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Of course Bilbo didn't have a close family or a lover to spend his days with at home in bag end, but that was different. In bag end he had the comfort of his home, on the long road to Erebor he didn't have the comfort or safety that came with bag end. And to top it off he was surrounded by families, he watched everyone have someone to be close with. He wasn't alone, he had Gandalf to talk to (when he wasn't off doing other things) and he had Bofur, fili and kili but that wasn't enough to keep him feeling safe and comforted all the time since he wasn't that close with them. Especially at night.
He had to admit he almost dreaded sleeping since he always felt so uncomfortable and scared to the point he never got a good night's rest. After one too many nights off this Bofur noticed it as Biblo stumbled over his feet too many times then a completely awake person did.
''Bilbo, you don't seem to sleep enough to keep up with all the walking'' said Bofur with a worried face as he tried making Bilbo stop for a bit. Bilbo just quickly shushed Bofur and whispered ''Don't say it too loudly, Thorin might hear and i don't need to seem like more of a burden to him than I already am.'' Bofur shook his head and just ended up walking close to Bilbo since he insisted on not telling anyone but he seemed a few steps away from falling over.
The company walked longer than normal in an attempt to find a shelter big enough for everyone since it wouldn't stop pouring down, in the end the best thing they found was a cave that had just enough room for everyone if everyone laid shoulder to shoulder. At first Bilbo hated the idea, i mean why would he wanna sleep closely to these snorking, sleep talking strange dwarfs!! Especially when he already struggled to sleep, but he was glad for the shelter so he tried not to sulk or be visibly annoyed.
After eating everyone started rolling out their bedrolls, Bilbo wanted a spot furthest into the cave in case the wind started blowing the rain into the cave but Fili and Kili had already claimed that spot. But he still didn't wish to be too close to the cave opening so he just cleared his throat and asked if they minded if he had his bedroll here with them.
Fili smiled and patted the ground by them and said ''You don't need to ask'', while Bilbo rolled out his bedroll Fili and Kili joked around til Thorin came over to put his bedroll down. In a line laid Bilbo, then Kili, then Fili and last Thorin. And very close by laid Bofur with his brother and cousin.
When Bilbo laid down to sleep he fell asleep way quicker than normally, despite the bad weather and cold temperatures. As Bilbo slept Fili and Kili who could not sleep still if their life depended on it had rolled closer to Bilbo then they were when they all went to sleep. As Bilbo finally slept deeply and soundly his tail wrapped around Kili's arm and held on the entire night. When everyone started waking up Kili was about to stand up when he felt that he was restricted by something, he paused for a second when he saw Bilbo's tail wrapped around his arm, he turned to Fili and yelled ''Look!!'' while pointing at the tail around his arm.
Fili laughed when he saw and Bofur walked over and said ''It seems the burglar doesn't only steal arkenstones, he must steal dwarfs too''. Kili got his hand out of the tail after a while but he didn't get free without waking Bilbo. As Bilbo yawned and stretched a bit he realized he actually felt well rested for once in this entire journey, when he went to get something to eat Bofur sat by Bilbo.
‘’So may I ask about that tail of yours?’’ Asked Bofur with a smile, Bilbo didn’t understand the sudden interest but he wouldn’t say no to answering some questions about hobbits so he just nodded and smiled back.
Before Bofur even got to ask himself Fili asked ‘’why would one wrap their tail around another?’’ Thorin tried to hide it but he kept an ear open in the conversation.
‘’ah, well that is usually a sign of affection. My mother would wrap her tail around me to make sure I didn't run off into trouble, you will often see it in the shire. Or kids holding onto their parents tail to keep up.’’ Bilbo explained with a smile as he thought of his mother, Fili and Kili shared a quick glance. ‘’So one usually does it for whom they feel maternal or paternal for?’’ asked Bofur, Bilbo nodded ones more
‘’Yes but it can also be something you do with friends, a cousin of mine was on a walking holiday outside of the shire, even outside of Bree, so when they all slept to keep safe they would sleep with their tail wrapped around each other’’ Bilbo said as he finished eating. Bilbo got up to pack his things and Fili turned to kili and said ‘’It seems master boggins views you as a wee pebble.’’ while laughing.
‘’I am not a pebble, you're the pebble’’ Kili said as he kicked Fili playfully. ‘’If im a pebble then your one too, im older then you’’ Fili said as he grabbed Kili and rubbed the top of his head roughly.
When everyone started walking, Bofur picked on the fact Bilbo seemed well rested and had enough energy to keep up without issues even while walking up rough terrain.
