Two Worlds, One Family
A DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon fanfic series by Raberba girl
Summary: After the great dragon war, Hiccup starts to build a new family with the people he loves most.
A/N: SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS for HTTYD2.
Some parts of this fic also make more sense if you've read my Dragon Queen of Berk stories, even though the two series take place in slightly different universes.
Introduction: This branch of my HTTYD headcanon, which occasionally may or may not use my "dragon queen" headcanon, is based on my ideas for what Hiccup's family is like post-HTTYD2. I got these ideas before actually watching HTTYD2. I learned later that Valka is forty years old in HTTYD2, which makes it possible but still a stretch for her to successfully have another kid, especially in that time period; and when I actually watched HTTYD2, I saw that unfortunately, she and Stoick never even really had a chance to, erm, make another kid at all. *sweatdrop*
BUT I STILL REALLY LIKE THE HEADCANON, so...suspension of disbelief, plz...? ^^; We'll pretend it took an extra day or two for Drago's army to reach the dragon sanctuary...
This is going to be like my Stepsiblings series in that it's a bunch of one-shots connected by the same or a similar premise.
Three Halves (rough draft)
Summary: Hiccup & Astrid's wedding from Toothless's POV.
I'm going to attach this fic to prompt 3 of my HTTYD challenge. If you're not reading this on FFN, you can find my challenge here: mychallenges#httyd
(If you are on FFN, then go to my profile, click on the link to my Web site, and look for it there.)
o.o.o
Something changed. I'm looking in my memories and I think it started that time when Hiccup said something to Astrid and then they both started flaring out joy and excitement and happiness like the two of them were a small sun together.
I didn't think it was important, because humans are always throwing out strong emotions like that; but then it started spreading through the rest of the nest. Excitement and happiness, stronger and stronger as time went on, and they were all busy like ants. Hiccup and Astrid started making more of what I think are human courtship signals, too.
Are they finally finally FINALLY going to finish their courtship and become actual mates? They courted for YEARS. Cloudjumper told me how short humans live and I couldn't believe it, if their lives are THAT short then how do they reproduce at all when their courtships take soooooooo long and their litters are sooooooo small?!
Sometimes I think I will never understand humans.
I like them, though. That is what I think as I lie on my bed and watch Hiccup and Fishlegs fussing with His outer skins. I like humans because I love Hiccup so much and Hiccup was what made me like the others.
I really very much love Him, but...sometimes I think I will never understand Him. He changes over and over again, smelling like excitement and worry and fear and frustration and anxiety and happiness, throwing skins down and putting on other skins and then taking them off again and throwing them down and grabbing some skins he already tried off the ground and putting them on again and smelling more frustrated than ever.
"...but I mean, am I supposed to wear what looks best or what's made best, because you'd think- And it doesn't even matter anyway, because this one's got rips from when those Terrors got trapped in that fish net, and the other one's all scorched from when Stormfly was sick, and I don't even know if Astrid cares because she's always confusing me, acting like a guy half the time but then acting girly when I'm not expecting it, and does it even matter what she cares about or are we supposed to go with tradition, or-?!"
"Hiccup, you're gonna be wearing the cloak over it, anyway, I don't think most people are going to notice the clothes underneath."
"Yeah...yeah, right? Right...?" "Relief, worry." "Here, help me with the clasps in the back..."
I don't like when He's upset. I get up and nuzzle Him so He'll get distracted and play with me and get happy again.
I'm glad when He bares His teeth in a smile. I don't understand how humans look less threatening when they do that instead of more, but humans are always strange about pretty much everything. "Hey, bud... What do you think? You think I look like a great catch and she couldn't have possibly done better?" "Hope worry self-deprecation."
"I'm pretty sure You're worried about something pointless again," I tell Him. "Let's go flying. That always makes You feel better."
"Heh...not now, Toothless, we've got a wedding to get to...a really, really important one..."
"Here you go, chief." Fishlegs smells happy and proud and just the smallest bit sad when he holds up the big fur that smells like Dad.
Hiccup stares at it for a minute, going quiet and still and sad, and also just a tiny bit happy underneath. I think He is thinking about Dad, too. Then He turns around and lets Fishlegs put the fur on Him. The fur looks like an animal that's swallowing Him.
"I always feel ridiculous wearing this thing..."
