This is a Oneshot idea I came up with a while ago after reading vala411's fanfic Phantasm, it's great, check it out. Some of the names, too, were taken from her story. With permission, of course.
This is a modern AU setting, so if you don't like stuff like that, I advice you to turn around right now.
Well, I hope you enjoy it.
...
Edit: So, when I went over this Oneshot to correct the many, many plotholes, I believe I ended up changing much more than I originally intended to. So, don't get confused if some things have changed.
On the bright side, I've decided to write more of this. Some backstory and the aftermath. Stuff like that. I won't write it right now, maybe not even in the near future, but I will. If you want to, you can send me some things you want to know that may not have been mentioned yet, and maybe I'll write it out for you.
Thanks for your interest in this piece of work and for the feedback I've been recieving from you!
Masks we Wear
0-0-0
Astrid Hofferson growled in frustration as her fist slammed onto the table in front of her.
It was late at night and she was the only one awake; the others were sleeping soundly in their rooms inside HQ, resting from another tiring day of hunting down Villains, stopping robberies and whatever was included in the daily life of a super hero.
Berk's local villains had been way more active than usual, keeping the supers on their toes. Astrid suspected they were planning something big, which meant that she and her team worked endlessly to find any information of what they were after. However, no one had found anything and if frustrated her to no end.
Stormfly, her bonded Nadder, chirped worriedly from her cozy rock-bed in the corner of the room. Concern flew from the dragon to the woman through their shared bond and Astrid managed a strained smile to her dragon, trying to convince her everything was alright. The Nadder didn't buy it but let it slide nonetheless. She knew how stubborn her human could be.
The desktop screen in front of her bathed her face in a pale light as she turned back to look at the gathered date of every villain they knew.
There just had to be something she was missing.
She scrolled through the data once more, reading over the personalities, preferences and bonded dragons once again. Astrid paused when an all to familiar shape appeared on the screen.
Name: The Phantom
Age: Unknown
Height: Unknown
Speed: Unknown
Ability: Plasma Blast, Others unkown
Bonded Dragon: Night Fury
Next to the stats was a blurred picture of a male completely dressed in black, form fitting armor and a long coat flapping behind him in the wind. A helmet with a green tinted visor covered his face. The picture was the lucky snapshot a nearby photographer conveniently took just as The Phantom took to the air to make his escape. And wasn't that just sad.
Rage boiled within Astrid. He was the most elusive and probably most powerful villain of Berk. No one has ever managed to get close to him. No one knew where his hideout was and every time she came one step closer to the mystery that was The Phantom, she felt like he took ten away from her. One would think that having a bonded dragon of the strike class, the famous and thought to be extinct Night Fury at that, would attract a lot of attention. But no one has ever seen the dragon out of its bonded state and no one had registered a Night Fury as their bonded dragon.
The most intriguing thing was, however, the way the Phantom worked. He never actually went after civilians. At least not intentionally. Unlike other villains, if it even came to a confrontation, he preferred taking the fight away from populated areas. The body count wasn't the reason for why he was the most wanted villain of Berk. It was the way he worked. His stealth abilities were off the charts, some would say, as he could sneak into highly guarded government facilities, most likely steal whatever he wanted, and be gone before anyone would be any wiser.
He was a master thief. The government felt threatened by the possibility of someone being able to get all their secrets and bringing them out to the open.
How this man managed to keep himself hidden so well infuriated her to no end. And it wasn't just that he kept slipping out of her reach; the other villains saw him as their idol, someone to look up at, even if confrontations between him and some other villain occasionally happened, and they would most likely follow him if he ever got the idea of rallying the villains against the supers. And wasn't that just a terrifying thought. Who knew what would happen if it ever came to that.
Astrid sighed. "Maybe we should call it a night… What do you think, Stormfly?"
The Nadder chirped happily and moved to follow as her human rose from the chair, stretched her sore limbs and went to their shared room to get a shut eye.
0-0-0
Her phone ripped Astrid out of a pleasant dream the next morning as it signaled an incoming message.
Annoyed, she reached out and plucked the irritating device from her nightstand to see who in their right minds would be texting her at – she glanced at the clock – 7 AM in the morning… huh, not as early as she expected to wake up. She couldn't hear any ruckus from outside, which was suspicious in itself. She would see if everyone was awake sooner or later, Astrid assumed. But first…
A smile found its way onto her face as she recognized her boyfriend's number on the screen. He always managed to brighten her day no matter what mood she was in.
"Good morning, Milady! I hope ur ready cuz I'm coming over with breakfast. :)"
Astrid rolled her eyes fondly at that. He was always way too worried for her health. Shooting a quick text back, she hurried out of bed to get herself ready. Knowing him, she wouldn't have long before he arrived at her front door.
"Wake up, sleepy-head," she nudged the sleeping dragon "We've gotta hurry or Hiccup's going to be home before us."
The dragon greeted her with a sleepy squawk and shook herself as Astrid practically raced out of her room. She quickly checked in with the others. The twins were, as usual, bugging Snotlout, who, in turn, threatened them with Hookfang setting them on fire, only to be set on fire himself. Fishlegs was in the kitchen area, enjoying a freshly made coffee and reading a book. She didn't see Heather, so she was probably out patrolling or simply enjoying a nice walk through the city.
Stormfly was already waiting for her on the landing platform on the roof of HQ so Astrid simply merged with the dragon and flew off, her wings on her back beating furiously as she flew towards her home.
All of the supers had homes of their own. Simply, because sometimes they needed time for themselves or to be themselves without their masks and heroic deeds and because they were still citizens of Berk and needed to be registered as such, even though the whole program was sponsored by mayor Stoick "the Vast" Haddock and the council and as such every member knew who they were beneath their masks.
It took about 5 minutes from HQ to her home and she landed unseen in the backyard. She separated and shivered, having her bonded dragon's consciousness separate from her own always left her feeling empty and cold, and went inside. Stormfly went to her stable and went back to sleep.
The door bell rang before Astrid had time to take three steps inside. She huffed and went to open the door. Hiccup was way too fast.
Green eyes shone with amusement as Hiccup casually leaned against the door frame and took in her ruffled appearance.
"How was your sleep, milady? I hope well?"
"You don't have to do this, you know?"
"Oh but I think I do." He countered. "Since a certain someone keeps forgetting to eat and sleep. Someone has to look out for you if you don't do it yourself." Astrid rolled her eyes and moved to the side, inviting Hiccup inside. He strode past her and put the bag he held in his hand on the table. "Now, I hope you are prepared for some freshly baked bread and coffee."
