Chapter Six
Red Wine
Fili
The next day at work, Fili was finishing up on his last client when Tauriel decided to come and bug him. The girl Fili was tattooing didn't seem to mind the red-head's presence, so he didn't bother telling her to go away, although he sort of wished she would. It was difficult to focus when she started to chat him up like a mad woman.
"What's that?" she asked, peering at the tattoo. She was moving her head every which way to try and see around his hand.
"It's a name."
"Who's name?" Tauriel insisted.
"My daughter's," the client answered. "Her name is Evangeline. She was just born a little over a month ago."
Tauriel gave the other woman a bright, genuine smile, excitement lighting her face. "That's a pretty name! I hope you know, though, that Fili spelled it with two L's."
The girl's face changed to shock and horror while Fili shot his friend an angry glare. "No I didn't," he responded. "She's just teasing you."
His client relaxed, and the blonde put the last finishing touches on his work. Then he wrapped and bandaged the tattoo, giving the woman instructions on how to care for it, and sent her on her way.
"Is it really necessary to scare my clients?" he questioned Tauriel as he began cleaning his work area and preparing to close up the shop.
"No," she shrugged. "But it's fun. So what's this I hear about Kili joining the family? You never tell me anything, anymore!"
Fili glanced up at the redhead, shocked by the change of topic. "How do you know about that?"
"He told me," she replied, rocking back and forth on her heels, her tattooed arms crossed behind her back. "I was talking to him on the phone last night."
"I didn't realize you guys even talked," the blonde stated with a lift of his brow. "And it's not as if I had the chance to tell you about it. It was just yesterday that we found out he's Thorin's nephew, and it all happened so fast."
She threw her hands up in frustration. "You had all day today!" She exclaimed. "We even took our lunch break together, and you didn't even tell me then. Were you ever going to?"
Fili bowed his head in slight embarrassment at being called out. Tauriel was right, after all. And she was one of his best friends. She deserved to know. "Eventually…"
Tauriel took a seat on the bed his client had been previously lying on and grabbed Fili's large hands with her own, slender ones. "Remember that you can come to Legolas or I for anything. I know that you aren't upset about Kili joining your family, but it's still a huge change for you, and I can't imagine that you don't want to talk about it… or at least celebrate."
He nodded, a few of his honey locks falling from his ponytail. Tauriel released his hands and pushed the strands behind his ear and then helped him finish cleaning, and suddenly Fili remembered why he loved her so much. Sure, she could annoy him every now and then, and she could be completely blind sometimes when it came to certain people, but she understood Fili. She could see right through him and be exactly what he needed or help him work through any problems he was having. Or she could simply be there to support and enjoy life with him.
As the two finished up and went back to the front of the building, Fili linked his arm through hers and gave her side a light nudge. "Hey, Tauriel, thanks for being my friend."
"I'll always be your friend," she replied.
"Are you two ready?" Legolas asked, hopping off of the front desk and slinging a small backpack onto his shoulders. "The sooner we get this over with, the better."
"Why do you continually invite us over if it causes you so much stress?" Fili asked, pulling the tie out of his hair. His ponytail had begun to give him a headache.
"Because I keep hoping my father will learn to act normally. You both have been coming over for years, and he still acts like it's your guys' first time every time! He's impossible."
"We're used to him," Tauriel said, pushing through the front door with the boys following closely behind her. Legolas was the last one out, and he turned to the door and locked it with one of the many keys on his key chain, tugging on it once just to make sure it was properly locked. "So there's no need to worry so much. We're immune to his flamboyant ways."
Legolas scoffed. "I'm not used to his flamboyant ways, so there's no way that you are."
"You're not so manly, yourself. You, of all people, should understand your father best," she retorted, flipping her long red hair over a shoulder, a smug smirk gracing her delicate face.
"Hey!" Legolas exclaimed, shooting the girl a hurt expression.
