Chapter 3: Apologizing and Confessing

Bella Baggins was beyond confused. What in the sweet name of the Valar was he doing here? Fili, Kili, Balin, and Bofur she wouldn't have batted an eyelash at. Any of the others wouldn't have aroused suspicion. But him?

Why him?

Why now, when she'd just started convincing herself she was getting over him?

Once they were over by one of the old oak trees, she whirled around, turning what she hoped was a good, semi-straight face on him. "What are you doing here?" she demanded. Even she was surprised at how much anger there was in her tone.

"I came to speak with you," he said in a somewhat neutral tone. "I have something I need to say." She knew it wouldn't be nice or right, what she was thinking of doing, but she'd lamented and cried over him for a good 6 months afterward, so by Yavanna, he was gonna pay for it.

"Really? Because I thought you made your sentiments very clear the last time we have a proper conversation," she snapped. Commands and warnings on a battlefield didn't count, and she was choosing to ignore the fact that he'd been awake for her desperate cry when she thought Azog was going to kill him. Again.

He looked taken aback, like he wasn't expecting that from her. Well, he'd lost the meek Hobbit-lass that rushed out her door 4 years ago, and the braver Hobbit that threw herself at his would-be executioner, and the one who'd hinted at feelings toward him that were more than friendship that night at the Lake-Town party before it all went straight to hell.

"I wasn't-" he started, but she cut him off.

"You know, you have some nerve, coming here. What, you thought I'd be so completely happy just to see you that I'd forget everything that happened? That I'd just throw myself into your arms, asking you to ask me to forgive you? Well, ya got another thing coming, buster!" she shouted.

Oh, she was gonna kill Drogo for making her drink that extra cup of ale earlier.

Now he stood taller, angered. "I came to apologize for my actions at the Gate," he snapped right back. "To say that I wasn't in control of myself then, and that I'd come here tonight to ask you to forgive me, but if you'd like to fight instead," he started.

"Maybe I would! I have a lot of things I'd like to say, starting with an 'I bloody told you so!'" she shot back.

"I told you so?" he echoed incredulously.

"Yes! I warned you that there was something not right about the place, about the treasure, about you, but like you usually did, you thought you had it handled, and you didn't! And that's not the only time! It seems like for every decision that wasn't major, you sided against me. I said left, you chose right; I said stay, you chose to go. I'm half convinced that if I'd said the sky was blue, you'd have argued over that!" she said, waving her arms in an 'Oh, my God' expression.

"You weren't the most agreeable person, either!" he accused. "You'd ask me a question, I'd answer, and you'd argue over that! You think I could argue about the color of the sky? You'd ask 100 people, just to get an answer different from mine!"

"Well, I wasn't allowed to start a good screaming match with the King Under the Mountain on his quest for his home while we were being chased by some horrid creature or another, now could I? You know, you weren't very kind at the beginning!"

"And I did try to make up for that at the middle. The Dragon-sickness was not my fault!" he shouted.

"No, but your stubbornness made you too blind to see anything but getting that damned Arkenstone, so much so that when I told you I loved you, you didn't take half a notice!" she screamed. Now the silence registered. Not just his, but that of the whole Shire. She didn't care, though, because he needed to know. She needed to say it.

"Do you know how I cried? Over you? In the Mountain, because you were slipping away, and no-one could do a thing about it. After the Gate, when you were so completely lost that even I couldn't see any hope for getting you back. I cried for months and months afterwards, at the most random of times, simply because I thought of you and how I felt and how little you cared about me," she told him.

She could see his face changing. Realization gave way to shame and sadness, and possibly even pain. She kept going, though. "I'd just convinced myself I was over you. I was going to have a good time tonight and not think about you, but of course you choose now to step back into my life, and..." she trailed off, tears slipping from her eyes. "And I just...can't do this anymore. Pine after you, wish it'd been different, question where I messed up that I'm here, in the state I am now."

"Bella," he started, but she cut him off once more.

"I can't," she said, in a voice that cracked and broke. "I can't, Thorin. I need to just...let it go. I need to let you go, or I'll never make it."

"I'm sorry," he said helplessly. She turned away, biting her lip. "I'm so sorry." She just shook her head, the tears still flowing. "Tell me I haven't lost you. Please, tell me there's still something I can say, something I can do. I... I don't want to lose you," he pleaded. She shook her head again, unable to say anything.