"Wait, you baked that yourself?" Astrid asked while her boyfriend was placing the contents of the bag on her table. There was his home-made bread, a thermos of hopefully strong coffee, eggs and a few other baked goods that smelled heavenly. "I didn't know you knew how to bake."
Hiccup looked up and grinned at her. "You wound me, milady. Didn't you know that there is nothing all this raw vikingness can't do?"
Astrid swatted his arm lightly. "No, seriously. When did you learn to do it?"
His grin turned into a resigned smile "Well, when mom died, someone had to learn how to cook and to the chores. Dad wasn't around much; his duties often called him away, so I learned how to do stuff myself." He shrugged somewhat sheepishly "And I guess, somewhere along the line I got interested in that kind of stuff. I was good at it and kept doing it."
It sounded plausible to the blonde woman. Being mayor would keep many men away from their families. It didn't come as much of a surprise that even the great Stoick the Vast couldn't spend as much time as he probably wanted to with his family. What was left of it, anyway. Hiccup placed to plates on the table and gestured for her to sit while he set the table.
She snatched a piece of bread – it was still warm – and carefully bit into it. Flavor filled her senses and she practically moaned in pleasure. Hiccup smirked at her. "I see you like it."
Astrid went wide eyed. "Like it? I love it, Babe! You have to teach me!" Hiccup chuckled as she eagerly ate her breakfast and smeared butter on his own piece.
The rest of the morning was filled with a pleasant atmosphere. The pair ate their breakfast, talked and ended curled up on the couch watching some old movie. Hiccup had fallen asleep at one point which left Astrid to her own thoughts. As always, the worries of her other life tugged at her, even while lying here, curled up in the arms of the one person who she knew cared for her the most. She tried to push them away and occupy her thoughts with something else. Like her dragon, or bonded dragons in general.
And as Astrid looked into the peaceful face of her boyfriend, she couldn't help but wonder… She had never seen his bonded dragon, nor did he ever mention it. She knew it wasn't a Terror, as Terrible Terrors were known to be territorial and followed their bonded humans everywhere. It was almost impossible to leave one of them behind. Hiccup had to have bonded with one of the more powerful classes. Yet, he never even talked about it. She didn't even know its name. Maybe she would ask him later. Right now, she needed to use the bathroom. She just had to figure out how to get out of Hiccup's embrace without waking him.
She squirmed a little and carefully tried to push one of his arms away from her. Her plan backfired as instead of loosening his hold, Hiccup pulled her closed. Astrid huffed, annoyed, and tried again, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling of a full bladder for just a few more moments.
Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore and shook him lightly. "Hiccup?"
Nothing.
"Come on, wake up! I need to use the bathroom!"
A groan… followed by something unintelligible…
"Hiccup, if you don't wake up and let go of me right now I'm going to pee on you!"
"sighhh… fineee…" he whined and the arms around her loosened. That little shit was awake the whole time! But Astrid didn't even stop to whack him and hurried to her bathroom to relieve herself.
He was still sitting on her couch when she returned, smirking lightly at her glare.
That grin was wiped off his face when she introduced his shoulder to her fist.
Again.
0-0-0
Astrid grunted in pain as she was thrown into a nearby building.
Above her, lightning flew from the sky as Dagur the Deranged, former member of her team and now full-time-villain, laughed in utter bliss while throwing lightning-bolts at everything and everyone while Snotlout desperately tried to evade and attack at the same time. She growled in annoyance; this was about as much as she could take for one day. Time to end this.
"Snot!" she called and shot a barrage of Spines at the villain, effectively distracting him from the two supers. "I want you to distract him. Get him to shoot at you. I've had enough of this!"
"Oh, so I'm bait once again? Why is it tha- "
"Just do it, Snot!" She growled. He scowled at her but went to do as he was told nonetheless and engaged their enemy. "Snotlout, do this! Snotlout, do that! Why am I the only one always getting these jobs?!"
Dagur laughed when he saw him. "Be ready to kiss my boots before I send you to your never ending doom! Seriously, hold still so I can hit you!"
Astrid kept low and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike. The deranged man wasn't just their run of the mill villain; his bonded dragon was a Skrill – strike class – and gave him superior speed as well as the ability to shoot lightning and control electric flows in general. She most likely had only one shot, so Astrid had to time it carefully.
The second he completely turned his back and put her in his blind spot, Astrid saw her opportunity. She shot three spines at one of his wings with deadly precision.
Holes where torn into his wing and the villain howled in pain as he fell from the sky. The pair watched him fall, hitting the side of a building and then crashing onto the empty street, taking out a few cars as he went. "Ohh… he is so gonna feel that in the morning…" Snotlout smirked. Astrid rolled her eyes and the pair descended. Sirens could already be heard.
Dagur still shook with small bursts of laughter, even as he struggled to his feet. His right wing was bend out of shape, clearly broken while the membrane of the other one in tatters. Yep, this villain not going anywhere anytime soon.
"It's over." She told him. "Surrender and you will be taken into berkian police custody peacefully. Resist and we will be forced to retaliate." Beside her, Snotlout set himself aflame, showing he would be all too happy to burn him to a crisp.
"Oh... OH! I see how it is." He cut himself off with another burst of giggles. He must have been wounded more than she thought in the fall because his already red hair was getting darker and a single line of red rand down his forehead and onto the mask covering his eyes. "You- You want me to come quietly like some well-trained puppy."
His lips stretched into a wide grin and the supers prepared themselves for a possible attack. "Well, guess again!" And with that, his body was engulfed in a bright bolt of lightning, blinding the heroes momentarily.
When they opened their eyes, the villain was gone. Just as the police arrived at the scene, Astrid let out a furious shout that echoed over the loud sirens.
"Whoa…" Snotlout looked at her with wide eyes, never having seen Astrid lose her composure like this. "Hey, are you-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence because with a strong flap, his partner was in the air, speeding away toward HQ, leaving him to make his report to the officers.
The others had most likely already heard of what had happened because no one came out to greet her when she arrived. The blonde immediately separated from her dragon upon arriving and sped down into the gym where she proceeded to let her anger out on the training dummies. She was so focused on her rage that she didn't notice, even hours later, when the door slid open. She didn't her name being called either and only when a hand caught her fist did she notice her best friend standing right next to her.
