AU Fill for the kinkmeme, if Kili had been raised by the elves. Posting over here just so I can keep track of where it goes~ HEADCANONS AHOY

Strength of Blood

Elrond was, as any uncle would, hesitant about the dwarves coming to Rivendell. While he had always encouraged his nephew to embrace the dwarf heritage that ran through his blood he couldn't control the reactions of the others to Kili's blood. While he was half dwarf, the young Kili also had elf blood running through his veins, the gene evident in his fair bone structure and beardless face.

Elrond had at first been unwanting of Kili in his own home, but the boy's father had brought him to Elrond in desperation, unsure of what to do and with the Elvenking, King Thranduil of Mirkwood, unallowing of the boy's presence in his woods. Having taken pity on the young half blood at the time, Elrond had taken him into Imladris and raised him to the elven way, training him as both a scholar in literature and a warrior in archery as his uncle, though no familial blood was shared between them other than the race of elves.

So when Gandalf arrived with Thorin and his company of dwarves in tow, Elrond had found it difficult to even tell Kili of their guests. Elrond had been surprised himself, having just ridden in to find their troop on his doorstep.

So, that night, he sat Kili down and explained to him.

"Kili," He began and the half dwarf looked at him earnestly, "I have never lied to you, my nephew. About who your parents were or what you are." Elrond himself winced at that, as if he was telling the boy he was some sort of halfbreed.

"I know, uncle." Kili said, placing a hand over Elrond's; the Elf Lord paused in thought as he felt Kili's own callused hand resting over his unblemished one. It had been a surprise to find that the elves' fast healing had not been one trait that had been inherited of the boy.

"Yes, I know you do. As such, we have visitors in our great hall today. They are dwarves, and they hail from Erebor."

"I have heard stories of such."

Elrond nodded, "You have. As is such, I am leaving it up to your discretion should you choose to associate with this company of dwarves."

Kili looked confused at his uncle's words, "Why would I choose not to? You have never shown me any reason to be ashamed of my dwarf blood." He said and Elrond saw the dwarven spark of fire that constantly burned behind Kili's eyes.

"You may not find the dwarves so accepting of your elf line as the elves have been of your dwarf. Do you understand?" Elrond said slowly, having much desire for Kili to comprehend and not allow himself to be hurt.

Kili was silent for a long moment, a pensive habit he picked up from the never aging elves that seemed to constantly battle against his desire to rush headfirst into as many situations as he could. Finally, he nodded, "I will talk to them."

Elrond sighed, having hoped he wouldn't have to worry about Kili meeting the company. Nevertheless, the elf lord agreed, "Then you are to meet them whenever you wish. Be cautious, my nephew."

Kili simply bowed his head as Elrond took his leave.

/ / /

He watched from a distance as his nephew approached the group of Dwarves at the table, bearing a plate of red fruits that he himself had picked from the gardens. Before he had sent Kili to them, Elrond had pulled him aside and asked him to keep control of his eagerness. Kili had looked hesitant and confused but eventually nodded.

Using his keen elven hearing, Elrond stayed in his place as Kili set the tray down and the dwarves each stopped in turn to look at him.

"A dwarf? In Rivendell?" Asked one of them, Bofur, "What in the worlds are you doing here?" He had sounded so incredulous that Elrond almost spoke up in defense, but the question was asked in genuine curiosity rather than malice. Elrond looked to Thorin, who simply stayed where he sat and observed.

"I am Kili." Kili said, voice rising so that he could be heard across the table. Elrond sat with bated breath as Kili continued, "My mother was a dwarf and my father an elf." He proclaimed proudly and Thorin threw his goblet onto the table.

"Impossible." He said and the dwarves looked to their leader. "There is no such abomination as a half dwarf half elf." He spat. To Elrond's surprise, Kili didn't look disheartened. If anything, he looked all the more eager to prove himself.

"My mother was Dis the dwarf, my father Arthiun the elf. I have been raised in Rivendell under the guidance of my uncle in name, Lord Elrond. But I wish to know of my dwarf heritage." He said.

Elrond watched as the dwarves whipped their heads around to stare at Kili now, and Elrond wondered what had caused the sudden attention.

Thorin's face turned an astonishing shade of red and he stood up, "You are a filthy half breed. What makes you think you have the right to speak to my company?" Hate poured from his mouth and Elrond couldn't say he was surprised. He gripped the arm of his chair hard but kept his tongue.

