#snotlout is the only one to point out how bad hiccups plans are | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

clovermarigold · 2 years

Text

Daggers and Daffodils Chap.13

Dagur x Reader

Hi everyone, I'm happy to say since summer is nearly here chapters should start to come out more frequently, or at least be higher quality, I'm also happy to say I really enjoyed this one. Rewatching Riders of Berk reminded me of what drew me to his character in the first place, especially when compared to his character growth in RTTE. Enjoy the chapter!

-Clover

Narrator POV

You frowned as Silvertongue huffed for the umpteenth time. He had become more protective and clingier since his first encounter with Dagur, and even more so from the events with Alvin. "Cmon' bud, I'll be fine. Besides Tuffnut will be with you" it did little to sooth him. You and the other riders were currently on the beach of dragon island thanks to a 'genius' training exercise thought up by Astrid.

Tuffnut was exaggerating his 'connection' to the dragons so he could skip out on the exercise, "Y/N, you have my word, I will treat Goldtooth like my own daughter" he said dramatically, placing a hand on his wing only to quickly withdraw it with a growl from Silvertongue. You raised a brow at him "It's Silvertongue, and he's a boy". After grabbing your empty satchel from Silvertongue (the only gear you were allowed, so you could gather any herbs for medicine), you said your final goodbyes and split up to make camp and cross the island.

It was dark with only the moon to light your way through the islands forest. You continued to wander until you found an open clearing: open enough so you'd be able to see danger and surrounded by tall trees to hide under, not too many herbs, but it would do, and clear of any clouds large and dark enough to pose the threat of rain, "Seems as good a place as any".

Hiccup had expected to scold Snotlout for his lack of stealth when he walked into the small campsite. He was not expecting a deranged Dagur to tackle him to the ground.

"Dagur!" he was lifted into the air. "Hiccup old friend! You're alive!" Dagur pulled him into a hug. "Oh yeah- Haven't seen you since-" "Since you saved me from that dragon attack back on Berk. You fought off" his grin widened, "A night fury" Hiccup swallowed nervously.

"I mean you were like" Dagur fawned as he made sound effects while swinging his sword [Authors note, sorry I just had to point out how adorable this scene was]. "And then Y/N told me to run, and I was like: NO!" he said, face contorting angrily at the end before softening as he continued. "But then she got all assertive and-" Hiccup suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable when Dagur paused, and he noticed Dagur's cheeks turning pink, and his smile become dopey. All at once though Dagur seemed to realize, "How is Y/N? Is she safe?" He grabbed Hiccup's shoulders ignoring his personal space, but hey, that wasn't new.

"Y/N? Y-yeah, she's fine" Dagur sighed releasing Hiccup. "Good. I mean- I knew she'd make it but-" he paused before his gaze narrowed at Hiccup. "So, what are you doing here?" He pointed his sword at Hiccup making him retreat slowly.

"Don't answer that. I know exactly what you're doing" Dagur said before Hiccup could speak.

"You do?"

"Oh yeah, I do. You're here for the exact same reason I am, Hiccup. You're here to hunt dragons" Hiccup blanked out for a second, 'well, that's not what I thought you were going to say but sure'. "Ok- You got me. That's what I'm here for, all by myself" Dagur lowered his sword before getting closer to Hiccup. "So, whatever happened to that night fury, Hiccup?".

"Oh yeah well, just- Bad news, it got away". "Thats great news Dagur said shaking Hiccup before wrapping his arm around Hiccup. "New plan: you and I are going to hunt the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. We're going to take down that night fury once and for all".

Hiccup's breath caught in his throat, with the dragons/specifically Toothless on the island, this wasn't going to end well. 'It'll be fine' he reasoned with himself, 'As long as I keep Dagur away from the cave they'll be fine' however his eyes suddenly widened in fear, and he stumbled back, falling onto the log Dagur was sitting on. He had left Tuffnut with the dragons. 'Oh Thor'.

"Hiccup, ever since I left Berk, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you" Dagur said fiddling with his sword in thought. "Well, that's kinda strange".

"I KNOW!" he yelled with a deranged smile, "Especially since It's usually your sister, huh" his smile then dropped. Hiccup was really starting to get tired of his mood swings.

---------------------------------------------------------

You had just finished gathering a few peonies when you heard a faint howl in the distance, one that seemed to be getting closer. "I didn't know dragon island had wolves". Reasoning that being in an open field wouldn't be the best place anymore: now that you could easily be surrounded by a pack of wolves, you gathered your things and wandered into the woods. You had two close encounters with dragons, being a small swarm of Gronkles and a particularly upset Natter, but you were able to handle them with ease. You continued to make your way towards the cave when you heard a familiar high pitch scream not too far away.

--------------------------------------------------------

Dagur was alerted at the sound of Snotlout and Fishleg's scream when they crashed into one another, drawing his crossbow in hopes of it being the night fury. "Fishlegs" Hiccup greeted. "Would you look, it's Dagur. Who is also out hunting dragons, just like us". "Hiccup, your definition of 'alone' and mine, are very different" Dagur said, "But perhaps thi-" a rustling in the bushes cut him off as he drew his weapon once more.

"Snotlout, could you be any louder?" you asked as you began approached where you heard the girlish scream.

Dropping his crossbow, the moment he heard your voice Dagur ran. Causing you to crash into him as you exited the bush. "Y/N" Hiccup dragged out in mock excitement, "I thought you were back on Berk. You know, while were HUNTING" he stressed. Despite Hiccups hidden meaning you were still trying to piece together what had just happened. Hearing a scream in one moment and face first in a wide chest the next... wait. Looking up you saw the familiar deranged smile, "Y/N, my love!" Dagur wrapped his arms around your waist, lifting you into the air.

"Your here! I take it back Hiccup. I like your definition of 'alone'". "Hiccup? mind explaining" you asked while Dagur was distracted burying his face in your hair. "We ran into Dagur, you know, while we were HUNTING" He said.

"Oh. Yeah" you said, dang it your acting had not improved. Being put back on the ground Dagur opted to rest his hand loosely on your waist. "Look at you!" you winced at the volume, "You look". "And not a scratch on you" Dagur said as he completed his once over of you. "You must of really did a number on that dragon. I wanna hear all about it, but first!" he pulled you into his side. One arm wrapped around you, the other gripped his crossbow, "Lets catch us a night fury" you gulped.

By a few minutes into the hunt for toothless most of your friends had already joined in after being caught. Eventually however, you had stumbled onto him.

"The night fury! Hiccup, my brother, you've done it. You've led me right to it!" Dagur cheered aiming his crossbow. You prepared to knock his arrow out of range, a last effort resort that would most likely blow your cover. When Hiccup tried to distract Dagur, arguing he should be the one to kill the night fury. Thankfully a swarm of Terrors Astrid had released swarmed Dagur enough to where his shot missed and allowed for toothless to get away.

"What's wrong with you? I almost had those Terrible Terrors! They were in my hand" Astrid yelled at Dagur. "Terrors shmerrors! We're hunting a night fury. Did you leave anyone back on Berk?" He rolled his eyes and went to retrieve his bolt.

"Did he say, hunting a night fury?" Astrid asked when he was out of ear shot. "Yup, that's exactly what he said" Hiccup deadpanned.

"But toothless is-" "I know" Hiccup interupted. "And if he's loose. then so are the other dragons" you felt your stomach drop at the thought of Dagur quite possibly hurting Silvertongue, or worse.

"You guys need to find Ruff and Tuff, grab your dragons, and get out of here." Hiccup said. "Hiccup, I won't be able to leave without Dagur noticing" you said. "I know, but we'll have to come up with something. If the other dragons are loose, it's only a matter of time before Silvertongue tracks you down. And something tells me he hasn't grown to like Dagur in the span of a few hours" you nodded.

"We're not leaving you". "Don't worry, Dagur won't hurt us" Hiccup said, "Y/N is out of the question. And besides, I'm his 'Brother'". Dagur entered the conversation throwing his arm around yours and Hiccups shoulders, "Come, while the trail is still fresh" he lifted you both almost effortlessly carrying you down the trail. "I can't hunt with an entourage. Go back to Berk leave us with our business".

"Y'know Y/N" Hiccup said making sure Dagur could hear, "I'm sure dad is wondering where you are, and we have this handled. Why don't you go home?" you nodded frantically and tried to pry yourself from Dagur.

Dagur laughed normally before it grew maniacal and angry, then stopping abruptly his smile returning. Daur placed both of you back on the ground" don't be foolish Hiccup, Y/N wants to see me kill this hellish beast. Right?" suddenly all his attention was back on you, and you didn't know if you wanted to run from his intense gaze or stay in it forever. Not knowing how to answer you stayed quiet, your salvation coming in the form of toothless, who was back in sight.

The chase restarted, Dagur taking the lead, shooting a bolt every now and then. "You're not going to hit anything like that" you said catching your breathe. "I know that. I'm just trying to keep him running in that direction" he shot a flaming arrow into the sky. "What was that?" Hiccup asked. "To be honest hiccup, I didn't exactly come alone either" he chuckled as a number of flaming arrows returned fire, responding to his signal. "Dagur, nightfurys are very lethal. A few men won't make a difference".

"Really, you think so? Lucky for us I brought the armada along, and like a bazillion armed Berserkers". Irritated beyond belief you hit Daur in the back of the head. Dagur let out an offended noise turning to you before softening slightly. You put on the charm, smiling lightly, "Bug". "Thank you, my love" he smiled. He turned to continue the hunt, and your smile dropped, Hiccup giving you a look. "What?!". Hiccup sighed, "Nothing, Just wait until this is over and you can hit him as much as you want".

You gasped as your attention was drawn bac to toothless who was cornered at the cliffs by Dagur and his crossbow. Hiccup clenched his fist before finally losing his patience, "Ok, that's it. I am not going to let you kill that dragon". "This again" Dagur said annoyed, "Fine, you saw it first. You can take home a wing or something". "No, I'm pretty much going to take the whole thing" he said.

"Hiccup? Right now? Here? We're doing this?!" You asked hearing a familiar roar approach from the woods. "Yep, right now" Hiccup did his dragon call, causing toothless to jump over Dagur and stand at Hiccups side. You in turn let out yours, however it was most likely unnecessary considering the very upset Silvertounge that came hurdling out of the woods a second before you called and stood protectively between you and Dagur.

Dagur stood mouth agape for a few seconds before finally speaking, "Is that a-".

"Saddle?" Hiccup answered, "Yes Dagur. Thats exactly what it is". His gaze suddenly shifted to you, and you couldn't help but avert your eyes. Silvertongue on the other hand did not enjoy this newfound attention on you and let out a defensive roar. "And that!?" he yelled, "The dragon from the arena?! You didn't kill it, did you?!". Anger began to swell in you at the idea of Dagur wanting you to kill your own Dragon, "No. I didn't" your blank expression and monotone voice caught Dagur off guard once again, and you and Hiccup mounted your dragons.

"So, I was-". "Right, all along" Hiccup confirmed, "We do not hunt dragon on Berk. We ride them". "Your father lied to me" Dagur locked eyes with you then Hiccup, "You lied to me!" you swallowed, tightening your grip on Silvertongue's saddle to keep your blank expression, despite the wave of guilt that had crashed into you.

"He was trying to keep the peace between our tribes, Dagur" you reasoned. "By making a fool out of me?!". "You don't really need a lot of help with that, Dagur" Hiccup said. He was about to take a step towards you when both toothless and Silvertongue forced him back. "Your move" Hiccup challenged.

"You could have been my brother Hiccup, now you're my enemy" he looked to you, "You twisted her mind, and turned her against me!". "I made every one of my choices by myself. Hiccup had nothing to do with it".

"Just wait Y/N, I'll find you. Then I'll bring you back home" Dagur's face shifted from insanity to determination as if he thought he was saving you, and then back to its derangedness when Hiccup spoke. "Have it your way. But remember, we have the dragons. And we are not afraid to use them". Taking off, you looked back to where Dagur stared at you. "Just you wait Hiccup! I'll have my nightfury! And my queen!". You turned away, gripping your saddle. "You ok?" Hiccup asked.

Were you?

--------------------------------------------------------

"So, Berk does train dragons" a Berserker warrior said, "I should kill that runt and his traitor sister for lying". Dagur shoved the Berserker against the ships mast "No! No one hurts Hiccup. No one! Except me" a smile spread across his face at the idea. His smile suddenly faded, "And anyone who lays one finger on Y/N, will answer to me" he chuckled, "well, me and a pod of Scauldrons while their tied to the back of the ship" the crew of Berserkers gulped. "I'll have my queen, and my nightfury. And Hiccup will rue the day he made a fool of me" his deranged smile resurfaced as he stared in the direction of Berk.

Thanks for reading the chapter <3

Next chapter due date: 7/8/22 (max)

Did I make a AOT reference... maybe (Enter guess in the comments)

#dagur #dagur the deranged #httyd dagur #dagur x reader #httyd #Race to the Edge #riders of berk

57 notes · View notes

zozophoenixxx · 3 years

Text

Serotonin Booster :D 🐉

How to train your dragon edition

Here are some things I had forgotten or little details I just noticed on my rewatch, maybe even Unpopular Opinions 🤭👀

✨Race to the Edge✨

SEASON 6

I love how the twins were basically the reason Hiccup figured out that Johan was the spy

NOOO THE WAY GOTHI WENT TO TRY AND STOP STOICK FROM THROWING AWAY HER MEDICINE AND THEN GOT THROWN OFF THE CLIFF WAS SO FUNNY [ep2]

Omg that fight between Hiccup and Stoick in ep2 was crazy whenever Stoick said "I'm talking to the expert in getting duped by Trader Johan" and THEN HICCUP WAS LIKE "but I was only duped for half as long as you were. So what does that make you?"

Awww the way both Toothless and Skull-crusher were trying to get them to talk

And also Astrid being the only one that wasn't caught by the Hunters right away, she's just superior bro

I love how both of them were right - Stoick was right to not trust the merchants and Hiccup was right about Johan's plan

Toothless is actually so strong like he's not only agile and clever, I mean he just flew up to the ballista and crashed against it and destroyed it without using his Plasma Blast 😎🤩

Mala and Dagur fighting over where the Dragon Eye lenses are gonna be hidden is hilarious. Mala is so calm I love it

I got chills when Atali was like "no, Hiccup, this is my island I will defend it"

I really want to know the origin of the Wingmaidens, like where did all these women come from? How come they're still there?

I love Minden and Snotlout's relationship, the way he tried to convince her to not give up AND SHE KISSED HIM!!!

Krogan's Singetail actually cares about him

Never gonna get over Adelaide Kane voicing Mala

Also Snotlout running when the dude had the razorwhip on him LIKE HE WAS LITERALLY FLYING AND HE WAS STILL RUNNING Y'ALL HAVE TO WATCH THAT SCENE I JUST DONT KNOW HOW TO DESCRIBE IT ITS IN EP3

Generations ago Fishlegs's ancestors were dragon hunters

The Loyal Order of Ingerman - decimated the Dramillion dragons, pushing them to the brink of extinction

Grump is amazing I love him

Dramillions - have both a lava blast and a magnesium blast. Omnivores. Still being hunted.

The Hunters were founded by Ingar Ingerman

The Dramillion trying to take the manacle off his tail🥺

And when Fishlegs threw his helmet and THEN THE HAND THING 😭🥺

I love the Dramillions they're so smart they learned how to get rid of the manacles by just looking at what Meatlug and Stormfly were doing 🥺

I just realized that the twins are 19 AND I FIND THAT ABSOLUTELY CRAZY HOW CAN THEY BE THAT OLD

I really wish we knew each of their birthdays like I wanna know which one's older and which one's younger

I feel like for some reason the twins would be the oldest ones then Fishlegs then Astrid then Snotlout and lastly Hiccup. Idk I'm still iffy on this

Most Thorstons don't make it to 19

I love the twins' relationship, they love each other so much that they would rather be alone and not form part of a clan than leave each other alone and the fact that other people know this too? Plsss like the only reason Gruffnut got them back into the fake induction trials was by telling them how bad it'd be for each other to not be part of a clan.

Titanwing Zippleback HOW DO THEY KNOW ITS A TITANWING IT LOOKS THE SAME AS THE OTHER ZIPPLEBACKS

"Ughh, what's the point of winning alone? Being a Thorston means nothing without him. We are one Thorston."

I love them and also technically Ruffnut won the induction trials.

THE LAST LENSE GOSH

Love how Fishlegs cares about global warming

I'm all Snotlout, Toothless and the Triple Stryke reacting to Mala and Dagur- I'm also Mala whenever someone tickles me I'LL KILL U

UGHHH I HATE HOW SNOTLOUT MADE HICCSTRID UNCOMFY FOR HAVING A DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIP

Astrid overthinking 🥺😭

"How would you like your yak cooked?" JSHDHHA

bro I love how both Tuff and Toothless noticed the betrothal necklace

"So want to deliver some scrap metal?" Hiccup baby? Why are you so oblivious?

At least he asked her if she was alright in the armorwing's island 😩

No but if I was Astrid I'd be pissed too, the dude saw a dragon eye lens from far way and didn't notice her betrothal necklace? 🙂😤

No I can't that scene was too harsh to watch, I mean I loved to see Hiccup noticing something was wrong with Astrid but then the way Astrid compared their relationship to Mala and Dagur's and then threw him the betrothal necklace... And the way he caught it too I can't- 😭😞😖😭😓🤧

Seeing the twins trying to capture Mala was hilarious JAHDHDHHSHA

I love how when they're fighting Astrid's still there for him whenever he's expected to have all the answers. She ignored her anger and went over to him and grabbed his hand and that single thing was what gave him confidence in a moment of panic 🥺

"I'm with you"

"I know"

That final Hiccstrid scene in Mi Amore Wing was just too perfect, we have Hiccup grabbing Astrid's hand to bring her outside and talk to her, the sunset in the background, every little thing Hiccup told her about being there for her and loving her with everything he had and that he should've noticed the necklace right away AND THEN THAT KISS WAS JUST AMAZING❗️❗️❗️ it was passionate and sweet and Astrid was blushing and then Fishlegs was all uncomfortable and Mala was like "okaaayyyyy😏" and Dagur like "alrighhtttt👌🏼" ig the only thing I didn't like is that Astrid didn't say I love you back 😭 but it's ok cause yk she does I just wished she had said it.

Baby razorwhips love the water

Tuffnut named the baby razorwhip that bonded with Ruffnut, Wingnutt

Top scenes of Ruff Transition ep7

Tuffnut throwing up in Ruffnut's mouth and Ruffnut throwing up in Wingnutt's mouth just do that he could be fed- seeing the windmaiden's reactions is the best lmao

Hiccup trying to teach Ruffnut how to fly (with his dragon flight suit) and then Ruffnut losing balance but Hiccup helping her regain it BUT we still get overprotective Tuffnut jumping off of Toothless to try and help but all he did was make things worse HIS SCREAM WAS HILARIOUS nonono and the way Toothless tried to help BUT AGAIN MADE THINGS WORSE 😩😮‍💨😂

Ruffnut finally figuring out how to connect with Wingnutt and fighting the dragon hunters and saving Atali was so badass and then Atali riding Barf 😭🤩

Hiccstrid kiss count (approximately) : 6😘

The way he slightly and carefully touches her face to reassure her that he'll be fine

The Singetail's only predator is the Skrill

The Berserkers used to use metal daggers to lure Skrills into traps. The dragon is drawn to it due to its electrical properties

VIGGO JUST DID THE HAND THING THING WITH THE SKRILL WTF

If I could have any dragon it'd be in this order

Skrill - it's so badass and powerful

Nightfury - it's badass, powerful, pretty, strong and fast

Deadly Nadder - it's extremely fast and agile, has multiple attacks and the spikes

Dramillion - has multiple attacks and is very smart

Just realized that ep8 is called Triple Cross because 1st Johan crossed Viggo 2nd Viggo fake crossed Hiccup and 3rd Viggo and Hiccup crossed Johan and Kogan

That episode was basically jusr to show Viggo's arc and the way he changed for the better and learned to respect dragons

That's why the Singetails wouldn't leave in ep9 whenever they were trying tp free the Deathsong- their eggs! They're in that island.

I can't with Hiccup and Astrid sitting together just chilling but with Astrid feeling guilty and Hiccup assuring her that he was also at fault 😭

I love Narrator/Author Snotlout! The titles of the chapters of his book remind me of the ones from Pjo

Stoick and Skullcrusher acting as 1 and being worried about each other 🥺 I love their relationship

Also the way Stoick bats off the shots from the Singetails with his axe just like Astrid. They're both truly warriors

No but Toothless asking for a head scratch from Gobber bc he's worried abt both Hiccup and Stoick🥺

The way Toothless tried to make Hiccup feel better- I mean the man blamed himself for putting Stoick in "his deathbed" it was just so awful seeing Hiccup in that state and the way everyone was trying to make him feel better but it was ultimately Astrid who managed to get through to him😭

I love it when they put scenes of the movies

I love how Astrid always knows what to say without lying

Looks like it's you and me, then.

Always... was that corny or-

Probably. Nice, though.

The way Astrid is so natural at being a leader and putting everyone on their places 🤩

That lil moment they had in ep12 where he holds her face and thanks her for everything and I just love them too much 😭

I love how Spitelout is so happy when he's beating ass, this dude literally goes "I'm sure I've had more fun than this. But at the moment, I can't remember when"

Have I mentioned I love the Dramillions before? I love them way too much they're amazing and the sound they make is so 😩 I love it

The Dramillion is a distant cousin of the Changewing which means the Titanwing Dramillion shares the de-cloaking ability with its subspecies.

Stormfly's spine clone was literally so badass, my girl was surrounded and she finished every single dragon flyer with it. Badass move. Wish we had seen it more throughout the series

It really pissed me off that Hiccup had to choose between getting Tuff, Ruff and Snotlout out of that sinking ship when he could've been following Krogan. Like ofc it was the right decision but that wouldn't have happened if the twins and Snotlout didn't follow Gruff into the ship :/

I love how strong Barf and Belch are! They literally carried the a Titanwing Dramillion on their own.

That scene when they figured out that the Titanwing Dramillion is not the King of Dragons but instead the last piece of the puzzle to get to the King of Dragons

When the Wingmaidens got to the battle it was amazing

Also the way Dagur was so proud that the King of Dragons was a Berserker and how Ruff was so excited to see Wingnutt and Snotlout to see Minden🥺

THEY REALIZED THAT BBYS AREN'T AFFECTED BY THE KING OF DRAGONS BC OF THE BABY RAZORWHIPS

that last Hiccstrid Scene where Hiccup is worried about Astrid's safety- I mean his face 🥺🥺🥺 and she told him that his dad would be proud and that she's proud too and when she was about to leave he held her back and kissed her 😭😭

Ik I said this before but I simp for Astrid as a leader, she's just so natural at it

Also I love how the King of Dragons has ice powers instead of fire

WAIT SO IS THE EGG THAT HICCUP FINDS IN THE FINALE THAT THEY GIVE TO VALKA IS THAT THE KING OF DRAGONS THAT VALKA CARES FOR IN HTTYD2?!!

Valka being friends with the Wingmaidens sits absoluteky right with me

no but the way Toothless hesitated when Hiccup told him to leave him and get the egg

I love how all the dragons arrived to fight the dragon flyers, it was just so poetical to me, the dragons finally getting to fight the people that hurt them 🤩

I FINISHED IT AND NOW I'M SAD!!! I loved the end tho and I'm glad we got to see Shattermaster at Dagur's wedding, also Astrid's outfit change- we love that. And them leaving the edge is just so sad bro 😭but I love how we got to see some "insight" ig u could call it on HTTYD2 😭 also seeing Snotlout and Fishlegs's love for Ruffnut start forming was hilarious

127 notes · View notes

ashleybenlove · 3 years

Text

Title: Hesitation

Prompt: Trust Issues / “Do you trust me?”

Summary: Hiccup hesitates when asked a question of trust and hurts the Dragon Riders’ feelings.

Fandom: How To Train Your Dragon

Pairing: Hiccup/Astrid/Fishlegs/Snotlout/Ruffnut/Tuffnut (polyamorous gang)

Word Count: 525

Rating: Teen

Warnings: Swearing, Anger/Frustration, Relationship issues

Disclaimer: I don’t own the source material in this fanfic. That’s to whatever company or person owns it. I would never claim to own it.

Notes: There are probable influences from fandom and whatnot in this story. Written for Bad Things Happen Bingo @badthingshappenbingo for the space “Trust Issues” and Whumptober @whumptober-archive Day 4 for the prompt: “Do you trust me?” Shoutout to @flurbejurbvondurp / @howtowhumpyourhiccup for suggesting “Trust Issues” with Hiccup to me. This takes place during Race to the Edge. This is also on AO3.

And it is below.

Trusting Toothless was like breathing for Hiccup. It was something he didn’t have to think about. He just did. It was so easy.

Other people? A little harder. And that pained him.

Especially when those other people happened to be the Dragon Riders, people he called his friends and his romantic partners.

He hesitated too long when one of them had asked “Do you trust me?”

The fact that after multiple years of interacting with them regularly as part of the Dragon Riders, he hesitated. He had to think about it! Whether he trusted them.

That hurt him a lot.

But not as much as the look on all of their faces at the fact he hesitated.

The only sound Fishlegs made was a sad little gasp before leaving the Clubhouse.

Snotlout looked so incredibly hurt.

The twins both had similar expressions on their face, and they were not what he was used to seeing. They were both sad.

And he couldn’t even see Astrid’s face because she was not looking at him and she was hiding her face very carefully.

She was the second one to leave.

Snotlout and the twins followed soon after.

Hiccup sat down in a chair at the table.

Toothless approached him and Hiccup patted him.

“I really stepped in it, huh?” Hiccup asked.

Toothless indicated his agreement in this by hitting Hiccup in the face with one of the flaps on his head.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Hiccup said, softly. “Should we go to our hut so we can talk there?”

Toothless indicated his agreement and they did just that.

When they arrived at his hut, Hiccup flopped down in a chair at his desk and put his face between his hands on either side of his face. Toothless made a sound that told Hiccup to talk.

Hiccup groaned.

“Trusting you is so easy,” Hiccup said. “Like, it’s almost involuntary at this point.”

He sighed.

“Trusting others?” Hiccup said. He groaned again. “It’s so hard!” he exclaimed.

He sighed. He looked Toothless in the eyes.

“I’m— I’m afraid to,” Hiccup admitted.

Toothless made a sad noise and pressed his nose to Hiccup’s face.

Hiccup hummed his thanks to Toothless.

“It sucks,” Hiccup said. “Not only does it hurt me but I hurt them. And I hate that. Astrid couldn’t even look at me.”

He let out a long sigh.

“I kinda thought by now that trusting them would be like trusting you,” Hiccup said. “That I wouldn’t even have to think about it.”

Hiccup let out a frustrated growl.

“Fuck! Why did I hesitate?!” Hiccup exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

He sniffled.

Toothless pressed his nose again to Hiccup’s face.

“Like, you would never hurt me,” Hiccup said.

It was rhetorical but Toothless indicated his agreement with a quick lick to Hiccup’s face.

“And. And, it should go without me even hesitating that the other Riders would never hurt me,” Hiccup said. He sniffled again. “I just feel bad.”

Toothless nudged Hiccup and then looked in the direction of their loft.

“Yeah, crying myself to sleep next to you seems like a plan,” Hiccup said, getting up.

30 notes · View notes

evilwriter37 · 3 years

Text

@firerose because they were curious about my "Ruffnut Captured by Viggo" wip.

“Where’s Ruffnut?” Hiccup asked, concern rife in his voice. He and the Dragon Riders had met up at a sea stack that they’d appointed beforehand after a Dragon Hunter attack, and, well, Ruffnut was missing. Tuffnut wore distress like a cloak. “Tuff, what happened?” Why were they down one Rider?

“They got her,” Tuffnut responded. “The Dragon Hunters. She fell off Barf and a chain wrapped around her and pulled her down. She fought like Hel, and I tried to get her, but there were too many arrows. I’m… I’m sorry.”

“Ryker, or… or Viggo?” Hiccup almost didn’t want to know. Both men were bad as it was, but Viggo was worse.

“Viggo,” Tuffnut said, confirming Hiccup’s horror. Hiccup blanched, then felt like he was going to be sick, or faint. He put a hand on Toothless to settle himself.

“Hiccup, what’s wrong?” Astrid asked.

“We… we have to get her back,” Hiccup said. He just stared at the ground. Maybe if he kept his vision in one place he wouldn’t vomit. “Now.”

“Hiccup, we barely got out of that one,” Snotlout said, “with our lives.” He pointed at where the fleet was retreating. They hadn’t exactly won that battle. It had more or less come to a draw. “We can’t go after her right now!”

“But…” Hiccup had to take a deep breath. His vision was spinning. He had to calm down, had to think. Snotlout was right. They couldn’t go after Ruffnut right now. They had to recuperate.

