[ Nikolai wonders if the short man will shut up if he kisses him. He feels like it would, and maybe Nikolai should, because if Thorin keeps shouting about what Nikolai has done like that, the reputation he has spent months building up is going to crash and burn.

But he only sighs. He takes another drag of his cigarette before tossing it on the ground, grinding it dead with the sole of his shoe. Then it's kicked away to join the growing pile of cigarette butts on the other side of the alley. ]

Because you were still alive. [ He turns around, looking straight into Thorin's eyes. His smile is sad, edged with exhaustion, and he rubs his eyes. ] You were breathing. And your life is important. So I make sure you keep breathing. Simple as that.

[ It really is that simple, to Nikolai. It doesn't matter who he dies for. (Once, he died because it's literally too much trouble to keep living, especially if he gets a whole and hale body if he dies and is revived.)

He rubs at his mouth a little, tips his head backwards even as he keeps his eyes on Thorin. ]

Try not to tell everyone about it, da?