Chapter Seven

Weeds

Kili

"Kili! Kili, wake up."

The brunette mumbled a quiet 'piss off' at the source of the bright and cheerful voice, and then proceeded to roll over in his warm bed, intent on slipping back into his slumber. The sleepy bliss only lasted for a few short moments before a somewhat heavy weight crushed the tiredness out of him.

"Ori! What on earth? What time is it?"

"It's nearly 8:30, lazy bones. Get out of bed!"

"It's Saturday," the brunette protested, still not daring to open his eyes, knowing they'd be painfully met with bright sunlight. "And I don't even have work today!"

"I know," the tiny man responded, and Kili could hear the grin in his voice. "Bilbo called a little while ago and asked for you, but of course Dori told him you were still asleep."

"What did he want?" Kili questioned, finally cracking open one eye to the bright room.

Ori shrugged. "Nothing in particular. He just wanted to know if you wanted to come over, I think. He said everybody in the house had the day off. Apparently that's quite rare."

"If Dori was the one who talked to him, how do you even know all of this?" Kili sat up, yawning, and squinted at his mousy-haired friend.

"You know Dori. He's a bit of a chatter box – told me all about the conversation only seconds after he'd hung up the phone."

Kili nodded in understanding, knowing exactly how Dori acted when he was in a particularly talkative mood. "I suppose I should call him back. It would be rude not to. He's been so nice to me these last few days."

"Are you going to go over there?" Ori asked, sliding off of Kili's bed to sit in a small armchair. He had a leather journal tucked under his arm, which he had on him at almost all times, in case he felt the urge to write. He was jotting something down more often than not.

"I'm not sure," Kili mused. "I've been around them quite a bit this last week. They probably need a break."

Ori huffed at the brunette, giving him a knowing look. "Stop being so self conscious. You're family to them, and Bilbo wouldn't have called if they didn't want you around. And to me it sounds like this Fili guy enjoys your company."

"Sure, but he already has friends. He doesn't need me around."

"Sure, but he doesn't have a brother."

Kili flushed and pulled a pillow into his lap, hugging it tight to his chest. "But we aren't brothers. We aren't even related – we're only cousins by adoption."

"But you could be more than that. Stop distancing yourself from people. You're my best friend, Kili, but you need some new people in your life. It would be good for you. You're too introverted."

"You're one to talk!" Kili laughed. Ori was the most shy, introverted person he'd ever met.

"I was born this way," Ori mumbled in his tiny voice. "You weren't. I think you'd be really outgoing if you would let loose and stop worrying. I see it in you, and I'm urging you, trying to give you the push out the door. You need to go out there and get a life."

Kili snorted. "So do you."

"I can't!" the little man exclaimed. "I'm going to be stuck here with my brothers for the rest of my life."

Kili perked up, suddenly remembering a conversation that Bilbo had had with Thorin the other night at dinner. "Hey, Thorin owns a bookshop too, you know. Bilbo also does management there, and he said they were hiring. Do you want me to ask about it for you?"

"Please!" Ori squeaked, jumping out of his seat in excitement. "I can't stay here any longer. I'll lose my mind."

Laughing, Kili nodded his head and slid out of bed. He moved towards the dresser and began rummaging for something to wear.

"So does this mean you're going over there?" Ori asked.

"You've given me no choice now, haven't you?"

Instead of calling anyone, Kili ended up walking to Bilbo's, deciding he needed the fresh air to help wake him up, and he asked Dori to call and let them know he was on his way.

About halfway through his walk, Kili was strongly regretting this decision. For the time of day, it was rather hot, and the sun beat down on the back of his neck, dark hair sticking to him in sweaty strands. Naturally, it was the one day he didn't have a hair tie on his wrist. The distance he had to cover was only about three miles, but that day he could've sworn it felt like ten.

"Kili? What on earth?" Bilbo greeted, opening the door to a sweaty, red-faced boy. "We could've picked you up."

Kili followed the man inside and shut the heavy door behind him. "It's fine. I'm used to walking," he panted, wiping at his brow and attempting to sound nonchalant.

