@iaurhael liked for a starter
If you had told Bilbo that he would one day be the guardian of a newly orphaned child.
As a rule, Bilbo was not entirely fond of children. Oh, he would never be cruel to them, and he enjoyed showering them sweets and gifts as much as the next hobbit did, but the concept of having his own to look after had never grown on him. Jammy fingers would gum up his beloved books. He’d never get any sleep. He’d have to deal with temper tantrums! No, no thank you, he’d said. He remained unmarried, a confirmed bachelor, the eccentric uncle up the hill who’d slip them treats if only to get them out of his curly hair.
But then he’d looked upon the little fauntling, and- well. There was something in his eyes that had drawn Bilbo to him. Oh, there was grief, and Bilbo was no stranger to that, but there was also a quiet sort of regard with the way the boy looked up at the adults that bickered over where he would go to stay now that he was an orphan, a steadiness that had given Bilbo pause. Frodo was an old soul. A kindred soul, and Bilbo suspected he saw beyond the superficial worldview that his kin unfortunately bore. He’d be marked a pariah for it, just as Bilbo had.
“I’ll take him,” He said then, with a sort of finality that would brook no disagreement, and that was that.
Now they were coming home as a little family of two for the first time. Bilbo had kept up a running commentary in hopes of giving the boy some insight into the ins and outs of Hobbiton, and also in order to hide his own nervousness.
“There now, Frodo, my lad,” He chattered as he carried the boy up the stairs to his - their - front door. “This is Bag End. I don’t suppose you’ve visited before, have you? I think I would have remembered if you had. Now, you’ll have my boyhood room, but of course if you need me during the night I will be just across the hall. We hang our coats here, and our walking sticks go here.”
He’d never been a parent before, after all. Some would argue that facing down that bloody dragon again would be easier.
“How does it all look, my boy? Do you think you could stand to keep this queer old hobbit company? Goodness knows you’re better company than I’ve had in a good long while.”
