It's our favourite dragon rider's birthday! Going by his canon age, he's about six now ^_^ Bless his little cotton sock!
I don't own How To Train Your Dragon or any of its corresponding characters, DreamWorks does, but my OCs are here. And this is a one-shot because I couldn't quite tie it in with Third Crisis just yet, sorry!
Usually, Hiccup woke everyone else up early on his birthday because, hey, it only came around once every four years and they needed to make the most of it. This birthday was different, his children woke him up instead. Aloe, his youngest, jumped him minutes before the sun came up, bouncing on his chest and chanting "Birthday, birthday, birthday!" Hiccup sat up, knocking her off and onto Astrid. "Morning, Mum!"
"Five more minutes..." Astrid groaned, pulling the covers over her head.
"It's Dad's birthday though!" Aloe insisted, trying to wrestle the bedding from her mother. When she failed, toppling back onto her father, she decided to leave Astrid be. "Dad, get up." She ordered. "We made breakfast."
"Oh gods..." Hiccup immediately reached for his foot. "Aloe, can you make sure the other two haven't set fire to anything?" Aloe nodded, giggling and vanished. Hiccup hurriedly got dressed, climbing back on his side of the bed to lean over and peer at Astrid's grumpy sleeping face. "Hey." He whispered. She shook her head and burrowed into the pillow. "I'm not eating their cooking alone, get up." Another shake of the head. Hiccup pressed his lips to her ear. "It's my birthday." He breathed.
"It's still dark outside, I'm sleeping." Hiccup simply blew a raspberry on her cheek, hooking his arms under her when she startled. He laughed victoriously, bouncing from the bed with her in his arms. "Hiccup!" She scolded, struggling to get her bearings and against him. She managed to lock her arm around his neck and flip backwards, landing on her feet on the bed with him in a headlock.
"Nothing like a bit of communication to wake you up in the morning." He croaked. "Please don't kill me, I wait a long time for my birthdays." Astrid muttered a string of obscenities and let him go.
"I'll be down in a minute." She grumbled, rubbing at her eyes tiresomely. Hiccup beamed at her and hurried out into the main room. Ingrid had set the table and Alastor was putting Hiccup's breakfast at his end of the table. Aloe stumbled in, arms full of mishapen and strangley wrapped presents. They all grinned when they saw him, chorusing 'Happy Birthday!' and surging towards him.
"How old are you now, Dad?" Ingrid grinned.
"I'm nine." (As he would be in current Third Crisis, I'm not very good at working this out :P )
"Ah, lil bubba." Alastor teased. They ushered him to his seat, presenting him with bacon, toast and eggs. Ingrid grudgingly admitted Alastor had done the cooking seeing as she had burnt her first three attempts. Hiccup laughed. "I'll make you breakfast one day, Dad, and you won't die from its inedibility."
"Of course you will." Hiccup smiled. Astrid appeared across the room, yawning into her hand and waving absently at them with the other. "Morning, milady." Astrid hummed, hugging him around the neck from behind.
"Happy birthday, you muttonhead." She mumbled sleepily, pinching a slice of bacon and scoffing it before any of them could protest. Hiccup quickly ate the rest before his wife could, his family taking their seats. Each of them had a present, waiting for him. Aloe was silently counting to herself, sending them all questioning looks. When asked, she was trying to work out how her father was younger than her. "I mean, you don't look old, Dad, but you can't be younger than me."
"I am and I'm not." Hiccup replied, grinning as her confusion tripled. "I was born on Februrary twenty-ninth. And we only get a Februrary twenty-ninth every four years, so physically I'm thirty-six, but technically, I'm nine."
"But why?"
"Why?"
"Why only every four years?"
"I don't know. Just is." Hiccup shrugged. Toothless bumbled in, depositing a pile of fish on his plate. "Ah, thanks, bud." The Night Fury gave him an affectionate lick, watching him expectantly. His eyes flicked from his human to his gift and then back again. Astrid snickered. "I've just eaten, bud." Toothless's ears flattened and he sulked. "But I'll eat them later. Me and you, we'll go for a fly, take some with us. How's that sound?" His dragon seemed much happier with that, nuzzling Hiccup and resting his head in his lap, cooing gently. Hiccup scratched him behind the ears, enlisting a purr from the Night Fury.
