#leaf garland

Ducking his head, Bilbo grumbled and went back to tucking sunflowers and acorns into the walls of the small corn maze they’d hastily thrown up in a bid to delay and entertain the youngsters who’d soon travel through the dense forest in small, chattering groups to attend the massive bonfire at the heart of the woods.

He’d been afraid that Thorin would find the idea silly, but—when he’d grown tired of waiting for the other and had set out on his own—he’d found the taciturn, enigmatic beauty lugging around hay bales dutifully, to his utter surprise.

“Oh, the boys will love that,” Thorin had hooted when asked why he’d been on board with the corn maze right away.

“I hope they have a better sense of orientation than you,” Bilbo had teased, seduced into carelessness by his companion’s rare fit of cheeriness.

“Sometimes,” Thorin had purred, leaning over Bilbo under the pretence of fiddling with the garland of golden autumn leaves he’d hung above the entrance of their humble labyrinth, “one wants to get lost. Why don’t you help me spread these cobwebs about?”

At once, Bilbo could feel his cheeks heat up with a treacherous flush—he knew that, in these parts, the autumn festival with its corn maze and bonfire was a well-established tradition. However, despite having settled in Lonely Mountain years ago, he was still not entirely sure that he’d understood and internalised all the intricacies.

A quick scan of their hard work told him that they were ready for the first people, tired of greasy food and the pitiful rollercoaster in the main square, to arrive. There truly was no reason to deny Thorin, and so he took the hand that was offered to him readily.

The heat of Thorin’s broad, calloused palm was so distracting that Bilbo lost his own sense of orientation only a few steps in—it was mortifying to accept, but he had no idea where they were even though he’d been involved in every step of the planning and erecting of the damned course.

Unfortunately, for all his well-meant ribbing, Bilbo had apparently not been wrong in his assessment of Thorin’s lack of sense of direction for they soon found themselves at a literal impasse.

“Wonderful,” Thorin mumbled and started pulling apart his fake cobwebs to drape them over the dry hay. “We shall have to remove them meticulously after—they’re a danger to wildlife,” he commented while patting down the wisps conscientiously.

“Indeed,” Bilbo croaked, fiercely aware of the proximity of one he’d called a rival as often as a friend; he and Thorin regularly went toe-to-toe in fiery debates about what was best for their town, but—underneath all the bluster—Bilbo was exceedingly fond of the old grump.

In his youth, he was sure, Thorin must have been a gloriously gorgeous man. Even now, with silver streaks adorning his thick, dark hair and discreet wrinkles bracketing his thin-lipped, stern mouth, he was quite a sight to behold.

Neither one of them had ever been married or fathered children, and Bilbo had often wondered whether they had the same, never-addressed reason for foregoing so precious an experience.

Of course, they had nephews and friends they doted on, but that glaring omission nevertheless set tongue a-wagging in the county.

“What about that? Is that to your satisfaction?” Thorin asked, interrupting Bilbo’s frantic musings unceremoniously. “Do you like it?”

“Is it meant to be spooky?” Bilbo countered with a question of his own; he only now fully processed the abundance of skeletons, scarecrows, and cobwebs Thorin had scattered throughout the maze and forest.

“Not necessarily,” Thorin replied with a shrug. “It should be festive and jolly.”

Plucking a wilting sunflower from a crevice, he turned around and tucked it behind Bilbo’s ear. “I’m sure your contributions balance out my own, and even the most fretful of youngsters will not be overly distressed when they have to make their way through our little trap to get to the bonfire.”

“I wouldn’t want to mess with your traditions, you know,” Bilbo said, his voice dropping dangerously when Thorin’s hand was not retracted but hovered close enough to his sensitive ear that he could feel its warmth.

“Do you want to know about another of these ‘traditions’ then?” Thorin teased, letting his thumb ghost along the curve of Bilbo’s burning cheek.

The other nodded jerkily, thus accidentally pressing his face into that elusive palm.

“When you take the wrong turn and find yourself at a dead end with someone nice, you might be tempted to linger a little,” Thorin informed him haltingly.

“Is that why we made this so convoluted despite the small size of the maze? So people could make out in the nooks and crannies?” Bilbo cried, utterly scandalised by such devious intent.

“Partially, yes,” Thorin laughed, and pressed his hands against the hay bale behind Bilbo, effectively bracketing his head and caging him between his muscular arms. “Is that so distasteful an idea to you?”

“Thorin!” Bilbo squeaked, his heart thumping loudly and his palms growing moist with anticipation. “The kids will arrive any moment.”

“Na,” Thorin contradicted. “They’ll first thoroughly enjoy the rollercoaster. Unfortunately, it’s also tradition that it takes Balin and Dwalin much too long to get the fire going, so if the youths arrive too early, they’ll sit around cold and hungry. We have time.”

“In that case,” Bilbo purred, arching his back and bringing his face closer to the bearded jaw before him as if to test the waters, “we might as well make sure that our maze will not collapse if some ill-advised snogging was to take place. It’s our duty, so to say.”

“I agree,” Thorin grinned and lowered himself gradually until he could finally press a soft kiss of long abiding and instant recognition onto Bilbo’s parted lips.

No doubt, the others were wondering what kept them so long, but they could always claim to have lost their way.

A small, pudgy hand curled around the back of his neck—all smart plans and subterfuges melted out of Thorin’s mind at once.

This, he decided, was indeed a good, honourable tradition.

↳ Masterlist

@fellowshipofthefics here's the second chapter of my fic for September!

Lots of love from me! <3