Neglected
...
This is a short fic set in my universe from Not So Ideal and Motherhood. It happens about three and a half years later. To clarify things for readers, I made this chart of the Haddock household:
Valka Haddock: 50 yrs.
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III: 28 yrs.
Astrid Hofferson Haddock: 28 yrs.
Ander Stoick Haddock: 7 yrs.
Flynn Jarl Haddock: 5 1/2 yrs.
Emmaline Astrid Haddock: 3 1/2 yrs.
Brant Alistair Haddock and Torben Giles Haddock: 1 1/2 yrs.
Inga Lizabet Haddock: 2 mos. (Just a note: her name means "hero's daughter" - thought that was cute)
SUMMARY: Three-year-old Emmaline Haddock feels lost and neglected amongst her five siblings. How will her parents make her feel loved again? Family fluff. Minor Hiccstrid. Somewhat OOC.
Also, tell me if you want more Haddock family stories like this:)
...
"Daddy!" cried three-year-old Emmaline Haddock as she ran over to her father and grabbed his arm. "Daddy, Mama needs you!"
"What's going on now?" Hiccup, her father, asked with his familiar crooked smile. He was standing outside his home beside his dragon, Toothless. The two of them had just returned from a flight.
"Dunno. She just told me to find you." The little blonde girl shrugged, the careless expression on her face reminding Hiccup of his wife, Astrid.
"Well, I'd best be going to see what's up." He lifted his daughter into his arms and carried her into the house with him. There, he saw Astrid sitting on the couch whilst nursing their newest baby - Inga Lizabet Haddock. "Good to see you, my darling," he greeted, releasing Emmaline before pressing a quick kiss onto the tip of Astrid's nose. He then pecked her lips. "Em said you needed me?"
"No, not really. I just wondered if you had made it home yet and she was getting bored with me feeding Inga, so I decided to give her something to do."
"So I rushed in here for nothing?" He plopped down beside her.
"Daddy, play with me!" Emmaline shouted, grabbing a stick from the corner of the room and waving it in the air.
"Watch it, Em," Hiccup reminded. "I don't want you hurting yourself or others."
Astrid twisted around so her back was settled against the arm of the couch, her bare feet resting in Hiccup's lap.
"But I want you to play!" the little girl whined.
"Soon," Hiccup promised, running his hands over Astrid's toes in a soothing manner. "Let me just relax with Mama for now."
As Inga pulled away from her breast, Astrid adjusted her clothing for modesty and kissed the baby's head. "How'd the ride go?" she asked her husband.
"Good. We took a little bit of a longer route than usual since he hadn't been out in a couple days." Between his family and his chief duties, Hiccup was finding that he did not have as much time to spend with his dragon. "Where are the other kids?" He moved his fingers down over the bottom of her feet and towards her heel.
"Ander and Flynn are hanging out with Fishlegs and Meatlug. The twins are napping."
"Oh, okay. Have they been driving you crazy all day?"
"Brant, Torben, and Em - yes. Brant and Torben got into a fight over their toys, then when I tried to take them outside with me to feed Stormfly, they ran out of the yard and started heading for the neighbors' bonfire." Stormfly was Astrid's dragon, who had found a close companion in Toothless.
"And what did Em do?"
"She hit Flynn, talked back at me when I told her she needed to help clear the table after lunch, and has been complaining all day that I couldn't play a game she wanted me to."
"Let me have a talk with her," sighed Hiccup, gently pushing his wife's feet off of his legs.
"Go ahead. I'm gonna get ready to pick up Ander and Flynn."
"Don't worry. I got it. I'll bring Em and we can talk on the way."
"You sure?"
"Darling, you look exhausted. Just stay here and relax a bit while the twins and Inga are asleep." He glanced over at his baby girl, who was resting peacefully in her mother's arms.
She smiled. "Thanks. And thanks for the foot rub too, babe. I needed that."
"You're welcome." He stood up. "Emmy!"
Emmaline ran out of the kitchen, a slice of buttered bread in her hand. "Grandma gave me a snack."
"That's fine, sweetie." Hiccup smiled. "And by the way, you're gonna come with me to get Ander and Flynn from Fishlegs' place."
"Can I ride on your back?"
"Sure." He knelt down and waited as his daughter climbed onto him. Once she was settled, he made his way out the door. "Em, I need to talk to you about something."
