Kili's fingers threaded through Fili's hair. He tucked a lock of gold behind an ear as he tried to keep his bottom lip from trembling. Blood pooled at their knees as Fili clutched onto him. The flat of the knife in Fili's hand pressed against Kili's arm. His lover pressed his face into his shoulder, a terrible, helpless, cry caught in Fili's throat. He dropped the knife in favor of grabbing the hem of Kili's trousers. He tried pulling them up, his body shaking, making his fingers fumble. He yelled in frustration as he fought with the jeans' buttons and zipper.
How did it get to this?
How did everything just fucking blow up in his face?
How did he ever allow this to happen?
- 2 days ago-
"I don't like it." Bilbo said as he leaned against the mass of pillows he was propped up on.
"I have to talk to them." Thorin kissed Bilbo's lips.
Bilbo grumbled but kissed back despite how upset he was.
"I honestly think we should lay low for a while, not poke the tiger more."
Thorin caressed Bilbo's cheek. "Elrond and Thranduil have families as well, we've survived as long as we have by yourselves, we need help in reclaiming our lives."
"You trust the people in Westminster too easily."
"I trust none of them, but I know when my back is against a wall. I almost lost you, Fili, and Kili. I will not risk it again, love."
Bilbo grabbed Thorin's shirt and pulled him in for a longer kiss. Their tongues slipping against each other's in a slow movement. When they parted, Bilbo, caressed Thorin's cheek, sliding his hand to his neck then to his chest. "You will be careful. I'm not asking."
Thorin smiled softly. "You never do, when it comes to others. Just rest. Fili and I will be back late tonight."
"You better or I will come looking for you."
Thorin nodded before he got up from his seat at the edge of Bilbo's bed. He left without another word, quietly closing the door only to hear the very same argument going on between Fili and Kili in the next room.
"Fuck this shit, you need to lay low!" Kili hissed. "Every dumb fuck knows that!"
"And life rewards motion! We can't just sit in the shadows and wait for them to try to kill us again!" Fili barked.
"Is it too difficult to wait for just a week? I'll be able to go with you, not reopen anything and we could-"
"I'm not taking you with me anywhere near those animals!" Fili grabbed Kili's shoulders. He looked at him with desperate eyes. The thought of losing Kili scared him more than ever. It shook his core with a fear that tasted of bile and decay. If Kili was hurt again, he had no idea what he would do. "I-I… Kili, I can't risk… not you."
Kili sighed, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's shoulders. He squeezed tight. "You come back… if not, I'm going to hunt you down."
"I know." Fili held him, hands rubbing up and down Kili's back.
There was a knock on the door that brought their attention to Thorin. He jerked a thumb behind his shoulder showing he was ready to go. Fili nodded, pulled away from Kili before coming back for a quick kiss. Kili followed them to the front door where Nori was waiting.
"Dad?"
It was so quiet that Thorin wasn't sure he had heard it. He turned and looked to his son who reached out and took hold of his sleeve. Kili took in a few breaths trying to calm the raging fear inside. Thorin and Fili were risking a lot with going into London right after O.R.C. had attacked, after Lobelia. The idea of never seeing them with color in their faces would haunt him until he could touch them. Make sure their hearts still beat, and their bodies were warm.
A large hand brushed over his messy hair, "We will be back." Thorin promised.
"All of you better come back, if you're not here by first light… I'm finding you." Kili hesitated for a moment before he threw his arms around Thorin, hugging him tight. "Be safe, please be safe," repeated itself in his head, never spoken as he was held back just as tightly.
Then they were gone. Bofur having to take Kili away from the door as he found it so hard to move on his own.
"He's serious, he will come after us." Fili said as he got into the car.
"I have no doubts about that. Let us get this done with before Bilbo and Kili decide to get into the car with us, or slash the tires."
It was in the late afternoon that Thorin and Fili managed to slip into the security entrance of Westminster. It had taken a bit longer to get to their destination as they had to pick up Dwalin and allow Thorin time to check up on Ori, making sure he was getting better. They chose a room where Dwalin shut down the security to, their paranoia of O.R.C. being able to access even Westminster's security cameras making them take every precaution they could.
While Thorin met with Thranduil and Elrond, Fili noticed someone strange. Hanging in the back, watching as people milled about. He was a large man, with bright ginger hair. His eyes narrowed only a little when Thorin left with his companions from the main halls. This was a man who saw many things, a man who may know more than anyone gave him credit for. By the files he held, Fili was certain he worked in the archives.
