This story was requested by 'marine1324'.
This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the How to train your dragon world, which is trademarked by DreamWorks Animation L.L.C. and originally written by Cressida Cowell, and I do not claim any ownership over them or make any money from them. This story is for entertainment only and is not part of the official storyline.
Prompt: Modern AU, Hiccup and Astrid are married and Toothless and Stormfly are their children. Since both of them are busy at work they have Mala babysit and of course chaos ensues.
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Mala's babysitting adventure
Hiccup smiled as he played tea party with his little princess while his six year old son was busy coloring in the new coloring book he had been given.
"Daddy would you like some more tea with your biscuit?" His nine year old asked as she poured some for her pet Boa Mathilda and her Ken doll.
"Sure thing princess." Hiccup laughed as he held out the pink plastic tea cup. Stormfly hummed as she pretended to pour her daddy some tea.
"So daddy you wanna hear the latest news?" Stormfly laughed as she smoothed out her pink frilly dress.
"What have you got for me sweetie?" Hiccup asked as he pretended to sip tea.
"Well, Toothy got a crush." Stormfly told him casually causing her little brother to yell. "No I don't, No No NO!"
"Aaaw, my little boy is growing up." Hiccup laughed causing Toothless to shout "NO No NO" again.
"Stormy is being mean!!" Toothless shouted back as he threw a crayon at his sister.
"Hey no throwing things!" Hiccup admonished causing Toothless to pout. "Besides your sister had a crush too."
"Daddyyyy!!" Stormfly shouted. "That was three weeks ago!! I don't need a man to make me happy!!" This caused Hiccup to nearly choke on his non-existent tea.
"And Mathilda grew again!!" Stormfly continued on like normal. "She's now thissss big!!! She indicated stretching her tiny hands apart while giggling. Hiccup looked to the Boa, which he had gotten his daughter when she had seen it in the pet shop and fallen in love with it, and indeed noticed that the snake was now nearly 7 feet long. It lay curled up on the plastic chair not really caring if it had tea or not.
His wife, Astrid, had nearly fainted a year ago when she saw the reptile draped over his neck that evening with their daughter cooing and making silly faces at it. Hiccup convinced her, while dodging sharp pointy objects, that raising a pet would be a good experience for their daughter.
Astrid had made him promise to get Toothless a either rabbit or a bird when he turned eight and not another reptile.
"Daddy daddy!!" Stormfly called trying to get his attention. Hiccup snapped out of his musings and looked at his daughter.
"Ken is sad!!" Stormfly explained while pointing to her hawaiian shirt wearing Ken doll.
"And why is that sweetheart?"
"Barbie left him to go space exploring and now he needs to start speed dating!!"
Hiccup raised his eyebrows. "And where did you hear about this speed dating?" He asked.
"Aunty Heather and mommy were talking about setting auntie Camicazi up!" Stormfly stated proudly.
'Well that explains it.' Hiccup thought. Hiccup's phone chose that moment to ring.
"Hello?" He answered as he got up from the little chair and stretched his legs.
"Hiccup, I know it's your week off but I need you fill in for Dagur tonight." He heard Alvin, his boss, say. "We've had a bit of an emergency here and most of the nurses worked themselves into the ground. I sent Dagur home after he worked 2 days straight and was beginning to sing 'Mary had a little lamb' nonstop. Can you fill in for him in the ICU? I have to call in all available personnel for this."
"Alright, how late do you want me to be there?" Hiccup asked as he knew it must be bad if Alvin was asking him during his time off. "I need to see who will look after the kids."
"If you could come in around six that would be great." Alvin mumbled.
Hiccup ended the call and then dialed his wife's phone. "Hi honey!!" Astrid chirped when she answered it.
"Hi!!!" Hiccup said in a sheepish tone which caused Astrid to groan.
"What did you blow up now?" She asked as she knew Hiccup liked to invent in his spare time. Astrid still wondered what had happened to the wheelbarrow.
"I didn't blow anything up. Alvin wants me to come in around six. There seems to be an emergency. He asked if I could fill in for Dagur in the ICU. Are you still coming home at five?"
"Oh sorry hon. I'm swamped with this new case. It looks like a long night for me." Astrid mumbled. "The defense attorney is trying to roadblock me."
"I don't think I can find a sitter on such short notice." Hiccup told her.
"Wait let me take care of that." Astrid quickly said. "I'll call you back in a bit."
"Daddy do you have to work?" Toothless asked as he tugged on his father's pant leg.
"Seems so little buddy." Hiccup told him.
"But we were gonna make cookies for mommy." Toothless pouted.
"We can still make cookies for mommy tomorrow." Hiccup told his son. "How about you and I go play some catch before I have to get ready?"
