Before I start I should mention that I do not own the Hobbit, nor the characters. Just this idea. Enjoy. If you don't, that's cool too. No skin off my back.
It was no secret to anyone that in Hobbiton, gossip traveled faster than second breakfast. And for as long as anyone could remember, there had always been something worth whispering about between the Bagginses and the Sackville-Bagginses.
"Be careful of those Bagginses, they're a little too clever for their own good."
"It's a wonder they even speak to each other with how hostile they are!"
"Did you hear what Lobelia said about Bilbo's garden?"
But for all the murmuring over garden fences and behind cupped hands, nobody could quite agree on who started it. Some blamed the stubbornness of Bungo Baggins. Others pointed to the relentless ambition of the Sackville-Bagginses.
But in truth, this bitter rivalry all started, with a name.
It began on the day Bilbo Baggins was born—a day that should have been filled with nothing but joy. But joy was a fragile thing when inheritance and titles hung in the balance. You see, the title of Master Baggins was no mere honorific. It came with the property of Bag End, the finest Smial in Hobbiton, a reputation of respectability that had been passed down for generations, and the responsibility of keeping the surrounding properties, well maintained. The title had always gone to the eldest son of the Baggins line. A straightforward tradition that originated from their wandering days. Back then woman and children were their hope, their lineage, and as such, were fiercely protected and kept away from the dangers of leadership and conflict. It was a system that worked when survival was the only goal. But Hobbiton was no longer a place of wandering. Bag End's foundations were firm in the hill, and the fields and gardens stretched wide and peaceful.
Change had come, slowly and quietly, but tradition was as unmoving as the mountains, or at least it was—until Bilbo came along.
Bungo Baggins, Bilbo's father, was a methodical, respectable Hobbit with a deep sense of fairness. He believed in doing things properly, even when others wished he wouldn't. His wife, Belladonna Took, came from the storied Took family—a lineage known for its adventurous streak and occasional defiance of Hobbit conventions. They say that the Tooks have a bit of Fay blood in them to cause such wandering and adventurous spirits, but Bungo Baggins loved her all the more for it. Together, they made for an unusual, but well-respected pair.
Yet Belladonna and Bungo's efforts of conception had been difficult, and after a long, harrowing, bed-bound pregnancy, and an equally dangerous birth, it was clear that having another child would be dangerous, if not impossible. The Sackville-Bagginses knew this. They had been watching, waiting for their chance to claim what they saw as rightfully theirs. If Bungo and Belladonna failed to produce a son, the title of Master Baggins would, by default, fall to the next eligible male heir—Otho Sackville-Baggins.
For the Sackville-Bagginses, it was an opportunity too good to ignore. Otho's mother, Camellia, had spent years dropping not-so-subtle hints at teas and garden parties, reminding anyone who would listen that tradition must be upheld. All the while, when visiting Bag-End, wishing Belladonna a happy healthy baby girl. "Just as you always wanted, right Belladonna?" And Belladonna would give an indulgent smile and rub her growing belly.
In reality, it was Bungo who wanted a girl, which was quite unusual for a male Hobbit. Of course, both parents would be overjoyed whatever the child would be and wished only for the child to be born healthy. But Bungo, bless the man, lived to love his wife. He saw it as his purpose and the greatest honor simply to be her husband. Unfortunately, while Belladonna found this utterly charming and loved Bungo all the more for his dedication (for Baggins are terrible romantics no matter how sensible they like to appear) Belladonna was simply too independent to let her husband spoil her and tend to her every need like he so clearly wanted to do. It was one of their biggest struggles to overcome before marriage, but overcame it they did, and they were stronger for it.
So while Belladonna knew her husband would be happy with whatever Yavanna graced them with, she also knew that he silently wished to have a girl to spoil just as rotten as he wished to spoil her, because that's how he showed his love, by providing. Not that Belladonna would allow any child of hers to be spoiled rotten to the core of their hearts, of course not, but there was no question that this child would be loved with every fiber of being Bungo possessed.
