So I wrote a Tauriel x Kili one shot, and it was decent, but then I realized how much I love Fili and Kili, and not just Kili, and that they died defending Thorin, and I was bored in class, and this was born. It's mostly, okay it's all Fili's POV, and I apologize, it's not my best work, but I'm posting it anyway so I can stop neglecting my other work and hopefully not think of all my feels for a while. I chose for Fili and Kili not to know about Thorin's death too. Also, I suck at writing action, but I felt like it needed to be said. Enjoy!

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His place, was with his brother.

Not here, fighting away from Kili, where he didn't know if he was alright or not. Yes, he fought with his kinsmen, but they weren't his brother.

Fili took advantage of the temporary lull in battle to scan his surroundings, searching desperately for Kili. Out of the mayhem of the battle, he spotted his brother, fighting off a melee of orcs, side by side with Thorin. The two were badly outnumbered, at least by a dozen. Fili could only watch in vain as Thorin fell to one knee, taking a bad wound. Not waiting to alert the rest of his company, or ask their permission, oven to tell them where he was going, Fili pushed off his attackers, and sprinted to the side of his brother and uncle. After all, dwarves were natural sprinters.

But it was too late.

Kili fell struck with a blow to the head, defending his king. As if in a dream, Fili shook himself from his reverie, and a cry tore from his lips. He jumped forward, mortally stabbing the orc who felled his brother. With a savage cry, he slaughtered orc after orc, hoping, praying that there was some small chance Kili had survived.

But it was all for naught. There were too many.

"Uncle!" Fili cried as he took another blow to the arm, white-hot pain searing down his arm. He cried as if he was just a dwarfling, and his uncle would pick him up from has fall, and all would be well. But it wasn't. He should have died defending younger brother. Their mother had entrusted Kili's protection to Fili, and he had failed.

But he would die, like his brother, defending Thorin.

The orcs kept coming—swarms of them. And one, the most terrible of them all, behind them.

Azog the Defiler. The pale orc let out a roar, his eyes focused on Thorin. Thorin looked at Fili, and in that moment, Fili knew Thorin would die avenging his father. And he couldn't let that happen. He briefly caught sight of the rest of the company charging towards them. But he realized now, that they wouldn't get here in time. He leaped in front of Thorin, but his uncle pushed him away.

"Fili, no. If you die, the line of Durin goes with you." Thorin cried hoarsely, fending off more and more orcs as Azog closed in.

"I have followed you this far, Uncle, and I won't let you die. You are my captain, my king. I will die defending you. Erebor will not fall." Fili swung his swords, killing another orc as he fought back to back with Thorin. Then, Azog made his move. He charged toward Thorin and Fili. Fili held his ground, his whole body tensed.

I don't stand a chance.

At the last second, as Azog prepared to kill Thorin, Fili attacked, his twin blades sinking into Azog's leg. The pale orc bellowed, shaking him off. He aborted his attack on Thorin, and turned on his heir. Azog swung his mace. As if in a dream, Fili watched it come.

The mace splintered his body, ripping his chest open, and biting through mail, skin, and muscle. At first, he only felt heat. He was vaguely aware of the sensation flying backwards, and hitting the ground, and of someone calling him. Then, the darkness took him.

When he opened his eyes, all was quiet. He turned his head slightly, and saw several meters away the body of Azog. Dead. He smiled slightly. Thorin had done it. It had not all been in vain.

That's when he felt the pain, as if he had only then remembered what had happened. It felt as if he would pass out again. Each breath was agony, as if something was splitting his ribs further and further apart. He looked down at body, but between the blood, grime, and smashed mail, it was hopeless. Fili squeezed his eyes shut. Every movement was almost unbearable. There was only one thing left to do. Wait.

For a while, Fili lost consciousness again. He floated in the realm of living and dying, of waking and sleeping. But something called him back.

"Fili." He struggled towards consciousness. But it was hard. The pain came back. He tried to open his eyes, but it was too hard.

"Fili. Are you alive?" The voice came again. It was familiar, taking him back to days of old.

"Fili, answer me…God, Fili, say something!" The desperation in the voice made Fili open his eyes, and see the sky had darkened yet again. That was Kili's voice.

His little brother was lying not three feet from him. Blood stained the ground under his head, and had dried on his face. His body was battered and broken. But Kili was alive.

Fili's throat was dry, but he managed to speak.

"I'm sorry I didn't get to you." He croaked, tasting blood in his mouth. That probably wasn't good. "I could have saved you."

"Somehow…I don't think you could have. Maybe then, but…" Kili trailed off, and Fili knew he would have died before he would have left Thorin's side."

The brothers were silent. Fili surveyed the carnage around him, feeling a note of pride to see so many slain orcs.