Fili came up to him, leaning against the column that the man stood next to. "What do you make of that?" He jerked his chin in the direction of Elrond's back disappearing down a narrow hallway.
"Not much to say, but something is up." The man replied.
"You sure?"
"When the three of them talk, something is always up. And by the look of Mr. Durinson, I say something real bad. Am I right, Fili?"
Fili frowned. His back stiffening."How do you know my name?"
"I've seen you come in with him when you were younger. Had to keep you busy a few times when you were a tiny thing." He smiled sadly. "Don't remember Old Bombur do you?"
Fili squinted at him. He did look familiar now that it was mentioned, but something was… off. Then the memory hit him, "You were hairier that last time we met."
"Aye, and slimmer." He patted his belly. "You folks not doing well… What happened?"
"You remember Dori?"
"Aye, good man. Always did the right thing. Shame that O.R.C. forced him into hiding. Looks good as a woman though."
"You… know about that? Most people think he left the country."
"I know a lot, if asked the right questions."
"How much can you tell me about O.R.C.?"
"That's a dangerous question. One best discussed somewhere else." Bombur waved the files he held while pointing to his feet.
"This is not wise." Thranduil paced.
Elrond sighed. "But Thorin does bring up a point, we can no longer hide from them. We have tried to keep our heads low, our families safe, but they are growing bolder. We must find a way to root them out."
"Remember Thranduil, it's not just us. If we fall so will most of the country, we do not know who will take up our positions after our deaths, what they may do. We have much weight on our shoulders." Thorin folded his arms as he leaned back in his seat looking more of a college student than a man of great power. He looked tired and strained. "We know we are after a man named Azog, but his visage is beyond us at the moment. We need to place Gloin and Bifur on this."
"Legolas is available as well," Elrond pulled out his cell phone and started to type on the keypad. "The three of them working together, we will have little trouble obtaining Azog's description, and with some hope and a lot of luck we may be able to find his location."
"They are a good team, I will not fault that." Thranduil said. "But I may point out that Bifur is in Dubai, and Legolas is in Spain on a job already." He looked to Thorin. "It may be wise for your family to find a place to hide for a while, until we can extract them."
Thorin nodded. "I know of a few safe places we can travel between, but with the force that O.R.C. is starting to move at, I don't think they will be safe for long."
"We shall do our best." Elrond patted Thorin on the shoulder.
When they got back to Oin's place Kili was strapping on a rucksack to his back, tied to his thigh was a large hunting knife that he had muscled out of Oin's garage.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?!" Thorin roared.
"I was about to find your sorry asses!" Kili yelled back.
"Kili it's not even dawn, you said-"
Fili was cut off in the beginning of his tirade as he saw Bilbo hobbling out of the back of the house, holding onto his side, his clothing didn't even fit as it was a change of Bofur's clothing being too big for him. His jacket was riddled with holes from the bullets and still crusted with blood. He rushed forward grabbing Bilbo, supporting his weight. Thorin quickly coming up as well.
"What the hell is wrong with the two of you?!" Fili shouted as he helped lift Bilbo into Thorin's arms, being as careful as they could with his injuries.
"We were worried." Bilbo grabbed a fistful of Thorin's shirt as he winced.
"Holy fu-" Fili ran his hands through his hair before he stormed out.
That was the last straw, he couldn't handle this any more. He had to end it. If it wasn't O.R.C. directly trying to kill them, it was Lobelia or it was Bilbo and Kili's self destructive nature that was giving him and Thorin heart attacks.
"Fili."
He jerked away from Kili as he passed by him, doubling back. He grabbed the keys to Oin's car out of a bowl that was settled next to the front door before leaving once more. When he got into the car he sat down hard, causing it to rock slightly. He looked over to the passenger seat where Kili was currently sitting, rucksack bunched up at his feet with the seat belt on.
"Out."
"No."
"Damn it, can you do this one thing for me?" Fili hissed.
"Fuck you, you annoying ass Brit! You made me fall in love with you, so you're stuck with me, no matter what dumb things you're about to do."
Fili closed his eyes and leaned back in the seat. "God… you're a cunt sometimes."
"Hey, you were enjoying that 'cunt' not too long ago."
"Kili… this isn't a time to joke."
"And it's not a time to run off on your own. What the hell do you have planned?"
"I…"
Kili glared at Fili. "Tell me."
"I have a possible lead, but I don't want to tell Thorin until I know if it's good or not."
"Then off we go. Recon. Right?"
"Right."
London was vast. It took Fili a long time to find the place he was looking for a storage area next to the waterfront.
