Mama's Little Hiccup

"The Regatta"

...

Hiccup is still three in here. I love writing about little Hiccup. He's so adorable! I just wanna go give him a hug:) And just throwing this out there...he's always hated the Regatta, haha. Inspired by his complaining about it in Dawn of the Dragon Racers. And I had to include a short bit about a Hiccstrid sleepover because let's face it...how cute would they be as little three-year-olds wearing nightclothes and tiny woolen socks? Not to mention their little yawns and childish talk and the way they'd make a mini "cuddle pile" under the covers when they got sleepy and cold. Beyond cute, right? And Hiccup's just the most loving child ever.

Also, FYI, my five part drabble series Growing Pains along with my oneshot Sleepover (all in my oneshot collection) are related to this, but they give off the more Hiccstridy side of Hiccup's life growing up. So if you want something completely focused on Hiccstrid and to see more Astrid, go check that out because there won't be Hiccstrid things in every chapter here. But anyway, here's the chapter.

...

Hiccup pouted as he splashed at the water that was surrounding him. "Mama, why do I have to take baths?" he asked.

"Because you need to get clean, love. You don't want to walk around covered in dirt, do you?" Valka said. She leaned over and began to scrub his hair.

"But I hate it," the child complained, flinching out of his mother's reach.

"Stop moving about, love. The sooner you get washed up, the sooner you can be done. And remember, we need to be at the Great Hall for the Regatta feast later, so we don't have much time to waste." Every year, the Berkians held an event known as the Regatta, where each family would build a boat and race across the harbor. The festivity lasted nearly a week; the first day, a feast was held as an opening ceremony. The following three days were the races themselves, and the final day was a closing ceremony with another feast thrown in the honor of the winning family.

"But Mama!"

"Hiccup, look at me," Valka instructed firmly, placing a gentle hand underneath her son's chin and turning his face towards hers. "You need to obey."

"But I don't wanna go to the 'Gatta feast! It's gonna be boring!"

"I don't care if you want to go or not, dear. You still have to listen to me."

Groaning, Hiccup reluctantly complied to his mother's wishes and allowed her to finish helping him wash.

"Alright, love," said Valka as she lifted her child out of the washtub and wrapped him in a warm towel. "Let's go to your room and find your good clothes; you'll need to wear those today."

"Mama, I'm cold."

"You're cold, dear?" The young woman bent down and scooped Hiccup into her arms, her fingers working to fasten his towel more tightly about him as she did so. "Let's move quickly, then."

Shivering, the little boy cuddled closer to Valka and hugged her neck whilst she carried him to his bedroom. Once there, he wriggled onto the ground and picked up the tunic and leggings that were lying on his bed. "I'm gonna wear this, Mama."

"No, those are your play clothes. Go to your closet and get clean underwear and your good clothes."

"Mama, I said I'm gonna wear this!" Hiccup flung the garments at his mother and stomped his feet. "And if you don't let me, I won't wear anything at all!"

Frowning, Valka crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "Why are you defying me?"

"'Cause I hate the 'Gatta!"

"That's not an excuse, Hiccup. Now, go get some underwear and your good clothes and put them on before I have to ask your father to come in here."

Pouting, the little Viking complied. Once he was dressed, he plopped onto his bed and buried his face in his pillow.

"Alright, love. Come pick up all these things that you threw at me."

"Okay, Mama," mumbled Hiccup. He slipped off of his mattress and reluctantly obeyed his mother's instructions. Then, after enduring the process of getting his hair combed and parted to the side, he grabbed the stuffed dragon Valka had made for him when he was a baby. "I wanna bring this," he said.

"Well, I suppose you can, dear. Just so long as you don't lose it. Now, go find some socks and your black boots while Mama gets changed."

"Mama, will Fishlegs and Astrid and Ruff and Tuff and Snotlout be at the feast?" questioned Hiccup.

"Yes, dear." Valka made her way to the door of her son's room. "They'll all be there."

"Can I play with them?"

"If you behave while we eat. Now, Mama really has to go get ready. I'll see you downstairs in a little bit."

...

Hiccup fidgeted about in his spot in between his parents and used his fork to pick at his plateful of smoked eel and cabbage.

"Eat, love," Valka urged. "This is your supper."

"But Mama, I don't like it!" The little boy put on a pout. "I really don't. I want something different."