Fili decided to interrupt before a fight could break out. "Why don't you both just be quiet until we get to the house? There's no need for you two to bicker the whole way there."
They both huffed at him but didn't respond and pointedly avoided looking at each other. Fili sighed. It was going to be a really long evening.
If there was one word to describe Legolas' house, it was 'fabulous.' This wasn't exactly due to Legolas, however, but more to his father. Thranduil was as tall and striking as he was flamboyant and dramatic. Fili, to be honest, wasn't sure how Legolas had managed to come into this world. He had never met the blonde's mother, and his father seemed far too gay to have ever been with a woman, but Fili wasn't pointing any fingers or making any assumptions. He was simply trying to understand but didn't want to ask Legolas, fearing that he might offend his friend.
Tonight they sat at the luxurious dining table, feasting upon lamb and various greens that the personal chef had prepared, and they each had a dainty glass of red wine, which Fili hadn't touched. Thranduil was droning on and on about some drama that had taken place at his salon today. Most of what he was saying was lost on Fili; going in one ear and out the other.
Thranduil, like Thorin, was a business owner, but he only owned one shop, which was a high-end salon, named 'Mirkwood Salon.' Thorin, too, owned one, which wasn't far from Thranduil's, and it was named 'Bag End Salon.' Legolas' father had considered Thorin his mortal enemy ever since, which, of course, was very dramatic of him, and he often argued with Legolas about his job, suggesting that he should quit and come work in the salon, considering it 'wasn't fitting for his perfect, little prince to be employed by such a nasty man.' Legolas refused to work for his father, though, claiming he'd rather pitch himself off a cliff.
"Fili, you haven't touched your wine at all. Are you not pleased with it?"
Fili tuned back into the conversation, slightly thrown by Thranduil's random comment on his behavior. He cleared his throat before responding. "No, it's fine. I'm not really in the mood for wine is all."
The older man scoffed at Fili, as if he couldn't possibly imagine being in such a mood. Looking back, he couldn't remember having a dinner at the house of Thranduil that didn't involve multiple glasses of red wine – it might as well have been a permanent table decoration.
"If you're positive," Thranduil sighed, "I'm sure a glass of water can be arranged for you."
Fili held his hand up in protest. "No, I'm fine. Really. I'm not thirsty."
Legolas' father tilted his blonde head in acknowledgement and went back to his dramatic tale, but it didn't last long before there was a knock at the door, jolting everyone at the table.
"Were we expecting another?" Thranduil asked in his regal voice, one thick eyebrow quirking upwards.
"I-I don't think so," Legolas replied, just as confused as his father.
"Lara, would you please get the door," Thranduil called. A moment later Fili saw the housekeeper walk past the dining room doorway and make her way towards the front door, feet shuffling swiftly across the soft shag carpet.
Everyone waited and listened as the door was opened. A quick greeting was exchanged, and then they heard Lara returning, a second pair of feet shuffling much louder than hers. Before the pair reached the dining room, Fili heard a man's bright laugh ring out at something the housekeeper had said, and Fili whipped his head around to stare accusingly at Tauriel.
"I didn't invite him," he said firmly. It wasn't a question, but she answered him anyway.
"I know. I did. I thought it could be fun," she replied, crossing her arms in defiance.
"What on earth are you guys talking about?" Legolas asked, exasperation heavy in his tone.
Before either of them had the chance to reply, Lara entered the room with a cheerful-looking Kili, a small grin plastered upon her own face. Fili had yet to meet someone who didn't smile in that boy's presence. Both of them stopped in their tracks, however, as soon as they saw the expressions of everyone sitting at the table.
"Hello?" Thranduil greeted. "And who might you be?"
Kili's smile dropped at the man's tone, and Lara chose that moment to skitter away, muttering something about the bedrooms needing to be dusted. She probably recognized Thranduil's condescending tone better than anyone else, besides maybe Legolas.
"Uh...Uhmm…" Kili stuttered out, wringing the bottom of his red tank top in his hands nervously. "I'm Kili."
