A/N: GAAAAAAAH it's the last chapter! I just hope it lives up to your expectations. *fingers crossed*. Please enjoy!

Bilbo was ill the next day. And the next.

The only person he would see was Óin; the old dwarf might be deaf but he wasn't blind and as soon as he saw Bilbo, eyes sunken in tiredness and tear tracks running down his cheeks, he knew no salve of his would heal Bilbo. But he spread the word that Bilbo had come down with a fever and was not to be disturbed, even though he knew it was a broken heart that ailed the hobbit.

Thorin was inconsolable and refused to hold the meetings with Dain, not until Bilbo got better. Of course he worried, but what hurt Thorin most was that Bilbo wouldn't see him. They were friends, he thought; he should have known that somehow their relationship would be spoiled, just as everything Thorin seemed to touch did. What kind of a King was he, if he couldn't even keep a friend? But that didn't stop Thorin from sitting by Bilbo's chamber until he was forcibly removed by Dís or Óin when he fell asleep on his stool.

After two days of Bilbo's 'illness', he finally re-emerged. His eyes were red and puffy and his usually bright curls were lustreless, and it wasn't hard to believe that he'd been ill.

He opened his door to find Thorin, immediately jumping up from his seat.

'Bilbo?' Thorin's voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't been talking. Bilbo looked at the floor.

'Óin says you haven't been having your meetings. With Dain,' Bilbo said to his feet, and Thorin was worried by the quietness and raspiness of Bilbo's voice. Surely he wasn't well enough to be up?

'He tells you correctly. I was waiting for you, but you aren't well-'

'I'm fine,' Bilbo cut him off, and offered him a small smile. 'I promise.'

Thorin didn't believe him, but he knew Bilbo could be as stubborn as a dwarf when he wanted to be; the last thing Thorin wanted was to be at loggerheads with him while he was still recuperating. So Thorin summoned Dain and Balin and Dís and the negotiations continued, but Thorin made sure to cut it short as he worried for Bilbo, who sniffled beside him and was deathly pale. And oh, it hurt when Bilbo flinched at Thorin's gentle hand on his arm.

Bilbo escaped back to his room once the meeting ended. Thorin followed and knocked on the door, calling to Bilbo. There was a pause for a moment before Bilbo called back that Thorin was right and he still wasn't fully well, and he was going back to sleep. Thorin ate his lunch alone that day, taking his cheese and bread up to the abandoned tower room and staring up at the overcast sky.

For his part, Bilbo just wanted to be alone. He hadn't reckoned on how much it would hurt to have to sit next to Thorin, to have him look at him and talk to him like that while Bilbo knew what he did - that Thorin's eye was on another. How could Dís have ever thought that Bilbo was Thorin's One? The thought would have made him laugh, if it didn't hurt so much.

He refused to cry, though. He'd wallowed and cried for two days until the thought of his mother came to him. He could just imagine her, scolding him for this self-pity and telling him to get up and sort it right out; he agreed with the first part, but wasn't quite sure how to go about the latter.

At least hobbits didn't have Ones, he mused as he stared into the fire, his head stuffy from tears and the heat from sitting too close to the fire. He'd read up about Ones and it sounded a painful, complicated business. At least a hobbit's heart would heal after rejection, even if pride was wounded in the process. But the gradual fading of a dwarf just sounded painful.

(Of course, Bilbo wondered how his heart would heal, considering how it felt broken into so many little shards.)

But that night Bilbo slept, if not soundly then at least deeply, and he felt better when he woke. He joined Thorin, the company and Dain and his companions for breakfast, and he thought he managed it well considering how Thorin and Gír were in the same room. He felt the others' gaze upon him, especially Dís' and Dain's; he busied himself with (trying) to eat his breakfast, forcing the food that tasted of nothing past his lips and swallowing to at least give some appearance of normalcy. Thorin was only relieved that the dark circles under Bilbo's eyes were clearing and his skin was returning to its usual pink.

Neither of them noticed the sharp look Dís shot in Dain's direction and their hurried, furious conversation after breakfast, Dís looking murderous and Dain worrying at his lip with his teeth.

The meeting that day was short again, as Thorin made sure to be as reasonable as he could to prevent Bilbo getting worked up - Thorin knew how aggravated Bilbo could become when Thorin was being stubborn, and he didn't want to set back what was so far a successful recovery.

The third day after Bilbo got up, however, was entirely unexpected.

Bilbo had joined them all for breakfast again, finally looking healthy again once more. Thorin couldn't help but smile in relief, and when Lady Gír looked at him pointedly he blushed and looked down at his plate.

And that was when Bilbo's foot-tapping began.

Bilbo saw the way Thorin blushed when he looked at the Lady Gír, and he tried not to feel bitter, he tried, but it didn't work. If he only hadn't gone and got involved; if he hadn't stuck his nose where it didn't belong then maybe, just maybe, it'd be him Thorin couldn't look at without blushing. (Of course Bilbo didn't realise that this had been the case already for far longer than he would ever have believed.)

