Part Three
Hiccup held back her hair as she heaved over the side of the bed into a bucket.
"I'm s-sorry," Astrid mumbled for the hundredth time that night as she reemerged and slumped into his arms.
Yet again, Hiccup hugged her close, brushing loose blond strands from her tear streaked face.
"You don't have anything to apologize for," he said gently, also for the hundredth time. "I'm the one who completely lost my mind at Gothi's. I was so surprised and ecstatic…I didn't stop to think about how you might be feeling…"
"You were excited and you have every right to be, but I'm actually having the baby, remember? You brought that one up yourself."
"Uh, yeah, that...probably wasn't the nicest way of putting it," he backtracked, running a hand through his hair. He then took a breath, settling himself. "Y'know, maybe we need to try looking at this from a different angle. A more positive one."
"What do you mean?"
"It's just…we've been talking about this moment for ages and it's finally happened. Yet here we are, acting like it's Ragnarok when we should be celebrating a truly wonderful gift."
"You're not the one hurling into a bucket," Astrid replied flatly.
"True, I…I guess that would kind of make things a little less fun on your end…"
"This is wonderful, I just wasn't expecting it to happen so…so soon," Astrid admitted, lowering her bloodshot eyes. "We've only been married a year and a half, you're still getting used to all your responsibilities, I'm in the middle of training new recruits to the Berk Guard. H-how are we supposed to…" Her voice quavered and Hiccup quickly grabbed her hair as she made another dive for the bucket.
"Hiccup, I'm terrified," she croaked moments later, sitting up shakily as he tucked her favorite woolen blanket around her shoulders. "I'm a warrior, a dragon trainer. I don't know anything about babies or…or parenting."
He pondered this for a moment. "Honestly, training a tiny human shouldn't be too hard, right? Y'know, gain its trust, establish a bond—hoomf!"
Astrid elbowed him in the gut with a snort. "You're not helping. And it's a baby, for Thor's sake, not a Terrible Terror."
"Well, let's not jump to any conclusions yet," Hiccup coughed, rubbing his stomach. "Especially if it takes after you."
"Watch it, Haddock." She couldn't hide the reluctant smile any longer. "That's our offspring you're talking about. Also, I was never a terror as a kid. That was all Snotlout."
"There she is," Hiccup said, lifting her head up so her eyes met his. "There's the Astrid I know. Just because you're the toughest, most fearless warrior in the whole Archipelago, if I may offer my completely unbiased opinion, doesn't mean you can't be a mother too. And a good one."
She gave a dry laugh. "Really, I'm flattered, but I'm pretty sure having a baby is going to be a lot different from being a warrior, both physically and mentally."
"Maybe not as much as you think. Every day you pull off death-defying stunts on the back of a dragon you trained by yourself. You can kick both the twins' butts at the same time, any day you feel like it. You can take out four guys twice your size in one swing! How will this be different from any other battle you've fought…and won? You're strong. You're resilient. You've totally got this."
"Ok, sure, let's say I can successfully muscle my way through the actual birth, Valhalla willing. I still don't know how to be a parent."
"Who does? That's something we'll have to figure it out along the way just like everyone else, I guess. Besides," he gave her a wink, "we've got an entire nine months to prepare."
With a huff, Astrid rolled her eyes and rested her head against his shoulder. For a while the two were quiet, each wrapped in their own tangle of thoughts and worries.
"Hiccup, this…this is huge. I'm not sure I can handle this. I can't do it on my own."
"You don't have to. We're a team and we'll get through this together. And you better believe I'm not letting you out of my sight for the next nine months, even if I have to tie you to me."
"I'd like to see you try," Astrid laughed.
Hiccup flexed one lean arm, pulling up the sleeve and squeezing the barely visible bicep muscle with the other hand.
"Ha, I can take you! I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been working out. I'm getting super ripped—AGH!" He doubled over as Astrid gave him a poke in the abs. "Don't do that!"
She snickered. "Why not?"
"I just really need to pee, that's all." He thought for a second. "Also, I'm a grown man and a mighty Viking chief. It's not proper to poke a Mighty Viking chief like that, especially while he's in the middle of bragging about his gorgeously toned body."
"Hm, you are a grown man and a Viking chief, but are you sure you're as gorgeous and toned as you think you are? Maybe I should check."
She peppered him with another rapid-fire poking attack.
"HEY! AHAHA, STOP! STOP IT—I was serious about needing to pee, by the way—CUT IT OUT, I CAN'T BREATHE!"
Astrid relinquished. "Oh, fine, but only because we have an audience now."
"Yeewhat?!" Hiccup jumped up, swinging around in a panic before noticing the black shape perched in the open rooftop hatch. Bright as gemstones set in dark obsidian, two yellowish-green eyes followed his every move.
