Chapter Text
Gone were the days of jolting awake due to pain or fear. Instead, Bilbo got to wake slowly while snuggled in Thorin’s arms. Their mornings were not always lazy, what with Thorin being a king and all, but Bilbo still got to wake peacefully most of the time.
“We have to get up, love,” Thorin murmured against Bilbo’s curls. “We have a full day today.”
Bilbo made a negative noise as he pushed his face against Thorin’s chest. He thought about shifting so he could speak without mouthing at Thorin’s skin with every word but decided it wasn’t worth the effort. He was certain that Thorin could tell exactly how he felt about leaving their warm bed.
Thorin chuckled as he ran his hand down Bilbo’s spine. “You’re forgetting that we’re having breakfast with Balin this morning to sneak in a quick meeting. You know he'll just come in here and start talking to us while we’re in bed if we don’t get up.”
Groaning, Bilbo slowly moved until he could rest his chin on Thorin’s chest. He blinked slowly as he looked at his dwarf. “I don’t understand the need for pre-meeting meetings.”
Thorin hummed as he ran his fingers through Bilbo’s curls to push them out of his face. “He’s just trying to save us time later.”
“Yeah,” Bilbo said with a yawn as he pushed himself up to sit. “By taking up more of our time now. It’s fine. Let’s just get up and get ready for our day.”
“Burglar,” Thorin said as he caught Bilbo’s hand to keep him in their bed for a moment longer. “I will ask him to stop intruding on our breakfasts.”
“I enjoy eating with Balin,” Bilbo said as he turned back to look at Thorin and how he was lying in their bed looking absolutely delectable. “I just don’t want to always be talking about work while he’s with us. We could talk about other things, too.”
“Then I shall do my best to steer our conversation this morning toward better topics for you.”
Bilbo rolled his eyes but smiled as he got up from their bed. “See that you succeed.”
Thorin rumbled something else but Bilbo didn’t hear him as he left their room for their adjoining bathroom. He freshened up as he did every morning and then made his way out to their sitting room so that Thorin could complete his task of fixing his braids.
It wouldn’t do for the consort to walk around with messy braids. Dwarves would get the wrong idea.
They didn’t even make it to the breakfast table before Balin found them.
“Good morning,” Balin greeted as he bustled through the door with several papers in his hands “We’ve a lot to go over this morning so I figured we’d just start a bit early.”
“Balin,” Thorin grumbled as he did his best to not tug too hard at Bilbo’s hair. “We’re not ready for any official talk yet.”
“Please do continue with what you’re doing. I’ll get these read and then be on my way.”
Bilbo sighed but waved his hand for Balin to begin.
“Dale saw a record breaking amount of…”
Bilbo tuned out most of the news. Almost none of it was important for him and Thorin to remember. They’d only need to remember that there were reports regarding certain topics in case they needed to refer to them at a later time. That almost never happened but Balin always insisted.
“… and the snow that’s covering the road from Dale will need to be-“
“I’m sorry,” Bilbo said as he blinked back into awareness. “Did you say that it snowed?”
“Yes,” Balin answered with a smile. “All through the night. There's several feet of the stuff on the ground now. From the top of the gates, the whole world looks white.”
“Is that a problem?” Thorin asked Bilbo quietly as he tied off one of his braids. “Do you not like the snow?”
“Oh,” Bilbo said as he shook his head to feel his braids hit the sides of his neck. “No, no, the snow is fine. I was just planning to do things with the lads today but now I’m sure I won’t see hide nor hair of them all day long.”
“Why ever not?” Balin asked as he lowered his papers with a frown tugging his lips down. “Where do you think they’re going to be? We’ve plenty of dwarves to shovel the roads clear.”
“Shoveling?” Bilbo repeated as he turned to look up at Thorin as he furrowed his brows. “I don’t think the boys are going to help with the shoveling. But it’s the first major snowfall we’ve had here since we retook the mountain.”
“It snowed last year, love,” Thorin reminded him.
“Since you’ve all healed,” Bilbo said in exasperation as he shook his head. “The first major snowfall since we retook the mountain and you’re not on your deathbeds.”
“True,” Thorin murmured. “But why does that matter?”
“Well,” Bilbo said again as he glanced back at Balin. “Won’t the boys want to go out and play in it? If we were in the Shire we wouldn’t see even a toe of any of the hobbits under the age of thirty-three. They’d be out playing all day long.”
Balin and Thorin exchanged looks before Thorin cleared his throat. “Playing what, exactly?”
Bilbo felt his mouth drop open. He looked from one dwarf to the other before he shook his head and covered his eyes with his hand. “Are you telling me that dwarves do not go out and play games in the snow? You don’t make snow shadows or snowmen?”
“While I can guess as to what those are,” Balin said slowly as he met Bilbo’s gaze again, “dwarves don’t really play in the snow.”
Bilbo turned back to Thorin in shock. “Thorin,” he said seriously as he got up and moved until he could take one of his dwarf’s hands into his. “Be honest with me, have you ever gone out to play in the snow?”
Thorin took a moment to really think over Bilbo’s question. “No,” he said finally. “I don’t believe I have.”
“Then that settles it,” Bilbo said as he pat Thorin’s hand. “Balin, I’m afraid you’re going to have to do without me and the lads for today. We’ll be busy.”
With that, Bilbo pushed himself up onto his toes, kissed Thorin goodbye, and strode out the door.
XXX
“You want to do what exactly?” Ori asked as he shelved another book into the correct place in Erebor’s massive library.
“We’re going outside,” Bilbo said with a small smile. “You’ll want to dress warmly. It snowed and we’re going out to play.”
Ori slowly looked around the dusty room at all the stacks of books and parchment that he was slowly organizing and putting away. “Outside? In the cold?”
“Yep!”
“Bilbo, I-“
“I won’t take no for an answer,” Bilbo told him seriously as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I want to show you the way that hobbits like to play in the first snowfalls. And, if I’m being completely honest, I haven’t built a snow fort in a very long time so I was hoping you’d help me. I know that you’re very smart and that you’ve probably read about a lot of different ways to build things.”
“Well,” Ori said as he stood up a little straighter. “I’ve definitely read a few books on engineering.”
“See,” Bilbo said as he hooked his thumbs in the pocket so of his waistcoat. “I knew that you were the right person to ask. I’m going to find Fili and Kili and get them to join us so we’ll have someone to do all the heavy lifting while we do all the thinking and planning.”
Ori looked back at the work waiting for him. “And I just have to dress warmly?”
