Disclaimer: I don't own anything
This contains spoilers from the Hobbit The Battle of Five Armies. You have been warned!
Also it's kinda has a lot of angst, because the movie was basically a sad Bagginshield fanfiction. This could be read as slash or not. It's as close to romance as I can write for some reason. I think I'm going to post a lot of the Hobbit fanfics from now on since the movie was so great.
Summary: Bilbo Baggins left Frodo behind on their birthday to leave for another adventure he had no intention of returning from. Bilbo reaches Erebor and returns to Rivendell where Frodo finds him after he gets wounded by the Morgul blade. I't kinda a headcanon, since you can't convince me that Bilbo sat in Rivendell and wrote poetry for almost twenty years from the time he left until the time Gandalf actually came around to let Frodo know the ring was actually a big deal.
The party was far from over when Bilbo Baggins disappeared in the middle of his speech. He was sure his disappearance would be brushed off as another unusual thing the mad Baggins did during his life and if everything worked as planned it would be the last thing the other hobbits would see him doing.
No proper hobbit would have thought of leaving the Shire to go on an adventure even once in their life much less going a second time out there beyond the borders of the homely Shire and into the wild unknown. Good thing that Bilbo Baggins was as far from a proper hobbit as it gets. He was happy to leave his friends and acquaintances that had always been weary around him and quick to label him as mad from the day he returned and demanded his stuff back from the people who bought it.
The one hobbit he left behind with a heavy heart was his adopted nephew, Frodo, who Bilbo would have taken with him if he were to ever return. But despite what everyone else thought, Bilbo didn't like being an outcast in the Shire so he wouldn't want Frodo to end up with the same fate.
Leaving the golden ring behind had been almost as hard as leaving Frodo for some reason he couldn't comprehend. Bilbo had seen what gold and precious stones does to good hearted people, so he made sure never to let that happen to himself. Yet he could barely bring himself to part from that piece of gold. If he were completely honest with himself, he hadn't parted with the ring ever since he found it in that dammed cave where he out-witted the blue eyed creature who called itself Gollum.
But it mattered not. He would think of it no more otherwise he might be tempted to return which was out of discussion. Years of longing led to this exact moment when he decided Frodo would live by himself without having to worry about anything.
He passed the Baranduin River and went around Bree, not wanting to meet anyone he might know in his way. He wanted to reach Imladris in five day's time. He did make a point in spending the first night in a particular cage he hadn't seen in sixty years and if he did sleep on the exact same spot Thorin did back then, that something no one could prove.
Nor could they prove that he relieved that adventure with each step he took, yet the only face he saw was a certain dwarf's. If anyone asked, that wasn't the point of this other unexpected journey.
He remembered that night. It was the first night he spent with Thorin Oakenshield and his Company. A merry band, the lot of them. Although that night had been particularly frightening, but that could have been the result of hearing about the cruel Orcs for the first time. It was the moment he realized how innocent and without a care in the world were the Shire habitants. While they were sitting in front of the chimney with their bellies full of delicious food, outside of the borders of the peaceful land were roaming around creatures so monstrous that few dared to speak of.
The old Angmar kingdom ruled in the past eve by the Witch king was just north of the Shire and the Orcs were walking free even around the Blue Mountains inhabited by the dwarves.
After he returned from his adventure he sat in his house, in Bag End three days without stepping outside a single foot. Afterwards, on the fourth day he took a walk up to the borders of the Shire, wondering why no Orc or any other evil creature has entered in his lifetime. That was where he met Strider. A nice man which admitted to leading others making sure the hobbits got to live their peaceful lives for as long as possible.
He wasn't exactly thrilled to find out that. It gave them an unfair advantage over the other creatures that had to fight in order to survive. Although if the hobbits were to have to fight for survival, Bilbo figured they wouldn't last long. They were farmers not soldiers.
He made sure to visit Strider and his friends as often as possible, more often than not bringing food for them, figuring they couldn't exactly stay as well hidden as they have for so many years and light a fire to cook a nice hot meal. Needless to say he formed a long-lasting friendship with them. The idea of leaving the Shire behind came to him much early, so he made sure to find a way to leave without meeting the men.
Bilbo was fooling himself probably, thinking he would be able to reach Erebor at his age as fast as he did sixty years ago with the thirteen dwarves but perhaps he would reach the Lonely Mountain in a couple of years. Perhaps.
He crossed the Lost Bridge and he was positive he wouldn't meet anyone until he reached Imladris.
He was wrong.
From afar he had seen a blond elf and by the time Bilbo hid from his sight the elf was already next to the bush the old hobbit stood behind.
