Fili sat in a pleasant silence for the better part of two hours, all thoughts of Thorin's conversation and Kili's determination forgotten.

Suddenly the back door flew open with a tremendous crash and Fili could hear Kili's excited voice calling for Uncle Thorin to "come quick, come quick!"

Curious as to what all the commotion was about Fili placed his book gently on the nightstand and padded down the hallway.

"Kili what in Durin's name is going on?" Thorin called from the sitting room. At some point while Fili had been reading, Thorin had emerged from his own bedroom to continue his conversation with Balin. The chairs in the sitting room were significantly more comfortable than those at the kitchen table, and since the sitting room had been vacated of curious children, the two dwarves must have decided to sit there and discuss whatever had caused Balin to visit in the first place.

Uncle and nephew reached the kitchen at almost the exact same moment and both their jaws dropped to the floor as they took in the state of their youngest relative.

Kili stood beaming in the doorway, his white teeth and eyes the only clean portion of his body. Everything else, from the tip of his head to the soles of his boots, was covered in a thick layer of dirt. As the young dwarf jumped excitedly, sheens of soil fell from his clothes and covered the floor beneath his feet.

"Kili cease moving before you make an even greater mess." Thorin reprimanded at the same time Fili questioned, "What on earth were doing out there?"

Kili's grin only widened, his body vibrating with anticipation. "Come see!" And without awaiting a reply, Kili turned and raced back outside.

Fili and Thorin glanced at one another, equal looks of bemusement upon both their faces, before they followed Kili's dirtied footprints outside. Balin was the last to leave the house, taking care to close the door as he did lest they get moths.

The backyard was a wreck, but judging by Kili's dirtied body Fili didn't know what else he should've been expecting. A gigantic hole had been dug right next to the tree line; it almost resembled the animal traps Thorin had taught Fili to make, expect it was far deeper and not nearly as wide. Still, it wasn't the pit that caught all three dwarfs' attention, but the mound of dirt piled almost as high as their one story house sitting directly in the middle of the lawn.

"Kili what-" Fili began, his voice tapering off when he couldn't think of a way to voice all the questions bouncing around inside his head.

"It's for Uncle Thorin." Kili stated proudly, as if that simple statement explained everything. The young dwarf stretched and took hold of his Uncle's hand, urging a bewildered Thorin closer to the mound. "See? It's a throne for you."

And indeed, upon closer inspection, Fili could see the obvious outline of a chair, carved right out of the dirt.

"For me?" Thorin questioned, hesitating before cautiously sitting in the dirt chair.

"Yes!" Kili replied with an excited grin, "And here's a crown for you!" From seemingly nowhere, Kili produced a wilting crown made from long weeds and flowers found in their yard.

Thorin hunched over so Kili could place the crown on his head before gazing at his nephew in confusion. "Kili, what is all this for?"

Kili's smile fell, and he became very interested in the grass he was currently kicking with his dirtied boot. "Well, I opfended you earlier. And Fili told me about how you lost your mountain, so I decided to make you one."

"You made me a mountain?" Thorin questioned, shooting a glare Balin's direction as he saw his old friend grinning widely.

"Mmhmm. Do you like it?" The childish anticipation with which Kili asked that simple question had Thorin chuckling to himself.

"Of course, this is beautiful Kili. Yet I still do not quite understand why you made this mountain."

Kili's face brightened considerably as he replied proudly, "Well now that you have a mountain, you can be King under the Mountain."

"King under the Mountain?" A barking laugh escaped Fili's lips before he could stop it. "More like King under the Dirt Pile!"

Kili's eyes narrowed into dark slits as he glared at his brother. He bent slowly and gripped a fist full of dirt in his small hand. "I'd like to see you do better." He called before whipping the dirt at his brother.

Fili dodged the assault easily, "Is that a challenge brother?"

"Hardly brother, you stand no chance of winning!"

"Oh we shall see about that!"

Kili released a loud squeal as Fili charged, gripping him around the middle and bodily throwing him into the side of his dirt mound.

Thorin stood and hastily made his retreat, narrowly missing getting doused by flying dirt. He halted a safe distance away, standing next to Balin with a smile in his eyes.

The hair on the back of his neck stood and Thorin's attention turned from his nephews wrestling in the dirt to his friend staring at him. Balin's amused expression drifted to Thorin's head and the flower crown he had yet to remove.

"You will mention this to no one." Thorin deadpanned, all amusement disappearing from his face.

"Oh I didn't see a thing." Balin stated, but couldn't contain the chuckle that escaped past his long beard.

Thorin had no doubt that at least Dwalin, possibly a few others, would be hearing a rendition of this tale later that evening.

As his gaze drifted back out to his nephews wrestling in the remnants of Thorin's dirt throne, the King couldn't bring himself to care. For that small moment in time, things were perfect.

Yes, Dis would be furious when she returned home from market to find her house a mess, her backyard completely destroyed, and her boys so covered in dirt she wouldn't be able to tell them apart.

But boys would be boys, and dwarf boys, well, there was no such thing as a peaceful moment with two dwarf boys. Especially one's as troublesome as his nephews.

A/N: Hey guys, so there you have it. So, I honestly have no idea how long it would take to make a dirt pile that huge but I'm guessing it's longer than two hours. But, whatever. I hope you enjoyed this, but even if you didn't, let me know what you think! I could always use some constructive criticism! Thanks.

~Spring