...is this a bad time?

Credit goes to Fantasyofallforms on AO3

Being king under the mountain came with many perks, free time was not one of them.

Thorin stepped through the gates of Erebor and drank in the familiar smell. It had been almost nine years since they had retaken the mountain, and Erebor was no longer the haunted shadow it once was. The mountain was well on its way to once again being the center for all trade in the north. It was one of those trade meetings that had taken Thorin away from his mountain and husband for three months. They had exchanged letters every week of those months, but letters could never do more than take the edge off of need. Thorin's hands itched to hold Bilbo after so long. He had wasted no time returning from the Iron Hills and made good enough time that he ended up home an entire day early. A day he very much intended to spend locked away with Bilbo in their room. He just had to find Bilbo first.

Thorin got to his apartment and found it disappointingly empty. Wherever Bilbo was, he wasn't here. Still, it was nice to be surrounded by his things again. He had never cared much for having stuff in the past. It was unnecessary on the road or when his people were shifting around. Ered Luin had held no comfort for him, only obligation. Collecting things seemed too close to settling down, and he hadn't been ready to do that. Bilbo was the opposite. Settling down was in his nature, and he pulled Thorin into it easily. The room was a blend of the life they'd built over the last nine long years. He put his things on the bed and chuckled to himself. The sheets were a mess, and he could tell that Bilbo had curled up in his spot on the bed, probably hugging the pillow.

Before he decided to go looking for Bilbo, he opted for a quick bath to get the smell of the road off of him. When he was clean, he pulled on fresh clothes and started heading for the greenhouses.

To his great misfortune, he ran into Balin first.

"Your majesty! I didn't expect you for another day. This is a nice surprise and a fortunate one as well." Balin looked excited; Thorin looked anything but. "...is this a bad time?"

"Yes. If it was something that could have waited till I was back tomorrow, then it still can." Thorin kept walking in the direction of the greenhouses, hoping his lack of pause would be enough to ward the old dwarf off. It wasn't.

"I'm afraid it can't wait. I was going to bring this up with Bilbo in your absence, but since you're here, I might as well bring it up to you." Balin explained while keeping stride with Thorin.

"Where is Bilbo?" Thorin asked, fixating on the one part of the sentence he actually cared about right now.

"I hadn't yet had the chance to check his usual spots. If I had to take a guess, our Mr. Baggins is in his garden, the library, or perhaps the kitchens. I'm sure he'll be very excited to see you." Without skipping a beat, Balin launched into his explanation. "The king of Dale has paid us a visit and is looking to speak to you urgently." Thorin's trust in his advisor and the urgency in Balin's voice was the only thing that caused him to divert his course from the greenhouse to the throne room. Sure enough, Bard was waiting for them just inside. His hands were clasped behind his back, and he seemed to have been pacing. He looked surprised to see Thorin.

"I was told you were still traveling back from the Iron Hills?" It wasn't an accusatory question, only a curious one.

"I was fortunate enough to arrive back just a few hours ago. What brings the king of Dale to Erebors halls?" Thorin wasted no time getting to the point.

"I'm sorry to take your time so soon after arriving home. Things have stirred in your absence. I've been sending scouts to patrol the lands south of Esgaroth along the borders of Mirkwood. Most of the scouts went missing except one who returned last night. He was practically dead on his horse, but was able to report before his injuries took him. Orcs, not just any orcs but orc riders on the backs of giant spiders. I thought him crazy at first before remembering Bilbo's stories of your travels in Mirkwood, where you faced similar beasts. Every year the creatures coming from Dol Guldur grow bolder. The fact that they have aligned themselves with these foul creatures only makes me more concerned." Bard had clearly spent no small amount of time thinking about this. He had bags under his eyes, and his voice was unsettled.

"We were warned by Gandalf that things might begin to stir in that region, but I agree letting it go unchallenged would be a mistake. I'll find Dwalin and have him send a group of warriors on rams to Dale. They can accompany your scouts in shifts and help eliminate any threats as well as gather intelligence," Thorin said. Bard's shoulders relaxed as he took a breath.

"Thank you, Dale can't afford to have its peace disturbed again. Not after all we've done to build back stronger. I won't keep you any longer. I know you have people eager to see you." Bard dipped his head and smiled knowingly at Thorin before walking towards the door. When he was gone, Thorin left as well, eager not to be waylaid any longer. He checked the greenhouses first and found no sight of Bilbo. He had the same luck with the kitchens. With each stop, he got suckered into another conversation or stopped to ask how his journey was. His responses to Bombur had bordered on rudeness, but he could apologize later; right now, he just needed to find Bilbo.

He decided to check the library next. Bilbo liked to work on paperwork and talk to Ori around this time of the day. The archives and library were just past the crafting halls, so he made sure he set a swift pace praying that the urgency in his steps was enough to ward off any questions.

Just as he could see the exit to the hall, he overheard a very loud argument from two very familiar voices.

"Did you solder it with your eyes closed!"

"It looks perfectly fine, Fee; you're overreacting."

"Overreacting! Uncle is going to kill us when he gets back!"

Thorin tried, he really, really tried to ignore the conversation and just keep moving. Fili and Kili were two grown dwarves capable of dealing with their own problems. Then they had to go and say the last bit. Now it actually was his problem. Pushing his fingers through his hair with a scowl, he marched towards his unsuspecting nephews.

"I have half a mind to kill you now and be on my way." Both boys went rigid at the sound of his voice. They had been too engaged in their argument to hear Thorin's steps or notice him move to stand right behind them.

