Kili could hardly open his eyes. Darkness encompassed him just as wholly as the unrelenting sounds of war. His hearing was going in and out, the enemies' battle cries ear splitting while the clashing noises of metal on flesh were incessant.
He thought he heard his name being called, but still could not open his eyes. As the wounded warrior tried to get up and move towards the voice calling to him, he realized that he could barely move a muscle and was having trouble breathing. The air was hot and horrid smelling and he was sure something had pierced his chest. He heard the voice again and this time he knew it to be Fili.
The younger brother tried calling out, but could not make a sound louder then a raspy whisper. He tried and tried again, trying to make out Fili's name until blood escaped his lips and splattered onto his chin. Struggling to breathe, sputtering from the blood in his throat, he desperately wanted to call out to Tauriel as well.
After long moments of trepidation, barely hanging onto his consciousness, he no longer heard his name being shouted in the distance. What had happened to his brother? And where was Tauriel?
Kili woke with a start. Breathing heavily, he needed a second to take in his surroundings before realizing he'd fallen asleep in the hospital - the ER's waiting room to be exact. He slowly sat up in his chair after recognizing that the ache in his chest was due to the awkward position he'd fallen asleep in, his left side leaning into the blunt edge of his chair's arm.
Rubbing the sore spot on his chest, he looked around for Fili. He knew his brother had to be here somewhere, remembering now that they had both rushed over as soon as they had gotten word of Tauriel's injury, but the lingering despair from his shockingly realistic dream had left an incredibly bad taste in his mouth. Not a minute later, Fili walked into the waiting room with two bottles of water and a few snacks. Kili sighed, relieved beyond common reason to see his brother.
As soon as Fili saw that his little brother was awake and noticed the wariness in his expression, he immediately became concerned and hurried his walk.
"Hey, sorry." Fili said apologetically, gingerly sitting in the chair beside Kili.
"For what?" Kili asked, confused by his reaction.
Fili blinked, pausing for a split second before rummaging around his back pack for something. "Well, normally I'd ask why you're crying, but seeing as your girlfriend was just shot in the stomach, I'd say that's a pretty good excuse." Fili winced at himself before handing Kili a tissue. "Sorry, that was harsh to say."
"But it's true." Kili said somberly, taking the tissue and drying his eyes, not having even noticed he'd been crying. His hands were shaking, no doubt something Fili had also noticed. "But that's not the reason for this."
"...What else is on your mind?" Fili asked, his voice soft, full of compassion. He never liked seeing his brother in distress and wanted to help him anyway he could, even if he was also a bit shaken by their current situation.
Kili leaned down with his elbows balancing on his knees, his head hung low for a moment. He raised his tear glazed eyes to his brother's, the fear from his nightmare still fresh in his mind. "I just woke up from the worst dream I've ever had in my life."
Fili nodded in understanding. "What was it about?"
Kili's breathing was starting to become erratic, remembering the horrid details. He took a few deep breaths before confessing. "I...I was dying. In a war, a battlefield. I could hardly see anything, but I heard all of it. You and Tauriel were there, but I couldn't find either of you...it was horrible."
"Did you feel pain?" Fili asked.
"Could hardly breath, but the worst part was..." Kili paused, realizing the gravity of what he was about to say. ..."dying alone, not being able to say goodbye."
Fili cursed under his breath. He took Kili's shoulder and pulled him into a side embrace, their chairs only allowing as much. Kili rested his head in the crook of Fili's neck, just breathing deeply. Kili used to hate when his brother had to comfort him like this, it made him feel like a child. Now, however, something felt different. Instead of feeling shame, he felt relief. He'd really been scared for both of their lives.
"I'm really sorry you had to...go through that." Fili said, holding his brother as close as he could with one arm. After a moment, he took out his phone with his free hand. "Maybe it means something."
"What?" Kili mumbled.
"Dying in your dreams, maybe it means something. I'm sure there are articles about it online."
Kili nodded slowly, lifting himself to sit upright. Silent tears were still falling from his eyes and down his face. He wanted it to stop, he felt better now knowing that none of his dream had been real.
But now that he was back to his senses, he was worrying about Tauriel in the ER. These kind of violent injuries were both common and rare in her line of work, crime could be extremely unpredictable. Tauriel was good at her job, one of the best, and was hardly ever injured. He and Fili both had been shocked after getting the call from the hospital at midnight, he'd nearly fallen asleep waiting for her to come home. It was now very early in the morning they still hadn't heard much about her condition.
"Ok, interesting, relevant." Fili muttered as he scrolled through a webpage.
"What?" Kili asked.
"It says that dreaming of your death, at least similar to the way you described, can mean that big changes are about to happen in your life." Fili explained. "That makes sense."
Kili gave Fili a tired look that told him to elaborate.
"Well, you are thinking of asking Tauriel the big question, aren't you?" He continued, confident in his theory.
Kili stared at his brother in slight disbelief. "I'm not even going to ask you how you know that." Kili finally said, too tired to argue or to investigate. His brother was intuitive, he was fine with leaving it at that. "I've never talked about this with anyone."
"Well, this is a good time." Fili suggested. "And you talk to me about everything, I'm almost offended you haven't brought it up yet." That earned him a punch in the arm. "You haven't even talked to Tauriel about marriage?"
"Of course we have, but casually, and not in a while." Kili answered a bit defensively.
"Afraid she'll decline?" Fili asked.
