Give Floating a Try

Credit goes to SunnyRose

Summary:

It takes Bilbo falling into the pond at Rivendell and nearly drowning for Thorin to realize that he can't swim. Thorin can't let a member of his company be put in such danger again, and Bilbo would be perfectly happy if he never even had to look at a large body of water again.

Bilbo thought they had gotten away. He thought they were safe. The moment Gandalf appeared amongst the rocks, and they slid down into the hidden tunnel, Bilbo thought for sure they could breathe in relief. And then the orcs started to slide in after them.

"There's no room to fight in here!" Dwalin shouted from where he was holding off the bulk of them.

"Quickly! This way!" Gandalf ordered, leading them to the back of the cavern where there was a path cutting through the rock face.

While Thorin and Dwalin and Bifur covered them, they all sprinted for their lives through the winding turns until they came upon an impressive sight. Feeling the veil of magic around him, Bilbo stopped to take in the Last Homely House East of the Sea.

"Rivendell." He breathed.

Unfortunately, his dwarven companions were not so taken by the sight. Bilbo wasn't sure which of them it was, but he caught an elbow in the back, and suddenly he was falling. Bilbo sucked in a breath, trying to bring himself to scream when he hit the water below.

Water flooded his nose and mouth as he kicked and punched with all his might, trying his hardest to reach the surface once more. His pack weighed heavily on his back, dragging him further down, and the churning from the waterfall made it impossible for him to tell which way was up.

This was it. He had been so sure after the trolls, they wouldn't face anymore danger until the dragon. And it wasn't even the wargs and orcs that did him in. It was drowning in perhaps the safest place on Middle Earth. Lungs burning, head pounding, he closed his eyes, never expecting to open them again.

There was a pressure. On his chest. It was rhythmic, but demanding. Bilbo could feel his mouth open to protest only for water to come gushing out. Suddenly the burning of his lungs and throat was back. He instinctively tried to take a breath, the air and water mixing to create a volatile and painful mix. Deep, racking coughs shook his frame, and for a moment, he thought this was worse than actually drowning. A weight settled at his back that helped him to sit forward letting the horrid mixture of water, mucus, and saliva dribble down his chin and from his nose onto the ground. Slowly, painfully slowly, he could breathe without coughing.

His head lulled against the sturdy weight surrounding him. It was wet but comforting. He blinked up slowly, furrowing his brows to see Thorin staring back down at him. His eyes were wide and wild but matching the blue of the sky above. His lips were pressed into a hard line until he began to speak to him. However, his words weren't making any sense. Bilbo didn't have the energy to try and figure it out either. Leaning further back into the sturdy and comforting thing holding him up, Bilbo felt himself drift off asleep.

***

After weeks of sleeping on the hard ground, Bilbo felt like he was waking up on a cloud. He would dare say it was blissful if it weren't for the burning in his throat, the stuffiness of his nose, and the pounding in his head. His first thought was he must have caught a cold as he slowly started to blink his eyes open. However, nothing about the white, sunlit room looked familiar. How did he get here? That's when he remembered escaping the orcs and falling into the river below.

He made a whine in the back of his throat wondering why he wasn't dead when he turned his head to see Thorin sitting in the chair at his bedside. He had his arms crossed against his chest, and head turned to the side, looking to be deep in thought. Bilbo was loath to disturb him, but there also wasn't anyone else in the room for him to ask and he was finding himself unbelievably hungry.

"Thorin." He croaked, his voice sounding rough and unfamiliar.

It startled the dwarf as he jumped slightly in his seat before turning towards Bilbo with wide eyes.

"You're awake." He stated.

Bilbo nodded, finding he didn't have the energy to point out the obvious.

"Can I get you some water or...?"

Thorin trailed off as Bilbo shook his head. No, he didn't want to see water for a good while yet if he could help it.

"Tea." He whispered, and Thorin jumped out of his seat to comply.

Bilbo must have drifted off again in the time Thorin had been gone because it felt like no time at all when there was a gentle shake at his shoulder and the smell of mint tea under his nose. Thorin helped Bilbo sit up before placing the tray across his lap. It wasn't just tea but some porridge with cinnamon and cream. Bilbo thanked him as best he could, a bit surprised at the consideration from the dwarf but not wanting to question it and break the moment.

