The Dead Boy's Mask
(inspired by dddragon's fanart on Tumblr) - dead Hiccup AU,
We start with a memory of Hiccup showing off his new ridding mask to Astrid, it is unfortunately to big and Astrid laughs at him. I don't know how this happened, how can it be too big? My head isn't that big? Hiccup asks trying to reagents the damn thing. Your hair is Astrid makes out through a giggle fit. Astrid teases Hiccup some more by kissing him through the mask. May or may not lead to sexual intercourse. Next chapter and about a month latter Drago takes control of Toothless, but this time Stoic doesn't make it in time, Hiccup dies. Astrid jumps off Stormfly screaming and runs to his lifeless body. Come on babe she cradles his head and rocks them back and forth Don't do this to me again, wake up. She doesn't cry like Stoic or the women next to him she assumes is Hiccup's mother. WAKE UP! She yells hitting his chest right on the spring load and Astrid feels the back fin pop open. She pause for a minute breathless looking down at what she caused just like earlier that day. She buriers her head into the crook of his neck and bleats out a loud mournful outcry. She doesn't notice anything else, not her mortified friends, not the newly reunited husband and wife next to her, she even didn't notice when Toothless came up confused and begging for forgiveness or when Stoic banished the dragon. Drago took control of all the dragons including Toothless again, but Astrid didn't care. She only held her boyfriend's body which smelled of burning leather. Hiccup is set to sea, and Stoic fires an arrow and makes a speech. Astrid tries to hold it together as does most of the others. She can't even imagine what Stoic is feeling, she have may lost a boyfriend, but he lost a son, and right after he found his dead wife alive and well. She looks at the pair, Hiccup's mother, Valka, took Stoic's vast hand in her own slender hand. Love after so many years apart. No parent should have to see their child die. Astrid wanted revenge, not only for her sake but for the rest of the gang and their dragons. Hiccup brought them all together and they were going to take them back. As soon as she gets her hand on Drago, she would chop his limbs off with her axe and she and Stormfly would play fetch with his torso. They don't know how to get back to Berk without dragons, so Valka suggest using the babies. On their way to Valka's nest, Astrid spots Hiccup's riding mask. She then becomes very upset, he should have been wearing the mask in the boat she thought. That idiot she cries, her grip on the mask trembling why couldn't he just kill Drago like another Viking would've; except he wasn't like other Vikings, he was Hiccup, he never did things the Viking way, he did things the Hiccup way. Valka comes to her side to comfort her, Astrid then notices how much Valka looks like Hiccup. The older women gives her a pep talk about how she knew her when she was a baby and how she is Astrid the Fearless. Astrid listens and follows Valka on one condition; what my dear? Valka asks. Astrid looks down at Hiccup's mask, he may have done things the Hiccup way, but she was still a Viking, I get to kill him, and she did things the Viking way. Valka nodded, Stoic might fight her on this, but the girl was blood hungry. It would be wise to let her do the deed. Astrid takes the mask with her in Hiccups memory and wears it when she herself kills Drago. After the battle with Drago and his Bewilderbreast, Astrid and the rest of the gang plus new friends and family, rebuild Berk. Astrid sleeps with Hiccup's masks and takes care of Toothless with the help of Stoic and Valka. They all try to work though there grief together along with the rest of the gang. One morning while sleeping over at the Haddock's home, Astrid wakes up sick and vomits. Toothless helps her down stairs where Valka and Stoic are having breakfast. Once Valka relies that something is wrong, she takes Astrid to Gothi and tells Stoic they'd be back later. It was morning sickness, Astrid is pregnant, and a few months according to Gothi. Astrid is over come by many emotions anger, confusion and fear. This had to be Loki's doing, only the trickster god would play such a cruel joke on an agony filled mortal. What would people say, why wasn't she and Hiccup more careful, how was she going to do this without him? Oh Gods she's been flying on Stormfly, could that have hurt the baby? Valka tells Astrid the story of her many miscarries and how scared she was when she was pregnant with Hiccup. And even more scared when he was born, so small and weak. And how terrible a mother she was for leaving her family and missing out on her child's life. Valka then says that she would be there for Astrid during and after this pregnancy no matter what happens. They return home were Stoic basically restates what Valka had said and adds that the child would be seen as the child of the heir and would be next in line. The next chapter the child is born a boy with auburn hair, but he's weak and small. Just like his father Valka says with eyes filled with tears, she doesn't know if it was from joy or sadness. The little boy makes it out a live but just barely. Astrid, tried from hours of labor, holds her son in her arms for the first time. He looks just like him she thinks, she names him after his father. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the IV. Toothless becomes very protective of Astrid and the baby (not that he wasn't protective before when Astrid was still pregnant), sometimes curling himself around the chair where Astrid breastfed and even snapping at Valka if she came to close. Hiccup the IV grows up loved by his family and extended family who tell him all about the great man his father was. And when he comes to a serene age where Astrid thinks his head is big enough, she gives him his father's helmet. He puts it on but it's still too big. It reminds Astrid of the first time Hiccup showed her the damn thing. This cause Astrid to start laughing which quickly escalates to sobbing. Mom why are you crying he asks, Oh nothing baby I was just thing of your father.