Reflections

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Hiccup reflects on how happy he is to have his family:) Rated T for some implied thoughts about the kind of thing guys think about, lol. Also, sorry I was away so long. I started school, I moved, and I started a training program at my job.

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Hiccup grinned as Astrid let out a contented sigh and pressed her bare body against his. Even after five years of marriage, he still couldn't believe that the girl he'd had a crush on since he was ten - and then later fell in love with - was his. He could hold her hands, kiss her lips, and make love to her whenever they both wished, and there was no one to stop him. Well, sometimes the children were a bit of a hinderance to the last activity, but he couldn't get mad at them because first of all, they were adorable, and secondly, she had given them to him.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and began to rub circles onto her hip with his thumb. He knew that the moment they were having probably wouldn't last long; they'd soon have to get dressed and switch from being lovers who'd just ended a passionate session of intimacy to parents would need to change diapers, wipe away tears, and resolve childish arguments.

Astrid's eyes closed as Hiccup bent down to brush the blonde hair off of her face and kiss her forehead. It was usual for her to fall asleep after making love, and he wasn't going to stop her. He liked the feeling of her soft skin against his. It made him feel special. Not only did she trust him enough to lose control of herself when he pleasured her, she also trusted him enough to sleep naked beside him. He knew that no other guy had been privileged enough to even see her like that, much less to lie next to her. Not even any women had seen her like that. Astrid had always been too self-conscious to use the public bathhouses, as she knew that Vikings could be cruel sometimes. Yet she felt comfortable enough to completely reveal herself to him. If that wasn't an ego boost, he didn't know what was.

He slowly peeled the furs away from her skin and smiled at the sight of her body. Her stomach was bloated, her breasts were a bit saggy, her nipples were bigger and darker than they'd been when he'd first seen her naked on their wedding night, and her thighs were thicker than usual. But he didn't mind. In fact, he thought that five-months-postpartum Astrid was beautiful, because her body had changed in order to give him his first daughter - baby Ingrid - who was sleeping in the cradle beside the bed, her poor, innocent mind unaware of what her parents had just done.

His fingers traced the stretch marks on her tummy, which were leftover battle scars from the first two kids. Stoick and Finn were upstairs, asleep after a long day of running around outside and causing trouble around the Haddock house. Both of them had been surprise babies, but welcome nonetheless. Astrid had discovered she was pregnant with Stoick only four months after her and Hiccup's wedding. He'd been born on Snoggletog, three weeks sooner than expected, and a little under two months shy of his parents' first anniversary.

Finn had perhaps been an even bigger surprise. Astrid had been told that she couldn't conceive while nursing, but nine months after Stoick's birth, she'd noticed that her baby weight was increasing instead of decreasing. Upon visiting Berk's healer, she had discovered that she was almost finished her first trimester of pregnancy. Finn had been born three months after Stoick's first birthday.

After having the two boys, Hiccup and Astrid had decided to try for a girl. It took longer for Astrid to get pregnant than when they hadn't been trying, but it had eventually happened. And sure enough, they'd found out when the baby was born that they'd been blessed with a daughter. They wanted another girl, as they felt that it was only fair for Ingrid to have a sister since her brothers had each other, but were planning to wait until the infant was at least one year old.

Hiccup let out a happy sigh at the thought of his kids. He didn't know how he'd gotten lucky enough to have a beautiful wife whom he loved to death and who loved him back just as fiercely. He really didn't know how he'd gotten lucky enough for her to give birth to three children. His children. Their children. They were all so cute, the boys with freckles sprinkled across their noses and adorable grins, and Ingrid with her big green eyes and chubby baby cheeks. Besides, he saw Astrid in them, and that made them even more precious to him.

Smiling to himself, Hiccup fingered the birthmark that rested amongst the other marks on his wife's stomach before tugging the covers back over her body. Just as he was starting to close his eyes in an attempt to join Astrid in sleep, he heard Ingrid begin to fuss. Carefully slipping off of the mattress so as not to wake the snoozing blonde, he pulled on his abandoned leggings and fastened his metal leg. He then made his way over to the cradle and peeked inside of it.

"Hey, what's wrong, baby girl?" he cooed.

Ingrid looked up at her father with pleading eyes and let out a loud whimper.

"Come here," Hiccup said, gathering her into his arms. His nose wrinkled at the foul smell that hit him. "Oh gods, I think you need a diaper change. Let Daddy take care of that for you." Most fathers would be reluctant to change diapers, but Hiccup didn't mind all that much. Maybe it's because he'd done it so many times before. Or maybe it was because he didn't want his kids to be uncomfortable. Either way, he willingly completed the task, which pleased Astrid.

After cleaning up the infant, he cuddled her to his chest and kissed the top of her head. "You good now?"

