An arrow thrummed through the air, biting deep into the bark of the tree. Drawing another, Kili brought it back to elbow length, concentrating on his target as he aimed the bow in the wanted direction. Releasing, the arrow sighed as it plummeted into the wood, chipping some of it off.

With a pleased grin, Kili moved a third arrow into place, precise with each swift movement as he squared his shoulders, correctly straightening himself. Just as his fingers were seconds away from releasing, a weight was forced against him. His focus was disturbed as he lost his balance and the arrow skimmed the air, disappearing into the canopy of trees as Kili fell to the ground.

There was a bark of laughter. Kili would know that laugh from anywhere. He had grown up hearing it after all. He might have known his brother would be involved in putting him off his target. Glancing up, Fili hovered over him, blocking the sun from his sight. The blond was drenched in sweat. Sword practice, no doubt.

"Look at you, with your bow, hm?" Fili smirked, teasing. Kili scowled at him. He had gotten this for years, about how he was of the very few dwarfs that used a bow and how it was seen as an 'elf' weapon. And all of them felt the same way about elves. Kili preferred a bow and arrow. It was lighter in weight, and was useful for a long range of distance, whereas with a sword, it was heavy, tiring to carry, and you were required to be up close with the enemy.

Fili continued when his brother did not answer. "Why don't you use a real weapon?" He drew his sword, the sun reflecting off the blade. "Or are you too afraid? I bet you fight like a maid."

"Is that supposed to be offensive, Brother?" Kili hastily moved to his feet, an arrow in place in a matter of seconds and aimed at Fili's forehead. "You wouldn't have time to strike before I planted an arrow into your skull." He threatened.

An amused grin spread across Fili's face. If there was one thing he loved, it was provoking Kili about using a bow. "And what if I sliced your petty wood into splinters before you could do so?" Fili shot back.

The younger of the two was in no mood for his brother's witty comments. "No chance."

"Try me."

"You won't last a second."

"Now you're just being vain."

"Any of you think about it and I'll bash your heads together." Thorin appeared. Fili sheathed his blade, but Kili refused to lower his bow. The smallest slip of his fingers and Fili would fall before him. Not that he would allow that to happen. As much as Fili was a complete arse sometimes, he was still his brother.

Thorin reached out a hand, lowering the bow himself. Kili glared at Fili, and Fili simply sent him a cheeky grin. Thorin rolled his eyes at the exchanges, clearing his throat to get both their attention.

"Myself, Dwalin, Bifur and Gloin are going on a hunt for some few hours," he announced, "You two are to keep an eye on Gimli whilst Gloin is out."

There was a chorus of groans as the two frowned at the thought. "I don't want to look after him. I've got better things to be doing. You told me to practice. And last time he snapped my arrows in half." Kili complained loudly.

"I said to Aishen I would see her later." Fili interrupted with his own concerns.

"You'd think you saw enough of her last night." Kili made a face at the crude thoughts. At the words, a slow flush crept up Fili's cheeks. Kili noticed and looked even more disgusted than he had been to begin with. He had been walking past the armoury when he had heard Aishen giggling and Fili passing obscene comments.

"You can quarrel all you like on the way there." Thorin was giving them no other choice. And before they could disappear, he stopped them. "If anything so much as happens to Gimli, you two are being held responsible."

They nodded their understanding and Kili fetched his arrows before the two left, Thorin already ahead to prepare for the journey. Fili whistled a hearty tune, whilst Kili sulked. Fili had put him in a bad mood, and having learned he was to look after Gimli did not lift his spirits.

Once there, the older dwarfs were already saddling up and organising the ponies. "Gimli!" Gloin called when he saw Fili and Kili arriving. The small toddler came running out of the house, a fuzz of bright orange hair covering his head that looked too big for his body. Gloin chuckled at him, ruffling his hair fondly. "Take care of him, lads." He instructed as he climbed upon the mare. "Won't be long."

They watched as the ponies trotted off, leaving the brothers with the toddler. Fili sighed and turned to the brunet. "Guess we're stuck with him. What he oughta do?"

"Kiki!" Gimli squealed with delight, running into Kili's chest. Kili smiled, patting his head.

"We could take him for a walk? Tire him out." Kili suggested. Fili liked that idea and took Gimli's hand in his own larger one. He began leading him back the way they had come, assuming the toddler would like the woods. It was fascinating, right? To children, maybe.

Kili followed along behind, amused by the sight. "It's a good look, Brother."

The blond scowled at him. "Don't even go there."

Kili erupted into laughter. Gimli started giggling too, though he was not aware of what was funny. Fili rolled his eyes at both of them, but he could not help the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips.

As they continued the rest of the way there, Gimli rambled on about something, most of his words incoherent and hard to recognise.

When at the lake, Fili let go of Gimli's hand to allow him to roam a bit. He sat down on the grass, his eyes moving to Kili as he took out his bow and found a tree to practice his aim. Merely minutes into it, it caught Gimli's attention and the toddler headed to the tree, attempting to reach up and grab the arrows.

Sighing, Fili went to remove him. They did not need a reoccurrence of last time. Kili had been fuming over his broken arrows. "Fi," Gimli pointed, and Fili directed him in the opposite direction of the arrows. "No, Fi." He retorted, a frustrated whine leaving him. His eyes began to water, and Fili quickly picked a flower and handed it to him.

"Look at the pretty flower." He waved it in front of Gimli's line of sight. The toddler instantly cheered up, happily reaching for it and thudding down on the grass as he just dropped himself. It occupied him for sometime, and by then Fili and Kili were arguing again after Fili complained about not seeing Aishen.

