"Are you sure you're fine alone here?" Thorin asked his nephew Kili looking around the old apartment.
"Yeah, what can happen to me here?" Kili sniggered unpacking another box filled with stuff.
"If you need anything just call me, just because I'm going to Europe doesn't mean I'll be unavailable." Thorin told him grimly and helped him with another box.
Kili gazed around his new home. Somehow it felt strange to move out and start a life outside the family home, but this was the natural next step in his life. His first real job, after his long and tedious studies. His first flat, and his first time living alone. The place was everything he needed. He had a great painting studio now filled with materials and paints. He had a comfortable bedroom just above the living room, and a spacious kitchen. And he had a deadline to finish his first exhibition.
He often painted at night, feeling as if the cool breeze of the dead of night refreshed his ideas. He felt a bit stuck, somehow his newest paintings not giving him what he wanted. He wanted to be more innovative, to be more original.
He came back from the meeting with his manager feeling hungry. He rushed to the kitchen and quickly prepared a sandwich, coming back to his workplace he turned on his favourite CD. Without even a minute of consideration he gazed at the unfinished painting.
Then his eyes shifted to the left, he blinked and then he blinked again. He gazed at the drying painting with shock.
"What the fuck?" He gently traced the painting with his eyes. He had no memory of painting it. Like fuck he never painted like that. He gazed at the sea view, at the tall waves crashing on white cliffs.
"Less coffee, more sleep!" He scolded himself.
He got used to the bizarre city life quickly. He would walk to the bakery just downstairs, buy something fresh for breakfast, then cook a light dinner, sometimes he would train a bit or clean the flat. But most of the time it was painting, his whole life just as he had dreamt, filled with paints and canvas.
His flat was bizarre, it took him a few weeks to start noticing the strange things that happened around him. The food was constantly in different cupboards. His clothes were often scattered on the floor, as if someone had been trying to find something. But the most annoying thing was that someone had been messing with his paintings. A slight change here and there, something added or something painted over.
He had to face it, his fucking flat was haunted. And despite being raised in a superstitious family, his grandmother Mathilda often spoke of haunting and ghosts, Kili had never believed her. He had treated it all as some wacko bullshit. She tried talking to him, telling him he was blessed with the talent as well. But Kili refused to believe it. He was the most down to earth person in the world, or so he tried to convince himself.
All the voodoo, hoodoo, ghost mumbo jumbo did not involve him at all. Or so he tried to convince himself. His grandmother spent most of her last years trying to convince him he was blocking himself by rejecting reality. For him what was real was real, and ghosts were not real that was for sure.
After five weeks he finished his latest exhibition and finally he had a few days off painting. Instead he spent most of the day reading books, surfing the net on his laptop, or just being plain lazy. His flat mate didn't like that he stopped painting.
One day he awoke, and immediately he could tell something was wrong. It was dead quiet, it was cold and empty. He pulled out a hoodie and walked downstairs to the kitchen. He turned on the coffee machine and glanced into his painting room. He stood there puzzled.
He hadn't painted in a few days, but the smell of paint was fresh. He walked in feeling puzzled, he stood in front of a freshly painted canvas. It was a view of a garden full of flowers.
He was positive of one thing, he had never painted a painting like that. It wasn't his style at all, everything was not like he painted. The colours all wrong, the technique different.
"Just fucking great, a ghost messing with my paintings..." He sniggered and left the room feeling defeated.
Somehow the stupid ghost instead of stopping began painting more and more, every time Kili would walk into the studio there was a new painting drying. Nothing like he would paint, but he had to admit it the ghost had talent.
"So how is it?" The owner of the bakery, a kind man named Bilbo Baggins the owner of 'Bag of buns', asked him one morning.
"What do you mean?" Kili asked surprised.
"The flat." The man clarified.
"What about it?" Kili asked puzzled.
"Well, it's been rumoured to be a bizarre place." The man smiled at him, clearly he was fan of scary stories. "The previous tenants always moved out quickly." He added.
"Nothing strange about it." Kili said impassively.
"Ever since that boy killed himself, no one wanted to live there." Bilbo told him.
"What kid?" Kili stopped dead in his tracks.
"It was before I bought the shop here, so it's more a rumour than anything else." The man slowly told him.
"Tell me, you've got me interested." Kili bit down his bun.
"Well I heard he was a huge talent in painting like yourself, but not one wanted to buy his works. Someone said his lover left him broke, and spread some gossip so he couldn't get any jobs." Bilbo told him.
"How did he die?" Kili asked slowly.
"He cut his wrists." Bilbo told him. "In the painting studio."
"Just fucking great..." Kili finished his bun and left without another word.
For nearly two weeks he was lazy, but his ghostly companion not really. The collection of random paintings growing, but if he tried to move them or do anything with them, the next day they would be in the same position the ghost had left them before. He even took one to his car, only to find it back in the studio the same evening.
His grandmother's words about him blocking himself were ringing in his ears more often than ever. It was as if she was standing there next to him, and whispering to his ear.
After nearly seven weeks of living in his haunted flat Kili had enough. Either he had to face the fact he was going crazy, or he really lived in a haunted flat.
He sat on the sofa and looked around. From his kitchen, to his entresol, to his painting studio. But he could not see anything. He did not hear anything. For all he was concerned the flat was empty, and cold.
He closed his eyes and focused on the things his grandmother used to say to him. Apart from saying he was blocking himself, she said a lot of things about seeing, hearing and feeling. But somehow his memories were hazy. Later it was life with solid, firm and down to earth Thorin, his uncle from his mother's side. His mother died in a car accident when he was barely nine, and even since he was going to therapy. The meds he was taking for years probably subdued any abilities if he had any. He was off med for nearly five years now. But still he never felt anything weird around him. Not like in his childhood. His memories shifted to the silent figure of his father standing in the doorway of his bedroom, as if watching over him. He opened his eyes, he almost forgot about that. He almost forgot the feeling of his presence always there lurking in the dark watching over him.
He gazed at the stairs leading to his bedroom, and for a moment he thought he saw a movement in the corner of his eyes, but when he looked over there, there was nothing.
He closed his eyes again. But he had a feeling of hopelessness. If he had any talent, it wouldn't be so difficult to see and notice.
He felt frustrated so he just grabbed a beer and walked to his studio. He pulled out his favourite paints, and just closed his eyes. And after a moment he began painting what he saw in his dreams. When he finally came back to reality, he saw two big blue eyes gazing at him from the painting. Eyes of a person he had never met.
He sighed deeply and decided to call it a day.
The next day he awoke feeling cold again. He walked down and lazily walked into his studio. He stopped dead in his footsteps. The painting he left on the rack, was now drying along the wall, and on display there was a new freshly painted picture. He stared at himself on the painting. And he got chills realising this ghost was watching him in his sleep. He was asleep in his bed, the colours and the painting was so warm and so soft.
"Like if I needed more proof." He whined.
He went back to the living room, and sat down on the sofa. He pulled his legs up and wrapped his arms around them. He closed his eyes again. If he really had some talent he had to find it, the idea that something was watching him, and he couldn't see it, and he couldn't tell if it was good or bad, was driving him insane.
He closed his eyes and tried to focus. His grandmother... and then his thoughts drifted to his father. To the feeling of him watching over him. To the warmth of him tucking him in bed. To the soft kiss he would plant of his forehead before going out to the theatre, cinema, bequest or where he would go. He focused all his senses, and the feeling he was watched returned. Just like when his father would watch him from the doorway after he died. He opened his eyes but there was nothing there. In a moment of extreme clarity he gazed towards his painting studio and he nearly jumped seeing two blue eyes stare back at him. And then in a flash it was gone. He was gone.
"Well hello there!" Kili smiled to himself after the small victory over his hidden senses.
He grabbed another beer and glanced at his laptop. "Well it sure won't hurt to check." He turned it on and opened his web browser. Mr Baggins said it was before he opened the bakery. He quickly wrote in the address and suicide, but it was a dead end. Nothing came up. Then he wrote painter who committed suicide and again nothing. It was as if the gossip was overreacting he realised. And be typed in the address and added accident. And he read three stories about the neighbourhood. First was about a car accident just a block away. Then there was an accident in the building opposite but no one died. And finally nearly thirty years ago, there was short information about a young men who fell down the stairs in his flat. But there was no precise address or photo. They didn't write his name, Kili realised bitterly.
He put away his laptop with disappointment and he walked into his painting studio. There was nothing which would ease his nerves as painting did.
He woke up feeling a gentle brush of fingers on his forehead. Just like his father used to do, but his father's fingers were never this warm. He moved to the other side of the bed, but he could feel he was alone. Somehow he felt safe, as if anything that was there, wasn't a threat. Just like when his father would watch over him.
He did the meditation exercise every day. He would sit still, think of his dead family members, and then he would reach clarity if only for a split second. He would see him more clearly every day. Just walking around. He would often sit on the stairs, and gaze outside the huge windows. He would sit on the sofa right next to him.
