How To Tell Hiccup

How To Tell Hiccup Part 1

A fluff story about Hiccup and Astrid missing their dragons because I watched Homecoming and I'm a mess. Not strictly in After The War universe.

Edit: Whew, this was not supposed to have a pregnancy reveal in it. Exactly where did that come from, brain? Why must you keep adding in random plot lines? Also soon to be a two-shot.

Rated: T (Very light)
Time zone: A year and a half after The Hidden World

Hiccup trudged home, knee deep in the snow. His prosthetic sank into the fluffy white powder, and he struggled with every step to bring it out of the freshly packed snow. He stopped to take a breath. Gods, he really should've taken the time to shovel out the path to his house.

He lifted his head to gaze around him at his village. The moonlight shone on every clump of snow, only outshone by the lanterns hanging from every dragon-shaped rafter on every house.

Hiccup was incredibly proud of New Berk. With the help of all his villagers and his trusty team of Fishlegs, Snotlout, the twins, his mom, Eret, and Astrid, he had built a prospering village from the bare ground in a matter of months. More than 30 houses were built to accommodate the numerous people on New Berk. Sheep would bleat noisily, the children would play, and the Vikings would go on their daily business in the bright sunshine.

But now was night. He had stayed up late at the forge, where he had a small office to work alone. The job of Chief required him to interact with all kinds of people every day, but occasionally he felt overwhelmed and worked alone in his locked cubicle off the side to the forge. Only him and Astrid had the key.

Looking up again, he returned to the tedious job of trekking to his house on the top of a hill, overlooking the village. He reached the brightly lit house and smiled, knowing in a few minutes Astrid would poke her head out of the window and scoldingly usher him in.

And so she did. He saw her hands flip open the shutters, and then a few seconds later the door opened to the sight of his wife holding a basket in one arm. "Hiccup!" She called. "Come on, get inside!"

Hiccup grinned and clumped up the stairs. He ducked into the house and shut the door after Astrid. He stamped on the mat, brushing the snow off his pants and arms.

Astrid bustled around the cozy room, dashing back and forth between the kitchen and the living room. They had been fortunate enough to have extra space and supplies to add extra rooms for themselves, though of course since he was the Chief he was entitled to some form of special treatment.

He sighed and slumped on the couch, stretching his arms and warming his legs (well really his leg and stump) in front of the fire. He turned his head to wearily watch Astrid ladle soup into bowls for them. He yawned. "You would not believe the crazy day I had."

Astrid chuckled. "Well, I can imagine it was a crazy day. You came home at ten."

Hiccup whirled around to stare at the clock. "Oh, wow, that is a lot later than I thought." He sighed. "I'm sorry. Taking such long days isn't fair to you."

Astrid shook her head gently. "It's fine, Hiccup. You're the Chief. This stuff happens." She walked over and rested her hands on his shoulder. "In that case, dinner is ready. I kept it warmfor you."

"Thank you." He stood up to walk over to the dining table and sit down to bowls of steaming hot soup and yak chops. He smiled at Astrid as she sat down on the other side of the small table.

They dug in, both trying to hide their hunger to the other but epically failing. Within a few minutes, the food was gone and their bowls drained. Hiccup wiped his mouth on his napkin and leaned back in his chair. "Your cooking has really improved. A few years ago, you didn't even know how.