"What is it?" Astrid snapped. "I'm busy."
Heather rolled her eyes. "I can see that. But listen, don't think we haven't noticed how you've been acting lately. If you're not snapping at us, you're either down here or working yourself to death somewhere else."
"So what?" She asked, noticing her friend's Razorwhip slipping into the room from the corner of her eyes. "With villains practically running amok I need to stay on my toes. We ALL need to stay on our toes."
"Astrid, I know you are stressed out because of this, but if won't do anyone any good if keep being so hard on everyone." Heather argued. "You keep getting worked up for nothing and expect perfection from us. Well, no one is perfect. You of all people should know that."
Astrid's shoulders sagged. She knew Heather was telling the truth. "And what do you want me to do. Sit back and watch people die out there because I'm not strong enough to protect them? To protect Berk?"
"You are doing everything you can. Trying is what matters." The two dragons in the room crooned and nudged at each other and soon they were playfighting. The black-haired woman watched them with a small smile while her friend seemed to be lost in her own little world. "You know that. The people know that. You won't be able to help anyone out there if you exhaust yourself in here."
Astrid sighed, dejectedly. Maybe some rest would be good for her. It had been a long day and her muscles ached from the exercise.
"Oh, and by the way", Heather's voice was suspiciously cheery and caused Astrid to regard her wearily. "I arranged for a certain someone to meet you at the park for a romantic little evening later. You'd best sleep a bit and then throw yourself into that most charming dress I saw you buy."
Her eyes widened and looking closely, she could see her phone laying innocently in her best friend's hand. Astrid tried to say something, but only a stutter made it past her lips. She barely managed to catch her phone as it was thrown to her. A hand on her shoulder snapped her out of her stupor.
"Just… try to have fun, okay? Forget about everything else for a while. The team will have you covered so don't worry."
Astrid threw Heather a small, but grateful smile and nodded. But only when the other woman was out the door and she herself was standing under the shower did her brain fully catch and her small smile grew into a wide grin. Already, she knew that this evening would be wonderful.
With joyful anticipation, she let the warm water wash away her worries.
0-0-0
"Miss Hofferson! Are you even listening to me?"
The person in question snapped out of the pleasant memories of the previous night, spent with laughter and lots of kisses, and turned her attention back to the giant screen in front of her. Mayor Stoick's enlarged face greeted her, displeasure at not being listened to clearly written on his face.
"Ah, no. I'm sorry, sir.", She apologized. Quiet snickers behind her at being caught unaware, most likely from the twins, made her want to scowl. Not quite an option with the Mayor's attention focused solely on her. Only for her, though, seeing as scowling was what Stoick was doing just now. "Don't let it happen again."
The man cleared his throat and resumed his speech. "As I was saying, the attacks are getting worse by the day. Thanks to you, injuries and fatalities have been kept low, but with so many villains still at large, patrols need to be more frequent and on high alert at all times. The citizens need to know that they are safe, lest they start a riot themselves."
"Understood, sir.", Astrid nodded in confirmation. She was already thinking of various possibilities of how she could set up the patrols in the most effective way and how much ground each pair would have to cover.
"Good, dismissed. Except for Miss Hofferson."
The blonde woman raised an eyebrow at that and wondered what the mayor could want from her alone and not the others as well. Her team shot her questioning glances as they made their way to the door, most likely wondering the same thing. Fishlegs was the last to leave and the moment the automatic door slid shut, Stoick let his stiff posture melt away. While he still looked like the strong and wise leader, his shoulders were slumped and the slight wrinkles in his face stood out more.
He looked older, weary even. This was the true man behind the mask Stoick the Mayor.
"So", he cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably on his seat. "I heard you are with my son?"
Ah… so this is what it was about. "You heard correct.", she confirmed.
"How… how is Hiccup?", he asked. Astrid could see in his body language just how uneasy he was talking about his son. Hiccup had told her that he never quite saw eye to eye with his father. That their conversations usually ended with an uncomfortable silence at best and a shouting match at worst. Their inability to agree on… well, anything actually, made it hard for them to build a decent father-son relationship.
Stoick wanted Hiccup to build up strength. Hiccup didn't have much interest in physical activities.
Hiccup wanted to study engineering because he wanted to build things, invent all sorts of devices to help people in their daily lives. Stoick wanted his son to join the Hero training facilities so that he could someday protect Berk alongside the other heroes.
Stoick wanted Hiccup to find a rare, more powerful bonded dragon so he could join the heroes in the first place. Hiccup didn't care what kind his bonded dragon would be as long as it fit his personality and stay with him through thick and thin.
It got so bad, that Stoick, in a fit of rage at his son's inability to see things his way, disowned him. Hiccup had moved out that very day and cut off any contact with his father. That was five years ago.
But Astrid could see just how bad both of them regretted their actions of that day. However, both men were too prideful to admit their mistakes and never made any effort to mend the rift between them.
"He is fine."
Stoick seemed relieved. "Good, good."
Another painful silence. It was clear to her that the man in front of her had no idea how to handle this. Astrid cleared her throat. "May I speak freely, sir?"
"Yes, of course."
"I know about the… problems between you and Hiccup.", she continued. "I would suggest trying to seek contact with him. It is clear that you still care very much about each other, but your relationship won't improve if neither of you is willing to make the first step."
The mayor mulled over her words for a few seconds. "Thank you, for your advice, Miss Hofferson. I will think about it. And thank your for telling me this."
Astrid nodded and with no further words exchanged, the connection was cut.
Heather was waiting for her in the corridor when she finally left the room. She had this look on her face and her arms were crossed over her chest as she casually leaned on the wall opposite from the door.
"Soo…", she started "how was your evening yesterday? Did anything interesting happen?" Astrid rolled her eyes. Typical Heather.
"Why are you always so curious about my love life? We just had fun, alright? Nothing happened." Now it was Heather's turn to roll her eyes.
"Come on, Ast! You've been together for how long now? You can tell me."
"First of all," Astrid shot back "I don't know why you are so obsessed with my sex life. And second, I don't see you doing more than kiss with your boyfriend. You know, since you obviously know so much about relationships."
Heather's face took on a nice shade of pink at the mention of her lover. "Well, Fishlegs and I simply want to take things slow."
"For three years?"
"There's also the twins and Snotlout to look out for, who, I should remind you, have no respect for privacy whatsoever."
