*Snatches laptop away from muse and examines tooth marks mournfully. Glares at the ceiling and shakes off muse that has latched onto arm.*

*Muse slinks away and scarfs down mountain of food that Kili - yes Kili - donated.*

(Check the reviews for that last part. Someone wrote an entire script and I thought it was quite hilarious.) ;)

Like the weight of a mountain crushing his spirit, the pitying hand on Fili's shoulder proclaimed that which he would not accept. He refused to look behind him at Bofur's red rimmed, sympathetic gaze, for to see the evidence of tragedy was to accept that Kili was gone forever and nothing in the world would ever bring him back.

The realization stole the air from Fili's lungs in a crushing fist that was worse than a physical blow. Never again would Kili's impish grin ring through halls of stone, nor his wily pranks send the two brothers racing for their lives with Thorin bellowing after them. No longer would Kili's infectuous laughter cheer his heart on the gloomiest of days. There was no more need for Fili to shout his brother down from his high perch in a tree, nor to drag him from the verge of a cliff lest he fall. No more jokes and riddles, plate throwing contests or games of 'see who can annoy Thorin by being the most not-quietest'.

Never again would he be needed to carry a frightened Kili down from the hayloft, for the high spirited child with the flinty, daring eyes had climbed to heights where Fili could not follow. His baby brother was making this journey without him, and perhaps that was what hurt most of all.

A sob broke through, heralding a torrent of memories that bombarded Fili. Kili playing frog in the river before instigating a splashing contest that resulted in one of Balin's carefully written scrolls crumbling into soggy pieces. A still younger Kili cuddling up with only his eyes peeking out of a pile of blankets, as he and Fili huddled beside the roaring fire on a freezing winter day and munched stolen sweets while weaving tales of "cobdoblins" and "sporcs." Hide and seek games in the village, skirting around the human children and loudly proclaiming, "Only dwarves allowed!"

And then there were the kitchen escapades, which Fili remembered all too well. Fresh tears coursed down his cheeks and he wondered if he was losing his mind, as a ragged, broken chuckle forced its way through the pain. How he remembered their childhood drama, and how their poor mother would be driven nigh to madness by their erratic behavior; particularely when Uncle Thorin became involved.

"See, we sneak in an' grabs one, an' then we run back 'fore Mummy - erm, before the evil - but very pretty - globller ever sees!"

Armored in a sheepskin vest and a ridiculous floppy hat and brandishing a wooden spoon, Kili no doubt considered himself a most formidable figure. With his own small dagger and a dented helmet he had found in a trader's shop, Fili was half convinced that his brother was right. They were indeed a band of two rugged thieves, searching for hidden treasure and conducting a midnight snack raid on the unsuspecting - but very pretty - globbler commander.

"Okay... now!" Kili announced, making to spring from his hiding place and thwart Mewy the evil warg cat and her spawn before breaking for the luscious scents wafting from the kitchen.

"Whoa, hold on a moment!" Fili grabbed Kili's too-large vest and dragged him back into hiding, shushing him before the terrible warg-cat leader could notice their presence. "We need a strategy, remember? If we jump in now then Mum-the commander will see us and then the game's up."

"Right!" Kili agreed readily, eyes wide as saucers as he held a finger to his lips and hissed for silence. His all-too-serious expression was ruined by the hat ears that flopped comically in his eyes, and Fili had to muffle a chuckle.

"Shh!" Kili insisted, glaring at Fili for his impertinence before crawling on his hands and knees towards the table where golden brown treasure lay.

Fili was close behind, following in a more dignified manner and glancing about furtively for any sign of the kittens. One cry of alarm from the little rascals and they would be discovered. Their punishment? A fate worse than death. Scribes for Fili, and the chair in the corner where Kili would be doomed to sit for a full half hour. He did not think his brother could survive another session of torment, but it would be worth the risk if they could only lay their hands on the decadent treats awaiting them.

Kili made a final dash across open space, pressing himself against a table leg and nodding to Fili that it was safe to cross. Fili joined him with increasing nervousness, knowing that they had sparse seconds before Mother returned. Kili was now jumping on tiptoe and pawing at the cookies which lay just beyond his reach, growling in frustration when his grasping hand fell short of the warm deserts.

"Filiiiiii! I can't reach!"

"And just what is it that you are so determined to acquire, Kili?"

Kili whirled around with a gasp, clasping his hands behind himself as his breath came in short bursts of panic. Fili, too, stumbled in horror at their mother's curt rebuke. They had been discovered!

Dis regarded them with the raised eyebrow, the herald of doom that every young dwarf learns to fear by the age of three. Fili gulped hard and stepped to the side to hide Kili behind his back, plastering what he hoped was a convincingly innocent smile on his face.

"Um, we were just... heading... outside?"

