Fili feels the cool air breeze over his naked back in the dim light of his room, and he cracks an eye open, the sudden cold waking him up. The curtains are blowing softly in the low wind; the light fluttering barely reaches Fili's ears. There's a clear sky outside from what he can see, but it's not yet sunrise, Fili thinks, as there's still the silvery-grey shadow lingering on the horizon where the night is disappearing. The fresh smell of dew wakes him up a little more, and he pushes himself up to rest on his elbows, vision blurred by the vestiges of sleep. He just lies there, not thinking about anything in particular, and relishes the silence for a few moments longer. Mahal knows that's about all the peace and quiet he's going to get today. The clock on the little table beside his bed reads 05:24AM, then below it: 22/7/12.
The twenty-second of July.
"Happy birthday, me." Fili groans, falling back into his pillow. He's never liked birthdays. No matter how much you try, the spotlight is on you and there's absolutely fuck all you can do about it. There's a niggling feeling in the back of Fili's mind, though, that this particular birthday is going to be quite a different story.
Sighing, he stretches his arms above his head and draws random shapes in the air to entertain himself for a minute or two, until his shoulders start to ache. He draws them back and yawns, debating on what to do.
He's deep in thought for a good few minutes, then a gentle knock at the door distracts him. If he hadn't been fully awake, he's sure he wouldn't have heard it at all. Whoever is on the other side of the door doesn't wait for an answer, however, and the door opens quietly to reveal a mop of messy brown hair falling haphazardly over two dark eyes, gleaming brightly in the gloom, and a wolfish grin plastered across his face.
Fili laughs breathlessly. Who else was he expecting at half-past five in the bloody morning?
"Kili!" Fili whisper-shouts as he grins and sits up, and Kili bounds over and onto the bed like an over-sized puppy. He's clutching two hastily wrapped presents and Fili is sure the grin on his little brother's face is lighting up the room.
"Happy birthday, brother." Kili pushes the presents into Fili's arms, and the blond sighs fondly, a smile working its way onto his face.
"Thank you, Kee." Fili chuckles, and begins to open the first one. It feels soft and plushy, and he's hard-pressed to work out what it is until he actually opens it. It's a plush lion toy, and Fili stares at it for a moment, face scrunched in confusion. He opens his mouth to say something, but Kili suddenly bursts out into a fit of laughter, only smothered by Fili's pillow.
"Your face!" Fili hears Kili snort, and he can't help himself and starts to laugh too. Eventually, Kili sits up and regains enough composure to get some coherent words out.
"It's a joke, man. Everyone calls you a lion-" Kili begins, until Fili looks at him in sheer horror. People didn't call him a lion, did they? Oh, Mahal. "-In a good way! Like, lions are strong and brave and shit. It's not a serious thing, it's a joke, like I said!"
"Who even calls me that?" Fili's lips stretch into an amused smirk and he stares down at the lion in his hands, staring back up at him with beady black eyes.
"I've heard Thorin say it! No word of a lie, and some others too. Mostly the family." Kili smiles. "I don't know, I thought it suited you." he shrugs, ducking his head. Fili laughs, the notion finally sticking in his groggy mind.
"Thank you, I appreciate it." he says, setting the lion carefully beside him. He reaches for the second present then, and peels away the paper. Inside, a black box lies, nondescript and plain. Fili glances at Kili, and sees that he's watching him carefully, an uncertainty to his eyes that Fili frowns slightly at, but he moves on and opens the box. There's a thin leather cord from which a sharp tooth hangs from, along with a burnished gold feather. It's a necklace, and Fili loves it, but just as he goes to say that, Kili butts in.
"That's a wolf's tooth. Look at it." Kili leans in and picks the necklace up so that the tooth hangs in clear view of Fili, who takes it in his hand and inspects it closely. There's a metal plate around the top of it, where the hook is to keep it attached to the leather cord, but there's something engraved in the metal, and Fili peers in for a closer look.
It seems to be a simple geometric pattern of sharp, bold lines that cross and weave under and over a main strand that runs through the centre. It looks almost Celtic in design, Fili thinks. When he turns the tooth around, the pattern changes and grows thinner, with more lines appearing, and the strict lines grow wilder and less geometric in design, curving elegantly around the band until they reach the beginning of the first pattern again. It's a full circle, and Fili can see no end or beginning; the pattern flows too well.
"Remember Thorin saying about our sigils?" Kili asks, and Fili nods, vaguely remembering Thorin's interest in their ancestors. Fili never cared for it. Kili grins and continues.
"Well those are ours. Yours is that one-" Kili points out the bolder lines, then he points to the wilder, thinner lines, "And that one's mine."
"Y-you actually researched this?" Fili asks in quiet amazement, still gazing at the intricate engravings, soaking up every detail.
"Yeah! Thorin didn't tell me much, but it was enough to go on. He showed me your sigil and what it meant, and he showed me mine too, but they were like…. intertwined together, one pattern on its own just looks odd. It's weird. It's like… you can't split them. Kind of like us, huh?"Kili flops back on the pillow, playing absently with the lion toy.
"Kili…" Fili feels a warmth blossom in his chest and he can't stop himself from engulfing Kili in a huge bear-hug, laughing as the younger yelps and tries to scramble away with no success. Kili relents eventually and grins to himself. He was just glad to have his brother back.
"I guess you like it, huh?" Kili asks when Fili finally lets go.
"I love it." Fili says quietly as he puts the necklace on, watching the tooth fall against his chest. He's about to say something then, but suddenly Kili has him in yet another bone-crushing hug and Fili can only laugh breathlessly, surprised.
"Kee, what are you doin'- man-" Fili snorts, limbs struggling uselessly in Kili's hold. He forgets how strong his little brother is sometimes. But the momentum sends them both toppling over the edge of the bed and onto the floor with a crashing thud that Fili really fucking hopes doesn't wake everybody else up-
"Ow!" Kili hits the ground first and Fili's sudden short bark of laughter is way too loud for this time of morning, Fili immediately clamps a hand over his mouth and Kili can't help but dissolve into helpless giggles, burying his face into a pillow that had fallen off along with them. They lay like that for a moment, and when no other sound comes Kili rolls Fili onto his back and grins down at him.
"We're good, right?" he asks after a moment, smile faltering.
"We're good." Fili reassures, smiling up at Kili who nods, but still doesn't move to let Fili up.
"And we'll always be good, right?" Kili presses, the crease between his brows deepening as concern washes over his features.
"Weeeelll-" Fili's sarcasm is quickly interrupted by Kili punching his shoulder, and Fili laughs gently at his brother's impatience.
"Why wouldn't we be? What's brought all this on, hey?" Fili asks, grin fading as he furrows his brow in concern, propping himself up on his elbows. Kili sits back then, giving his brother room to move. In all honesty, he doesn't know why he's asking.
He just wants that little bit of reassurance, he supposes.
"Hey-" Fili catches Kili's gaze after he ducks his head, "-we're good. You're my little brother and I'm stuck with you to the ends of the earth and back, whether or no. That good enough for you?"
Something settles into place for Kili then. It's like when he's been missing the last piece of a puzzle and he suddenly finds it, hidden away under the box or a coaster or a newspaper, and while the puzzle looks almost complete to anyone else, he knows there's something missing and until he puts it together it's not quite right. It's subtle but it makes the world of difference, and he can feel it.
Now, it seems he's found the missing piece.
Kili smiles in the gloom and looks up, bright copper meeting steel blue.
"Yeah. That's good enough for me."