A Fierce and Jealous Love
Status:Â In-progress (2/9)
Collab with @raventhrush
Tags: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies | Alternate Universe - Bilbo Baggins Remains in Erebor | The Lonely Mountain | Mutual Pining | Jealousy | courting gifts | Miscommunication | Dwarf Culture & Customs | Oblivious Bilbo Baggins | Dwarf Pirates
Summary:Â Thorin has been struggling between rebuilding the home he fought so hard to reclaim and dealing with the hardships the war had wrought upon him physically and mentally. However, he is sure about one thing: his desire to court the hobbit of his heart. Of course, nothing can ever be simple for the newly established dwarf king as an old friend from the past returns, and while Thorin wants to help him, watching Marlok grow closer to Bilbo threatens to sour any rekindling of their friendship.
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New Chapter: Chapter 2- A Jealous Friend
âBy order of King Thorin II, son of Thrain, son of Thror, reveal yourself and state your business here!â Dwalin demanded.
There was a murmur of voices above them before a gangplank plopped down no more than inches away from the nearest soldierâs boot. He gripped his sword tighter, preparing to give the order to take the ship when he heard a noise. A noise that he knew very well, and had his heart stilling in his chest. Bilbo.
Sure enough, there was the hobbit, looking glorious. Like a sun setting over the Misties, his hair caught in the firelight spinning it to gold which his tunic, a dark orange only seemed to amplify. His cheeks were flushed, and his grin was wide, and for the first time since learning he was on that ship, Thorin felt like he could take a deep breath. He stepped forward, intending to be the first one there to greet him, only to pause.
Bilbo was not paying them any mind at all. His head was even turned back to someone behind him as he laughed at something they had said. A hand came down on Bilboâs shoulders, and for a moment, Thorin was blind to everything but that hand. Was Bilbo a prisoner? A bargaining chip? Did this scumbag pirate really think he could take his hobbit and get away with it? Thorin grit his teeth, prepared to fight tooth and nail to take him back when he followed the hand to the owner, and he could only blink in astonishment.
âNo, really! Went sailing twenty, no maybe thirty yards, only to land right in the middle of the biggest pile of shit!â
Thorin knew that story. In fact, he had lived that story. He remembered going back to his Adad (Father) and Amad (Mother) covered in pig shit, trying to explain that he had only been trying to ride the biggest, meanest boar they had in the pen thanks to a traveling Iron Hills delegation. The ensuing tongue lashing had been humiliating enough had his friend not been standing right there. A dwarf with mischievous eyes and a wisp of red beard on his chin. A royal of another kingdom who Thorin only spent two, maybe three, summers with, but it was a name he would never forget. And looking now at the fully grown dwarf connected to the hand on Bilboâs shoulder, Thorin realized it was possible for a person to change so much, and, at the same time, not so much at all.
âMarlok?â He questioned incredulously.
For more of this chapter, please click the AO3 link above!