“I was thinking about how much I missed it,” Kili murmurs, passing him an unfamiliar-looking book and adjusting the flame of the little lamp he brought with him to provide more light. “The sound of your voice reading to me in that steady way of yours. I think we should start doing it again.”
“This book is in Swedish,” Fili arches an eyebrow at the dark mop of hair under his chin, flipping the first few pages curiously.
“Yes, well, mister Baggins said we should practice, didn’t he? You read, and I’ll look up the words we don’t understand.” He can feel Kili’s grin against his skin as he pats their trusty Encyclopedia Haerbae.
“It will take forever,” he warns, finding the first chapter all the same, “You don’t have the kind of patience required to read like this.”
“That’s why you’re doing the reading. I’m here for the sound of your heartbeat and your fingers stroking through my hair. Read to me, Fili, like you used to.”
Something inside him softens when he huffs in mock-annoyance and peers from the bundle in his arms to the crisp letters on the page, wondering if this is what it feels like to heal.
The words trip over themselves and he struggles constantly, but they only manage to translate about half the page between them before he drifts away into dreamless sleep.
Aaaaahhh, so much wonderful new content! Look at all the wonderful things everyone has made! A huge thank you for all those who took part in our little event, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed seeing all our lovely responses!
We have compiled a quick summary of all the entries, for ease of reference in the future.
Pssst, if you’re still creating for this event, that’s fine - please just let us know and we will add it to the list. Also, if we’ve missed anything, please let us know ASAP.
This is a sequel to Kiss Seventeen on Ao3, a reincarnation fic :)
Kili grew up in city. For him, snow was something that fluttered in the air on fairy's wings only to hit the ground and turn into an odiferous slush that existed only to make him slip and bang his knees against the sidewalk.
But Fili - his Fili, his brother, his lifetime of memories slotting into place beside his own - his Fili grew up on the mountains well above the city. There, the snow was thick and white, carefully maintained as the backbone of his family's fortunes. Their ski lodge wasn't priced for the most elite, but designed more for middle to upper middle class families ready for an adventure.
The first time Kili saw Fili ski, he was amazed. Fili seemed to fly over the snow, twisting among trees and soaring over little snow dunes. He made it look effortless, even though Kili was plenty bright enough to know that it wasn't.
He curved to a stop in a spray of snow that slapped against Kili's new snow pants and sturdy boots. The grin Fili gave him from under his goggles made Kili's heart skip a beat - he knew that smile, locked deep in his heart during the long years before they saw each other on that train.
"Show off," he says, his breath coming out in warm puffs. He was dressed in what felt like five layers of clothes, and his gloved hands were wrapped around a mug of hot chocolate.
"Absolutely," Fili agreed, pushing up his goggles to reveal blue eyes sparkling in the winter sun. "But because of my great foresight and kindness, you didn't even feel the ice, did you?" His smile curves into a knowing smirk, just as familiar.
He'd complained more than a little when Fili had insisted they go shopping in the city before coming to meet Fili's family - surely, Kili had complained, his winter jacket would be enough.
"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" Kili asked.
"Maybe," Fili replied, "when we're old and gray. But not anytime soon, no." He reached out and plucked the mug from Kili's fingers, stealing a sip.
Kili scowled playfully, but didn't try to fight for the mug.Honestly, he was pretty sure he'd end up on his ass in the snow. Walking in this mess was not easy.
"You ready to try?" Fili asked. "I can take you up the training hill."
Kili narrowed his eyes and followed the line of Fili's pointing finger. "The one with all the five year olds on it?" he asked, incredulous.
Fili laughed, warm and familiar. "No, that's the baby hill. One over is where we take our older beginners." His voice turned sly. "Mostly because the children do so much better, the adults slow them down."
Kili, grown man, adult, professional, stuck out his tongue and immediately regretted it. Why was it so cold? How did people live like this, surrounded on all sides by the insidious ice of nature?
He spared a moment to miss the smog, noise, and nonstop noise of the city.
"If I learn to ski," he said cautiously, "what do I get as a prize?"
Fili smiled at him, slow and warm and promising. "In public?" he asked, "Or alone?"
Kili was glad he didn't blush easily. "I think learning a whole new skill earns both."