"Well, it doesn't help that you always hunch over when you wear it. Straighten up your shoulders- There, see? Much better."
Hiccup looks down at Himself, slowly rubbing the edge of the fur in one paw, and I can almost see Him thinking, 'Dad, Dad, Dad.'
"I am very, very sorry," I tell Him. I hate when He thinks about Dad because I always feel like there's a blade in my heart and I can never do anything to make it stop hurting until Hiccup is happy again.
"What an impressive chief I make..." Hiccup sighs, then smiles at me. "Well...come on, Toothless. Ready to watch me make an idiot of myself in front of the whole village?"
Fishlegs laughs. "Oh, come on, chief, you always think you're worse than you actually are."
"Meaning I'm not as much of a screw-up as I think I am?"
"Oh, you know what I meant, Hiccup."
I nudge Hiccup until He scratches the sweet places on my head. "Feel better," I tell Him. "Tell me what I can do to make it better." Except there's a lot of happiness floating down under all His worry and fear. I don't understaaaaand...
The other troop males come bursting into the cave as we're coming down, Snotlout and Tuffnut being even louder and more gleeful than usual and making Hiccup feel embarrassed and angry, with that weird happiness getting stronger at the same time for some reason.
"Seriously, SHUT UP, Astrid would shove a spear up your nose if she heard you say that...!"
ALL the humans in our flock are gathered outside, making a lot of noise and smelling so unbearably happy and excited and amused that I almost sneeze. What is happening? Why is everything so different today?
Astrid's coming from her cave to join us with Stormfly and Ruffnut beside her, and she looks different like Hiccup does, bigger and sweeter and excited and a little nervous but not nearly as nervous as He is. Her scent floats across my nose and it's like the human equivalent of being in heat, I keep expecting her to pounce on Hiccup and finally mate with Him, and I keep being a little surprised when she doesn't. Humans always hide to mate, maybe that's why. But then why is everyone here? Is this why the entire flock is gathered, because of Hiccup and Astrid? Humans always ignore important things and then make such a fuss over silly things.
I am sooooooo confused, but I watch Hiccup and follow Him. SO MUCH SOUND-TALKING, and lots of mark-making that I really really wish I understood because I think they talk with those charcoal streaks too and I want to understand what they're saying. More sound-talking, SO MUCH. They're pulling furry animals around and throwing stuff that smells like fruit and giving each other blades and tiny bits of metal.
The only reason I don't lie down and nap is because Mom is explaining to us sometimes, and that helps. "He pledges gifts to his mate, and she to him... They ask for bounty and protection... They give representations of themselves to each other, so as to hold each other in safekeeping..."
"Human mating is so complicated," Meatlug sighs.
"Just make 'babies' now so we can go eat!" Hookfang complains. "I smell FOOD. They have FOOD in the Big Cave but you are NOT LETTING US EAT IT."
Mom thinks we're funny. "There is more to human mating than offspring and partnership."
"What else is there?" we wonder, but she can't explain it in a way we understand.
I'm startled when the humans all suddenly roar together, Hiccup and Astrid are flaring like a sun again and doing what they call 'kissing,' longer and more freely than I've ever seen them do it before.
Then everyone runs.
We dragons are all surprised for a second, but then we get excited and we fly to beat them to the Big Cave, which makes them all laugh. I catch up to Hiccup and run beside Him, and He's laughing and He smells and looks and sounds so happy happy happy that it makes me happy and excited, too, and I headbutt Him as He runs and He almost falls but Astrid drags Him up again and kisses Him again and He falls back against my side and now I'm kind of annoyed because I have two kissing humans leaning on me.
Stormfly waits for us. "I am happy for them," she says.
"I agree with Hookfang. I'm hungry."
We finally get to the Big Cave and the humans are all waiting and cheering again, and Hiccup smells nervous again as He holds Astrid carefully and lifts her into the Big Cave. Then He relaxes when they're inside and more kissing, just go AWAY and mate already and let us eat!
But NO, of course not, because humans have to make everything stupidly complicated. Hiccup smells nervous nervous nervous and Astrid smells amused and affectionate and I can tell everyone is teasing Him like they used to do all the time in the old days and still do sometimes now. He has a blade in His paw, and He goes up to one of the pillars and holds up the blade, and He kind of looks at me like He really wants my help but I CAN'T HELP YOU IF I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU NEED HELP WITH, HICCUP. Do You want me to burn down the Big Cave or something? Because I can't figure out what You want unless You say it so I can understand.
