Updated - special thanks to Jukori for the proof read that I forgot to do!
When everyone began to move quietly around camp, Kili left his watch post and made his way over to his brother. His older brother was still curled up and had progressed to lie cross-wise across both his and Kili's abandoned bedroll, which made Kili smile. Fili always said he was a bed hog. Ha! He had news for him. Kili dropped down to land hard on top of his brother. A nice awakening was not in the cards for his brother this morning.
Fili shouted and bucked hard to push the invading body off of his. Kili managed to pin one of his brother's hands before Fili got the upper hand temporarily. The two were rolling and tussling, until Fili managed to pin his brother beneath him. The younger brother squirmed below him for a few seconds to test the hold, before becoming still. Both brothers stared at each other completely motionless.
The rest of the company, on the other hand, continued to squirm. The brothers play fighting and wrestling each other was commonplace. But the obvious electricity that was passing through them made everyone uncomfortable. The position didn't help either. Whether the two clueless wonders realized it or not, Fili's hips lay cradled between his brothers thighs, and hands their hands were anchoring each other above their heads.
The brother's had but inches before their lips would touch. Judging by the intense stare, something was churning in their thick skulls. No one in the company moved. Each dwarf held their breath to see what would happen next.
Sensing the stillness of the camp, Fili and Kili looked over to see everyone staring at them. The brother's shifted, realized their position, and shot up and away from each other. A blush stained their cheeks as they made mumbled excuses and drifted to opposite ends of the camp.
Fili ended up by the water's edge and let out the breath that he had been holding ever since leaving his brothers side. His heart still thumping in an off beat. He had almost given everything away. Fili clenched his hands into fists, and staved off the urge to throw something into the river.
What would his brother have done if he had given into his need to brush their lips together? Fili imagined the look of disgust he would have gotten and shuddered. He would have to be more careful.
Kili lay on the bedroll seconds after his brother had stormed off, then scrambled out into the surrounding forest. He swallowed hard a couple of times, trying to put his bounding heart back where it was meant to be. It was impossible to be sure, but he didn't think his brother found out his secret.
He scrubbed his face hard with his hands for a moment. His brother had been way too close for comfort. Kili chuckled as he realized that he would no longer be able to wrestle with his brother. He reached down and adjusted himself in his breeches; thankful his brother did not notice the change when they had been pressed intimately together.
"Oi! Grub." Kili heard called from the clearing. He moved cautiously towards his brother, whom already had his bowl of food waiting by their bedrolls. Kili could feel his cheeks stain red again, thinking of the position he had been in at just this spot mere moments earlier.
The company shifted and meaningful looks passed between the dwarves. The brothers almost figured it out. Not one word was spoken by anyone.
Thorin sat silent across from his nephews. His eyes coolly assessing the idiots he called kin. All he could hope for was to see a quick resolution, and to spend the rest of the journey free of the painfully obvious and unrequited love of the two brothers.
Fili and Kili were still dancing around each other by the day's end. They had still ridden side by side, but had not spoken a work to one another save for comments on the weather. The awkward glances didn't help either. Each brother peeking through the corner of his eye to check on the other.
By the time the next camp was reached, the entire company was feeling the tension emanating off the two brothers. It was so bad, Bombur almost burnt supper. Thankfully, the hobbit noticed and saved the day's ration. Needless to say, he took an awful lot of ribbing for that one.
Thorin approached Fili and Kili while they ate. The brothers were sitting with almost a foot of space between them. Thorin wanted to roll his eyes. The two were normally glued side by side. In fact, sometimes it seemed as if they were actually Siamese twins instead of brothers with years separating them. Both looked up at Thorin's approach. Fili looked resigned to what he assumed was coming. Kili looked relieved for the distraction.
"Kili, you take the first watch tonight. Fili, dawn."
Kili sighed and brushed past his uncle to select a good location to spend his watch.
Fili looked down at his brothers' half empty bowl left sitting on the ground. "I should, uh, take that to him."
Thorin sat next to his oldest nephew. Fili looked completely lost and unsure of himself. Which, Thorin had to admit, was unlike him. Thorin steeled himself for the coming conversation, and reminded himself to tread gently. Matters of the heart rarely made as much sense to those in the thick of things than to those on the outside.
"What troubles you?"
Fili looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean uncle?" Fili shoveled another spoonful of stew into his mouth. "Nothing troubles me." When Thorin just continued to stare at him, Fili swallowed thickly. "I should take that bowl to Kili. Otherwise he will be hungry and it will no longer be warm."
"I will bring it to him later. Now enough excuses nephew." Thorin turned to fix his eye on Fili. The better to get a straight answer out of the lad. "Do you think I have known you for so little time that I cannot tell when you are troubled by something? I have known you since your birth."
Fili sighed and avoided eye contact. "I know. It's just…private that's all."
"There is nothing private in my family. Now, you can either tell me what bothers you, or not. Let me assure you that I will find out eventually. Also, anything that affects you is of concern to me while on this journey. Everyone's safety depends on this honesty."
Chewing his lip thoughtfully for a minute, Fili turned his uncle's words over in his mind. "Why did you separate us?"
Thorin struggled not to smile as his nephew's obvious discomfort. "Is this really what is bothering you?"
"Yes. We have never been separated before. Did I do something wrong?"
"No nephew you did not. Before you ask, no, Kili did not cause mischief. I just felt that you two would appreciate a few hours apart."
Fili shuffled in his seat, and would not look up from his meal. "I do not like being apart from him." He whispered, as if it were some shameful secret.
Thorin purposefully looked over into the fire. "Nor does he." Thorin picked up Kili's abandoned bowl and stood. "Think on what I have said nephew."
Fili watched his uncle walk towards where Kili had disappeared. He had no idea what his uncle was talking about. Kili was a free spirit, and lived just fine without Fili around to watch his back.
The company settled down to sleep rather quickly. There had been minimal conversation around the fire, in which Dori had admitted defeat that the brothers wouldn't figure out their love day one. He lost one purse.