"You could have at least worn shorts," Bilbo said, scoffing at Kili's dark jeans. He was glad he'd worn a tank top again and not the long-sleeved shirt he'd originally planned on wearing; Bilbo probably would have fainted.

The two walked into the kitchen, where Fili sat at the counter, sketching out what appeared to be a lone mountain peak. When he noticed them he looked up, a few strands of hair falling from his ponytail.

"Hey," he smiled at the brunette. "You look hot."

"Thanks," Kili replied, shocking even himself.

"Cheeky bastard," the blonde snorted, gesturing for Kili to take a seat next to him, which he did. "You know that's not what I meant. Is it really that warm outside?"

Kili nodded. "Haven't you been up for hours? I'm surprised you didn't know."

"Oh, no. Don't be under the impression that Fili is an early riser just because I am. If it weren't for me, that boy would be in a permanent slumber," Bilbo replied. His back was turned to them, since he was cooking something on the stove, but Kili could hear the fond smile in his voice.

"That's not true!" Fili protested.

Kili took a long look at Fili, just now noticing his grey tee shirt and flannel pajama pants. His tied-back hair looked an absolute mess, and he still had a tired glow about him. It was a sight to behold.

"Did you just get up?" Kili wondered, trying hard not to crack a smile at the older boy.

Fili mumbled something indiscernible and turned back to his drawing.

"Sorry?"

"I might have," the blonde spoke, clearer this time.

"I'm not judging," he assured him. "I would probably still be asleep if I hadn't had a wild Ori pouncing on me this morning. He never lets me sleep in."

"See?" Fili exclaimed at the back of Bilbo. "I'm not the only one."

The short man turned to them, a pair of tongs held in his hand. He was cooking bacon, Kili could now see. He thought it was a bit late in the day to be making breakfast but wasn't complaining. He loved bacon no matter what time of the day it was. "Why don't you just go upstairs and leave me to cook in peace?"

"Fine." Fili rolled his eyes, gathered up his drawing supplies, and hopped off of his stool. "Come on, Kili," he added.

Kili hopped down and scurried after the blonde, only a little reluctantly. He hadn't eaten yet, and the smell of Bilbo's sizzling bacon was only making him hungrier.

"Have you eaten yet?" he asked Fili as they trekked up the staircase.

"Nope, but if I'm not mistaken, Bilbo is making BLTs for lunch, so it shouldn't take long. Have you?"

So that explained the bacon. Kili shook his head, forgetting that Fili couldn't see him. "No," he finally sighed, realizing his blunder.

They entered Fili's room and the older boy eyed Kili from where he'd taken a seat on the bed. "Are jeans the only thing you own?"

Nodding, Kili crossed his arms self-consciously. "Besides a pair of sweatpants."

"I think Bilbo expects us to help do yard work today, now that summer is around the corner. He's already got Thorin outside mowing the lawn. You can borrow a pair of my shorts."

The brunette highly doubted that Fili's pants would fit his slender waist but didn't bother mentioning it. Instead, he sat on the soft, carpeted floor, taking in the sight of Fili's room for a second time. It looked almost the same as before, but something about it felt different.

"You cleaned," he finally observed out loud.

Fili pulled his hair out of its ponytail, running his fingers through the tangled curls in an attempt to tame them. "A little bit. I like to keep things organized."

"You'd die if you lived with me," Kili replied, watching the hypnotic motion of Fili's hands.

"I doubt it. I work with Tauriel. She can be an absolute mess sometimes," he smiled.

Before Kili could reply, Fili continued on. "Speaking of living with you, are you ever going to live here?"

Kili could've been mistaken, but Fili's tone had almost sounded hopeful, which sent a small rush of blood to the brunette's cheek, and the newly warmed place in his heart swelled. "I-I'm not sure," he stuttered, staring down at his lap.

"Talk to me," Fili said, his tone firm.

Kili gave the blonde a would-be innocent look, but Fili wasn't buying it. "I'm eighteen years old," the younger eventually sighed. "I'm too old to be dependent on my uncle."

