Chapter 2: Black Friday and Furbies
Hiccup had come to visit like promised. He had come to visit many times and had already had many wonderful dates with Astrid. It was after Thanksgiving dinner at the small apartment that Astrid and Hiccup flopped on the couch, completely stuffed. Ariana went to bed earlier leaving the two alone.
"Oh my…. That turkey was good," Hiccup complimented. He didn't, or maybe couldn't, move.
"Don't go into a food coma just yet," Astrid told him. "We have to be up early tomorrow."
"Why?" Hiccup mumbled.
"Because honey…." Astrid said as she leaned in close and got a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "Ariana and I are going Black Friday shopping." Hiccup raised a brow "And we need a strong man to carry everything to the car."
"So that's why…" Hiccup mumbled as he gulped. He had heard of this Black Friday shopping but never actually experienced it.
"Yes, the alimony that Eret now has to pay me should go to getting new clothes for Ariana, and we also need to replace some furniture. Now I just have to figure out how to get everything to fit into our old car," Astrid mused.
"You know….. I could just let you use my expandable bag." Hiccup shrugged as he showed her his small messenger bag that he carried with him everywhere. Astrid thought it was just an ordinary bag and her eyes widened when Hiccup pulled out a microwave out of it.
"How the… who the.. WHAT?!" Astrid sputtered as she inspected Hiccup's bag much to his amusement. Her head then snapped back up and Hiccup wondered now if it was a good idea to show her.
"Why didn't you tell me you had this earlier?" Astrid asked as she watched the microwave go back into the bag. "And why would you need a microwave?"
"I have a coffin in there somewhere as well and sunblock…. Just in case I run into any drunk vampires." Hiccup shrugged. "Never hurts to be prepared."
"Vampire…." Astrid raised a brow but first she had other priorities to worry about than more supernatural creatures. "This is coming with us tomorrow. How much space does it have?"
"Well… I guess I can fit a house in it…. Astrid…. Astrid no!" Hiccup said as he concluded what she wanted to do.
"And here I was wondering if I had to make several trips from the apartment to the stores. This will save so much time!" Hiccup groaned as Astrid patted his shoulder.
That was basically how Hiccup ended accompanying Astrid and Ariana through an IKEA store. "Look sweety, they have a sale on beds!" Astrid said as she held her daughter's hand while pointing.
"Mommy we need shelves not beds," Ariana rolled her eyes as she was already used to her mother's wandering eyes when shopping. "This way mommy!" the little girl tugged. Hiccup chuckled at the cute sight as Astrid checked out the price tags on everything. So far she had already shoved a new washer and dryer into Hiccup's bag as well as a hot plate, waffle maker, blowdryer, and a curling iron at the last store.
"Oooh end tables are 60% off." Astrid said causing both Ariana and Hiccup to groan.
"Uncle Hiccy sit. I'll get mommy to the shelves." Ariana nudged his leg.
"Now young lady. You shouldn't be the only one dealing with her… shopping eccentricities." Hiccup mumbled.
"What does… eccenf….eccentrac-Uhm What does that word mean?" The little girl asked as both kept an eye on Astrid as she moved from the end tables onto the wardrobes.
"It's…. It means acting odd." Hiccup explained to the little girl.
"Like the time mommy tried to kill that seagull?" Ariana asked as they followed behind Astrid who was oblivious to their conversation.
"What seagull?" Hiccup asked with a raised brow.
"Mommy and I went to the beach," Ariana explained. "I was making a sand castle THISSSSS BIG!" She gestured with her hands. "Mommy was munching on a donut when this fat seagull swooped in and took it."
Hiccup used his hand to stifle the laugh that was bubbling up. "Mommy took the thermos and tried going WHACK WHACK WHACK!" Ariana made a hitting motion in the air. "And then mommy ran after the birdy."
Hiccup couldn't take it anymore and doubled over. He clutched his stomach in laughter as he couldn't seem to get the image of Astrid battling a seagull out of his mind now.
"GUYS! LOOK WHAT I FOUND!" Astrid happily said as she came back carrying two rolled up rugs. "I also found the shelves and had them sent to the register….. Hiccup why are you laughing?" Hiccup took one look at Astrid before he started laughing again.
Astrid rolled her eyes at Hiccup's antics. "Oh come on you great big lug." She joked. "You haven't even bought anything yet. Doesn't the King of Hell need some new massage chair or something?"
"Wait how did you know I was the King of Hell?!" Hiccup mumbled. "I was looking for the right time to tell you."
"Mala spilled the beans on Girls night out." Astrid shrugged. "I think it was on our…. fifth Margarita."
"You aren't mad that I didn't tell you?" Hiccup asked as they walked to the registers with Ariana swinging from their hands between them.
"I already figured you must be some bigshot in Hell when you showed me that CEO title." Astrid shrugged.
"Most people are mad that I downplay the whole thing."
"Well I'm not most people," Astrid flashed him a smile.
