A/N: So here's a little bit of Kili and Fili fluff for you. No Durincest, just good ole brotherly bickering and love. Hope you enjoy! And don't forget to review. :)

~Fili~

A Trial of Brotherhood

A Fili and Kili Brotherhood Fanfiction

(Written from Fili's perspective.)

It was early on a spring morning and I was out finishing my chores. It was the usual bit, feeding and watering the ponies. Kili, however, was in one of his moods and when he gets in a mood, he tends to do things rather poorly, leaving me with a good bit of extra grooming on the ponies. I either had to clean up after my little brother, or face my mother's anger.

I looked down and saw a small stone by my feet. I picked it up and dropped it in a burlap sack, hanging around my waist. I had been doing this all today and most of yesterday, and the sack was over halfway full. I hoped that would be enough.

I patted Jungle's neck and dropped the brushes in the bucket. Now that the chores were done, I had a little while to carry out my plans. I walked down to our house and stood underneath Kili's window. It was on the second floor, making it difficult for what I was trying to do.

I selected a rock from the sack and tried to throw it into the open window. The rock hit just underneath the windowsill and bounced off.

I'll have to make it next time.

I threw another one, and this time, it sailed over the sill and into Kili's room.

Perfect.

It wasn't long until my angry little brother was at the window scowling down at me.

"What, Fili? Why couldn't you just come up to my room? You just have to make a scene, don't you?"

"No, not at all." I replied, with an innocent grin. "I just thought you could use a little cheering up. Come on, why don't we go down to the woods?"

"Not right now," He grumbled, turning away from the window, "Maybe later."

I had figured this would happen.

The other dwarves had recently been making fun of Kili for his non-dwarven looks and his lack of a beard. This was nothing new. Usually, Kili and I would just laugh at their smugness, I would make him feel better, and we would go on as usual. But, not this time. This time, it had really gotten to him.

I continued to toss rocks into his window. I missed several times and I eventually ran out of rocks in my bag. I knew he was still up in his room, moping and doing his best to ignore me. I would not be outlasted! I tried to find and collect any rocks that were around, including the ones that had missed his window and fallen back on the ground.

I suppose it could be argued that I was doing this the difficult way, that I could just go up and talk to him. With the right words, it's easy to get Kili to come around. Too easy. And besides, where's the fun in that?

After I had a few handfuls of little stones, I began tossing them into the window again. I knew just how Kili would react. He would come to the window and would pretend to be mad, but then he would let me convince him to come down. It never failed.

Sure enough, as I began to run out of stones, a very angry Kili popped out of the window. He put his hands on the sill and looked down at me with an ice cold glare.

"Fili! Can you not just leave me alone?" He shouted down at me.

I could tell he wasn't pretending - He was genuinely angered.

I was taken aback by this. "I thought," I stammered, "I mean, I figured - I was just trying to cheer you up. It seemed like you needed it."

"I'm fine."

"No, you aren't. I know my little brother."

"Obviously not!" He scoffed, "Do you think throwing rocks in my window is going cheer me up?" He was furious, and soon, I was too.

"I don't know why you're so angry, Kili! You can't let those dwarves get to you."

"I can do whatever I want!" He shouted at me. "It's my life!" With that being said, he slammed the shutters.

I couldn't believe him. I stormed into the house. My mother was sitting on a chair, fiddling with one of our uncle's garments. She looked up at me.

"What was all that shouting about? Did you and Kili acutally fight?"

I did my best to act cheery. "No, no." I lied. "Everything is fine."

She gave me a knowing look, but merely replied, "Alright then," and went back to what she had been doing.

I was still angry. I gritted my teeth and clenched the banister as I walked up the stairs.

"Fili," my mother said, causing me to stop. This was trying my patience.

"Yes?" I said, slowly, through gritted teeth.

"He's your brother. It's okay for you to fight sometimes. Just put away your pride and put it right." She said, wisely.

I nodded ever so slightly and continued upwards, still as furious as before.

When I reached the top, I turned down the dim hallway and tested Kili's doorknob.

Locked.

I pounded on the wood. There was no answer.

"Kili," I growled, "grow up for a second and open the door."

I heard rustling and creaking of wooden boards. I head the latch and the twist of the knob. Kili opened the door.

