Kili pulled his hood up high. His hoodie barely warm enough to cut the edge off of the chill of the night. He moved his hands to his rucksack and tightened the straps making sure it was snug on his back. The train would stop any moment. Drop him off at the sleepy town of Stoke-on-Trent and he could get this over with. He was riddled with anxiety. He dug at his fingernails, his fingerless gloves felt too tight on his fingers, his wrists felt suffocated by the soft knitted material. But he kept the gloves on. Ori had given them to him as good luck charms. Ever since they were kids growing up in that Home, Ori always gave Kili good luck charms if anything was to happen that would take the best friends away from each other's sides. As a result Kili had well over 42 keys that had no locks to match, 15 paperclips bent in weird shapes, 5 detailed drawings, and one pair of knitted gloves.
Kili watched the dark world outside of the well lit train lead into a litter of blurred house lights before the station came into view. The train lurching to a stop.
He swallowed hard, stepping off of the train and looked around. He was on the opposite platform. He hated it when small stations did that. He didn't like the sky walks that bridged over the rails. Not after... Kili closed his eyes and pulled his hood down more. He wouldn't think about it. What happened was a long time ago. Dr. Gandalf was right, he shouldn't dwell on it. He had to move forward.
Still, it didn't make crossing the skywalk any easier. He took a moment, standing there at the end. It seemed like a long distance, an ever stretching road that never ended. Kili had to muster a lot in order to put one foot in front of the other. He stayed well away from the edges. He looked at anything to keep his attention from what he was doing. A spider with a fat, flat abdomen had spun a web in the rafters. The train he took was currently leaving. The sound of some people laughing as they went to catch the last train of the night. Soon enough, relief flooded through him when he made it across and was able to take the lift down. He passed by a Pumpkin Cafe that was tightly closed up and he gave a sigh. He missed pumpkins... The British didn't know a thing about pumpkins.
He slipped through the main station entrance out into the streets. Construction. iWell... at least that's a familiar sight. /i He sighed to himself.
"Excuse me?"
Kili turned to the rather gentle voice. There was a blond man, a bit older than him, funny hair. It looked like he was trying to grow it out to match his growing facial hair. iUni student... must be near graduation, wants to start looking the part for his studied profession./i
"Are you Kili?" The man asked.
"Then you're Fili." Kili looked at him cautiously but still smiled and held out his hand.
"It's not that cold." Fili took Kili's hand and shook it. "It's barely october."
"Think of it as my sleeping bag. I have been traveling for over 24 hours."
"Layover in Seattle, yes?"
"I'm beginning to think that the plane ticket you got me was fished out of a trash bin by a raccoon."
Fili laughed and started to walk, waving for Kili to follow up a small hill. "A mangy cat maybe, but no raccoon, we don't have those."
"You're missing out." Kili pulled a half eaten energy bar from his pocket, took a nibble and put it back in his pocket. It was the only thing he had been eating since he left the comforts of the Inland North West of the states. He already missed the trees and the rain. Soon it would be snowing heaps of white, the news talking about how roofs had collapsed and Ori and him would be warm and snug and laughing because they had a system of shoveling off the roof.
"You've got a cute accent." Fili suddenly said as they started to approach a car. "Sounds Canadian almost."
Kili wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, because all Canadians are icute./i"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you." Fili fished some keys out of his pocket and stood by a door. He looked up at Kili who was next to him. "What? You want to drive?"
Kili blushed with embarrassment. Right... driver on the opposite side. He only got a laugh for it, a little happy he didn't get out right teased. Rounding the car he opened the door and got in, not bothering taking off his pack.
Fili got in, waited until they were both buckled in before starting up the car and heading out. "You know, uncle is excited to see you."
"I bet." Kili snorted.
"He doesn't mind you're the son of another man." Fili said softly his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel. "He's been looking for you since she left him."
"She left everyone." Kili dug his fingers into his arm through his hoodie, enough to cause pain. "So what's the real reason he wants me here? I've got a pretty good life in America."
