A crossover of Tangled, How to Train Your Dragon, Rise of the Guardians and Brave. Shrek is mentioned briefly. This is a Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons version of the last episode of Friends. I have made changes to fit the RotBTD fandom :) enjoy!
Modern AU
Rapunzel of Corona as Rachel Green
Toothiana 'Tooth Fairy' as Monica Geller-Bing
Merida Dunbroch as Phoebe Buffay (in this, Merida is Scottish but she's lived in America so long she now has an American accent. A.k.a, I can't write her accent xD)
Jack Frost as Joey Tribbiani
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III as Chandler Bing
Eugene 'Flynn Rider' Fitzherbert as Ross Geller (also, brother of Human!Tooth)
Sexy Young North as Mike (come on; he's hot when he's younger. Also, I needed a Mike for Merida's Phoebe xD and North is a nickname for Nicholas so he isn't laughed at XD)
Astrid Jr as Erica Bing, Jamie as Jack Bing
Astrid as Erica
Sophie as Emma Green-Geller
Gothel as Rapunzel's weird as housekeeper who puts red socks in with Rapunzel's shirts (it's as evil as she's gonna get, lol), Maximus and Pascal as the Chicken Keepers. (They look after all the chickens that get too old to live in houses, and they grow apples. They're also humans in this. And Max, Eugene's son, is named after Maximus.) and Greno (the guy from the Snuggly Duckling who got the guards) as Gunther.
Disclaimer; I do not own Tangled, Rise of the Guardians, How to Train Your Dragon, Brave, Friends or Shrek.
The Last One – Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons Style Part 1
For the fiftieth time that morning, the sticky tape got tangled up and stuck to itself. Jack Frost tugged on it several times, moving his arms so hard little bits of frost drifted to the ground. In a last ditch attempt, he seized the tape with his teeth and wrenched as hard as he could, accidentally stumbling and bumping into his staff. Merida, who was standing nearby helping, laughed at his predicament.
Jack tossed the sticky tape to the floor, grabbing his staff and freezing the box shut, making Merida raise an eyebrow at him. He heaved the box up and was about to deposit it on the couch when Merida stopped him, saying, "You know, Toothiana is gonna freak if every box isn't labelled."
The Winter Spirit froze, using the wind to stop the box from falling out of his hands. With a huff, he mumbled, "Oh, ok, um…" He picked up a permanent marker and started writing on the box, complete with the random little snowflake swirls he did at the end of each word he wrote. "Box… Of… Snow!" he declared, 'snow' being his term for 'crap' when he was being sarcastic. He capped the pen and put it on the table.
"Good!" Merida said a little dully, looking at the box before going for the next one. Jack held out his hands to say something and ice shot out of them, hitting the ceiling. Merida raised another eyebrow at him and he quickly put his hands down, saying enthusiastically, "Meri, think about it! When Hiccup and Toothiana get back here, they're gonna have a baby… A baby!"
Merida gasped, waving a capsule with a random kids memories in it at Jack's face, saying, "I know, it's so exciting! Wait, wait, Eugene doesn't know when the baby's coming! Should we call and tell him or send one of the elves?"
Jack, who had resumed with his earlier fight with the sticky tape, shook his head at Merida. "I don't think so. Rapunzel's still over there yelling at him, I am not gonna want get in the middle of that snowstorm!"
Merida gave Jack a look of disbelief. He quickly defended himself. "What, just because I'm the Spirit of Winter does not mean I always want to be around blizzards and snowstorms!"
XXX
There was a smash as the door flew open and Eugene stumbled back a little bit. Golden hair came flying into the room, around his waist and tugging him back to the blonde haired girl who stepped toward him, placing her arms on his shoulders and smashing her lips against his. He kissed her back eagerly.
Without warning, Rapunzel pushed Eugene back, her hands flying up to the front of her hair, where she smoothed it down. "Eugene, wait, wait, should we be doing this?"
Eugene held up his hands in defence, wanting to continue but he did ponder Rapunzel's question. "I-I don't know!"
Rapunzel's green eyes twinkled with slight worry. "It doesn't seem like a good idea, oh gosh…" Her hair was still firmly around Eugene's waist, it was amazing how his arms didn't get caught as well.
Eugene grudgingly agreed with Rapunzel. "Probably not," he muttered breathlessly, and Rapunzel herself lowered her hands to put them on her hips, her eyes on Eugene's. Eugene had just begun to calm down when Rapunzel exploded, "Well, that never stopped us before! Ever!"
"No, it didn't!" Eugene agreed without thinking, stunned at Rapunzel's outburst.
The words had barely left his mouth when Rapunzel wrapped her arms around his neck, letting her hair fall from around his waist. She kissed him hard, wondering a little what had been stopping them as Eugene stumbled back, tripping onto his bed, taking Rapunzel with him.
XXX
The hospital doors were pushed open as Hiccup walked through them, a bunch of flowers from the sun in one hand. He was quite glad Toothless and Rapunzel had found them. Toothiana caught up behind him, her wings packed away for once, though she was in a jittery mood.
"I can't believe it!" Hiccup gasped, turning his head to look at his jumpy wife. "I can't… I can't believe in a couple of hours we're gonna be parents!" He smiled in shock at Toothiana.
