Based on nothing but my imagination.

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Freshly baked pies, apples covered in sugar and cinnamon, bread that was just taken out of the oven... Bilbo inhaled deeply as all the scents lured him towards where he was supposed to go.

The night before he had received a rather strange letter. It simply read;

Master Baggins,

You are expected to come to the meadow closest to your home when the sun is at its brightest. There will be pies, bread, jam and more delicious food. Simply follow your nose and you will find the place.

An old friend

Bilbo wasn't sure who the old friend was but he wouldn't pass on good food and good company. He didn't want to think about the big question; what if this was a trap... Because who would want to set a trap for him and for what reason?

The walk to the meadow was taking him a little longer than expected.

Like the letter suggested he had first gone to the meadow closest to his home. When he arrived there he found that the place was empty.

For a few seconds he had considered going home, thinking that it was a trap after all.

But after some more careful consideration he decided to give it another chance. Instead he was now walking to the meadow that was a little further away from his home but still relatively close by.

Not many people, or hobbits, knew that the second meadow even existed. Only adventurers knew of its existence. Bilbo was the only hobbit adventurer of his age.

Besides, it wasn't a meadow you would just stumble into. He himself only found it one afternoon when he had accidentally lost his way. With a smile he thought back on that beautiful day. The meadow had enough trees to offer some coolness in the shadow on hot days.

It was his secret hide-out when the other hobbits stared at him too much. Or asked too many questions they didn't want to hear the answers to. 

And it was this meadow that the scents seemed to be coming from.

He started to wonder more about this 'old friend'. He was the only one to know of the existence of the meadow as far as he knew. None of the other hobbits knew of it because he hadn't told them in order to keep it to himself.

A small place of his own that wasn't his house.

As he came even closer he heard a boisterous laugh. "Funny, that sounds like Nori."

"YOU HAVE TO RETURN THAT TO THE RIGHTFUL OWNER!"

"And that sounds like Dori." Bilbo halted. Wondered. Thought.

Started running.

His legs wouldn't go fast enough. He needed to see if those voices truly belonged to his friends. His mind told him that it couldn't be. They were in Erebor, rebuilding their own kingdom. Letters were one thing but visiting was out of the question.

The Shire was a long travel away from the mountain. 

Still he ran. He needed to see it with his own eyes.

The trees grew scarce and finally he could see the group of dwarves he thought he wouldn't see again for a long time. He stopped and stared as if he was looking at a dream.

"Bilbo!" Kili yelled when he spotted the hobbit. He waved at him, smiling brightly at him.

Bilbo was beaming. They were really here. 

The other dwarves turned around and spotted him. They waved at him, laughing when they saw their old friend. The hobbit continued running. He was met by the two princes, tackling him to the ground. 

"Master Boggins, you still have no beard" Kili said confused after inspecting the hobbit for injuries.

The hobbit laughed. "I'm afraid I can't grow one Kili. That is something you lot are good at." He earned a pat on the back from Fili. For the first time he allowed himself to really look around the meadow. 

A large table was set up, covered with plates filled to the brim with delicious looking food. 

There was even a bowl of fruit. Dwarves were really a surprising lot.

"Master burglar." Bilbo almost welled up when the Dwarven King himself, Thorin, walked his way. He held his hands behind his back. When he stood in front of him he placed his hands on Bilbo' shoulders. "Bilbo" he said fondly, leaning in to hug him.

"It is good to see you" he said. 

Bilbo nodded. "And you too, Thorin. All of you actually. I don't mean to be rude, but shouldn't you be back at Erebor? We fought so hard to return your kingdom to you and then you come here" he said jokingly.

Thorin smiled fondly. "We do not forget our old friends. Balin seemed to recall something about a spring festival you spoke about during our quest."

Balin nodded. "You were unable to celebrate it when you were on the road with us. And I'm afraid we have been too busy to visit for the first three years after that. It takes a long time to rebuilt all the homes of the mountain."

Everyone grunted in agreement.

"We missed our hobbit" Thorin said softly.

Tears welled in Bilbo' eyes. "And I missed my loud and obnoxious dwarves."

Everyone smiled, guiding their little hobbit friend to the table. Songs and tales were shared. Food was enjoyed. And old friendships were given new light that night.