"Well, it's not much, but hopefully it's better than slobbery raw fish." Ingrid passed her present over. Hiccup tore off the wrappings, revealing a new red shirt, thicker and warmer than his other shirts. "For flying." Ingrid explained. "It might be a bit big though, I had to guess. You don't stay still long enough for measurements." Hiccup smiled mischieviously, draping the new article over Toothless's eyes.
"What'd you think, bud?" Toothless puffed the sleeve up and glowered at his rider. "Don't give me that look. We can fly for longer now." The dragon sat up, giving a gummy smile. "Ah, so we have the dragon approval." Hiccup grinned at his eldest. "Thanks, Ingrid." She looked relieved. Toothless stuck his tongue out, then decided to lap up the cod he had deposited. Hiccup left him to it, spying Haddock on the back of the shirt. Feeling the material carefully, he recognised this as one of mumma-in-law's armoured clothing projects. Raising a brow at Ingrid, she just shrugged and smiled sweetly.
"We all know how much trouble you can get in when you're not supervised, Dad."
"That's... irrelevant, but true." Hiccup thanked her again. Alastor was next, gifting his father with a series of new journals.
"I know you don't do as much dragon research as before, but you like designing tails and stuff, so..." Alastor hunched his shoulders. "Besides, I didn't know what else to get you. You're not very easy to buy for, Dad."
"Hmmph." Astrid shook her head. "You can say that again."
"I like journals. And look! He got me a red one to match my new shirt!" Hiccup beamed. Astrid sighed. "I'm nine, leave me alone." Aloe disappeared suddenly, vanishing upstairs. She returned a minute later, hiding something behind her back.
"It's not all red," She admitted sheepishly, "but there is some red!" She motioned for him to come closer, setting a hat on his head, turning it slightly. Hiccup felt it gingerly, finding it wasn't exactly a hat, but a crown. "Gobber helped me make it, but it's for you to wear today!" She darted round to her seat and got her other present. "And this too!" A cape, not like his chieftain cloak, more of a travelling one, scarlet silk on one side and soft white fur on the other. "You wear this too!" Aloe insisted happily. "Then everyone knows you're the birthday chief!" Hiccup stood to throw the new cape around his shoulders, swishing it with his arms experimentally.
"What'd you think?" He asked his wife.
"Rather dashing." She replied monotonously, half-asleep. Aloe pouted. Astrid mentally slapped herself and sat up. "Aloe, you've done a wonderful job, but... you've also given him an excuse to be even more of an idiot."
"But it's his birthday!"
"Yeah!" Hiccup agreed playfully. "I can be as much of an idiot as I want!" Aloe nodded once firmly, crossing her arms. Ingrid and Alastor shared amused looks.
"I suppose so then." Astrid gave the slightest shake of her head. "You're all mad, but OK." Aloe grinned broadly, hopping up and giving her father a hug.
"You're not allowed to take them of all day." She told him quietly.
"I won't." Hiccup promised, linking his little finger around hers when she offered.
"What are you wearing?"
"Aloe made it for me. Cool, right?" Hiccup grinned, twirling his cape this way and that. His crown slipped over his eyes for the umpteenth time, forcing him to push it back up again.
"You're such a dork." Snotlout chuckled, hands on hips. "Anyway, here. I didn't get to wrap it, but..." He shrugged. "Enjoy." Hiccup opened the cannister Snotlout had given him, finding a least a few months' worth of squid ink. "Alastor told me he'd got you some new books, so I figured you'd need something to write with."
"Thanks, Lout."
"You're coming out with us later though. Me, Legs, Tuff and Eret. All though, I don't think we can take a child drinking."
"I don't drink much anyway."
"Still." Snotlout slugged him jokingly in the shoulder. "Watch out for the twins' present. It's a Stinkdragon in a bag."
"That's cruel!"
"I told them you'd react like this, but they don't listen."
"Muttonheads."
