A Gift for Kíli

Disclaimer: The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings and all characters therein are the property of the Tolkien Estate and Wingnut Films. This story is for entertainment only and the author is in no way profiting from it, nor exercising any claims to The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings.

Part X – Durin's Day – Father and Son

Durin's day morning brought a crystal clear sky. The sun rose slowly above the eastern horizon, still sending enough warmth to melt away the nightly swirl of snow grains and it turned the ice of the frozen puddles quickly into tiny sparkling ponds.

The village below woke and came to life. Smoke rose from almost every chimney, warming up the homes from the night's chilly tang. A variety of dainty scents of warm breakfast was carried softly with the morning breeze.

Corvin watched the valley from his roosting place under the new barn's rafters with wary eyes... and was bored. He stretched, yawned and then hunkered down again, ruffling his feathers. Being the only raven who'd come with Fíli from Erebor the bird felt lonely. He made a small noise deep in his throat, sounding like the raven version of a sigh. Flying all the way back to Erebor in the beginning winter wasn't an option, not for a single raven and it would have been stupid with a guaranteed nice safe place and ensured meals. And for sure he never would leave his dwarf friends without a pair of keen eyes. Corvin ruffled again to sit more comfortably, letting out a grumpy quork. Then he heard a distant noise. Instantly alert he sat up, tilted his head and listened. A low bird's call echoed softly from the uphill woods. Unmistakably a raven's quork! Excited Corvin spread his wings. By any chance he was not the only raven far and wide. May be I can make new friends Corvin thought, letting himself glide from his perch and soared away.

Inside the house everyone was bustling to prepare the evening's event. Everyone… except …

Kíli Jr. woke to a soft knock on his bedroom's door, newly shared with his brother. But Kári was nowhere to be seen. He rolled over, every limb feeling like lead. First he was too dizzy to think straight, wondering why his head had turned into a bale of hay. The whole thing resembled a hangover, but somehow he was sure that he hadn't drunk. Slowly and bit by bit it came back into his mind. Kári, his brother had given him something, something to sleep… and something for his head… Kíli Jr. flinched, Mahal, Kehleyr and I!

Someone knocked again. ''Kíli, lad? Are you all right? May I come in?'' His father's voice.

Kíli Jr. tried to untangle himself from his blankets. ''Yes father, I'm…" He obviously slept in …seriously…''I'm alright, come in!'' the young dwarf called.

Kíli opened the door and peered in. When he saw his son's attempts to unwrap himself of the mussed covers and get up he strode over with a few quick steps and pushed his eldest back onto his pillow by the shoulders.

''Easy, Kíli, easy. Hold your horses!'' his father reassured him. ''We don't want you to get more damage to your head.'' Kíli Jr. slumped back on his pillow, showing a weak grin.

Kíli sat on his son's bed, eying him mindfully from head to toe. Then he smiled warmly. ''Just wanted to check on your battle wound,'' he said, raising one eyebrow. ''How do you feel?''

Kíli Jr. frowned, and then blinked, trying to figure out how he truly felt. Slowly and tentatively he sat up, supporting himself on one arm and put the other hand over the left side of his face. Well knowing that declaring himself 'fine' wasn't the best idea under the given circumstances, he avoided the family-tabooed term. ''I… ,'' he hesitated, touching his cheek. ''I feel better,'' he finally said, looking one eyed at his father.

''Hmm,'' Kíli grunted, pushing his son's hand aside he took a closer look at his face. ''Thanks to your brother,'' he nodded approvingly. ''Kári did a good job. Nearly no swelling. Though, you're looking quite colorful.'' He grinned. ''Good to have two good healers within the family.''

Kíli Jr. smiled relieved, locking eyes with his father. They were silent for a moment.

''Would you like to tell me?'' Kíli asked his son.

''You didn't hear already?'' Kíli Jr. asked back doubtingly.

''Of course I have,'' he answered in a friendly tone. Kíli empathized with his son. How many times he'd felt like the lad right now when he was at his age? ''I just thought you may want to talk. And I've got to admit, I'm interested in your version,'' he added with an encouraging smile.

Version? The younger dwarf gulped, but his father's expression was far too cordial to fear a dressing-down. ''I… uh…,'' he struggled for words. ''Well, all right. You certainly noticed that I like her. Kehleyr I mean…'' Liking is an understatement, father, I know that '' I know I barely know her and I know that in our traditions the Choice is with the lass, and I know about my lineage, but I thought…I thought asking her for a walk won't do any harm… I thought, at least. I…it was a misunderstanding.'' He blurted. Then closed his mouth and looked at his father with an unsure expression, waiting for his reaction.

''I see,'' Kíli nodded and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He was pretty aware that this was a very short version of the whole affair. ''That's exactly what she told me, too.

Kíli Jr. jumped. ''SHE told you? You talked to her? When?''

