Chapter Text
Belladonna Baggins née Took was in the kitchen of Bag End making tea when the family landline began to ring, Bungo sitting at the nearby table peeling potatoes for supper.
Looking down, she saw the caller ID read ‘Bilbo’ and immediately picked up, “Baby?”
“Hi, mum.” Bilbo greeted, his voice a relief to hear after not hearing from him for nearly a year now, “A lot has happened since I saw you last. But I am married now! And I am three months pregnant!”
She nearly dropped the phone, pressing the speaker button, “What?! Married to who? Did you get away from those monsters who stole you?”
“‘Monsters’?” Bilbo asked, “Well it was a bit of a whirlwind romance, but we did not want a big wedding so we just had a little courthouse one. Well we did not go to the courthouse either, because it is so far away, but that is besides the point. I just wanted to call and let you know that you and papa are gonna be grandparents, oh and this phone number is going to be disconnected as soon as I hang up -Mairon said that you might try and call me and try to talk me out of this and that stress is going to be bad for the baby.”
Belladonna was so shocked she did not know what to say, eventually sputtering out, “What about your life? You had plans, you were supposed to go to the community college-”
Her son interrupted her, “I only wanted to go to college to look for a husband, mum. And if that failed, be a preschool teacher so I could find a single father to marry. I have always told you that I wanted to be a homemaker but you and papa always insisted I have a career.”
“Bilbo, I know you have wanted that, but think. You have only known these men who bought you for less than a year, this is not love.” Bungo tried, “Come home, we have been saving nearly every penny and can nearly repay the debt. You will see, come home and we can get you a divorce and an abortion and you can get your life back in order.”
The person in question gasped, “No! It is my life and you cannot make me get rid of my baby! I thought you two would be excited to hear about your grandchild, but it would seem I was wrong. Do not ever contact me again unless you are going to be happy for me!”
Belladonna but in, wanting to slap her husband, “ I am happy for you, Bilbo. Do not hang up just yet; your father is just in shock. I just have a couple of questions.”
“What?” Bilbo asked, sniffling
“Well, it is not true that your new…spouses are nearly your father and I’s age?” Belladonna began
“No, you and papa are in your sixties, Melkor is barely thirty-five and Mairon is thirty-two.”
“But both are still nearly double your age, my love, you are approaching your twenty-first birthday.” Belladonna pointed out, “And how long have you been married?”
“Three months.”
“And how long did you date beforehand?”
“A month, give or take a few days.” Bilbo replied, “Well officially. There was lots of tension for nearly five months.”
“Doesn’t that seem a bit fast?”
“Yeah, but I told you it was a whirlwind romance.” Bilbo shot back, “Plus, you always said you and papa fell in love at first sight, so what is the big deal?”
“I know, darling, but even still we dated for years before marrying.” Belladonna soothed, trying to appease him enough that he did not hang up, “How about we come to visit you and I can help you get ready for your baby’s arrival. Okay?”
“I’ll ask, I don’t want to blindside them with guests.” Bilbo said before the line muted for a minute or two before he returned, “They said you can come next week and stay for a week.”
“We will see you then.” She replied
***
A week passed and Belladonna frowned as she and Bungo were led into the mansion by a security guard after going through two security checkpoints.
They were led up the stairs and brought to a sitting room where Bilbo was waiting for them.
“Hi!” Bilbo greeted happily, a hand cupping his barely showing belly
“You are absolutely glowing, sweet boy.” Belladonna stated as they approached
The younger man beamed at the praise, his cheeks growing rosy, “Thanks. Well…um…my husbands are busy right now -a work emergency just came up- so it is just the three of us right now. But when Míriel -she’s the head of security- told me you two were on your way here, I asked the chef to make some tea and snacks for us.”
Bungo and Belladonna sat down across from him, the awkward tension in the room a stark contrast from the familiar comfort they once shared roughly a year previously.
“Soooo, how exactly did you get to this point.” Bungo asked, breaking the silence
Bilbo’s blush only deepened, bashfully covering his mouth with his hand, “Oh, I do not know how to describe it. It was a lot of beating around the bush until one day something just snapped and I got kissed and then things moved very quickly and now I’m married and expecting a baby. I only found out about my baby a few days before I called you.”
His parents did not reply and their faces remained neutral, eventually Belladonna asked, “Do you know which one is the father?”
That made Bilbo’s blush expand and his entire face was beet red, wanting to do anything but talk his parents about his sex life, “I uh no. I could not figure out when I conceived if I wanted to, there was a lot. But they said that it doesn’t matter because the little one is our baby. Though, I guess it’ll be easy to tell after depending on the baby’s coloring -if they have black hair and so on.”
A servant came then, bearing a tray of tea sandwiches and teapot with five cups along with the necessary condiments -and held under the servant’s arm was a mason jar filled with pickled mushrooms.
The food and tea were placed on the center table but the mason jar was handed directly to Bilbo along with a fork.
Bilbo had no hesitation as he opened the jar and happily ate the mushrooms, having eaten several before he said, “Oh where are my manners, I should have offered some to you. Pickled mushrooms are my craving right now…and everyday. I had a pint of rum raisin ice cream last night topped with these.”
The looks of disgust that followed did not even phase him, he knew it was an odd combination using arguably the worst ice cream flavor that Bilbo did not normally like -but baby wanted it.
“We are alright.” Belladonna assured
***
As it had been past dinner time when Bilbo’s parents had arrived, after tea and with his husbands yet to return, Bilbo escorted them to the prepared guest room and bid them a good night.
Once the door closed, Bilbo then wandered down the hallways to the twins’ room, seeing they were already asleep.
He went up to Morrána who had kicked off his blankets in his sleep, recovering him and kissing his forehead before going over to Morelenĕ’s bed and picked up the stuffed squid she had dropped and setting it back in her arms -kissing her forehead as well.
Assured they were both comfortable, Bilbo gave the night shift nanny who entered the room a smile and then made his way to the master bedroom and got ready for bed.
Once he settled into the plush mattress, the door opened again and his husbands walked in.
Bilbo greeted them happily then asking, “Is the emergency settled?”
“Oh yes, nothing for you to worry about, love.” Mairon assured, “How did the meeting with your parents go?”
“I think it went well.” Bilbo replied as the two older men got ready to bed as well
They got on either side of him and he loved the way they fit together, feeling safe between their much larger forms.
The blond then added, “I think the shock of everything has worn off.” He smiled, “Mum at least seemed supportive.”
“That is good.” Melkor said, “Though, remember what we talked about.”
Bilbo nodded, resting his head on Melkor’s chest, “I remember. And I understand what needs to be done if they don’t.”
***
Across the manor, Belladonna and Bungo were wide awake and talking as quietly as they could.
“He seems happy about this.” Belladonna sighed, leaning her head against the wooden headboard, “But we are yet to see his interactions with his ‘husbands’.”
Bungo stared at the ceiling from where he lay on the bed, “You have not met those men yet, they have done something to him: manipulation, intimidation, hell maybe even brainwashing.”
“Which is why we need to handle the situation as delicately as we can.” She reminded, “Bilbo is fully on their side, so our first goal is to get through this week.”