And one day when he opened his eyes he saw him right next to him gazing at him curiously. The boy was around his age, he had slightly long blond hair, and the bluest eyes possible. He was handsome and so attractive that Kili thought with regret that he was dead.
"Hi!" Kili said out loud in a meek voice, unsure if he was making an idiot of himself. Well at least he was alone so no one would care if he was acting like an idiot or not.
"Hi." The ghost replied slowly in shock that one word was directed towards him.
"So I'm officially crazy!" Kili laughed. The ghost didn't even blink, he just glared at him.
"Are you talking to me?" The ghost finally asked after a longer moment of silence.
"Well, in fact I think I'm having paranoid delusions and I'm talking to myself. Or perhaps I'm having a psychotic attack. Or maybe a split personality." He began talking.
"Why are you in my flat?" The ghost asked puzzled.
"Why are you in my flat?" Kili replied with the same question.
"I live here." The ghost calmly replied.
"It seems we both live here." Kili grimaced.
"You're not real. You're just a ghost." The boy replied confidently.
"No, you're the ghost!" Kili exclaimed.
"You've been messing with my paintings..." The ghost complained. "And moving my things!"
"Your things?" Kili gasped annoyed. "My things!"
"I get it. You like your things, but you cannot just go and get rid of all my things." The ghost complained again.
"Hey, I never even touched your things, it was empty when I got the place!" Kili patiently explained to the ghost.
"I hate when you touch my things... especially my paintings." The ghost added.
"Clear. I'm not going to touch any of your paintings, but if we're going to live here together, we have to learn to coexist." Kili slowly told the ghost.
"Why?" The ghost asked him grimly.
"Why what?" Kili asked.
"Why do we have to coexist?" The ghost complained.
"Since we both consider this place ours, that's the easiest option." Kili insisted.
"Well like fuck we do!" The ghost suddenly became angry and disappeared in a blink.
For the next few days things were more crazy than ever. The cupboards opening without control, things moving all around the place.
He saw him again after nearly a week. It didn't even take him to close his eyes, suddenly he felt the presence right next to him. He saw the ghost sitting on the armchair opposite.
"So you're not going to leave?" The blond complained.
"Nope." Kili replied slowly. "Are you?"
"It's my flat." The ghost replied stubbornly.
"So are we going to try to coexist?" Kili proposed again.
"Will you stop moving my things and messing with my paintings?" The ghost hissed.
"Let's get one thing straight, my things and my paintings." Kili added grimly.
"What did you do with my things? One minute they are in place and the next they are gone!" The ghost hissed.
"Me? Nothing." Kili tried to explain yet again.
"So where are they?" the ghost insisted.
"I have no idea. You tell me, you're always here." Kili suggested.
"I can't remember!" The ghost hissed. "You must have drugged my food or something..."
"You're a fucking ghost, ghosts don't eat." Kili hissed. "And if I'm a ghost I wouldn't have a way to drug your food, would I?"
"Logical." The ghost noticed surprised. "I like your paintings." The ghost suddenly noticed.
"And I like yours." Kili admitted honestly.
"Your paintings are yours, and mine are mine." The ghost insisted. "I will let you paint as much as you like as long as you don't touch mine."
"So let's make a simple rule. Yours go along that wall ,and mine along this one." Kili proposed showing the ghost what he meant.
"Fine!" The ghost spat at him. "You're sleeping on the sofa!" He suddenly gasped.
"What?" Kili hissed.
"You sleeping in my bed is creepy!" The ghost complained.
"Your bed?" Kili hissed. But the ghost just stared strongly at him. "I'm not sleeping on the fucking sofa!" Kili snapped.
"And stop moving my food around the cupboards!" The ghost added grimly.
"Your food?" Kili gasped annoyed. "Ghost don't eat!" He insisted.
"You're the fucking ghost!" the blond replied swiftly in a as-a-matter-of-fact tone.
"No I'm not!" Kili hissed back.
"If you're not a fucking ghost, than what the hell are you?" The blond gazed at him menacingly.
"You're the ghost!" Kili insisted.
"No, I'm not!" The blond replied with spite and disappeared.
Chapter 2
Kili felt lost, somehow everything he knew and everything he observed in his flat was contradictory. He went to his family home, and after nearly two hours of searching the attic he found the box he was looking for. Grandma Mathilda left the house to his father's cousin, uncle Gloin, and most of the things were kept as they were. Gloin had no interest in the paranormal, all of grandma's old things were packed in boxes and stuffed in the attic. He felt relieved Kili came over to take some of them with him.
"I've also found a few photos you might want to take." Gloin gave him a big envelope.
"Thank you uncle!" Kili smiled and packed everything into his car.
"Take care boy, if you ever need anything call me!" His uncle smiled at him.
Kili came home surprised to find it relatively untouched. Nothing had been moved, or changed, which was rare in the last days. As if the ghost wanted to scare him away, but after the trip to Maryland everything was unchanged.
Kili brought in the boxed and began unpacking everything onto the kitchen table.
"What's all that crap?" The ghost startled Kili.
"Books..." Kili told him slowly.
"No one reads books anymore!" The ghost hissed. "That's just so archaic! Where did you find all this? In a ghost flea market?"
"Fuck you..." Kili hissed. "They belong to my grandmother."
"Yeah right..." The ghost hissed and sat on a chair at the table. "So what are they about?"
"You can read, can't you?" Kili growled.
"Ghost books?" The ghost began laughing. "A fucking ghost brought in ghost books?" He was clearly having the laugh of his life.
"You claim you are not a ghost, I'm not a ghost as well. So since we cannot reach an agreement, I decided it was time to acquire more knowledge on the topic." Kili slowly explained. "And my grandmother was let's say an expert."
"So was mine." The ghost dully noticed.
"Is that so?" Kili asked grimly.
"My grandmother Mathilda was a known psychic, people would travel from all over the states just to talk with her." The ghost told him confidently. "I spent most of my childhood with her and she taught me everything on the topic."
Kili just stared at him grimly. "This is just some kind of sick joke!" Kili hissed at him. "My grandmother Mathilda would have exorcised your ass!"
"You can't exorcise me, I'm not a ghost!" The blond insisted yet again.
"What and who are you?" Kili hissed irritated.
"I'm very much alive." The blond hissed back.
"Look mate, this was my grandmother!" Kili hissed and pulled out a photo from the envelop his uncle gave him.
"Where did you get that photo!" The blond hissed again. "That's my grandmother! I knew ghosts could be cunning but this is crazy! You're a demon or something far worse!"
"See here!" Kili showed him another photo of himself as a child with his grandmother.
The blond gazed at him clearly annoyed. "You're twisting facts! I have no idea what kind of manipulative powers you have, but if you don't stop messing with me or my family I'll make you regret ever crossing my path!"
"This is just crazy..." Kili gasped annoyed. "I should just exorcise you and be done with it!" He pulled out some chalk from the box and flipped the book to a page his grandmother showed him when he was young. He quickly went to an empty part of the living room and draw a protection circle around himself and sat in the middle with a book and tried to ignore the irritated blond.
"A protection circle?" The blond hissed. "I'm not a fucking ghost things like that won't work on me!" He circled around the brunette sitting on the floor.
"Will you just shut up for once!" Kili hissed and tried to focus on the book. He was browsing trying to find the right spell to get rid of this annoying ghost.
"This is just fucking ridiculous!" The blond hissed and from nowhere he pulled out a piece of chalk. He began drawing a patter around the protection circle the other boy made, he watched the brunet gaze at him.
"You can't exorcise me!" Kili hissed.
"Just watch me!" The blond replied firmly and continued to draw. When he finished he sat down on the floor and began chanting an exorcise spell, but to his surprised it didn't work.
"I told you I'm not a ghost!" Kili hissed. And the blond just began chanting a spell to exorcise a demon, which made the brunet laugh. "Are you done?" He asked in a mocking tone.
"What the fuck are you?" The blond gasped irritated.
"I'm not sure what the fuck you are, but I'm pretty sure I'm alive and human." The brunet noticed sternly.
"So am I." The blond replied, the stared at each other a longer while.
"Since you claim to be human, and since you claim to be trained by grandma Mathilda, tell me have you been doing any spells recently?" Kili asked.
"Recently no." The blond replied.
"Then not so recently?" Kili insisted.
"I did a basic purification spell when I moved in here." The blond admitted.
"When was that?" Kili gasped.
"Nearly eight years ago." The blond smiled at him.
"And that's the same time no one wanted to stay here longer than a few days..." Kili noticed. "Did the spell work?" He asked curiously.
"Not really..." The blond admitted.
"This is just fucking great..." Kili scolded him. "What was grandmother first rule?"
"Never do a spell unless absolutely necessary." The blond recited.
"Can you draw what pattern you used for the spell?" Kili asked him gently, and the blond pulled out a sheet of paper and began drawing.