Fili snorted, crossing muscled arms over his broad chest. He eyed Kili with amusement. "Kili, you've never depended on anyone. It's about time you do so. And look at me! I'm twenty two – almost twenty three – and I still live here. I don't think Bilbo would let me leave, even if I tried to."

Instead of responding, Kili chewed his lip, which was a nervous habit. Fili clearly notice it and continued on.

"We have plenty of room. There are two bedrooms that are completely unoccupied."

The brunette looked up, locking his brown gaze with fierce, blue eyes. "It would be nice to get out of the bed and breakfast. It reminds me too much of the orphanage, even though they're hardly alike. It's just that I've never had a real home."

"And it's about time you had one." The blonde said it with a sort of finality, ending the discussion, and stood from the bed. He then walked over to his closet, opened it, and stepped inside, probably in search of some clean clothes.

Kili watched Fili flit about his closet with a strange sort of fascination. The blonde still had a sleepy look about him whilst he tossed articles of clothing onto his bed, creating a small pile. First a pair of clean boxers came, followed closely by a white tee shirt and a tan pair of shorts.

"Here," the blonde called, tossing Kili a smaller pair of denim shorts and belt. "Those are pretty tight on me, so you can keep them if they fit."

Kili nodded and continued watching as Fili exited the closet and moved towards his fresh pile of clothes on the bed. It was when he peeled his shirt off that Kili finally looked away.

"Oh – oh, um… I'll go now," he stuttered, clutching the shorts to his chest and pushing up off of the floor to stand up.

Fili let out a quiet laugh and snatched up his own clothes. He moved towards the door, holding a hand up towards Kili to stop him from progressing, and opened the door. "It's fine. Sorry, you stay here and change. I'll go to the bathroom."

Kili nodded, knowing his face was bright red, and watched the blonde exit the room.

Cursing to himself, the brunette began working his pants off. Kili was mortified by the way he acted around the blonde, not understanding why he couldn't keep it together. Kili was comfortable with himself usually – he wasn't ashamed of his sexuality, although he usually didn't like to talk about it with other people, but that didn't explain his behavior around Fili.

Sure, the guy was attractive, but he was also supposed to be family to Kili, and he barely even knew him. Yet nobody else had ever made Kili feel so smitten. Would it prove to be a problem? Most likely. But the brunette didn't want to think about that yet.

After slipping on the shorts, which were only slightly too big, he left the room, feeling too uncomfortable to stay any longer, and he really didn't want to be stuck alone with Fili anytime too soon again. As he hurried down the stairs, the savory smells of lunch became stronger and stronger. When he entered the kitchen he was overjoyed to find a stack of sandwiches on a platter, accompanied by a small plate of avocado slices and a pitcher of iced tea.

"Eager to eat?" Bilbo smiled, wiping down the stove with a wet rag to rid it of any mess. "Feel free to dig in."

"Are we eating in the dining room?"

The older man shook his head. "It's such a nice day out – I figured that we would eat out back. There's a small table out there. Plus, we don't need Thorin coming in and tramping dirt and grass through the whole house."

Kili chuckled, and then Fili entered the kitchen, silencing him almost immediately. If anyone noticed his sudden embarrassment, they didn't mention it.

"I didn't find you when I went back to the room," Fili spoke, running a hand over his fresh, neat ponytail, "So I figured you followed your nose."

"Why don't you boys bring this food outside and get started? I need to go change," Bilbo said before Kili had the chance to stutter out some stupid, nervous response.

Fili nodded and grabbed the sandwiches and avocados, followed closely by Kili and the tea. The pair went outside and laid everything down on a round, glass table. It had an umbrella attached to it, effectively blocking out most of the harsh sunlight. The two of them sat and watched as Thorin finished the lawn, and shortly afterward Bilbo joined them again, and everyone was ready to eat.

