Chapter Text
Of all the seasons in the mountain, Winter was by far the least busy. While snow didn't fall inside of the great stone walls, it still fell outside. Trade with lands outside their own was cut off but for Dale, and though mining could continue without regard for the frozen landscape above, storing the ore was another question. There was only so much they could produce while the rest of the world slept.
And so, to the Dwarrow, winter was a time to slow down. To create and experiment. To recharge, plan, and enjoy the company of friends and family.
Apparently, it was also the time to court.
Bilbo often found himself dodging past embracing couples with a blush. It seemed most of them didn't care much where they ended up so long as they were with each other, so it wasn't uncommon to find couples scattered around hallways or in little alcoves chatting or giggling or even kissing right there in plain sight. He never saw more than that, but of course he didn't look that close either.
Honestly, it made his Baggins sensibilities sniff a touch at all the public displays. His Took side on the other hand thought they were all adorable. It almost made him wish he had his own special someone.
His own... tall, dark someone.
His own brooding, grumpy, gruff someone.
His own handsome, regal.....
Well, anyway.
Bilbo shook himself a little and kept walking, making his way to the communal dining hall. Hopefully not all of breakfast would be gone and he might be able to grab a morsel for second breakfast. He was finally getting back into the habit of eating right after the long journey and following scarcity, and it would be good to find something tasty to further fill out his waistline.
He attempted to shuffle past a small group of dwarrow, these ones not embracing thank goodness, when a hand shot out from the group and grabbed him.
"Ah! Master Burglar!" The dwarrow grinned down at him, pulling Bilbo into the small group. "We were hoping to catch you this morning!"
Bilbo looked up into his widely grinning face. This particular dwarrow had a light brown beard, twisted into tight spirals that were then braided down his chin. He had seen him before, of course, but couldn't quite place his name. Something like Godor or Foldor or something.
"Quit hoggin' the halfling there Toldor!" Ah, yes right, that was it! Toldor, and his friends Bernad and Raldan.
"Good morning gentlemen." Bilbo said kindly, shaking his arm gently to try and dislodge Toldor's hand. "Can I help you?"
"Can he help us he asks!" Boomed Bernad, laughing, "Like he hasn't already made all this possible." His friends joined in the laughter and Bilbo grimaced.
"Ah, yes, of course." He said quietly, trying again to pull his arm out of their grasp. "Well, anyway, did you need anything?"
"Of course, of course!" Toldor grinned. "Well, as you know, it is Winter, Master Burglar."
Bilbo nodded cautiously. "Yes. I believe the first snow is still falling."
"Quite, quite." Toldor nodded along with him. "As such, of course, it is customary to seek companionship during such a season, yes?"
"I... suppose it is not uncommon?" Bilbo said, tilting his head and thinking back to all the couples he had already dodged this morning. "Well what I mean is I have heard of such things before, I believe?"
"Right, right!" Toldor grinned widely and his companions slapped him on the back, shoving him forwards a bit. "I had wanted to ask, Master Burglar, that is if you do not have such companionship already, if I could offer myself for consideration." Reaching into his pocket, the dwarf brought forward a small item. It was a small charm, made so it could hang on a chain or a bit of thread or yarn, round and depicting a crossed hammer and brush over an anvil.
"Oh..." Bilbo stuttered. "I... it is quite lovely, but I...."
"You do not have to accept my offer now." Toldor said quickly and grabbed Bilbo's hand, slipping the charm into his palm. "The offer remains open, but keep my token, yes? It would please me to see you wear it." With that, he nodded sharply and turned to walk back down the hall. His friends followed, slapping him on the back as they stepped away.
Bilbo looked down at the small charm in his palm. "Well... that was odd." He mused before turning and walking back down the hall where he had been trying to get before.
Hopefully there would be some breakfast left so he could still snag at least a small something for himself.
...
There wasn't anything left.
There may have been, if he had hurried. But no. He had been stopped a further four times by dwarrow. Each passing him another small charm until he held a total of five in his hand.