“Hiccup, what’s… what’s wrong?” Astrid asked. “I mean, yeah, Ruffnut is captured, but-”

“By Viggo,” Hiccup stressed.

“Yeah, we know,” Tuffnut said, not at all happy about this situation. But, he didn’t know what Hiccup knew about Viggo. None of them knew. And he couldn’t tell them. Especially not right now. How could he?

“Okay.” Hiccup straightened. “Okay,” he said again, trying to pull himself together. “We go back to the Edge, rest, and come up with a plan.”

“That’s better,” Fishlegs agreed.

Hiccup mounted Toothless, and then they were off. Barf and Belch flew slower with only one Rider, confused as to where the other one had gone. They looked forlorn, and that made Hiccup feel even worse. So, he just focused straight ahead, and lead them back to the Edge.

#fanfiction #whump #wip

17 notes · View notes

strawberry-skies-xx · 3 years

Text

Herløv

W H U MP A D V E N T 2 0 2 0

day 10-12 | ice / cold water | @whump-advent-calendar

summary: Hiccup makes an attack plan against a very important Hunter base. It goes very, very wrong.

word count: 5058

tags: hiccup whump, implied/referenced rape/non-con, drowning, hurt/comfort, happy ending, torture

author’s note: y’all. i don’t even know. this is so long and the actual prompt is only about a quarter of it. the characters don’t listen to me, sorry ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

main masterlist | story on ao3 | next entry >>

“You think this will work?”

Hiccup looks at the map again, scanning over his lines indicating plans of attack. He’d found a Hunter base farther north than usual, surrounded by icy islands with mountains and covered in snow, the Norse on the map naming it Herløv . The base is on an island in the center of the cluster, and the sea around it is so thick with ice that no ships could pass through it; the only way to the island was between two others, in a section that’s clearer than the others but still dangerous. Enemy ships would have a hard time navigating that strait, while the Hunters, who already had bases set up on the coasts of the islands at the beginning of the strait and ships ready to defend it, were well-versed in it.

They hadn’t anticipated dragons, however. “I hope so,” Hiccup says, looking up at Heather. That base is so well-defended and hidden, Hiccup knows something valuable has to be on it. It has Viggo’s mark on it as well - using the natural land- and sea-scapes as defenses, making it nearly impossible to get through anywhere.

Hiccup plans on using Viggo’s defenses against him. Heather, the twins, Snotlout, and Dagur are going to attack the bases by the coast and block the strait, copying Viggo’s defense by choking off the entrance with their dragons - but this time, by keeping everyone in, not out.

The twins and Snotlout are supposed to fly back to the island and join in the attack, leaving Heather and Dagur at the entrance of the strait. Hiccup doesn’t know the layout of the island, having only stolen this map from Viggo’s cabin and not actually having seen it, but the general plan is to fly in low and quiet, landing on the coast and hiding in the trees before planning on how to split up and sneak around to scout. They would meet back at the coast, report their findings, and then plan on how to attack.

It was a long plan, one that was meant to last at least a day, maybe two. Hiccup knows something important is on that island, something big, and if it’s so well-defended already, he can only imagine what it’ll be like if they get caught and Viggo either moves it or improves the defenses. They can’t get caught.

There’s footsteps behind him; Heather’s eyes flick to behind Hiccup’s shoulder and he turns around to see Astrid with a bag slung over her shoulder, eyes bright with anticipation. “All the supplies are packed and the other Riders are ready.”

Hiccup nods, glancing over as Heather walks up to stand beside him. He turns and takes the map, rolling it up and putting it in his own bag. “Alright. Let’s go.”

Toothless warbles softly from next to Hiccup, who puts a hand on his scales. “Shh, Toothless. I know.”

The Hunters in the clearing they’re skirting around are loud, obviously at least a little drunk around the fire. They’re singing songs and talking; Hiccup thinks he’ll be able to easily get past them, especially with their inebriated state, but he doesn’t want to overestimate. Toothless seems concerned, anyway, and he trusts his dragon.

The first part of the plan had gone well, with Heather and Dagur, the twins and Snotlout easily overtaking the two small camps and fleets of ships there. When they flew back, and the Berserker siblings were left guarding the strait’s entrance, Hiccup had given them all instructions on where to split up. Snotlout and the twins are searching the east side of the island, Astrid the west, Fishlegs south, and Hiccup is making his way steadily north. Technically he’s still in Fishlegs’ territory, but he’s getting closer to the center of the Herløv base and soon he’ll be deep in it. The trickiest part of this is that they can’t fly - none of them want to alert the Hunters to their presence even just by taking off a few miles away, for how visible it is just by looking above the trees. Hiccup will have to cross the entire base back again once he reaches the edges of it to get back to where their rendezvous point is.

From here, circling around the Hunters’ clearing, he can hear the low thrum of life beyond the fire and the drunken soldiers, that of an organized base rather than the scouting patrols scattered in various places around the camp. This just proves further to Hiccup how important this island is - not once has he ever seen a scouting patrol sitting around a fire at a Hunter base, let alone so many of them. It makes him nervous, edgy and slightly jumpy. His hand twitches on Toothless’s scales, and his other hand keeps drifting upwards as if to pull his sword out of its sheath.

The island is so remote, so well-guarded, that Hiccup thinks if they’re captured, they’re not only going to mess up. This island is a prison, for dragons as much as humans; Hiccup has a bad feeling that Viggo won’t hesitate to use it as one, especially for them. Stoick would never be able to find them here, and doesn’t know enough about Viggo or plan enough to break through the defenses on their dragons; it’s crawling with Hunters and pretty much inescapable once trapped. Berk’s fleet certainly couldn’t break through the massive Hunter fleet docked at the shores, not in that icy strait…

Hiccup shoves these thoughts from his mind, as it only makes him jumpier and he feels his hands start to shake a little. He forces them still, walking away from the clearing but still staying down until he’s several feet away.

He slowly straightens, glancing at the distant glow of the fire between the trees, then leans against the tree, exhaling. Toothless is a few feet in front of him, barely visible in the undergrowth and searching the darkness for any Hunters. Hiccup feels like a tightly wound string in this place, worrying about his friends and whether they’re okay, keeping himself and Toothless safe. He still has so far to go, and then has to come back after that, all before dawn. The days are shorter and the nights longer in the winter months, yes, but he truly doubts that he can make it that far in so few hours. There’s something about this place that terrifies him, the way he and his friends could be so easily lost just by never returning from here. He took the only map of it from the Edge, and Stoick has barely any ideas of their movements against Viggo. They’d be entirely alone.

He closes his eyes, relaxed but not really, trying to calm himself so he doesn’t screw up and actually get himself captured. The wind rustles the bushes nearby, cold and-

“Mmf!” Hiccup fights against the hand that clamps around his mouth, kicking and flailing as he’s dragged backwards into the darkness. It’s a Hunter, and panic shoots through Hiccup, adrenaline fueling his desperate kicks as he yanks at the man’s arm wrapped around his torso, his hand covering his mouth.

Toothless’s head snaps towards him; Hiccup meets his eyes and a thought breaks clearly through his panic - he has to save Toothless. He closes his eyes and tilts his head back, still struggling, but one of his hands goes down, hits three times against his thigh and makes a loud slapping sound because of it. Don’t attack, it says, as one meaning, but there’s several. Don’t attack to save me, is the easiest way to explain it, the shortest - really, it’s a sort of plea and command in one, for Toothless to save himself, to find Astrid or one of the other Riders to help rescue him, to back off and hide and rescue Hiccup by himself if he can, but don’t put himself in unnecessary danger. Hiccup hopes Toothless knows the risks, knows that saving himself is better for them both than trying to help him.

He hears the beginnings of Toothless’s growl and screams, muffled, against the Hunters’ hand. He kicks hard at his leg, the Hunter grunting and tightening his arm around his waist - Hiccup hopes that sound covers it and the rustling of plants as Toothless bounds off, slinking through the trees, because the Hunter next throws him on the ground roughly.

Hiccup hits his shoulder hard against a tree root and rolls until his back is against the tree. His head thuds back against the bark when he abruptly stops and he groans, but pushes himself up and ignores the throbbing pain in his shoulder and head.

The Hunter grins, barely visible in the darkness. The shadows flicker by his feet and Hiccup barely gets to leaning up on his elbows before the Hunters’ foot connects solidly with his ribs, hard. There’s a sort of pop in Hiccup’s chest, and a loud snap, and Hiccup suddenly can’t breathe without pain shooting through him. He cries out as he falls back on the ground, hitting his shoulder again, breathing hard and feeling tears prick at the corner of his eyes as a sharp pain stabs through his chest with every breath.

Then the Hunter is leaning down, picking Hiccup up and slinging him easily over his shoulder, starting to walk back towards the campfire. Hiccup’s chest bumps against the Hunters’ shoulder with every step; by the time they make it back, his head and shoulder are throbbing and a consistent sharp pain spikes through him, making the tears at the corner of his eyes well up further, though they haven’t fallen yet.

“Look what I found,” the Hunter sneers, tossing Hiccup to the ground again. He rolls and ends up on his side facing the fire, blinking at the bright light and groaning quietly as it makes his headache spike.

He forces himself up, though, and makes it onto his elbows once again before a knee jams into his back, shoving his chest against the ground. He cries out; it feels like he’s being stabbed, and the movement of his shoulders as the Hunter yanks his wrists behind him doesn’t help.

He gasps through the pain until the Hunter tugs him upwards by the rough rope tying his wrists, tossing him so his back hits a tree. He bends down and unties Hiccup’s prosthetic, throwing it aside, and then it’s done. They’re all looking at him with varying degrees of mocking smiles and cruel smirks on their faces, laying on his side with pain stabbing through him and throbbing steadily.

How fortunate that he managed to get the Hunters who aren’t as soft-hearted as the ones he usually fights, Hiccup thinks sarcastically and a bit bitterly to himself. Figures that they’d be more trained in cruelty on this island - though, that makes him wonder what exactly happens on this island.

“The leader of the Dragon Riders,” one Hunter muses, tilting his head at Hiccup with a look in his eyes that he doesn’t like.

“And the heir of Berk,” another pitches in. Hiccup glares around at them all.

“Viggo’s grunts,” he hisses back, as sarcastically as he can, because anger and bitterness are the emotions rushing through him right now and he doesn’t have time for the panic threatening to take him over, for the way the shadows of this prison-island seem to close in on him now that he’s part of the prison.

Another one of the Hunters laughs. “He’s got some fight in him,” he remarks.

“Of course he does, to have fought Viggo for so long,” the Hunter who assaulted him replies, and then he looks at Hiccup, appraising him. Hiccup glares up at him, though his glare dies at the considering look on the Hunters’ face, replaced by confusion and dread. “Think we can teach him a lesson or two before taking him to the Chief?”

Hiccup feels a bolt of panic shoot through him and he frowns. “You don’t want to do that,” he says. “Viggo wants me unharmed. He’s-“ he swallows, bile rising in his throat at the excuse he’s using which is not as much of a lie as he’d like it to be, “-he’s interested in me.”

The Hunter tilts his head. “Viggo wants you unharmed, hmm?”

Hiccup’s heart pounds and he feels himself trembling slightly at the feeling of using the excuse of one torture to escape another. He knows what Viggo will do to him, knows that this island is a prison and the shadows seem to press in on him, wanting to swallow him, make him lost to the rest of Berk and his friends.

And yet… there’s a hope that he’ll escape, if only he stays unharmed. “Yes. H-he wants me,” Hiccup can’t keep the breathy stutter out of his voice, panic and logic forcing it to be caught between a panicked gasp and a normal tone, “f-for sex. You know. Like-“

“A sex slave,” the Hunter finishes, lips curled into a smirk and a quiet laugh coming out at the end of his words, harsh and mocking. Hiccup’s eyes widen a little at the humor he apparently finds in it, and he nods.

Sex slave, he thinks absently. Viggo wants him… as a sex slave. Hiccup knows some tribes participate in it, has always despised it the same as the rest of Berk does, but. It was so far away. Berk rescued thralls from other tribes, ones who escaped on ships and came to the tribe notorious for having no slaves or servants. Hiccup made friends with some of them when he was younger - a girl named Lynna who was fourteen, if he remembers correctly. A boy he doesn’t remember the name of, probably one or two others. They were a refreshing change of pace from the Berkians, and he knows now the full extent of their trauma and exactly why they were that way, but they still didn’t judge. Even as he helped them through recovery on the simple, kid-friendly basis that “bad things happened to them” and every one of them had certain things he couldn’t do around them or to them, they didn’t judge him. Not for his size, not for his athletic ability - he thinks he ranted to Lynna once about his inventions and she actually seemed to be raptly interested. They were always quiet, helpful, politely friendly at first (he knows why they were that way now), but Hiccup remembers Lynna, at least, warming up to him. He made her laugh, something wild and loud and carefree. She apologized right after - of course he said it was okay, and privately wondered why she apologized, even as he added it to his bad things happened list about her in that whatever had happened, she was afraid to laugh.

That was the day he realized that was the first time he’d heard her laugh like that, had seen her bright grin after, unashamed and not at all polite. One part of him vowed to make it happen again, to show her that she didn’t have to be afraid, while the other part was burning with curiosity. None of the adults told him, and his father simply said that bad things happened to her when he asked. Hiccup, being eight and very curious about the world, was not satisfied with this answer.

He didn’t ask her. Even at eight, he knew that had some sort of fundamental wrongness to it that made him satisfy himself with watching her, the way she flinched at touches and tried to make herself as small as possible. He recognized it as the way he moved sometimes, when he felt particularly bad about his less-than-optimal “Vikingness.” Eight-year-old Hiccup never solved the mystery, but sixteen-year-old him did, and sometimes he wishes he never had.

Hiccup realizes, with a dawning, cold horror, that he’s going to become that. It’s not so far away anymore, it’s not a strange mystery in a girl who’s afraid to laugh - it’s a mile or two away, in the form of Viggo Grimborn and his cruel smiles and this prison of an island taking him and swallowing him.

And it starts with these Hunters.

“I think you’ll be fine,” the Hunter says, and Hiccup’s flooded with panic and adrenaline as the Hunter leans down and pulls him up by the rope tying his wrists. He kicks hard with his leg, hearing the Hunter grunt, and barely keeps his balance before he falls back down again, standing on one leg and spinning quickly, hopping backwards. It feels ridiculous, and he knows he’ll never be able to run like this, but he can’t stop the blind panic shooting through him, fading out the pain in his ribs and his headache and bringing forward the primal instinct to escape.

“You’re gonna run with one leg, boy?” one of the Hunters asks mockingly. Hiccup glances between the camp of six - he’s wildly outnumbered. Lynna flinches as a Viking grabs her shoulder - Hiccup hops backwards still, heart pounding despite the logic telling him he won’t win.

One of the Hunters draws a dagger, smirking, tossing it at Hiccup’s head lazily. It spins in the air, Hiccup’s eyes tracking it until he can’t and he leans to the side, ducking his head. He tries to put his hands out for balance, feeling himself start to careen to the side, but his wrists hit rope and he starts falling. He curses his weakness, curses his prosthetic, and then he groans when his shoulder hits the ground hard and sends pain stabbing through his ribs.

He falls backwards onto his back, crushing his bound hands beneath him and unable to get up like this, not without effort. The Hunter is already on him, leaning over him with a cruel smirk - Lynna averts her eyes, bowing her head in submission - and Hiccup’s eyes widen, heart rate picking up as panic shoots through him.

The Hunter grins. “Don’t worry, we’re not taking you to Viggo yet. We’re going to have our fun with you first.”

His foot draws back, Hiccup’s eyes flick to it, and then the Hunter kicks him solidly in the side of his head. It snaps to the side and his world goes dark with a bright starburst of pain as the last thing flashing behind his eyelids.

Hiccup wakes up gasping. He breathes in water, the world spins as he’s being yanked upwards and now he’s breathing air, long, desperate gulps of it. He shivers as the cold air and water have their effect on him.

There’s a hand on his head, fingers tangled tightly in his hair. Hiccup can’t look around before he’s shoved back down into what looks like the ocean, as he’s kneeling in sand with icy water lapping at his legs.

He’s pulled up again; he sees the other five Hunters standing off to the side with his limited movement, presumably another Hunter behind him as the one holding his head and pushing him down.

“He’s awake,” one of them says.

The Hunter behind him shrugs. “Don’t care, really. This is fun, and leaves no marks. Wouldn’t want to hurt Viggo’s sex toy, after all,” he adds, mockingly directed at Hiccup.

He goes back down into the water again with panic making his breaths shorter.

“Viggo will know you hurt me anyway,” Hiccup gasps out when he’s pulled up. “I’m sure he wouldn’t want anyone to touch me. He seemed pretty possessive.”

“Viggo doesn’t have to know, and he won’t.”

Down again, this time with Hiccup’s stomach churning as he tries to think through his excuses - and apparently, he’s dropped low enough to consider Viggo’s desire for him as an excuse.

He doesn’t talk as the Hunter pushes him down the next few times, because his lungs burn when he’s under the water and his teeth chatter after a bit. The gasping breaths send knives of pain lancing through his cracked ribs.

“You’re planning... on doing this... for how long?” he pants out after at least four more times. “Viggo… will know. He’ll… hurt you.”

Down, and up. “Shut up,” the Hunter growls.

Down and up. Hiccup laughs through the pain. “You know I’m right,” he breathes. “You’re scared of him.”

Down… and down, and down. Up, down without a chance to catch enough breath.

Back up. Hiccup gasps, lungs burning and ribs stabbing pain through him, shivering and teeth chattering. “So are you. You’re going to be his personal slut,” the Hunter hisses back.

“And you’ll be dead, or worse,” Hiccup snipes back, spitefulness and petty vengeance surging through him at the mention of Viggo’s plans for him.

The Hunter growls, and then Hiccup’s being thrown to the sand. There’s momentum behind it; he feels himself roll on the sand, further into the water. He gasps a painful breath in just before he rolls underneath and stops several inches under.

The dark shape by the shore just above the water don’t move. Hiccup shivers and curls in on himself, but he can’t move without his prosthetic and with his hands bound like they are.

Still no movement; Hiccup has the insane thought that the Hunter will just leave him here to drown, tantalizingly close to air and yet so far. He struggles a little at that, thrashing until he breathes out his air by accident and clamps his mouth shut.

He tries lifting his head up, rolling on his back and sitting up. His hair clears the water, his forehead, but it doesn’t make it past his eyes and his lungs burn. He kicks his one leg in frustration as he sinks back down, the effort of sitting up like that sending white-hot bolts of pain through his cracked ribs.

He tries sitting up again, but the pain’s worse and he gasps involuntarily. Bubbles erupt from his mouth and water enters; he shuts his mouth and lays back down against the sand. Gods, he’s so cold. The water is freezing.

His vision starts to tunnel, closing in on him. Like the shadows of this island, he thinks absently, and shivers in the water. Pressing in on him, taking him, swallowing him in the darkness…

The water stirs and splashes and Hiccup’s being pulled upwards with an arm around his stomach. The arm makes his ribs hurt; he gasps and coughs and can’t see with the blackness still threatening his vision, and the gasping and coughing makes his ribs hurt. He shivers violently, his hands and face numb as he’s carried back to shore.

His cry as he lands harshly on the sand ends in a cough, water spitting out even as he curls up and shivers and feels tears at the corner of his eyes at the sheer pain lancing through him, stabbing and cutting and slicing ruthlessly.

Eventually he ends up just curled on his side, shivering with his eyes closed, coughing occasionally. The cold air doesn’t help, and it’s with some miraculous force of will that he hears footsteps on the sand and looks up to glare at the Hunter.

“Learned your lesson yet?” the Hunter sneers.

Hiccup shivers. His teeth chatter. His mouth twists in a spiteful smile even as he knows he’s only making it worse on himself. He won’t give in to them. “No-“ he coughs, “-I don’t think so.”

Hiccup goes deeper this time. His shoulder hits a rock, and he loses half his air just crying out as he feels the sharp edges of it cut him. It’s not for as long, because his vision has only started getting black when the Hunter yanks him out, gasping and coughing and still shivering.

He doesn’t make any sarcastic comments this time - he’s not that stupid and reckless, though he does force down his spitefulness - but the simple look of defiance in his eyes is enough for the Hunter to throw him back in again.

And again. And again, and again, until Hiccup loses count of the times he’s almost gone unconscious under the icy water, and nearly his entire body is numb.

By the end of it, he simply lays still, in far too much pain and with not nearly enough energy to thrash anymore. His vision starts to go black; the shapes by the shore don’t move. The water swirls and eddies above him, lit in mesmerizing patterns by the light from the sun. He’s tugged to the side as a wave comes into shore over him, and sways slightly out to sea when it recedes.

He lets out his breath as darkness closes in on his vision, and sinks.

Hiccup wakes up, and the first thing he notices is the cold air on his face. The second thing he notices is the sharp pain in his ribs as he doubles over, coughing. There’s an arm around his waist, holding him loosely, and another arm crossed over his shoulder and over his chest. He’s sitting on Toothless; the cold air is from the altitude, and behind him-

“Hiccup?”

He coughs. Astrid, he tries to say, but it comes out as water and more coughing and his eyes watering because of the coughing fit and the sharp, lancing pain through his ribs with every one. Her arms wrapped around him make sure he doesn’t fall as he slumps over, panting.

Toothless glances back, warbling his concern. Hiccup puts a hand on his scales and tries to speak; he descends into another short coughing fit and mentally curses himself in frustration.

Finally, he sits up, Astrid’s arms still wrapped around him from behind. He swallows carefully, and doesn’t cough, and counts it as a victory.

“Hiccup?” Astrid asks again, a silent question of concern. Hiccup nods, putting his hand silently on the closest piece of her he can reach - her thigh. He doesn’t trust himself to speak again, because he can feel the slight tingle in his throat that signals he’s going to cough, and his cracked ribs are already in enough pain as it is.

Her fingers skim lightly over his in response. “We’re flying back to the Edge,” she says, and doesn’t elaborate. Hiccup shivers, only then realizing that he has layers of furs wrapped around his torso, and there’s a bad feeling rising at the way she doesn’t continue. He looks back at her, putting the question in his eyes.

He’s met with- gods, there’s fear in Astrid’s eyes, and Hiccup feels all over like he can’t breathe again. The shadows of that island seem to press in on him again, taking and swallowing-

“We- gods.” Astrid stops, glancing down and shaking her head. “We couldn’t save the dragons there, Hiccup. That island-”

Another stop. Hiccup turns his hand upwards on her thigh, still not trusting himself to speak, and brushes his thumb over her hand. She looks up at him. I know, he says with his eyes, and she gives a small nod.

She glances away again. “I- I met with Fishlegs and we made it near the edges of the camp. Enough to see what was going on.”

“Hiccup, they starved those dragons,” Fishlegs cuts in, distress evident in his tone. “Not just out of cruelty, but they did it so even if we did free them, none of them had the energy to fly. There were so many rare species there, and they- they were feeding them all the wrong food, starving them entirely. They hurt them, too - that island is a death trap, Hiccup. I’d call it like a dragon’s mouth closed to bite, but… that would be an insult to dragons.”

“There were so many cages, and- and dead dragons,” Astrid says quietly. Hiccup looks back at her, and she’s staring down at her lap. “And so many weapons. I’ve never seen so many cages, or so many dragons in one Hunter base, and it was all surrounded by so many weapons and soldiers. There was- gods. A whole area dedicated to dragon bones,” Astrid says with a sort of horrified, detached numbness. “We couldn’t save them - Hiccup, we could barely save you. Toothless found the twins and they sent up a distress call on the part of the island you were on. That attracted all the other Hunters, and by the time we all got there, we only just got you out before we had to flee, or we would’ve been captured. They weren’t messing around, Hiccup.”

“We have to go back,” Heather says fiercely. “Viggo can’t get away with this.”

Astrid seems to slump a little at the mention of going back. Fishlegs’ eyes skitter nervously away; the twins are quiet, even, and Snotlout simply doesn’t look at her. And Hiccup himself… he thinks of that island, and his ribs twinge in pain. His lungs seem to burn a little in harsh reminder, and panic rises up.

“No,” he says - it comes out as a hoarse whisper. He clears his throat. “No,” he repeats, louder. Heather looks at him; Dagur brings Sleuther up to fly next to him. Hiccup can’t meet his eyes, simply staring down at Toothless’s scales. “I- I can’t go back. Astrid, you can’t go back,” he says, looking back at her. She looks up, familiar protest rising in her eyes, but she doesn’t say anything, and after a few minutes, her gaze drops back down and she nods. Hiccup looks around at the rest of his friends, a sort of horrified, shocked silence among them all in the aftermath of Herløv. “We’ll find another way to win against Viggo, but not this. None of us are going back to that island.”

It feels wrong to concede a victory to Viggo, no matter how terrifying the island is, but he thinks to himself that he’s never going back, that he’ll never have to experience the pain and death hanging over that island, permeating through every shadow, and he feels himself relax. He leans back against Astrid, feeling her arms wrap tighter around him and her chin rest on his shoulder, and breathes through the pain of his cracked ribs, the cut on his shoulder.

He relishes the fact that he can breathe, closing his eyes, and sighs quietly, relaxing further with Astrid’s warmth around him and Toothless gliding smoothly underneath him into the horizon, towards the Edge.

next entry >>

#httyd #httyd fic #httyd rtte #hiccup whump #hiccup haddock #astrid hofferson

38 notes · View notes

harley-style · 4 years

Note

If you still want to do the hijack short prompts: finding a new dragon?

[I know I said I wanted ‘short prompts’ BUT THIS ENDED UP SUPER LONG, SO HAVE A ONE-SHOT INSTEAD.]

It was supposed to be a romantic flight. Hiccup had spent a week preparing for this. Just him and Jack (and Toothless, but his dragon knew how to make himself scarce) and the starry night sky, the world at their fingertips.

He'd made sure everything on Berk was settled ahead of time.

He'd made his dad promise to handle the incoming problems for just a day. He'd done it for 14 years, what's one more day, right?

And he made sure the Dragon Riders were all occupied, courtesy of Astrid and Snotlout. That had been a surprise. He'd never expected his cousin to fully support him on this endeavor, but Snotlout had showcased a surprising amount of maturity.

("He's been snapping worse and worse lately, Astrid! I don't want Hiccup to snap at me next, he might send me back to the Dark Deep and you KNOW I hate going there alone!"

"Oh for Freyja's sake Snotlout, will you shut up and help me ensure Hiccup and Jack finally have some alone time together?”)

So it was the perfect set up. He wasn't busy, Toothless could take him anywhere (so could Jack, but there was something special about flying on dragon-back that Hiccup wanted to share with his intended) and Hiccup had scoped out the most perfect location to just sit back and enjoy themselves.

Of course, plans don't always survive first contact.

It was just his luck that there was a dragon that had made its home on the colder than average island Hiccup had been planning to take Jack to.

And what was worse, even Toothless made a valiant effort to ignore the wailing cries. Hiccup had tried to convince Jack that he'd get everyone to check it out tomorrow, but he'd been pinned with a rather harsh look from the winter spirit, who then promptly unwrapped his arms around Hiccup's waist and purposely fell from the saddle.

Which in turn led to this.

"Aren't you precious," Jack cooed uncharacteristically, cradling the newborn dragon in his arms, the snow dragon mewling back and further curling up in the spirit's arms.

Resigned, Hiccup took out his notebook and began taking notes about the dragon cub they'd found. It looked strikingly similar to Toothless, but it was colored like a glacier of ice, its scales looking like frost had made itself home on the dragon's body.

The wing-tips, tail, and extra fins at the start of the tail were sharper than a typical Night Fury, as well.

One of the reasons Hiccup even pegged it as similar to a Night Fury was due to the damning feline behavior it was currently showcasing to his beloved.

"Maybe you aren't the last of your kind after all, huh bud?" Hiccup caressed Toothless' scales, eliciting a warbling noise in response. Hiccup watched as Jack fawned over the Tiny Tooth, playing with its claws and nuzzling its scales in delight.

Jack was really good with children. Even dragon children, it seemed.

And that knowledge....it DID things, to Hiccup.

Jack just looked so soft when handling kids. He might've looked like a troublemaker to most, but Hiccup knew that underneath all that bratty exterior lay a kind and compassionate soul who loved children just as much as Hiccup loved dragons.

He didn't realize he'd stopped writing in his notebook until Toothless nudged him gently with a questioning grumble.

"Hics, there something you wanna say?" Jack teased, peeking at him slyly from behind a curtain of white hair. He'd evidently caught on to the fact that Hiccup had been dumbly staring at the spirit for more than a few moments.

But Hiccup was nothing if not quick on his feet. Foot. Foot and metal prosthetic.

"Oh, nothing much, just waiting on you," he replied, grabbing hold of Jack's waist and pulling him against his chest. Gently, of course, he didn't want to startle the little one. "You're quite taken on him."

