Work Text:
Bilbo was struggling to find his feet in this new life, far removed from the calm of his rural Shire. Here, everything was different, especially the climate: cold, very cold and full of snow. Life was much more hectic in Erebor, a small town at the foot of the Mountain. He had only recently arrived in the city and all his free time had been taken up by moving into his little two-room apartment and his store, his bookshop. At last, after a good month's work opening his little world, everything was finally ready, and Bilbo could finally relax. And just as well, ever since his arrival in the city, he'd been drawn to a coffee shop. The little store was not even five minutes from his apartment, and the smell never ceased to attract him, not to mention the very original, art deco frontage, which appealed to him greatly.
Finally, Monday was the day he walked through the doors of The Lonely Mountain coffee shop. As he entered the store, the warmth and all the sweet and spicy flavors tickled his nostrils, along with the unmistakable smell of coffee. The heavy, dynamic music surprised him at first, with its heavy, fat, metal guitar sounds. Bilbo recognized this epic rhythm with clear, high-pitched vocals: power metal. He drew inspiration from these songs, with their epic fantasy lyrics, to create his little world of dwarves living on their mountain, whether in writing or drawing. Right away, Bilbo thought he was in a dwarf's royal room: all the walls were a deep royal blue and golden geometric shapes, very art deco. He had always imagined art deco as the architecture most representative of dwarves. Even the furniture had these straight, geometric shapes. Ideas for his story were already flowing into his brain, as was the desire to design this café. What a wonderful discovery! Now all he had to do was discover the sweet wonders on offer! He writes down each idea on his phone as he waited to order.
“Master Baggins?”
Surprised, he lifted his head from his phone at the sound of his name. A woman with long black hair and blue highlights stood before him behind her counter filled with cakes and pastries. Her strong build and muscularity still impressed him, highlighted by her tall stature, various piercings, tattoos and the white tank top she wore under her yellow apron. He looked down at her name tag to see who he was addressing: Dís.
“Hello there! But how do you know my name?”
“Good afernoon, Master Baggins! My boisterous boys keep telling me about the newcomer to our little town, and they have very persuasive ways of getting information from other inhabitants. They love rumors! They've seasoned their Ori cousin well, working at the town hall in archives and paperwork. But never mind! What can I get you, our future bookseller?”
She smiled warmly at him, and Bilbo had a good feeling about her; he already liked her a lot, not to mention this incredible coffee in every respect. He looked at the various hot drinks marked on the black slates with multi-colored chalk.
“I'll take your hot chocolate with maple syrup.”
“Got it! And something to eat to go with it?”
Bilbo looked at the array of pastries in the window, each more appetizing than the last: cinnamon, creamy or fruity. After several seconds of hesitation, he finally made his choice:
“I'll have that big cinnamon roll with the cream in the middle, and that’s all!”
Bilbo paid before looking for a comfortable place to settle down and concentrate as much as possible. At the far end of the coffee shop, in a corner between two shelves of books, was a large duck-blue sofa with a golden wall behind it for contrast. The perfect spot.
While waiting for his order, the bookseller sat down on the sofa and took out his sketchbook to sketch the place and some of the decoration details, such as the lamps and the finesse of the furniture. Dís finally brought him his drink and pastries, and Bilbo thanked her, barely able to concentrate on his work. The latter had seen some of her client's sketches involving dwarves. He'd get on well with Thorin. She smiled and prepared a plan for the men to meet and talk about their shared passion for dwarves.
*
The hours passed without Bilbo noticing. Once again, he consumed another drink and another pastry to refocus on his work, which was now writing. He rose to order again at the counter. The influence of coffee had increased as mid-afternoon approached, and he was now ready for a little break and a snack during the day. Still deep in thought, Bilbo made his way through the thread and continued to write on the notes on his phone.
“So, I'll take...” began Bilbo.
But he was interrupted by a tornado of long, raven-black hair and leather. The individual hurried past him, unscrupulous, out of breath and in a hurry. He held in his hands a whole pack of flyers and posters. A big black leather perfecto dressed him up with black denim pants, various chains and big boots.