“That’s all,” Bilbo said with a nod.
“All right,” Ori sighed as he put the parchment in his hands to the side. “I’ll go get dressed and meet you at the gates.”
“Don’t take too long,” Bilbo said with a grin as he started to back away from the dwarf. “We wouldn’t want Fili and Kili to make a mess of things without you there to come up with a good plan.”
“I’ll hurry,” Ori said with a nod and a small smile tugging at his lips. “You can count on me.”
Bilbo waved as he stepped out into the hall. He put a bit of pep in his step as he went in search of the boys. “Oh, Ori,” he muttered to himself. “I have every bit of faith in you.”
XXX
“And where do you think you’re going?” Dori asked as Ori rushed around their rooms collecting extra pieces of clothing and putting them on. “Especially dressed like that?”
“Bilbo came and found me in the library earlier,” Ori huffed as he put on another sweater. “We’re going outside to build snow forts with Fili and Kili. He wants me there to come up with a good design.”
“You’re not an engineer,” Nori drawled from where he was leaning against the doorframe. “Why would he ask you?”
Ori struggled with his jacket for a moment before he got it on. “You’re just jealous because he asked me and not you!”
“Sure,” Nori said with a yawn. “That’s definitely true.”
“Ori,” Dori said as he shot Nori an unimpressed look. “It’s cold outside in the snow. Are you sure you want to go out there?”
“Bilbo said to wear extra clothing to stay warm. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“But-“
“Look,” Ori said a bit impatiently as he went in search of his hat and gloves. “I already told Bilbo I’d meet him at the gates. I have to go.”
Dori tsked as he watched Ori gather his things. “Well, I’m going with you. Someone has to make sure the lot of you don’t catch your deaths.”
“You don’t need to!” Ori said as he turned to look at Dori before he turned to his other brother. “Tell him we’ll be fine, Nori!”
“Oh, no,” Nori said with a sharp grin. “I’m coming, too. There’s nothing I’d enjoy more than watching the lot of you try and make some sort of building out of snow.”
Ori huffed before he stomped his way to the door. “Fine, but you better stay out of our way. Bilbo is really excited about this.”
“Sure, sure,” Nori said as Dori continued to gather stuff up. “I’ll see you at the gates.”
XXX
“So you’re telling me,” Bofur yelled over the hammering sounds of the dwarves around him and Nori working to re-stabilize one of the mines, “that you’re going to watch Bilbo and the lads build some sort of snow building? For what?”
Nori shrugged as he watched Bofur sidestep several dwarves carrying large stones by him. “I don’t know but Ori said that Bilbo said he wanted him there to design it.”
“Well, that’s not going to work! Ori’s not an engineer!”
Nori bit back a smirk as he nodded with a bit of a shrug. “That’s what I said!”
“They’re just going to make a mess,” Bofur said as he ran a hand down his face. “Let me get things settled here and I’ll meet you at the gates with Bifur!”
“Bilbo’s only advice for being out in the snow is to dress warmly. So make sure you layer up!”
Bofur nodded as he turned away from Nori as he waved the other dwarf off. He went in search of the foreman and made sure she was good before he took off through the mountain.
Bifur was easy to find. He was whittling away in their rooms near the fire. The ax might have been gone from his head and he could speak basic sometimes but he still relapsed and had bouts of confusion. It was better to leave him to his toy making and wood-crafting.
“Bifur,” Bofur greeted as he rushed by him. “You’ve got to get dressed. We’re needed at the gates. Put on your warmest clothes.”
Bifur lowered his project down into his lap. “The gates?”
Bofur nodded as he popped just his head out of his doorway to look at his cousin. “Bilbo and the lads are going outside to play in the snow. They’re building something and I have a feeling they’re going to need our help.”
“Our help?” Bombur questioned as he stepped out of their little kitchen with a steaming baking pan in his gloved hands. “What are we supposed to do?”
“Bombur! I didn’t know you were coming over here today.” Bofur said with a grin as he rested his hands on his hips and just looked at his brother for a moment. “We’re helping him with the engineering aspect of his building.”
“A building made out of snow?” Bombur questioned as he frowned a bit. “Is that even going to work?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Bofur said with a shrug. “We’ve got to dress warmly and get a move on.”
Bifur set his whittling project in the basket near his chair. Slowly, he got to his feet. “I’ll find my jacket.”
“You might want to put on two!” Bofur called as he hurried back into his room. “Who knows how long we’ll be out there!”
Bifur grumbled a bit as he stretched and then began to trudge toward his room.
Bombur watched both of them go before he looked down at the pan of bread in his hands that he’d just pulled from the oven. “Are we going to eat these first?”
“We could eat them on our way to the gates!”
Bombur sighed as he turned back to the kitchen. “Fine, I’ll put some of them away and get my jacket.”
XXX
Gloin frowned as he watched Bofur rush past him. He turned and watched Bombur hurry after him. He caught Bifur’s arm. “What’s wrong? Where are you rushing off to?”
Outside, Bifur signed after he tugged his arm free. Building snow burglar.
“The burglar?” Gloin questioned as he looked past Bifur to where Bofur was circling around without slowing down to see what the holdup was. “Our burglar?”
Yes.
“Bifur,” Bofur yelled from down the hall. “Let’s go!”
Bifur began backing away from Gloin. Outside, he signed again. Then he was gone.
Gloin frowned at the crowded hallway before he turned to continue on with his day. He made it only a few steps before he stopped and looked back over his shoulder. “Mahal knows what those fools are up to.”
He shook his head and turned again to keep going but stopped after only a few steps. He looked back over his shoulder once more. “If they want to waste their day with that nonsense then that’s on them.”
Gloin resolutely turned away from the direction that he’d watched the others rush off into. He didn’t manage to take even a step before he was sighing.
Looking down at his boots, Gloin ran a hand down his beard. “They’re going to get themselves hurt. I better go get Oin.”
XXX
Bilbo grinned as he stood just inside the door that led outside near the gates. He didn’t think they needed to heave the huge doors open when the small ones were perfectly suited for their purpose.
Fili and Kili lounged together just off to the side of the door where Bilbo stood waiting.
“Are you sure that Ori’s going to show up?” Fili asked as he tipped his head back against the wall. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he got distracted in the library again.”
“Dori’s always pulling him out of there to eat,” Kili agreed as he slumped against Fili. “It could just be the three of us building the fort.”
“Oh, no,” Bilbo said as he planted his hands on his hips and turned to look further into the mountain. “Ori will show. And he’ll bring the rest of the company with him.”