Kili poked his head around Fili and nodded furtively, hoping their excuse would stave the wrath of the globbler queen. Dis folded her arms, avoiding eye contact with her youngest son with only the greatest of difficulty. She regarded their costumes with critical amusement.

"I take it you two warriors have a reason for being in the kitchen when I explicitely told you not to spoil your dinner?"

Their motives had been laid out on a stone platter, and Fili cringed as he realized there was no point in hiding the truth. Mummy hated it when her sons lied to her, and they were in enough trouble as it was.

"We were..."

"Practicing their stealth techniques as I told them to."

Never had Uncle Thorin's gruff voice been such a joy to hear. Fili and Kili whirled around as their uncle strode through the door, winking at them and snitching a cookie as he entered. Dis gave him the look and Thorin returned an unapologetic smile before taking a large bite, crumbs spraying all over his beard and giving him the impression of an errant child taunting the babysitter with a blatant display of audacity. Dis huffed and turned away in mock fury, a smile twitching at her lips as Thorin complimented,

"Delicious as always, sister."

"You will spoil your appetite," Dis rebuked. Fili had the impression they had held this argument before.

Thorin merely grinned, stuffing the rest of the cookie in his mouth before reaching for another.

"You should chew, first," Kili piped up, pointing out the rule Mummy made him obey at the dinner table.

Thorin faltered and glanced towards Dis, swallowing with an effort before questioning, "You always encourage him to disrespect his elders?"

Dis cover her face with her hands, moaning in dismay, "Kili, how many times must I tell you not to correct your uncle?"

"But he was smacking!" Kili argued. "An' he took two cookies when you only let me an' Fili have one! He'll ruin his apa-te-ti-tie!"

Thorin hid muffled snorts of laughter behind one hand, snatching two more cookies while Dis was distracted. "Listen to your mother, kid; do not correct your uncle."

"You are such a role model for them," Dis bit back dryly, daring him to make one more twitch in the general direction of the plate. Thorin knew better. There was a dough roller set aside for pesky intruding brothers and Thorin had been on the receiving end of his sister's temper more than once during his younger days.

Tapping his nephews on their shoulders Thorin nodded hastily towards the door, winking at Dis as he suggested, "Training. Outside. Now. Let your mother finish her work."

"You are forgiven," Dis said with a smile, instantly won over with the promise of having a few minutes to work in peace without having to ensure Kili was not falling out the window nor Fili dragging his braids through a well of ink.

Fili beamed from ear to ear while Kili shouted in delight as he grabbed Thorin's hand and urged him to 'hurry faster so they could start'. Somehow their uncle had managed to divert disaster yet again; for as Kili often proclaimed, there was no one smarter than Uncle Thorin. Especially when he slipped them the two cookies he had set aside, shushing for them to withhold their excitement lest their mother find out.

Kili immediately deduced the proper manner for concealing his prize by stuffing the entire cookie in his mouth, assured that so long as the stolen delicacy was no longer in his hands it was completely invisible to Mummy's all knowing gaze. Fili had a sneaking suspicion of what would happen next, and he was right by Kili's side slapping his brother on the back the moment the younger dwarf began choking.

It was cruel how the fondest, light hearted memories were the ones that struck Fili the hardest. Perhaps the worst memories were of Dis in the end. He remembered with a knifing pang how she would cuddle Kili close and kiss him on the cheek whenever he held out his arms to her, how she always told him an extra story at night to help him sleep or slipped him something tasty when no one else was looking. Dis seemed to know that each day spent with her sons was precious, and that it was only a matter of time before one or the other would be taken from her.

Fili never anticipated that he would return alone to face his mother with the revelation that only one of her sons had come back to her; that her baby, her sweet youngest, was buried far from home without even a proper tomb to remember him by. Without a chance for her to stroke his hair back one last time, to kiss his forehead and assure him that she had always been proud.

Choking tears surged Fili's vision and he broke down, half-garbled words forced from his closed throat as he pleaded one last time for his brother to open his eyes.

"Kili..." He bit back another sob, fighting to compose himself, as though Kili would open his eyes any moment and ask why was he crying when it was obvious Kili had only been teasing him with another of his clever jokes. "Now look here, you stubborn, half-witted little brat, you... You... you cannot leave just yet, Kili, do you hear me? I absolutely forbid it! I ... I can even bring Uncle Thorin in here to back me. You would hate that, wouldn't you? I..."

Even if he could have seen past the mist of tears blurring his vision, Fili could not bear to meet Thorin's eyes. To see the devastation in his uncle's gaze would surely break him, for it would confirm that Kili had departed, that Fili had lost him forever, and that not even one so wise and strong as Thorin could reverse it. At least for now Fili could pretend that his brother was still alive, pulling one of his infamous jokes, ready to laugh his head off at him for being so gullible.

