She was ready to snatch her hatchling, creeping out to the nest in the dark. He was all alone inside; his sire had left him defenseless. She sniffed at the back opening, unsure of how it worked or where her hatchling was. She wanted to blast the wooden cave and take her hatchling as it burned, but without knowing exactly where he would be the hatchling could get hurt if she didn't get him out right away. As she was puzzling this out she heard Viking voices. A couple of Vikings were walking down from the large cave, unaware of her next to their alpha's nest. This wouldn't do: they would see the flames if she burnt the nest. They could raise the alarm; possibly stop her from taking her little one. The risks were too great. Grumbling, the Nightmare slunk back to the woods. She should stick to her original plan, wait for a raid. There would be one in the next few days if the weather held. In a sour mood she settled in the woods watching the nest. She would stick to her plan.
Hiccup skipped down the hill ahead of Stoick. It was still fairly muddy but it was drying up. It would be a good day to bring the herds down. It would also be a good day for sailing.
"And Gobber thaid that everyone beginth with nailth no matter how boring they may be. But I might get to carve a dethign on a pendant Gooselegth wantth to give to Beula but you can't mention it, Dad, cauthe he wantth it to be a thurprithe."
Stoick had tuned Hiccup's prattling out by breakfast. There was only so much of it he could take at a time.
"Hiccup, slow down, you're going to trip."
"I won't trip, Dad." Hiccup said. Stoick could hear the eye roll. Oh well, let the boy figure it out for himself. Gobber deserved to deal with a muddy child after last night. Sure enough Hiccup slipped on the wet path. Stoick let out a sigh. He seemed to do that a lot when Hiccup was involved. Hiccup picked himself up and tried to wipe the mud off but it was all down his back, even in his hair. Stoick sighed again. Well, it was bath night anyway. Catching up to Hiccup Stoick placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, careful to avoid the mud, to guide him along to the forge.
"Gobber?" Stoick called.
"Here." Came the reply.
"Try not to get mud everywhere," Stoick said to Hiccup as they went in. "Gobber, thanks for taking him, I have to go or I won't be back till late."
"Not a problem, Stoick. You goin' far?"
"Only round the coast. Weather's cleared up and we might have an attack tonight so I want to be back by this evening. I should be here by supper. If not I will be home to put him to bed. It's bath night."
Hiccup scrunched his nose and stuck out his tongue, "Do I have to take a bath?"
"Yes."
"Ah, Stoick. He's a boy, what's a little dirt?" Gobber intervened.
Stoick didn't say anything just turned Hiccup around so Gobber could see the mud.
"Ah. Well. It is mostly on his clothes."
"Yeah, tho do I need to wash?" Hiccup asked pleading with his eyes and tugging his dad's hand with both of his.
"You are not going to bed with mud in your hair." Stoick said, cupping Hiccup's chin. "Alright, I'm going. I'll see you tonight. Behave." It was directed at Hiccup but Gobber responded,
"I'll try but I make no promises." Stoick gave Gobber a glare but the smith had already moved on. Hiccup's muffled laughter followed Stoick out of the forge. Shaking his head Stoick went down to the docks to head out.
She watched the Viking walk her little one deep into the nest, he let the hatchling fall on the hill and she snarled. He should be more careful with one so small. The Nightmare hated waiting, she wanted her little one in her nest where he would be properly looked after. There was nothing left to prepare; his bed was ready, she had a place for a fire and fuel to keep it going. Their cave was near a river for clean water and food was easy to collect. Now she had to wait. The weather was fine; flying would be easy. The first raid should be soon.
They got back earlier than Stoick had planned and he made it to the forge. Gobber was putting everything away for the night.
"Back early?" Gobber asked before he turned toward the back, "Hiccup, yer Dad's here."
Stoick put his pack down, "Quiet out there, good sailing. Nothing unusual." The trip had put him in a good mood. Hiccup came bounding out of the back room with his notebook. And covered in charcoal. Right, bath night.
"Hi Dad, did you thee any thea monsterth?" He said.
"Now Hiccup, I told ya, they're further out to sea. Yer dad was by the coast. He was far more likely to see selkies." Gobber said. Stoick put an end to the nonsense as fast as he could.
"No, I didn't see anything strange." He said wiping the charcoal off Hiccup's cheeks and nose the best he could. He gave Gobber a look that told the smith to Stop. Filling. Hiccup's. Head. With. Nonsense.
They moved outside where the light was better now that the forge fire was put out.
"You goin' to the Great Hall?" Gobber asked.
