Three of three on Feels. (I didn't forget, I just need to be in the right mood for feels!)
Not quite canon-compliant.
-HTTYD-
"Tell me again."
Hiccup felt Astrid turn in his arms, wriggling closer. He inhaled at her hair, smelling flowers and smiling at the memory of their wedding. They'd been so young, full of grief and loss and hope for the future.
Now all they really had was each other.
"She was a little shy, like me, but if you got her riled up then gods did you know she was your daughter. And the boy? He was still young, but you could tell he'd grow up with a sense of adventure and he was so loving. You could barely put him down some days."
It was a long-lost dream these days; after twenty years of marriage, they'd had to accept the gods wouldn't bless them with children, and so Hiccup had already chosen a successor, began training them. He apologised to his fathers statue and his mothers grave marker that the Haddock line had ended with him. Even told Astrid she could leave him and find someone who would make her a mother; she punched him square in the arm each time.
"Go on."
Her voice was soft, tired. Hiccup wondered if she wanted to fall asleep hearing the story and dream it for herself.
"It took longer than I expected, even after getting used to travelling by boat and how slow it was. But eventually, we found it. And there, through the fog and the waves... was Toothless. The Light Fury was next to him, just like I hoped" Hiccup felt the smile steal across his face, the image so clear in his mind "and they had babies. Little tiny things, black and white with big eyes and funny markings. He didn't recognise us right away, crept up on the boat like a protective dragon dad. You were worried, thought I might get eaten."
"That is the sort of thing you'd done before."
Hiccup chuckled.
"True. I just... did what I knew, turned away and held out my hand. And then he recognised me. He even brought Stormfly along, and she was so happy to see you. And we got to show them the sky the way we saw it."
Astrid's breathing began to even out as Hiccup told her his recurring dream, so he fell quiet to let her sleep. There was a solitary tear on her cheek that he wiped away, ignoring the stinging in the corner of his eyes as he pulled the fur up tighter over them and hoped she had sweet dreams.
-HTTYD-
In case anyone wanted some sad thoughts today!