At this remark, Stoick leaned down and gently grabbed his son's arm. "Hiccup, I will not put up with this commotion. You will sit quietly and eat your food. Your mother, Aunt Phlegma, Mrs. Ingerman, Mrs. Thorston, and a lot of other ladies in the village put a hard work into this meal. Don't be ungrateful."

"Daddy, I don't like it!" Hiccup threw his fork down.

"Would you rather have a spanking?"

"No."

"Then stop. I mean it."

"Just take five bites, dear," Valka cut in. "And then you can run along and play with your friends."

"What your mother said," spoke Stoick.

Sighing, Hiccup took his fork and stabbed a tiny piece of eel. Once he had choked down the required amount of food, he asked, "Daddy and Mama, may I be excused?"

"Yes, son," Stoick responded. "Just stay out of trouble."

"I always stay out of trouble," the child insisted as he grabbed the toy dragon that was resting in his lap and ran out of the Great Hall. "Ruff! Tuff!" he shouted upon noticing his friends rolling about in the grass.

"Hiccup! We're playing battle!" Tuffnut yelled. "Be on my side!"

"Okay. Where's Fishlegs and Snotlout and Astrid?" Hiccup wondered.

"Inside," answered Ruffnut.

"I'm right here!" called a voice.

Hiccup spun around to see a little blonde girl running toward him. "Astrid!" he exclaimed, holding out his arms. "Hugs!"

Giggling, Astrid rushed over him and, embracing him tightly, tackled him to the ground and gave him a playful punch on the stomach. "Hiccup, Uncle Finn said I can ask to have a sleepover at your house tonight."

"Sleepover? I wanna come!" Tuffnut complained.

"Astrid! You hurt me!" whined Hiccup.

"Sorry." The little girl climbed off of him. "But please go ask your daddy and mama if we can have a sleepover."

"And me, too!" Tuffnut chimed in.

"Me, too!" echoed Ruffnut.

"Okay." Hiccup rose to his feet. "I'll ask." He then made his way back into the Great Hall and over to where his parents were finishing their meal. "Mama," he began.

"Yes, love?" Valka turned to look at him.

"Can Astrid and Ruff and Tuff have a sleepover with me tonight? Astrid said Fearless Finn told her she could, and Ruff and Tuff wanna come, too."

"Four children in the house is two too many, dear," came the young woman's response. "Astrid may stay the night, but the others will need to wait and have a turn a different time."

"Okay, Mama."

"What's this?" Stoick broke in.

"Astrid's coming home with us for a sleepover after we're done here," Valka replied. "It'll give Fearless Finn a break and let us have some quiet time to ourselves without this little darling coming in and insisting he has to sleep in bed with us." She pushed Hiccup's hair out of his eyes.

"Mama's right, Daddy," said the child. "I don't get lonely and cry when Astrid sleeps over 'cause she snuggles with me."

"Well, in that case, I'm all for it," Stoick concluded.

...

Once the festivities died down for the evening, Stoick and Valka collected Hiccup and Astrid and began to make their way back to the Haddock house. There, Stoick excused himself to prepare for bed while Valka took the children to Hiccup's room.

"Alright," she said. "Get into your jammies, loves."

"Will we have a story when we're done?" the little boy asked.

Valka nodded. "Yes, dear; we'll have a story. Now go change."

"Okay, Mama." Hiccup walked to his closet to retrieve his nightclothes. Once he had them on - along with a warm pair of socks - he climbed onto his bed and dove beneath the covers.

"Mrs. Haddock," said Astrid as Valka finished helping her button her nightgown. "I want socks like Hiccup has. My foots are cold."

"Your feet are cold," the young woman corrected gently.

"Uh-huh," the tiny blonde nodded. "My foots are very cold. I need socks."

Shaking her head and smiling at Astrid's cuteness, Valka found a pair of clean socks and handed them to the child. "There you go, sweetheart."

"Astrid, you said 'foots!'" giggled Hiccup. "And it's supposed to be 'feet!'"

"Be quiet, Hiccup!" the little girl shot back as she plopped onto the ground and pulled the socks onto her feet. "And Mrs. Haddock, could I please have leggings, too? My legs are cold."

