4 weeks passed since that fight with the dragon queen, and 4 weeks since Hiccup had lost his leg, then fallen in to a state of unconsciousness. People were beginning to wonder if he'd wake up at all. Toothless never left Hiccup's bedside, he stayed there all night and day. Stoick would bring him fish to eat so he didn't have to leave Hiccup's side, he wanted to be there when Hiccup woke up finally. Stoick made some changes in the village, he now allowed the dragons to live on Berk with them as long as they were trained by himself, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins first.
Things to house them had already started to be built, like a barn and feeding stations for them. Berk was now a dragon friendly, peace filled village and everyone loved it. Currently Hiccup was laying in his bed with Toothless guarding him almost, when Hiccup began to stir slowly trying to open his eyes and look around. Toothless warbled, huffing a bit and nudging Hiccup's face. "Hey, Toothless..." Toothless now licks his face happily stepping on the bed frame to nuzzle him. "I–I'm happy to see you too bud." Toothless steps on his groin by accident. "OW! What–Uh, I'm in my house. You're in my house...!" Hiccup exclaimed.
He was in his dad's house, his eyes widened. The queen, the dragons, Astrid...oh his head hurt. Toothless was bounding around happily jumping on beams and knocking things over, "Okay oka–no, Toothless! Aw, come on..." Hiccup sighed then shifts to get out of bed, then pauses sensing that something is wrong. He peels back the covers slowly. What he sees startles, horrifies, and overwhelms him all at once. He takes a few deep breaths as Toothless jumps down looking sadly at him, feeling guilty.
"You...saved me...didn't you?" Hiccup asks him, Toothless nods. His booted foot touches down. Followed by a mechanical prosthetic in place of his second leg. It's an spring-loaded replacement, made of wood and iron. Toothless lands by the bed and approaches calmly, sniffing the new leg. He raises his eyes to meet Hiccup's, seemingly aware of what Hiccup is going through. Hiccup braces himself on the bedpost and tries to stand on it. He winces and stifles the pain, "Okay...okay..." But he stumbles with the first step. Toothless catches Hiccup's fall with his head and slowly lifts him up, stabilizing him.
"Thanks bud." Hiccup leans on him like a crutch. They take a few steps together slowly and their missing parts form a poetic silhouette as they make their way toward the door. Hiccup pries it open with a grunt and looked outside to reveal a monstrous nightmare flapping outside the door. Hiccup yelps and slams the door closed. He turns to Toothless, alarmed. "Toothless? Stay here, bud." Hiccup tells him then pauses and cracks the door open again. He peeks outside, his eyes widening. He allows to door to swing open, to see the nightmare now visible to be Hookfang carrying Snotlout on his back.
"Come on guys, get ready! Hold on tight! Here we go!" Snotlout instructs a class of newbie dragon riders follow him through frame on a variety of dragons. Hiccup was lost in awe seeing Vikings and dragons mill about by the dozen, basking on the rooftops, weaving along the plaza. No one seemed upset, there wasn't a sword in sight. Under the framework of a barn, a Nadder shoots fire onto a metal brace. It steps back to let a Viking hammer it into shape. Nearby, a Gronckle lands, carrying a tree trunk in his mouth. He shows a Viking what he's found. The Viking pats his head. Another Viking backs a Zippleback into a stall to check it for size.
Hiccup takes a step outside, finding his father waiting for him. "I knew it. I'm dead." Hiccup says in disbelief but Stoick only laughs.
"No, but you gave it your best shot." Stoick replies as he puts his arm around Hiccup, steadying him. He gestures to the transformed village. "So? What do you think?" Hiccup just shrugs, amazed. Below, the plaza, villagers take notice of Hiccup being awake and outside.
"Hey look! It's Hiccup!" They rush over, surrounding him with a hero's welcome.
"Hiccup, how you doin' mate?" One asks quickly.
"It's great to see you up and about." Another adds smiling. Gobber pushes through the crowd, beaming proudly.
