Wow, so yeah, here it is, the final chapter. Life got crazy with college and all but I honestly just didn't know how to finish this story so I sort of put it off until I forgot about it. Sorry for being a total d-bag, but thanks to everyone who hung in there. All the messages asking me to finish this story were what motivated me to actually write this bit. Also, sorry about the ending for everyone was read the books. I had to get that in there. This will probably be my last fanfic since my main output these days is literary analysis essays, but thank you to everyone who read/followed/reviewed/enjoyed my stories! Y'all are great! :3
The sky was a bleak, somber grey when Fili felt Kili finally stirring awake. He had held his younger brother close all night, feeling the comforting heat of Kili's breath on his chest, but repositioned himself further away when he began to hear the first signs of the Company waking.
Kili outstretched his fingers and upon not finding the touch of his brother's fur-lined vest opened his eyes, piercing Fili with their half-awake gaze. The two stared at each other for a moment, a silent preparedness and reluctant resolution passed between them then Fili's sad blue eyes broke away as he sat himself upright.
He could feel Kili's stare boring a hole into his back but tried to focus on the movement within the camp instead.
Standing up and shaking the dust and pine needles off of his bedroll, Fili began carefully rolling the fabric until it was nice and tight, then he folded it once, wrapped the rope around it, and tying it off, placed it inside his pack. He stretched like a cat, extending its claws and opening its jaw to reveal rows of sharp teeth, despite the fact that he was not the least bit sleepy.
After Kili's nightmare, Fili had laid awake all night, feeling utterly helpless and immensely guilty. Had everything really been his fault? Could he have prevented bringing sadness and harm to his brother by suppressing his irrational feelings? Fili stared at the cloud-covered pitch black sky for what felt like an eternity until the black slowly faded away into an ashy grey and the sun began to rise, hidden behind the mass of storm clouds that were still gathering.
'Storm clouds this early can never be a good omen,' Fili thought to himself gloomily as he tightened the drawstrings on his pack.
As though his own mind had suddenly gained a voice, Fili heard his thoughts echoed by an exasperated Ori.
"I barely slept a wink thanks to these rocks poking me in the back all night and now those awful clouds are going to make it even harder to get through the mountains!" he whined.
Fili's gaze, along with most of the other Dwarves and one particularly distraught-looking Hobbit, trailed from their campsite up, up, up the great hulking mass of rock and ice that was just a small fraction of the Misty Mountains. Dismay filled the hearts of the Company and Fili glanced back to see Kili paused in the middle of putting away his bedroll, staring weakly at the peaks.
"We want to reach the pass by sundown," Thorin said, his strong voice breaking up the huddle of frozen Dwarves.
Fili sighed and straightened up, walking over to stand next to the warmth of the morning campfire when Bilbo appeared at his side.
"Are we supposed to go through that?" he asked, pointing to the formidable mass of rock in front of them.
"Yes," Fili confirmed, concentrating on the flames.
"No, see, you didn't even look to where I was pointing," Bilbo snapped, eyebrows raised in annoyance "That. Right. There," he said again, jabbing his finger toward the Misty Mountains with every syllable.
"Yes! That. Right. There," Fili snapped back, his hair whipping around as he turned to face the Hobbit.
"Well then…" said Bilbo, rocking back and forth on his heels with his hands now in his pockets, lips pursed.
"Don't be so cross," Balin said, walking up behind the two, "it will be over before you know it!"
But Fili was not listening. Instead, he was watching Kili who, after packing up all of his supplies had looked around the camp and briefly caught Fili's eyes then stalked off into the woods.
Searching for Thorin and seeing him preoccupied drawing a map in the dirt with Dwalin standing next to him, Fili left the campfire without a word, heading after his brother.
"Where is he going?!" Bilbo sputtered, turning to Balin with an expression of confusion mixed with sheer terror.
Balin merely sighed and shook his head, hands clasped behind his back as he walked towards Thorin and Dwalin. Bilbo heard the old Dwarf mutter, "Youths," as he shuffled away.
"Best not to worry about those two!" Bilbo heard as a hand patted him on the shoulder. He turned to see the goofy smiling face of Bofur who, upon realizing that his hand was still resting on the Hobbit immediately grew a deep shade of scarlet and quickly found something incredibly urgent to attend to.
Bilbo watched as Bofur stumbled through the camp, almost tripping over the still-sleeping Bombur and nearly knocking the breakfast out of Gloin's hands. He chuckled a little bit then turned towards the place in the woods where Fili and Kili had yet again disappeared. What could they possibly be doing?