"Are you sure it was that one?" Kili asked.
"Yeah pretty much..." the blond gazed at the drawing.
"Was it like this... or what it like this?" Kili took his own pen and did three changes to the pattern.
"Maybe..." The blond hissed. "What difference does it make?" He hissed at the brunet.
"Well if you're not a ghost, and I'm pretty sure I'm not a ghost, that only leave one possibility." Kili noticed grimly. "A badly done spell opened a portal."
"A portal? You mean like parallel universes?" The blond realised.
"For most people sightings would be the same as seeing ghosts." The brunet told him. "But for people will skills it would be pretty clear to look to the other side. Where the hell were you when grandmother explained that?"
"It's creepy when you call her grandmother..." The blond hissed.
"Well, I assume she might be the same person, or similar." The brunet noticed. "and if we consider it might be a parallel universe, there might be many similarities."
"What's your name?" The blond asked with surprise.
"Kili Durin." The brunet extended his hand towards the blond.
"Fili Oakenshield." The blond too his hand confidently, and with surprised he felt live warm flesh under his fingers. As their fingers touched, the blond looked around surprised. "It looks like my flat, but at the same time it doesn't." He noticed with shock. "Durin? That was my mother's maiden name."
"Same here." Kili smirked. "William Oakenshield was my father." He informed the blond.
"What?" The blond was shocked and the moment he let go of his hand his flat went back to normal. "Now it's back as it was!" He realised.
"You don't say?" Kili smirked. "I wonder..." He extended his hand and touched the blond, and then blinked the reality around him began shifting. It was the same flat, but everything was different. The colours of the walls, the furniture. It was like mirror images but different at the same time.
"Cool, so if I touch you I see your reality, and if you touch me you see mine!" Kili began laughing. "This is like the craziest thing ever!"
"It's too crazy to be real..." Fili hissed at him.
"The crazy part is spells and exorcism. This is the same book." Kili noticed.
"What do we do now?" Fili asked him grimly.
"When were you born?" Kili asked him with a smile.
"4th May 1990." The blond told him.
"17th September 1990." The brunet compared. "My mother was pregnant before as well but she miscarried."
"My mother wanted to have more children, but later dad died." Fili told him slowly.
"When did he die? I never met him." Kili asked. "He died before I was born, and before they got married, so I carry my mother's last name."
"He died in an accident when I was like six months." The blond told him. "Do you realise what that means?"
"Basically it means we are parallel brothers!" Kili laughed. "I always wanted to have a brother!"
"So did I!" Fili smiled at him. "Wait till uncle Frerin hears this, he's going to be delighted."
"Frerin?" Kili asked. "My uncle Frerin dies as a small child, I was raised by uncle Thorin."
"It was Thorin who died in childhood!" Fili gazed at him.
"What does Frerin do?" Kili asked him gently.
"He's an engineer, he specializes in geology, oil plants and that kind of stuff. So I spent most of my childhood at grandmother's place." Fili told him quickly. "What about Thorin?"
"He's a very successful businessman." Kili smiled.
"That's cool!" Fili gasped. "I have to work part time, to manage with paying for the flat."
"You don't live on your art?" Kili asked.
"I have no idea how it is where you come from, but here painting doesn't pay the bills." Fili complained.
"I'm managing just fine." Kili told him. "Actually better than fine... I still have the trust fund from grandpa Thror, but even without that just from painting I'm doing great."
"I was born in the wrong universe then.." The blond hissed. "I'm hungry..." He complained.
"I've got some pizza if you'd like." Kili proposed.
"Pizza?" The blond looked at him surprised.
"You don't have pizza? It's a dish from Italy!" Kili told him with a smirk.
"Italy?" The blond asked surprised.
"You know the huge boot shaped country in Europe!" Kili hissed.
"Oh you mean district south Germany?" Fili seemed startled.
"What?" Kili opened his eyes wide. "I think our two universes are pretty distinctly different after all..." He noticed and pulled out the pizza from the fridge and put it in the oven.
"How do you imagine this should work?" Fili asked looking at the food he couldn't pick up.
"Let's experiment a bit, touch my arm." Kili told him, and the blond warily reached to do it. The moment he did he shifted to Kili's reality, to the same flat, but different universe.
"This smells great!" He admitted looking at the strange food.
"Don't let go!" Kili scolded him when the blond let go of his hand he couldn't touch the food anymore.
"So one hand on you, and I eat with the other one." Fili hissed.
"Seems that how it works." Kili noticed grimly. "I'll read about it more in the books later."
The blond gazed at the food with a strange face. But his face became stunning when he took the first bite and expressed his surprises.
"Do you like it?" Kili felt worried with the reaction.
"It's better than anything I've ever eaten..." Fili admitted.
"So if you don't know pizza, do you know other food like hamburgers? pasta? Sushi?" Kili asked gently, but the blond looked at him sadly and shook his head.
Chapter 3
After three hours of comparing their realities it turned out most everyday things were different. In Fili's world they did not have TVs, only SVs screen viewers. In the place of cars they had flying automobiles. They didn't have books, only something like tablets, while all the old books were locked up in national libraries. The geography was entirely different, the technology and everything in between. Fili was puzzled with the idea of internet, because despite their superior technology such a thing wasn't used in his reality.
"It's just so hilarious! You were raised by grandmother, and it was you who made the mistake with the portal." Kili smirked.
"And you didn't learn from grandmother?" Fili asked.
"Only a bit. Uncle Thorin didn't trust her much, he's really down to Earth." Kili explained. "And she's from father's side so well the contact was more random than regular."
"That explains a lot." Fili laughed gently. "How did you come to live here?" He suddenly asked.
"The building belongs to Bofur Dunland, and that a friend of uncle..." Kili explained.
"Same here!" Fili laughed. "Only probably of the other uncle..."
"Do you think we'll be able to learn to live together?" Kili asked with a smile.
"I'd love to try." Fili smiled honestly.
"Can I sleep in the bed?" Kili just smirked.
"Now that I'm sure you're not a ghost, yeah you may!" Fili laughed. "Just don't mess with my paintings!"
"Clear enough!" Kili laughed. "Would you like a beer?"
"A beer?" Fili asked surprised.
"It's like an alcoholic drink..." Kili explained.
"That's illegal!" Fili told him.
"You're shitting me! A coke than?" Kili smiled.
"A what?" Fili gazed at him with wide eyes.
"Here!" Kili just gave him a glass and sat right next to him so that they were constantly touching and turned on a film.
"What the fuck is that?" Fili gazed at the screen.
"It's a movie!" Kili hissed. "Don't tell me you don't have films, like fiction films!"
"We only have the news or reality programs." Fili explained.
"You're reality is crap." Kili summed up.
"You have no idea!" Fili smiled sadly.
They days shifted from observing the suspicious 'ghost' to cohabitating the flat, living in two different realities. Kili quickly realised Fili wasn't eating enough, always saving money and having problems making ends meet, so he continued to feed him his favourite food. Somehow the holding onto each other all the time for that wasn't as bothersome as he feared it might be. The touch giving him warmth and comfort.
Somehow it didn't bother him he wasn't all alone anymore. The crazy company giving him a sense of belonging. He always dreamt of having a brother, and the crazy outgoing blond was like his other half. They had lots of fun together, and after a few weeks Kili proposed he could show Fili's paintings to his manager. To their shock the money in Fili's reality was different than in Kili's. The differences between the two worlds profound and deep, making their lives different. Fili told Kili all about what happened to people like their grandmother in his world, they were still hunted down for witchcraft. He told Kili about the very restrictive laws, the dictatorship, the way the world was divided. The world in which Fili lived was limited, the TV was controlled and censored, there was no cinema and film, art practically nonexistent. No wonder Fili couldn't live on painting if no one exhibited or bought art.
Kili was surprised when Fili confessed to him that he was his first friend ever. He told Kili about the loneliness and solitude. He told him about the way people in his world were suspicious and threatening, about how people reported each other to the authorities. Kili on the other hand told him about his world, and Fili kept asking about the amazing vivid world Kili represented.
"Do you think I could see it?" Fili asked one day as they were watching TV, and Kili was showing him the most interesting places to see.
"We can try, if you're not scared." Kili told him gently.
"But that would mean we would have to walk hand in hand all the time." Fili hissed.
"What's the problem with that?" Kili gazed at him surprised.
"Well in my world that would mean getting arrested for sodomy." Fili told him bitterly.
"What?" Kili looked at him surprised.
"No relationships between men are allowed, or between women." Fili told him.
"Here men can even get married." Kili made him realise. "Walking around hand in hand, or introducing you as my boyfriend, won't be a problem here."
"You think?" Fili asked him gently.
"Yeah. As long as you're not scared something might happen to you." Kili told him.
"Scared?" Fili asked.
"We have no idea how this parallel thing really works, if you accidentally let go, we have no idea what might happen." Kili made him realise.