"Yeay!!" Toothless beamed but then said. "But daddy you have to throw really hard!!"
"And why is that?" Hiccup asked.
"Because you throw slower than mommy!!" The boy beamed which caused Hiccup to lift a brow.
Astrid called her husband back a few minutes later as he was playing catch. "Hi hone-Ouch!!" He mumbled as the baseball hit his head. Toothless giggled and when to retrieve it.
"Good news. I called Heather and she gave me the number of the babysitter she and Fishlegs use. Her name is Mala and she'll be there at five. I promised to pay her a bit more as this was last minute as well as overtime if neither of us makes it home by midnight."
"That's great" Hiccup told her.
It was nearing five o'clock when Hiccup was dressed in his nurse's uniform and awaiting the babysitter. Both Stormfly and Toothless had been told and were watching cartoons when the doorbell rang.
Hiccup opened the door to see a young teen standing there who could be no older than sixteen or seventeen he guessed. "Mr. Haddock, pleasure to meet you. I'm Mala."
"Hello Mala, thank you for coming on such short notice." Hiccup told her as he showed her inside. "These are the kids, Stormfly and Toothless." He introduced. The two children briefly looked at Mala before going back to watching Scooby-Doo.
"You have nothing to worry about Mr. Haddock. I've babysat countless times. I'm sure we'll get along great." Mala assured as she adjusted her messenger bag.
"That's good to know. I've written down all the emergency numbers so you'll know where to contact us and we'll give you a ride home if it gets late." Hiccup told her. "Now you guys be good. Daddy will be home as soon as possible."
"We will!!" Both Stormfly and Toothless chorused.
"Thank you Mr. Haddock. I'll take good care of them." Mala assured as Hiccup gave each of his children a kiss.
"Bye daddy!" They shouted as Hiccup pulled out of the driveway.
The kids went back to watching cartoons as Mala also took a seat on the couch beside them.
"I was wondering?" Toothless spoke up suddenly. "Why are they called cartoons? We watch them here so shouldn't they be hometoons?"
"Eh......." Mala mumbled not really having an answer for that question but it looked like Toothless didn't need an answer as he went back to watching.
Once Scooby-Doo ended the kids turned and watched Mala curiously. "So what do you kids want to do?" She asked.
"I don't know." Stormfly answered. "What do you want us to do?"
Mala thought for a moment before answering. "How about you two play quietly?" She suggested.
"What do we get in return?" Stormfly asked innocently.
"How about my attention?" Mala suggested.
"But we don't want that!!!" Toothless suddenly shouts. "I want a cupcake!!"
"I don't think we have cupcakes."
"Yes we do!!!" Toothless now stated. "Daddy made some because mommy's cupcakes turn out like bricks!!"
"Eh...... Okay" Mala mumbled not really understanding the bricks comment.
"Wait!! If Toothly gets a cupcake then I want one too!!" Stormfly stated.
"Alright... alright. I guess one cupcake couldn't hurt." Mala said more to herself than the kids. She went into the kitchen with Toothless and Stormfly happily trailing after her and found the aforementioned cupcakes in the refrigerator.
"Here you go." She said while handing the kids one cupcake each. She saw their eyes light up and they hummed happily as they gobbled it down.
Mala however found out later that the cupcakes were a bad idea. "WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING!!!!" She yelled at Toothless who was yelling and running around the living room. "WHY IS HE SHOUTING!!" She now asked Stormfly.
"I'M NOT SHOUTING!!" Toothless yelled. "THIS IS MY REAL VOICE!! ALL MY LIFE I'VE BEEN WHISPERING!! NOW I'M FREE!!"
"You gave him sugar." Stormfly gingerly told Mala. "You shouldn't have given Toothy sugar."
"Now you tell me!" Mala exclaimed.
"Yes" Stormfly deadpanned before running to her room.
It took a while before Mala had Toothless back under control. The boy was now watching her as he played with a black dragon plushie. Mala had out her phone and held it to her ear.
"Hiya babe" She greeted completely missing Mathilda slithering towards her.
Mala talked more on the phone and told him what she was doing, not noticing Mathilda slithering across her shoulders. Only when the snake came face to nose did Mala's eyes widen. She let out a girlish shriek as the boa wrapped around her.
"Babe what's wrong?!!" Could be heard from the other end of the line as mala shrieked. "Hold on I'm coming!!"
Mala was shrieking as the boa found something new to explore and licked her neck.
"There you are Mathilda." Stormfly suddenly came into the room and gently took the snake. "I've been looking everywhere for you!!"
"WHAT IS THAT!!" Mala shrieked as she was warily eyeing the snake.
"A snake duh" Stormfly dryly said. "You scared her."