"W-welcome back, Uncle!" Kili tried to play off his nervousness, but they both knew the damage was done. "How long have you been back?"

"Long enough; what did the pair of you do?" Thorin crossed his arms, his face keeping its stern disposition. A few moments passed with just blank stares. "I have been back in this mountain for less than four hours and have yet to see my husband. Every extra moment you make me wait, I will be less merciful when it comes to punishment. Out with it!" Thorin barked, his patience wearing thin.

"W-we might have tried to set up a small prank for you when you returned," Kili blubbered.

"And it might have resulted in Bilbo's crown getting damaged," Fili added.

"But we fixed it! Good as new!" Kili held Bilbo's crown up for him to look at. It wasn't the worst they could have done, but it wasn't what Thorin would consider good by any stretch of the imagination. The soldering was blobby and inconsistent; they even managed to get some of it on the gems. The boys were very talented with their own trades. Fixing delicate things was not their trade. Thorin tempered his anger, pulling on 204 years of learned patience.

"Take this directly to the jeweler and see if she can reverse some of the shoddy craftsmanship that you decided to inflict upon it. Then go back to your apartment and stay there. I'm disappointed in both of you. You're not pebbles anymore; you're future rulers. I recommend you start to act like it!" Thorin scolded. Both boys hung their heads a little.

"Are you going to tell amad?" Fili asked. The question almost made Thorin laugh. Whatever scolding they got from him, Dis would be so much worse.

"I'll leave that up to Bilbo as he's the one you owe a real apology to. Have either of you seen Bilbo?" Thorin asked.

"Last I saw him, he was headed to the east side of the mountain with Dwalin," Fili said. Damn, that was in the opposite direction of where he was. The east side of the mountain held all the crystal caves, and Bilbo did like to visit them from time to time. Without another word, Thorin took off. Three months had been much too long; he could never do this again. He would bring Bilbo with him next time, regardless of Balin's advice. Just the thought of those bouncing curls and soft features made Thorin pick up his pace. Finally, he arrived at the cave's entrance and could faintly make out noise from deeper within. He thought he would hear talking as he moved further in, but instead, he only heard grunts and heavy breathing. He knit his eyebrows together and stalked along further. Thorin stopped only when he finally heard speaking.

"Dwalin, if we don't wrap this up soon, then I'm going to be too tired for Thorin tomorrow." Bilbo panted

"Consider this a workout for your stamina, then," Dwalin quipped.

"We started this little workout after elevenses; it's almost past afternoon tea now!" Bilbo pouted

"Come on, one more round, then we can get cleaned up and eat," Dwalin insisted.

"Fine, but go easy on me, or I'll be sore all over tomorrow."

A jealous fury swarmed over his already agitated body. All the excitement he had about seeing Bilbo felt like ice for a moment as he rounded the corner of the cave, his hand firmly on the hilt of his sword. The fury burned away immediately. Bilbo and Dwalin were standing across from each other with a sparring stick in each of their hands. Thorin shook his head to clear his mind. The day must have truly wearied him if, even for a second, he thought that Dwalin might try and take advantage of his absence or that Bilbo would ever do that to him.

Neither of them had seen Thorin, and now that he had found Bilbo, some of his urgency fled. He was content for a moment to watch his unaware husband spar. Seeing him after so long was intoxicating. Nine years of Bilbo by his side did nothing but make Thorin more in love. He watched with a smile as the match finished, and Bilbo pushed damp honey copper curls mixed with a healthy dose of gray from his face. Age had touched him very little. Minus graying hair and softer physic, he looked much the same as he did in his simal the day they met. Bilbo had dubbed that day the 'unexpected party.' He took a waterskin offered by Dwalin, and as Thorin watched drops of water fall from plush pink lips and onto Bilbo's shirt, he couldn't keep his presence hidden anymore.

"Is this a bad time?" Thorin stepped out of the shadows with a big grin.

"Thorin!" Bilbo dropped the waterskin and practically lept into Thorin's arms. He caught him easily, relishing in the feel of Bilbo in his arms. "You're back early; why didn't you send a raven ahead of you to let me know?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise," Thorin shifted Bilbo's weight so he could hold him with one arm and stroked his cheek with the other.

"Well, you've achieved that! I feel bad though I'm all sweaty. You should probably put me down." Bilbo tried to pull away, so Thorin tightened the hold he had on Bilbo's waist.

"I couldn't care less. I've waited three months to have you back." Thorin planted kisses along Bilbo's neck, making his hobbit giggle and melt.

"We sent letters," Bilbo said through giggles.

"Yes, we did. Some of your letters brought great comfort. Some of them just made me so hungry for you that three months felt like three years." Thorin growled as his hand went around the back of Bilbo's head, and he pulled him into a fiery kiss. He became utterly lost in the taste of Bilbo's lips and the feeling of having him so close that he completely forgot there was another person in the room.

"I'm just going to assume that you'll be saying your hello's to the rest of the company tomorrow then," Dwalin quipped in good humor. He didn't even bother picking up the sparring sticks; he just made his way to the exit. Thorin would apologize tomorrow. Today he had better things to do. He backed Bilbo up to the nearest wall and was rapidly trying to make up for lost time when he heard.

"Hey! I had heard you were wandering around the mountain! I wanted to see if you managed to get my letter to...is this a bad time?"

"Bofur... get OUT!" Thorin fumed. Bofur all but ran out of the cave. Thorin looked back at Bilbo. "I'll apologize tomorrow. I'm not sharing my time with anyone else today, regardless of how dire the situation is."