"What?" He snarled.

I gestured towards his window. "What was that about?"

He showed me a handful of the stones. "What was that about? There are rocks all over my room! You can never just leave me alone, you're always trying to control me."

"That's not true! I was trying to help you get over your self pity and get out of the house!" I replied, indignantly and filled with ire.

"See?" He replied, still angry, "That's what I'm talking about! You took it upon yourself to take care of my problems! I don't need you to, because I can handle everything by myself!" Then he slammed the door.

I suddenly realized what this was about. The other dwarves had been teasing Kili that he was dependent on me and that we couldn't be separated. I guess he was trying to prove that it wasn't true. This didn't make me any less angry.

"I guess you just want to sit in your room and mope, then?" I shouted through the door.

"Yes! Now, go away!" He shouted back.

"Fine!" I turned on my heel and stamped down the stairs, ignored my mother, and walked outside. I kept walking, fuming and seething, until I was in one of our favorite spots.

Kili and I had done all sorts of things here. We had climbed - and fallen out of - the trees, we had swum and played in the brook, we had caught fireflies in the evening. I reflected upon all of this, and all of the days events, and with a heavy heart, I sat underneath the big oak tree.

The tree's branches spread above me, casting shade and peace. I closed my eyes and tried to be perfectly content, all by myself. But, it felt wrong without Kili. I felt like I had desecrated some sacred shrine, or broken a strong, but unspoken promise. And, in a way, I had.

Near my feet the brook bubbled by, murmuring to itself. It seemed eerier than usual, as if it were whispering tales of betrayal, loneliness, and loss. Stories that no ear could understand, only the brooke itself, as it rolled and tumbled over the stones that littered it's own residence.

Stones.

Why had I decided to through those stones into Kili's window? It had been a childish thing to do. A mature brother would have just gone into his room and talked to him. How could I ask Kili to grow up if I couldn't do the same myself?

I didn't feel angry anymore, I just felt sad. I guess I had been too angry and not understanding enough. How could I put this right? I remembered what my mum had said.

He's your brother. It's okay for you to fight sometimes. Just put away your pride and put it right.

I guess there was only one thing for it: To go back up to Kili's room and apologize. To put away my pride and do it the right way. The only way.

With no further ado, I stood up and dusted the dirt off of myself. I strode back to the house, much faster than I had walked away. I was ready to have my little brother back.

When I walked into my house, my mother smiled at me but said nothing. I hurried up the stairs and into the hall. When I reached Kili's door, I stopped. My hand lingering in the air, so close to knocking, but not quite there. What if I made him more angry? What if I made it worse? Again. I could just wait until he came down for dinner.

No.

I was going to fix this now. It couldn't go much worse than it had last time. With renewed confidence and courage, I rapped lightly on the door.

"What?" Came the muffled reply.

"Kili," I said, at a loss for words. Suddenly I blurted out, "I went to the brook...but I came back."

"Obviously," He said crossly.

"It's not any fun, all by myself." There was no reply. I hesitated. "Kili?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry," I said, quietly.

There was silence for a second. I held my breath. Had he even heard me?

"Me too." I heard him say, quietly as well. I exhaled, grinning. I heard him walking to the door. It swung open, and Kili smiled, then looked down at his boots.

"So," I said, "do you want to go back out?"

He nodded. "Let me go get my bow."

I groaned. "You aren't going to try shooting rabbits again, are you?"

"Course I am. Why not?"

"Why? Because you almost shot my eye out last time."

He rolled his eyes. "Don't worry about it. I won't do it again."

I followed him down the hallway and watched him slide down the banister.

"Bye, mum!" He called, "We'll be back in a little bit!"

I ran after him, out the door and down the dirt path. But I stopped.

"Wait!" I called after him, "I have to do something!" I turned and ran back to the house. "I'll be right back!"

I ran back in the door and went over to my mother. She looked up at me, amused.

"Well, hi there!" She said, laughing.

"Mum," I panted.

"Yes?"

"I took your advice and put everything to rights with Kili."

"Heavens, boy!" She exclaimed, "It took you long enough!"

And with that, I ran back out the door after Kili, ready for whatever crazy adventures lay ahead. I was happy to know that for whatever was in store, I would have my little brother by my side.

THE END