A/N: I was not nearly as fastidious in this fic as I normally am when it comes to dates and historical-canon. I apologize if anything is really off! These are the same incarnations of Thorin and company that appear in my longer story about Thorin.
Unexpected Cuddles
Having somewhere to go is home.
Having someone to love is family.
Having both is a blessing.
2863 Third Age, Mid-Winter – Ered Luin: Thorin's Halls
Dís is tired. She has not slept properly in days. Her 4-year-old son, Fíli, keeps having nightmares. He stays in bed asleep just long enough for his parents to go to bed and fall asleep. As soon as sleep takes them he is tugging at his mother's sleeve in the dark and crying. She loved her son but she sometimes wishes that he woke his father, Vrílí, up in the dark with his cold fingers.
Fíli never told her what his dreams were about. She always asked but he would close his mouth tightly and he would refuse to speak. However, the heavy tear drops would continue to track their way down over his round, cheeks. His cheeks were red with emotion and warmth. While he slept his body heat would rise and his cheeks would turn a rosy color that only grew stronger when the nightmares came. Once he was awakened by the dreams the little blonde boy would not sleep again that night. By the time he was asleep again and his mother was in back in her own bed it was almost time for the day to begin. The little boy could sleep well into the morning because he had no duties or chores that he was expected to perform. Dís on the other the other hand was struggling to keep her eyes open all day while she chased her squealing toddler around. She even caught herself falling asleep anytime that she was sitting down for more than a minute. She had fallen asleep during dinner just a few hours earlier. Fíli had laughed and her brother would not let her live it down.
"Have you not been sleeping at night, dear sister?" Thorin had asked her with a cheeky wink towards her husband. The remnants of the royal family shared chambers here in Ered Luin. Thorin had refused a wife and could not maintain a household otherwise so he lived with his sister, her husband, and their growing family.
Dis glared flatly at her elder brother. She is not amused by his behavior even if he was clearly enjoying himself. And her husband chuckling does not help her mood. Her dark eyes narrowed before she spoke. "Very little of that has been happening. Your son," she glares at her husband. "And your heir," she turns her hard brown eyes to her brother, "refuses to sleep at night."
"Oh, it's because you coddle him far too much," Vrílí remarks flippantly.
Dís slams her silverware down onto the table rattling the crockery. "Then YOU get up with the little monster tonight!" she snarls before storming from the room.
Thorin and Vrílí lock eyes once the fuming woman disappears through the doorway and down the hall. Vrílí shrugs his shoulders before taking another bite of his dinner, "it cannot be as hard as she is making it sound."
Thorin just shakes his head in response with a knowing smile on his lips. Vrílí was the youngest in his family but Thorin remembers when Dís and their brother Frerin were small. He also remembers Balin and Dwalin as dwarflings and Írlí's complaints about Dærí and Vrílí when they were small. He greatly enjoys his time with his nephew. However, he enjoys his peace and quiet just as much. He like the fact that when he is done playing with little Fíli that he can return the boy to his parents. Usually the end of the time he spent with his nephew was brought about by the young dwarf's tears or tantrums. Thorin then passed the responsibility back to his sister or his brother-in-law.
Thorin looks up when Vrílí clears his throat. The dwarf-king smiles when he sees that Vrílí is expected a response. "Aye, you're probably right about that. Just, I'd not let him wake Dís if I were you. She might just bite your head off."
"I doubt he'll get up," Vrílí says as he returns to his food, "and if he does he won't get out of bed after I put him back in it."
"I'm sure that's just how it will happen," Thorin mumbles into his next bite.
.m.
Dís had gone to bed immediately following dinner leaving her husband and brother to manage Fíli. They made a key mistake and only realized once it was too late. Vrílí had given the boy cookies to keep him quiet and occupied while he poured over paperwork.
"ADÂD!" The blonde boy screamed as he launched himself off the arm of the sofa and into his father's lap. He landed right in the middle of the paperwork. Individual sheets went flying and the others become crumpled under the squirming dwarfling's chubby legs.
"Fíli!" Vrílí shouts and his son. "What are you doing?!"
The dwarfling has wiggled around that he is laying on his back across his father's knees. He lifts his head and tilts it to the side, "Play?"
