The afternoon flew by very fast. All of the children had played to their hearts content. At some point the adults had joined in as well. The weather was simply too hot and the water too good to pass on.

Eventually a playful splashing fight broke out between the elves and the dwarves. Apparently the dwarven children brought up the misschievous side of the elves.

Everyone was fighting except for two dwarves who watched the scene from the shore.

Thorin leaned against one of the trees that decorated the treeline close to the lake. He kept a careful eye on you. It filled his heart with joy to see you laughing and playing along with everyone else.

His best, and currently older, friend had joined him after a short while.

"Are you enjoying this new fase in your life?" he asked jokingly. Dwalin chuckled when the king send him an angry glare. "Light up. It is not my fault you have been turned into a child. Did you know you were already a pain in the ass when you were a baby? You cried and the whole lot of them followed." He shook his head. "You little bastard."

Thorin smiled, returning his attention to you. "I remember something about you promising dessert and then not giving it to us." He glanced sideways at the dwarf next to him.

He rubbed the back of his head in response. "The lass ruined for you, not me."

They shared a laugh.

"So you could hear everything we said when you were babies?" Dwalin asked curiously.

Thorin nodded. "Aye, we could hear everything. It was very frustrating to be limited in your actions and words. Not something I would like to experience again." He narrowed his eyes when the wizard came into his line of sight. "The wizard has crossed a line this time."

A clap on his shoulder nearly send him to the ground.

"Sorry," Dwalin said, "Though you are smaller now, I still have to get used to you being a child now." They were silent for a few minutes. Watching the splashing game continue.

Eventually, Thorin broke the silence. "Has she told you anything else?" His voice was barely audible.

Dwalin half smiled. "That she loves you. That you can be a bit of a pain in the ass at times. But most of all that she wishes things were simpler between you two."

Thorin looked down at his boots. "I want to make it simpler for her."

"Then try not to growl at her whenever she tries to talk to you. Sometimes it can help to get things off your chest." He nodded in your direction. "That is the one person in this world that you should feel safe talking to. You can tell her all your secrets, your hearts desires."

"What if she will turn me down when I reveal everything to her?"

Dwalin looked at his friend. "You can't tell me that the lass would turn you down for anything that goes on in that crazy and difficult mind of yours. If she hasn't run now then she isn't going to. Besides, I don't know how dark your deepest thoughts are but you are a good man."

"Thank you, Dwalin."

"Always, my king."

The splashing fight was over when one of the dwarves suddenly went through a growth spurt.

One moment Bofur was disappearing beneath the surface of the lake when he came up as a slightly taller dwarf. It probably would have been a greater shock if it was a human. Dwarves weren't that tall to begin with.

One by one the other dwarves grew up to teenagers.

They stared at each other and the new facial hair that covered their chins. "OUR BEARDS ARE GROWING!" they all yelled in unison.

Dwalin chuckled as he watched his friends and kin splash around excitedly. Everyone except Kili that was. He was standing off at the side with his arms crossed. "MY BEARD WILL COME ONE DAY!" he yelled.

"He's still not over it" Dwalin said, shaking his head in amusement.

"You have no idea what it was like in our house when he this age the first time" Thorin said. He happily stroked the fur that had re-surfaced on his chin. "I, for one, am glad it's back."

Most of the dwarves made their way out of the water. They were on a mission, that much was clear.

Thorin pushed himself off his tree when he saw you coming his way. He smiled affectionately.

"They want to go home to, and I quote, 'built the heck out of this place'. What does that mean Dwalin?" you asked. There was a slight tremble to your voice.

Dwalin laughed. "Don't worry about it lass. They simply want to built something." He waved, signaling everyone to follow him. "We can use some of the materials from the elves. They must have something to keep the lot of them entertained."

Teenage dwarves were running along left and right, throwing stuff at each other and hiding behind trees. The walk home had turned into a sort of battle.

"I knew that you lot liked to be rowdy but are all dwarven youngsters this active?" you asked, keeping a careful eye on Fili and Kili. Their misschief was contagious it seemed. Thorin took your hand, walking next to you and keeping an eye on his company.

Now that he was slightly older it felt slightly less strange to be affectionate towards him.

"Dwarves usually learn their traits when they are young. They need to be kept active at all times" Dwalin explained. "That is different from other races?" he asked, looking at you sideways.

You thought about it for a few seconds. "I guess humans need to be entertained as well. Though I am not sure about hobbits. Bilbo seems to be the exception to the rule." Far up ahead the hobbit was running around with flowers in his hair. Who knew Bilbo was such a wild child?

"When did the hobbit become so boring anyway?" Thorin asked.

"Thorin," you said sternly, "Bilbo is not boring. Just because he isn't like you doesn't mean that is boring."

Thorin huffed in annoyance. "He can be a little more tough. He acts like he is a bag of feathers.'

You rolled your eyes. "Thorin, he isn't a dwarf. Not all races are as tough as yours."

"Stop bickering you two. We have teenagers to look after. All of them need to return home with us. I am not going to be looking for them if they stay behind" Dwalin said. He sounded tired.

"No one can be left behind" Thorin said sternly. "If someone goes missing I will go looking for them."

You softly squeezed his hand. "No, Thorin, you won't. A grown-up will go looking for them." You ignored his stare. "Oh come one, you know what I mean. You lot already got in trouble as toddlers, trying to safe Fili and Kili."

He stuck his chin in the air. "They were in danger."

"And I get that you want to keep your nephews safe. Just don't forget you promised me to never do that again."

Thorin didn't meet your eyes. Instead he kept walking along side you in silence. He knew better then to tell you that he would still give up his own life for that of his nephews. That probably wouldn't be the best thing to say when they were on a dangerous quest where death was lurking behind every corner.

"I want to keep my family safe" he eventually said. You were close to the guest chambers now. "It is my responsibility to keep you all safe."

You smiled, he had shared something with you. "I know that. Also know though that I am here to carry that burden with you. Standing behind you at all times." You winked at him before running after Bilbo. He had found another tree to climb.

Thorin watched you leave. And for the first time he felt that you were starting to form a team.