"Her," Jack quietly corrected, seeing the dragon in his arms peek curiously at the Viking, but not having enough bravery to leave the spirit's arms. The little dragon burrowed further into Jack's arms once Toothless crawled closer to the couple, curious about the young dragon as well.

"Huh. You can tell?" Hiccup asked, leaning his head against Jack's tuft of white locks. He absolutely loved the height difference between them now that he'd grown into his age. Call it a small petty payback from when Jack used to use his own head as an armrest.

Besides, if he wasn't getting his ideal date, the least he could do was shower his Snowflake with affection.

Jack nodded, staring up at him fondly, knowing exactly what Hiccup was doing, and not giving him any malice from it. That was another thing Hiccup loved about Jack. He clearly loved jokes, played them all the time, and when the joke was turned on him, he was a good sport about it. As long as the joke didn't touch sensitive topics, Jack saw the humor in everything.

"Her kind's a part of my domain..." Jack said, leaning more into Hiccup's hold. "Ice and snow. I don't know how. I can just tell."

"So I see," Hiccup carefully held his free arm out to the dragon, letting it come to him. "Do you want to keep her?" They watched as the ice dragon slowly sniffed at Hiccup's hand, and began to warily nuzzle into it, trusting the human more and more once she saw that Hiccup would not hurt her.

"Can I?" Jack asked, chuckling as the dragon barked curiously at Toothless, fear and caution all but blown to the wind now. Toothless happily warbled and nosed his new friend, yelping when a tiny ice blast hit his face.

Hiccup shrugged. "Sure. What are you gonna name her, though?" There was certainly plenty of room on Dragon's Edge. And Jack was more of a free spirit who hung around Berk merely because his boyfriend lived there. It was never a question about space.

"Elsa," Jack said, smile on his lips. Hiccup recognized the look. It was one of Jack's secret smiles, one that said 'I find it funny, but I know none of you get it and I'm going to sit here basking in the irony of it all.'

It was one of Jack's most common looks. Hiccup knew why the look existed, but his friends and village did not. He had to admit though, it was pretty funny seeing his friends try and fail to figure out why Jack had that particular look about him at oddly specific points.

"Am I getting context or what?" Hiccup nudged Jack.

Jack laughed merrily. "Oh, its not anything big. Just a really, really infamous...story from back home."

Hiccup rose a skeptical eyebrow. "How infamous are we talking here?" It was always fun, gathering bits and pieces of where Jack came from, slowly piecing together a puzzle about Jack's background.

Jack had to turn away and bit his lips from laughing too hard. By this point the newly dubbed Elsa had jumped out of the spirit's arms and was playing with Toothless in some sort of contrived dragon game.

"I'll tell you about it...later," Jack decided, once he finally managed to get his laughter in check. He was clutching his staff tightly, another hand covering his mouth. Hiccup shrugged and opened up his notebook again, seeing as Toothless was inadvertently giving him more information about what Elsa's kind was like.

After a few minutes, Jack spoke up again. "Hiccs?"

Hiccup hummed in response, motioning for Jack to continue.

"I'm really sorry this date thing didn't go the way you were planning it to...I know you wanted it to be only about us."

Hiccup abruptly stopped writing and turned to look at Jack, who wasn't looking at him and hanging his head in shame.

"It's fine, Jack," Hiccup tried to reassure, but Jack made a frustrated noise and held up a hand.

"I'm going to stop you right there dragon boy. Let me finish." Jack rubbed his forehead. "I know how much effort you put into making sure nothing would distract us today, okay? You were busier than ever these past few days." He turned towards Hiccup, leaning against his staff once they were face-to-face.

"I mean...that is true," Hiccup agreed carefully. He'd never lie to Jack.

Jack laughed wryly. "I just had to go ruin that, didn't I?"

Hiccup's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Jack pointed his staff at the two dragons. "I couldn't ignore that, Hiccup. You've been looking forward to this date all week and I had to brush it all aside the moment I see a dragon."

Hiccup...gets it, he does, but it would be a bit hypocritical of him to truly be upset at Jack if it were the case. "You don't seem to mind when I do it," Hiccup says.

Jack rolled his eyes. "That's because those dates were all instigated by me, babe. And very impromptu. I fully expect you to veer off-course when there's a new dragon around, you fire-breathing nerd."

"I understand you're speaking words, but I don't understand what they mean," Hiccup snarked in reply.

"Don't be a jerk. Anyway, my dates are clearly spontaneous, very prone to distractions. I don't mind that. But I do feel bad when my boyfriend went through all the effort of planning our perfect little date, only to get detoured by a dragon who, by all accounts, isn't in danger or dying," Jack sighed and looked away.

He only looks back at Hiccup because the viking cups a hand around his cheek and turns the spirit's head towards him. "Look," Hiccup said. "I know I acted a little annoyed when you wanted to check this out, back then."

Jack grimaced but nodded.

"And I appreciate that you actually noticed, and I accept your apology, however long-winded the explanation may have taken for me to get it." Jack snorted at that.

"But," Hiccup lifted his other hand to cup Jack's other cheek. "In the long run, it doesn't matter. Jack, I love you. I love you a lot. And as long as you're with me, and I'm with you, I honestly don't care what we're doing. I just want to do it with you by my side. That's all I could really want."

"You big sap," Jack teased, warmth in his eyes. Frost dusted his cheeks, and the only reason Hiccup knew was because he was still holding Jack's face in his hands. "Are you going to kiss me, or what?"

"It was on the agenda," Hiccup cheekily replied, glad that the doubt and guilt plaguing his boyfriend's mind was finally clear.

Jack let himself get pulled in by Hiccup's arm, until they were pressed against each other. Jack circled his arms around Hiccup's neck, and leaned in.

A few meters away, Toothless began herding Elsa further from the two, knowing they would be fully occupied by each other for a while.

For a very long while.

The things he did for his human.

[A/N: Where’s the tag system why isn’t it here? Anyway thank you for the prompt! It was sitting in my inbox for a few days but I had some motivation today so I figured I could write this. It was supposed to be short, but...clearly my hands have other ideas. For the other prompts I received a while back, maybe send me an ask about it? Thanks.

Also, more notes about this HiJack AU:

-Jack’s definitely from the events of ROTG. He’s not ‘stuck’ in the era of vikings, per se, but he can definitely travel to and fro. Because reasons.

-Hiccup knows Jack’s from a distant future. He just doesn’t know what’s IN the distant future and doesn’t care much about it unless it directly relates to Jack.

-None of the others but Toothless knows about Jack’s situation. Jack’s a little shit that leads them on and has them guessing. Astrid has stopped trying to attack Jack about it when she realizes Hiccup knows what Jack is hiding. That’s apparently good enough for her to trust Jack.

-This happens roughly before the second movie. I mean, duh. But it happens after RTTE.

-If you don’t know what dragon I used, it’s called the Ice Fury, a fan-made dragon in the HTTYD fanon wiki. Takes a bit of searching to actually find it, but I found a good pic of what I imagine it to look like:

-just imagine a baby form of that, thanks.

-Yes I did indeed name her after Frozen’s Elsa. Fight me.

-I’m of the personal headcanon that not all Night Furies, subspecies or otherwise, are extinct. In this AU, they aren’t. They’re just a lot more south than the Vikings are used to. They’re rather north-bound, aren’t they?

-I honestly don’t know why I put so much thought into a one-shot that isn’t going to be continued in any way. If you want to take inspiration from this AU, go ahead, I don’t mind. Just be sure to credit the appropriate sources. Including me.

#hijack #frostcup #hiccup horrendous haddock iii #jack frost #hiccup x jack #httyd #rotg #how to train your dragon #rise of the guardians #one shot #date #fanfic #fic #au

177 notes · View notes

astridthevalkyrie · 4 years

Text

My Companion: Chapter 3

"Maybe, somewhere along the way, Astrid had fallen in love with her husband, and now she had to pay the price." Or, they have an arranged marriage and Astrid isn't sure how dedicated Hiccup is to her. Oneshot. {Now a series of oneshots!}

Read it on FF.net or A03

Time to come back to Arranged Hiccstrid! I was watching the show for which this fic was named and naturally, felt inspired. Have a little looky into Hiccup and Astrid’s early days!

The Night of the Wedding

Astrid felt like a stranger in her own dress.

She wanted to take it off. Technically, she could. Hiccup Haddock was her husband, as was made official in the past few hours, and it would be appropriate to undress and change in front of him.

In fact, it’d be expected. The night of their wedding...a night to conceive the heir.

Odin curse all of the expectations! If she wanted to make a fuss about propriety and wanted to keep herself clothed in front of him, then she reserved her damn right to do just that.

The chief was not a cruel man, that much she knew. Still, his new and tolerant approach to dragons hardly meant that he’d give the same respect to a woman.

She grit her teeth furiously. The idea that a dragon could be respected more than her on this island filled her entire being with anger. It wasn’t fair.

Hiccup walked into the bedroom behind her, closing the door. Astrid’s heart drummed painfully, and she thought longingly of the boat that Rosie had prepared for her. She could have taken it. She should have taken it. But the thought of bringing such shame on the Hofferson name was one she couldn’t bear.

“This is your room,” Hiccup said quietly.

“My room?” Astrid turned and looked him in the eye for the first time since they had abruptly kissed at the ceremony. “Not...ours?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, a light blush on his cheeks. Astrid found it rather awkward. “No, I can’t imagine you want to sleep with me. As in, in the same bed! Thor, I’m not even - not even talking about…”

He trailed off, coughing into his fist and averting his eyes.

Astrid bit her lip, unsure of what to say. She hadn’t considered that he would give her a choice.

“But this is your room, isn’t it? Your father’s before you?”

“Yeah. It’s okay, though. The bed is new and fresh. I made it myself - not that it matters. The point is, you can take it.”

“Kicking my chief out of his own room would be...dishonorable.” She took a deep breath and sat down. “You may stay.”

Her permission sounded more like a demand, and she thought she saw the briefest flash of a smile on his face, but it was gone so soon that she must have imagined it. He sat down next to her hesitantly, clearly nervous about crossing the line.

Frankly, Astrid found his hesitancy made her feel safe.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Every few seconds Astrid wanted to say something, anything, to get rid of the torturous silence, but every time she opened her mouth to speak, the words died on her tongue. She knew an injustice had been done upon her when she was forced to marry a man she didn’t know. But it was the first time she considered it unfair for him as well. What made her certain that he had wanted to marry a woman he didn’t know?

Astrid looked at him, really looked at him, and felt unsure. He was an attractive man, to put it simply. With a sharp - sharp - jawline, striking emerald eyes, and auburn hair that fell into his eyes, she could gaze at him for hours if it was appropriate. It wasn’t unlikely that he had been courting someone before this.

“I’m not your chief, right?”

“What?” She snapped out of her daydreaming in an instant, looking away to pretend like she hadn’t been looking at him.

“I’m not your chief. You’re not a Berkian.”

Astrid frowned, not having expected to hear such harsh words so soon. And not from him. She had figured the people would not accept her right away, but would her husband resent her because of her blood too? That was hardly fair.

Hiccup’s eyes widened at her dejected look. “That’s not what I meant. I mean - I just thought...I thought you’d want to remain loyal to your own tribe. You don’t have to think of me as your chief just because I’m your husband. I don’t want to be - ” here he winced - “forceful.”

Astrid breathed a sigh of relief.

“You’re really not like most vikings, are you?”

Hiccup laughed, an open laugh that didn’t sound too horrible. “No, but I’ve learned to be okay with it.” He gazed at her hopefully. “Will you be? Okay with it, with me.”

“That’s…” She bit her lip, thinking carefully. “Don’t ask me tonight. Ask me...later.”

He gave her a long, hard look, but nodded. “That’s reasonable.”

With that, they both stood up, and Hiccup stepped out to change into his clothes, leaving her to do the same.

Astrid stared at the door. She didn’t feel...wooed. Or even understood. Nothing in her indicated that she could ever love the chief of Berk.

But marrying wouldn’t be the worst decision of her life.

------------------------------------------------

The Day After They Slept Together

“You know, I’ve been wondering for ages what that noodle has been hiding.”

“Ruffnut,” Astrid said sternly. “I hardly think that’s appropriate.”

“Which is precisely why we’re in your house, and not the Great Hall. So?”

Astrid sighed, exasperated. “I never should have told you we were planning to do it yesterday.”

“Yeah,” Ruff snorted, “You really shouldn’t have.”

She sighed, blowing on her bangs childishly and leaning against the wall. “He was...nice about it.”

Ruff whistled. “That bad, huh?”

“I didn’t say it was bad...”

“There is no good meaning to what you said.”

“I don’t know, Ruffnut!” Astrid slid down the wall dramatically until she was on her knees. “You’re the only person I can talk to about this, but even then I can’t find the words for it. It was good.” At Ruffnut’s dubious look, she doubled down. “It was really good. I don’t have anything to compare to, but it felt good. And that was more than I needed. The point is to conceive an heir.”

All of a sudden, Ruff’s eyes narrowed. It was an unusual look for her - in the few months Astrid had known her, the other woman had rarely ever been angry or upset. “He didn’t pester you about this, did he? He didn’t force you?”

“No! Gods, no.” She took her hand and tugged so she’d sit down. “I brought it up, and asked him if he wanted to, and so we did. It was fine. It was good.”

“No one who actually had a good experience says that, Astrid,” said Ruffnut, giving her a deadpan look.

“What do you want me to say? How magnificent and thrilling the experience was? Of course I can’t, there were no feelings behind it.”

Well, Astrid thought privately, that wasn’t entirely true. There had definitely been a slight bit of sadness. She had imagined that her first time would be, at the very least, with someone she loved. She hadn’t needed it to be amazing, as long as it had been special. But her and Hiccup...what they had done last night had been duty, not love. It struck her as tragic, as much as she tried to get the thought out of her head.

Still, there was no reason to tell Ruffnut that, so she put on a smile and changed the subject.

------------------------------------------------

The First Fight

Hiccup had always struck Astrid as...calm. He didn’t act on his first emotion (which was a stark difference from his childhood, as Snotlout and Fishlegs had told her). He tried to find the good side to every situation, and he rarely got upset. Anger never clouded his judgement.

She must have caught him on an off day, then.

Astrid knew there was something wrong when he came in and didn’t bother to spare her a glance before going up to their room to change. Usually, they would exchange meaningless niceties, while, while grating, had become a part of her routine. Still, she brushed the uneasy feeling off and told herself that he was probably just tired.

When Hiccup came back down, she chanced a glance at his eyes, and was stricken by the intensity in them.

He sat down on the chair opposite from her and without missing a beat, asked, “What did you tell my people today?”

The possessive way he spoke was the final warning, and Astrid got ready to defend herself.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Hoark said you told them we were going to war.”

Astrid frowned, leaning back. “I did not say that. I said it was likely, but I certainly did not give a declaration in that way.”

“You,” he spoke with barely contained venom, “are the chieftess. Everything you say is a declaration. I’ve had to tell everyone that you were exaggerating.”

“I - so what if they did take it as a declaration? It is the truth. I believe in telling the truth. We probably will be going to war with the Lava Louts, so people should be prepared -”

“That wasn’t your choice to make,” Hiccup snapped, and for the first time since she had met him, Astrid felt some passion from him towards her. Too bad it was negative.

Digging her nails into her skin under the table, Astrid answered in her most monotone voice. “I apologize. I did not realize that talking to your people would be against the rules.”

Hiccup had looked like he was going to fire back, but instead, he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, oddly reminding her of a blubbering fish.

“Is that what you think I’m doing right now?” he finally muttered. “That I’m setting down the law? That I’m restricting you?”

Even before she spoke, she knew it was a dirty blow, but she couldn’t help it.

“Well, that is what people do with their prizes, isn’t it?”

She knew it wasn’t fair. She knew that Hiccup had never treated her like a prize, or anything less than her own person. But the conversation she had had with the people today had been the closest she had ever felt to them, with a similar sense of pride. She had felt like a Berkian. And Hiccup was once again telling her that she wasn’t.

Hiccup stood up so quickly that the chair fell back behind him. “Hel of a prize, Hofferson. I thought they were supposed to be rewarding.”

Astrid scoffed, standing up as well. “You don’t even deny it. You don’t like me talking to the people, you just want me sitting in here everyday, smiling and knitting a-and cooking you a nice dinner, isn’t that it?”

“That is exactly it!” Hiccup said, his words laced with cutting sarcasm. “Didn’t you read the prisoner’s pamphlet the night of our wedding? Or did you miss it under the guide on how to act like a victim?”

“Oh, right, because I should be happy! I should be thanking you, Chief.” She spat out his title like it was a curse. “For giving me the honor of marrying me and taking me away from my home!”

“You think I wanted this!?”

“No, Hiccup, clearly you didn’t!”

“Oh, for the love of - I don’t want you telling people unconfirmed things so that they don’t go around calling my wife a liar and a gossip!”

“I’d rather be a gossip than an enemy!” she cried.

“Dammit, Astrid, I’m looking out for your reputation!”

“Well I think you’re just looking out for yours!”

They both glared at each other. Astrid realized her fists were clenched, while Hiccup’s hair was unruly and there was a fresh cut on his neck.

She swallowed, not liking the feeling of her anger thawing out. She wanted to be angry. This was the most passionate she had felt in ages. Anger had always been her strong suit. Still, she couldn’t in good conscience ignore the cut either.

So in the most uncaring tone she could muster, Astrid said, “You should probably go get that checked by Gothi.“

“What are you - oh.” Hiccup put a hand over the cut as though she hadn’t already seen it. “I...I meant to go anyway.”

“Then go.”

Hiccup stared at her for a few seconds with an unreadable expression. “Yeah. I think I should.”

He brushed past her, their shoulders knocking into each other. Her heart felt...heavy, and when she heard the door shut, she desperately wanted to go open it and run after him, just to yell some more.

That couldn’t be what love felt like. No, this was just her anger issues. They had always been pretty bad.

Astrid sunk back into her chair, and buried her face in her hands, wondering why arguing with him had been more pleasant than any nicety they had ever exchanged.

------------------------------------------------

That Time They Got Drunk

Hiccup hiccupped, and the sight and irony of it sent Astrid over the edge. She giggled, her head falling on Ruffnut’s shoulder. Ruff shrugged her off, but only so she could stand up and pull Astrid to her feet to dance.

“Here’s to...er…” Snotlout looked around for help but when no one offered any, he shrugged and went on. “Here’s to Berk’s nine hundredth anniversary!”

“It’s Berk’s four hundredth anniversary, you knucklehead,” said Fishlegs, who definitely held his alcohol better than the rest of them.

“Come o-o-o-n, Astrid, you can dance better than that!”

“Here’s to the greatest chief Berk has ever seen!” Tuffnut shouted. Him and Snotlout hollered and congratulated Hiccup with affectionate punches. While usually more serious than this, Hiccup laughed, taking another swig of his mead.

The music that they were playing in the Great Hall seemed to grow louder. Astrid, who had grumbled about the dress she had to wear only a few hours before, now twirled magnificently in it, her steps becoming lighter and her rather mesmerizing dance getting the attention of several people across the room, including Hiccup, who was all of a sudden looking at her rather appreciatively.

“Here’s to...here’s to Gobber!” Snotlout shouted, looking around wildly. The man in question was fast asleep, slumped over Grump in the middle of the hall.

Astrid’s eyes locked with Hiccup’s, and her heart pounded. His gaze was intense, and something inside her thrummed with anticipation. There was something intoxicating about having the most powerful man in the room watching you with such a hungry gaze. And there was nothing anyone could say about it either, he was her husband.

“Here’s to Astrid’s dancing skills!” Snotlout cheered, sloshing a bit of mead over himself.

She finished grandly and got similar cheers of approval. Only Hiccup remained quiet, and their eyes stayed glued on each other, drinking up all the mead allowed them to see.

“That was amazing, Astrid.” Fishlegs smiled. “Very fluid.”

“Yeah, I bet Hiccup thinks so too,” Snotlout muttered not-so-quietly with a snicker.

The two of them broke out of their trance and shot similar dry looks to Snotlout, who shrugged. “What? I’m just saying, Hiccup thinks you’re beautiful, Astrid.” Then he laughed as though he had just said the funniest thing ever. “Isn’t that right, Hiccup?”

Everyone looked at the chief, who looked up at his wife.

“Of course I think she’s beautiful,” Hiccup said easily, and Astrid’s cheeks flushed.

Hiccup and Astrid left much later, still heavily drunk. Tuff and Ruff had kept them drinking, with their constant dares and challenges. Stumbling and giggling at nothing in particular, they finally reached their hut.

Hiccup placed his hand on the handle, but before he had a chance to open it, Astrid grabbed his arm and tugged him back.

He looked at her, completely bewildered. “What?”

Feeling ridiculously bold and giddy, Astrid leaned in as close as she could and whispered, “I did that dance for you.”

Immediately, Hiccup’s eyes darkened, and he trapped her against the walls of the hut, a hand on each side, just as she had planned. His gaze went from her eyes, slowly, teasingly down to her lips. Astrid saw his throat bob, but without another moment of hesitation, he leaned down and kissed her.

It wasn’t their first kiss. But, Astrid knew as she tugged him closer, this was what she had wanted to feel the first time she kissed her husband. He wasn’t suffocating, but he was there, overwhelming her senses. The quiet possessive growl he let out drove her crazy, but Astrid remembered to pull back for air. She let herself have a second before kissing him again. One of his hands snaked around her waist and pulled her even closer, before he pulled back only to pepper hot kisses down her neck.

Astrid let her head fall back against the wall, panting excitedly.

They went inside, only pulling away from each other to take off articles of clothing…

Astrid climbed into the bed, with Hiccup only a few steps behind her…

She gripped the sheets in excited frustration...

Her head hit the pillow….

And the two of them were asleep in minutes.

Turned out, they really were very bad at holding their mead.

------------------------------------------------

The First Time They Were In Sync

Spitelout’s voice grated on Astrid so much that she was ready to jump across the table and smack the man. Gods, he ran his mouth as though he actually had anything meaningful to say. And Sven! Odin help her, the man only saw fit to screech at the most unimportant of issues.

“I say we cut them off entirely!”

Hiccup sighed, and she saw his lips twitch in annoyance. “As I’ve said about six times” - not that anyone was counting - “that seems more like a punishment than a compromise.”

Astrid could predict what Spitelout was going to say next the second he opened his mouth.

“Vikings do not compromise! That isn’t our way!”

Astrid stared sadly at Stormfly, the Nadder she had bonded with recently. Flying, surprisingly, was an extremely fun pastime, it was no wonder Hiccup did it so often. She longed to get on Stormfly’s back and fly away from this council meeting. It wasn’t like anyone but her husband cared what she had to say anyway.

“Just because something has been done a certain way for ages, does not mean that it’s how it has to be done. Just take -”

“The dragons, Spitelout,” she drawled. “You do have one, do you not? Or is it a sheep you so joyously fly? If we stuck to what Vikings did, then we’d have that dragon’s head on a stick.”

“Exactly the point, if a little crude.” Hiccup snapped his fingers and pointed dorkily. “We’re friends with the dragons, and better off because of it.”

“The dragons,” Spitelout began nastily, “are the reason why other tribes mistrust us.”

“And they are also the reason that none of them would actually be mad enough to attack us. Which means there is no need to punish them for something they haven’t and won’t do.”

Hiccup looked like he was desperately trying to hide a smile. “I don’t think I have anything to add to that. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I believe I have to attend to the forge, and Astrid - have you done the perimeter check today? You should get on that.”

Astrid, who had certainly done the perimeter check that day, stood up eagerly. “Yes, I should definitely get to that. Very important business.”

Hiccup disguised his laugh with a cough.

“The council is adjourned.”

------------------------------------------------

When Hiccup Got Injured

“Get in, get in, get in! What happened!?”

“It’s not that big of a deal, honestly,” Hiccup said, waving a dismissing hand as though his armor and tunic weren’t torn and there wasn’t a cut on his torso. “Just a wild dragon acting...well, wild.”

“I’m not a medic, Hiccup. Why didn’t you go straight to Gothi?” She directed him to sit on one of the chairs before using one of the fire prevention stations that Hiccup kept around to fill a bucket with water.

“Because it’s a small cut?”

Astrid sat in front of him, hesitantly wetting a rag before pressing it to his torso. Hiccup hissed in pain and she winced. It hardly seemed like a “small cut.”

They sat in silence as Astrid dabbed the wound gently, hoping Hiccup wouldn’t realize how thoroughly inexperienced she was at this sort of thing. She bit her lip and continued awkwardly pressing the wound until their eyes met.

Hiccup smiled, genuinely. “Thank you, Astrid.”

She found herself smiling a little too. For some reason, the typical uncomfortable tension wasn’t in the air tonight, and Astrid felt a little...relaxed. There was a comforting aura in the room that she faintly realized had not been there before he came in. It was strange, almost as if him being there put her at ease. But that sounded ridiculous, they weren’t even friends.

Astrid stood up, brushing the distracting thoughts out of her head. She started to head for the stairs, until Hiccup quietly murmured, “Astrid?”

She turned around. “Yes?”

Hiccup looked like he was struggling to ask her something, but so quickly that she nearly missed it, he asked, “Is it later?”

Astrid could have pretended she didn’t know what he was talking about, but the second he said it, she knew. She knew he was referring to the night of their wedding, when she told him to ask her later whether or not she’d be okay with him. With all of it.

She had a fleeting fantasy, one where she said that she was more than okay with him. She was happy! She was in love with him! She would embrace him and they would go up to their room together, lay by each other, and bask in each other’s love.

“Not yet,” she responded truthfully.

Hiccup did not look disappointed. He did not look happy. But he looked like he understood, and nodded. They exchanged a meaningful look, before Hiccup stood up, yawning. “I actually have to go back to the forge, I have a few things to work on.”

Astrid hesitated only a second before blurting out, “Do you need help?”

His head snapped up to her gazing hopefully, fiddling with the wet rag still in her hands.

“I’d appreciate it.”

Astrid smiled again.

I hope you liked it! Remember, in these moments, they don’t love each other, they barely know each other. For the cute romance, I’d read the previous two chapters.

Until next time!

#httyd #hiccstrid #hiccup #astrid #valkyrie stories

45 notes · View notes

howtowhumpyourhiccup · 3 years

Text

Comfortember Day 1: We’re Here For You

Summary: Written for Comfortember Day 1. Takes place in the Httyd Zombie AU, follow-up to Whumptober Day 27's "I'll Be Right Here, Bud". After waiting and waiting, their friends finally come for them.

Rating: Teen and Up

Characters: Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Stormfly

Pairing: None

Words: 1 436

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon

Prompt: “Rescue”

Whumpee: Toothless

Author’s Notes: You would think that I would be done with the month-long prompts after completing Whumptober. APPARENTLY, I'm not quite done yet.

I don't know if I'll do the entire month, but it seemed like fun to do "whump" prompts that are more focussed on the comfort after the whump.

Constructive criticism is appreciated!

Enjoy!

Ao3 for Comfortember Day 1

Ao3 for Whumptober Day 27

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hiccup?! Toothless?!"

That's Astrid's voice that's calling out to him and his Bud, Hiccup lifts his head up from Toothless' and looks up to the night sky, the stars twinkling far above their heads. The remains of the sunset can still be seen in the far distance.

"We're down here!" Hiccup calls out to them and he can hear them running towards them.

Toothless' head is still on his lap. In the hours they've been waiting, neither of them has moved much. Hiccup's injured knee is bend beneath him and it has swollen that way, too.

"Hey, they're here! And they're alive!" Ruffnut happily announces and ten different faces appear where the front of the house should be and Hiccup is happy to see them, though he does have some questions.

So his smile melts just a tad, but only a tad. He's still happy to finally see them all.

"So mind telling me where you guys have been this whole time?" He asks. Considering how long it's been, he believes he has a right to know.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup, we got held up." Astrid apologizes, Stormfly chirps to back her up.

"We ran into some of those Hunters and then we all got caught in that earthquake!" Snotlout adds, wanting to be sure that Hiccup knows that it isn't their fault they got held up. They didn't just forget about their friends and then didn't worry about them the entire time it took them to get back to their leading duo.

"Okay! So can you guys come get us out? Toothless can't be moved before we get all of this off him first." Hiccup asks of them, gesturing to the wood and brick and dust covering his dragon, and they don't need to respond. Of course, they'll help them out.

Hiccup sees their faces disappear from view, without a doubt they're searching for a way down.

"And Fishlegs? Bring medical supplies!" Hiccup shouts up to him.

"Oh-okay!" Not the most reassuring thing you want to be asked, but not too surprising either considering their situation.

"Over there!" Astrid tells the Riders as she might've found a way into the basement and while they're on their way to them, Hiccup pets Toothless' head and shakes him lightly to rouse him out of his sleep.

"Hey Bud, wake up! They're here!" It doesn't take much as Toothless isn't sleeping that deeply. He can't with that wound in his wing.

Tiredly, Toothless wakes up and croons hopefully to his Rider, but doesn't lift his head from Hiccup's lap. Hiccup doesn't want him to either, he's lying just fine.