Motioning to the prosthetic tail now he says, "That bit's my handiwork. With a little Hiccup flare thrown in...Think it'll do?"
Hiccup now coming to terms with his lost leg, smiles bitter-sweetly. "I might make a few tweaks." A few people laugh at his words since he was definitely the inventive type. For Thor's sake he built a working dragon tail, his eyes widened a bit. Toothless's tail! It burnt off in the fight. Suddenly Gobber presents him with a rebuilt saddle, rigging, and tail.
"Welcome home." Gobber tells him smiling softly. Toothless pounces on the crowd, crushing several unsuspecting Vikings under his weight.
"Easy bud." Hiccup tells him while rubbing his head. Astrid walks up and jabs Hiccup in the arm. Hiccup recoils with a grumble.
"That's for scaring me..." Astrid tells him firmly. Hiccup rubs his arm a little.
"What, is it always going to be this way? Cause I..." Hiccup gets cut off by Astrid aggressively grabbing the front of his tunic then kisses him deeply making him blush. People began to hoot and holler at the scene, Astrid pulls away blushing as well. "I could get used to it..." Hiccup smiled as Astrid smiles. Hiccup them remembers what Astrid told him before the fight, that she was pregnant with their child, fear seems to wash over his face while he completely forgets their surrounded by the entire village. "Oh my Gods...Astrid...The baby, please tell me our baby is okay?..." Hiccup asked quickly.
Utter silence fell over the area in an instant as Astrid's eyes widened, then Hiccup realized what he said. He just revealed Astrid was pregnant. And that it was their baby, all eyes were on them now. "What did you just say son?" Stoick asked right away, obviously in disbelief of what he'd heard.
Hiccup slowly looked over at his father, he'd completely forgotten no one knew. "Well they had to find out eventually...its not like I could really hide it anymore babe..." Astrid sighed as she lifted her shirt a little revealing the baby bump there, clearly much larger now without the clothing to hide it.
"Astrid dear...Yo–you're...pregnant?" Hildegard, her mother asked with wide eyes. Astrid sheepishly nodded to her parents, Hiccup now looked at Stoick who was also very much beside himself.
"And yes, Hiccup...The baby is fine. You've...been unconscious for a month since the fight with the queen." Astrid told him.
"Hiccup..." Stoick said in a warning tone, Hiccup winced a little.
"I'm in...trouble aren't I?" Hiccup asked slowly.
"You, Astrid, and her parents...my house. Right now." Stoick ordered. Without argument, Hiccup held Astrid's hand as he walked back in to the house and leading Astrid with him. Hildegard and Calder followed afterwards while Stoick brought up the rear shutting the door after Toothless came in and sat beside Hiccup on his back legs. Everyone took a seat slowly, eyes on the young couple. "Start talking, and don't leave anything out." Stoick demanded as calmly as he could manage.
Hiccup sighed as he looked to Astrid, then his father. "Its...really not that hard to explain dad...Astrid and I...have made love before. And now she's...pregnant." Hiccup admitted.
"When." Calder spoke up now.
"First time was...the night of my 16th birthday..." Hiccup answered quietly.
"First time? You've done it more than once?" Stoick boomed.
"Will you...keep your voice down please! Yes okay...Astrid and I have made love a few times..." Hiccup mumbled out.
"Hiccup, don't get huffy right now. This is serious, I've warned you about these things! We discussed them right before you started training dragons...I told you how serious this was then and if...she's...how far along is she?" Stoick asked quickly.
"Th–three months..." Astrid replied shakily.
"If she's this far along then she conceived the night of your birthday...Oh Odin son, that's why you were asking all those questions about underage marriage contracts...you knew she was pregnant and were afraid to tell me." Stoick slapped his hand over his face in defeat.
"Actually...I was asking because I was genuinely curious about it. I mean I am supposed to be chief one day, I might as well know. And for the record...I didn't know Astrid was with child until just before the fight with the queen..." Hiccup retorted.