"I have work to do, Fíli. Go play with you . . ." he stops before he can say mother. He told Dís that he could handle their son for the evening before she had gone to bed. She had merely grunted in response before pulling the blankets over her head. He could have sworn he heard her say, 'I'll believe it when I see it.'
Vrílí looks down at his son again who is gazing expectantly up at his father with wide blue eyes. Vrílí turns to Thorin, his own eyes are wide and pleading for help, "Thorin, could you . . ." he gestures to Fíli when he cannot think of how to say what he is asking for.
Thorin meets his brother-in-law's eyes for a moment. He quickly makes a decision about how much he will be involved with helping Vrílí. "Actually, I have work that I need to finish before I sleep so I am going to retire to my Chambers for the night," Thorin says as he rises to his feet.
"But..." Vrílí begins to say before deciding better of it and shutting his mouth with a snap.
Vrílí remains on the couch with his squirming son as his brother and King leaves the room leaving him completely alone with the toddler.
"Play, adâd?" the little boy asks as he carefully winds his fingers into his father's beard.
"I cannot play, inùdoy," Vrílí says. He winces when Fíli's small fingers tug painfully in his beard. He reaches up to extract his sons pudgy fingers from his own blonde beard. "I have work that I need to finish just like amâdnadadaz does."
A deep frown creases the dwarflings face but he quickly climbs off his father lap and goes to sit in the corner with his wooden soldiers. Vrílí and Thorin had stayed up into the early hours of the morning for almost a month trying to finish the soldiers and their enemies before Fíli's fourth birthday. The little boy had been delighted with the gift and he still played with them all the time; favoring them over all of his other gifts and toys.
Fíli plays quietly while Vrílí continues his work. This continues until Vrílí looks at the time and declares that is well past Fíli's bedtime. Vrílí scoops his son off the floor and carries him to his room. Fíli snuggles down into his blankets and pillows as Vrílí tucks the blankets in around the little boy.
"Adâd?"
"Yes, Fíli?"
Fíli doesn't say anything else. He just rolls onto his stomach and rubs his face into his pillow. Vrílí shakes his head before pressing a kiss to his son's blonde hair. "If you get up tonight come to me rather than amâd. Your mother needs to sleep."
Vrílí turns the lamp out and retires to his own room to sleep. He still has work to finish, but he can hardly keep his eyes open. He does not know how Thorin manages to complete all of his work and still have time for socializing with his family and friends. He slides under the blankets next to his wife. He rolls onto his side and scoots closer so his chest presses against Dís' back. It takes him longer than usual to fall asleep. He focuses on his breathing, but, despite his exhaustion, sleep does not come easily or quickly.
Just as he feels sleep overcoming him he hears the creak of the door and the soft 'patpat' of feet on a wooden floor.
"Adâd?"
Vrílí groans as he rolls over to the edge of the bed so that he can see his son. "Yes?"
Fíli just looks at his father with his big blue eyes that are glistening with tears. "I had a bad dream . . ."
"Oh, Fíli," Vrílí half groans and he adjusts his position so that he is sitting on the edge of the bed. "What about?"
Fíli shakes his head.
"Fíli, inùdoy, you need to sleep in your own bed. Your amâd and I need sleep just as much as you do. You need to stay in your own bed." Vrílí picks up Fíli and starts down the hall back to his son's room. "Do you understand?"
Fíli nods sadly. Fat tears have found their way down his cheeks.
"Good lad." Vrílí tucks his son back into his bed. "I'll see you at breakfast, inùdoy."
When Vrílí returns to his room he shuts the door and locks the bolt. He needs his own sleep tonight and he promised Dís that she would sleep undisturbed for this one night at the very least. He soon falls asleep not knowing that his son is lying awake in his own bed.
.m.
Thorin is working on paperwork and reading reports on his bed when he hears a knock at his door. It was so soft that he was unsure if it was a knock or just the building settling in the night. "Yes?" He does not look up from the report on foot consumption for the winter that he is reading. If it is someone he expects that it is Vrílí just saying goodnight; so, he is surprised when he sees blonde hair and blue eyes appear at the edge of his bedspread.
"Fíli, what are you doing up?" Thorin pushes the papers to the side so he can better focus on his nephew.
"I had a nightmare . . ." the small dwarfling says tearfully. "Amâd's door is locked."