The knee that he dislocated earlier that day has probably swollen beyond use by now anyway, but that is of little concern to him.

The Riders reach them, climbing over and under the debris all around them.

"Wow, this earthquake wasn't nice to this neighborhood." Ruffnut remarks.

"Well, this neighborhood could've done with the occasional upkeep. The street, too." Hiccup says to her.

There have been a few aftershocks, too. When they happened, instead of leaving his Bud behind to get to infinitely safer ground, Hiccup had draped himself over his head and hoped for the best. Though this house that they're in is mostly ruined, there is still plenty of it left to fall.

Some smaller parts of it did, but not on them, fortunately.

"So what's the situation?" Astrid asks and kneels by the duo. Obviously, there's something wrong or they wouldn't still be sitting here in what looks like a basement.

She pets the Night Fury's head, too, and Toothless purrs appreciatively at the show of affection.

"His wing is hurt. Some wood broke off from somewhere and pierced his wing." Hiccup points it out. The bleeding has stopped a long while ago and the puddle that he had originally found hasn't grown much. The wood must be stopping it.

"Oh, that could be bad," Fishlegs states and stands there with all of their medical supplies. This place is quite cramped for someone his size. This place is quite cramped for everyone involved.

"So what do we do?" Tuffnut asks and they all look to Hiccup as maybe he already has an idea on how to handle this situation.

"We remove the debris lying on Toothless. Start from the top, that way we won't risk hurting him further. And someone hold that wood in his wing still, we can't risk moving that either. Fishlegs, keep an eye out for an opening to help. I'm going to stay here." He tells them swiftly. His part of the plan is not only to keep his dragon calm as he probably won't be getting up with that knee of his anyway. Not easily, at least. He might even be a detriment to Toothless' health if he tries to help out.

But the Riders agree with the plan and they get to it. Excluding Hiccup and Fishlegs, they still have a total of four pairs of hands to help all of that junk off Toothless.

They get to work and Hiccup looks down on his Bud, petting the top of his head with a smile.

"It's going to be okay soon, Toothless. We're here for you. We're going to get you out of here and fix that wing. Everything's going to be okay." Hiccup leans down and hugs the dragon's head, who lifts it and purrs knowingly.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took some doing to get Toothless out of that basement. First to get all that rubble off him without disturbing the object impaling him, then removing that object itself, and then they had to take care of that tear in his wing. And as wings tend to bleed profusely, it had to be done quickly.

After all of that was taken care of, Stormfly had to lift him out of there before they could search for a campsite to settle down in for the night.

And in the meantime, the Dragon Riders found out about Hiccup's once dislocated knee and that means they have two injured friends in their group.

But they found a nice place to stay in the form of a hotel with a lot of nice and big beds to rest in, certainly big enough for a Night Fury. Though this injury isn't nearly enough to stop him for long, flying won't be such a good idea for at least the next week or so. The good news is that dragons are fast healers.

The rest for tonight and tomorrow, it's merely to recover from the events of the day.

The doors of the hotel are big enough for a dragon Toothless' size to just fit through and he and Hiccup take one on the second floor. The Riders each have their own room on one of the upper floors, close to the Dragons, which have settled on the roof.

"Here it is, Bud! Our very own suite!" Hiccup tells his Bud, limping into the room with a crutch to aid him. He always has at least one with them ever since the loss of his leg. With his chronic pain, it's handy to have one with him for his bad days.

Toothless comes in with a rumble and looks around the room. It quickly becomes clear that he has little interest in anything present and swiftly climbs onto the bed. It's a miracle it can even hold him.

Hiccup lets out a chuckle and watches Toothless get comfortable, the frame creaking horribly all the way.

"Don't break it, Bud." He tells him, Toothless rumbling indignantly, but in a teasing manner.

He settles, bed groaning beneath him as he does, and Hiccup lets out a laugh when Toothless pats on a spot next to him with a paw.

Placing the crutch down on the ground by the bed, Hiccup gets on it and removes his shoes, deciding to leave his prosthetic on. It doesn't feel too pleasant on his knee to crawl up on the mattress to reach his dragon, but Hiccup manages and looks at his Bud.

"We made it. At least for today." He tells him with a smile, Toothless croons in agreement.

"I told you we would be there for you, didn't I?" Hiccup asks and pats him on the nose, which coaxes Toothless into laying his head on the human's uninjured knee. His smile widening, Hiccup pets him.

It's well past midnight by now and all they have for light is the moon, but there is still plenty of hours to go before the sun rises again. Until then, Toothless can rest and so can he.

27 notes · View notes

starthornisscratching · 3 years

Link

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Characters: Valka (How to Train Your Dragon), Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Astrid Hofferson, Snotlout Jorgenson, Fishlegs Ingerman, Ruffnut Thorston, Tuffnut Thorston, Gothi (How To Train Your Dragon) mentioned Additional Tags: Whumptober 2021, Valka (How To Train Your Dragon) whump, Post-How to Train Your Dragon 2, Drowning, Trapped In A Sinking Ship, Barbed Wire (mentioned), I Tried, Title: Mr. Fear by SIAMESE Summary:

While out flying, Valka is captured. The riders rush to try and save her, but with Toothless shot down this is very difficult.

No character death!

-- Read it below if you’d like.

“I can’t leave you!” Hiccup was insisting, “Please don’t make me go, I want to help you!”

Oh how Valka wished to reach through those bars to gently comfort him- her son. But she couldn’t, there wasn’t enough time. There wasn’t enough time for anything like that, not even a finalized goodbye. No, the ship was filling with water too fast and there was nothing Hiccup could do to save his mother. Not quick enough anyway.

If he had time he could have thought of something. (He wished now that he had that time, or that he could have somehow repurposed all that time without his mother to plan for how he would save her in this moment where she might be gone- for good this time. But how could he have known about this situation? Such wishes were pointless, especially in the face of things he couldn’t control.)

“I can’t leave you,” the man repeated again, sounding broken and disheveled. Not unlike how he had when he thought Astrid would die of the disease she had caught, or that pang in his heart when Hookfang had disappeared and Snotlout was prepared to quit, or when he finally made the decision to give up on avoiding attacking the singetails. It was that feeling of panic followed and numbed by the realization that there really were things out of his control.

“You have to,” Valka whispered, sticking a few thin fingers through the dragon-proof bars- as far as they would go.

Hiccup sniffed, and tried to harden his expression as he looked around frantically (for what must have been the fifth time in the last thirty seconds). He was searching for a way to get his mother out, but there wasn’t anything he could see.

“Go, Hiccup,” she insisted, “If I can, I’ll meet you out…”

They both felt silent (mother and son), and the rushing of the water into the vessel was suddenly all the more deafening. Hiccup sniffed as a look of a terrible internal battle crossed his face, what was he to say? What was he to do? (He had just found her again, had come so close to being able to rescue her but that didn’t seem probable now- not at all.)

“And if you don’t?” Hiccup wrapped his fingers around hers through the bars, knee deep in water now. “If you don’t come out of here alive?”

She smiled, looking like she was holding back the urge to sob. It wasn’t that sobbing was bad at the moment, it was natural… but it wasn’t going to help her son. He could grieve later, crying with her would only take up time that he needed to use to get out. “If I don’t come out of here alive-” she said, feeling a tightness in her stomach, “then we will meet in Valhalla, as mother and son,”

It was Hiccup who sobbed a pained rattle of a breath. (Oh how she wanted to as well.)

When she let go of his fingers, trying to pull away, he shook his head and grasped them back. “Go, HIccup,“ she urged, “Leave this place, you have to let go of me,”

Finally, he followed her orders and dropped her hands. He took a step back through the now waist height water, “I don’t want to leave you,”

She gave him a brave, sad, smile in return, “You must,”

Hiccup stared forlornly around the sinking boat’s hull, “If Toothless hadn’t been shot down-”

“Hiccup,” she pleaded, “please!”

---

“He’s been down there for too long,” Astrid was struggling against the bonds that held her, but she seemed to be more concerned with the other rider than herself. “Usually he comes up by now; right?”

“I wonder what’s holding him up,” Fishlegs tapped his foot anxiously against the rough side of his riding dragon. (She didn’t seem to mind all that much- she looked quite nervous as well.)

Out of all the dragons, only Meatlug was captured with them- tied up on the deck of the boat of those who had lured them here. The others were probably being dragged down to the cells, limp with dragon root arrows, but Meatlug was immune to that type of poison. So, the group who captured them had settled on tying both her and Fishlegs to the mast- right along next to the other riders.

Snotlout struggled briefly before giving up and turning in the vague direction that would face Fishlegs (they were tied to opposite sides of the pole). “Do you think he needs help?” Even the twins looked worried- and they were never visibly worried about anything.

Astrid bit her lip harder, looking as if she was making a difficult decision. “Hiccup can take care of himself…” she started, but trailed off.

Fishlegs looked down at her, sounding nervous, “You're worried that he might not be able to take care of himself this time, right?“

The fact that she didn’t answer him was enough of a response in itself.

After a while, to fill the void which they all inevitably felt, the twins began to sing some sort of song about becoming one with the wooden planks they were standing on. It grabbed the attention of a few of the guards who whipped their heads around and stared angrily at the twins, glowering with pure annoyance. Astrid too glared at them; clearly not in the mood for that sort of tom-foolery.

The guards started to walk over, grumbling and pulling out their swords. (Not to hurt or kill, probably- because they had been directed to keep the riders alive, but to threaten.) Astrid’s glare got angrier as both of the men stopped in front of the twins (who were on either side of her). She didn’t like being sandwiched between two trained warriors who held weapons when she herself hadn’t been allowed one- it was a natural line of thought.

But the twins didn’t seem to share that line of thought, because only Ruffnut stopped singing (and just for a moment at that) in order to sneer at the guard standing in front of her. Tuffnut continued on with his merry song, eyes squeezed shut as if he was anticipating being hit, not that anyone other than his close friends or family would be able to read the subtle body language.

By the time the guard seemed ready to follow through with his threatening weapon-hand (when Astrid was almost ready to find a way to punch Tuff herself to shut him up) Snotlout’s leg suddenly looped around and kicked the guard over.

“O-oh!” Astrid yelped in surprise as both Snotlout and Fishlegs burst out of the ropes holding them, Meatlug ‘hugging’ one of the guards to the ground and Snotlout knocking out the other with a hard stomp to the head.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut both turned to face Astrid and sneered, but not all that meanly. Astrid blinked and nodded, finally comprehending that this must have been a plan the four other riders had developed at some point, amazed by the stupidly brilliant aspects of it. Seeing her gleeful surprise, Ruffnut nodded wisely. “I’ve told you many times, my dear Astrid. This is the Ruffnut idea farm over here,”

“Ah- ah ha,” Astrid blinked as Fishlegs very gently (but quickly) cut the ropes that still bonded her and the twins, she was still trying to get her head around whatever had just happened.

Tuffnut and Snotlout made quick work of binding the two guards to the mast (just in case they woke up while the riders still occupied the deck) and the group moved closer to the hole which led down to the belly of the ship. Their dragons were down there.

Fishlegs turned to the others, patting his gronkle on the side reassuringly, “Me and Meatlug will go first, their dragon root arrows can’t hurt us,”

Ruffnut laughed and shook her head.

“ She can’t be hurt by them,” Snotlout corrected, “but you can,”

As the Jorgenson crossed his arms, Fishlegs frowned at him. “But we have a better chance when we go together,” Tuffnut nodded in agreement with this and Astrid put a finger to her chin to think. Soon after, she nodded as well.

So that was that and the decision was made.

Fishlegs and Meatlug headed below deck first, the others following only once they heard the surprised shouts from those below deck. They quickly made their way to their dragons- getting rid of the hunters speedily and taking the keys to open the dragon’s cages.

If no one had brought the remedy for the dragon root, they would have had to take their dragons to the deck and find a way to get them off with sheer man-power, but Fishlegs had remembered to bring a bottle. (Astrid too, kept one in her saddle bag, but it had been removed by one of the hunters when they had been shot down.) All of the riders had gone through the process of giving their dragons the green-colored cure, so no problem was presented as the dragons began to gain their ability to move once more.

The riders and their dragons made their way up the stairs again (Astrid was getting very fidgety by this point, seeing as Hiccup had still not surfaced).

“Do you think he’s still on the ship?” she asked breathlessly- the question vaguely directed towards everyone else in the vicinity.

She was looking at the ship next to the one they were on, which was sinking steadily. (The last time Hiccup had been spotted he was jumping down into the storage space, because that was where his mother was being held.) There were no hunters at all on the boat now, they had all escaped to the only other ship in the area.

Toothless was on that third boat.

However, Astrid’s immediate focus was on Hiccup. And, right in front of her eyes, she watched as the sinking boat slipped low enough to let in water directly into the grate that led down to the hold.

But Astrid didn’t give the others time to either respond to the question she had previously asked or try to reason a proper plan. Instead, she leapt onto Stormfly’s back (her dragon let out a squawk which was sure to signify some sort of surprise) and the pair leapt off the edge of the boat and dove into the sea.

The other riders yelled in surprise, Tuffnut and Fishlegs rushing to the edge of the deck to see what she was doing and Ruffnut and Snotlout scrambling to board their own dragons. Not so long after Astrid and Stormfly dove into the murky waves, Snotlout and Ruffnut followed on their respective dragons. (This left Fishlegs and Tuffnut on the deck as Tuff couldn’t fly without a dragon and Meatlug’s tiny wings didn’t tend to fare all that well underwater.)

---

Hiccup was still trying to pry the door open with brute force when the water began to rush in from above as well as below. Valka screamed as the wave toppled them both over, the too-tight metal yanking and tearing her skin in a horribly painful way. Luckily (with the water being so high now) the pair didn’t have to fall far before being stopped.

Mother and son surfaced quickly, Hiccup pulling at the bars with renewed vigor as Valka pleaded with him to go. (He was clearly not getting anywhere like this. Maybe if he had gone to get Toothless while they still had time…)

“Please,” she begged, “You have to go, even if you got those bars open-” Salt water splashed into her face and choked her up for a moment, “-my legs are still bound, you wouldn’t be able to cut through the wire without your sword!”

Hiccup growled furiously, words were too tough to get out at this point. As he attempted to break one of the thinner bars in his hands, like that would get him anywhere, the panicked realization that he was going to be completely underwater soon started to set in. After that there was the instinctual terror, as if he were regretting trying to save his mother rather than selfishly saving his own life. (How furious he felt that the greed of those actions were eating away at him through his fear.)

But even as he hated the instinct to leave Valka behind, she was screaming at him to do just that. He hated to disobey, but it was necessary this time.

He couldn’t lose her too, he just couldn’t.

The pair fought the water for several more minutes. So long, in fact, that Valka’s bonds began to keep her under the water for extended periods of time. She tried to fight against them, gasping for air whenever she could force her head above the surface. But those times when she could surface began to thin, and her movements became more lagged. (Which certainly didn’t help her swim upwards against the metal wrapped about her legs.)

It got to the point when she stopped surfacing entirely. (Here Hiccup dove under the water, attempting to yell out to her, or open his eyes to see if she was still alive at all, but he only succeeded in getting the painful salt water in his eyes and down his throat.)

So he burst back above the water and continued to frantically jam at the door, yelling his mother’s name in a properly terrified way. Still, he didn’t seem to be getting anywhere.

And just as Hiccup’s doubts were really slowing his movements, several nadder tail spikes shot through the wall and embedded themselves in the other side- not even letting in more water because the room was mostly full then.

Stormfly and Astrid burst through the wall, causing Hiccup to scream since the sudden jolting of the boat knocked him hard into the bars of the cell which his mother was held within. Astrid yelled something to him, but the impossibly loud sloshing of water and simply the overpowering relief Hiccup felt garbled it too much to understand. Then, she ducked down on Stormfly’s back (subsequently disappearing under the water) and they both shot forward.

Hiccup only barely had time to hurry out of the way before Stormfly crashed through the weakened bars and opened the space needed to access Valka. Then, Astrid reappeared above the still heightening water and looked back at Hiccup, gasping. He didn't know if it was a grin or tears starting to flow, but Hiccup’s face contorted into some automatic expression and he swam as fast as he could into the cell.

“Where is she?” Astrid yelled over the sound of the rushing water.

Just like that, Hiccup was warped back to reality. His mother was still underwater and she hadn’t surfaced in a good amount of time. All the color drained from his face, not that that was visible in the almost blackness of the ship’s belly, and he tilted his head up so that his words might come out properly. “U-Under the water,”

“Is she tied down?” Astrid was clearly thinking of dismounting to see what she could do, “How long has it been since she was breathing?”

Hiccup couldn’t answer the second question, but he nodded feverishly as some answer to the first inquiry. Seeing this, Astrid’s expression became harder and she slipped off of Stormfly’s back- clearly swimming to feel around for Valka. Hiccup quickly followed suit.

The pair would probably have continued like that for a long, long time if the boat hadn’t suddenly started to lift upwards. At first, it was gradual (though still mechanically choppy and forced). Then, the bottom of the boat cleared the ocean’s top and the water began to flow out from the several holes through which it had originally come.

When it started to move, Astrid and Hiccup were both underwater, not even noticing that the boat had moved around them until they were forced right into the floor by the relative position of the boat’s base itself. Then, fearing something horrible and frankly confused, both pushed up in order to surface again.

Spluttering, Hiccup splashed his arm back into the water after trying to rub the salt out of his eyes. He yelped when Astrid popped up right in front of him, her hair hitting him directly in the face. However, neither could focus on the possibility of comedy in this, the situation was too dire and frightening.

“What’s happen-” Astrid could only start before yet another major jolt rocked through the boat, sloshing the water and occupants around and ripping screams from the lips of both humans with air to breath.

Hiccup resurfaced, looking far past panicky, “I don’t know!” he yelled to her.

Stormfly was squawking too, scrambling about and clearly trying to tell Astrid something. But Astrid couldn’t understand her, she was too panicked to work out the dragon’s body language. She was too panicked to even work out Hiccup’s body language, and he was human. (Plus, it was far too dark to see all the details in the nadder’s expressions- which were undeniably necessary in understanding what the dragon was trying to say.)

When Astrid’s almost unintelligible yelling still yielded no proper ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer, Stormfly swished herself around. Leaving behind a wave which knocked both Hiccup and Astrid under for a moment or two, she shoved past Hiccup and out into the water-filled hall.

“S-” Astrid choked on water after accidentally breathing it in, “Stormfly!” She tried to push her way through the water towards her dragon, but couldn’t get close without dipping under the waves of water Stormfly influenced. “Where- what? Where are you going?!”

But Stormfly didn’t speak Norse and subsequently couldn't answer.

So as Astrid watched, a horrified expression on her face, Stormfly shoved herself through the hole she had made in the boat’s belly and disappeared back into the ocean. “Stormfly!!” Astrid screamed, terror setting in. Why had her dragon abandoned her? How could she do such a thing?

---

The plan was to grab either side of the sinking ship in their dragon’s claws and pull upwards. (There wasn’t any rope available to attach for more stability.)

Ruffnut, riding Barf and Belch, took the side that was under the water. The boat was not fully vertical in the water yet, but it was still far enough down that she could not reach the very end. The corner side was the replacement she took, and once she began to surface Hookfang and Snotlout accommodated this decision.

They took the opposing side on the opposite end of the ship, and with great effort the two dragons along with their riders began to ascend. Luckily, the ship was mostly empty. There were no other occupants than Hiccup, Valka, Astrid, and Stormfly. If there had been any other full sized dragons it would have been impossible to lift. Unlickily, there were still hundreds of gallons of water trapped within the hold. Together, the monstrous nightmare and the zippleback would have to lift all that weight.

When Stormfly burst out from the sea, with no rider, Snotlout and Ruffnut immediately thought the worst. (As did Fishlegs and Tuffnut on the other boat.) But the loss of significant weight aided in their lifting job, and when the nadder squawked to the other dragons reassuringly the panic was eased as well. When Stormfly also latched onto the boat and started to lift, Fishlegs and Meatlug seemed to understand the idea.

The Ingerman mounted the gronkle (Tuff left behind to guard the now-awoken hunters) and they too hurried over.

Together the four dragons lifted the boat above the sea and the water began to drain. Immediately after the base of the ship was above the water the weight lessened and the dragons shot upwards comparatively.

With four dragons lifting (with all their different sorts of flying) the boat almost imitated rocking in the air, forcing the water to jam itself out of the holes on either end of the belly in a pattern. It took a long time to drain and the dragons never stopped trying to go upwards. (The farther they went up the further out of range they were from the last hunter ship in the area that could function to shoot them down.)

When, as a group, they decided that they were far enough up, Fishlegs carefully dismounted his dragon onto the deck of the ship and headed down to see what had become of their chief and of their general. He called their names as he went down, so it wasn’t long before the two riders still on their dragons started to hear Astrid and Hiccup’s voices as well.

They both sounded near-hysterical with fear (though Hiccup more so) but from the distance that Ruffnut and Snotlout were, no words were apparent. Both still-flying riders exchanged eye-contact, but couldn’t dismount. (Their dragons were simply too large to safely land upon the deck by jumping or attempting to climb down.) They had no choice but to wait, directing Meatlug and Stormfly to fly closer to the nearest ‘land’ in sight through yelling.

This did mean they were leaving Tuffnut even farther behind them- but that was okay. They both knew he could manage himself sufficiently if he really tried.

It could always be risky to make decisions without Hiccup or Astrid’s input, but in this sort of situation they really had no option to wait. Therefore, they made a beeline for the sea stacks closest to them. (Thinking or resting the boat atop one and balancing it with flight- just so that the weight of the boat didn’t really start to get to the poor dragons who were doing all the work.)

So as Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs cut Valka’s unconscious body from her bounds- they did just that.

---

Valka’s ankles were cut up and bruised horribly even under the deep cuts (rosy with washed out blood and encrusted with the already drying salt water). Her calves and thighs weren’t much better and although she had managed to free her arms of the similar metal bounds in which they had originally been the body-wide injuries were rather intense. Whatever the hunters had used this time they had been properly serious about inflicting damage. Because with that as a goal in mind, they had succeeded far beyond what they may have even been aiming for. (With such seemingly simple things as binds, it was a shock how effective they had been.)

Beyond that, she wasn’t really breathing. Her face was sickly pale and covered with the wet of the water which had just a moment before been covering her. (This time amount is, of course, a slight exaggeration. Hiccup and Astrid rushed to her and lifted her above the water as soon as they could physically find her.)

As a trio the chief, general, and healer’s apprentice carried Valka to the stairs which lead up to the deck. It was tough going, since it was still so hard to balance with the jolting and jumping caused by the dragons’ wing beats, but they made it. In fact, right when Astrid’s boots touched the slick deck there was suddenly a much stronger jolt and the boat came to a shocking halt.

All three stumbled, but managed to keep Valka aloft, and looked around in bewilderment.

“Never fear!” Ruffnut’s voice yelled down, “We’re just resting the boat on top of a sea-stack!”

In amazement, Hiccup looked around to their surroundings. It was true, the ship was being balanced on one of the tall chunks of rock. “Th-thank you!” he called up, still feeling that awe seeping into his shivering body.

“Don’t thank us!” It was Snotlout’s turn to yell. “Get off the boat, then thank us! I don’t know how long Hooky can hold you up!”

“Or Barf!” Howled Ruff, “Or Belch! Or Meatlug, or Stormfly for that matter!”

The trio hurried off the boat then.

When they were safely on the sea-stack, and far enough away from the vessel they had just gotten off of, the four dragons who were still balancing it there let go. For a moment, it precariously balanced there (almost as if it would never fall). But quite quickly after that, the inevitable began and, with a horrendous creaking sound, the boat started to fall. (With the dire context of Valka’s situation, the sound was as ominous as it was unbearable otherwise.)

Once that was done with, the dragons landed and their two riders jumped off- both landing a little bit messily before regaining their balance and rushing to Valka’s side.

“You left Tuff be… behind?” Hiccup commented, saying the first thing that came to his mind.

Ruffnut rolled her eyes, “He had to watch the guards, we left Toothless behind too,”

Though he didn’t have any more words to properly convey emotions (his throat scratched raw from screaming his mother’s name), Hiccup swallowed. Toothless was a comfort to him in general, even besides the fact that he was extremely smart and had helped the riders out of several difficult situations in the past.

“It’ll be alright,” Astrid hastened, “at the moment, we have your mother to worry about,”

Nodding shakily, Hiccup turned back to his mom. She was still, pale, and cold. (Although the blood on her arms and legs made it seem as though she was not so pale in those places, and rather badly sunburned. If sunburn was a liquid, of course.) There was no movement in her face, but Fishlegs had checked her heart and it was still beating. So maybe there was hope in the situation, but that was all they had to help them.

At Fishlegs’ direction Ruffnut began chest compressions, attempting to push any water out of Valka’s lungs. Afterwards, the others might ask Fishlegs why he chose the twin for this job and he wouldn’t know how to answer. Maybe he would say that it was a random choice, or that he just had a feeling she would be able to do it best. But in reality it had been quick, but resourceful, thinking. The zippleback rider was strong, unapologetic (in case she broke any of the woman’s bones), and most of all speedy. She could move fast, that was the real reason.

His decision came to be correct because after only a few minutes of compressions (only a little bit after Snotlout went off to get fresh water to wash out the Haddock’s wounds) Valka coughed.

When she did, Hiccup whimpered in relief. He rushed closer to her head (leaving behind his job of picking the tiny pieces of metal off or out of her skin) and looked down at her. In his eyes, he was pleading that she wake up and be alright. He was pleading that the pain wouldn’t be too terrible. Pleading that his mother could still rightly function when she awoke.

Luckily, it seems that some of these please came true.

Valka’s eyes opened slowly, and she stared up at Hiccup’s still dripping face and hair. She was trying to process what she was seeing, that was clear. (For her it was hard to believe that he had managed to get her to safety, especially after the world had gone dark under all that water. Maybe she was dead and he had died with her. That thought did cross her mind.)

But before she could really understand what was happening the pain set in and she was coughing up salt water. It left a burning sensation in her throat, in her mouth, in her chest- everywhere. (At least then it matched the hurt around the gashes in her legs and arms.) She liked when things matched each other, but the repetitive agony all over her body was quickly an exception.

“Hi-ccup?” she groaned with effort, squinting up at her son.

Hiccup swallowed and nodded, “I’m right here mom, just keep trying to breathe. We’re going to get you to Gothi, okay?”