Kili stood up straighter, "I'm sorry you feel that way about me." He himself hissed the words through clenched jaw and Elrond had, not for the first time, a look into the fire that burned within his dwarven heart. Instead of fighting with his words as Elrond fully expected, Kili pulled the strap that held his quiver to his back tighter, turned on his heel, and walked out. Elrond managed to glimpse his face, flushed with anger and what he assumed was a sort of shame, as he stormed out.

The Elf Lord sighed deeply and looked up to find Thorin looking at him with a stormy kind of contempt. Frowning, Elrond stood from his spot, bade the dwarves a good night, and followed after his nephew.

He found Kili at the archery ranges, a place the dwarf often retired to. It was there he could look past the dwarven stature and looks of his nephew and witness the elf in him execute talent and finesse with his bow.

"Kili." he said from behind and Kili let loose another arrow, watching as it hit just to the left of the bullseye.

"I'm fine, uncle." Kili grit out and reached for another arrow, fist clenching when he found that his quiver was empty.

"You are upset." Elrond observed and Kili whipped his body around, long, dark hair falling across his shoulders.

"I am not happy. I am surprised to find that what the elves say of the dwarves' hatred for them is true."

Elrond watched his nephew walk to the target and begin to pull out his arrows, and felt his heart fall slightly. He didn't wish for Kili to think of his kin in this way. "Perhaps," He called out, "You have simply caught them at a bad time, Kili. They have been traveling long. It would not hurt to speak to them after they have had some rest." He offered and was confused when Kili stopped tugging at his arrows and merely stood by the targets.

Stepping out from the overhang, Elrond walked fluidly over the range to Kili's side, one hand dropping to the boy's shoulder. Kili looked up at the touch and Elrond was taken aback by the silver streaks that decorated his cheeks. He hadn't thought the young half dwarf would feel so strongly of this.

"You are elf, Kili. It matters not what they think."

Kili looked away but didn't shrug away from Elrond's touch, "But I am just as dwarf as I am elf. You cannot tell me I am of your kin when I look as I do."

"You do not look as if you do not belong, if that is what you are implying."

"I have a hard time believing that." Kili took a slow, shuttering breath. "If it is all the same to you, uncle, I would rather be alone right now."

Elrond hesitated and then withdrew his hand. He knew when the stubbornness of his nephew was not worth fighting against, and this was one of those times. "You know where to find me."

Kili let a deep, heart breaking sigh and Elrond forced his body to continue walking until he was away from the archery range.

/ / /

"Thorin, why won't you let me speak with him? You heard who he said his mother was, as clearly as I!"

The dwarves were situated about the Great Hall, a large fire cracking and spitting behind them. A few of the dwarves were asleep, exhausted from the journey. Bombur's heavy snoring competed against the roaring of the hearth.

"Enough, Fili." Thorin said and Fili sat up straighter, throwing the blankets he had wrapped around him off to the side.

"No, uncle. This is not something you can cast aside with your petty hatred of elves. You heard him, he is the son of Dis. He is my brother."

"He is nothing if he has the blood of elves running through his veins!" Thorin shouted and Bifur and Oin jerked themselves awake at the sound.

Balin shook his head, running fingers through his beard, "Thorin, I understand where your concern is coming from. But he is of dwarf blood as much as he is elf. If his mother truly is Dis then he is your nephew. You cannot ignore that."

"I think it's a fine idea to go and talk with him. He seemed like a nice fellow." Bilbo peeped up from where he was rolled up in blankets next to a snoozing Bofur.

"And what does a Hobbit burglar know of my family's strife?" Thorin spat venomously.

"I know enough that you are too afraid to face him. That you won't allow your prejudice to surpass the need you have to see your nephew!" Bilbo argued and Thorin was silent. It was the silence that led Fili to believe that Bilbo was right. Thorin warred inside of himself against his mistrust of the elves and his desire to connect with any of his kin.

"We should go to him. Talk to him. Apologize for our actions. We must at least listen to what he has to say. If he truly is my brother… I…" Fili sighed, "I want to know of him. If we are siblings I want to be his brother, in action, as well as name and blood."

Thorin's brow crinkled, though the movement was lost amongst his brows and hair. Fili waited with a heavy weight catching the breath in his chest, hands gripping the fabric of his trousers. He had looked at Kili when the half dwarf had first entered the hall where they ate and, while he would never admit it, felt an immediate pull to the younger. It was as if they'd known each other all their lives, but had never spoken; though he dreaded telling this to Thorin, or any of the company.