Fili slammed on the breaks, both of them flinging forward in their seats. The blond turned to Kili with hard eyes, ones that Kili only glared at defiantly. "Your mother was a bitch. I get that. I've known it since one day you weren't there in your crib. It broke Uncle to see you gone. I warn you, just this once, do bnot/b make Thorin upset. I will break your ribs if you do."
"It's great that you're protective of your elderly uncle and all but don't think one moment I really want to be here." Kili hissed. "I have little choice in the matter."
"Got some chavy girl waiting for you?" Fili snapped. This guy was seriously getting under his skin and in a bad way and to think, at some point in time he actually had wished upon stars and written to santa for Kili to come home so he wouldn't be the only child in the home.
"I've got a brother you ass." Kili unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. He would throw a punch if he didn't. He wanted to be home. He wanted to be with Ori and be working on their art and writing. He didn't even fucking like England!
He heard an exaggerated sigh, "Kili, get in the car."
"Fuck you." He murmured, fishing out a map from his pocket. He unfolded it looking at the detailed sketchings of Ori's hand. Kili would have actually printed the map out but Ori was beside himself saying that everything was inaccurate. And he trusted his brother more than anything, so, he let Ori draw him up a map to his destination just in case someone did not come to pick him up from the train station.
A car door slam told him that Fili had gotten out of the car. "Get in the car."
"No."
"Get in the car."
"I said no. You don't hear very well."
"And you don't listen," Fili grabbed at the map. "What is this anyway?"
"My map." Kili pulled it away from Fili's hands. "I can walk to the estate."
"Not according to Thorin. You've got asthma and you're allergic to sheep." Fili leaned over Kili reaching for the map still.
"I've got an inhaler and epipens! I'm- god get off of me!"
"Give me the map and get in the car!"
"If you touch my map I'll knee you in the groin!"
"Do that and I'll punch your nads!" Fili finally got a hold of the map and yanked it out of Kili's hand. Kili raised up his knee with a sharp jerk, landing the blow between Fili's legs. The blond gave a strangled groan as he collapsed to his knees holding his assaulted privates. And as promised Fili raised a hand, balled it into a fist and punched Kili in his crowned jewels.
The two rolled on the road, holding themselves groaning in pain.
So far.
Kili hated England.
"What if he has learned too much of a bad life?" Thorin tied back his hair for the seventh time in only a few minutes.
Bilbo took out the hair tie and properly smoothed out his husband's hair before tying it back properly over the back of his neck. "He'll be a good boy. After all, you were the very first thing he saw in his whole born. You were the first touch and voice to hear. No one could go wrong from having that."
"You've been reading too many romance novels." Thorin said as he lifted his chin and let Bilbo adjust his tie. "I should stop buying those."
"Perhaps somewhen." Bilbo mused before leaning up and giving Thorin a kiss on the lips. "But only when there are better things to read. You do keep me dreadfully bored here."
"You complain now?"
Bilbo blinked with wide eyes. "Why I would never, my kind sir, after everything you have done for me."
Thorin leaned down, running his hands over Bilbo's behind and giving a squeeze loving the sound that came out of the man.
"I have you know I have a husband." Bilbo purred. "What would he say if he saw you doing this to me?"
Thorin grinned. "That's hot."
Bilbo laughed. "No you wouldn't. You would probably foam at the mouth if you saw someone grabbing my butt."
"Mmm, true." Thorin pulled his husband up to his lips, kissing him deeply, relaxing his frazzled nerves. He only broke the kiss when the sound of the front door opened followed by twin unpleasant groans.
"You're an asshole."
"And you're wanker."
Bilbo took in a breath for Thorin. Then took his hand and pulled him towards the, not so pleasant, sounds of someone returning home. Thorin's grip tightened making Bilbo inwardly wince. There was Kili. He looked dishevelled, wearing jeans and a gray hoodie and possibly the ugliest gloves he had ever seen. His dark hair spilled around his shoulders and he looked... perfect.