Valka weakly turned her head to look at Astrid (who had just appeared in her frame of vision). Astrid nodded in a reassuring way. “We’re going to get you help Mrs. Haddock,”

~~~

The riders then loaded Hiccup and Valka onto Hookfang and flew back to where they had left Tuffnut.

To their surprise by the time he came into sight he was flying towards them on Toothless’ back.

When, in amazement, Hiccup asked him what he had done in order to get the night fury back, Tuffnut just shrugged and said that he ‘went and grabbed him’.

No one knew quite what to think of that.

So they just flew back to Berk and rushed Valka to Gothi.

She would be alright.

It would be okay.

#whumptober2021 #no.1 #You have to let go #bound #fandom #httyd movies #fic #drowning #blood #yo this low key SUCKS #but I'm still pretty proud of it #sorry if there are typos #this is my first whumptober :D

1 note · View note

tomiyeee · 4 years

Note

Viggo Grimborn for the character thing

hell yeah! >:3

(oops this got long)

Fav thing about them: this has been said a million times im sure, but he’s just such an interesting character (especially compared to the other villains). i’ve ranted about it already on ig but he and hiccup bring out new sides to each other and i just love that so much. we see both of them lose their cool over their obsession with the other so much so that other characters (ryker and astrid/the other riders) have to actually pull them back and tell them to chill. for once in the series hiccup is actually challenged by his enemy, and loses and gets frustrated over it (that scream at the end of maces & talons..oofie) and it just makes the series take a totally different tone and i love it!!! after triple cross it just goes downhill so quickly and we’re right back to hiccup outsmarting his enemies and beating them effortlessly and it’s just so …boring.

Least fav thing: 1) as much as i loooove triple cross, i really wish we could have seen more of good!viggo. i don’t genuinely want to change canon just because i feel like it works perfectly as is, but good!viggo is such a fun concept that we never really got to see in canon. but oh well, that’s what aus are for. 2) the shit quality animation of rtte and the overall art style honestly makes him (and a lot of other characters, especially the villains) look more like a little kid’s action figure than a cold-blooded killer. i mean it’s not so bad, he’s still intimidating compared to other characters, i just find it funny.

Fav Line: that part in triple cross when he’s saying “thaaat’s right” to the skrill make my pee pee hard. but also for a somewhat more serious answer, one of my favs is: viggo: “dagur did you do what i told you to do with the prisoner?” dagur: “of course! but i’m still thinking that-” viggo: “stop thinking. all thinking has been done, you simply need to do what you’re told, follow orders. can you do that?” it’s just so god damn patronizing and passive aggressive and the line delivery along with his animations was just perfect.

brOTP: vigcup and him/the skrill

OTP: vigcup

nOTP: hm. anything besides vigcup really. there just aren’t many characters he has a very interesting dynamic with.

Random headcanon: (viggo lives/dragon rider viggo au since that’s all i think about these days) i really desperately want to see him having the skrill as his dragon if he were to become a dragon rider. i’m not sure how that would work out bc of the skrill’s whole lightning deal, but i’m too attached to the idea to let it go, especially considering he died alongside it in canon. it’s only right, i feel like, and i can’t think of any other dragons that would fit him nicely.

Unpopular opinion: everything about him is just really funny to me. now that i’ve finished the series, i’m at the point where i just make fun of my favorite characters as much as possible. so him stealing all of hiccups inventions? hilarious. his introduction being a dramatic monologue about morals and chess? also hilarious. idiot probably had been planning that out word for word well in advance. viggo sitting there in the cage, crouched under a cloth just waiting for hiccup to uncover him so he can prank him? him ordering his little bondage boy hiccup be delivered to him tied up and with a chain around his neck like a collar? him being locked up in baby jail by a bunch of 18 yr olds? viggo grimborn canonically pissing (“snotlout was good enough to allow me to use the facilities”)? all extremely fuckin funny.

Song I associate: i coulda sworn i had a song that reminded me of viggo/vigcup but i really cant remember what it was or if it was for a diff character, so for now i got nothin :(

Fav Pic:

i have too many good pics of him saved on my phone to pick just one so i’ll choose this instead

#ask #long post #ask game

37 notes · View notes

tysonrunningfox · 4 years

Text

Ripped: Part 28

All that’s left is an epilogue, my dudes, my pals, and I’m so incredibly happy that anyone has hung in until now.

AO3

“What exactly happened?” Snotlout asks, looking more alive than Hiccup feels, leaning his elbows on a surprisingly clean table at what still claims to be Gruff’s bar.

“We’ve told you like ten times,” Hiccup leans his head on his hand, swirling the glass of the clear alcohol he doesn’t really trust and wishing he were somewhere else.

“Since when have you denied an excuse to tell some long-winded story?” Snotlout rolls his eyes and Astrid nods, quietly agreeing even though her eyes are worried.

“It’s not a long story.” Hiccup understands the impulse to celebrate, but given that he’s the one who just got out of jail, shouldn’t he get to dictate what constitutes that celebration? Shouldn’t his so-called friends have realized that his idea of a celebration might be less ‘bar’ and more ‘shower and nap and food that wasn’t squeezed out of a tube by someone with a face tattoo wearing a hairnet’?

“I want to hear it again,” Snotlout clasps his hands together in a pleading, annoying way that makes Hiccup roll his eyes.

“I hit Grisly,” Astrid tries and fails to bite back an almost shy, self-congratulatory smile, “in the face, with an umbrella. I think I broke his nose.”

“I think you broke his nose when you kneed him in the face.” As much as he wants to go home, Hiccup will tell his half of the story all day if it keeps making Astrid smile like that, buoyant in a way he doesn’t think he’s ever seen her. Flashes of it maybe, under his sheets on that night he can’t think of without aching, but never this constant, like the weight she’s had on her shoulders has been banished to a cell where he belongs.

“Right, I hit him with an umbrella, then kneed him in the face, then shoved him into a wall.” She nods, scooting closer on the booth bench when Ruffnut slides in beside her.

Her leg is warm against his and her hand is casual on his thigh, thumb tracing the seam of the shitty, too-big jeans they gave him when they took the jumpsuit back. He shivers at the contact, barely resisting the urge to lean his cheek against the top of her head. He doesn’t think she’d stop him or anything, it just feels like something he wants to be private.

Everything about her makes him want to be alone, to have her all to himself instead of sharing her with everyone while he paces an anxious victory lap in his tour de force of keeping his face straight for over a week. As lonely as he was in jail, he doesn’t want to show it yet, not when everything is still so fresh and chaotic and unbelievable. But he wouldn’t have to act around Astrid, couldn’t even choose to. There’s no debate about letting her in because she’s already there, behind his defenses, holding them up even when he crumbles.

“I bet he can pull off the broken nose though,” Ruffnut’s assertion pulls him back into the conversation and he turns slightly to see her better, his arm sliding around Astrid’s shoulders. “What? Why are you all looking at me like that?”

“He was going to kill us, Ruff, I don’t care what his nose looks like,” Astrid scoffs.

“I’m not saying I care, I’m just saying I don’t mind a guy who looks a little dangerous.”

“Well he is that, if your definition of ‘a little dangerous’ means someone who killed at least four people, including your cousin, and tried to kill three others.” Hiccup can’t believe the last few months fit in a sentence.

Well. Two sentences. One compound and twisting and the other short and to the point. The very big, life changing point, but it’s a straight three word shot to get there.

Three words that he said, out loud, that Astrid didn’t ever respond to, because a sociopathic soon-to-be punching bag interrupted the moment. And every moment since has been filled with questioning and paperwork and friends who he just doesn’t want to perform for right now when all the tension is melting out of his back and leaving it a sore mess of frayed nerves.

“This is why we didn’t work out, Hiccup,” Ruffnut tuts and shakes her head, patting Hiccup’s hand on Astrid’s shoulder, “you’re too literal.”

“You married Mr. Benson for his money and it’s about time you admit that to yourself. It’s not my fault that we were lying, and I don’t have any money.” Hiccup snorts, glad to talk about something other than jail, even if Grisly’s face flits through the story like he’ll surely do in Hiccup’s nightmares.

“At least I didn’t have to drag out the divorce by milking you for alimony,” Ruff says, “the annulment because you wouldn’t put out is much quicker.”

“Too bad, I know a good lawyer. Maybe I could have ended up with alimony.” Hiccup smiles when Astrid looks up at him, ponytail tickling his arm. “Don’t worry, the marriage was a fraud anyway, I only made Mr. Benson up to launder money.”

“Yeah, and it was just my attempt to burn through Snotlout’s precious friend-group,” Ruffnut laughs as she elbows Astrid in the ribs, “you could be next, babe, I like a girl with a bludgeon.”

“Probably not the day to get under Astrid’s skin, Ruff, she’s not pulling her punches,” Snotlout warns, “I think there’s an umbrella rack by the door.”

“I’ll go hide it,” Ruffnut leaves but Astrid doesn’t move except to lean forward and pluck Hiccup’s glass from his hand, continuing his mindless swirling.

“That’s not entirely true,” Astrid teases Snotlout, eyebrow raised, “I’m currently holding what? Sixty-five punches for a later date.”

“Sixty-eight,” he corrects, unusually solemn. “Precisely, I could check Heather’s tally, if you want—”

“That’s fine, I guess I’ll trust you.” She takes a sip of Hiccup’s drink before turning to look at him, “do you not trust Tuffnut’s sudden moonshine making abilities?” She asks, mischievous enough to offset the tired circles under her eyes.

“I’m confused enough about today without the help of any mind-altering substances.” He’s struck again with the urge to leave, to go somewhere quiet where things make sense and he can hug her until the room stops spinning. Maybe longer, if she doesn’t have anywhere to be.

“What part are you confused about?” Snotlout’s eyes brighten. “Because we could go through it again, piece it together, I’d be happy to help.”

“You just want to hear about how I hit Grisly again.” Astrid’s fake flippant tone fails when she smiles, victorious like the night she took over his tour, his too big hat tipped sideways on her head.

“What would happen to my psych profile if I admitted that it was kind of hot?” Hiccup’s filter slips ever so slightly, exhausted from its constant engagement, and Astrid shakes her head and laughs, looking at him like she’s wondering if he hit his head.

“Nothing good,” a tired British voice answers and Eretson appears, sitting heavily on the booth bench beside Snotlout and setting a familiar hat on the table, “don’t worry though, it’s shredded. Grisly did his best to clean up before he went to see you.”

“Is that…” Hiccup reaches for the hat but pauses, remembering the last place he saw it and curling his hand into a fist. “Isn’t it evidence?”

“Even Berk PD doesn’t need it with the way Grisly’s talking,” Eretson takes Snotlout’s glass and pounds it back in one long gulp. He’s not wearing his usual tie and his sleeves are pushed up, and Hiccup wonders if he’s finally going to catch a glimpse of the man off duty.

“Hey!” Snotlout protests but Eretson ignores him, pointing at Hiccup’s barely touched drink in Astrid’s hand.

“Um, be my guest.”

“Why is it that serial killers always want to tell you what they do to the bodies?” Eretson asks the room at large before taking a slightly more measured sip. “It’s never good.”

Hiccup is almost as shocked by the authenticity of his laugh as Astrid is, pulling away from his side enough to look up at him with obvious relief, “What? No stories of respectful funeral services? I always pictured Grisly as a ‘be the undertaker you wish to see in the world’ type.”

“We’re just ignoring the fact that Eret stole evidence? If that’s even your real name,” Snotlout narrows his eyes and Eretson does his best to ignore him, nudging the hat in Hiccup’s direction.

“I thought you might want it back, seems like it has history.”

“A gory history,” Hiccup frowns but Astrid takes the hat carefully by its brim and slides it to him.

“Well, so do we.” She nudges him with her elbow and everyone else’s eyes bore into him like more invasive searches while ‘I love you’ pounds on the gate, hatching another escape plan.

“You’re right. Again.” He clears his throat and if she gets the reference, she doesn’t show it, “I’ll get it disinfected. And dry cleaned. And sterilized.”

“You know, I think I spent all this time being jealous of you because you’re tall and a detective and you have abs and talk like you’re on Downton Abbey, but you’ve actually just been a klepto waiting to steal evidence.” Snotlout laughs to himself, sitting up a little straighter.

“And to think, if you hadn’t gotten shot, I’d still be following the rules.”

“You’re blaming me?” Snotlout looks at Eretson a too long second, his eyes darting down to the open button where the other man’s tie usually is. “Well that’s typical.”

“Can I steal you another drink?” Eretson picks up both empty glasses and Snotlout crosses his arms, suddenly flustered.

“Uh yeah, you better, since you drank my other one.” He brushes Eretson off and then calls after him, “also, you can’t steal them, they’re free because the bartender is an idiot.”

“I prefer guru!” Tuffnut jumps away from the still, which is suddenly emitting an alarming amount of steam, “or alchemist.”

“It’s really just a chemical reaction…” Fishlegs explains as he pours a jar into the two glasses.

Everyone else is having fun. Maybe they wouldn’t notice if Hiccup just slipped out and looked into whether he could bribe an Uber Eats driver to deliver the food directly to his bedroom door. It’s not like there’s a serial killer out there anymore, Berk isn’t exactly California in the seventies. Grisly was a rare occurrence.

��I’ll get the fire extinguisher,” Tuffnut disappears into the back room and Fishlegs walks over to lean on the edge of the table, thinking for a second before holding out his hand.

Hiccup stares at it before shaking it, awkward with the realization that he was so used to being surrounded by fellow inmates and guards who hated him that he forgot that Fishlegs’ dislike was an exception.

“Not to be a downer,” Fishlegs starts and Astrid glares at him.

“Then don’t.”

“I’m just wondering what comes next,” he looks at Astrid like a worried older brother she didn’t ask for, moustache radiating concern, “a trial for impersonating a police officer to break into a jail.” He flicks the side of Hiccup’s hat and his tone turns judgmental, “a tour of the compiled murderous history of the city.”

“No, I—I’ve had enough murder for multiple lifetimes,” Hiccup insists, wondering randomly if anyone has ever told Fishlegs that he has the uncanny aura of a high school guidance counselor.

Hiccup’s high school guidance counselor didn’t like him either. He should be glad that Fishlegs doesn’t get to see his shredded psych evaluation.

“And no one talked to me about the off-label badge use,” Astrid shrugs at Eretson when he sits back down, “they seemed pretty happy to get us out of there, honestly.”

“That’s an understatement,” Eretson’s chuckle is cynical, free of any veneer, “they spent all their quarterly budget hiring civilian security guards and their serial killing commander, they couldn’t afford for you to sue them.”

“I can’t afford to sue them,” Hiccup waves off what he assumes is Eretson’s offer as soon as he opens his mouth, “mentally. I can’t believe that somehow this is over, but I need it to be over. I know I’ll have to be a witness later but I just…”

Running out of words is an uncomfortable feeling that he has no interest in getting used to. It’s not even that he’s out of words, he can see himself finishing the sentence in his head and the end of it adds nothing. It’s nothing he hasn’t said before, it’s nothing he’s not communicating now with his slumped shoulders and surely exhausted expression.

Astrid finds his hand and squeezes it, “I think it’s fitting. Sometimes modern bureaucratic problems require medieval solutions.”

He loves her. Those are words he wants to say a thousand times and he doesn’t doubt that every time he does, they’ll mean something different. More. Building on each other in ways he doesn’t even understand yet.

“While there is evidence of umbrellas existing prior to the middle ages, the steel ribbed model that did so much damage wasn’t invented until the seventeen-hundreds at the earliest,” Fishlegs says it like a joke and Snotlout groans.

“I can’t do it, I can’t spend anymore time with nerds.” He catches himself, “not that Astrid is a nerd. I’m only calling Fishlegs a nerd, for the tally.”

“I would have used a sword if I had one,” Astrid thinks seriously on the problem for a second, forehead furrowed as she taps her finger on her chin, “a battle axe, maybe.”

“I think a sword is customary for the knight in shining armor rescuing the damsel in distress from the tower,” Eretson smirks and takes a self-congratulatory sip of his drink when Hiccup’s mouth falls open.

“Now, you decide to be funny? I tried to get you to lighten up for days while I was in jail, but now that everything is miraculously going to be ok, you reveal that you’re funny?” Hiccup shakes his head, “Snotlout, maybe you were right about this guy.”

“Right that he’s an asshole or right that he’s a tall detective with abs who talks like he’s on Downton Abbey?” Snotlout checks and Eretson can’t quite hide his blush this time, which only makes Snotlout smile wider.

“First one.”

“You’ve been Princess Hiccup for two seconds and you’re already making decrees that people are assholes,” Snotlout grins at the new nickname and Hiccup wants to hide under the table, “that took no time at all to go to your head.”

“When you’re a princess, you have to cling to the power that you can,” Hiccup tightens his arm around Astrid, resolving to take her with him if the urge to flee entirely overwhelms, “now I’ve got to hope that my knight in shining armor doesn’t lock me in another tower to ravish me, or something.”

“My tower,” Astrid’s face falls, eyes suddenly wide and serious as she folds her hands on the table, expression frozen like she just got very bad news.

“I mean you don’t have to ravish me, if you don’t want, I was just pointing out that I’m not familiar with the existence of any Distressed Damsel consent laws or—”

“I can’t lock you in a tower because someone got murdered at my apartment. Shit. I was so focused on,” she waves at him in a distracted, distressed way, “that I forgot I don’t have anywhere to live that’s not a recent crime scene. I bet my stuff is covered in blood—”

“It is.” Hiccup mumbles, wincing at the memory.

“I’m never going to get my deposit back.” She leans her head on her hands and Hiccup rubs the sudden, stressed knot in her shoulder.

“I’ll talk to Gobber for you.”

“You can move in with us,” Snotlout offers, too blunt to be anything but sincere. Almost annoyed, like he’s frustrated that he has to be the one to suggest such obvious things.

“What?” Hiccup and Astrid ask simultaneously and Fishlegs coughs.

“I mean if you still need my guest room—”

“She doesn’t need the guest room, Fishface,” Snotlout brushes him off, “she can move in with us. We have a three-bedroom place, if she doesn’t want to stay with Hiccup, he can sleep on his weird desk.” He elbows Eretson to bring him into a joke, “she’d probably join him though—”

“Sixty-nine!” Astrid shouts, face red and glare sharper than the sword she wished for.

“Do you need the pants back?” Tuffnut asks from the back room and Snotlout snickers.

Hiccup’s whiplash is feeling more and more like a stroke.

“I wasn’t asking for details…”

“No, I’m going to hit you sixty-nine times—you planned that.” She crosses her arms, “that’s why you were so nice—that’s why you asked me about football—”

“Yeah,” he holds his hand up to Eretson for a high five and Astrid clears her throat. “The Pats are the best, by the way. God, not saying that was so hard, but worth it.”

“If you’re good enough for high fives, I can probably start knocking that tally down…” She rolls up her sleeves and threatens and Hiccup remembers waking up with his head on Astrid’s lap, casual banter bouncing around and making the hospital room feel like home.

And he loves her, and it’d be perfect in a way that could almost make up for everything that’s happened. And he loves her, and she didn’t have a chance to respond.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” He blurts at Snotlout and points behind him towards the front door, “alone?”

“Why can’t she move in with us? I love her.” He says it so easily and Hiccup feels like his eyes might bug out of his head.

“Now? Can I talk to you alone, now?”

Something about his tone, probably the fact he sounds crazy, keeps anyone from saying anything as they all unload from the booth to let him and Snotlout out. The cool evening breeze is wonderful against the back of Hiccup’s neck, even now when he’s in the middle of freaking out, and he takes a deep breath, trying to let the freedom quell the panic.

“What’s your problem?” Snotlout throws his arms up and Hiccup glares at him.

“What’s my problem?” He shakes his head, “you can’t just ask my—” Girlfriend? They haven’t agreed on that. Savior? As much as he wants her to ravish him, he’s not actually her princess and this is the twenty-first century. Reason he’s alive? That’s doesn’t have anything to do with their living situation. “You can’t just ask Astrid to move in with you like—”

“Us, I said us,” Snotlout corrects.

“That’s supposed to be my job and I would have asked you first and—”

“Do you not want her to?” Snotlout frowns, holding his hands up in a tentative surrender, “dude, I legitimately thought it was going that direction, you can’t go two seconds without staring at her with stupid lovey-dovey eyes, so I just figured—”

“I want her to. I—more than—I was thinking about it before the whole jail thing but—” He exhales, letting himself remember that morning, how right it felt, “and you can’t just go around telling her that you love her—”

“Uh, I do love her, cuz,” Snotlout points at his shoulder, “some creepy asshole tried to kill me, and she broke his face. And she saved your idiot life in the process.” He backhands Hiccup’s chest a little too hard and Hiccup realizes he hasn’t even considered that Snotlout might feel the same about losing him as he did about losing Snotlout, “so yeah, I kind of love her. I think she should probably get a medal or a plaque or something.”

Hiccup sighs and rubs his hand over his face, “I love you too. And I love her—”

“Different ways, I hope.”

“Couldn’t be more different.” He tries to shove his jumbled brain into some kind of order, before the door opens behind Snotlout and Astrid steps out, halfway through putting his borrowed jacket on.

She’s wearing his hat.

“Tuff helped me spray it down with one-hundred-eighty-seven proof alcohol. The inside too. I think that counts as disinfecting it.”

“Good.” He swallows hard, wondering for the thousandth time today if he’s dreaming and he’s going to wake up uncomfortable on that cot in his cell. Or worse, wake up at four in the afternoon at home, only to realize that none of this happened and he never met her.

“Do you want to get out of here?” She asks, magical words in her magic voice, laced with that magic understanding she seems to have of his brain and soul, and he nods so fast that his back twinges.

“I’ll see you at home,” Snotlout points at Astrid, “and maybe you also, potential roomie, guard my boy on the way there?”

“That was the plan,” her lips twitch, “I’ll have to do without my umbrella, but I think I’ll manage.”

“You don’t have to decide now,” Hiccup placates as soon as Snotlout is back inside, but Astrid seems relatively unperturbed. Maybe after all of this, she’s just imperturbable.

He wishes he felt that way. At all. He feels like he could be disrupted by an unexpected pebble in his path.

“Where to?” She takes a couple of backwards steps ahead of him, like she’s giving him a tour that makes him use fresh eyes to take in a street he’s seen a hundred times before.

Home. He wants to go home. He wants his bed and his sheets and her and he wants it to be her home too. It won’t feel like home without her and he loves her, and he needs to make sure she knows that before he makes any plans.

If he has another serious conversation today, he’ll scream.

“I don’t know.” He shoves his hands in too big pockets, Fishlegs’ question rattling around his head. What comes next?

It was easy to think about the next few months when they’d been taken from him, but now, looking at Astrid starting some tour to the future wearing their past on her head, ears sticking out under the weight of the brim, he can’t make himself focus on anything but her. Even if he’s lost, he’s not adrift, because his anchor is safely held in her competent, decisive grip.

“You seemed a little…antsy in there.”

“You caught that, huh?”

“Do you want to talk about it?” She falls back into step beside him, looking up from under the black brim with endlessly deep blue eyes and his heart thuds out of rhythm.

“No, not at all.” He runs his hand through his hair and can smell the anti-septic of cheap jail shampoo, “I want a shower and I’m so tired that I want a nap, but I’m way too keyed up to take one. I really want pizza, but I don’t want to have to talk to anyone to get it. I want to be alone, but I want you to be there—” He pulls up short, “Princess Hiccup is demanding, apparently.”

“Not particularly,” she grabs his hand to get him walking again, her fingers warm steel and comfort, “your place then. I think that the people making minimum wage at Pizza Hut wouldn’t be too happy if you showered in the sink while not talking to them.”

His place. Like she’s willing to be there, like she understands how he needs to be alone, but he’d be miserable if she wasn’t there. Even if she is there, it still counts as being alone, and he’s never felt like that about anyone.

“Astrid, I…” There’s so much he wants to say and so much he wants to say later, so he settles on a question, squeezing her hand so she’ll look at him. “How does Snotlout know about um, well, my desk?”

“Well,” she starts, then her face falls, instantly distraught in a way he knows instinctively means that Grisly flitted across her thoughts.

“I’m sorry—”

“It’s a valid question—”

“I wish I hadn’t asked,” he rubs his face again, “or I wish I hadn’t asked now, because I’ve been in jail and I don’t want to think about it, or about what I missed, or about what happened. Not right now.”

“I don’t want to think about how Snotlout knows about your desk.” She wrinkles her nose, flushing when she says ‘desk’ and he doesn’t think about it, his feet follow a path that goes with the hat, dragging her with him into an alley between two planes of century old brick. “What are you doing?”

“Shortcut.”

“Wait,” she stops just within the shadow of the buildings, yanking on his arm with all that unexpected strength, and when he turns around, she’s astonished and half smiling.

“What?” The hat is crooked, and he can’t be conflicted how he feels about it when she’s laughing and pressing an intentional finger against his chest.

“You almost went to jail for being the Grimborn copycat, but you’re not—”

“I know that,” he catches the hand she’s poking him with, folding in her pointer finger before kissing her knuckles.

“You’re the prostitute.”

“You lost me.”

“If Grisly was the Grimborn copycat, and you’re the one lured into dark creepy alleys for the promise of a few bucks to pay your bills, then you aren’t the damsel in distress, you’re the prostitute taken advantage of by the dastardly fiend.” She whispers the last few words and it’s perfect, it’s Grisly reduced to an anecdote or a setup.

“What does that make you?” He lets go of her hand to brush her hair behind her ear, and he hasn’t kissed her because of cops and audiences and neither of those are here now, in an alley so like the one where she first stood on a grate and refused to enjoy his tour. “No, no, I’ve got it. You solved it.”

“Solved what?” She cocks her head, cheek pressing into his palm, and his other hand finds her waist as her back meets the wall and the hat tips forward over her eyes. She takes it off and sets it in place on his head, nudging it straight with a satisfied smile as his thumb drags across the corner of her mouth. “Please get to the point.”

She relaxes when he kisses her, arms wrapping around his neck, simple and charged when his knuckles scrape against kiln-fired brick. It’s the right kind of distraction, the jumble in his head pushed aside for something better and more important. More permanent.

“You solved Grimborn,” he mumbles against her cheek, kissing down her jaw and shuddering when her warm hand slides under the back of his itchy prison lost and found tee-shirt.

“What?” She pushes him back an inch with a hand on his chest and frowns, eyes too focused behind the daze. When he tries to kiss her again, she repeats the question, eyes flicking to his hat as she hooks her heel around his.

“As you said, I’m the prostitute, easily lured and cornered. You caught the murderer.” He’s too close not to kiss her again, especially when the brim of his hat nudges against her forehead and she smiles, momentarily content in the victory. It’s about time this happened in one of the alleys that still center him, even when the Grimborn lure is dissolved. “You solved it.”

“I didn’t…” She trails off when he runs a hand down her thigh, tugging it against his as he kisses her pulse, “it’s not solving—”

“It’s good enough for me,” he pulls back enough to brush his nose across hers before meeting her eyes, the weight of the last serious thing he can’t ignore sitting heavy in his chest, “your apartment sucked.”

“What?”

“Condo of eighteen-eighty-three, mass-produced, no character, remodeled by a renegade arcade enthusiast on a budget in the early nineties,” he pauses to rebuild his drive, lips pressed against hers as his hand cradles the back of her head, “my place on the other hand…” He gets distracted by soft hair tickling his forehead and the way her fingers curl in his hair, displacing the hat, “original hardwood floors. Towel warmer. Crown molding.”

“Are you asking me to move in with you?” She rakes her fingernails through is beard when she gets him far enough away to read his face. She has hat-head.

He can’t breathe.

“I meant what I said,” he swallows, “in jail before—I love you.”

The weight off his chest lands on his foot and he freezes, feeling her heavy breathing against his front and her fingers frozen in his hair at the nape of his neck.

“It’s too soon.” She says it like she’s reading it off of a quiz on a website that didn’t give her the answer she wanted. “You can’t say that this soon.”

“I just did,” he tries to smile, “what rule am I breaking this time?”

His experience in evading conviction makes him hope it’s closer to trespassing than murder.

“You don’t know?” She tries for chastising but it’s hard to take her seriously when her warm hand finds his side as she stands up straight, putting some space between her back and the wall even if she doesn’t expand the space between them. “You don’t ask someone to move in with you after what? One date?”

“Wait, all those times you saved my life or my sanity don’t count as dates?” He fakes shock, taking her hand and starting towards his apartment again.

“I’ve saved your life once,” she allows, bumping her shoulder against his, “doesn’t exactly increase the total that much.”

“Oh no, you’ve saved it at least twice, probably more. What do you think would have happened to me if you weren’t there when Fishlegs caught me with a broken copier for a second time?”

“You wouldn’t have broken the copier without my help.”

“You don’t know that.” He pulls her onto the sidewalk through a small gap around a dumpster, his front door half a block down the road pulling him towards it like a gravitational beacon. Shower. Astrid. Food. Astrid. Bed. Astrid. “You don’t have to decide now, I just…wanted you to know how I felt about it.”

“Which, just to make sure we’re on the same page, you feel that I’m personally offending you by living in a place without crown molding.” She jokes even as her eyes scan his face, probably looking for some sign that he’s offended by her response, as impossible as that would be with her holding his hand. “I feel like…it’s too soon but if you can afford it on your meager prostitution income, I could definitely afford it.”

“That’s how it is?” He laughs, refusing to let go of her as his key slides into the front door and turns with a click that resonates in his bones. “You’re not wrong, but do you have to rub it in now?”

“And I feel like if I look away from you for a second, you’re going to disappear, and I don’t even want to think about going through that again.”

“I don’t want to think either,” he opens the second door and his dad’s old, dusty chair greets him like an envoy promising safety. When Astrid locks the door, he can breathe again fully, the quiet making room for him to feel how empty his chest has been, how his hands burn when he looks at her. “I don’t know the rules behind the knight locking the damsel back in their own tower.”

“Already looking for more rules to break?” She takes the hat off of his head and hangs it on the rack by the door, exactly where it goes, like she’s belonged here all along.

“Mostly wondering who retains ravishing privileges in this situation,” he helps her shrug out of his borrowed jacket and tosses it onto the couch, clutter the last thing on his mind.

“Where does that even fit in the shower, nap, not nap, pizza schedule?”

