Excuse me while I'm dying

He was going to die. Kíli had never been more certain about anything. The world was swaying before his eyes, and his feet didn't seem to support him properly anymore. How had it come to this? He didn't remember, really, and that irritated him deeply. He knew he ought to remember, but as much as he tried to concentrate, all he could recall were the faces of Bofur and Bifur... no, Bombur. Most certainly Bombur. And Fíli.

Fíli.

Where was he? He'd been there just moment before, and now he was gone and Kíli was alone, and he tried desperately to keep his eyes open. He leant heavily against the wall and took deep breaths. He had to get home somehow. But first, he'd close his eyes, for just a second... keep the world from spinning and regain control over his body.

Suddenly he felt strong hands gripping his arms, and he opened his eyes wearily.

"Fee?" he mumbled, and fell forward before he could say anything else.

"Woah, easy there, brother," said the dwarf in front of him, and Kíli smiled sluggishly at him. Big brother Fíli was there, and he'd bring him home.

"Fee, I don't... don't feel well..."

"I know, Kíli, I know. Let's get you out of here, alright?"

A small smile crept upon Kíli's pale face, and he allowed Fíli to guide him home. The air was cold, and for a moment he felt dizziness wash over him and he screwed his eyes shut.

"Hold on," he said, stopping abruptly, "gimme a second."

"No, Kíli, no stopping, I'm getting you home."

"Can't..."

"You can. Listen, Kee, I know it feels bad, but come on, it's not far."

"Spinning." Why did the word sound so strange? "World's s-s-spinning."

"Oh come on, don't do that, Kee!" Fíli called out harshly, and Kíli blushed when he saw the anger in his brother's eyes. Fíli was never angry. Why was he angry?

"Sorry, Fee," he whispered, "Don't be mad."

"I'm not."

"Good."

He sighed loudly and concentrated on putting on feet before the other. He had to get home. Fíli would get him home. But it was so far, and everything was swimming before his eyes. He would never make it.

"Kee? Kee, we're here!"

When had he closed his eyes again? He stared at the door in front of him, and with the help of his brother he staggered inside. He could faintly see the kitchen pass by before he was led into a room he knew well.

"Home," he mumbled and stared at the walls of his bedroom. Fíli steered him towards the bed, and carefully Kíli sat down, unable to suppress a grown. His limbs were heavy, his body was hurting, and his surroundings became more and more blurry.

"Mum?" he asked, looking pleadingly at Fíli. He found it difficult to form sentences, but Fíli would understand him. He always did.

"She's not here, you know that. She won't be back for another two days."

"When she's back..." He frowned, trying to remember what he wanted to say. "When she's back, tell 'er –"

"No way, Kee. You'll tell her yourself," he was interrupted by Fíli.

But he wouldn't survive the night. Didn't Fíli see that? Why was he smirking like that?

"Might not make it. 'm dyin', Fee." Even his tongue was heavy now, and he could feel his heartbeat in his head.

"Don't be ridiculous, you fool. You're not dying."

"Feels... feels like 't."

He could feel his brother's hands on his legs as he kneeled down before him.

"You'll be fine, Kee. Just lie down, okay?"

"No, Fee..."

He needed to tell him something. Something important. But he was indeed tired, so maybe lying down would be good. He relaxed as his pounding head hit the soft pillow, and he exhaled carefully, waiting for his body to ache in response. But the pain had eased for the moment, and he wondered whether or not that was a good sign. Maybe he was just going numb.

He reached for his brother's hand as the elder one got up from his kneeling position.

"Don' leave, Fee."

"I'll be right back, Kee."

"'m dyin'," he whimpered. He had said that before, hadn't he?

Fíli looked at him sternly and put one hand onto his shoulder.

"Listen, Kíli. You are not dying."

"How d'you know?"

"Because I won't let you," said Fíli, "I'll stay here and I'll watch out for you," and his voice was so strong and reassuring and confident that Kíli thought he could believe him. It was Fíli, after all. Big brother Fíli.

"Say you promise."

He needed to hear it. His brother sighed quietly and squeezed his shoulder.

"I promise I won't let you die."

The room was closing in on him, and his limbs were aching and heavy, but he needed to stay awake. There was something he needed to tell his brother, something utterly important, something he needed to know.

"Fee?"

But he was just so tired. He blinked a couple of times, but everything swam before his eyes. The only clear shape was that of his brother's face.

"Love you, nadad," he managed to say before he closed his eyes and fell into blissful oblivion.

Fíli sat on the edge of the bed and watched his little brother as the younger one finally drifted into sleep. Kíli was pale, and his breathing somewhat irregular. Fíli knew the signs, he'd seen them before.

But Kíli would be alright.

