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“Nuffink Haddock, you really need to sleep,” Hiccup affirmed as he placed his four years old son into the small bed again and gently tugged him under the covers. His green eyes watched his father’s movements warily, which let Hiccup know that he didn’t agree with his orders. “I’m not joking around, little man. You’ve been awake the whole day, because you refused to sleep this afternoon and –“
“’M not tired,” Nuffink interrupted as he tried to murmur himself from underneath the blanket. It made Hiccup wonder where his son even found this endless source of energy, since he personally felt completely drained himself. It was already later on in the evening and Nuffink was supposed to have put asleep hours ago, but whenever Hiccup left the room his son had escaped from his bed again, and was right behind him.
“That doesn’t matter,” he firmly said. “You’ve been trying to fight against sleep pretty much the whole evening now, and it’s not right. Even your sister is already asleep, and you should as well.”
“Don’t want to.”
Hiccup pressed his lips together as he placed a hand on Nuffink’s shoulder to make sure that he wouldn’t jump out of his bed for a fourth time. He didn’t know how long he was going to be able to keep up with this, since he was more tired than his son after an completely drowning day as chief of Berk. He was convinced that he was going to fall asleep himself as soon as his head would his head own pillow.
There had to be a way that Hiccup would be able to let Nuffink fall asleep and his brain was thinking about a solution heavily. “How would you like it if I got your some warm milk and if I would tell you a story. And not just any story.”
“Dragons?”
“Dragons, son,” he agreed. “So what do you say?” Nuffink nodded a couple of times as he got more comfortable in his bed. “Well, that’s a relief if I’m being honest.”
Hiccup went to get some milk from the storage room in the house and heated it to the right temperature above the fire before he returned to his son and handed the bottle to him. He sat down on a chair next to the bed. Hiccup was kind of grateful that he was able to keep the memories of the dragons alive by sharing their stories with his children, and he loved doing it. Even the ones like the Slitherwings, Singetails, and the Tryple Stryke. It was as if the dragons were still here and they had never left for the Hidden world, but Hiccup knew better. The pain and the empty place in his heart told him otherwise. That was why he chose to tell him a story about Toothless his bravery against the Alpha dragons and Drago’s dragon army.
It was a shocking reminder that the dragons weren’t coming back. Hiccup prayed to Odin that his son couldn’t see the grief on his face, but Nuffink paid little attention to the emotions in his father’s eyes.
Hiccup continued to tell the story as he watched how Nuffink’s eyes slowly fluttered closer the further he got into his story. He had almost reached the end of the tale by the time that Nuffink’s eyes had entirely fallen close. There was a change in the boy’s breathing which grew heavier and steady, letting Hiccup know that he had finally fallen asleep. A sigh of relief rolled from the chief’s lips now that this struggle had come to an end and he could finally focus on himself for once.
He made little noise as he went, of the room and closed the door behind him without alerting his children, and headed down the hall towards the other side of house. He cursed silently because the wooden floor creaked slightly under his weight, but there was no reaction from Nuffink or Zephyr and Hiccup thanked the Gods for that luck. He was in no mood to try and let his children fall asleep another time. He didn’t have the energy to deal with that again.
“Hiccup is that you?” he heard Astrid ask.
“Yeah, it’s just me,” he said as he pushed open the door of their bedroom and found his wife lying in their marital bed with her back leaning up against the headrest.
At the sight of her husband’s beaten look she smiled sadly. “Has he finally fallen asleep then?”
He nodded as he unbuttoned the jacket that he was wearing. “I had to tell him the whole story of the Alpha Dragons and Drago’s army before he eventually fell asleep. The whole thing! He just fought me with tooth and nail. And let’s not forget how he escaped from the room four times. Four times, Astrid! And had no intention to return to bed or to actually get some sleep. It’s quite surreal that he’s asleep right now considering the fact that it took so long until he drifted away. I’m completely knackered. ”
She rose from the bed and approached Hiccup. Her fingers pushed a lock of his hair from his forehead. “And I take it that your chiefly duties were anything but inspiring?”
“I wish it was different, Astrid,” he said, rubbing his left eye. “I could hardly pay attention to what was being said which was quite unfair towards Snotlout and the twins if I’m being fair. I don’t think I heard about half from what we’ve discussed this afternoon.”
“I’m sure no one held you accountable for that, Hiccup. They are aware that you have little children and how tiring that can be exactly,” Astrid reasoned. “How about I help you with getting ready for bed so you don’t have to do that yourself?”
Hiccup narrowed his eyes. “Do you mind?”
Her smile enlarged. “Not at all, love,” she assured as she kissed his brow. “Just let me take care of you once. You’ve more than earned it, Hiccup.” And Hiccup wasn’t going to argue with his wife’s humble offer, mainly because he was too exhausted to do so and he didn’t mind Astrid taking care of him.
Astrid’s clever fingers pushed his jacked from his a and in the corner of their bedroom. She made him sit down on a chair and knelt down in front of him so that she could off his prosthetic leg. She knew better than anyone that his leg was troubling him, and especially after such a long and troubling day Hiccup would often find his leg throbbing with every step.