"I thought you were dead." Fili admitted. He couldn't shake the image of his brother falling to the ground, felled by a blow to the head. That couldn't have been good. And yet, here he was. "I tried to get to you…" He stopped. Every breath brought more pain, more blood. It was on his chest, the ground, in his throat, coating the inside of his mouth…everywhere. He tried to slow his breathing, knowing each breath pumped more blood out of his body. He studied Kili as his brother studied the setting sun. Blood coated his hair, and his eyes were glassy. His legs were splayed somewhat awkwardly, and when he had spoken, his words had been somewhat slurred. He turned his head, and looked at Fili.

"I'm glad you're here." He said softly. "I didn't want to die here alone." Kili tried to smile, but his lips wouldn't respond quite right. "I can't feel my legs. My arms are numb, and my mouth doesn't work right. Will you stay with me?" Kili's eyes were wide, reminding Fili of when his brother's childhood nightmares pulled him from sleep, and Fili would stay with him until he was asleep again.

Fili attempted to move his arm in an attempt to comfort him, but the pain was unbearable. He cried out, and for a moment, he thought it was the end. When his vison cleared, his breathing was ragged, but the pain had lessened. He must be going into shock.

"Fili, listen to me. You're not going to die here. You're going to find Thorin, and be the heir. And you're going to take a wife, and one day, you'll be king. Promise me, Fili. Promise me you won't die."

"I can't. God, Kili. I'm dying." Fili whispered. He was so scared. He looked up, not being able to bear the tortured look on his brother's face as they both realized the truth, and the younger was forced to comfort the elder. By now, the sky was hovering between black and deep blue now. A silver twinkling caught his attention. The first star of night appeared. Fili suddenly felt very small in the scale of the world. There was so much else out there.

"Do you think Uncle will be proud of us, Fili?" Kili's voice brought him back. He noticed his brother was using his name far more than normal. "I would have followed him anywhere, Fili. Anywhere."

"I think he will be." Was all Fili could manage. The pain was back. He determined it seemed to come and go. He spied another star appear in the night sky.

"Mother will be proud of us, won't she, Fili." Kili continued. "She will mourn us for sure. But she will be proud."

"Yes. She will." Fili realized his brother was seeking his comfort and familiarity as he lay dying.

"Do you think they will write songs about us, Fili? The sons of Dis, who fell in the battle of Erebor, defending their king?"

"Yes…songs, and poems…and they will tell stories, and write books. I do not think we will be forgotten."

"I think I rather would die here, defending Thorin, than old and fat and worthless." Kili said suddenly. Fili looked over, surprised to see the peace on his brother's face. He looked at the sky again, and counted three new stars.

"Of course…I should have liked to see Tauriel again. I should have liked to kiss her at least once. Have you ever been in love, Fili?"

There was so much he hadn't done. Even his little brother had fallen in love before he had. "No. I don't think so."

"It's the most wonderful and terrible thing that can happen to you. You know you've found something amazing, and you never want to lose it." Kili shook his head slightly, as if mesmerized. "But it never would have worked between us."

Kili went silent for a long while, and Fili feared he might have died.

"Kili?" He whispered. Kili looked towards him, an unexpected smile gracing his lips. Although he knew it was inevitable, Fili felt relief.

"Sorry. I was just thinking. Have you ever had sex, Fili?"

"No." He admitted reluctantly, not terribly thrilled Kili had beat him to something else, even though he was younger.

"Me neither. I was just thinking." Kili spoke with a bit of a laugh, and spoke of Tauriel. Fili smiled in spite of himself. His brother was still the same, even now. Fili shook his head at his little's brother's passion for an elf, no less.

As the sky darkened to black, they spoke of all that could have been, and all that was. They spoke of the company, and of Bilbo and Gandalf, and Bard and his family, and of Thorin and their mother. By then, the stars were shining brightly, and the moon had begun to rise.

The brothers were silent, lost in their own thoughts. Fili couldn't remember quite how to move his arms and legs anymore, and as time had passed, Kili's speech grew more and more slurred. They didn't have much time left.

"Kili," He whispered. Kili turned his head towards him, his dark hair stuck to his face with dried blood.

"Mmm?" He mumbled.

"I guess this is goodbye." Fili looked back up at the stars.

"Fili?"

"Yeah?"

"We did it. We took back Erebor." Kili whispered, his eyes bright. "And I wouldn't want to have anyone else on my side but you. You would have made a great king, Fili. I'm proud to have fought alongside you. And I wouldn't want to have anyone else as my brother."

"I'm proud to die alongside you." Fili said softly. "So much of you is in me, ever since we were little. You've changed me forever, and I wouldn't change anything that happened."

"Even this?"

"You are pretty much my entire world, Kili. And you have been, ever since you were born. I want you to know that. Thorin told me I belonged with the company, but I belonged with you." Fili tried to say more, but he couldn't quite get his mouth to respond. So he just said all that he needed to say. "You're my little brother, and I love you. And I'll see you again"

It was weird to express emotion like that. Fili remembered being kids, when they spent every waking moment together playing in the summertime, and all the missed opportunities for him to tell Kili how much he meant to him. But none of that mattered now.

The stars grew brighter, and his vision got blurry at the edges. All his pain dissolved, and Kili's voice faded. And so, the heirs of Durin died—together.

…