Yup. Newest chapter! Enjoy it!
The seventh month.
At the Hidden Hot Springs. Warm and toasty on this chilly fall day. No longer did warm sun bask everyone in sweat, it was brisk winds and frosty nights. Winter came fast here, as it always does.
Hiccup watched his sister, they were alone together at the hot springs they had found. Her baby was so visible, obvious to everyone. Last month she looked big, this was new and different.
Belle wanted a bath, so she pulled off her red dress. Hiccup shielded his eyes. He is always cautious not to stare at his sister, but this time he looked.
She was already sitting down. Her bare back moved as she shifted into the hot water. He bit his lip, he knew he shouldn't have done that. He closed his eyes and tried to forget about what he did.
But a few seconds later Isabella's voice rang out loud to him. "Hiccup! Come on! You can get in to, we'll just sit with our backs to each other."
He stands up, his long legs clashing, sending him flat on his face.
"You look nervous, you okay?" Belle asks. "Ermfrn." He mumbles. But she just laughs, she knows he meant, "I'm fine."
He stands up and walks to the edge of the water. I sink my chest below a rock and watch him. Just my neck and head showing.
He grabs the leather pieces on his flight suit and unhinges them, the top half falling to the ground in one motion. A small grey tunic frames his bod.
He undoes his belt, and then slowly drops his pants down, some thin black leggings almost, keep the rest of his body covered.
I watch him grab at the tunic. And take it off slowly, his ripped and worked out abs are pale and look a bit grimy from not being washed to recently.
"Please turn away." He says as he shuffles his prosthetic. I laugh, "What! You aren't going to put on a show for me?" I joke and fling my right arm up into the air. Sending drops of water with it.
He turns his head away and scrunches his eyes closed. Her right breast had bounced and started to come in to view from behind the rock when she flung her arm up. He knew he didn't see anything, but he bet if he looked right then he could see things he did not want to see of his sister.
I quietly move back into place behind the rock. "I'll just turn away now..." I say awkwardly.
Hiccup nods at me and makes sure I turn around before taking off his pants and climbing in to the hot water quickly.
I hear him wade up to the rock I'm behind. "Now we can sit close and face each other without seeing, things." He says.
I nod and turn around. Green eyes and slightly damp hair look over at me. We wash and enjoy the warm water, sitting in silence at times or having short conversations.
Almost an hour later I start to shift my position. "I'm getting out. I think the baby is hungry." I say as I grunt from another kick in the stomach.
Hiccup looks at me from the corner of his eye. "Okay. I'll get out to. Belle, once we've got clothes on of course, can I just sit, and feel the baby kick? You know what, never mind. That's stupid…." He says.
I grab my thin blanket. "That's not stupid. We can sit and do that." I reply and splash water at Hiccup, who is still sitting naked on the other side of the rock. Shakes his head as the water splashes on to his face.
I throw him a blanket which he catches in mid air and wraps around his waist before anything shows.
Isabella had turned around, but she now showed her side off to him, the thin blanket moved and through the cloth as the sunlight hit it, he could make out the outline of her chest. He had always known his sister was very pretty, but he had never taken note of her features. He had every curve and feature of Astrid's body down like it was his own hand. But Belle? He just knew the basics.
With the sudden sunlight hitting her face, and the blanket hiding her stomach she looked gorgeous. He had never noticed the way her hair curled at the end, or how her nose was so straight and barely curved.
Or how long her eyelashes are and how pink her lips are. He hated Rye, more so now than ever, but he suddenly understand what the man meant.
Belle's chest is large and her waist is small when she isn't pregnant. She tapers down at her ribs and then her hips flare out a bit and let her extremely long legs look even longer. Her wrists and ankles are dainty, and her fingers are long and move in separate motions. He had never seen her like this, but she is his gorgeous little sister. And now he will get to feel the movements of his future possible gorgeous little niece.
