Carried Off, a DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon fanfic by Raberba girl (rough draft)
Warning for mild/brief crude language in this chapter.
o.o.o
Astrid continued to struggle with the transition to being a parent, but Hiccup reveled in it. Fatherhood seemed to be good for him. He was so caught up in caring for the babies and watching their little lives unfold that he no longer had enough time or interest to keep making his crazy village-destroying inventions; his ideas were mostly limited to things that would make parenting easier. He became as zealous in the protection of Berk's food stores as Astrid was, and his life seemed to have a solid purpose now, which his wife found rather attractive. His energy, the new light in his eyes, the boost of self-confidence, and the way his love for the children often spilled over into affection for her... Astrid thought it all somehow made him more handsome, even though his body hadn't changed much.
Hiccup rigged a carrier for the twins so that he could easily walk around with both of them. He learned to put Valka on his back, where she could look around with interest at her surroundings, and tuck Finn against his chest, where he could snuggle close and feel safe.
Villagers would often stop Hiccup to make a fuss over the babies, but unfortunately, they tended to be more interested in the male than the female. Valka loved attention and would have appreciated being fussed over more, but she was often ignored in favor of her brother. Finn was more introverted, and it distressed him whenever strange, large hands would try to pluck him away from his father's reassuring warmth.
"Hey now, there's the little guy!" Huge Viking hands reached for the tiny child.
Hiccup turned aside and laid an arm protectively over his son. "Yep, this is Finn," he said amiably. "And Val's back there, you can hold her if you want."
"Just wanna take a look at our next chief here," the man said jovially. Hiccup wondered why it never occurred to most people that Astrid, who had successfully established a precedent for female rulership of the Hooligan tribe, might continue to break with tradition and name her daughter the heir instead of her son.
"I think I'm gonna hang onto him. Seriously, take Val, she seems to like your tattoo." 'And probably wants to drool on it.'
"Come on, Hiccup, just give me the kid! I'm not gonna hurt him."
Finn started to frantically protest the meaty fingers scrabbling at him.
Hiccup crossed both arms over the boy and took a large step back, ignoring Valka's indignant squawk when she lost sight of the interesting loud person. "Please don't touch my son. You're upsetting him."
"Don't talk to me that way, Useless. I told you I won't hurt the kid, I just wanna look at him."
"I have to get to work." Hiccup tried to move past. He felt sick and furious when the man grabbed his shoulder.
"What's your problem? You know I can just take the kid if you refuse to hand him over."
Hiccup's voice was steady, but he felt hot with rage. He was surprised that the man couldn't seem to see it blazing from his eyes. "If you don't take your hands off of me and my children this minute, I will tell the chief that you were harassing her family. I don't think she'll take it very well when she hears that someone was messing with things that belong to her." Although it had once bothered him, Hiccup was now quite willing to fling away his pride and hide behind his wife if that's what it took to protect his children.
The man finally lifted his hands in disgust. "Fine, fine... They're probably bastards, anyway." He kept muttering resentfully as he walked off, "You're not man enough to sire children, bet you're not even man enough to get it up, she probably screws around with Snotlout or that Tuffnut kid whenever she wants some fun..."
Hiccup stood for a long time, hugging Finn close and trying to will himself to calm down. Then he resumed walking, and had a bright smile ready for Gobber when he entered the forge.
"You're late, Hiccup! You run into trouble on the way or something?"
"Nope. Just took a little too long cleaning up after breakfast, sorry." Hiccup went to settle the twins in their cradle and then got to work. Valka babbled and sang in her infant language, responding to the rise and fall of the men's voices. Finn fell asleep to the sounds of hammer blows on metal and red-hot iron being thrust into water, sounds that had come to mean reassurance and safety to him, because they meant that his father was nearby.
o.o.o.o.o
The twins slept in a cradle in Astrid's room at night. Hiccup continued to sleep in his wife's bed, because she decided it was a lot easier to have him close by whenever the children needed tending, and he was so absorbed in the babies that she figured he didn't have the time or inclination to try to harm her as she'd once feared.
Besides, he needed her alive and healthy to keep producing milk, and she had never even come close to acting on those moments of resentment toward her children, which were becoming less and less frequent as time passed and her anxiety eased. Hiccup took care of the babies so thoroughly and so well that her own parenting role was relatively easy.
She watched him putting the twins to bed after she'd fed them. He walked around and around and around with Valka, jiggling her in his arms and talking to her, until she finally collapsed with exhaustion. Finn, in the carrier on his back, nodded off simply because of a full stomach and his father's proximity.
Hiccup laid them both in the cradle and leaned over them a while longer, fussing with the blankets, then just gazing at them for a while. His expression was so tender, so much sweeter than anything Astrid ever saw on his face when he wasn't looking at the babies, that she felt a rush of affection for him. He was a good person. A terrible Viking, but a good person.
