HOME | DD

Description
The torches posted around the field spread enough light for the dancers to see their feet. The air was filled with the giggles and mutters of what appeared to be the entirety of the Shire’s population. The annual spring festival was kicking off to a wonderful start and everyone was having a grand time.

You’re friends had convinced you to go with to the festival. Originally, your plans were to sit in your hobbit hole and read your newest novel. They believed you needed to meet some new hobbits and get out more. They even went so far as to pick out a dress for you and curl your hair. After all their hard work they didn’t stick around for long. They all found a guy that wanted to dance and left you stranded in the middle of the crowd. As soon as you could you found an empty table along the edge of the dance circle and sat down. It wasn’t that you didn’t like parties, you found them quite enjoyable, but you had to work yourself up to going to one. Being thrust into the middle of one unexpectedly caught you off guard, and you needed to catch your bearings.

Once you knew a few of the faces in the crowd, the thought of dancing became more appealing. You waited for a partner to free up but you didn’t see anyone you wanted to dance with.

“Excuse me miss?” You turned in your chair to face a hobbit your age. “Would you care to dance with me?” You didn’t know the hobbit by name, but you knew his face from around the markets. You stood from your seat and offered him your hand.

“I would love to dance.” With a smile, he led you to the middle of the circle of torches and took lead of the dance. He was a good dancer and you didn’t have to worry about him stepping on your toes. Soon your gleeful laughter joined the noises of the night. When the small bundle of musicians stopped for a small break, you took a step away from you partner to get a better look at him.

“I don’t think we ever introduced ourselves. I’m (F/N) (L/N) ” You held out your hand.

“Bilbo Baggins. It is an honor to meet you Ms. (L/N) .” He took your hand in his and shook it firmly. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before.”

“Oh I don’t do much worth attention. I’m just a normal hobbit.”

“Well I would say you’re more than a normal hobbit.” A blush crept onto your face but the dim lighting of the torches kept anyone but yourself from knowing it was there. Even so, you ducked your head at the compliment.

“Well thank you very much. Would you like to sit and have a bite with me?”

“I would love to.” You returned to the table you had previously sat at and without having to wait long large platters of food were brought to you. A little conversation found it’s between the bites of food and you started to enjoy Bilbo’s company.

After you were both satisfied with the amount of food you had eaten, you went back to dancing until there were few people left in the field. The torches were dying down when you finally decided it was too late to dance anymore. You were about to say good bye to Bilbo when he made said something that would make the good bye not permanent.

“I really enjoyed dancing with you, so I was wondering if you might like to maybe have dinner with me one night. Maybe tomorrow? I mean you don’t have to, just a thing I was thinking.”

You couldn’t help the small giggle that escaped your lips. This hobbit that seemed suave and smooth at the beginning of the night was now struggling to get his words out. “Bilbo you don’t need to be so nervous. I would love to have dinner with you tomorrow.” A smile breaks across his face wide enough to wrinkle the skin around his eyes.

“Great! I’ll-I’ll see you then!” You nodded as a way of good bye and went on your way with a similar smile on your face.
The next day your friends and you gathered on one of the paths in the Shire to talk about the night before. They all had stories of a variety. Some told of awful dancers, and others told of the best dancers that ever danced. When they finally looked to you for your story you felt like you had the best story out of all of them.

“Oh well I danced with a hobbit named Bilbo. He was quite a good dancer. I wouldn’t say he was the best, but he was very charming. We were one of the last pairs dancing and I’m having dinner with him later today.” Everyone stared at you in silence for a few seconds before bursting into excited chattering congratulating you. The attention got a little overwhelming and your face was as bright as a tomato. The group demanded that you give them all the details tomorrow and finally let you walk away.

For the next few hours you busied yourself with working in your garden and thinking about the night that was coming. When the sun was a little past the pinnacle of its journey, stood from your kneeling position and brushed the dirt that clung to your knees.

Getting ready for your dinner with Bilbo was going to be easier than the walk to his house. Already your nerves were making your heart dance. It was the kind of nervous excitement you got anytime you decided to talk to someone you had never talked to before. This would be your very first date and you hoped it’d go as well as you’d been dreaming of.

By the time you’re in front of a green door, you’re as nervous as you’ve ever been. With as much confidence as you can muster you knock on the door. It was soon opened by a smiling Bilbo.

“ Hello! Dinner just finished. You have perfect timing.”

“Actually I’ve been told that before.” You stepped into the hobbit hole and took inventory of your surroundings. It was a neat home. Everything was put in its place. A few jackets hung on a row of coat hooks and a room next to the door held a pile of papers and a number of books. Bilbo led you into the kitchen area where a meal was already set out on the table.

He pulled a chair out for you and then sat down in the chair opposite to you. The beginning of the meal was awkward, filled with small talk and food picking, but as the night went on you both became more comfortable and open with each other. By the time it was time for you to leave, you were laughing like you never had in front of someone.

“I’d love to do this again sometime if you don’t mind.” You were standing on Bilbo’s front porch saying good bye when he said this.

“I would love to. I don’t live to far from here. You can come visit any time you want. Thank you for the splendid evening, Bilbo.”

“Thank you for dancing with me last night. I’ll visit soon.”

You nodded with a smile and said good bye for a second time. On the path back home you couldn’t stop smiling. You had a feeling this was the beginning of a very long and wonderful relationship.