The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings -oneshots II

Finally home - Bard

Warnings: none, I think. The dwarves act like jackasses and there are mentions of financial troubles, but nothing major.
Word count: 1104
Other: -
Requested: nopety nope

Bard arrives home, and you are elated to have him back where you know he's safe. But it turns out he has brought a band of uninvited quests into your house as well.

Bard entered the house, the scent of bread wafting into his face, the warmth covering him in a warm embrace after the biting wind outside. Sighing deeply, he dumped his bag onto the nearby table, stretching his back out after the hard day of work. The sound of his clothes shuffling and the thud of his bag had probably prompted the girls out of their corner of the house, as they rushed over with bright smiles.
"Da!" His girls swarmed him hugging him in turn.
"You're home!" They chirped, smiling up at him brightly. He returned it, picking Tilda up and giving her a squeeze as she laughed, swinging her legs in the air before he set her back down onto them again.
"Where's your mother?" Usually, you were there to greet him when he came home, but now you were nowhere to be seen.
"She's in the kitchen, doing some washing. I don't think she heard you come in, she seemed to be very focused on the one stain in your pants. The girls giggled and Bard rolled his eyes, shooing them away from the door and towards the kitchen.
"Then, go get her."

It wasn't long after the girls had disappeared into the kitchen you appeared, your hands still wet and soapy from the laundry.
"Oh, Bard!" A shriek sounded just as Bard started to herd the first dwarves out of the toilet, and you ran to him and jumped to his neck.
"You were supposed to be home hours ago, I was so worried!" He embraced you tightly, taking in a deep breath of your scent. Clean linens, fresh, just-baked bread, and a waft of your wildberry soap that you used when washing your hands. You smelled like home.
"I'm sorry, darling, there were a few unexpected turns in my journey and that caused it to become longer." Only now did you seem to notice the dwarves that had slowly started to filter into your house, and you let your eyes take them in for a moment before you turned to Bard with your hands propped onto your waist.
"What have you gotten yourself into this time?"

After a lengthy explanation and the dwarves assuring you that they were not there to cause trouble, you welcomed them into your home with open arms. You set into making them some warm soup, chopping in a few carrots and potatoes. Bard and your children started to look for warm clothes for them so that they wouldn't have to remain in their wet ones for much longer. Winter was just around the corner and it was incredibly easy to catch a disease that would be your death if you weren't careful around this time of year.

You returned to the room just as the conversation was starting to get heated.
"We paid you for weapons. Iron, forged, swords and axes!" One of the dwarves exclaimed and the rest muttered their agreement just as you left the kitchen, the heavy pot of stew in hand.
"All the forged weapons are held at the armory under lock and key. They belong to the Master of Laketown, us normal folk have no business handling them. And how could we have weapons here, we have three children! This is not a safe place for them anyway, and it would not certainly be if we kept weapons here. We shouldn't even have those." You gave your husband a pointed look, and he sighed, shaking his head apologetically.
"I'm sorry miss, we didn't mean to insult."
"Well, you did, even if you didn't mean to." Your tone was sharped as you barked towards the dwarf that seemed to be the leader of the group. You met his eyes with an immovable gaze, and the dwarves quickly realized they had underestimated you. You seemed warm and motherly, and you probably were, but under the gentle and soft surface was clearly a woman of great pride and profess, someone who was not afraid to protect their family. It could be seen in your eyes, you had not lived an easy life, the sharp edge in the gaze that held Thorin's told him that.

You dropped the pot onto the table with a loud sound.
"Here is your food, eat. I want you out of our house before the sun rises tomorrow." With that, you returned to the kitchen, probably to release your frustration onto the unsuspecting pile of laundry that still awaited you. The dwarves gave Bard a look, who just shook his head.
"I would give you more time to gather your bearings, but I will not argue with my wife." The dwarves grumbled but settled for the idea that they would have to leave the house when the sunset. They started slowly finding some sort of makeshift place for them to sleep, hoping to catch a few moments of sleep before they would have to continue their journey again.

The house slowly settled into an unsteady silence, your children sleeping in their beds and the dwarves wherever they fit. The company was whispering among themselves, making it sound like a small breeze was rushing through your house constantly. You sighed as you shifted in bed for what seemed like a hundredth time, your unease growing.
"What do you think it means? Them being here." You asked Bard, who opened his eyes, meeting your gaze. His eyes were soft when they met yours but you could see the worry behind them.
"I do not know. I am not sure helping them sneak into Lake-town was the right choice, but they offered me so much money that I could not refuse, not knowing how dire the situation is." He sighed, and you brushed your hand on his shoulder.
"I cannot blame you. We need that money." You sighed.
"Only time will there will their presence here be our salvation or our destruction." Bard sighed in agreement, brushing a hand through your hair.
"Only time will tell." He pressed a kiss to your forehead as you settled into an unsteady sleep.

This is an idea that I have had rolling around my ideas list for ages, and only now I found a way to finish it in a way that I liked!