Okay okay, if you're up for it, for the micro story ask, what about "don't leave"?
I feel like the real challenge here is - can I keep this micro - brevity is not my friend but let's see
Bilbo is already half-way to Dale -- his pack heavy on his back, Gandalf a steady presence at his side -- when he hears the sound of hooves behind them.
When he turns, worried that something has managed to go wrong in the hours since they left Erebor, he finds Thorin barreling towards him on a pony, closely followed by Dwalin, Kili, & Fili.
All he can really do is stare, open mouthed, as the group speeds toward him. What could have possibly happened? A traitorous part of his heart whispers, he's come to ask you to stay, but he knows that's a lie. He'd been in Erebor for an entire season and Thorin had never once given him any indication that he wanted Bilbo to stay past the winter.
Bilbo knows it's a lie and so it makes no sense to him at all when Thorin swings himself off of the pony, strides forward, and the first words to come out of his mouth are, "Don't leave. Amrâlimê. I do not have the right to ask this of you but do not leave."
Thorin's eyes are very blue and Bilbo's heart is beating very loud. He dimly recognizes that his walking stick has slipped from his fingers but it seems rather unimportant in the face of Thorin's earnest words.
"I don't understand," he says, clinging to his composure by his fingertips. "Why would I stay?" What he doesn't say is, how could I not, when it's you asking, how could I not?
Thorin flinches but resolutely takes another step forward to grab his hand. Bilbo lets him, unwilling to deny Thorin anything even now.
"I do not have the right but I will ask regardless," Thorin says so quietly his words are in danger of being whipped away by the wind. "I would ask that you stay by my side so that I may court you. So that I would not have to know the bleakness of days spent without you by my side."
Bilbo stares. And stares. Oh, he thinks, wondering if this is what it feels like to fall in love all over again. It's a rock slide and a flood. It's the anxious twist of Thorin's mouth, the way the midday sun hits the blue of Thorin's eyes and leaves them dazzling.
"Oh," he says out loud. And then again. A wet sounding laugh bubbles up and out of his mouth. "Oh, of course you stupid, stupid dwarf. All you had to do was ask me."
Fili and Kili break out into cheers but Bilbo doesn't have eyes for anyone except Thorin and the smile that breaks across his face. When Thorin kisses him it's a thousand shades of summer and fresh spring rain, which is to say, it's home.
Fili is the first to get stopped in the metal detector for carrying knives
Ori also gets stopped but that’s just because he's wearing overalls
Bifur gets stopped at the metal detector too for obvious reasons, but he just sighs and waits for Bofur to pull his doctor’s note out
Nori’s carry on bag gets stopped because his bottle of hair gel is over the 100 ml limit
Stirs up a fuss when he won’t throw it away
Balin has to step in and resolve the conflict that’s literally his job description in Erebor
Kili looks at the arrival/departure screens and sees that a flight got canceled and just immediately assumes it was theirs
Convinces half the dwarves they need to go back before Bilbo actually bothers to double check
Gandalf claims he “accidentally” booked himself in first class while all the others are in economy although he honestly deserves it after the stress of trying to get every dwarf on the plane
Gandalf also “accidentally” booked all the dwarves seats in the very back of the plane
He gets a Thorin Glare™ when they figure this out
Kili claims he needs to sit by the window so he doesn’t get nauseous but really he just likes to look at the clouds (and stars!)
Oin is out COLD before the plane even takes off
The others pretend not to be jealous he can fall asleep so easily
Bombur usually falls asleep quickly but makes sure to stay awake because he’s excited for the free snacks is very disappointed when he realizes it’s only a tiny bag of pretzels
Gloin’s seat accidentally got switched so he’s sitting in the front of the plane next to a middle aged couple
He doesn’t care but soon gets them into a conversation about their children
Talks for hours about his own son Gimli(!!!)
The couple absolutely loves him and by the end of the flight Gloin gets invited to their daughter’s wedding
Fili reaches over and presses the call flight attendant button on Ori’s seat
Ori is extremely embarrassed and flustered when the flight attendant comes over and apologizes for bothering her so many times that it starts being awkward and the flight attendant just slowly backs away
Bilbo reads a book for the entire flight like the nerd he is
Bofur nearly gets kicked off the plane after trying to start a group song doesn’t understand why the other passengers wouldn’t join in
Dori claps when the plane lands
FIli and Kili join him as a joke and start cheering loudly
Dwalin hits the back of their seats but can’t do much more because security’s been watching him since he arrived
Thorin has the darkest circles under his eyes because this man has MAJOR insomnia
Tried to fall asleep the entire 10 hour flight and only got 5 consecutive minutes also couldn’t sleep the night before
Is officially in his Grumpy Cat Era™ because he hasn’t slept in 36 hours and is dealing with a LOT of travel stress
Falls asleep in the car on the way to the hotel
There aren’t enough seats in the rental car so they just stuff Fili and Kili in the trunk don’t worry it was their idea
Bilbo is driving
Gandalf tried to be the driver but his drivers license was revoked years ago
Balin tries to tell the company about cool landmarks they pass on the way to the hotel but everyone is so tired no one responds
He doesn’t seem to notice and will continue giving a history lesson the entire drive
Bilbo runs over a pothole and Fili and Kili hit the ceiling with a loud THWACK
No one bothers to check on them until they get to the hotel sorry not sorry
Bonus:
Thranduil and Legolas are the ones who wear full suits to get on an airplane Legolas tries to get out of this but is told he will be disowned if he wears sweats
They are also the kind of people who will get off of a 15 hour red eye looking fresher than a daisy
Have to avoid paparazzi in the airport
They bring Tauriel with them for crowd control
Can definitely afford a private plane but don’t get one because of the high carbon emissions remember elves are the biggest tree huggers
(Character as: R = RIGHT side of convo, L = LEFT side of the convo).
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Bilbo Baggins (R)
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Kili Durin (R)
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Fili Durin (R)
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Thorin Oakenshield (R)
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Dwalin (R)
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Balin (R)
* * *
Bofur (R)
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Nori (R)
* * *
Ori (R)
* * *
Dori (L)
* * *
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Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this fest of absurd texts that reminded me of our favourite lads! But, the journey doesn't end here... I have another two posts coming as well!