Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings.

A/N: A while ago I said I would be doing one shots/missing scenes/AUs for All That Remains and The Shadow War. Well, here's the first one at last! This is an Alternate Universe What If idea, so you don't have to worry about spoilers for ATR this chapter. At the top of each one shot I will put if there are spoilers for ATR and what chapter you should have read up to in ATR in order to understand what is going on. With that being said, I hope you enjoy it.

LOTRLOTRLOTR

Title: Friend

Universe: ATR, AU.

Spoilers for ATR/TSW: None. Legolas's mom dies in so many stories that I don't consider that a spoiler. XD

Chapter you should read up to before reading this: None.

Warning: Kinda sad towards the end.

Summary: After getting lost in the shadowy gloom of Mirkwood, Kili finds help from an unexpected guide.

Friend

Kili, son of Dis, nephew of the great and powerful Thorin Oakenshield... was lost. Not that he would ever admit it, even to himself. He was not lost, he was merely... sightseeing. Yes, that was it. He was just wandering around looking at the terrifying trees and dark shadows that looked like they wanted to kill him. Kili was a great dwarf warrior, he would never get lost in a place that elves had no trouble getting through...

Except he had. One moment, the dwarf had been following Bilbo and the rest of the Company through Mirkwood, the next he was by himself, surrounded by fog and wondering where his companions had gone. He had been wandering around ever since. The brown-haired dwarf could not see the sky through the menacing canopy above, but based on how much his feet hurt and his stomach ached, it had been a good many hours since he had lost his way.

Kili halted abruptly, peering at a tree that had an odd, crooked branch that looked like a triangle. He pointed at it, emitting a sound of disgust. "I've passed you before, haven't I?" The dwarf paused, then scowled. "Wonderful. Now I'm shouting at trees. I'm going to be mad by the time I find Thorin and the others!"

If you ever find them, a pessimistic voice whispered in his mind. This forest is a maze. You'll never get out of here.

Kili ignored the voice, gritting his teeth as he strode forward once more. The already deep shadows were lengthening further, signifying that night was finally coming upon the land. The dwarf's pace slowed as his eyesight slowly failed him, barely able to see a foot ahead of him. His foot caught on a root and he fell forward with a yell, the ground vanishing from beneath him. Kili felt a surge of panic as he tumbled down— A cliff? A ravine?— only to land five feet below where he had fallen. The dwarf breathed sharply, relieved that the fall had not been worse, and rose unsteadily to his feet again. He quickly checked his bow for damage, relaxing when he found none.

He hid his alarm behind anger, glowering in the general direction of the root. "Stupid tree! Why I ought to come up there and throttle you, you useless piece of bark!"

Kili continued to rant at the tree, not caring about how insane he was acting, until a giggle made his stop mid-shout. The brown-haired dwarf turned, blinking rapidly as a soft light entered his vision. Soon his eyesight cleared, to see a small glowing child standing in front of him. The dwarf blinked again, reached out, and poked the child to ensure he was not another apparition. His hand met a pale cheek, and the child giggled again.

Kili quickly withdrew his hand, blushing. "Er, sorry about that. I thought you were a hallucination."

The child's head tipped and pale blonde hair shifted, revealing a subtly pointed ear. Despite himself, Kili twitched. The child— elfling— observed him innocently, ignorant to his sudden wariness. The dwarf forced himself to relax, silently berating himself.

Don't let Thorin's old prejudices affect you, Kili. He may be an elf, but he's still a child. He had nothing to do with what happened at Erebor.

The elfling inched closer, wide eyes still on Kili, and reached out. Again, Kili tensed, unwilling to move as the little one stretched out a hand and...

...poked his nose.

Kili gawped, then smiled sheepishly. "All right. Maybe I deserved that. But now we're even, right?"

The elfling laughed and ran around the dwarf, chattering rapidly in Elvish. The warrior could not understand a word that he was saying and eventually tuned him out, thoughts turning inward. How had an elf-child ended up out in the middle of the forest? Unless Kili had ended up close to an elven settlement, the little elfling had to be lost. Were his parents looking for him?

Watching as the elfling grew interested in everything on Kili from his feet to his hair, the dwarf felt a twinge of nervousness. He remembered a warning Dis had once given him and Fili about bear cubs, and how one should leave them alone unless they wanted to experience the wrath of an enraged mother bear. It would be just Kili's luck that the elfing's parents would find him with the dwarf, and assume he kidnapped him or something.

