AN: I have had someone saying that pranking other people to embarrass them is cruel. The characters in my fanfic know the people who can take a joke (Thorin, Dis, Elrond, each other etc.) and would never do something to someone who couldn't take it. What happened with Thranduil was a mess up (And Thranduil's fault).

I hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think!

:)

Fili and Kili's POV

Fili: 76, Kili: 71

6 years before the quest

"I can't believe it! Fee, are you really an adult next year?" Kili was worried. His big brother, an adult? But then what would he do in the five years before he became one too? Fili could see the worry on his younger sibling's face.
"Don't worry Kee, we can still do little stuff together. In fact, let's do something big now, as a sort of celebration of all the pranks we have achieved over the years!" Fili was thankful of the small age gap between them. Other siblings had several decades age gaps between them so they were lucky. However, it didn't feel right that one would leave the other behind. Ever since Kili could crawl, and even before that, they had done the majority of things together. They played together, trained together, hunted together, fought together. They worked best as a team.

"Okay, but, I don't want to be on my own." Kili was suddenly plagued with memories of other dwarrow teasing him when he was alone. When he was with Fili, they never said anything.
"You won't be. I'm not suddenly going to not talk to you or anything. I would never do that."
"Promise?"
"I promise."

Feeling much better, Kili was full of ideas for one last prank.
"I think we should do what the elves said. Do lots. Don't bother with the party thing, Mum and Thorin would murder us!"
"And pulling pranks on other people who we don't know is quite rude."
"Yeah. That would be a bad idea." Kili was quiet for a few seconds, picturing was Dis and Thorin would do if they ever did anything like that. Fili knew what he was thinking and shuddered. Nothing was worth that amount of trouble!

"So, lets get a list of all the small pranks we can do." Kili had come back with a pen and paper, determined to make the most of this while he still could. "Swapping sugar and salt. Buckets of water on doors-"

"Not cold. We don't want anyone catching hypothermia because of us. That would be awful!"
"Nope, warm water." Kili was hastily scribbling notes. Fili never saw his brother this focused unless it was making people laugh.

"Hey, I've had an idea. Instead of just irritating Mum and Thorin, we could make it funny for them. Like drawing stupid pictures and sticking them in awkward places. If they are having a bad day, then voila! a picture that will make them smile will be waiting for them." Fili had begun to notice that Thorin and Dis were looking tired and down more often than they were. He also thought that the few grey hairs on his mother's head had been caused by him and Kili.
"Sure! In that case can we do lots of silly pranks? Like instead of swapping sugar and salt, we leave a trail of food to where we are hiding with our fiddles. We can surprise them with some nice music. We can play quite well."
"We no longer sound like dying cats, yes." Fili smiled, memories of Kili trying play the violin when he was still a toddler, flashing through his mind.
"Hey! I never sounded like a dying cat!" Kili was indignant.
"Sorry Kee, but you definitely were!" Fili poked Kili and ran for it. Soon the two brothers were fighting on the grass outside. It was all a bit of a laugh.

When Dis came home that evening she found her sons laughing far too much and covered head to toe in mud and with big smiles on their faces. She laughed to herself.
"What have you two been up to? And you better not be tracking mud through my carpet!" Dis said with a smile.
"Nowhere!" Fili and Kili said in unison.
"Nope, too quick. What have you two really been up to?"
"We were outside." Kili said.
"Playing." Fili hastily interjected.
"Hmm. Alright. I don't care, go and get cleaned up before dinner." Dis couldn't be bothered to get the truth out of her sons, she was exhausted.
"Yes Mum." They chorused before trudging to the bathroom to wash.

"Got everything?" Fili asked in a hushed whisper.
"Yep."
"Good. Go!"
The brothers quietly hurried down the stairs and through the house, carrying out their plan. Once they had got everything set out they went down to dinner as if everything was normal. They ate dinner with Dis and Thorin as if nothing was different. Once they had finished, they even washed up the plates. As soon as that was done, they got into position and waited.

Thorin looked around for his nephews. He wanted to sit down with his family and talk. It had been ages since they had just talked.
"Dis, have you seen the boys?"
"Not since dinner, no."
"Okay." He hoped that they weren't plotting something as it was suspiciously quiet. He got up and exited the living room to investigate. That's when he saw the cake. It looked like on of the boys had made it, it was a dodgy rock cake. Thorin sincerely hoped they weren't trying to poison anyone. As he went through the house, he kept on finding the cakes, which seemed to be growing in number towards the cupboard where all the thick, winter, fur coats were kept. Thorin carefully opened the door.

Fili saw a crack of light and immediately started playing. It was a fiddle duet that they had learnt when they had just started learning. It was a nice jig that everyone knew and frequently danced to. Kili joined in at the right moment. Together, they sprung out of the cupboard and started dancing towards the living room, Thorin following, still a little shocked.

When they entered the room, Dis looked up in surprise. Her two sons were playing their fiddles, and Thorin was standing in the doorway looking puzzled. Smiling, Dis put away her knitting and stood up. She walked over to Thorin and started dancing. He smiled and joined in. It brought back fond memories for both of them, memories of when there were three siblings, the youngest barely walking, all trying to dance together, practicing for a looming celebration. Memories of less stressful times. Still. Dis thought. I wouldn't give up my children for anything. Not Frerin back, not Joli back, not even Erebor back.

After the song ended, they all started laughing, falling into chairs and laughing. Pure joy.
"Ah, it has been a while since I have danced like that. Thank you boys." Thorin smiled. "I'm glad you did that. It was great fun."
"I haven't danced that dance in a while either. Thank you." Dis stood up and hugged them. Thorin joined in as well.

Maybe that was what growing up is about. Fili thought. Making people laugh instead of doing stupid things that irritate them.

Thanks to Italian Hobbit who is letting me use her name Joli for Fili and Kili's dad. (The name is never revealed in any of Tolkien's works)

Thanks to whoever posted the review about lighthearted fun rather than embarrassing. It gave me an idea to use it a character development. (Although no hate please)

I'm sorry I haven't posted recently. I don't have much writing time at the moment as schoolwork gets in the way. Sorry. I will try to write and post a bit more.

As usual, reviews are greatly appreciated!

:)