YAY! I finally had time to write another little story! I've wanted to get into writing fanfiction more often, but my busy school schedule doesn't allow for much free time... :( I did find time to write up this story, so I hope you enjoy! :D
…
"Momma! Stoick took my toy!"
Astrid looked up from the kettle she was scrubbing and was greeted by the sight of her two sons fighting over a small wooden bucket that was filled with blocks.
"But it's my turn now!"
"NO! It's mine!"
She heaved a sigh before setting down her scrubbing brush and making her way around the table to where her to boys, Stoick and Finn, were supposed to be playing nicely. Unfortunately, four year old Finn was the troublemaker of the two, always trying to find a way to get his older brother Stoick in trouble. While six year old Stoick was a calmer, more levelheaded child, he was not about to let his little brother set him up for punishment.
"Stoick! Finn!" Astrid said firmly, "What's the problem here?"
Finn immediately pointed an excusing finger at Stoick. "He took it from me!"
"You hogged it all day! It's only fair that I get my turn," insisted Stoick
Astrid blew another sigh of frustration in effort to keep her temper under control. This wasn't the first time this evening that the boys had gotten into disagreements, but the fact that Hiccup wasn't home never helped either. He was leading a meeting of the local tribes to discuss the matter of the refusal of the Murderous tribe to sign the joint alliance treaty. Astrid knew the importance of this meeting, but boy could she use his help right now! "Listen Finn, you have been playing with it for awhile now. You need to share with your brother. Understood?"
"But mommy, I don't want to share!" complained Finn, who wore a storm expression on his face. He was NOT happy about losing that toy.
"Finn," Astrid said sternly, "If you won't share I'll need to discipline you." The little boy said nothing to this, but turned away and buried his face in the rug while making whiny sounds. Astrid was about to lead him away to punish him, but she was stopped by a pulling on her leg. She looked down to meet the innocent, but pleading gaze of her two year old daughter who had been quietly playing in the background while her brothers fought. "Finn, I'm not done with you yet," she warned her rebellious son, then turned back to her daughter and picked her up. "Aria, sweetie, what do you need?" she spoke in a gentle tone while pushing the little girl's hair out of her eyes.
Aria looked at her mother with big eyes. "I...I want Daddy," she said sadly.
"I know, baby girl, but don't worry. Daddy will come home,"Astrid reassured the little girl.
"I see Daddy tonight?" Aria said hopefully, her face lighting up for a moment.
"No, Aria. Daddy is at a meeting in the Great Hall and will coming home very late, after you go to bed."
A disappointed look crossed the toddler's face and Astrid knew that Aria wasn't going to be happy when bedtime came. Yes, Aria loved her mother very much, but she was definitely daddy's girl.
Astrid set the little girl back down on the rug. "Aria, I need you to play a bit longer while I deal with your brother, okay?"
"Okay."
Smiling at her daughter's adorable little voice, she picked up a little stuffed Nader and gave it to Aria. The Nader used to be Hiccup's when he was a little boy, and Aria loved playing with it. She took it eagerly and snuggled it against her chest, cooing contentedly. Astrid turned back to Finn, who had remained face down on the ground the whole time, and lead him back to his bedroom for discipline. As she closed the bedroom door, Astrid failed to notice little Aria stand up and toddle towards the front door.
…
Meanwhile, Hiccup had his hands full with the meeting of tribes. The chiefs and important counsel members of the archipelago tribes had assembled on Berk to discuss the Murderous Tribe's refusal to sign the yearly peace treaty. The central meeting table, a huge stone oval in the center of which was burning a great fire, was circled around by all the chiefs. Hiccup, being the chief of the host village, presided over the meeting and was desperately trying to keep order. The discussion was getting quite heated; some wanted to threaten the Murderous Tribe with war if they didn't sign, and some wanted to let them rot on there own.
"I think we should squash them!" cried Big Boobied Bertha, chief of the Bog-burglar tribe. She was a massive brute of a woman who loved a good fight. "Serves them right for thinkin' they can forge out on their own!"
"Aren't you forgetting something, Bertha?" interrupted Mogedon the Meathead, chief of the Meathead tribe. "They have the strongest military forces of all the tribes! What makes you think you can make a dent?"
"They have the best military power? Us Bog-burglars are best fighters around! We'd hit 'em harder than Thor's lightning bolt!" shot back Bertha, clearly not happy about Mogedon's comment.
