Another story for The Hobbit AU! This story happens the morning after 'An Unexpected Meeting.' In this story, the company must stay a few days in Rivendell in order to be able to read the map, so Fíli and Kíli are bound to see Estel again!
I own nothing but the mistakes and errors, and everything in Middle Earth belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien.
"I never thought we'd end up in a place like this," Balin confessed uneasily, getting up from the chair he was sitting in and heading over to the balcony. The company's arrival at Rivendell had been unexpected, though both Thorin and Balin wouldn't put it past Gandalf to have planned this from the beginning. The very thought of staying among the elves made the dwarves uneasy, and thirteen uneasy dwarves were not at all pleasant company.
"We can be rid of this place as soon as the map is read," Thorin Oakenshield said gruffly, his stance and tone not hiding his obvious dislike of the situation they were currently in. Balin sighed and nodded, moving to light his pipe as he gazed out from the balcony. The laughter and rowdy voices of the rest of the company could be heard echoing from below. Both dwarves glanced down to see Bombur's chair collapse from under him, which caused a whole new bout of laughter to ring through the valley. It seemed their unease had lifted a bit, if the laughter was anything to go by.
'The sooner Gandalf gets the elf to read their map, the sooner they could be on their way,' Thorin thought with a grimace, though the wizard did say when they would meet with Lord Elrond. It could not come soon enough, and the look Balin sent him showed that he thought the same.
"Let us go find our wizard," Thorin said, moving out of the large room the dwarves were given for their stay, Balin following close behind him.
"We must wait at least three more days until the moon is in the right place to read the map," Balin explained tiredly, not at all surprised to see the shocked and angry faces of Gloin, Dwalin, and Dori as they digested the information. Lord Elrond had proven useful, and had vowed to read the map as soon as he was able. Unfortunately, you could not force moon runes to be visible at any time, much to the dismay of the dwarves.
"Three more days!" Gloin shouted angrily, his fingers twitching for his axe. Balin sighed, ignoring the outburst while shaking his head as he turned back to look at Thorin.
"We will put up with the elves for three more days, and as soon as we have what we need we shall leave this place far behind." Thorin said roughly, and any protests were cut short by his tone. Dori nodded to him, heading from the room to tell the others of the news.
Just as the others were about to sit and discuss the rest of the journey, a small form tumbled into the room, startling the dwarves into defense mode. Wide eyes took in the sight of the four dwarves, and fear etched across the small boy's face.
"What do we have here, a spy?" Gloin roared, his temper getting the best of him as he sprang up and reached for his axe. With a terrified squeak, the boy dodged the angry dwarf and made to duck under the safety of a bed. Before he could make it, a large hand grabbed the back of his shirt and he was lifted into the air in front of Thorin. Giving out a shout, the boy wiggled and tried to break the hold, though Thorin had used this maneuver many times before, only with small dwarflings.
"What is going on here?" Thorin asked as he glanced around at the others, getting the same confused and wary looks that mirrored his own.
Down below, the rest of the company was trudging through breakfast, seeking out what little bits of meat they had left in their packs. The elves had left food out, though it was not very desirable to a dwarf. Bofur was talking lowly with Oin and Ori in the corner, the younger dwarf laughing quietly at something the toymaker said. Nori was suspiciously missing, though no one knew quite where he had gone off to. Bifur was smoking while mumbling to himself, and Bombur was sitting on a sturdier chair by the table eating.
"Do you think they all have such bad taste in food?" Kíli asked his brother, picking through the 'breakfast' that was left out for them. Greens, greens, and more greens littered the table, much to everyone's dismay. "They must only be able to eat green food!"
"Most likely," Fíli said with a sigh, reaching his arms back in a stretch. Off to the side, he heard Bilbo snort at their conversation, and the blonde shot the hobbit an easy grin.
"Do you think—"
A sudden shout from the room above interrupted the young dwarf, and Fíli and Kíli whipped their heads around to try and look for the owner of the small voice. Hearing Gloin's angry shout, he brothers shared a surprised look as they bolted from their chairs, almost running over Dori as they scrambled out of the makeshift dining room and headed towards the commotion.
Throwing the door open, the first thing Fíli and Kíli saw was Estel dangling from their uncle's outstretched arms, his legs kicking uselessly as he tried to wiggle free. Kíli made a surprised noise, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. Once he realized who had entered, Estel stopped his wriggling and reached his arms out to the two younger dwarves.
