You are my savior

Chapter 8 - The truth?

Thorin turned his head towards Bilbo.

"I didn't check the time," he said after a while.

"Was it... Late?" Bilbo asked.

"I think it was pretty late. Why?"

"It's just... Thorin, I'm not going to pretend that what happened last night didn't happen. It did," Bilbo said. His heart was racing while he waited for Thorin's answer.

Thorin sighed.

"I'm sorry. I know it was wrong of me. Of course you can leave if you want." he said.

"What? No! I'm the one who should be apologizing. Listen, I don't wish to leave."

"But you did. Why?"

Bilbo stared into nothingness, thinking.

'Why... Why? Because you could never love me. Because I'm just a wanderer and a stranger. Because I'm just... A hobbit..."

"Because I thought you didn't want to see me anymore." he finally said.

"But I do. So you will stay? You can have shelter, food, anything," Thorin promised.

The hobbit was silent for a moment and then he nodded.

"Of course. But... You don't know a thing about me, and I don't know a thing about you. Could we... Get to know each other better?" he said carefully.

Thorin tried to smile and then sighed. What should he say? He didn't want Bilbo to know that he was a prince. He wanted to be treated equally, not as royalty. Not as something meaningful. Because, in his mind, he wasn't meaningful.

Thorin sat on the bed and took a deep breath.

"I can tell you, but you'll have to promise me one thing. Promise to treat me just the way you did before."

Bilbo nodded. He was a bit confused.

"I am a prince. This is the kingdom of Erebor that you're in. And this cottage, it's just my safe place. Away from the others," Thorin continued.

Bilbo was shocked. A prince?

"Well, no wonder why he's so handsome then" was the first thing to enter his mind. Then he just smiled.

"Thank you for telling me. Of course I will treat you the same." he said.

Thorin smiled too and let out a sigh of relief.

"What about your story, then?"

[A/N: Yes, I finally updated. Hello there!]