A few days later I am sitting with Astrid in the house. Dad and Hiccup working together at a meeting about some silly argument to people in the village are having.
"So I hope I can get-" I am cut off by a knock at the door. "I'll get it." Astrid says, she uses the tool Hiccup had built her so she could stand up easier. She shuffled cautiously to the door, still having trouble walking and moving.
She opens the door and we see Ruffnut standing there. "Hi guys…." She groans and steps inside. "What's wrong?" I say and join Astrid as we stand next to our female friend. Ruffnut looks at us. "I've kinda got this thing for Fishlegs, and I want to look pretty for him, but I'm only me." Our jaws drop a bit but I shut mine and clear my throat.
"Well. I never thought it would be you and FISHLEGS, but, we'll see if we can pretty you up." I say and wink at her. I've never seen Ruffnut give an actual smile of gratitude, but I think I just did.
We sit down and start getting ready to help her. "Do you have some sort of dress?" I ask her. She moans a bit. "Yes. A purple one my mom got me a long time ago… But it's got a long skirt and long sleeves and a high collar…." She answers. "Go get it." Astrid says and I nod in agreement. I fetch a knife and some purple thread I got from Hiccup, which he got from Johan.
Ruffnut returns with a ridiculously modest dress. "Let's get to work." I say and pick up the knife. I cut off the sleeves, "I don't know about now, but in my time we show some skin to attract the men." I start making a V-Neck at the top of the dress, stitching it back up so it now had a very deep and open plunge.
"Ow." Astrid says. "I'm terrible at sewing!" She says. I grab three chunks of the purple thread. "Okay, then tie these all together at the top and braid them." I say and hand them to her. She smiles gratefully and begins to braid them.
Ruffnut watches me start at the hem of the dress. I cut off a foot and a half of the fabric and lay it in a scrap pile. Now the hem will fall just above her knees and look flirty and playful, if that even exists here in viking times.
I stitch the hem and then take the finished braids of purple thread, they are like rope now, and I stitch them carefully onto the dress so it has some sleeves. I like the finished product, pretty and sort of dainty, but very action ready and strong.
"Try it on and then we'll fix your hair!" I exclaim. Astrid laughs like Ruffnut will actually do that, but she does.
The dress looks good on Ruffnut, with her big eyes and pale skin with small freckles and very light hair. I jump up and undo her braids. then I fix them in soft loose pieces to frame her face and a very pretty and loose bun. "Thank you so much Belle! And you to Astrid!" She says and starts for the door. "You're welcome!" Astrid and I reply almost in unison.
As he opens the door without paying attention she bumps straight into dad. "Sorry chief!"She says and starts off in a run. "Who was that?" Hiccups says as he steps in behind dad.
"Ruffnut." Astrid and I reply, this time in perfect accidental unison. Hiccup forms an oh with his mouth and turns pointing a finger at where the young woman took off running. He shakes his head as we start to giggle. "That, was, Ruffnut?!" He says.
"Yes. We fixed her up a bit. She's trying to score a date with Fishlegs." I say and wink at Hiccup. He stares at us with disbelief. "Guess love is in the air." He says buts I cut him off. "In the almost beginning of winter?" I say with a very dumb look on my face. Hiccup rolls his eyes. "I don't know, but rumor is, is that Heather, remember her? Is moving to Berk with her parents. And Snotlout, he is trying to make himself 'better' so he can impress her." He finishes and starts laughing.
I'm really not sure why he thinks this is so funny, but with Snotlout it is a bit humorous.
Dad sits down in his chair. "So, how is the baby doing today?" He asks, I rub my belly a bit. "I think it's doing great. Very active today," I reply. Dad chuckles, "Can I feel?" Hiccup pipes up as he stops rummaging through a box of veggies.
"Sure. You can all feel if you want." I say and smile at them. Hiccup walks over, a little bit of a hopping motion added to his steps.