“What?” Kili asked as he perked up a bit. “The rest of the company? I thought you said you only told us and Ori.”
“I did,” Bilbo said with a firm nod. “But I can guarantee you that everyone will show.”
“Guarantee?” Fili asked as he sat up. “What are you going to guarantee?”
“Hot chocolate,” Bilbo said without hesitation. “The good stuff.”
“But Bombur doesn’t make that for just anyone!” Kili all but gasped as he got to his feet. “The last time someone suggested that he make it he told them to kick rocks!”
Bilbo smirked as he glanced back at Fili and Kili without fully turning around. “But that person wasn’t me and today will be different.”
“Because of the snow?” Fili skeptically questioned. “I doubt that.”
“Then what do you want to bet on?” Bilbo asked as he turned back to the hall. “Think fast because I can see Ori and Dori.”
Kili moved to Bilbo’s side and made a shocked noise in the back of his throat. “They are coming!”
“Ori and Dori are not the rest of the company,” Fili reminded them as he narrowed his gaze on Bilbo. “And I bet morning meetings that not everyone will show.”
“Deal,” Bilbo said without hesitation. “If the whole of the company shows here and goes outside with us then you’ll have to do the morning meetings with Balin for a month.”
“I’m still winning because I’ll get hot chocolate,” Fili said as he nodded, “but I’ll take the deal.”
“This doesn’t seem like a very good bet,” Kili whispered as he watched Ori and Dori bicker as they made their way over.
“Shush,” Bilbo whispered before he smiled. “Ori! There you are! And you brought Dori, how nice.”
“Bilbo,” Dori said as he tried to catch his breath. “Will you please tell Ori that I can come, too? If strength is what you need then I’ve got plenty of it.”
“I would be delighted if you joined us,” Bilbo said with a magnanimous smile. He dipped his head before he turned back to the hall.
“Our number might now be five but that’s not even close,” Fili called from his spot.
“Ah, Nori,” Bilbo said with a sharp grin sitting on his lips as he waved. “Are you joining us, too?”
“Someone has to make sure you don’t get into any trouble,” Nori said with an easy grin as he sauntered out of the crowd of dwarves going about their business.
Dori’s eyebrows shot up his forehead. “You’re going to keep us out of trouble?”
“I’m going to make sure we don’t get caught,” Nori replied as his grin turned a bit more devious. “You’re not in trouble if no one catches you.”
“That’s not how that works,” Dori muttered as Kili and Fili started to laugh.
“Bilbo!” Bofur called as he waved from across the room. He took his hat off his head to wave it through the air before he started to jog over. “I heard that you need an engineer so Bifur and I are here to help!”
“Oh, did you,” Bilbo said as he tried not to laugh. “Well, you’re not wrong. We’re going to be building snow forts and could definitely use advice from someone who knows what they’re doing.”
“We don’t know anything about building with snow,” Bifur grunted as he trudged up. “Not much help.”
Bilbo’s smile softened as he greeted Bifur with a pat on his arm. “You’ll be perfect.”
Bifur shrugged before he moved to greet the others.
Bilbo caught Fili’s eye and smirked at him even as Fili held up eight fingers. Just to be contrary, Bilbo lifted his brow before showing Fili nine. “Good to see you, Bombur,” he said without turning around. “Did you also come to help us construct our snow forts?”
“I don’t know anything about snow forts,” Bombur said softly as he stopped at Bilbo’s side. “But I’m happy to help however I can. I brought some freshly made rolls for us to eat before we go out. It’ll be good to have something hot in our stomachs before we spend time in the cold.”
“That sounds lovely,” Bilbo said as he took the offered roll. “I was just thinking a snack would be perfect.”
Bombur smiled sheepishly before he moved on to give some of his rolls to the others.
“Nine isn’t fourteen,” Fili called as he chewed.
“You need to learn how to count,” Bilbo called back as he gestured to Gloin making his way toward them. “I understand now why Kili is the archer. His eyes are much keener than yours.”
Kili laughed as he nudged his brother.
Fili grumbled a bit but didn’t do much to hide his pleased expression at the sight of not only Gloin but Oin, too.
“Burglar,” Gloin yelled as he got closer to them. “I heard that you’re about to do something foolish. Oin and I came to make sure you don’t hurt yourself.”
“Outside in the cold?” Oin muttered as he crossed his arms over his chest. “There’s no need for that.”
Bilbo grinned as he patted Oin’s arms. “Outside in the cold is exactly where we should be. Especially after such a beautiful snowfall.”
“Whatever you say, Burglar,” Gloin said with a roll of his eyes. “Now, who has more of those biscuits I see Ori munching on?”
Bilbo turned to their forming group as he planted his hands on his hips. “All right, listen up please! We’re going to go out into the snow and play for a bit. It’s going to be cold but we’ll be moving around. If you start feeling sharp pains in your fingers or toes then you need to take a break and return to the mountain to warm up.”
“Listen to him,” Oin agreed as he turned his hard gaze on his companions. “I won’t hesitate to remove your frost bitten toes if you stay outside for too long.”
Ori swallowed hard as he looked down at his mitten covered hands. “I don’t want to lose any toes.”
“Then come inside if you get too cold,” Dori told him.
“Eleven is a pretty good number,” Fili said before anyone else could say anything else. “But it still isn’t fourteen.”
Bilbo shook his head as he looked up at the ceiling. “Oh, Fili. We’ve been through so much together. I’d have thought you’d have more faith in me by now.”
“I know what I’m about,” Fili said firmly.
“Are you being hard on Bilbo?” Thorin asked as he came down off the gate with Dwalin and Balin just behind him.
Fili gaped at his uncle in shock.
Thorin greeted Bilbo with a chaste kiss. “There’s plenty of drifts like you described not too far outside the gates. Will that work?”
“It’ll be absolutely wonderful,” Bilbo assured him. “Now that we’re all here, we can get started. This is going to be a competition! There will be two teams. Each team is going to build a fort and then we’ll decide which one is better.”
“And how will we decide?” Gloin asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Bilbo thought it was best not to mention all the crumbs in Gloin’s beard. “You shall see. If we’re all ready, let’s head outside. Fili, Kili, Ori, Balin, Bofur, and Oin, I’ve claimed you lot as my team.”
“The rest of you are with me,” Thorin told them as he rested his hand on Bilbo’s back and guided him toward the door out of the mountain. He ignored all the dwarves craning their necks to watch him and his consort walk past them. “Honestly, we’re the better team.”