"Can you tell me a bit about what happened?" Bilbo requested after taking a sip of tea, sighing as it immediately worked to soothe his throat.

Thorin hesitated for a moment, turning his head away as he outlined the events. The orcs were coming down the path after them. Thorin had been fighting at the front of the group when the elves had joined in from behind, thinning out the pack. It was at that point that Thorin had looked around to take stock of everyone and realized they were one short. He demanded to know what happened to Bilbo, and Ori noticed the disturbed water below. Thorin didn't hesitate to jump in after him which honestly had heat flooding Bilbo's cheeks. He was quite certain Thorin only did it because he was the company leader and felt responsible, but he would be kidding himself if he didn't wish it was for other, more selfish reasons.

Bilbo had been unresponsive when Thorin had finally managed to surface with him. The rest of the dwarves and Gandalf had raced to meet them on the bank, and Oin had instructed Thorin on what to do to revive him. If Bilbo had felt flushed before, then he was positively overheated when he learned Thorin's lips had touched his own to breathe life back into his body. Thorin himself looked like he was a little pink recounting the event, but it could just be Bilbo trying to see what he wished would be there.

After Bilbo had passed out again, the elves had offered to take him back to Rivendell and see to his healing. Thorin didn't trust Bilbo to be alone with the elves and has been with him the entire day and a half it took for him to recover. That's when Thorin made the observation Bilbo had been hoping to hide.

"You can't swim."

Bilbo cleared his throat, relieved when his answer came out a little clearer.

"No, no I cannot."

There was a beat of silence between them as the statement was absorbed in full.

"Don't you think that was information I might need to know earlier?" Thorin growled.

Bilbo hesitated as a twinge of annoyance surged through him.

"Not really, no."

"We have to cross a lake by the end of this journey!"

The conversation rather devolved from there. Bilbo emphasizes the points that he was not privy to the journey's itinerary nor the fact that Thorin seemed interested at all in Bilbo's opinion on the toll of this quest on his person. Thorin was quick to counter that Bilbo complaining about horse hair and being unable to swim were in no way the same. As well as Bilbo withholding such information stands to put the whole quest at risk when he was their burglar. They reached a stalemate when Bilbo pointed out that it was a job Thorin did not believe him capable of in the first place, and Thorin found himself unable to argue with that truth.

"I could teach you." Thorin finally offered once their heads were a bit cooler.

"Teach me what?" Bilbo sighed, having grown weary of the conversation all together.

"To swim."

Ice went shooting straight down Bilbo's back.

"No, no." He attempted to laugh off. "I'm afraid I won't be going back into the water any time soon."

He lifted his tea cup to his mouth to hide the grimace only to nearly end up spilling it all over his person due to the shaking. He nearly dropped the cup altogether when Thorin uttered his next line.

"I would never let anything happen to you."

Bilbo was flummoxed but more at how utterly true that phrase was. Thorin surrendered to the trolls when Bilbo was in danger of being ripped apart, and now again with rescuing him out of the water. Why? Just because Thorin needed a burglar? Thorin was so noble, he probably would do it for any member of the company. A fact that had Bilbo wilting a bit even if he wasn't quite honest about why.

"I'll consider it." He finally answered, not believing for a chance he would change his mind.

He looked up, startling at the confident and smug look on Thorin's face. He scowled back. The dwarf king might be used to getting his way, but he would soon learn that a Baggins can be equally stubborn.

***

Bilbo could not believe he was doing this as he stared down into the smooth surface of the pond. He wasn't sure how it happened exactly. In the two weeks of recovery and rest, Thorin had been there every step of the way. Something in him had unfurrowed and soaked in the attention he was being shown, and when that persistent dwarf asked him again, he had said 'yes'. Damn him.

"I'll be right there with you. You have nothing to fear."

Bilbo looked over at Thorin intent on telling him he had changed his mind only to feel his face flush in the sudden heat rushing through his cheeks. Thorin had taken off most of his outer layers, including his shirt. Staring him in the face was a broad, tanned chest decorated in dark hair that led down to his underpants which hugged his thighs and hips in a way that left little to the imagination. Bilbo couldn't even tear his eyes away to respect the dwarf's decency as rather uncomfortable thoughts filled his mind and his lower belly.

"Master Baggins? Bilbo?"

"Hmm?" He answered, finally dragging his eyes up to Thorin's face.