“Now,” his voice surprises him, deeper than he expected, and he clears his throat as he pulls her to him, hands sliding down to her hips, “ideally, if you think we can squeeze it in.”

“Are you on a tight schedule I don’t know about?” She wraps her arms around his neck and kisses his cheek, cocking her head when he nods.

Before, when a package sent him skidding off kilter, he wasn’t ready to move forward, to clutch at the happiness he could instead of dwelling on the possible bad. But holding on so tight is what got him in trouble, it’s what led him further and further into someone’s trap, away from the path he wants to be on. He could talk all night about the last week in hell, but it wouldn’t make him feel better the way that taking a break from the obstacle course inside his head would.

“Very tight schedule,” he starts walking backwards, tripping over the edge of the rug and catching himself on the arm of the couch. “Might have to multi-task.”

“Hiccup,” she laughs, taking a step away from him to rely on her own obviously better balance, “it’s been a long day—”

“It’s been a long week, stuck in my head all day with all my worst-case scenarios.” He continues to pull her with him towards the bathroom, “right now I just want you to help me stop smelling like jail and to start out this new leaf on the right foot.”

“How else would you do it?” She relaxes, all trepidation gone as she tugs his too big, itchy shirt up his chest, getting it over his head as he fumbles the door open.

“Funny—”

She cuts off his not quite complaint with a kiss, her hands dragging up and down his chest in a pattern like she’s assessing him for damage. Her fingers practically shock him with warmth after so long in practical isolation and he pulls her shirt up, sighing at more of her skin against his. She laughs into his mouth as she tugs on the waistband of his jeans against the cheap belt bunching them across his hips.

“Whose pants did you steal?”

“It was all they had,” he takes off his own belt and the oversized pants fall to his knees before he realizes he’s still in his shoes and sits back on the toilet to deal with his leg.

“I figured you’d be done with communal showers,” she locks the bathroom door before taking her own shoes off and stripping easily, curious eyes flicking only once to the red marks on his shin when his leg drops to the floor.

“I’m not really ready to take my eyes off you either,” he shrugs, grinning when the words make her blush even as she looks around the bathroom, efficient even in her embarrassment.

“How do we do this?” She asks after a second, gesturing simply at his leg as she opens the shower door and turns on the water, steam billowing towards the ceiling.

“The bench should work.” He doesn’t know where his crutch is, doesn’t know anything except it feels right when she touches him, fingers sure against his back as she helps him to the bench and sits unceremoniously across his lap.

And seeing her through bars and across fraught tables covered in paperwork, after being surrounded by their friends and curbed by outside world, she’s finally close enough to feel real. She kisses him, combing her fingers through his hair and letting the shower water soak into it as he pulls her impossibly closer, one hand on her hip and the other sliding up her stomach to trace the curve under her breast.

She shivers even though the water is on the cusp of too hot and he hums into the kiss before breaking it, mumbling against her wet jaw.

“Something’s different.”

“You’ve had even less sleep this time?” She swipes a gentle thumb under his eye and stands just long enough to straddle him, knees squeezing his hips as his back slips down slightly against the wet wall.

“That’s not it,” he groans when she grinds against him, hand darting down to wrap around him. And after so long in his head, ignoring uncomfortable situations to the best of his ability, it’s almost too much, his head falling back against the tile as his fingers dig into her hips.

“Is this it?” She kisses his neck, hand moving slowly, teeth grazing his earlobe when he catches her wrist to stop her. “I thought you were in a hurry,” she teases, breath hitching when he slides his hand around to her inner thigh, fingers brushing between her legs.

“No, it’s just that I don’t have any old books in my bathroom for you.” He kisses down to her collarbone as he touches her, and her sound of exasperation is half-hearted as she clings to his shoulders. “Can we still do this, or do I need to install a humidity-controlled bookcase under the sink?”

“The respect for climate control,” she stutters, biting her lip when his finger slips inside, “is kind of hot.”

“Yeah?” He laughs into her neck, pulling her closer with a hand between her shoulder-blades and adding a second finger to the first. “Oh wait, that’s not true either, there’s a soggy magazine in here somewhere to read when my phone dies.”

“What magazine?” She asks, grinding down against his fingers, breath cool on his forehead.

“Highlights.” He twists his fingers, thumb searching for her clit.

“That works.” She moans under her breath when he finds it and he focuses on the sound to keep from shaking, this much good after all that bad making him lightheaded.

“I already did the maze though.”

“No,” she fakes miserable as best she can while rocking against his hand, fingers wrapping around him again and stroking, “that ruins it.”

The door rattles and they both jump, his arms wrapping around her back and pulling her as close as he can, like he could somehow protect her, one-legged and tractionless. As if she needs his protection, she’d probably bludgeon the intruder with the toilet tank lid, or something, and he’d be stuck helpless again.

“Oh, are you guys in there?” Snotlout’s voice is muffled through the door and Astrid hides in Hiccup’s shoulder, arms crossed self-conscious across her chest.

“Uh, can you go away?” Hiccup tries, rubbing her back and repositioning in an attempt to wake up an ass-cheek that he hadn’t realized had fallen asleep.

“It’s just you?” Snotlout yanks at the door again, “let me in, I have to pee.”

“No?” It comes out as a question and he clears his throat, trying again as Astrid shifts, the water suddenly hitting his thigh instead of her back. “No.”

“Come on, I just have to pee, I’ll pee in the sink—”

“If you’re planning on peeing in the sink, just pee in the kitchen sink,” Hiccup growls back and Astrid sits up straight, hands on his shoulders for stability as she looks disgusted between him and the door.

“No! Just hold it, no one is peeing in any sink!”

“Astrid’s in there?” Snotlout snickers, but she’s too indignant to be embarrassed now, eyes on fire as she responds.

“I’m moving in with people who pee in the sink?”

“It all goes down the same drain,” Snotlout’s justification barely registers as Hiccup looks wide-eyed at her.

“You’re moving in?” He whispers, not trusting the words to be louder.

“You offered,” she pushes a strand of wet hair away from her face and he kisses her, hands on her face, fingers curling in wet hair and holding her close.

Snotlout says something he doesn’t hear, an unwelcome grunt from an outside world he doesn’t care about and he breaks the kiss just long enough to bark back.

“Go away!”

“He’s going to pee in the kitchen sink,” Astrid grimaces and he kisses her wrinkled nose, heart thudding.

“I don’t care.”

“I—”

“Move in,” he rests his forehead against hers, “please. Just—please, I will never pee in the sink. I swear on my life, which I already owe to you. I promise.”

“But Snotlout—”

“Don’t talk about Snotlout right now,” he touches every part of her he can reach, memorizing her again, this time knowing he doesn’t have to let her go, “please, I have to focus on giving you another reason to move in.”

“Another?” She looks at him like he’s a reason, like he’s reason enough, and it feels like he’s going to burst out of his skin.

“Besides the old books,” he kisses her chin, “and the hat.” And the lack of on-site murders. “And the crown molding.”

She slicks his hair back from his face, “and you.”

“And me.”

“I’m convinced.”

#ripped #httyd fic #hiccstrid #modern au #slightly OSHA non-compliant #it's cute i think #it's everything i think but idk

59 notes · View notes

shipmistress9 · 5 years

Text

FTLOAP: Chapter 45: The Time Will Come When You'll Have To Rise

Fandom: HTTYD

Theme: Hiccstrid - Medieval-style AU - Romance - Angst/Hurt/Comfort

Summary: Reduced to little more than a stable boy, Hiccup, despite his noble birth, has few prospects for more in life. But when he meets a girl who came to look at the horses, being a stable boy might not be enough anymore. Together, they have tough choices to make and great risks to navigate if they want to survive and be together.

Rating: Explicit

FF-net - AO3 -

Discord-server for discussions and questions

Part 1: Prologue; Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 6; Chapter 7; Chapter 8; Chapter 9; Chapter 10; Chapter 11;

Part 2: Chapter 12; Chapter 13; Chapter 14; Interlude 1; Chapter 15; Chapter 16; Chapter 17; Chapter 18; Chapter 19; Chapter 20; Chapter 21; Chapter 22; Chapter 23; Chapter 24; Chapter 25; Chapter 26; Interlude 2; Chapter 27: Chapter 28 ; Chapter 29 ; Chapter 30; Chapter 31; Chapter 32; Interlude 3; Bonus 1; Chapter 33

Part 3: Chapter 34; Chapter 35; Chapter 36; Interlude 4; Chapter 37; Chapter 38; Chapter 39; Chapter 40; Interlude 5; Chapter 41; Chapter 42; Chapter 43; Chapter 44

Alpha/Co-author: @athingofvikings

tagging @drchee5e @hey-its-laura-again @thepixiedustfactory

. – * – _ . o O o . _ – * – .

AN: Woohoo! I actually managed another chapter, hard to believe, I know...

I think at this point, it would be more sensible to remove any scheduled updates, and I just post the next chapter when it's done. Fair warning though: November is fast approaching now and with it NaNoWriMo. I'm not going to participate in that this year, but my alpha-reader does. So I don't know how much time he'll have for editing and helping. And after NaNo, I'm very close to my delivery date already, so no promises about updates then, either. However, I solidly plan to at least post one more chapter before that! Afterwards, I don't know how quickly I will get back to writing. If you have questions though, you can always contact me through PM here or through the ATOV Discord server. And without a regular update schedule, I now have a tagging list here, so if you want to get included there, just tell me. 😊

I feel positive about this other update because a good part of it is already written as I'd originally planned to have that scene in this chapter. But as it is, the chapter got pretty long already so I split it again. This time, the ending feels much more solid than the last time I had to do that, and I hope it feels that way for you, too.

This week's title comes from the song Warriors again by Imagine Dragons. After splitting the chapter, I again had to come up with a new title, and after a bit of thinking, this one felt exceedingly fitting. 😇

. o O o .

Throughout the following few days, Astrid kept pondering over it all; Eret’s accident and everything that had happened afterwards. It wasn’t entirely by choice; she much rather would have thought about Hiccup and how they could be together instead. But she was at a loss there, only having Hiccup’s renewed optimism to hold on to, and repeatedly going through the same pointless plans wasn’t exactly productive. Thinking about other problems instead wasn’t necessarily more pleasant, but it was still… easier.

And thinking about those incidents certainly had a grounding effect. The more she mentally reviewed the attempted stab in the back against Eret, the more certain she was about one thing – from the fierceness and aim of his attack, the now-dead nobleman had intended for it to be a killing blow. It was a hot topic of gossip among the nobles, with many supporting her opinion – without her ever having stated it openly – and being outraged on her and her future husband’s behalf, aided by more witnesses speaking up about their view of the man’s dishonourable attack. Tournament or not, melee or not, stabbing a man in the back was seen as low and cowardly. Some had even called for action against the man’s family, such as fines or other punishments. But as he was already dead, the King had dismissed the idea, saying that they’d been punished enough. However, the entire topic, with the number of witnesses essentially corroborating Astrid’s opinion, was enough that even Eret and Dagur had to admit that it probably hadn’t been an accident at all.

At first, accepting that fact had made especially Dagur’s anger at Snotlout grow even hotter, though not for long. Snot hadn’t gotten through that fight unscathed either, despite initial impressions. The hit against his head had caused a mild concussion, and the kick to his side had cracked a rib. If he’d lost on purpose somehow, then he’d made an incredibly bad bargain.

Both Eret and Snot had been confined to bed rest on the healers’ orders for the following few days, making Astrid anxious for both of her brothers. No matter how irritating Snot’s behaviour lately had been, she still cared for him. But now, two days later, Master Mulch had been willing to state that he was relatively certain that both ducal heirs would fully recover. Eret had even insisted on riding out for today’s hunt again; not to actually participate, but at least to show that he was recovering, that he was still there and the place at her side not vacant again.

And no matter how much Astrid – and practically everybody else – had scolded him for this unnecessary show of bravado, she was also grateful for it. Eret could be pretty foolhardy, she knew that perfectly well. But she also knew that he wouldn’t risk his health and life for something as superficial as this. No, she trusted in him, in his assurance that he was doing fine, and let it soothe her enough not to worry about his injury too much. His safety was another matter altogether, but there was little she could do about that. Right now, he was out in the forest, accompanied by Hiccup and Dagur, and probably with a few of her father’s guards keeping a close eye on him, too. That would have to be enough.

Sighing, she turned the next corner. For once, she had nothing to do; with her suitors being out on that hunt and with her governess being done lecturing her for today, she was at loose ends, for a little while at least. But as there wasn’t enough time to go anywhere, she’d opted for a stroll through the castle instead, with Timothy walking a couple of steps behind her.

Well, there was one place she could go, and if things were different, she would have gone to visit Fishlegs as soon as her governess had let her leave. But of course, that wasn’t an option these days. Just thinking about Heather made a bunch of twisted emotions rise inside Astrid. There was the fear that she might expose them, despite her declaration that she would keep their secret. She’d made it clear, after all: she didn’t feel any fealty to them, not when their actions might threaten her own little family. And no matter how much Astrid tried to avoid that thought; she was acutely aware of the fact that, if Hiccup wasn’t a consideration, she probably would have married Eret without question – and thus make Dagur more inclined to focus on his role as ducal heir as well.

But beneath that fear, she could also relate to Heather. The threat of having the future she’d been so sure of ripped away from her, of losing those she loved, and being ready to do everything to keep them… yes, she could sympathise with that all too well. She just hoped that it wouldn’t come to that, that Heather wouldn’t feel threatened enough to take actions against her relationship with Hiccup. Because Astrid wasn’t sure what she’d do then, was even afraid of how far she might be willing to go.

If only they would be able to come up with something of a plan, some way to achieve their goal without tearing anyone else down with them. She just wanted to be with Hiccup, to be able to love him in peace and spend her life with him. Was that really too much to ask for?

To soothe her anxiety at least a little, she pressed her hand to her chest, focusing on and basking in the warm glow of Hiccup’s soul. They would find a way! Somehow… Maybe running away really wasn’t an option, but that didn’t mean that there couldn’t be other ways.

With her hand still resting over her heart, she paused at one of the high windows and gazed out over the land around the castle. It was beautiful, with the lake to her left, the edges of the forest in the distance, and grassland in-between, littered with solitary trees and shrubs here and there. It was still early in the year, but it was obvious that spring was coming quickly now, trees and bushes showing first signs of green and some early flowers growing everywhere.

Yes, it was beautiful… But that didn’t change that it was nothing but a cage, binding and suffocating her.

She was about to turn away when a bit of movement caught her eye. There, on a meadow to the right, a handful of horses pranced over the grass and chased each other around. Some grooms were there, too, watching over the animals, all clearly enjoying the sunlight.

The sight gave Astrid a painful sting. Usually, visiting the stables on a day like this would be an option too, but… but not yet. Someday, she certainly would have the strength to enter the stables again. She was even looking forward to riding and generally being around horses again. But for now, the pain of losing Markor was still too strong. It had all happened so fast. In one moment, everything had been as usual and in the next, he’d just been… gone. She missed him with a dull ache in her chest, one that only worsened when she remembered how she hadn’t even been able to say goodbye in any way and had no way of remembering or mourning him.

Except… that wasn’t really true, was it? she mused with something of a grimace. She still had the statue Hiccup had given her as a Midwinter gift. As a reminder, he’d said... Her lips twitched into a sad smile as she contemplated the irony. He’d meant that it would be a reminder of him for when he couldn’t be with her, and not of the horse it depicted. But somehow, she felt like this was the perfect way to remember Markor: frozen yet so alive in this tiny figurine – as if he was about to turn and run around at any moment. The thought made a lump rise in her throat, but she managed to keep any tears at bay. She would miss him, would always remember him. But no matter how pointless his death had been, endlessly crying over his fate wouldn’t revive him, either.

Tearing her thoughts away from that path, they inevitably landed where she hadn’t wanted them instead. It wasn’t even farfetched, her mind quickly drawing the connection between Markor and Hiccup, of him giving her that figurine, of the nights she’d spend in the stables, so comfortable and optimistic about their future. She still trusted in the Gods, or whatever force had woven their fates together, but even that didn’t really help when faced with the hopelessness brought by rejecting one impossible idea after the other.

Maybe Dagur and Eret had been right after all and approaching Daniel with a request for help might work. But even though he certainly had been fond enough of Hiccup during the winter, Astrid wasn’t sure whether she could rely on just that flimsy hope, especially as he wasn’t to return for at least another week anyway. That would be hitting awfully close to when it would be too late…

She also was aware of a certain piece of parchment that was still safely stored away in her new treasure box. She was ready to use her father’s boon for this; they would probably need every bit of help they could get. But without a plan, she was afraid of revealing her feelings to the King. She just couldn’t predict how he would react. All she knew was that simply ‘requesting to marry Hiccup’ wouldn’t work. The King had made it clear that his announcement of her marrying one of the eligible noblemen currently courting her wasn’t something he could or would take back. And ‘giving Hiccup land and title’ was equally hopeless. Because Hiccup had been right, there was no land even the King could easily give away just like that.

It all seemed overwhelmingly hopeless, but she had to have faith, had to trust that they would find a way. Eventually…

Later, Astrid would be sure that what happened next had to have been the Gods who guided her steps. Meeting the Grand Dukes Oswald and Eret II in the vast labyrinth that was the castle’s corridors couldn’t have been just a coincidence – the timing was too perfect.

At first, she only heard a familiar voice from around a corner, one that made her feel a little more at ease in an instant, thanks to her mind associating it with enjoyable vacations in the South and days spent at Southshore’s sunny beaches. The voice spoke quietly, but as soon as she focused, the words became easily understandable.

“...just received a letter from Lord Gregson. Apparently, it is as I feared.”

“That’s unfortunate,” came Eret II’s muttered reply. “What exactly did he– Oh, hello Astrid,” he interrupted himself as she stepped into view, a fond smile spreading across his weathered face at her sight. “How are you, lass? Are you bored to death by all these tournaments and suitors yet?”

Astrid’s face twisted, unsure how to react to that. Of course, Uncle Eret knew her well enough to know that she didn’t exactly enjoy all this fuss, just like she in return knew that he wasn’t any better when it came to overly formal events. But on the other hand, he’d been in on this plan, so it felt a little two-faced for him to complain about them now. Either way, she couldn’t ignore the fatherly smile on his face and not the usual sense of ease it gave her either. And it again reminded her of how, under different circumstances, she’d be about to join his House, his family, and do so happily.

“You know me too well,” she played along, plastering an indulgent smile on her lips. “I’m just glad it’ll all be over soon.”

“Aye, it certainly will be,” Oswald agreed with a light snort. Beneath his own smile, he seemed troubled though, making Astrid wonder what the men had been talking about before she’d interrupted them.

Cocking her head, she tried to look as innocent as possible. “But enough of that. What was it you were talking about just now? It seems to bother you, is anything the matter?” She wasn’t even sure what kind of answer she expected. But asking couldn’t hurt, right?

“Oh, that,” Oswald waved her off with a forced smile. “That’s just politics. Believe me, you wouldn’t be interested in this, lass. If you really think tournaments are boring, be glad that it’s not on you to deal with such things, too.”

Astrid had to bite back any comment on that. It was so typical that the men wouldn’t tell her anything.

Eret II grunted in agreement and shook his head. “Yeah, this really is nothing you need to be concerned about. But it’s good that we met here. I wanted to ask whether my son is already settled in his new rooms. I hardly get the chance to talk to him these days, he’s always so busy.” He chuckled and winked at her.

Because of… reasons, Eret had been made to relocate into other rooms, reasons that made her have to hide a smirk. “As far as I know, he’s relocating today,” she replied as calmly as she could. “A group of servants should be transferring his belongings to the new room as we speak. At least I’m supposed to meet him there for a private dinner later – with a whole entourage of chaperons, of course.” She forced something of an amused grimace onto her face, hoping that it was an appropriate reaction. Deep down, she was glad over this development, though. With having made her unofficial choice at the ball came a few privileges that certainly were to her liking. Like being allowed to spend time with her future husband in a more private setting, with only her warder or maidservant and Sir Eret’s squire as chaperons.

Apparently, her reaction had been what the men had expected from her as they both chuckled fondly at her comment. Even Timothy behind her couldn’t stay completely quiet, covering up his laughter as coughing. Of course, his amusement had an altogether different reason, but that was something the Grand Dukes didn’t need to know about.

“That sounds about right,” Eret II eventually commented, sobering up again. “Then we better not delay you, wherever you were heading to. See you soon.”

The men nodded at her with something of an insinuated bow – more of a polite nod with a bit of a bend at the waist – which Astrid dutifully returned with a curtsy of her own before she took the obvious dismissal and continued on her way. The fact that she’d again been excluded from any political knowledge bugged her though, so when she reached another junction only a few steps further down the corridor, she went there, giving the Grand Dukes a last friendly smile as she turned around the corner. As soon as she was out of sight though, she made a step to the side to hide in a doorway, indicating Tuff to be quiet and follow her lead. Maybe, just maybe, she could learn something about the political situation of the Kingdom after all.

And for once, she couldn’t believe her luck.

“So, what was it Lord Gregson wrote to you in that letter?” Eret II said, picking up their conversation.

There was a low, unamused snort from Oswald. “Basically, that he’s giving up. He used so many fancy words that I think he asked one of Frigga’s Gythias to help him compose it. All of these wonderful, florid turns-of-phrase, on and on. About how honoured he felt that we put such trust into him and how he’d wanted to give his best to live up to these expectations and so forth.”

“Aye, I know the type of report,” Eret II said. “I think I’ve even written a few in my time, back when we were younger.”

“I know. I helped, remember? But you were drunk at the time, so I’m not surprised that you don’t,” Oswald said tartly but fondly. The pair of them walked past the doorway, and Astrid gave Tuff a look of dire threat if he so much as blinked loudly. Outside, Oswald continued. “But it all boils down to the fact that he doesn’t feel up to the task of rebuilding County Ravenledge. And at this point, it doesn’t even matter whether it’s because he feels as if the people there deserve better after all they’ve been through or whether he just realised how much work that would be and is too lazy to stand his ground under such circumstances. At least he’s honest enough to admit that he doesn’t feel up to the challenge. But that means that we have to find someone else to take it on, and I fear that the reasons for Lord Gregson’s pull-out will become publicly known sooner rather than later. Which also means that in a week or two, it’ll become increasingly difficult to find a replacement. Everyone is hungry for titles, yes, but that’s because they’re all spoiled brats who want to live like, well, nobles, not have to work with me looking over their shoulder.”

"Yes, I see your problem," came Eret II’s reply, his voice getting lower and lower as the distance between Astrid and the Grand Dukes grew. "I wish we could spare Osmond this problem in addition to everything else, but he has to know about it."

"No doubts about that. But maybe, this can even come in handy." Oswald laughed harshly. "Although, while it would make for a great white elephant, it’s getting the poor sap to accept it that’ll be the tricky part. We…"

The voices grew too low for Astrid to understand more, but she felt as if she'd heard enough anyway. Stunned, she stood in her doorway and stared at Tuff, unsure whether she was ready to believe what she'd just heard. But in his eyes, she spotted the same excited gleam that was buzzing in her mind as well, and tentatively, she let hope take roots inside her.

County Ravenledge… the name alone was enough to make her cringe at the reminder of Harold, of his foul breath on her skin and his filthy hands on her body. But he was the past and that wasn't what truly was on her mind anyway.

The man her father and the Grand Dukes had instituted as new Count Ravenledge had resigned his office. And now, it was back in the hands of the Crown, free to be distributed to whoever was deemed fit or worthy of the job.

Astrid's heart was pounding rapidly against her ribs and she was incredibly glad for the hard wood in her back keeping her upright. This was it! This was what they'd been looking for, the solution to their problem, the way out. If Hiccup became the new Count Ravenledge, then he definitely would be of a high-enough rank for her to marry him. Nobody would dare to object to such a choice.

"I assume you want to meet with Eret as soon as possible?" Tuff needlessly asked, emphasising the name to let her know that he knew who she really wanted to see. Astrid could only nod, her mind whirling with countless possibilities. "Then I suggest we return to your rooms and Ruff and I see whether we can help to get his new rooms ready. The sooner you all can talk this through the better.”

. o O o .

The reason why Eret had to move into other rooms was the source of a wide range of emotions to Astrid. It had all started with some whispered mutterings on the morning after the ball, whispers Astrid herself hadn’t learned about until a day later. Apparently, some people thought it was inappropriate for Eret, the soon-to-be-but-not-yet-husband of the Princess, to spend his nights in such close proximity to her. After all, he inhabited an entire suite of rooms in the family wing of the castle, only separated from his future wife by three corridors. Why, behind two sets of thick oak doors, all sorts of... things could happen in his bedroom!

Yesterday, when Astrid finally had heard them from Eret, she’d initially laughed before another thought had struck her, making her irritation smoulder. Apparently, people were serious about the insinuations against Eret’s character. Eret had slept in that suite for months now, ever since he’d arrived in the capital last fall. And back then, people had already believed them to be a ‘couple’, and had for years. But now it was a problem? Just when things were heating up to the point that Eret was surviving attempts on his life?

It was an obvious smear campaign, and her fury had started to kindle–

–Only to vanish like smoke in a high wind when Tuff had burst out laughing at her indignation and Ruff had, after fighting her own mirth, explained that she and her brother had started the whispers. But even this confusion – and granted, Eret’s and Dagur’s as well – hadn’t lasted long.

The rumours and public demands for decency had apparently all been part of their plan; a few comments down in the kitchens and washer-rooms and elsewhere had spread like a wildfire on open grasslands. With the castle still being unusually packed from the celebrations, there weren’t exactly many other places for Eret – and Hiccup – to move to. House Jag’r’s townhouse certainly was an option, but with Eret still healing and having to participate in the events again as soon as he was recovered, it was more sensible for him to stay at the castle. So, after some discussions – discussions in which the twins were included, in their positions as Eret’s apparent-betrothed’s personal servants – it was decided that Eret would relocate to the so-called haunted rooms.

At that, Eret had merely raised an eyebrow, and Dagur had made an encouraging gesture, all of them waiting for Ruff to continue in her explanation.

“The ‘haunted rooms’ are what the staff call the Greatpine Suite,” Ruff explained. “Two floors down from Astrid’s suite and on the other end of the building. Everyone thinks that they’re haunted because there’s this eerie whistling that everyone who stays there hears.” She met Eret’s eyes with a smirk. “So you’ll trade with the men currently barracked there; they’ll be happy to get out, even though your current suite is smaller. But surely a brave knight like Sir Eret of House Jag’r won’t mind, right?”

Laid out in his sickbed, Eret gave her a dubious look that made the twins burst out in even more laughter. Slapping her knee, Ruff gasped, “Don’t worry, there’s no draugr buried under the floorboards or anything else that people say about the rooms.”

“In fact, be honoured that we’re telling you,” Tuff snickered. “Because it’s a secret.”

“What is?” Astrid demanded.

“Why, the secret passage, of course!” Ruff said innocently.

Astrid blinked. “Secret passage?”

“Yup. The one that ends behind that particularly warty painting around the corner from your rooms, Princess,” Tuff said cheerfully. “It was probably meant to be an easy escape route in case of an attack, but hardly anyone knows about them by now.”

Astrid gave another blink as Eret protested. “But you two can’t be the only ones that know about them. Secret or no secret, it’s really hard to hide a whole passageway, even in a building this big. Someone else will make the connection and complain – and it’s too big a risk to use them, if the servants use them, too!”

“But the servants don’t use them,” Ruff emphasised.

“Present company excepted,” Tuff corrected, grinning. “They’re too small,” he mimed a space only a bit wider than his shoulders and lower than his head, “and filled with cobwebs and... gunk.”

Astrid rolled her eyes. “And you use them for prank getaways?”

“Milady!” Ruff exclaimed, faux-scandalized. “Such accusations!” She smirked and said, “Besides, even the ones that do know...” She shrugged and looked at Astrid and Eret. “They’re all caught up in the romance of it all. I know at least one cook gave me a wink when I made the suggestion.” Spreading her hands out helplessly, she looked between the two of them. “They know what’s up and are rooting for you two.”

“Greaaat,” Hiccup drawled.

“It is, because it means that we can smuggle you in without a problem,” Tuff said, crossing his arms. “So say ‘thank you.’”

They had thanked the twins for their work. And now, two days later, all Astrid felt was a deep sense of gratitude and a good amount of anticipation, giddiness, and nervousness. If everything went as planned, Hiccup would spend this night with her again, and in her bed no less! Oh, if only it was that late already! She couldn’t wait to feel his hands on her body again, to kiss him and to lose herself in his touch.

But it was only mid-afternoon, with Astrid sitting at her decorated tea table, drinking tea, and nibbling at some light pastries as she waited for the hunting parties to return and for her private dinner with Eret to begin. And before she could enjoy feeling Hiccup’s closeness again, there was something else she had to do anyway.