Bilbo not so subtly elbowed Thorin in the side. “You bartered for ten minutes to get Balin on your team and still lost.”
“Shush you,” Thorin murmured as they left the mountain.
The snow was blinding as they walked out into the sunlight. It was so white and pure looking that they all had to blink their eyes to get them to adjust.
“It’s just so…” Ori started and trailed off as he looked around with wide eyes.
“Beautiful,” Dori finished for him with a hint of awe in his voice.
“You got me out here,” Dwalin grunted after several minutes of them all just looking around. “You better make this worth my time.”
“Build the better fort,” Bilbo said with a smirk as he started to pull the dwarves that he’d claimed away from Thorin’s team. “And maybe it will be.”
Dwalin glared at their hobbit before he turned to duck his head to listen to what his group was whispering.
Bilbo gathered his dwarves around in a circle and made certain they were far enough away from Thorin’s group that he didn’t need to worry about them overhearing. “We’re building a fort,” he told them as he got serious. “But it isn’t just any fort. It has to withstand an assault.”
“An assault,” Fili questioned lowly. “What are you talking about?”
“In the Shire,” Bilbo muttered back. “We build these forts and then have a snowball fight. We’ll pack the snow into little balls and throw them at the other team. You aren’t out if you get hit, but it isn’t exactly pleasant. The goal is to beat the other team down enough with snowballs that their fort fails. That’s how we win.”
“You let Thorin and Dwalin be on the same team,” Kili whispered harshly. “That was a mistake!”
“You don’t need to worry about Dwalin,” Balin said as he started looking around the snow with more interest. “I’ll handle my brother.”
“And Dori!” Ori’s voice went a bit too high. He swallowed before he tried again. “You gave Thorin Dori!”
“But he’s also got Nori,” Bilbo reminded them. “Dori can’t do anything if he doesn’t know exactly what Nori is up to.”
“Bilbo,” Bofur said in awe. “You are a tactical genius.”
Smirking, Bilbo gave them a small bow. “You can leave Thorin to me. He knows that the snowballs are a thing that they need to make but I didn’t fully explain why they were so important.”
“We’ll need to divide our tasks up without the other team understanding what exactly we’re doing," Balin said to the others as he glanced over at where Thorin’s team was already moving snow.
“I’m not good with architecture,” Oin told them. “Start building our fort and I’ll sit behind it and start packing snowballs with Kili.”
“Why me?” Kili asked as he pointed at his own face. “Why am I making the snowballs?”
“Who has the best arm, lad?” Oin asked as he patted Kili on the shoulder. “I suspect you’re going to throw most of them.”
Kili puffed up his chest as he didn’t bother to hold back his proud grin. “I’ll get in a couple of practice throws away from the others so they won’t expect it when we begin the assault.”
“Bofur and Ori,” Bilbo said as he turned to them. “I’m counting on you for our design. Fili and I will move the snow however you need us to. Balin is here for tactical advice. I’m sure he’s already got the perfect spot picked out.”
“Oh, yes,” Balin told them as he smiled. He ran his hand down his beard and tucked it into his belt so it would be out of his way. “Let’s get started.”
XXX
“All right, burglar!” Gloin bellowed from the top of their fort. “We’re both done with our forts! How do we decide whose is better?”
“Did you make the little balls?” Balin called back from inside their fort.
“Aye,” Dwalin said with a roll of his eyes. “We made them.”
“Good,” Bilbo said as he peeked over the top of their fortified wall. “I would hate to attack someone unarmed.”
“What?” Nori barely managed to say before the tip of his hair was hit by a snowball. He blinked before he turned to look at Ori. “Did you just?”
Ori grinned as he held up another snowball. “What are you going to do about it?”
“Ori!” Dori started to scold. “You shouldn’t-“
His words were cut off by a snowball hitting him square in the face.
Fili and Kili snickered as they got their own piles of snowballs ready. “Did you see his face?”
“Yeah,” Bofur said with a grin. “It’s full of snow.”
Dori wiped the snow from his cheeks as he glared at each of them in turn. “You’re going to wish you hadn’t done that.”
Ori responded by throwing another snowball.
“Bilbo,” Thorin called from their fort. “Why didn’t you tell me that’s what these balls were for? I thought maybe it was some sort of counting system and whoever had the most won?”
“Well,” Bilbo said as he picked up a few of the smaller snowballs that he’d made for himself. “You didn’t ask.”
“If a war is what you want!” Gloin roared from the top of their fort. “Then a war is what you’ll get!”
“Bombur,” Dwalin yelled as he disappeared back into their snow fort. “Make them huge! I want them to hurt!”
“Excellent,” Bilbo muttered as he managed to catch Thorin’s gaze just as he looked over the wall at him. He smirked at his husband before he retreated into their fort. “Get ready, boys. We have the advantage because they built for beauty rather than strength. We have to hit them with everything we’ve got.”
“Don’t worry, Bilbo,” Kili said as he tossed a snowball up into the air and caught it. “We’re ready.”
“Show no mercy,” Balin said as he turned toward the other fort. “We are dwarves.”
Fili narrowed his gaze as he picked up two snowballs. “We’ll never surrender.”
Bilbo laughed as he set them loose. With Oin packing snowballs, the others were able to throw them at the other fort in a relentless barrage. Not even Thorin’s team starting to throw back could slow them down.
“Focus on that support wall,” Balin yelled from his vantage point. “Let’s take them down!”
“You wish!” Dwalin bellowed before he ran out from behind their fort while throwing one snowball after another at his brother up on the wall.
Balin ducked out of the way just in time.
“Now!” Thorin yelled.
Bilbo’s eyes widened as he watched a much bigger snowball get thrown up into the air from behind the other fort. It had to have been thrown by more than one dwarf to manage to be airborne, even with Dori on their team. “Incoming!”
They ducked under their cover just as the giant snowball arched down at them.
“Kili!” Bilbo called as he began to dig himself out of the snow from the giant ball that hit and broke near where he’d been hiding. “Hit them with a barrage!”
Kili let out a war cry before he jumped up out of his hiding spot and began walloping the other team with snowballs.
Unsurprisingly to his team, Ori joined him.
As hard as they tried, Thorin’s team could not return fire as quickly as Bilbo’s team. Slowly, the dwarves on Bilbo’s team started to take out the wall that Balin had told them to focus on.
Thorin, caught on and began pelting his nephews with snowballs whenever he caught sight of one or the other. He yelled directions to the dwarves on his team, who listened to him without hesitation.
