Chapter Text
"Come on Fee!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming. Slow down!" Fili sighed slightly as he quickened his pace down the dark hallway. The only light was from the moon, and it cast it's bright light through the windows causing dark shadows from the swaying trees.
Why Kili always liked to play at night, Fili would never know.
He followed his little brother out the front door into the crisp summer night air and watched the shadowy figure of his little brother dart towards their "secret" (Thorin had built it for them) treehouse.
"Careful Kee, the wood may still be wet from today's rains." Fili whispered at his brother's climbing figure.
"You worry too much, Fee. Have some fun once in a while." Kili say with a smirk. Fili couldn't help but laugh, even at a young age of six Kili was still the sassiest dwarfling in town.
Fili carefully climbed up the wooden ladder Uncle Thorin had made for them. It was sturder, yet Fili could feel the wood slip underneath his boots.
They made it up to the top without any incidents though.
Kili whooped with laughter and swung on the tree swing he had made the day before. It hung in the middle of the small treehouse from an outstanding branch. Like a chair hanging from the ceiling. It was quite a clever contraption and Fili was envious of his younger brother's woodsworth talent.
Then it happened. The one single moment that changed the brothers lives forever. Kili swung forward with a little too much momentum and at the same time his boot slipped on a wed patch of wood. He was out of the swing, out the door and into thin air before Fili could very well blink.
"Kili!" Fili cried, making a useless grab at his brother's coat.
The small dwarf didn't even make a sound when he hit the ground.
"Kili?" Fili whispered, looking down at the motionless dark body of his brother.
"Kili!" Fili scrambled down the treehouse, feeling panic buzz in his chest. He ran to his brother.
Kili was cold to the touch.
"No! No! Kili! Mama, Uncle come quick!" Fili cried into the night.
Lights came on in the house, and two figure came running outside.
"Fili. What have you done?" Dis asked in horror as she stared at her youngest son's motionless body.
"It was an accident. I swear. He slipped and fell. Please, I didn't meant to do it." Fili babbled as Thorin checked over Kili.
Thorin finally looked up.
"Fili, be quiet. Go inside to your room. We'll talk about this in the morning. Dis, call Balin to watch Fili. We need to take Kili to Oin right away."
Fili wept softly as his mother escorted him inside, would he ever see his brother again?
Fili be quiet.
It echoed in his head. The guilt, the pain, the shame, all of it filled up his soul and froze his voice.
Fili vowed he wouldn't speak again until he saw his brother walk.
888
It's funny, how things work in life.
It's all a tumble of if's and buts
If Dis and Thorin hadn't moved Kili to the doctor's, Kili still may have had the use of his legs.
If Kili hadn't build that swing the day before, he may have never have fallen from the tree house in the first place.
If Fili had been there just a few seconds quicker, Kili would have been saved.
If Fili had just grabbed onto him.
If Fili had been blocking the door.
Kili would still be able to walk.
Fili never forgave himself for it. The guilt bubbled up in his chest and weighed him down like a thousand coins.
He worked silently in Thorin's shop, learning the ins and outs of craft making. He never once visited Kili while he was bedridden. He couldn't face the look on his mothers face. It was too much for him to bare. So he worked silently at his desk.
Sketching, drawing, creating until it was time for Thorin to take him home.
It was Kili's chair swing that gave him the idea for the wheel-chair. Fili had thought, if a chair could hang like a swing, why couldn't it have wheels like a wagon? Then, Kili would be able to get around without Oin or Thorin carrying him.
Fili sketched the idea out on a pad of paper, and when it was time for Thorin to pack up shop for the day, he shyly showed it to his uncle.
Thorin was a very down to earth dwarf. He cared for none of the drama and nonsense of the other dwarfs and was often found defending his nephews. It was not Fili's fault. It wasn't anybodies fault that this misfortune fell upon the sons of Durin.
It was an accident.
Thorin spent most of his time trying to convince Fili of this. It was not his fault, he had no reason to feel guilty because it was an accident. Fili was not to blame at all for it. Infact, if Fili hadn't called them so fast, Kili could have died.
So when Fili showed Thorin his plans for his little brother, Thorin was more than pleased with the creativity of his eldest nephew.
"This is lovely, Lad. Tomorrow I'll show you how to use the welder and we can get started." Thorin had told him.
Fili nodded. When he stopped talking, he had also stopped smiling, but he was please none the less.