(A/N) Another chapter made partially by Pandamaster97720, and partially written by yours truly in the second half. Around 15 more chapters to go and this story will officially be finished of the different sections of Hiccup's life growing up with NF1, and also being as normal a young man he can be-with his own quirks of course. Thank you to everyone who follows along and we love your reviews!
It has been an eventful year. Dagur was working for Hiccup now after he spent three months working under Gobber and Mala's pregnancy was progressing smoothly without anything major happening although she was tired and sore a lot mainly due to the fact that she was carrying triplets.
Dagur was happy working with his brother and having a tight bond with him despite not knowing him until much later in life. He was happy that they met that fateful day in the park all those years ago, as he had learnt a lot from his apprenticeship with Gobber and now was working with Hiccup which led to him being able to see his niece and nephews on a more regular basis and spend more time with them when he wasn't working on an order for a customer.
Dagur's day consisted of working on customer's orders, taking calls for future orders, and scheduling connotations for orders. When Hiccup needed to do deliveries he would also hold down the shop in case customers came in to place orders and if needed would watch the kids if Valka or Astrid couldn't at the time.
All in all Dagur was happy with his life and job and couldn't wait to become a father. He had asked both Hiccup and Astrid for some parenting tips that he and Mala could use for their kids when he had the time, and the two Haddocks were more than willing to give them some pointers that worked for them. They made sure to let them know the key thing was to find what works for them by having a balance of nurturing and selling out punishment but having those punishment not go down the line of abuse or too much for a kid too young.
Both Hiccup and Astrid were willing to donate some of the baby stuff that they didn't need any more for their triplets and Dagur couldn't be happier to accept this generous gift from his half brother and his family. This would take a huge load off his and Mala's shoulders about having to buy all new things for their kids that they are expecting but there were also somethings they were going to have to buy new, but this helped out tremendously.
One day while Dagur was working with Hiccup, Hiccup surprised him and Mala with a baby-shower after work one day with all of their friends and family. That was when Dagur and Mala decided to tell them the gender of their babies in a creative way out on the field with colored smoke bombs that were black on the outside so the gender wouldn't be revealed until they lit them.
Two of the babies would be twin girls from the same eggs, so they would likely be completely identical according to doctors. The third was a much smaller boy, though despite his lack of much growth, there were no complications so far. The triplet's names were already chosen. The first born girl would be named Mabel, meaning adorable in their culture. The second girl would be named Dagny after her father, and their son would be Oswald II.
Astrid was standing next to Hiccup while they both filled a box of clothes with a few old toys they were planning on giving to Dagur and Mala. Astrid was cleaning the dusty toys off with a rag while Hiccup was putting batteries in the ones that didn't have any and fixing a few loose screws and broken pieces of plastic.
"I can't believe you brother is already having children, and triplets at that." Astrid smiled and she spoke, wiping off a rubber ball that was about as big as both of her hands folded into a dome shape. Not nearly small enough for a child to choke on.
Hiccup was quite for a moment, eyebrows creased in concentration as he thought about something. Astrid smiled, almost able to see the gears that turned in her husband's head. The twins were already sound asleep after getting their homework done and Stoick was in a light sleep in his own bedroom. The boy had given them some trouble getting him to sleep that night, but eventually agreed that he was indeed tired.
"I-I'm a little worried about him Astrid." Hiccup's voice was a little quiet and Astrid could tell he was stressed about whatever was on his mind because of the slight stutter-which had gotten infinitely better over the years and no longer caused him much trouble at all.
Astrid sighed as she looked down at the ball she was holding. Her hand cleaning it stilled as she thought. "I have to admit it, I had a hard time picturing Dagur being a father. He's got a past, and his own set of 'quirks'." She couldn't help but chuckle just a little bit because an image of Dagur playing too roughly with Hiccup when they were younger adults came to mind. "He's got Mala though, who has worked with children all her life." Astrid smirked mischievously at Hiccup who raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I mean...she could deal with you couldn't she?"
Hiccup rolled his eyes with a snort. "Haha, hilarious." His tone dripped with sarcasm, though his smile told her he wasn't upset at all.
"Not only that, but they both have a support system. They'll be fine, honey."
Hiccup stopped screwing the plastic cap back onto the battery slot on a light up toy their kids had when they were 2, a blush creeping onto his cheeks as he smiled with an eyebrow raised, not quite looking at Astrid.
"I've noticed you've started using that nickname frequently as of recently. Whatever happened to 'babe', though I know you say that too." Hiccup laughed when Astrid made a sound of annoyance, raising his hands in a 'I'm unarmed so you can't hurt me' gesture.
"You're over 30 Hiccup. Quit getting so flustered like we're teenagers again." She had to admit she liked his bashful, dorky side that was a bit more rare nowadays, even if she wouldn't say it out loud. Right now she was just teasing him.
Hiccup laughed once more, shaking his head before going back to work on putting the toy back together. "Thanks Astrid. I guess it's just natural for siblings to worry about each other, especially since I've already had kids and I know how hard it was in the beginning, even if we're only half siblings who didn't meet until we were in our late teens." Astrid smiled with a nod of her head. Hiccup did indeed consider his siblings close and he often worried about them. It was rare he even used the word 'half-brother' or 'half-sister'.
Once the box was taped Hiccup and Astrid went to bed after checking on Stoick. The boy was sleeping a bit uneasily, tossing and turning, but he didn't seem to be in a nightmare or any kind of discomfort.
Hiccup smiled as he left his son's room after checking on him. He found himself wondering if Dagur would be as keen to detail as he was when it came to his own kids, or if that was something Mala would be better at. He would judge Dagur based on his parenting as every parent was different, and he worried much more about Dagur himself being a father than he felt any kind of worry for his unborn niece and nephew.
A thought came to Hiccup and he smiled. Visuals came to his mind of Dagur playing video games with and running around the forge while chasing Helka and Asmund when they were younger and Hiccup needed some help so he could focus on the weapons he was decorating. Other memories of Dagur helping Helka climb the ladder to a slide at the park and talking to Asmund about love when they boy had gotten grossed out about Astrid kissing Hiccup in front of the kids, telling the boy stories about the magic of love and why kissing wasn't so gross after all, but also telling him not to kiss just anyone.
Dagur had been a great uncle to Hiccup's own kids and Hiccup had seen that many times.
He was sure his brother would be a great father too.
