Thorin paused just out of sight, content for a moment to just watch his nephews play. Fili was directing the play of a number of young ones, Ori at his right hand nodding shyly along with whatever Fili was saying, and Kili close by who was throwing himself into the game with happy abandon. Dori and a few of the women were close by, watching the children play o as to free up as many of the adults as possible to help with the digging and fashioning of their new home.
Young Bombur had made himself indispensable, presenting some charcoal drawings he had made of halls and rooms on the journey, each one simple but elegant in their way, and none of them filled with the awkward gilt of the old halls, which meant construction would be easy enough. Thorin had offered the youth a smile and accepted the drawing, passing them to Balin to see if they could be made reality.
Months had passed and construction was well on its way and the Mountain was slowly becoming a home to them once more.
Kili had stopped panicking when he left them with the other children and begun trusting that Thorin would be coming back for him before bedtime, and when his brother had settled Fili was much happier as well. And at last Thorin had the time to go to the newly constructed Kings forge, and with the first of the iron found in the mountains he had made the first forgings of his new home.
Into Fili's he had poured his hope for his heir, his wish that the boy would continue to be good and kind and loving. That he would grow to be strong and wise. That he would be free of the curse of the Durin line, free of the the gold sickness. He gave his prayers that his Fili would be forgiving, because Thorin knew he would often be harsh though he would not always mean to be. But most of all he poured his love into the metal, because Fili was the child of his heart, and had things been different he might have called him son. They had found each other through strife, and had built a bond that would tie them together forever.
Kili's had been harder, not because Thorin loved him any less, but because Kili himself was difficult to pin down. Kili was a force of nature all his own, thrusting himself into lives and refusing to let go. So Thorin had taken that thought and let it run through his arm and into the metal. His wish for Kili was that he didn't change, that he stayed just as he was, loving and loyal, that he would stand by his brother in bond for the whole of their lives. His hope was that his nephew remained free. His prayer to Mahal was that Kili would be forgiving. And he poured his regret and sorrow into the metal, an apology that he hoped Kili would recognise and overlaid it with unconditional love.
They sat heavy in his pocket, two Princes Seals, that would close the bond between the three of them, but Thorin felt not their weight, for they did not drag on his heart, but lifted it. He stepped from his place of observation and waiting for his nephews to see him.
"Uncle!" Kili yelled, as always the first to notice anything new. "F'li! Uncle!" and he caught his brothers arm and pulled him from the game. Fili did not protest and allowed Kili to pull him to their uncle.
"Hello Uncle." Fili greeted with a grin.
"Fili, Kili." Thorin greeted them in return before giving in to Kili's insistent demands to be held, dropping his free hand on Fili's head warmly and Fili grinned up at him happily. "Come now, we need to get home." he said.
The return to the rooms that had been dug for them was met with half nods and knowing looks from Dwalin, Oin and Gloin, and even Bofur hid a grin behind his hand like he knew what would be happening tonight. Balin gave him a proud look, with a gleam in his eye that said plainly "I told you so", which Thorin ignored.
The ceramony itself would wait for another day, but tonight it would be made official.
Thorin's life would begin anew, and the past and future could wait a little longer, because he wanted, just for a while, to enjoy what he had.
