Chapter Text
Thorin looked more troubled than the father-to-be. Lord Vardek, guild leader of the Stonecutters, was about to have his second child – his wife was in the delivery room, laboring for hours, but he had done this before. Their first child, a cute little boy named Cardek, was currently attached to Bilbo’s calf, gripping tightly and chewing on his fist from the frustration of waiting.
The pair had done it before. But Lord Vardek’s second child was going to be the first newborn that the Lonely Mountain had seen ever since Smaug’s desolation. The entire mountain had almost breathed a sigh of relief at the signs of new life, and Thorin and Bilbo, the King and King Consort, had been somewhat intimately involved in the progression of the pregnancy. It was important for Thorin, and therefore important for Bilbo. It had already been over ten hours since Lady Vanna had been escorted into the labor rooms, Oin’s voice barking commands and Dis soothing the Lady as she screamed.
Bilbo knew of the dangers. He knew that dwarrowdams found it incredibly difficult to be blessed with a child, and that the births were always a high risk. That was the main reason why many of them chose not to have children in the first place. After all, why have a child when you would have to abandon it for Mahal’s Halls? It was different in the Shire. Babies were either conceived, which a lot of mothers chose to do due to hobbit’s having bodies more suited towards childbearing, or parents just grew their children. It was not always guaranteed that the seed they planted would sprout into a child, but it happened more often than not, especially when the parents made sure to do the ritual correctly.
“Uncle Bilbo, irak’adad! Lord Vardek!” Two voices called out, and all three of them turned to see Fili and Kili running towards them. “How’s the labor progressing?” Fili asked, skidding to a stop.
“Oin came out an hour ago and said that it’s all progressing as it should,” Bilbo said, patting Kili’s head as he knocked his forehead with Bilbo’s gently. Very gently. His dwarf nephews always made sure to play with him gently.
“If we’re lucky, it should be done tonight.” Lord Vardek whispered. “I just hope that Mahal is lending my kurdu strength.”
“All will go well, Lord Vardek. This is a blessing not only for your family, but for all in Erebor as well. Everyone is praying for her.” Thorin said, and Bilbo let his beloved’s voice wash over him, the timbre in his voice akin to the sound that Bilbo thought the sun would make at its core.
And they truly were. Every single dwarf from the company prayed. All the guild leaders prayed. Even the poorest of dwarves offered something up to Mahal to wish for a successful birth. Bilbo did not understand what was happening, why a single pregnancy was cause for such…voracious celebration and worship, but then Thorin told him close to a year ago, when the Lord had personally come to the royal family’s living quarters to deliver the news of his wife’s second pregnancy.
Dwarves had not been blessed with a single child in the past five years. Not a single one. There was too much poverty, too much uncertainness for dwarrowdams' bodies to feel safe enough to conceive. The mountain’s halls were occupied by only eight children, Cardek included. All of them boys. They had not been blessed with a girl, a dwarrowdam, in the past twenty years.
Bilbo had personally heard Thorin pray that it be a girl.
Suddenly, Cardek yawned, his grip around Bilbo’s leg loosening. Kili smiled, reaching for the boy. “I think,” he crooned, balancing him on his hip, “it is time for the pebble to go to bed.”
“But I want to be here for amad,” he murmured, his eyes closing, “and the baby.”
“But imagine this,” Kili tried, walking down the hallway with the child, “when you wake up tomorrow, you will have your mother and your sibling there to greet you good morning!”
“He is good with children,” Bilbo said, and Thorin smiled softly.
He placed a quick peck on Bilbo’s brow. “That he is.”
Before Bilbo could admonish him for such a public display, the door in front of them slammed open to reveal Dis’s haggard face. She seemed exhausted, but the large smile on her face already revealed what her next words were going to be.
“Mother and babe are all fine. Congratulations, Lord Cardek, it is a boy.”
“Oh, thank Mahal,” Lord Vardek said, the tension disappearing so quickly from his body that he stumbled forward. He took Dis’s hand in between his, placing kisses all over her knuckles. “Thank you, my Lady. Thank you. Oh Mahal.” Tears ran down into his beard, soaking into the hair.
“Go tend to your wife, Lord Vardek. And meet your child.” She said, opening the door for him. He stumbled through, and then Fili rushed forward to hug his mother.
“Oh amad, another pebble for Erebor.” He whispered into her hair. She just let out a soft laugh and tugged slightly at his hair. “Yes, dashatmê, it seems like good times for Erebor are here now.”
Bilbo couldn’t help but smile. Had he known just how important children were for dwarves, just how much Thorin and Dis and Fili and Kili wanted another little one to spoil, he would have told Thorin about the little seedling he wanted to plant. The thing is, growing a child from soil was one of the Shire’s most closely guarded secrets – children themselves were so closely guarded, so naturally, the way they came into the world was protected as well. The entirety of the hobbit population just let outsiders assume that all their babes came through consummation, and their closeness in age due to short gestation periods.
