#notsometal!bilbo

[polymathicdragon]

Tagged by @curiousartemis , thanks!! Love this :) 

Here is the intro to a long-abandoned WIP about HeavyMetal!Thorin & NotsoMetal!Bilbo, a concert AU that I started in 2017. I hope to return to it soon!

The first time Bilbo saw him, it was a dreary Monday morning. Bilbo had just moved to the city not two days before and was taking the bus to work for the first time. He was nervous about all of it and hoped that there wouldn't be anyone at the bus stop, but instead found a figure already on the bench. Bilbo debated not sitting down and instead just standing outside, but a light mist had started during his walk and he had forgotten his umbrella. 

He slid onto the bench next to the stranger as quietly as possible. He peered at the man next to him as best he could without drawing attention. Dressed in all black, his long dark hair was neat and hung down his back, twin braids hung on either side of his head. The man had a cropped beard and was nodding his head along to music coming out of his earbuds, not quite a scowl on his face, but he definitely didn't look happy. 

Bilbo looked at his watch, it was quarter past, which meant that the bus for downtown should be pulling up any moment, if he had read the map online correctly. He was hoping to be early his first day, but not too early as to seem overeager. He looked down the street, tapping his fingers on his knee as he once again looked down at his watch. A minute or two late wasn't a big deal. He took out his phone and went back to the transit website for the 100th time, just to reread the schedule. 

He glanced up, right bus stop, right time. Where was it? It was now nearly 25 after. Had he missed it? Bilbo worried and felt his stomach tighten. He glanced over at the man next to him, who hadn't moved or even glanced at Bilbo it seemed. What if he was waiting for a different bus? Bilbo toyed with the idea of disturbing him. He hated the idea of it. He had known what it was like to want peace and quiet and for someone to bother you in the middle of it. He stared down at the face of his watch as the minute hand crept towards the half hour mark. He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, what a day and it was only 7:30 am. 

Bilbo breathed in deep and puffed up his chest, he would ask he decided matter of fact. He looked over at the man fully, but received no acknowledgement. Bilbo cleared his throat.  

"Excuse me?" he started quietly. Nothing. "Um, excuse me?" Bilbo started a little louder this time. The man blinked but didn't look at him. 

Bilbo let out an exasperated sigh and leaned over and tapped the man on the shoulder lightly, "excuse me?"

The man didn't move except to pull out the closest earbud and look over at him, "sorry, what?" he asked, tone flat, his lips a thin line. 

Bilbo stumbled, having expected to just be ignored. "Oh, sorry, sorry. Do you, um. The bus? Do you happen to know if the downtown one stops here?" 

The man nodded, "it does." He stared blankly at Bilbo, his eyebrows moving up slightly as if to question why he had been bothered with such an inane question. 

"Oh. Well um, isn't it supposed to come at quarter past?" 

"It's always 20 minutes late," he stated, putting back in his earbud and turning back towards the street. 

Oh. Bilbo looked back at his watch. It should be there in less than 3 minutes then, hopefully. He tapped his fingers on his knee, his briefcase sitting on the ground next to him. Exactly 20 minutes late, the bus rolled to a stop in front of them, letting out a groan as it settled. Bilbo stood and approached the door and climbed on board, depositing the required change. He would have to get a bus pass soon. He sat in the first open seat, right behind the driver. He watched as the man, who was quite a bit taller and broader than he had initially guessed, flashed his bus pass and went to the back to sit near the window. Bilbo spent the rest of the ride wondering where the tall, dark, and admittedly handsome stranger worked, his name, but mainly what was he listening to?

Tagging: @vtforpedro @diskingoferebor @lesbiankiliel @mandolinearts @arofili @thrandurins