The silence hung thick in the air.

Normally, Bella would've been mortified at the whole Shire knowing about this, but she was too confused by her own emotions to care. She turned away, walking back toward Bag End, just to try to escape him. To escape her past, and all the pain that went with it.

And then he whistled.

She knew the tune. It was a widely known love song, a way for men to propose to ladies without having to write a speech or anything. It was one her parents sang all the time. She stopped dead in her tracks, whirling around and looking into his eyes.

Often she had seen others communicate through looks, as if a whole conversation was going on between people telepathically. She had attributed it to close bonds or shared experiences. Fili and Kili's mental/visual conversations had been a source of awe for the first quarter of the adventure.

Now, she found herself understanding everything Thorin was trying to say, even if he wasn't verbally saying it.

"I'll swim and sail on savage seas, with ne'er a fear of drowning (I fear not death's hold, only that it would keep me from speaking my heart to you), and gladly ride the waves of life (I would face every difficulty, every obstacle), if you would marry me." That last bit was just straightforward. Nothing hidden or implied or said in addition there.

Her breath hitched. His voice...oh, she still dreamed about that voice. And now he was singing to her. Now he was asking her to listen, and she was trying to fight to keep from doing so, because what could he have to say now? After what she said to him? Still, she didn't look away.

"No scorching sun, nor freezing cold (I've come all this way, and I'd go father still; nothing could ever stop me from trying to get to you), will stop me on my journey (I'd cross a thousand wastelands to ask you this)." She could hear something in there, something that sounded broken. "If you will promise me your heart (Forgive me. Please.)"

She turned away then, unable to hold his intense gaze and everything in it. "And love-" his voice broke, cutting off with a small, heartbroken sigh. She could practically see his eyes closing, his head dropping, maybe even a tear escaping. His hopelessness was tangible and it tore at her heart, urging her to turn around, yet at the same time, showing defeat.

It broke her resolve. He came halfway across the world to beg for her back, and was openly declaring his love in front of the whole Shire and the Company, regardless of the risk of being turned down. All for her. All because of her.

She made her choice. She'd made it at Beorn's, and she made it again. Her voice rang clear through the silent Shire.

"And love me for eternity. (I forgive you.)" He looked up with a small gasp. A few murmurs rippled through the crowd. She turned around to look at him, and he looked so terribly hopeful. Like he wanted to believe. She took a deep breath, the unshed tears sounding through it, as she gathered her resolve.

"My dearest one, my darling dear (How I have longed to say this), your mighty words astound me (You've taken my breath away and stolen my heart). But I've no need of mighty deeds when I feel your arms around me (Just hold me forever; all I want is to be near you for the rest of my life)."

She walked toward him, coming closer with every step. He lit up as she approached, seeing hope and love on her face as well.

He ran to her, spinning her, though her feet never left the ground. She laughed, such a clear, bright sound that even she was surprised by it. "But I would bring you rings of gold (Everything I have, anything you want, it's yours), I'd even sing you poetry (I will earn this. I will earn your love, I swear it), and I would keep you from all harm (Till my dying day) if you would stay beside me!"

They began to dance around the space in the crowd, which had backed away to give them all the space they needed as they twirled and danced, her in his arms. "I have no use for rings of gold (You're all I want and need); I care not for your poetry (You've earned it already). I only want your hand to hold (Everything I am is yours; you have every part of my heart)."

"I only want you near me (Truly, that is all I want or need)."

Now it was both of them singing, two voices in harmony, two hearts in sync, meaning every word they sang like a wedding vow. "To love and kiss and sweetly hold, for the dancing and the dreaming, through all life's sorrows and delights, I'll keep your love inside me. I'll swim and sail on savage seas with ne'er a fear of drowning, and gladly ride the waves of life if you would marry me!"

"Yes!" she exclaimed, giving her answer. He picked her up and spun her around, and when he placed her on the ground again, she wasted no time in sealing the deal with a kiss.

A/N: Okay, you guys. WOW. Since I posted this story last Friday, it's gotten 383 views. Just…wow! Now, idk if that's cause y'all actually bothered to wait for me (in which case, I am both floored and touched) or if this happens to be a popular ship, but I'm really happy. And, as promised, this is the last chapter. Lemme know what you guys think!

Musical setting: For The Dancing & The Dreaming (Stoick and Valka's song from HTTYD 2).