While she carefully undid the clasp of his leg Hiccup’s hand ran through her golden hair in a loving manner. Her blue eyes observed him as she placed his prosthetic leg next to the chair. Astrid’s hand travelled to the spot where his leg abruptly ended and gently massaged the warm skin. Hiccup’s lips parted at her caressing’s because Astrid knew precisely what he needed at the end of the day and always tended his leg whenever it was troubling him. It was a sweet gesture which caused his heart to flutter whenever she did that for him.
“Is that better?” she asked as she saw the painful expression disappear from his face.
“Much better,” Hiccup affirmed with a chuckle. He leaned closer to her so that he could press his lips against her for a few short moments. “Thank you, petal.” He chose one of the nicknames which he knew would earn a reaction from her, mainly because she hated the way it sounded.
Like he had expected she pinched his lower arm to share her disapproval with him, and gasped with a mock expression. “I told you before, Hiccup, but you’ve got to stop using this nickname for me. It sounds way too cliché and I thought we were above that.”
He laughed, his breath brushing against her cheek. “I only do it to get a reaction from you,” he assured her.
“You are terrible,” she said, pointing her finger into his chest. “Are you ready for bed then?”
Hiccup let out another laugh. “Ready.”
She rose and grabbed Hiccup’s hands so that she could escort him to their bed. Without his prosthetic leg he had to hop along with her and he was leaning onto her for support, but Astrid didn’t mind doing it. She never did and she did it pretty much every evening.
Carefully she made him lay down in their bed and made sure that his head was comfortably placed upon a pillow. Astrid pulled their woollen blanket which had been made with the wool from Silence Sven not too long ago, and pulled it over the two of them as she laid down next to him. Hiccup’s hand rested on her left leg while she closed the distance between them, pressing her chest against his.
His warm breath touched her ear, causing goosebumps to spread all over her body. “Are you sure that the children are asleep?” he questioned hesitantly.
Her lips pressed a kiss against his jaw where a beard had been growing for the last six years. “You shouldn’t worry about that right now, Hiccup. They’ve had a pretty busy day and I’m certain that they’ll sleep through the night this time. You should just try and catch some sleep yourself, husband of mine.”
She felt him chuckle because his chest vibrated. “You’re probably right, Astrid. You always are.” He brought up one arm to wrap around her. Whenever Hiccup was with Astrid it was as if nothing else seemed to matter anymore and everything in his life had been worth it, as long as he had his honest, beautiful and caring Astrid in the end, the woman who had gifted him with two beautiful children. She was a blessing.
With Astrid pressed against him and the warmth of their bodies joined Hiccup felt how his exhaustion caught up with him. His eyes had fallen shut as he had his head resting against his wife’s shoulder, revelling in her arms.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m always right. That’s a dangerous thing to say, Hiccup,” Astrid replied in a teasing manner. “I thought that you had that figured out by now.”
“Ha! Ha!” He said sarcastically, earning a soft tab from Astrid against his shoulder. “I’m probably too tired to have this argument right now. I might disagree with you in the near future.”
“That’s more like it.” Even in a relationship as strong as theirs they had arguments from time to time. It would’ve been impossible to agree with each other about every little thing, especially when they had to discuss things like their children of the villagers of New Berk. They relied on each other’s honest opinion more than anything, and that’s what made their relationship work for as long as it had.
He hummed contently. “What is on your schedule tomorrow, milady?” he asked with interest.
Astrid ran her fingers through his auburn locks, and kissed his temple. “Nothing permanent yet. I’m just looking after the children and will probably be assisted by your mother. You know how obsessed that she is with her grandchildren she is spoiling them rotten.”
“I cannot blame her for that. It’s my opinion that my mother is making up for the time that she lost with me, by spending as much time as she possibly can with her grandchildren. It was only to be expected. Maybe she’ll take them to the docks since new grocers are arriving tomorrow and she’ll promise them some food for coming along.”
“Oh, that will definitely happen,” she agreed, laughing softly. “There is nothing that she wouldn’t get for them. I’ve seen it plenty of times throughout the years. She loves them as if they are their own, and that is only reasonable.”
“That’s true.” Despite the fact that Hiccup’s eyes were closed he didn’t hesitate to kiss his wife on the lips for a couple of seconds. From the way her arms went up to cup his face he knew how much that gesture was appreciated by his Astrid. “I wish I could talk with you for a while longer, but –“
“But you’re too tired?” Astrid figured wholeheartedly and Hiccup hummed in agreement. “Then we will continue our conversation tomorrow. Go and get some sleep. It's a new day tomorrow.”
Hiccup approved of that idea. He laid back on his side as Astrid laid down in front of him, and wrapped his arms around her and let them rest on her stomach. His head was buried in her shoulder and he took in the scent of her hair that was so Astrid, as sleep washed over him.
“I love you, Hiccup,” she muttered softly, but he heard it.
“And I love you too, Astrid,” he replied and he meant it.
With Astrid in his arms it all seemed right.