"Wait...that's what you two were talking about?...So Astrid knew and didn't tell anyone?" Stoick asked.
"I–I didn't know I was pregnant until we were on the ship and I overheard Arvid telling Colden about Helga being pregnant...I just listened to the symptoms he listed off and compared them to my own...and then it just hit me. That's why I got sick, because I couldn't believe it...and when I saw Hiccup arrive at the nest, that he wanted to fight the queen...I was terrified to lose him, that...I'd have to raise this baby alone and it would never have a father..." Astrid looked down sadly, Hiccup squeezed her hand lovingly.
"I'm alive, as I promised I would be babe and you won't have to raise the baby alone because I'm here. You've got me, and my full support on this." Hiccup assured her with a smile.
"But this is not how it's done son, I told you all this that day. How did this happen, I don't want to know words for word or detail about the night in question but why in the name of Thor did you two have sex when you knew you weren't supposed too. Hiccup I told you as the soon to be chief not to engage in curious behavior...To avoid these types of mistakes." Stoick stared at them.
Hiccup now stood up angrily facing his father, "Stop yelling at me alright?! I just woke up 15 minutes ago and already you're starting. This...Astrid being pregnant might be a mistake to you but its everything to me. I will never regret my choice that night, and I will never leave her side. I said years ago I'd marry her and she and I would rule Berk as chief and chieftess together. That hasn't changed in my goals, I still want all that." Hiccup growled.
"But Hiccup..." Stoick began.
"No! No buts dad. Alright, as much as a shock it was to me to find out right before I went in to battle...my choice hasn't changed. I want to be with Astrid and we'll raise our child together. Astrid is carrying the next Haddock heir dad. My heir to Berk. And she's the woman I'm madly in love with so I couldn't be friggen happier than I am right now. And if you try and take this away from me...I swear to Odin on my mother's grave I will kill myself and no one will stop me. You've never given me anything else in life. I finally got your acceptance, and that you're proud of me...But this...a life with Astrid and our baby...this is what I want more than anything else." Hiccup said slowly.
Stoick tensed hearing Hiccup threaten to kill himself if he denied Hiccup this, there were ways to rid pregnancy in its early stages but Stoick knew if he didn't allow Hiccup to carry this through then Hiccup would never forgive him, and he'd kill himself on top of it.
"I befriended a Night Fury who is now my best friend in the world. I defeated the queen and set them all free from enslavement, I brought peace to Berk and ended a 300 year war...I know you're proud of me for all that. But the greatest thing I could ask for is your blessing on this. You told me my choices when I asked about all this stuff, the loopholes and marriage contracts starting at age 17...I'm not going to leave her, dad. I love Astrid...I always have and always will. I'm happy about this...You know I'll take care of her, and the baby. After all I've done the last few months, I'm sure you know I'm more than capable of it. You even said you felt I was ready to take over chief of Berk...I don't care about that...I care about Astrid and our child...Let me be happy Let...us be happy. Please?..." Hiccup asked calmer now.
Stoick looked at Hidegard and Calder now, their eyes having a silent conversation with one another while Hiccup and Astrid waited for a response.
"You're right son." Stoick finally said. Hiccup looked at him quickly, his father was agreeing with him. "I promised you that I would always stand beside you and be here for you no matter what so I will not go back on what I said. I won't risk losing you, not over the gift of life. I told you before that your mother and I...had a lot of difficulties conceiving and when we did...we lost them before birth, and after..." Stoick sighed lowering his head.
"So you're saying...you're okay with this? That Astrid and myself raise our baby?" Hiccup asked.
"Yes, Hiccup. That's what I'm sayin, but...I want her not being stubborn about going to Gothi if something feels off, ya understand? You are a Hiccup son and you were born early, you almost didn't survive...and I don't want you and Astrid havin to go through the same thing yer mother and I did." Stoick told him firmly.
"I promise I won't give any trouble about going to Gothi, chief." Astrid nodded smiling. Hiccup held her hand, both of them overwhelmed with joy that their parents were allowing this.
