Work Text:
The pub was packed, warm bodies pressing all around him as Thorin moved towards the bar. Dwalin had dragged him out to this stupid bar so he could have a secret rendezvous with his boyfriend. Ori was a sweet guy with his auburn hair and hazel eyes and freckles, the unknowingly perfect compliment to Dwalin’s gruff exterior, bald head and tattoos. Ori’s older brothers, however, didn’t seem to share the sentiment, so here they were sneaking about like a couple of teenagers.
Thorin was glad he’d opted for just a short-sleeved t-shirt instead of grabbing a jacket. As it stood, he was pulling a hair tie out of his pocket and pulling his long hair back into a low ponytail. He stepped up to the corner of the bar, handing over his credit card to start a tab as he ordered his beer. As he waited, Thorin turned and used his height to his advantage to scan over the crowd of people.
Off in the far corner at a small table, Ori and Dwalin were deep in conversation. As he glanced over the rest of the occupants, Thorin felt someone watching him. He turned to glance down the line of the bar. There, leaning against the half-wall that separated the bar area from a series of tables, was a shorter man, probably around Ori’s age with a shock of dirty-blond curls. His dark eyes scanned over Thorin’s figure in an appreciative manner, which in and of itself was not entirely unusual, it was the younger man’s reaction to being caught that had him intrigued.
As their gazes locked, he seemed to start, his eyes widening and lips parting in almost comical shock as a dark blush spread across his round cheeks. Thorin arched an eyebrow as the blond blinked a few times before settling back against the wall as if he were at ease, cocking his head ever-so-slightly to the side. He watched Thorin with coy half-smile that he found himself wanting to devour.
Well, that was certainly interesting. Not that the younger man wasn’t attractive, he just didn’t usually take to someone so quickly. Under that watchful gaze, Thorin took in the rest of his appearance. He wore a solid deep green shirt with a shallow v-neck that fitted his slender frame nicely, paired with medium wash jeans and battered sneakers. His build was average, soft without being pudgy, with a small bone structure.
His posture was intentionally made to look relaxed, with one ankle crossed over the other. He had braced one elbow on the low wall to his back; a half empty beer dangling from his fingers while the other hand was tucked into a pocket. Everything about this man screamed creature comforts, like reading in front of a fire every night, and yet he was interested in Thorin with his long hair and trimmed beard and tatted forearms. This man peaked his curiosity and he found himself quite interested in at least talking to him.
The bartender came back with his beer, and he turned to accept the glass with a nod of thanks. When he turned back, the younger man’s eyes snapped up from where he’d obviously been appraising Thorin’s arse with another charming blush. A smirk crossed his lips unbidden as he moved casually towards the younger man, who’s gaze flickered down to his lips briefly.
Thorin leaned against the unoccupied bit of wall next to the man, watching him out of the corner of his eye as he took a sip of his beer. The man beside him was about a head shorter, which simply made him all the more adorably attractive. His dark gaze never left Thorin, and as he lowered his glass, the shorter man spoke, “Well, hello there.”
His voice was pitched higher than his own, but still held warmth that washed over Thorin as he replied, “Hello.”
“I’m Bilbo,” He smiled, extending his hand, which Thorin took as he introduced himself. Bilbo’s hand was, like everything else about him, soft and smaller than Thorin’s. It fit perfectly in his palm and his grip was solid and strong without being too tight.
“So what brings you here? Other than a good pint that is.” Bilbo smiled brilliantly up at him.
“A friend of mine is on a secret date, so I tagged along to make his presence here more innocent if one of his boyfriend’s siblings happened to show up.” Thorin replied truthfully.
“Well, I’m glad I’m not the only chaperone here tonight.” Bilbo sighed, taking a sip of his drink, “Honestly, I understand wanting to keep your family safe, but this is just over the top.”
“So you are here for Ori?” Thorin smirked at the bewildered look the blond gave him, “Your description of his family is spot on, although I don’t really mind Nori so much.”
“No, Nori isn’t too bad when he isn’t busy trying to nick your stuff.” Bilbo replied dryly. Thorin actually laughed at that, a full laugh that had Bilbo chuckling with him.
Their conversation flowed a little easier after that, much easier than his last conversation with a complete stranger. He wasn’t quite sure how long they had been talking when his cell phone began to ring, the frankly annoying tune signaling that one of his nephews was calling. He dug the phone out of his pocket, seeing Fíli’s name.
“Fíli?” Thorin answered, stepping away from Bilbo with a mouthed apology. The blond simply shrugged with a reassuring smile.
“Hi uncle!” He could hear Fíli grinning, probably at his little brother’s expense, “Mum wanted me to call you and say that Dori has left.”
“And how long ago was that?” Thorin sighed, knowing that the last time Dís asked one of her sons to call him, they’d waited twenty minutes. That had almost been a disaster for young Ori, though it seemed to have blown over.
“Not five minutes ago.” The boy sounded almost offended, “I’m not forgetful like Kíli, you know.”
In the background he could hear the boy in question squawking indignantly and couldn’t help the fond smile that crossed his face, “Alright Fíli, be nice to your brother. Thanks for calling. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Ok! See you then! Bye uncle!”
He ended the call, opening his text messages and shooting the warning to Dwalin. Not waiting for the reply, Thorin turned to head back to Bilbo only to see him in a conversation with a woman. She had long deep brown ringlets and wide chocolate eyes that he could see the smolder behind from here. He could also see most of the way down the front of her shirt as she leaned into Bilbo’s personal space.
