Of Flowers and Stones
Chapter 2 - Intertwined Hands
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story description: Bilbo tells Kíli a little about flowers. What he didn't expect was how seriously the young dwarf would take their conversation. Soon three young dwarves are up to something Bilbo can't quite figure out. And then there is a certain blue-eyed dwarf who seems to misunderstand him at every turn.
pairing: Bilbo Baggins × Thorin Oakenshield
chapter word count: 1.9 k
Wanna read Chapter 2 on AO3? Find the "Of Flowers and Stones" Masterlist here.
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When Bilbo woke the next time, the first thing he noticed was the warmth that surrounded him. A sigh escaped the hobbit and he pulled his blanket up to his ears. Then he heard Bombur snoring and the occasional grumbling of Dwalin. A small whine escaped his lips. He was in Rivendell and not Bag End.
Slowly, Bilbo's eyes fluttered open and none other than Thorin came into view before him. The hobbit sucked in a breath. His eyes were wide open now. Thorin lay next to the hobbit on his own bedding, close enough for Bilbo to feel the dwarf's breath on his hand.
His eyes drifted.
And he found it intertwined with Thorin's. The dwarf's hand was warm and slightly bigger than Bilbo's own. It felt a bit rough against the hobbit's skin, probably from all the hard work Thorin had done with these hands. It let Bilbo wonder whether those hands could also be gentle.
A sigh let Bilbo freeze. When he felt Thorin's grip tightening slightly in his sleep, he pressed his eyes together. The dwarf next to him began to stir and Bilbo did not dare to move, too afraid to draw any attention towards him. There was some rustling and it sounded like Thorin had sat up. Their still intertwined hands shifted.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then a soft groan came from Thorin, followed by a few fast but quiet words in Khuzdûl. And even though Bilbo didn't understand a word, it sounded oddly like swearing. The grip around his hand loosened and he was already starting to miss the warmth of their connection. His hand was directed onto the ground with a gentleness Bilbo had not expected. Thorin's fingers hovered mere millimetres above his hand for another heartbeat. A sigh, so quiet Bilbo nearly missed it, left Thorin's lips and the fingers slowly withdrew. There was some more rustling before slow footsteps went away.
Bilbo didn't move for another ten breaths before he blinked his eyes open again. Thorin was nowhere to be seen. The hobbit pushed himself up. His eyes fell onto the hand that had held Thorin's just minutes ago. It still felt as though their hands were still connected.
With a bit more force than necessary, Bilbo shook his head and rubbed his hands together. He would not find sleep again.
His stomach began to grumble and the hobbit wondered whether he could dare to sneak into Elrond's kitchen. With a hand on his stomach, he stood and tiptoed out of their resting room. With a soft huff, he noticed just how much of the comfortable softness he had lost since leaving the shire.
He had found the kitchen soon, and after some struggling, was boiling some water for tea. A soft melody began to form in his throat as he smelled every tea the elves had. After he had sniffed the sixth one, he came back to the first one. When the water started to boil, Bilbo transferred the hot water into a teapot, nearly as large as his head and added his chosen tea to it. As he waited for his tea to be ready, he sat down in the chair he had stood on. He let his legs swing, the soft melody still on his lips.
An elf stepped in and stopped in his tracks. Bilbo remembered vaguely that Elrond had introduced him as one of the most skilled cooks in Rivendell.
"I hope it's alright I came here and made myself some tea."
"Of course, Master Baggins," the elf said, his voice deep and smooth. "As a guest of Elrond, you are welcome to walk wherever you please."
A sigh escaped Bilbo and he nodded. A soft grumbling of his stomach filled the room. Bilbo felt his cheeks warming. Even his ears felt hot.
"Would you like some honey nut cake?"
The hobbit's mouth watered.
"You have some?"
A smile tugged at the elf's lips.
"You would be surprised how many different things lie in our pantry," he said and walked through a different door. Curious, Bilbo leaned forward in his seat, but the elf stepped back into the kitchen only seconds later. He balanced two pieces of honey nut cake and an apple on a plate.
"Thank you," Bilbo muttered. The elf set the plate in front of the hobbit.
"You may call me Calenion, Master Baggins." Bilbo's smile widened as he nodded.
"Then feel free to call me Bilbo, Calenion." Calenion nodded, a smile still present on his lips and stepped aside. It seemed as if he was starting to prepare breakfast. Bilbo watched him for a moment longer before he turned his attention back to the food.
As Bilbo enjoyed his honey nut cake and apple, more and more elves arrived. Soon, the kitchen was filled with quiet Sindarin. And even after Bilbo had finished eating, he stayed seated and watched them work, wondering once more whether he would be allowed to cook or bake something himself. He missed it. Cooking just for the sake of cooking and not to feed fourteen other hungry mouths on the road.
