Finals coming up, so what better way to waste my time than to write Hiccstrid?
Every creak in the room was magnified, or at least it seemed to be, because none of the riders said a word. Even the twins, who always had something to add, were silent, because it had been a while since they were so vastly outsmarted. Back when Alvin had kidnapped Hiccup, oh that had been messy, but this was even worse, and none of them were even harmed.
Astrid bit her lip as she stared at her best human friend. He was standing next to the Maces and Talons board, breathing in and out heavily, and she could tell he was going to crack very soon. Hurriedly, she turned to her friends and said, "Go to bed, guys. It's late, and we still have a lot of the Edge to clean up tomorrow."
She didn't miss the grateful glance Hiccup threw at her as the teens piled out with no argument, along with their dragons. Stormfly and Toothless were still in the clubhouse, but even they were tired from all that went on tonight. Ever since the incident with the hunters, Stormfly slept in Astrid's hut instead of the stables, and no one said anything about it. For now, she and Toothless were settling down in the clubhouse. They would probably doze off soon.
Astrid herself didn't go to bed. She walked up to Hiccup and tried to think of something comforting to say. Nothing came to mind. What was she supposed to say? That they would get the Dragon Eye back? That they would find Heather? She couldn't say these things, because they seemed too fake, even for comfort, so she said the one thing she was sure of.
"You shouldn't beat yourself up over this, Hiccup."
He didn't answer, and she sighed. His fists were clenched and his eyes were closed. Was he trying to hold himself together, to stay composed?
Astrid placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hiccup, please talk to me."
He finally looked up at her, away from that wretched board, and sighed. "You should get to bed, Astrid."
"So should you," she argued back, not thinking of leaving him in this state for even a second, "You took the most strain tonight."
That was true. And she didn't mean just physically, what with all the running he had done tonight, but mentally. Viggo Grimborn had clicked something inside her viking, and she didn't like it. She didn't like seeing the helpless look on his face, didn't like seeing him defeated.
She saw him swallow, and his fists tightened. "How did we lose, Ast?" he whispered, looking at her with hurt eyes, "How did he beat us...so, so easily?"
"I don't know," she breathed, not knowing what else to say. His eyes seemed to be boring into hers, and she reached out to squeeze his hand.
Abruptly, Hiccup turned around completely and hugged her, his hands wrapping around her waist and buried his face in her neck. Astrid took a step back, not expecting it, but slowly, hesitantly, placed her arms around his neck. He was hurting, she knew, and it wasn't just that they lost. It was the fact that Viggo had made it so painfully obvious that they never stood a chance anyway.
Hiccup didn't say anything, and neither did she, but rubbed her thumb in circular motions on the back of his neck. They stood that way for a while, neither of the teen's grip loosening. Astrid peered over his shoulder to see the dragons asleep.
"Hiccup?" she asked uncertainly, after a few more seconds.
He made a muffled sound against her neck, and she wasn't sure what he said, but she continued on, "I really think that you're tired, babe." The word was now growing on her, and she liked the way it made him all flustered, or at least it did before. He was used to it now.
"I'm not tired," he said quietly, and his breath tickled her neck, sending shivers down her whole body. "I'm just...I don't know, Astrid."
"Hiccup, look at me," the girl ordered firmly. Not that she didn't like hugging him - gods, she loved it - but he would fall asleep on her if he continued to stand in that position. "C'mon, we need to get to bed."
Hiccup did as she said, but didn't move from where he was standing, and his hands were still wrapped around her, so she couldn't either. Astrid felt him clutch her top tightly.
"Hiccup," she said again, softly.
"Yes, milady?" he murmured, now leaning down towards her. If it weren't for his hands supporting her, she would have fallen backwards by now.
"You've gotta…" Her voice hitched in her throat as his lips brushed over hers. "You've gotta...gotta get to bed."
"I don't want to," and if it hadn't been, well, Hiccup, she would have considered this a positively childish statement.
Oh, screw it.