"Well, you're welcome to put a pair of Hiccup's on. They might be a bit small, though; he's such a tiny thing." Valka found the requested item and handed it to Astrid, who eagerly slipped into it.

"Mama, I'm not tiny! I'm a big boy!" Hiccup cut in.

"Of course you're a big boy," Valka assured. "You're just petite." She took a seat beside her son and sank back into the pillows, a smile spreading across her face as he eagerly crawled into her lap and snuggled against her.

"Astrid, cuddle with us!" shouted Hiccup.

The tiny blonde jumped onto the bed and tugged on Valka's sleeve as she cuddled into her side. "Mrs. Haddock, I wanna sit on your lap too, but Hiccup's taking up all the room."

"Alright, love," Valka began, gently moving Hiccup to one side of her lap. "You sit here so Astrid can join in." She then pulled the little girl atop her legs and squeezed both children tightly.

"Mama, story!" Hiccup demanded, fidgeting around.

"Yes, dear; I'm about to start right now." After making sure the little Vikings were comfortably situated, Valka began to recite the tale of when she had trained Cloudjumper for the first time. However, she didn't make it to the end, for Hiccup and Astrid soon started to yawn and huddle in closer to one another, signaling that they were about to doze off at any minute.

"Okay, loves. I think it's time to get some rest," said Valka as she gently pried the children off her lap. After slipping off the bed, she tucked them beneath the warm furs and gave them each a kiss on the head.

"Mama," Hiccup started. "I'm cold."

"Then ask Astrid if she wants to be your snuggle buddy."

The little boy turned to his friend. "Astrid, can you be my snuggle buddy? I'm really cold."

The tiny blonde yawned. "Okay." She then pressed close to Hiccup and tugged the covers up to her chin. "I can't wait for tomorrow, Hiccup. Uncle Finn is gonna race and your daddy will race and it's gonna be fun!"

"No, it's not. The 'Gatta is boring."

"Is not."

"No fighting," Valka interjected whilst she leaned in to kiss each little Viking once more. "It's sleepy time."

Hiccup let out a tiny sigh. "Okay, Mama. We won't fight again." He reached out to hug Astrid and press a child-like kiss onto her cheek.

"There you go, love. You give hugs and kisses." Smiling at the scene before her, Valka extinguished the candle by her son's bed. "Sleep well," she said as she made her way out of the room.

"Wait, Mama!" Hiccup called just before his mother could close the door.

"Yes, dear?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too," Valka responded. "Now, try to get some rest. I'll see you both in the morning."

"Mmm-kay." The little boy yawned and squeezed his friend a bit tighter. "Nighty-night, Astrid. I love you just like I love my mama. And I love Daddy and Fishlegs, and sometimes Snotlout and Ruff and Tuff, but only if they're being nice to me."

The tiny blonde returned his embrace. "Well, I love Uncle Finn and your mama and you and Ruff and kinda your daddy and kinda Tuff and kinda Fishlegs and kinda Snotlout. And I still love my mama and my daddy even though they went to Valhalla. Uncle Finn says they watch over me there with the gods. I wish I could hug them. And I wish I could have brothers and sisters to hug."

"I want brothers and sisters too, but Mama told me I can't get any."

"Maybe we could be pretend brother and sister," suggested Astrid.

"Okay," Hiccup agreed. A sleepy sigh escaped his lips.

Just then, the door slowly creaked open. "Why do I hear you two loves talking?" Valka asked. "It's bedtime."

"Mama, Astrid's my pretend sister now," said Hiccup proudly.

The Viking woman smiled. "That's wonderful, dear. Now, get to sleep. We had a busy day today and we'll have another busy day tomorrow." She began to pull the door closed again. However, the task was interrupted by the sound of her son's small voice.

"Mama, me and Astrid are snuggling 'cause it's cold and I love her and she loves me since we're pretend brother and sister."

Valka made her way over to the bed to see the two children curled beneath the furs. Their arms were wrapped around one another and Hiccup was lying half on top of Astrid, creating a little cuddle pile. "Well, don't you two look nice and cozy." She bent down to tuck the covers more tightly around them. "Now rest. You'll have the whole day tomorrow to chat about whatever it is you wee ones have to say to each other."

"Okay, Mama. We'll sleep." Hiccup yawned as he closed his tired eyes.

And indeed they did sleep, all the while comforted by one another's presence.