"Elfling." Kili tried to gain the little one's attention as he played with his hair, apparently attempting to braid it. "Elfling!" Silver-blue eyes focused on him. "Yes, I'm talking to you. Where's your parents?" No response. Apparently the child really did not know Westron. "Your mommy?" Blank expression. "Daddy?" Nothing. Kili wracked his brain, trying to remember the word the elves in Rivendell had used for their parents. He remembered the elven twins calling their father something... "Um... Adur? Ata? Adar?"

The elfling brightened. "Ada Ada Ada!"

"Er, yes." Kili said, relieved they had gotten somewhere. "Where's your Ada?"

"Ada!" the elfling repeated, grabbing Kili's hand and tugging at it insistently. "Aphad enni, mellon! Aphad enni!"

Did he just call me 'melon'? Kili thought. "My name is Kili." he told the elfling. "Kil-ee."

"Mellon." the elfling said simply, pulling at his arm again.

The dwarf resisted for a moment, his worry about his people's secret mission and his duty to help the lost child warring against each other. Eventually, the kinder part of him won, and he let himself be dragged after the elfling.

The elfling was apparently less lost than he was, and they soon found themselves in a much brighter part of the forest. With each step, Kili's sense of dread grew, until his stomach felt like it was being twisted into knots. When a bridge with two elven guards came into view, Kili almost bolted, but one look at the elfling's silver-blue eyes made him pause.

I cannot leave him until I know he's home, the dwarf thought. Maybe the elves will be fine with a dwarf showing up at their home.

"Halt! Come no closer!"

...Or not.

The guards approached, eyes fixated on Kili, but their steps faltered when they spotted his young companion. The elfling waved, giggling and said something in Elvish. The guards immediately stepped back, and the child once again tugged at his unwilling travel companion. As he passed the guards, Kili swore that he saw tears running down one's cheek.

They made their way through the stone caverns and halls, Kili slowly realizing that this was no normal elven settlement. There were guards and other elves everywhere, and each one had the strangest reaction to the odd pair in their midst. Many would notice Kili, see the elfling, then freeze. Others would approach aggressively but back away once they spotted the child. In the end, none stopped them, not even the guards outside a pair of great doors. In fact, they merely opened them and stepped aside.

A single elf sat at the end of the throne room, and Kili did not need to have met him to know who the elf was. He tried to back away before Thranduil saw him, but the elfling refused to let go. Instead he gave a cry of "Ada!" and Kili's heart nearly stopped.

Thranduil, King of Mirkwood, looked up, expression ranging from anger— directed at Kili— to shock— at the elfing— before settling on veiled curiosity— surprisingly directed at Kili. The Elvenking rose to his full regal height, striding forward and looking down at the two in his halls, barely contained emotion on his face.

"Legolas," he said in careful Westron, voice oddly strained. "Who is this?"

"Mellon! Friend!" the elfling— Legolas— chirped, also in Westron.

Kili gave him a subtle glare. "Oh, so you could understand me!"

Then he paused, realizing what the elfling had just said and found himself smiling softly at the little one's proclamation. He looked up thoughtfully, blanching when he got a clear view of Thranduil's glowing blue eyes. Based on the Elvenking's neutral expression, he could be thinking about anything from throwing Kili a welcoming party to wondering if his hounds would eat dwarf.

"How did you find Legolas, dwarf?" Thranduil asked coolly.

Kili wanted to snap at him for his tone, but Legolas was playing with his hair again, and the dwarf found he could not find offense at the Elvenking's condescension. "We ran into each other, actually. I was traveling with a group—" The warrior snapped his mouth shut, cursing himself as he realized he had revealed his companions' presence in the elves' territory.

Thranduil smirked. "I have already found and captured your companions, dwarf. The hobbit that was trying to free them as well. Soon you will join them in—"

"Noooooooooooooo!" Legolas interrupted with a wail, grabbing Kili and burying his face in the dwarf's tunic. "Friend!"

Kili and Thranduil both stared at the elfling in bewilderment. Then the Elvenking wilted, his cold mask shattering to reveal something much sadder and broken hiding within.

"I suppose that you want me to release your 'friend's' friends, don't you?" he asked softly.

Legolas nodded firmly, before turning and poking Kili on the nose again. "Mellon."

Kili smiled and poked him back. "Mellon."

LOTRLOTRLOTR

Thorin was predictably suspicious when the elves released him and his kind, offering to guide them through the forest without any price. Fili and the others were just relieved that Kili was all right, so relieved in fact that they did not seem to notice the tiny elfling that was practically glued to the dwarf's side. Legolas did not seem to mind however, content to try to braid Kili's hair as he went with the Company and elven guards that were leading them out of the forest.

