This is gonna be late because I spent the weekend in London doing absolutely no writing whatsoever! Then Chosen Two took two days to write.
-HTTYD-
Hiccup wanted to ask what it was about, but Valka was kissing him again and any coherent speech slid from his mind as she knelt over his lap, gorgeous belly pressing against his flat stomach wonderfully.
Eventually they had to separate to breathe, panting and holding each other tight and Hiccup had to fight for the memory of "no sex" for fear it would induce early labour. It was probably the only thing that could stop the two; the heat between them was blistering, undeniable and impossible to ignore once they both confirmed it still very much existed.
Something hard and metallic dug into his backside, prompting Hiccup to remove a bolt from beneath him and Valka actually chuckled.
"Maybe this wasn't the ideal spot."
"Come to bed."
His voice was rough, hoarse. Hiccup needed to see her there again, needed to replace the haunting memory of waking up with her gone. Valka managed to get up rather gracefully considering, Hiccup staggering to his feet as they abandoned the half-built crib and made their way to his room. There was more kissing and clutching at arms and hands and shoulders until both were dizzy, breathless.
"Tell me."
Valka didn't ned clarification for what he was asking, which was good because Hiccup felt like speech was almost entirely beyond him. Her fingers dragged across his cheek slowly, as though she were memorising his features that resembled her own so.
That was the worst part of missing her; he saw her every time he looked in a mirror.
"I couldn't stay and take advantage of you again."
Hiccup frowned.
"You what?"
Valka sighed, but didn't stop touching him as they laid on his bed on their sides, facing each other. Hiccup let his hand rest upon her bump.
"I knew you were lost and emotional and I should have been your mother. Instead I took you to bed and took advantage of how badly you needed someone. I felt so terribly guilty, and I knew if I stayed I would continue to do so. Giving you up a second time almost destroyed me but I knew it was what was best for you."
Hiccup didn't move, because he couldn't let go of her yet. But he managed to answer anyway.
"Best for me? You broke my heart."
Tears swam in green doe eyes, blinked away only to return instantly.
"I fared no better. I wanted to come back so many times... I just thought it better to have a clean break. The babe had other ideas though."
Hiccup felt the baby shift beneath his hand, tears thick in his own throat now.
"You lied to me."
"I know. I was selfish, I wanted that night to stay perfect so I could carry the memory."
"You stole my t-shirt."
"I did."
Hiccup rolled onto his back, but he pulled her up onto his chest because he couldn't look at her teary eyes, nor could he stop touching her yet.
"I spent hours frantic that Astrid would find it somewhere ridiculous and I wouldn't be able to explain it. Of course, there were a lot of things I couldn't explain."
He remembered covering love bites, hiding the scratches on his back. Throwing his bedsheets and clothes into the wash to scrub Valka's scent from them. Bathing until his skin was raw. Astrid hadn't seen the worst of it, but she had seen Hiccup teeter dangerously close to falling apart completely all the same.
He'd never really fallen in love before. Then came Valka with all the complicated baggage any one person could have with him and his heart had near leapt from his chest to land within her hands. Trusting her to take care of it. Instead, she had taken it with her to far flung countries, leaving Hiccup with an aching gap where she belonged now.
"It broke my heart to stay away, but I honestly believed it best for you. I was trying to be a mother for just a minute, after failing so completely when we were together."
She reached for his hand and Hiccup considered rejecting her touch, but even now he wasn't capable of it. Words fought for position in his throat, honesty tumbling free at last.
"I'm not entirely blameless there either."
"What do you mean?"
"I told myself if I had any feelings like that, I would cut off contact. And if we're talking taking advantage, you had waited so long to meet me. I knew it would be overwhelming for you, and I should have been the one to stop it because I had a clearer head."
The whole thing was a disastrous mix of biology and psychology clashing in so many ways it ought not to have done, but the deed was done. They were having a child together. They'd fallen hard and Hiccup didn't think either wanted to be sanctified from it.
Valka was crying silently now, tears dampening the material of his clothes and her sparrow-like shoulders trembling slightly.
"I'm so sorry Hiccup."
"Me too."
They fell silent for a while, embraced as they were and both victims of silent tears.
"Don't ever promise you'll stay again. I can't... I couldn't take it again."
Valka bit her lip - his lip - and nodded.
"I understand."
Anything else Hiccup had to say was immediately silenced by movement against his hip, Valka's bump shifting again.
"Can I?"
She nodded immediately, moving to half on her back, half up on her elbows as Hiccup pushed up her top and his fingers flexed over the bare, scarred skin of her belly. The baby - his son - kicked up, letting them know he was there and alive and vital.
"I never expected this."
"Nor I."
"I thought..." Hiccup took a deep breath "I thought you resented me for it. For interrupting you doing what you loved."
Valka shook her head, placing her hand over his and squeezing it gently.
"Never. I just told myself that if I was going to come back, it had to be for the baby. Not for... this. Because I was certain by then your feelings would have faded and my attentions would be unwelcome. Practical. Not sentimental."
"And how is that working out for you?"
