Chapter Fifteen

Thorin told them that some of their friends' parents would be coming over after dinner to decide what they should do. He and Bilbo ushered their sons upstairs, telling them to let them handle things.

Naturally, Fili and Kili waited until Frodo was ensconced in his room before sneaking out to listen at the top of the stairs.

What Kili didn't expect, though, was for Thranduil to be the first to arrive.

"Thank you for coming," Thorin said civilly as he opened the door and led the blond into the living room.

"I am not one to sit idly by when a child is being hurt," they heard his voice reply as they both disappeared from sight.

Kili leant as far as he could over the bannister in an attempt to see into the living room, but Fili quickly jerked him back. He shot his brother a scowl as he listened to the conversation between their pop and Legolas's dad. It was weird how… not hostile they sounded.

Before anything interesting could be said, though, the doorbell rang again and Bilbo let in two men that Kili didn't recognize, but who Fili informed him in a whisper were Elrond, Aragorn's stepdad, and Theoden, Eomer and Eowyn's dad. Conversation didn't turn serious, though, until Gimli's dad arrived.

"Is there a reason you can't just go over there and arrest the bastard?" Gloin asked, obviously speaking to Thorin.

Kili was wondering that himself. Why bother talking things over when Faramir could be being hurt right now?

"I think that should be a last resort," Thorin answered. "You can never be certain if charges will stick and, even if they do, then Faramir would be taken in by the system, which I think we all want to avoid."

The doorbell rang again before anything else could be said. Bilbo hurried to the door and opened it to reveal two teenagers, one of which Kili recognized as Faramir's brother Boromir.

"Can I help you?" Bilbo asked in confusion.

"Theodred!" Kili heard Theoden call in surprise before seeing the other man walk into the entrance hall. "What are you two doing here? How did you even know to come here?"

"Eomer called me," the teen who must have been Theodred answered. They both stepped inside as Bilbo shut the door behind them. "Boromir has been staying with me for the last two months. We've been trying to figure out how to get Faramir away from Denethor."

"Well, why don't we all sit down in the living room with everyone and hear the whole story," Bilbo suggested. Before he followed them, he shot a look straight at Fili and Kili, raising an eyebrow. Kili was sure he was going to scold them and send them to bed, but he said nothing and went back to the living room.

Fili bumped his shoulder and gave him a small, reassuring smile.

"Why has Boromir been staying with you?" Theoden asked.

"Dad threw me out after catching me and Theo together," a voice that must've been Boromir answered after a heavy sigh. "I tried taking Faramir with me, but he threatened to have me arrested for kidnapping. I didn't know what to do…"

Someone murmured something Kili couldn't hear, followed by a bunch of other murmurings that were lost to him as well.

"I believe the best option we have," Thranduil said, cutting through the din, "is to force Denethor to sign over guardianship of both Faramir and Boromir. Get him to sign the forms and get them approved by a court later."

"And how exactly are we supposed to get him to go along with that? Ask nicely?" Gloin remarked sarcastically. Kili pursed his lips. He didn't like that they were sniping at each other instead of focusing on what was important.

Thankfully, Thranduil didn't take the bait. "From what I've seen of the man the few times we've met, he seems to value his reputation more than anything else. I think the mere threat of police intervention, with an actual detective there to back up the threat, will have him caving to what we want."

"He's right about Dad valuing his reputation," Boromir agreed in a bitter tone. "He didn't care that I was gay, he only cared what people would say about it."

"Okay, but who's going to be the boys' guardian?" Bilbo asked. "I mean, I'm sure I speak for Thorin when I say they are more than welcome here, but what would be best for them?"

"I think they should stay with me," Theoden declared. "I've known them since they were young and they obviously have good relationships with my children."

"You've known them for years and clearly missed their father abusing them," Thranduil pointed out.

"It wasn't his fault," Boromir protested vehemently. "Most of the time, I could stop my father from hitting Faramir so there wasn't much to notice. I just screwed up and now I can't protect him!"

"Regardless, I don't think Theoden is the best option," Thorin stated. "If Denethor is upset with Boromir being with Theodred, he might refuse to sign out of spite."

"My wife and I would welcome them," a new voice said. Kili scrunched up his face in confusion before realizing it must be Aragorn's stepdad, who had yet to say anything. "My wife and the boys' mother were first cousins. Gilraen hasn't really been part of their lives before, but she would like to be. And if we do have to go through the police and the foster system, the boys could still be placed with us."

"I like that plan," Bilbo said approvingly. "Gives them some stability regardless of what option we have to take."

"Agreed," Thranduil said. "When should we confront him?"

"No time like the presence," Gloin remarked. "I don't want the boy with that man any longer than he has to be."

"Let me call my partner. I want him to come with us as well," Thorin said. "Theoden, it might be best if you don't come. Maybe you should take these boys to your home and we'll bring Faramir there. Might be best to bring him somewhere familiar before settling him with Elrond and Gilraen."