"Why did you have to say that about Aishen in front of Uncle?" Fili snapped. Kili was glaring daggers at him, as if he had been accused of some crime. Fili certainly made it sound as though that were the case.

"You don't think he has a right to know what you're up to?" Kili argued stubbornly. For one, he despised his brother's girlfriend because she was only sweet to him when Fili was around, and two, she distracted him. She also took his attention away from Kili, and the brunet hated that.

"You're just jealous because you don't have someone." Fili remarked nastily.

"Jealous?" Kili repeated with a scoff. He was far from it. At least not of Aishen. "Your girlfriend is a tart."

That was enough to provoke Fili as he jumped at him, sending the two sprawling across the grass. Fili growled, his anger rising. "Take that back!" He shouted, forcefully pinning Kili against the ground, his nails painfully digging into the younger's wrists. Kili struggled against him, snarling.

"Your. Girlfriend. Is. A. Tart!" He spat, using his legs to throw Fili off guard. The blond roughly tackled him again, infuriated. It was only in the midst of their fighting that Kili realised it was too quiet. He looked around him, spotting no ginger hair in sight. Fili noticed this and glanced about himself, his face falling.

He immediately released Kili and stood, worry overcoming him. "Gimli!" He called out, to which no one responded. Again, he tried, but to no avail. "Uncle's going to kill us." He mumbled, forgetting about their argument. This was more important.

Kili was not known to hold a grudge against his brother, and especially not in this type of situation. "He must have wandered off into the forest. We'll split up." He suggested. It sounded like a reasonable plan. Fili nodded and did not wait for another word before he moved into the canopy.

Searching the area beforehand, Kili saw no sign of any small, ginger dwarfs running about anywhere. He followed into the woods, frequently calling out. At times, he heard Fili from another part of the woods doing the same. It was half an hour or so before they ran into one another, neither of them escorting Gimli by their side.

It was growing dark, and Thorin would be back soon with the rest. Fili was at a loss and looked a concerned wreck. Leaving the woods a good while later, again they searched the area to retrace their steps.

"What if we don't find him?" Kili asked. He did not want to think of how Thorin would react. He had warned them about being held responsible.

"We will." Fili assured, though he was doubting himself. He called again, and this time a faint rustling came from a nearby hedge. Glancing to each other, they ran toward the source of the sound. It was an overwhelming relief to see Gimli pop out from the bushes, though he was covered from head to toe in mud. Fili was almost at the end of his tether at the sight. Upon seeing them, Gimli ran over with a grin.

"Come on." Fili reluctantly grabbed his muddy hand and they began their walk home. Both dwarfs were exhausted after running around for almost an hour. It took time to return too. Gimli was evidently just as tired as he tugged at Fili's shirt to grab his attention. "Fi."

When he did, he reached his hands up with a whimper. Understanding, Fili grimaced as he lifted Gimli into his arms. His clothes would be a mess by the end of the night. "Balrogs, he's heavy."

"'Rogs." Gimli repeated with a giggle.

"Don't say that. Bad." Fili shook his head in disbelief. This was tedious.

It was a relief to get back to the house. Once inside, Kili fetched a basin and filled it with hot water. Gimli was stripped and plunged into the water to wash the dirt from him. He had even managed to get it in his hair, somehow.

"I'll do his clothes. You wash him." Fili said in an authoritative tone and left before Kili could argue with him.

"All right, I can do that. Can't I?" He picked up the cloth and began running it over Gimli's small form to get rid of the muck. Unfortunately Gimli happened to be sensitive and giggled, twisting away from Kili's hand. It made it difficult to clean him then, and if Fili had been here, it would have been easier for one to hold Gimli still and the other to wash him.

By the time Fili did decide to make his appearance (some minutes too late) he found that most of the water had spilled onto the floor and his brother was drenched. He laughed loudly as Kili irritably dried his hair. Gimli had not been dressed just yet and was running around naked, which was a bad idea if he accidentally slipped on the water.

At the thought, Fili hastily got it mopped up and found clothes before dressing Gimli. It took awhile, as the toddler kicked and squirmed under his grip. Now Kili had a valid excuse to laugh this time. "Now that easy, huh?"

"Shut up."

Although it seemed to take forever, they managed to get Gimli into his bedroom. The young dwarf had refused at first, crying as both Fili and Kili had to struggle with him and practically drag him down the hall. They quietened him down with a song that had been taught to them by Thorin, which did wonders in settling Gimli.

Fili tucked him in gently, bringing the covers up around his chin to keep him warm. Gimli was fighting to stay awake, but sleep was not long consuming him. The two brothers watched for a moment, more than pleased that their effort had paid off. No one had to know what happened earlier when Gimli had run off and gotten lost. That was to keep between themselves.

After some time had passed, Fili broke the silence. "You really think I want children now?" He asked quietly in disbelief as Gimli began to snore lightly from where he was cocooned in blankets.

But Kili did not answer and simply smiled, for he knew that even though Gimli was a pain, Fili was lying to himself.

"What's this now about having children?" A voice sounded from behind them. Turning their heads, Thorin and Gloin were stood in the doorway, mucky and quite bloody too. They must have found game.

Thorin frowned at the state of Fili's and Kili's clothes. "Why are you covered in mud, Fili? You too, Kili. You look as though you took a dive in the lake."

The two brothers exchanged a look and smirked. "It's a long story."