"I know you are there." The elf said. "Show yourself"
Bilbo could have run. He would have ran soundlessly even for elven ears, but he didn't and not because of his age, but because something in that voice sounded familiar.
"Master Baggins" the elf nodded and almost smiled seeming glad. He probably expected an orc. These days those creatures were so often met on these roads Bilbo didn't blame him for expecting the worst.
"Prince Legolas. Êl síla erin lû e-govaned vîn" he might be getting rusty, but his Sindarin did not.
"What brings you in these parts, master hobbit? Did they move the borders of the Shire?" Legolas smiled at him.
Although they hadn't spoken a word to each other in their life, fighting side by side (more or less) forms long-lasting bonds between all creatures. Bilbo knew that Legolas left his father, the Mirkwood King, Thranduil and from what Balin had told him, one of his subordinates, an Elf-maiden which had been the object of the prince's desires only had eyes for Kili. What had happened to the red head elf after the young dwarf's death, Bilbo did not know.
"No, as far as I know they did not. Yet I could ask you the very same question. What brings you so far away from Mirkwood?"
Legolas pursed his lips and Bilbo wondered if he had crossed some sort of line although he had no way of knowing that since it was the very first conversation he ever had with the prince. The only elves he had encountered and spoken to since Erebor had been Silvan Elves, much different from a Sindar elf, which Legolas was.
"I left Mirkwood at the same time you and the dwarves did and never returned." Legolas didn't smile anymore and although Bilbo wanted to reach Rivendell in short time, he wanted to continue speaking to the blond elf.
Legolas continued. "I sense a long time will pass until I enter it again. I am heading west to meet a friend. Did you happen to meet a human called Strider somewhere east of Bree on the East-west Road?"
"I did not, but I do know of whom you're speaking. Strider is protecting the Shire from the horrors of the outside world and the hobbits owe him and his men much more than they'd ever realize. Right now all they say is that dark tall men are lurking around the Shire and that they bring bad news." He scoffed. "Idiots, the lot of them"
Legolas looked towards the setting sun at west. "Not idiots, Master Baggins, but innocents. We need hope and innocence in these times of darkness. I must be going. If you happen to stop in Imladris, let Lord Elrond know that I'm on my way to meet Strider."
Bilbo nodded, hoping to remember. His memory had begun to fade lately.
"Na lû e-govaned vîn, Legolas "Bilbo told the elf.
"Farwell, Master Burglar"
Legolas turned around leaving Bilbo stare after the elven prince. Legolas had no idea that his words triggered memories Bilbo wasn't ready to deal with. He could hear Thorin Oakenshield bidding him Farwell and urging him to return to his books and to plant his threes. He did plant that acorn and each summer he sat under an imposing oak three wondering what his life would have been like if Thorin had survived. Would Bilbo have returned to the Shire after everything that happened or would he have stayed with his friends in Erebor and grow old surrounded by his dear dwarves?
He decided he wouldn't think of how Thorin's last words were the exact same words Bilbo told them to explain why he hadn't left them behind after they got captured by the goblins. He wouldn't think of that, nor would he think of the way Thorin looked at him right then. Or how he hugged Bilbo after the hobbit saved his life and the fact that all Bilbo could think right then was how he'd do it all over again without a second thought even if it meant hi dying in the process.
He passed the three troll statues on his way to Rivendell and smiled remembering the trolls trying to eat the ponies and the entire company. Gandalf saved them, like he always did. You can't count on the wizard to be always there, but he's by your side when it matters most. When you're faced with imminent death or after someone you cared deeply about died. He also made sure to be always in the Shire with his magical fireworks to make the children smile.
Bilbo figured he would have half a day walk until he reached Imladris and he was not surprised when an elf came to walk him to Lord Elrond. He learned that the elf's name was Arwen and that she was Lord Elrond's daughter. They didn't walk for long when other two elves joined them and introduced themselves as Elladan and Elrohir, also the Lord's children and Arwen's brothers.
It was nice to come to know the lord of the elves since the last time he visited he was forced to leave without as much as a goodbye. Elrond was gracious enough to offer him a room to sleep in and to let him know that he was free to stay for how long he wished and to leave whenever he wished.
"It would be nice to let me know this time, Master Baggins" the lord told him with an amused glint in his dark eyes.
"I will make sure to do just that" he replied smiling.
He didn't stay for long. Only two weeks and Elrond made sure Bilbo was given as much food as he could carry even though Bilbo never told them where he was headed. They didn't ask, but Elrond looked at him knowingly when he left.