“Hi, Dís! I'm in a rush, I don't have time to stay here too long, the guys are waiting for me, can you get me these flyers and put up a poster? It's for our next concert at Welcome to the Jungle bar!”
“Thorin...I don't have time for your dwarf group...I've got clients, and you always pick the wrong moment to show up at the shop!”
“I'm sorry, but I was just about to order,” said Bilbo, annoyed.
The stranger turned to see who had interrupted his conversation with his sister. He crossed his arms over his chest with a mischievous grin. Bilbo looked at him, his eyes closed in annoyance. He was obliged to look up as his interlocutor was so tall, not as tall as the waitress. He was greatly impressed by the man's big beard and blue eyes. He noticed Thorin's two piercings, one on his right arch and one in the middle of his lip.
“So, this is the half-man who's going to open his bookshop.”
Thorin looked him up and down, greatly appreciating what he saw before him.
“I'm the perfect size for a man, thank you very much! And to what do we owe this dramatic entrance like a dwarf king under the mountain for bothering me like this? “
Dís couldn't help laughing under his breath as she prepared coffees for his other customers. A perfect combination, these two.
“I, Thorin Durinsur, am looking for communication for my metal band's next concert.”
“I could tell. So, a big guy who loves dwarves, huh? And I'm pretty sure it's power metal. Very surprising,” laughed Bilbo.
Thorin began to blush at the repartee, which he hadn't expected from a small bookseller who was almost too puny for his muscular frame. He had no idea that he knew anything about metal, and especially not about the name of a sub-genre. Clothes don't make the man, Thorin. Bilbo was wearing brown velvet pants with a burgundy turtleneck sweater. The light reflected in his beautiful light-brown curls. A handsome half-man.
“I'll have a mountain tea, with a pain au chocolat, please, Dis,” Bilbo ordered again.
The bookseller had taken advantage of Thorin's silence to place his order. The musician hadn't realized how deep he'd been in his own thoughts, detailing every facet of Bilbo. He wanted so much to talk to him about the dwarf he seemed to know too. One sentence, quickly, to resume the conversation.
At first, Bilbo had been annoyed by Thorin's sudden burst into the store, but he had to have managed to embarrass him with his repartee, very well. A big teddy bear after all. Metalheads are all the same. He wanted to know more about this troublemaker. If he kept coming, maybe he could keep catching glimpses of him in the wind? And maybe one day I will even dare to buy him a cup of coffee?
“Here's your coffee as black as your mood, little brother! And with a bit of fantasy in this world with a nice fig cake!”
“I'm not your little brother, Dís! Thanks for the coffee! Master Baggins.”
Thorin handed him a flyer without another word. Bilbo couldn't stop smiling. He knew what he was going to do next weekend: go to his first power metal concert, just to see this big metalhead embarrassed by his little presence, but also to finally talk to him for hours and hours about dwarves. Bilbo didn't have time to greet him before Thorin had left the shop.
“I've never seen him leave the shop so quickly. And so embarrassed in his life. You can sit down again, Bilbo, I'm on my way to bring your drink.”
“And taciturn?”
“Oh no, that's Thorin's character! Are you going to his concert next Saturday?”
Bilbo looked at his flyer where several dwarves were drawn with their instruments, and Thorin was standing in the middle with a harp in his hand. So, he played harp? Or was it a more fantastic interpretation to match the fact that he played guitar or bass? He wanted to save the surprise for the concert.
“Well, yes, it'll give me a chance to relax a bit before my bookshop opens the following Monday!”
“Don't hesitate to ask me for help if you need it for the opening, or for snacks and drinks of my own for the opening!” offered Dís, still preparing the orders.
“Thanks a lot for the help, Dís! I could really use it, even if I am a pastry chef myself in my spare time!”
“Oh, how wonderful!”
What a wonderful surprise! A man who loved to cook and loved dwarfs! They were made for each other and a perfect match for Thorin! She was already looking forward to her future plans to set the two of them up together. The eyes couldn't lie, and the two had clearly taken a liking to each other. Oh, how exciting life in Erebor was going to be again!