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Thorin dodged a group of girls ahead of him by stepping down a side street before they caught sight of him. He wasn’t sure who had given away his location, but it was annoying when he couldn’t do normal things. Not that he often attempted to go out into public anymore. According to his manager, he had people to do that stuff for him.
The little street took him to another road, though there were less people on it than the one he’d just left. None of them looked at him twice, which Thorin was grateful for. He tugged the collar of his coat up a little higher and ducked into it just a tad bit more to conceal as much of his face as he could without it being obvious that he was hiding. The wind was just chilly enough for him to get away with it.
A gust brought the faint sound of shouting from the street he’d just left. Thorin didn’t bother to look over his shoulder. Instead, he scanned the street for somewhere to hide. He’d had to stand behind dumpsters before to avoid some of his more enthusiastic fans. He wanted to keep that as a last resort if he could.
His gaze caught on a sign of a coffee cup and a biscuit but he shook his head at it. A coffee shop would be a little too obvious. Several of the other storefronts had huge windows. Even if he did go in them to hide, he’d be spotted.
A small bookshop just around the corner from him snagged his eye. Thorin frowned as he lifted his chin a little bit more to look at it. The front windows were large but most of the glass was covered by displays of various books. He could barely see further into the store. What he could see, looked to be empty of people.
It was perfect.
Without checking for traffic, Thorin hurried across the intersection and ducked into the stoop and tried the handle. The door was unlocked but it stuck a bit as he pushed against it. Throwing his shoulder into it, Thorin forced the door open and then shoved it shut behind him.
There was no one that popped out of one of the many aisles overflowing with books to greet him, which suited him just fine. Thorin smoothed down his coat and stepped further into the shop. He doubted anyone saw him enter. It was the perfect opportunity to have a look around without someone staring at him.
Thorin wandered away from the door but then stopped to look back at it. Now that he was in the shop, he could see that it was larger than he’d thought. It was also crowded. Books were absolutely everywhere. There was a tiny fear lingering in the back of his mind that if he left the door he’d never find it again.
With a shake of his head and a muttered curse under his breath for being ridiculous, Thorin turned sharply and made his way between two rows of books. He had to step over a stack that sat on the floor, but otherwise the store wasn’t in too bad of shape. There were a lot of books, but it was a bookstore. That was to be expected.
Since he was already there and looking around, Thorin stopped to examine some of the spines on the shelf next to him. He ran his fingers over them gently as he frowned. He mouthed their titles before he shook his head. “How are these even organized? This doesn’t make any sense.”
“Oh,” a voice said from behind him.
It was clear before he ever turned around that whoever had just happened upon him honestly hadn’t known that he was there. Thorin turned to look over his shoulder without exposing all of his face. “Hello.”
“I didn’t hear you come in,” the man told him as he shrugged a bit. He was holding several books in his arms. A thick cardigan hung from his shoulders and his hair was a curly mess.
He was beautiful.
Thorin cleared his throat as he turned sideways in the small space to better see the man behind him. “There wasn’t a bell on the door.”
“Oh, right,” the man said as he quirked up one side of his mouth in a self-deprecating smile. “I’ve been meaning to put that back up.”
“Do you work here then?” Thorin asked as he turned the rest of the way to face him. “I didn’t know this bookstore was here.”
“Ah, well,” he said as he shifted his hold on the books he was holding. “That’s a bit by design. I generally supply private collectors but, as you can see, my own collection has gotten a bit out of hand. I will, of course, sell you a book. If you promise to take proper care of it.”
Unable to help himself, Thorin felt his brows rise. “What do you mean by proper care?”
The man matched his look as he lifted his brows in return. “Depends on which book you are interested in.”
Thorin dropped his gaze as he smiled a bit. He shook his head a bit. “I’m just browsing.”
“All right then,” he said. “My name’s Bilbo. Just call out if you have any questions. I’ll be around here somewhere finding more spaces to put these.”
“And perhaps those,” Thorin said as he pointed at the stack that he’d had to step over. “I wouldn’t want anyone to trip.”
Bilbo’s smile turned a bit as his gaze followed Thorin’s finger to the stack of wayward books. “Yeah, I’ll come back for those. Not that I’ve had any other customers in weeks.”
Thorin bit his lip to stop himself from laughing. He turned to continue on his way to explore more of the store before he stopped in his tracks. Slowly, he turned to look back at the empty aisle behind him.
He’d talked to someone.
He’d talked to someone who could see his face. And they hadn’t freaked out and asked him for his autograph or a picture or anything.
He’d actually just had a normal conversation with someone.
Or as normal as it could be considering the odd store and the even more eccentric owner of it.
Thorin stopped himself from turning around and trying to figure out where Bilbo had gone. He did not need to pester the man while he was working. Even if he seemed to be the only one he’d met in recent months who hadn’t already known who he was.
That or he was just one of the only people that could look Thorin in the eye and keep calm. Either way, Thorin appreciated it.
He hummed softly under his breath as he took a bit of time to explore the shop. He had time before he had to be anywhere. Nothing was pushing him to continue on his way.
That and he sort of hoped that he’d stumble upon Bilbo again as he wandered.
Thorin told himself over and over again as he let his eyes glide over the covers without really reading their titles not to be weird about it. He told himself as he stopped to look at some interesting desk ornaments that there wasn’t a reason for him to linger. He didn’t doubt that the fans who’d spotted him before had moved on once they didn’t find him out on the street. He could go back out into the chilly afternoon and continue on his way.