“Bilbo,” Balin called as he ducked to avoid a snowball that Nori had tried to snipe him with. “If you’re going to do something about Thorin then it needs to be now!”
Bilbo turned to look over the short distance that separated them. He caught the way Thorin stood in command of their fort and how he looked very handsome as he commanded his troops. “Don’t worry,” he called back to Balin. “I’ll handle him.”
“Then do it!” Kili yelped as he dropped to avoid another snowball to the side of his head. “Our fort is in good condition but if they keep us pinned down then we’ll be in for a siege.”
Bilbo waved them off as he left his spot along the wall. He passed Oin and patted him on the shoulder before he stepped out from behind the fort. He glanced over and caught Thorin’s eyes before he went behind a hill of snow.
Thorin was always aware of him. Bilbo knew well enough that he could not go anywhere or do anything without Thorin knowing. He didn’t mind having Thorin’s attention on him. In fact, in this case, it was exactly what he wanted.
“You shouldn’t have left the protection of your fort,” Thorin said as he found Bilbo out in the drifts. “And you definitely shouldn’t have gone so far out while trying to circle around behind us.”
“Circle around?” Bilbo questioned as he leaned back against a snowbank so he could look up at Thorin from under his lashes. “You think I’m trying to get behind you?”
“Weren’t you?” Thorin said lowly as he stepped closer to his hobbit. He settled himself in front of Bilbo so that he could not move past him and was effectively trapped between him and the snowbank behind him. “What other reason could you possibly have for coming out here then?”
“Well,” Bilbo said as he tipped his head back and looked up at Thorin through lidded eyes. “Maybe I just wanted to get you alone.”
“Sure,” Thorin murmured to him as he dipped his head to put him closer to Bilbo. He rested his hand on the snowbank above Bilbo’s head. “Maybe you should surrender now.”
“Surrender?” Bilbo asked as he arched up into Thorin without touching him. “Why should I?”
“I’ve got you trapped.”
“No,” Bilbo whispered as he dug his hands into the snowbank behind him. “I’ve got you exactly where I want you.”
Thorin moved to kiss his hobbit as Bilbo went to wrap his arms around his neck. He just wasn’t expecting the cold sensation of snow melting down the back of his coat. “What?”
Smirking, Bilbo ducked out from under Thorin’s arm and danced back away from his dwarf. “All is fair in war, love.”
Thorin growled as he tried to shake the snow out of his shirt. “That’s fucking cold, Bilbo.”
“Surrender,” Bilbo purred at him as he fluttered his lashes at Thorin. “And I’ll help you get warmed up again.”
Thorin huffed out a frustrated breath before he stopped to look at Bilbo again. “Never.”
Bilbo yelped as Thorin tackled him into a different snowbank. He laughed as they tumbled until he was cradled safely in Thorin’s arms. “You big dork! We’ll both be soaked!”
“I’m already wet and cold,” Thorin said as he grinned up at Bilbo. “This is only making it better.”
“Oh, you,” Bilbo smiled as he leaned down to brush his nose against Thorin’s. “I love you.”
“And I, you,” Thorin whispered back.
“Bilbo!” Kili yelled over the snow drifts. “You can come back! They surrendered!”
Thorin groaned but stayed still as Bilbo got up. He accepted his husband’s hand before they trudged back toward the forts together. His fort was in tatters but his teammates were laughing as they mingled with the others.
Oin was showing off his superb snowball making skills to the others and teaching Bombur how to get them more compact. Balin and Bifur were quietly talking about the structure of their forts and how to fortify them while making them accessible to the dwarves throwing the snowballs.
“This looks like it went well,” Thorin murmured in Bilbo’s ear as he wrapped his hobbit up in his arms.
“I think we all got so focused on working that we forgot to have a bit of fun, too. There’s more than reports and completing the next task.”
Thorin hummed his agreement.
“Let’s go in,” Bombur called to the others. “We can get changed into dry clothes and meet up in our dining hall for some hot chocolate!”
Fili turned to look at Bilbo with wide eyes.
Bilbo just smiled back at him.
“We’re doing this again next year,” Kili declared as they started to trudge their way back to the mountain.
“And from the look of it,” Balin said as he gestured to the top of the gates where a number of dwarves were watching them in various states of awe, “we won’t be the only ones participating.”
Thorin offered Bilbo his hand, which Bilbo took as he grinned up at his dwarf. “I think a new tradition is exactly what this mountain needs.”
“If my consort so declares,” Thorin whispered as he leaned down to press a kiss against Bilbo’s curls. “Then it shall be so.”
Chapter 2
Notes:
Special thanks to MikaToshino! You are the reason this chapter exists!
Enjoy~
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Bilbo woke slowly as he was wont to do. He sighed as he snuggled further into Thorin’s arms, enjoying his warmth and presence as his mind attempted to drag itself from its sleepy haze.
Then his eyes snapped open and he sat up to look down at his sleepily confused husband. “Thorin,” he breathed as he tried to contain his excitement.
“Relax, love,” Thorin mumbled as he tightened his arms around Bilbo. He didn’t want his hobbit to suddenly spring from their bed and ruin their morning cuddles. “I’m sure this brilliant plan that you’ve concocted will be pulled off without a hitch.”
Sighing, Bilbo dropped his head to rest his forehead against Thorin’s chest. “I sure hope so.”
“Will you be terribly disappointed if it doesn’t?”
Bilbo thought about that for a moment. Then he lifted his head and shook it. “No, I don’t think I will. There will be other opportunities.”
“And you do love to scheme,” Thorin reminded him as he relaxed his hold only so he could rub one of his hands up and down Bilbo’s spine. “I’m sure that if today doesn’t work then you’ll find another way to reach your lofty goals.”
“Lofty goals?” Bilbo arched one of his brows slightly up as he stared down at Thorin. “Would you like to hear what sort of lofty goals I have for this morning?”
Thorin hummed as he ran his hand slowly up Bilbo’s spine once more. “Do they, perhaps, align with my own?”
“I suppose,” Bilbo murmured as he leaned down to brush his nose against Thorin’s, “that we’ll have to find out.”
Thorin hummed as he threaded his fingers through Bilbo’s curls and pulled him down into a kiss.
“Uncles!” Kili screamed as he slammed through the door to Bilbo and Thorin’s room. “It snowed!”
“Kili!” Fili yelled from outside the bedroom. “I told you to let them wake up naturally!”