He roars and drives the blade into the pillar. More teasing from the other humans, but Hiccup smells relieved, especially when Wise Elder tells us He succeeded with whatever He did. More kissing.
Mom finally feeds us, and I know the humans are doing more stupid things but we don't care anymore because finally the dragons get to eat, and later the humans FINALLY do, too.
"...I only want your hand to hold."
"I only want you near me..."
The humans are having very much fun. Hiccup and Astrid's sun-shining seems to get brighter and brighter. They and all the other humans eat a lot and laugh a lot and dance a lot, and Hiccup and Astrid and Mom dance with me, too, and when I sing with them they laugh as if it's the funniest and fun thing ever. I almost don't notice when the sun goes away and it gets dark.
Hiccup is back to being agitated and He's more sex-hungry than I've ever smelled Him be before, and Astrid is back to smelling like she's in heat as they and me and Stormfly and their troop and Mom wander out of the Big Cave and over to our own cave. Whatever Snotlout and Tuffnut and Ruffnut are tormenting Hiccup about is making me want to snap at them, but Mom just feels amused and affectionate and tells me to be calm. The smells are getting stronger and stronger.
"Okay, seriously, we don't actually need witnesses, and if you guys don't get lost in the next ten seconds, I swear I'll have Toothless plasma blast you..."
That was my name. And 'plasma blast,' I know what those sounds mean. I look at Hiccup and start sucking just a little bit of fire into my throat, and He smiles at me.
Snotlout says something that makes Hiccup actually hit him - other humans hit Him all the time, but I've almost never seen Him hit anyone! What on earth did Snotlout say? Then the troop finally leaves, all of them laughing a lot.
"Uuuuuggggghhhhh, why couldn't we have just eloped..."
"I'm kind of wishing we had, too..."
It's quiet now with just the five of us. Mom squeezes them both with her forelegs, and she holds Hiccup for a long time. Then she touches her mouth to Astrid's forehead and heads back to the Big Cave, calling me and Stormfly to go with her.
Stormfly follows. I don't. I look at Hiccup and wait, because I don't want to leave Him until I know He's completely okay. He feels better now that the stupid troop is gone, but He's still...
He smiles and strokes my head. "Hey, bud...I love you, but you're kinda gonna have to leave now, okay?"
"Are you happy, Friend?"
"Yeah, um...so, me and Astrid are gonna be alone, Toothless, and you're gonna have to find someplace else to sleep tonight; sorry, buddy..."
If You want me to go away, why are You hugging me and petting me? You want Astrid so much it's clogging my nose and almost making me want to go off and find a female Nightwing, but at the same time You're nervous and needing me. Part of You is reaching for her and part of You is clinging to me as if You're in deep water and can't swim. Do You want me or don't You? Do You need me or don't You? Make up Your mind!
Now Astrid is stroking me too. "Heeeey, sweetie, it's my turn, okay? I get Hiccup tonight, and then you can have him for a bit tomorrow morning."
"What am I, a toy...?"
I lick Hiccup to put more of my smell on Him; maybe it will comfort Him the way His smell comforts me.
"Aaaagghhh, Toothless...!"
"Ugh!"
"...Astrid, you're not-?"
"You know the rule."
"Seriously?!"
"Yes, seriously, I am not having sex with someone who's covered in dragon spit! Go wash it off!"
"Aaahhh, Toothless...!"
"Heh. But if it makes you feel better, I don't mind joining you for a bath~"
"..."
Now they're both so in heat I think they barely notice me anymore. He'll be okay. I go back to the Big Cave to eat some more.
Afterwards I'm sleepy, but when I try to go to bed I'm surprised and a little hurt when they yell at me and Astrid throws things at me. I have to escape back outside and lie down on the roof instead. But I can't sleep because the smells coming from inside are too strong - no wonder their courtship took so long, I didn't realize humans could take so much time just to mate. The eggs ought to be complete now, but I guess not... I finally look for Mom so I can stay with her tonight instead.
Mom is asleep under one of Cloudjumper's wings. Cloudjumper glares at me when I snuggle under his wing and accidentally wake up Mom, but Mom only smiles and pats my nose.