But then a display of notebooks and quills caught his attention. Actual quills. They weren’t pens. They weren’t even the fancy pens that some people liked to gift him because they thought he knew how to use them.
Quills! With feathers and everything.
“Bilbo?” Thorin called without turning away from the beautiful feathers that made up most of the quill. “Bilbo? Can you hear me?”
“Yes, yes!” Bilbo called back from somewhere else in the store. “Do you need my assistance?”
“You said that you’d only sell me a book if I could take proper care of it.”
“I remember,” Bilbo replied dryly from somewhere a little closer but still out of Thorin’s sight.
Thorin couldn’t help but smile as he looked back at the quills. “Does that rule apply to all the things in your store?”
Bilbo rounded the corner of a different row of books. He stopped as he caught sight of Thorin carefully running his fingers along one of his quills. “Are you asking because you actually want one or are you just generally curious?”
“Perhaps a bit of both,” Thorin conceded.
Bilbo narrowed his eyes at him in a moment of silent contemplation before he slowly nodded. “All right. Well, I’ll explain how they work and then you can decide if you want one.”
Thorin stood up and gestured to the display. He stepped back and paid attention as Bilbo began to tell him about the quills. They were made out of different feathers and each one needed to be cared for so that they didn’t break or fall apart while it was being used.
Thorin was listening. Truly! It was just, Bilbo seemed totally relaxed and had this way of speaking with his hands that kept drawing Thorin’s attention to his fingers rather than his words. In his defense, they were pretty fingers.
“So?” Bilbo asked as he waved his hands toward the quills. “Do you want one?”
“Do you have any that are more ornamental? I have a beautiful antique desk that I could display one on.”
Bilbo sighed as he looked at the quills and then back at Thorin. “You could display any of them.”
Thorin couldn’t help but turn toward Bilbo. It took every bit of his self-control not to reach out the man. “Why do you sound so disappointed about that?”
“Well,” Bilbo said as he gestured back at the quills. “They’re beautiful and wonderfully made. It would be shame if they weren’t ever used for what they’ve been made for.”
“And if I promise to write with it?” Thorin found himself asking.
Bilbo studied him for another moment before he nodded. “You seem trustworthy enough. I suppose I could trust that you’re actually using it.”
Thorin felt a smile tugging at his lips but did his best not to let it take over his face. “Would you like me to bring you proof?”
Bilbo shrugged. “You know where the store is. You could always mail me a letter.”
“And you’d know that I used a quill?”
“Of course,” Bilbo said as though he thought everyone could tell what sort of writing instrument had been used.
“I could just send you a picture,” Thorin pointed out. “There’s no need to involve the postman.”
Bilbo’s brows furrowed as he looked up at Thorin. “If you don’t want to mail it then are you just going to bring the photo here? Why not just bring the paper?”
Thorin felt his brows dropping to mimic Bilbo’s. “I would just send it to you.”
“Right,” Bilbo replied slowly. “That still involves the postman.”
“I meant that I could text it to you,” Thorin said as he pulled out his phone. “All you have to do is give me your phone number.”
Bilbo stared at his phone for a moment before he looked back up at Thorin. “I can give you the number I have but even if you send a picture to it, I won’t be able to see it.”
“Why not?” Thorin asked as his fingers tightened slightly on his phone.
“It doesn’t have a screen,” Bilbo said with a shrug.
Thorin stared at him for a moment before his brain rebooted and he was able to blink again. “What?”
“My phone,” Bilbo said slowly. “It’s a bit old but it gets the job done. I don’t have one of those fancy phones. I’ve never needed one.”
Thorin slipped his phone back into his pocket and then crossed his arms as he tried to get his mind to wrap around what Bilbo was telling him. “You only have the one phone?”
“Yes,” Bilbo said with a firm nod. “Just the one.”
“What do you do when you aren’t here?” Thorin asked. He could hear the disbelief in his voice but couldn’t make it go away. “How do people reach you when you aren’t here?”
Bilbo’s smile was soft but clear as he shook his head. “People leave me messages. I call them back once I get it. And I live just upstairs. I can hear the phone ringing from there. I just don’t always hurry to answer it.”
“Because they can leave you a message,” Thorin weakly said.
Bilbo’s smile widened as he nodded. “Exactly.”
“Can I see it?” Thorin asked before he could stop himself. He didn’t try to take back the question once he realized he’d said it out loud. He mostly just wanted to know just how old the phone was. “Does it have buttons?”
The look that Bilbo gave him made it clear that he found Thorin amusing. Thorin, in that moment, realized that he didn’t mind being amusing if it made Bilbo smile.
“Did you even come in here for something?”
Thorin froze for only a second before he shook his head. “I had a bit of time to kill before an engagement. Your store looked interesting.”
Bilbo looked around them and took in his store as if he’d never considered that it could be seen as interesting. “So you don’t want a book?”
Thorin forced himself to relax. The last thing he wanted was for Bilbo to think that he was strange. “Actually, I was thinking about getting a notebook for my sister. She’s always writing in one and I think she’d like some of your notebooks you have on display here.”
Bilbo looked from Thorin to his display of journals and back. “You want to buy a journal? Is there one in particular that you think she’ll like?”
There wasn’t. Thorin looked back at the notebooks to skim over them as quickly as he could. He was hoping that one would jump out to him. One that Dis would actually like. “She’s a fan of blue.”