So when the midwife finally handed Bungo his daughter, he looked at the red-faced, squirming bundle, and felt a love so powerful he could not contain it. As it spilled over through his eyes in the form of tears, he realized that he wanted her to have everything he could possibly give her despite the unfair rules society enforced, so he made a decision that would change everything.
He named her Bilbo.
Before anyone beyond the walls of Bag End knew the baby's gender, Bungo had already registered the name with the proper authorities. Who, seeing the respectable boy's name, sealed, and drew up the paperwork that the title of Master Baggins would pass to Bilbo unless said child, or father, decided otherwise. The ink was dry and the contract, unbreakable.
The Sackville-Baggins were sour about the child's "gender" offering their "sympathies" but couldn't truly speak up against anything, that was until three months later, when the truth finally came out—thanks to Bungo's stuffy and meddlesome parents—the Sackville-Bagginses were livid. They had been outmaneuvered by five little letters.
The resulting fallout went down as the Biggest Scandal (yes capitalization is necessary) since Bullroar Took! Several members of the Baggins, (including the Sackville-Baggins...especially them) and even other prominent families such as the Proudfoot, also protested against Bilbo. They demanded that the title be stripped from Bilbo, insisting that Bungo's trickery had undermined respectable Hobbit tradition. Letters were sent to distant relations, calling for support. Heated words were exchanged at market stalls. Camellia Sackville-Baggins, never one to let an opportunity for drama pass, declared that this was a travesty, an affront to all that was decent and orderly.
Yet for all their bluster and squawking, the law was clear. The documents were sealed, the witnesses had signed, and Bungo's clever move had left no loophole to exploit, Belladonna was incredibly proud and amused by her husband's trickery. Bilbo Baggins was the rightful Master of Bag End, whether the Sackville-Bagginses liked it or not.
And oh, how they did not like it.
From that day forward, every interaction dripped with venom behind tight smiles. The Sackville-Bagginses made a point of snubbing Bilbo in public, turning their backs with exaggerated huffs, and whispering loudly about "unfit Masters" and "disgraceful goings-on."
It was a feud they intended to win, one stolen spoon or sabotaged hedge at a time as they critically watched Bilbo grow over the years.
Bilbo grew into a bright, beautiful, intelligent, and most importantly curious young woman. She had the heart and mind of her father and the courage and grace of her mother. Bilbo's sharp mind and insatiable thirst for knowledge set her apart from many of her peers, who often preferred the predictable comforts of their routines. While other hobbies her age were content with quiet lives of tea and gardening, Bilbo's imagination stretched far beyond the borders of the Shire and both Bungo and Belladonna were so proud of their daughter.
And for a short time, (when Bilbo turned of age during that fall) even the Sackville-Baggins were courteous to Bilbo, seeing an opportunity for both Bilbo and themselves should she leave the Shire to explore the wonders of the world the coming spring as she hoped. But that dream died for both of them as the Fell Winter descended on the unaware Hobbits. Both of their dreams were shattered like the pieces of Bilbo's heart when she had to bury her parents in the still-frozen earth.
This didn't stop the Sackville-Baggins from trying to take her home from her, claiming she was too young to know what she was doing, in fact, they fought harder because she no longer had a guardian to take care of her. But their dreams died all the same because Bilbo boxed up her plans and shaped the shattered pieces of her heart into the ideal of a respectable Baggins, despite the splintered edges and ill fit.
Master Bilbo Baggins was the youngest Master in Hobbit history but there was no question she was a good and fair Master Baggins, for it was Bilbo who singlehandedly dragged the Shire out of the devastation the Fell Winter caused, bringing life back into the Shire if not into for herself. Not even the Sackville-Baggins could claim she was ill-equipped for her role, so the Baggins and Sackville-Baggins rivalry grew again to an all-time high.
And all of Hobbiton watched, sometimes amused, sometimes scandalized, waiting for the day it might finally boil over.
And that day happened, 25 years later, on a crisp spring morning.