"What's supposed to be here?" Kili asked.
"Not sure, exactly, but if my resource is right, O.R.C."
"You… you mean the actual organization?"
"Yeah."
"Fuck." Kili sighed. "Fili, I love you, but that is something you really should have told Thorin right away! We need to get back to-"
There was a hard piece of metal that pressed up against his back. He slowly held up his hands. He twitched when he watched someone come up behind Fili and grapple him. They struggled, Fili landing a few good punches before he was belted across the cheek, his wrists grabbed and twisted behind his back.
"Lookin' 'or yo'r enemies? Best be keepin' real quiet when doin' 'at. Nev'a know who maybe lookin'."
"Lovely to hear your voice again, Lobelia." Kili spat out the name.
They were taken into one of the storage units, their wrists bound with zip ties as well as their feet. The group of men and women gathered around them like hungry rats, crawling on crates and barrels. A large, fat, man hobbled about the snaking cords that slithered along the floor. Many computer monitors were set on crates, keyboards and computer towers settled on two metal desks were some people were typing away. They flickered from program to program, hacking into system after system.
"Who are these people?!" He yelled.
"Thorin's boys." Lobelia ran the barrel of her pistol against Kili's cheek.
The man seemed to consider this before letting out a wheezing laugh. "They may come in handy then. Keep them alive for now."
"Tha's wha' I was plannin' on, G. Kin'." Lobelia snorted. "Though, I do wan' some time wif 'is one. Sure he's go' a lovely prick."
Kili's eye twitched as Fili surged forward. "Don't you fucking touch him!"
The fat man only rolled his eyes. "Do what you want, we have to gather the supplies for Wednesday. Whatever you do, make it quick, we shouldn't be long."
"Aye." Lobelia sat on Kili's legs.
To show what she could do she pressed the mouth of the gun up against Kili's temple making his head tilt at a funny angle. Fili wasn't even aware of the people leaving as Lobelia's other hand started to palm Kili, fingers unbuttoning and unzipping the jeans. Her tongue darting out to lick Kili's cheek.
"Don't-"
"Don't wha'?!" She shoved the gun harder against Kili's temple making Fili stiffen. "You' gonna watch, jus' like I made Bilbo look a' himself in the mirro' when I took 'im. And aft'a you'a gonna watch as we bomb you daddy's wo'k. Now, open you' mouf pre'y thin'."
Her hand when to Kili's jaw, squeezing hard, causing his lips to part. She went to slip her tongue into his mouth. His head smacked into hers, she reeled back a hand slapping over her mouth as blood started to go down her chin from biting her own tongue. Fili's shoulder suddenly slammed into her side. The gun she had held clattered to the floor.
Fili saw a glint of metal on the edge of a crate, the knife Kili had brought. Haphazardly laid about, the terrorists too excited for their big day to have placed it somewhere better. Fili fell onto his back, using his tied feet to kick Lobelia in the head to stop her from getting up. He moved his arms under his butt, curling his legs he was able to slip his arms in front of himself. He lept up, grabbing the knife. With no hesitation he let it sink into Lobelia, over and over again.
-present-
"We have to get moving." Kili said softly as he clutched Fili. "I can hear them coming back."
"Shit!"
Fili scrambled, he grabbed the gun that had scattered to the floor in his earlier struggle. He looked at it, trying to figure out the safety. Kili grabbed the gun out of Fili's hand, and pulled back the chamber loading it properly. They quickly moved behind some crates.
"Are all Americans just born with the ability to wield a gun?"
Kili looked around the corner, his finger on the side of the barrel and not the trigger. He didn't want to accidently squeeze it and blow his foot off. "No. I, uh, watch a lot of crime drama, and I was really just guessing my way through it."
"Reassuring."
"At least I didn't just stare at it." Kili's tongue darted out over his lips. "Let's just hope I can hit one of them."
"Shit! Lobelia's dead!" One of the men squawked.
"Where are the prisoners?" a man turned around in a tight circle, looking for signs of Fili and Kili. "Look for them! They have to be here somewhere! Fuck, don't let the boss know we lost them or he'll have our necks. Literally."
Fili took the knife he had used to cut them free from Lobelia as well as their bindings. He tossed it to the side as far as he could. It clattered loudly, the distraction took most of the group away from their exit.
Kili swallowed hard. He was dealing with a big risk, but it could work.
He threw the gun in the direction that Fili had thrown the knife. As it sored through the air he begged anything out there that could hear his silent prayer for this to work.