‘’Did you finally get a good night's sleep Bilbo?’’ Bofur asked as they walked side by side
‘’Shockingly yes, perhaps it was because we got a proper shelter. They feel safer’’ Bilbo said with a smile, Bofur thought for a bit and he could recall last time Bilbo got a good night's rest was when they were all in Rivendell and at that time everyone had to sleep close by since they were 14 and there were 5 beds, knowing that and the thing about Bilbo's cousin laying close by his friend during the night quickly made Bofur realise why Bilbo kept sleeping so badly.
When the day started getting closer to the end the company found yet another sleeping spot, this time the dwarfs were lucky enough for it to not be such shitty weather. Bilbo helped make food with Bofur and he couldn’t put his finger on why but even though he would now get more space for himself and not have a young dwarf roll almost on top of him that night. He wished it was like last night. He brushed it off and went to find some mushrooms for the stew, when he came back Bofur was talking to Fili and Kili but as soon as they saw him Fili and Kili wandered off.
‘’What’s that about?’’ Bilbo asked as he started cutting up the mushrooms he found, he didn’t get many but it was enough to add some more flavor to the stew. Bofur just babbled about sword fighting, something he knew didn’t interest Bilbo enough to ask more questions. After everyone was served dinner Bilbo set up his bedroll under a tree, and before he could fully lie down Fili and Kili stood over him smiling. He couldn’t get a word out before they both put their bedrolls on either side of Bilbo and started talking about random fighting techniques.
Bilbo looked confused for a second before he actually fully laid down on the bedroll. Thorin was smoking his pipe when he noticed Bilbo trying to sleep with Fili and Kili both talking over him about how they planned to slay orcs in battle. Thorin walked over to put his bedroll by Kili but he also put a finger up to his mouth signalling for them to quiet down since Bilbo.
When Fili and Kili quieted down and fell asleep Bilbo finally managed to fall asleep too and his tail quietly wrapped around Fili’s arm as he slept, but this time he held onto Kili's arm who was tossing and turning a little less when he got held down by a sleeping Hobbit.
Thorin always struggled to sleep so he saw this, Fili mumbling a bit and Kili tossing around and sleep talking whilst Bilbo held onto them both subconsciously. After staring for a bit Thorin snapped out of his stare when Dwalin who was on first watch spoke up and said ‘’You wish that was you huh.’’ as a joke but he was quickly met with an angry flushed face so Dwalin understood maybe his joke wasn’t wrong.
‘’Seriously? You’re actually jealous you’re over your nephews being treated like pebbles?’’ Dwalin said, chuckling a bit.
‘’I am not jealous. Why would I be? That’s just silly.’’ Thorin said with a huff as tried to calm his heart beat. ‘’I was staring because I was shocked they slept next to Bilbo and thought: I want more’’.
‘’Sure Thorin, sure.’’ Dwalin said as he rolled his eyes, Thorin just angrily said ‘’Well atleast i dont stare at a walking star fish who steals everything he can get his hands on’’.
Dwalin stared at Thorin for a while with an annoyed look before saying ‘’Touché.’’ and continuing to look out into the dark.
Thorin took a last glance at Bilbo before laying down to sleep himself, as if laying down made sleeping any easier for him.
The next morning Bilbo woke up from Fili and Kili getting out of his grip, when he realized what he had done he got very embarrassed and apologized but Fili and Kili just laughed and tried saying it was okay and that they didn’t mind. Kili asked ‘’So you think we will get into trouble during the night? You said parents hold onto their kids with their tails to stop them from running off, didn't you?’’.
Bilbo stuttered for a second before clearing his throat ‘’Well yes but um its not like i view you guys as some tiny faunts it is just a reflex probably, like faunts closing their hand if you put your finger or an object in their hand.’’
‘’Faunt?’’ Thorin said as he packed up his stuff. ‘’He means pebble’’ Bofur, who had heard many tales of the shire, said. And Bilbo nodded along to what Bofur said before he apologised again in fear he had overstepped a boundary but Fili and Kili insisted he hadn’t.
When everyone started walking Bofur asked Bilbo if he slept better when close to others because it made him feel safer. ‘’I only ask since you seem more well rested and you mentioned your cousin sleeping close and holding onto his friend for safety’’.
Bilbo looked a bit embarrassed admitting to the dwarfs yes he did sleep better cuz he had someone to hold onto. ‘’It is normal for hobbits.’’ he said kind of defensively since he was a bit embarrassed he needed to hold onto someone to feel safe around a bunch of dwarfs used to this.
Bofur chuckled and patted Bilbo on the back, ‘’well it seems Fili and Kili don't mind sleeping by your side, and I don't either.’’ said Bofur with a smile. Thorin overheard this from not far away and his jaw clenched and his mood quickly went moody, he could handle Bilbo being close to his nephews since it was like Bilbo was also Fili and Kili's uncle through him. But Bofur is not the same, Bofur may be a competition..