Finally Thorin let loose a great sigh and Fili felt his own go with it, but his answer was not one that Fili wished, "No." He said and Fili deflated, "We must leave early tomorrow morning, and we do not have the time for this outlandishness."

Fili felt anger welling up within him but Thorin looked to him, his expression positively thunderous. His uncle didn't have to speak a word and yet Fili knew how stern a command he would give. Nodding curtly, Fili laid back down and dragged a blanket up around him, muscles tense and ready to jump up and run. He felt Balin rub a comforting hand down his arm before the older dwarf turned over himself to sleep.

Fili lay awake after that, staring at the shadows being cast across the ceiling by the orange light of the fire. With them being in Rivendell no one had found the need to post a sentry and because of that, all the dwarves were asleep. Tilting his head, Fili almost jumped out of his skin to see Bilbo looking back at him, eyes wide and alert.

"Go." Bilbo whispered, and it was almost inaudible, "No one is awake to stop you." The hobbit said and Fili bit his lip. He would be disregarding an order from his uncle and king.

"I cannot. I cannot disobey Thorin like that."

Bilbo shrugging, a strange motion as he laid sideways, "He merely said that we were leaving in the morning. He did not strictly say you could not do what you wished with the night."

Fili was quiet as he mulled it over before breaking out into a grin. "You are a tricky Burglar, Bilbo Baggins. An excellent trait in a profession such as yours." Bilbo smiled back and gave another of his half shrugs and Fili was upright within seconds, looking at the sleeping dwarves.

Satisfied that they were well asleep, Fili threw off his covers and slipped his boots on before padding quietly across the floor. Even as he walked he felt the call to go to his (presumably) brother's side, to go and make things right. He looked once at his weapons that lay near the hearth before shaking his head and leaving the Great Hall, walking into crisp night air.

/ / /

Kili sat on the edge of his bed, feeling the night air kiss along his exposed skin, the silk from his bed entwined in his fingers. Through his open balcony door he watched the moon sit lazily in the sky.

It wasn't like he was confused as to who he was. He knew that his elf and dwarf often warred against each other, and he has never met another who was of the same blood as he to ask if the almost physical battle that waged within his heart was normal.

Sighing, the half dwarf shook his head. He should have listened to Elrond's quiet warnings and heeded caution. He should have known better than to walk to the dwarves with the idea that they would welcome him with open arms. He didn't, however, quite expect the vehement hatred that Thorin had displayed. His elven upbringing and Elrond's kind words bounced around his head, knowing he shouldn't hold a grudge but his stubbornness flared up and he was angry.

Which is why he was confused when his eyes burned with tears and wetness tracked itself down his face.

There was a quiet knock at the door and Kili quickly swiped his hand underneath his eyes and went to open it, fully expecting his uncle on the other side. What he did find, though, was surprising.

"Hello, Kili." The dwarf said, his golden hair bright against the moonlit corridor behind him. He saw as the dwarf glanced down at his sleeping tunic with a hint of amusement.

Kili's jaw tightened, "Dwarf."

"Fili." The dwarf offered and Kili tilted his head in question, so he laughed and repeated himself. "I am Fili. Son of Dis and nephew to King Thorin Oakenshield. Your brother."

Kili had half a mind to slam the door in the dwarf, Fili's, face. Surely this was a joke that they had set up to further demean him. However, when he looked to Fili with full intention to yell at him in every elvish curse he knew, the look in Fili's eyes stopped him. He had been raised to recognize sincerity, and what he saw swimming in Fili's depths was apology and hesitance.

Sighing, Kili looked down to the ground and without saying a word, stepped to the side to allow Fili to enter. The dwarf did, and looked around the room with admiration.

"I like your bedroom, Kili."

"What is it you wish to say?"

Fili turned and examined Kili before shrugging, "I wished only to apologize. And to say hello. Officially. As your kin."

"And what makes you think that I believe you? And why would you believe me as to our- my- mother?" Kili asked, incredulous.

Rolling his eyes, Fili said, "We dwarves have a strong sense of kinship. I know of my uncle's second cousin merely by shaking his hand." He laughed, again, and Kili found himself liking the sound, "You cannot tell me you did not feel the pull of blood between us."

Pausing, Kili shrugged. He did, actually, feel as though he belonged with the company when he had first set eyes on them. Like he should be travel weary and used to an empty stomach. "I felt like this with more than simply you."

"Possibly because Thorin is our uncle."