Aside from making sure that they’d all made it back unharmed and wanting to be close to Hiccup again, she also couldn’t wait to tell them about the conversation she’d overheard. A part of her warned her to be cautious, to not get too excited yet. The idea of Hiccup becoming a full Count in only a few days, of him legally joining those participating in the tournaments and hunts to court her… it felt too good to be true.

Nervously tapping her fingers against the porcelain cup between her hands, she tried to imagine the reactions to her officially and openly changing her mind and choosing Hiccup instead of Eret. Would it be possible for her to ask her father to excuse Hiccup from participating in any fights, just to keep him safe? After what had happened to Eret, that certainly wasn’t an unreasonable concern, right? But would the King even support such a request? Would he support her choice at all? Or would it be better if she only made her choice public at the very last moment, not giving anyone even the slightest chance to take action against Hiccup?

For hours, her mind circled around those same thoughts, over and over, until a knock on her door drew her attention. Astrid heard a servant girl delivering a message to Ruff and it made her heartbeat quicken almost unbearably.

“Are they back?” she asked as soon as Ruff approached her and got up from her seat, unable to sit still any longer.

Her maidservant smirked. “Yes, they’re all back, unharmed, and Sir Eret awaits you for your dinner in about half an hour,” she replied in a ridiculously formal voice. Astrid’s lips twitched but she didn’t say anything and simply let Ruff dress her for the occasion, waiting impatiently for her to be done.

Walking along the corridors and down the stairs to Eret’s new rooms seemed to take forever. She knew that this distance served a purpose, one she supported wholeheartedly, but right now, the prolonged walk was driving her insane in her impatience. Eventually, Tuff halted in his strides though and turned to knock on a door to their right. As Eret’s only servant, it was Hiccup who opened them, the sight of him enough to somewhat calm Astrid’s unquiet mind. He was clearly happy to see them, his eyes nearly flowing over with love as they met her own. But there also was a certain tension in them, in his every movement, and after he’d closed the door behind them again, it became clear that Eret and Dagur were just as tense as he was, the atmosphere overall enough to make her forget everything else.

“What happened?” she asked anxiously, looking around from one man to the other. In a corner, she spotted a table set for two even though it was laden with enough food to last at least twice as many people. But where before she’d been looking forward to this informal meal with her brothers and Hiccup, she now couldn’t even think about eating anything.

“Nothing, really,” Eret eventually mumbled, looking up from where he sat on his bed’s edge. Astrid wanted to scoff at this obvious lie, but he lifted his hand to directly ward off her protest. “Nothing that changes anything, at least. It’s just been… let’s say, it’s been a rough day.”

Astrid still wasn’t inclined to let the topic drop, but before she could demand a more thorough explanation, Dagur already jumped in.

He was sitting backwards on a chair, his arms crossed over the backrest, but she suspected that he was still ready to jump in case Eret needed help. “A new rumour was spreading like wildfire during the hunt,” he grumbled, shaking his head in annoyance. “The rumour that… well, that Eret and I are more than just close friends since our childhood and that the whole betrothal is nothing but a charade to cover for us.”

Astrid could do little more than gape, her eyes wandering from Dagur to Eret and back again. They both looked heartbroken, hunched over and with their arms defensively crossed in front of them.

“Okay, but why’s that a problem?” Tuff commented after a few more uncomfortable seconds had passed. “I mean… it’s true? And it’s not as if that’s unheard-of; we have Freyr’s male Ástir for a reason, after all.”

With a heavy sigh, Eret raised his head to look at Tuff. “You’re right, it shouldn’t be much of a problem. But that didn’t make this day any easier. Every time we encountered some of the other men in the woods, they made comments about how I should be ashamed of myself for leading the Princess on like that. That I should openly stand to my preferences and tell her the truth, decline her choice, and leave her to someone who can truly satisfy her.”

“That’s a nice way to describe their insults,” Dagur scoffed angrily, but Eret just shrugged.

“It’s what it all boiled down to,” he replied, sounding tired. “And they’re right. I mean... Aside from Hiccup and this charade of a betrothal not being real anyway… It could have become real. And they would’ve been right; you’d deserve better than that, Swanja. Better than me.”

With the lump forming in her throat making it hard to say anything, Astrid made the few steps to cross the distance between them and sat down next to Eret on his bed. She wasn’t sure whether she was even capable of comforting him right now, but she at least had to try.

“Hey, don’t say that,” she said softly, reaching to squeeze his hand. “I… When I agreed to marry you, I knew about all this, remember? So whatever they said, it’s nothing but bullshit. And no matter how things are now… I rather would have spent my life with you, as my partner and best friend, than with any of those idiots who only see me as a trophy to be added to their glory.” Imagining a life where Hiccup didn’t exist felt weird. Wrong! But she also knew that what she’d just said was true. If it wasn’t for Hiccup, she would have gladly married Eret.

She wasn’t sure whether her words were able to help him though, or whether they would only make it worse instead. But after a short pause, Eret squeezed her back. “Thanks,” he muttered with a weak smile. “I just… well, I just hope that whoever Father might eventually pick as my wife will think the same. So maybe it’s even good that this cat is out of the bag now. It means whoever it might be will know what to expect right from the beginning.”

To that, Astrid wasn’t able to say anything. It was because of her that this was something to worry about again, and there was nothing she could do to help him there. But instead of letting the awkward silence linger, Eret shook his head and put on an almost scarily dark expression.

“But that’s not really the problem here,” he went on in a far graver voice than before. “The question is who started this ‘rumour’. And why now?” He motioned for her to sit down at the set table, gladly accepting her help to get up himself without straining his bound chest too much.

“Could it have been Heather?” she asked as she sat down on her seat, her worries over the other woman and how much harm she could do resurfacing again.

But Dagur vehemently shook his head. “That wouldn’t make any sense. That was a secret she would have wanted to keep, in her own interest. With everyone now knowing that I’m not interested in women, me producing an heir to get her and her child off the hook became just that much more complicated.” He sighed. “And I have no idea who else could be behind this, either. I mean… we tried to not let anyone know but it certainly wasn’t an ironclad secret either. Everyone could’ve found out.”

Astrid wasn’t entirely convinced though. “Are you sure? There were quite a few people who knew, after all. Could anyone–”

“Maybe,” Eret interrupted her, though directly contradicted himself by shaking his head. “But I don’t think anyone here started that rumour, and I can’t see why Cami would do so, either.” He paused, taking a deep breath, before he continued in a darker tone. “And I don’t want to suspect Snot. He’s acting weird, but… we still know him, right? And I don’t see why he’d do it anyway. Certainly not to separate us; he knows that you know, after all. No, I don’t think he would go behind our backs like that. Especially not with him still being not allowed to get up anyway. He didn’t even have the chance to spread such a rumour without it being too easy to trace it back to him. Anyway,” he went on, noticeably aiming to change the topic and mood to something more cheerful. “People know, and we’ll have to deal with it from now on. Which doesn’t really change anything; it’s just annoying.”

Dagur huffed. “Yeah. Just as annoying as your grandfather making the effort to come and meet you this morning only to yell at you two. I’m just glad this circulating rumour hadn’t reached him yet. But who knows? Maybe he’ll have a heart attack once they do. That would make so many lives easier.”

At the mentioning of his grandfather, Eret winced and threw an apprehensive and apologetic look to the side – or, more precisely, to where Hiccup was leaning against the wall next to her. Astrid turned too, and easily spotted the pained grimace that crossed Hiccup’s face. Their grandfather… As far as Astrid knew, this had to have been the first time Hiccup even met the old goat with the old man also knowing who Hiccup was. And judging by his reaction, it hadn’t been a pleasant meeting.

Without even thinking about it, she reached for his hand, letting her thumb glide across his knuckles in a way to comfort him. “What did he want?”

Hiccup seemed to appreciate the gesture, squeezed her hand in his and even let something of a weak smile tug at his lips before he said anything. “He scolded Eret for choosing what had to be the worst squire in history,” he said in a low, but clear and almost emotionless voice. “‘It obviously was the fault of that failure that your armour wasn’t in a good-enough state to deflect the blow like good chainmail should. That idiot might as well have tried to kill you himself and he should get executed for his sloppy mistakes.’” he quoted, and let out a harsh laugh. “He didn’t even deign to look at me or to talk to me directly.”

“And just like the old pigheaded asshole he’s always been, he didn’t even listen when I explained that that had only been my decorative armour anyway,” Eret grunted bitterly. “In opposition to all these noblemen who came here because your Father invited them and who knew about the upcoming tournaments, I didn’t bring my heavy battle armour from Eastervale when we came here last fall. That piece of ceremonial chainmail I was wearing was never meant to withstand such a blow, and we didn’t expect… Oh, whatever. He didn’t even want to listen to any of that anyway.”

“Yeah. You said that it wasn’t your good chainmail, and his response was ‘And whose fault is that!?’” Hiccup added, sounding pained.

“My father’s,” Astrid murmured.

Eret shrugged. “Yes and no. It’s not like we should have expected the armoury here to have chain in my size.” He flexed sarcastically, showing off his physique, and Astrid had to agree with the point; Eret was taller and broader in the chest than most men. “But let’s be honest here. This wasn’t about me,” he continued. “This was about him being upset that all of his dynastic game moves almost got wasted because his last playing piece got a dent. He wasn’t doing it to listen to anybody, just to vent his frustration that we’re not doing what he wants us to do, like good pawns.”

“Well, he never listens, does he?” Tuff threw in, mirth saturating his voice. “Although I’d love to make him listen, especially if someone told him about you and Dagur. Loki, I’d love to see his face.” He shared a dark grin with his sister, but quickly turned serious again, his gaze shifting to Astrid again.

“Anyway,” he went on, the changed tone of his voice and expression on his face showing that he was about to start an entirely different topic. “Wasn’t there something you wanted to tell the others, Astrid?”

For a heartbeat or three, she just blinked at him in puzzlement. But then, her mood brightened. “Right! There’s something I have to tell you,” she exclaimed at the reminder. The dark atmosphere had distracted her when she’d arrived, had made her focus on her friends’ – no, her family’s – problems instead of what lay ahead of them. But now, it was all back at the forefront of her mind.

Eagerly, she turned to look at the others again, her hand still holding Hiccup’s squeezing him. “I was lucky this morning,” she began, cheeks heating with excitement. “Tuff and I overheard a conversation between your fathers,” she nodded at Eret and Dagur. “Something about Ravenledge – the county, not the man. Apparently, the man who was supposed to become the new Count resigned – because it was too difficult a job for him, or something – and now, it’s back in the hands of Uncle Oswald and my father. If we can convince them to install Hiccup in that position, then that would be the solution, wouldn’t it?”

At first, all three men just gaped at her. They seemed to need a few moments to wrap their heads around this news, but Astrid couldn’t blame them; she was hardly able to believe in this simple solution either. And that was after she’d already had hours to think about it all.

“That… that could actually work,” Eret eventually muttered after a seemingly endless pause, something like cautious optimism swinging in his voice. “If Hiccup becomes a count, he automatically should become eligible for you, too. The only question is how we can convince them to–”

“I can use my boon for that,” Astrid interrupted him. Her gaze darted up to Hiccup, eyes filled with excitement. He knew that she was more than willing to use her father's promise in his favour. This was the solution they’d been searching for!

Hiccup was looking at her in return as well, but with a somewhat wavering expression instead of the hope she’d expected to see. As if he wanted to let that hope take over but didn’t quite dare to accept it.

Dagur seemed more confused though. “Uh, what boon?”

It took her some effort to tear her eyes away from Hiccup, from assuring him that this could work, and look at Dagur instead. “After… after Harold’s execution, my father granted me a wish,” she explained, grimacing at the renewed reminder. “A royal boon. He said I just need to name what I want and as long as it’s within his power, he’ll grant it to me. And I don’t see why naming Hiccup the new Count Ravenledge would not be in his power. Odin, from how it sounded, they even expected to have trouble finding someone who’d be willing to take this position.”

Eret nodded at her explanation, thoughtfully turning his attention to Hiccup. “What do you think?”

Hiccup’s eyes wandered from one waiting face to the other across the room. He still seemed hesitant though, reluctant even, and Astrid could read his thoughts as if he was saying them out loud. This is too good to be true!

She got up from her chair and turned toward him, heart singing when his hands glided around her waist practically on reflex. Capturing and holding his gaze, she tried to assure him that this was real. There wasn’t much to be misunderstood from the conversation she’d overheard, after all.

For an endless moment, they gazed at each other, silently communicating. Astrid didn’t need words to know what Hiccup was thinking and feeling, his love for her and the growing hope crystal clear in his eyes. He nodded ever so slightly, probably only visible to her, and his expression softened, his lips stretching into a cautious smile. “There was a time where I wouldn’t have felt comfortable with this solution,” he murmured, voice rough with emotions. Swallowing, he glanced past her to where Eret and Dagur had to be watching them. “I openly admit that I’d hoped to gain this title back when it was vacant a few months back. If… if things had been different that night, if I’d known you’d distribute the county right away, then I’d probably come up with some reason to stay. I would have tried to recommend myself as best I could, hoping…” He trailed off, his eyes gliding back to Astrid as he lifted one hand to caress her cheek.

She remembered that night, the first night she’d sneaked out to meet him at the stables. Missing out on those hours they’d spent together that night would have felt devastating back then… but if it had meant that he’d had that title already, it would have been worth it.

“But unrelated to that, I also wanted to gain this title, or any other, with my own means,” he continued in a low voice, his eyes back on her now. “ I wanted to prove myself worthy of you. But now, I know how stupid that was. Now, I won’t turn down such an opportunity. So yes, I’m okay with this idea. More than okay. I’d do anything to be with you, no matter whether it includes gaining a title without my doing or accepting any difficult circumstances that might follow.” He gave her a loving smile. “Because it will be worth it.”

From one moment to the other, Astrid felt as if every bit of space between them was too much, every thought about decency unimportant. Before she could think about it, she’d stretched, her mouth pressed to his and her hands on his back and in his hair pulling him even closer. This was it! They’d found their solution, the way to be together. This was really happening.

And it seemed as if Hiccup had accepted this truth now, too. He was kissing her back with equal eagerness, holding her close with one arm around her back and the free hand at the nape of her neck – still reflexively mindful of her hair as it seemed, but also unwilling to part from her anytime soon. From behind her, Astrid thought she could hear noises of amusement, chuckling and low voices talking, but she wasn’t in the mood to pay the others any mind. All she wanted to focus on was Hiccup, his body pressed so tightly against hers and his tongue dancing along her own, playful, teasing, joyous.

But it seemed as if at least one of those assembled in this room wasn’t quite as optimistic as the rest.

“When you listened in on my father and Uncle Eret,” Dagur asked, apprehensively but in a voice loud enough that it drew even her and Hiccup’s attention, “did they say anything about why exactly Lord Gregson resigned?”

Reluctantly, Astrid parted from Hiccup, though just enough to turn in his arms and give Dagur a thoughtful look. “I… don’t think so,” she said, her forehead wrinkled as she scoured her memories. “Just that there apparently were some reasons to it, but not what those were. Oh, and they said something about an… an elephant, but I don’t know what that was supposed to mean. Elephants are these weird animals in the Southlands, right? Big, with ridiculously large ears and noses?” She threw Hiccup a look and spotted his lips twitching. Clearly, he remembered how they’d looked at that book together, too. Especially the last pages.

“An elephant?” Dagur inquired, his brows furrowed. “That... Was that all they said?”

Astrid shrugged. “I… think so?”

But Tuff shook his head, drawing everyone’s attention when he pushed himself off the wall he’d been leaning against. “No, that wasn’t all,” he said with a thoughtful expression. “I remember because it sounded so odd, as if it meant something completely different. So I memorised it to find out later. Lord Berserker said that ‘while it would make for a great white elephant, it’s getting the poor sap to accept it that’ll be the tricky part’.”

Dagur’s face darkened. “That’s what I feared,” he grumbled.

Eret cocked his head, clearly intrigued by his lover’s reaction. “What is it, Dag? Does that mean anything to you?”

Dagur nodded, lips pressed into a thin line. “A ‘White Elephant’ is something of an idiom we took over from the people of the Southlands,” he explained in a pressed voice. “It means it’s a… a trap, you can say. As in, they give the county to some rival they want to get rid off, knowing that the effort of rebuilding it will ruin them.”

From one moment to the other, Astrid’s good mood fell, her stomach feeling as if it was dropping down to her knees, not helped by Tuff nodding and mumbling something like, “When something looks too perfect, it probably sucks."

“So… so it’s not a sensible solution after all?” she asked meekly. All this had sounded too good to be true… did that mean it had been nothing but wishful thinking after all?

But Dagur shook his head, albeit reluctantly. “I… didn’t say that. I mean, let’s be honest, it’s not as if you have much to lose anyway. It’s not as if Hiccup would put some major fortune into this county or risk his high reputation if he wasn’t able to succeed.” He gave a harsh snort. “But I’ve read a few of the reports that came in from Ravenledge over the past weeks. The county really is in a horrible state. You’d have to rebuild the entire main city, along with some smaller ones, and that’s not even counting the long-term damage from the old count’s rule.” He started ticking off on his fingers. “You’d have to do all that without having the craftsmen nearby because they have no place to live or to work yet. And without being able to organise the work, because you don’t have any administration. Not even the Orders can be of any help with organising or manpower, because there are no central temples anymore. And in addition to all that, the people won’t easily trust yet another nobleman who comes to rule over them, especially not after Lord Gregson now gave up.” He shook his head. “I’m not saying it’s impossible, but...” He shrugged, looking grim.

Astrid felt the weight of Dagur’s words pressing down on them, noticeably dampening the good mood from only moments before. But before she could work through them and try to come up with reasonable objections, Ruff beat her to it. “Not trying to downplay the problems you just mentioned,” she said dryly. “But I think Hiccup and Astrid have an advantage your Lord Gregson didn’t have.”

Dagur cocked his head at her, puzzled. “And that would be what exactly?”

Ruff gave a snort. “Astrid is the Princess! It’s not just any other nobleman who comes to these people but the daughter of the King herself. That alone should give the people there a little hope, the trust that, this time, their problems get taken seriously. And I’d be surprised if the King wouldn’t send some more serious help in the form of goods and men and money when it comes down to ensuring his daughter’s future.”

“She’s right,” Eret threw in before anyone else could say anything, a grin on his face now as his eyes met Astrid’s. “And that’s not the only advantage you might have.” He took a moment to look from one to the other, his grin widening. “Remember what we talked about the other night? We might not be able to get Hiccup a title… But once he has one, we’re definitely in a position to support him. We’d still have to talk to our fathers, but I don’t think they’d be against drawing up trade contracts and assurances of support in advance. Hiccup might not have much to offer all on his own, but he sure as Hel has friends in powerful positions.”

Slowly, Dagur nodded. “That would make a difference, indeed,” he agreed, his face brightening. “It still won’t be easy, though. It’ll probably take years before something like normalcy or routine would come back to your life. Are you sure you’re feeling up to such a task and the responsibility?” he asked, his eyes firmly on Hiccup.

Hiccup nodded, though a little tense. “I’m prepared to take that kind of responsibility.” His eyes dropped to her, his lips forming a soft smile. “So yes. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

. o O o .

Oh, wow! Looks like there's an easy solution after all. 😇

Or... is there? *evil laughter in Author*

Next chapter

#FTLOAP #For The Love Of A Princess #Hiccstrid #hiccstrid fanfiction #fanfiction #httyd #httyd fanfiction #medieval au #Hiccstrid Medieval AU #royalty au #hiccstrid royal au #fluff #romance

34 notes · View notes

ficcrimes · 5 years

Text

bundle

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon, Tangled; Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons Characters: Hiccup, Rapunzel, Toothless A/N: written for @rotbtd-zine. download the full zine here!! minor spoilers for TAS / RTA. Summary: While Hiccup and Rapunzel are on the road to the Dark Kingdom, Toothless seems to have other plans in mind.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the invitation to the Princess of Corona’s coronation arrives, it goes to Hiccup in Stoick’s stead. It catches him by surprise, if only because Stoick had spoken rather infrequently of Corona. Hiccup can remember idle talk of a lost princess, but he supposes she isn’t quite so lost anymore. He thinks Stoick would have wanted to go, and of all the new responsibilities he’s found thrust upon his shoulders, attending a coronation doesn’t sound too bad. Accepting the invitation on his father’s behalf and as the new Chief of Berk is the least he can do.

Arriving in Corona more or less goes the way he expects. The last time Stoick would have correlated with this kingdom, Berk would have been hunting dragons, not riding them. A lot of townspeople are startled by his landing and are visibly wary of Toothless as they make their way toward the castle. Thankfully, nobody runs or screams, and that’s a nice change of pace for once.

As they step into the courtyard, Hiccup’s attention is brought immediately to the Princess, if only because of her particularly surprised gasp. He’s quick to notice, however, that there’s no fear in her, and she’s nothing short of elated to see a real, live dragon. The King and Queen, Hiccup notices on the other hand, don’t seem quite so thrilled, and he offers them the weakest of smiles while assuring them that Toothless will be no trouble.

Fred and Arianna exchange a glance, but give their permission, and Hiccup supposes that’s all that should matter right now. He’s here of their asking, and he wants to make a good impression for Stoick’s sake. So far, so good, he thinks - especially considering the way Rapunzel seems to be teetering excitedly on her bare toes, hands clasped together in front of her chest.

Seeing as he’s the last one to arrive, Hiccup sees no harm in suggesting she can pet Toothless if she wants. What better way to prove his mount is of no danger, and set the King and Queen at ease, right? Besides, it seems almost cruel to keep Rapunzel in that sort of suspense. So, he steps aside and motions for her to go ahead, while telling Fred and Arianna there’s nothing to worry about.

Rapunzel rushes forward, but stops just a foot or so shy of the dragon. Despite her excitement, it seems like the reality of the situation has finally dawned on her, and that this is like no creature she’s ever met before. Her hand comes up, and uneasily hovers between herself and Toothless’ snout while her gaze finds Hiccup’s.

“Do I just…?” she asks.

Hiccup knows Toothless wouldn’t do anything to hurt her, but it’s a good a chance as any, he realizes, to prove that he knows what he’s doing. He clears his throat and steps up closer to her, gently taking her wrist into his hand.

“Here. Like this,” he instructs, and encourages her to hold out her hand, palm open.

Toothless glances between his Chief and the Princess just once before he excitedly pushes his nose into Rapunzel’s palm. The force is enough to almost knock her off her feet, but Hiccup is there to keep her steady.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The actual coronation doesn’t exactly go as Hiccup had expected it to. For one, Rapunzel enters the hall wearing a ridiculously large and obnoxious white wig. There are other women in the hall who are also wearing similar wigs, but they don’t seem to be having any trouble keeping their balance the way Rapunzel is. Maybe it has something to do with the shoes on her feet, he thinks.

But things just get stranger and worse from there. It would turn out that one of the visiting Duchesses isn’t what she claimed to be. The Quintonian Duchess is nothing more or less than a pirate, seeking revenge on Corona’s king. There’s little time for retaliation, and soon enough Rapunzel’s wig comes off. Yards and yards of golden hair are freed and fall about the Princess’ shoulders, pooling at her feet.

All of that hair had certainly not been there yesterday. And if that wasn’t surprising enough, it turns out she can use it to fight, too.

When all is said and done, and the Lady Caine and the other lowlives of Corona have been apprehended and put behind bars again, Hiccup finds himself gravitating toward Rapunzel again. She had been uneasy and a little awkward when they first met, but that seems to have doubled now. She presumes he has questions about her hair, and he does, but he assures her that’s not why he’s come to see her. Maybe it’s a little forward, and maybe he has no place in saying so, but he tells her that she’s nothing like what he had expected.

She smiles, and idly starts to play with a thick lock of her hair. She thanks him and laughs when she says that she’s been in the habit of surprising herself a lot lately.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Hiccup goes back to Berk, it doesn’t take long at all before he starts receiving letters from Rapunzel. They come fairly frequently, and they detail the on-goings of the kingdom. Considering how the coronation went, it shouldn’t be quite so surprising that Rapunzel has had to deal with the things she writes to him about.

She tells him about an alchemist named Varian, and how she’d heard he had actually been a wizard. She was disappointed to find out otherwise, but still excited to meet him nonetheless. She tells him that they’ve found out her hair is unbreakable, that is no longer possesses any healing magic. Which, honestly, is news to Hiccup, because he hadn’t known her hair had been magical at one point, at all. Rapunzel also tells him that good portion of Old Corona being destroyed by machines Varian had made. They had been meant to heat and deliver hot water to the village. Something about pressure, and an explosion.

Another letter tells him about a science exposition, and another one of Varian’s machines not quite working the way it was intended. This time, however, the machine had been misused by someone else who thought they knew what they were doing.

In that same letter, she tells him about the black rocks. She tells him how when she had touched them the night before her coronation, more had violently sprouted from the ground. It had almost been like they had been chasing her. Touching the rocks had also been the cause of her hair growing back. She tells him that the rocks have reached Old Corona, and that Varian has promised to help her figure out the connection between her hair, herself, and the rocks.

Eventually, there’s another letter, and. she tells him she had been made Queen for a day while her parents had been traveling, but that hadn’t gone exactly as she hoped. He can relate a little too deeply to that, as being the Chief is still not quite settling comfortably on his shoulders. He’s trying, though, and he knows Rapunzel had tried her best, too.

There’s something else in the letter about a sudden snow storm, and how it may have been magical in nature. A curse of some sort, set upon the kingdom by an ancient evil named Zhan Tiri. They had to use a machine made by someone named Demanitus to stop the storm. And that all sounds really incredible, but the thrill is short lived as he reads on.

She writes about Varian again, and how he had come looking for her help. Something bad had happened, and she’d had to make the choice between the one or the many. As Queen, her duty had been to the kingdom, but she’s still not entirely sure she made the right choice.

The next letter doesn’t reach Hiccup for some time. Rapunzel tells him that Varian’s father had been encased in some sort of unbreakable amber. That was why he had come begging for her help the day of the snow storm. She tells him that the boy had been so angry, and he had turned his rage on the kingdom. He’d sent machines after them, turned his raccoon temporarily into a monster, and nearly killed herself, Cassandra and Arianna. She tells him that she had managed to stop him by somehow gaining control of the black rocks - which, by the way, had all but destroyed the older village.

She tells him Varian’s been arrested, and that the rocks have broken the wall of Corona and formed a path.

She tells him she’s going to follow them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hiccup makes a very impulsive decision. He hears about it from Astrid and Gobber for a few hours, but they know him well enough by now to know there’s no changing his mind. Chiefs leave their tribes all the time to travel and barter and so on and so forth, he argues. Would it not be in his best interest to help an allied kingdom in a time of need?

When he puts it that way, it’s harder to argue - though they still desperately want to.

He leaves Astrid and Valka in charge (much to Snotlout’s disapproval) and promises to be back as soon as he can. Probably.

His arrival in Corona is a surprise, to say the very least. It’s a relief to find he hasn’t arrived too late, that Rapunzel hasn’t left yet. Had he left maybe one day later, he may not have caught her in time.

She’s thrilled to see him, but despite her excitement, she asks, “what are you doing here?”

“I’ve been thinking about it,” Hiccup says, and pulls her last letter into view. He gives the piece of parchment a little shake, and offers her a tilted grin. “And I figure, your caravan’s a great idea and all, but have you considered going by dragon?”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roughly a week has passed since the Chief and the Princess left Corona on dragonback, and Rapunzel will be the first to admit that they are covering ground much, much quicker this way. Of course, she doesn’t want to go too fast; this is the first time she’s really able to experience the world, and she’s determined to enjoy it.

She only wishes Hiccup would do the same. Not that he isn’t enjoying the trip, per-se, she reasons with herself, but he does spend an awful lot of time with his nose in a book or map. Some of the time, she’s sure he’s more preoccupied with charting the ground they cover than actually taking it all in. But, she supposes, he’s used to the world, and though it may throw some surprises at him now and then, there probably isn’t much he hasn’t seen or isn’t familiar with.

When she thinks of things like that, she finds herself feeling a little shy. She’s nowhere near as naive as she had been when she left the tower, but there’s still so, so much for her to learn. If Hiccup has noticed her naivety (cleverly disguised as curiosity and enthusiasm) at all, he’s been kind enough not to say anything about it.

And maybe it’s this mindset, this sense of not wanting to waste a single thing the world has to offer right now, that makes Rapunzel’s brow furrow when she sees Hiccup working on a map again. She’s charted stars before, and she knows how important things like that can be, but… Charts and maps can’t be the only thing Hiccup takes away from this, can they?