"Hiccup," she murmured.
He glanced up at her.
"It's been a while since we've had sex."
He sighed.
"It won't be like that, I promise. Come here, love."
His eyes widened at the unaccustomed endearment, and he drifted toward her as if she was reeling him in on a string. She kissed him for a long time, slow and savoring the way he preferred it, then wriggled out of her clothes. He smiled a little. Somehow, the order and manner of their disrobing had come to indicate the type of resulting sex, and whenever Astrid undressed first and unhurriedly, it usually meant a favorable outcome for Hiccup.
"It has been a while," he agreed, and climbed into bed with her.
o.o.o.o.o
That first raid after the twins' birth was the only time they'd hidden. After that, Astrid resumed her place in the thick of things and Hiccup resumed his post in the forge, the only difference being that he kept the babies with him. When things were at their most dangerous, he felt more comfortable when they were within reach than when they were a long way out of his sight.
"One sharpened sword and one re-hafted axe, coming up!" Hiccup bellowed merrily as he tossed both weapons onto the counter. The announcement was for Valka's benefit. She was all right staying in the cradle, where she always yelled with excitement in response to every loud noise and was reassured by the upbeat tone of her father's voice. Finn, on the other hand, frightened by the chaos, had to be strapped to his father for comfort. Hiccup would wrap him in a protective covering and avoid the more dangerous tasks.
This particular raid was going badly. A Night Fury had joined the fight and was taking out the catapults one by one, crippling the Hooligans' defense.
"Man the fort, Hiccup! They need me out there!" Gobber called. He wedged a bludgeon prosthetic on to the end of his arm, seized a shield, and charged out into the chaos.
"Bye, Uncle Gobber!" Hiccup called, again for Valka's sake. "See you soon~!" He stoked up the fire and started taking over what he could of Gobber's work.
Ten minutes later, a woman rushed into the forge. "Gobber!"
"Gobber's out there," Hiccup said, pointing.
She wailed in frustration. "Then you come! It's the wagon, they can't get it going again, and no one can find Cleftfoot!"
"I'm not going out there!" Hiccup gestured meaningfully at his children.
"They'll be fine!"
"I am not leaving them."
"They'll be fine! Dragons never go after the forge, there are too many warriors around!" Then, in response to Hiccup's stubborn glare, "Aaagghhh, I'll watch them I'll watch them I'll watch them, please go fix the wagon!"
Hiccup eyed her.
"I'LL WATCH THEM! I promise, I'll guard them with my life, but please hurry, I don't even know if Gunnar's dead or alive, please GO!"
Feeling pressured and extremely reluctant, Hiccup slowly laid down Finn beside his sister. The baby screamed as his father's hands lifted away from him.
"I'm sorry, Finn, I'm so sorry-"
"HICCUP HURRY!"
"I'll be right back, daddy will be right back, this nice lady here is going to watch over you and keep you safe, I'll be right back, I promise-"
"HICCUP GO, GO! I'LL WATCH THEM!"
Now Valka was screaming, alarmed that her father was no longer making 'This is fun!' noises.
"I'll be right back, I'll be right back, if it takes longer than five minutes then I'll just let them rot and come back."
"Hiccup, please," the woman sobbed.
Hiccup fixed her with a hard look. "Do not leave my children's side for one second. Defend them with your life."
"Yes yes yes yes!"
Feeling agonized with doubt, Hiccup turned away. As soon as he had vanished into the chaos of the battle, the woman raced off as well, frantic to find her brother.
The twins cried, unheard and uncomforted by any human.
o.o.o.o.o
Hiccup wrenched at the fastening, cursing, keenly aware of seconds ticking by. One more try, then he'd give it up for lost and rush back to his children.
"Put your back into it, Hiccup!"
"Shut up, One-eye, I am this close to leaving this thing to the dragons."
A desperate cry pierced through the clamor. "NIGHT FURY!"
"Get down!"
Hiccup ducked his head instinctively, though he kept working even as he cowered. Chills ran down his spine at the sound of the familiar whistling shriek; he winced at the resulting explosion and crackle of flames.
"HICCUP!"
That was Gobber's voice, more panicked than Hiccup had ever in his life heard it. He jerked his head up and found the smith pointing in horror at the forge.
Which was on fire.
"NO!" Hiccup ran, barely hesitating even when he saw the black dragon dive into the building. "FINN! VAL!" he screamed as he burst through the flames.
The twins' cradle was still in its place, shadowed by a horrifying winged shape. Hiccup's heart nearly stopped at the sight of the unholy offspring of lightning and death looming over his helpless children.
To be continued...