Fili handed back his mug. "Well, I'll give you a prize tonight for starting to learn, and when you're good enough, I can take you to the most gorgeous spot on the mountain. One I don't share with our guests, out on the cross country trail. And as a bonus...” He caught Kili’s scarf and pulled him in for a kiss, lips like ice, the flicker of his tongue warm and tasting of chocolate. “Deal?"
Kili grinned. "Deal."
"Come on, let's get you some skis." Fili slipped his gloved hand in Kili's. "And...don't get too excited. I'm offering you a full body massage. Trust me." He grinned. "It's all you're going to want after the mountain and I are done with you."
Kili stumbled. "Wait, I changed my mi-"
"Too late!" the love of his life responded, and dragged him off in search of skis.
Summary: They survived the battle, but healing isn’t so simple.
Fili tries to suppress a wince that's caused by a pull along his healing side. He knows it's a futile attempt when Kili is suddenly in front of him instead of beside. His brother's face is set in a deep scowl that has been a constant presence for weeks. The shadows that have been lurking within his remaining eye have started bleeding out to form a dark circle beneath it. Those shadows shift in the dancing light of Fili's torch.
Despite that scowl, he looks haunted and faded. Fili has not pressed, but Kili has refused to share his burden and has kept his ghosts to himself.
Fili misses the grin that rivaled the sun in both radiance and warmth and the contagious laugh that had never failed to brighten Fili's day. He's beginning to forget the sight and sound; he's afraid he's losing his brother even though Kili still breathes.
"You insisted on pulling me from my death bed to traipse all over Erebor when you're barely fit to stand as it is!" Kili mutters almost to himself as trembling and almost frantic hands begin to untie Fili’s tunic until they can reach the bandages that lay underneath. The bandages are still white with no trace of blood on them, but still Kili doesn't seem relieved. Between clenched teeth Fili hears, "Such a stupid and reckless dwarf, I swear if you-"
They're in a long forgotten hallway carved out in the back of the mountain. It's dark save the torch held in Fili's hand as he had been the one leading the way. The only sound around them is Kili's voice until wood clatters against stone as Fili drops the crutch from his other hand in favour of grasping one of Kili's within his own. The fingers in his are cold.
"Kili."
His voice is hardly a whisper against Kili's angry sounding mutterings. Fili knows his brother though, and knows what he tries to cover in anger is actually fear.
Kili's teeth clink together at the sound of his name and that dark eye flicks up and focuses on Fili's own. It's red rimmed and dull, and something in Fili's chest aches at the sight of it.
Despite that, Fili can't help but smile as he tries to lighten the mood. They'd long since moved into the chambers meant for the king's heir, away from the healing room they both could have died in. They are on the road to recovery, and besides a few permanent injuries that will heal with time, they will be fine. "It was hardly your death bed." He chuckles, groaning through the laugh as it hurts something inside. "Ow. I wouldn't hurt so much if I hadn't gone walking yesterday."
"Serves you right for pushing yourself." Kili scoffs loudly, his hand coming up to grasp one of the braids by Fili's mouth. A slight tug brings Fili closer until their foreheads press together, the action as familiar as breathing. Kili winces from his own injuries, head still sensitive even though they're both careful, but Fili sees how Kili relaxes against him with the action.
"I wouldn't have found what I want to show you if I hadn't wandered yesterday." He'd needed out of their suffocating room and a moment to himself. The walls had begun to close in on him, and Kili's constantly dire mood was beginning to chafe him. He hadn't meant to go so far, but knowing what lies ahead of them, he's glad for it.
"And you shouldn't have wandered about on your own." He mumbles, mouth so close to Fili's that their lips brush from the words. Kili's are dry and cracked, but Fili knows his are the same.
Where is his optimistic little brother, who could find a silver lining in complete darkness? He fades a little more each day, and Fili is afraid that he'll eventually just fade away to nothing.
"You could have fallen or gotten lost. We don't know this mountain we almost died for." Kili tries to pull away, to pin Fili with that unhappy scowl again.