Five little charms depicting a mix of hammers, axes, anvils, and all sorts of other things.
So when he finally got down to the small hall the company often shared breakfast in there was hardly a scrap of food left on the table. He sighed as he slipped the trinkets into his pocket.
"Drat and fiddlesticks," Bilbo muttered as he stepped into the room.
"Hey! 'Ere he is!" Bofur cried from his seat.
"We were beginning to think you wouldn't make it." Bombour laughed. "Though there isn't much to make it for at this point."
"What kept you?" Ori asked. "It's not like you to miss a meal."
Bilbo groaned and walked over to the table, taking a seat. "Yes, well I would not have been quite so late if it wasn't so crowded this morning. I was dodging couples all through the corridors!"
The other dwarrow laughed at that, filling the room with guffaws. Thorin, sitting near to Bilbo's seat grunted and passed over a small plate with some toast with cheese and sausage on it. Bilbo brightened.
"Thank you Thorin." He nodded and dug in gratefully.
"So you ran into a lot of couples this morning then, Bilbo?" Dori asked.
Bilbo nodded, still chewing his food before swallowing to respond. "Oh yes, but it was mostly dodging those who wanted to chat that took me so long. I was stopped quite a few times on my way down here."
The room seemed to freeze slightly, matching the coolness outside. Bilbo took another bite of his breakfast.
"You were stopped multiple times then?" Balin asked carefully.
"Oh yes, indeed." Bilbo nodded again. "A total of five times I believe? I'm not quite sure still what they were wanting to ask." Next to him Thorin tensed as he finished the last few bites of his own plate.
"Did... did they just talk with you?" Nori asked, his mouth curved in a broad smile. "Or did they give you anything?" Dori shoved his brother with his shoulder and Nori laughed before holding his hands up.
"Well, if you must know, they did give me something." Bilbo reached into his pocket and pulled out the little charms, placing them on the table by his plate. "These little charms. Nothing very large, but they are nice I suppose."
Looking up, the rest of the room seemed to be split on either trying not to laugh, or frozen with wide eyes and furrowed brows. Next to him, Thorin was as stiff and tight as a bowstring, his face blank and eyes dark. Bilbo frowned.
"Is there something wrong?" He asked, poking at the charms and trying to see something to connect them.
Balin cleared his throat. "Bilbo... In the Shire, what do Hobbits typically do during the winter?"
Blinking, Bilbo looked up, slightly confused. "I'm sure it's much the same as anywhere," he mused. "Winters are times to be slow. Time to spend with family, curled in warm places and eating food saved and preserved from the warmer months. Work on projects and doing things inside. Knitting, mending, or things of the like. I always enjoyed the extra time to spend with my books and maps and such. Oh, and of course there is the solstice celebration with sweets and cakes and faunts staying up much past their bed-times."
Balin nodded slowly. "Yes. There are many similarities to dwarven winters there. We also work on projects and bundle close together under the mountain."
"Yeah... bundle." Kili said with a wink.
"Right?" Bilbo said slowly. "But what does that have to do with the trinkets from today?"
"Well," Balin started again. "During the cold months, one might seek a companion for... bundling."
"Bundling." Bilbo repeated flatly.
"Oh aye, bundling." Bofur interjected. "Among other things, of course." He grinned. "The tokens are an invitation of sorts."
"An invitation?" Bilbo raises an eyebrow. "For... bundling?"
Thorin grunts next to him and finally sets down his fork. Bilbo notices that the fork has a slight bend in the handle. He makes a note to set it aside after the meal for mending.
"Right." Balin nods. "An open invitation. If one were to accept the invitation, they typically wear the token openly."
"So it's an invitation to share warmth for the winter then?" Bilbo blinks. "Isn't that something that one would do with family? Or do you typically invite those who you expect don't have others to share warmth with?" He hums. "I've thought the furnaces keep the mountain itself fairly warm. Is that not the case everywhere? Oh! Or is it a tradition left over from a former time? We have some of those in the Shire as well, left from the time of wandering."