Astrid shrugged. "Can't argue with that, I suppose…"
The pair of them continued talking about various topics, occasionally poking fun of the other, as they made their way to the common room. Stormfly and Windshear joined them halfway there, having just finished their morning flight.
The day passed relatively uneventful. The Twins were thinking of new ways to loki the other team members, poor Fishlegs, who was simply trying to enjoy the afternoon with a good book and occasionally checking on their tracking systems to make sure they were working correctly, became their favorite target. Snotlout lazed around with Hookfang while admiring his muscles and Heather was currently out on patrol by herself. Usually there would be two members out of the tower but ever since Dagur defected, Heather preferred to do her rounds by herself. Astrid knew she simply hoped to get a hold of her brother and beat some sense back into him.
But all good things had to end sometime so it came to the surprise of no one when, just as Astrid had finished putting their new patrol schedule together, the alarm flared up accompanied with the slightly static voice of one of their employees.
"The Phantom has been spotted entering a building in the sector A. We don't know what he is up to, yet, but I'd advise extreme caution."
Astrid got up and shot out of the room, ignoring the startled cries of her team mates, Stormfly was hot on her heels. She could feel the anticipation coming from her dragon. The Nadder was itching for a fight and no one was better at giving her a good one than Phantom. She wasted no time and immediately fused and took to the skies the moment she stepped onto the landing platform. She checked her little wristwatch for the Phantom's current coordinates and headed for them. He was near one of Berk's radio stations.
The sun hadn't even started its descend, so it was rather easy to spot the villain, who was currently climbing out of the smashed window he must have destroyed to get in. She could make out something small held in his hand, but nothing more as his back was turned to her.
'Sloppy' she thought and, believing she had the element of surprise on her side, shot a spine with pinpoint accuracy at his exposed back. It was a cheap shot, but she wasn't about to let a chance like this waste. Especially with someone like Phantom as the target.
However, her projectile didn't even manage to get close to him before it was blasted off course by a well-aimed plasma blast.
Astrid scowled fiercely as the villain rose the face her properly. Something small and metallic was held securely in his hand.
"Lady Lancer.", He greeted. His face completely covered by a black helmet. The green tinted visor hid his eyes and there must have been a voice distorter build into the helmet as his voice sounded very robotic. He wore a long black, form-fitting trench coat and tight pants with fitting black leather boots completing the pitch-black outfit that could blend into the night perfectly. The bat-like wings on his back were half folded, but wide enough for Astrid to know he was ready to take off and leave her in the dust at any given moment. He tucked whatever he held in his hand inside his coat. "What a pleasant surprise. But where is the rest of your little troop?"
"It doesn't matter where they are.", she told him while preparing another spike. "I will be your opponent now. I may not know what you are planning yet but be sure that I will stop you. Tough, I believe you're losing your touch, crawling out of whatever hole you live in to during the day."
"Oh? What if I were simply out for a nice flight around the city? It is a wonderful day, after all."
Astrid snorted in disbelieve. "And you would believe that yourself? I'm giving you only one chance, Phantom. Surrender now and let yourself be taken into custody and you will not be harmed. What will it be?"
Black wings snapped open and the Phantom shot up in the air. He hovered above her now, inviting her to come at him.
"So, you want it the hard way. Fine", she muttered and shot at him, with a barrage of spines ready to hurl at the infuriating villain. As their fight progressed, it quickly became painfully obvious that Phantom was simply toying with her. He didn't fly at full speed, never actually attacked her and simply dodged or blocked her attempts to harm him with childlike ease as continued goad her along.
"Is that all?", he asked almost casually. Astrid screamed in rage and rushed at him once more. Feigning a spine shot, and then, finally surprising him by tackling him from the sky. The pair tumbled to the ground, hitting buildings and antennas on their way down. The impact hurt more than she liked to admit, but Astrid felt great satisfaction at seeing her worst enemy struggling to his feet, obviously in pain from the way he groaned and cursed as he struggled back to his feet.
But she was faster. She snatched a broken metal pole from where it was conveniently leaning on a nearby dumpster, wielding it like a staff, and went right back to attacking him. His abilities in the sky surpassed her own by far, but down on the ground, Astrid found herself having the upper hand.
Strike after strike rained down on Phantom and he struggled as he was forced back bit by bit. Until he was backed into the open street where screaming civilians were running away from the fighting pair. A vicious strike to his left leg almost sent him to the ground, the broken end slicing through his pants, leaving a nasty gash on the skin beneath. Astrid smirked at her small victory in injuring the man. The heroine didn't give him the chance to take off and dodging and blocking was all he could manage until finally, he found and opening in her stance. The Phantom dodged her next strike by ducking, then swept her feet out from under her, causing the Lady Lancer to trip and let go of her weapon.
Astrid grunted as the back of her head hit the unforgiving pavement, making her vision blurry, but she quickly got back to her feet. However, those few seconds were all the time the villain needed to snatch the metal pole and point it was her throat as though he was wielding a sword.
"I believe," he began, gasping to get back his breath. The injury must have been worse than she thought as he tried to put his weight off his left leg. "that we are finished here. You have given me enough time to finish my business and for that I thank you."
The small device he had previously hidden away inside his cloth was now back in his hand. It made small beeping noises, indicating whatever the Phantom was downloading during their fight was finished. Astrid clenched her fists as she realized what he had been doing all this time. The Phantom withdrew the pole and threw it to the side and spread his wings wide. He briefly tilted his head down to glance at his sliced open leg. "Though, I'll be sure to stay away from metal wielding Valkyries. Until we meet again, Lady Lancer."
"We are only finished when I defeat you!", She shouted and quickly shot a spine at him, which would have missed the mysterious man completely. As is was, all she could do was watch as the villain flapped his wings once and shot in the air, speeding away from the scene and rapidly disappeared in the distance.
0-0-0
When the rest of her team finally arrived, there was no villain present. They only found their leader standing in the midst of a destroyed street, figuratively licking her wounds and waiting for her vision to return to normal. Curiously, the destruction was mostly caused by the spines and fire of a Nadder. There were barely any marks of the Nigh Fury anywhere.
Astrid hadn't said a word to them, she had simply flown back to the tower and locked herself in her quarters, refusing to let anyone in. Not even her bonded dragon.
"What do you suppose happened back there?", asked Ruffnut, the first to break the tense silence as half of the team stood in front of the locked door. Her brother shrugged. For once, he wasn't in the mood for his usual antics.