"I can't believe it's three weeks early!" Toothiana gasped excitedly, and she suddenly smiled hugely. "I cannot believe our baby is prompt! They know I wanna see their teeth!" She clapped her hands together. She stopped, calmed down and snapped to business. "Ok, what room did the nurse say Astrid was in?"
"Room 702," Hiccup supplied quickly, wiping a sweaty hand down his vest. He was so nervous yet excited at the same time. They walked over to the door that had '702' over the top and opened the door.
Hiccup dropped the flowers and the two backed out of the room in shock, heaving in surprise. They had walked in on another woman having her baby! They stared at each other with open mouths. Hiccup swallowed.
"Did… did you see the size of that thing coming out of that woman?!" he asked Tooth, shaking his head slightly. Visible beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Tooth nodded in agreement, admitting, "I couldn't tell who was giving birth to who!" It reminded her of the time she collected a tooth so big she couldn't tell whether she was collecting the tooth or the child.
Still breathing hard, the two pushed off the door and walked off quickly, Hiccup glancing over his shoulder once to see if any of the doctors were looking out the door. No one was, so he placed a hand on Tooth's back and practically shoved her forward, urging her to walk faster.
Looking about carefully, the two finally found Astrid's room and cautiously opened the door, peeping in. A woman with blonde hair and a fringe wearing a white hospital robe lay on the bed, looking bored and terrified.
"Thank Manny!" Tooth exclaimed, making Astrid jump violently as the two entered the room. "We found the right room! Hi!"
"Hey! How are you, is everything ok?" Hiccup asked as he and Tooth entered the room, closing the door behind them. Astrid struggled to sit up a little bit, smiling at them both. She sighed happily, holding her hand up.
"I'm fine, the baby's fine… The doctor said it would be a while," she added nervously, letting her hand flop back onto the bed.
"How do you feel?" Tooth asked, making sure the door was shut properly before joining Hiccup beside Astrid's bed. Hiccup had his hands on his hips.
"Well," Astrid sighed, "It hurts sometimes. I thought getting injured by dragons was bad, but this is different! But it's not too bad yet…" Her voice trailed off. "It's a little scary," she whispered, her eyes flicking between Hiccup and Tooth.
"I know, honey," Tooth said sympathetically, patting Astrid's hand. "But you're gonna be fine."
"Tell that to lady 702 with the toddler coming out of her," Hiccup blurted as he looked at Tooth. She gave him a what-in-the-name-of-Manny-was-that look. But Hiccup was on a roll. "I think that kid was wearing a shirt, no, wait, a Viking helmet!"
Tooth was now glaring at Hiccup as Astrid stared at them both in shock, her mouth open. Hiccup realised his mistake and assured Astrid, "You're gonna be fine though! Seriously, everything is gonna be ok, as peachy as a healthy dragon!"
Astrid winced at the 'healthy dragon' reference, knowing perfectly well how strong a dragon could be when they were a 'healthy dragon'.
XXX
Finishing the last plait in her hair, Rapunzel picked up the last fake flowers out of her bag and rearranged them so they wouldn't fall out.
There was a shuffling sound next to her, and the doona moved back to reveal Eugene's head peeking out, looking around before looking up at her. He looked a little dazed and his eyes were half-shut. "Hey," he mumbled as Rapunzel smiled down at him affectionately. She giggled, standing up and crouching down in front of the bed to place her hands on Eugene's face.
"Silly, shh, go back to sleep, ok? I have to go home, now before Gothel finds out. I swear I will not be happy if I go back and found she left those shells out uncrushed again…"
Eugene groaned in mock sadness, holding Rapunzel's hands between his own. "Well, I can tell you, this was amazing, Rapunzel… So, so amazing…"
"It really was…" Rapunzel agreed happily before her head snapped up. "You've learnt some new moves!"
Eugene laughed at her observation. "Well, I am Flynn Rider… Used to be Flynn Rider… Ok, Jack got a Christmas present that he pretended to not know what it was, and it was a book called 'Sex For Dummies" and at the bottom, in Jack's handwriting he added 'And Thieves. Suck on that, Flynn!'" Rapunzel laughed at the absurd present; it was exactly something Jack would do.
"But seriously… who's laughing now?" Eugene asked rhetorically and the two chuckled as Rapunzel leaned forward to kiss him again.
XXX
Astrid was gasping in pain, her face written in utter fear. Hiccup had never seen her so scared, and he'd known her since they were kids! Hell, they used to date!
"Breathe, breathe," Tooth was saying, trying to soothe Astrid. "Just imagine it's a painful wobbly tooth, and the pain will eventually pass!" At that, Astrid gradually began to calm down as the pain subsided, and both Tooth and Hiccup had a hand on one of Astrid's shoulder.
"Very good!" Tooth trilled when Astrid finally breathed properly, and she smiled at her friend.
"Next time can I say breathe?" Hiccup demanded, and Tooth gave him a look. "Hiccup, honey, there's a difference between a human having a baby and a dragon having a baby. I know you and Toothless helped Starfire (Toothless's OC mate) have her offspring, but a human is a little different. You sound like Bunnymund when he's telling Jack to 'Shut it, Frostbite' and it scared her!"
Hiccup looked up at Tooth in confusion, but she ignored him, turning to Astrid. "Astrid, sweetie, do you need anything? Water? Rice chips? Candy canes?" Astrid frowned at the candy cane bit, since it wasn't Christmas, but she said, "No, thank you, I'm fine."