He bends over and puts a hand on my stomach. He grins as he feels a few kicks. "Hi little guy, or girl, I'm your uncle Hiccup!" He says. I smirk, Hiccup is adorable, he acts like a little kid but he is also a very strong man.
He backs up and dad moves over to me, "My turn." He says. He puts his large hand on me and seems to have a small flood of memories wash over him, if I'm reading his expression correctly. He smiles peacefully.
He looks into my eyes says to everyone, but more directly to me. "I can't believe, that my first grandchild will be here in a few short months. The Gods blessed me with you Belle, but this is another shot of mead to my mug. Hopefully before Snoggletog, I'll be bringing my grandchild into the tribe." He says like he is giving a formal speech rather than talking to his two children and daughter in law.
Hiccup has a quick but pained look on his face, but I see it and feel it. I have learned to go back in time to the past few sentences to see what was said to make him upset. And I realize that it was dad said. His remark on the Gods blessing him with my presence, he has never said anything like that to Hiccup, I can tell.
He removes his hand after a sharp kick to his palm sends me giggling. Hiccup looks fine now, just as he always does. He hides his emotions.
Astrid reaches over and puts a hand on my stomach, the kick she suddenly feels gives her a startled look. "What does the kicking feel like?" She asks me. I look at her and smile, "Kind of like bumping into a chair." I remark.
She smiles and places with the baby by moving her hand here and there and feeling it kick in reply. She has a very pleasant look on her face, and I know she is thinking about the day when she will be expecting a baby.
Hiccup and I cook dinner, we all eat and then sit and talk. But dad has a gift for me apparently. "Isabella, I took some time to remake this, Hiccup had one when he was a baby, but he kind of destroyed it after an incident in Gobber's shop. But he had kept the pattern for it, so I remade this." He says and hands me a stuffed animal, it's different shades of blue with black eyes. It's a fish, a very well constructed one at that.
Hiccup bites his bottom lip then stops as I look at the toy.
"Thank you dad! I love it! And I'm very sure the baby will to." I thank him with a smile. Dad laughs a bit and grabs his cup to take a drink of water.
"I think I'm going to go to bed, Hiccup, will you put this fish with the cradle sometime?" I ask him. He nods and winks at me, but it doesn't have a good feel to it. I tell dad goodnight, and then help Astrid up the stairs as she also wants some rest.
Hiccup stares at Stoick. He had long forgotten some past emotions towards him, but some were coming back. He looks his father in the eyes. "Dad, were, no, are, you happy to have me as your son?" He asks the man.
Stoick looks at his son, it has been a long time since something like this has been asked. "Hiccup, you have no idea what I felt when I found out we were expecting you. But the day you were born I was so happy. I wasn't very happy for about fourteen years after that, but. I am so glad to have you as my son. And to my own surprise, when I felt the baby kick, it reminded me of you." He replies cautiously to his sons questioning.
Hiccup cocks his head to the side. "How so?" He answers in question. Stoick reaches out and puts a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Because it made me remember the times I would feel you kick. You were small even inside your mother, but you had strength in you. You would kick as soon as I put my hand on your mother's stomach, and I loved them. I loved the knowledge of knowing I had a child on the way. A child I would get to raise and care for, protect and train."
Hiccup almost tears up at his father's words. They were sitting across from each other in the slightly more comfortable chairs by the fire, but now Hiccup had his arms around Stoick. Clinging like a little boy to his father's body. "After we lost mother, I was alone. Even though I was too young to remember her. But I only had you for so long. And sometimes I didn't know if I would even have our small relationship. I don't need to lose you." He whispers to his dad.
He feels his father's arms tighten around him. And all at once he knows that the baby can't grow up without a father. Even though he doesn't necessarily like Rye, let alone love him, he will have to get the man and his sister back together eventually. Even if it is only for a few moments...
We're close to the birth of the baby! This went in different directions than I planned. But I liked it. Fluffy, but sweet. Very much showing beauty and parental relationships. Opinions?