But Fili is quicker and his hand at the back of Kili's neck keeps him in place. He's careful not to hurt, fingers caressing tense muscles at the back of his brother's skull. "But we lived." He knows Kili needs this reminder, because that's the issue isn't it? They almost died and the reality of it has hit Kili hard. "We both survived." He says the words slowly and with meaning. Sometimes he's not sure Kili realizes this.
They'd fought and won Erebor, but it was not without its casualties, though everyone from the original company miraculously lived.
Fili has been granted a kind of reprieve since he can't remember much of the battle. Through the blurry and jumbled flashes of memory he recalls a spear meant for Kili piercing himself in the chest, his armour useless against it. He remembers a voice that had to have been Kili screaming his name in a hysterical tone, but it sounded nothing like his brother. After that he remembers nothing.
He had woken within a healing room within the mountain, an injured Kili at his side just as always. The battle had been over for weeks and he had been told that his brother had not left his side since. He'd been told that Kili had slaughtered the orc who had thrown the spear and had ironically taken an arrow to the head as a result. He lost the use of his eye and had been plagued by terrible headaches, but Oin was confident they would eventually stop.
Oin still refuses to tell Fili just how close they came to losing the younger dwarf, but that tells Fili all he needs to know.
He tries not to think about Kili dying while Fili was unconscious.
"Now we heal." It comes out a little breathless as he pushes the thought away.
That eye closes for a moment as the brunet releases a shaky breath, attempting to match his breathing with Fili's. It's a calming technique they've had for as long as Fili remembers, and he purposely keeps his exhales and inhales as regular as he can. It only lasts a moment before Kili's eye opens again, narrowed in a glare. "We would heal better back in bed."
Fili chuckles again despite the pain, pulling away albeit reluctantly. "Your body may be healing within that bed, but your spirit has all but died, brother." He sighs then, looking at Kili with sad eyes. "Some days I feel I may yet lose you." He explains as his hand slips to cup a scruffy cheek, thumb trailing along just underneath the bandage covering Kili's left eye. He no longer needs it but wears it because it covers up the scars. "I would do anything to see a smile here once more. You suffer in silence when you don't need to. I have always been here to lend an ear to your sorrows, and yet you refuse to share them with me now."
Blue eyes are focused on Kili's lips as he speaks, so he doesn't miss their trembling in the firelight. A tear trails down a cheek and gets caught up in Kili's scruff. Fili gently wipes it away before shifting his gaze up. Kili looks conflicted.
"I don't know how." He admits slowly, struggling to keep his voice even.
"Try." Fili knows that their destination would be a better place for this conversation, but he knows that would just give Kili a chance to collect himself and close himself off once more.
The brunet turns away so that the side of his bandaged face is what Fili can see. They are both silent for a long time, Fili waiting and Kili gathering his thoughts.
"I see you fall." Kili finally whispers into the darkness, every word soaked and dripping with the anguish he's managed to bottle up inside. "Every time I close my eyes, I see you fall." And when he turns back to face Fili, his gaze is glassy and Fili knows he's seeing it happening right now.
"I see you jump in front of me; I see the spear rip through you. I hear it - the clunk of metal as it cracks through your armour. Y-you gasped." Kili's voice quivers and his voice is tight, "That was the only sound you made and as quiet as it was, it was the only thing I could hear."
"...and then you fall." His voice drops to a whisper, the words too painful to say but he doesn't end his story there. "I became angry that you'd done something so stupid. If we were going to die, then we were supposed to die together." This is said with conviction, a little of that anger flaring up once more and lending strength to Kili's voice, "I went after the orc, and the foul mouthed scum was still laughing as I separated his head from his body." His mouth curls down into a dark frown, and Fili thinks there might be more to that part of the tale. "I started my way back to you, completely prepared to lay down next to you and join you in death. I never made it."
Unable to physically shake Kili to wake him from his memories for fear of hurting him, Fili erases the space between them and kisses him instead. He tastes the salt of Kili's tears, and the bitterness of his grief is heavy on Fili's tongue, but he tries to share it so that the burden might not weigh on Kili so heavily. Tries to convey to Kili that he isn't alone.
Kili's gasping by the time they separate, but his hands are steadier and his eye is simply moist. Fili holds up his weight as the younger sags against him for a moment before remembering that Fili is injured. Kili straightens and looks at Fili, expression blank as he tries to assess how he feels. The frown reappears but it's no longer the deep scowl from before. "And then you still left me alone to wait by your side until you finally awoke."