"Ugh, sheesh, you couldn't have just told me it was Toothless—T-Toothless! Where've you been all day?"
Oozing like ink out of the hatch, the dragon landed lightly on the floor, then crept past him to curl around Astrid, purring.
Hiccup rolled his eyes. "This again? Really?"
Toothless responded with a loud, obnoxious burp, causing Astrid to stifle another laugh.
"Oho! I see how it is," Hiccup said, turning his back on his insubordinate friend. "Well, then, I know when I'm not…appreciated…wait a second. Wait a second."
"What? What's wrong?"
"Astrid, you're pregnant."
"Yes, we've established this…"
His eyes widened as he swiveled to face them again. "No…no, you're pregnant!"
"Umm… trust me, I know. You feeling alright?"
"That's it. That's it!" A broad, triumphant smile stretched across Hiccup's face. "That's why you've been acting so weird, Toothless. Astrid's pregnant and…and you knew, didn't you? You and Stormfly knew before anyone else."
Toothless uncoiled a bit, looking pleased and somewhat less frightening.
Hiccup whacked himself upside the head, laughing. "How did I not see this? How did I not put it together until now? Your natural instincts have kicked in, of course, but who knew you guys would go into ultra-protective mode over a human baby?"
Confidence bolstered, the young chief strode toward his dragon as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Hiccup, wait a second…" Astrid started.
Hissing, Toothless whipped himself in front of her like an angry cat and stiffened, back arched, eyes narrowed. A faint hint of that unsettling growl bubbled inside his throat, stopping Hiccup dead.
"Ohhhh boy," he breathed, running both hands back and forth through his hair a few times as he stepped back, "This is new. Eheh, this is…we're getting into unfamiliar protective-dragon-behavior territory here."
Toothless blinked and tilted his head as if to agree, creeping forward a bit.
"Ok, bud, listen, just…just hear me out on this. These instincts are obviously powerful enough to warp your perception of me and that really freaks me out, but you know I would never let anything happen to Astrid or the baby—"
The Night Fury rushed him suddenly, forcing him against a wall.
"Toothless, stop!" Astrid shouted.
"Nonono, you have to trust me!" Hiccup gasped. "It's probably not filtering through all that instinctive noise inside your brain right now, but I'm on your side! I promise I'm on…"
Cringing into the wall, he gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut as Toothless leaned in snuffling and snorting and bumping him around roughly with his nose.
"Calm down, Toothless!" Astrid shoved her way between them. "You know he would never let anything bad happen to me."
Toothless considered this for a moment, then backed away allowing Hiccup to release the breath he'd been holding. Astrid knelt beside the dragon, taking his head firmly in her hands.
"There's a lot of crazy stuff going on in your head. I get it, I know the feeling. But I'm going to be relying on both of you in the coming months, so I need you to hold it together and try not to eat Hiccup."
"Yes, please don't eat Hiccup," put in Hiccup.
"Or anyone else. Nobody on this island is a threat and I'm not in any danger. You have to understand that, ok?"
Toothless smacked his lips and wiggled his bottom half.
"Good. Now, I think you have some apologizing to do."
Sheepishly, Toothless slunk past her on his belly, ears drooping and eyes round with shame and apology. Automatically, Hiccup threw his arms around his best friend, dropping to his knees.
"I really hope you're back to normal," he mumbled into the scaly neck while Toothless bowed his head in embarrassment. "It's alright, you couldn't help but do what came naturally, I understand." He paused to look up directly into those big green eyes. "But keep in mind that I am slightly terrified of you at the moment."
Toothless bestowed him with a cheerful lick before flopping to the ground and rolling over to expose his underside. It was more an invitation to make amends than a sign of humility, but it was a comforting sight nonetheless. With a nod, Hiccup took Astrid's hand and the two of them sat down, settling against the dragon's soft, warm belly.
Astrid leaned back with a relieved sigh. "Glad we got that cleared up. I'm not sure I could've handled nine whole months of preparing for a baby and being constantly stalked by an overly protective Night Fury."
"You and me both," Hiccup agreed, then glanced over his shoulder at Toothless. "No more snarling and backing me into walls, ok? I think I might have nightmares."
The dragon crooned another apology, then the room dropped into a deep, more comfortable silence.
"Are you ready for this?" Astrid whispered finally, sounding half asleep.
Hiccup took a breath and pushed it out slowly between pursed lips, letting the full miraculous, terrifying, joyous weight of the adventure ahead of them sink in.
"Ready or not, we're starting a family."
He slipped an arm around his wife, drawing her closer until the tips of their noses touched. Her eyes were closed, expression peaceful and content with the remains of one last reluctant smile at the corners of her lips.
When he spoke again, his voice was so gentle and low and quiet that only she could hear him.
"And there's no one in this world I'd rather start it with than you."