Helipohie

Only half an hour later, Bilbo stepped out of the shared sleep room. He had found some fresh clothes that fit him perfectly on his bedroll. It made him wonder how the elves had managed to fit those clothes to his body without any measurements.

Music echoed through the hallway, and the more steps the hobbit took, the louder the music grew. Bilbo felt his heart quicken. He was starting to feel excited despite his earlier displeasure with the whole idea of a celebration. It would most certainly do him good to let loose after those weeks on the road.

When he stepped into the hall, he noticed with surprise that, despite a certain dwarf trio, it seemed as if he was one of the last to arrive. He stepped further in, uncertain whom to join when his eyes fell on Thorin, who was resting against the balcony railing. The elves must have given everyone in the company fresh clothes. The soft-looking fabric enveloped Thorin's body in all the right places. Bilbo had to blink a few times before his eyes drifted up again. Just in time to notice Thorin's eyes on him. Warmth travelled up Bilbo's neck and even his ears began to feel hot. For a split second, he closed his eyes and a tiny whine escaped his throat. His fingers began to fiddle with the hem of his jacket. He was acting like a tween, all blushing just by meeting someone's eyes. Well, Bilbo thought, Thorin was not just someone, wasn't he?

With a sigh, he opened his eyes again, finding Thorin's eyes still on him. For another heartbeat, Bilbo stared at the dark-haired dwarf, debating whether he would be welcomed should he join Thorin and Dwalin. Something seemed to soften in Thorin's face, which let Bilbo finally take a step towards him. His heart leapt when the corner of Thorin's mouth twitched up the slightest. The hobbit took another step before someone, or rather three someones, came into view and stopped him.

Bilbo nearly scolded the three young dwarves who now stood in front of him. But only nearly because only seconds after he had recognised Fíli, Kíli and Ori, he noticed flowers in their hands. No, not just flowers...

"I knew you were up to something," Bilbo chuckled and a grin spread on his lips.

"Master Baggins, please accept this belt made of flowers as a sign of friendship," Fíli said, holding out a belt woven from flowers. His eyes moved between the belt and Bilbo's face. For a moment, Bilbo's eyes wandered over the many flowers.

"Have you braided it yourself?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Yes, mostly, Ori helped me a bit," Fíli confessed, his eyes shortly drifting towards Ori, a soft smile on his lips. Bilbo brushed gently over daisies, lavender and primroses before he took the belt from the young dwarf and carefully placed it around his hip. He knotted it gently and looked up. Fíli's eyes had widened and an ear-to-ear grin was planted on his lips.

"Thank you, this means a lot to me," Bilbo whispered.

"I was struggling to braid something out of the flowers," Kíli explained, his cheeks a soft pinkish colour. "But please accept these flowers for your jacket." With tingling fingers, the Hobbit held out his hand and Kíli placed the flowers into it. For a moment, Bilbo admired the sunflower and the cornflowers that surrounded the bigger flower.

"Thank you, Kíli. If you want, I can show you how to braid with flowers," he said and tucked the flowers into his jacket pocket. Kíli's eyes lit up and he nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, please."

Bilbo's smile widened and he turned towards Ori, who had not said a word since the three dwarves had stopped him. From behind his back, Ori pulled a flower crown.

"Where did you three even get so many flowers from?" Bilbo wondered.

"That will be our secret," Ori said with a childlike giggle. "I chose daisies, rosemary, buttercups and primroses for the flower crown. Please accept it." A soft chuckle escaped Bilbo's lips.

"How could I ever reject such fine craftwork?" the hobbit asked, bending his head slightly for Ori to place the crown on his head. "Thank you, Ori."

All three dwarves were now staring at him with wide grins.

"You three should have said something, I have nothing for you lads," Bilbo huffed, but the smile on his face never faltered.

"Master Baggins, there is no need," Ori said carefully, shaking his head.

"We did give you these flowers to show you how much we appreciate that you are part of the company-" Fíli began to explain.

"-and that we would very much like to learn more about you and maybe even call you a... friend?" Kíli finished.

"Friends?" Bilbo asked. He had not been anyone's friend for a long time. Back in the shire many other hobbits were friendly but Bilbo would not have called any of them his friends. "It would be a pleasure."

