AN: I loved the relationship between Bilbo and Thorin in the Hobbit movies, so I thought it would be cool to whip up a letter that Bilbo could've written to Thorin after returning to the Shire. No, this is not a Bagginshield thing.
To Thorin,
I'm back home, Thorin. It has been three months since I left the Lonely Mountain and returned to the Shire. I can honestly say that it feels odd being back. I spent too long away from home, and now I feel as though I don't want to be back. I don't think I'm going to stay for too long, I already miss seeing the Elves and the mountains. I don't know what it is about the mountains, but whenever I think of them again, it always brings a tear to my eye.
I planted the tree just like you told me. I've been watching it grow, and it is growing to become a beautiful, green tree. Whenever I look at it, I remember. I remember everything that happened, my dear Thorin, the good and the bad. But I will be honest, while I feel lucky to be alive, I cannot help but feel sad. I'm back home in the Shire, but is this really my true home anymore? Somehow I want another band of dwarves to come by home and offer me another adventure. I would go without any hesitation this time.
Life in the Shire never changes. No fire-breathing dragon swoops in and attacks us. What do we have that a dragon would want anyway? The answer is nothing. I feel lonely here, like the Lonely Mountain itself. I feel so lonely in fact, that I don't even enjoy visitors anymore. You and the other dwarves didn't take that joy away from me, it is just that I'm tired of the same talk and the same routines that we Shire-folk have gotten so used to.
Do you know what happened when I returned home? Half the Shire was at my door, selling my own things in an auction because they thought I was dead. Talk about something that was taken from you. I had to show my signature on the contract to prove I wasn't dead. Even then, it took time to get my possessions back. Not that I really care about them as much as I used to.
If there was one thing I wish I had been able to tell you before you passed, I found something in the goblin tunnels. It is a magic ring. I know that it is powerful, and it seems to have some kind of hold on me. If I put the ring on, it makes me invisible. That is how I was able to escape the tunnels without being detected, and it was how I was able to get up Ravenhill to warn you about the Orcs coming.
My dear Thorin, I want you to know that I forgive you for almost throwing me over the rampart after I told you I had taken the Arkenstone. I know now that treasures can be a dangerous thing that makes you something that you are not. You learned your lesson, and you came out and led your people like a true king. You had more bravery that I could've possibly had if I was in your position. I miss you already. When the auctioneer in the Shire asked me who you were, I told him that you were my friend. Because that's who you were. That's who you are. Thank you again that I got to share in the perils we encountered. Like I told you, it is more than any Baggins deserves.
Someday, I'm going to write a book about the adventures I had. It will need a good ending, a good last sentence. I promise I will think of one. It was the greatest experience I have ever had in my life. No, Gandalf the Grey had nothing to do with my decision to leave. I don't want him to have the credit.
Yours Truly,
Bilbo Baggins