Faramir FanFiction Archive

Watchful Eyes (PG)

Written by Kissa

Written for the 25fluffyfics challenge at lj
Prompt 20. Protection
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. I merely play with them and will put them back before Tolkien comes to haunt me.

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He felt warm inside only at the mere mention of the little one. How could he not? The precious jewel was the shiest, sweetest child ever, and he was his baby brother.

Although he was only a little under ten, Boromir loved looking after Faramir, who was four and ran about all day, playing and sticking his cute little nose wherever trouble lurked.

It had been the case now, with Faramir slipping outside unnoticed; Father was gone hunting with uncle Imrahil and the nanny had dozed off in her chair, and Faramir had climbed on a little stool, then on the table, then out the window. He had bruised his palms on the way down, landing flat in the snow, face down; the white wet surface bore the traces of it.

But the little one had not really minded the pain and had disappeared into the woods, looking for the Gods knew what. For some reason, his baby brother was fascinated by the woods; one could have said he was an elfling born to a couple of immortal elves who never set foot outside their ancient forest realm.

Boromir had looked for him all day, and even when darkness had fallen, he had not quit, knowing that Wargs roamed the forest and Faramir would be nothing more than a light snack to one of them, let alone a pack. Armed with daggers and a bow and arrows, Boromir had gone searching for his treasure.

And he had found Faramir, curled up in a small crevasse in a rock, the snow in front of it flattened by numerous Warg paw prints. The child was stiff with cold and fear, and he did not react when Boromir dragged him out and started carrying him all the long way back to safety. He merely hid his face in Boromir’s collar and sniffled softly.

Convinced the boys had gone to bed and were already sleeping, the nanny had gone to sleep herself, so there was no one to turn to when Boromir brought his little brother to the hunting lodge.

He prepared a warm bath and began to undress Faramir, who was shaking form the cold, but whose skin was hot to the touch. Setting him on the edge of the bed, Boromir began to rub each newly uncovered part, starting at the little wet feet.

“Little one, never leave like that again; you could have died out there, and I was so worried! I spent the whole afternoon looking for you… what if I had not found you?” Boromir gently chided, massaging some sensation into the little frost-bitten limbs.

Faramir sniffled.

“Black butterfly so cuuute fly away… Big red flapping eyes, he said to follow him, promised surprise!” he said, desperately trying to explain to his older brother he could not have resisted the sight of a butterfly in mid-winter.

Boromir fell silent and worried even more. If he, a small child, had recognized his brother’s special gift, other, bigger and more vicious forces had long seen a threat in the small boy who could not yet speak properly, but could read the hearts of men and see the future in his dreams. Still, he knew that as long as he lived, no harm would come to his beloved brother.

He gingerly lifted Faramir and set him into the tub, washing him thoroughly and gently toweling him dry, dressing him in warm night clothes and tucking him in. In the end, he bathed quickly and joined his brother under the covers, taking him in his arms to share his body heat, afraid the little one might have already caught a serious cold.

However, Faramir was cooing softly, the massage and the bath having made him drowsy, and he soon fell asleep surrounded by his brother’s protective warmth.

_end

Kissa’s 25fluffyfics