"I scared her!!! I scared her!!" Mala shouted.
"Of course." Stormfly stated. "Mathilda wouldn't have hurt you. She just wanted a hug."
Mala eyed the snake which cocked it's head at her before Stormfly cooed at it and walked away.
"Don't worry." Toothless suddenly said. "Mommy had nearly the same reaction. Daddy now hides the knives if they fight a bit."
"........Okay......" Mala mumbled.
Mala sighed and then looked around. "Is there anything you want to play?" She asked. Toothless brightened up and said "Wait I know!!" before heading up stairs.
Mala's phone rang again and she saw that it was her boyfriend Throk. "Hi babe." She greeted. "Sorry that the call got cut off."
"No worries. I'm here!" came from the other end.
"Here where?" Mala asked curiously.
"At the front door babe!!"
"Wait what!!" Mala exclaimed. She rushed to the door and opened it to see her boyfriend with the phone to his ear smiling and trying to be manly. "What are you doing here!!" Mala yelled. "You can't be here!!"
"Why not?" Throk asked.
"I can't just let my boyfriend into a place where I'm babysitting. The parent's won't ever trust me if they find out!" She hissed.
"Hey, don't worry babe." Throk shrugged. "I can just escape through the backdoor or leave before they come. They wouldn't know I was here."
"And what if the kids tell?!" Mala asked as she glared at Throk.
"Well..... We could always bribe them." Throk suggested.
"I got it!!" Toothless happily told them as he descended with a box. He stopped when he saw Throk and looked at him curiously.
"Hey little man" Throk greeted. "I'm Mala's friend. What have you got there?"
"Monopoly" Toothless said a little shyly.
"Well do you want to play?" Throk asked as he bent down to Toothless' eye level. "It's more fun if there are more players right?"
Toothless nodded and then asked. "What do you want in return?"
Throk raised a brow and looked at mala. "Smart kid." He muttered.
"Well little man how about we play the game and I get to also spend some time with my friend. In return you don't tell your parents I was here."
Toothless looked at Throk and then at Mala. "Yeah, I'm not feeling you right now." He mumbled. "I want cookies. Chocolate chip cookies."
"This kid drives a hard bargain." Throk mumbled. "And I'm sure you know where these cookies are."
"Highest shelf." Toothless mumbled. "Get me cookies and play the game and I won't tell daddy."
"I don't think he needs more sugar." Mala mumbled.
"Oh come on babe." Throk said. "How bad can it be."
Mala let out a sigh and walked into the kitchen. She saw Stormfly sitting on the floor with the snake and opened the cupboard. She saw the blue cookie jar and picked it up. It felt suspiciously light and mala opened it to see that it was empty.
"Where are all the cookies?" mala asked aloud.
"Ninjas ate them." Stormfly piped up innocently. Mala then got a closer look and saw some crumbs along the girl's mouth.
"I don't see any ninjas" Mala answered back.
"No one ever does." Stormfly said innocently.
In the end Throk had managed to convince the kids not to tell if he promised to play one game of their choosing. That was how they ended up playing Monopoly with Toothless and Stormfly. Mala and Throk couldn't believe it. Not long into the game and both of them were nearing negatives and had to mortgage properties.
"Are you sure you don't want to sell me that station?" Toothless innocently asked. "I'll give you a good deal. I'll pay off the debt you owe Stormy."
"This kid is devious." Throk whispered as he was looked at his pawn which was stuck in jail for three more turns for tax evasion.
"Mama always says you should work for what you want." Stormfly told them.
"Fine kid." Mala grumbled as she handed Toothless her train station. She was sure this kid would be a shrewd businessman one day.
The game continued and when Throk got out of jail he landed on Toothless' property which had two houses. "Pay!! Pay!!" Toothless laughed as he bankrupted the man.
"I can't believe I lost to a kid." Throk mumbled as Toothless scooped up the properties he won. The game continued as Toothless won more. At one moment his sister got angry and threw a pillow at him.
"I don't want to see you doing that again!!" Mala reprimanded.
"Then close your eyes!" Stormfly countered which caused Mala to let out a groan.
Toothless ended up winning the game and then Stormfly giggled "My turn! My turn. We play what I want now!"
"What do you want to play?" Mala asked. "We could play princesses." She suggested.
"Noooooo" Stormfly said. "I wanna play astronauts."
"Astronauts?" Throk asked. "Don't you want to be a princess or something?"
"Being a princess is boring!!" Stormfly exclaimed. "I end up rescuing the inept knight every time. I wanna play astronauts!"
"I don't wanna be the knight again." Toothless mumbled.
"So what do we do?" Mala asked.
"It's easy!!" Stormfly exclaimed. "We're the trainers and you're the astronauts. You go to the moon and we get you there."