"In the flat I simply shift back to my reality." Fili told him slowly. "It's like the portal makes this place common grounds for both of us, and we can see each other and interact."
"There is a chance the same will happen if you let go, the question is are the streets the same around town." Kili said slowly.
"We can test it just in the corridor." Fili said. "I'm curious if I'd still be able to see you and reconnect to you."
"Let's do a test." Kili told him. "Later we'll walk downstairs to the bakery, and see if other people can see you."
"Yeah I'd like to meet Bombur in your times!" Fili smiled.
"Bombur? Uncle Bombur runs one of the best restaurants in town. Bilbo Baggins runs the bakery, he bakes delicious stuff, he also has a nice nephew called Frodo. The live on the first floor just above the bakery." Kili told him surprised. "Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be..." Fili admitted and grabbed Kili's hand firmly.
"Just a step out the door and a few towards the stairs." Kili told him gently and entwined their finger firmly. Fili walked towards the stairs and Kili closed the door.
"Are you ready?" Kili asked him gently, and Fili just nodded. They gently let go, and in a blink Fili was gone. After a while Kili realised there was no reconnecting, he rushed back to the flat and Fili was waiting for him at the door.
"What happened?" Kili asked gently.
"I reappeared in the corridor in my world, and there was no you." Fili told him slowly.
"So no letting go, not even for a second." Kili firmly told him.
"So it seems." Fili gasped.
"Are you ready to go and see the bakery in my reality?" Kili smiled at him and extended his hand. Fili just smiled and nodded taking the hand gently.
"Lead the way, and don't you dare let go." Fili told him gently.
"I'd never let you go." Kili admitted. "Tell me what is different I'm really curious."
"Everything is different..." Fili told him with a smile, and he began describing the walls and the view. As they reached the bakery, Fili told him slowly about what it looked like in his world.
"Good morning Mr. Boggins!" Kili smiled and entered.
"Kili! It's great you stopped by, I just took a new batch of muffins out of the oven!" Bilbo smiled at him. "And who is this?" He asked with a smirk seeing the handsome blond walk in with Kili.
"Bilbo, meet my boyfriend Fili. Fili this is Bilbo Baggins, the best pastry chef from here to California!" Kili spoke with enthusiasm, and Fili quickly extended his other hand to the small man. He made sure his left hand was firmly entwined with Kili's.
"A pleasure to meet you!" Bilbo smiled and shook his hand. "No wonder you didn't have much time for me!" Bilbo smiled happily.
"We're going to be living together, so we'll be dropping by more often!" Kili smiled happily.
"That's just great!" Bilbo smiled. "You have to drop by for tea!"
"What time does Frodo come back from school?" Kili gently asked.
"Half past three. Drop by around five, I'll have some cake." Bilbo smiled.
"Pack us some muffins and cookies. I'd love your Lithuanian bread as well." Kili asked Bilbo with a smile.
"So this is where you get that bread from? I love it!" Fili admitted with a wide smile.
"It's a special recipe I got from an old friend who worked at the University in Vilnius." Bilbo winked at him.
"Gandalf?" Kili asked with a smile.
"Yeah, that old geezer!" Bilbo smiled. Bilbo took the credit card from Kili and quickly issued the payment. Fili just watched the whole process amazed. "Here you are!" He handed Fili the bag and Kili the card.
"Young love, so romantic..." Bilbo gasped. "Don't be late the cake will be freshly baked!"
"We wouldn't miss it for the world!" Kili yelled back and smiled.
"So I'm your boyfriend now?" Fili smiled at Kili.
"Seems so!" Kili smiled back. "No other way to explain all this." He waved their entwined hands.
"Funny, were I come from you'd be sentenced to isolation prison and castrated just for the suggestion." Fili hissed in a low voice. "What was that funny thing you used in the shop?"
"It's called a credit card, it's a method of payment." Kili explained.
"How does that work?" Fili asked curiously.
"It's connected to my bank account, so when I use it the money goes directly from my account to the shop." Kili patiently explained, just like he had to explain a million of things in the last weeks, and likewise Fili had to patiently explain lots of things to Kili about his reality.
"You keep money in banks?" Fili was puzzled. "In my life, banks are for institutions and the government."
"Here anybody can have an account." Kili patiently explained. "No one keeps cash at home, because someone might rob you."
"The police is so feared no one would dare." Fili told him.
"Here that happens from time to time, that's why money is kept in banks." Kili told him.
"What's a muffin?" Fili suddenly asked when they walked back into the flat.
"You're going to love them!" Kili grinned and pulled them out of the bag and gave Fili one.
"Thank you boyfriend!" Fili smiled happily.
"You're welcome boyfriend..." Kili grinned and kept Fili close so he could eat his muffin.
"You're right, delicious!" Fili quickly agreed and reached for another muffin. "I wish I could just cross over permanently."
"Won't you miss Frerin?" Kili asked gently.
"Of course I would, but I don't see him much anyway, and when he's away we have no way of contact." Fili told him bitterly. "Your world is so much better." He continued munching down on the chocolate muffin.
"We could read about it and think of something, but before we do anything we have to be sure, I'm not going to risk losing you." Kili told him gently.
"You mean it?" Fili asked gently.
"I do." Kili confirmed with a smile.
"You spend way too much time alone in your flat" Ori, Kili's best friend scolded him. "Ever since you moved to New York, you barely go out. I thought that we'd meet more often now..."
"I'm sorry but it's just I've been busy..." Kili told Ori walking around the flat with his phone in hand. Fili was gazing at him curiously, the concept of mobile phones was still incomprehensible.
"Have you been going out with somebody?" Ori suddenly asked startling Kili.
"You could say so..." Kili finally admitted.
"Why you! I should have known..." Ori gasped with enthusiasm. "When can I meet him?" He immediately asked. Kili gazed at Fili feeling a bit panicked.
"I'll introduce you if you help me with one thing." Kili slowly told him.
"Deal, what do you need?" Ori asked grasping his chance.
"I've got grandmother's old books, but I can't find much on the topic I need." Kili began explaining.
"What kind of topic?" Ori hissed suspiciously. "Since when do the paranormal interest you?" He asked suspiciously.
"Well I've been painting as a follow up on a crazy idea and it got me hooked..." Kili admitted.
"What kind of idea?" Ori gasped impatiently.
"Parallel universes." Kili finally mumbled.
"That's a rare topic..." Ori admitted. "So if I find something on topic will you introduce your boyfriend to me?"
"We have a deal!" Kili told him with a smile.
"What kind of a deal?" Fili asked when Kili put away the strange device.
"He'll find us the books, but he wants to meet you as reward." Kili told him with a smile.
"Why would he want to meet me?" Fili was surprised.
"Well Ori is my best friend, and well since you're my boyfriend now.." Kili smiled at him, and watched Fili stare at him with surprise.
"Ori?" Fili asked. "Is he related to Dori and Nori? Cousins from grandmother's side of the family?"
"Why yes, do you know them?" Kili asked.
"Dori was a militia officer, but Nori he's been in and out of prison the last years. We never had an Ori." Fili told him.
"Here, he's the youngest brother. Dori is an accountant, and Nori well he is a trouble maker currently working as a detective." Kili explained. "Both work for uncle Thorin. Ori is the nut bag, he loves the paranormal and stuff, he works in a library here in New York."
"New York?" Fili asked with surprise.
"Don't tell me ever the name of the city is different..." Kili hissed.
"New Berlin." Fili slowly told him.
"Just fucking great, one more thing you have to remember not to mix up." Kili told him with a smile.
"I'll just stay off topic." Fili noticed.
Ori called back a few days later and told them he would come over with his boyfriend Dwalin.
"It might look strange, but you cannot let go..." Kili told him.
"So the two that are coming over are like a real couple?" Fili asked worried.
"Yup, living, sleeping and everything in between..." Kili told him.
"Is it really socially accepted?" Fili wanted to make sure.
"Perfectly normal." Kili assured him.
"So if they talk about intimate relations I should just pretend I know what they are talking about?" Fili asked worried.
"Just brush it off, like I do." Kili told him. "I never engage in such discussion." He blinked at Fili.
"Well, if I make an idiot of myself I'll just let go of your hand and disappear..." Fili hissed.
"That might not work... Ori has the sight as well..." Kili made him realise.
"Just fucking great, so he'll see me as a ghost..." Fili noticed grimly.
"We'll do fine!" Kili kissed his cheek with encouragement, and ran to the kitchen to set the table before the guests arrived.
"Kili!" Fili hissed as the doorbell rang.
"I'm here I'm here!" Kili reached out his hand and waited for Fili to take it.
"Hey!" He smiled at the small red head followed by the huge bald man.
"Fili, meet my best friend Ori, and the big guy in Dwalin!" Kili made sure to be hanging on Fili all the time.
"Nice to meet you!" Ori smiled at the handsome blond, the big guy just grunted something incomprehensible. "Where do you want the books?" He asked with a smile.
