Being Bilbo’s adopted daughter and dating Merry Brandybuck
I’d like to thank @lyra-brandybuck for requesting this, it’s the first request I’ve done in like a year so it was really sweet. I was really excited to write your request and I hope I did it justice ^-^
🌻 You became Bilbo’s adopted daughter a few years before he left the ring to Frodo
🌻 You yourself were an young adult at the time, and for folks who notably dislike house guests (even so-called “well-wishers and distant relations”), the Baggins really did accept you with open arms
🌻 Bilbo had adopted you basically at first sight
🌻 You were something of an apprentice to Gandalf, he’d even go as far to say you’re his granddaughter
🌻 Which is how you met Bilbo in the first place and came to live with them
🌻 Frodo took you in as his sister, and loved spending time with you
🌻 And it didn’t take long for his friends to discover that Bilbo had adopted a daughter, seeing as Frodo told them everything
🌻 Sam was the first of them you met, and he was as humble and sweet as ever
🌻 You didn’t officially meet Merry or Pippin until they stopped by Bag End one day, arms full of baskets
“What on earth is this about?” Frodo asked, raising an eyebrow as his friends shuffled in, arms so full you couldn’t even see their eyes
“Presents to welcome the new Baggins, of course!” Chirped Pippin
🌻 They began setting the gifts down on tables and chairs, having brought every nicetie they could have thought of
🌻 Food and cakes, household trinkets, a couple vegetables no doubt stolen from Farmer Maggot’s field, and much more!
🌻 They were rather rich hobbits after all, and hobbits in general are never ones to skip out on gift giving
🌻 By now Frodo had called you from where you were writing in your bedroom, saying his friends has brought you welcoming gifts
🌻 Your eyebrows almost raised to the ceiling when you saw just quite how much they’d given you
🌻 That’s when Pippin caught sight of you and ran up to introduce himself
🌻 You shook his hand the thanked him gratefully for bringing you such wonderful presents
“Oh, it isn’t just my doing. My first cousin Merry over there did a lot of the planning.”
🌻 Only then did Merry’s eyes raise to yours, and his breath caught in his throat
🌻 He expected you to be pretty, sure, but not quite.. that pretty
🌻 The kind and still somewhat surprised expression, the way your hair seemed to shine a little bit in the sunlight streaming through the windows, everything about you was just.. just
“Uh.. Merry?” Pippin asked
🌻 Oh, right, he was staring
🌻 Merry hastily scrambled to his feet and rushed to introduce himself to you
🌻 His palm was a little sweaty when shaking your hand, which he chided himself for
🌻 Frodo invited them to sit and have Elevensies at Bag End so they could get to know you
🌻 Pippin was his usual chatty self, basically talking your ear off, though still being polite
🌻 But Merry was much less talkative than he usually was
🌻 He fancied himself suave towards most girls, but everything he tried to say to you either came out too tongue-tied to be understood or too aloof
🌻 And thus began Merry Brandybuck’s long and rather infamous crush on Bilbo’s adoptive daughter
🌻 The entire way home Pippin teased him about his insanely obvious crush, while Merry tried everything he could think of to shut Pippin up
🌻 But it didn’t take a genius to figure out that Merry was pining for you
🌻 He couldn’t help but ask how you were doing whenever he saw Frodo, or sigh dreamily and stare, eyes swirling with awe, every single time he saw you
🌻 Eventually though, his wistful sighs began to get on the nerve of some of his friends
🌻 Frodo even told Merry that he approved of you two getting together and offered to hatch a scheme for him to win your affections
🌻 But at the same time, Frodo knew that he already had your affections very much secure, given that you were not as subtle about your crush on him as you had hoped
🌻 One day Bilbo asked you to join him in his study for “a talk”, in that particularly ominous way old people tend to speak
🌻 And for a hobbit, he was quite blunt in his old age
“Do you like Merry, my dear (Y/N)?”
Your face instantly flushed scarlet, telling Bilbo all he needed to know.
“I only ask to let you know I approve.” He chuckled, “You couldn’t do for a better family in Hobbiton, I don’t think. And Merry is far quicker than his cousin Pippin so I’d say you made the right choice indeed!”
🌻 Having heard the whole thing, Frodo quickly told his friends the next day about your conversation with Bilbo
“Don’t tease, Frodo.” Merry grumbled into his pint of ale.
“But it’s true! You can go ask him yourself and, you know, get his blessing and all that.”
🌻 Merry eventually did, dared by Pippin
🌻 (Because let’s face it, Merry is not the type of guy to turn down a dare)
🌻 He sat down with Bilbo and asked for his blessing to ask you on a date while you weren’t home, Frodo strategically having sent you to the markets to buy some groceries
🌻 Perhaps as a joke, Bilbo pretended to be more serious than he actually was
“So I hear you intend to court my daughter, do you lad?”
“Y-yes sir, if you’re okay with it.”
“What do you like about her, if I may ask?”
“Oh, what’s not to like!” Merry immediately beamed at the chance to talk about you, “She’s the sweetest, fairest creature in the Shire! I daresay Galadriel herself may not compare! And the way she dances is just-”
“Alright, alright, I’ve heard enough lad!”
Bilbo stood and took Merry’s hand.
“You have my blessing. Just be good to her and don’t get her into any trouble, see? I’ll know if you do.” He gave a stern look.
“R-right, sir.” Said Merry, smiling like an idiot.
🌻 The next day Merry showed up at your door with a bouquet of flowers and asked you out
🌻 The date went very well, which wasn’t too surprising considering you both just naturally clicked with one another
🌻 Though there was a fair share of stuttering and blushing
🌻 (Not to mention Frodo and Pippin hiding in the bushes to see how it goes but shh)
🌻 You entered a relationship shortly afterwards
🌻 Merry kept his word on not getting you into trouble, and Pippin even complained about how Merry didn’t seem to want to raid Farmer Maggot’s crop quite as often anymore
🌻 He was still a troublemaker, and you often chastised him for giving you flowers that he had obviously taken from another Hobbit’s yard, but you loved that about him
🌻 There was never a dull day with Merry, he always had an adventure in-store
🌻 He showed you all of his favorite spots around the Shire, and you often went walking deep into the evening, but you weren’t afraid of being out at night with Merry by your side
🌻 Merry is also very affectionate, and though he respectfully takes things at your pace, sometimes he’s just overcome with the urge to kiss you
🌻 The others may have caught you kissing out a few too many times… oops
🌻 He has a special place in his heart for your cute face when you get flustered, and he really does treasure every moment by your side
🌻 He’s a gift giver too, always bringing you something he “saw that reminded him of you” whether its flowers or just a really cool acorn he found while wandering the woods
🌻 Merry is a fun little fellow, always striving to impress you (and often making a fool out of himself in the process) and make you laugh
🌻 He really really loves you, and has never felt this way towards anyone before, so please treasure his heart as much as he treasures yours 💛