"No, home. Have to heat up the bath water so it saves time. Plus we hauled in some fish so I have them fresh if you want to come up." There was still dried mud in Hiccup's hair. Stoick ruffled it to dislodge the mud and brushed it out the best he could. He could've sworn Hiccup was muddier than when he had dropped the boy off.
"So I can cook it for ya? I'm on to you, Stoick." Gobber said pointing his finger at his friend and narrowing his eyes. He was smiling though.
"Would I do that?" Stoick laughed.
"Pleathe Gobber? Dad burned thupper latht time he made it." Hiccup cut in. Stoick opened his mouth to tell Hiccup to stay out of it but Gobber laughed and ruffled the lad's hair,
"Well, I can't leave ya to yer Dad's cooking, can I?" Hiccup shook his head.
Stoick rolled his eyes and pushed Hiccup toward the hill, "Come on,"
"I'll be up in a bit, jus' need to finish closing up." Gobber said going back inside. Stoick followed Hiccup up the hill.
"Dad, gueth what? Gobber let me carve part of the dethign! He thaid that I do have an attention thpan larger than a thparrow'th if given the right tathk. What doeth that mean? Oh, and he let me pump the bellowth. I wath too thmall and it didn't move much, but he thaid it wath a good try." Hiccup kept talking as Stoick paced along behind him tuning out the chatter. The torches were ready to be lit if needed he noticed. He expected the watch towers had been stocked as well, he had sent the orders that morning. It had been a nice day and the night was promising to be good as well. Perfect conditions for a raid.
Once home Stoick sent Hiccup to wash up as he unpacked. He put the halibut on the table for Gobber to deal with. Hiccup climbed on his swing. Stoick stepped over and stopped it.
"Hey," Hiccup said.
"Let me see your hands." Stoick said. There was still charcoal on his face but that would wash off later in the bath. Hiccup let go of the rope and held up his hands. There was mud in the creases and under his fingernails. "Not good enough. Wash them again." Hiccup grumbled but got off the swing and went back to the basin. Stoick stoked the fire in the hearth and filled two buckets with water to put over the fire during supper. By then Hiccup was back on his swing. "Not higher than the fifth step, Hiccup." Stoick reminded him as Gobber came in.
"What is that contraption?" He said by way of greeting.
"It'th my thwing." Hiccup said without slowing down.
"Huh," Gobber said scratching his chin. He looked at Stoick, "Yer okay with this thing?" Stoick shrugged,
"It's sturdy enough. And he's not allowed higher than the fifth step. Or it comes down." Stoick said the last part mostly to Hiccup. The boy took the hint and slowed the swing. Gobber handed Stoick the mug attachment for his arm and set about cooking the fish. Stoick poured two mugs of mead.
"Gobber, did Aunt Thithtlefathe'th fruit cake knock your tooth out?"
"What?" Gobber asked.
"Dad thaid that her fruit cake ruined your tooth." Hiccup said still swinging.
Stoick and Gobber looked at each other. "When?" Stoick asked.
Hiccup took a deep breath, "The other day, when I asked for a piethe and you thaid not for breakfatht and I asked if I could have a piethe for midday and you thaid I wath going to Gobber'th and I thaid we could bring him a piethe and you asked what I thought happened to hith tooth." He rushed out so fast the two men could barely understand him. Gobber looked at Stoick who shook his head. Hiccup kept swinging.
"Hiccup, I was joking." Stoick said. He stopped the swing, "Time for supper." Hiccup got off the swing and climbed onto his chair. Supper went well, nothing was burnt and Hiccup ate a decent portion of fish, his cabbage was pushed aside though.
"Gobber, what'th a thelkie look like?" Hiccup asked.
"Hiccup, don't talk with your mouth full." Stoick said absentmindedly. Gobber took a large bite of his fish,
"They look like seals, but they're jus' wearin' seal skins which they can shed to come on land." Stoick put his head in his hands as Gobber talked around his food. "Didn't yer Dad tell ya 'bout them?" Hiccup shook his head. "Well, there's not much to tell really." Gobber said when he noticed Stoick's glare. Hiccup tilted his head in confusion. "Ya all done there lad?"
Hiccup tilted his head further then looked down at his plate and then at the buckets of water over the fire. "No." He poked at his plate. Stoick rolled his eyes and got up to haul the wooden tub out from under the stairs. "I'm not that dirty, Dad. The mud ith mothtly gone." Stoick took one of the buckets off the fire and poured it into the tub then went out to the well to bring back another to put over the fire.
"Dad, I don't want to take a bath." Hiccup said. Stoick ignored him and dumped the other bucket in the tub then went to fill it. Four buckets usually did it. When he put that bucket over the fire to heat up Hiccup was standing next to the table with his arms crossed. "I don't want to take a bath." He said a little louder.