Thranduil attempted a smile that looked more painful than necessary and then turned to Legolas. "Son, do you know this boy?"
The look Legolas was giving Kili wasn't at all too pleased, but Fili knew Legolas wasn't the type to completely disrespect someone out of jealousy, so he kindly responded, "We've met, but he's better friends with Tauriel."
"He's also my cousin by adoption," Fili threw in, causing Legolas to give him eyes as wide as saucers. Tauriel, apparently, hadn't spilled that information yet, like Fili had assumed. Great, he thought. Now he was going to get an absolute earful from his blonde friend.
"Oh? Did Bilbo's sister adopt him? He looks a little old," Thranduil responded, as if Kili couldn't hear him.
Fili shook his head and pushed his plate back, suddenly too uncomfortable to be hungry. "No, he's Thorin's nephew by blood."
The look of pure shock that crossed the older man's face almost made Fili feel smug, but the feeling soon disappeared when Thranduil turned towards Kili again, all but sneering at the scared brunette. Fili's protective nature suddenly spiked out of control, and Tauriel laid a gentle hand on his knee, under the table, probably recognizing his look of swelling rage.
"Please," Thranduil gestured towards the empty chair at the end of the table, between Tauriel and Legolas, still staring at Kili, "join us."
Kili visibly swallowed and nodded, moving towards the empty spot hurriedly. He kept his eyes downcast until he was settled in, and Tauriel leaned over to talk quietly to him. The redhead's obsession with Kili was slightly ridiculous, but at that moment Fili was grateful for it. Even Legolas gave Kili a kind smile and offered to get him something to drink.
Fili continued to focus on Thranduil, who was giving Kili a strained look, as if he was physically stopping himself from saying something rude. Thorin and Thranduil had never gotten along, due to their competitive businesses, but Thranduil had always been the more hateful of the two. Thorin's hate didn't go any further than Thranduil himself. He didn't have any problems with Legolas, and had even suggested in the first place that they should hire Legolas as their receptionist when the last one had quit.
"So why haven't we seen you around before, Kili?" Thranduil questioned, feigning friendliness. He took a sip of his wine and went back to his food, waiting for the youth to respond.
Kili's eyes still wouldn't meet Thranduil's, and he looked at a loss for words, so Fili answered for him again. "We just found out about him a couple days ago. Thorin didn't know he even existed."
Thranduil smirked at Fili's harsh tone. "And already you've grown so protective."
Fili almost growled, but Tauriel's hand, which still rested on his knee, gave him a hard squeeze, and he clenched his jaw to keep from replying.
After that, nobody really said anything, using their remaining food as an excuse to keep their mouths occupied. Tauriel and Fili both worked on dishing up Kili a plate of food, the boy thanking them repeatedly during the whole process.
Once they had all finished, Legolas loudly suggested that they head upstairs to his room, and the four of them jumped up from the table and raced out of the kitchen, uncaring about the heated glare Thranduil gave them as they did.
"I can't believe my father has such horrible manners," Legolas complained, shutting the door once everyone was safely inside his room. "Sorry about that, Kili."
The brunette shook his head, glancing around the room uncomfortably from where he was standing. "It's okay. I shouldn't have intruded on your dinner. I knew I'd be late, I should've just gone home after work, instead."
"No, you were obviously invited," Legolas replied, perching himself on his desk, much like he always did at the tattoo shop. He never seemed to use a chair. "You're always welcome in my home. A friend of Tauriel and Fili is a friend of mine, even if Tauriel doesn't tell me when she invites people to my house," he finished, frowning playfully at the girl.
Tauriel blushed. "I was going to tell you, I swear. It just slipped my mind."