"Bíli!" he shouted, his hands making grabbing motions towards the blonde. As Fíli moved to step forward, Thorin placed the boy on the ground with a frown, eyebrows drawing together in confusion as the small boy ran to the blonde. Leaning down, Fíli scooped the boy up into his arms with ease, which surprised both himself and the others. Estel buried his face in Fíli's neck, and Kíli moved forward to stand slightly in front of the two, his hand coming up to rub the child's back lightly.
By now, every dwarf, save Fíli and Kíli, had confused frowns on their faces, and Gloin had even dropped his axe to his side. Noticing how the boy was shaking in his arms, Fíli moved to step back and out of the room, only to have Thorin's sharp voice stop him.
"Fíli, Kíli," Their uncle said sternly, his voice a mix of curiosity and anger. Fíli shot his uncle a pleading look, only to have a hard stare returned.
"Uncle, I would really like to take Estel—"
"Estel?" Thorin interrupted flatly, and Estel squirmed in Fíli's hold, trying to hide even further in the blonde's hold. Sharing a distressed look with his brother, Kíli turned to Thorin.
"I'll stay and explain." Kíli offered, stepping away from his brother and further into the room.
"Gíli," Estel's soft voice stopped the dwarf, who turned back to see a small hand being held out to him. Chuckling, Kíli turned back to the boy and grabbed his hand, murmuring to him to draw his face from Fíli's neck. The boy complied, and smiled at the dark-haired dwarf who brushed his curls back behind his ear.
"Will someone explain what is going on here!" Gloin said loudly, and Dwalin nodded as he folded his arms across his chest.
Resting his head on Fíli's shoulder, Estel watched as Kíli took a step back towards Thorin. His eyes shifted, taking in the other dwarves as he started shaking again.
"Please, Uncle." Fíli said quietly, and the dwarf leader gave him a long look before giving a reluctant nod. As fierce a dwarf warrior as he was, Thorin would not needlessly scare a small child. Fíli gave an audible sigh of relief as he hefted the boy more comfortably in his arms. Giving a nod at the easy smile Kíli tossed him over his shoulder, Fíli whisked Estel out the door, leaving his brother on his own.
"Explain. Now." Thorin commanded, his voice holding no room for argument. Kíli let out a sigh as he turned to face his uncle and the others.
"I'm not sure where to start," he said softly, and saw Balin move to the chair by the balcony and light his pipe.
"How about from the beginning?" The old dwarf said with a small smile, chuckling at the younger's grimace.
"That was Estel, Lord Elrond's youngest son," Kíli began, pausing and receiving a raised eyebrow from Balin. When no one said anything, Kíli flopped down onto a bed and decided to tell them everything.
"He came charging into this room last night…" he recalled, and retold the events of the previous night to the others, conveniently omitting the awkwardness he and Fíli both felt having been thrust into the company of a small child so suddenly. He told them how Estel had been, for the most part, completely unafraid of them, and had even plopped right into their laps, completely at ease after only a few moments.
"But then Lord Elrond's other sons, the two that look the same, came in in a panic, trying to find the missing child." Kíli recalled with a laugh. "I do believe the boy is quite a skilled little elf," Kíli admitted, noticing how the others seemed to have lost their anger as his story went on.
"I don't think he's an elf," Balin said suddenly, and Kíli looked at him stupidly.
"But Elladan and Elrohir said—"
"Who?" Dwalin interrupted, his long silence seeming to have lasted long enough. Not long enough, Kíli thought to himself.
"Lord Elrond's sons, the twins." Kíli muttered, rubbing the back on his neck in embarrassment.
"You seem awfully close with these elves," The large dwarf said with a sneer, and Balin cut Kíli's protests short.
"That's enough, brother," the old dwarf said gruffly, turning to Thorin. "I do not think the boy is an elf, though why they said he was is a mystery." Gloin huffed angrily.
"Its because they are liars, all of them good-for-nothing—"
"They didn't actually say he was an elf," Kíli said suddenly, realizing too late that he was practically defending the elves.
Gloin and Dwalin opened their jeers at Kíli, and the younger tried to defend himself as best he could, though his face was getting flushed at all the yelling.
"ENOUGH!" Thorin yelled, and all eyes turned to him. "It matters not what race the child is, for he is only that, a child." He said with an air of finality. Gloin and Dwalin settled at this and nodded, for children among dwarves were rare and few, and this child seemed completely unaware of the differences between the races.
"Am I done?" Kíli's voice popped up, giving his uncle a hopeful look.
"Did you tell the elves anything about our quest?" Thorin asked lowly, and Kíli shook his head in firm denial. To the younger's surprise, Thorin gave a short nod of dismissal, and Kíli didn't waste a second before scrambling out the door.
