Return to Me (Kili)

Epilogue

Frodo finished his biscuit, crumbs falling everywhere as he raised his arms above his head in a yawn. "Are there any dragons in the Shire, Bilbo?" He asked, allowing Bilbo to lift him up into his arms.

"No, my boy. No dragons here." Bilbo laughed, walking off to put the young hobbit to bed. Telling the story had taking all of the afternoon and most of the evening.

Priscilla looked at the drawing of the Company, smiling fondly at the memories. She hadn't ever met anyone else who interested her, and had happily lived out her life with Bilbo in Bag End since their return from Erebor. As far as she knew, Dain still ruled in the Mountain, and Dale had sprung up with new life since the death of Smaug.

Her hand had never been the same. Oin had set it best he could, but ever since the adventure she had had extra trouble sewing or writing.

There was a chest in the hallway near Bilbo's study where he kept their share of treasure from the adventure- weapons, clothing, packs and all. Priscilla always kept Kili's stone in her pocket, however. It still hurt, even twenty-five years later. She couldn't think about the day she lost him without shedding a few tears.

Bilbo returned a few minutes later, laying a hand on her shoulder and looking down at the portrait as well. "You miss him?" He said, more of a statement than a question. They hadn't spoken about Kili since the adventure, really. She only nodded, tracing one of the runes in the stone with her thumb like she had so many times before.

Bilbo squeezed her shoulder, moving to close the curtains and lock the front door, preparing for bed. She smiled to herself, remembering the day Kili had shown up on her doorstep, bonding with her almost immediately over biscuits and adventures and Thorin's adamant personality... It seemed forever ago that it had happened, and they had shared so much over the course of the adventure, yet she could still remember almost every detail.

She had never felt perfectly at home in the Shire, not after getting back. Her heritage tied her to a died out race that she had no access to anymore, and the home she had found in Kili's arms was one she couldn't return to. Somewhere deep down, though, she knew that her heart had a place in adventure. In the past couple decades since her return she had regularly went on trips beyond the Shire, leaving for weeks or months at a time, always feeling happier on the road than she did on the windowsill in her living room, and that was perfectly okay with her.

Every adventure helped her feel more at home anyway.