“They’re already awake,” Kili said with a roll of his eyes as he shook his head. “They’ve already gotten started on the gross stuff.”
“What?” Fili asked as he peeked his head into the room. “Oh, Uncles, I’m so sorry.”
Thorin didn’t move from where he had his eyes closed.
Bilbo just did his best to not start laughing in Thorin’s face as he stayed hovering over his husband.
“Kili,” Fili hissed. “Get out here now!”
“But,” Kili started before he just sort of wilted. “But it’s the first snow. It’s tradition.”
Fili ducked into the room and snagged his brother by the wrist. He dragged Kili out without daring to look at his uncles. “It’s only the third year! And we don’t start until later, anyway! Get out of here!”
Bilbo tucked his face into Thorin’s throat as the door to their room slammed shut. He could still hear the boys bickering out in the sitting room.
“Burglar,” Thorin groaned as he gave Bilbo a slight pat on the back. “I’ll be back in about ten minutes. I’m going to throttle my nephews.”
“No,” Bilbo laughed as he held onto Thorin so his husband couldn’t get away. “They’re just excited. I’m sure there are plenty of dwarves in this mountain that share Kili’s excitement.”
“I bet they do,” Thorin grumbled as he relaxed back onto their bed. “But if any of the rest of them come bursting in here while I’ve got you in my arms then you aren’t holding me back from teaching any of them a lesson.”
“What’s this?” Bilbo asked as he sat up just so Thorin could see the smirk tugging at his lips. “You’re going to fight off other dwarves for the right to warm my bed.”
“Gladly,” Thorin growled as he pulled Bilbo tight against him.
XXX
Bilbo stood on a small stage that they’d constructed inside the massive gates of Erebor for exactly this purpose. He cleared his throat as he looked around at all the dwarves milling in the massive entry hall. “All right!” he called to start drawing attention to himself. “Listen up, please!”
When his calls didn’t gather more than just a few people’s attention, he sighed to himself. Then he placed two of his fingers in his mouth and whistled sharply. The noise bounced off the stone and had everyone falling silent. “Thank you! Now, does everyone have their teams and their colors?”
Several dwarves out in the audience raised their arms to show off the ribbons of different colors that they’d had tied there. After the second year’s fiasco of dwarves secretly switching sides, they’d had to make up a new rule.
“Excellent,” Bilbo told them as he grinned. “Now, you all know the rules. You get two hours to construct your fort and begin making your snowballs. Only small trowels are allowed to help the process. You cannot bring any sort of weapon that is not made out of snow or ice. Snowballs are to only be made of snow. You cannot hide ice cores inside of them. The goal is to have fun, not maim your competition. If and when your team surrenders, please make your way to the gates. As we declared last year, the dwarves of such teams cannot join the remaining teams to bolster their numbers!”
Several of the dwarves huffed as they all nodded to Bilbo’s rules. They were exactly the dwarves that he needed to participate in the event that year. They would do a wonderful job.
“Now,” he called before he lost their attention. “As you may have heard, Thorin is unable to join us this year due to the delegation of elves scheduled to arrive at the mountain today.”
There were a few low boos from the crowd that Bilbo promptly ignored.
“Being as he will have to have several of our usual teammates with him to greet them, our team will be short a few players.” Bilbo stopped there just to see the way some of the dwarves looked up at him with greed in their eyes. “Not to worry, we shall make do.”
There were a few fallen faces but Bilbo paid them no mind as he grinned out at the crowd. “All right then! Let’s get to it!”
XXX
“The teams are larger this year,” Dori said as he stood by Bilbo’s side at the top of their fort’s wall.
“They are,” Bilbo acknowledged as he watched the other teams put the finishing touches on their fortifications. “Are you worried, Master Dwarf?”
“No, no,” Dori rushed to reassure Bilbo as he glanced over his shoulder at the significantly smaller number. “We’re a group that seems to like facing unsurmountable odds with a small number. And we usually succeed. So there’s no reason to fret.”
Bilbo smiled to himself as he kept his eyes on the other forts as Dori left to go help Oin finish making their snowballs. “Yes,” he whispered to the wind. “But we usually found friends along the way to help us out.”
The first year they only had two forts. It was easy to pick an area off to the side of the main gates to have their war. The second year they had to get a little more creative. The company formed one team and decimated the other three teams. They were still able to stay off to one side of the main road.
However, they had too many teams to make an arena. Bilbo was already worried that next year they’d have to create some sort of chart where they’d have to have a certain amount of teams play against each other and then knock other teams out until it just the last few remaining.
Honestly, he hoped their little tradition grew into that.
But with six teams playing, they had to get a bit more creative with the drifts and where the forts would go. He managed to line them up in a circular pattern where they weren’t too close to their neighbors to give any one team a tactical advantage but they were still in range to attack each of the other forts.
Unfortunately, the only place they could properly do such a thing and still have the right drifts and plenty of snow was right out front. The road that led to Erebor passed right through the middle of their circle.
Not a single dwarf had thought to question his decision.
Bilbo looked up from the other forts to where Thorin stood at the top of the gates waiting for the elves. Even from such a distance, Bilbo knew that Thorin’s eyes were on him. So he tipped his head in a bow to his husband and then turned to go back into their fort. “All right, Bofur, you ready to show them what we’ve got?”
“Aye,” Bofur said with a sharp smile settled firmly on his lips. “We’ll give them hell.”
XXX
Thorin waited until he could see the delegation in the distance before he descended from the wall with Dwalin and Balin a step behind him. “Open the gates,” he called as he stopped in the middle of the hall.
Dwarves scrambled to heave the massive gates open. While they could have welcomed the elves through a smaller door or even just the smaller gates built into the larger ones, Thorin wanted them to see that the dwarves were truly on their way to rebuilding Erebor to its former glory.
Halfway through opening the gates, the dwarves outside started their competition and began pelting each other with balls of snow ranging in size from the small and swift to the hefty and impressive.
Though it pained him to leave Bilbo unprotected out there with the others, Thorin stayed in his spot inside the mountain to welcome the elf prince and his cohort. If anyone could go against such odds and still come out on top, it was Bilbo. That and he had faith in the dwarves of Erebor. None of them would hurt his hobbit. None of them would dare.
“This sucks,” Kili whimpered as he fiddled with his gloves as he stood by his brother just behind his uncle. “The elves would ruin this for us.”
“They didn’t know,” Fili whispered to his brother. “None of us can predict the weather.”