Whenever Tauriel and Legolas bantered kindly with each other, it reminded Fili of the two when they had been freshman. Back then, the roles had been reversed: Tauriel had crushed on Legolas until their sophomore year, which was when she had decided to move on and had also come to the conclusion that Legolas was gay, even though Fili had sworn up and down to her that he wasn't. To this day, Fili regretted not telling Legolas about Tauriel's intentions when they were freshman, because the following year he ended up dealing with a head-over-heels Legolas. The two were impossible, but sometimes Fili could see Tauriel's old feelings resurface, and it gave him a glimmer of hope for the couple.
"Don't worry about it," Legolas easily forgave her.
Fili rolled his eyes at the pair, which nobody seemed to notice.
"Well, you don't all have to stand around," Legolas continued. "Sit down."
The group spent the remainder of the evening chatting with Kili, trying to get the youth to open up. The more the brunette spoke, the more everybody grew attached to him – even Legolas. He spoke about growing up in an orphanage and his best friend, Ori. He told a lot of funny stories, along with sad ones, and opened up very quickly once he realized that he was wanted there. Fili couldn't wipe the grin off of his face.
"So what are you going to do now?" Tauriel asked the brunette, sitting cross-legged on the floor, smiling softly.
Kili shrugged and chewed his lip. "I'm not sure. I'll keep working and save as much money as I can, and I'll probably stay at the Bed and Breakfast until I can afford my own place."
Fili frowned. Sure, he didn't know Kili very well, and they hadn't discussed the matter, but he had assumed that Kili would eventually move into the house. He couldn't imagine that Thorin and Bilbo would turn him away, and they had plenty of room, but perhaps the brunette didn't want that. He'd grown up without a family, and maybe he didn't feel the need for one now. Fili didn't think it was the proper time to bring it up, though, so he kept his mouth shut.
It was around 11:20 when they decided to call it a night, and since they had carpooled with Legolas from work, he was the one that had to take them home. He dropped off Tauriel first, because she lived the closest to him, and then he dropped off Fili. He offered to take Kili home as well, but the brunette insisted he walk home from Fili's place, claiming that it was only a couple miles away and that he would be perfectly alright.
Legolas said goodbye and then left Fili and Kili standing alone on the long gravel drive that led up to the house. The brunette turned to the blonde, and Fili couldn't help but notice that under the dark sky, Kili's messy locks looked a lot like the molasses Bilbo always used in his gingerbread cookies.
"I guess I'll see you again soon," the younger finally spoke. He had opened up quite a bit the last couple days, but he still acted very shy, and Fili just wished he would one day feel completely comfortable around him.
"You aren't walking home," Fili replied, grabbing Kili's shoulder in an affectionate squeeze. "I'll take you."
Fili began walking across the gravel, towards the Jeep, and he expected the younger man to follow him, but he didn't. Fili stopped next to the vehicle and turned to squint at Kili through the darkness. "Come on."
"I can't ask you to do that," he replied quietly.
Fili tried not to roll his eyes. Kili had his arms crossed and a downward tilt to his head, and even though he was taller than Fili, the way he held himself made him look small. Add that to his scrawny frame and obvious lack of self confidence, and he looked like the perfect prey for some creep wandering the streets this time of night. Fili felt his over-protectiveness kick in again, and he shook his head. "Look, Kili, I know you aren't used to people doing things for you, but you better get used to it now. In this family we help and support each other always, and this is no exception. I want to do this for you. So let me."
Kili took a long moment, staring at his feet, before replying, "It's fine. Please, I want to walk."
Fili strode forward, fed up with Kili's stubbornness, and grasped both of the brunette's arms. "Listen," he began, looking the boy directly in his chestnut eyes, "it's after 11:30 at night. Weird people wander the streets at night, and I don't mean to offend you, but you'd make a pretty good target for them."
Kili blushed so furiously that Fili could see it clearly through the dark, and he eventually nodded his head, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. "Okay," he mumbled, smiling bashfully. "you can take me home, but just this one time."
"Yeah, whatever," Fili sighed, releasing the taller boy before heading back to the car. "Just get in."