After his second breakfast, Bilbo decided to see what the others of the company were doing. The hallway was quiet as he took a turn, walking in a direction still unknown to him. He had always thought his smial had been large, but Elrond's house was bigger than anything Bilbo had ever seen. It would probably take more than a week before one could walk these halls without getting lost. A grin tugged at Bilbo's lips. For Thorin, it would probably take even longer not to get lost.
The hobbit had just passed a door when he heard soft chattering in Khuzdûl. One particular word let Bilbo stop. He had heard the word 'malkun*' more than once during their journey and even as the dwarves tried their best to keep their language a secret, Bilbo was not stupid. It had taken him exactly three days until he had realised that 'malkun' was somehow referring to him. Dwalin had mumbled it just as much as Thorin used the word burglar for Bilbo instead of his real name.
Bilbo peeked into the room. The gentle smell of old paper and the warm sunlight peeking through the windows welcomed him.
"I see you have found the library," he said with a grin. Kíli flinched and turned his head sharply. At the same time, Ori let out a surprised scream and Kíli slammed the book shut that they had all been studying.
"Dear me, you look like you have done something forbidden." He stepped in slowly, his grin widening as his eyes fell on the small illustration of a flower on the spine of the book.
"We haven't heard you arrive," Ori said, his hands smoothing the pullover.
"Please forgive me." Bilbo stopped next to the youngest dwarf in the company and lay a hand on his shoulder. "Have you found what you have been looking for?" Kíli's eyes darted to his older brother. Fíli cleared his throat and then nodded.
"We will only need to..." Fíli stopped mid-sentence. He cleared his throat. "Yes, we found what we were looking for." The smile on Bilbo's lips widened and he nodded. For a moment, he watched the three young dwarves, wondering what exactly they were planning. By the looks they shared, Bilbo would know rather sooner than later.
With a nod, he turned and walked further into the library. It was strange to do nothing after weeks of walking and struggling to survive. Bilbo was still surprised that Thorin had announced a longer rest than just one night. It was the first time Bilbo had witnessed such a thing.
Out of the corner of his eye, a book caught his attention. It sat heavily in his hands when he pulled it from the shelf. For a moment, Bilbo laid the book on the armchair before he followed suit and crawled onto it. A sigh escaped his lips as he settled into the cushions. He pulled the book onto his thighs, opened it and began to read about different kinds of stones.
Time had passed rather quickly as Bilbo read about stones, gems and crystals. After some time, a dangerous thought had begun to spread inside his mind. He didn't even know why his thoughts suddenly went wild and decided to imagine what would happen if Bilbo gifted a certain dwarf a stone. It would most likely result in him being fired from the company. He might have hoped for something like that in the first few days of their journey. Now though, he feared the moment Thorin might change his mind about him. Thorin was clearly thinking about it.
Bilbo took the last sip from his afternoon tea, which had already gotten cold. He closed the book and pushed it from his lap. With a huff, he slid from the armchair and placed the book where he had taken it from. He heard soft laughter here and there coming from the balconies and sitting rooms as he walked towards the company's restrooms. Once more since arriving in Rivendell Bilbo wondered what it would be like to stay here.
"Master Baggins," Nori said out of nowhere, which made Bilbo flinch.
"Dear me," Bilbo uttered and turned his head towards the dwarf, his hand over his heart. Nori was leaning against a pillar, his arms crossed over his chest. A grin spread on Nori's lips.
"You really are rather jumpy for a burglar," he chuckled and pushed himself away from the pillar. Bilbo let out a snort and shrugged. He knew that Nori, as a former thief, had probably seen through the lie Gandalf had told the company about him within the first few days of their journey.
Nori stopped next to him, his brown eyes seemed to scan over the hobbit's face.
"The elves invited all of us to an-", the dwarf said and waved one hand in the air as he continued "-evening celebration." Bilbo was all for celebration, for connecting with others and for having a joyful evening, but his bones still felt heavy from the weeks-long travel, even after a good night's sleep. He was not sure how long he would manage to keep his eyes open.
"So soon after yesterday?" the hobbit asked, because the shared dinner with the elves was close to a celebration. Nori chuckled.
"Aren't Hobbits all for a joyful party?"
Bilbo rolled his eyes but he couldn't be mad at Nori.
"Hobbits are also all for a comfortable evening."
"Well, get ready for music and some dancing," the dwarf said, a wide grin on his lips. "You can dance, right?"
"Oh, you unbelievable dwarf, can I dance? Of course, Master Nori! I can not believe you even considered I might not be able to dance." Bilbo huffed and pressed one hand against his hip. "Unbelievable!"
A deep belly laugh escaped Nori's lips and his eyes were shining.
"Please forgive me, Master Baggins," he said, his voice light. Bilbo stared at the dwarf before a smile spread on his lips, despite his best effort to hide it.
"Yes, yes, of course," he huffed half-heartedly, the smile never leaving his lips.
With a grin, Nori turned and started to walk. It only took a second before Bilbo followed him.
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malkun* = hobbit