Kili shook his head. "No, not at all. Even if she said no, it would probably just be to hold it off, not to break up or anything dramatic." Kili paused, thinking for a long while before speaking again. "I guess just don't know if we should actually do it."
Fili nodded, though did not understand fully. "Why not?"
The younger man sighed. "I want to be her husband. I really do, just the thought makes me...giddy, for the lack of a better word." The small smile on his lips faded just so. "But at the same time, I don't want anything to change. We have a good thing going, I don't want to ruin it."
Fili let that sink in, leaning forward in his seat, contemplating Kili's words. "So, you think married life will be really different?"
"Yeah, I guess. I don't know. I always hear how different it is, how different it's suppose to be, and how people change after they make everything 'official.' A lot of people-"
"Hold on." Fili interrupted, visibly surprised at what was coming out of his brother,s mouth. "You and Tauriel are not like 'a lot of people.' And don't listen to them anyway, only you two can decide what your life is going to be like." Fili shook his head with a wry smile on his face, looking at Kili. "You're 25 year old, for gods sake. You're so young."
"You think we should wait?" Kili asked, wanting a truthful answer from his most trusted confidant.
Fili put his hands up like he would in surrender. "I think you should do whatever the hell you want. Whatever feels right. Because you two..." Fili looked his brother in the eye, "...you're all that's right in the world."
Kili smiled wide, deeply humbled by Fili's highest regard and unabashed love.
There was content silence between them before the youngest spoke his mind once more. "If Tauriel and I do end up getting married...you won't kick us out, will you?"
Fili laughed. "I was afraid you'd kick me out."
"Living with you is something I definitely don't want changing," Kili assured him. "I've loved living with you, you're my rock. And even though I have Tauriel now, I'm scared that without you, I'll slip into that dark place again...only you've been able to get me out of it." He paused on a serious note before adding on, "Not to mention Tauriel loves living with you, too. And you both just love tormenting me."
They both laughed.
Fili took Kili's shoulder in a firm grip. "I always be here for you, little brother."
"Thank you." Kili said wholeheartedly.
A nurse came into the waiting room and asked for Kili. He stood immediately in answer and was told to follow. Fili got up as well and they were escorted to the room Tauriel was now resting in.
They went in and were informed that she could leave as soon as she was awake and ready. Tauriel had her eyes closed, but Kili knew she was awake. He took the few steps that were between them and clasped her left hand in on of his. Her eyes opened and swiveled up to look at him. The corners of her lips twisted up slightly as she gripped his hand.
"Hey, baby." Kili said tenderly.
"Hey." She said. She noticed the redness around his eyes, how they were glazed over with moisture. He must be exhausted. "Did I wake you?" She asked, reaching out to nudge her boyfriend's chin with her curled knuckles.
Both brothers laughed, glad she was still in good humor.
"Thank God you're alright." Kili said, laughter lingering in his voice as he leant down to kiss the corner of her mouth.
"Of course she's alright, never doubted it for a moment." Fili said. "How are you feeling, sis?"
"Sore, since I'm on painkillers, but fine." Tauriel answered, sitting up fully. She winced as she felt the new sensation of stitches. Kili immediately looked worried again.
"Got a new scar?" Fili asked excitedly.
"I'll show you when I'm wearing pants." Tauriel said, a triumphant grin on her face. She and Fili had bonded very early in their friendship over scars. Legolas thought they were mad for taking pride in them.
"That reminds me..." Tauriel began. "I had plans with Legolas tomorrow...I guess now it's later today. Before I get my clothes on, I want to take a picture in here, give him a heart attack."
"Oh God yes." Fili said. "Can I be in it?"
"I'll take it." Kili said, getting his phone ready. He and Fili had made somewhat of a game out of messing with Legolas. Whether it was photobombing, some harmless prank here or there, they tried their hardest to outsmart the blonde as frequently as they could. Although, the job was not without retaliation, Legolas was craftier then he seemed.
"Got it." Kili said. He laughed at the picture he'd taken after tapping on the icon to make it full screen. Tauriel and Fili made it look as if they were in any normal place, in turn making it terribly out of place.
Tauriel took his phone and started typing out a message. "Hey Legs, had to go to the hospital today because of some bloody bullet wound, lol. Want to meet at my place l8r? Tauriel."
She read the text out Lois and sent it, sending Fili into fits of laughter.
Once Tauriel had changed and they'd been discharged, given very specific instructions on how her recovery should be handled, they headed out to the car. Tauriel needed to walk slowly for the time being. She groaned at the idea of what the future few days were going to be like in her condition.
"Guess I'll be bed ridden for a few days." Tauriel sighed, mourning the loss of being able to be physically active.
"Oh that's just the worst, you get to sit in bed and watch tv and not work for days, such a bummer." Fili said, his tone drought with sarcasm.
"And you won't be going to archery practice this week." Kili said. "So neither will I. Got to stay home and wait on you hand and foot."
He was holding her hand, just in case she needed steadying. She looked at him and could see the excitement in his eyes at the prospect of doting on her so directly.
"Lucky me." Tauriel said, smiling in full.
Just then, Kili's phone rang. He brought it up to see a very strange picture of Legolas he'd taken mid-sneeze, the name "Olympian" on his caller ID. He laughed, having completely forgotten about the odd picture.
"Wonder if he's calling for an ambulance, heart attack and all." Fili said, laughing at himself.
A/N: This chapter is actually going to have a second part to it, like real stories that don't jump around like this one usually does XP Just a heads up. Thanks for reading!