"Ok then!" Tooth trilled, patting Astrid's arm again. "I'll be there and back as quickly as Baby Tooth can collect a tooth!" She turned and got halfway to the door when she felt Hiccup's hand on her arm. She turned to face him.
"Where are you going?" Hiccup asked, like he couldn't believe Tooth was dashing out for a minute.
"To… the bathroom?" she answered, her eyebrows knitting together.
"But you… you can't leave me alone with her!" Hiccup said a voice that was close to desperation. Tooth couldn't believe it.
"Why not?" she demanded.
"Because… because I'm not well suited to this situation! Plus, she's my ex-girlfriend!" Hiccup hissed, lowering his voice so Astrid couldn't hear him. Tooth stared at him, crossing her arms.
"You've got to be kidding me," she said, and Hiccup shook his head. "What kind of situation is this? You two are way passed that, you are my husband, and she's planning to go back to Berk when she's discharged! Why aren't you 'well-suited'?" She used her hands as sarcastic quotation marks.
"I'm just not comfortable with it," Hiccup said quickly, and Tooth waved her hand dismissively. "Come on, Hiccup, you'll be ok! I promise, honey. I'll be back in two minutes, ok?" She patted his shoulder, turned and jogged toward the door, shutting it behind her.
He turned back to Astrid, who had a sort of what's-happening kind of look on her pale face.
Hiccup clapped his hands together, striding toward her. "So…" he said, shrugging about fifty times, his brown vest rising up and down on his shoulders. "Got any plans for when you go back to Berk?"
Astrid blinked in surprise. "Oh, um… I was thinking of training another dragon…"
"Yeah?" Hiccup agreed, feeling the awkwardness grow by the second. "Is that dragon gonna get pregnant too?" he said, his eyes darting toward the picture of Starfire Astrid had on her bedside table. Her mouth fell open in shock at his bluntness.
Hiccup cursed himself for his social awkwardness. He hoped Tooth would get back quickly…
XXX
Jack held the little bunny in his hands, smiling at it as it twitched its nose. He was cooing and petting its soft fur; it was a gift from Bunnymund, who had given Jack a bunny and a chick as a home warming gift for Tooth and Hiccup . The door opening, causing Jack to look up.
A freshly showered and dressed Merida walked in, gasping at the sight of the bunny. "Morning!" she said brightly.
"Morning," replied Jack, turning his attention back to the bunny.
"What's that? Who's this cute little guy?" Merida asked, walking up to look more closely at the little bunny.
"My house-warming presents for Tooth and Hiccup! Bunnymund gave them to me."
"Aww! It's a baby chick and bunny!" Merida whispered, her voice reeking of 'aww', and she picked the chick out of the box, holding him close. "They're so cute, though I prefer bears!"
"That's right," Jack grinned, nodding at the chick. "That's SnowChick Jr and this is SnowBunny Jr!" He nuzzled little SnowBunny Jr close to his face, his icy-blue eyes closing at the feel of the soft fur on his cheek. Merida gasped.
"I did not see that coming!" she admitted with a chuckle, softy stroking SnowChick Jr's feathers. He nipped at a piece of her long curly red hair, and she laughed.
"I figured they'd love it at Tooth's palace," Jack said happily, proud of his plans. "They can run around in the fenced off area I made for them, and when they're old enough, Hiccup and Tooth can send SnowBunny Jr to live with Bunnymund again and SnowChick Jr can go to that farm SnowChick went to…" He hesitated, smiling sadly at SnowChick Jr. "I wish I could go visit him…"
Merida gave Jack a look of sympathy. "Yeah, but you know, it's against the rules to see them. Maximus and Pascal insisted it." Jack nodded in agreement.
The door opened again, and Eugene walked in, holding a green apple with a star sticker on it that said 'Maximus' in the middle, and a frying pan in his other hand. Jack could tell by how worn the frying pan was that it was Rapunzel's, who was asleep.
"Hey! Hey, Eugene, guess what!" Merida said, giving SnowChick Jr to Eugene so she could gesture greatly and readjust her bow. "You're almost an uncle!"
Eugene's mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. "What?" he exploded, dancing about excitedly with SnowChick Jr. "I can't believe it!" He stopped abruptly, staring at nothing in particular for a few seconds. "Yes!" he decided, holding SnowChick Jr up to his face. "I can believe it."
Jack laughed. "Yeah, Astrid went into labour last night and Hiccup and Toothiana are at the hospital right now," he informed Eugene, who looked quite excited.
"It's gonna be a girl," Merida said in a firm voice to both guys, looking between them. Her red hair moved around her faces crazily. Eugene looked at her, dumbfounded. "Meri… you guessed that Max was gonna be a girl."
"Have you seen him fight a dragon with a frying pan?" Merida countered. Eugene gave up when Jack looked away with a smile on his face.
"Is Rapunzel here?" Eugene wanted know, and Jack nodded. "I reckon she's still asleep. She fell asleep with all those flowers in her hair, geez…" Eugene started to walk around Jack and Merida.
"Hey, hey, wait… how did things between you two go last night?" Jack whispered, stopping Eugene before he got too far.
Eugene nodded, a small smile forming on his face. "Yeah, we… we sorted things out." He nodded, flashing his trademark grin.
