Previously
'Oh for the love of Durin!'
He glanced down at the floor when red caught his eye, was that blood?
Thorin narrowed his eyes, grabbing a torch off the wall to bring it over to the texture on the floor only to find half-bloody footprints.
'It is blood!'
"Anyone... please I-I can't get up." the uncertainty in his voice was quickly starting to edge more toward frustration.
After rounding the corner Thorin felt his heart drop.
'Fíli...'
Fíli indeed.
The lad was out in the middle of hallway on his hands and knees a short distance from scattered shards of broken pottery that he'd knocked over, he could see the source of the blood, he must have cut himself afterward, his feet were all cut up.
The dwarf stilled suddenly, having heard someone approach.
"Who's there... I um... I-I... please... I cannot see... and I... I think I'm bleeding."
Thorin let out a weary sigh, trying to debate whether wrestling Fíli back into his own room would be worth the emotional torment, he knew exactly what the boy thought he was doing.
'Kíli you are the only one capable of turning your brother into a self-less yet incomprehensible fool. He loves you to the ends of the Earth, he'd do anything for you. You do not realize how lucky you are.'
"I know lad." breathed Thorin as he came up beside where his nephew was on the ground.
Fíli's voice lowered considerably, he sounded on the verge of tears. "Uncle...?"
The king felt his heart clench, he could hear the overwhelmed fear in his nephew's voice.
'Dwalin was right, Dís needs to get here right away, she'll be more capable of helping him cope with this than I would be.'
"Aye, that it is."
Fíli shifted on his hands and knees, trying to figure out where exactly Thorin was at.
His hearing was slowly starting to become more reliable, it seemed to be helping him adept to his surroundings. It was extremely weird.
As he turned slowly Thorin noticed his hands were all bloody too, likely having gotten them cut up as well, he sighed at this.
"Fíli you stubborn boy." he chided despite his voice being abnormally gentle.
"Kíli is he- nngh!" Fíli yelped suddenly when he set his palm down on a rather large shard of the broken vase.
He heard Thorin inhale sharply and his booted footsteps quickly approaching him.
"Don't move son, hold still I'm going to pick you up." he warned, receiving a nod of acknowledgement in response.
Thorin knelt down beside him and grabbed the back of his shoulders, he couldn't just snatch him up like this, that'd be an awkward way to hold someone for sure.
Fíli jerked his head to look over his shoulder, not that he could see anyways. He hadn't known Thorin was behind him, hadn't he heard something from this direction that he had turned to face?
When he felt Throin grasp him underneath the arms and pull back, he understood what he was trying to do, he wanted him to stand.
Frustration built up inside him, he didn't like his uncle seeing him so pathetic and he'd felt something in his leg give when he'd fallen. He wasn't sure if he'd re-broken his leg or not.
He pulled against Thorin's grasp much to his uncle's irritation.
Yes irritation, he knew that from the sound of Thorin inhaling deeply to try to calm himself.
"Up Fíli." Thorin commanded stiffly.
There was a brief tense silence and finally Fíli shook his head, "I... my leg..."
"Aye, I am already aware of your broken leg lad, I promise I'm not going to let you get hurt"
"But I... T-Thorin..."
He felt th touch upon his arms loosen slightly, before disappearing altogether.
Thorin looked down at the ground beneath his feet and used his foot to kick away any shards out of his way, to get down on his knees behind his sister-son.
The blond was still on his hands and knees, so in order for Thorin to be able to do what he wanted he'd have to be flexible, literally.
Which was funny because it was both his nephews who were more flexible than he, then again they were still very young. So it made sense.
With a grunt Thorin leaned over Fíli's trembling back until he was able to bring his mouth close to his ear.
Fíli took a shuttering inhale startled by the sudden feeling of hot breath on his neck, and the hand that had snaked underneath him to be placed against his chest firmly.
"You're afraid of me?" Thorin asked, though it sounded more a statement than a question.
The king felt the body beneath him tremble, and he knew the answer.
Thorin Oakenshield was not by any means ignorant of his actions while he'd been struck with Dragon Sickness.
He remembered the brutal fight the two hard, both of them and honestly he had hoped they were dreams.
But they were not.
He had yet to confront the boys about the two incidents, they had gone into battle before he had a chance.
That was another reason why he'd been awestruck when Fíli had sacrificed his life for his own. In the end he nearly died from it, Kíli too.
He heard a small sniffle, before a barely audible 'I'm sorry.'
"I know I have done wrong by you, and Kíli as well. There is no proper excuse for what I put you through. Just know that I love you both more than any amount of gold or a Mahal be damned rock, and I'm very much aware that what I am about to ask of you now is unfair, but please Fíli trust me." Thorin's voice was so gentle in his ear, and Fíli suddenly felt the tears creeping down his face causing him to bite his lip nervously.
A pause, made the king uneasy so he spoke once more. "Let me help you."
That was all that was said before they were both silent for a couple minutes while Filil was deep in thought, Thorin waited patiently even though it wasn't his best quality.
"Okay."
Thorin breathed a sigh of relief before placing a brief kiss on top blond curls. He rest his chin on top of his heir's head for a couple moments, absent mindedly combing his fingrers through golden hair.
"Besides, I have all the gold I could need right in front of me. Aye, your great-grandfather would have seen you as a good omen." he stated, pleased with the small smile that ghosted upon his nephew's face.
He moved his other arm underneath Fíli to rest it on his stomach, shifting the other arm so it was across his sternum and a shoulder.
"Up we go lad." he urged softly gently pulling upwards on the young dwarf's torso trying to coax him to move.
Fíli complied this time, letting his uncle move his body until he was on his knees.
The older dwarf left his arm against Fíli's sternum in the same spot and the other moved from his stomach to the small of his back.
"Use your other leg." he instructed, and of course Fíli obediently started to rise until he was half-standing, half clinging unto his uncle's arm to try to keep his balance.
"Alright." was all Thorin said, before he used this position to scoop his nephew into his arms bending his knees for a moment while he adjusted to Fíli's weight.
Fíli was quiet for the most part as he felt Thorin start walking.
He had a feeling he already knew where they were going, but he didn't want to irritate Thorin he knew that he'd been keeping him from Kíli for a reason.
Eventually he caved and decided to ask anyway.
"Thorin?"
"Yes Fíli?"
"Where are we going?"
He heard his uncle breathe a sigh, and suddenly he felt him stop walking, and he thought turn around but he wasn't certain.
"To see your brother."
Thorin had expected, him to start grinning or at least look happy but it was not to be.
Fíli's lip trembled slightly, and he could see the lad's right eye welling with tears that quickly spilled over.
No, instead of joy he saw pain as well as the relief he was expecting.
'Fuck sake. I do not know what I am going to do.'
His heart throbbed painfully when his sister-son, fisted his robe before he buried his face into his shoulder, he could feeling tears soak into the fabric.
Not even minutes later he stood outside the door to Kíli's room.
'I will be sending a letter to Dís myself after tonight.'
Emily
