I honestly cannot choose a favorite fic in this fandom. Usually I have one I settle on, that I enjoy above the rest, that I read over and over again. In this fandom, it’s six. I firmly believe that if you’re a newcomer to the fandom and you start out with these fics, you cannot go wrong. If you’ve been in the fandom a while and have somehow missed one or more of these, do yourself a favor and add it to your list.

Beneath the Mountains Music Woke by EmilianaDarling [M] - It’s at the Carrock that Thorin first realizes he feels something for Bilbo. He’s his usual awkward, halting self trying to figure out how to communicate this feeling. A slow-burn love story that culminates in Laketown and ends short of the mountain. It has an eerie optional coda that I love dearly. This fic has blessedly bewildered Thorin and some epic sass from Bilbo, and it holds a very special place in my heart as one of the first fics in the fandom I ever read.

Clarity of Vision by mithen [G] - Erebor never fell, but not all is well in the dwarven kingdom. Thorin seeks a cure to his grandfather’s gold sickness before it consumes him once and for all, and in the process he quite literally runs into Bilbo, a respectable gentlehobbit not at all taken with the dwarf who’s just broken his umbrella. What follows is an adventure of an entirely different kind - but still with the same love story. The tone of this fic is pure Tolkien, with enough lore to make a lifelong nerd’s dream come true.

Nothing Gold Can Stay by perkynurples [T] - In the small European country of Erebor, King Thorin requires a tutor for his two nephews, Fili and Kili. Luckily, Gandalf knows of an excellent teacher in Bilbo Baggins. However, with royalty comes politics, and with politics comes intrigue, and that’s before Gandalf decides that poor Bilbo makes the perfect undercover agent for the Ereborean Crown. All while Bilbo is slowly but surely falling head-over-heels for his employer, the King. The Sound of Music-esque AU the fandom needed and never knew to ask for, a beautifully crafted work of slow-building romance, and a political thriller that will have you up reading until the small hours of the morning.

Prayers to Broken Stone by Avelera [T] - When Bilbo’s betrayal is revealed before the gate, Thorin throws all the Company out of the mountain, leaving him walled away in Erebor with only the gold for company. Bilbo refuses to leave him there and ventures back inside, despite all warnings. Dragon Sickness turns out to be horrifyingly literal, and as Thorin’s metamorphosis gets worse, Bilbo is the only thing standing between him and the abyss. I have talked extensively about this fic and the way it uses the claustrophobic tone, carefully chosen diction, and a particular piece of Tolkien lore to devastating effect. A fic that made my hair stand on end several times, and one that I absolutely could not put down.

The Road Delivered Us Home by keelywolfe [M] - Though Thorin survives the Battle of the Five Armies, Fili and Kili do not. Grieving for his lost friends and heartsick for home, Bilbo returns to the Shire. Many years later, Thorin and Dwalin show up at his doorstep, just as unexpectedly as the first time. Through each other and through Frodo, Bilbo and Thorin finally find some measure of healing for their grief. A poignant, slow, beautiful romance that unfolds around Frodo’s innocent adoption of the dwarves and Bilbo’s quite affection. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve read this and there are certain points when I still cry.

Safe and Distant by Lindzzz [R/Explicit] - Bilbo always thought of Thorin as something… grand. A prince of dwarves, a figure of legend. It was better that way - of course he never had a chance, since he was only a hobbit. Except when Thorin wakes after recovering from his injuries, and promptly declares his love to the hobbit who never thought the two of them being together was a remote possibility, Bilbo short-circuits a bit - and runs. All the way back to the Shire. At turns this fic is hilarious, heart-wrenching, comforting, and nerve-wracking. It’s easy to understand where both of them are coming from, but that doesn’t make it any less excruciating to read.