Thunderstorm

A/N: No, you didn't misread the title of the collection, and you're not going mad. I changed the title from Hiccup's Undersea Adventures to Tales from the Sea. You see, I recently expanded the AU I created with Out of the Sea, and now it is what I am calling the Sea Trilogy. That's right, after I'm done with Return to the Sea, I'll start working on the third and final installment of the series: Bound to the Sea. I'm incredibly excited and can't wait to share what I have in mind with you. As for this collection, I thought Tales from the Sea was a better title, in keeping with the Sea theme of the trilogy.

As for this story, I don't have much to say. It's some fluff with some Hiccstrid and daddy Hiccup, so…yeah, enjoy!

No one in the Haddock household liked thunderstorms.

Stormfly was the only one who was able to sleep through it all, unperturbed. She lay nestled in her little stable to the side of the house, her head tucked under her wing like a giant bird. But inside the house, things were quite different: every single occupant lay awake in tense, uncomfortable silence.

On his rock bed, Toothless growled quietly as a flash of lightning illuminated the room, followed almost at once by a deafening clap of thunder. The Night Fury flinched and pinned his ears flat to his head, a fruitless effort to block the sound out. He hated that noise. It was so loud and earsplitting, especially to his sensitive dragon hearing. How could any of the other dragons on the island possibly sleep through this racket?

Across the room, one of the humans in the bed shifted, and Toothless raised his head curiously. He watched as Astrid cringed, curling up into a ball at the next lightning strike and thunder crash. She moaned quietly, a sound full of fear and exasperation. When would this stop? When would the storm go away? When would the awful noise quiet down?

She gasped as her husband's arm snaked its way around her waist, his hand gently rubbing her abdomen. "Are you all right, milady?" Hiccup asked softly, his breath tickling her shoulder.

For a moment Astrid considered telling him that she was fine, that she just couldn't sleep because of the storm. But what came out of her mouth instead was, "No, I'm not."

Hiccup lifted his head a little, concerned. "What's wrong?"

Astrid sighed. "It's this storm. I don't like storms."

As if on cue, another crash of thunder shook the house, and she flinched, inadvertently elbowing Hiccup in the stomach. He grunted faintly but gave no other indication that he'd been hurt. "Yeah, I don't care for them much myself."

Astrid turned her head to look back at him. More to distract herself than anything else, she asked, "Why not?"

Hiccup hesitated, running a hand through his hair distractedly. "Thunderstorms…remind me of Excellinor," he admitted. "Of that night we faced her and destroyed her, you know? Remember how she conjured up that storm and tried to kill us?"

Astrid nodded, rolling over so that she faced him fully. Of course she remembered. How could she possibly forget?

"Well, every time I see lightning and hear thunder, that's what I think about," Hiccup went on. "I see Excellinor towering out of the ocean with Dad's hammer in her hand, waving it around and creating giant waves and whirlpools, with lightning flashing all around and thunder roaring in the background. I remember the look of rage and hatred in her eyes as she tried to kill me, and I remember how she looked when the lightning struck her, just before she started to disintegrate…" He shuddered. "Those memories still give me nightmares."

Astrid hummed in pity and pressed herself close to him. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I didn't know."

Hiccup wrapped his arms around her. "It's all right. Just something I have to deal with, I guess." He paused. "Why don't you like storms, Astrid?"

Astrid winced. She'd been hoping he wouldn't ask that. Hiccup noticed her reaction and frowned. "What is it?"

Astrid didn't say anything for a moment. Hiccup was starting to think she wasn't going to answer when she finally mumbled, "Thunderstorms remind me of…my parents."

Hiccup understood at once. Astrid's parents, the former chief of Berk and his wife, had been killed in a shipwreck when she was thirteen years old. They'd been on a trip to visit a neighboring island when their boat encountered a terrible storm. There had been no survivors.

He held her a little tighter. "I'm sorry, Astrid."

Astrid shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. "It shouldn't bother me, I guess. I wasn't even there when their ship went down. But I can't help it. Every time a thunderstorm comes up, I think about them…and how things might have been if they hadn't…well…" She trailed off, allowing Hiccup to simply hold her. His hands rubbed little circles on her back, and she relaxed into him, cringing when lightning flashed again, followed at once by a rumble of thunder.