Fili longed to say more but words failed him, and he could only release a keen of such agony and desertion that it would have broken Kili's heart had he heard it. His brother must be hearing him, though, for Kili had never left his calls unanswered. He would come when Fili requested, wouldn't he...?

... Kili... please...

The slightest inhale, followed by a gutteral moan froze the passage of time. Fili stilled abruptly, not daring to breath. Surely his mind was playing tricks on him in this hour of desolation.

Elrond's eyes shot open and his incantations increased in volume, a stuttering exhale escaping Kili's lips before his eyelids trembled and he cringed against the radiant sunlight.

Later on Fili would comprehend the fact that he had shoved an elven king to the side in his haste, and that he had rudely interrupted Elrond's healing session in his fervor to reach his brother. His only thought for the moment, however, was to clutch Kili to himself and confirm his eyes did not deceive him; that little brother had once again stared death in the face and stolen the victory.

Fili was only half aware of the wracking sobs shaking his body as he nearly crushed Kili in a fierce hold, repeating his brother's name over and over and whispering his gratitude to Mahal, Ilúvatar and every higher power that he could think of for giving him another chance. He assured himself that he would never fail in his task again, that even if he had to tie Kili to a tree for the remainder of his life he would never come this close to losing his baby brother.

Thorin had run to his side, Fili knew not when, and for the longest moment his emotions lay bared to the entire world as he stared in disbelief at his nephew; alive, breathing and relatively in one piece. Fili seen his uncle furious, disappointed and terrified for their lives, but never before had tears coursed down Thorin's cheeks as he pressed both hands gently around Kili's face, looking as though he was conflicted between shaking his nephew senseless and lecturing him for causing them all such consternation or gathering him into his arms and never letting him out of his sight again.

It was with a tremendous effort of will that Thorin tore himself away and faced the elven king, bowing his head in a gesture of respect as he said in a broken, husky tone, "There is no gift I can offer worthy enough to repay the life you have returned to me."

Unspoken was the promise, The past is resolved; you have gained my trust.

"He is not fully healed yet," Elrond responded, his voice mildly strained in a manner which only Gandalf knew to indicate he was slighty uncomfortable to be caught up in the emotional drama. "We must return to Rivendell; I will finish the healing process there."

After a moment's pause, for he understood a dwarf's pride would only allow so much, Elrond pointed out, "The journey will be faster on horseback."

Thorin took time to consider his words before nodding to Fili. "Both of them to a horse. Shorten the stirrups if you must, but they will have no elf riding behind them."

Elrond inclined his head in acceptance and indicated for one of the elves to dismount.

Fili was not willing to move yet; he had only just found his brother, and he wanted to savor the moment. He could tell that Thorin shared his thoughts, and that all the leader desired was a few moments alone to sort out his rampart emotions. There was no time for dawdling, however, and with a clap to his shoulder Thorin instructed Fili to accompany the elves back to Rivendell.

The horse may well have been a dragon in Fili's eyes, and had it not been for his brother depending on him he might have refused the order whether or not it was Thorin who issued it. Within moments he found himself sitting astride the great beast, however, Kili cradled protectively in front of him while the earth loomed alarmingly below.

For a moment Fili was nauseous at the great height, before he reminded himself that he had faced mountain cliffs worse than this and a horse was not that much taller than a pony. Even so, Fili distracted himself by ensuring his brother would not face further discomfort than neccessary; that his leg would not slip from Fili's grip and bounce against the horse's side, or that his shoulder wound would not be aggravated by the position of his arm.

Exhaustion from the battle and emotional stress crept over Fili and he struggled to remain upright as the riders surged forward. Two of the elves drew back to flank him, prepared at a moment's notice to catch either dwarf should they fall. In spite of his weariness Fili's grip on his brother did not falter, however, and he smiled wanely as a thought struck him.

"Still making me do all the hard work, I see," Fili teased, even though he knew Kili might not hear him. "Meanwhile you rest at ease after wasting your energy scaring Uncle and me half to death."

Kili did not answer, but Fili entertained the notion that a slight smile twitched at the corner of his brother's mouth and that he relaxed marginally at the familiar jibe. His brother would be all right, he was sure of it; he had to be.

"You would never leave me the task of informing Mother that you never said goodbye to her, after all," Fili entreated, attempting to make the statement more of a threat while blinking away the mist that hazed his vision. "I know how much you hate to displease her. It would break her poor heart to lose you. Uncle would be furious, for that matter. You remember how the halls thunder when he bellows after us. I think he would come perilously close to shaking down the mountains if you put it into your head to die on his watch. You would never want that to happen, would you?"