Bilbo was just about to leave when he remembered something and turned around towards the elf. "I met Prince Legolas, King Thranduil's son. He told me to let you know he is on his way to meet Strider"
Elrond nodded and said "Thank you for letting me know. Speaking of meeting friends, I heard Balin is in Moria now"
Bilbo didn't know that. Despite his wish to follow the company's steps, he ventured south walking along the Misty Mountains with Sting in his hand and the mithril shirt underneath his cloak. He reached the gate of Moria and although he couldn't see the door, he remembered a wise wizard mentioning that dwarven doors are invisible even to dwarves themselves.
"Speak friend and enter"
Bilbo didn't expect a riddle. He scratched his head trying to untangle some dry leaves from his white hair. He was good at riddles. His gift with riddles helped him keep his life once.
"Mellon" he whispered and was extremely proud of himself when the door opened. He was greeted by axes and five armored dwarves.
"Let him pass" a voice he recognized said from behind the dwarves. "He's an old friend"
The dwarves took a step back and Bilbo entered, the door closing behind him. Balin came forward and from his time spent with the dwarves, Bilbo braced himself for the impact with Balin's head. He got to actually look at Balin after the dwarf took a step back. He didn't look much older. You wouldn't say that sixty years passed by since he last saw him.
"Well, look at you" Balin said merrily. "You got wider and shorter since our last meeting"
Bilbo laughed and patted Balin's shoulder. "Not everyone can look as good as you old friend"
Balin invited him farther in and Bilbo couldn't help looking around the beautifully carver halls and walls.
When Balin made Bilbo sit down on a chair, Bilbo asked him.
"How did you end up here?"
Balin sighed and started his tale. "Dain naturally remained to rule Erebor after" he looked at Bilbo sideways as if to decide whether Bilbo was ready to hear it. The hobbit almost scoffed. Sixty years was enough to be able to hear about it without flinching. "After the end of the line of Durin" Maybe Balin figured he wasn't ready. "He was the next best thing. We all got our fair share of the promised treasure and some of us left. I, Ori and Oin came here while Gloin, Dwalin, Dori and Nori left for the Blue Mountains; Bombur remained in Erebor while Bifur and Bofur left for the Iron Hills."
Balin couched and looked around as if making sure nobody else was within hearing distance besides Bilbo before continuing. "Gloin and Bombur are the only ones left alive besides me, Ori and Oin. And I'm not sure for how long we're going to stay that way."
"What? Nonsense. Why would that be?" Bilbo leaned forward
"There's evil lurking around. Not just here, although here is more pronounced right now, but everywhere in east. Even in Gondor."
Evil has been lurking around since he first stepped outside of Bag End. It wasn't new although back then Balin hadn't seemed concerned.
"Where are you headed, Master Burglar?" Ori asked him smiling at the hobbit.
It was such a simple question, yet one he hadn't been asked yet. Legolas did ask him, but Bilbo managed to brush it off. Ori looked like he actually wanted an answer so Bilbo answered.
"To Erebor"
He heard something shatter behind him and he turned around to see Balin and a glass fallen next to his right leg.
"On my beard. My reflexes are getting slower with each passing year" he heard the dwarf mutter before he took another glass and filled him with alcohol before giving it to Bilbo.
"Why are you going to the Lonely Mountain, Bilbo?" Oin asked him
Bilbo shrugged as a response and Oin seemed content with leaving it at that. That night when Balin showed him his room, he stopped Bilbo from entering after saying goodnight.
"You shouldn't dwell on the past, Bilbo"
Bilbo nodded. "I know"
Balin sighed seeing the look in Bilbo's eyes. "He cared about you deeply, Master Burglar. You changed him in better and reminded him of what's important"
"Goodnight Balin"
Bilbo entered hastily and closed the door in his friend's face. He would definitely feel sorry for it the next day but he couldn't bear to hear him say anything more.
The next day Bilbo left Moria and decided to listen to Balin's advice.
"You shouldn't go through Mirkwood. Try to go through Lothlorien. The elves should let you spend the night there and maybe even give you some more food for the journey. Just be weary of the witch that lives there. She can read one's heart like an opened book"
Going through Lothlorien and then passing the Brown Lands south of the Mirkwood forest before going directly north to reach Erebor meant that it would take more time than he first figured to reach the mountain, but he had no desire to meet another spider for as long as he lived. Nor did he want to get lost and get captured by the elves.
While walking at a slow but steady pace over the hills, leaving the Misty Mountains behind, he could have sworn he saw an imposingly large bear and started walking slightly faster. If that had been Beorn he would rather not meet him while in bear form.
