Aging

...

After twenty-one years of marriage, Hiccup and Astrid are still in love. Ages: Valka, 64; Hiccstrid, almost 42; Stoick (Hiccstrid's child, not Hiccup's dad), 20; Finn, 19; Ingrid, 17; Erika, almost 13; Little Hic, 10 months:)

...

"Is the baby in bed?" Hiccup asked as his wife entered the washroom. He was sitting in a hot bath, relaxing after a busy day of chiefing.

"Not yet. Erika's rocking him for me, though," Astrid replied. Letting out a small sigh, she began to remove her armor.

"What are you doing, milady? I thought you were gonna wash my hair for me."

"I am. But I thought I could jump in there with you while I'm at it." Her shoulder pads and spiked skirt now discarded, she started to undo her braid.

The chief grinned. He loved when Astrid joined him in the bath. On occasions, they'd have sex in the tub, but mostly, they simply soaked in the warm water, enjoying the relief it brought to their sore muscles. While they soaked, they'd work knots out of each other's shoulders and talk about whatever came to mind.

Astrid placed her hair tie on top of her armor before grabbing a brush and working through her knotted locks, which had lost some of their shine as a result of aging. She didn't have any grey yet, but she felt that it could show up any day. But at the same time, other than her muscles constantly aching, she still felt as young as she'd felt when she was twenty.

Hiccup watched while his wife shed her clothes. Her stomach and breasts were a bit saggy as a result of bearing their five children, her thighs were thicker than they'd used to be, and she had stretch marks on her hips and bum, but he didn't mind. In fact, he loved her imperfections, especially since they were signs of having carried their kids. As chief, he could legally divorce Astrid and marry a young maiden who was at the height of her childbearing years and could give him a youthful body and more kids, but he had no interest in that. He was more than happy with the family he had.

"Mmm." Astrid closed her eyes as she sank into the water. She sat there in silence for a few moments before gently pushing her way behind her husband and starting the process of washing his hair. It was Viking custom for wives to wash their husbands' hair outside, but the Haddocks didn't follow that ritual all the time. On days such as this one, they preferred to carry it out in a more private, intimate way.

Now, it was Hiccup's turn to let out a moan at the feeling of Astrid's hands massaging his scalp and lathering his hair. Slowly, he laid his head against her chest, fighting not to fall asleep. Although he was just nearing forty-two years, he felt that he was getting too old for chiefing. No wonder Stoick had wanted to retire at fifty.

"Has Little Hic's fever gone down?" he asked eventually. Ten-month-old Hiccup Horrendous Haddock IV, nicknamed Little Hic so as not to confuse him with his father, had been sickly since birth. He'd arrived a month early, and for the first two weeks of his life, his family had questioned whether or not he would live.

"A little. We still need to keep an eye on him, though." Astrid moved her hands from Hiccup's hair to his shoulders, which she began to massage.

"And is Ingrid still out with Lars?" Lars was Tuffnut and his wife Brenna's son, and seventeen-year-old Ingrid's boyfriend.

"Yeah."

"I hope she doesn't stay out too late. She has dragon training in the morning."

Astrid leaned forward to kiss Hiccup's lips. "She won't. I gave her a curfew."

"That doesn't mean she'll listen."

"Well if she doesn't, she'll be grounded." The blonde scooped water into her hands and started rinsing her husband's hair. Once finished, she went back to rubbing his shoulders.

"Ow!" Hiccup exclaimed as Astrid pushed on a large knot near his neck.

"Stop being a baby. It has to come out so you don't feel stiff anymore." She continued to work out the knot. After she was done, she washed his back before shifting in the water to settle in between his legs.

"Alright, it's your turn," Hiccup said, gathering his wife's hair and gently guiding her down until she was leaning against his stomach, her blonde locks submerged in water.

"Give me a massage first," Astrid insisted.

The chief began to knead her shoulders and back. "Starting to feel better?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"How were classes today? Did the kids listen?" Astrid taught dragon training classes at the Academy, and was frequently faced with unruly students.

"They weren't too bad. I think they knew I was stressed out about Little Hic's fever."

"Yeah, when I went to pick him up from Mom's, she told me he was burning up this afternoon." Although Valka was in her mid-sixties, she still enjoyed babysitting for Hiccup and Astrid. "She said she even tried giving him a cool bath, but it didn't help much."

"I know. He was terrible earlier. He nursed for a good hour after breakfast just because he was trying to find comfort." Little Hic was supposed to be done breastfeeding, but there were still some instances where he wanted to nurse.

Hiccup lathered his hands and started to wash Astrid's hair. "So I caught Shoutlout spitting in the well today," he said after a pause. Shoutlout was Snotlout and Heather's youngest child, and their only son.

The blonde shook her head before leaning back to rinse the suds out of her locks. "Those Jorgensens. You've seen one of them, you've seen them all."

"I think you're forgetting that our son is married to a Jorgensen." Stoick had married Kari, the oldest of Snotlout's children, seven months ago. Kari was expecting a baby in half a year's time.

"I know, but Kari's a sweetheart. I mean, she was a handful when she was younger, but she matured nicely."

When Astrid sat upright again, Hiccup wrapped his arms around her stomach and leaned his chin against her shoulder, his small beard tickling her skin. "I still can't believe we're gonna be grandparents," he said.

The blonde sighed. "Yeah. That really makes me feel like an old lady."

"Don't worry. You're still as sexy as you were when we got married."

Astrid smiled and intertwined her fingers with her husband's.

The two sat in the water for a little longer before climbing out of the tub, drying off, and putting on their robes. They then made their way to the master bedroom, where they found Little Hic sleeping in his cradle.

"Hey, honey," Astrid crooned, placing a hand against the baby's forehead. To her relief, he felt cooler than he'd felt all day.

"Is he -" Hiccup started.

"He's getting better," the blonde assured before undoing her robe and climbing into bed.

"Good." Hiccup took a quick look at his son before following Astrid's example of removing her robe and settling in beneath the covers. Before he did so, however, he removed his metal leg.

The couple snuggled close, enjoying the familiar feeling of bare skin on bare skin. Now that they were older, nakedness more often than not didn't end in sex, and that was okay with them. They were more than satisfied with first taking advantage of how comfortable and open they'd grown with each other over the course of their marriage, and then also taking advantage of the fact that their kids were all too old to barge into the bedroom except Little Hic, who was too young to comprehend what was going on.

Hiccup wound his arms around his wife's waist from behind. "Goodnight, Ast."

"Goodnight." Astrid let out a sleepy sigh as she craned her neck and kissed her husband's lips.

The two were about to fall asleep when the front door opened, indicating that Ingrid had made it home safely. Her arrival was acknowledged first by Toothless, who let out a loud purr, and then Erika, who asked her sister if Lars had kissed her goodnight.

"He did," was Ingrid's response. Her tone was the one used only by young lovers who were just starting to realize their love for one another.

"Hey," Hiccup whispered in Astrid's ear.

"Hmm?" the blonde mumbled.

"I love you."

"I love you too, babe."