Bilbo made a noise in the back of his throat. Thorin wasn’t entirely sure if it was a good noise or a bad noise. He just knew that it was a noise.
“She doesn’t much care for frivolous things. She’s raised my two nephews as a single mother and claims she doesn’t have time for nonsense.”
Bilbo made another noise before he glanced over at Thorin. He stepped forward and plucked one from his display. For a moment, he looked at the cover. Then he tapped it against one hand before stepping closer to Thorin to show it to him. “Then get her this one. It’s blue. It has a flower on it but only the one, which makes it look elegant rather than frivolous. The leather is of good quality and will withstand most uses.”
“It’s perfect,” Thorin said a bit breathlessly as he took the book from Bilbo’s hands. He was having a hard time breathing not because he was excited about the book but because Bilbo didn’t seem to care that their fingers brushed together. “I think she’ll love it.”
“Excellent,” Bilbo said with a grin. “Is there anything else you need today or shall I ring you up?”
Thorin opened his mouth to make up some sort of excuse to stay in Bilbo’s store for a while longer but got cut off by the sound of buzzing coming from his pocket. He smiled politely before he pulled out his phone. “Excuse me,” he said while he looked at the screen. “I need to take this.”
Bilbo dipped his head in a single nod and then backed up.
Thorin winced as he answered the phone and could hear yelling. “Dwalin,” he murmured as he glanced back at Bilbo. “I’m fine. I’m shopping. I told you I had errands to run today.”
He allowed Dwalin to yell for another minute before he sighed. “I’ll call you with my location in a bit. I need to finish buying things.”
Thorin hung up even as Dwalin was lecturing him about being careful about his private information.
Smiling at Bilbo, Thorin put his phone away. “Sorry about that. That’s the friend I have to meet in a bit.”
“Oh?” Bilbo asked as he motioned for Thorin to follow him through his store. “Are you late? He sounded quite upset.”
“I’m not late,” Thorin assured him as they approached the counter where Bilbo had an antique register. He was trying to think of something witty to say in an attempt to make Bilbo laugh when his gaze landed on an old phone and he lost every thought in his head. It wasn’t just that it didn’t have a screen. It really didn’t have any buttons. It was a rotary phone.
“That’s good,” Bilbo said as he pulled out a notebook and wrote down the price of the journal. “I only take cash.”
Thorin blinked at him for a moment before he reached for his wallet. “It’s been a while since I’ve had to use cash.”
“My register,” Bilbo said as he ran his fingers across the top of the antique, “does hold money but it doesn’t calculate it well or read cards. So cash it is! I keep a list here in my notebook so I can update my account when necessary.”
“It looks very nice,” Thorin assured him as he pulled out a few bills.
“Thanks,” Bilbo said brightly before he turned the notebook for Thorin to see. “Please jot down your name and I’ll take care of the rest. It’ll take me a moment but I’ll write up a receipt for you if you’d like one.”
“Sure,” Thorin replied as he wrote his name out on the indicated line. He had a half thought form in his head about how much the notebook was now worth because he’d written in it but let it fade into the back of his thoughts.
“Thorin,” Bilbo pronounced as he checked his signature. “That’s a good, strong name. Very nice.”
Then he went back to his clerk work and wrapped the journal up in paper before handing it over with the receipt. Thorin watched him silently as he prepped everything, waiting for the inevitable way everyone slowly connected his name and face to his fame.
Bilbo walked Thorin to the door with a smile. “I hope you have a good time with your grumpy friend. And I hope your sister likes the journal.”
“I’m sure she will. Thank you for your help.” Thorin lingered. He needed to go but instead he listed slightly toward Bilbo. He hadn’t been recognized.
“Okay,” Bilbo said slowly. “Have a good day.”
“You, too,” Thorin managed. He forced himself to leave before he talked himself into staying. Dwalin and the others be damned.
XXX
“There’s no way, Uncle Thorin,” Fili scoffed without looking up from his phone. “Everyone has phones.”
“I bet he had to hide behind a dumpster again,” Kili said with a laugh as he entered the living room and tossed his brother a drink. “We should check to see if his coat smells like fish.”
Thorin rolled his eyes as his nephews bumped their fists together and laughed at him. “I saw his phone at the counter when I bought your mother that notebook. It’s a rotary phone.”
Fili and Kili exchanged looks while they sipped from their cans.
Thorin crossed his arms over his chest as he studied their faces. “It’s a phone that doesn’t have buttons. It has a wheel with holes in it that you spin to each number. Just look it up. I didn’t see a computer and his register wasn’t electric. I’m telling you, this man is living off the grid. Even if I wanted to search for him, I doubt I’d find anything.”
Fili took another drink before he made a considering noise. “But you know where the shop is, right?”
“Yes,” Thorin agreed as he pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “I told you already. It was a side street in the Shire District.”
Kili glanced at his brother before looking back at his uncle with a playful smile on his lips. “Then we’ll do a little recon. You know that Fili and I are good at finding information on people. We’ll figure out who Bilbo is.”
“Don’t bother him,” Thorin warned them as he dropped his arms and took a step forward. “There’s no need for that. I was just surprised that he could run a business that way.”
“Sure,” Fili said in a voice that made it clear that they didn’t believe him. “Kili and I will go snooping and let you know what we find.”
“Meanwhile,” Kili said as he got back to his feet. “Mom put it on the calendar that you have a big meeting today about a new movie. You better get moving.”
He grumbled the entire way but Thorin did go. He wasn’t about to piss off his sister. Not when Dwalin was still mad at him for disappearing the other day.