"I'm not sure I get it." Throk whispered to his girlfriend as the little girl lead them to a set of chairs.
"Just go along with it." Mala whispered back. "They'll be tired soon and then I can put them to bed."
Mala and Throk proceeded to sit in the chairs and Stormfly wrapped jumping ropes around them and tied them to the chairs. "Seatbelts!" Stormfly told them while giggling.
"Alright what now?" Mala asked.
"Now you go to the moon." Stormfly said happily. "That will be three days I think. Don't move."
"Wait what!!" Throk shouted as he tried to get free.
"Toothy wanna play the floor is made of lava?" Stormfly asked and Toothless squealed before jumping on the couch. "The floor is lava! The floor is lava!!" He shouted as his sister joined him on the couch.
"Hey what about us?" Mala asked as she also tried to wiggle free.
"You're going to the moon!!!" Stormfly shouted back giggling.
"These kids are crazy!!" Throk muttered as he wiggled but then fell over with chair and all. "Great, just great."
Mala took a breath and tried to hop towards the couch where she left her purse. She didn't leave home without her trusty pocketknife. Mala let out a happy sigh as the children had tied the ropes above her elbows allowing her to grab the pocketknife. Once she cut herself free she helped Throk and then turned and angrily glared at the rambunctious children.
"Alright you two!! Enough!" Mala told them sternly. Toothless and Stormfly looked at her curiously, waiting to see what she would do. "I think it's time for bed."
"Don't wanna" Toothless told her while bouncing back and forth on his heels.
"Well you're gonna!" Mala grumbled. "Now go get ready!"
Stormfly dragged Toothless with her as she looked at Mala and Throk before sticking out her tongue. The kids headed up stairs and the teens heard doors slamming.
"That was way too easy." Throk told his girlfriend. "Way way too easy. They must be planning something."
"Now you're exaggerating." Mala told him while laughing. "They're just little kids. They probably tired themselves out."
"I don't know babe." Throk mumbled.
"Oh hush. It's time you head home as well." She told him. "I don't want to get into trouble."
"Fine fine." Throk told her. "I still think those kids are up to something."
Mala dismissed her boyfriend's ominous feeling. She however didn't notice see two pairs of calculating eyes watching her closely.
"She's alone again." Stormfly whispered.
"At least we don't have to do the separate and destroy anymore." Her little brother whispered back. "Daddy told us to be good. What if mom and dad find out?"
"They won't." Stormfly smirked. "You forget. I got dad's brains."
"..........wait.......... What did I get then?" Toothless mumbled.
"Dunno." The girl told him. "Now let's go. We have work to do."
"Yea yea."Toothless mumbled but eagerly followed his sister.
It was nearly midnight when Astrid came home. She was slightly worried as her neighbors had called her to tell her that they saw a young woman being chased by a sheep down the street. The only sheep she could think of was Fungus. Their neighbor Mildew, for whatever reason kept it as a pet. It still had Astrid slightly worried since it was so close to home. Hiccup had called earlier to let her know that he would clock out around one.
Astrid let out a relieved sigh as she parked in the driveway of her two storey home and everything looked quiet. She thought that maybe they had made a mistake. She got out of the car, grabbed her briefcase, and made her way to the front door. When she opened it she expected to see their sitter somewhere as the living room was in full view.
"Mala?" Astrid called the young woman she had spoken to on the phone. She went upstairs and checked in on her kids who were sound asleep. It was then that she heard a rustle come from the kitchen.
As Astrid stepped into the kitchen she saw a young woman hugging her legs near the island counter. The woman was rocking back and forth and looked quite frazzled.
"Mala?" She called out once again and the young woman turned to her. Her eyes widened when she saw Astrid and then she latched onto her.
"I can't take it anymore!!!" Mala babbled. "Devils..... Sheep...... yarn..... Whyyyyyyy?!?!!"
"Are you alright?!" Astrid asked as she tried to calm the woman down. "What happened?"
"They're devils!! Devil spawn!! NO WAIT!! They would send devils running!!!!" Mala continued babbling. "Overtime isn't worth THIS!!"
"Alright Mala. Why don't you take it easy." Astrid told her calmly like she had dealt with all this before. "Look, I'll take you home. I'm sure you're tired."
"I.....I....I" Mala whimpered but nodded.
"I do want to find out what happened with that sheep?" Astrid mumbled to herself but Mala still heard it.
"SHEEP!!! NO NOT THE SHEEP!!! GET IT AWAY!!!!" She shouted and sank back down, hugged her knees, and curled into a ball.
Astrid let out a sigh. She still had no idea why no sitter ever wanted to return.
-------------The End--------------------