"Terribly. I've almost broken my promise to myself so many times" she reached up, touching his face gently "but you seemed so... afraid of me."
Hiccup shook his head, turning to press a kiss against her wrist before he could stop himself. There was a fresh scar on the side of her forearm, thin and jagged.
"I was trying to control myself. You don't make it easy. What happened here?"
"Oh, a mishap when building shelters. Nothing dangerous."
He frowned slightly, pressing a kiss to the raised skin.
"It might have been dangerous for him."
"I know, but I had no idea I was pregnant. Putting myself at risk is far different to putting the little one in harms way. I would never do that intentionally, you know that don't you?"
Hiccup nodded, still caressing the firm swell of her stomach.
"I do. But you must have been concerned for everything that could have happened while you were out there when you found out?"
"Oh, of course. But I'm confident that nothing negative happened to the little one because of my job."
Something about her choice of words made Hiccup think.
"You think something else caused him to be undersized and have a birth defect don't you?"
Valka bit her lip again, nodding.
"I'm not ignorant to the fact there are reasons animals aren't supposed to mate with close relatives. I've seen it in animals in captivity, even in villages with small human populations and limited understanding of genetics."
"You... you think we caused him problems?"
It was a possibility Hiccup had been steadfastly trying to ignore until then, but hearing Valka as good as say it was a blow to his attempt at ignorance.
"There is no way to know for certain until he's born and can be tested for chromosomal abnormalities but... you were a small, premature babe and now you're a grown man, strong and beautiful and miraculous. I have every faith our son will be just fine, even if he's a little different."
Her fingers continued to trace lightly over his stubbled jaw, soothing Hiccup with her words and her touch. As if to drive the message home, the baby gave a strong kick.
"See? He's just fine."
Valka sat up more, bringing her face within reach and Hiccup couldn't help but to kiss her again. She sighed softly against his lips, cupping his jaw more firmly and tracing the sharp bone at the edge. He kept kissing her until his lungs ached, until his head was spinning. It was intoxicating and terrifying all at once, fearing that it was all too good to he true and that if he stopped she might vanish like smoke between his fingers.
"Hiiiiiccupppp?"
Astrid's voice forced them apart, something not quite guilt and not quite panic in Valka's face probably reflecting his own. Hiccup drew in a couple of deep breaths, trying to steady himself.
"Stay there."
Valka nodded, craning her neck to press her lips to his again. Checking he wasn't rejecting her. Hiccup indulged it instantly, but pulled away too soon for eithers liking lest Astrid come looking. Tugging his hoody down over his erection, Hiccup stumbled awkwardly out of his bedroom to see Astrid investigating the half-assembled crib.
"Where's Valka?"
"I was just checking on her, she needed a lie down."
His face felt warm. He hoped Astrid didn't think he looked flushed.
"In your room?"
Hiccup had become quite good at thinking on his feet. Ah. Foot.
"You want the dizzy pregnant woman to climb stairs with only a clumsy amputee for safety?"
"That is a very good point. I'm not staying long anyway, I left my Wonder Woman t-shirt here and I need it for work. How was the baby scan?"
Hiccup relayed the concern for prematurity and the babies weight. He didn't add on Valka's concerns that their incestuous union had potentially caused either.
"Well, you turned out alright but yeah, fingers crossed she holds out a few more weeks. If anything happens you'll call me?"
"Right after her doctor friend and 999."
Astrid smiled, dashing past for the stairs to raid her room - she hadn't taken everything when she moved out. She appeared back soon after clutching a Wonder Woman pattern t-shirt, which she folded into her bag to undoubtedly crease terribly.
"What's it for?"
"Some charity superhero thing? I don't know, they just said it was themed and I told them I'm not wearing a silly hat. Everyone else will probably be in daft onesies, I'll stand out having separate top and bottom clothing."
"You do like to stand out."
Astrid grinned.
"Damn straight. Anyway, I gotta get going since I promised Dagur I'd help clean out his garage today. Enjoy playing Lego with a baby bed and I hope Valka feels better later etcetera etcetera aaaand breathe!"
She reminded herself, drawing in a couple of deep breaths and Hiccup chuckled. She gave him a hug that he had to angle quite carefully, then bent to give Toothless some affection before vanishing out of the door again within minutes. Hiccup let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding, torn between finishing building the crib now Toothless had noticed the pieces and going back to where Valka was waiting.
Valka won out; Hiccup shooed the dog from the living room and closed the door before moving back toward his bedroom. Part of him expected her to be gone again but she hadn't moved, was still comfortably central on his bed. Her mouth moulded to his, fingers burying themselves in his hair and he was addicted, a slave to the feel of her lips moving against his own.
"I missed you."
The whisper slipped from him without conscious thought.
"And I you my beautiful boy."
Valka returned the sentiment between softer pressing of lips; this wasn't foreplay, there was nowhere to build up to now but gods Hiccup was compelled to touch her all the same. Valka didn't resist in the slightest when Hiccup cupped her belly, finally able to stroke and rub over the bump as he had ached to for weeks now.