Like the dinner Bilbo had served them earlier that week, the BLT's didn't disappoint. After eighteen years of eating practically nothing but orphanage meals, almost anything tasted like heaven, but Bilbo's had a certain quality to it that made the food better than anything he'd ever tasted; perhaps, Kili thought, it was the amount he cared about his family and the meals that he fed them.

After eating, Bilbo had them get straight to work. Fili and Kili were assigned the job of pulling all of the weeds along the fence line and the edge of the house, and Bilbo made himself busy tending the garden and flower beds while Thorin sanded and stained the porch swing and the end tables on either side of it.

"Do you happen to have a hair tie?" Kili asked as they began working. Fili had already pulled his golden hair back, but Kili's was beginning to stick to the back of his neck under the blazing heat of the day.

Fili pulled a tie off from around his wrist and handed it to him, a kind smile gracing his lips. "You're lucky I'm so prepared. I have to carry hair ties everywhere, because they always break when I'm tying back my hair."

Kili took the offered tie and pulled his own hair back into a messy bun. He preferred it to a ponytail. "Maybe because you have so much," he laughed in response, tugging on Fili's ponytail once he was done messing with his own dark locks. "It's really thick."

The blonde cleared his throat and smiled bashfully, but didn't respond, so the two of them went back to the forest of weeds along the border of the house.

The two of them ended up getting lucky, finding that the majority of the dirt was quite soft, causing the weeds to pull easily from the ground. In a short time they managed to pull six trash bags between the two of them, and on a quick inspection they decided they were a little under halfway done and decided to take a break.

After moving their filled bags to the front of the house, next to the trash cans, Kili followed Fili as he made his way towards the porch table again, stretching his arms over his head, reminding the younger boy of a cat. As he did so, the tattered white tee shirt he was wearing lifted, revealing a small section of the blonde's lower back. Kili couldn't help but stare at the warm, golden skin and the two dimples that were indented just above his waistband.

The blonde turned to Kili and dropped his arms. Noticing the brunette's sudden flush, Fili asked, "You okay?"

Kili looked away, nodding briskly. "Fine. I'm fine, perfectly fine."

"Alright," Fili chuckled, pouring himself a cup of lemonade. "Do you want water, lemonade or tea?"

Kili observed his options for a moment and ended up saying, "Water."

Instead of heeding his response, Fili poured a second cup of lemonade and offered to him, much to Kili's confusion. "I said water."

"Right," Fili grinned before taking a sip of his own cold drink, "but we both know that you want lemonade."

"You might be right," Kili mumbled around his cup as he drank.

Fili drained his beverage and set it back down on the glass table. "You never seem to ask for anything that you think could be an inconvenience," he observed, crossing his arms.

"It's how I was raised," Kili shrugged. He suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable, although not unappreciative. "You can't ask for a lot when you're raised in an orphanage."

To Kili's relief, Fili didn't spare him a pitiful look. Kili hated it when people felt sorry for him or treated him differently, simply because he was raised without parents. He'd still been educated, fed, had friends, and did a lot of things that other kids got to do. Instead of pity, Fili just gave him a look that was nothing but excited.

"That ends now," the blonde spoke, throwing an arm over Kili's shoulder to march them back over to where they'd left off on the weeds. Kili barely had time to put his cup down. "You can ask for anything you want now. I can't promise you'll get it, but there's a good chance. We can't spoil you too rotten, after all."

"I'll hold you to your word," Kili teased. When he let himself relax, it wasn't very hard to be comfortable and friendly with the older boy. Maybe he'd have the brother he had always wanted, after all.

Fili laughed, a full rich sound that was thick with joy and friendliness and laced with pure mirth. "I'll do my best to fulfill all your wildest wants, I promise."

Kili's teasing smirk fell from his face, and he dropped his chin to his chest, head bowed in the attempt to hide his sudden embarrassment. If he was going to spend more time with this family - with Fili - he was going to have to try and work on his wild emotions.