Holding his tongue, Thorin ignored his nephews and their moping. He couldn’t explain the lengths to which Bilbo went to make sure this meeting happened the way it did. It was better to say nothing and get the whole thing over with.
Thorin stepped into the opening of the gates to give himself a better vantage of the fight and the approaching elves. He couldn’t help but be impressed by some of the fort designs. They’d definitely come a long way in the last couple of years. Granted, he’d heard from Nori that some of the dwarves had started holding meetings where plans were drafted and argued over until the teams came to some sort of agreement on how the forts should look.
It was definitely interesting putting Dwarven ingenuity and craft to the test by working not with stone but with snow. Of course, almost all the teams still added a bit of flair to their forts. They were dwarves, after all.
“Hold on! Hold on!” Someone called from out on the battlefield. “The blasted elves are making their way through!”
“Hold your fire!” Another dwarf bellowed.
Thorin found it amusing that neither he nor Bilbo said anything to have the dwarves waging their snow wars stop. And yet, they all did.
They did until the elves slowly made their way to the middle of the circle.
They did until Prince Legolas himself stopped suddenly as a cold, wet ball of snow collided with his regal face.
With him, his company of elves came to a halt in the middle of the circle.
Thorin found himself holding his breath and was sure that every dwarf witnessing the event felt the same.
Slowly, Legolas lifted his hand and brushed the snow from his cheeks. He didn’t bother to look around the forts for the culprit. Instead, he just looked at Thorin. “What is the meaning of this?”
The four elves behind Legolas did not move an inch though the tension in their frames was clearly visible.
“Your visit happens to coincide with the first snowfall of the year,” Thorin called back. “The snow war is a new tradition that our lovely consort introduced to us.”
“I see,” Legolas said with a slight sniff as he looked around at the forts for the first time. “He is participating while you are not?”
“Aye,” Thorin said through gritted teeth.
“Do you always leave your consort so poorly protected?” Legolas asked as if he didn’t much care to hear Thorin’s answer, having already decided exactly what the answer was. “It’s a wonder he decided to stay with you.”
“Now, you listen here, you pointy-eared-“
Thorin lifted his hand and silenced Dwalin without looking at him. “If you believe that Bilbo needs any sort of protection then you do not know him well.”
“Protection,” Bilbo said as he popped his head up over the wall of his fort. “What sort of protection would I be in need of? No, thank you. I don’t need protecting. However, your visit does leave me at a bit of a disadvantage today, Master Elf.”
“Oh?” Legolas asked as he turned to look at Bilbo. “Why’s that?”
“You see,” Bilbo said as he stood up the rest of the way. “We’re teams. And you’ve taken five of my teammates out of commission. Just look at poor Fili and Kili. Don’t they look absolutely miserable standing there in their warm things just to greet you when they could be out here helping me win this fight?”
Fili stood behind his uncle without showing any of the yearning he felt.
Kili, on the other hand, looked as though he would never recover from his sadness.
“So,” Legolas said slowly as he looked from the dwarves waiting at the gates to where Bilbo was in the fort farthest from them. “You require aid?”
Bilbo let his grin slowly slip onto his face. “You could say that.”
“Well then,” Legolas said as he shifted his stance and slid daggers made of the purest ice from underneath his winter cloak. “To the consort!”
The elves with him took up his call and immediately turned and raced to Bilbo’s fort. As they went, the dwarves around them began throwing snowballs again. Legolas used one of the icicles to stab a snowball midair just before it collided with his face. The other he threw to pin three snowballs to another team’s fort.
“What in the-“ Bofur called as he ducked back behind their wall. “Is this why you were insistent that we make the fortifications a little taller this year?”
Bilbo just laughed.
Kili made a sound in the back of his throat as he jerked a bit behind his uncle.
Thorin didn’t bother to hide his grin as he glanced back at his nephews. “Well, you heard the elves. To the consort!”
Fili and Kili let out battle cries as they raced out of the gates and through the middle of the battlefield. They dodged snowballs and attacks as they did their best to reach their team while still scooping up bits of snow to return fire as they needed to.
“No fair!” A dwarf called as he did his best to pelt the royals with snow. “You can’t join after we started!”
“And no elves!” Another dwarf added.
“What’s the matter?” Legolas taunted as he pelted their fort with snowballs. “Afraid you’ll lose?”
“To an elf!?” One of the dwarves cried in disbelief. “Not on your beard!”
Legolas laughed a high and twinkling sound as he dodged out of the way of several incoming snowballs. He grinned brightly as he came face-to-face with Bilbo and a couple of the other dwarves. “You were right! This is great fun!”
Nori slipped back into their fort and gave the elven prince a pat on his shoulder. “You took that like a champ. You didn’t even flinch.”
“It’s snow,” Legolas said with a shrug. “I figured it couldn’t hurt that badly.”
“And now?” Nori asked with a bit of a leer.
“Worse than I thought but nothing more than I could handle,” Legolas said with another shrug. “I am honored to be able to join your team this year. I will do my best to see that you do not come to regret the offer.”
Gloin huffed as he planted his hands on his hips and watched as two of the elves quietly took snowball making lessons from Oin. “This is our third year waging this sort of war, Master Elf. The only disappointment would be if this is the first year we lost.”
“Technically,” Fili called as he dove behind the wall to their fort and immediately slid into his usual position to return fire, “you lost the first year seeing as you were on Thorin’s team.”
Grumbling, Gloin ignored the prince and went back to attacking the other teams. He nodded at Dwalin as the dwarf finally made his way into the fort.
Bilbo peeked back over their wall and spotted Thorin moving from snowdrift to snowdrift, taking cover and returning fire as he wanted. Slowly yet surely, he was making his way to their fort.
“Don’t worry, Bilbo,” Fili called as he also looked over the wall at his uncle. “We’ll give him plenty of cover fire!”
Bilbo didn’t bother to point out that he wasn’t the least bit worried about Thorin. While plenty of dwarves were throwing snowballs at their king, most seemed to be intentionally missing. Their respect for him was far too strong for any of them to take advantage.
He was tempted, if only for a moment, to throw a snowball at Thorin. He knew that he wouldn’t miss. He also knew that his husband would know exactly who had thrown it.
Retribution would be swift.
The thought of it made Bilbo shiver.
It was only because Thorin looked so magnificent as he made his way through the snowfield that Bilbo stayed his hand. Instead, he turned his gaze on a fort that held a few dwarves who didn’t seem to be trying as hard as the others to miss their king.
Bilbo felt no remorse for knocking one of them off the wall. The others were lucky they’d been able to duck fast enough.