Balin and Gloin chuckled, and Dwalin just shook his head with a sigh.
"Leave it to your sister-sons to become attached to a small child in a place crawling with elves."
Hearing loud laughter drifting in from outside, Kíli stepped through the large doorway and smiled at the sight that greeted him. Fíli sat on the floor in front of a smiling Bofur, who had Estel on his knees facing the others as he bounced his legs up and down, much to the child's delight. Bifur, Bombur, and Nori were playing a light tune on their instruments, and everyone was immersed in the chorus of the song about the hobbit's plates and dinnerware. Bilbo himself stood by Bofur, annoyed at the choice of song, yet smiling down at the small boy. Ori was on the floor beside Fíli, sketching a picture of the happy child into his journal, while Oin and Dori smoked by the large windows.
Kíli had a sudden idea, and before he could be seen by the boy he crept along the shadows of the room until be was behind Bofur's chair. Catching sight of him, Fíli raised an eyebrow at him, but Kíli only shook his head as he leaned down to whisper into Bofur's ear. As Kíli explained his plan, the toymaker smiled and gave a small nod.
"Bíli look!" Estel giggled, raising his arms up and spreading them out as if to balance himself. Fíli smiled warmly, clapping as he praised the boy on his balance and steadiness.
Kíli stifled a laugh as he waited for Bofur's cue, and as the toymaker gave a particularly high bounce, the younger dwarf pounced from behind the chair. He reached out and grabbed the boy before he landed again, lifting him up into the air above his head.
Estel let out a startled squeak, which morphed into full laughter when he caught sight of who was holding him aloft.
"Gíli!" He laughed as the young dwarf reeled him back into his chest, and Estel latched his arms around his neck and gave him a tight hug. "Gíli not in trouble?" Estel questioned with a shy smile, and both Fíli and Kíli laughed at that. Walking over to his brother, Kíli plopped the boy down into Fíli's lap and took a seat at his side. Estel leaned over in the blonde's hold to look at the picture Ori had drawn.
Kíli leaned over his brother as well, mimicking the boy's pose and the blonde dwarf let out a huff at the added weight.
"Who's that, Estel?" Kíli asked, pointing to the Estel drawn on the picture.
"Me!" Estel said excitedly, flopping lengthwise across Fíli's lap, his little legs kicking against Kíli's side lightly. Smirking, Kíli grabbed the boy's feet and began to tickle them lightly. Estel began squirming, and Fíli reached over to shove his brother away. Bilbo smiled brightly at their antics, and went over to join Oin and Dori at the window.
"Who is that?" Kíli said after righting himself, leaning once again over his brother's lap and pointing to the Bofur that Ori had drawn. Estel seemed to concentrate on the picture for a few minutes before smiling and pointing up towards the dwarf who was only a few feet away.
"Bobur!" Estel said with a smile, and was rewarded by a round of applause. The boy's cheeks were rosy from all the laughing, and he continued to point out and name the others.
"Bibur! Bomby! Bilbo!"
"ESTEL!" a voice shouted suddenly, and Estel went still before scrambling from his relaxed sprawl on Fíli's lap and hiding behind the two brothers.
"I feel like this has happened before," Fíli whispered to his brother as the twin sons of Lord Elrond came barreling through the doorway, wearing dress robes and looking in a state of panic.
"Estel I swear," one began as the looked around the room for their brother. "We cannot keep you in your bed, be it night or day!" Catching sight of a mop of brown curls, the elf that had just spoken stalked into the room of wary dwarves.
"Good morning, Masters Fíli and Kíli! And also to you all, Master dwarves!" The other elf said brightly from just inside the doorway. "We are very sorry for bothering you yet again, it seems Elladan and I have gotten lax at keeping track of our little brother." Elrohir said as he watched Elladan try and grab the boy, who was dodging and ducking behind the two dwarves on the ground. Oin and Nori shared a glance, and Bofur just shrugged at the sight, a smirk on his face.
Ori, who had scrambled to stand by Bofur at the elves' arrival laughed softly at the sight, and Bilbo was laughing politely around his pipe.
Feeling a bit bad for the twins, Kíli reached behind himself and grabbed Estel, handing the wiggling boy off to Elladan with a laugh.
"Thank you, Master Kíli," Elladan said tiredly, lifting the squirming boy up into his arms and trying to avoid flailing limbs.
"Now Estel, you cannot keep pestering our guests, it is unbecoming," Elrohir chided, walking over to stand by his brother.
