Kili nodded eagerly. Raising a brow, Bilbo tried not to look away as the teen stared at him.

"Tell me, have you done any training? Sword or axe, perhaps?"

"Uh…well, if you must know, I have some skill at conkers…" Bilbo replied, thrown off kilter by the direct questioning.

Did I really just say conkers? Oh my god…

Thorin's brow rose higher if possible, and beside him Bilbo heard Kili's poorly concealed snort of amusement.

"I thought as much. He looks more like a grocer than a Gifted," Thorin drawled, crossing his arms. A couple of chuckles went up at that and Bilbo tried to will away the flush that no doubt stained his face.

In a smooth movement, Thorin sank into the seat beside Kili. Jumping slightly in surprise, Bilbo stared at him in confusion.

"Thorin Durin, at your service," he finished, eyes boring into Bilbo as he lowered his head subtly. Beside him, Fili and Kili grinned, as Bilbo scrambled to reply accordingly.

"Bilbo Baggins, at yours."