"Hey, I know you smile like that a lot, but what's with it? Did something happen?!" Merida demanded, showing a grin herself.
Eugene waved his hands about. "Hey, hey, I'm not one too 'kiss and tell'," he glared at Jack, who burst out laughing, "but I'm also not one to have sex and shut up, we totally did it!"
Both Merida and Jack nearly fainted!
"Ohmisnow, you and Rapunzel?!" Jack gasped, making sure to keep his voice low so Rapunzel didn't hear. Behind him, Merida bounced about her excitedly, her hair flying all over the place.
"I know… it's pretty great," Eugene admitted slowly, that small smile on his face again.
"Does that mean you two snowflakes are getting back together?" demanded Jack, accidentally holding his hands out and causing snow to fly into Eugene's face. Eugene shook his head, brushing the snow out of his hair.
"We didn't actually talk a whole lot," Eugene started to say, but Merida cut across him.
"But you, Eugene Fitzherbert, wanna get back with her, right?"
Eugene froze for a few seconds, trying to think. When he failed to speak, Jack leaped toward his staff, which was effectively freezing Eugene on the spot. He turned the staff away from his friend, and it was like time resumed.
"I don't know, I mean… I don't usually say this, heck, I won't even write it, but it just felt so… so… right…" He stopped to take a breath, nearly running himself down with his own emotions. "I was holding her, looking at her… it was like I never wanted to let her go, ever… A long time ago, I heard her say I was her new dream… She's become mine."
Jack and Merida just looked at the floor, both remembering when Rapunzel said that. The girl had nearly been dragged away by her deranged housekeeper.
"I do!" Eugene declared, scaring Jack and Merida. "I do wanna be with her, I wanna get back together…"
"Yay!" Merida shouted, and both Jack and Eugene making shushing noises at her, so she whispered it instead.
"Is she… is she still going to Far Far Away?" Jack whispered, remembering when Rapunzel had been offered a job as a studio designer and an official interior designer for the palace of Far Far Away, which was ruled by King Arthur.
Eugene stopped again. "I… I don't know… I never really thought about that…"
"This is the best day ever!" Merida squeaked as relieved smiles broke out on both her and Jack's faces. "You and Rapunzel might be getting back together, Hiccup and Toothiana will be getting their babies and Jack got SnowBunny Jr and SnowChick Jr! I feel like I'm in a musical, even though Rapunzel does sing quite a bit… I've got a dream, she's got a dream, I've got a dream-"
Merida stopped when Rapunzel walked out her room, staring at the company standing in Jack's kitchen. "Oh well, we'll never know what my dream is," Merida said, and Jack patted her shoulder.
"Hi!" Eugene said brightly to Rapunzel, love clearly evident in the former thief's voice, and Rapunzel grinned at him through her sleepiness.
"Morning," she whispered, rubbing her eyes. The flowers were gone from her hair and it was out of its plait. Her hair vanished into her room, where she had just come from.
"How did you sleep?" Eugene asked worriedly.
"Very well, actually, you?" Rapunzel replied, letting her hand fall to her side.
"Good," Eugene said, and Jack immediately said, "I'll bet you did," with a teasing grin on his face. Even Merida looked like she was trying not to laugh.
Eugene and Rapunzel looked at Jack. "Can you give us a moment?" Eugene asked politely, and Jack nodded, grabbing Merida's arm. He dragged her over to the nearest window and leapt out, letting the wind take them off elsewhere for a few minutes.
Eugene grinned at Rapunzel, ducking his head to place a quick kiss on her lips.
"Last night was wonderful, Eugene," Rapunzel murmured to him, her eyes half shut as she gazed at him happily.
"It really was."
"I woke up with the biggest smile on my face…" Rapunzel admitted, holding Eugene's hand between her own, smiling at him.
"I did too… It was… It was… You know… It was one of those things you think is never gonna happen, like a faraway dream, but… but…
"No dream is impossible," Rapunzel supplied quietly, holding his hands tighter, his thumbs moving across her knuckles.
"Truth is, that… was more than I could ever have in a dream," Eugene told her, kissing her hand.
"I know, Eugene, I know… It was the perfect way you could ever say goodbye… especially to me," Rapunzel whispered, and hugged Eugene tightly to her. Once she couldn't see his face, Eugene's expression became one of great sadness and shock.
XXX
Astrid gasped loudly in pain, puffing to try and keep in control.
"Come on, honey, keep breathing, you can do it!" Tooth assured Astrid, who was almost crying from the pain. "This hurts so much!" Astrid shrieked, making Tooth jump.
"It hurts that bad?!" Hiccup asked in disbelief, and Astrid glared at him. "I can tell the difference between fighting a dragon and having a baby, Hiccup, and having a baby hurts way more!"
Tooth tottered down to watch the birth of the child. "Look, Hiccup, look, quick!" She said excitedly, waving her hand for him to see. He was trying to keep Astrid calm, so he said, "I'm good!"
"No, Hiccup!" Tooth argued, grabbing her husband's sleeve and dragging him away. "This is the birth of your child, Hiccup, at least see, it's the miracle of life, you'll see many years with this child!"