Thorin couldn’t help the sharp spike of jealousy that slammed into him. It was odd, really, because he had no right to feel like this and it gave him pause. What right did Thorin have to interfere; he didn’t know if Bilbo liked women as well. He decided to take a second to assess the situation. Thorin couldn’t see Bilbo’s face, but the tense set of his shoulders and the rigid line of his back told him that the blond was not comfortable.
With that decided, he drained his drink before stepping back over, running through different plans of attack. As he neared, he could hear the blond telling her that he really wasn’t interested and that decided his next move for him. Stepping up next to Bilbo, he placed an obvious hand in the center of his back just between his smaller shoulder blades, leaning in a bit closer than he might normally, “Sorry about that.”
Bilbo looked up at him, relief flooding his navy gaze as he flashed a genuine smile, “Oh, no problem. I’m glad your back.”
“Excuse me, but we were in the middle of a conversation.” The woman said sharply through the gritted teeth of a false smile.
He offered her a perfectly polite smile as his hand slid up Bilbo’s back and curled around his shoulder. The smaller man shivered lightly at the touch, but leaned into it and allowed Thorin to take his weight. He could see the cracks around her smile and decided to toy with her a little, “Of course, I do apologize. Please feel free to continue.”
Bilbo had tensed beneath his hand, but relaxed again when he didn’t move. They both watched the woman expectantly as she floundered for the right thing to say before she settled on, “I’m terribly sorry, but it is a private matter.”
The ‘please go away’ was left implied, but he had been expecting that excuse, “Surely it can’t be too private, since you chose to discuss it at a bar where anyone could hear you.”
She positively spluttered, and there was no stopping the smirk that crossed his lips. Her chocolate gaze narrowed dangerously at him, but before she could say anything Bilbo put an end to his little game, “Besides, I do believe I have given you my final answer, which is no in case you have forgotten. We are done here, Lobelia.”
Lobelia turned her gaze to Bilbo imploringly as she whined, “Be reasonable. This would work better for the both of us. If you would only…”
“I believe he told you no, and that was his final answer.” Thorin cut her off with a growl.
She bristled, pointing a finger in his face, “This does not concern you, so stay out of it.”
Before he could so much as move, Bilbo was in between them, knocking her hand to the side as he snarled, “You will not disrespect my companion, Lobelia, especially when he is the reason I am refusing your offer.”
It took a moment for those words to sink in, but as the pieces started falling into place he finally understood. Well, that was one way to let someone know that you’d like to date them, bold yet subtle just like everything else about the man. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Dwalin signaling that he and Ori were getting ready to leave.
Thorin placed in hand on the back of Bilbo's neck, catching the blond's attention. When he turned, Thorin gave him his best salacious look, which made the shorter man blush charmingly again, "I believe it's about time we left, don't you?"
Lobelia made a scandalized noise that they both ignored. He watched as understanding bloomed behind Bilbo's navy eyes, but had to tramp down on his own blush as the Bilbo gave him an equally filthy look, "Oh, I do. Please lead the way."
Without another look at the gaping woman, Thorin tucked Bilbo against his side and began to move off. While he had expected an arm around his waist, he hadn't anticipated the hand that slid into his back pocket. He glanced down at the offender and laughed at the cheeky smirk and shrug he got in response. How on earth was he going to ask this man for his phone number in front of Dwalin and Ori?
When they reached the door, Bilbo slipped his hand from Thorin’s pocket and stepped out into the night. As soon as his foot hit the pavement, Ori grabbed the blond and pulled him into a tight embrace, “I am so sorry, Bilbo! I honestly didn’t see Lobelia until we were on our way out!”
“I’m fine, Ori, really.” Bilbo soothed, patting the other on the back, “Thorin handled it for me.”
Ori’s head shot up and turned to stare at Thorin, and he smiled, “Hi Ori.”
“Hello! Did you sock that vile woman in the face?” The young man sounded venomous, which was at complete odds with his typical calm personality. Thorin found himself sniggering while Dwalin thumped his boyfriend proudly on the back. Bilbo flushed a little, but chucked nonetheless.
“No, but I would gladly do so if given another opportunity.” He promised, glancing down at Bilbo.
“I just might take you up on that offer.” Bilbo smirked at him before turning back to Ori, “However, I assume that is a conversation for another night?”
“Yeah, Dori will be home soon.” The younger man replied, smacking Dwalin on the arm as he muttered something under his breath.
As the couple said their goodbyes, Bilbo reached up and pulled Thorin into a hug. He was a bit startled at first, but quickly wrapped the smaller man in his arms and buried his nose into his blond curls. As Bilbo stepped back, he paused and whispered into Thorin’s ear, “Thanks for tonight. Do call me sometime soon.”
Thorin felt himself flush a dark red as Bilbo pressed a kiss to his bearded cheek. The blond winked as he and Ori started down the street. He couldn’t help but wonder how he was supposed to call someone whose number he didn’t have. Thorin was about to run after him when he felt something snagging his back pocket.
What he pulled out was a business card for some professor, but on the back was a phone number with Bilbo’s name beneath it, followed by “I would very much like to know where else you have tattoos beyond your forearms”.
As they made their way back to Dwalin’s apartment, Thorin pulled out his cell phone and sent a quick text to his newest contact, “Give me a time and a place and I’ll gladly show you whatever you’d like.”
Not even two minutes later he got the response he’d hoped for, “You’re welcome to stop buy my place. I’m free anytime tomorrow.”
Oh, tomorrow would certainly be a good day.