XXX
Bilbo looked up with a smile as he heard the little bell above his doorway tinkle as it was opened. He was quite pleased with himself that he was able to not only find the bell but get it installed. The handsome man from the other day, not that Bilbo expected to ever see him again, would surely be impressed.
It was helpful to know when people entered the store. Though he hadn’t had many customers, but that was to be expected. Especially because he didn’t want many customers.
“Ori,” Bilbo called as he got up from his reading chair. “Is that you? I thought you weren’t going to stop by until half past four?”
“Oh,” a young voice that was distinctly not Ori’s replied from somewhere near the front of the store. “We’re not Ori.”
Bilbo set the book he’d been reading down before he went to follow the voice. “Well then, welcome to Dusty Covers. I’m Bilbo. Is there anything I can help you find today?”
There were two boys, most likely in their twenties, snooping around the front of his store when Bilbo found them. They turned to look at him but it was the blonde one of the two who smiled and acknowledged him. Not that he blamed the darker haired one for that. He was clearly too busy looking at everything Bilbo had on display to pay attention to anything else.
“Actually, you met our uncle the other day,” the light-haired boy said. “He bought a lovely notebook from you for our mother.”
“Thorin?” Bilbo questioned as he squinted at them. “You must be the nephews that he said his sister raised.”
“That’s us,” the other boy said as he finally looked up. “Our uncle told us something interesting though.”
“I’m Fili,” Fili cut in before his brother could get too far into the conversation. “And that’s Kili.”
Kili lazily waved as he went back to looking around. “He said that you don’t have a computer.”
“Nonsense,” Bilbo said even as a smile tugged at his lips. “I have one in the back in my office.”
Fili definitely looked off into the direction that Bilbo indicated. “He said something about you having an old phone.”
Chuckling, Bilbo motioned for the boys to follow him further into the shop. He should have known that that interaction with a handsome stranger would lead to more guests. “I do. Would you like to see it?”
Kili made a small noise of wonder once they reached the counter. He moved around it to look at the phone in awe. “He was right. It doesn’t have any buttons.”
“It’s a rotary phone,” Bilbo said in amusement. “You spin the dial to the number you want and then let it go.”
“Fili,” Kili said in excitement as he scrambled to pull his phone out of his pocket. “Quick, dial my number on there. I want to see how it works.”
Bilbo made a tsking noise as he picked up his phone before either of his guests could touch it. “Now, now, I will be the one to call you. I don’t need either of you to mess with my phone.”
They quickly agreed and rattled off their numbers so Bilbo could call them. Once they’d done it that way, Kili called the number back so they could listen to it ring.
“This thing is cool,” Kili said to his brother as they watched it ring for another minute before they hung up. “I didn’t know you could still use phones this old.”
“Bilbo,” Fili said as he turned away from the phone. “You said you have a computer. If your phone is this old, then how old is your computer? Does it take up the whole room or something?”
Kili snickered as he nodded. “Probably one of the first ones ever built.”
“Nonsense,” Bilbo replied with a laugh. “It’s perfectly sizable and sits on my desk just as it ought to.”
“I think you’re going to have to prove it,” Kili told him as he poked at the register. “I don’t know if I can believe you without seeing it.”
Bilbo made a show of rolling his eyes and huffing but he was sure his smile gave away his true feelings. He tilted his head toward his office and turned to head that way without a word. His smile only grew as he listened to the two boys fall into step behind him.
At the door to his office, Bilbo stopped to be just a little bit dramatic. He gave the boys a look over his shoulder before he pushed open the door and then made a flourished gesture at his desk.
Fili stopped in the doorway. His mouth dropped open.
Kili draped himself over his brother’s shoulder to look past him into the office and then almost fell off of him once his eyes caught sight of the computer.
“Bilbo,” Fili said weakly as he stared at the monstrosity before him. “That’s barely a computer.”
“What does it run on?” Kili asked in a strangled voice. “Blood sacrifices?”
Bilbo snickered at their comments. He’d heard them all before from Ori and his brothers who sometimes stopped by with him, but Bilbo didn’t feel the need to switch to a different computer when the one he had worked just fine. “It runs on electricity just like the rest of them.”
Fili took a slow step forward as if he was worried that any sudden moves would turn the ancient computer into dust. “Does it even have internet connection?”
“Of course it does,” Bilbo laughed as he rolled his eyes. “But I don’t often connect to it.”
“Why not?” Kili asked as he worked up the courage to get a little closer. “Do you not have good Wi-Fi?”
Bilbo lifted his brows as he looked from one brother to the other. He made sure that his smile didn’t turn into a smirk as he took in their shocked faces. It was always fun to give the youth a bit of a scare. "Wi-Fi? What’s that? No, I don’t like connecting to the internet because then I’ll miss calls. I’d rather be able to use my phone.”
“I don’t,” Kili said before his voice trailed off.
Fili looked from the computer to Bilbo and back. “What does one of those things have to do with the other?”
Bilbo took in their genuine confusion and shook his head. “All right, sit down. I’ll show you how this works.”
XXX
“Uncle,” Fili said in a hushed voice as he stood far too close to Thorin. “You wouldn’t believe it. I didn’t know such a thing was possible.”
“It made terrible sounds,” Kili added with a shudder. He was standing at his brother’s side as they crowded Thorin against the kitchen counter. “The screeching.”
