Tolkien Secret Santa Advent Gen Calendar Day 23: Family Gathering
For day 23 of @officialtolkiensecretsanta‘s 2020 Gen Advent Calendar!
Title: pebbles & leaves
Pairings: Kili/Tauriel | (Implied Bilbo/Thorin)
Characters: Kili, Tauriel, Bilbo, Thorin, Dis, Original Dwarf/Elf Children.
Rating: Gen
Word Count: 951
Summary/Tags: Kiliel-centric family fluff. Kili & Tauriel are tired parents of twins.
[Read on Ao3]
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Kili yawned and shifted in his seat. Early morning council was torture at the best of times and now that winter was almost upon them, meetings were earlier and they stretched longer and longer into the day. More preparations, more things for the lords and ladies of Erebor to grumble and moan on and on about.
Kili, at this point, wasn’t even really sure what Lord Dorn was talking about - he’d spaced out for a few minutes and the topic of conversation had morphed into something about trout? Sighing, Kili glanced over at his brother. Fili was on the opposite side of the long, stone table, and Kili was almost certain that Fili was asleep. His eyes were open, but his head was propped up on his hand, and yeah, a nap sounded really good right now.
He leaned back in his seat and thought of all of the things he could be doing right now if he didn’t have to be here - which was, mostly sleeping, he would admit. It was still early, and Mîlil had kept him up late into the night the day before, refusing to settle into sleep.
If he just closed his eyes for a few moments, no one would notice, right? Glancing around the table, it was apparent that no one was watching him too closely, apart from Bilbo, who raised an eyebrow at him from across the table. Kili gave him a smile and mouthed “baby” at him, hoping that would explain. And it seemed to, as Bilbo gave him a look of knowing recognition.
Lord Dorn finished his case and Thorin granted his guild permission to do whatever it was that Dorn wanted to do. Kili’s eyes drooped, the warm mountain air heavy and comforting upon him, even if the chair he was sitting in was not comfortable in the slightest. Just a few seconds, he told himself.
He woke not even moments later to his mother elbowing him in the side. Slowly, Kili looked around to see that most of the table was looking at him, and he wasn’t exactly sure why that was.
“I think Prince Kili is feeling a bit under the weather,” Bilbo said, standing and leaning closer to Thorin to whisper something in the king’s ear. Thorin looked at him and nodded, eyes following Bilbo as he made his way around the table to Kili and offered his hand.
“I’ll walk you down to Óin’s office,” Bilbo said, and Kili took his hand, letting out a long breath as Bilbo shut the doors to the council chambers behind them.
“Long night, then?” Bilbo asked as they made their way down the hallway. Kili scrubbed a hand over his face.
“Mîlil was up until about two hours before the council meeting.” Kili explained, “Tauriel’s been working so hard as of late, I’ve been trying to give her some nights off.”
Bilbo smiled at that and patted his shoulder, turning them down the hallway leading back to the royal wing, rather than Óin’s office.
“As you should, she seems to have her hands full with Vís and Rís,” Bilbo turned on his heel as they came to Kili’s chambers, “Get some rest and I’ll fill you in on anything important later tonight.”
“Thanks,” Kili said, “Come ‘round for dinner then?”
Bilbo chuckled, “How about I make the two of you dinner instead? I don’t have much to do after meeting with the merchants in the early afternoon and both of you seem like you need a break.”
Kili gave Bilbo a small smile and ruffled his hair, “Thanks, Uncle Bilbo.”
The Hobbit let out an exasperated breath, his cheeks tinting pink as he fixed Kili his best death glare, “Get some rest, Kili.”
And with that, Kili slowly made his way into his chambers, carefully closing the door behind him just in case the kids were still asleep. The rooms were silent, save for soft snoring sounds coming from Mîlil’s bedroom down the hall.
Kili laid his outer cloak on the back of one of the dining room chairs and made his way toward his and Tauriel’s bedroom. As he slowly nudged open the door, he could make out Tauriel leaning over the crib they’d recently dragged into their room because the twins were having trouble sleeping at night in their nursery.
He came to stand beside her and rested a hand on her lower back, pulling her into him as they both watched Vís and Rís sleep for a few moments. Kili reached down and carefully brushed a bit of Vís’ hair out of her face and smiled to himself.
“When did they get to sleep?” He asked, stepping away and readying himself to slip back into bed for at least a few more hours. Tauriel sat on the edge of their bed, exhaustion evident in the slight slump of her shoulders as she moved to lay back down.
“Only a few minutes before you arrived.” She said, pulling the covers back on his side of the bed so he could climb in next to her, “I thought the council meeting would last until early afternoon?”
Kili hummed in response and pulled her close, burying his face in her hair as she wrapped her arms around him as well.
“Did you fall asleep at the meeting?” She whispered, her breath warm against his neck. Kili only hummed once more and Tauriel chuckled, clearly amused, “I’ll take that as a yes, then.”
Tauriel pressed a kiss to his cheek and Kili kissed the top of her head, thanking Mahal that all of the kids were finally asleep as he pulled her closer and reveled in the warmth of their bed.