“Bilbo,” Thorin panted as he climbed over the wall and slid down behind their fort. “You did a lovely job constructing this.”
“It would have been nice,” Oin groused as he continued to ball up snow, “if you’d shared the plan with the rest of us.”
“The other dwarves cannot know that this was staged,” Bilbo said seriously to his teammates. He gave them all a look he knew that they’d understand. Keep quiet or else. “We’re working on mending relations, after all.”
Legolas allowed a snowball to hit his shoulder before he managed to duck back out of the way. “I think they’re enjoying this a little too much.”
“Oh?” Balin questioned just as he dodged a few snowballs. “And you aren’t?”
“I’m having a grand time,” Legolas assured him as he stood up to throw a few more snowballs. He might or might not have seen where Bilbo had been specifically aiming before and was satisfied when the dwarf he knocked down did not immediately reappear.
“We’re just lucky,” Ori said from his spot on the wall as he aimed Dori and Nori’s larger snowballs that they were throwing together from down below at the other forts. “Mister Bilbo managed to hear about and stop the ice catapults before any could be built.”
One of the elves turned sharply at that. “Is such a thing possible? To build such a weapon from frozen water?”
Gloin snorted. He shook his head at the elf as he rolled his eyes. “You all live for such a long time and yet you know nothing. Of course it’s possible. Anything we make out of stone can be made out of ice.”
The elf fell silent for a moment. Then she looked back up at Gloin. “If you would be willing to show me such a thing, I would be honored.”
Gloin blinked down at her before he huffed. “I suppose I could introduce you to the dwarves designing it.”
“Wonderful,” she said before throwing a snowball with such accuracy that she made a wall of one of the forts collapse without even looking at where she was throwing it.
Though they’d never admit such a thing, the dwarves of the company were each secretly glad that the elves were on their team that year.
“The green team and yellow team have decimated each other,” Balin reported from his vantage spot. “The red team is faltering and the purple team have just surrendered. It is us and the orange team left.”
“Are you sure that the red team is done for?”
“What’s left of the green team and yellow team are targeting the red. The three of them will take each other out.”
“Then focus on the orange team,” Thorin called as he worked his way back up the too tall wall to where Bilbo had a little platform to stand on. “Hello, love.”
“I think this is going quite well,” Bilbo said as he ducked so he and Thorin were face-to-face. “Don’t you?”
“You’re lucky,” Thorin whispered to his husband, “that the elves have learned to predict such things.”
Grinning, Bilbo popped back up over the wall to throw a couple of well-aimed snowballs. “I told you,” he said as he looked back down at Thorin. “I told you this would be worth the effort.”
Thorin sighed as the three other teams that Balin had predicted would surrender soon did, in fact, surrender. With just one other team left, they were able to focus their efforts to bring them down. However, being one of two teams left meant that the orange team was also only focused on them.
“These walls are too bloody high,” Dwalin groused as he did his best to shore them up where they were starting to crumble. “We’re not going to win.”
“Bilbo,” Legolas called as he turned to look over at the hobbit. “Do the rules say anything about having to stay in the fort?”
“No,” Bilbo said as he ducked out of the way of a series of shots. “But I think if you got out there, you won’t be coming back.”
“We don’t need to come back,” one of the other elves solemnly said as she cradled several snowballs in her arms. “We only need to give you time. Their fort is falling apart, too.”
“I’ll not have the elves saving us,” Gloin huffed as he picked up two balls of snow in each of his hands. “We’ll go together.”
“Draw some of their shots away from our wall,” Dwalin huffed as he practically held the whole of the front of the fort up himself. “I can reinforce this while you do.”
“Your sacrifices won’t be forgotten,” Fili said as he saluted the elves and Gloin.
“Think of how good Bombur’s hot chocolate will taste after this,” Kili added.
“I’m going, too,” Dori said firmly as he crossed his arms over his chest and just dared any of the others to argue with him. “I’ve been far too lenient on the other teams this year and last. It’s about time I make sure they know I’ve been holding back.”
“Dori,” Nori gasped as he pressed one of his hands against his heart in a mocking display of concern. “Please, what’ll we do without you?”
“Perish,” Dori said without remorse before he let out a war cry and threw himself over the wall.
Gloin and the elves blinked at each other for a moment before they followed them.
True to his word, Dori did not hold back. He created huge balls of snow and then flung them at any dwarf he saw peeking over the fortifications of the orange fort.
Dwalin scrambled with Bifur and Bofur’s help to keep their fort standing while the rest of their team ruthlessly attacked the orange team’s fort.
The elves that had left the fort with Gloin and Dori took more of the snowballs than the dwarves did, though Dori made sure to hit each one of them back.
The female elf started to make her way off the field while signaling that she was done.
One of the dwarves from the other fort hit her one last time.
“Yah!” Gloin yelled as he popped up over his snow drift to glare at the other dwarves. “That’s my teammate you just hit with that cheap shot. Come down here! I’ll take your honor and your beard!”
Thorin groaned softly as he looked down at Bilbo as Gloin continued to hurl insults at the other team.
“This is a good thing,” Bilbo reminded his husband. “If one dwarf shows that they like the elves then other dwarves will follow.”
“As you say,” Thorin agreed just as the orange team surrendered.
Dori knocked that dwarf down off their fort just because he could.
As soon as the game was won, all the participants immediately began to move back to the mountain. With the huge gates still open, it was easy for such a large crowd to get inside.
Pleased, Bilbo watched as the dwarves spoke to the elves and the elves happily replied.
“I vote for a new rule,” one dwarf called out as the massive gates shut out the cold behind them. “Next year all teams must be complete at the start! No late joiners!”
“And!” Another dwarf bellowed over the agreements of the others. “The elves can’t all be on one team!”
Bilbo caught Thorin’s eye and just grinned.
“All right, all right,” Thorin called over the ruckus. “Those rules will be added. Now hurry to change! The feast will begin in thirty minutes!”
The dwarves all cheered, and the elves along with them.
Bilbo didn’t pay them any attention as Thorin caught him in his arms and pulled him into a kiss.
“Well played, Burglar,” Thorin mumbled so only Bilbo could hear. “I think a hundred years could pass and you would still amaze me.”
“Come on, Thorin,” Bilbo whispered back. “We have thirty minutes to change.”
Thorin made a sound in the back of his throat as he pulled Bilbo along back to their rooms. He even made extra certain that their door was locked.
Notes:
They do actually build the ice catapult, though it is still banned from the battle.