“I know how dial-up works, boys,” Thorin said in exasperation as he put his hands on their shoulders and backed them up a step. “That’s how the internet worked when it first became available to people."
Fili dropped his chin as he ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t understand how he can do anything with that. It was so slow.”
“There weren’t even games,” Kili muttered darkly as he pouted at the wall. “What’s the point of having a computer if you don’t have any games?”
Thorin rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest. He seemed to do that a lot when he was around his nephews. “I told you not to bother him.”
“We had to check him out,” Kili protested as he looked back at his uncle.
“What?” Thorin asked as he dropped his arms. “Why?”
“Well,” Fili said slowly as he frowned. “You’re going to see him again, aren’t you?”
Thorin’s eyes widened ever so slightly as he looked from Fili to Kili. He’d been thinking about it but only as something he’d never do. Bilbo was cute and talking to him was nice but it was only a matter of time before the outside world intruded. He didn’t want to bring mayhem to Bilbo’s life just because he selfishly wanted to keep seeing him.
“No,” Thorin said softly as he turned away from them. “It’s better if I don’t.”
XXX
He’d sworn he wasn’t going to go back, and yet, Thorin found himself ducking under a familiar sign. The door still stuck when he pushed it open, which he found charming. The tinkling of a bell greeted him. The irony of the front door of the shop being hard to get through was not lost on Thorin. Bilbo hadn’t seemed all that keen to actually sell him any books the last time he was there.
Something about the shop felt a little different. The layout was the same, as far as Thorin could tell. There were still books everywhere, but it was changed. He just didn’t know how.
“Thorin?” Bilbo said as he rounded a corner. “It’s nice to see you again. I wasn’t expecting you to come back so soon.”
Thorin swallowed hard as he took in the sight of Bilbo. He was somehow more beautiful than he’d remembered. “You changed something about your shop. What is it?”
“Besides the bell?” Bilbo teased as his eyes flickered up to the little bell above the door. “Well, I figured that just because the shop is called Dusty Covers it doesn’t actually have to be that dusty in here.”
As soon as he said it, Thorin realized that was what it was. It no longer looked as though most of the books had been placed in their spots years ago and then never touched again. “You’ve been busy.”
Bilbo shrugged. He scratched as his nose as he looked around his shop. “I toppled a small pile of books and the cloud of dust almost killed me.”
Thorin chuckled as he looked around the shop again. “That would be a tragic loss.”
“My friends would never let me live it down,” Bilbo agreed with a laugh. “Did you stop by to get something else? Your nephews took a look around while they were here but didn’t see anything that they especially liked. So if you’re here for gifts for them then I do believe you’ve made the trip in vain.”
“They’re spoiled enough as it is,” Thorin said with a fond smile tugging at his lips and a shake of his head. “I bring them gifts every time I travel.”
“Oh?” Bilbo asked as he turned to lead Thorin through the shop. “Do you travel often then?”
Thorin eagerly followed Bilbo until they reached the shelf that he was clearly working on cleaning. He couldn’t help but be pleased that he wasn’t unceremoniously dismissed. “Sometimes.”
“For work or leisure?” Bilbo asked as he went back to his task. “I sometimes have to travel to acquire a book for one of my collectors but otherwise I prefer to stay here.”
Thorin hummed as he filed that bit of information away for later. “Mostly for work. I have taken a few trips just for myself.”
“And what do you do?” Bilbo asked as he carefully wiped down the cover of a book before making sure the shelf was clean so he could put it back. “Is it anything exciting?”
Thorin winced and was glad that Bilbo was focused on his task and not watching Thorin deal with his hang-ups. It was nonsense. There was no reason for him to lie or dodge the question. “I’m an actor."
“Really?” Bilbo asked as he turned to look at Thorin again. “Have you been in anything I would have seen?”
A smile tugged at his lips as a warm feeling spread through his body. Bilbo still didn’t know who he was. “Depends,” he teased. “I don’t know what sort of movies or shows you like to watch.”
Bilbo hummed as he went back to cleaning the next book. “Good point. I usually enjoy a good documentary. I like learning things while I’m watching a show.”
“I haven’t been in any documentaries,” Thorin mused as he watched Bilbo work. “So you probably haven’t.”
“Too bad,” Bilbo said with a sigh. “You have the voice for them.”
“Do I?” Thorin asked. He may have dropped his voice just a little to see what sort of reaction Bilbo would have.
He shuddered. Bilbo shuddered and then shot Thorin a small glare over his shoulder. “I see that you know you do.”
Thorin chuckled at that. He shook his head again and then fumbled to take a few books that Bilbo held out to him without looking at him again. “The movies and shows that I’ve been in aren’t educational. They just have a lot of explosions.”
One by one, Bilbo took the books back and put them in their spots. “I suppose those have their merits, too.”
“Did it pain you to admit that?” Thorin asked with a chuckle.
Bilbo shot him another playful glare. “Yes. Are you doing well?”
Thorin frowned a bit as he took another stack of books. “What do you mean?”
“As an actor,” Bilbo clarified. “Are you doing well? Are you making enough to get by?”
“Oh,” Thorin replied softly. “Yeah, I’m doing fine.”
“That’s nice,” Bilbo said with a smile as he took another book. “And do you enjoy it?”
Thorin fell silent for a moment as he thought about that. Sometimes it was too much. The fame was overwhelming and the movies that he filmed were occasionally grueling. But he was proud of his work. “Most of the time,” he answered honestly. “There are parts that I don’t like but that’s how it is with every job.”