"Stupid Precious Thing is being mean," I tell her.
"He belongs only to his mate tonight, Beautiful One," she says affectionately.
"ALL night?! How can it possibly take that long to finish some eggs?!"
"I told you, Beautiful, there's more to human mating than simple reproduction and companionship. Human mates can share much more than even the closest dragon mates do."
I sniff at her pregnant belly, and deep within her normal scent I can catch a hint of other scents: Dad and Hiccup and especially the hatchling herself. I think that might have something to do with it, but I'm not sure what.
"...Will I lose Half Of Me?" The thought makes me want to scream and burn something down and then die.
"No, Beautiful." She touches her mouth to my nose. "Of course you'll have to keep sharing him with his mate, but he loves you so incredibly much, Beautiful. He would never part from you, no matter how devoted he is to his human family."
I guess that's okay then. I settle down beside Mom, and she pushes me to make me move, I guess so she'll be more comfortable. When it's quiet, Mom falls asleep soon, and even Cloudjumper drowses, but it takes me a long time to fall asleep.
o.o.o.o.o
As soon as the sun rises, I run back to the cave and climb inside. I don't care if they throw things at me again, it's morning and HE'S MINE NOW.
I have to figure out that they're still two different people lying together in the bed, because they smell almost the same now. They're not 'Hiccup' and 'Astrid,' they're both 'Hiccup-and-Astrid,' and even now I wonder if they really did somehow become one person. Half Of Me, wake up. Are You still half of me? Can You still be half of me when You're half of her now, too? HICCUP COME BACK.
"Mmmmmmrrrrgghhhh..." Sleepy blinking eyes. "Toothless...?"
Hiccup Hiccup Hiccup! Wake up! Come back! You're mine! You're still mine, right?!
"Mmmmm..."
Astrid snuggles closer into Him, and they're kissing and smelling so utterly happy that I feel a little light-headed. And a little in awe, because Mom was right about human mates even though I can't tell exactly how. And I'm getting more and more worried because Hiccup come back and be mine. It's morning. My turn. You're mine. Right...? Right...?!
"You sleep okay, milady...?"
"Mmmm, who needs sleep..."
More kissing.
HICCUP!
"Urgh..."
"Toothless..." Astrid reaches out a foreleg and pats my nose. I try to be polite, but I don't want her; I want my other half!
"You think we can maybe-?"
Hicuuuuuuuuuuuup!
Astrid laughs and smells both disappointed and affectionate. "I did say it'd be his turn in the morning..."
"Mmmmm..."
HICCUP HICCUP HICCUP HICCUP.
"Okay, bud." He yawns and starts to sit up like He's still half asleep. "Okay...okay okay okay ow, Toothless! I'm- Aaah!"
Astrid pulls the bedding over her head so she's all covered up. "Shut up and go awaaaayyy..."
"Yeah, okay...yeah, I'm coming, Toothless, I'm com- OW! I said I was coming, hold on a sec...!" He keeps trying to feel irritated, but any bad emotion keeps getting melted by all the happiness oozing off Him. Stupid human mating. Get out of bed and come fly with me, I waited long enough!
Flying with my other half is always amazing, but we've never flown like this before and I love it. The smell of me and the clouds curl into the Astrid smell so that now He's all Hiccup again, Hiccup/Astrid/me/leather/charcoal/two-header gas/fire-skin spit/meat/clouds and all the other smells that make Him Hiccup. His mating-happiness from before sort of spreads out flatter and wider and gets mixed with breathless joy-of-flying and intense being-with-my-other-half and heart-pounding life-is-fantastic so that He smells completely delicious and sets my mind on fire so that I feel like a flaming sun of joy, too.
If this is because He finally has a true mate now, then okay. It's okay. I will share my other half with His other other half if it means we get to fly like this.
When we get back to the nest, the humans are all cheering and excited again, but Hiccup's heart is still flying even though His feet are on the ground now, and He ignores them all and even ignores his stupid teasing troop and He pulls Astrid back into our cave - so they can mate again? I don't understand it... Judging from how Hiccup-and-Astrid smells up there, I think flying with me might have done the same thing for them that their mating did for flying with me. Is it possible that humans mate just for fun? That doesn't make any sense at all, but I guess it explains why they do it so often and for so long...