Balin grimaced and some of the other dwarves snorted. "Ah, no. No laddie." He shook his head.
"It's like hobbits giving roses." Bombour said quietly. "In the spring time."
Heat rose to Bilbo's cheeks. "You don't mean that they all...." He swallowed. "They all want to... to court me?" he squeaked, his voice raising in pitch till the dwarrow could hardly hear him.
The dwarrow nodded around him and Bilbo's eyes went wide.
"But I hardly know them.... I haven't even spoken to them before! Why would they.... roses, really?" he turned to Bombour. "Are you sure? I mean roses are...." he blushed. "Well they're roses!"
Bombour nodded. "When my wife and I were courting, she heard about the hobbit traditions and insisted that at least one of her gifts follow them. I admit I didn't get much further than springtime roses, but it seemed to be a reasonable parallel to tokens."
Bilbo looked down at the small collection of tokens and grimaced. "Roses," he muttered.
"If you don't want them, get rid of them." Thorin said gruffly.
"But that would be impolite!" Bilbo grimaced. "I don't want to insult them! I just... how do I let them know politely that I'm not interested?"
"Got your eye on someone else then, do ya?" Kili smirked, elbowing Bilbo in the side.
"I... well I never... I mean..." Bilbo blustered and blushed trying his very hardest not to let his gaze slide over to Thorin.
"You do!" Fili grinned, stepping over beside his brother and leaning over his shoulder. "You must tell us who it is Bilbo! We can help!"
"Even if I did, that would be completely inappropriate," Bilbo said firmly. "Now, if you'll excuse me." He finished the last bite or two of food on his plate and pushed it away. "I should be getting on with my day."
"You sure you want to step back out there?" Kili asked. "I mean, you already had an eventful morning, right?"
"Oh yes, and it's just going to get worse, after all. Traditional first gifting period is all the way up to the Solstice, after all. They're only going to get more insistent if you don't choose anyone." Fili added.
"And us dwarrow are nothing if not stubborn, as you're aware." Kili smirked.
"Well then what do you expect me to do?" Bilbo huffed. "I will not accept one of their tokens. I do not have interest in them, nor would I want to give them false hope for something I do not wish to give them."
"If you do not wish to, then do not." Thorin says gruffly next to him. "They may try, but you don't have to accept any token if you do not wish it."
"But... wouldn't that be rude?" Bilbo looks down at the small collection of tokens again. "They obviously put care into them."
"It's not considered polite, and it is uncommon to not even give the illusion of consideration by taking the token, but it is something that can be done." Balin said carefully, tapping his finger on the table. "Though, because you did accept multiple this morning, it might be considered especially rude if you accept none going forward. And those who you did accept them from will be expecting you to choose between them, in that case."
"Can I just give them back?" Bilbo asked hopefully.
"Oh no!" Dori exclaimed. "You shouldn't ever return a token once accepted. That would be just like telling them to go shave their beards in the street. You mustn't ever return one of the tokens!"
Bilbo huffed. "So. I can't accept them, but I shouldn't just stop accepting them without choosing one to actually move forward with. I can't just leave it. And I don't want to accept one." He glared down at the idiotic things that had gotten him in so much trouble. "What should I do then?!"
"You could always accept one from someone who knows you don't actually want anything?" Ori suggested quietly.
Bilbo turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "So... What. Pretend to accept one?"
"Well, yes. To make everyone believe that you have accepted one so they don't offer their own." Ori nodded.
"From who!" Bilbo raised his hands. "Why would anyone else want to be part of such a farce?"
"I have no intention of offering a token to anyone else." A deep voice next to him said. "You could accept mine without any worry for an expectation of more."
Bilbo turned, eyes wide, to look at Thorin. The dwarf was turned towards him with his palm outstretched. A small metal token featuring an oakleaf and an acorn sat on his palm.