The three dwarves exchanged glances before they nodded along.

"Let's have a drink on that," Fíli said, turning towards the wine cask in the corner of the hall. "I will get us some."

Slowly, Bilbo started to notice his surroundings again. For a second his eyes drifted to where Thorin had been standing, finding the balcony empty. Bilbo wondered where the dwarf had gone.

The music had changed, and some of the elves were now moving elegantly to it, even as the music called for something more energetic. Bilbo's feet started tapping in rhythm with the music before he fully registered it.

"Well, won't you show us how you can dance?"

"Dear me, Master Nori! Would you please stop appearing out of nowhere?"

With a one-sided grin, Nori stepped into view from behind him.

"You are too easily distracted, Master Baggins," Nori replied. Bilbo huffed but couldn't deny that he had been distracted by the kindness of the three young dwarves.

"You can dance?" Kíli asked, one brow raised and a bright smile on his lips. Bilbo could only huff as he shook his head and walked over towards the dance floor.

"Can you dance? Are they really asking me this?" he grumbled under his breath, stopping a bit further away from the elves.

For a moment the hobbit closed his eyes and tried only to hear the music. Once more his feet began to tap to the rhythm of the music. It had been some time since he had last danced and when he did so, it had been with a hobbitess. But luckily for him the song the elves were currently playing was one he could dance alone to perfectly. His feet began to move on their own, and his hands didn't stay by his sides for long. They found their way into the air around Bilbo as he moved across the dance floor. He could make out Nori and his new friends at the side of the dance floor.

Without missing a beat, he danced towards them and caught the arm of Nori.

"Asking me so bashfully whether I can dance but what about you, Master Nori?"

Nori made a strangled noise but let himself be pulled along.

"I didn't enjoy the song."

"Oh, no such thing, Master Nori!" Bilbo huffed a laugh and pulled the dwarf further onto the dance floor. A laugh escaped Fíli, who was standing beside Nori and within a second Nori's hand had grabbed Fíli's sleeve, pulling him along as well. With a wide grin, Bilbo soon noticed that he was pulling four dwarves with him onto the dance floor.

"I don't know how to dance to this song!" Ori said helplessly.

"Take each other's hands," Bilbo chuckled, one hand already in Nori's and the other outstretched towards Kíli.  "We will keep it easy at first."

Kíli took hold of Bilbo's hand and the hobbit gently began to pull Kíli with him as he started to move in a circular motion. Luckily, Nori seemed to understand without much explanation and soon they were dancing in circles. With each round, it seemed that the dwarves and especially Ori, relaxed more and more into the dance. Even a small smile tugged at Ori's lips.

"And now come closer together," Bilbo said, a wide grin on his lips, as he pulled Nori and Kíli closer, raising his hand. The others followed and when all their connected hands met in the middle, Bilbo heard a light giggle from Ori. Fíli's eyes landed shortly on the youngest dwarf, a certain softness in his eyes and Bilbo's grin spread even wider.

"With the next change in the music, we will make the circle bigger again and then we will do something even more exciting," Bilbo explained as a giggle left his mouth.

A huffed laugh came from Nori just as they increased the size of the circle. Bilbo let them dance for another round until he let go of Nori's hand.

"What are you doing, Master Baggins?" Nori asked, one eyebrow raised. Instead of answering, he slipped under Nori's and Fíli's joint hands, pulling Kíli along. The young dwarf let out an excited laugh as he followed Bilbo. One after the other, Bilbo's dance companions ducked under Nori's and Fíli's hands and followed him.

For a long moment, Bilbo lost himself in the music and just danced, leading his dance companions across the dance floor.

Far too soon, the music changed into a slower song and Bilbo did so as well. He stopped at the edge of the dance floor and his dance companions did the same.

"I will need something to drink," Bilbo huffed, fanning with his hands some cold air towards him.

"That fast out of breath, Master Baggins?" Fíli laughed softly.

"I'm not that young tween anymore, Fíli."

"Well, that..." Nori began with a sly grin, but then he stopped abruptly, staring at something behind Bilbo.