18A/N: This bit is from chapter 29, in which Fíli and Kíli argue about when would be a good time to head for home from Tom and Goldberry's. This is the conversation that Kíli heard the end of when Fíli thought he wasn't around.
Fíli looked up at his little brother affectionately.
"Kíli, I will be fine," he said. "You don't need to hover."
Kíli made a small sound of protest. "I'm not hovering, I'm just—"
"Kíli," Fíli said. He smiled. "You're hovering. Don't worry about me. Go find something to do for a while. I'll be all right here."
"But—"
"Kíli, go," said Fíli. "Please stop worrying."
Kíli straightened, frowning, but Fíli could see the relief in his eyes. "All right. I'll find something to do. I'll… I'll go find Tom." He departed quickly, leaving Fíli alone with Goldberry. She smiled down at him.
"Shall we begin?" she said.
Fíli nodded and pulled off his tunic, revealing the healing wound on his stomach, and then leaned back, wincing as his sore abdomen protested. Goldberry watched him carefully.
"How are you feeling?" she said.
"I'm fine," Fíli said, ignoring the voice in his head that whispered liar. "Better every day."
Goldberry smiled her mysterious smile and looked at him sternly. "I am not your brother, Fíli… you do not have to lie to me," she said.
So it wasn't going to work on her, then. Not that Fíli had expected it would—but it had been worth a try. He dropped his façade instantly and dropped his head back against the cushions. Goldberry leaned forward and began to cut away the stitching she had expertly sewn days before. She nodded, waiting for Fíli to speak.
"Please don't tell Kíli," he said. "I don't want to tell him. He frets enough already about me—it's not natural for him. He shouldn't have to worry about anything."
"It is common for siblings to worry for each other, is it not?" said Goldberry.
"Little brothers aren't supposed to watch over their elders," Fíli replied. "Especially Kíli. He's not made for that." He looked down at Goldberry curiously. "Do you have any siblings, Goldberry?"
Goldberry chuckled and shook her head. "Not in your sense, no," she said. "I have never had to worry over a brother."
"Then I mean no disrespect, but you can't know what it's like," said Fíli. "Kíli is… he's the most important person to me in all of Middle-Earth. It's my job to look after him—not his to look after me. My uncle has said as much, but more than that, I know it in my heart. I knew it the moment I laid eyes on him."
"He did a fine job of watching over you, it seems," Goldberry mused, removing the last bit of stitching and sitting up. Her piercing, ever-changing eyes rested on Fíli.
"Yes, but it's exhausting him," said Fíli. "He's trying as hard as he can, but he's just not meant to watch over me. He doesn't know how. It's not his fault, of course—he's never had to watch over anyone, except Gimli, maybe, and I was always there, too—but I don't think now is a time to start. And especially not like this." Fíli sighed. "That's why I can't tell him. He doesn't know how to take care of me—and he doesn't need to know. It isn't his responsibility."
"Can't tell him what?" said Goldberry, her eyes burrowing into him.
Fíli looked around warily, but Kíli was nowhere to be seen.
"That it hurts," he said. "It still hurts—a lot. It hurts to move, to sit, to stand, to walk—even to breathe, to be quite honest. I don't want to do anything but lie still."
"You are free to lie still for as long as you would like," said Goldberry, cocking her head to one side.
"But I can't," Fíli protested. "I can't leave my mother and uncle thinking that Kíli and I are lost forever. I won't do that to them. We have to get back as soon as possible."
"It is a long journey home," said Goldberry.
"Well, I'll make it," said Fíli. "I'll do whatever I have to do."