Hiccup caved, deciding look for the sake of his wife. He nearly fainted! "That is one… this... is one scary miracle!" he decided, trying to turn away, but Tooth grabbed his hand, holding it tightly. They watched as Astrid leaned forward and shrieked again, pushing with all of her might, The baby slid out into the hands of the waiting doctor.
Their mouths dropped open as the doctor held the baby up, smiling at Tooth, Hiccup and Astrid. "It's a boy."
"Is he ok?!" Astrid asked immediately, while Tooth whispered, "Ohmisnow," and Hiccup weakly pointed out, "It's a baby… A beautiful baby… He'll be our beautiful baby…"
A pair of scissors was passed to Hiccup, who looked like he was ready to pass out. Still holding Tooth's hand, he cut the umbilical cord. Tears began to trail down Tooth's cheeks as she looked at the tiny baby boy the doctor was holding, and she smiled.
"Hey, handsome," she whispered, wiping her eyes. "I'm gonna love you so much and no woman is ever gonna match up to me!" she wailed. "We're so lucky!" she sobbed to Hiccup, hugging him tightly. "I know," he whispered, looking back at the boy.
"He has your eyes…" Hiccup whispered, wondering how on earth the little boy had Tooth's vibrant purple eyes. It probably had something to do with Tooth's Guardian leader, the Man in the Moon.
A woman with a towel bustled over, smiling widely. "We'll just get him cleaned up a little bit, ok?" she asked Tooth and Hiccup, who both nodded quickly.
"He's beautiful," Tooth told Astrid, who smiled in relief at the pain being over. "Thank you so much, thank you…"
Astrid nodded, moving her hands a little. "I'm so happy for you guys."
"How do you feel?" Hiccup asked cautiously, ignoring Tooth's little jab in the ribs.
"Tired."
"I'm sorry, miss, but it won't be a good time to relax, the other one will be along in a minute," the doctor piped up, getting ready for the second birth. Astrid, Tooth and Hiccup's heads all snapped toward him.
"I'm sorry, but who will be along in a minute now?!" Tooth demanded, a fake smile on her face. She was so stunned she stopped crying and couldn't even be happy yet. "What? How? What?"
"The next baby should be along in a minute," the doctor repeated, and Tooth laughed nervously.
"We only ordered one!"
"… You know it's twins, right?"
"Yeah," shouted Hiccup, almost emotionlessly. "These are the faces of two people in the know!"
"I can't believe you didn't know it was twins… this has never happened before."
"Well, gosh, this makes me feel so special and good. May as well bring my dragon in!"
Tooth whipped around, glaring at Hiccup for his sassiness. Her hand tightened on his a little, reassuring him that it was going to be alright. She whispered, "It's ok, calm down," before turning back to the doctor, saying, "Did you know it was going to be twins?"
"Yeah, it was in the papers we got from the clinic in Burgess."
There was a zipping noise as Tooth unzipped the leather pouch she carried around with her and she withdrew a coin. She slipped it into the doctor's pocket. "For your efforts," she whispered in shock before facing Astrid, demanding, "did you know?"
"No," Astrid whispered. "Though they did mention they heard two heartbeats, but I just assumed it my heartbeat and the baby's…" Tooth and Astrid stared at each other.
"This is unbelievable," Tooth whispered.
"Twins actually run in my family."
"Interesting," Hiccup chipped in sarcastically. "What do we do?"
"Keep them both!" Tooth cut in, excited. She clapped her hands together.
"What?!" Hiccup and Astrid exclaimed.
"Come on, Hiccup, we can't separate them, they're twins! I don't want to separate them! I'll love them both, unconditionally! Sweetie, I know you're scared… I know you're panicking. But they are our children, and I am taking them home!"
"We're not ready for two!" Hiccup protested, panic etched into every single line and freckle on his face.
"I don't care if there's three babies in there! I am taking them home!" Tooth argued, and Hiccup could practically see her Guardian powers rearing up. He blanked out for a few seconds before whispering, "Ok…"
"OK!" Tooth shouted.
"Ok," Hiccup repeated in defence, backing up for fear Tooth would accidentally punch him or rip out a tooth. He hugged her gently.
"This baby's ready to arrive!" the doctor crowed, making Tooth and Hiccup leap apart. They resumed their stance at Astrid's side, waiting in a restless state. Astrid shrieked in pain again, grabbing the nearest hand, which happened to be Tooth's. She squeezed as hard as she could.
"Here she comes!" the doctor said gleefully, adding "Push!" to Astrid.
Hiccup nearly stopped on the spot. "A girl? We have a girl?!
"Yeah."
"We have one of each!" Hiccup whooped, pulling Tooth into a hug as the two started crying with happiness.
XXX
"And then… And then she said it was the perfect way to say goodbye," Eugene informed Jack and Merida, who were listening sympathetically.
"Ohmisnow," Jack whispered, "What did you say?"
"What could I say?! So I said nothing!"
"No, Eugene, you have got to tell her how you feel! Right now!" Merida told Eugene furiously. She leaped up like she had received a revelation from heaven. ""This is where we sing you a convincing song! Before, we thought you say nothing, but now we know you see the light! It's the spark of hope, and we are to here convince you to tell her that you love-"
"Hey, guys!"
Rapunzel, her hair neatly plaited with red, green and pink ribbons through it, joined them. Merida flopped back down, placing her head in her heads. Her red hair fell around her like a huge curtain.
