Black-Hearted Emsiecat

Summary:

Based off of the wonderful headcanon that radioactive-earthshine posted about the dwarven meaning for 'black-hearted'.

Chapter Text

The first time Thorin said it to him, Bilbo presumed that perhaps he just misheard, or else maybe the dwarf had mistranslated what he had meant to say. It happened to the best of them after all; Westron was not his dwarves' first language and so mistakes were bound to happen on occasion.

They had been curled up together in one of the great armchairs in front of the hearth, sleepy and barely conscious after a hard day of helping to restore some of the lower levels. It was a good example of just how good a king Thorin would make that he personally sought to help by hefting stone and forging metal, rather than simply overseeing the restoration from afar. Naturally, where Thorin helped, so too did Bilbo. The pair now nigh inseparable and found that they worked best when as a team.

Happily had Bilbo tucked himself into the curve of Thorin's arm that evening, heedless of the fact that they both could benefit from a bath. He had been very close to drifting off when Thorin had pulled him closer, eyelids heavy, and murmured quite lovingly 'black-hearted'.

This was where the confusion had started. Bilbo and Thorin were in love; there was no denying that now, and Bilbo was certain the dwarf held him in as high a regard as Bilbo held the dwarf. The way Thorin had spoken had been gentle and full of affection, but the words... Surely, Bilbo must have misheard.

For why would Thorin refer to him as 'black-hearted'?

Deciding quite quickly that either one of them had made a mistake, or else Thorin was truly more asleep than he looked and mumbling nonsense, Bilbo sought to put the odd instance out of his mind and was all too happy to surrender to the pull of sleep.

The second time he heard the term, he could not be sure if it was him mistranslating this time, for he heard it in Khuzdûl.

It had been decided over the course of a few months of Bilbo living within Erebor, that it would be best for the future consort to learn their language. Of course, there had been a few grumblings amongst the old traditionalists who had recently arrived from Ered Luin that an outsider of a different race should not be allowed to learn.

Thorin had put paid to the comments by wondering aloud if they expected Bilbo to muddle through his impending duties barely knowing what was being said around him. He added that if resistance was shown in this matter, the king would see it as a slight against his intended and so feel forced to abdicate.

With peace obtained but still quite fragile, and the restoration of Erebor pooling all their resources, it would be a terrible blow should they be left leaderless. Therefore, the argument was settled quite swiftly and Bilbo had begun his lessons in Khuzdûl with Balin.

He was doing quite well, or so he thought. Until of course he had heard Thorin mutter that term to a visiting delegate from the Iron Hills whilst smiling in his direction and so had to re-evaluate his opinion on how well he was learning or not.

'Black' had definitely been in there and once more Bilbo was certain the whole phrase had roughly translated to Westron as 'black-hearted'.

... It was the Khuzdûl. That is what it was. Bilbo had misunderstood and once this meeting was over he would go and ask Balin what it was he had heard, yes that was the best way.

Then of course, the meeting had dragged on longer than they had intended and the delegates had been grouchy. Therefore, Thorin had decided to smooth things over by inviting them to a feast.

Bilbo forgot to ask Balin after that.

The third time Bilbo heard it was during a public announcement (much to his mortification).

Once again, the term was said in Khuzdûl, but by this time Bilbo had a strong enough grasp on the language to know that there was no way he had mistranslated. Also, as Thorin was speaking to a crowd, his voice was clear and loud. There was no feasible way Bilbo could have heard him incorrectly either.

So why in the wide world was Thorin calling him something so foul?

Bilbo pushed aside the prickle of hurt and anger as something simply did not tally up here. Thorin was speaking of him with such affection, and the crowd was responding positively... so clearly Bilbo was the one misunderstanding something and not the dwarves.

Resigning himself to remaining in the dark a little longer, Bilbo listened to the rest of the speech (Thorin was singing the praises of the other Company members now) and resolved to ask Thorin about the term just as soon as they were alone.

"Something has been confusing me," Bilbo began apropos of nothing.

Thorin had removed his crown and was just starting on the clasps of his cloak when he paused to turn and give Bilbo his full attention. "What has been confusing you, Bilbo?"

"It is a term I've heard you used to describe me on numerous occasions... I'm afraid I don't quite understand why you are using it or what it means to you, but I must tell you that in Westron it's rather... unpleasant."

Thorin blinked in surprise and discarded his cloak without bothering to hang it up so that he could cross the room to stand before his husband looking concerned.

Bilbo would usually scold him for leaving clothing lying around like that, but Thorin looked so worried and contrite, the hobbit really could not bring himself to do so.

"What term was it, âzyungâl?"

Bilbo felt his lips twitch; he had been foolish suppose for even a moment that Thorin might have meant what he said in any way other than something positive.

"In Westron you say it as 'black-hearted'", the hobbit then made sure to say the Khuzdûl term as well, just so Thorin would be sure of it. "In Westron to call someone black-hearted means that you think of them as evil; malevolent, or malicious. It is not a term one would use as an endearment. However, it seems as if that is what you have been doing, unless I'm mistaken."

Thorin looked scandalised and placed gentle hands on Bilbo's shoulders, his face such a picture of seriousness that Bilbo almost laughed. "I have been insulting you in your language. Why did you not say anything?"

"Well, to be honest I assumed that perhaps I misheard the first time, and since then I couldn't be sure if maybe I was mistranslating... it seems I was right though. Honestly Thorin, so long as you don't mean it in the way Westron intends it, I'm not the least bit offended," he paused then shrugged before adding. "I am a little curious as to what you've meant by it though."

Just as the serious concern had looked comical, so too did the sheer relief Thorin's face now portrayed. Bilbo chuckled and pushed himself up on his toes to give the dwarf a quick peck on the cheek.

Thorin smiled and fidgeted a little before explaining the term. "To us dwarves 'black-hearted' does not mean a bitter or wicked person, but a person of the hearth and forge. To us, black is the colour of the iron used in pots and pans where soup is made, black is also the colour of coal, of heat and of life. To refer to someone as 'black-hearted' in Khuzdûl is to mean that they are your hearth fire, your life and joy. It means that you value them dearly and that they have proven a great deal of worthiness to you. Bilbo, you are very dear to me and so that is why I use that term for you."

Really, having lived with dwarves for as long as he had now, Bilbo should have guessed the term would mean something like that. Still, to hear it from Thorin's own lips only made it more special, and Bilbo wasted no time in throwing his arms around Thorin enthusiastically.

"You are such a sap," he accused, voice thick and full of adoration. "If I'd but known the meaning to you dwarves, I'd have been using the same term to describe you as well."

Thorin grinned into Bilbo's curls, ridiculously happy at that admission. "It seems us dwarves and hobbits have quite a few differences where endearments are concerned then."

"Oh yes, I'm sure I'll inadvertently insult you some day with what is meant to be a loving hobbitish nickname."

"Well, just so long as you mean it as a compliment and we do our best to smooth out these differences from now on; it should be no trouble at all."

Bilbo heartily agreed and was about to pull Thorin down for a kiss when he remembered something. "Wait... wait just a- you've been calling me such sappy things in public speeches!?"

Thorin spent the next hour trying to explain to Bilbo that dwarves were a lot more open with their affections with their significant others, even when giving public speeches. Bilbo decided he needed a good strong cup of tea and agreed that the two of them would have to be a lot more open about their cultural differences in future.