From afar he saw the golden forest and immediately recognized it although he only heard stories of it from the elves which passed through the Shire to get to the sea heading towards the Undying Lands. It was as breathtaking as the stories said.
He walked cautiously inside and was immediately asked to stop where he was or he would find himself with an arrow through his head. Hospitality at its best.
"What business do you have here?" the voice came again from above.
"I seek a place to spend the night" It wasn't night. It was the middle of the day, but it was the only think he could think of.
"What are you?"
"A hobbit"
He heard some leaves move a bit before something jumped right in front of him. It turned out it was an elf with long golden hair and a bow with an arrow pointed at Bilbo's heart.
"The lady had been expecting you." He lowered his bow. "I will accompany you to her." Bilbo nodded. "Although I must make sure you won't see the way there"
Bilbo walked blindfolded for quite a while and even though he couldn't hear the elf at all, he was sure they wouldn't leave him to roam around alone in the forest even blindfolded.
"Welcome, Bilbo Baggins" a soothing voice said and Bilbo stopped. When he took off his blindfold he noticed that the elf who took him here was nowhere to be seen. Instead in front of him was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.
"Milady" he bowed his head slightly.
"I am Galadriel. And you are Bilbo Baggins, the official burglar of Thorin Oakenshield's company."
He looked at her alarmed.
"Worry not. Although you do not know it, I was in Imladris at the time you and the thirteen dwarves had been there. Quite a merry group I might add" she smiled at him and Bilbo smiled back
"You may stay as much as you like. Although I sense that it won't be long until you leave us. You have somewhere to be. You should go and rest, Bilbo. You still have a long journey ahead of you"
Bilbo did as he was told. Sleeping on a branch of a three wasn't half as bad as he expected. With the elves singing songs of happiness and sadness was soothing and Bilbo fell asleep.
"He changed the fate of Middle Earth" Galadriel told her husband, Celeborn
"Such a small creature, going around the big world, changing fates" Celeborn said
"And hearts"
When he left the golden forest, Galadriel, after his farwell, said low enough for only his ears to hear.
"Thorin Oakenshield had a noble heart, just like you, Master Baggins. Noble mortal hearts are allowed to leave this earth and go somewhere no mere mortal could, only the Eldar."
Bilbo had no idea what that meant, but he smiled at the fair elf and nodded. Two elves took him on a boat, passing the Anduin with him, before they returned to Lorien. After passing the Great River and taking the road towards east, Bilbo remembered Balin's warning and wondered if Galadriel was the witch Balin warned him about.
At the south border of the Mirkwood forest he met Gloin which was going to visit Oin in Moria. They made small talk for a short while before they continued their journeys. Bilbo learned that Gloin's son, Gimli was finally of age and he was as stubborn as it gets. Gloin looked extremely proud of his son and Bilbo couldn't help smiling the whole time.
It was good to know that Thorin, Kili and Fili didn't die for nothing.
Bilbo walked a long way without meeting anyone, until he heard something behind him. He got time to hide from view in some bushes and waited. He expected orcs or trolls or even Mirkwood elves since it was the edge of the forest, but he did not expect Strider to walk right past the bushes Bilbo was hid behind. He got up and called his name.
"Master Baggins!" the surprise was evident in the man's voice. "What brings you so far away from the Shire? Everybody's been talking about your little disappearing trick from your birthday party more than a year ago.
"Oh, dear, has it really been a year? I wouldn't have said. I'm heading north." He said vaguely and since Strider didn't ask for more details he went on "What about you?"
"I was sent to take care of something. You didn't happen to see a creature with wide blue eyes lurking in the shadows, did you? It calls itself Gollum"
Bilbo felt a shiver go down his spine. "No, I did not see anything. Why are you after this creature?"
"It escaped from the elven king's prison. It was supposed to be safe, nothing has ever escaped that prison, but this creature has somehow"
Bilbo wanted to tell Strider about how not one creature, but thirteen of them escaped the King's palace, but he decided that if King Thranduil wanted to purposely forget that, he would let him be.
"Did you meet Legolas? I met him not far from Rivendell. He was looking for you"
Strider didn't ask him how he knew the elven prince. "I did and then I went east, through the High Pass and through Mirkwood. I suppose you took the longer route as it took you longer to get here."
"Not only that, but I'm no longer young, Strider."
They parted and went their separate ways. Bilbo's heart missed a beat when he saw the peak of the mountain with the lake in front of it.