"I can't catch a break!" she complained sadly, and Jack patted her knee, saying, "It's ok, Meri, it's ok."
Rapunzel turned to Eugene. "I took Sophie to my Mother's house, and she'll come to Far Far Away tomorrow."
"Oh, your Mom is so nice!" Merida said. "She let me run that archery contest a few years ago, I love her so much!"
Rapunzel laughed. "Please, my Mother has those lanterns hanging around all the time. I love the lanterns, but once she starts cleaning them and keeping them all lovely, she's hooked. She ignores everything around her, so good luck Sophie!"
She walked off, intent on getting her morning drink of coffee with the little snowflakes on top. Eugene watched her walk away before standing up, clapping his hands together once. "Ok… ok. Meri, you're right. I'm gonna tell her… I have to," he said, and both Jack and Merida cheered.
"Wait, wait, Eugene?" Jack called, stopping Eugene. "Can you get me a scone? With jam and cream? Thanks!"
Rolling his eyes, Eugene walked up behind the guy who was talking to Rapunzel, Greno, and stopped when he heard what he was saying.
"Rapunzel, I know you're heading off to Far Far Away… the Hollywood of our world… I just want to wish you good luck, and I don't know if this will change your mind but… I love you."
Eugene's mouth fell open, and he looked at Jack and Merida. The two of them just shrugged in reply, though Jack's hand went absentmindedly to his staff and Merida's hand reached unconsciously to her bow.
"Aww," Rapunzel said, placing a hand on Greno's shoulder. "Greno, I love you too… but not in the way I love you. I'm so sorry. I promise when I'm sipping tea with the Queen of Far Far Away, or I'm talking with ducklings, I'll think of you and the Snuggly Duckling." Rapunzel kissed Greno's cheek and walked out, tossing a ,"goodbye, friends," over her shoulder at Jack, Merida and Eugene.
Slowly, Eugene sat back down. Merida patted his knee, but leapt back, nearly landing on Jack when Eugene exploded, "Ohmisnow!"
XXX
Tooth cradled the baby girl in her arms, smiling down at her adoringly. The little girl had green eyes while the boy had vibrant purple eyes… She knew she would have to have a stern talk with Manny later. She felt so lucky to have her son, Jamie, and their daughter as well. Even though it was her duty as Guardian to protect the children of the world, she knew she would have to no trouble protecting these kids… her kids.
"Do you think they recognize each other in there?" Tooth asked Hiccup softly, smiling down at the little girl. They had discussed a name for her, but they weren't quite sure yet…
"I'd be surprised if they didn't. His eyes are so purple they probably glow in the dark… like yours do," replied Hiccup with a smirk, and Tooth gently nudged him with her elbow.
"We're gonna take Miss Astrid to recovery now," a nurse said to Hiccup and Tooth, and they quickly stopped Astrid from being wheeled out.
"There's something that we want to tell you," said Tooth quickly, smiling at Astrid. "We… We decided to name the girl baby Astrid."
Astrid froze, her eyes widening. She looked at little Astrid Jr, a visible lump in her throat. She wiped her eyes as tears formed. "I… Thank you, so much. I know… I know you're her mom now, but at least I know she has some sort of connection to me… even if it's as insignificant as a name," Astrid chuckled through her eyes, swallowing hard.
"No!" Hiccup disagreed, shaking his head. "No, no, no… A name is not insignificant. Ever. It defines who you are, is a part of you. Astrid Haddock is a part of you, so she should have your name. She may only hear of you in the future, but your name will mean something for her… just as her name will be a part of her too," he reasoned, and Astrid broke down completely.
"Thank you," she blubbered as they started to wheel her out. "Thank you so much, Hiccup. I know… I know they're in good hands. Thank you… I'm so glad I picked you guys." She wiped her eyes as they rounded the door, and Tooth called out, "Bye! We'll call you!"
Astrid was gone. Hiccup and Tooth turned their attention back to their kids, and Hiccup grinned at Tooth. "Hey… wanna switch?" he asked, and Tooth nodded. "Sure!" she said brightly, walking closer to Hiccup to try and switch the kids.
Hiccup looked at how Tooth was holding Astrid, and tried to manoeuvre Jamie so he could somehow hold Astrid. At the same time, Tooth picked up on how Hiccup was holding Jamie and tried to move Astrid; the babies bumped feet several times.
"I think we'll just switch them later," Hiccup suggested and Tooth laughed, nodding in agreement.
XXX
The cot was white, with balloons tied to it. Merida admired it for a few minutes, knowing that the baby was going to enjoy it so much, and she smiled, walking over to the couch where Jack was blasting a painted banner with ice. He was frowning, aiming for the small full stop next to 'baby'.
"Erm… Jack? What are you doing?" asked Merida. Jack frowned in reply, sticking out his tongue as he concentrated.
"I want the paint to dry faster," he told her, finally hitting the full stop, "So I decided I would freeze it so it stay on longer. It appears to be working…"
There was a random shape just below 'welcome'. The paint was all red, so it stood out. "Is… is that the baby, or my hair?" Merida asked pointing at the red blob. Instantly, Jack let out a shout of rage, tossing his staff to the ground and stamping his foot. Throwing his staff, however, was not good, and a swirling of ice soon covered the rug under the coffee table. Jack and Merida gave each other a nervous glance.