Bilbo hummed as he wiped off his next book. “I suppose that’s true. I’ve had prospective clients that I’ve turned away because their desires did not align with what I was willing to do.”
“That sounds interesting. What’s the worst thing you’ve been asked to do?”
Bilbo turned to look up at Thorin without getting up from his spot. He furrowed his brows as he thought for a moment before he grinned and nodded. “Okay, so there are some really rare books in the world. Like, so rare that only a few copies exist. And sometimes people who come into money don’t know how to spend it. Sure, they buy fancy things like boats and cars and whatever, but eventually they all come to me.”
“Do they?” Thorin couldn’t help but be intrigued. And not only because he was someone who suddenly had a lot of money. “They get tired of their boats and cars and want to read?”
Bilbo snorted as he shook his rag in Thorin’s direction. “Heavens no! They have money and that means different invitations. They inevitably end up at someone’s house that is a client of mine and see their study and think that they must have something similar.”
“I see,” Thorin said with a nod of his head. He grinned as Bilbo went back to his work. “If you have it and I want to be like you then I have to have it, too.”
“Exactly,” Bilbo replied. “They always seem to start off easily enough. They want a few encyclopedia series, preferably older so they looked more distinguished and for the smell. Then they-“
“I’m sorry,” Thorin interrupted. “The smell?”
Bilbo chuckled without stopping his cleaning of the book he was holding. “Yes, old books have a smell to them due to the decomposition of the glue and the paper. Part of what makes a study fancy is that smell. Get some smelly books in there and no one will notice that the rest are a bit newer.”
“I have never considered buying a book because of how it smelled,” Thorin said as he shook his head again. “Then again, I don’t usually consider buying books.”
Bilbo looked at him over his shoulder with one eyebrow raised.
Thorin cleared his throat and hurried to hand him another book. “I’m very busy.”
“Right,” Bilbo said as he clearly tried not to laugh. “Anyway, they start off simply but then they get greedy. Someone always tends to ask for something rare because someone else bragged about a rare item in their collection and they want to have something even better. Unfortunately, there is only so much I can do. Some books just aren’t for sale. And it is against my policy to steal them. I have made that quite clear to a good number of people.”
Thorin laughed before he was able to stop himself. He managed to calm down a bit to find that Bilbo was smiling at him. “I can’t believe that you have to say that,” he said as he continued to chuckle. “That’s ridiculous.”
Bilbo shook his head in a way that kept his curls out of his eyes. “Some people are ridiculous. They think that having money means they can have whatever they want. They hate it when I tell them no. Sometimes they even threaten me.”
Thorin sobered up at that. “What? What do you do about them?”
Bilbo’s smile turned devious as he took the next book from the shelf. “I call another one of my clients and let it slip to them that some up and comer has threatened me. The problem then takes care of itself.”
Thorin lowly whistled as he stepped forward to take another stack of books. He wasn’t sure why Bilbo had suddenly decided to give him a job but he was willing to do it for as long as Bilbo allowed. “Devious.”
A proud little smirk sat on Bilbo’s lips and Thorin realized he was in trouble. Because all he wanted to do was kiss him.
XXX
Bilbo heard the tinkle of the bell above his door and hoped that it would be Thorin. They’d had such a lovely afternoon the last time he’d been there. He wouldn’t mind getting to spend more time with him. And not just because Thorin was handsome.
Although the fact that he was an actor made sense. He was too beautiful to not be in front of a camera.
“Hello?” Bilbo called out as he left his office to go investigate. “Did someone come in?”
“You should get your door fixed,” a soft voice told him as Bilbo left a row of books and found a gaggle of girls standing in his shop. “It’s hard to open.”
“I know,” Bilbo told them with a confused smile. “I like it that way. It keeps out unwanted guests. What can I do for you today?”
“Is it true that Thorin Oakenshield comes to the shop?”
Bilbo felt his brows deeply furrow as he stared at the determined young ladies. “I’m sorry,” he said slowly. “Who?”
XXX
Fili and Kili stayed hunched over Kili’s phone as they whispered to one another.
“This is so bad,” Fili whispered.
“Uncle Thorin is going to be pissed,” Kili agreed.
“We have to do something,” Fili said as he watched another news article pop onto Kili’s screen. If he could even call the website publishing the article a news site. “We have to fix this.”
Kili shook his head in dismay. “There’s nothing we can do.”
“What are you two whispering about?” Thorin asked from where he was standing in the doorway. “Whatever it is, fix it before your mother gets home.”
“Uncle Thorin,” Kili all but yelped as he fumbled to put his phone in his pocket. “I didn’t know you were home!”
Thorin made sure his nephews could see the unimpressed look on his face. “All right, out with it.”
Kili turned to Fili with wide eyes and shook his head.
Fili sighed as he looked back at their uncle. “We have a problem.”
Thorin straightened up at that. “What happened?”
Kili made a sound in the back of his throat.
Fili’s face hardened as he clenched his hands by his sides. “Someone saw you the last time you visited Bilbo’s shop.”
Thorin felt his stomach drop. “No,” he whispered.
“They’ve published pictures of it on the internet. There are several places reporting that you like to frequent the shop,” Fili continued.
Thorin scrambled for his phone and found that his nephews were right. The world knew about his crush on Bilbo. “No,” he said a bit louder.
“Thorin,” Kili said as seriously as he could. “We have to do something.”
“I don’t even have his store number,” Thorin said numbly as he continued looking down at his phone. “It’s unlisted.”