Choosing to ignore him again, Stoick said, "Go get some clean clothes."
Hiccup lifted his chin a little, "No."
"What was that?" Stoick was glad to see the defiant stance shrink away as Hiccup uncrossed his arms.
"No?" Hiccup said his voice much smaller than before. Gobber still sat at the table, his hand covering his mouth as he tried to hide his mirth.
"Do you say no to me?" Stoick asked Hiccup.
The boy shrunk into himself a little further, "No thir."
"Good. Go get some clean clothes." Hiccup slowly walked to the bedroom.
Finally letting out a quiet chuckle Gobber said, "Lad's got some spunk."
"I don't know what's gotten into him. He's getting worse, Gobber. He used to like baths." Stoick poured a third bucket into the tub. He checked the temperature before adding the last.
"I'd blame the twins. About the bath thing. The defiance thing is jus' him gettin' older." Gobber said as he got up to help himself to some more mead.
"The twins?" Stoick put a blanket on a chair near the tub and grabbed the soap from a cupboard.
"Ya, I heard 'em complainin' 'bout baths. Hiccup probably wants to fit in. Defy his dad and impress his friends. Might not get pushed around as much." Gobber sat again sipping his mead.
"The other kids push Hiccup around?" Stoick had never seen that. Granted, his duties kept him busy; he often didn't have the time to keep a constant eye on Hiccup. Shaking his head Stoick grabbed one of the buckets and went out to fill it a final time. This was a conversation for after Hiccup had been put to bed.
Hiccup still hadn't reappeared when Stoick came back inside. With a sigh Stoick put the bucket down near the tub and went into the bedroom. Hiccup's trunk was open and his clothes were strewn about the floor. Hiccup sat in the middle of the mess fiddling with a loose button on his dress shirt. Without a word Stoick shoved all the clothes back in the trunk, leaving out a red shirt and a pair of brown pants. He then took the dress shirt from Hiccup, shoved it in the trunk, picked up the clothes, and lifted his son to his feet.
"Bath. Now. Go."
Hiccup dragged his feet. Gods above sometimes Stoick wanted to strangle the kid. The steam rose out of the tub and Hiccup balked again.
"It'th too hot." He shook his head and backed up a step.
"No, it's not," Stoick said, "I checked it."
Hiccup refused to move, "There'th thteam. It'th too hot; it'll burn like latht time."
"You burned him?" Gobber asked raising his eyebrows.
"It was one time. I forgot to check the temperature. It didn't burn you," He said to Hiccup, "It wasn't that hot." Hiccup shook his head so Stoick pushed him closer to the tub and dipped Hiccup's hand into the water. "See? Not too hot. Now get in."
Reluctantly Hiccup took his muddy shirt off. Then decided to give it one last try.
"No."
Gobber was chuckling into his mug and Stoick wanted to knock it into his face. He took a deep breath. He had to stay calm. "Hiccup you will get into that tub and have a bath or you will get a spanking and then you will get into that tub and have a bath. Your choice."
Hiccup bit his lip and fiddled with his fingers as he weighed his options and considered whether it was worth a spanking. He had one more trick to try, did he dare? Hiccup glanced up at his father out of the corner of his eye. How mad was he? Gobber was there though, that would take some of the heat off. At the very least Gobber would defend him.
"Fishlegth thayth hith dad doethn't thpank him." He mumbled.
Stoick took a deep breath. Odin help him this kid could try his patience more than all the blockheads of the village put together. "Are you Fishlegs?" He asked with his hand over his eyes.
"No." Hiccup said. He wasn't going to win this one; he could tell.
"Do I look like Fishlegs' father?"
Hiccup hung his head, "No."
"Get in the tub."
Hiccup took off the rest of his clothes and got in. "I like Fishlegth' dad more." He muttered. Stoick gave Hiccup a cloth and the soap, acting like he hadn't heard the comment. And it didn't sting.
"Wash." Stoick said as he sat down next to Gobber and put his head in his hands.
"Ya know," Gobber said conversationally, nudging Stoick's mug closer to the man, "Fishlegs' dad can be a bit of a weenie." Stoick turned his head to look at him. Gobber shrugged, "It's true." He said getting up for more mead.
"Dad, I'm clean now. Can I get out?" Hiccup said.
Stoick looked up. Hiccup still had charcoal smudged on his face and mud in his hair. Getting up Stoick walked to the tub and kneeled down. He held his out his hand for the soap and cloth. When Hiccup handed them over Stoick washed the boy's face getting rid of the black smudges. He reached for the empty bucket and filled it with bath water.