"Hm?"
"Mama said you were bad today."
"Was not!"
"She said you hit Flynn, then were disrespectful to her when she asked you to do one of your chores."
"But Flynn was a dumbhead!" she shouted. She had learned that expression from her mother, as Astrid often used it affectionately on Hiccup.
"Sweetie, that's not nice, nor is it an excuse to hit others."
Emmaline was silent.
"And you can't disrespect your mama, either. When she asks you to do something, you need to do it without complaining. You also may not keep bugging her to play. She's very busy with your new sister, and you end up making her mad when you nag."
"I hate my sister!" the little girl shouted.
"Emmaline Astrid Haddock, stop." He lifted her off of him and placed her on the ground so he could bend down and look her in the eye. "That is rude."
Tears welled in Emmaline's eyes. "Daddy, you and Mama don't even love me!"
Hiccup felt a twinge of concern. "What makes you say that, Em? Of course we love you."
She shook her head as her body began to tremble with sobs.
His heart nearly split in two as he took her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. She was only three; how could she feel neglected? Him and Astrid must have really went wrong - but it was most likely all his fault. It always was. His whole life had been spend screwing up.
Emmaline hugged Hiccup's neck and buried her face in his shoulder. "I just want you and Mama to love me!"
"We do, Emmy." He held her closer and continued to walk, making a note to himself to talk to Astrid about the situation that night.
...
"Astrid, I need to tell you something," Hiccup began as his wife entered the room, a sleeping Inga curled in her arms. Before their babies were able to sleep through the night, they stayed in a small crib in the master bedroom.
"Can you wait until I get settled?" She handed her daughter to Hiccup, who was propped up in bed with pillows. "Here, hold her while I brush out my hair and change."
Cradling the baby, he smiled down at her.
Astrid quickly undid her braid and worked the tangles out of her waist-length golden locks. When she finished, she got into her favorite silk nightgown, then took Inga from Hiccup and placed her in the crib.
Hiccup waited until his wife was snuggled up beside him, then gently pushed some hair out of her eyes and kissed her cheek. "Darling, it seems we have a bit of a problem."
"What do you mean?"
He narrated his earlier discussion with Emmaline. "It's just so sad," he concluded. "I mean, who knew she was feeling rejected?"
"I...I guess it's my fault," Astrid decided.
"No, it's mine. If I hadn't been so focused on my chief duties these past few weeks, none of this would have happened."
"But I'm to blame, too. I mean, I've kind of been devoting too much time to the twins and Inga."
"That's because they're the youngest ones. They need a little more attention."
"True, but I could still have been more mindful of our Emmy."
Just then, the doorknob twisted. Emmaline appeared in the room a second later. "Daddy, you didn't kiss me before bed."
Hiccup slapped his forehead. In his haste to get the children settled to sleep so he could talk with Astrid, kissing them goodnight had slipped his mind. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart," he apologized. "Come here."
Emmaline climbed onto the bed. After her father pressed a kiss onto her forehead, she crawled beneath the covers. "I wanna stay here."
Hiccup exchanged a glance with Astrid, who nodded her approval. "Alright, that's fine," he told his daughter, tucking the blankets about her small body. He watched as a smile lit up Emmaline's face.
"Hey babe," Astrid said. She moved closer to Emmaline, who separated her from her husband.
"What?" asked Hiccup.
"I need some love, too," she reminded, lightly punching his arm. After the distraction with Emmaline, he had neglected to properly kiss her.
"Of course." Leaning in, Hiccup kissed her lips. "I love you, darling." He then turned toward his daughter. "I love you, too, Em."
"Love you, Daddy," spoke Emmaline.
"I love you, Hiccup," Astrid said. "And you, Emmy." She kissed the little girl's cheek and pulled her in for a hug.
"Mama, I love you," Emmaline smiled.
"Come here, Astrid." Hiccup slid in closer to his wife and daughter and put an arm around Astrid's waist, causing the three of them to be shoved into a small pile.
Emmaline cuddled against Astrid's chest and gripped Hiccup's free wrist with her tiny hand. Astrid nestled a bit closer to Hiccup and laid her head in the crook of his neck. Not much time passed before sleep overtook them.
And until morning, they would all rest with smiles upon their faces, enjoying the love they shared as a family.
