Fic: "To Rivendell" ( Part 1/? ) Fili x Kili

Headcanon 1 : Dwarf Anatomy, Dwarf Gender and Dwarf Pregnancies explained in part one

Warnings: Durincest, MPreg and my own silly ideas

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Tolkien's work. No copyright infringement intended. Written for and inspired by online friends, most notably Kíli, Thorin and Lord Elrond (they know)

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"To Rivendell"

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There were tears.

Tears in his eyes as he ran.

And he kept on running, pushing himself to the limit as he finally reached the safe haven he had set out for. He fell to his knees, child cradled in his arms, hung his head so his pale hair fell like a curtain around his face and shielded both him and the baby from prying eyes.

He was exhausted and didn't even have the strength to protest as weapons were pointed at him from all sides. All that could escape him were tears, and there were many of them, as he clutched the child close to his chest and tried to shield the babe from harm.

"I'm not an enemy." He finally managed to say, his voice hoarse but broken. The Elves surrounding him lowered their weapons but not because of the words he had said but because of a simple command given to them by their Lord.

Elrond stepped forth to behold the fallen dwarf and could not suppress a smirk. "A baby dwarf," he said, tapping a finger to his lips. "They are seldom seen and never outside Dwarf territory. Stand, heir of Durin, and speak. What brought you to us in your exhausted state."

The dwarf looked up at him and the tears that had finally stopped running flowed freely again. But there was no need for the dwarf to explain because Elrond could already see.

"Take him to his chambers. Here he shall be safe and he will be treated as one of us, as a guest and as a citizen of Rivendell. Let it be known we have royalty amongst us. And even be it royalty of a different blood, there's still something far more valuable amongst us than many will realize." He lowered his voice and whispered at their guest conventionally.

"You and the children will be safe here. You have my word."

The dwarf could not speak, just look and nod, and was shown to his room. The elf looked at his retreating form and sighed.

"There goes Fíli, son of Dís, bearer of the race of Durin and heir to the throne of Erebor. That no ill will befall him."

"So," Lord Elrond spoke as he settled himself in one of the wicker armchairs in Fíli's room. The young dwarf had gotten accustomed to his new home quite swiftly and now stood bent over the crib, tickling his young son. He made sounds like he were a child himself and, Elrond through regretfully, in a way he still was. Even if he was a parent.

"Will you be ready to explain to me how these events came about?"

With a loud sigh the dwarf tore himself away from the crib and sauntered over to the chair in front of the elf. He sat down without much further ado, folded his hands in front of him and glanced aside as he bit his cheek.

"Will you confide in me?" Lord Elrond spoke, and had he expected a rough laugh like any dwarf would have given him at the absurd notion of an elf and a dwarf befriending each other he would find himself mistaken. Fíli remained silent and took his time. Just when Elrond was about to speak another encouragement and soothing word, the dwarf lifted his head and locked eyes with him.

"Míli." Fíli said, and the elf blinked, wondering if he heard correct. But Fíli repeated the name.

"His name is Míli."

A small smile appeared on Fíli's face and was mimicked by the stoic elf.

"A lovely name for a child. He is obviously your son."

Fíli nodded in consent and rubbed his palms. Elrond could tell that despite all the dwarf was having a rough time to talk about his memories.

"I don't want to press you." He said, holding up a slender and graceful hand. "I will come to you at a later time, when you're ready to talk."

The blond dwarf lowered his eyes to the floor and had to admit in silence that he indeed was not ready yet. Though, despite the fresh memories haunting him and his emotions working overtime he managed to find his tongue and spoke in a choked voice.

"My brother…. He left me for another." And Lord Elrond froze in his seat.

Two days later and Fíli still kept himself locked up in his room with the child in the crib. Lord Elrond had learnt little from him and had been called for the hunt, so when he finally had a chance to speak to the dwarf again he found him with the baby dwarf cradled in his arms and a loving expression on his face.

"How are you and Míli doing?" He asked, his smile to show benevolence. Fíli picked up on it and returned the kindness. The child was babbling and pressed neatly against his chest.

"We're doing just fine." He glanced at the baby and then back up at Elrond again. "Perfect even. I would not know what we'd have done without you."

Elrond gave a small nod and expected nothing more to come from the dwarf but he was wrong. As he tried to walk by him the dwarf reached for his arm and grabbed his sleeve. He pulled him back.

"I want to thank you." Fíli said.

"That won't be necessary."

"No really. You don't understand." Fíli looked down at the child in his arms and hunched in his shoulders, becoming gradually smaller in front of Elrond's eyes as grief and regret overtook him. "Without your help I would not have known where to go. This is for us the safest place to be. The others will not think of visiting the Elves. They will not come here to taunt me or try to get me back to the mountain."