''This morning,'' Kíli stated in a neutral tone, hiding his amusement. ''She talked to me when she passed the marriage petition on to me.''

''WHAT?'' The lad almost fell out of bed. He was really panicked now.

''Calm down,'' Kíli said. ''Don't worry, she…''

''But father, '' Kíli Jr. called. ''A marriage petition? That's…we…I…what...that's impossible, I mean, I barely know her…I…I just asked her for a walk...'' He hung his head, his long dark mane covering his blank despair.

''Hey,'' his father grabbed him by one shoulder, giving him a gentle shake. ''Stop this. Nothing happened, everything is all right.'' He tilted his head to get a glimpse of his scared son. ''Kíli, look at me.'' He shook his shoulder again.

Kíli Jr. looked up awkwardly, obviously embarrassed by the whole situation. He would face a horde of trolls alone with only his sword without a second thought. He would face almost everything. He didn't even fear a warrior lass he just met, a lass who hit him straight in the face to court him, a lass with flashbacks of an who knows what AU, a lass he still asked for a walk, well, something like a walk… But that was far too way-out to lead to a marriage petition, in his opinion at least. Let alone accepting it on the spot. That was too much. He felt trapped and miserable. But even if no one would believe him, he at least held some responsibility for the family honor. I would accept it if I must.

But still, there was a warm smile on his father's face, showing sympathy. ''Listen, Kíli,'' he spoke to his son. ''Be assured, Kehleyr doesn't feel any different or better about all this. She was deeply distraught for the lapse, hitting you. She might be a warrior, but I'm pretty sure the poor lass spent the whole last night talking to her fellow guards about dwarf customs, refreshing her knowledge about our ways. She just wanted to make everything completely right then and turned up with the most elaborate, neat marriage petition in dwarven history.''

Kíli Jr. blinked and gulped again.

''I appreciated her effort to follow our traditions by taking it serious and accepting it in the first place,'' his father went on. ''But I told her the following, and I tell you the same…'' Kíli paused, pulling his son towards him and pressed their foreheads together. ''The whole situation, this AU we are in here is a bit bizarre and I still have difficulties grasping the entire affair, '' he said quietly. ''And as much as I cherish her honorable demeanor and maybe your will to accept it: this was given to me, this is my story. I'm glad that I'm here, I'm glad that I live, that Fíli lives. And I'm glad that I have all of you, you, your mother, and your brother, and all I want in this place is my family to be happy.''

Slowly Kíli loosened the grip on his son's shoulders and leaned back to look in his eyes. Kíli Jr. returned his father's gaze, feeling that his father wasn't done.

''Traditions are good,'' Kíli continued. ''However, here and now I'm not the one to decide about your future by accepting this as a given fact. I think this is something between the two of you. And I mean both of you, the Choice and the decision.'' Kíli let go of his son's shoulders and smiled. Kíli Jr. couldn't quite believe his ears.

''If the two of you feel up to going ahead, it's up to you. I just would like to suggest if you do so, try without further bruises.'' Kíli grinned. (Shoulder slap)

Kíli Jr. looked down and smiled, his lashes hiding the happy shine in his dark, brown eyes. ''Thank you, father,'' he said softly.

''Very well then,'' Kíli said, giving his son an encouraging pat on the shoulder. ''I suggest you go, wash up and get dressed. Don't keep your lass waiting.'' Then he stood and headed for the door. ''She is downstairs with your mother,'' he added, opening the door.

''Oh,'' Kíli Jr. groaned and got himself out of bed. Kehleyr sitting in his mother's kitchen for the whole morning, waiting for him: not the best attempt to remedy the whole situation. He sat on the edge of the bed and gathered himself. ''Father?'' he called.

''Hmm?'' Kíli stopped in the doorframe and turned around.

''Would you tell me? I mean, would you tell me…one day. How it was?'' He glanced at his father with a questioning look.

''How was what?'' Kíli asked.

''How you and mother, how you met each other. Would you tell me?''

Kíli looked down with a thoughtful smile, assessing what to answer to his grown up son. He knew all too well that he was not there when the lad was born. ''Maybe,'' he finally answered, ''one day. But that's part of a different story, of another life. Let's focus on the here and now.'' He pondered for a moment. ''Be assured, something of your parents' story will match up with your little… misunderstanding." With another smile he turned and left the room.

...

AN: I promised to be back mid-September. So here I am. Lecture was great, judging by the audience's reaction. Now I'd time to write again. I hope you enjoyed Daddy!Kili and his son. Since this little story gained momentum and Kíli's family asked me for an appearance I wanted both Kílis, father and son to share a private moment.

Comments are always welcome.

Many, many thanks to summerald for removing the slight word salad I produced accidently during my intensive work to get this right. Thank you for being such a good writing buddy, here and on our shared project to translate your Erebor 3022 series. Visit her account for the original and our shared account summerundJessie for the translation. Until next time, Jessie.

...

..