"How are my two beautiful girls doing this fine evening?" Hiccup asks as a form of greeting when he steps into his and Astrid's bedroom after a long day of chiefly duties around New Berk.
He doesn't hide his smile when he sees the sight in front of him. Astrid, his gorgeous wife who is in her eighth month of pregnancy, is seated on the center of their bed, with their three-year-old daughter, Zephyr. Astrid is braiding her Zephyr's auburn hair in an intricate plaited hairstyle.
Astrid's love of braiding other people's hair has certainly not gone away over the years; in fact, it only intensified once their daughter's hair started growing long enough for Astrid to braid. Of course, that doesn't mean Hiccup escapes the small braids his wife puts in his hair. Astrid will still braid his hair when they're lying in bed and catching up on the day or if they're in a council meeting together and Astrid gets bored listening to building project plans.
"I traced my name today, Daddy!" Zephyr proudly exclaims, beaming at her father with her bright blue eyes and a big smile. She had spent the morning with Hiccup around the village, sticking by his side while Hiccup did his work. She is definitely a Daddy's girl, and she loves to spend time with her father whenever she can. Hiccup dropped Zephyr off at the house after lunchtime to practice her writing with Astrid and to spend time with her mom.
Hiccup comes over and gives Zephyr a pat on the head, Zephyr squealing for her dad to not mess up her hair. "I'm so proud of you," he says with a smile, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "You'll be able to write it on your own in no time!"
"I practiced it a lot, Daddy," Zephyr replies proudly.
Hiccup smiles at her and rubs her shoulder. "That's wonderful, Zeph! So proud." He looks over at Astrid and kisses her cheek. "And how are you doing, Ast?"
"Sore. Tired. Wish I could be up doing things," Astrid replies, letting out a long sigh, which shows her annoyance and distress.
At the beginning of the week, Astrid had been having some contractions, which were usually nothing to worry about (just slightly uncomfortable sometimes), but these ones were particularly painful, to the point where she and Hiccup thought she was in labor.
However, the pain soon went away, but everyone was still quite worried about Astrid (especially Hiccup, which is no surprise). As to not cause any more problems with the pregnancy, Astrid was instructed to go on bedrest for at least the next week or so, which is definitely not something Astrid enjoys doing, considering how active she normally is, but if this is going to help the baby, then she's willing to do anything.
That still doesn't mean she enjoys it, of course. She wishes she was up helping her husband around the village or giving instructions to the A-team or training the young warriors around the village. But, if this is the healthiest and best choice for the baby, then she'll stay in bed.
Hiccup gives her an empathetic smile and brushes some of her bangs out of her eyes, tucking them behind her ear. "I'm sorry," he says. "Did Sigrid come and check on you today?" Sigrid is one of New Berk's midwives. She helped Astrid deliver Zephyr three years ago, and she will be there when Hiccup and Astrid's new baby is born.
Astrid nods her head. "She says I've started dilating a little, but it's normal, and the same thing happened around this time when I was pregnant with Zeph," she responds, tugging on Zephyr's braid for extra emphasis, smiling to herself. "She said it'll probably be a couple weeks until I actually go into labor."
"What's 'dilating'?" Zephyr asks.
Hiccup chuckles and reaches over and kisses Zephyr's cheek before turning back to his wife. Zephyr humphs, since her question wasn't answered.
"So, everything is okay, then?" Hiccup asks, looking at his wife intently.
Astrid smiles and nods. "Yes, honey. Everything is okay."
Hiccup puts his hands up in defense. "I'm just looking out for you!"
Astrid shakes her head and ties up the braid she created in Zephyr's hair with a band she had wrapped around her wrist. She runs her hand along the braid, and then squeezes her daughter's shoulder. "It's all done, Zeph!" She leans back on the headboard and places a hand on her stomach.
"Thank you, Mommy!" Zephyr exclaims, feeling the braid for herself, shaking her head back and forth to feel it on the back of her neck and on her shoulders. She turns around in her seat and shows it to Hiccup. "Do you like it, Daddy?"
