When Fili falls, it's with the dying trace of a smile on his face.

Kili hadn't seen him, but had caught a glimpse of his uncle, a heap of dark hair and bloodied armor, prone on the ground. Fili, high on the adrenaline of battle, had turned to see what could make his brother look so shocked, so sad, and found himself stricken, white-hot pain blooming from the center of his back as the gleeful grin slid from his lips.

Kili cries out, watching his brother collapse as his own throat closes with panic- with terror. The young dwarf slashes, his sword caught in the flesh of a nearby orc, who screams as Kili twists the sword and wrenches it out, splattering himself with hot black blood.

"Fili!" he cries, hoarsely, ducking and dodging to the place where his brother lay. He grasps the elder's shoulder, turns him over gently and cradles him in his arms.

Fili's eyes are already glassy, his mouth still twisted into that grin. His fair, golden hair is tangled and matted with gore, mouth red with his own blood. There is still a flush in his pale cheeks, his body still warm, but there is no heartbeat and his chest does not move.

"No! No, no, no," Kili chokes, hot tears already spilling down his cheeks and cutting wet tracks through the grime on his face. "Don't leave me, Fili. You can't leave me!"

He pulls his brother's corpse close, sobs shaking his shoulders. Kili presses his mouth to Fili's forehead, dark hair forming a curtain, and he tastes the bitter, mud-like taste of orc blood in his mouth. A high, keening cry rips from his throat and suddenly he's screaming, cursing anyone he could blame for taking his dear brother. Thorin, Bilbo, Thranduil, Bard, the orcs. He does not discriminate.

The stream of wild profanity cuts off in a gurgle, and Kili looks down, shocked. The thin, hooked blade of a goblin protrudes from his chest. It's pulled out, caught on leather armor, and the young dwarf's body convulses, his brother's corpse still in his arms. Kili coughs- an ugly, wet sound- and he can taste blood, feel it dribbling down his chin. It looks violently red against Fili's pale cheek.

Kili sits there a moment, numb, and then, slowly, falls forward.