And so he began to tap his foot unconsciously, as he did when he was nervous, knowing he would have to endure another day of sitting next to Thorin and pretending that everything was alright when it wasn't and just being near Thorin was like a knife to the heart.

They relocated to the meeting hall. But this time Bilbo didn't sit next to Thorin; he couldn't, not when it hurt so much, so he sat on Balin's other side, closer to Dain. He missed the stone-like mask that settled over Thorin's face at that, and the flash in his blue eyes. Dain, however didn't; neither did Dís or Balin, and the three looked at each other uncomfortably.

After only fifteen minutes of wooden answers from Thorin and a stoic silence from Bilbo, Dain gave up.

'We don't seem to be getting anywhere today,' he said to Thorin, whose facial expression didn't change. 'Perhaps we're just a little tired, but... If you'll excuse us, I think we should come back to this tomorrow. '

Thorin gave a curt nod, and Dain, his advisor, Dís and Balin all got up, knowing when the effort was futile. Bilbo began to get up too, grateful to escape, but then Thorin's voice cut through the room sharper than a knife, in the tone of voice he'd never used with Bilbo before. If Bilbo was honest, it scared him a little; too reminiscent of a day when threats had been made and he'd nearly ended up flat at the foot of the Mountain.

'Bilbo, I would talk with you,' was all he said; but in that moment Thorin really was King under the Mountain and it was enough to send shivers down Bilbo's spine. He stopped where he was, feeling Thorin's full gaze on him and he avoided his eye, wincing when the door shut loudly behind the others.

Thorin stood, his chair scraping on the floor. Bilbo heard his footsteps as he walked to the other end of the room.

'What are you doing?' Thorin's voice was low and deep.

Bilbo frowned. 'I'm standing here...'

'I don't mean now!' Thorin snapped, and immediately he put his head in his hands and Bilbo flinched. 'I don't mean that,' he said more softly. 'I mean, why are you avoiding me?'

'I don't-'

'Bilbo, you don't talk to me anymore, you barely look at me. We don't spend time together any more. Why?' Thorin sounded desperate, and as Thorin approached him Bilbo could see hurt in his eyes.

'Can't - can't you see why? Don't you see what I'm doing?' Bilbo said beseechingly.

The face Thorin looked at him with was stricken, and Bilbo was shocked to see such emotion on his face.

'Are you trying to say goodbye?' Thorin all but whispered.

'What? No!' Bilbo exclaimed.

'Then I don't...'

'Thorin, don't you see? I had wanted to match-make you, I had wanted to find you your One, and then the other day I saw you with Lady Gír and I thought it had worked-'

'You... You tried to match me with some dwarrowdam from the Iron Hills?' Thorin's voice was hollow as he stared at Bilbo, who was close to tears. He really didn't want to talk about this, to talk about how foolish he'd been… But then Thorin was striding closer and Bilbo shrank back a bit, forgetting how imposing Thorin could be when he was angry.

'Why would you do that?' Thorin asked, and to Bilbo's surprise he too sounded close to tears. 'Why would you do that, Bilbo? You've just - you've made everything worse!' He turned abruptly, not looking at Bilbo as he pinched the bridge of his nose, his shoulders hunched.

Bilbo couldn't help it then. He was hurting and he was angry - at being treated like a child, angry at himself for being such a fool - although he wasn't sure if he was a fool for interfering or for falling in love. The two were as bad as each other, he supposed.

'Because I wanted you to be happy!' he shouted, losing his temper and causing Thorin to turn back to him. 'Because I saw you were unhappy and I thought I could help! And then when I saw you and Gír - together - I started avoiding you because - because - Oh, sweet Eru's sake! Because I love you, Thorin!'

He clapped a hand over his mouth after he said that, freezing into place as Thorin did the same. Bilbo let out a low moan, shaking his head, and began to run for the door.

'Bilbo, wait!' Bilbo ignored Thorin's call, but then the dwarf was in front of him and holding him and Bilbo couldn't escape the embrace, no matter how much he struggled. And oh, how he wanted to relax into those strong arms encircling him, but he couldn't...

'Bilbo, what did you say?' Thorin's voice from above his head was tender, and it made Bilbo want to wail.

'I said I love you, now please let me go...'

'Why would I do that, Bilbo, when I love you?'

Bilbo froze. 'Please don't.'

'Don't what?' Thorin sounded confused.

'Don't say that!' Bilbo moaned, finally managing to escape Thorin's grip and stumbling backwards.

'You think I'm just saying that? You think I don't mean what I say?' Thorin sounded angry now and Bilbo turned, unable to look him in the eye. 'Bilbo, when have I ever lied to you? You know the steps - why do you think I gave you my coat? Why do you think I let you braid my hair? Why is it, Bilbo, that my Calling dictated a ring too small for the finger of anything but a hobbit and shaped like a flower? Tell me, Bilbo, why ever since I first learned the names of all the gems, emeralds have always been my favourite?'