"At least you have not bothered the entire company," Elladan scolded the boy. Kíli coughed loudly and Fíli snorted. "Actually…"
Both elves paled, and Estel laughed and ducked his head to try and hide his smile. "By the Valar, we are going to be skinned alive!" Elrohir said with a wail. "First we lose you, then we search half the valley trying to find you—"
"Causing us to be late for our meeting, and now your assigned babysitter has been given other duties," Elladan finished, setting the boy on the floor but keeping a firm hand on his shoulder to prevent the boy from running. Crouching down, the tall elf turned the boy to face him.
"What will Ada say, when we have to bring you with us to the boring meeting?" Elladan asked, giving the boy a pointed look, and Estel turned wide eyes to the dwarves and Bilbo pleadingly.
"We can look after him!" Fíli piped up suddenly, getting shocked looks from the elves and amused looks from most of the dwarves. After Fíli had relayed the story of how they met Estel, the others had laughed, mostly at the fact that not one, but two elves could not keep track of a child. Fíli also thought their acceptance of the boy may have to do with dwarflings being so rare among their people. Estel seemed to have brought back a spark to the dwarves, something happy they could focus on while they waited in the land of the elves.
"Yes! It really wouldn't be a problem, of course!" Kíli added, standing up with his brother and facing the elves with determined faces.
"We cannot ask you to do that," Elladan said with a frown.
"What kind of hosts would we be if we made you babysit!" Elrohir said, and Bofur chuckled at the look the elf was giving them.
"Truly, it would be out pleasure. We have grown fond of the boy," Fíli said, and the others nodded their agreement at not being put off by the child. As Elladan started to speak once again, a new voice from behind interrupted him as Balin, Dwalin, Gloin, and Thorin stood in the doorway.
"Once these two dwarflings have an idea in their head, it is very hard to get them to abandon it." Balin said with a wink, the elves whipping around to look at the newcomers.
All eyes were on Thorin, who turned hard eyes from the elves to the pleading eyes of his sister-sons. With a loud sigh, he glanced at Estel's hopeful face and gave the elves a curt nod.
Fíli and Kíli gave a happy shout, while Dwalin scoffed something along the lines of 'softy' as he made his way past the others towards the table of food. Dwalin took a seat between Bombur and Oin, reaching across the table for food as if nothing was amiss.
Estel, realizing that he wasn't going to be forced to attend the boring meeting, gave a happy shout as he pulled out of his brother's hold and ran towards Thorin. Everyone watched silently as the boy wrapped his arms around the dwarf leader's legs and smiled up at him shyly. Thorin lifted his hand and hesitated slightly before placing it on the child's head and ruffling his hair softly. Estel grinned before releasing the large dwarf and running towards Fíli and Kíli, taking the brunette down in a tackle-hug. Seeing the young dwarf go down, everyone burst into laughter and Elladan turned to his brother.
"He gets that from you!" He stage whispered, and even Dwalin cracked a smile at the elves. As Kíli righted himself, Estel threw his arms around the young dwarf and Kíli rocked back to steady them.
"Estel" Elladan called softly, and the boy untangled himself from Kíli with a giggle and made his way towards his brothers. Elladan lifted the boy into his arms, and poked him on the nose.
"You must be on your best behavior, tithen gwador," Elrohir warned, and Estel nodded happily to his brother.
"Ada will not be pleased to hear that you have disturbed all of our guests," Elladan chided, giving the boy a kiss to his forehead before handing him to Elrohir who mirrored the gesture. Setting the boy on the ground both elves crouched down to his level. "I assure you, we will be checking in with Master Oakenshield to make sure you are behaving," Elladan said, and Estel nodded his head vigorously.
"I plomise, Dan!" Estel swore, throwing his arms around both twins and giving them a squeeze. Ruffling the boy's hair, Elladan smiled before dismissing the child. Estel happily ran to the young dwarves on the floor, plopping himself down in the blonde's lap and waving to his brothers once more before reaching up to play with a braid.
"If you tire of him or he gets out of line, please feel free to drop him off with someone in the house. He knows them all and they will be willing to help." Elladan said, turning to Thorin and Balin. With their nod of approval, the elves straightened their robes and made to leave.
"Thank you again, truly. It means a lot." Elrohir said quietly, disappearing around the corner after his brother, leaving the dwarves and hobbit a bit stunned.
A moment of silence passed, before Estel decided to break the quiet.
"Bilbo Baggins hates!" He sang loudly, and the sound of roaring laughter and a lone groan echoed down the halls.
I apologize for how out of character some of the dwarves may seem. I re-wrote this about 4 times and I'm still not 100% happy with it. I wasn't going to put everyone in it, but then where would they be?
Thanks for reading!