"Until Astrid comes out to tell us we won't be able to find out.", said Fishlegs. It was likely that she wouldn't come out of her room for quite a while. It had been hours since the blonde woman had locked herself in. Not even Heather, who had come back from patrol shortly after Astrid's fight with the Phantom, had managed to get anywhere with her best friend. After she had been ignored for the third time, she told them to simply wait for Astrid to come around. It was most likely the stress of the last few weeks and her habit to take on the world's troubles as her own finally getting to her.
The other's accepted Heather's reasoning, but they still worried for their friend. Because Astrid Hofferson locking herself in wasn't something she did. Ever.
Stormfly crooned sadly and scratched at the door, wanting to comfort her human. She could feel the self-loathing coming from Astrid in waves. The other dragons nosed at her in an effort to make the Nadder feel better, as all of them understood how much it hurt to be pushed away by their bonded human. They were very emotional creatures, after all.
It wasn't until morning that she decided to come out of her quarters. The bags under her eyes showed how much sleep she had had the previous night. The others were walking on egg shells around her, treating her as if she would break down in tears at a single reminder of the fiasco the day before. Even her best friend, though she acted the least careful, shot her sympathetic glances every now and then.
It wasn't long until she had enough of this behavior. "I'm going home.", she announced and got up to leave. "The new patrol schedules are already uploaded in the system, call me when it's my turn."
But even being alone in her home, away from the reminders of her failure, the disappointment of being so easily beaten still weighted her down. Astrid considered calling Hiccup and asking him to come over but then thought better of it. She didn't want him to see her like this. Didn't want him to worry more than he already did. He may not know what she did, but he wasn't blind. He could see the bruises from her fights, or how much the fatigue after a long day wore her down.
The one time he had asked, shortly after they first got together, she had shot him down and told him it wasn't his business.
However, every now and then she caught him staring at her injuries with narrowed eyes and pursed lips.
Speaking of which, Astrid realized only now that she had forgotten to look over her newest collection of bruises. Her body ached with every movement she made, and she winched as a particular bruise on the back of her head gave her a fierce headache. Maybe she should consider wearing a helmet?
She wandered into her small bathroom and quickly located some painkillers and soothing creams to reduce the swelling and began treating herself. A look in the mirror let her see just how disheveled she looked. Her usual neat braid was messy, and half of the hair was falling out, the bags under her eyes were so noticeable that someone would think she hadn't slept for a few days at least and her lip was split. Probably from where she hit the ground. She must have accidentally bitten her lip without noticing. Astrid sighed.
Maybe some make up would work… She couldn't go out like looking like this. And while Astrid absolutely did not want to leave her home, her fridge was empty as she had forgotten to buy groceries the last time she was home.
Her stomach growling painfully reminded her that she shouldn't skip eating and with a resigned grumble, Astrid let her hair out of its confinement to brush and rebraid it. Then she took out her make up bag, she noticed that her concealer and other various cosmetic articles were dried up. An annoyed groan slipped past her lips. Great, looked like she had to show her face like this. She just hoped no one she knew would see her…
Stormfly wanted to follow her, but the Nadder was quickly told to stay. But only the promise of bringing along some chicken for the dragon and a quick return managed to persuade the stubborn reptile.
The supermarket wasn't very crowded, luckily, and no one really paid attention to her, which suited Astrid just fine. So, she quickly gathered what she needed, absolutely not forgetting the chicken, Thor knew how insufferable Stormfly could be if she forgot about it, paid and made her way home. Astrid was already halfway there when someone stopped her.
"Astrid?!"
The woman stiffened at the familiar voice. Please, anyone but him….
Her prayers were left unheard because when she turned around, her very worried looking boyfriend was standing right in front of her. His emerald eyes traced her face, already having noticed the oddities that shouldn't be there.
"Hey, babe…" She silently cursed herself. How pathetic she must have looked to him.
Hiccup's eyes snapped to the heavy looking bag in her hand. "Here, let me carry that…"
"I can do this myself." He took the bag despite her protests, already being used to her stubbornness. "I know you can, but it doesn't hurt to accept help sometimes. What happened to you?"
Astrid sighed, not really in the mood the argue with Hiccup and knowing he was right. "Not here", she told him. "Let's go to my place. We can talk there."
"Alright."
She shot him a tired smile, wishing she could simply crawl into her bed. The pair reached her home quickly and Hiccup volunteered to make a quick meal while Astrid went into her backyard to give Stormfly her promised chicken. The dragon squawked in appreciation and dug right in after stealing some scratches. When she went back inside, her home was already filled with a delicious smell.
Hiccup could cook, alright.
She leaned against the kitchen door and watched him work. He was moving slower than usual, she noticed with a slight frown. And he seemed to be favoring his left leg, keeping most of his weight mostly on his right one. Was he hurt?
She watched him put some vegetables into the pot and close the lid, setting the timer to ten minutes. "So, you wanna tell me what's going on?", Hiccup asked and turned around to face her.
Astrid shrugged, avoiding his eyes. "I got into a fight. Don't worry, it's not as bad as you think."
Hiccup's face tightened, and he crossed the room in two steps. He gently took her face between his hands and made her look into his eyes. "You know I always worry about you, Astrid… Always have and always will. That's not going to change…", he told her "I want to keep you away from harm, but I can't do it if you don't trust me, milady."
That brought a scowl to her face. How did he think she was?! "I don't need protection!", She ground out angrily, wrenching her face out of his hands. "I can't take care of myself!"
Astrid left the kitchen and stormed into her living room and Hiccup followed her.
"And I don't doubt that. But you still get hurt. Do you think I don't see the bruises? See how tired you are sometimes?"
The angry woman still paced back and forth but he got in front of her and blocked her way. "Please, let me help you…"
The honest, pleading tone made her anger fade away. And when he carefully cupped her cheek and leaned down to kiss her, she kissed him back fiercely. Hiccup meant well, Astrid knew that, but she couldn't tell him. Also…
"If I am to let you help me…" she murmured against his soft lips and nudged his left leg with her right, feeling him flinch at the obvious pain that simple action caused. "Then you shouldn't keep something like this from me either."
The pair separated, and Hiccup met her slight scowl with a guilty smile.
"Come, sit down", Astrid ordered him. "Let me take a look at this and then I promise you can look me over."