Thorin reaches down to pull Fíli onto his bed. He strokes the blonde hair, "It's okay, little one. Will you tell me what the dream is about? Maybe that will make is less scary?"
Fíli nods his head. "I cannot protect my brother and he gets hurt and I can't stop it." All of the words rush out of the little boy like he has been holding it in for a very long time.
"Your brother?"
Fíli nods. He scoots close and lays his head on his uncle. "My little brother. His hair was like yours," he reaches out to touch his uncle's hair. "Not like mine. . . . And he was a lot bigger than me," a confused frown crosses the dwarflings face.
Thorin hums a response of encouragement. He begins combing his fingers through the golden hair and working out the tangles. "Anything else, little one?"
"There were stone giants. They were so much bigger than me . . ." He trails off and leans against his uncle's broad chest.
"You know that stone giants are not real, right?" Thorin pulls back to look down at the round face.
Fíli leans back and locks eyes with his uncles. "Yes," he whispers. "But . . . but they are real in my head. They can hurt me and my baby brother." His voice begins to tremble with tears again. Thorin is sitting with his legs crossed. Fíli is sitting in in uncle's lap looking up at his uncle.
"Shhh..." Thorin comforts. "I'll never let anything bad happen to you or your brother."
Fíli nods his head vigorously.
"That's my job. It's your father's job too. We won't let anything happen to you or your mother. And your mother will never let anything happen to you. And if you ever have siblings she will protect them as well. If you have younger brothers or sisters you will do the same for them." Thorin pauses and looks at the wall.
Memories of his own are conjured by his words. Thorin remembers his little brother, Frerin, and the day when he failed to protect a boy with copper hair. Copper hair that was stained red on the day. He shakes his head to dispel his unpleasant thoughts. Azanulbizar happened long ago. He was little more than a dwarfling. He and Frerin had not reason to be fighting that war. Thráin, however, had insisted that his son's fight by his side. The family had paid dearly for that desire.
"Even from orcs?" Fíli's voice interrupts his uncle's musings.
"Hmmm?"
"Orcs," the dwarfling repeats. "They're in my dreams sometimes. They have yellow eyes. I don't like their eyes."
"I'll make sure that you are safe from orcs and everything else that is bad," Thorin promises softly. He refuses to think about Frerin and orcs. That day is one best left buried.. If it is to be dredged up it will happen between him, a bottle of whiskey, and maybe Dwalin. They are not thoughts that get shared with a little dwarfling who is scared of the stone giants that inhabit his dreams.
"Okay." Fíli shifts so he is leaning heavily against Thorin's arm. He yawns widely.
Thorin looks down at the little blonde head. "Would you like to sleep in here tonight?"
Fíli nods.
Thorin shifts so that they are laying down on top of the bedspread. He pulls Fili close to his chest. He remembers doing the same with Frerin all of those years ago even though their size difference was never this extreme. 'Oh, Frerin . . ." Thorin sighs heavily. His breath ruffles his nephew's blonde hair.
"Uncle 'Rin?" Fíli says softly.
"Yes, Fíli?"
"I love you." With those words Fíli wiggles his small warm body against Thorin and exhales. He winds his fingers into his uncle's loose hair.
"I love you, too, Fíli," Thorin whispers as he squeezes the little boy's hand.
Neither of them speak after that. Fíli's breathing soon evens out. His breathes are deep and even with the occasional squeaking snore. Thorin focuses on his nephew's breathing so as to avoid the dark thoughts that now linger on the edge of his mind. Soon he falls asleep despite the brightness of the lamp that is still burning.
.m.
Dís wakes the next morning when light enters the chambers that she shares with her husband. At first she is disoriented; she has become so accustom to waking up to her son's cold fingers in her own. She had not woken simply because she had achieved weariness relieving rest. She rolls onto her back and gazes at the canopy above the bed and the curtains that hang around the bed to keep out some of the chill that permeates the halls during the winter months.
Vrílí's heavy breathing changes. He rolls onto his back; his hand searching for his wife's under the covers. He squeezes her hand twice; it is a small code that they share. It is a way for them to say 'I love you' silently even if they are surrounded by others.
Dís rolls onto her side to face her husband. She gazes her husband's. His hair and beard are wild from sleep. "How was he?" she asks as she reaches over to stroke her husband's blonde beard.
