The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings -oneshots II

Ducklings - Bilbo

Warnings: a cat threatens to eat the baby ducks :(
Word count: 1620
Other:
Requested:

Your fierce protectiveness of the ducklings in the pond of your yard makes Bilbo fall head over heels for you.

You stepped out of your house, the pocket of your apron filled with leftover seed for your seedcakes when you saw the cat lurking in your yard. You normally didn't mind cats, but this one was too close to the pond and the baby ducklings for your liking.

"No, shoo!" You yelled, trying to chase the ginger tomcat out of your garden.
"I know you have a bowl of food waiting for you at home, don't come here and threaten my ducklings." You gave the cat a gentle push with the broom in your hands, but he just flitted into another bush to hide and stalk the precious little birds.
"No, shoo!" You repeated and got in the between, the ducklings realizing the danger and flitting to the other side of the pond, beeping as they reached their mother's side. She lifted her head from her food but as she noticed you were there, she went back to eating, as she had long learned you could be trusted with her babies.

"Is there a problem?" You lifted your head to meet the eyes of Bilbo Baggins. He had been (and sometimes still was) the talk of the town after returning from an adventure. He had disappeared for fourteen months and then returned a completely changed hobbit. You had never really spoken with him, which was odd, considering his garden was right next to yours.
"Oh, the Bolger's cat is trying to eat the ducklings in my pond." You explained, slightly out of breath, tucking your hair behind your ear. He frowned at your words but was now able to spot the ginger cat in your garden.
"Shoo!" He clapped his hands, and the cat, to your vast surprise, turned tail and trotted into the vegetation and didn't return.

Bilbo probably saw your astonished expression as he started to explain, a small smile spreading to his lips.
"I usually give him the fishheads when I prepare fish, so he has learned to listen to me, at least somewhat." You smiled and followed his eyes to the pond where the mother duck had now relaxed and continued eating in peace.
"June has been bringing her babies to my pond since I was a child." You smiled at his confused expression and proceeded to explain.
"I call the mama duck June. She seems to like it." You explained, watching as the little birds chased each other around the pond now that the danger was over. June continued eating, content in the peace she was able to get as her babies played in the water.
"How many of them are there? Seven?" He peered into the water, and you shook your head.
"Eight, actually. One of them likes to hide in the reeds." And as Bilbo peered into the deep green plants, he was able to spot one more duckling lurking there.

As he looked around, he didn't understand how he hadn't noticed it before.
"Your garden is beautiful." And it truly was, plants in full flower everywhere, not one wilted leaf to be seen anywhere. You turned red at the compliment and thanked him.
"I have never been able to get my roses to bloom so well." He allowed his fingers to brush along one of the petals of your red roses that grew next to the gate.
"Can you keep a secret?" You asked, beckoning him closer with your finger. Bilbo nodded, stepping through the gate.
"You have to water them with warmed water instead. If you take water straight from the well, it makes them droopy." Your tone was lowered and Bilbo gave you a smile.
"Your secret is safe with me." He assured.
"It better be, I'm thinking of challenging Mrs. Gamwick on hers in the gardening contest this year." Bilbo raised a surprised brow. No one had had the courage to challenge the older hobbit for quite some time, as she was known for growing the most beautiful roses and those yielded the most points from the judges. But as he let his eyes take in your garden, he realized that you were a good contender.
"Did you know your rhododendron will bloom better if you add a little of sour-milk to the water?" You raised a brow at this but gestured him inside your garden to tell you more.
"Yes, you see, my father realized that they like their soil a little sourer than other plants..."

As the sun began to set, June began to herd her babies towards their nest, and you realized that you had spent almost all of your day just talking with Bilbo. He seemed to notice the darkening sky as well and hurried to get up from the bench he had ended up on somewhere in the middle of your conversation. As Bilbo left, he promised himself that he would always take a look in just to make sure that the cat wasn't trying to catch one of your precious ducklings (and the fact that he could catch a glimpse of you didn't hurt either).

Your rhododendrons thrived with Bilbo's help. You left a pie on his doorstep with a little note thanking him for the tip, writing that his bluebells would bloom better in a more shadowy area as they didn't like direct sunlight. He did as you had hinted, and to his surprise, only a few days later, the blooms were so big that the stems could barely hold them up. He picked a bouquet of them as a thank you and presented them to you at your door. You flushed bright red, thanking him and letting him inside, saying that you were just about to have tea. At the end of the day, the two of you ended at the side of the pond, throwing food to the ducks, as he also brought a mixture of seeds he had leftover from a batch of seedcakes.

The two of you continued this routine, him giving you help with your garden and receiving a pie and hint from you. He always returned the hint with a bouquet of the flowers you had helped with and something small for the ducks, usually seeds, but sometimes peas or even halved grapes. * The ducklings grew as the days went past, and so did the gossips that littered the town. The two of you didn't mind, as you weren't sure where things were heading.

When the ducks left the pond, the ducklings now almost grown ducks, Bilbo was there with you as you watched the babies rise to their wings for the first time as they began their journey south. A few tears escaped from your eyes and slid down your cheeks, and he was there to wipe them away with a smile.
"They'll be fine, don't worry. June is a good mom and she helped them grow strong, they'll be alright." He assured you, and you nodded, leaning closer to his chest. You hadn't realized he had inched his arm around you, but it felt nice to sit and watch the birds flying by.

As the day for the Big Gardening Contest came, you put yours up as a challenger. You received multiple praises for your roses as well as the pond in your home. The judges took measurements of your rose blooms and you swung from your heels to the balls of your feet nervously. They said nothing as they excited the garden, leaving you exceedingly nervous, but as you met Bilbo's eyes over the fence that separated your yards, you settled down slightly.

As it was time for the ceremony, you had asked Bilbo to be with you as you couldn't bear the excitement alone. He agreed, and you squeezed his arm so hard that it went numb, but he didn't mind. At the end of the day, your garden was crowned the most beautiful, breaking Mrs. Gamwick's winning streak of twenty years. You smiled widely as you accepted the award, and without thinking jumped at Bilbo's neck, kissing him senseless. The hobbit didn't mind at all, and embraced you tightly, as the crowd cheered. Gold changed owners as debts of bets were paid, and you could hear Mrs. Gamwick sighing that seeing the two of you so happy and in love was worth losing the competition for.

When the city was gushing over the wedding invitations, written in silvery ink and decorated with real, dried flowers, the two of you decided it was time for the two of you to move together.  You agreed that Bagend was the house for the two of you, as it had more room and more bedrooms for future children. In the end, you sold your house, but not before building a new fence between the houses so that the pond was now on Bagend's garden, so June could bring her babies there in the years to come.

(*) Please do not feed ducks bread, it's bad for their health and development. Crushed corn, frozen peas, or halved grapes are a better option ;)

If you haven't noticed yet, I absolutely adore ducklings, they are by far the cutest baby animal in my opinion. I saw the picture while scrolling for a picture for another fic, but it was so cute that I had to write something for it and here it isssss!
This has to be one of my favourite oneshots of the ones that I have written.

Requests will probably open when I get all of the ready parts out! Stay tuned!