"I love it," Hiccup replies, beaming at Zephyr. "You look beautiful." He reaches over and kisses her forehead, causing his daughter to giggle. Hiccup smiles at her before turning back to Astrid. "Do you need anything?"
"Some water would be good," Astrid replies, brushing some of her hair, which is let out from her usual braids, off her shoulder. "And a foot massage."
Hiccup laughs. "Of course, Milady," he replies. He presses a kiss to her lips quickly, pats her shoulder, and then motions to Zephyr. "You wanna be my helper, Zeph?"
Zephyr nods her head enthusiastically. "Yes! Yes!" she exclaims. She climbs off the bed, and Hiccup reaches down and picks her up, holding her close in his arms.
He kisses her cheek, and then looks over at Astrid with a loving smile. "We'll be right back," he says, winking at her. Astrid's cheeks turn slightly pink, and she grins back at Hiccup.
Hiccup takes Zephyr downstairs with him to the kitchen, where they get Astrid a mug of water. Hiccup also prepares a mug of tea with some herbs that Astrid's mother gave that might help her feel better. Giving Zephyr the water and holding the tea in his own hands, they return to the bedroom to deliver Astrid what she requested.
Astrid smiles when Zephyr hands her the mug of water, while Hiccup places the tea on Astrid's nightstand. "Thank you, Zeph!" she says, cupping her daughter's cheek for a brief moment before releasing to take a sip of the water.
"You're welcome, Mommy!" Zephyr exclaims as Hiccup sets her back down on the bed. He steps away and begins to take off his armor, leaving himself with his tunic and pants on. He walks back over to the bed and takes a seat at the edge, moving aside the furs covering Astrid there to reveal her feet. Hiccup takes one of them in his hands and begins to rub and massage it to relieve the pressure Astrid was feeling there.
Astrid sighs a sigh of relief and reclines even farther back on the headboard and her pillow. "Oh, that feels wonderful. Thank you, babe." Hiccup and Astrid have this routine, ever since she was pregnant with Zephyr, where, nearly every night, he'll massage her feet. Even when she's not pregnant and her feet aren't swollen, he'll still do the act for her. Astrid will return the favor by massaging his shoulders, which are usually incredibly tense from stress and chiefly duties.
Zephyr crawls over to Astrid and curls up at her side, resting her head on her mom's shoulder. Astrid smiles and wraps and arm around her after pulling some of the furs to cover the little girl. "Mommy, when's baby going to be here?" she asks.
Astrid looks up at Hiccup, who looks back at her, and they share a smile. "Soon, honey," Astrid replies, running her hand up and down Zephyr's back. "A few weeks, maybe."
"Hopefully not any sooner than that," Hiccup adds on. They don't want to risk an early birth, especially considering that they are in winter. He would love to meet his and Astrid's child, yes, but after seeing premature births and hearing stories about his own early birth, he knows it wouldn't be safe for the baby or for Astrid.
Astrid nods her head knowingly. "Are you excited to be a big sister?" she asks.
Zephyr nods her head. "I wanna see baby."
"Believe you me, I want to be seeing him, too," Astrid responds, kissing Zephyr's head and earning a laugh from Hiccup.
This pregnancy has just been particularly rough for Astrid, with morning sickness that lasted all the way up until the end of her second trimester (when she was pregnant with Zeph, she only had morning sickness during her first trimester), she's been even more fatigued than what she thought was possible, and she's had these contractions.
Plus, before this pregnancy, she and Hiccup had gotten pregnant when Zephyr was one-and-a-half, but Astrid unfortunately miscarried before she and Hiccup had even known they had conceived – only about a month into the potential pregnancy. It was hard, and it was incredibly stressful for Astrid, because she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to have any more children after that, but they were blessed eight months ago to find out that a new Haddock was going to be joining the family just after Snoggletog.
Sure, the pregnancy has been rough, and yes, Astrid definitely wishes she wasn't pregnant right now and that she just had their new baby here, but she is incredibly thankful that she and Hiccup got another chance to have a second child, because both of them wanted more than one child.
And, their dreams are going to be coming true within the next few weeks.