There was silence except for Thorin's heavy breathing, and Bilbo just stood, head still buried in his hands. It couldn't be true...

'Bilbo, if I didn't love you, why would I keep this with me all the time? In my jacket pocket, close to my heart every day, and under my pillow every night?'

Thorin's voice was unbearably soft, and Bilbo looked up, to see Thorin holding - the booklet Bilbo had made for him all that time ago.

Of course... Bilbo had given it in friendship, never realising its significance to Thorin. He gasped a little now, taking a shuddering breath. Thorin took a step closer, and when Bilbo didn't move, he took another step closer, and another until he was right in front of him, close enough that his braids were tickling Bilbo's ears.

'Please, Bilbo. Believe me,' he said.

And Bilbo did.

'I love you,' he whispered, before tugging on Thorin's braid to pull his head down and locking their lips together.

And it was a million times anything Bilbo had ever hoped, ever imagined, ever dreamt it would be. Thorin's arm encircled him and he felt safe and warm and loved like never before because this dwarf loved him - loved him, Bilbo Baggins!

Thorin broke the kiss after a moment, his mouth travelling to Bilbo's ear. 'Bilbo, my One,' he murmured.

'Yes?' Bilbo replied breathlessly.

'How about we run away, and skip your five-year courting tradition?'

Bilbo couldn't stop the little giggle that escaped. 'We've already run, my dear. Lobelia will never find us here. Let's just get married!'

'I wholly second that,' Thorin said, before pulling Bilbo back in for another kiss.

'Fíli, stop moving-'

'Shut up, Kíli! They'll hear!'

'What's happening?'

'Sssh!' both Princes rounded on the hatted dwarf and the rest of the Company behind them, all itching to know if their long-standing plan to get the two long-suffering idiots together had worked.

'I knew Father should have made this bigger,' Dís grumbled as she peered through the slit in the wall of the "spying chamber" at the pair passionately embracing in the meeting hall. She turned to Dain, standing beside her with a grin on his face. She held out her arms to him and he embraced her, before smashing their heads together.

'I have to thank you, Dain,' she laughed. 'You and your dams did your jobs perfectly. We got there, in the end.'

'As, my dear, did you,' he grinned. 'Oh, Thorin's going to be so cross when he finds out. I wish I could be a fly on the wall when you tell him you set this all up.'

'Who said anything about telling?' Dís whispered lightly back, still peering through the wall, before letting out a noise halfway between a squeak of surprise and a hum of satisfaction. 'I don't think those two are going to be finished any time soon,' she said, and quickly pulled her sons away from the spy-holes and shooed them out as, after so many painful months of waiting, Thorin finally did what he'd no doubt been dreaming of for months.

'You know what it means, though?' Fíli whispered to Kíli. 'Uncle's going to be unbearable...'

FINIS

This is a LONG author's note!

A/N: There we go. That's it. Here ends A Perfect Match... Did you like it?! Bahahaha yep Dís and Dain were behind it all! She was the one who got him to come with a delegation of dwarrowdams in order to effectively knock Thorin and Bilbo's thick skulls together and GET THEM TOGETHER, MAHAL'S SAKE! She knew right from the off about how those two felt about each other ;)

In my first drafts, the confrontation scene went really differently though. Basically Bilbo was still oblivious to the whole thing (I hadn't made him find out through the book, at that point - but I decided it was literally too painful to keep it like that!) and had played a bigger part in actually physically getting Thorin and a dam together (or at least trying to). Thorin was, of course, angry about this because he only wants Bilbo, so the confrontation went a little like this...

T: Gosh Bilbo why would you do that, why would you try and pair me up with some dam from the Iron Hills?! You've just made everything worse! (nearly cries)

B: Well I only wanted you to be happy! Why would you be such a bum about this god Thorin I was only trying to help...

T: How do you expect me to feel when I love you, Bilbo?!

B: ... ... ... oh. (I toyed with the idea of making him nearly faint here, too. Like he does in the film when faced with the thought of 'incineration'... Finding out the King of Erebor is in love with you is just as life-changing as being incinerated, right?!)

And then a really happy realisation and reunion and aaaaws. But it was too painful to keep Bilbo so ignorant so I changed it... I hope you like this version ;D

It's been so amazing writing this and I honestly cannot thank you guys enough for all your amazing support and lovely comments! They've made me so happy :') Gaah I'm so emotional right now! I can't quite believe it's really over. *sniffs* BUT WAIT GUYS I've just had the most amazing idea, right. What if I wrote a companion piece to this - Dís' point of view?! Hahahah. What do you think?!

Thank you guys again - you are ALL SO WONDERFUL :3 *hugs you all* I really hope you enjoyed and thank you so very much for reading and sticking with me to the end! :')