Fili could not stop talking, no matter what idiotic notion came to the tip of his tongue. It was the only means of retaining his sanity. In Fili's mind his voice was the anchor between Kili and this world, for his brother had mentioned that when he was sick or injured he would hear Fili prattling nonstop about the silliest things, and he would be reminded that there were reasons in plenty to leave whatever dream land he was experiencing and return home.

He spoke to Kili about the creek where they used to play as children, where Bofur once slipped on a rock and landed so hard on his rear he could not sit properly for days. He mentioned how Mother still thought her brother's beard was as ragged and unkempt as a bird's nest, and how she supplicated the day they left that her two sons attempt to look somewhat presentable as they would represent her as they journeyed to far lands.

He talked about all the silly things they had discovered about Bilbo Baggins, how those dainty little cloth things called "doilies" must have been spun by mice - which then proceeded to gnaw holes through the fabric before selling it, for the intricate lacy things were relatively useless and must have the sole purpose of keeping heirlooms and plants from scuffing the tables.

He chuckled as he recalled the look on Bilbo's face when Kili scraped his boots on "Aunt Eek's" chest by the door, and discussed how when the quest was finished they should disrupt the mundane complacency of the hobbit town by running through every single garden and then proceeding to scuff dirt all over "Aunt Eek's" furniture, empty the larders and track mud on the floor. They would be paid in sweets, of course, and Bilbo's house would receive special attention.

In such a way the journey to Imladris passed swiftly. Fili's awe at the beauty of the city when they arrived was outweighed by his concern for his brother, but he did take a moment to study the great statues they passed between and compare them to what he had heard of the great dwarven monuments of Erabor. If the elven carvings were indeed magnificent, then the craftings of his forefathers must be glorious to behold.

An elf in a sweeping robe met the riders as they dismounted, and Fili overheard snippets of conversation in the elvish tongue. Elrond pointed in the direction they had come from, indicating no doubt that company would soon be arriving. He could have been stating that the grass was pink and dwarves were as tall as men for all that Fili cared at the moment. His only concentration was getting down without falling and finding a quiet room - preferably with a bed - where Kili could rest comfortably until his wounds were tended to.

Without a hint of warning Kili was being slid from his grasp, and Fili lashed out with a spew of oaths in Khazdul at the elf that dared steal his brother from him. There was a flurry of activity as another elf came up behind Fili and held him back, guiding him off the horse even as the first bundled Kili into Elrond's arms.

Fili struggled wildly against his captors, paying no heed to their assurances that he need not panic, for Lord Elrond was merely taking his brother to a room where he could heal his injuries. Their words held no meaning for Fili and he screamed Kili's name, slipping free of the elves' grasp even as several others leapt to their aid.

How could they not understand that he had to be at his brother's side at this moment, that he must be present when Kili awoke and needed him close by? Fili had nearly lost his brother less than an hour ago; what gave those fools the impression that he would act rationally if he and Kili were separated once more? They had not even offered him the choice of remaining behind before they had stolen his brother away.

Dwarves are natural sprinters. It was easy to duck under a horse and escape the general commotion, after which it was only a matter of finding where the dratted elf lord had taken his brother before the other elves discovered him. Fili would look back later and laugh about how comical it must have seemed; a host of elves running pell-mell down the corridor after a single dwarf, the citizens of Imladris swerving gracefully out of the way as they pondered whether to assist in their chase or leave the soldiers to do their job.

Pure luck had Fili rounding the corner the moment Elrond's assistant exited one of the rooms, and without pause Fili bolted past the doorway and slid to a perilous halt just shy of the bed where Kili lay.

"Stubborness of dwarves," Elrond said in frustration as he glanced up, clearly displeased with Fili's uncouth entrance making the second interruption of his day.

Fili gave no answer save a level stare, making it obvious that in no uncertain terms would he be leaving the room until Kili was awake, chattering nonstop and driving the entire city insane with his quest to end his boredom.

Elrond sighed and waved the guards away before returning to his work on Kili's shoulder. He now recalled why he had been loathe to host a company of dwarves in the first place. They were stubborn as the mountains they resided in and as tricky as goblins. If the dwarf glowering expectantly at him was any example of the trouble Elrond was to anticipate, he had reason to suspect that he would regret returning the younger one's mobility. Brothers often preceeded the worst of trials in Rivendell's history of peace.

Valar help them if these two ever ran into Elrohir and Elladan. If either dwarf was half as impish as his twin sons, Elrond doubted Imladris would ever recover.

*Evil muse guzzles down mocha and triple expresso donated by kind reviewer*

"All right, who gave the muse coffee?!"

I think this story is almost finished... but then again it was only supposed to be three chapters long in the first place. :/

*Tears paperback copy of The Hobbit away from the muse and throws reviewer-donated unicorn plushie at its chomping teeth.*

My muse is running out of food. Please feed it before it devours my entire library.