Between the Boards - Chapter 5
This is a WW2 AU. Please read the AO3 tags before proceeding.
Fili isn’t sure later on what exactly made him look at the bins in one of the dark alleyways he passes on his way back from work.
He almost misses the little black ball, except its white paws catch his eye and he walks back once his mind has processed what his eyes registered.
The kitten is tiny and shivering and Fili doesn’t think particularly hard when he scoops it, tucking it into his jacket.
If he’s honest with himself it’s for Kili; he thinks he could use some company when Fili is not there.
For Fili personally it’s about who he can or can’t save.
The kitten is shouty and not at all impressed when faced with a warm bath and some patient grooming to rid it of the parasites. Kili has taken down the planks and is peering around the kitchen curiously as best as he can.
“You remind me of a boy I once knew. He too never liked washing behind his ears.”
Kili scoffs and throws him an equally unimpressed look.
“Yes, I think I shall call you Kili,” he decides, lifting the animal high in his palm, trying to gauge whether it’s a boy or a girl. He’s never done this before so he finds it really hard to tell.
“You can’t call it Kili!” there’s an outraged whisper from the pantry, and anybody who’s known Kili for five minutes knows this is the best he can do in terms of keeping quiet, “that’s my name! Find your own!”
“I like it!” he throws his friend a mischievous grin, wraps the animal up in a kitchen towel and passes it over.
Kili glares at the bundle in his hands but when it curls up into a ball on his chest and falls asleep, his expression softens.
“It will be horribly confusing, you know.”
“Not really,” Fili drops himself a pillow to the floor next to Kili, “you both react to sounds of food being prepared and demand constant attention. Two birds, one stone, right?”
He receives a punch to his arm for his troubles and thinks how good it feels to see Kili smiling again.