She pushed her boyfriend down onto her couch and rolled up his pant leg to reveal a hastily bandaged leg. The skin just at the edges of the white bindings was already red and warm whatever injury must have hidden beneath the bandages must have bled enough to start seeping through. From the looks of it, this was more than a simple cut. "Well, that looked far better this morning…."
Astrid shot him a look 'Ya think?' and Hiccup gave his best sheepish smile while rubbing the back of his head in a nervous manner, while she started unraveling the cloth to get a closer look at it. It wasn't bleeding anymore, but she could see that it hadn't been cleaned properly. Dried blood still clung to the skin in bits and pieces around the wound. Thankfully, there wasn't any pus coming out of it.
"You should let a doctor take a look at this. It looks like it's getting infected What even caused this?"
"Oh, ha! It's a funny story, actually. Let's just say I had an unfortunate run-in with a metal wielding Valkyrie."
"A metal wielding Valkyrie…?" Astrid repeated, not sure if she believed him. She wanted to prod a bit more, when it hit her. Those words… Didn't the Phantom say something similar? No, not similar. Those were the very same words the villain had used.
Looking at the injury a little closer, the woman could make out the ankle from which the sharp object must have sliced Hiccup's leg open. It seemed to be the right one and the wound seemed to be the right size for the broken end of a metal pole to have sliced through. And wasn't that exactly where she had hit….?
With trembling hands, Astrid released the leg and stumbled back a few steps. She felt as if her world had been pulled from beneath her feet.
"Astrid?" Hiccup's confused voice snapped her back to reality. She took in her boyfriend, no, the stranger in front of her. He seemed to be the right size. His whole body-language matched that man. Betrayal flooded her as she realized just who was now standing in front of her.
Hiccup tried to take a step towards her. His wound once again covered. "Don't come any closer!"
He flinched back at the harsh command. Astrid was breathing hard and looked to be on the verge of panicking.
"I-It's you… You are…"
Emerald eyes furrowed in confusion. "Astrid?", he asked slowly, like one would a spooked animal. "What are you talking about?"
"That injury. You got it in a fight yesterday, didn't you?"
"H-how-?"
"I know this, because I was the one who gave it to you. You are the Phantom, aren't you?"
Astrid saw how his eyes widened. She saw the moment he too, knew who was standing in from of him. However, there wasn't any betrayal swimming in his emerald pools. There was just, guilt, and sadness. He already knew what would happen. And yet, Hiccup still tried to reach out for her.
"I-"
"Out.", she interrupted him. He looked as if he'd been slapped in the face.
"Milady, please-"
"Get out!"
"Just let me explain!", Hiccup begged and moved closer. She could see the desperation in his face. He didn't want to lose her. She didn't, either, but this… this was simply too much for her. And when his hand touched her shoulder, something inside her snapped. Astrid took a wild swing with her open palm and it landed right on his cheek.
A loud slap echoed through the now silent living room.
Hiccup stumbled back. To his credit, he didn't fall down, but he still had to hold onto the backrest of her couch. His eyes met hers with, shining with unshed tears. He was cradling his reddening face tenderly.
"I told you to leave!", she hissed. Her boy-… EX-boyfriend, hesitated for one more moment, and then he rushed out of the living room. Only when the door to her home slammed shut did she move from her position. Astrid pulled the curtain to the side and caught something black vanishing in the distance.
The Night Fury in its natural state….
With a shaky sigh, the woman plopped onto the cushions of her couch and cradled her head in her hands.
'How could this happen?', Astrid thought despairingly. Everything was so messed up right now.
The timer in the kitchen rang.
0-0-0
"You're joking, right?", came Heather's disbelieving voice from where she was pacing in her best friend's living room.
"Do I look like I'm joking to you?"
Ever since that horrible revelation a week ago, Astrid had struggled to come to terms with the fact that Hiccup was her worst enemy and the most elusive villain, Phantom, and she had, in fact, dated him for years without ever really knowing who he was. After Hiccup had left, the woman sat, unresponsive, in her home until the sun had gone down. She was distracted from her work so Fishlegs and Snotlout had to cover for her as she was unable to go out and fight villains with her mind scattered all over the place.
The flood of different emotions overwhelmed her. One moment, she was ready to burst into tears, the next she was ready to go out there, blast the city to pieces in a fit of rage.
One or two times she caught herself about to call Hiccup for advice, only to remember that he was the very reason of why she was acting this way.
Then, this morning, Heather had come over and demanded her to tell her what was going on because the whole team was sick and tired of her acting like a hormonal teenager. At this point, Astrid simply had to tell someone and since her best friend was already here, she couldn't stop the flood of words flowing out of her mouth as she told her about everything.
"So?", Heather plopped down next to her friend, startling her. "What will you do?"
"What do you mean?", Someone rolling their eyes at her shouldn't have become a familiar sight to her.
"Well, you know who Phantom is, now. You could tell the police. You could even tell the mayor."
"What? No! I mean yes. I don't know…", Astrid groaned and cursed herself for the seemingly hundredth time that day alone. She wasn't even sure what she should do. The logical thing would be to tell the authorities, so that the Phantom could finally be caught and put behind bars. But did she want that? It was still Hiccup. She still saw him as the kind and caring man who could never harm a fly. The one person who could make her smile and not be afraid to be herself ever since her uncle died years ago.
Astrid still remembered the day she met Hiccup. It was only shortly after she had bonded with Stormfly and begun her training as a heroine. Her old car had broken down in the middle of nowhere on her way home from visiting relatives. With her cellphone dead, her dragon still at the training facilities back in Berk and no other way to contact anyone, it was by a pure stroke of luck when Hiccup had come around on his bike, offering his help as he knew how to handle a broken vehicle.
While he repaired her car, they got to talking and found they shared many interests and hey, he practically lived next door, so she had written down her address and phone number and given it to him. And after a few dates, the pair was inseparable.
If Astrid remembered correctly, the Phantom wasn't around back then. That must mean he either hadn't met his Night Fury at the time, or he simply hadn't been a villain yet.
She and Hiccup were so good for each other. They completed each other and in their little world, there was always supposed to be an Astrid and Hiccup, or Hiccup and Astrid. Never would either have believed that it would end. Could end.
And even after everything, she still loved him.
"I can't simply turn him in. Not yet.", she told her friend. "It's all just so confusing right now."
Heather regarded her with that knowing look in her eyes. She understood Astrid. She knew where this was coming from. She, too, wouldn't know what to do if Fishlegs were to turn into a villain. Her brother turning into one had been hard enough of a blow. Things such as this could even turn the typically headstrong Astrid Hofferson into an emotional mess.