"Whatever caused you to leave?" Lord Elrond asked, a brow raised in curiosity. "Whatever truly caused you to leave?"

The dwarf flashed him a sad smile. "I should explain this matter from the start." He made a gesture with his hand and the elf found a nearby chair and sat down. "Speak." Elrond urged him, albeit gently.

Fíli took a deep breath and sat opposite of him, like they had two days ago, but this time he did not let emotions conquer him. "I felt I had to leave."

Lord Elrond gesticulated, a graceful motion of his hand waving at Fíli and pointing at the other man's stomach. "Because of the state you're in?"

The dwarf's cheeks coloured and he looked down while placing his hands on his tummy. "So you noticed?" he asked, and Elrond let out a rough laugh, very unlike an elf.

"It wasn't hard to miss. I know all dwarves are round and quite voluptuous but there's something about your rounding that betrayed it wasn't just fat. Now tell me the story, young dwarf, for I thought babies were quite exceptional among your race. And even more so, I thought you were next in line to be a King. How could I have been so mistaken?"

Fíli's face turned hostile and he puffed his cheeks. He rested his arms on the chair and bent forth as far as he could to intimidate the elf in front of him and show his displeasure. "I ám the heir of Durin still and next in line for the throne." He bristled, and Elrond stilled.

"Then I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Of course you don't, you're an elf." Fíli said matter-of-factly, then slouched back in his chair. "We dwarves are quite different from all the other races. Our species has the ability to carry a child."

Elrond looked at him with dull eyes. "So has ours. Without children a race ceases to exist."

Fíli shook his head. "It's not as simple as that, Lord Elrond." He licked his lips. "You assume because of my pregnancy that I'm a female dwarf. But I am not. The truth is, we don't have women the way you have them, or the way humans have them. We are all raised as men, because that's how we're born, that's who we resemble and that's how we wish to live. But each and every one of us has the talent to conceive. It only becomes clear when we reach maturity."

"I'm afraid I don't follow."

"I thought you to be wise." The dwarf teased.

"Not as wise as the lady of the Wood." Elrond smiled the only smile he could, showing his hospitality and the dwarf was encouraged to go on.

"We are, in a way, genderless. That is what I am trying to say."

The elf looked taken aback and raised both his eyebrows, wrinkling his forehead till extends the dwarf had never witnessed before. "I have not ever heard this theory before."

"It is not a theory. It is something we've kept well hidden." Fíli said, biting his cheek in between sentences. "A dwarf fulfilling the mother-role is very rarely seen. We respect each other and won't force another dwarf in that role. But suppose our enemy knew this technicality about us? It could be used against us."

Elrond eyed him. "It's an unlikely thought that anyone would start breeding dwarves."

The heir of Durin eyed him back. "It's not an unlikely thought. It has happened before, way back in the days. To some we're seen just as pets because of our size and our amount of hair. To others we are useful workers and treated like slaves. We try and save our kind of this humiliation."

"And it's working just well." The elf pinched his lips. "We Elves always tended to believe there actually are dwarf women. We just thought there weren't that many and the few in existence were hard to distinguish from men."

"That is because they are men. Technically." Fíli said.

"Tell me, do they have scrotums? Do they have balls and everything that comes along?"

The dwarf was slightly unnerved by the elf's question and shifted in his seat. "Yes, of course."

The elf didn't even flinch as he slowly nodded. "How interesting. And how do they carry these children? Do they have wombs?"

Fíli, not entirely sure about the whole inside and outside of his dwarf anatomy had to blink and think. "They can conceive. Isn't that enough of an answer for you?"

"Then perhaps that explains their round shape." Elrond said, pensively as he tapped his chin in thought. "I must thank you for sharing this information with me."

"And you will not tell anyone else." The dwarf threatened, voice hoarse, "or else…"

"Or else what, young master dwarf?" The elf raised a brow at him and waited for him to calm down. "You're in good hands here, Fíli. I will not share this knowledge with anyone. Of that you can take my word. But this child you carry, when can we expect for it to be born?"

"Soon." Fíli said, frowning slightly, "In less than a month's time."

"You chose a difficult time to travel in, heavy as you are. I trust you know the ritual of the birth so we can guide you in this?" Fíli shifted nervously again, a motion that was detected instantly by the elf and interpreted. "You do not?" he asked, confused. "But Míli, he's your son too, isn't he?"

There could almost be no mistaking for the baby dwarf's hair was gold and his eyes of blue. Fíli shrugged and reluctantly had to admit.

"He is. But I didn't carry him."

A pregnant pause filled the room.

"Kíli did."