"K...Kili?"
The youth looked up. His frown softening. Thorin looked... familiar. His deep voice sending a washing wave of comfort. Thorin was... taller than Kili, he hadn't expected that. He wore a sharp suit, his own hair wild and tamed into a ponytail. He had well kept facial hair which added to his image of importance. It helped since he was a worker in the House of Lords.
"...hey." Kili moved his eyes away from the man. He looked... too intimidating to really interact with immediately. He looked around the house. It was... well it was big, beautiful, decorated with an interesting combination of antique and modern. "Nice place."
"Thank you." Bilbo piped up where he was silently waiting.
Suddenly there was a phone out and Bilbo winced when a flash of a photo was taken of him. Several more were followed. "Oh-oh my." Bilbo eventually had to hide behind Thorin, pressing his face against the man's back all the while still hearing the camera click for several more photos.
"What the he-" Fili moved in front of Kili. "What are you? Some Japanese tourist girl?"
Kili ignored him and started to type some things away on his phone. He then clicked send and pocketed his phone. "Sorry, what?"
"...Americans." Fili huffed and left the room. He was done for today.
"Kili that... was...definitely not how I hoped we would begin our talk." Thorin slowly broke the silence.
"Oh-uh, sorry." Kili smiled a bit bashfully. "I help my brother with his kids books."
"You... have a brother?" Thorin asked feeling his chest clench.
"Yeah. Ori." Kili shifted. "Look... I'm sorry if I'm rude but I've had a long day and-"
"Of course. Come. We have a room for you."
Kili liked Bilbo. Of course he did! Everyone liked Bilbo! Bilbo with his perfect smile and perfect honey chestnut hair, and his perfect sweetness and his perfect way of being a dad.
Fili growled to himself as he watched Kili play with Bilbo's face and making notes on his phone. It was the third day that Kili has been with them and while Fili had it easy to go to the Staffordshire University Uncle had a much harder time coming home in time to catch the jetlagged American and spend time with him. Which left the man quite at night and hanging his head. Fili seriously wanted to drop kick Kili out of the house. The brat...
"Fili, lunch!" Bilbo called.
He grumbled coming into the kitchen. Thumping down his college book on the counter before taking a seat at the table.
"How is your studies going?" Bilbo asked softly, seeing how distracted his nephew was.
"My tutor needs to gargle on rotten bullocks." Fili ground out.
"That's... interesting." Bilbo placed down some plates of food. "Why? What did he do this time?" Bilbo's face turned serious. Several times now Fili's tutor had assigned completely worthless tasks that would not teach the boy anything. Bilbo firmly believed that Fili was being cheated out of an education and whenever he voiced his anger Thorin would calm him down and tell him to let things run their course. Thorin did have his reasons though, Bilbo was fiercely protective of Fili ever since the blond babe was sat on Bilbo's knee for the first time.
"He's having us write an essay about Native Americans. That's it, no details further on that."
"You're a Military History Major, why would they have you do that?"
"Native Americans had amazing strategies when it came to war between tribes. They mostly had to outsmart each other because fire power was useless in their circumstance. They were all skillfully trained warriors that had no appointed general because they were that good of a well oiled machine. In the end it's speculated that if the Native Americans had not died from the diseases passed on by the settlers and they had muskets, the colonies would have never been founded." Kili spoke up, his fort in the air, his other hand occupied with typing on his phone. He looked up and looked at the two that just stared at him. "What?"
"Is that from basic schooling in America?" Bilbo asked, smiling softly.
"Anyone who pays attention in history class, yeah." Kili poked his fork down grabbing some lettuce and meat. "But if you want to go into detail I can provide more."
"So, you know a lot of Native Americans?"
"..." Kili nodded. He looked to Fili. "If I help you and if you don't get an A on your essay I'll be deeply insulted."
Fili snorted out a laugh. "Then lets see just how smart you are."