"Look," she began. "maybe what you need right now, is a distraction. Come back to HQ and let's see if we can screw your head back on."
Astrid thought about the proposition for a bit. Then nodded. "You're right. It won't do anyone any good if I sit here and wallow in self-pity. I've got an image to keep, don't I?"
"That's the Astrid I know.", Heather smiled.
0-0-0
A month had passed quickly, and Astrid was back in business.
She kept herself busy and trained daily with her team. Slacking off was the last thing anyone needed. Villain activity had lessened somewhat with the ferocity Lady Lancer showed in her work. Never before had villains seen the inside of prison cells so quickly. It set an example for others.
Don't mess with Lady Lancer.
And most seemed to accept that fact. Even the always elusive Phantom hadn't shown his face in a month, which many assumed was because he, too was afraid of the heroine. Stoick had congratulated her and her team for their success. And Astrid had smiled along with the others as they stood on the stage and received the highest award of honor for their work and protecting the innocent.
But on the inside, she was still empty. The feeling of betrayal had ebbed away, but she still missed Hiccup greatly. She had never told anyone who he was as she simply couldn't bring herself to.
There was a time where the mayor had asked about his son. He seemed to have taken her advice to heart and tried to get in touch with his estranged son, only to find the address he was registered at empty and abandoned. He must have thought she'd rattled him out. And with a heavy heart, Astrid told him that they'd broken up and she didn't know of his current location either.
Seeing the man deflate only strengthened her resolve not to tell a soul. If that was how he took the simple disappearance of his son, then how would he act if he knew the whole truth?
The relative peace ended abruptly one night when not one, but three villains were spotted.
"Someone broke into one of the military's laboratories in sector C.", informed the voice of their employee. "We don't know who broke in and how many people are involved but there are we believe it might be Dagur and at least two other villains. However, they could not be identified."
"Great…", Snotlout groaned out, having been ripped out of his much needed beauty sleep. "Just what we need. Good old Dagur teaming up with someone."
Astrid marched past him, her mind already set on how to tackle their new task in the most efficient way. "Stop your whining and get ready. And go call the twins back from patrol. We may not know who is with Dagur, but it is quite possible that he has allied himself with one or more other villains. We may need the whole team for this."
They had no time to lose. Sector C was where most of Berk's military and scientific facilities were located. Lots of important and dangerous information, as well as many new weapons for the military were stored there. And while Astrid had faith in Berk's military, Dagur still had enough inside information to get in and out without ever being noticed by any soldier of scientist. If the deranged man played his cards right, and chose his ally wisely, Thor knew the extent of destruction he could cause single handedly.
The entire building was completely silent and abandoned by the time the team arrived. The people who worked there at this time had already been evacuated and, to Astrid's annoyance, police officers and members of the security were laying around, knocked out or injured. Nobody was dead, so it hadn't been Dagur who took them out.
The team landed at the entrance and Astrid gave them silent orders with hand signs. Spread out and trap them if possible. Do not let them get out. Call for help if needed.
Navigating through a dark hallway was an easy task for anyone bonded with their dragon. The enhanced senses allowed most too see more in the dark than any non-bonded human. Astrid easily slid through the corridors, taking care not to step on anything lying around. Most of the rooms she passed were empty. Some were occupied by unconscious officers who were stupid enough to enter the building without waiting for her team to arrive.
At one point, the corridor split into four and for a moment, the heroine stood there, not sure where to go. A small sound from the right made the decision for her. As she crept to the next corner, the sound grew louder.
Voices.
Someone was talking up ahead. It was a male voice. One she recognized easily.
Astrid rounded the corner and saw light shining through the half opened door at the end of the corridor. The voices were getting louder. Another had joined the first. It was gruff and heavily laced with an accent most of the younger generation didn't even speak anymore. She didn't know that one.
She alerted the team of her location on her communicator and silently swept forward with her back pressed against the wall. She didn't know how many people were occupying the room and it never hurt to be cautious.
Light bathed her masked face as she dared to look around the door and into the room.
Astrid could make out three people in the room. One of them was Dagur, as she already knew beforehand from hearing his voice. The other voice came from a tall man. Almost as big as Mayor Stoick himself with a gruff and unkempt black beard. The man stood, half draped in the shadows of the far corner, but she still recognized him from her team's database.
This man was Alvin the treacherous, former politician and candidate for mayor before many scandals and his hand in some gang's human trafficking had been uncovered by the heroes and he went into hiding. Only to resurface as the leader of a gang named the Outcasts, known for his silver tounge and ruthlessness. The bodycount of him and his gang surpassed many of the other villains despite seemingly being unable to bond with any dragon.
Though Astrid found it suspicious as to were any of his gang members were at. He never did the dirty work unless it was very important for him, or whatever was going on was kept secret from his men. Which only served to make her even more wary of the situation.
And lastly, her eyes wandered to the last man in the room. The Phantom. The data he had stolen the last time they met in battle was clutched tightly in his right hand.
Immediately, her heart clenched with longing, but she stubbornly pushed the feeling down, replacing it with hot, boiling anger and determination. Still angry, Astrid assessed the situation before her. The trio seemed to be at a standoff. The atmosphere in the room was tight and it appeared that one wrong move would lead to a full blown battle between the villains.
"-ad enough of this nonsense, boy!", Alvin ground out. It was obvious he was angry. He took a threatening step towards the Phantom, but a hand on his shoulder held him back. Dagur whispered something in his ear, then he drew forward, his crazed grin never leaving his face.
"Come now, Phantom.", he addressed the third party in the room. "We're brothers, aren't we? And don't brothers usually share with each other? Be a good boy and hand over the data before I RIP OUT YOUR RIBCAGE AND USE IT AS A HELMET!"
The threat echoed through the room, but Phantom seemed unimpressed. Footsteps alerted her of her team arriving. Astrid gave them a nod and gestured to the three villains, who still hadn't noticed that they weren't alone.
"Wow, Dagur, using my ribcage as a helmet? Never heard that one before. You should write a book, you know. 'Threats and how to use them, by Dagur the Deranged'. How's that sound.", Phantom sounded bored if anything. "And, by the way, I'm not your brother."
He didn't even flinch when Dagur shouted enraged and shot a lightning bolt at his feet. Astrid took that as her cue to interfere.