"Right then. And of course we want updates." Calder stated.
"And we'd like to know how you two came to this decision to well you know that night, and your plans for the future. Given the circumstances of well your ages...I'm sure your father filled you in on all the...legality matters." Hildegard added.
"He knows. You remember what I told you right son?" Stoick asked.
"I do. Given all...this can Astrid and I...you know talk first?" Hiccup asked.
"Well can't you just ask her now so we can handle all the legal matters?" Stoick blinked.
"Ask me what, Hiccup?" Astrid questioned curiously. "What are they talking about?" Astrid added.
"I'll tell you later...You wanted the story first?" Hiccup mentioned.
"Yes, continue on son." Calder answered.
"I–it's not his fault. I kind'a pushed him in to it..." Astrid admitted making the three adults look at her a little shocked. "Hiccup and I left his party after I gave him something that...he'd given me a long time ago. You remember those purple flowers I always came home with until I was like 10...Well they were from Hiccup because we were best friends when we were kids, and well I kept them pressed in my journal. I wanted Hiccup to know I remembered everything, that we'd been friends and made a lot of plans for the future, and I also remembered hurting him...He took me on a romantic flight to see the sunset, and northern lights...then we left Toothless in the cove and went for a walk to talk...I told him about the dream I'd had where I saw him kill himself, because I betrayed him...But in that dream I also realized how much I loved him." Astrid began softly.
"And after talking I decided to forgive her, told her I loved her back and always had. We...ended up making out and...you know the hormones of a 16 year old boy took over and...do I really need to keep going?" Hiccup asked nervously.
"No I think we get where it went from there, but Astrid why are you saying it was your fault?" Hildegard asked curiously.
"Because when Hiccup got aroused from making out, I told him it was okay that it was just a natural reaction and he said that he wanted me intimately. And I said to give it what he wants. I'm the one to go ahead and do it. He was against it because he knew those things are supposed to be saved for marriage and if anyone found out we'd be dead...Then got mad at himself for even considering the idea. He asked out right what I wanted so I told him I wanted him to make love to me. Little arguing later and it came down to us agreeing to keep it a secret. Then we just did it..." Astrid admitted boldly.
"And you two were gone for 3 hours so how long did this go on for?" Stoick asked next.
"Well my theory of how I got pregnant is the fact Hiccup has amazing stamina because we went for two hours without a break." Astrid remarked, instantly the color drained from Hiccup's face as Calder, Stoick, and Hildegard's mouths dropped open.
"ASTRID!" Hiccup whispered harshly in fear, oh Gods kill him now.
"I could barely walk for the first 20 minutes." Astrid gleamed proudly. Hiccup wanted to die, oh gods he wished he'd been killed by the queen right about now. "What did I say babe?" Astrid added innocently.
"You damn well know what you said!" Hiccup grumbled hiding his face in his hands as Toothless gave a throaty laugh, Hiccup picked up a bowl and threw it at Toothless. "You shut up, you're not helping you useless reptile!" Hiccup mumbled to his friend.
"All I said was you have amazing stamina and made it so I couldn't walk. Not my fault you are bigger in more places than your arms, Hiccup. You're not a 'Hiccup' in all parts babe." Astrid winked.
"OKAY!" Hiccup yelled, "I'm gonna throw myself off the cliff now." With that he started to head for the door but Toothless put out his tail and tripped him so he fell face first. "Bud! You're supposed to be helping me!"
"Well I think we...get the gist of it..." Calder blinked in shock having heard way more than he wanted to or needed to hear. His wife nodded agreeing while Stoick went over and gave Hiccup a pat on the back laughing.
"Ah good lad! Guess we do share some of the same qualities after all son! Yer mother said the same thing about me after our first time too." Stoick chuckled. "Well except that I wasn't a Hiccup but well you know what I mean."
"Yep, going to die now." Hiccup raced out of the house for fresh air, Astrid got up to follow him and then Toothless did the same.
"Well this has been a productive day." Stoick beamed.