"Oh, Bertha, you flatter yourself too much," Mogedon said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Who has the stealth dragon? You or Madguts the Murderous?" he asked tauntingly. Bertha fumed and banged her fist on the table in frustration.
Back and forth they bickered and argued, the sound of the voices growing louder and louder until they were all almost yelling. Hiccup shook his head in disgust, grabbed a nearby mug, and brought it down on the tabletop. Crack! The mug split in half on impact and the suddenness of the sound caused all the vikings to cease their arguments and turn their eyes towards Hiccup. "I think you all are missing the point here!" He said firmly. "We are NOT, I repeat, NOT wiping out the Murderous Tribe just for this single act! We need to bring them back to their senses by showing them that they will find it hard to survive if not united to the rest of the tribes."
"And how do you propose that we achieve that, Hiccup?" objected Bertha.
"Think about it. Between all the tribes represented here, we all trade amongst ourselves. The Murderous Tribe trades with just about everyone here because we have something that they need. I propose that we all enact trade sanctions towards the Murderous Tribe and relent only if they will join with us again!" Hiccup finished his statement with certainty that the chiefs would see the reason in his proposition.
This, however, was not the case. Objections were raised, and the heated debate rose up again as quickly as it had stopped. Hiccup ran his hand through his hair, exasperated. "Will you not listen to reason!" He practically shouted. He had to in order to make himself heard. The vikings once again turned to hear him speak. Hiccup was about to continue when he felt something tug at his leg. Confused, he looked down, only to be met with the wide, innocent, piercing green eyes of his...daughter? For a moment, Hiccup didn't know how to react. He just stood there, wearing a very confused expression. Here was little two year old Aria, who was supposed to be home with his wife, standing right next to him, in the middle of a meeting of chiefs! What was going on here?
"Daddy?" Aria's small, timid voice reached Hiccup's ears, breaking up his scattered thoughts, "I miss you, and I...I come see you," she half whispered, intimidated by all the big viking men and women that circled the meeting table.
At this, his heart melted. Grinning, he reached down and lifted his daughter into his arms and hugged her tightly. "I missed you too," he whispered in her ear. Pulling away, but still holding Aria in his arms, he looked at his beautiful little girl. All of a sudden, and idea struck him, and his grin grew even wider.
Hiccup turned back to the assemble of chiefs, still holding Aria. "Do you see this?" he brushed the hair from her face and continued. "As some of you may not know, this is my daughter, Aria. This little girl, along with my wife and two sons are the family I hold close to my heart. I won't risk their safety, nor the safety of any of the families in my tribe, all for some unnecessary war that won't fix anything. Now I ask you this. What about your families? The families of your tribes? Are you willing put their safety in danger?" Murmurs of contemplation wound their way around the circle of chiefs.
Hiccup continued to drive his point home. "What about all the husbands and fathers you would take away, some that will never come home again? Are you willing to rip apart families for some unwarranted cause?" At this very moment, Hiccup looked up to the doors of the Great Hall, right as they opened to reveal Astrid, with Stoick and Finn in tow. Astrid's face was a mix of worry, alarm, and furry. But when she saw Aria in her father's arms, she stopped, then smiled. Hiccup smiled back, looked at his daughter, then spoke with absolute confidence, "I am not willing to take that risk."
There was absolute silence in the hall. For a second, Hiccup thought they might reject his passionate speech. Then suddenly, everyone broke into a hearty round a applause, hands clapping and fists banging in wild approval. Hiccup looked first shocked, then pleased. It wasn't often that you could change the minds of about twenty stubborn vikings, so this was a rare sight to behold.
Astrid approached Hiccup, unable to keep the smile off her face. Aria had snuggled up in her father's arms and her eyes were drooping. "Come one, baby girl," she chided softly, reaching over and taking the sleepy little girl in her arms. "Let's get you home to bed."
Hiccup leaned over and kissed his daughter on the forehead. "Sleep well, Aria."
…
Author's Notes:
In case you couldn't already tell, I'm a sold-out Hiccstrid shipper! I don't ship either of them with anyone else because they are soooooo perfect for each other! :) I also LOVE seeing Hiccup and Astrid as parents. It's adorable! This one-shot was a lot of fun to write, and I used a lot of mannerisms from my little nieces and nephews. This helped a lot with writing the kids, and gave me a chance to work some of me into this story!
Anyway, I really hope you enjoy it! (But if you hated it, that's okay too) Reviews are appreciated, but not pressured on any way. Thanks for reading!
-Toothless801