“Do you want to, maybe, put the map away and, I don’t know, come look at these flowers I found?” she asks, standing at his side. She angles herself in a way that her shadow intentionally obscures some of his writing space. This works, if only for a moment.

He looks up at her, sitting back on his knees and squinting when the sun is no longer behind her, peeking over her shoulder and blindly bright. He uses a hand, still holding his stylus, to block the light.

“Can it wait just a few more minutes? I’m almost done with - ”

Rapunzel visibly deflates, letting her posture sag as a very unlady-like groan leaves her. “You’re never going to be finished,” she points out, making a vague but wide gesture to the clearing around them. “And you’re never going to enjoy the trip if all you’re worried about is how it looks on paper.”

And she must have struck a chord, because Hiccup drops his gaze back down to the map, and starts to busily fiddle with the stylus. He knows she’s right, but at the same time the charts and maps are a hard habit to break. And who knows if he’ll ever have the chance to come out this way again? He supposes he could just leave things as they are, and start thinking a little less critically for a while.

He flicks the stylus onto the map, and offers her a weak and crooked smile. “You got me there,” he tells her, standing himself back up and brushing off the knees of his pants. The pure elation in her eyes and smile is hard to ignore. It makes his smile just a little more crooked, and the bridge of his nose pink. “So. So, flowers, right?”

“Flowers!” Rapunzel does little to contain her excitement, reaching for his hands and tugging him along to the flowers she’d mentioned. They’re really nothing that spectacular, just a few small bunches of bellflowers, blue and purple and pink, growing close together. But it had been enough to get him up and away from the map, and that’s all she could ask for.

It’s while they’re hunched over the tiny flowerbed that Toothless stirs from whatever rest he had been managing to get. He watches the two of them, trilling curiously with his head cocked to one side. Throughout this whole trip, the two of them have fumbled about and over each other, and the dragon just doesn’t seem to understand. Perhaps human courtship is a little more complicated than it is for dragons. He can tell the two of them have been gravitating toward one another, and they have been since her coronation.

So, why don’t they do something about it?

Well, if they won’t, Toothless decides very suddenly that he will.

He stands himself up, stretching any kinks and stiffness from his joints and wings, then makes his way to his rider and the Princess. He sits himself closer to her, trilling again as he, too, looks down at the flowers.

They’re nothing special.

He huffs and grumbles, and shifts so that he can get a better look at the two of them. He considers just shoving her into Hiccup, but then the beads in her hair shine and he gets a better idea.

They don’t seem to notice as he gets behind her, momentarily and gently swatting at the end of her hair. He does this a few more times, and then hooks a talon into one of the ties and easily tears it away. The snap of it and the way her hair suddenly falls free, pooling at her feet, is what finally gets the humans’ attention.

“Toothless!” Hiccup scolds, but Rapunzel is quietly giggling and putting her hand to Hiccup’s arm.

“Oh, he’s fine. He was just having some fun,” she tells him, then shrugs just a little. “Besides, I have plenty more where those came from.”

Hiccup does not, for a moment, doubt that.

Suddenly, Toothless drops down to the ground, crouched over the very end of Rapunzel’s hair. He paws at it, then gently mocks a dig, gathering a good bunch of it up against his chest.

“What are you doing, bud?” Hiccup asks, catching the odd behavior just a little too late.

If dragons could grin, Toothless would have.

Instead, he trills again, and suddenly takes the end of her hair - or as much as he can manage - into his mouth. Then he’s on his feet again, prancing about the two of them and easily avoiding any attempt Hiccup makes to grab him.

“Toothless! No!” When grabbing doesn’t work, Hiccup resorts to scolding. It works just about as well. Meanwhile, Rapunzel is a little beside herself, giggles turning into laughter. There’s nothing wrong with what Toothless is doing; in fact, she finds it quite adorable.

But the thing is, Hiccup is too caught up in trying to get the dragon to drop her hair, and Rapunzel is too caught up in the moment, and neither of them really notice that they’re standing in the center of a circle of hair. Then, without much warning at all, Toothless stops his prancing, and gives the hair a firm but careful yank. And the coils of hair come up and wrap around them, tangling them together.

They’re face-to-face, chest-to-chest, and Rapunzel is still giggling while Hiccup is already trying to wiggle free.

“Wait - wait - hold on,” she finally manages. “Stop squirming, and let me - ”

Her efforts, while well-meant, really only result in more needless squirming. Soon, the two are clumsily turning around and around, gradually just wrapping more hair around themselves. One turn too many, and Hiccup’s prosthetic gives from under him, and he clatters to the ground in a heap of hair, and with the Princess snugly on top of him.

For a moment, her face is pushed into his neck, and he forgets how to breathe.

When she leans up to look down at him, he feels that heat creeping back alone the bridge of his nose, reaching his ears this time. Her hand is on his chest, and at first its just for leverage, but the touch lightens gradually, and then she’s leaving her hand there just because she can.

“If… I didn’t know better, I’d almost think Toothless did that on purpose,” Rapunzel says quietly. Hiccup pretends not to notice the way her fingers gently knead at the fabric of his shirt.

And Hiccup knows for a fact that the dragon did this on purpose, but he can’t quite bring himself to admit that. He clears his throat, and looks anywhere but her face. A nearby rock will do. “Heh. Wouldn’t, ah… Wouldn’t that be something?”

“It would,” she says, and he can feel her weight shifting against him. It makes him look back up at her, except when he does, her face is a lot closer to his than it had been just seconds ago. His breath hitches, and he’s painfully aware that she can feel his chest heave under her hand. But she’s so close, and it’s not like he has time to really think twice about his body language before--

The thick, wet sound of her hair’s end plopping back to the ground snaps Hiccup out of it first. He turns his head quickly to face the sound and his dragon, and Rapunzel’s lips barely brush the hinge of his jaw.

The almost-kiss is enough to make them both falter, and begin the struggle to untangle themselves from her hair anew, while pretending that didn’t just happen.

Meanwhile, Toothless watches, more than a little pleased with his handiwork.

#how to train your dragon #tangled #hiccup #rapunzel #hiccunzel #rotbtfd #rise of the brave tangled dragons #fanfic #au #crossover

33 notes · View notes

the-dragon-central · 5 years

Note

hi i wanna give this a try too haha, i will love to read a snotlout jealous of hiccup and astrid or just his thought as the years pasted since HTTYD to the epilogue to HTTYD3 concerning to the couple, I love your blog, thanks!!

Hello! @masterhiccup wrote this here! Hope you enjoy!

The World According To Snotlout

Riders of Berk - Thawfest, age fifteen

“I know what you did.”

“Yeah, I lost it. As usual.”

“No. You threw the race.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Astrid. Snotlout was just the better Viking today.”

“No, Hiccup. No one was a better Viking than you today.”

Snotlout scoffed, turning away when Astrid kissed Hiccup. Why would she go for Hiccup when he is the one who won Thawfest? Astrid should have been falling all over him! What could Astrid possibly see in Hiccup? Snotlout tilted his head as he watched the two talking. Is it possible that Astrid does have feelings for him? That can’t be right.

Astrid Hofferson is one of the strongest Vikings Berk has ever seen, and here she is flirting with Hiccup! Shouldn’t she be over with him congratulating him on winning Thawfest? Sure, Hiccup single handedly stopped the war between Vikings and dragons, and has the cool metal leg, and is the heir of Berk, and… dang it. Hiccup is cool. It’s no wonder Astrid is going after him instead.

Snotlout couldn’t help himself. He’d always envisioned his future with Astrid there by his side, but now? He’s not so sure. He doesn’t like that his future is changing right before his eyes. He doesn’t like that Astrid would choose Hiccup over him. But, it’s one kiss. That can’t mean too much, right? It’s not like the two are betrothed.

He definitely still has a chance with Astrid.

Race to the Edge - Chain of Command, age nineteen

Snotlout couldn’t get the kiss from Minden out of his head. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy it, because he did. It’s more of he feels guilty. Logically, he knows he shouldn’t, but this big part of him can’t help it. He’s spent most of his life chasing after Astrid, and now that she’s made if official with Hiccup he feels lost. He’d always expected her to change her mind about him, and they’d end up together. It took Snotlout longer than he’s proud to admit that Astrid won’t be changing her mind about him.

They had returned from Wingmaiden Island not too long ago, and were eating in the clubhouse. Hiccup and Astrid were sitting closely, whispering to each other, while the rest of their group was talking loudly. The couple always acted as if the rest of them didn’t exist, and Snotlout wishes things could be that easy for him.

It’s stupid to feel guilty when Astrid was never his to begin with. He always idolized her because he considered himself one of the strongest Vikings in Berk and she was also one, and together they could have been a power couple. Snotlout had this entire image in his head, and now, he’s slowly starting to realize that it’s not going to happen. If there’s one thing that Snotlout has always been unsure about, it’s change. He had had come to terms years ago that his future wasn’t going to be what he had originally planned, but he wasn’t expecting it to be so far off that Astrid is married to Hiccup and he’s married to someone else.

Snotlout hates that Minden kissing him has him feeling like this. He doesn’t want to feel guilty and he doesn’t want to feel jealous, but sometimes you can’t help it. You can’t control who you have feelings for, and Snotlout knows he can’t shut his feelings off for Astrid.

He vows in that moment that he’s going to get over Astrid Hofferson somehow.

How To Train Your Dragon 2 - age twenty

Snotlout remembers when he was fifteen and flirting with Astrid all the time. He’s not proud of how hard he had tried to get her when she was clearly after one thing only - winning dragon training. Then she started noticing Hiccup, and it became even clearer who she had eyes for.

He’s proud to say that he’s moved on. He doesn’t feel anything for Astrid anymore. She’s off being happy with Hiccup, and Snotlout is trying to get Ruffnut’s attention. Of course, it’s not going all that well, considering she’s trying to get Eret, and he also has to beat out Fishlegs. It’s anyone’s game, really. No one is sure on who has Ruffnut’s attention most, but that’s not Snotlout’s point.

He’s over Astrid, and it feels great.

Or, he thought he was over her until he saw her flirting with Hiccup, which isn’t anything out of the ordinary anymore, but it didn’t sit well with him. He has feelings for Ruffnut, why does he still feel this bad over Astrid?

Snotlout had sat alone in the Great Hall that night, not wanting to be around anyone at the moment. He just wanted to be by himself and gather his thoughts. It was like taking one step forward and three steps back. He hadn’t thought of Astrid in months, and suddenly, after the defeat of Drago, the feelings come back. What is it about her that’s so great? He’s been trying to figure it out for a while, but he can’t place what’s so special about her.

“What are you doing by yourself?”

Snotlout looked up from his plate and towards the voice that spoke to him. “Just felt like being alone.”

Valka sat at the empty seat across from him. It’s a strange concept. Valka, Hiccup’s mother, has been alive his entire life and she’s been living with dragons. It was a bit of a shock to everyone when they found out, but snotlout thinks she’s cool. Even cooler than Hiccup who did not live with dragons for twenty years.

“Is something bothering you?”

Is he that obvious? This woman who doesn’t know him can tell he’s upset. “Not really.” He took a glance at her and she was watching him with a raised eyebrow. He can’t very well tell Hiccup’s mom that he’s upset over Astrid being with Hiccup instead of him. “Um, just.. Ruffnut. Yeah, Ruffnut is what’s bothering me.”

“One of the twins?” Snotlout nodded, “what about her?”

“She can’t decide between Eret, Fishlegs, and me. She’s kind of just playing us all. I don’t know how to get her to choose me over them.”

Valka hummed, studying Snotlout’s face. “Have you ever thought of just telling her how you feel?”

Snotlout snorted. “Right! Like you can just go up to a woman and tell her you like her.”

“That’s exactly what you should do. You won’t get her by just sitting around and moping. Viking up, Snotlout, and go get her.”

Snotlout watched her walk away with wide eyes. No one goes out of their way to make sure he’s okay, and Valka did. Astrid may be off his list now, and Ruffnut most likely won’t work out, but Valka very well could.

The Hidden World - age twenty-five

Hiccup and Astrid had finally decided it was time to officially introduce the next heir of Berk, their daughter Zephyr, to all of Berk. They were all gathered in the Great Hall with Hiccup, Astrid, and their little bundle standing in the front of the room, waiting for everyone to settle.

Snotlout thought back on when Zephyr was born while they waited. Hiccup had asked him to be there as some extra reassurance, and how could he have said no when his friend looked so nervous? The birth of Zephyr had been long and boring to Snotlout and had given him plenty of time to think back on his life.

Things with Ruffnut never went anywhere. She ended up marrying Fishlegs, and they ended up having twins of their own. Valka didn’t work out, but a part of him always knew it wouldn’t. Chasing after her had just been fun and it was his way of trying to get over Astrid. For the most part, he thinks it worked.

Snotlout had come to realize through the years that he’s okay with where his life is. The future wasn’t as scary as he thought it was going to be, and everything is working out for him. No, he’s not married, and he’s okay with that. He’s perfectly fine with helping all his friends with their kids and being their favorite ‘uncle’ and babysitter. He didn’t think he would be this happy about being single, but it’s working for him.

“Snotlout?” Astrid called to him, pulling him from his thoughts. “Do you want to hold her?”

Snotlout nodded, holding his arms out for the baby. He smiled down at her and it was in that moment, while holding Zephyr and listening to Hiccup and Astrid talking that he realized he’s finally over Astrid Hofferson.

#httyd #httyd fandom #the-dragon-central #httyd fanfic #httyd fanfiction #hiccstrid #hiccstrid fanfic #snotlout #astrid #hiccup #zephyr #ruffnut #valka #minden #finished-prompt #how to train your dragon

106 notes · View notes

rideonwings · 5 years

Text

Fic: The Raid Mishap

I wrote a thing. I haven’t written a fic in over 5 years, so this feels very strange. I’m not sure how things work anymore….

Comments are appreciated.

Title: The Raid Mishap

Rating: PG-13 for language and blood.

Pairing: Hiccstrid

Summary: Set between HTTYD 2 & THW. Raids don’t always go as planned.

Read on FF.net here - https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13287398/1/The-Raid-Mishap

“I think that’s all of them guys, wings up!” Hiccup called, dodging a swinging mace and clubbing a faceless attacker with the back of his sword as he spun around to look for Toothless. There was a loud clang of a metal cage door from behind him before and the cry of a hunter that had gotten stuck it the way and suddenly his dragon was underneath him in a way that was practiced to perfection.

Hiccup did a quick scan to check that no one needed assistance: Fishlegs, Valka and the twins were already in the air herding the freed dragons, Astrid was mounting Stormfly, pausing only to stomp her heel into a man’s face that tried to pull her down, Eret was mounting Skull Crusher, and Snotlout….

“Hookfang, get your spikey ass over here!” He heard, whipping around to see Snotlout surrounded by three fighters and holding them off surprisingly well while he waited for his dragon to come to him. Hiccup nudged Toothless towards him just in case, but with a cacophony of sound Hookfang appeared, grabbing Snotlout by the collar and lifting into the air.

“Alright bud, let’s go!” Hiccup shouted, but his dragon was way ahead of him, jetting into the sky as one last hunter raised his sword to his good leg and missed by inches. As they rose, Hiccup searched the ship one last time, noticing a cage towards the back of the boat. Did they check that one? He couldn’t remember who he had assigned to check the back of the ship.

“Hiccup, let’s go!” Astrid called, pulling her dragon back to see why he was hesitating.

“I’m going to check one last thing, go on without me.” Hiccup said, turning Toothless around to make one final pass of the ship. The dragon dove quickly, making use of the night sky to disguise their movements.

“Babe, we got everyone!” She called after him, but he was already out of earshot. “Idiot!” Astrid motioned for the others to go on, keeping Stormfly up and back from the range of the ship.

Hiccup and Toothless streaked past the ship’s bow, so close to the water that the man could feel it sprinkle his face with drops as the waves hit the ship. As he reached the stern of the ship, he leaned back and urged Toothless up, rocketing skyward. As they rose he scanned the ship closely, looking for any signs of a dragon among the fray of flustered hunters. The cage that had caught his eye was empty, and hunters were taking notice of his sudden reappearance.

“Time to go!” He turned towards the rest of his group, only to hear a familiar low whistle. “Shit!” He tried to shift Toothless away as fast as he could, but it was too late. The arrow, part of a last desperate volley, hit Hiccup hard right at the shoulder joint of his armor, knocking him sideways. Toothless cried out, barrel rolling to compensate for his rider’s imbalance, and soon they were pointed back towards their teammates. It only took a second, a blip for anyone looking on.

Hiccup looked down at the wooden shaft sticking out of his shoulder and groaned as pain radiated down his arm and chest. Crap, now he’d never hear the end of it. He gritted his teeth, and, as quickly and subtly as he could, broke the majority of the shaft from the arrow so only an inch or so protruded out of his aching shoulder. Toothless cooed up to him, but he just nudged him on, ignoring the slow trickle of warm blood in his armor. “It’s okay bud, let’s go meet up with the others, I’ll be fine.”

As they sped along, Astrid met up with him. “What was that? Did you lose control for a second?” She asked, checking him over quickly. He hoped the darkness would cover any sign of red on his armor.

Hiccup nodded. “A last attempt to shoot us down. We’re good though.” Toothless grumbled beneath him, and Hiccup leaned down against him. “We’re good bud, let’s just get home.” He leaned his body low over Toothless’ neck, speeding up to keep Astrid behind him.

Astrid furrowed her brow but nudged Stormfly to fly behind Toothless’ wing. They quickly caught up with the rest of the group, bringing up the rear. Valka led the pack on with Cloud Jumper with Eret close behind on watch.

Fishlegs was flying in circles around the group, checking on the freed dragons. “We’ve got fifteen here: two Gronkles, three Nadders…” He continued down his list, and Hiccup nodded in confirmation, cutting his friend off mid-sentence.

“Sounds good, let’s get home and we’ll do welfare checks on them.” He said. The pain in his shoulder was increasing, moving down his chest and back, and his breath was coming shorter. His fingertips were tingling and making it harder for him to grab his saddle.

“Hang on, is one of the dragons bleeding?” Astrid said suddenly, holding up her hands. They were covered in splotches of blood. “It’s flying through the air, coming from somewhere. It’s getting all over Stormfly too.”

Fishlegs’ eyes widened. “I’ll check!” He called, heading back into the crowd of beasts.

Toothless growled again, swerving closer to Astrid. “Toothless, no, what are you doing!” Hiccup moaned softly, lifting himself upright again. As he did, another sizable splotch of blood hit Stormfly.

“Are you kidding me!? Hiccup!” Astrid cried. “Are you bleeding right now?” She called, pulling even with him.

“I’m good, I’m good, just got nicked.” Hiccup said, trying to wave her away with his good arm, but the action felt clumsy. He was getting a little dizzy from the pain.

“You were shot?”

“Only a little bit!” He called back.

Astrid looped in front of him, looking back at him and noticing the wooden shaft protruding from his chest. “Is that an arrow sticking out of your chest??” She shrieked. “Stormfly, get me over there.”

Her dragon moved alongside Toothless and Astrid jumped across the small gap and onto the Night Fury. It was only when her fingers struggled to get a grip on Toothless’ wet side that she noticed just how much blood streaked the side of the dragon. “You idiot. You’re going to get yourself killed.” She grumbled as she pulled him back against her, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Why did you go back? What is wrong with you?” She chastised.

Hiccup sunk against her, his vision reeling. “I wanted to make sure we didn’t leave anyone behind.”

Shaking her head, Astrid replied, “You need to trust your team better. We wouldn’t have left unless we knew we had everyone.”

“Have you met my team? Half of the time they can’t find the front of their tunic, much less the front of a boat.”

Astrid’s exclamations had attracted the attention of the other riders and Valka soon appeared at their side.

“What’s happened?” She asked, swooping in front of them.

“Hiccup thought he could slide the fact that he got shot past me.” Astrid said. Hiccup rolled his eyes, though immediately regretted it as his vision spun wildly.

“It’s not bad, Mom, I’ll live.” He replied, closing his eyes. He couldn’t tell if that made the dizziness better or worse.

“How far are we from Berk?” Astrid asked, becoming more concerned by the minute. Hiccup was starting to feel slack against her, and his blood was streaking off his armor at an alarming rate considering the arrow was still lodged inside him.

“Over an hour.” Valka replied, her voice tense. “Where’s he been hit?”

“His shoulder, right between his armor plates. A one in a million shot if I ever saw it.” Astrid replied.

“We’ll need to find a place to land, I’ll send the others on with the dragons, hopefully they’ll follow even if the alpha stays behind.” Valka said. “Find a sea stack if you can!” She pushed ahead to rejoin the others.

Astrid wrapped her one of her arms tighter around Hiccup and reached down with the other hand to check his pulse. Though it was solid and consistent, he was too quiet, far too quiet for everything to be alright. “Hiccup, stay with me, okay? We’re going to find somewhere to land to get you fixed up.”

“I’m fine, I’ll make it back to Berk.” He replied faintly, but he didn’t sound convincing. Toothless crooned underneath him, and Astrid could see he was watching the water carefully to find a place to touch down. Astrid heard Valka giving the others orders to move on without them. Toothless let out a sharp bark, creating a stir from the dragon pack. He must have been trying to tell them to move on without him, because after a short pause, the dragons moved forward with the rest of the riders.

Suddenly, Toothless jolted to the side, rocking his two passengers. “Toothless, what…” Astrid started, but she quickly realized that the dragon was struggling to right himself. She looked down to see Hiccup’s leg was shaking, the motion opening and closing Toothless’ fin slightly. “Shit.” She shook Hiccup slightly, “Babe, take your foot out, you’re going to bring us down.”

Hiccup shifted but couldn’t balance himself enough to remove the prosthetic from the harness. “I… I can’t get it.” His shoulder felt like it was on fire, his hand was numb; he was starting to go into shock.

Astrid’s heart fluttered to her throat. “Toothless, get ready, this could be ugly.” She called, reaching forward to lock Toothless’ tail in the gliding position. She pushed Hiccup forward on Toothless’ neck so that his leg was jammed in the stirrup at an awkward angle behind him, but she positioned herself in line with the stirrup the best she could. “Ready?” She tapped the dragon’s side to warn him, and she reached down to unhook the prosthetic as quickly as she could, still holding tight to Hiccup’s loose form.

Toothless wobbled dangerously for a few seconds in his glide, trying to balance himself while Astrid moved Hiccup’s leg forward and tried to get hers in its place. The stirrup reversible, with one side designed for Hiccup’s prosthetic, and the other for a normal human foot, but she didn’t have the ability to rotate it in the air. Instead she shoved her toe into the metal, pushing down to try to activate the tail the best she could. It took a few wiggles, but it did clip in eventually.

“Thank Thor.” She whispered, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around Hiccup again. The front of his armor was wet and tacky, and she swallowed hard.

“Sorry bud…” Hiccup said, trying to sit up straighter. He shook his head like a dog, trying to keep himself awake. “I lost it there for a second.”

Valka swooped back over and flanked the opposite side that Stormfly occupied. “The others are going ahead. How’s he doing?” She asked. Astrid looked at her and didn’t answer, her mouth a tight line.

Hiccup looked up and watched as the flock of dragons pulled away, with Hookfang, fully engulfed in flame, taking up the rear. From the pack he heard Snotlout call: “Hang in there chief, you don’t want me taking over, do you?”

Hiccup was getting more disoriented by the minute, but he was determined to stay as alert as he could. “Fuck you, Snotlout.” He called back halfheartedly.

Suddenly, Toothless cried out - A small sea stack appeared just in front of them, and the small group streaked towards it. Valka leapt from her dragon’s back as they touched down, rushing to the front of Toothless to help ease her son off his back.

“Ready babe?” Astrid asked, pulling Hiccup’s leg over Toothless’ side and helping him down. Hiccup tried to stand for a moment, only for his legs to wobble terribly and give out. He came to rest against Toothless’ shoulder as the dragon laid down and Astrid knelt beside him. Valka produced a small bowl from a saddlebag and sent Stormfly to grab some seawater. Cloud Jumper opened his mouth wide enough to emit a bright light, and the two women got to work on Hiccup’s armor.

“Honestly, babe, you gotta quit with all these buckles, they really suck in situations like these.” Astrid tried to joke, but it came out flat.

“I’ll take that under advisement.” Hiccup retorted lightly, but his eyes stayed closed. His breath was coming quick and shallow.

“I think it hit an artery.” Valka said quietly, catching Astrid’s gaze. “That would explain the amount of blood loss.” She moved her fingers gently around the shoulder and Hiccup groaned and shifted away. “It may have also struck his collarbone, which could be making it hard for him to breathe.”

“One in a million shot indeed.” Hiccup murmured, rolling his head backwards against his dragon.

Astrid pulled the last buckle loose and began to pull away the damp clothing underneath the armor. The wound was deep, nearly pushing through to the other side, and, based on the size of the entry wound, there was a large head on the arrow. “Must have been a crossbow, no way a regular bow would have done this much damage.” She said, pushing Hiccup’s hair out of his face. “Either way, this is going to hurt like Hel.”

Hiccup opened his eyes to meet her concerned ones. “You always did like to cause me a certain amount of pain and grievance.” He joked.

Astrid gave him a weak smile. “Do you have your tools?”

He nodded, raising his good hand towards his saddle bag. Astrid stood up and dug through the bag until she found a sharp pair of pliers. Valka was pulling herbs, moss and bandages from her bags and laying them beside him.

“I’d like to sterilize it if I could, and we may need to cauterize the wound to stop the blood flow.”

Astrid took a dagger – a blade Hiccup had made for her - from her belt and handed it to Valka. The older woman took it from her solemnly and placed it gently in Cloud Jumper’s mouth with the blade in his fire.

“I could brew some willowbark quickly, for the pain.” Valka suggested, but Hiccup shook his head.

“It’ll take too long to take effect, it’s better to just get it over with.”

Astrid nodded, coming to sit in front of him. She straddled his leg with hers. “We ready?” She asked, adjusting the tool in her hand. “Do you need something to bite?”

Hiccup shook his head again. Toothless crooned behind him, resting his head against Hiccup’s side to comfort him while his tail swung forward, coming behind Astrid to hold his legs down.

Astrid leaned forward and pressed her lips to Hiccup’s temple. “I’m sorry babe, this is going to suck.”

He nodded and leaned against her for a minute. “Let’s do it.”

Astrid leaned back and adjusted the pliers in her hand a final time, placing her other hand on Hiccup’s chest to brace. Gritting her teeth (as Hiccup did the same) she placed the metal tips as far into the wound as she could, trying to block out Hiccup’s hiss of pain. Clamping the base of the pliers around the shaft of the arrow, she glanced quickly at Hiccup’s pinched face, then over at Valka. “On three…. One, two…”

And she ripped back with all her strength and the arrow came free as Hiccup let out a strangled cry, throwing his head back into his dragon. Toothless moaned in sympathy. Astrid quickly inspected the arrow to ensure it was in one piece – no sense leaving shards inside to cause infection – before reaching her hand out to Valka for the dagger. She did her best to inspect the wound, which was now streaming blood at an alarming rate. She could only see so much in the limited light, but it seemed that the arrow had clipped the artery and maybe chipped his collarbone. However, there wasn’t much she could do about that now without risking him bleeding out - Already his head was sinking forward limply.

Valka placed the hot dagger in Astrid’s hand and leaned over her son, putting pressure on the wound as Astrid angled the blade just so. Taking a deep breath, she nodded to Valka and as the older woman removed her hands, she pressed the hot blade into the wound, emitting a horrifying sizzling sound.

Hiccup moaned weakly and Astrid checked his face carefully. In the pale light, he looked ghostly. “Babe, stay with me.” She said, removing the blade and checking the wound. The flow of blood had reduced significantly, but the smell of burning flesh made her stomach flip uncomfortably, making her lean over Hiccup’s leg to spit in the dirt. She then nodded to Valka again and stepped back, letting the older woman swoop in to begin packing the wound with herbs and moss.

Astrid sat beside Hiccup, pressing her forehead to his temple and cupping his cheek. She winced as she noticed too late that her hand was coated in his blood. “Babe, look at me. I need you to open your eyes.”

He reluctantly did so, though they were groggy and unfocused. “You’re right, that really did suck.” He mumbled, leaning into her. She smiled gently. If he could still make jokes, he wasn’t dying.

“I’m sorry, there’s really no gentle way to remove an arrow from a body.” She said, pressing kisses to his hairline.

After a few minutes, Valka stepped back, her fingers painted red but a satisfied look on her face. “It’ll hold till we get him home. His collarbone is definitely broken but it’s stabilized. It’s probably just the swelling that is pushing on his lungs.” She walked over to the bowl of water Stormfly had brought and washed her hands the best she could. She then carried the bowl to Astrid so she could do the same, dipping a rag into the water and wiping Hiccup’s cheek. The rest of his clothes were beyond the point of saving.

Astrid grabbed her water flask with her newly cleaned hands and lifted it to Hiccup’s lips. “Drink. We can let you rest for another few minutes, but we should probably get you to Gothi as quickly as possible.”

Valka brought over some willowbark strips and Astrid took them from her, feeding a few to Hiccup.

“Ugh, I hate this stuff.” He groaned as he chewed on the oily bark, resting his head back on Toothless’ shoulder.

“Of all the things to complain about, Hiccup.” Astrid retorted. “You’ve been joking through this whole process, but the willowbark, oh, how we hate the willowbark.” She rolled her eyes. Valka laughed softly, and Hiccup smiled weakly.

“What can I say, I know my limits.”

Toothless shifted, resting his head on Hiccup’s lap. Astrid stood up and went to adjust the stirrup on Toothless’ rig, flipping it to the side meant for a human boot.

After about fifteen minutes, the crew readied themselves to leave. Hiccup stood on shaky legs, and with some help, lifted himself to sit just behind Toothless’ head. Astrid stepped up behind him, wrapping one arm tightly around his waist to steady him as she reached forward to clip the safety harness to his belt. He didn’t use it much these days, as he was prone to jumping off and free-gliding, but with how loose and limp he felt, it wouldn’t hurt to strap him in. She them wrapped her hands tightly around him and clipped her foot into the stirrup.

“Ready babe?” She murmured into his ear, giving him a squeeze. Hiccup clasped one of her hands in his and returned the squeeze. He leaned back against her and allowed himself to relax.

“Wings up.”

#hiccstrid #hiccstrid fanfiction #how to train your dragon #httyd #fanfic #Hiccstrid fanfic #Mywriting

54 notes · View notes