Standing before the carven doorway, Kili stared at the light wood before him and indulged himself in a quiet gale of laughter before he turned back, and rapped cheerily. "Brother!" he called, receiving a frown from a pair of passing guards as his voice ricocheted down the hallway. "Let me in! It is high time to be up!"
The door gave way, and Fili stood in its stead, clad in his undertunic and trousers, his coat cast in a pile beneath the window, his boots somewhere out of sight within the chamber. "I'm awake, as you can see," he said with a grin. "Come in. What brings you here at this unseasonable hour of the morning?"
Kili grinned, his trademark smile stretching from ear to ear as he plopped himself down on the unmade bed, and tried to look idly out the open window. "Rather fine day, for Mirkwood," he commented, running his tongue over his teeth and causing his lips to push outward. Fili regarded him strangely, in his light blue eyes a question.
"You are acting queer," he said slowly. "What on earth has happened to you?"
"Queer? Me?" Kili feigned innocence, a look which never failed to make his brother laugh. It did not fail now.
"Stop acting so naïve."
"Guess. It's something good."
"Thorin gave you a compliment?"
Kili sighed tragically. "Alas, no, that was a one time occurrence, I'm afraid."
"And only when he thought you were going to die," Fili laughed. "That's uncle for you. How many guesses have I got?" He furrowed his brow.
Kili looked at the ceiling. "Um- three more."
"Three more..." His brother began to pace, scowling playfully. "I hate it when you do this to me. You are turning in to an elf?"
"That's not good!" Kili exclaimed. "I would sooner die. The first time one of them touched me – it was as if..." he shuddered. "Their skin is so smooth. Something is wrong with that."
"But your opinions changed..." his brother pointed out slyly. "You don't think that now, do you?"
"Just guess," Kili growled.
The night was thick over the twisting paths of Mirkwood, fogs and swirling mists hovering just above the ground and muffling their footfalls. There were hurried rustlings among the trees to either side of them, sometimes above and behind as well, but the trained ears of the elves ignored these disconcerting noises and listened only for the signs of their missing commander.
Anxious thoughts pounded through Legolas's head as his eyes searched the darkness, the moonlight above them forming crooked distortions on their way as it filtered through the branches above them. Thank heavens for its bright light. Without it one could not see a foot in front of one's face.
"Swift and silent, do not call out," Legolas ordered under his breath to those near him, knowing that worse things than orcs and spiders lurked in the shadows of Mirkwood after sunset. "She will be seated, or lying down. Likely wounded, so watch your care of her."
Fighting the overwhelming urges of sleep pressing on the senses, for hours they traversed the trackless floor of the woods until, near the eastern border of their lands, a sudden cry was heard. "Here!" a guard called, his voice muffled through the tangling vines hung from the treetops above them. "My lord, she is here!"
Legolas ruthlessly hacked the dying vegetation aside and pushed his way through the snarled assemblage, sighting the elf kneeling by the side of the Captain, who lay prone on the moss. The guard turned as Legolas dropped to his knees beside her and took in at a glance her condition: her hair was tangled, but no more than it often was when she returned from battling spiders, her face more pale than he had ever seen her, almost lavender, and her body limp and motionless. Blessedly, her breast rose and fell with deep breaths, but the air whistled through her parted lips and seemed to come with great effort.
"Alright. Two more to go. You got your bow back?"
"Already told you that."
"Aule! Then... I don't know, I give up!"
"You give up?" Kili was clearly enjoying this.
"I said, I give up-!" Fili vociferated, pouncing on his brother and tussling him into the sheets. "Now tell me!"
Kili's laughter filled the room and at last his head appeared from the bottom edge of the coverlet, gasping for air.
"What was that for?"
"For winding me around your little finger –"
"Like I always do," Kili smiled charmingly.
With a grunt, Fili clambered off him, and regarded him with wide eyes. "Well? Are you going to tell me or not?"
Kili took a deep breath. "Tauriel is with child."
His brother's face was a picture. First shock played over his features: his jaw dropped ever so slightly and his eyes went completely blank. Then with a tiny squeak, he remember to breathe again and broke into a wide grin, his mouth stretching to reveal every single one of his teeth, even while his eyes still harbored confusion.
"That is... good?"
"Of course it's good!" his brother exclaimed. "Why, do you not think so?"
"Thorin is going to kill you."
"That's what I said," Kili grumbled. "But I'm – I'm so happy. Aren't you?"
Fili was staring across the room with an amused expression on his face.
"What?" Kili punched him. "Why do you look like that? Stop, you're making me feel strange."
"It's just – I was right. About your dream."
"What dream?"
Fili rolled his eyes. "A little you running about," he quoted, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He ran a hand down his beard and gave a deep sigh. "Mahal, that's a way to wake someone up in the morning."
"Oh- but it has to be a secret. Apparently some of the elves won't think well of this, or something," Kili said flippantly. "She didn't even tell me until just last night, and it has been happening ever since I left to go to the Lonely Mountain! Can you believe that?"
"You don't know how that works?" His brother regarded him dubiously. "Of course."
"I feel dense." Kili ruffled his hair comfortably. "But I'm so glad now."
"Where is she?"
"Duty." Kili rolled his eyes. "I told her not to go, but she said she'd be careful. Soon she won't be able to, and that will make me happy."
The two brothers spent the rest of the day together, catching up on some long-needed camaraderie, and Kili barely noticed that when night fell, Tauriel had still not returned. That is, not until one of the elven guard came and questioned him, saying that she had not yet returned from the forest.
