pregnancy whump? say no more!
"I'm pregnant!" The admission snaps out into the air like a popped bubble in the muck.
Hiccup scoffs in surprise at the obvious (and ridiculous) lie. "Snotlout, I... don't think you can get—"
"Okay, go ask Gothi if you don't believe me!" Snotlout's arms are crossed, expression firm. Oh. Oh, he's not lying. That's. Hm.
Hiccup visibly realigns his understanding of the world, then starts again. "I... okay, you're pregnant. How are—no, wait, not important." He shakes off the question, and continues, "Why should that stop you from coming back to the Edge? You're not planning to keep it, are you—"
Snotlout looks away, face creased. His expression and body language spell out everything Hiccup needs to know, while also answering none of Hiccup's questions.
"Dad told me to keep it." Snotlout admits.
Hiccup sees red. He turns around, intent on marching straight to Spitelout's house to give the man a piece of his mind. It's bad enough that Spitelout's already unpleasant to work with and actively detrimental to Snotlout's ability to work with the rest of the riders, but now this? Telling Snotlout what to do with his body—
Snotlout's grip on Hiccup's arm stops him short. "Hiccup—" he starts.
Hiccup wrenches his arm away. "Snotlout." His tone is firm, just barely staying even as he looks down at his friend. "Do you want to keep it?" It's Snotlout's choice. Not Spitelout's.
Snotlout's grimace is answer enough. The words out of his mouth are even worse. "It doesn't matter what I want," He admits, "All of house Jorgenson wants me to." He says it like it's a matter of course, that his clan can just make these kinds of decisions about his body, and Hiccup has to swallow down a scream before he can speak.
"What about the dragon riders?" He asks. "We need you, Snotlout—we can't have one of our best grounded for several months." It's true; against the dragon hunters, they need everyone doing their part.
"You'll just have to go without me." Snotlout retorts. "I'm not budging on this. I can't let my clan down."
Hiccup and Snotlout stare each other down for a long moment. Finally, Hiccup breaks the stalemate, turning towards the chief's—his father's—house. "I'm telling dad." He says, only for Snotlout to grab him again.
"Don't you dare." Snotlout hisses. When Hiccup looks back at him, it's to see Snotlout's eyes wide with fear. "Hiccup—don't tell anyone." He lets go of Hiccup's arm. "Please."
Shit. Fuck. Odin's tits. "Snotlout, it's kind of pointless to avoid telling anyone when the whole village is going to know in a few months!" He doubts House Jorgenson would want Snotlout living out on Dragon's Edge while pregnant, and even if that were the case, the fact that Snotlout came all the way back to Berk to address the issue instead of going to Fishlegs speaks volumes about how few people know. Regardless of where Snotlout goes, everyone around him is going to figure it out once his stomach starts to swell.
Snotlout's eyes roll. "What, you think I'll be staying here?" He scoffs, bravado returning, "My parents always had a plan for when this kind of thing happened. Nobody needs to know it's.... you know." Even now, it's hard to say it directly, even to someone who knows about it. A lifetime of living with a family dancing around the fact will do that, Hiccup supposes.
Hiccup sighs. "Fine. But I'm still going to have words with Spitelout." He turns on his heel and goes. Snotlout doesn't grab at him, instead opting to follow behind him, Toothless and Hookfang following along. As he walks, Hiccup's mind works, gears spinning in search of a solution. He can't let this stand—maybe he could pull rank? Well, he could if it was just Spitelout that was the problem, but being the son of the chief won't be enough against an entire clan. If he could just go to his father for advice—but no, Snotlout asked him not to. Hiccup's not going to just violate his privacy like that.
Fuck. Fuck. Damn it all to Valhalla.
Ah! Thank you for the fic! It was certainly a surprise to see this morning!
