The Tales Don't Tell Of This "Help me break into the treasury." "Um...no." Kili blinked in surprise. Fili never told him no. Well, rarely. Sometimes. Mostly. When Kili just stared (using his best puppy eyes) Fili sighed a little. "Gold sickness, remember?" He asked his brother as if either could ever forget. "How would it look for Erebor's princes to get caught sneaking into the treasury?" "Then we won't get caught." Kili grinned. Fili might've rolled his eyes. Kili wasn't paying that much attention. "Not worth the risk. Just ask permission to go in." Fili said turning back to his swords. "Well where's the fun in that?" Kili pouted.  Fili kept sharpening his swords. "The last time you said that we had extra training time with Balin for a month, remember? Everything we never cared to know about court etiquette AFTER Dwalin trained us so hard it hurt to breath. Think of something else, Kili." Kili pouted, Fili ignored it and eventually Kili sighed dramatically before he left. "I need to get into the treasury." Kili dropped down in the chair across from Balin. The older dwarf looked up at him in mild amusement. "Why?" Kili grimaced. "Can I keep it a secret?" "No." Kili groaned and flopped his head back, arms flinging dramatically off the chair's sides. "Pleeeaase?" "No." Now Balin looked amused and picked up his quill again. Frowning, Kili sat up and bit his lip. "I want to get something for Thorin." Balin straightened and stared at him a long moment. "No, lad. The last thing Thorin needs is treasure." "I'm not giving him treasure! Just a-" Whatever he was going to say died out of frustration as Balin stared at him patiently, a little sad. "He doesn't need treasure, laddie, and he wouldn't appreciate it if you gave him any. He's still wary of the sickness." "Yeah, I know." Kili sighed, disgruntled, and thought about explaining to Balin but the older dwarf was already distracted by his work and Kili bit his tongue. "Then off with you." Balin said kindly. "I'm sure we both have work to be done." Kili left again, less dramatically than he'd entered and tried to think of what to do next. "Hey, Nori!" Kili popped up beside the dwarf. "Nooooo." Nori said, eyeing him. Kili grinned a little forcefully. "You don't even know what I was going to ask." Nori raised both brows at him and looked amused. "You want to get into the treasury for Thorin. I just don't know exactly what you're after." Kili shifted on his feet, face falling a little. No one else had asked, not even Fili. Of course they were all busy. There was lots of work to be done in rebuilding the mountain and even he should be working, but no one had asked why he'd want something for Thorin nor why Kili thought it was important. Nori eyed him a minute then slapped him on the back, tugging him out of the crowd of the market and into more privacy. "What is it you're after?" The older dwarf asked bluntly, his voice surpringly kind. "I won't sneak you into the treasury but I can...find things." Kili stared and wondered for a moment if he was being reckless dealing with the company thief. (Not to be mixed up with the company's Thief, as in Bilbo.) Then Kili gave a mental shrug. Nori would understand. He was part of the company, after all. "I was just going to get a couple of things. Nothing big or expensive. Just some beads." Nori's brows rose again, this time in curiosity."They sell beads in shops. You can make your own in the forges." "Yeah. I KNOW." Kili hissed, aggrivated, and bounced in place. "I don't have time to make some. Not yet. And I-" He sighed before looking earnestly at Nori. "Look- He's king, Nori. Our King. But have you seen him? He doesn't dress as a king. Since the battle he's...lost something." Kili looked into Nori's eyes and saw understanding. "I just want to give it back. Or at least...at least try." He finished clumsily. The two dwarves stared at each other for a long moment before Nori nodded. "Well, then I can help you." To Kili's never ending disappointment, there was no big heist. No sneaking or battle or, things may be getting a little quiet around the mountain because all that happened was Nori vanished for a while and at dinner that night the dwarf offered Kili a handful of choices. Fine quality, not extravagant, but nothing that could be just found in the marketplace. Kili murmured his thanks and Nori gave him a wink and both ignored the suspicious looks Dwalin shot them from the end of the table. Thorin didn't notice. And that was what all of it had been about. Thorin. Because it was Yule, the nights filled with feasts. Outside the winter was cold and wet, the land before Erebor a wasteland. It was still littered with the detrimous war leaves behind, blackened trees and funeral pyres. Most of all there was Thorin. It wasn't all bad. Thorin had survived, but he moved slowly through his kingdom's halls. He was thin from the quest and his injuries, but he also carried himself less...tensely than ever before and it wasn't Kili's imagination that the sadness that had always lingered in his eyes had faded. Yet something was wrong. He still wore the same cast offs as the other dwarves. His hair and braids were still bound with pieces of twine instead of the fine clasps he'd earned. While he still moved with confidence and determination, he'd lost...something. A kingly part of himself. Whether it was the battle or the gold sickness that had done it to him Kili could not say but he missed it. His Thorin. His uncle. His King. Thorin strode into the royal apartments, thoughts far away on things that needed done and plans to be made. He'd skipped half the feast that night in favor of getting work done and was tired and weary in a way he wasn't used to yet. He stretched going in the door expecting only quiet and solitude since the others had wandered off drinking together earlier then stopped in surprise at the sight of Kili standing in front of the fireplace, obviously waiting on him. Thorin paused, wary at the look on his nephew's face as Kili stepped forward.  "Thorin, I wanted to talk to you." He started and tried to look more confident than he felt. Thorin had never been a dwarf who took someone worrying about him well. As expected Thorin scowled a little, obviously wary. "What is it Kili? We've got a long day tomorrow. There's the Yuleday festivities with Dale and Mirkwood representatives and more dwarves coming in despite the bad weather..." Already Kili could see his uncle's thoughts wandering ahead to what needed done. "Yes, I know, but I have a present for you." Kili said quickly and moved forward opening his hand. The beads he'd chosen were there. Two matching for the front braids and two larger clasps for the back. They were silver which Thorin had always favored even before the gold sickness. The pattern was subtle, a little line of blue color patterned in the metal. The larger clasps were plainer, but the pattern was reminiscent of the Durin crest. Thorin didn't even look that close, though. He immediately started shaking his head and moved away. "No, Kili. No treasure. No jewels." "You're a king." Kili interrupted before Thorin could escape. "Our king. And we'd have you look it. Even in part." Thorin paused then turned and faced him. Kili looked so sincere, so worried. It wasn't just the pleading eyes that typically got him whatever he wanted, it was the earnestness. The sincere worry. Thorin closed his eyes against it but it did no good. Even if he could ignore Kili, even if he didn't have a soft spot for him, he knew his nephew wouldn't let it go. Taking a deep breath, Thorin put a hand on Kili's shoulder and leaned into him a bit. Kili leaned back, reveling in the affection, the quiet comfort of being close. "I don't want it to happen again, Kili." Thorin admitted, his voice low but strong. "How I treated Bilbo, how I treated you and Fili and everyone else-" He shook his head, eyes dark and pained when they met Kili's. "I don't want to lose what is important again."  "I thought you'd say that." Kili smiled a little and at Thorin's surprised, doubtful gaze, opened his palm again. "These aren't jewels, Thorin. They aren't treasure. They're us." Kili said proudly. Thorin looked puzzled and Kili dropped the beads into his uncle's palm one at a time. "Fili and myself." He said with the smaller, blue patterned stones. "And mother and Uncle Frerin." He said with the two larger clasps. Then he looked up and watched Thorin stare at the beads, face stark with worry and pain. "I know they're not traditional beads, but I also know you don't want to be tempted." Thorin looked up at him with raw, heartbreaking eyes and Kili smiled, grasping his Uncle's hand. "Just think of these beads as us. The line of Durin." Kili's smile turned wry, but he was just pleased Thorin hadn't pulled away yet. "We Durins may not be as fine as we once were, we may have been through a lot and some of us might be gone, but are still here." Kili said fiercely. "We're together. We won't let the same mistakes happen again. Not to any of us. But you, you need to be a king. Look like a king. Feel like a king again, and not like this... regretful leader." Kili closed his hand over the beads and peered up at his uncle, faces close. "Trust me. Trust us. Please." Kili whispered fiercely. "We won't let you stray again and together we can make Erebor great. Better than it ever was." Silence stretched a moment. Tense enough Kili barely breathed. "Why?" Thorin asked finally, his voice rough as his eyes searched Kili's face. Kili thumped his forehead against his Uncle's and held it there, closing his eyes and savoring the contact until Thorin started to relax. "Because we're family." He whispered in the space between them. Thorin leaned into his nephew for a long minute before wrapping him into a tight hug. It lasted a while but Kili found himself smiling, the mood around his Uncle lifting. That cautious broodiness turning into a much more familiar gruff affection. Then Thorin drew back and held the beads out to him. "Help me put them in." He said in his more normal, commanding tone. Kili smiled at it and resisted the urge to laugh with relief as he nodded. Thorin settled on the floor before the fire, still looking a little broody, but less...dark. Kili collected what they needed and silently unwound the worn threads that tied Thorin's current braids. Annoyed by them, he tossed them onto the fire and started brushing his uncle's hair out in smooth, companionable silence. The strands were thick and heavy, trying to curl once free of his braids but Kili took his time smoothing them, separating the pieces in preparation to be braided. Thorin leaned back into his legs, slowly relaxing, a low hum starting deep in his chest. Smiling, Kili picked up the tune as he started the first braid, both actions more home than the Blue Mountains or Erebor were. The first clasp went on easily, shining in Thorin's dark hair. The second shone in the firelight, a crow in flight rippling across metal. Then Thorin turned his head to do the front braids. Kili saw his face was relaxed, eyes half closed in contentment. The hum slowly grew into song as the braids wound to completion, first one, then the other, a bead capping each. Kili smoothed them with steady fingers but Thorin didn't move and neither spoke again. In the dim firelight the night grew darker and two voices sang contently together as Yuleday slowly came.