Before he could pull Thorin towards their chambers, though, Lord Vardek stepped out of the room. Bilbo had never seen the dwarf smile, but there it was – the largest, most uncharacteristic grin on his face, and tears freely running down his face. “Your highnesses, would you like to meet him?” he asked, bowing his head slightly.
“Are you sure? Is your wife feeling well enough for a small visit?” Bilbo asked instead.
“It was her idea, your majesty. She wants those who took such good care of her to meet our boy first. Please come in.” he opened the door, and Thorin’s feet moved almost automatically. Bilbo’s hand was in his, and he could feel his husband’s fingers trembling. Were Thorin’s eyes slightly watery?
And there she lay – Lady Vanna was still being fussed upon by Oin and the rest of the birthing team, but there was a glow to her skin, one that Bilbo did not expect her to have so quickly after a long birth. And within the crook of her arms lay the tiny child, squirming slightly.
Thorin was staring too hard at the babe to speak, so Bilbo did it for the both of them. “Congratulations, Lady Vanna, on a successful birth and a healthy babe.” He whispered, not wanting to disturb the child, and she just smiled.
“Thank you, your majesties, for taking such good care of us throughout. Your support was so important to us.”
Bilbo smiled and placed a small kiss on her knuckles. Every mother deserved support – no matter how well some species of female bodies were built to carry children; it still came with its challenges. They all deserved nothing less than constant pampering.
Thorin was still not speaking, and Lady Vanna noticed his intense gaze. “Would you like to hold him, my King?” she asked, leaning forward slightly.
Thorin gulped audibly. Thorin nodded. And next thing he knew, Thorin was holding a newborn.
It was as if his body remembered instinctively. He had held Fili and Kili when they were pebbles as well, after all. The tiny thing squirmed slightly, grunting with effort to make himself comfortable, before opening his eyes to gaze up at the King. While his hair was a beautiful fiery red, just like his mother and brother, his eyes were a stark grey, like his father’s. To Thorin, he was perfect.
Bilbo leaned in, gazing down at the child with his husband. “What have you decided to name him?” he asked, his first words to the mother.
“Well, his father’s name is Vardek, and his brother’s name is Cardek, so it seems appropriate to follow tradition, does it not?”
Thorin nodded, and Bilbo was too engrossed with playing with the little one’s toes to pay attention to the conversation. “We have decided to name him Sardek, my King.” The Lord said, kissing his wife’s cheek.
“A fitting name.” Thorin replied, handing their child back to the couple. Bilbo had the most pleasing smile on his face that Thorin wanted to be focused on himself, and it was time for the family to rest. “We shall retire for the night, Lord Vardek, Lady Vanna. Rest well. All of Erebor’s resources are available to you for your recovery.”
“Good night, your highnesses. And thank you, again.” Lady Vanna said.
“No need for thanks. It was our honor.” Bilbo replied instead.
And outside the room stood the rest of their family. Dis was leaning against the wall, her sons attached to her as they asked to see the child, and she firmly kept denying their request in order for the couple and the child to get some rest. As soon as Bilbo and Thorin walked out, though, Fili and Kili caught a hold of them, trying to pry information on how the baby looked, whether he leaned more towards his mother or his father, whether it was a big pebble or not.
“The babe is nothing but perfect,” Thorin said, voice just slightly firm to get the boys to calm down, “and you can see them tomorrow, Lord and Lady willing. For now, let them rest. Raising a babe is no small feat.”
They pouted, and Bilbo giggled, playing with one of Fili’s braids. “Off to bed now, for the both of you, unless you want to see how we put fauntlings to bed in the Shire.” It was a threat that Bilbo had used quite often with the two rascals, and a threat that always worked.
They stood ramrod straight, murmuring a small “Yes, Uncle Bilbo,” before hooking their arms with their mother and walking ahead of Bilbo and Thorin. His husband looked regal in his formal attire, but also incredibly fragile with the rare small smile on his face. Bilbo squeezed his hand, and Thorin gazed down at him, an eyebrow quirked upward. Bilbo could not help but place a small kiss on his lips. “We have to have a small chat before bed, my King.”
“Anything, amrâlimê.” He whispered back.
The five of them finally reached their quarters, Fili and Kili placing small pecks on Bilbo and Thorin’s cheeks before bidding them goodnight and walking into their chambers. Dis gave them hugs, congratulated them once more, and walked into her rooms as well, leaving the King and King Consort out in the corridor.
