Author's Note: Um, so I realized rather late in the day today that I missed my posting day on Monday. I really, really apologize for that; I'm trying to keep a steady posting schedule of Mondays and Fridays. But I also want my readers to know that if I miss a day, I will make up for it. So here's a short one-shot about little Fili and Kili. ;) I'm not especially happy with the title, so if you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them! And do let me know what you think; I have a lot of Fili and Kili kidfics put back to post eventually, so let me know what you like and what you don't like, alright? I want to be able to get better at this. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own any of my adorable Durins. I just call them "my" Durins out of pure affection. :D

"Kili? Kili! Kiiiiiilliiiiiiiii!"

Fili huffed as he marched through the village in search of his brother. Their mother had sent him to get a round of cheese Bombur had promised them from his next batch. Kili had been gone for nigh on an hour, and of course it was Fili who had to go looking for him. He was probably at Bofur's toy shop; he always liked to see the cheery dwarf and there were more than enough fascinating odds and ends to make him forget the time.

"KILI!"

Fili passed the forge where Thorin would be working until dinnertime. Fili couldn't help but slow a little and try to peek through the doorway. Soon he'd be starting to learn the trade to help support the family. It was dark and he couldn't see much, but the metallic clang of metal being pounded and shaped, and the occasional flash of fire. Stifling heat rolled out into the street, and reminded Fili that he shouldn't be dawdling.

"Hello, young master Fili," Bombur greeted, pleasantly, waddling down the street in the opposite direction.

"Oh, Mister Bombur, have you seen Kili? He was supposed to be getting some cheese for our mother, and he hasn't come back yet."

"Aye, he came by almost an hour ago. Have you checked Bofur's workshop? The little rascal is awfully fond of my brother, it seems."

"I'll go there now. Thanks."

Fili walked the five minutes or so to the favorite haunt of his little brother. Bofur looked up from the little mechanical warrior he was fashioning with a wide smile, as always, and a cheery greeting. He denied having seen Kili at all that day, which caused a little spike of worry in the place of the irritation Fili had harbored only a moment before.

"Wha, did you loose 'im, lad?" Bofur asked, pushing his odd hat back a little on his head.

"I'd say more like he lost himself," Fili returned, trying to cover his nervousness with a jibe. "Don't worry; I'll find him."

Fili shook Bofur's hand and gave a little bow before leaving, all in such a grown-up fashion that Bofur didn't know whether to be amused or impressed. He settled for both. That lad would make a great leader one day.

Fili had been all over the little down. He only had one street left to patrol, and by now Amad was surely wondering where he'd gotten to as well. The worry he'd felt earlier had grown; he hoped Kili hadn't got into any trouble with the human children of the town. The dwarves weren't all that liked, and Kili being even smaller than most dwarf boys…Fili felt his pace quicken.

"Stay down, dwarf trash!" the harsh, cruel childish voice cut through the chilly autumn air.

"Dwarf?" another mocking voice cut in, "He can't be pure blood, even for his kind. Little shrimp. You say your Da died in battle. I don't believe it; I bet he was an elf who ran away before you were born."

"Nah, he's too tiny to be part elf. Maybe part hobbit?"

Fili broke into a run. And the site that met him in the little ally made his blood positively boil with a rage so hot it would have frightened him if he hadn't been seeing red.

Kili was on the ground, trying to push himself up, with three or four teenaged human boys standing around, and even one or two dwarves. Dwarves! They should know better! Kili looked very small, but the anger and frustration was evident on his dirt-smudged face glared at the tallest one, a lanky, pock-faced boy who looked like his father had been a bean-poll.

"He said stay down! What, are you deaf?" another tormentor wheezed in a nasally tone, planting a rough kick into Kili's side. He rolled over, clutching his stomach and gasping for air. His eyes fell on Fili, and his face lit up for a moment.

And then there was a blur of yellow hair and a fierce snarl and the tallest boy went down with Fili on top of him.

"Don't. You. Touch. My. Brother!" Fili spat, accentuating each word with a savage blow, alternating between sides of the boy's head. He wasn't a match in age or height for the bully, but he had the well-built strength of a dwarf, and the boy howled. Several pairs of hands suddenly seized Fili and dragged him back, still writhing and biting and kicking like a wild thing, and slammed him against the brick wall, making him see stars for a moment. The effect was prolonged when a fist connected with his eye, drawing a bellow of fury. The hands on him loosened when one of the attackers squealed and stumbled. Kili had knocked his feet right out from under him. The moment was all Fili needed.

He wrenched away from his captors and dragged Kili to his feet, pushing him slightly behind him and backing toward the wall.

"Oooooh, it's the prince," one of the dwarf children mocked, face twisted in hatred, "Your family thinks you can do whatever you want because you're special. But you don't have a kingdom anymore, and neither does your Uncle. So you're no different from the rest of us."

"We're of the line of Durin," Kili shouted indignantly, through a cut lip. "And one day we will retake Erebor!"

"Is this how you repay my Uncle after all he's done for you?" Fili added, "After he found a place for us to settle, after he kept our people from perishing completely? He deserves your loyalty!"

A burst of hateful laughter was all they got back. The two human boys who had gone down were back up, and edging closer. Fili's gaze darted to the entrance of the ally. It looked hard to reach, indeed, and a wall of bullies stood between him and it. He'd have to fight his way out. That was fine with him.