The gun clattered to the floor.
The jarring caused the gun to fire.
Suddenly everyone was running in that direction. Fili and Kili raced out the exit. Fili fumbling through his pockets finding the keys to the car. They didn't look back, only threw themselves inside the car and barely remembered to close the doors as Fili drove off at a breakneck speed.
They went straight to Westminster. The guards filtered out as Fili held Kili tight to his side as he screamed. "I need to talk to Elrond and Thranduil!"
The rest of it was a blur. Hospital trips, being screamed at by family and friends. Minutes waxed into days and Bilbo was in a hospital. Ori stayed with Kili most of the time when he wasn't with Dwalin. They were all under heavy protective guard, even Dori and Balin.
Eventually news of the majority of O.R.C. being caught came to them. The security relaxed, Gloin, Bifur, and Legolas deployed to find Azog.
It wasn't for another month that Azog was caught, by then the rest of O.R.C. had been ferreted out of hiding.
-next year, Christmas-
"Oh, oh!" Bilbo held up the rabbit book to his face. The head of curly hair on the character matching Bilbo's. "Ori got published! Look how much it looks like me!"
Thorin smiled with a chuckle. "Now you are immortalized to children forever. You make dreams come true, Ori."
The ginger blushed and leaned against Dwalin as Kili rubbed his back in approval. "See? I told you they would love it as a present."
"Yes, well, I believe the next book will be even more fun for children." Ori stole the mug of ale from Dwalin's hands to take a sip.
"Another? How many do you have planned out?" Bilbo asked.
"At least five now. Kili keeps adding to the ideas with his research."
"I take no responsibility for that." Kili smiled.
"Your name is on the book, son, you've already taken some responsibility." Thorin looked at the two with pride. "Now, how about convincing your father here to try publishing one of his stories?"
Bilbo gasped and hugged his present to his chest. "Thorin! My stories are not nearly as good as theirs."
Kili leaned over to Ori and whispered, "We'll just have to raid his stash then."
"Agreed."
The front door rattled a little before a dull thumping could be heard. Kili quickly jumped up, racing to the door, he opened it up to find Fili with his arms stuffed full of presents.
"Thank you, darling." Fili stepped in, his hair now long and lovely, dusted with snow flakes. He twisted a little so he could give Kili a kiss. "Want to take some?"
"Got 'em." Kili snagged a few and took them into the main living room where they stuffed the presents under the tree. "Ori couldn't wait and had to give Bilbo his present early."
"Really?" He shot his brother-in-law a look. "Couldn't wait until tomorrow?"
"And why should he? We're in England, we open presents on Christmas Eve not Christmas Day."
"It's not a country thing, Bilbo," Dwalin tried to take his mug back from Ori who only leaned away while taking another drink. "It's a family thing. Ori, should I just get another?"
Ori only shook his head as he drank some more.
"I'm gettin' more." Dwalin stood up only to have Ori scramble up and follow him into the kitchen.
"No sex on the counters!" Bilbo shouted.
"Really? You had to say that?" Kili sat down on the sofa, pulling Fili down with him.
Bilbo held up a finger as he listened and heard Ori squeak and splutter, "W-what did he just say?!"
Bilbo grinned and snuggled back in his chair. "I love doing that to people."
"A little too much." Fili wrapped an arm around Kili's shoulders.
"Speaking of too much, your first year anniversary is coming up. Got any plans?" Bilbo wiggled his eyebrows.
"That was creepy, thank you for that."
"You're welcome."
"Think this year we're going to stay in. After the wedding night fiasco-"
"I'm still getting apology letters from that escort service with the added 'please work for us' postscript." Kili rubbed at his eyes.
"Yyyyeeeaaah, I'm just glad we can block their calls. We are not doing that no matter how much they say women will pay us."
"Staying in for an anniversary is wise." Thorin said. "Having a relaxing evening is just as eventful as a celebration."
"You only say that because I have to beat people off of you when you dress up and we go out." Bilbo looked around before locating his tea cup.
"Either way, we're doing better. I put the down payment on the cottage and we should be moving out of here soon. Let the two of you do whatever it is you do while we're not around."
"Mostly sleep. The two of you make us old." Bilbo teased.
Suddenly a burst of excitement came from the kitchen in the form of Ori screaming, "YES! Yes, yes, yes!"
"Ah, sounds like Dwalin popped the question." Fili smirked. He looked to Thorin, "Guess who's part of the family now?"
Thorin groaned and rubbed his eyes. "Why can't I catch a break?"
END