"But now would not be the best time," Hiccup reminds her.
Astrid nods her head. "Of course," she replies. "He's not ready to be here yet."
"Why not?" Zephyr asks.
"He's still growing," Astrid responds, rubbing Zephyr's shoulder. "He needs to stay in my tummy for a little bit longer before he can come out and meet you."
Zephyr nods her head knowingly. "I hope baby likes me."
Hiccup laughs. "Oh, the baby is going to love you," he says, looking at his daughter with such love and affection. "You're going to be the greatest big sister the archipelago has ever seen."
"Really?" Zephyr asks, looking up at Astrid.
"Really," Astrid answers, kissing Zephyr's nose afterwards.
Hiccup smiles at the sight of his little family. He can't believe how blessed he is to have such a wonderful gift – an amazing, gorgeous wife who is a brilliant Chieftess and mother, an incredibly smart, beautiful, and talented daughter, and a new baby on the way, who is less than a month from joining the world.
He's so lucky; the gods have certainly blessed him insurmountably with his family. His heart warms, and he can't help but smile when he thinks about just how incredibly lucky he is. Words can't even describe just how lucky he feels to be in his position.
"What are you smiling at?" Astrid asks, knocking Hiccup out of his train of thought.
Hiccup smiles at Astrid and pats the ankle of the foot he just completed massaging. "Just how much I love you."
Astrid blushes slightly, but she kicks Hiccup in the shoulder. "You're cute," she replies. "I love you, too, babe."
Hiccup gets on his knees and leans over, and, cupping Astrid's cheek, leans in and gives her a short, yet passionate kiss on the lips, Astrid not able to stop herself from smiling into the kiss.
"Gross!"
Hiccup and Astrid pull away to see Zephyr covering her eyes with her hands, sticking her tongue out in disgust.
Hiccup chuckles. "Aw, and I love you, too, Zeph!" he exclaims, reaching over to tickle her sides. Zephyr instantly erupts in giggles and laughter, rolling away from Astrid. Hiccup leans down and also begins to press kisses to her face, knowing that his beard will tickle her even more. Astrid shakes her head, but also laughs at the sight, her heart warming.
Hiccup stops after a few seconds, Zephyr taking in deep breaths to calm herself down. Hiccup pats her shoulder and turns back to Astrid, a proud smile on his face.
Astrid shakes her head yet again. "You're something else, babe," she says, wrapping an arm around his back.
Hiccup smiles and kisses her cheek. "Hopefully that's a good thing!"
Astrid rolls her eyes, but she doesn't say anything.
Hiccup turns back to Zephyr, who has now returned her breathing to normal. "You doing alright, Bud?"
"Yeah!" Zephyr says, giggling.
Hiccup smiles. "Well, how about you and me go outside and build a Snow Viking so we can give Mom time to rest, huh?" he asks.
Zephyr instantly sits up, her eyes shining brightly. "Yeah!" she exclaims, jumping down from the bed. "Let's do it!"
Hiccup and Astrid laugh at the sight. "Go get your boots and coat, and I'll help you put them on," Hiccup instructs. Zephyr nods her head enthusiastically and rushes out of the room to go to her own, which is just down the hall.
Hiccup and Astrid smile at each other. Astrid leans in and kisses Hiccup's lips quickly.
"You get some rest now, okay? Both you and the baby need it," Hiccup says, placing a hand on Astrid's stomach, feeling the baby's kick when he does so.
Astrid nods her head. "You're the best," she says.
Hiccup shakes his head. "That would be you, Milady," he responds, poking her nose with his finger. Astrid scrunches up her nose in response, and Hiccup just kisses her cheek. "I love you, Ast."
"I love you, too," Astrid responds, running a hand through his bangs so she could see his eyes. "Now, go have fun with our daughter."
Hiccup smiles at her, kisses her lips, and gets up from the bed.
Yep, he is incredibly lucky.
Please leave a review!
And, if you have any ideas for short one-shots like this, feel free to give me some ideas!
(Also, happy belated 10-year-anniversary to HTTYD!)