"Put them anywhere, I'll read them later." Kili told them with a smirk. "Dinner is getting cold so why don't you sit down!" He continued to hold Fili's hand firmly and led them both to the table.
"So... can I speak openly?" Ori gazed at Fili with hesitation.
"He's on topic, so to say..." Kili assured him.
"I did some research, you have my notes with the books, but this topic isn't really well researched." Ori told them slowly. "I was wondering why the sudden interest." He gazed around the flat curiously.
"Well you probably already noticed..." Kili sniggered.
"That this place is active?" Ori gasped and gazed at the blond suspiciously. "Yes, I did."
"So we're going to have a ghost mumbo jumbo dinner?" Dwalin hissed.
"What did you expect?" Ori smirked at the tall man.
"Your family are all loons..." Dwalin noticed sternly. "Anyway I hope you're ready to live with a loon as well, he's as crazy as they get..." He gazed at Kili with a warning.
"I think he knows what he's getting into, his and Kili's energy are similar. You see ghosts as well, don't you?" Ori immediately concluded.
"You could say so." Fili admitted with a shy smile.
"So how did you two meet?" Dwalin asked curiously.
"Well he accidentally bumped into each other and instantly we took a liking." Kili cut the story short.
"Wait till Thorin hears this!" Dwalin grinned. "He's been worried sick about you, that you're all alone here, and Bofur had so much trouble renting this place because of all the ghost gossip..."
"Ghost gossip?" Fili asked curiously.
"He said some of his tenants thought this place was haunted." Dwalin smirked. "But I guess it is not since Kili decided to move in."
"I wonder why he never asked me to investigate." Ori growled. "The energy around here is pretty bizarre." He noticed.
"Well I don't really mind it." Kili noticed it. "It's not like I really play with this stuff."
"So why the sudden interest?" Ori noticed wittingly.
"Well, recently I've been going thought grandma's things and somehow I just wanted to get to know more about her, and about the world she was focused on." Kili told them gently.
"Well if you'd like we can go through it all together." Ori noticed.
"I might be asking you some strange questions, but so far I just feel like reading." Kili told them slowly.
"Whatever you need cousin!" Ori smiled happily. "So have you ever taken part in a real seans?" Ori asked Fili with a smirk.
"Yeah, a few times. But I'm not really into things like that." Fili told him. "It's not really useful."
"Not useful?" Ori nearly jumped. "You can help people, you can save restless souls, you can help the dead return to the dead."
"You can also summon accidentally demons, open gateways to hell, or gateways to other dimensions." Fili hissed.
"So that's what it is!" Ori gasped. "So which one of you opened that portal to the other dimension?"
"That would be him." Kili hissed.
"It was an accident really..." Fili noticed grimly.
"Well how long as it been open and what are you two planning to do about it?" Ori noticed grimly.
"Several years now. We want to seal it." Fili noticed.
"Now tell me one really important thing. Has anything or anyone passed through it?" Ori's eyes went narrow.
"It's not that kind of gateway." Kili said slowly. "It's more like a mirror or window than a passageway."
"I've never heard of anything like that, what do you mean?" Ori gazed at him.
"No one can pass. It's more like you can temporary see the other side and then you can't." Kili told them.
"Are you sure?" Ori gazed at them. "That would make it more a window to the other side, and not a passage way."
"Have you ever heard anything about something like this?" Kili asked him slowly.
"I've seen demons, ghost and everything in between, but this parallel universe thing is now very well researched." Ori's eyes shone with enthusiasm.
"And I bet you'd just love to research it." Dwalin sniggered.
"We might as well start now." Ori noticed with a wide grin. "So in what way is it a window?"
Fili just gazed at Kili, and then Kili just shook his head.
"First I'll read those books, and then I'll think about it." Kili made the call.
"A rapid decision..." Ori began and to his surprise both Fili and Kili continued " is a questionable decision."
"Yeah... along grandma's words." Ori noticed and gazed at Fili surprised.
"So are you two living together?" Dwalin noticed with a grin.
"Yeah we are." Kili admitted.
"In a haunted flat with a parallel window or some other bullshit?" Dwalin smirked.
"Pretty much yes..." Fili smiled.
"And you're both talented in this bullshit?" Dwalin asked.
"Well, it's not the main focus of both our lives." Kili noticed.
"So what do you do?" Ori asked Fili with a smile.
"I paint." Fili smiled.
"You're both painters." Ori raised his eyebrows.
"Thorin is going to be thrilled as fuck." Dwalin hissed.
"Dwalin..." Ori hissed.
"I could use a beer..." Dwalin hissed.
"You know the way to the fridge..." Kili hissed not letting go of Fili's hand firmly placed in his lap.
"Anyone else?" Dwalin asked.
"No thank you." Fili replied politely.
"One for me!" Ori yelled.
"Kili?" Dwalin asked.
"No thanks!" Kili replied.
"What is this some kind of AA club?" Dwalin hissed.
Fili just gazed with a puzzled expression towards Kili.
"Nah, we're detoxing." Kili grinned.
After staying around for nearly an hour more, Ori and Dwalin finally decided to go home. Fili and Kili walked them to the door, but Ori made a rapid move.
Without thinking he grabbed Fili's hand, and at the same time Dwalin pulled Kili into a bear hug, and with terror he noticed both Fili and Ori vanish into thin air.
"Oh shit!" Ori gasped looking around the similar but different flat. "So this is the parallel universe?"
"Pretty much yes." Fili told him slowly.
"So you can accidentally pass?" Ori asked him. "It's so bizarre and different." Ori gazed around. "How do we go back?"
"Easy!" Fili smiled and quickly grabbed Kili's hand. And they returned back.
"That was the most creepy thing ever!" Dwalin gasped and pulled Ori into his arms clearly disturbed with his lover's evanescence.
"So how many times have you fell to the other side?" Ori asked.
"Well, a few times. But it's usually a short time." Kili told him slowly carefully choosing his wording.
"You'd better seal it. An unstable portal can cause huge special damage, we don't want both worlds to change just because you accidentally opened a portal." Ori told them grimly. "When you decide how to close it, you got to call me, I'll come and help you."
"We'll call you." Kili confirmed.
"Be careful!" Ori scolded both of them.
Chapter 4
"So what are we going to do?" Fili asked as they were laying on the bed and Kili was focused on reading a book about the parallel universe issues.
"I think we're going to have to recreate the pattern and from both sides we're going to have to close it. The tricky part is keeping you on my side." Kili told him slowly.
"But we do have to close it?" Fili asked trying to relax a bit.
"We should." Kili told him. "Ori is right, keeping it open is a huge risk. Something else or someone else might pass."
"I'm scared." Fili told him.
"Why are you scared?" Kili asked him gently.
"I'm scared we'll fail. I don't want to be alone again..." Fili explained. "Your world is so colourful. So positive and cheerful. Your food, your movies, your drinks."
"Is that all you would miss?" Kili noticed sadly.
"No... Those things are all nice, but without you my world would be dead boring." Fili noticed sadly. "A life without you, wouldn't be a life anymore." He confessed in a deep voice. "I still wonder why don't you just shut the portal and forget about me. You hated me, I was bothering you so much..."
"I don't hate you anymore." Kili smiled shyly.
"Would you miss me?" Fili asked shyly.
"More than you could even imagine..." Kili confessed gently.
"I'm nobody special. I'm just an average painter from a dull colourless world, in your world I'd be jobless, worthless, a burden..." Fili spoke nearly on the verge of tears.
"You'd be with me." Kili told him slowly. "And that's all I care about..." He reached his hand towards his dimensional brother. Fili took it hesitantly.
"You'd be stuck with me..." Fili noticed.
"That's all I can dream about..." Kili shifted closer and gently embraced him. Their eyes met and both gazed at each other. "In my world no one would ever know you're my brother... You'd just be my boyfriend or my husband. And we'd be happy..."
"I'd love that..." Fili whispered as their lips slowly shifted towards each other. Kili was still gazing deeply at him, looking straight into his big blue eyes and their lips met for the first time.
"Have you ever done this?" Kili asked him gently when he realised in Fili's world these kind of relations were forbidden.
"No..." Fili admitted. "But I always knew deep down that..."
"Don't worry, there is no rush..." Kili kissed him.
"No!" Fili complained. "We can't wait..."
"Why not?" Kili asked gently laying on him sensually.
"In case something goes wrong... I want to be happy at least for a while..." Fili kissed him with urgency.
Kili just smiled at that and kissed him yet again pressing him against the bed with strength. Somehow the touch was what he needed, the way they bonded over the weeks of living together. The way their bodied moved against each other was as if they were meant to be together. With a smile he kissed down Fili's neck and forced him to take off his t-shirt. Just touching him, just kissing him, was so thrilling that he could feel himself losing control.