"I think you scarred him, chief..." Hildegard stated.
"He'll be fine." Stoick said as he shook hands with Astrid's parents before they left and returned to their own home. Stoick sat down in his chair now, he was going to be a grandfather in 6 months. What could be better? Nothing.
Astrid and Toothless followed Hiccup in to the forest, they knew where he went too. The cove because it was his favorite place to be when he needed to think about things. Hiccup had taken off in a sprint there so they knew he'd get there before them. When they arrived they saw him sitting on a rock quietly staring off into the nothingness of the cove. "Hiccup?" Astrid asked slowly fearing she might have made him upset with what she said.
Hiccup looked over and saw her trying to climb down, he rushed over to help her so she wouldn't get hurt. "Easy babe..." Hiccup reminded her now helping her over towards the shack so she could sit down.
"Are you okay? I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable in there...was just trying to lighten the mood a little..." Astrid mumbled sadly.
"Its okay, I'm not mad about that. Could of used less information about my father's sex life but eh, what can ya do. That's how parents are." Hiccup shrugged, "I ran off because I needed air, I didn't wanna get the talk again or be pressured to ask you to marry me." Hiccup sighed.
"Why would that be pressuring, you told them you wanted too." Astrid asked softly.
"And I do, Astrid. But I didn't wanna do it on the spot in front of them. I wanted to make it special for you...They wanted me to do it there so they can start a contract up, then start the wedding planning." Hiccup groaned out sitting down next to her looking down.
"I can respect that. Hiccup are you...sure you're okay with all this? Us having a baby so young?..." Astrid asked him gently now, almost nervously.
"Of course I am, I wouldn't of said all those things in there if I wasn't okay with this. Are you alright with it?" Hiccup returned the question on to her.
"Well its...certainly new to me and I have no idea what kind of a mother I'll make but yeah, I'm alright with it. I don't know if I would be had it been with someone else, but with you...I honestly can't see it any other way." Astrid smiled at him now.
"Me either, I'm glad things worked out this way..." Hiccup reached over and held her hand in his, stroking his thumb over her knuckles. He leaned in now and gave her a quick kiss, she returned it fully before they separated. "I guess we should go back, you're carrying the Haddock heir babe. It's gotta be made in to a formal announcement according to customs and I of course, have to be the one to announce it because I'm heir myself..." Hiccup mumbled out sighing.
"We'll do it together, Hiccup. I'll always be right by your side, I promise." Astrid replied to him smiling. It was in this moment that Hiccup stared at her for a few seconds, she was radiant, a goddess in his eyes. He loved her with his everything, and he knew he'd never love another woman like he loved her. He wouldn't anyone else period, Astrid was the love of his life and she always had been since they were little kids.
"Astrid..." Hiccup started slowly. "I don't have anything to ask this with, but the way I see it...I shouldn't have to give you something to prove my love for you when we made love, and created new life together with that love. I suck at speeches so bare with me for a second..." He took a deep breath getting to one knee and looking up at her. "I love you, Astrid. I love you with all my heart. You're the only one for me, the only one I'll ever love. Without you, I'm nothing. I want to be with you forever and always, just like we said when we were kids. Astrid Hofferson, I promise to always be by your side. I promise to love you, care for you, protect you for the rest of my life. We've been best friends most of our lives, and now I am asking that you take on a journey with me...and become my wife. Will you do you me the greatest honor and marry me, Astrid? Will you become Mrs. Astrid Haddock?" Hiccup asked her.
Astrid couldn't help the tears that fell from her blue eyes, she smiled happily and threw herself at him. Astrid pressed her lips to his deeply then they broke apart. "YES! Yes I will absolutely marry you, Hiccup!" Astrid exclaimed. They kissed again laughing in one another's arms. Both of them were so incredibly happy and no one could ruin it. The past was put behind them, the present was amazing, and the future was only looking brighter and better for them. It was this moment that Hiccup realized sometimes all you need in life to be truly happy is that things always get better and all you need to do is just hold on.