Hiding Myself. A fem!Bilbo Bagginshield fanfic

Chapter 15

That picture tho..... I wish that had happened instead. Badass Dís is exactly what we all needed. Also, Thorin dragged by his ear to go apologise to Bilbo is just frickin hilarious!

     Bella Baggins gripped the tunic she was clutching onto even tighter when she was shaken awake.
     "Th'rn..... Lemme sleep. " she murmured. The dwarf king, however, remained persistent and continued to shake the burglar gently.
     "Wake up, Bella. We need to hurry on to the Mountain today. "
     Bella opened her eyes to see the face of Thorin Oakenshield staring down at her. She reluctantly let go of his tunic and sat up. The rest of the Company seemed to be packing up their supplies and preparing for the next leg of their journey.
     "Alright. " she grumbled. Thorin rolled his eyes and laid a hand on her cheek.
     "There's no need to be so annoyed, Bella. " he said. "Let's get it over with, alright? Then you can see your books and your armchair, hmm? "
     She stopped herself from giggling at the stoic king's efforts to stop himself from smiling. He quickly stood up and offered his hand to her. Bella took it and pulled herself up.
     The entire journey to the Mountain, Bella remained by Thorin's side. The path, or what Balin assured her was the old path, was rocky and threatened to sprain her ankle at every step. When she nearly tumbled for the fourth time she fell back into Kili. The young dwarf laughed and crouched down.
     "C'mon, we'll get there quicker if you don't fall over. " he said. She threw a fake punch at Kili's shoulder and he laughed even harder.
     Thorin looked back to see Bella sitting on Kili's shoulders, both of them grinning.
     "What on earth are you two doing? " Thorin asked, trying to keep a straight face as they walked up.
     Kili grinned cheekily. "Helping my sister up the path. " he said.
     Thorin rolled his eyes and continued on the path.
     Ridiculous, his nephew was.

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     The made camp under a spur of the Mountain, settling in for the night. Kili ran up to Fili, Bella still on his shoulders. Fili raised an eyebrow when the hobbit fell back and grasped onto Kili's hair.
     "You having fun? " Fili joked. Kili tried to jab his brother with his elbow but stopped when Bella tipped sideway. He crouched down and let Bella clamber off of his shoulders.
     "Possibly. "
     Bella whipped around and shoved Kili. "I nearly fell off every five seconds! "
     The younger brother laughed and laid an arm around her petite shoulders.
     "But you stayed where you were the whole way up here. " Kili reminded. Bella rolled her eyes and walked over to where Thorin stood.
     "What next? " she questioned. He opened his eyes and turned to her.
     "I don't know. Until we find the door, we cannot continue. "
     Bella nodded, leaning her head on his chest. Subconsciously, his arm wrapped around her waist and held her tight against him.
     This was nice. This was a nice change from the stoic, brooding Thorin she'd known for months. She liked this version of him. She just hoped it would last.

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     "Hurry up, slowpokes! " Kili called down the Mountain. Bella stood beside him, watching Fili and Balin who had been sent with them to scout out for the hidden door.
     "We're not all mountain goats like you, Kili. " Fili grumbled when they got up to where Kili and Bella stood. The blonde dwarf jabbed his brother playfully and ruffled up Bella's hair before they continued.
     This must have been their third or fourth try to find the door.
     At the top, Bella chanced to look sideways and ran to the right suddenly.
     "Bella! Where are you going? " Fili shouted after her. The brothers chased after her.
     The trio stopped on an open area that almost looked like a front porch. In front of them was a smooth wall that looked too perfect to be a normal part of the Mountain. Kili stepped up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder.
     "The door. This has got to be it, it just has to! " he breathed. Fili let out a cheer behind them and raced down the way they had come. When he returned, Thorin was racing on his heels.
     "We found where the door is! There's no way this wall should be this perfect right? " Fili rambled. Thorin held a hand up and stepped forward to face the wall. He ran a hand over it, tracing the shape of a door he must've thought he saw.
     Thorin turned to his sister-sons and the hobbit with a smile. "Yes. This is it. "
     Fili and Kili ran, whooping in glee, down the mountainside. Bella stood by Thorin for a moment longer.
     "What next? "
     He turned to her and grabbed her hand. "Next, we reclaim this Mountain. "
     Bella smiled and squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Not too hard, right? After everything we've fought through, I think we can do this. Spiders, elves, trolls. The dragon can't be worse then that. Least not the spiders. "
     Thorin nodded and grasped her other hand. He pulled her close to him and chuckled when Bella automatically leant up on her toes.
     "You are truly amazing, Ghivashel. " he murmured before he closed the gap between them.

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     They returned to the camp to excited dwarves. The Company was cheering, quietly, and Fili and Kili were telling how the door had been found.
     "We move camp tonight! Durin's Day approaches and we will get in that Mountain and reclaim our home! " Thorin shouted. The dwarves gave a cheer and began packing up. Bella watched over the ragtag group of dwarves that had become a family of sorts.
     Yes. That sounded about right.
     They were like a family.
     A large, rowdy, dysfunctional family, but a family all the same. Kili and Fili were like the brothers she never had, and the others were always there for their kin.
      And Thorin.... Bella didn't really know what he was to her, neither had really brought the subject up.
    As Bella looked over the camp, Fili and Kili joking, Balin scolding them lightly, and Thorin shaking his head at his nephews, the pint-sized burglar knew one thing.
     Whatever she was to him, she knew she loved Thorin with all her heart.