Fili was reacting so vividly, his body starved for years of rejecting any intercourses and his own preferences. His soul stressed with the tension his reality pushed him into. He wanted so much more than he was getting. He wanted to feel Kili against him, to finally feel what it felt like to be truly and deeply fucked. And Kili was playing his body like a pro. It should be disturbing that in theory Kili was his brother, but in any of the two realities he was not. And as his fingers gently drilled into Fili's body, and as later he gently pressed him, Fili could only think about how fulfilling it felt to finally feel him like that.
"To think we wasted so much time..." Fili noticed with a smirk as they lay in the tangled sheets holding onto each other.
"I hated you the first weeks... and then you told me to sleep on the couch because you said it was creepy..." Kili hissed with a smile.
"How stupid of me..." Fili pressed another kiss onto his lips.
"Now we both have even more motivation to get our things settled." Kili noticed with a grin.
"I think I love you..." Fili admitted shyly.
"I love you too... I think..." Kili added with a smirk, and straddled Fili's hips again just to kiss him deeply.
"So are you sure this is how it works?" Fili wanted to make sure, as Kili began drawing the pattern on his side and he drew the same patter on his side.
"First we're making a normal portal, so you can pass permanently. As you're passing, you will add three lines." Kili showed him a sheet with the different pattern. "That will close the portal automatically on your side. Then together we're going to do the same thing here." Kili explained.
"I'm scared." Fili admitted. "What if it doesn't work?"
"Then we're fucked..." Kili gasped annoyed. "Finding the right dimension was sheer accident, I doubt we would ever see each other again."
"Maybe we should call Ori?" Fili gasped.
"And tell him what? Hey this is Fili and he's from a parallel universe, yeah I know you said nothing should cross... yeah yeah, but he's already here so maybe you know he could stay?" Kili mocked.
"I get it..." Fili noticed grimly. "Are you sure nothing bad will happen if I cross?"
"I'm not sure of anything. I don't fucking care, as long as you're with me." Kili told him and focused on the drawing. "We're doing this."
"Fine!" Fili nodded and began drawing on his side.
"Did you leave a note for Frerin?" Kili asked.
"Yeah, Bofur will give it to him." Fili assured him.
"Let's start..." Kili hissed, and he watched Fili finish the drawing and as soon as he did he began chanting the right words.
It seems like minutes, but in reality Kili had to wait for like half an hour for Fili to finish the spell. When he was done, nothing seemed different, but Kili immediately knew it worked. The portal giving him a first clear view of the other reality.
"Step to my side." Kili extended his hand with the invitation. Fili slowly nodded and carefully made the full step inside.
"Finally here!" Kili kissed him.
"Finally!" Fili kissed him back.
"Are you ready?" Kili gently asked, and Fili just nodded and added the last lines and quickly passed his arm as the portal was sealing.
"Almost done." Kili smirked. "Now it's my turn." Fili sat right behind him, and listened as Kili carefully spoke the words they both knew by heart now. They had been practicing and preparing for a few days before they got the courage to get it done.
"That's it?" Fili asked surprised. Somehow the preparation and stress with the ritual made it seem almost impossible.
"Seems so." Kili smirked. "Let go!" He smiled.
"I'm still here!" Fili walked around the flat. "And everything seems just like on your side... Are you sure it's not dangerous?"
"Well, since it's not well researched, we cannot be sure." Kili noticed and reached out towards Fili.
Fili just smiled and entwined their fingers. "It's funny how the world does not shift anytime I touch you..." He smiled. "Everything seems normal now."
"Better?" Kili asked bringing him much closer.
"Not until I make sure this is real..." Fili smirked and sealed their lips in a chaste kiss. "Are you sure we'll really be able to be together?"
"Of course we will!" Kili smiled happily. "As long as we keep where you came from secret, and the probability you're my brother, then yeah we can pretty much do whatever we want."
"Beautiful..." Fili kissed him again. "So what do I need to do for you to keep me forever?"
"Just love me with all your heart..." Kili hissed gently as Fili's lips were slowly travelling down his neck.
"Consider that done..." Fili smiled happily and pulled him towards the sofa with an evil spark in his eyes.
"What do you mean Kili's boyfriend moved in with him?" Thorin's voice was full of venom as he was talking on the phone with Dwalin.
"Don't be too harsh with the boy, his boyfriend is actually really nice..." Dwalin told him quickly.
"But he just began living alone like five months ago..." Thorin's voice pitched. "And there was never even a word of a boyfriend..."
"It might be a bit quick, but the boy is really nice. He's also a painter." Dwalin explained, he quickly dropped the idea of mentioning the paranormal interests the boy had, mainly because he knew Thorin hated the very concept.
"I bet the boy is handsome and poor as a church mouse..." Thorin hissed.
"Kili's happiness should be all that matters..." Dwalin noticed sternly. "And he's very happy."
"We'll just see about that..." Thorin hissed.
Fili set into the routine with Kili quickly, their previous living arrangement although with a rocky start, later proved to be agreeable. Now it was even better than that. Fili in took everything thrown his way, he stopped berating books and began reading things Kili pushed at him. It took Kili some time to make Fili realise not everything they said on TV was true. Somehow Kili felt Fili was his responsibility and he fawned over the blond. After two weeks the blond began rebelling, stating his independence and worth. Kili just smiled and watched Fili roam the flat with a slight aura of dominance. He began painting more from the heart, and expressing himself by choosing music from the new world he just entered.
"You don't have to stay in the flat all the time..." Kili suggested one day.
"What do you mean?" Fili somehow felt anxious about going out on his own.
"You should try. I'd like you to go to the bakery as a regular routine."Kili gently told him.
"I thought Bilbo was your friend, and you liked talking to him." Fili noticed.
"He is, but if you haven't noticed he became your friend also in the last weeks." Kili smiled and kissed him gently. "I just want you to feel less worried about going out, so if you start doing it regularily it would become routine."
"I get what you mean, but I have no idea how to use that currency of yours and I'm scared I'd do something wrong..." Fili noticed sadly.
"You don't have to do anything with the card, it's Bilbo who uses it to pay. You just give it and take it back from him. The important part is to tell him what you want, and there are like a tone of things there I have never tasted, so I want you to talk with Bilbo and bring us something different every day." Kili explained patiently and handed him the card. "I'm planning to take you shopping next week, so treat this as a training for that."
"Shopping?" Fili gazed at him.
"We need more paint, not to mention you need more clothes." Kili smiled.
"What's wrong with my clothes?" Fili glanced at himself.
"My clothes you mean?" Kili noticed and brought him closer. "I want you to feel more comfortable, you're not a slave here..."
"I just..." Fili gasped.
"I know you feel financially dependent on me and it makes you uncomfortable." Kili noticed.
"Yeah that..." Fili blushed slightly.
"I'm going to take some of your paintings to my manager, so there is a chance you won't be that much dependant anymore." Kili told him with a smile. "Art can pay your bills in this reality."
"You think that's a good idea?" Fili noticed shyly.
"No, I'm not sure that's a good idea. You might leave me if you feel too independent..." Kili joked and sat in Fili's lap.
"I'd never leave you..." Fili gently kissed him.
The shopping trip was a shock for Fili, seeing all the shops and people on TV was one thing, going into a huge shopping mall was another thing. The crowd was not the problem, but the thought that he was out of place was haunting him. And when Kili went on a shopping spree with a wide grin and a spark in his eyes, Fili could just comply and he did exactly what the brunet asked him to. He tried on many strange clothes, and then they ate something Kili called the worst junk food.
They came home and Kili praised Fili for surviving the ordeal.
"I still want to get a job." Fili complained.
"Once you get to know this world better, why not? But it's not like you really have to. I have more than enough money, even from painting alone." Kili scolded him.
"It's more like... I don't want to be a burden..." Fili noticed.
"You'll never be a burden... You're a blessing." Kili smiled at him and assured him yet again with kisses that he was the most important to him in the world. "Will you come to a meeting with my manager? I would like to show you the gallery." Kili smiled.
"I'd love that." Fili quickly agreed.
"We can take some of your paintings..." Kili noticed.
"Maybe not yet..." Fili felt unsure. "I'd like to take a look around the gallery first."
"Whatever you prefer my love..." Kili held him tightly.
The next day they drove to the gallery, Kili felt Fili to roam the gallery, and he headed towards Elrond's office. When he came back, he found Fili in front of one of his own paintings.
"You're really talented." Fili told him with a light smile.
"So are you, too bad you don't believe me." Kili gently hugged him. "Will you let me bring some of yours to show to Elrond?"
"If you insist..." Fili gasped and held his hand firmly, the same as he did when they had to hold on before.
Chapter 5
The next time Kili left for the gallery alone, but with four paintings he chose from Fili's growing collection.
Fili got so used to Kili's presence that his absence even for a short time made him feel warily. When Kili would go anywhere he would gaze around the flat mindlessly, and he would have problems focusing on anything. Soon he settled on painting the whole time Kili was out, just to ease his tension.
