Hiccup was taking it so well. That was the first thing she noticed.
Hi, @fulltimeviking! I was your Secret Odin, I hope you like your present! Happy Snoggletog!
Hiccup was taking it so well. That was the first thing she noticed.
They were settling into this new life, on this new island, with a chief that had only been reigning for a year. There was an understandable, natural apprehension in the air.
But Hiccup was emerging as the chief that she knew he was, but never bothered to fully let out. There were always “accidental” moments on his part, where he spoke and acted like a great leader, but without realizing it and refusing to acknowledge it later. After the dragons had left, though, he’d been in full leadership mode, and she knew the Hooligans appreciated it.
About a month later, Astrid snuck into his hut. It wasn’t entirely appropriate, but it wasn’t anything she hadn’t done already. And it wasn’t like she had inappropriate intentions. Hel, he was probably too tired to do anything anyways.
Sure enough, her boyfriend was fast asleep on his new desk, his too-long hair sprawled on the desk. Astrid allowed herself a smile - at least he was resting.
She leaned down and kissed his cheek softly, turning around to try and find a blanket before she heard him shift. When she turned around, he was sitting up, smiling at her, light bags under his eyes.
“Hey,” he mumbled.
“Hey,” she said, kneeling down and pecking his lips. He stood up, sliding his arms around her waist and resting his head on her shoulder.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?”
“I was just checking up on my favorite guy.” Over his head, she saw about a dozen doodles of Toothless, as though Hiccup was scared he’d forget what he looked like. “Sorry I woke you. You should get in bed.”
Hiccup kissed her jaw. “I’m glad you woke me. I was having a nightmare.”
“Wanna talk about it?”
“Nah, it’s nothing you wouldn’t expect.”
“I want you to talk about it to help you, not to entertain myself.” She kissed his cheek and walked over to the bed, sitting down. “It’s alright if I can ‘expect it.’”
Hiccup shook his head and she tugged him down, until he was resting his head on her lap. He sighed tiredly and closed his eyes, digging into her stomach as she stroked his hair.
Astrid looked at the drawings again, and this time, she noticed some dried tears on the page.
“Hiccup -” she started abruptly, but he had followed her line of sight and interrupted.
“I’m allowed to miss him,” he said fiercely. His tired eyes suddenly were filled with something else entirely, some combination of pain and longing and anguish. “Am I not allowed to miss him, Astrid?”
“Don’t say that to me,” Astrid responded coolly. They stayed in their position, but Hiccup turned his head, not meeting her eyes. “I was going to tell you to stop repressing it.”
Immediately, he looked guilty. “I'm sorry. I - I didn’t mean - gods, I know that was really rude.”
“Hiccup.” She turned his face to meet his eyes and put her hand on his cheek. “You don’t want to start telling me about rudeness, or I’ll have to apologize to you all night.”
Hiccup laughed - but halfway through it became a sob, and he squeezed his eyes shut as tears started to fall from his eyes.
“I miss him so much, Astrid.”
“I know,” she whispered, and she did. Sure, maybe she hadn’t been as close to Stormfly as Hiccup had been to Toothless. But that didn’t mean Astrid wouldn’t occasionally turn around to pat Stormfly’s head and feel dejected when her hand met the air instead, or that she felt a little empty when she woke up and didn’t have bird-like eyes watching her.
The ground was so restricting.
She gently brushed the tears from his face with her thumb, kissing his cheek as he his breath hitched.
Their eyes met.
“You’ve always been there,” he murmured, leaning up, using his arm to hold himself so that their faces were centimeters apart. “How can I thank you for something like that?”
Astrid captured his lips in a short kiss and murmured, “My days begin with you, Hiccup. The night ends with you. Every moment, every breath I take...you’re my everything. You never have to thank me for anything.” As an afterthought, she teased, “But it would be appreciated.”
This time he was the one who leaned up and kissed her, cupping her cheeks and as her arms rested around his neck. They got comfortable on the bed, with his hands falling down and snaking around her waist.
And they spent that night together, trying to forget, trying to remember, and making new memories, safe in each other’s embrace.