"Which I apologize for." Fili interrupts before Kili can sink back into his dark mood. He squeezes Kili's hand again, the fingers warmer now, "And I will make it up to you every day for the rest of our lives." Maybe it sounds a little over dramatic, but there is nothing Fili won't do for Kili.
Kili is quiet for a few moments, and when he moves away from Fili, the blond having no choice but to release his hand. He doesn't go far. "I still say we should get back to bed." Kili mutters before bending down to pick up the crutch Fili dropped earlier. His balance is still a little off with his changed depth perception and he almost stumbles but manages to catch himself.
"But then you'd miss out on what I have to show you." Fili insists though he knows it's not going anywhere. It survived Smaug and who knows how many years; it could survive a few more days or even weeks. It's Fili who can't wait that long.
The crutch is handed back and the torch passed between them while Fili shifts the wood to a more comfortable position. When he holds his hand out for the torch, Kili refuses. "Just focus on walking without reopening your side or I WILL carry you back to our chambers."
Since it's not another plea to return right away, Fili accepts it and continues on a head.
But not before a hand slips into his own, fingers warmer now as they squeeze tightly. Fili smiles to himself and says nothing but gives a gentle squeeze in return. They limp along through the dimly lit mountain side by side.
There have been personal emergencies and jobs and depression and issues keeping people who wanted to participate from being able to do so. And you know what?
That stinks!
So here we go, FiKi Week Pt 2: Same Prompts, a New Week! Did you want to participate and didn’t have time? Well, here’s your second chance.
I will be reblogging all the posts I see here on @gatheringfiki! Since tagging is a joke, let me know if I miss you!
THIS YEAR’S PROMPTS: REDUX
Sat, 22 July:inspired by nature
Sun, 23 July: inspired by art
Mon, 24 July: inspired by canon
Tues, 25 July: inspired by stories
Weds, 26 July: inspired by film/television
Thurs, 27 July: inspired by photography
Fri, 28 July: inspired by music
Participate one day, participate three days, participate every day! Post art, an edit, a story, a headcanon, a paragraph, a sketch, or anything else.
Little Gifts (Fairies AU) - Chater 39 - Festival of the Sun
MY OTHER WRITING
Written for the FiKi Week 2017, day 1: Inspired by Nature :)
June and July found fairies in a flurry of activity.
Not only was it time to bring the first of the harvest in and last moment to encourage that last extra bit of growth to improve its quality, but also the time of the Festival was fast approaching.
The Festival of Sun, also known as The Summer Festival, was the equivalent to The Festival of Light, which fairies celebrated late in the autumn and in many ways the two were polar opposites. Where Festival of Light celebrated all things that have come to pass already, Festival of Sun revelled in all things yet to arrive; in vitality, life and joy.
The culmination of the celebration was going to be an evening feast, with fresh produce aplenty, spiced meats and ale, laughter, chatter and river racing, most of it in a more of less inebriated state.
But it was what was going to take place before the feast that really got fairies excited:
A Stone Stacking Competition.
In a time honoured tradition the fairy folk have always stacked stones around riverbeds and mountain trails, in places where a wary, air-borne traveller might take a wrong turn. If spotted, the Big Folk always assumed it was one of their own kind that had left them a little mark to indicate a trail, and in a curious slightly magic-imbued way, since everybody assumed, nobody thought to actually ask.
In reality though the Stone Markers were much more than that; always placed in exactly the right place to be easily spotted from above, with stones of exactly the right type, stacked just so in a perfect sequence and position. To the fairies they were as obvious as road signs:
3 miles this way to the big oak tree, 5 miles that way to the springs and beware the spiders to the North.
Reading and constructing Stone Stacks was one of the first skills that bairns were taught and since it had lots to do with pure instinct and not a lot to do with boring scrolls and information to be memorised, it was an activity universally loved by all.
No wonder then that everyone wanted to be on form for it.
The older dwarrows whispered that on All Hallow’s Eve the veil between the living and the dead parted just for one night. But Fili didn’t know about these stories, all Fili knew that today he got to spend the entire night with Kili.
