Snoggletog Surprise

"Honey, how's the roast?!" Astrid called as she was placing some garlands around their fireplace.

"Almost perfect," Hiccup answered as he entered the living room wearing a 'Kiss the Cook' apron. "Why are you scratching like that?" He then asked as he watched his wife of so many years with a raised brow.

"Eh.... you know that big box of angel hair we had on the topshelf in the garage?" Astrid muttered as she continued to scratch her side. "Well when I was getting the wreaths out this afternoon it fell on me. Damn stuff itches like Mrs. Ortiz on poison ivy."

Hiccup had to stifle a laugh as he imagined his wife stuck in a pile of angel hair. Astrid shot him a glare and then muttered "Oh don't look at me like that. You know with all the last minute decorating we had to do I hadn't had time to get ready yet. Damn HOA and their demands,"

In the years that had followed Hiccup and Astrid's residency in the suburbs there had been some change. When the kids were in High School quite a few of the neighbourhood signed on to create an HOA. The Haddocks were some of the only households that didn't join. Dagur and Mala hadn't joined either once they found out that there was a length requirement for grass.

"Astrid, what did you do?!" Hiccup groaned. Every Snoggletog there was something. The HOA would have these silly rules and try to enforce them but since the Haddocks weren't part of the organization they could do whatever they wanted. Astrid made it her hobby to piss them off on holidays.

"Whatever do you mean dear husband of mine," Astrid said in a fake tone while fluttering her lashes.

"Milady....." Hiccup groaned in exasperation.

"Just go look outside!" Astrid huffed.

Hiccup did as he was told but once he opened the door he was met with only a recently sweeped driveway and some snow on the yard along with some colored lights on the porch.

"Look on the roof," Astrid called out from inside as she saw her husband just standing in the doorway. Hiccup walked outside and looked up.

"OH MY THOR!" He exclaimed as he then looked at his smug wife that was leaning against the couch in front of their window and then back at the roof. "You didn't!"

"But I did!" Astrid smirked.

Hiccup just groaned because on the roof of their house was a giant inflatable sled that was being pulled by garden flamingos with mistletoe glued to them. The same garden flamingos that the HOA had banned. "Is that a plastic cactus driving the sled?!" Hiccup then asked as he walked back inside.

"I thought it would spice things up!" Astrid replied.

"Where did you even get a giant plastic cactus?!" He then asked, visibly confused.

"From Dagur,"

"Of course from Dagur." Hiccup sighed. "I'm not gonna ask where he got it from. His wife might arrest him."

"Best you don't. It's a shame that Dagur and Mala won't be joining us. They said something about heading to Heather and Fishlegs' place for the holidays. Their daughter is returning from Belgium as well this year."

"Do you want all the crazy people under one roof again?!" Hiccup asked with a raised brow. "Do you not remember last year's Snoggletog?!"

"Well...." Astrid evasively said. "I mean it wasn't the dog's fault they knocked over the fondue pot...... or set the couch on fire.... I mean, we did get to meet some nice firemen,"

"Those were two separate incidents!" Hiccup grumbled. "The fondue pot was knocked over on the table and the couch was set on fire because dad thought he could twirl flaming batons!"

"Hey, he did a good job of it until Valka came into the living room carrying a turkey!" Astrid huffed. "Should have known he would get distracted by food,"

"Luckily there will be no baton twirling this year or Dagur egging said baton twirling on," Hiccup muttered. "You go get ready. I can handle the rest."

"But...." Astrid tried to object but Hiccup just said "All I need to do is put on my Snoggletog sweater. You got that whole beauty regiment don't you."

"I just don't want to look old in front of our guests. I've been developing crows feet lately." Astrid grumbled.

"Milady, you look as radiant to me as the first day I met you in college." Hiccup said as he gave his wife a peck on the cheeks.

"Oh stop it you smooth talker." Astrid actually giggled. "I'll just be a few. Are you sure you got the rest of the preparations handled?"

"Of course," Hiccup said as he stole another kiss. "We still have an hour left until our guests arrive."

Of course Hiccup's predictions almost never turn out to be true. It was only half an hour later when the doorbell rang. Hiccup, who was busy setting the table, rushed to open it. "Mom, Dad!" He exclaimed upon seeing his elderly parents.

