Chapter 12

Hiccup yawned and stretched as he sat on his side of the bed. Astrid was still snoring soundly next to him and hogging all the blankets again. Bleary eyes turned towards the digital display of the small clock on his nightstand. It read 6:09 AM which meant time for them to get up and get things ready. School started at 8 so the kids had to be at the bus stop by 7:30 which meant they would have to wake up at 6:30.

"Astrid honey," Hiccup shook her awake. A very tangled head of hair was sticking up at odd angles was all that peeked out from under the blankets. Hiccup rolled his eyes as it was one of those mornings. There were mornings when Astrid would wake up before him and be as chipper as a June bug and then there were these mornings when she did a great impression of a starfish and refused to move an inch.

Luckily over the years, Hiccup had perfected the art of waking his wife up. First he tugged all the blankets away from her which elicited a groan followed by her patting the mattress in her sleep, searching for them. Then Hiccup said a silent prayer to Thor and every other deity out there because the next part could potentially get him killed. So far it hadn't and for that he was grateful. With a big heave he tilted the mattress causing Astrid to roll out of the bed and land on the floor with a thud.

"SON-OF-A-HALF-TROLL-EATING-MUNGE-BUCKET! I WAS JUST ABOUT TO WALK THE RED CARPET!" Astrid shrieked and Hiccup ducked as one of her night slippers sailed past his head.

"Honey you have that presentation today!" Hiccup quickly said, trying to placate her, as Astrid's eyes narrowed at her husband. The other slipper was thrown but Astrid did get up, albeit begrudgingly.

Hiccup decided to make himself scarce and fled to the bathroom as Astrid started picking out one of her business suits. He needed to get ready anyway so he might as well take a bath first. Stripping out of his nightclothes and tossing them in the hamper he reached a hand into the shower to turn the nob, waiting for it to get to the right temperature. No one expected the sudden high-pitched yowl as something jumped against the shower curtain and sent it crashing down on Hiccup. Hiccup himself will to this day never admit that he screamed like a little girl but Astrid would always gleefully remind him of it. Speaking of his oh-so-beautiful wife, upon hearing the yowl and scream she actually kicked the bathroom door in while brandishing a plunger she got from Thor knows where in the room. Hiccup almost wanted to point out that the door had been unlocked.

The broken off shower curtain that had actually landed on him had a small lump that had started moving. Astrid was eyeing the lump with suspicion as Hiccup pushed back the curtain only to reveal a sopping wet and grumpy black cat with the greenest eyes.

The Haddocks didn't own a cat so they were confused as to how the hellion got inside. Then Hiccup spotted the bathroom window that seemed to have been nudged open. "Smart cat," Hiccup murmured and the cat in question gave a meow as if it agreed.

They were going to be late, the clock already read 6:35 AM when Hiccup staggered out of the shower. He was followed by the black cat that was now dry and surprisingly fluffy. Astrid jumped into the bath as Hiccup proceeded to wake the kids up. That was a task unto itself as Nuffink just wouldn't let go of the pillow. Zephyr stood watching her dad with bleary eyes before she noticed the cat sitting in the hallway as if he owned the place. "KITTY!" Zephyr shouted and reached for the cat only to have the hellion dart between her legs and down the stairs.

The kids were sent to bathe and get ready and Hiccup rushed down the stairs to pack the lunches and make breakfast. That blasted cat was still in the house and actually sat on the kitchen island, watching as Hiccup went to work.

"You know you're going to leave don't you," Hiccup told the cat. The response he got was the cat laying down and stretching.

There were several meows as food was being prepared. Hiccup opted to pack the kids and Astrid turkey sandwiches while making grilled cheese ones for breakfast. "No I am not feeding you," Hiccup told the cat sternly only to be met with more insistent meows.

Hiccup groaned and gave in when breakfast for the kids was done. He rummaged through the pantry and came back with a can of sardine. "Cats like sardine right?" Hiccup mumbled more to himself as he opened the lid and placed it in front of the black cat that was watching him intensely. The cat sniffed the sardines and then meowed at Hiccup again.

"Oh come on! It's fish! You can't be toothless!" Hiccup grumbled. It took a few minutes after that before the black cat was digging in.

There was stomping on the stairs and he saw the kids and Astrid come down. Astrid was carrying Nuffink under her arm like a sack of potatoes while her other hand held a pair of high heels. "Hiccup have you seen my flats?" Astrid asked with a frown. "I was sure I left them on the shoe rack."

"They're next to the door. Remember you used them to chase after that package thief a few days ago." Hiccup reminded her as he handed Zephyr a plate of grilled cheese and her lunch box. "Oh right," Astrid said as she put Nuffink down who then raced to pet the kitty.

"Nuff eat or you guys will miss the bus." Hiccup stated as he pushed a plate towards his son.

"Zephyr do you have your permission slip?" Astrid asked.

"What permission slip?" Here Hiccup frowned. His daughter groaned but dug into her backpack and handed Hiccup a very pink piece of paper.

"We're supposed to visit the Berk museum of fine Art," Zephyr didn't sound at all thrilled. "They have some Civil war exhibits."

"Well that's good. Why aren't you excited?" Hiccup frowned.

"Because she doesn't like History anymore," Nuffink spoke up between bites.

"Since when?" Astrid asked once she had downed nearly the entire pot of coffee.

"Since learning History isn't fun anymore," Zephyr huffs. "Our regular teacher is having a baby so we have a sub for the year. No one likes our sub."

"And why not?" Hiccup asked and he hoped that it was for some lame reason.

"Because she's mean," Zephyr stated. "She threw an eraser at Ricky and even the mean girls in class don't like her. Janet got yelled at because she was reading her history book, in history class."

"Anything else sweetheart?" Hiccup asked now as worry started to set in his mind.

"Uhm....." Zephyr mumbled.

"Yes," Hiccup encouraged.

"If we don't agree with what she said we get yelled at a lot and what she teaches us is not what's in the books." Zephyr stated.

Hiccup turned around and said "Astrid put the cleaver down! I'll handle it!"

"But...."

"No buts. You have a presentation to give and a promotion to get," He told her and then looked at the clock. "Kids, bus,"

His wife actually grumbled but she took her lunch, pecked him on the cheek and grabbed her keys. Both Zephyr and Nuffink hugged their dad and raced out of the house to walk to the corner bus stop. Hiccup belatedly noted that the black cat followed them out of the door.

Now that he was alone he picked up the phone and dialed Dagur's number. "Hellooooo," Came through the other end and Hiccup just had to roll his eyes.

"It's me Hiccup. Didn't you tell me once you used to work in the school system?" Hiccup asked over the phone. "I need some advice and I'll make it worth your while. I got enough ingredients here to make eclairs."

Hiccup was still on the phone with Dagur when there was knocking on his door. Hiccup opened it and saw Dagur with the house phone to his ear. He raised a brow as Dagur asked "Why hello brother! Did you say eclairs?!" Hiccup seemed to be really slow this morning because he realized that Dagur must have jumped two fences to get here so quickly. Whatever diet Mala had him on certainly made him desperate.