He sighed as he wiped the youth's forehead with a wet piece of cloth. The dark-haired dwarf groaned quietly, but remained asleep.

Fíli flinched when he heard a door creaking, and he turned around.

"Uncle!" he spoke softly, but not too loudly. Thorin approached the bed and eyed his youngest nephew for a moment, then turned to Fíli.

"How is he?"

"He'll live," replied Fíli with a smile, and Thorin laughed quietly.

"We've all been there, haven't we?" he asked with a wink, and the blonde dwarf grinned wryly. "Anything I missed?"

"Nothing but the usual. Said he was going to die –"

"Of course."

"- and asked for mum."

"Naturally."

"But he can explain himself to her, no way I'll do that for him. When she hears about this, she'll make Smaug look like a squirrel."

Thorin chuckled and put a hand onto Kíli's head to push a strand of raven-coloured hair from his forehead. Fíli watched him and suppressed a smile. Thorin was usually not the one to show his emotions too openly, but sometimes he let his guard down around his nephews. Kíli had this effect on dwarves, so that even the grumpiest ones found themselves smiling in his vicinity.

Love you, nadad.

They didn't tell each other this often these days. When Fíli had been younger, and Kíli just a baby, he'd told him every night. Fíli couldn't remember it, not clearly at least, but his mother had told him once about how she'd put little Kíli into his cot and how Fíli would follow her and kiss his baby brother's forehead just like his mum used to do, and he'd whisper, "Men lananubukhs menu, nadadith."

Now he smiled as he looked down onto the still form of his brother, not so little anymore, but still his baby brother.

"He'll feel better tomorrow," said Thorin, then narrowed his eyes. "Bofur told me everything, ran into me on the streets. By Mahal, what was he thinking, Fíli?"

Fíli shrugged half-heartedly.

"You know him. Only just of age and he thinks he's invincible."

"Aye, I know. But a drinking contest against Glóin? That's insane!"

"Well, in all fairness, Glóin could barely stand in the end."

The corners of Thorin's mouth twitched.

"And Kíli?"

"Collapsed onto the floor and tried to make everyone believe that he'd just slipped on a puddle of ale, and that he could very well continue. But rules exist for a reason." He chuckled. "He'll have one nasty hangover tomorrow, but that'll teach him a lesson, the little fool."

"Speaking of lessons..." Thorin smirked mischievously, something Fíli couldn't remember ever having seen before. "Don't you two have a training lesson with Dwalin tomorrow morning?"

"Aye. That'll be fun."

"Maybe he'll go easy on Kíli."

The two dwarves stared at each other, then burst into laughter simultaneously. Wiping a tear from his eye, Fíli caressed his brother's hair with his other hand. An almost invisible smile appeared on Kíli's face, and Fíli watched him fondly.

"He's a fool. But I wouldn't want him any other way."

He expected Thorin to joke, but was surprised to find his uncle watching him with a serious expression in his eyes.

"What is it, uncle?" he asked, letting his hand rest on Kíli's shoulder.

"I just realised that I tend to take for granted the way you look out for your brother," answered the black-haired dwarf after a moment of hesitation. "But I shouldn't. Kíli is lucky to have you as a brother."

"Thorin..." But for once Fíli didn't know what to say.

"Just know that he's not your sole responsibility," added Thorin, smiling warmly at his nephew. "He's also mine. Both of you are."

Fíli could feel himself blush, and he opened his mouth to say something in return, but before he could speak Thorin patted him on the back.

"Still, I trust you to look out for him for now. I'll be back later."

"Where are you going?"

"Going to have a word with the inn keeper about selling ale to a dwarfling, and also with Glóin," he grumbled, then turned around and headed for the door. Fíli stayed behind, laughing quietly to himself. He and Kíli might be of age now, but some things would probably never change.

Kíli shifted slightly in his sleep, and Fíli put a blanket over his body and pressed his forehead against his brother's.

"Men lananubukhs menu, nadadith."

Because some things would never change.

A/N 1: Anything in this story is clearly made up. Similarities to actual real life persons, e.g. friends from uni, my boyfriend, or even myself, are completely coincidental.

A/N 2: To underage readers: Drinking is bad for you.

A/N 3: I know this is a bit different from what I usually write, but this popped into my head today when looking back at the events of the weekend. I hope I managed to find the right balance of humour and some brotherly schmoop.

A/N 4: Men lananubukhs menu, nadad(ith). = I love you, (little) brother.

A/N 5: Edited this one day later because I had intended to have Glóin have the competetion with Kíli but typed the wrong name (it was past midnight ;)). Óin, as the healer, might not be so amused about youths drinking, after all - and I also remembered the Gimli vs. Legolas contest in LotR and thought, well, "Like father like son" :D

Reviews, anyone? ;)