It took the four of them the majority of the day to finish all of their yard work, and as Fili and Kili pulled their final weeds, the sun had just begun to set. The two of them were beyond dirty, sweaty and disgusting, but Kili couldn't deny that he had had a bit of fun. A couple of hours prior to finishing, the two boys had made quite the mess of dirt and weeds when Fili had decided to chuck a dirt clod at Kili's head. Hell-bent on revenge, the brunette had upturned his back of weeds over the top of Fili, and before long the two were wrestling around, peals of laughter drifting across the yard. Bilbo hadn't allowed the situation to last long, and the two of them had ended up with an extra hour of work, but Kili personally thought that it had been worth it.

Since it was growing so late, Thorin suggested that they go out for dinner, and nobody was in disagreement with that. Everyone showered and changed first, and Kili was happy that the house was so big and they didn't have to take turns. He ended up showering in the bathroom closest to Fili's room and had almost ended up having a fit of laughter over the irony of his life. Only a few months ago he'd been living in an orphanage, showering under lukewarm water with an old bar of soap, and now he was standing under a steaming pound of hot water, fresh from a shower head made of gold.

The brunette was reluctant to get out, but his grumbling stomach forced him to turn the water off and wrap up in a plush towel. He'd brought his underwear and the jeans he'd been wearing that morning into the bathroom with him, but only just realized that he couldn't put the shirt he'd been wearing back on. His poor tank top was smeared with dirt and grime, and smelled no sweeter than a dirty wrestling uniform. So Kili ended up pulling on his underwear and jeans, wrapped the towel around his head, and shuffled down to Fili's room.

"Yeah?" came the blonde's response when he knocked on the door.

"It's me," Kili replied. "I have a predicament."

Fili flung the door open and smirked and the shirtless boy that stood before him. "Oh, dear. You haven't come to ask for something have you?"

Kili rolled his eyes, remembering their earlier conversation. "I have, actually. I need a shirt."

With a short nod, Fili turned around and marched back into his room and to his dresser. He dug around for a moment, muttering something under his breath.

Kili watched appreciatively. Even though he subconsciously knew he shouldn't be thinking it, he couldn't help but admire Fili every time he saw him. The blonde was now wearing a dark red tee shirt and jeans, which fit his sturdy frame perfectly, and his wet hair was hanging past his shoulders, growing curlier and curlier in the spots where it had begun to dry. Kili even spotted a few perfect ringlets in the short, fine hairs that framed Fili's face.

"Here."

Kili was pulled from his thoughts and grabbed a blue sweater out of Fili's hands. "Isn't it too hot for a sweater?"

Fili snorted and grabbed a dark, leathery jacket and shrugged it on. "It's not that hot. The evenings are still pretty nippy, and knowing Thorin we will probably go to a pretty nice restaurant. That sweater will look good on you. Plus, it's one of the smaller articles of clothing I own."

"Thanks," Kili mumbled, slipping the sweater on and causing his towel to fall from his head. It was beyond soft and fit him just perfectly. It also carried the same dark, musky scent as his blonde companion, which Kili wasn't going to complain about.

"I told you," Fili nodded, taking in Kili's form. "But you're going to have to fix that hair of yours."

Leaning to the side, Kili was able to spot himself in the mirror over Fili's dresser, and the look of horror that graced his face was not missed. Fili chuckled and retrieved a brush for him to run through his dark hair, which was able to somewhat tame the wild tresses.

"I'm assuming you used the shampoo in that shower?"

Kili grunted.

"I figured as much," the older boy replied, eyes sparkling with mirth at Kili's reflection. "It always does weird things to my hair also. It makes it far too soft… almost cotton-like. I don't know why Bilbo buys it. Maybe it works better for him."

"I'd hope so," Kili mumbled. He set the brush down, deciding he'd done all he could to calm his hair. It was still curlier than usual, and had a few wild strands, but was mostly normal.

"Ready? Let's go."

Kili followed the blonde downstairs, where Thorin and Bilbo were waiting for them, and then the group went outside and clambered into the Fiat. Bilbo drove, which shocked Kili; he'd expected Thorin to be the one to drive between he two of them.