Ingrid whined.

"What's up, cutie?"

"Give her to me." Astrid's groggy voice interrupted the "conversation" that her husband was having with their daughter. "She's probably hungry."

"Yeah, I guess I can't help you with that," Hiccup concluded, smoothing Ingrid's hair. "Go to Mama." He passed the baby to Astrid, who had just slipped into her underwear. He watched as she guided Ingrid to a breast.

"That's it. You eat. Get some pressure off of Mama's chest," Astrid murmured. "You know, soon we're gonna start giving you some big girl food," she added as the infant began to suckle.

Hiccup sat down beside his wife and kissed her lips, then bent down to kiss his daughter's head. "You are so cute," he murmured. "You know that?" He turned back to Astrid. "And you, milady, are just downright beautiful. Beautiful and sexy."

"I'm glad you find my bloated stomach and stretch marks sexy," the blonde said with a smirk. "Because I don't think I'm ever gonna look the way I did before having the kids."

"And that's okay. I didn't marry you for your body, after all. That's just a bonus." He slid behind Astrid and, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, rested his head on her shoulder as she finished nursing Ingrid. Once she was done, he took the baby from her. "Let's get you back to bed," he murmured.

Ingrid turned her sparkling green eyes to Hiccup's face. Grinning, she shoved a fist into her mouth.

"Yes, I know you're a cutie. You're a cutie that needs to go back to sleep," he said.

The infant laughed. However, her good mood didn't last long. The second her father tucked her in amongst the baby blankets, she started to fuss.

"Hey, it's nighttime. We sleep at nighttime. Daddy will still be here in the morning. And so will Mama. And Stoick and Finn."

"Just leave her be, babe," Astrid said while she slipped her nightgown over her head. "If you keep talking to her, she's really not gonna go to sleep."

Hiccup sighed. As much as he hated the idea of leaving Ingrid to cry, he knew that his wife was right, and so he reluctantly turned around and, after taking off his metal leg, climbed into bed.

"She's just extremely tired and cranky," Astrid said. "She'll fall asleep soon. If she doesn't, then we'll know that something's actually wrong."

"Can't we bring her into our bed?"

The blonde shook her head. She'd never been a fan of having the kids in bed with her and Hiccup. Sure, she'd let them in if they'd had a bad dream, or if there was a loud storm, but that was her limit. She wanted them to learn that bedtime was her time with her husband. Hiccup, on the other hand, had a weakness for every pout and whine the little ones gave him, and would allow them to cuddle up in bed with him and Astrid anytime they wanted if only his wife would agree to it.

"Poor baby," he mumbled, trying his best to block out Ingrid's cries as he wrapped his arms around Astrid's waist.

"Oh, stop being so soft-hearted," the blonde scolded playfully.

After letting out a sigh, Hiccup fell silent. It was only a matter of minutes before his daughter did the same.

"See?" whispered Astrid. "Told you she'd stop. Mothers are always right."

"Well, I do have to admit that you are a great Mama...the best on Berk, I'd say." He leaned down to kiss her lips, one of his hands moving down to squeeze her bum as he did so.

"And you're an amazing Daddy. Even if you do try to give in to the kids too often."

"Hey, it's not my fault that they're cute."

"Technically, it is, because they have yourgenes."

"No, the cuteness is all from you, milady. I just hope my baby girl doesn't grow up to be as beautiful as you. The last thing that I want is guys thinking about her in ways they shouldn't."

"She's not even a year old yet. We won't have to worry about that for a long time."

"I know." Hiccup sighed. "I just can't help but worry now." He ran his fingers through his wife's hair.

Astrid smiled. "Don't. Because I'm sure you'll scare away any boys who go near her before they even have a chance to think inappropriate things."

"I hope you're right." He buried his nose into her blonde locks, which were still a bit damp with sweat from the couple's recent activities, and pressed a kiss amongst them.

"Don't put your mouth on my sweaty hair," she said. "That's gross, babe."

"Hey, my mouth has been on your -"

"There's a baby in the room," she reminded him.

"A sleeping baby," he retorted.

Astrid sighed. "Just because she's being quiet, doesn't mean she's asleep yet." With a yawn, she snuggled in closer to her husband.

"The only time our kids are quiet are when they're sleeping," Hiccup insisted. "But that's okay. They're cute, and they're yours, so I can't get mad at them." He leaned down to press a lingering kiss onto the blonde's lips.

"Was that a goodnight kiss?"

"It can be." He grinned. "Goodnight, Ast."

"Goodnight, babe."

Hiccup watched his wife close her eyes before allowing his own to shut. He was soon sound asleep, yet he didn't dream. There was no use in dreaming when all he could wish for was what he already had in reality.