The dwarf at least didn't seem offended. His chin jutting out proudly, and his eyes dancing in amusement.

"Are you going to disrobe as well?"

Bilbo's brain caught fire at that point as it took a few times of repeating the words to himself before he decided that was something he could do. He turned his eyes down to the buttons on his waistcoat, as that seemed to be the safest course of action, and pretended he couldn't feel Thorin's watchful gaze observing him. He knew he was nothing to look at. Not in the way that dwarves looked at least. He was too soft, too round, too perfectly hobbitish to be of any desire.

He left his undershirt on as well as his underpants, and as he watched Thorin turn away, he was quite certain he imagined the disappointment in his blue eyes.

"Shall we?" Thorin asked as he started picking his way ankle deep into the water.

Bilbo hesitated, a shiver traveling down his spine despite the relatively warm day. He went to move one of his respectably furry feet into the pond only to pull back at the last minute.

"Thorin. I really must protest. This isn't necessary. I promise you won't have to save me again as I probably won't go anywhere near a body of water for the rest of my life..."

Thorin shushed him with a finger to the lips. A delightful tingling sensation began and traveled all the way down to swoop in his belly. His eyes crossed, staring at the digit that effectively cut off his rambling.

"Give me your hands." Thorin stated, removing his finger to offer up both of his hands, palm up.

Bilbo had little time to mourn the loss of Thorin's finger as he placed his hands on top of Thorin's. His throat went dry as the differences between their hands became overly apparent. Thorin's were rougher to the touch and nearly swallowed his own in size, but his hold was gentle. Secure. Warm. Bilbo gave the hands as best a squeeze as he could, and Thorin squeezed them in return. He was so mesmerized by the difference between their hands, he hadn't even realized Thorin had been leading him into the water until he felt it brush against his waist.

He cried out, throwing himself onto Thorin and wrapping his arms around his neck and his legs around his waist. Thorin was so surprised, he tipped backwards, going under for a quick second and nearly bringing Bilbo down with him. He quickly came back up, sputtering and trying to clear the water from his face around Bilbo hugging him tightly and all but sobbing on him.

"Bilbo! You can still touch!" Thorin growled, trying to create some distance.

Bilbo held on like a leech. His face pressed tightly against Thorin's shoulder and his arms and legs shaking from how hard he clutched him. Thorin sighed as he wrapped his arms around Bilbo, slowly rubbing his back, and murmuring comforting words in his ear. Gradually, painstakingly so, Bilbo relaxed his grip on Thorin. He let his feet touch down on the muddy bed, and was actually feeling good about the whole thing. Then Thorin talked about letting him float, and Bilbo was back to clinging to Thorin for dear life.

"I'm not going to let you go under. We're just going to lean you back to lay flat on the water."

Bilbo shook his head. "Maybe we can start simpler. Baby steps."

"Bilbo, that is the baby step."

Bilbo released a high pitch whining noise completely involuntarily that had Thorin sighing.

"Maybe...this was too soon. We got this far. Maybe we can try again tomorrow."

"Thorin Oakenshield, I can promise you that I will not be crawling in this pond ever again without it being of the utmost necessity."

He heard the sigh through Thorin's nose and felt his body go rigid knowing that Thorin's patience was not going to last much longer.

"Tell me a story, anything to distract me from where I am." Bilbo ordered, trying to make himself more comfortable with the water lapping against him.

Thorin hesitated for a moment more before he began to speak.

"My grandfather actually taught me to swim. The River Running cut straight through the mountain, but it was always too cold due to the ice melting from higher up. So one day when he was trying to avoid his council and my grandmother, he took Frerin and I down to the hot springs."

"Did he teach you to float on your back as well?"

Thorin nodded.

"And what did he say to make you trust him on that?" Bilbo asked softly.

Thorin hesitated. "He didn't have to say anything. He told me to trust him, and I did."

There was nothing accusing in Thorin's tone which somehow made it worse. Bilbo sighed, his eyes cutting down to the crystal water surrounding them. He did trust Thorin. More so than he's ever trusted anyone besides his parents. Was that odd? He barely knows the dwarf. He did though. Trust him that was.

"Alright. Let's get this over with."

"Are you sure?" Thorin asked, making Bilbo whimper.