Fili sighed exasperatedly as he chased after Kili once more, pushing branches aside and ducking under fallen trees to catch up with him.
"Kili! Kili, we can't keep doing this!" Fili shouted, trying to shake off the vines that had twisted around his boot. "Augh!" he shouted, trying to kick free of the vines but instead accidentally sending his momentum forward, toppling himself to the ground. "Dammit, Kili!"
Finally wrenching himself free from the vine's death grip Fili stood up, huffing, looking wildly around the forest for his brother.
"Kili, we have to go back!" Fili shouted into the empty space.
"I don't want to," said a quiet voice.
Fili turned around and saw Kili standing behind him, looking so small even though he was the taller of the two.
"We have to," Fili repeated, moving towards his little brother.
"No."
"What do you mean, no?" Fili asked seriously, standing in front of Kili, whose eyes were fixed on the ground. "What about the quest?" he asked, trying to connect with those brown eyes. "What about Erebor? What about the treasure?"
Kili's eyes shot up and Fili was taken aback by how angry they looked.
"Treasure be damned!" he shouted. "You're what I want."
"Kili…"
"You're all I want," Kili said, his voice and eyes softening.
A moment of stillness passed between them and was suddenly broken by Kili's movement as he leaned down and held Fili's face between his hands, pressing their lips together. Fili grasped the blue fabric of Kili's shirt and pulled him in closer, returning the kiss forcefully. Kili pulled back slightly, resting his forehead against Fili's.
"Brother, I'm scared."
Fili sighed and closed his eyes, running his thumb along Kili's cheek.
"There's nothing to fear," he whispered.
"Don't lie to me!" Kili said, shrugging away from his touch. "There are goblins and orcs and giants in those mountains!"
Fili chuckled, despite the truth in his words. "You sound the same way as when Uncle used to tell you scary bedtime stories."
"Don't patronize me," Kili grumbled, "besides; he was right, wasn't he? He's always right," he said quietly, turning away from Fili.
"No, he's not." Fili stood up taller and grabbed Kili's hand. "Not about this," he said, bringing their lips together once more, trying to express all of his love in one kiss. Kili put his hands on Fili's hips, holding them close together as he leaned in further, his tongue in Fili's mouth. Kili gasped as Fili grabbed a fistful of the long dark hair and pulled back, exposing Kili's neck to the hot breath and trail of kisses that made his spine shiver and skin become covered in goosebumps. A trail was licked all the way up his neck and Kili brought their mouths back together, breathing heavily, meeting eyes with Fili.
"And I had thought of you as my sons," Thorin's voiced hissed from behind the two brothers.
Immediately their hearts plummeted as they broke apart to face their uncle who was standing before them, his face showing nothing but disgust. Shock, anguish, and embarrassment passed through Fili before the thick lump in his throat cleared and he could say anything.
"Thorin, I-"
"Do not speak," he growled mercilessly, glaring at one Dwarf then the other. Thorin ground his teeth together and shook his head before turning his back on the brothers.
"Uncle!" Fili shouted desperately, reaching out to catch Thorin's shirt, but Thorin spun around almost instantaneously, pushing Fili to the ground roughly.
"Fili!" the younger Dwarf shouted, rushing to Fili's side in the sparse grass.
"Don't call me that," Thorin growled, hatred pouring out of his eyes and his mouth. "I am of no relation to you," he spat at the brothers.
"You can't do this! It's not right," Kili shouted as he wrapped an arm across Fili's chest, protecting him.
"It's not right?" Thorin asked, still facing away from the boys. "Tell me, Kili, what is right about this? You and your own brother?"
"I love him!" Kili exclaimed, panting from fear and adrenaline.
"Love?! This is a perversion of love!" Thorin boomed, looking down on the two with revulsion.
"And what would you ever know of love, Thorin?" Fili snarled.
A heavy silence hung over the forest. No birds sang and no breeze swept through the trees. Only utter stillness existed, as if the whole world was holding its breath.
"You will finish this quest," Thorin said firmly, "and you will put an end to this, or I will make sure you never see your brother again."
The king looked massive to Fili from where he was on the ground and he saw something in his uncle's eyes that he had never seen before: heartbreak.
"Now get up," he said, before turning back in the direction of camp, leaving the two alone.
"Fili…"
"We can't," the elder whispered, sliding out of his brother's grasp, slowly standing up. After a single deep breath Fili began to walk, following the path that had been made by Thorin, leaving Kili on the ground looking helpless and utterly crushed.