Vrílí heaves a sigh. "He got up once. I put him back to bed. And that was it. He never came back in." He looks over at his wife with a wry smile on his lips before he continues, "I told you that you coddle the lad far too much." He does not tell her that after he put Fíli back to bed that he had shut and locked their bedroom door. He had risen before she woke up to open the door the crack that they kept it at so that Fíli could enter if he needed to.
Dís smacks her husband shoulder – hard.
"Ow!" Vrílí rubs his arm and looks at his wife reproachfully with a glimmer of mischief in his blue eyes. "Come here, you," he growls playfully as he drags his wife over so that she is laying on his chest so that he can kiss her softly.
-O-
"I should go check on Fíli," Dís says as she extracts herself from her husband's embrace.
"Must you? I'm sure that lad is fine," Vrílí protests gently brushing his wife's hair back.
"Yes!" Dís says as she squirms free of her husband and blankets until she is standing on the wooden floor and looking down at her husband.
Dís walks down the hallway to her son's room. She knocks on the partially open door, "Fíli?" There is no response. She pushes the door the rest of the way open. "Fíli?" She looks to his empty bed first. The blankets are rumpled and messy, but a messy haired blonde boy is missing from the equation.
"Fíli?" she calls louder as she checks under his bed, under his desk, and behind the door. Not finding her son she goes to the common room and the kitchen checking the couches and all of his usually hiding places. As she fails to find her son she goes back to her bedroom.
"Dís? What's wrong?" Vrílí asks when he sees the expression on his wife's face.
She does not respond until she has looked under the large bed in search of Fíli. "I can't find him," she says quietly.
"What do you mean you can't find him?" Vrílí asks loudly sitting upright in bed. His eyebrows are furrowed in confusion.
"I meant that I cannot find our son, Vrílí!" Dís all but shouts at her husband. "I have you watch him for one night – ONE NIGHT – Vrílí. And he's gone."
Vrílí slips out of bed and pulls on a pair of pants. "Shh… I'm sure he's fine, he's probably just hiding somewhere."
"I already looked!" she snaps; whirling on her husband.
Vrílí gently grabs her shoulders. "He's probably just hiding or playing somewhere," he says softly. "Let's wake your brother. Another pair of eyes would be beneficial."
Dís drops her forehead onto Vrílí's chest and stand there without moving for several moments. She carefully is taking deep breaths. "Okay." She follows her husband to the end of the hall to Thorin's door.
Vrílí knocks loudly on the shut door. "Thorin!" He pauses to listen for a response. Nothing. He knocks again; louder this time. There is still no response.
"Just open the door," Dís orders.
Vrílí opens the heavy oaken door, "Thorin?"
Dís pushes past her husband into the room. She freezes at what she sees.
The lamp is still burning brightly. Thorin's bed is littered with books, papers, quills, and bottles of ink. In the middle of all this chaos is Thorin. He is laying on his side. His left art is flung wide and his hand is hanging off the edge of the large bed. Curled against his chest is Fíli. The little dwarf's head is nestled in the crook of where Thorin's arm meets his torso. Thorin's right arm is draped loosely over the blonde dwarfling. Fíli's arms are flung out. One of his hands is tangled in his uncle's long, dark hair. The strands are wrapped around his fingers. His other hand is wrapped in his own blonde waves.
Dís just gazes at the two of them for several moments. The position of the two dwarves reminds her of Thorin and Frerin after the death of their mother. She steps forward to pick up Fíli and return him to his own bed. When her hands start to lift the limp, warm, soft body of her son Thorin rolls towards his nephew and pull the lad close with his right arm and his left arm curls up for added security.
Dís steps backs and smiles down at her son and her brother. Thorin is now curled protectively around his young nephew. She sees that she is not going to be able to move Fíli back to his own bed so she settles for making their sleeping conditions more comfortable. She quickly gathers up the flotsam and jetsam that are scattered across the large bed. She grabs a large, soft blanket that was a gift to Thorin several years ago. She gently tucks the blanket around the two bodies before dimming the lamps and backing out of the room with a smile on her lips.
FIN
A/N: I was having writers block – I wrote two chapters worth of words in academic papers, 15pgs and 9pgs with another 15 pager due this upcoming Friday – when it came to my long-fic, His Brother's Maker, so I wrote this to unclog the creative pipes. It may or may not have a place in a longer story later in the future.