"I want to come!" Boromir protested immediately. "He's my brother!"

"It's better if you don't," he reasoned. "Trust me. I'll get your brother out of there, though. I promise."

Fili and Kili scrambled back to Fili's room as everyone started bustling about making plans. Kili turned towards his brother with frightened eyes as soon as they were inside.

"You don't think he'll hurt Pop or the others, do you?"

Fili gave him a soft smile before pulling him into a hug. "Of course not," he assured. "You've seen him. Do you really think he could take both Pop and Uncle Dwalin?"

Kili was pretty sure that no one could take both Thorin and Dwalin, let alone the posh business man he knew Faramir's father was. "You're right."

"I'm always right," he said slyly. "It's been a long day, though. You should get some sleep."

"Can I stay in here with you?" Kili all but begged. He didn't want to sleep alone tonight.

"You can always stay with me," came the almost automatic answer. "Though I think Dad and Pop might wonder why they bothered with separate rooms if we keep ending up in the same bed."

Kili just chuckled before darting through the bathroom to grab a pair of pajamas before getting ready for bed. He sighed as he slid into bed next to Fili and curled around him, sure that he wouldn't be able to sleep much that night.

However, with Fili's arm wrapped around him and with his brother's hand in his hair, he quickly drifted off.

He curled into himself as the shouting got louder. He didn't want to be here, but he hadn't had a chance to run before the first blow hit him. He had cried as they kept coming down before they stopped and the screaming and pleading had started.

He had never been this scared before. He dared to peek between his fingers and gave a soft whine as his father gave his mother one final kick before walking away in disgust. He wanted to creep forward to check on her. He had never seen his father as mad as he had been, and she wasn't moving.

He was so scared, though. He couldn't move. He was shaking. No, someone was shaking him…

"Kili!" Fili called, waking him from the nightmare. "It's okay," he said, pulling Kili's trembling form into his arms. "It's okay."

"Fili…" He couldn't stop crying. It was stupid. It was just a stupid dream. Why couldn't he stop crying?

"Do you want me to get Dad? Or Pop?" Fili asked, pulling away and looking at him with worry.

He shook his head and tucked his head under his brother's chin. "Just you," he whispered.

Fili just held him as he got his crying under control and the tremors slowly left his body. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked finally.

He thought about that for a minute. He hadn't really talked to anyone about that night, not even the police who had come and taken his dad away or the lady who brought him to the group home. He didn't like to think about it. He didn't like to think about his first family at all. He didn't know what he would dream about them. He thought those dreams were long gone.

"It was about my first family," he admitted at last. "About the night my mom died."

Fili hummed in understanding. "It makes sense that this whole thing with Faramir would bring back bad memories."

Kili shook his head. "Faramir is completely different than me," he argued. "What Faramir's dad did to him doesn't make any sense. Faramir is such a good person. He didn't deserve any of that."

Fili hands flew up to frame Kili's face as he stared at him seriously. "You honestly can't think that you deserved what your first father did to you."

"Maybe I didn't deserve everything he did," Kili conceded. "But I did make him mad all the time. I mean, I was loud and asked too many questions and was always around when he didn't want me there…"

"Kili, what happened to you wasn't your fault!" Fili said vehemently. "That man never should have touched you!"

"But some of it was my fault!" Kili sobbed. "If I hadn't been there, he wouldn't have hurt my mom. She wouldn't have stepped between us and he wouldn't have k-k-killed her…"

"Kili, no," Fili murmured, pulling him close and letting him sob into his shoulder. "He was a bad person. You didn't make him that way, and you couldn't have stopped him. Your mother tried to protect you because she loved you. She wouldn't want you to blame yourself."

"If I had just been better. I tried. I tried so hard to be good, but it wasn't enough," he muttered.

"No," Fili said firmly, tightening his hold on him. "You were good enough. But even if you weren't, that doesn't matter. You could've been a complete terror and he wouldn't have had the right to hurt you."

"Then why did he?" Kili asked brokenly. "Why didn't he love me?"

"Because he's an asshole and an idiot," he whispered into Kili's hair. "Because only an idiot wouldn't love you."

Kili let his brother hold him tight as his crying subsided. Maybe Fili was right. Maybe his first dad was just a bad person. Maybe Kili hadn't deserved to be hit. He hadn't been much older than Frodo at the time. And no matter how bad Frodo was, Kili wouldn't say that he deserved to be hurt for it. And he knew Bilbo and Thorin would never hit Frodo like his first dad had hit him.

"You're not… worried about doing something to deserve something like that now, right?" Fili asked quietly, breaking the silence that had settled over them.

"No," Kili replied in a sure voice, realizing with a start that it was true. "Even if I thought someone might try, I know you'd never let them. Neither would Dad or Pop."

"Good. I love you, Kee."

"I love you, too, Fee."

Tbc…