Halfway up the mountain the rain hurled itself down on the Company and despite the exhaustion and the cold, Kili was glad because it meant that he couldn't tell if he was crying or not. Fili's entire demeanor towards him had changed since that morning in the woods. He was more distant than ever before, not even sparing Kili a single glance the entire time they had been miserably trudging up the mountainside.
Kili drug his feet a few paces behind his brother, knowing now that there would be a permanent distance between them. Thoughts flew through his mind incessantly, making him blind and deaf to the world around him.
He couldn't bear the thought of never seeing his brother ever again, but there was also a stabbing pain in his chest when he imagined living out the rest of his life, always an arm's length away from Fili, never being able to touch him or kiss him, to love him. His heart seized with pain and Kili stopped moving, looking down at his feet but unable to see anything as a clear image thanks to the tears clinging to his lashes, warping his vision.
Suddenly there was a loud crack that pulled Kili out of his mind. A giant chunk of rock fell out from under him and he was pushed back against the wall by Fili's strong arms, their chests pressed together roughly.
"Giants! Stone giants!" Bofur shouted as Kili stared in disbelief at the hulking mass of rock that was now moving towards them.
The Company began to move frantically, trying to get out of harm's way as quickly as possible, but they were no competition for the mountainside that split underneath their feet with a deafening sound like an explosion.
Kili looked at his feet once more, realizing that each foot was standing on one side of the ledge that was quickly moving apart. Panic filled his stomach.
"Kili! Grab my hand!" Fili shouted desperately, reaching out as far as possible since Dwalin was holding him back from falling straight down into the nothingness.
Frozen with fear, Kili watched, horror in his eyes as he drifted farther and farther from his brother.
"Fili…"
In a daze, Kili stared at the spot where he'd last seen his brother just moments ago, sure that the beautiful face stricken with terror would be the last thing he'd ever see. The giant stumbled sideways and a weightless feeling surged through Kili's stomach as they swooped through the open space, his vision a blur of rock and rain and flashes of lightning.
Boulders and chucks of stone flew everywhere as an incredibly massive rock plummeted into the abyss and Kili realized slowly that it was the head of the giant, leaving them utterly helpless, without a chance of anything except being crushed to death.
Kili closed his eyes as half the Company screamed, careening head-on into the opposite rock face. With an enormous crash, he was thrown off his feet and, toppling over himself, landed flat on his back, having all the wind knocked out of his body. Pieces of rock were on top of him and dust was circling everywhere and Kili was sure he was dead…until he heard a voice calling his name.
"KILI!"
His head pounded and he could feel hot, sticky blood sliding down his cheek, dripping onto his shoulder.
"KILI!" the voice called again and suddenly his black vision was replaced with the face of Thorin, looking stark white, all the blood drained from his face. Thorin frantically swept all of the debris off the young Dwarf and immediately began checking him for injuries.
Another figure bounded over the rubble and dropped down next to Kili, touching his face gently.
"Fili," Kili whispered, "I thought I'd never see you again."
Fili chuckled lightly, tears pooling in his eyes.
"You can't get rid of me that easily, brother."
The briefest moment of hesitation restrained the two but was shattered by their hug, Kili refusing to let go. He couldn't be left alone again.
"Thorin," Fili said, quietly, looking into the grey blue eyes.
"I was wrong," Thorin said, his voice thick with regret. "I was so wrong. You two are my blood, my sons; all I could ever wish for is your happiness."
"Uncle," Kili whispered with admiration in his eyes behind the dazzling tears.
"I cannot lose either of you," Thorin said, gently placing a hand on each Dwarf's shoulder, "and if this is your happiness, I will not deny it. You have my blessing, Fili and Kili."
With dignity, Thorin stood, looking as though a thousand pounds had been lifted from his back, the heartbreak in his eyes completely vanished. He gave his nephews one last glance, smiling slightly before moving off to check on the other members of the Company.
Fili and Kili looked at each other in a stunned silence before bursting out in a fit of laughter. Relief flooded through both of them like a heavy rain after a long drought.
"Promise me we'll never be separated again?" Kili asked, looking deeply into those crystal blue eyes he'd thought he'd lost.
"Never," Fili sighed, leaning in to kiss Kili with all the adoration in his heart.
On that mountain, in the rain and wind, surrounded by all the dangers of the world, Fili and Kili felt like they were immortal.