"No you aren't. Most people won't use cacti as weapons." he laughed as Astrid playfully swatted him.
"Mommy where to next?" Ariana asked after they got out of IKEA. They had found a spot where there weren't any people and Astrid was shoving the rugs and shelves into Hiccup's expandable bag. The little girl found it funny to watch all morning. "Can I get a new toy?"
"A bit later sweety," Astrid said. "We still need to go to the mall and get some clothes and shoes."
"But that is soooo boring," Ariana pouted. "You take forever with shoes!"
"I do not!" Astrid rolled her eyes.
"You dooooo!" Ariana laughed.
"Why don't we see when we get to the mall." Astrid said. "Maybe if you ask nicely, Hiccup may take you to buy a new toy. But only one." Ariana turned towards the demon with big round pleading eyes.
Hiccup gulped as those pleading eyes bore into him. "Alright! Alright! Just as long as your mother does not need you to fit any clothes."
"YEAY!" Ariana cheered.
Once they were piled into Astrid's old car, which was a black Honda Civic station wagon from the 80's, they drove to the mall not so far away. It was a hassle to find a parking spot though and they had to walk quite a distance. Hiccup was giving Ariana a piggyback ride which the little girl seemed to enjoy. Once they entered the mall Astrid's eyes glimmered at all the sale signs.
"Mommy's in LA LA land now." The little girl pouted.
"Hiccup what size shoes do you wear?" Astrid asked as she rolled up her sleeves. Hiccup didn't really get why she had worn sneakers up till now. Once Hiccup had told her his shoe size she was off. She gave Ariana a kiss on the forehead and told her to be a good girl before jumping into the hoard that had assembled itself in front of a store
"Uncle Hiccy can we go exploring?" Ariana, who didn't seem all that concerned about her mother's behavior, asked. She patted Hiccup's auburn hair with her tiny hands as they made their way through the mall.
"How about we go in there?" Hiccup asked as he put Ariana down. The little girl squealed at the sight of the toy store. She grabbed Hiccup's hand and tugged it. Hiccup laughed as he was led inside.
Ariana led him to the Hot Wheels and Lego aisles instead of the Barbie aisle and Hiccup let her browse while he spotted a familiar figure.
"Snotlout?" Hiccup asked as he saw the shorter demon in a store employee uniform. "What are you doing wearing that?"
"Business has been slow for me," The shorter demon told him.
"I know some demons moonlight but… why a toy store?" Hiccup asked as he kept one eye on Ariana. The little girl was looking at all the toy cars and trying to pick one out.
"Well… I told them I'd be able to sell their excess stash of Furbies….." Snotlout groaned. "BUT NO ONE WANTS THEM! THEY ARE UGLY!" Hiccup nodded and was about to say something when Ariana's pained cry reached his ears. His head snapped towards her so fast that Snotlout thought he might get whiplash. There he saw Ariana in the aisle whimpering as a bigger boy yanked her pigtails.
"HEY!" Hiccup said as he marched towards them. "Let her go!"
The boy was startled by Hiccup's approach and let go of Ariana's hair. The five year old ran to her 'uncle Hiccy' and clutched his leg.
"Ariana what happened?" Hiccup crouched down as he eyed the kid that had been bullying the little girl. "He said no girls allowed!" Ariana sniffled. "But I like cars!"
"And you are allowed to like cars." Hiccup patted the girl's back a bit awkwardly. He wasn't the best at giving reassurance.
"David where are you?" A gruff male voice rang out and Hiccup saw a man approach from the other end of the isle. The boy who had been bullying Ariana ran up to the man and told him something that caused the man's gaze to darken. He glared at the little girl but Hiccup made sure Ariana didn't see it. "Leave that riffraff alone." Hiccup heard the man mutter as he grabbed the boy's arm and led them out the store.
"Ariana go pick out your toy," Hiccup told the girl after he dried her tears. "Let uncle Hiccy handle the rest."
Ariana sniffled but nodded. She was back at Hiccup's side with a set of 15 toy cars in one. Hiccup meanwhile had been talking to Snotlout who looked very happy.
"You got a deal man!" Snotlout flashed him the thumbs up as they went to the register. Afterwards Hiccup and Ariana hit the food court and the indoor playground. Astrid found them later while Ariana was in the ballpit. She saw her little girl playing happily and put her mountain of shopping bags on the bench where Hiccup sat.
"So…" Astrid quirked a brow.
'Soooooo?" Hiccup answered back.
"There was an army of Furbies chasing a man through the mall." Astrid crossed her arms. "Are you going to tell me you had nothing to do with all of that?"
"Well I didn't animate them, nor sic them on the man, if that is what you're implying." Hiccup shrugged. Afterall he had just bought them. Snotlout animating them was none of his doing.
-May the Prices be with you on your shopping sprees!-
AN: I was so surprised by all the response on this story that I decided to do a Black Friday chapter. I might add XMAS and NEW YEARS chapters as well but that will be as far as I go for this story.