Note: College AU, College AU, College AU. That's about it.

The problem with living on a university campus that had about 10,000 students meant that Bilbo, who was normally a solitary sort of guy, was never truly alone. He preferred to be left alone—he always had—so it surprised the remnants of his once large family and the people of his small town that Bilbo was going to such a large school. Leaving wasn't all too hard as there were no loose ends to tie; no girlfriend to make false promises to and no friends to make pointless claims of keeping in touch with.

Bilbo requested a single—he thought it easier to avoid the awkwardness that would occur with a possible roommate if he had the normal college dorm living experience. Unfortunately for Bilbo he wasn't aware that freshmen rarely got the rooms they requested and they were more often than not thrown into the housing that was the complete opposite of what was wanted.

He quickly accepted the fact of not having a single and moved on—he had slowly come to terms with having to become mildly social (despite the fact that he despised conversing with people) and entertained the idea of having one roommate. But Bilbo didn't get just one roommate.

He got five.

Bilbo thought it was a mistake at first—a sort of prank that the university pulled on new kids like him—but he soon realized that his name was indeed on the door along with five other rather odd names and his stomach dropped.

He fumbled with the door key in his hand, his fingers unable to grasp it without shaking slightly. Bilbo leaned against the door, his forehead sweaty on the unforgiving concrete doorframe; he adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder before placing the key in the keyhole and turning it, opening the door slowly. His stomach dropped instantly and he held his breathe in part nervousness, part anticipation.

The door opened and—nothing. Bilbo breathed a sigh of relief and walked into the extremely quiet dorm room and glanced around. The place looked lived in—the small kitchenette had dirty dishes that filled up the sink and the small common room across the way from it had unfolded blankets strewn across the couches.

Bilbo scratched his head and walked past the kitchen and the common room and down the hallway. Two bedrooms were there—each with two beds in it. The room at the end of the hallway was fully occupied by two incredibly messy guys; the obsessively clean part of Bilbo lurched as he forced himself to move on. The room next door to it had an empty bed and one half of the room was torn apart. He sighed and walked in to the room, cringing at the sight of the lived in part of the room.

He shook his head. "Oh no, no. That will not do."

Bilbo shook his head and placed his bed on the empty bed. He opened the bag and began unpacking, putting the small amount of clothes he had away and pulling out the bed sheets before placing them in their correct spots.

He jumped when he heard the door open.

"Oi, I wonder if he's here yet." The voice, which had a slightly different accent from what he was accustomed to, spoke in a friendly tone.

"Why does it matter? You're not rooming with him." Another voice answered, with slightly less friendly yet with the same type of accent.

"Oh Bofur, come off it."

The man mumbled and dropped what sounded like a book bag on the floor. "Good thing Thorin ain't here yet."

"Ah? And why's that?"

"Kili, you know him better than I do."

Bilbo could practically hear the roll of the man named Kili's eyes. "Yeah, barely. Just because he's family doesn't mean I have to know him." There was a sigh and a grunt in agreement before all conversation was dropped.

Bilbo clutched his bag tightly as he heard the footsteps of one of the men get closer to the room he was presently in. He couldn't help but feel as if he was about to be caught doing something incredibly naughty, which in turn made Bilbo feel like he was intruding on some sacred moment that he shouldn't have privy to.

"Oi, Kili. Roomie's here."

Bilbo stiffened slightly before turning from his bed and faced the man behind him.

"I'm sorry I just assumed this was where I was staying." His voice was shaky. Bilbo hated when he sounded like that.

The source of the voice was a man a little taller than he was—which honestly wasn't that tall—who leaned against the doorframe, his hip and shoulder holding up the rest of his body. His eyebrow was cocked and a smirk was on his lips.

"You're shorter than I imagined."