"Yup." Snotlout agreed. "Well, I'll be over after dinner and we'll go to the ale house. The others are meeting us there. No way out of it." He added as Hiccup started to speak. "And you can wear your new get-up too, if that's what you're worried about." He started laughing. "Bless her."
"Leave Aloe alone, she's done a really good job." When Snotlout didn't look any less humoured, Hiccup hit low. "She stitches better than you."
"Ooh, you didn't!"
"Ooh, I did! Ahaha! You can't do anything, it's my birthday!" He punched the air and ran off, yelling, "Victory!" Snotlout rolled his eyes and trudged after him. His cousin was never going to grow up.
"Ruff, Tuff, we've talked about this. You can't go around catching wild dragons in bags, it's not nice." Hiccup coaxed the poor Stinkdragon from its entrapment with a chunk of salmon, leaving the rest of the fish at the other end of the table. Thankfully, it didn't release any stench, placated by the food.
"But you can go around dressed like that?" Ruffnut looked Hiccup up and down, a wicked grin on her lips.
"And I thought we had terrible dress sense."
"I'm wearing this for Aloe." Hiccup said shortly. "And I'll have you know, it's surprisingly very comfortable." The twins just hummed, tilting their heads back dubiously. Hiccup sighed. "You're just jealous." He decided. Fishlegs rushed up to them. "Hey, Legs."
"Happy birthday!"
"Thanks." Hiccup smiled. Fishlegs gave him a set of new pencils of varying thicknesses and three quills with feathers Hiccup had never seen before. Fishlegs told them Trader Johan had got them for him, "this one is a peacock, that one a peregrine falcon and that a parrot."
"Wow." Hiccup marveled.
"Pfft." Tuffnut said. "Stinkdragon is so much better. At least it's real."
"Yeah," his sister agreed, "I mean, a peacock just sounds rude." Hiccup snorted with laughter despite himself. Fishlegs wrinkled his nose at the siblings. "Hiccup, we've decided that on your next birthday, we're going to take you to our secret party place."
"Secret party place?" Hiccup repeated warily.
"Yeah. You'll be ten next, right? That's old enough, I reckon." Tuffnut nodded seriously. Hiccup looked questioningly at Fishlegs, who just shrugged.
"OK." Hiccup eventually said. "Can't wait."
"HICCUP!"
"DAD!" Hiccup yelled back. Stoick fumed at him. "What? What have I done now?"
"Any idea what time it is?"
"Um..."
"Your mother's made lunch and you're not there!"
"Oh. Oh gods... but can you blame me?"
"No, but it's your birthday. Come on." Stoick suddenly seemed to realise what his son was wearing, but instead of questionining it, "Aloe?" Hiccup nodded. His father sighed. "Get a move on, you numpty." Hiccup waved at his friends and went to brave his mother's cooking.
"Sorry I'm late, Mum. Lost track of time."
"And you've lost your sense of style too."
"This is an amazing sense of style, I'm just not appreciated in my time." He looked around and then gasped excitedly. "Mumma-in-law!"
"Don't!" Hildegard reprimanded. "Oh, you're annoying. Here. Happy birthday."
"Ooh, it's shiny."
"Fenrir wanted you to have it." Hildegard said quietly. Hiccup struggled for a minute and then hefted the axe onto his shoulder.
"I love it." He said before toppling backwards. "Still love it, but it might kill me."
"You might kill you." Valka laughed. Stoick lifted his son up by his arms, dusting him down and straightening his crown. The axe had embedded itself in the floor.
"Um... put a rug over that." Hiccup suggested, attempting to pry his new weapon free. Eventually, his father had to get it, plucking it up as easily as he had Hiccup. "Sorry." He smiled apologetically at them all, letting the axehead rest against the floor. "I'll pick it up one day, promise." Hildegard was still laughing, tears in her eyes. Hiccup smiled. His mumma-in-law hadn't laughed as much in quite a long time.
"Oh, Hiccup. You're a nutter, but we love you."
And birthday! I was telling my mum it's Hiccup's birthday today because there are messages coming in on the TV for others Leap Day birthdays, she's not impressed, but oh well! ^_^