“We have it,” Fili said as he suddenly reached for his phone. “From the day we went to meet Bilbo. He called us from that phone.”
“To show us how it worked,” Kili agreed as he also pulled his phone out. “Here! It’s this one!”
Thorin took the phone from Kili’s hand as Kili was telling it to dial. A beeping tone met his ear as soon as he got it close enough to his head. “It’s busy.”
“Maybe he’s using the internet,” Kili suggested as hopefully as he could, which wasn’t much. “That would mean he can’t receive phone calls. He showed us that, too.”
“It’s possible that someone leaked his number,” Fili pointed out.
Thorin ran his hands through his hair twice before he left them tangled in it. He paced across the kitchen and back several times as he muttered to himself under his breath.
“Uncle Thorin,” Kili said again. “What are we going to do?”
Thorin stopped to glare at the floor for a moment before he sucked in a hard breath. “We’re going to make sure he’s okay.”
Fili and Kili looked at each other again before they looked back at their uncle. They both firmly nodded their heads and followed him out.
XXX
Bilbo stood near his register with his arms crossed over his chest. There were people in his store. People that he did not want there. “No,” he said sharply to a girl who brought a book to him. “You cannot buy that. Put it back where you found it.”
“But-“ she tried to argue.
“I only sell books to people who will care for them,” Bilbo said firmly but without malice. “You’re trying to buy a book to get on my good side in the hopes that I’ll tell you about this Oakshield fellow.”
“Oakenshield,” she corrected. “But I actually wanted to buy this because it’s about plants and one of the ones in my sunroom isn’t doing well and I can’t figure out why.”
Bilbo studied her for a moment before he sighed and took the book from her. “Why don’t you look it up on the internet like everyone else?”
“There are too many conflicting pieces of advice,” she told him as she stepped up to the counter. “I was hoping that maybe this book could tell me what sort of plant it really is and what sort of care I should be giving it.”
Bilbo hummed as he thumbed through the pages. He remembered acquiring the book as part of a collection from an estate sale. It was one that he’d known none of his other collectors would be interested in, which was why it ended up on one of the store shelves.
He looked at the book for another moment before he looked up at the girl. “All right, here’s the deal.”
She nodded as she tucked a bit of hair behind her ear and leaned closer to him.
“You can buy this, but the moment you don’t want it anymore, you bring it back to me. Got it?”
She nodded again as she clutched her purse. “I don’t have a debit card. Is it okay if I pay with cash?”
“Cash would be perfect,” Bilbo said warmly as he pulled out his notebook. “I don’t actually have a card reader here. I’ll need your name so I can keep a record of my sales.”
She told him and he wrote it down. He jotted down the rest of the information he needed before he put his book away and gave her change. “Now shoo,” he told her with a little smile. “Go take care of your plants.”
Giggling, she nodded and hurried toward the door.
Before she reached it, it was shoved open by three men. At least, Bilbo thought they were men. They had ball caps on that were pulled so low over their faces that he couldn’t see them. And with the way their coats were pulled up to block them from the autumn chill, he really couldn’t tell.
“No, thank you,” he called to them as they approached him. “I’ve told everyone else who’s walked through my door today the same thing. I don’t know this Oakshield fellow so you’re wasting your time.”
It wasn’t until they reached him that the one in the front raised his head enough. Bilbo knew those pretty blue eyes. “Thorin?”
Thorin motioned for Bilbo to speak quietly. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “This is all my fault.”
“I don’t see how that’s possible,” Bilbo said with a little frown on his lips. “Something weird is going on.”
Thorin grimaced before he tipped his head toward Bilbo’s office. “Would you mind if we went in there for a moment to talk?”
“Sure,” Bilbo agreed with a nod. “Though I’m not keen to leave anyone unattended out here. I already had to chastise a few girls for trying to steal some of my books. Something about this Oak man who may or may not have touched them.”
Thorin groaned before he motioned to his sides. “Fili and Kili will watch them.”
The boys raised their heads far enough for Bilbo to catch sight of weak grins.
Frowning, Bilbo motioned for Thorin to follow him into his office. He shut the door and sank into his chair at his desk as Thorin lifted his head a little higher. “So an actor,” Bilbo said lightly as he studied Thorin’s face.
Thorin hunched his shoulders and ducked his head. His ears practically disappeared before he lifted his hand to readjust his hat. “Yes.”
Bilbo huffed a little laugh as he kept studying Thorin’s face. “You would not believe the people I’ve had come through here today. The first girls demanded that I fix my door. I told them to leave.”
“Bilbo,” Thorin said softly but then nothing else.
“At one point I tried to come in here and look up just how famous you are but got distracted.” Bilbo gestured as his computer and then grimaced when he realized that he was still connected to the internet. He promptly disconnected and then closed out of the web browser. “I’ve been asked some very inappropriate questions today. About you, about me, and about us.”
Thorin looked up at that. “What did you tell them?”
“That I didn’t know who you were or what they were talking about,” Bilbo said with a wave of his hand. “My business is mine. Everyone else can sod off.”
“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” Thorin swore to him as he stepped closer to the desk. “I never wanted people to bother you.”
Bilbo raised his brows at that. “It hasn’t been that bad. I mean, at first it was quite crowded. But then I think people realized that you weren’t here and so they left. It made my day a bit more exciting.”