Thorin suddenly turned his head to Dwalin and grabbed his arm. He whispered ‘’Do you think Bofur likes Bilbo?..’’ into Dwalin's ear before turning back and quickly glancing at Bofur, Dwalin just whispered back ‘’I don’t know, but you make a move you are ahead of the competition’’.
They got to the next rest stop and Bofur made food with Bilbo again today, Dwalin was busy talking to Nori when Thorin walked over and tilted his head towards Bilbo's and Bofur's direction. Dwalin just stared at him for a second before whisper shouting in khuzdul ‘’if it bothers ye so much, go talk to Bilbo so you have his attention.’’ before turning back to Nori.
Thorin thought of something to say before he figured teaching Bilbo to use the sword would be a good way to bond, he walked up to Bofur and Bilbo and cleared his throat before saying ‘’You are bad at sword fighting. You need to learn how to use the sword properly’’.
Thorin watched Bilbo's eyebrows furrow as he stared up at Thorin before he huffed and said ‘’My sword skills are just fine.’’ Thorin just stared at him for a second before turning to walk away just to be faced with Dwalin's dumbfounded look and Balin doing a face palm.
Thorin walked off grumbling to smoke a bit, why would Bilbo not accept his offer. By the time he got back to the camp he saw Bilbo asleep holding onto Bofur's arm, Thorin tried not to actually lose his head. He went to lay down by Fili and Kili but he could not sleep and ended up just taking someone's watch shift since he knew he wouldn’t sleep for a while.
The next morning Thorin had only gotten a little sleep and he was grumpy, when everyone started waking up he was finished packing up his stuff. While eating food Thorin kept looking over at Bofur and Bilbo who talked, he grabbed ahold of Fili's shoulder and whispered ‘’Be a third wheel’’. Fili and Kili who overheard stared at Thorin with mischievous smiles before walking over to do as Thorin said. Bilbo was quickly swept away from Bofur by Fili and Kili who did not mind helping make master Boggins their second uncle.
As they did their walking for the day Thorin would often glance back at Bilbo who was dealing with Fili and Kili the entire day since they did not leave his side, at all. When they started setting up camp Thorin put his bedroll down right next to Bilbo who was pulling some leaves out of his hair, Bilbo paused when he noticed Thorin.
‘’Is there a problem?’’ Thorin said sounding a bit angry but really he was just worried Bilbo didn’t want his company, Bilbo quickly shook his head no and continued on trying to get his hair nice and clean again. When he finished he put his bedroll down but he tried moving it a bit away from Thorin since he didn’t wanna bother him, meanwhile Thorin stared at him move an inch away with disappointment.
They all started eating dinner and Bilbo sat with Fili and Kili who told tales of their childhood in the blue mountains, and how awesome their amad was. After Bilbo finished eating he went back to his bedroll and sat down to rest. Thorin walked over after talking a bit with Dwalin who was starting to get fed up with Thorin complaining but being too scared to do anything.
When Thorin laid down he was on the edge of his bedroll to stay closer to Bilbo and he had his right arm that was closest to Bilbo out from his body a bit. Dwalin saw this from the other side of the campsite they had made and tried not to laugh out loud as Bilbo stared at Thorin who just laid there waiting.
‘’Thorin, what are you doing?’’ Bilbo asked with a hint of amusement in his voice, Thorin had seemed pretty much like an ass and now he acted like an attention sick faunt. Thorin just said ‘’I am attempting to rest.’’ while keeping his eyes shut. Bilbo got up and moved his bedroll so it was against Thorin’s bedroll, before laying down again.
‘’Good night, master dwarf.’’ Bilbo said as he grabbed ahold of Thorin’s arm and wrapped his tail around Thorin’s leg. ‘’Good night, burglar.’’ Thorin said quietly as his face grew redder and redder, Thorin clenched his eyes closed and tried to calm down.
When Thorin finally managed to calm down a bit he started to hear snickering from his nephews. Bilbo smiled when he heard Fili and Kili snickering and just patted Thorin's chest and said ‘’Ignore them’’ with a little giggle.
As Thorin laid with the hobbit he started hearing a low purring noise coming from Bilbo, Thorin’s heart raced as the cute noise continued. The jealous part of Thorin smiled proudly knowing he didn’t hear Bilbo purr while laying with Bofur.
After that every time they found a spot to rest for the night Thorin would follow Bilbo to wherever Bilbo put his bedroll, Fili and Kili would often join them but Thorin didn’t really share Bilbo. Thorin would lay down and wait to feel the small hand on his bicep and the fluffy tail tuft hit his thigh as it wrapped around him.
He had to admit he had never rested as well as he did when Bilbo was by his side, and Bilbo felt the same being by Thorin’s side.