The morning was reasonably cold, and anything cold was normal on Berk as the weather on said island normally varied from snow to rain. Sunny days were seldom, but also constantly hoped for and welcomed. The snow was covered in frost and snow from previous snowstorms of the previous days and nights.

Valka woke up to see two green eyes staring straight at her.

"Morning, Hiccup," she greeted. "What are you doing up so early?"

Hiccup sat back as he looked at her knowingly. "I'm not up early," he said casually as she sat up. "You're simply up late."

Valka ruffled her son's hair, and Hiccup scowled, brushing it back in place. She had learned that Hiccup got into the habit of staring at her whenever she slept in in the morning. The first time he did it, it was April Fools day, and she had nearly had a heart attack because she was not expecting it, but after that, it became almost a regular thing.

"And besides," Hiccup went on when she didn't respond, still trying to fix his hair, "I've been waiting for you to wake up all morning, ever since I first got up."

"Oh?" Valka asked, raising an eyebrow. She knew how early Hiccup got up every morning; he was the Chief of Berk, after all. He had to get an early start on the day. "What is it?"

"Well," Hiccup began, "hang on just one second. Don't move." With that, he jumped to his feet and raced out of the room. Valka could hear his uneven footsteps as he climbed the stairs to his loft. She sighed as she waited for his return, looking around her bedroom.

Valka had been living on Berk for nearly four years, and yet, she never thought she would fully get used to waking up in a bed. She had spent twenty years living with the dragons, sleeping within Cloudjumper's wings, and she was so used to that that sometimes, she woke up in panic, trying to remember where she was and how she got there.

Then it would all come back to her.

She heard a clatter come from upstairs, like the ones she heard when Toothless accidentally knocked over a table. "Hiccup?" she called. "You alright?"

There was a pause and another clang before she got her reply. "Nothing happened, but I can fix it!" Hiccup's muffled voice shouted back. Valka shook her head, smiling to herself. Out of everything Valka liked about Berk, Hiccup would have had to be the best part. While she was living with the dragons, she had always pictured Hiccup becoming a dragon killer, like Stoick was before the Berkians made peace with the dragons. But as it turned out, Hiccup was more like her than she had ever pictured. If they were the same age, they could have been twins, both with the same personalities and practically the same looks.

Valka was also particularly fond of her daugher-in-law, Astrid. Astrid and Hiccup had married nearly two years after the fight with Drago.

Hiccup reappeared, his hands behind his back. "Close your eyes," he ordered. "And no fair peeking."

Valka shut her eyes. "You're keeping me in suspense, aren't you?" she said.

"I learned it from the best," Hiccup replied. "Remember how we met for the first time in twenty years? You kidnapped me and Toothless. You are the master of suspense. Hold out your hand."

Valka did as she was told, her eyes still closed tightly. She felt Hiccup place something into her hand: it felt reasonably small and wooden. She opened her eyes, and found herself looking at a small box placed in the palm of her hand.

"Open it, if you want," Hiccup said, pointing to the box before stepping backwards, looking torn between excited and nervous. Valka opened the lid of the box, and gazed inside.

"Wow," she breathed, reaching in it.

It was a necklace. The chord was leather with clay beads tied into it. It didn't look fancy, but it did look beautiful. The pendant was a small, clay dragon that was almost a perfect replica of Cloudjumper.

For a few moments, Valka could only stare at the necklace in amazement.

"I just...well," Hiccup began, "happy mother's day."

Valka looked up at him. She was still getting used to the concept of Mother's Day. After all, she had really only known Hiccup for four years. She didn't celebrate Mother's Day at the dragon's nest, so it was something new to her.

She also felt guilty whenever she remembered how she had abandoned Hiccup for twenty years, and yet he was still so kind towards her. Sometimes, of course, he would bring up the fact that she left him, and once, after the battle, he even got mad at her for it, but after that, it was as if it never even happened. He didn't like having it mentioned, and he always changed the subject whenever it was brought up.

"You don't have to like it," Hiccup said quickly. "I mean, I totally understand if-"

"It's beautiful, Hiccup," Valka said. "I don't know what you're talking about. Where did you get it?"

"Uh...I made it?" Hiccup said nervously. "I know, it's terrible-"

"Stop saying that," Valka said, putting the necklace around her neck, standing, and then embracing her son. "I love it."

She honestly never understood how she ever got Hiccup for her son. He welcomed her even after not seeing her for twenty years. He forgave her after she abandoned him, and it took a special kind of person to do that.

Hiccup hugged her back, and then pulled away after a moment. "I should go make sure the twins aren't killing each other again," he said casually.

Valka nodded, thinking of Ruffnut and Tuffnut and their dangerous antics. "That sounds like a good idea," she said. "Remember what happened the last time you left them unattended?"

Hiccup shuddered. "I don't know how I could forget it," he said. "It took us three days to get Tuffnut out of that hole, after all." He smiled, turned, and headed back down the stairs. "Having a mother is awesome!" he called as he left. "I've only had one for four years and it is brilliant!"

The door opened and closed, indicating his departure. Valka got up out of bed and began getting herself ready for the day.

"Good morning, Valka," Astrid said when Valka went downstairs. "Happy mother's day."