"It's a good thing then, that all of you are going to prison." She told them as her team filled in through the doors, powers at the ready. "You'll have enough time to write that book of yours."
Heather immediately went after her brother, Fishlegs not far behind, while the others tried to corner the two remaining enemies. Alvin cursed and ran for the nearest exit, out of which dozens of Outcasts came. 'So that was were they hid.' Astrid thought. The gang leader probably suspected that something would go wrong and ordered his men to stay near. Whatever that data was, it was important enough for Alvin to come out himself and try to negotiate.
The data, which was in Phantom's possession, who had used their entrance to mysteriously disappear from the scene. Astrid cursed.
Gunshots echoed through the building and the heroes were forced to take cover.
"You guys go after Alvin!" She told Snotlout and the twins over the shooting. "I'm going after Phantom!"
"You're going after that guy alone?!" Snotlout protested, but Astrid didn't pay him any mind.
"Give me cover!" she shouted instead and jumped into the open, while the others bombarded the enemy forces with their own fire. Astrid jumped out the nearest exit, a conveniently broken window just over the spot Phantom was standing before and took to the sky. Spotting someone clothed in black would be impossible at night, but the full moon was shining brightly, bathing everything in a slight silver glow, including the small shape gliding away over some trees of a nearby park. Astrid frowned at that. This wasn't the Phantom's usual behavior.
Nevertheless, she wasn't one to look into the mouth of a gift horse, so the heroine took her chance and sped after the escaping villain.
He didn't seem to notice her, even when she was right above him and with one strong flap of her wings, Astrid shot down and tackled the man from the sky. She only had time to hear the chocked off shout from beneath her, before the pair vanished into the trees, hitting about every branch and trunk on their way down. The entire scenario was fairly familiar, but this time, she was prepared. Having learned from the previous time, Astrid took the time to right her stance during the fall and used Hiccup soften her fall, leaving him completely winded from serving as a live cushion.
The young man did not get up, however, as he struggled to refill his abused lungs with air. The trees above them shielded them from view and Astrid felt safe enough to rip off her mask. She wanted to face him as herself. And she wanted to him to look into her face.
"Stand down, Hiccup. I won't let you get away this time", she hissed threateningly, and pinned him down. "Hand over the data."
"Astrid,", he coughed, still winded from the fall and she noticed that his voice distorter was broken. "please, I don't want to fight you."
She growled and shook him angrily. "You should have thought of that before coming here tonight."
The heroine couldn't see his face under the helmet, but she wouldn't pull if off no matter how much she wished to see his eyes. Her moment of distraction cost her as Hiccup suddenly bucked up and flipped her off of him. Astrid rolled back to her feet and immediately faced her ex, who was already standing. However, his stance was tense, but not in preparation of an attack. His wings were folded on his back.
"You haven told anyone.", It was not a question. And Astrid did not answer. "Toothless, separate."
A dragon unlike anything she had ever seen jumped out of Hiccup's body. It was lean and sleek, perfect for travelling at high speeds. Its wings were folded right now but unfurled, she knew they would have an impressive wingspan. What struck her most, however, were the expressive acid green eyes that were so much like Hiccup's, it was almost frightening.
Upon their separation, the wings on Hiccup's back melted into his skin, leaving no mark of them ever being there. He still didn't take off his helmet.
It infuriated her to no end.
And with a battle cry, she charged at him, spine at the ready. The Night Fury, Toothless, roared and prepared to defend his bonded human until "Don't interfere, Toothless!" and immediately, the glow in his throat faded as he watched the pair, confused.
Astrid tried her best to keep her feelings from interfering but seeing him again made the betrayal come back with vengeance. She just needed to hit him one time. One time and she would be satisfied, but he kept. On. Dodging!
"Stop running away, Hiccup! Fight!", she raged at him. With him constantly backing away from her makeshift sword, the pair soon found themselves out in a small clearing with Toothless trailing behind them.
"Astrid, I know you are angry with me, but can we please just talk for a moment?", he begged, not wanting to raise his hand against the woman he loved.
"I've got nothing to say to you!", her words stung, and she knew that. But nonetheless, he tried further. Not once did they notice the figure approaching the pair from the shadows. With his gun at the ready, Alvin the treacherous aimed the Astrid's turned back, a nasty sneer covering his face.
"Farewell, Lady Lancer!", the villain announced, grinning madly as he pulled the trigger, the gun shooting a bullet at the heroine, who had not time to dodge the incoming projectile.
"Look out!", came a shout, mixed with the furious roar of a Night Fury and Astrid found her world going black. It wasn't until she felt something jerk, then sag limply against her that she realized what had happened.
"Hiccup!?", she shouted and carefully laid the man down onto the ground. Blood was pouring out of the wound on his back, where he had thrown himself in front of her and took a bullet that was meant for her. He must have seen Alvin from his angle and quickly merged with his dragon again to protect her. At the sight of his prone body, all feelings of betrayal and anger left her.
"You idiot! Why would you do that?!", she shouted at him even though he probably couldn't hear her and tore of the helmet, examining his face and confirming that he had lost consciousness. She quickly ripped off a makeshift bandage from the nearest cloth available, which happened to be his coat, and wrapped it around his torso to stop the blood flow at least somewhat.
Toothless, who had been ejected upon Hiccup losing his consciousness, crooned beside her, worried for his human. Astrid ignored him in favor of laying her head down onto Hiccup's chest and listening for a heartbeat. For a second, she feared she wouldn't hear anything, but then…
Ba-dum…
It was there, steady and strong.
Ba-dum…
Unbelievable as it might be for her. It was there. The bullet must have missed the vital organs. Astrid let out a relieved sigh, then started as she heard a cough. Then a groan, followed by a pained "Owww…."
"Hiccup!", she exclaimed happily and rose her head from his chest to look into familiar emerald eyes. Said man simply gave her a pained smile. "'M sorry… You won't get rid of me that easily.", Hiccup joked, chuckling lightly. "I may need a doctor, though. This hurts like a bitch…"
"You are unbelievable.", Astrid smiled, then grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him into a deep, searing kiss, which he returned with ferocity, before pulling away with a grimace on his face. "Yeah, definitely hurting over here…"
Astrid shook her head fondly at him and pulled him into another kiss. One much more passionate than the previous. One gentle and full of their shared love for one another.
They didn't care if the whole world could see them.
They had each other, and nothing mattered more.
0-0-0
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