Summary: A short story of young Fili and his uncle Thorin
Written for @tolkienfamilyweek Day 3 - Extended Family
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,053
Read on AO3 or below
Thorin kicked off his boots and let out a huff. Winter was coming, and each day the trek from the forge back to the house he shared with his sister became more difficult. He shrugged off his coat and made his way to the kitchen, fully expecting an ambush from his sister-sons at any moment. Young Fili and Kili never seemed to tire of jumping on him as soon as his presence was made known, no matter how difficult his day has been. Eventually, Thorin had learned to accept the inevitable and humor them for a bit before relaxing for the evening. When no tiny arms were flung around him, he cautiously approached the kitchen.
On the counter sat Kili, his tiny mouth and hands covered in pink stains. Dis was furiously rubbing a rag on his face, attempting to scrub some of it off.
“Mum, that huuuurts,” the young dwarf groaned.
“Well, next time maybe you ought to be a little clearer while eating. Or perhaps just stay away from the raspberry bushes altogether!” Dis gave a little shake of her head and dipped the rag into a nearby bowl of water.
“Uncle Forin!!” Kili screamed as he caught sight of him. The boy had recently lost his front teeth and Thorin had to fight a smile anytime his lisp made an appearance. Unfortunately, however, Kili hadn’t yet learned the value of volume control. It seemed he only knew how to yell. The line of Durin’s eardrums sustained continual damage.
The young dwarf reached his hands out to his uncle but before Thorin could lift him off the counter, Dis turned and shot her brother a glare.
“Oh no you don’t! This one’s not going anywhere till I get him cleaned up.” Kili looked back up at his uncle, big brown eyes pleading to be saved. Another time Thorin may have taken the boy’s side, but he knew there was no use provoking Dis when she was already in a sour mood. She too had the legendary Durin temper.
A frustrated shriek and the sound of something crashing echoed down the hall from the direction of the bathroom. Dis, still scrubbing Kili’s face, turned to Thorin with a sigh.
“Would you please go see what that’s about? Fili’s been in there half an hour, doing Durin knows what.” Thorin squeezed his sister’s shoulder and turned in the direction of the commotion.
Fili was standing on a chair and glaring in the mirror. An unfinished plait laid partly done across his scalp. Well, if you could call it a plait. It was more like extra knots added into already very tangled hair.
“Now, now Fili my boy. What’s the matter?”
Fili’s words came out in a rush.
“I was trying to braid my hair but it was so tangled cause me and Kili were playing in the bushes today but I couldn’t brush it out so I just tried braiding it but it won't work and now my arms hurt so bad and-“ Fili let go of his hair and buried his face in his arms with a frustrated huff. Thorin felt a touch of sympathy for his nephew. He very clearly remembered his own frustration when first learning to braid his hair. He laid a hand on Fili’s back.
“I felt the same way when I first learned to braid.”
“You?” Fili turned large eyes up to Thorin. “But you’re good at everything, Uncle!” A gruff chuckle escaped Thorin’s throat.
“Not at first I wasn’t. It took a lot of practice and patience.”
“But I’ve been practicing so long !” Fili cried. “And I’ll never get these tangles out of my hair. I’m doomed to be ugly forever!” Thorin couldn’t stop the corner of his mouth lifting at that. His two nephews quite enjoyed catastrophizing.
“Let me help you then,” Thorin offered. He reached up into one of the shelves and pulled out a brush. Starting at the ends of Fili’s golden locks, he gently worked through each tangle. Fili’s head wasn’t as sensitive as his brother’s, who refused to even have his hair brushed, much less braided. Still, he involuntarily winced a few times when Thorin pulled a little too hard. When the brush finally passed unencumbered through the golden strands, the elder dwarf set it down and began parting the hair. He separated it into five thin bundles and began braiding.
“Um, Uncle?” Fili asked tentatively. Thorin raised an eyebrow.
“Can you tell me some more stories of home?” Thorin paused and looked down, swallowing an unexpected lump in his throat. Fili hadn’t yet been born when the dwarves had fled Erebor. He had never known the kingdom under the mountain. Yet, he still called it home. While Kili often begged his uncle for tales of adventure and bravery, Fili tended to like the tales of the lost kingdom more. The home he had never known.
“Uncle?” Fili’s small voice broke Thorin out of his reverie.
“Oh course, dear nephew.” He took a deep breath. “In the kingdom of Erebor lived a great king…”
Fili leaned into his uncle’s touch as Thorin gently pulled his hair through intricate patterns. While he weaved the hair, he weaved tales of Erebor. He let his love for his homeland shine through the stories. He told of the noble king Thror, whose rule was so great that even the elves paid respects to him. He told of the magnificent statues carved of ancient dwarf kings. He told of the vast riches the treasury held, of the prosperity of his people. He described great feasts held in the mighty halls of Erebor, the sound of laughter echoing off the high ceilings.