He nodded. He was as sure as he was going to be. Thorin warned him that his ears and part of his face would submerge, but his mouth and nose would stay above the water. He promised to keep his hands under Bilbo, keeping him afloat. Bilbo took a deep breath as Thorin repositioned him. One hand placed under his back and the other under his knees, putting Bilbo in an almost horizontal position.

He would have blushed had he not been holding onto Thorin's neck the entire time anyways. He did kick his feet a bit, not liking the fact that he was not touching the ground.

"Very good. Now you're going to have to let go of me."

"I don't think I can." Bilbo responded.

Thorin released a sigh as he helped work Bilbo's fingers into moving again as he slowly unwound himself from around Thorin's neck. Thorin kept his hands under Bilbo's knees and back, helping him to lie flat on the water. Bilbo shivered, feeling extremely vulnerable.

"You're not going to let go?"

"Well...I'm not right now."

That had Bilbo catapulting back into Thorin's space as the dwarf tried to calm him down and explain the process. He wasn't going to let Bilbo go under, but he would drop his hands to see if the hobbit would float on the water. It was something Bilbo felt very dubious about. Hobbits were not made for floating. They were made for sinking. Of course that wasn't completely true. His Brandybuck cousins were well accomplished swimmers, but that was their Stoor blood at work. Bilbo highly doubted he had Stoor blood.

Eventually Thorin got Bilbo back into lying face-up, his hands supporting underneath him. Bilbo was very apprehensive about this and he felt like his shivering clued Thorin in.

"I'm not going anywhere." He promised. "I'll be right here. You'll dip just a bit but you're not going to go under. Just relax."

Bilbo tried to relax, but as Thorin's hands went away and he sank further into the water he started scrambling for the dwarf once more. Thorin got an idea for the third time though. As soon as he had Bilbo lying on the water, he leaned in and gently pressed his lips against Bilbo's own. The hobbit gasped, leaving room for Thorin's tongue to invade his mouth. His stomach erupted with butterflies as his eyes slipped closed, becoming lost to the sensation. He didn't understand why or how this was happening, but he knew he didn't want it to stop. Very slowly, Thorin pulled away.

"Bilbo." He stated. "You're floating."

Bilbo's eyes popped open seeing Thorin's hands up in front of him and not underneath his body. Bilbo immediately started flailing, and he nearly sank before the surface if Thorin hadn't been there to pull him back onto his feet. Bilbo could feel his face exploding in heat as the butterflies seemed to die in a blazing inferno consuming his body.

"You tricked me!" He accused.

Thorin frowned. "Well it worked, didn't it?"

Bilbo threw his hands in the air as he started stomping his way back to the shoreline.

"I cannot believe you only kissed me so I could float without assistance. You rude, inconsiderate..."

Bilbo didn't get to finish telling Thorin all the other adjectives he was as Thorin grabbed his arm, spun him back around, and kissed him soundly once more. It didn't last longer than a second or else Bilbo was quite certain he would have kicked him. Instead, he only stared at Thorin with a raised brow as he explained.

"Not only. I kissed you because I've been wanting to do so for a while now."

Bilbo's other brow shot up to join the first one as he blinked in shock. He tried to get his mouth to work without much success. That was certainly news to him. Thorin hid his intentions well. So well that Bilbo was quite certain this was all some elaborate dream at this point. When he finally did manage to say something it was not at all what he expected.

"You called me a grocer."

Thorin smirked. "Yes, but I should have pointed out that you were a cute grocer."

Bilbo was absolutely bewildered at this point.

"You yelled at me after I nearly caught the camp on fire."

"Who puts their bedroll that close to the flames?!"

"You glared at me after the trolls."

"I nearly watched you get ripped apart before my very eyes!"

Bilbo gave him an incredulous laugh. "You're absolutely ridiculous."

"I don't think my actions have any..."

Bilbo silenced him with another kiss. This was longer, steadier, mapping out a whole new side to the dwarf. One Bilbo didn't realize he would ever get to know. When he pulled away, he was at least pleased to see that Thorin was equally amazed if the soft smile in place was anything to go off.

"Should we give floating another try?"

Bilbo wrapped his arms around Thorin's shoulders. "I think I already am."

After they kissed a few more times, Thorin pressed about the swimming lessons and Bilbo made it apparent he absolutely was not getting in that water ever again.