He didn't hear the door bell, or the footsteps that should startle him. Suddenly he turned around to get more paint to notice a grim man gazing at him. For a moment Fili stood there dumb folded, but soon realised he knew who this man was. Kili has shown him photos of uncle Thorin.
"Hi!" He greeted the man bleakly.
"Hi." Thorin's voice was cold. "I rang the doorbell, but no one answered..." He explained his presence.
"Sorry, I rarely notice things while painting." The blond calmly explained. "Would you like some tea? Kili should be back soon." Fili gazed at the time.
"With pleasure." Thorin replied curtly gazing at the young man in front of him.
"Just give me a second to change, I don't want the living room all smeared with paint." Fili excused himself and rushed to the bathroom.
When he came back Thorin wasn't in the living room, instead he was looking at Fili's paintings carefully.
"You painted this?" Thorin asked surprisingly gently.
"Yes." The blond stood there shyly.
"You're good." Thorin told him curtly. "Did you meet Kili at the university?" He suddenly asked.
"No." Fili did not know how to answer the unsaid question so instead he jump to propose the tea again. "Tea or coffee?" He asked and rushed into the living room, as soon as he heard tea.
"So where is Kili?" Thorin asked gazing at the silent and very timid blond.
"He had another meeting with his manager." Fili explained. "He's preparing a new exhibition. And from what I understand it will be shown in seven countries."
"I bet Kili is happy." Thorin noticed dully, unsure of what to think about this boy in front of him.
"He's very happy." The blond smiled gently, but seeing Thorin gaze at him coldly the smile died.
"So what do you do apart from painting?" Thorin asked sharply and observed the blond. He could barely stop himself from smirking seeing the blond clench his fists clearly under huge stress. Thorin knew how to stress people out to get the truth out of them. This boy was strange, and Thorin would defend the naive innocent Kili at all cost.
"Nothing much." The boy admitted hesitantly.
"So you're not even denying that you're living at Kili's cost?" Thorin hissed.
He saw the blond look down clearly defeated and cornered.
"What can you offer him apart from your jolly company?" Thorin continued to corner the young man.
"Nothing..." He heard an almost silent whisper. "I'm pretty much worthless..." Fili hissed back.
"I'm glad you're facing the truth. Now what are you planning to do about it?" Thorin noticed grimly.
"There is little I can do to match his level of affluence." The boy noticed grimly. "But I was thinking of getting a job."
"And what kind of qualifications do you have? What kind of experience?" Thorin hissed.
"Not much..." Fili admitted. "I worked in a bakery..." He replied shyly.
"And what kind of income can that bring?" Thorin hissed.
The door suddenly opened. "Guess what I got us today!" Kili yelled from the door.
"Good news?" Thorin sniggered.
"Uncle?" Kili's voice made a hilarious peak seeing his beloved uncle. He jumped at his uncle and hugged him with a happy smile.
"I'm so happy you're here, I wasn't expecting you till next month!" Kili smiled happily and placed at the bags on the table. "I see you already met my boyfriend Fili." Kili smiled happily and sat next to the blond wrapping his arm around his shoulders.
"You could say so." Thorin noticed coldly.
Kili gazed at Fili with worry in his eyes. He grabbed him more firmly and gazed back to his uncle. "I seen you've been making yourself a bigger ass than you normally are." Kili hissed with spite.
"I was just plainly stating the truth." Thorin hissed back. "He did not even deny anything."
"You speak as if he is committing some kind of crime." Kili hissed back.
"I consider using your good heart a crime..." Thorin noticed dully.
"My heart is my own. If you have any objections you might as well go fuck yourself, I don't give a damn what you think." Kili became very defensive.
"And I love you too much to see you waste your time on somebody worth so much less than you." Thorin noticed.
Kili glared at him with so much strength that Thorin had to admit it, his nephew did seem very dedicated to defend his boyfriend.
"You'll get bored with him anyway soon." Thorin hissed yet again, and caught the eyes of the blond. He was looking at him with so much spite and strength it made him shut up for a moment. Then he noticed those deep blue eyes shed a tear.
"Uncle I believe we should come back to this conversation at another time." Kili added grimly.
"Are you asking me out?" Thorin's eyebrows rose and his voice signalled bewilderment.
"Indeed I am. Get the fuck out." Kili hissed decisively.
"As you wish. But we will come back to this sooner or later." Thorin hissed and walked out.
Dwalin was sipping on a beer and glancing at Thorin. He already heard from Ori what Thorin did, and about how Kili kicking him out.
"The boy is really a good kid." Dwalin scolded Thorin. "Kili's happiness should be all that matters."
"I'm not saying he shouldn't find happiness, I'm only stressing he should have waited with all the moving in and jumping to lifelong declarations before he gets to know him better."
"With a clear undertone that you expect him to change his mind..." Dwalin growled.
"He's too young to get into this kind of relationships..." Thorin hissed.
"I'm sorry to bust your bubble, but you just basically said my relationship with Ori is immoral in your eyes." Dwalin hissed.
"You're different, you two are meant to be together." Thorin noticed grimly.
"Well, so are they. I've never seen Kili so happy, and that boy doesn't see the world beyond Kili, as if Kili is his centre of the universe." Dwalin told him in a grim tone. "Ori is thrilled Kili had finally met his soul mate, and as long as Ori is thrilled... I will support this union." Dwalin told Thorin stubbornly.
"This won't last..." Thorin hissed.
"We'll just see about that." Dwalin smirked.
Kili found it very strange that Thorin immediately seemed to dislike Fili after a short conversation. Normally his uncle would call him soon to reconcile, but this time Thorin didn't contact him for nearly three difficult weeks. Fili feeling rejected had a depression attack, and he began painting his dull of reality. He was gloomy and dull, and no matter what Kili did to make him relax and cheer up, the blond knew he was the reason why Thorin and Kili stopped talking. He felt extremely miserable being dependant on Kili, and finally Bilbo found a solution.
He couldn't take the misery of his two young friends, and after realising it was the financial issue bothering Fili, he decided to step in.
"So you worked in a bakery before?" Bilbo asked gently as he was sitting in the painters living room.
"For two years." Fili told him. "But the place wasn't as fancy and good as yours. I'm not sure I have the skills you might require. I have never used that kind of cash register or the card terminal."
"I'll teach you everything you might need." Bilbo told him with a smile. "I could use some assistance, when Frodo is at school I have time for baking and customers, but I'd rather have more time for him in the afternoons. So it would be a part time job, some afternoons and evenings and weekends."
"What do you think?" Fili asked Kili shyly.
"Will this stop you from feeling inferior and a burden?" Kili smirked.
"I'm not sure..." Fili noticed shyly.
"Well, we might have some formal problems." Kili noticed. "But we can say a week trial period and after that if you both like it, you can sign the contract. I want to underline that you really don't have to do it."
"I'd like to try." Fili smiled and took Kili's hand.
"So tomorrow?" Bilbo smiled. "Could you come around ten, I'll show you around and tell you what exactly I'd require from you."
The next morning Fili was extremely stressed but was determined to do anything to be less of a burden to Kili. He walked down to the bakery with a dry throat and a beating heart, but Bilbo was all welcoming and warm. He showed him around, told him about what he normally did on a typical day, starting from preparing the batched of snacks and treats, to the timing or putting in, and finally they spent nearly an hour training at the cash register. When the first client walked in Fili was nervous, but Bilbo calmly explained that he was his new assistant and the woman just smiled saying didn't mind the training. Fili carefully step by step, prepared the things she wanted, and after a slight panic before using the credit card, Fili step by step managed to serve her.
"You see that wasn't so bad..." Bilbo praised him. "By two you'll feel right at home here."
After spending four hours at the bakery, Bilbo began asking Fili about the bakery he used to work. And Fili balancing the truth and reality, gave him a short description of what his old bakery used to sell. Bilbo just raised his eyebrows hearing some of the strange pastry ideas and disappeared into the kitchen mumbling something under his nose, leaving a startled Fili to serve his first customers independently.
Bilbo came back nearly an hour later with a smug smile, and immediately praised Fili for managing the bakery for a whole hour without any help. Later he disappeared for a few minutes and with a smirk handled Fili a plate of pastry.
"Go ahead and tell me what you think!" Bilbo smiled, as Fili slowly picked up one bun.
"Just like at home!" He noticed and smiled.
"It's a bizarre recipe, but the idea somehow seemed interesting enough to try." Bilbo noticed. "The result is delicious." He added with a smirk. "So do you have any more secrets you can sell?" He smiled with a spark in his eyes.
"So how was your first day?" Kili asked when Fili came back with a wide smile a bag of treats.
"Interesting!" Fili smirked and put the buns on the plate. "We talked a lot with Bilbo, and he somehow drag out of me all the information about the pastry in my previous bakery, and viola!" He placed at treats in front of Kili.
"I thought there was no good food where you came from..." Kili hissed.
"I never said that. Your food is simply better, but some things were good." Fili admitted. "As long as someone could afford them."
