Protectiveness Emsiecat

Summary:

Protectiveness doesn't have to be a physical protection through the strength of a sword, but can be in smaller, loving ways :3

Yet another bagginshieldhappiness (and anon) prompt for my last contribution to the Fluffy February Event.

I'd like to thank everyone who left kudos and comments, you're all such lovely people <3 and thank you ever so much for reading. As I have been asked by a couple of people, I'd just like to say; yes I will certainly participate in more Bagginshield events, they're so fun! However, for the next couple of months I will be working on my current multi-chapter fic 'Alone this Yuletide'. With this in mind, if there's any events during this time, I won't be able to post a fanfic every day as I have in this one, but I'll gladly post one here or there to participate all the same =)

Thanks again, dearies!

If an outsider were to ever look at the dynamic between Thorin and Bilbo based solely on first impressions, they may be forgiven for assuming that Thorin was the more protective of the two. Lavishing his hobbit husband with care and attention whilst making sure he was safe from harm.

However, this was not quite correct.

True, Thorin felt a level of protectiveness towards Bilbo, and he always felt the need to ensure his happiness; but the dwarf knew Bilbo could defend himself and it was actually Bilbo who fussed over Thorin more than the other way around.

After the events of the Quest, Bilbo felt an inherent desire to care for and protect his dwarf. He would not have been much use on a battlefield, this he knew, but he was more than willing to keep his dwarf from harm in other, more inconsequential ways.

Thorin was prone to overworking himself, especially in those first days when he was newly healed and the restoration of Erebor was proving to be a greater task than most had anticipated.

On evenings when Thorin would drag himself into their chambers, hissing at the lingering aches in his wounds, Bilbo would usher Thorin to lay down whilst he checked the healing scars, get him something to eat, and then refused to hear of Thorin even looking at paperwork until he had slept.

"No, don't you dare, back to bed with you, I will look over these reports." Was the usual command.

Thorin would watch Bilbo work at the desk from his place on the bed, eyes barely open and bleary as he smiled gently and took in every beloved detail of his husband's face whilst he pored over the paperwork that Balin kept issuing him with in a near constant daily stream.

On mornings too early for those with any sense to be awake, Bilbo would drag himself yawning from his nest of blankets and bid Thorin to sit before him. Whilst there, Bilbo would be the one to brush through Thorin's mane of hair and place the intricate braids with an ease that had come through long practice.

Thorin would hum and sigh, eyes closed and a blissful grin on his lips at the ministrations, and Bilbo would always lean forward to drop a kiss to the top of his head once he was finished.

Definitely a good way to start the day.

On afternoons when Thorin's energy was flagging, he would find Bilbo at his side, beckoning him back to their rooms, or the kitchens, or outside into the fresh air, where he would offer the dwarf both food and a respite from hard work.

Thorin often wondered what he could have possibly done to deserve such kind attention; he decided not to question Bilbo though, for it was clear that these tasks seemed to make the hobbit as happy as Thorin.

The truth of the matter was, though Bilbo would never tell, that he felt that after a life of hardship and exile Thorin thoroughly deserved to be pampered, and if he could be the one to do it, then nothing would delight him more.

Although Bilbo could make a good try of protecting Thorin in battle, he knew deep down he would never be as graceful with a sword as his husband, and so if he could protect Thorin in other ways, that was enough for him.

Protect him from overwork, from discomfort and tiredness; protect him from having to ever suffer a life without simple joys ever again. Thorin could give him the love and companionship he'd never realised he had longed for, and in turn Bilbo would make sure Thorin was as content here in Erebor as he was.