"ANYWAY," Jack coughed, picking his staff up, causing the ice to vanish. "I accidentally sat in the paint, then sat on the poster! I'm not good at this stuff, you know, Tooth and Bunny were always good at painting!"
"Then why not invite Bunny over?"
"You know him, the guy dresses up like a rabbit and doesn't own a phone."
Merida laughed as the door behind her opened, and Jack leaned against his staff as Merida turned. Eugene walked up to them, a neatly wrapped parcel under one arm. "Hey," he greeted sullenly, putting the parcel on the table.
"Hey," Merida greeted him. "So did you talk to Rapunzel?"
"No, and… and I'm not going to say anything to her," said Eugene.
"What?!" Merida demanded.
"Why not?" Jack added, twirling his staff around. He looked confused, as did Merida.
"Because… Because it's Rapunzel. She wants to follow her dreams and she's not gonna let anyone in the way. She'll just turn me away and leave… You two saw what she said to Greno, and trust me, I do not want that happening to me," Eugene told them, trying to sound reasonable. But Merida was having none of it.
"How can you compare yourself to Greno? Yeah, sure, he's kinda sexy and manly, but the guy used to run the Snuggly Duckling as a place for thugs only! You turned things around before he did, you slept with Rapunzel, you have a relationship with her!"
"And she still wants to go, Meri! Don't you see? It's pretty obvious where she wants to go!" Eugene argued, shutting Merida up for a moment.
Jack held his staff up perfectly straight and leapt on top, crouching down to look closer at his friends. "I know what you mean," he mumbled, fiddling with the strings on his hoodie. "Sometimes-"
"Um, Jack?"
Jack looked down and realised he was freezing the carpet again. "Dammit!" he shouted, jumping up for a split second to turn the staff around; the carpet stopped freezing. He settled himself on the staff again.
Merida wondered how Jack managed to keep his balance on that thing when she heard Eugene saying, "Meri, if I were to tell her, I'm not doing it now. We're still friends, I've got time." He walked past Merida to sit on the couch; he could feel Jack's icy-blue eyes following him.
"No, you don't!" Merida shouted, whirling to face him. She crossed her arms defiantly. "She's going to Far Far Away! Do you get what that means, Eugene? Far Far Away is the place for princesses! Rapunzel is going to meet some handsome Prince Charming! Do you realise how many Princes are in Far Far Away? Not to mention King Arthur, but seriously , it's like a city of non-evil Greno's!"
Jack winced. He looked as though he was suffering for the burn Merida just delivered Eugene.
The door opened again. "Hey," North said, closing the door behind him.
"Hey," Merida called back. North was holding a sheet of paper in one hand a blue teddy in the other. "I persuaded Phil to make it blue instead of red," North chuckled, gesturing to the bear. Phil was his toy-making roommate.
"Ok…" Merida said slowly, eyeing the paper. "What's that?"
"Just a little something I decided to work on for once; I didn't let Phil near it," said North, unrolling the paper to reveal a poster that read 'Welcome home, Baby Haddock!' It was decorated with holly and ivy around the edges and even had a few snowflakes were dotted here and there.
"Wow," Eugene and Jack said at the same time. "You made that yourself?" Eugene added.
"That's gorgeous, honey, Ohmisnow," Merida gasped, moving forward to look at it better.
"NORTH! The baby has just arrived, the words can't be read by it!" Jack called out curtly, causing Eugene to turn and glare at him. North just gave Jack a glare of his own when the door behind him jiggled, and a slightly messed-up Rapunzel stumbled in.
"Hi!" she gasped, looking harried. She rushed forward her arms outstretched. Eugene noticed she had tied up her hair. "My taxi just got here, Ohmisnow, they're not home yet! I wanna see the baby!" she trilled in an exasperated tone, smoothing her hair down. With the help of Gothel, Rapunzel had managed to plait her hair so tight that it hung several inches off the ground. It had red, green, blue and pink ribbons woven through it.
Jack shrugged a little, trying to hide his sadness at Rapunzel leaving. "Tooth just called from the cab, she told me she and Hiccup would be here any minute and that they had a surprise," he informed the ground, raising his eyebrows in an I-don't-even-know way.
"Did she sound happy about it?" Merida cut in, turning to Jack. "Because when my mother had more children, we were surprised that she turned out to have triplet boys with curly red hair! And one of them had a tiny beard!"
At that moment, everyone's gaze on Merida literally said 'what'.
"Hi," a voice sad softly behind Rapunzel, North and Merida, and the three turned to see Tooth walking into the apartment, a tiny baby cradled in her arms.
"Welcome home," various voices greeted while Eugene said, "Ohmisnow!" They all crowded around Tooth, exclaiming "Ohmisnow!" as Tooth moved to stand in the middle of everyone.
"Hey," Hiccup's voice said. "Hey," Eugene and Rapunzel replied, giving Hiccup a smile, both briefly noticing he had another baby in his arms. It took them a second to realise what was going on and they both gasped!
"So, Tooth… what is the big surprise?" Jack asked, hopping down from his staff and leaning it carefully against the wall. He walked over as everyone stared at him. He frowned, looking from one baby to the other, then he gasped louder than Rapunzel and Eugene combined!
"Twins, yes, I know," Tooth said happily.
"What kind are they?" Jack asked awkwardly.