"Damn I love these buns with mushroom filling!" Kili smiled and bit in another one. "So are you happy with the job?"
"Yeah, It's great!" Fili smiled happily.
"Good, so tomorrow I'm going to call Nori."Kili noticed.
"What do you need from him?" Fili's smile died.
"If you want to keep the job, you will need some papers. And Nori will know the easiest way to get them." Kili smiled.
"What are you going to tell him?" Fili asked worried.
"Anything but the truth. I was thinking about some kind of crazy story, like you're an illegal immigrant from Norway." Kili winked at him. "Honestly, I doubt he'll ask many questions."
Kili was right Nori just hissed at them when he explained why they called him in, and asked what kind of documents they needed.
Having the job, and a steady income gave Fili the independence he needed so badly. Kili refused to take any money from him, for the flat or anything really, but Fili quickly began to do the shopping as to make them even. Kili just smiled seeing Fili learning how to cook and bake under Bilbo influence, somehow their relation was growing even better with every following day. They felt safe and they felt at peace.
Nearly five weeks after Thorin's visit, Ori called to inviting them over to dinner. Fili didn't feel at all happy to go but somehow refusing the friendly red head seemed too rash. Fili brought home a delicious bag of snacks from Bilbo and with a huge fear they left to Ori's flat.
As soon as they arrived it turned out dinner, was in fact a huge family dinner, with Dori, Nori, Dain, Gloin, Gimli and many other family members. Fili's first reaction was to walk out, but Kili firmly grabbed his hand and dragged him in, introducing him to everyone as his boyfriend.
The guests praised the snacks Fili brought, and when someone asked if he had baked them, Fili began talking about his job at the bakery with enthusiasm, he drove Bombur out of the kitchen.
"So you're the famous boyfriend?" Bombur ginned and grabbed a snack. "Delicious!" He smiled happily. "Wait till you see what I'm making for desert!" He smiled and rushed back to the kitchen.
After an hour into the party, Thorin showed up. He just gazed at Kili and Fili sitting there chatting with smiles to the family members.
"Your new exhibition is phenomenal." Thorin praised Kili.
"I'm glad you liked it." Kili smiled and made sure his arm was constantly around Fili's neck.
"Hey since everyone is here, I think it's time we start!" Ori yelled seeing Bofur and Bifur arrive.
"Start what?" Kili hissed.
"We're going to have a seans!" Ori noticed with a wide grin.
"What?" Thorin hissed.
"What better chance can I get? It's rare to have three mediums in one room!" Ori smirked, as the family began setting up the table.
"Do you feel like it?" Fili gently asked Kili.
"No, do you?" Kili hissed.
"You know what I think." Fili hissed back.
"We're not taking part." Kili stood up and firmly stated.
"Come on! It's not like we're going to be drawing demonic circles or portals! Just a normal seans to talk with grandma Mathilda!" Ori gasped surprised both of them didn't jump at the fact.
"It's not a good idea." Kili hissed.
"I told you only you would consider this fun!" Dwalin scolded Ori.
"We want to take part in one finally!" Bofur insisted. "We missed out on this paranormal gene."
"You can do it yourself." Kili noticed sternly.
"But I was hoping we could do this together..." Ori seemed shy and lost. "Since Fili is the most experienced and stuff..."
"What?" Thorin hissed. "You spread this insanity to my nephew?" He gazed at the blond sternly.
"He didn't do anything uncle." Kili insisted. "Ori, you can do anything you want, but we're not taking part."
"Fine, I'll manage without you." Ori mumbled and began setting the table with candles.
"Are you sure he knows what he's doing?" Fili asked Kili gently. "He seems to know the theory, but somehow I get the feeling he really doesn't have the experience..."
"Just fucking great. So you think we should stay around and make sure he really doesn't summon a demon or something?" Kili asked gently, and Fili just nodded as a reply.
"Am I doing this right?" Ori gazed at Fili and Kili.
"So far..." Fili hissed.
"So who do you want to summon?" Dwalin asked irritated.
"Our grandmother Mathilda." Ori smirked unsurely and kept moving around placing chairs around the table.
"That's not a wise idea." Kili noticed.
"What are you scared of?" Nori hissed. "It's not like all this bullshit is real and he can actually summon a demon, can't he?"
Fili just glared at Kili, and then both of them glared at Ori.
"Well... in theory I could accidentally summon a demon..." Ori hissed at his brother.
"For real?" Dori's eyes went wide. "I've always thought of this as just a crazy hobby..."
"For real." Kili replied in a grim tone. "So we're not taking part in any of this." He stated firmly and grabbed Fili's hand for support.
"Well if you really believe this is real, how can you be so sure of it?" Thorin noticed in a stern tone.
"That's how we met." Kili hissed at him.
"I did something stupid and Kili helped me fix it." Fili added.
"So you finally closed the portal?" Ori smiled at them. "I'm so happy to hear that, although I'm also pissed you didn't invite me over to help you."
"What portal?" Bofur stood there with a puzzled face.
"The one in Kili's flat." Ori explained quickly. "It was a portal to another world."
"Just some more mumbo jumbo." Bofur hissed.
"I've seen Ori disappear into it, and believe me I've never been so scared in my life." Dwalin told them in a grim tone.
"So you really don't want me to do it?" Ori gazed at Kili and Fili.
"We're never playing with this stuff anymore." Kili firmly stated.
"Let's vote!" Bofur quickly added. "All those in favour of the seans raise your hands!" He counted Ori, Gimli, Dain, Bombur and himself.
"All those against!" And Bofur quickly counted Fili, Kili, Thorin, Dwalin, Nori and Dori.
"So it's settled than." Thorin noticed.
"Just fucking great." Ori hissed and blew out the candles. "And here I wanted to get some more experience so that I could follow into grandmother's footsteps and my own family is blocking me!"
"Grandmother never made money." Kili reminded him. "She helped people if she could, but she never played with these rituals."
"I guess you're right..." Ori smiled sadly. "So if I hear something about something strange I can go check it out?" He gazed at Dwalin.
"As long as you take me with you." Dwalin noticed sternly.
"If you seriously get in trouble you can always ask us for help." Fili added.
"Yeah, we'll gladly come and help you. Just don't go around seeking trouble yourself." Kili added grimly.
"I still think this is all bullshit." Thorin grimaced.
"And here I was hoping I would finally find out what all this family curse is..." Gimli gasped annoyed.
The next day Fili was startled hearing the doorbell. Kili went to meet his manager, and he had the day off after working all Saturday.
"Hi." He said seeing Thorin at the door.
"Hi. May I come in?" Thorin asked slowly.
"Kili is not here." Fili noticed still standing in the door way.
"I wanted to talk to you." Thorin hissed.
"Fine." Fili stepped aside to let him in.
"So tell me, do you really believe in this ghost bullshit?" Thorin gazed at the blond.
"It's not bullshit. Just because most people cannot see or feel anything, it doesn't mean it's bullshit." Fili told him firmly.
"You got Kili to play with it. I've been trying to separate him from his father's family mumbo jumbo all those years and you ruined it." Thorin hissed.
"We're not playing with it." Fili told him firmly. "Quite the contrary, he helped me out and we're not going to do anything in that direction."
"Fine." Thorin hissed. "I'd like to make an offer to you."
"What kind of offer?" Fili's eyes went narrow.
"I'll give you a million dollars." Thorin told him firmly.
"Why?" Fili replied in a cold voice.
"Leave Kili. Go anywhere, do anything you like." Thorin hissed/
"I think it's time you leave." Fili opened the door and waited for Thorin to go out. "I'm really disappointed in you." He said his last words and Thorin silently let the flat.
Two hours later Kili came back in a good mood.
"What bit you in the ass?" He immediately noticed Fili's foul mood.
"You uncle dropped by." Fili hissed.
"And what did he tell you?" Kili's eye went narrow.
"A million dollars." Fili replied. "I told him to leave."
"I'm so proud of you..." Kili wrapped his arms around the blond.
"I would never leave you... Not for all the money in my world and this world..." Fili noticed and brought him closer.
"Will you stay with me forever?" Kili noticed. "Even if you have your own money?"
"What do you mean?" Fili smiled at Kili.
"Elrond wants to buy ten of your post apocalyptic visions, as he called them." Kili smirked.
"What?" Fili raised his eyebrows.
"He just loved the visions of your world, and he wants to make an exhibition." Kili told him.
"I can't... I don't know what to say..." Fili gasped. "Does that mean I have to stop working with Bilbo? I like my job..."
"That just means you can do whatever you want!" Kili smiled and kissed him. "As long as you don't leave me... otherwise I'd have to kill you."
"What about your uncle?" Fili noticed grimly.
"Fuck him." Kili smiled. "Not literarily." He added after a moment. "Who cares, it's time he got a life of his own and fucked off from mine."
"I love you!" Fili kissed him yet again.
"My sunshine..." Kili cupped his face and kissed him passionately.