Almost immediately, Thorin grabbed Bilbo by the waist, placing a long, desperate kiss on his lips. He fumbled with the door, kicking it open as Bilbo groaned and opened his mouth to let Thorin into his mouth, carrying his smaller husband over the threshold of their rooms like he had after their wedding ceremony five years ago.
Bilbo tried to push off Thorin’s coat, but he couldn't do such a thing with how his husband was holding him. “Off - Thorin, take it off - !” he managed, just as Thorin threw him down on the bed.
And Bilbo watched, eyes half closed and breathing heavily, as his husband, the love of his life, his everything, strip out of his clothing agonizingly slow.
And the rest, well: all Bilbo was going to say that Thorin knew every button to press, every part of his body that was going to take him to his peak, what to do to make him cry pretty pretty tears of ecstasy.
It was three hours later (Thorin liked to take his time with his Consort husband) when Thorin carried the tired hobbit to the attached bathing chambers, holding him against his chest and placing slow, lazy kisses against the smaller’s neck. He would have gladly fallen asleep after bringing himself and his beloved burglar to his peak, multiple times, but Bilbo would absolutely not allow it. They would fall asleep squeaky clean, thank you very much.
It was in the bath when Thorin remembered. “You had something to discuss, did you not, halwûnmê?” he whispered against Bilbo’s ear, making him shiver pleasantly.
“Oh, yes. I did.” Bilbo turned towards him, facing his husband. “I want you to be completely honest with me, dearest. Promise me.”
“And when have I given you a reason to doubt my honesty?” he asked back.
Bilbo shook his head. “It is…a question that I have wanted to ask you for quite a while, Thorin. And it is something I require total and complete honesty with, for this could change the course of the rest of our lives.”
“What could you want to ask me that’s so serious, khîê?” Thorin murmured, brow creasing with slight apprehension.
Bilbo’s cheeks coloured. He was used to Thorin calling him all sorts of sweet things, even in front of court and foreign dignitaries, but he always waited until they were alone to call Bilbo his One. And it was always said with so much reverence that Bilbo could not help but melt into a puddle in his husband’s arms.
“Well, Thorin, it is simply whether you want to have a child of our own.”
Thorin immediately tensed. “Why would you ask such a thing, Bilbo?” his hands came to cup his cheeks. “You know full and well that I am extremely happy and content with our marriage. You are the only one for me. Unless…Bilbo, bennarmê, are you doubting my-”
“No! No, Thorin, oh, my love, of course I’m not doubting you!” his own hands came up to cup his husband’s face, fingers disappearing into the still growing beard. “It’s just – I saw you with Lady Vanna’s babe, and I’m not going to deny that I haven’t dreamed of having a little faunt of our own, it’s just that we’ve been so busy over the last five years to even think about children.”
Thorin let out a sigh of relief. “I would not deny that I have not had dreams of having a little pebble running around our feet. But I know it is not possible between two males, and I have made my peace with it a very long time ago. Erebor will, Mahal willing, have more and more pebbles running around, and I shall fill our hearts with them, mesmârmê. Besides, with nungbuhâ like Fili and Kili around, what else do I have to wish for? I have my heirs. I have my children. It does not matter whether they came from my sister, I love them like I would have loved my own sons.”
Bilbo placed a kiss on Thorin’s lips. Thorin opened his mouth to let him in. Before it could get any dirtier, though, Bilbo rested his forehead against Thorin’s and whispered, “But, my dear husband, what if I told you that there is a way for us to have a child of our own, regardless of us both being males?”
Thorin pulled away violently, eyes large and almost popping out of his head. “Bilbo, what do you mean?”
He sighed, turning back around and leaning against Thorin. His husband’s arms came around him automatically, and Bilbo played with his fingers. Why was he so nervous? “You must forgive me Thorin, for not telling you this sooner. You see, it is a very well-kept secret of the Shire, and…frankly, I did not know that you wanted a child, until today, that is.” He twisted his head to see Thorin staring directly at him, waiting for him to continue. Bilbo smiled. “Just like how a hobbit male and female can have a child the…conventional way, we can also grow them from the ground. There is a ritual involved, of course, but if done right, fauntlings can bloom out of flowers, and once it was also done with a cabbage plant. That’s why there are so many children in the Shire, and – Thorin!”
Bilbo could not help but gasp as he was turned around, and Thorin was peering at him. He was staring right into the depths of Bilbo’s soul, searching for an ounce of humor, to see whether Bilbo was teasing him. But no, all he saw was sincerity. “Do you,” Thorin had to clear his throat, which was unexpectedly clogged, “do you mean it, Bilbo? We can have a child? Of our own?”
“Well, the soil needs to be fertile, and the sun needs to be strong,” Bilbo whispered, his own voice slightly hoarse, “but yes, Thorin, we can have a little babe of our own.”
And Thorin pulled Bilbo as close as he could, kissed him deeply, and let himself sob.