"It's all right," Hiccup said quietly, his voice soft and soothing. "I'm here, milady. I've got you. We're safe here, I promise."

Astrid hummed quietly and allowed her eyes to close, nestling into her husband's embrace. Strangely enough, she felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Now that Hiccup knew why she hated thunderstorms, she actually felt a little better. He was so sweet and attentive, cradling her close to him to reassure her and offer her comfort. Truly she was lucky to have a husband who loved her enough to care like that…

"Mommy? D-Daddy?"

Hiccup and Astrid looked around at the curtain that separated their bedroom from their daughter's. Melody, her little two-and-a-half-year-old face scrunched up in fear, was standing there, her whole body trembling like a leaf in a heavy wind.

"Mel?" Hiccup asked, lifting his head a little. "What's the matter, sweetheart?"

"The…the storm…" Melody whimpered. "It's…oh!" She cried out in terror as yet another roar of thunder rattled the wooden beams of the house. She whimpered, her eyes brimming with tears.

Hiccup understood. "Come here, little one," he said gently, holding out one arm.

Melody didn't need to be told twice. She bolted toward her parents' bed and jumped onto the mattress, snuggling down between her mother and father and burying her face in the sheets. Hiccup smiled faintly and took her into his arms. "It's all right, sweetheart," he whispered to her. "It's just a storm. It's a bunch of flashing lights and loud noises, that's all."

"It's scary!" Melody protested, now snuggled up into her father's chest. "Why is it so loud?"

"I don't know," Hiccup admitted. "But you're safe here. Mommy and I won't let anything happen to you."

This seemed to soothe the little girl a bit. She relaxed slightly, though she remained pressed against Hiccup's body.

A flurry of motion caught Hiccup's eye, and he looked around in time to see Toothless rise from his perch and bound over to them. He stopped at the foot of the bed and climbed onto the wooden surface. The structure groaned in protest at the added weight, but it didn't deter the Night Fury from nestling down in the small space between Hiccup and Astrid and spreading his wings across their legs, crooning softly. "What is he doing?" Astrid asked, sounding bewildered.

Hiccup grinned. "He's protecting us," he replied. "See? He wants us to know that he's here and that he won't let anything bad happen to any of us."

Toothless purred, confirming his words, and Melody giggled. "Thanks, Toothless."

The Night Fury warbled in reply.

There was another lightning flash, and Melody winced, and when the following rumble of thunder sounded she buried herself further under the covers. Thinking quickly, Hiccup suggested, "Let's think about something nice."

"Like what?" Melody asked, her voice muffled by the sheets.

"Like…" Hiccup thought for a moment and then his face brightened. "…like when you went flying with me and Toothless yesterday. Wasn't that fun?"

Melody nodded. "Yeah. We went really fast."

"We sure did," Hiccup agreed. "And then we went swimming in the ocean. Mommy started a splash fight…"

"Which you lost, I might add," Astrid interjected playfully.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Only because you two ganged up on me," he reminded her.

Melody giggled. "You got so wet!" she said.

"Yep, I did, didn't I?" Hiccup confirmed with a chuckle. "And then Grandpa came up for a visit, and we all talked about life on the ocean floor."

"It sounds so pretty," Melody recalled with a yawn. "Can I go sometime, Daddy?"

"Someday, little one," Hiccup replied, smiling. "Someday, I'll take you down there. I'll show you the palace where I grew up, and we'll swim all over the kingdom, like I did when I was your age."

"Soon?" Melody asked. She was sounding very sleepy now. Her little eyes were closed and her face was relaxed.

Hiccup kissed her hair and answered, "Soon, sweetie. Soon."

Melody hummed happily, and a few seconds later she was fast asleep.

"I think the storm's moving on," Astrid observed, and sure enough the next rumble of thunder sounded fainter than the others.

"I think you're right," Hiccup agreed, nodding. "Let's try to get some sleep, then." He leaned forward, careful not to jostle Melody, and kissed Astrid gently. "Good night, milady. Sleep well."

"You too," Astrid replied, smiling. Soon she too had drifted into a slumber.

Hiccup looked down at the base of the bed, where Toothless still laid, his green eyes glowing in the darkness. He grinned and whispered, "Thanks, bud."

Toothless crooned softly and closed his eyes. Still smiling faintly, his heart swelling with joy and love for his family gathered around him, Hiccup did the same, and soon he too was sound asleep.