He did not speak of Smaug, nor of the gold sickness that took his grandfather. He spoke not of the Pale Orc nor the mines of Moria. Those tales could wait. For now, he would speak of happier times. Of golden days spent in his grandfather’s halls under the mountain.
At that moment, Thorin made an oath. He had always known one day he would reclaim Erebor, but today he promised himself that when he did, his nephews would be right there beside him. The line of Durin would return to their rightful place on the throne, where they would rule for centuries to come.
Thanks to @psyche-the-ya-protagonist for being my awesome beta reader!
Comments and reblogs are always appreciated! Let me know your thoughts or personal headcanons!
My favorite thing about the “not all who wander are lost” poem is that when you first learn about it in tFotR you think it’s like this great prophesy made at Aragorn’s birth by an oracle or something but then later you learn it’s just a funky lil song Bilbo made up for his poetry buddy
Fili is the first to get stopped in the metal detector for carrying knives
Ori also gets stopped but that’s just because he's wearing overalls
Bifur gets stopped at the metal detector too for obvious reasons, but he just sighs and waits for Bofur to pull his doctor’s note out
Nori’s carry on bag gets stopped because his bottle of hair gel is over the 100 ml limit
Stirs up a fuss when he won’t throw it away
Balin has to step in and resolve the conflict that’s literally his job description in Erebor
Kili looks at the arrival/departure screens and sees that a flight got canceled and just immediately assumes it was theirs
Convinces half the dwarves they need to go back before Bilbo actually bothers to double check
Gandalf claims he “accidentally” booked himself in first class while all the others are in economy although he honestly deserves it after the stress of trying to get every dwarf on the plane
Gandalf also “accidentally” booked all the dwarves seats in the very back of the plane
He gets a Thorin Glare™ when they figure this out
Kili claims he needs to sit by the window so he doesn’t get nauseous but really he just likes to look at the clouds (and stars!)
Oin is out COLD before the plane even takes off
The others pretend not to be jealous he can fall asleep so easily
Bombur usually falls asleep quickly but makes sure to stay awake because he’s excited for the free snacks is very disappointed when he realizes it’s only a tiny bag of pretzels
Gloin’s seat accidentally got switched so he’s sitting in the front of the plane next to a middle aged couple
He doesn’t care but soon gets them into a conversation about their children
Talks for hours about his own son Gimli(!!!)
The couple absolutely loves him and by the end of the flight Gloin gets invited to their daughter’s wedding
Fili reaches over and presses the call flight attendant button on Ori’s seat
Ori is extremely embarrassed and flustered when the flight attendant comes over and apologizes for bothering her so many times that it starts being awkward and the flight attendant just slowly backs away
Bilbo reads a book for the entire flight like the nerd he is
Bofur nearly gets kicked off the plane after trying to start a group song doesn’t understand why the other passengers wouldn’t join in
Dori claps when the plane lands
FIli and Kili join him as a joke and start cheering loudly
Dwalin hits the back of their seats but can’t do much more because security’s been watching him since he arrived
Thorin has the darkest circles under his eyes because this man has MAJOR insomnia
Tried to fall asleep the entire 10 hour flight and only got 5 consecutive minutes also couldn’t sleep the night before
Is officially in his Grumpy Cat Era™ because he hasn’t slept in 36 hours and is dealing with a LOT of travel stress
Falls asleep in the car on the way to the hotel
There aren’t enough seats in the rental car so they just stuff Fili and Kili in the trunk don’t worry it was their idea
Bilbo is driving
Gandalf tried to be the driver but his drivers license was revoked years ago
Balin tries to tell the company about cool landmarks they pass on the way to the hotel but everyone is so tired no one responds
He doesn’t seem to notice and will continue giving a history lesson the entire drive
Bilbo runs over a pothole and Fili and Kili hit the ceiling with a loud THWACK
No one bothers to check on them until they get to the hotel sorry not sorry
Bonus:
Thranduil and Legolas are the ones who wear full suits to get on an airplane Legolas tries to get out of this but is told he will be disowned if he wears sweats
They are also the kind of people who will get off of a 15 hour red eye looking fresher than a daisy
Have to avoid paparazzi in the airport
They bring Tauriel with them for crowd control
Can definitely afford a private plane but don’t get one because of the high carbon emissions remember elves are the biggest tree huggers
For Boromir, I headcanon that he has a huge dog that he loves with all of his heart. He claims it’s for hunting, but everybody knows it’s just his best buddy.
Please enjoy some poorly photoshopped pictures
OH MY GOSH 😂😂😭😭 babe i canttt fldjsksks I'm actually terrified of big dogs but boromir def seems like a big dog lover 😭😭
And what are you talking about "poorly Photoshopped" i think these are awesome 😂😂❤️❤️❤️ ESPECIALLY the one with the big white dog on the couch, you melted my heart 🥺🥰 and made my day!!