"Close your eyes." He said as he poured the water over Hiccup's head, rubbing it in to get his hair wet. Stoick got a lather from the soap and worked it into the boy's hair.
"I can do it Dad." Hiccup said. Stoick didn't listen so Hiccup reached up and tried to stop him, "I can do it."
"Hiccup sit still."
Pouting Hiccup crossed his arms, "Thtupid bath. I hate bathth. I like being dirty."
"I'm sure you do. Close your eyes." Stoick picked up the bucket of clean water. Hiccup was still pouting with his eyes open. "Do you want soap in your eyes?" Hiccup shook his head. "Then close them." With a huff Hiccup closed his eyes as Stoick rinsed the soap out of his hair. Once that was done Stoick grabbed the blanket he had put out, wiped the soap and water off Hiccup's face, and held it up. "Now you can get out."
Stoick wrapped Hiccup in the blanket and left him by the fire to dry off while he took the tub outside and dumped the water. Inside the house Hiccup sat next to the fire pouting.
"Ya know," Gobber said from his seat at the table, "Fishlegs really doesn't get up to much; his dad probably never has reason to spank him."
Hiccup didn't say anything; he watched the flames lick away at the logs. One of them shifted and fell off the other one, sending up some sparks.
"Stoick probably thinks Fishlegs is a good son. Anyway, Frank Ingerman is a wuss who probably couldn't work up the courage to spank his son even if Fishlegs deserved it." Gobber didn't say anything else; he let all that sink in as Stoick came back inside. On his way back to the fire Stoick picked up Hiccup's clean clothes and knelt down. He used the edge of the blanket to rub excess water out of his son's hair as Hiccup pulled his trousers on.
"Dad?"
"Hmm?" Stoick rolled up Hiccup's shirt and pulled it over his son's head.
"I'm thorry I thaid I liked Fishlegth' dad more than you. I don't." Hiccup said as he got his hands through the sleeves. Gobber smiled to himself.
"I know." Stoick said. He pulled one of Hiccup's socks on for him. Hiccup was leaning back against him rubbing his eyes, obviously ready for bed.
"And I like being clean," He yawned, "It'th better than being dirty." Stoick had the other sock on him now and pulled the boy to his feet.
"Bedtime." Stoick said. Hiccup nodded and headed for the bedroom. Stoick nodded to Gobber then went to the bedroom to tuck Hiccup in. As much trouble as bath night was Stoick did appreciate how much smoother it made bedtime go. Hiccup got into bed with no fuss as Stoick tucked him in.
"Dad?"
"What?" Stoick brushed Hiccup's still damp bangs out of his face. The boy was already half asleep.
"Do you really think dragonth will come tonight?" There was a little quiver in his voice, this was the closest Hiccup had come to mentioning the incident. Stoick had started to think he had forgotten it entirely.
"I do." He said.
Hiccup clutched at the blanket. "Do you think there will be a Monthtrouth Nightmare?"
Stoick rubbed small circles on Hiccup's chest with his other hand to calm the boy. There was always at least one Monstrous Nightmare. "Probably. But you know what to do to stay safe, right?" He was still combing Hiccup's hair with his fingers, watching Hiccup try to keep his eyes open.
"Thtay inthide." Hiccup replied sleepily.
"You're safe here, Hiccup. I won't let anything bad happen to you."
Hiccup nodded as his eyes finally closed. Stoick waited for his son's breathing to even out before quietly leaving the room.
"Lad get to sleep okay?" Gobber asked. He was putting the wooden tub away under the stairs. Stoick left the bedroom door open a crack and went to sit down.
"Fine. Was asking about dragon raids." Stoick said taking a drink.
"Didn't mention Draugrs?" Gobber asked sitting down.
Stoick turned his head and fixed Gobber with a look, "No. Why would he?"
"Ah, no reason," Gobber said scratching his jaw, "You know how kids are with their imaginations. That's all."
Stoick glared at his friend. Yes, he knew all about children's imaginations. Too much. Gobber knew better than to tell Hiccup scary stories. For all that, though, it was not Hiccup that woke Stoick up before dawn.
She heard the call. Not every dragon had to go on every raid. That would leave none to protect their young. The Nightmare didn't have to join the raid; she could get her hatchling and bring him to her nest instead of stealing for Her. She watched the sky waiting for them to appear over the sea. When the raid began and the Viking went out into the chaos there would be enough cover and time to grab the hatchling. She might not even be noticed as she did it. Finally all her waiting would pay off.
A/N: Please don't hate me.
Thank you for the reviews, I enjoy writing kid!Hiccup. He's adorable but there is no way I would ever want to be responsible for that kid.
As always thanks to CB for the edit!