She pressed her lips to his, tiptoeing because the stupid boy had gotten stupidly taller than her. Hiccup, of course, didn't hesitate to kiss her back, and one of his hands left her back to squeeze her wrist gently.
She knew that this wasn't the ideal time for this. Hiccup was looking for a distraction, and she just happened to be there. Not that he was taking advantage of her or something, that was ridiculous. And she had wanted to comfort him. But Thor forbid he try to do something inappropriately stupid to try and set his mind on something other than their defeat; she was not willing to go there.
"Astrid," he groaned against her mouth, squeezing her wrist tighter and turning her so that her back hit the desk.
She shivered at his actions, but Hiccup didn't seem to notice, which she was grateful for. He disattached their lips to kiss her jaw, and eventually, her neck. Sweet little kisses everywhere, and then that one spot where he always put extra pressure because he knew it was sensitive. Astrid let out a guttural moan, and the one hand he wasn't holding in place flew up to cover her mouth. If the other teens heard them, she might just die from embarrassment.
Her fears were soothed when he didn't try to do anything more than this, except a small nip to that same spot, which made her punch his arm, and that was when he stopped, his forehead leaning on hers. They were both breathing heavily.
"I'm sorry," he said earnestly, "Really, I am. I - I shouldn't have done that."
"Which part?" Astrid asked, closing her eyes. His breath hit her face and she didn't know if that was what was causing the heat on her cheeks or if she was just blushing furiously. "The whole thing or just that...bite?" she asked uncertainly, not even sure if they could call it that. It had been very light.
"Depends," he hummed, kissing her nose, "What did you like?"
Enough was enough. If she kept acting like the only comfort she could provide was her lips, then that was what he would do. So she pulled back, trying to ignore the hurt look he gave her. The guilt began to rise rather quickly in her gut. All he wanted to do was kiss you. He's had a tough night, give him a break. You liked it anyway. Luckily, there was also her rational side talking.
What he needs right now is sleep.
"What you need right now is sleep," she mumbled
.He reached for her arm again. "You didn't answer."
She grabbed his arm and glared at him in the eye. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, I am certainly not your plaything, the distraction for whenever you feel like you can't face the world." When he opened his mouth to protest, she simply kept going, knowing what he was going to say. "I know you never meant for it to come off like that, but that's how it's coming off right now, not to me, but if someone else were to hear about this, that's what they would think."
Hiccup gazed at her, with that same lost puppy look he'd had when he'd let the Skrill get captured, and the guilt threatened to explode, so she softened her voice. "What I mean is, I'm upset that we lost to. And I do love you, Hic." At this, his eyes brightened so vividly, and with the combination of that and the still-hurt look, she wanted to hug him and not let go. "But this is not a healthy way to deal with your problems, you hear?"
"I know." he sighed softly, looking down, and now his starting-to-get-oversized hair was falling in his eyes. "Sorry, Ast."
Gods, did he have to keep being that damn cute?
"We could sleep in here," she stated casually, "And of course, I don't mean like - like that," she quickly backtracked when he gave her an alarming look. "It's just that, Stormfly and Toothless are already sleeping here...and, well, y'know."
He fell into a soft chair, and then, with hopeful eyes, outstretched his arms invitingly. After deeming it to be safe, she sat down with him, flicking his hair out of his eyes and resting her head backwards on him.
"Isn't sleeping also running away from the problem at hand?" He found her hand and squeezed it.
She was getting drowsy. "Sleeping is preparing to solve the problem at hand."
He didn't laugh, he was still solemn. But his grip on her tightened, and he leaned down to whisper, "Thank you."
"Your welcome," she muttered, a small smile creeping on her face. "And don't worry. We'll figure it out."
She dozed off in his arms, for that night, forgetting what the other teens would think, forgetting Viggo, Ryker, Dagur, and Heather. The boy next to her occupied her thoughts that night, and just how much he needed someone to comfort him at times like these.
At any rate, she was too tired to think of anything else.