"Well, this one's a boy, and that one's a girl."
"Her name's Astrid," Hiccup added, and Rapunzel 'awed' again, clasping her hands together, tears rimming around her bright green eyes.
Jack looked confused. "Wasn't that pregnant girl's name Astrid?"
Tooth ignored Jack and said, "We named the boy Jamie, after Jack's First Believer."
"That's so cute! Aww," Eugene said happily while Merida said, "Jamie Haddock, I like that, he sounds a bit like a Viking, like they're in battle and the Chief Viking yells out, 'Jamie, get yer boh an' come figh'!"
Hiccup looked from Astrid to Merida. "Well, he IS half-Viking, so that might come true," he told Merida, and her eyes widened at her prediction. Hiccup walked over to the cot Merida had set up and gently laid Astrid in it. Tooth followed with Jack, carefully placing him beside his sister.
North moved to place his arm around Merida, watching as the others cooed over the babies. "I want one," he told Merida.
"Really?" she asked, looking at the babies before whispering to North, "Ok, tell me which one so I can snag it with one of my arrows."
North laughed. "No, I mean, seriously… Wanna have one? Make one of our own?"
"Yeah!" Merida agreed, smiling brightly. "Of course! Let's have triplets if you want! Oh, we can teach them archery and raise them like a group of Robin Hood's and Little John's!" she trilled excitedly, making North laugh again.
Rapunzel 'awwed' again before straightening up, running her hand over her hair. "Everyone, I'm so sorry, but I have to go or I'm gonna miss my plane," she said softly, grabbing Tooth's arm and pulling her into a tight hug.
"I'm so glad you got to see the babies," Tooth breathed, trying not to cry.
"Me too," Rapunzel whispered back. "I just wish I could be around to watch you two handle this, but Tooth IS the Tooth Fairy, she's definitely the right person to look after two babies!" Rapunzel wiped her eyes, taking a step away from Tooth, close to the door. "I'm so sorry, I have to go… I love you all, so much…"
"We love you too," Jack told her.
Rapunzel looked at everyone in the group, her eyes landing on Eugene. "Eugene, come here," she said softly, motioning for him to come toward her. She placed her hands on his cheeks, looking up at him. "Eugene… Eugene, I just wanted you to know… I'll never forget last night… I'll never forget it." More tears came to her eyes.
Eugene shook his head a little. "Neither will I," he whispered. Rapunzel nodded once before embracing Eugene, the tears finally spilling over. They rained down her cheeks.
"Ok, I really have to leave," she whispered, pulling away from Eugene. "Ok… Goodbye, everyone!" she called through her tears, smiling a little when it came out sing-song. "Oh gosh, they're gonna hate me if I dance in the streets over there," she sobbed, pulling the door shut behind her.
Eugene stared blankly at the door, still trying to comprehend what just happened.
"You… You just let her go?" Merida asked softly, walking up behind him.
"Yeah…
"Maybe it's for the best, Eugene," Jack suggested sympathetically. He held out his hand and his staff flew into his grasp so he could twirl it around.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, look… look, you just gotta think about last night, like she does. Ok, you know, maybe sleeping together was the perfect way to say goodbye…"
Silence sounded so loud in the room, a silence that was by Tooth's question of, "They slept together?"
"Don't look at me," Hiccup answered, "I was with you last night."
Merida quickly intervened, saying, "But Jack, now Rapunzel will never know how Eugene feels. It's not like last time where we got Gothel to stab him and Rapunzel brought him back to life."
Eugene stared dumbfounded at Rapunzel. "You had to bring that up," he mumbled in shame.
Jack continued as though there had been no interruptions; "Maybe that's ok… you know, maybe it is better this way. I mean now… now, you can move on… You've been trying to for so long… Maybe now you're on different continents… Maybe now you can actually do it, you know… You can finally get over her."
Eugene slowly processed what Jack was saying. He blinked and realisation dawned in his face. "Yeah," he mumbled, his gaze shifting to the ground, "It's true… Except… I don't wanna get over her."
"What?"
"I don't!" Eugene insisted. "I wanna be with her!"
"Really?"
"Yeah… Yeah, I'm gonna go after her!" Eugene declared, walking to the door to follow Rapunzel.
"Yeah, go Eugene!" Jack and Merida both cheered while Hiccup and Tooth looked at all three of them, stunned. Even North was cheering in the back.
"Wait, wait!" Merida stopped him, causing Eugene to whirl around. "Get your vest, come on!"
"My vest? Yes, my vest!" Eugene realised, walking over to the couch and snatching his vest up.
"This is so cool!" Jack declared, flinging his staff over his shoulders and let his hands dangle over the sides.
"I have no idea what is going on, but I am excited!" Hiccup said.
"Eugene, Eugene, what do you think she's gonna say?" Jack asked, and Eugene shook his head, saying, "I dunno, but look, even if she pushes me away or shoots me down but at least I won't spend the rest of my life wondering what would have happened!"
"Look, come on, my carriage, I'll take you there!" Merida shouted, grabbing Eugene's sleeve and dragging him out.
"You have a carriage?!" Eugene repeated.
"Hurry!"
"Ok, wish me luck!" Eugene begged the others, who all shouted back, "Good luck!"
"May Manny guide you!" Tooth added as the door closed behind Eugene and Merida.