“Bilbo, I-“
“I’m not mad, Thorin,” Bilbo said firmly. He could tell by the way Thorin was looking at his feet again that he was about to apologize. “I’m not upset. I am not about to tell you to get out and never come back. Honestly, I enjoy talking to you. The first time my little bell chimed today I was hoping it was you.”
“Really?” Thorin asked as he took another step closer. He was no longer staring at his boots, which Bilbo considered a good thing. “To all of those things. Just. Really? You’re not mad?”
“Why should I be?” Bilbo asked with a little shrug. “I told you, I deal with rich people all the time. Some of them are very famous. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to tell a fan club to take a hike.”
Thorin took another slow step forward without looking away from Bilbo. “And you were hoping that I was going to visit you today?”
“Honestly,” Bilbo said as he tipped his head back to look up at Thorin. “I’m hopeful that you’ll visit me most days. And not just because we have more shelves to clean.”
Thorin chuckled as he got even closer. “I want to visit you most days.”
Bilbo hummed as he tapped his fingers against the top of his armrest. “I suppose your work keeps you from doing that.”
“I also didn’t want to be a nuisance.”
“You could never,” Bilbo promised.
“Fili and Kili told me that you were in the news since I had visited your store and I was worried,” Thorin admitted as he took Bilbo’s hand in his to stop his tapping. “I didn’t want you to be overwhelmed and you weren’t answering your phone.”
“You tried to call me?”
“I got a busy tone.”
Bilbo bit his lip as he looked at the way Thorin cradled his hand. He enjoyed it when Thorin helped him clean because then he could see him carefully handle the books that Bilbo gave him. “Thorin,” he said slowly as he lifted his gaze. “Did you rush over here because you were worried for me or for you?”
“What do you mean?” Thorin asked as he lightly squeezed Bilbo’s fingers. “I was concerned about you.”
“I mean,” Bilbo said as he twisted his wrist to link his fingers with Thorin’s. “Were you worried about me being overwhelmed or were you worried that I was going to tell you to never come back?”
“Both,” Thorin said softly. “I don’t want you to have to deal with my fans, especially the ones who don’t understand boundaries. But I also want to keep seeing you. You’re one of the few people that I candidly get along with. We could get food together sometime. I know a couple of discrete restaurants.”
Bilbo looked up at Thorin with a bit of surprise and hope in his gaze. “That sounds a lot like a date.”
“Yeah,” Thorin softly replied. “If you’re okay with that.”
The grin that stole across Bilbo’s lips was so big that his cheeks felt stretched. “I would love to go out with you.”
“Even though sometimes it’ll be chaotic?” Thorin asked as he pulled Bilbo to his feet. “Some of the fans can be a little intense but they’ve got nothing on the reporters trying to get a good story out of me.”
Bilbo allowed himself to be pulled into Thorin’s arms. They were just as strong as he’d thought they would be. “Maybe we should give them something to talk about.”
“Yeah?” Thorin asked as he dropped his head to put his face closer to Bilbo’s. “Like what?”
“I can think of a few things,” Bilbo said with a grin as he slid his hands up Thorin’s chest and over his shoulders. “Shall we try one of them out now?”
Thorin barely had time to huff out a little laugh before Bilbo was pulling him down the rest of the way.
Their lips softly connected. A warmth slipped down Bilbo’s spine that made him groan into the kiss. Thorin’s hands settled on his waist and held him firmly. Bilbo knew before the kiss ended that he was going to kiss Thorin as often as he could.
Thorin pulled back enough to rest their foreheads together. They breathed in each other’s air in an intimate moment as they savored their first kiss.
A pounding on the door had them pulling apart.
Bilbo looked around Thorin’s shoulder and met Kili’s frantic gaze. There were other people behind him and they all seemed to be trying to see into Bilbo’s office.
“Well,” he said as he kept Thorin from turning around. “I suppose we’re already giving them something to talk about.”
Thorin hummed as he pulled Bilbo back in front of him. “What do you say to closing up your shop for the day? We could go somewhere to get a bite to eat and talk a bit more.”
“That sounds lovely,” Bilbo said with a smile. “I know just the spot. And I can guarantee that we’ll be left totally alone.”
“Yeah?” Thorin asked lowly as he swayed forward but stopped himself from kissing Bilbo again, mindful of the people watching them through the glass in the door. “Where’s that?”
“My flat upstairs,” Bilbo replied with a smirk. “Help me shoo everyone out so we can lock the door and head up.”
Thorin looked shocked for only a second before he nodded his head in a single firm nod and turned back to the door. “I’ll have the boys call Dwalin for a ride.”
“Good idea,” Bilbo said as he watched Thorin stride purposefully toward the door. “I would hate for them to spend the night down here.”
Thorin tripped just before he reached the office door. He looked back at Bilbo with wild eyes. “What?”
Bilbo shrugged even as he grinned. “Who knows? We might just end up talking so late that it would be better if you stayed.”
“I could do that,” Thorin said before he swallowed hard. “If you’re fine with it.”
“Let’s get everyone out of the store and then we can go upstairs together and figure out what we’re both fine with.”
Thorin started nodding again as he turned toward the office door. “I’m so glad I hid in here that day. Best decision I ever made.”
Bilbo sank back into his chair and covered his face as he laughed a bit. He was so glad he hadn’t kicked the tall, dark, and slightly menacing man out of his shop that first time Thorin had come in. He let him stay so he’d have something nice to look at for a bit.
“Yeah,” he quietly agreed as he watched Thorin and his nephews herd people out of his shop. “Best decision I ever made.”