The younger dwarf prince was glad for the distractions the elfling created, because the other elves gave him the oddest looks throughout the journey, staring at him as if they had never seen something like him before. Kili frowned, slightly self-conscious, and wondered if it was his lack of beard and pretty face that was drawing their attention.

Soon enough they reached the edge of the forest, and Kili was stunned to see that the sun was high in the sky. It had never been night at all, and once again the dwarf shivered at the strangeness of Mirkwood.

"Thank you for your assistance." Thorin stiffly told the elves.

The silver-haired, blue eyed leader of the group nodded, showing none of the animosity he might be feeling. "Do not be mistaken. If it were not for Legolas, you would still be in those cells, dwarf."

The soon-to-be King Under the Mountain grunted, anger and mistrust still in his gaze. From behind Kili, the elfling giggled, seemingly amused by the dwarf's grumpy expression. Thorin and the Company— even Bilbo— ignored him, walking quickly out of the forest without looking back. Frowning at their rudeness, Kili turned to Legolas, ruffling his hair.

"Since Thorin's being a grump, I'll just say thank you for him, little one."

The silver-haired elf, who had been walking away, paused and turned around, kneeling beside the dwarf. He glanced at Legolas, hesitated, then spoke in a low voice. "Though I hold no love for dwarves, I must tell you that the Dwarf King is not knowingly being unkind. Your friends simply... cannot see Legolas."

Kili looked at him uncomprehendingly, then frowned, hand resting on the elfling's head. "What are you talking about? Are you joking with me?"

"No." the elf whispered, looking directly at the dwarf with deep sorrow in his eyes. "Only the elves of Mirkwood can see him. And you, of course."

The dwarf grew increasingly uncomfortable under the elf's pained gaze. "W-What do you...?"

The silver-haired elf reached out, touching Legolas's cheek gently, and the elfling batted at his hand gripping the fingers and wrapping his own around as many as he could. He could not quite hold all five, causing his brow to furrow in discontent.

"Legolas is my little brother," the elf whispered. "He died more than four hundred years ago in an orc attack along with my mother. We do not know how or why, but ever since then he has been a guardian of this forest, guiding travelers through its treacherous maze by using laughter and song, and leading our troops to those who need help. You are the only outsider who has ever been able to see him. He is hidden even from the great Galadriel's sight."

Kili gaped at him before staring at Legolas, unable to believe that the lively, warm, joyful elfling was just a spirit. He shakily reached out, fingers brushing the elfling's forehead, and he felt the life in the child's small body. To his shame, Kili felt tears running down his cheeks, dripping down his chin like rain. Legolas reached out, brushing away a tear, and poked the dwarf's cheeks into a smile.

"Don't be sad, mellon-nin. Don't cry. There there." Like the child he was and would always remain, he repeated words told to him by adults when he was upset, which only made Kili want to cry harder.

Shakily he reached up, grasping Legolas's tiny hands in his own, and forced himself to smile. "You... you are the bravest, best, most wonderful person I have ever met, Legolas. I am glad I'm your friend."

The elfling beamed back at him. "I'm glad Kili is my friend too!" He hesitated, glancing at the dwarves who were waiting outside the border. "Kili has to go now. Kili will come back right?"

"Yes." Kili said firmly. "I'll come back."

Intense silver-blue eyes stared at him. "Kili promise?"

The dwarf nodded. "I promise."

Legolas nodded, stepped back, then rushed forward to give the brown-haired dwarf a hug. Kili hugged him back, pressing his cheek to the little one's soft hair. They let go and Kili rose, walking out of the forest without looking back. But even as he joined his brother and the Company moved out, determination ignited in the dwarf's soul. He would return, once Smaug had been defeated.

He had promised.

LOTRLOTRLOTR

Translations:

Ada: Daddy

Mellon: friend

Mellon-nin: my friend

Aphad enni: Follow me.

What if scenario: What if Legolas had been killed by the orcs with his mother?

A/N: In the original version of the Company's trek through Mirkwood, the elves were going to attack the dwarves at the edge of the forest, only to stop when they spotted Esgal/Legolas/The Hidden Guardian. It was sort of a "The Guardian is trusting them so we will let them go" thing. I dropped that scenario, but it somehow transformed into a spirit-elfling!Legolas guiding Kili through the forest to his Ada, which made Thranduil release the dwarves. My brain makes leaps in ideas like that. :P

Please review and tell me if you want more one shots!