Mad Baggins

Prompt from MAPMonstersArePerceptions.

Dwarves visit Bilbo in the Shire. They are not amused by the title "Mad Baggins".

The journey to Hobbiton had been long, and the Company felt a mix of anticipation and satisfaction as they neared Bag End. It had been years since the reclamation of Erebor, and life had steadily grown brighter within the mountain. Yet, through all the clinking hammers, bustling markets, and filled feasting halls, Bilbo Baggins remained a constant presence in their thoughts.

Now, standing at the foot of Bag End's hill, Thorin, Fili, Kili, and Dwalin exchanged a look that mixed excitement with something else – concern. They'd heard a few strange rumours on their way through the Shire about their dear friend, and those tales left a sour taste in their mouths.

"You heard it, didn't you?" Fili muttered, eyes narrowing as he took in the cozy landscape, "'Mad Baggins,' they called him. Seems we've missed a few things."

Thorin's face darkened, "indeed. We'll see if this is true soon enough."

The door opened before they even had the chance to knock. Bilbo stood on the threshold, the morning sun casting a warm glow over his greying curls and a bemused grin on his face. His sharp gaze swept over each of them, his eyes bright with the unmistakable joy of reunion.

"You look ridiculous standing there, you know," he said with a laugh, "come in, come in! What's a hobbit's door for if not for dwarves to crowd around it?"

Chuckling, they made their way inside, but the warmth they felt upon seeing Bilbo quickly gave way to tension as they gathered in his comfortable parlour. Each dwarf, whether it be Dwalin, who cracked his knuckles menacingly, or Kili, who simply stared with a slight frown, was caught between relief and a simmering annoyance at what they'd heard.

Bilbo picked up on it immediately, of course, his laughter fading as he took in their expressions. "Out with it, then," he sighed, pouring tea, "you all look as if you've swallowed something sour."

"'Mad Baggins,' they call you," Thorin said, his voice a rumble of displeasure, "why?"

Bilbo blinked in surprise, then laughed, a warm sound that seemed to ring throughout the cozy hobbit hole. "Oh, that," he said, as if the matter was nothing more than a leaf blown on the wind.

"It's hardly a laughing matter," Dwalin muttered, looking as if he'd like to march down to the Green Dragon and confront anyone who dared to call Bilbo mad.

"Oh, it's entirely silly," Bilbo reassured them. "They call me mad because they think I've been off in the 'Wild World' having adventures – as if that's such an impossible thing for a hobbit to do."

Kili leaned forward, curiosity overcoming his irritation, "they don't believe you? After everything you did?"

"They believe some of it," Bilbo said with a chuckle. "I told them of the trolls, the goblins, and Smaug, though I admit, I may have left out a few of the finer details. A full recounting would have the dear folk of Hobbiton huddled indoors for a month."

Thorin's face softened, "and because they don't understand, they call you mad?"

"Oh, they don't mean anything by it," Bilbo said, though a wistful note crept into his voice, "they're not unkind, only… simple folk. A tale of fire-breathing dragons and battles is something for a hobbit's fireside, not his backyard."

"Well, we'll not stand for it," Dwalin huffed, "mad? If that's what they call a courageous, dragon-slaying burglar, then the Shire has a poor sense of its heroes."

Bilbo shook his head, smiling despite himself, "there's no need to ruffle feathers on my account, truly. Mad Baggins suits me just fine. Hobbits don't take kindly to 'different.' If a few call me mad, they're less likely to poke around here and find things they don't understand. And I rather like the peace."

His words settled over the dwarves, and slowly, they began to understand. Bilbo's life in the Shire was a peaceful one, simple but fulfilling in a way none of them could fully grasp. "Besides," Bilbo continued, "I think a little madness suits me. Perhaps it suits us all."

Thorin's lips quirked into a faint smile, "if you ever decide that Bag End grows too quiet for a mad Baggins, there will always be a place for you in Erebor."

Bilbo chuckled, clinking his teacup against Thorin's mug. "I'll take you up on that, perhaps, if I tire of the quiet," he said, his eyes twinkling, "but you may find it a bit crowded when half the Shire shows up wondering why I'd abandon the life of a gentle-hobbit for such odd company."

Dwalin snorted, but a hint of a smile tugged at his lips. "Odd company is it?" he grumbled, though there was warmth in his voice.

They spent the rest of the afternoon in laughter and stories, memories of old adventures and whispers of future ones that may never come. And as the sun dipped low in the sky, the Company left Bag End, each carrying a renewed fondness for their 'mad' friend in the Shire. For no matter how strange Bilbo might seem to those around him, to the Company of Thorin Oakenshield, he was nothing less than the bravest hobbit they'd ever known.

A bonus post - 2 in one day!

This is to announce a second work 'Of Fauntling Hearts and Dwarfling Dreams: Childhood Chronicles'. A collection of one-shots featuring some of our favourite Tolkien characters as children some of their children.

At this stage, this work will only be posted on my Ao3 page - TrixieGlasco.