That set Kili back a step, "And, if what you say is true, our uncle then holds such prejudice for me that he would not even speak with me?"

Fili's mouth twisted, "Our uncle has his reasons. But that is not why I have come. Please, Kili. I do feel as though we are family, and I wish to know of my brother." Fili grasped his arms and sat them down on the edge of Kili's bed, looking so earnest that Kili actually grinned back.

"What do you wish to know about?"

"Your life with the elves, Kili. Of how you, as a dwarf, could live amongst such… uncallused beings." Fili accompanied this with a chuckle and Kili felt his chest swell as Fili called him a dwarf, not an elf and not a half breed as Thorin had.

"Then you must tell me of your travels and labors, of your songs with dwarves." Kili said and Fili nodded.

"Of course, brother."

And Kili remembers being unable to stop smiling the rest of the night as the two dwarves spoke in hushed tones, hummed tunes and tales, and told stories with their hands.

/ / /

When Fili managed to sneak back into the Great Hall, he couldn't say he didn't expect to see Thorin standing there, awake and dressed, waiting for him.

"Aside from my questions as to where you have been, for I believe I know the answer to the question, you have recklessly spent the night without sleep."

Underneath his gruff tone, Fili heard his uncle's hints of concern. Squaring his shoulders, Fili looked to Thorin, "I wish to bring him along with us."

Thorin's mouth was set in a firm line. "He is elf."

"He is my brother!" Fili shouted and the other dwarves turned their attention to the two of them. Taking a calming breath, Fili started again, "He is my brother, Thorin. I know of it. The things he says of my mother, of your sister, cannot be made up. The tales his father told him of her and of our own stories. I feel the pull of kin from him, and he is a brave and honest dwarf." Fili emphasized the last word. Thorin opened his mouth and Fili cut in, "He is your nephew. As much as I."

The dwarf company was silent as they watched Thorin. He looked away, stormy eyes focusing on the ground. Turning, Thorin made the leave the room, presumably to be on his own.

"You will consider it, uncle?" Fili called and Thorin didn't turn around, but he did stop and incline his head ever so slightly.

Fili watched him leave, feeling dread build in his heart. He turned when he felt the tug on his sleeve and Bilbo stood next to him, "He will come around."

"You do not know Thorin as we do." Dwalin said.

"Ah, and in that same sense, you do not know what he is capable of. We will see what he decides." Balin said and smiled. "We will see." And he moved to follow his lord out.

/ / /

"You and the other, Fili, your brother, have met an understanding?" Elrond questioned and watched his nephew's face break out in a smile, unable to tamper his emotions, as they watched as the dwarves attempted to leave Rivendell without notifying those who lived there.

"Yes. I have talked long with my brother. It pains me that I am unable to travel with them. He tells me of the other dwarves, and that my skills as an archer would be welcomed."

"It is Thorin that you are hesitant about." Elrond guessed and Kili nodded. His nephew had told him of how he and Fili had spoken through the night of their lives and stories, of the quest to return to Erebor. Kili had felt the tug and pull of the quest and had brought up the idea of going with them, to leave the sedentary lifestyle of Imladris. Fili had faltered, then. If it was up to him, he would bring Kili along without question, as well as the other dwarves and Bilbo the hobbit, he was sure. But Thorin was another story entirely.

Kili didn't respond verbally, and instead grasped Elrond's forearm once before turning and hurrying down the stairs that led to where the company was waiting to leave, strapping their packs on. He walked up to Fili and grasped his shoulder, the other dwarf turning to him with a warm, albeit surprised, smile.

"Perhaps we can meet again someday." Kili said, breathless, removing his hands to twist them along his bow in apprehension.

"Perhaps, or you can accompany us on our quest. We would be honored to have you." Thorin said and the rest of the dwarves looked to him, shocked. Thorin shook his head, "I am friend to any dwarf, and any dwarf who is born of Dis and is brother to Fili is more than welcome in my company."

Fili and Kili looked to each other, elation evident in their eyes. Kili turned around quickly and looked to Elrond, who stood silently as he watched the exchange from a distance. He was not so willing to allow his kin to leave as Thorin was to accept him, not entirely happy with the dwarf lord's earlier treatment of the boy, but he saw the plead in his nephew's eyes. With a slow dip of his head, Elrond gave him the permission he so desired.

Kili's face lit up and he grasped Thorin's outstretched hand, feeling Fili's own arm going around his shoulder. "Then, Thorin Oakenshield, I would be honored to join you."