"Haha! Really? Nobody owed your little folks nothin'. You're only good for making our plowblades and cooking-pans, anyway. And it looks like somebody needs to learn to be less cocky. Especially the little half-breed runt."

"You will not speak so of my little brother. That is IT!"

Fili lowered his head and bowled into the middle of the rabble like a mad boar. Kili gave a shrill yell of mixed excitement and anxiety as he watched the row unfold before him, and he dove into the fray. Fili took great satisfaction in the shriek as his brother's teeth sank into the wrist of a boy who had his hand on Fili's throat.

The Durin boys' first battle, and Fili felt that even Mister Dwalin would be impressed with the fury of the fight.

"Fili!" Dis gasped.

"You should see the other six," Fili mumbled.

"What have you…what did you two clot-heads do this time?" Dis asked, throwing her dishrag down in the wash-basin and rushing to the side of her oldest son, who was shuffling through the door looking a sight.

He had one black eye, his hair was a mess, and his clothes were torn. Blood dripped down his chin and showed through a rip in his trousers knee, and his eyes were positively smoldering. His arm was around Kili, whose curtain of dark hair hid his face but who didn't look quite steady on his feet, and little sniffles could be heard now and then.

"We got in a fight, Amad. That's what happened," Fili said, sharply.

"That is no respectful way to speak to your mother," Thorin's deep voice rumbled threateningly from the livingroom. He appeared in the doorway and his face darkened further into a thundercloud as he took in their battle-torn appearances.

"Dis, see that they're cleaned up and then send them in to me. This behavior can not be unanswered, especially in a position such as they hold."

"But Uncle, we-" Kili started, but Thorin cut him off.

"Silence. I will hear none of it."

He turned and stalked off. Fili growled, but allowed his mother to hustle him into the washroom and make him presentable, fussing over his cuts and Kili's multiple bruises in a way that almost annoyed him. Kili looked edgy with worry over their appointment with Thorin, but Fili caught his eye and nodded once, determination hardening his gaze. Fili would take care of things, don't worry.

Thorin stood in front of the fire, jaw muscle jumping with anger. The boys aught to know better. They did know better, he corrected himself. He'd known the two of them had a penchant for trouble of course, and usually he was willing to forgive that, but this time they'd taken it too far. Brawling was not an acceptable pass-time for any two young dwarves, especially not those who had the throne of Erebor in their future. He heard a throat cleared and turned to see his nephews standing uncertainly in the doorway.

Thorin turned and sat down in his arm-chair, beckoning them into the room with his face hard and stern. The moved to stand in front of him.

"I do not know what happened out there, and may I say that it hardly even matters. What the two of you did was unacceptable." Thorin unclasped his belt and slid it free. "Up to now I did not feel it my place to keep you in line; after your father's death I did not know how to raise you. I have been failing in my task of raising you, and I will not be continuing in that error." He folded the belt in half. "Do you understand?"

Fili winced. He knew what a belt was for when it was held like that.

"I think so," Kili said, his voice small and slightly scared, "But Uncle…wouldn't you want to know how it started?"

"I don't much care, Kili," Thorin said. "Come here." Kili dropped his head and started toward him, as his uncle prepared to put his wayward, ragged little nephew over his knee.

"That's not fair!" Fili suddenly burst out, angrily, "There were four human boys and two dwarrow children, and they were attacking Kili in an ally in town. He could have gotten really hurt if we didn't do something!"

Thorin paused.

"What?"

"It's true!" Kili put in, hurriedly, "They knocked me down on the way home, and one of them took away Ama's cheese. So I told him to give it back, and they dragged me into an ally and started hitting me. Fili jumped on one of 'em, and then we had to fight our way out!"

"They were calling him wicked, horrible things, too!" Fili cried. "Nobody hurts my little brother. I had to hit them, Uncle! They even said bad things about you."

Thorin sat back, his face thunderous now for a whole other reason.

"You said dwarves had part in this?"

"Yes. Two of them."

"Did they know who Kili was?"

"Yes, and they still called him bad names! They told him lies about our father."

When Thorin heard the things that had been said, his brows lowered even further, if that was at all possible. He stood up, suddenly.

"Boys, tell your mother dinner will have to wait until later. We have some things to attend to."

"Yes, Uncle Thorin. Are…are we still in trouble?" Kili asked, hesitantly.

He offered them a brief, fierce smile.

"No. I am very proud of you. Under the circumstances I think that you did the only thing that would have brought honor to name of your line. I am going to speak to the fathers of those boys responsible, and then I am going to teach you two how to throw a punch without hurting your hands."

Kili's wide grin with the missing tooth and Fili's look of excitement made Uncle Thorin chuckle.

"Are you both alright?"

"Nothing but scratches," Fili answered, stoutly. From the stiff way they stood and the dark bruises on their faces and hands Thorin could see it was a little more than that, but his pride in his heirs stepped up another notch.

"There's my lads."

Author's Note: Ta-da! How was the end? Did the piece feel complete, or like it was missing something? Let me know your thoughts, please! First person to leave a review gets to give me a one-shot prompt or challenge and I'll write it for them. :) I reserve the right to ask for a different prompt. ;)