I know I know! Hicretstrid 46? :D
46. making a blanket fort
“Okay, this goes here and then this should—”
Astrid broke off and yelped when, once again, the entire construct of blankets and rods and strings collapsed around her. One of the woollen blankets covered her like a cartoon ghost, but for once, it wasn’t funny at all. In fact, she felt more like crying.
“No! Why isn’t it working, dammit?” she exclaimed, frustrated as she tore the blanket off her head. “I’m sure that’s how we used to build it.”
She looked down at the mess of fabric on the floor, her shoulder slumping down in defeat. “I’ll never figure this out.”
“Ah, come on,” Eret said from where he stood near the entrance to the room. “I’m sure all you need is a break to clear your head.” He shared a look and a nod with Hiccup next to him; and usually Astrid would have demanded to know what her boyfriends were planning right away. But today, she felt too drained to care.
“Okay, I have a suggestion,” Eret went on, holding out his hand to help her get out of the mess, then tugged her into the direction of the living room. “How about we cuddle on the sofa for a while and you tell me more about your uncle?”
Sniffling, Astrid nodded. She let Eret pull her along, but noticed that Hiccup disappeared into the direction of… their office room? Did he still have work to do? Well, he would have his reasons. For now, curling up against Eret’s chest and letting him slowly rub her back was more than good enough, anyway.
“So, how was he?” Eret asked in a soft voice. “You rarely talk about your uncle, and all I know by now is that he built the best blanket forts ever when you were a kid.”
Astrid nodded against his chest. “He really did,” she mumbled. “And I don’t know why I’m like this today. I mean, he’s been dead for fifteen years now.”
“But it’s the anniversary of his death, no wonder you think of him more today.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” She sighed. “Okay. Uncle Finn was my mother’s younger brother. But in a way, he acted more like an older brother to me whenever he came to visit us. I don’t really remember that much about him, but some things, I can still remember as if it had only been yesterday. Whenever he was here, we always built this blanket fort, and then we had picnics in there, cookies and hot chocolate. When I was younger, he often read me my favourite book, and when I was older, we told each other scary or funny stories. Or we made ourselves comfortable and played Mario Kart. And when there was a storm outside at night, we sometimes even slept in there, safe and comfortable.”
“Sounds like he was the best uncle anyone could have.”
Astrid’s lips twitched, and she nodded. “Yeah, he really was.” She leaned up to give Eret a light kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”
Chuckling, he squeezed her shoulder. “Anytime, love.”
For a while, they stayed there on the sofa, entangled in a comfortable embrace, until Hiccup appeared at the door, a strange expression on his face.
“Astrid? Would you come here and take a look at this?”
She frowned a little at his ominous tone, but curiosity quickly got the better of her. What was Hiccup up to?
Eret quietly followed them as Hiccup led her back to the mess of blankets she’d made in their guest room—except that the mess wasn’t there anymore. Instead, there was a blanket fort, the blanket fort, the exact same one her uncle Finn used to build for her. It was perfect; the walls round and oval, the mostly flat roof with a tiny tip in the middle, the ground inside covered with blankets and all her favourite cushions. Even the entrance was the same, opening by pulling on a string to the side.
She was speechless, her eyes once again filling with tears. Though this time, they were happy ones.
“I asked your mum whether she had any pictures of that fort you used to build,” Hiccup admitted sheepishly. “She apologised for not having any good ones, only of you with the fort in the background, but… well, it was enough to reconstruct it. I… hope that’s okay? That I built it without you? It seemed to be important to you, but I didn’t want to disappoint you in case it wouldn't work.”
Astrid gaped at him, a little dumbfounded. He’d gone to such length… just for her stupid blanket fort? She really had the best boyfriends in the entire world.
Grinning, she threw herself at Hiccup, arms wrapped around his neck, and kissed him. Hiccup chuckled against her lips but happily returned the kiss, large hands wrapping around her waist and pulling her closer. It made her think of a few new things they could do in this reincarnation of a blanket fort, but before her mind got the chance to drift off further, Eret entered the room as well. He carried a tray with steaming cups; had he been to the kitchen just now? Astrid hadn't even noticed that he'd left.
“So, here's hot chocolate and some of Hiccup's chocolate cookies. How about we properly break in this new old cuddly cave?”
For the second time in only a few minutes, Astrid was speechless. Her eyes flickered from Eret to Hiccup, to the tray and to the blanket fort, her mouth opening and closing several times, but no sound came out. With overly careful motions, she took the tray from Eret’s hands and placed it onto a sideboard. And then she pulled both her boyfriends into a tight hug, squeezing them so they wouldn’t notice how much her arms were trembling.
“Thank you!” she breathed. “I… don’t know what to say, except… this is perfect! Thank you so much, both of you.”
Both men chuckled and wrapped arms around her. “You’re welcome, Astrid. You were so sad and…”
“And if this makes you happier again, then it was worth every effort,” Hiccup finished the sentence.
These two… they truly were the best boyfriends in the entire world.
After holding them close for long enough to reign in her emotions again, Astrid eventually turned back to the blanket fort behind her. Getting down on her knees, she crawled inside the cosy little cave, smiling even more when she saw that Hiccup had even included the camping light dangling from the ‘roof’.
“So, what do you want to do now?” Hiccup asked a little while later after they’d cleared their mugs of hot chocolate and a plate full of cookies in comfortable silence.
“Yeah. We could start with telling stories,” Eret chimed in. “I have some new ones from work you’ll never believe are true. But we could also get the Play Station and play some game or other. Or would you rather talk more about your uncle? Honour his memory?”
They both looked at her expectantly, and humming to herself, Astrid took a minute to think about it. But then she shook her head. “No, I don’t want to talk about him.” She looked around the new yet so familiar blanket fort and felt a wave of a childlike sense lightness and safety blossoming inside her. Just being here and thinking of her long-dead uncle felt like a good way to honour him already.
“I think I’d rather get comfortable. Maybe just cuddling for a while?” She felt a little sheepish, but when she saw the soft smiles on Eret’s and Hiccup’s faces, she instantly felt reassured.
“Cuddling is always good.”
“And a cosy cave like this is practically made for cuddles, anyway.”
A little while later, Astrid lay comfortably between the cushions and blankets, snuggled up against Hiccup’s chest and with Eret curled around her back. It was one of her favourite positions for group cuddles, and as she lay there, warm and safe between them and surrounded by this gift they’d made her, she once again couldn’t help but acknowledge that she was the luckiest woman in the world for having them in her life.
Yeah, she truly is! That was fun, thank you! ^^