"How long are they going to keep this up?" Stormfly wonders as the humans go back to eating a lot and being happy and noisy in the Big Cave.
"Who cares," Hookfang says, snapping up the handful of fish Snotlout tosses at him. "We should get the humans to do this more often. I can't remember the last time we ate this well!"
It lasts for days, so long that I think it's going to go on forever, the eating and the noise and the happiness and the dancing and the singing and Hiccup going from being alone with me to being alone with Astrid to being together with the celebrating humans and then coming back to me. Then it finally ends... A lot of the dragons are sleepy and quiet from eating too much, and the humans seem sluggish and quiet too as they slowly spread out again and go back to their strange human work. Another day or two passes and things are back to normal again.
Except for Hiccup-and-Astrid. That's still different, and I think Mom's right when she says it's going to stay that way forever. My human really does have a mate now, and it really is different than when they were just courting... He neglects me more, which I hate. But then the time He does spend with me is better, and I can't decide whether that makes it okay or not. Hiccup's more distracted now, but He loves me even more now than He did before, and Astrid does, too. She also almost never goes back to her own cave, and I think she lives in our cave with us now.
"Hey, Toothless! Heeeey, Toothless, hey, sweetie! You wanna try some of this? Huh? Yeah, do you like that? You do~? See, Hiccup, Toothless thinks it's delicious!"
"Astrid, Toothless thinks your yaknog is delicious."
"Yeah, so? What's your point?"
"Ummmmm, oh hey I think Gobber's calling me, gotta go; see you later...!"
"Hmph. Come on, Toothless, let's go see how the shearing's doing."
Am I supposed to go with my other half who's trying to escape, or with His mate who wants me to join her?!
o.o.o.o.o
Mom finally lays her 'baby.' The humans are so scared as she's laying and it takes so long and I think she almost died, but Wise Elder and Cloudjumper helped and Hiccup did something, and now it's morning and they're all still alive and Hiccup is so relieved there's water coming out of His eyes. Humans usually do that when they are sad, but a few times they do it when they're happy.
Mom is asleep and very weak, so Cloudjumper is watching her like a hawk so she won't die as she sleeps. Hiccup and Astrid and their troop are all fussing over the hatchling, who is so tiny that I can barely see her and I'm afraid to even breathe on her. Her smell is big, though: Mom/herself/human hatchling/Dad/Hiccup. That's almost the only way I can tell she's a person, because she smells so strong.
"Hey, Toothless! Hey! What do you think of my little sister, huh? What do you think, bud?"
"She is very beautiful," I say politely, and lick His face.
"Ha ha, Toothless...!"
"Don't drop her, Hiccup!"
"I'm not!"
"I'M SO HUNGRY!" the hatchling screams, and we finally have to wake up Mom so she can feed her. I'm worried about Mom because I can tell she's so weak and tired, but she smells so very happy, too (but also sad...), that I try to tell myself she's okay.
"She's okay, right, Cloud Jumper? Your human will survive and get strong again so she can take care of her hatchling?"
"I will grieve very much if She dies," he says, which makes me even more worried. I bring Mom some food to make her stronger, and she doesn't eat it but she smiles and thanks me.
"Please live," I tell her. "Hiccup will break again if you die." I HATE when He breaks, because then I feel like I'm going to die.
"I will try very hard to live, Beautiful, for as long as my hatchlings need me."
Hiccup is not a hatchling, but she said it a little different than dragons do. Human parents and offspring are much much much much much much more attached to each other than dragon ones are, even after the hatchlings are all grown up and have mates and hatchlings of their own. It's like Hiccup's dam still thinks of Him as a hatchling even though He isn't anymore.
"Go away now, Young Nightwing," Cloudjumper tells me. "Let Her rest."
Life is harder after that. Mom is still weak for a while, and she finally gets better again but it takes a loooooong time. Me and Hiccup never fly anymore, not for fun; sometimes we go out patrolling, but He's always too tired and busy to fly for real.
The hatchling (the humans call her "Halla") never seems to grow. She's always still tiny and noisy and helpless, and we all take turns caring for her but Hiccup also has to go and be alpha every day and Astrid has to be consort, so they're always so tired and there's no more dancing and we almost never play, and the humans in our aerie sleep so deeply every night that I keep thinking they went into hibernation. Except for when Halla's screeching wakes them up, then they'll stir and groan and one of them will finally get up to take care of her, and a lot of times they fall asleep again before they can get back into their beds.