He stopped by the Lake Town, which was much more south than it used to be, and learned that it was called Esgaroth nowadays, since the town was destroyed and rebuilt; and searched for Bard, only to find from his son, the Lord of the town, that Bard passed away a few decades back. Bilbo didn't stay there, but headed for the mountain right afterwards.
It was just like when he left it, without bearing to stay for Thorin, Fili and Kili's funerals.
Dain greeted him like an old friend and he met Bombur who didn't recognize him, but the other dwarves told him that he barely remembered anything nowadays.
"He sometimes starts screaming and takes an axe yelling for others to get out of the dragon's way. He still searches for Bifur and Bofur in the rooms they used to stay. Most of the time he sits around doing nothing,"
Bilbo's heart ached for his friend and although he knew it was hopeless he sat down next to him and began telling him stories from the Shire and about how he met Gloin on the way and how well Balin, Ori and Oin were doing. Bombur didn't seem to know he was there at all.
When Bilbo was about to leave, he heard Bombur mutter. "Thorin's dead, dead, dead. Bilbo won't handle it. We shouldn't have taken him with us, Bifur" although Bifur was long dead and there was no one else in the room.
Despite Dain's protests, Bilbo only stayed a week. Dain was sure Bilbo would go home right away, but he wasn't exactly surprised when he saw the hobbit head towards the peak where Thorin died. He hoped the elf maiden wouldn't be here. Bilbo needed to be alone.
When Bilbo passed the places that haunted his dreams, he remembered every detail of the battle. He remembered the exact spot where Thorin said his last words. He reached that spot and sat down right there on the cold ice. He sat in silence and only too late noticed that someone was behind him.
He turned around to see a read headed elf he found vaguely familiar. She spoke first.
"What brings a hobbit from the Shire here?" her voice was gentle but Bilbo sensed that it was on the verge of tears.
"Memories" he was surprised to find that his voice cracked in the middle of the sentence.
She nodded and sat next to him. Tauriel. That was her name. She used to be the head of the guards in Mirkwood and Kili had cared deeply for her.
"How do you manage?" he asked her and when she looked at him blankly he explained. "Living for so long and seeing people around you die"
She sighed and looked towards the setting sun thoughtfully. "We try not to care for mortals"
"Does it work?"
She shook her head.
"Kili cared deeply about you. He wouldn't shut up about the elf warrior who made him look like a fool yet captured his heart"
She laughed. "I cannot tell you that his uncle cared about you, as I did not know him. But people talk. The stories wander and everyone around here knows how a special person managed to cure the dragon illness which settled in his head, but apparently not heart."
"I didn't cure an illness. He broke free of the enchantment himself" Bilbo looked down.
"It may be. I know only what it is rumored"
"Have you found someone else in the meantime?"
She looked at him sadly. "Have you?"
No.
"I am heading to the Undying Lands. I heard that some mortals are granted the permission to go there after death. Even if Kili wasn't, I can't sit here and visit this place for eternity" she said.
"If anyone should be granted that honor it would be Fili and Kili"
"Thorin Oakenshield also"
He shrugged.
Bilbo reached Imladris a year and a half after his last visit there and decided, with Elrond's blessing to remain there. By the time Frodo entered Rivendell half dead with the Morgul blade having cut him, Bilbo had been staying there for almost five years. He heard Lord Elrond wished to leave for the Undying Lands and the lord was trying to persuade his daughter into joining him. From what Bilbo had seen it was for naught. Arwen and Strider were as in love as it gets.
In Rivendell he met Gimli, Gloin's son and found with a heavy heard that not only Strider, Aragorn apparently, but also Legolas, Gimli, Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin and Gandalf were going into their own adventure, maybe even more dangerous than his. There was nothing to say whether any of them returned alive.
He made sure he left Frodo his mithril shirt and Sting. He made sure the hobbits would be taken care of, and even though he knew that asking Gandalf to make sure they got back safe would be for nothing since Gandalf himself could be killed along the way, he did it anyway,
He had seen Legolas and Gimli argue every time they were in each other's presence and that made him remember the way he disliked Thorin at first. Thranduil and Gloin might lose their minds.
In the end, after the dammed ring was cast into the fire of Mount Doom and most of the Fellowship was back alive, Bilbo left for the Undying Lands, leaving Frodo alone once more to leave in an adventure.
Looking back from the ship, towards Middle Earth and then looking towards the horizon where the Undying Lands should appear in any moment, Bilbo Baggins was content for the first time in many years and hoped with all his heart that there was someone waiting for him in the Undying Lands. If there was, he would have to apologize for being sixty years late.
Na lû e-govaned vîn = Until next we meet
Êl síla erin lû e-govaned vîn.A star shines on the hour of our meeting.