"Hiccup mah boy! Come give yer old man a hug!" Stoick exclaimed as he pulled his son into a bone-crushing hug. Hiccup could barely breathe and it was his mother's admonishment that caused Stoick to let go.

"I didn't think you guys would make it," Hiccup said.

"We barely did with your mother driving," Stoick chuckled. "If you knew the language she used on that poor ole GPS."

"You're lucky I only yelled at it, honestly Stoick. I just can't get behind the use of this GPS. What happened to good old-fashioned maps?!"

"I told you to update the GPS! It had maps from two years ago," Stoick grumbled as Hiccup opened the door wider so they could enter.

"How was I supposed to know they added a viaduct in those two years!" Valka grumbled as they continued to bicker like an old married couple.

"Honey, is that your parents?!" Astrid asked from above and just as Hiccup was going to answer there was some loud cursing.

"Astrid you alright?" Hiccup asked from the bottom of the stairs.

"I'M FINE!" She hollered back "AND I FOUND YOUR RUBBER DUCK!"

She came downstairs a few minutes later sporting a lilac sweater and beige pants. Both Valka and Stoick were eager to greet her and they squished poor Astrid from both sides in a hug.

"Gobber isn't coming this year?" Hiccup asked as he came out of the kitchen carrying a tray of Snoggletog cookies and drinks.

"He was going to come but apparently most airports in Europe are closed due to a large blizzard." Valka explained. "His new toyboy wanted to go skiing in the Swiss Alps."

"It might actually be serious this time," Stoick added. "They've been on and off for two years now."

"I'm sure Gobber will call like always. But where are the kids? I thought that they would be here by now." Valka said as she casually bit the head off of a gingerman cookie.

"You know the kids. Zephyr's probably stuck in traffic since she lives in Boston now and Nuffink called and said he'd be here soon." Astrid smiled as she too grabbed a cookie. "Apparently both of them have a surprise for us."

"You think they got partners?" Stoick asked with raised bushy brows.

"Who knows. The last time Nuffink called us was when he got a promotion at work." Astrid thought back. "That was..... About a week ago,"

The atmosphere was light and as Valka and Astrid went into the kitchen to get more wine there was a knock on the door. Hiccup went to answer it and as soon as he opened it he was bombarded with a hug.

"DAD!" Nuffink said as he finally let Hiccup breathe. The boy turned out to be quite the handsome guy. Dressed in jeans and a beige turtleneck sweater. He had also let his hair grow out a bit. Hiccup noticed a young lady next to Nuffink and ushered them in all the while looking with a raised eyebrow at his son. Astrid and Valka chose that moment to walk back into the living room and upon seeing her son, she rushed over to greet him. The two wine bottles, still in her hands.

"Mom, dad, gramps, gran," Nuffink said rather nervously. "This is Natalie, my girlfriend." He finally introduced.

"I called! Stoick didn't I call it!" Valka exclaimed as she punched her husband in the arm lightly.

"Come sit, sit," Astrid said as she ushered the poor girl in between her and Valka. The ladies poured three glasses of wine and Natalie's shocked eyes stared at Nuffink as a wine glass was given to her.

"Mom, granny, please don't make a big deal out of it yet. Uhm... we only started dating a month ago." Nuffink quickly elaborated as Natalie blushed.

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit shy," the girl mumbled. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. Nuff's been gushing about his family."

"Dad, can I talk to you for a bit?" Nuffink whispered as he nearly dragged Hiccup to the kitchen, leaving Stoick alone with the three ladies.

"What's up?" Hiccup asked once the kitchen door was closed.

"So... uhm.... Natalie... She's never celebrated Snoggletog before," he confessed. "It's her family, they're... workaholics and she doesn't see them often. So I kinda promised her a real Snoggletog but when we got to the door I realized that maybe our family is a bit.... You know too much,"

"You shouldn't have left her with my parents in the other room then," Hiccups deadpanned.

"OH THOR," Nuffink uttered. "I don't want my girlfriend to escape out the window like my last." He said before he quickly ran back into the living room.

"Wait.... What's this about your last girlfriend and a window?!" Hiccup followed after him. He stopped when he saw Nuffink looking at the ladies and his grandpa drinking wine and eating cookies.