Cloudjumper never leaves his human's side, so whenever they need something that the humans aren't around to get for them, Cloudjumper makes me get it instead. I don't really mind. I'm worried about Mom. I wish her hatchling would hurry and grow up. Human lives are so short, but they grow so SLOW, it doesn't make any sense...
Halla is crying again. I raise my head, but Hiccup and Astrid are sleeping so deeply they don't even move.
"Young Nightwing," Cloudjumper finally calls for me. I sigh and go down to where Mom is lying by the warm fire, holding the hatchling to her breast in her sleep, but Halla's not suckling and Mom isn't actually awake to see what she really needs. "Go get one of the small clean skins from that pile over there."
"I was sleeping."
"Go get it," he snaps.
"I'm your alpha, and I'll tell YOU to go get it."
"Selfish lazy alphas don't last long." He's right because he's the one taking care of our flock right now and I'm not, even though I'm supposed to because that's my job, so fiiiiiiiiiiine, I go to the pile and try to pick up one of the little skins with my teeth. I think more than one ended up in my mouth, and more fall on the ground when I move away.
"Try not to get any saliva on it, I don't think that's good for the hatchling."
"YOU try it if it's so easy." But I do my best to keep the skin (skins?) clean as I bring it/them over.
Cloudjumper manages to get Halla's dirty skin off of her and clean her up. I don't think either of us can get the clean skin on her, but luckily Mom wakes up before we have to try, and she thanks us both and she wraps the skin around her own hatchling. "I'm so sorry I didn't wake up sooner..."
Cloudjumper leans down to nuzzle her. "Rest, Half Of Me. Your hatchling is safe."
"Is she ever going to grow?" I ask.
Mom smiles and pats my face. "In time, Beautiful, yes. I'm so sorry it's taking so long."
"I know, I know; humans are different," I pout. "Sooooo different, always different...stupid humans..."
"Be patient, Beautiful. Your other half will be able to go flying with you again once things settle down."
I'm glad to hear it, but I'm still very not happy that He doesn't fly with me now. "Stupid Half Of Me."
She's right, though. Sort of. After a while I look in my memories and realize that Halla has been growing a little, and our aerie humans finally aren't as tired as before, and Hiccup does finally finally FINALLY start flying with me again sometimes.
But not for long.
Because then we lose Hiccup.
And it takes SO LONG to find Him again.
And when we do finally find Him again, HE HAS AN ANNOYING THING WITH HIM, AND HE TAKES IT BACK WITH US TO ADD TO OUR AERIE, AND I HATE HER AND IT'S NOT FAIR; YOU'RE MY PRECIOUS THING, COME BACK TO ME...!
To be continued...
Author's Notes: This fic actually isn't a multi-chaptered work - the only reason I put "TBC" at the end of this one is because it did end on something of a cliffhanger. But the story I intended to tell with this installment (Hiccup & Astrid's wedding from Toothless's POV) is finished. The next story I post in this series is probably NOT going to be Hiccup's adventure where he ends up with "Annoying Thing" at the end of it - that one's going to take too long (and will probably be either third person POV or Hiccup's POV), and there are other stories I want to write first. ^^; I'd actually started writing a different story this afternoon, but then decided it would be better to write and post HiccStrid's wedding first.
Although I tried to gloss over it and not get too bogged down in details, I did look up Viking wedding ceremonies in order to write this fic: .
Humans don't actually go "in heat" (their sexual receptivity is pretty much the same no matter what point in the menstrual cycle they are; as opposed to animals who are only sexually receptive when they're in estrus). But I don't think most animals understand the whole lust thing; for them, it's pretty much either "MUST PROCREATE" or nothing, so I figured it would be pretty difficult for a dragon to translate the concept. *sweatdrop*
I really love platonic/dual/romantic trios where the platonic pairing is equal to or gets more screentime than the romantic one, and Toothless/Hiccup/Astrid fits perfectly. X3
Halla's name took more research than I thought it would, but the research was basically just to confirm that it wouldn't be a bad idea to use a name that references Valhallarama, Hiccup's mother in the book series. :p