They pulled out of the long driveway and took off like a herd of turtles. They drove down lit city streets that Kili had never even been down before, and his face was all but plastered to the window, trying to take in the expensive scenery. When they finally came to a stop, Kili found that Fili had been right; Thorin had decided on an expensive seafood restaurant, and he was suddenly very grateful for Fili's sweater.

Since Kili had never been to the restaurant before, he let Fili order for him and ended up with a steaming plate of crab legs, melted butter, grilled shrimp and some green beens, nearly causing the boy to drool right in front of them all. Never in his life had he seen such a glorious plate of food.

As they ate, Thorin talked about his businesses, since Kili was interested, and they even discussed Kili's upbringing a little bit. Kili had spoke of the orphanage, his friends and school, and the conversation only ended when the topic was switched to his parents. Thorin told the boy that his mother, Dis, would be really proud of him, but Kili hadn't been able to find it in himself to reply to his uncle.

As Thorin spoke of the bookstore he owned, Kili was suddenly reminded of the promise he'd made to Ori earlier that day.

"Hey, aren't you hiring there?"

Thorin nodded, his long, grey-streaked hair swaying. Kili hoped he'd have hair like that at his Uncle's age. "Why do you ask?"

"My friend, Ori, would really like a job there," he replied, and Thorin opened his mouth to respond, but Bilbo beat him to it.

"That's a great idea," the tiny man said, smiling happily. "Ori is such a sweet boy. He'd be perfect for the bookstore, but doesn't he spend a lot of time helping his brother at the bed and breakfast?"

"Yeah," Kili nodded thoughtfully, "but he really hates it. So he's ready for any excuse to get out of there for a while."

"That's understandable," Bilbo replied. "I'll give him a call tomorrow morning. That is, if Dori doesn't chat my ear off before putting the boy on the phone."

Kili laughed in agreement, understanding Dori's talkative ways almost as much as Ori himself. He'd grown up with their family and knew there was a good chance that Bilbo would never get to speak with Ori if his eldest brother was the one to pick up the telephone.

The remainder of dinner was mostly spent in a happy silence as everyone ate their warm food. By the time they arrived back at the house Kili was nearly seeing double he was so tired, and Fili insisted that he stay the night, which Kili eventually agreed to, under the conditions that he could sleep on the floor. Fili, who thought that was ridiculous, eventually convinced the brunette to sleep in the guest bedroom, eventually bringing the two to an agreement.

Even though they were both tired, they still ended up staying awake for a couple hours longer, wasting away the time by talking in Fili's room. Kili wanted to know all about Fili and the blonde felt the same about Kili, so they exchanged stories about high school and their friends, laughing at the funniest of the tales and feeling sorrow for each other at the sad ones. Kili hadn't ever grown to someone so quickly in his life, and honestly, it sort of terrified him.

Fili was in the middle of a story about the first time Thorin had taken him out to teach him how to drive, when Kili felt his lids sliding shut. It wasn't that he had no interest in Fili's story, but he was just so sleepy that it was nearly impossible to stay awake. Somewhere, in the very back of his mind, he felt horribly guilty, but the rest of him was perfectly content to slip into a deep slumber, right there in the chair he was occupying.

Fili continued speaking for a while, lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, before he noticed that Kili was asleep. The sight was mesmerizing. Kili looked so young in his slumber, almost child-like, and prettier than anyone Fili'd ever seen, although he wasn't sure if Kili would appreciate being called pretty.

Laughing lightly, Fili stood and retrieved Kili's sleeping form, sliding one arm behind the brunette's neck and the other behind his knees. For a moment he considered taking him all the way to the guest bedroom, like he'd wanted, but it seemed like a far way to carry the sleeping boy, so he opted for dumping him on his own bed instead. Then he pulled back the bedding and flicked off the light before crawling in next to Kili. Being a queen, the bed was large enough to easily fit both of them, and Fili figured that if Kili didn't move too much in his sleep, the brunette would never even know he was there.

With that final thought, Fili quickly followed Kili into a coma-like slumber, a small smile on his lips.