"Thank you, Astrid," Valka said in response. "So, have you told Hiccup yet?" she asked as she sat down across from her daughter-in-law.

"Not yet," Astrid said, "but I will today."

…

Toothless circled the isle of Berk before landing in the plaza afterwards. Hiccup dismounted, his foot and prosthetic sinking into the deep snow. Villagers waved to him, and he waved back casually.

"Morning, Hiccup," Astrid said from across the plaza as she approached her husband. She kissed his cheek, and he kissed hers. "How are you doing this morning?"

"Cold," Hiccup replied. "Well, cold-er," he corrected himself. "Are you doing anything with your mother today?"

"We haven't done anything yet," Astrid said, almost dolefully. Her face brightened a moment later. "I'm planning on getting her a new axe later on. Her old one's chipped. Would you mind helping me out with it?"

"Of course I wouldn't," Hiccup said. "When do you want it done?"

"By tonight, hopefully," Astrid said. "Think the Great Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third is up to the task?"

"Certainly," Hiccup said. "It's just one axe. I've done harder things in the past."

Astrid nodded, but it ended quickly. "I need to talk to you about something else," she said. "It's important."

"Alright," Hiccup said. "Shoot."

"Well-" Astrid began, only to be cut off when something cold, hard, and wet hit her shoulder. She whipped around, coming face to face with a sheepish looking Snotlout, who was tossing a snowball up in the air casually, whistling. The twins were standing at his side.

"Okay," Astrid said, crossing her arms, "who threw that snowball?"

Snotlout stopped whistling. "He did!" he shouted, pointing wildly at Hiccup.

"WHAT!?" Hiccup yelped. "I DID NOT-"

Astrid crouched down, grabbed some snow, and hurled it at Hiccup. Since she was close to him, she got a perfect shot, which resulted in the hastily made snowball shattering against his face.

Snotlout and the twins laughed.

"You're next," Astrid warned, grabbing more snow off the ground.

"Oh, shoot!" Snotlout shouted, jumping out of the way of Astrid's ammo, which she proceeded to throw at him. He just barely missed it, but Tuffnut got in the way. The snow hit his stomach.

Hiccup glanced back at them. "Teams," he said, making a snowball casually as he spoke. "We need teams. Astrid and me versus Snotlout and the twins. Who shall prevail?"

"Haha, cool!" Snotlout exclaimed.

Hiccup threw the snowball at him. It slammed into Snotlout's face, and Snotlout wiped snow out of his eyes.

"Oh, cool," Snotlout said. "I get it. The snowball is cold and I said cool and then you-AAAAH!"

The next five minutes were full of snowballs. Eventually, the other villagers joined in, and soon, the dragons did as well. It got to the point where everyone who had a dragon was assigned with a burlap sack in which they used to fill snow with and dump it over someone's head.

Hiccup especially loved that part. He rode Toothless straight over Snotlout, flipped his bag upside down, and had his cousin covered in snow instantly. Snotlout looked up at Hiccup in shock.

"Whose side are you on!?" Snotlout challenged.

"Mine!" Hiccup replied as if it were obvious. A snowball shut up his gloating. He glared at Tuffnut. "Treason!" he shouted. "I call treason! Profanity against the Chief of Berk! What do you have to say for yourself, Tuffnut Thorston!?"

"Um...I hit you!" Tuffnut said. "Ha! Tuffnut stands strong again!"

Astrid dumped a bag of snow over his head, and Tuffnut suddenly didn't look so smug.

It lasted for nearly an hour, and by the time it was finally over with, most of the Berkians were drenched head to toe in freezing snow. Hiccup approached Astrid, shaking ice out of his hair.

"That was brilliant," he said. "Crazy and idiotic, but brilliant."

Astrid smiled at him. However, her smile faded quickly, and she crossed her arms. "I'm disappointed in you," she said, sounding sad. "No, seriously. I'm very, very upset with you."

"But why?" Hiccup asked. "What did I do?"

"Well," Astrid said, "it's just that...you haven't wished me a happy mother's day."

"But you're not a mother," Hiccup said simply.

Astrid simply stared at him, her smile coming back. It took Hiccup a few moments, but at length, his eyes widened, and he stared at her in shock.

"You mean…" he stuttered. "You mean you're...you're…"

"Yes!" Astrid answered happily. "Isn't this great?"

Hiccup didn't answer. Instead, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed.

He fainted.

"Hiccup!?" Astrid said, kneeling by him and leaning directly over him. After a few moments, his eyes flickered open, and he sat up.

"You really mean it?" he asked. "You mean...you mean…"

"Of course I do!" Astrid said. "Hiccup, we're going to be parents!"

"Oh...my gosh," Hiccup said breathlessly, half laughing as he ran his hand through his hair. "Oh my gosh, Astrid." He hugged her fiercely, and she hugged him back.

"Happy mother's day, Astrid," Hiccup said against her shoulder.

Author's Note:

Yay! :D Mother's day was yesterday...I was going to post this then, but then I had to finish writing it, and that was important...I hope you all liked this one-shot! Happy mother's day! :D

Until next story!

-BeyondTheClouds777