"Oh good, nothing's exploded yet." He uttered.

"And nothing will as long as I keep you, Astrid and my mom out of the kitchen. You've inherited their.... Unique style of cooking."

Apparently he said that loud enough for Natalie to hear and she chimed in, loosening up quite a bit due to the wine, that Nuffink managed to burn the teflon off her favorite frying pan when he was making a grilled cheese sandwich.

"You two seem awfully cozy for just dating for a month," Astrid observed as she took a sip of her red wine.

"We were roommates before we started dating," Natalie explained. "I always liked him and just recently got up the courage to ask Nuff out for a coffee."

"Wait wait wait...... hold up." Valka's eyes grew wide. "You made a move on Nuffink and not the other way around?!"

"Uhm... yeah, it was all accidental by the way." Natalie muttered. "I walked in on him in the shower and the first thing that slipped out of my mouth was.... Want to grab a cup of coffee?,"

It was still for a moment before everyone, with the exception of Nuffink, burst out laughing. He looked to his mother and Astrid managed to mutter back "You better keep this one," as she was laughing.

"Speaking of that boy of mine.... Where did I put the photo albums," Astrid muttered while standing up. "Excuse me for a moment."

"Mom!" Nuffink called out as his mother passed him and walked to the stairs.

"Mom for the love of Thor NO!" He exclaimed as he followed her up towards the bedrooms on the second floor.

"Oh hush honey. She will see them at some point, might as well be now," Astrid shot back.

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

"Oh honey, remember the time Nuffink tried to eat your beard?" Valka casually commented and if Nuffink had been in an earshot he'd probably be mortified. Hiccup just hummed as his mother spilled some very juicy stories to Natalie who just giggled. He supposed he should feel for his son but with the amount of embarrassment his own parents had put him through when they met Astrid Hiccup just thought "Buck up boy,"

There was a knock on the door and Hiccup went to answer it. He was once again hugged by one of his offspring.

"Hiya dad," Zephyr grinned a toothy smile as she let her poor father go after nearly suffocating him. "Where's mom?"

"Upstairs," Hiccup answered as he spotted a small shape behind his daughter. "Well hello there, who might you be?" He crouched down. The small shape turned out to be a girl that couldn't have been more than five by the looks of it. Big brown eyes peered at Hiccup and the girl reflectively hugged Zephyr's legs harder.

"Sarah, don't be shy. This is my dad," Zephyr introduced. "You know the crazy guy I told you about that put together a catapult in the suburbs."

"Hey!" Hiccup actually pouted as he ushered him in. "That was on a dare you know,"

Valka gushed upon seeing the cute child and even Natalie cooed.

"Hush Nuffink. You know you had this coming!" Astrid smirked as she descended the stairs with her son hot on her heels. Under her arm was a box that had all the old photo albums before they went digital.

"But mooooooom!"

Astrid stopped on the last step of the stairs when she saw her daughter and a small child. Nuffink wasn't prepared for this and nearly crashed into her.

She shoved the box into Nuffink's surprised hands and went down to hug Zephyr. "And who is this little angel?" Astrid asked when she turned her gaze to the child.

"This is Sarah, I've been fostering her for a few months now and I'm going to adopt her. That's the big news I had. I want to give her a family and I hope you guys will support me." Zephyr explained.

"Of course you have our support!" Astrid exclaimed.

"If I knew you'd bring a child with you I'd have done more Snoggletog shopping," Hiccup then said as he picked up Sarah and twirled her around. "What do you think about having this crazy family in your life?" The girl just giggled.

Soon Sarah was introduced to her future great grandparents, and Natalie was introduced to Zephyr as well. It was quite the merry band in the living room, wine and baby pictures going around, and Astrid commented "You know what, this calls for some Yaknog!"

Hiccup stilled and his eyes widened as he watched his wife walk in the direction of the kitchen. "SWEETHEART! NOOOOO! NOT THE YAKNOG! I DON'T WANT TO CALL THE BIOHAZARD GUYS AGAIN!"

The End

AN: This is the last in the series that is a part of: Suburban Shenanigans, Neighbourhood drama, The violent cases of Momma-dragon Astrid (oneshot), Bumps in the road (oneshot), First day of School.