Only the reminder Valka and the baby needed all the nourishment they could get got Hiccup to leave that warm cocoon of intimacy upon the bed, but the walls had come down and even as he cooked and fiddled in the kitchen there were arms around his waist, kisses to his cheek and forehead. Valka never had to stretch; she was still taller than him.
That night, assembled crib up in his room, Hiccup dared not sleep. Valka slumbered next to him, special pillow tucked beneath her belly and little else impeding his view and touch of her bare body.
But he couldn't settle, not after last time when he'd woken to find her gone.
Valka noticed he hadn't slept, stroking over his cheeks and her sleep-warmed skin felt wonderful. Soft kisses littered his stubbly cheek; Hiccup knew he should shave that day before he started getting too scruffy.
"I know you don't want my promises, but you could at least think practically here. I can't move very well, nor can I fly in my third trimester. And in case it wasn't clear, this is very much where I want to be right now."
She had to leave the bed for the bathroom, but she returned to the warm blankets and bade Hiccup do the same once he had brushed his teeth. He detoured to let Toothless out before the mutt licked his way through the back door, then crawled back beneath the sheets into welcoming arms soon after.
The lazy morning cuddles definitely did the trick, Hiccup feeling less adrift and nervous when they rose for the breakfast a certain developing baby was demanding. Valka was back to being tactile and affectionate and Hiccup thrilled in every touch.
"You're meant to be taking it easy."
Valka pouted slightly, petulant with the restrictions on her usual activity.
"It's walking. I'm allowed to do gentle walking and you are no marathon sprinter."
Hiccup eventually relented, mostly because he didn't want to he apart from Valka again but also because she was so clearly frustrated with the almost constant resting. Toothless was ecstatic to have extra company on his walk, but then he always was.
While they sat on the bench, Hiccup finally got around to answering a message from Stefan. He felt a little awkward about it now he and Valka were rather rekindled, when Stefan had sought somebody who knew how hard it was to resist. Hiccup couldn't resist Valka.
"Are you alright?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Just answering a message from someone at the adoption group."
"You're making friends there then?"
Hiccup tapped his phone against his leg before looking round to ensure they were presently alone in the field.
"He could tell I understood. When he was talking about GSA..." Hiccup wondered if this was breaking confidence, but who would Valka tell? "Finding his biological father was tough. His dad and two half brothers weren't much interested, but he and his half sister..."
"Are like us?"
It sounded so much more simple like that, when it was anything but simple.
"I don't know that they actually did anything, but the feelings are there. Everyone at the group was really supportive of him talking about it, and a couple had stories of one sided feelings but nobody else seems to be the one that felt it. Apparently, Stefan could tell I had."
"Did you... tell him?"
Hiccup shook his head.
"Gods no. Well, I admitted I knew what he was talking about but as you may know, I'm no social butterfly. Plus Astrid was there with me."
Nodding in understanding, Valka ran her fingers over the exposed skin of his neck. Hiccup shivered slightly, hand curling around the side of the bench. He had missed her touch acutely.
"Do you think one day you'll tell her the truth?"
Hiccup shuddered, any budding heat extinguished easily by such a thought.
"Yeah. But when I'm confident she doesn't need me anymore. That way, when she wants nothing to do with me I won't be so worried about her."
Valka frowned slightly, green eyes glancing across to where Toothless was rolling in mud. Somebody needed a bath that day.
"You're so certain that will happen?"
Hiccup nodded.
"I don't think the possibility has even occurred to her. When Stefan was talking about GSA, Astrid only brought it up in relation to the baby with me. The only time it's come even remotely close was when I told her you were pregnant. Even then I think it was that she misspoke."
The conversation waned after that, but Valka still returned to his bed. Hiccup even managed to sleep that night, waking up to an empty but warm bed and the open door to the bathroom spilling light into the narrow hallway.
Each day Valka was pregnant Hiccup crossed off on the calender, keeping count now that every day mattered. Her scan showed nothing worrisome, but the mad doctor woman was still highly concerned about premature labour and re-iterated her warnings to Valka about resting and eating. Given that she spent much of her time rather agreeably immobile in Hiccup's embrace, it was no longer a tough sell.
The pain started just shy of eight months, but both mother and doctor said it was expected; the baby was shifting and preparing to be delivered soon and the weight was pressing down between Valka's narrow hips. Hiccup put his wheelchair next to his bed - their bed - anyway, just in case.
Baby products started to appear in various locations; nappies in the airing cupboard and Sudocrem in the bathroom cabinet. There were bottles and sterilising fluid piled up in the otherwise empty cupboard with a sign Dagur drew on fridge-note-paper saying "BABY!". Despite them all being put away ready, Hiccup kept finding toys all over the place and suspected Toothless, though he never proved it.
Both soon-to-be-parents were on edge more and more, knowing they were on the look out constantly for any sign of early labour. Hiccup was in the kitchen making caffeine-free tea when he heard his name cried out, thankful for his better prosthetic when he made it to Valka quicker. There was blood on the bedsheet beneath her and she was clutching her stomach, face pale and taut with pain.
"Somethings wrong."
-HTTYD-
Well, I'm finally caught up! Now for curly fries and then Halloween Roulette!