Paint Yourself a Picture
Disclaimer: I do not own story or music that is put with it.
(So I did a one-shot involving Hiccup's artistic talents and so far you guys have loved it which is great! Now I'm going to do another one which was inspired by a song I had found. I won't tell you what the song is until the end since it will be used during the story. So please enjoy this meaningful one-shot of Hiccup and Astrid.)
It has only been a week since the defeat of the Red Death and life has gotten better for everyone. Well, for most of everyone. There are some that still feel that nothing has been accomplished. And by some, we mean none other than Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. His battle with the Red Death left him without his left foot and brought peace between Dragons and Vikings. So why was he feeling like nothing has changed when everything has changed for the better?
Hiccup discovered the answer on a warm summer day in Berk, which is quite the rare occasion since it's always either cold, rainy, or just plain covered in snow. Hiccup had decided to ride with Toothless for the day but had to stop after flying for half the day because his leg had started acting up and throbbing with pain. They flew down and landed in the square were Hiccup dismounted an just sat on the ground in pain, but keeping a straight face as best he could, as he looked around the crowded square.
Hiccup could notice few Vikings looking at him with worry, others with questioning looks, and a very small group of Vikings giving him a hard stare before looking away and tending to their business. Hiccup mulled over why they looked at him like that till one of the youngest adults came forward with a stumble and pissed off face.
"You!" He shouted with a hint of a slur as he pointed a big meaty finger at him. "You freak! Get that stuuupid dragon and your useless inventions an get lost! Because of you we never got the chance to prove ourselves true Vikings! The ones that you will never be!" He shouted again and started to stumble at Hiccup before being knocked back by Toothless's tail.
Toothless leapt on top of him revealing his teeth as he snarled at the man. Hiccup leapt up ignoring the pain in his leg, pulling Toothless off, and allowing the drunken man to run away. Hiccup looked at the scene before him. Everyone was staring at him and Toothless with judgmental eyes. They stared and Hiccup could practically hear their thoughts. "That boy is crazy." "Why is he even here?" "The missing leg may symbolize his great achievement but he still can't compete with us." "That boy almost killed one of his own with that dragon." "Why can't dragons live else were and leave us alone. Such a stupid boy."
Hiccup couldn't take the judging stares anymore. He stumbled as he tried to get onto Toothless. He quickly recollected himself as he urged Toothless to leave and head to the cove. Toothless understood and took off towards the cove. The tension with dragons living on Berk was still high for the Vikings but nothing like that had happed since the day Hiccup fought the nightmare in the cage. He couldn't understand why after all he's done they still treated him like he was a deadly creature that should never have been.
They landed in the cove and sat there for what seemed liked hours when really it was only ten minutes before Hiccup got off of Toothless and sat by the water. Hiccup took off his prosthetic leg looking at it than angrily threw it away from him onto the ground. Toothless thought it was a game of fetch and ran to get it before returning with it in his mouth and dropping it in front of Hiccup. He looked up at Toothless and smiled.
"Sorry Toothless. I kind of want to be alone and without my leg for a while…" Hiccup says as he looks at the small pond before him.
Toothless knew that his best friend was feeling down and he wanted to make him feel better. He warbled before his eyes went round as dinner plates with an idea before grapping his prosthetic and running out of the cove. Hiccup looked at him go off with a weird look before looking back to the pond and entering his thoughts.
Astrid had been wondering around looking for Hiccup to ask him for a race and secretly hoping for some alone time with him. As she was walking by a table outside a shop she heard his name mentioned and stopped to listen in.
"…he and his bloody dragon are a disgrace to the name Viking. I mean look at him! He is a scrawny kid that only got popular cause his dragon took down the bigger one! If anything that stupid dragon was more Viking than that stupid arse." A voice said causing Astrid's blood to simmer.
"Don't forget he lost a leg. It may be his scar but he only earned it from being the weakling he is." Another said.
Astrid's blood started boiling and couldn't take hearing her crush be trash talked anymore. She stepped out around the corner holding a fake pleasant smile. Both of the Vikings had the usual build like any other Viking but the left one had orange long wavy hair that was braided and had dark brown eyes while the one on the right had blonde hair and had black eyes.
"Excuse me? But have you seen Hiccup around?" She asked as politely as she could.
The two Vikings looked at her before looking her up and down making her skin crawl in disgust. "Why is a girl like you looking for a twig like him? Why don't you sit your pretty little arse down and be with some real Vikings." said the Viking sitting on the left while licking his lips as he looked her up and down again. Astrid smiled sweetly before throwing a hard right across his jaw knocking a few teeth out and quite possibly breaking his jaw. She then looked to the other one who shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he avoided eye contact with her.
"So? Where is he?" She asked again raising a fist.
"I don't know! All I know is he flown off somewhere after some drunk caused a commotion! I swear that's all I know!" He spilled out as fast as he could as he covered his face.
Astrid nodded and turned around but then spun around kicking him in the side of the head making him land on his friend. "That was for insulting Hiccup." She said coldly as she walked away.
After searching for another ten minutes she heard a commotion coming her way. She turned around only to find Toothless running into her and nuzzling her. She laughs at his playfulness before managing to push him off.
"Toothless what are you doing here? Where is Hiccup?" She asks before she noticed something inside his mouth. "What is in your mouth?"
Toothless drops Hiccup's prosthetic on the ground and warbled at her gesturing to the woods. At First Astrid was terrified something bad could have happened to Hiccup but after a few minutes of calming down she actually thought about it. Toothless would never leave Hiccup alone in any danger or if he was injured so he must be fine. So why did Toothless have Hiccups leg? She decided to follow Toothless through the woods.
After fifteen minutes of following the sleek black dragon through the tough underbrush and tall pine tree's she found the cove entrance were Toothless sat looking at her. She stopped in front of Toothless waiting for him to go in but he just sat there before flicking his eyes to the entrance then back at her. He warbled and nudged her toward the entrance. Understanding crossed her face as she stalked slowly down and through the crevice in the rocks that made up the entrance to the cove. Hiccup had wanted to be alone to the point that he sent Toothless away. Now what could have possibly happened to make him send Toothless away?
When she was in the cove she could see Hiccup just looking at the water hunched over and not even moving. She quietly approached him from behind and sat on the very same rock that she had startled him from that night he captured her heart and showed her a whole new world. She sighed at the thought but shook her head and focused on the situation in front of her. She could feel Hiccup's depressed state from where she sat and it saddened her to see her dragon boy like this. She decided it was time for action and pulled out her axe with a smirk. She found a stone on the rock and picked it up. She laid her axe across her axe and put the rock at the very bottom of the blade before looking up at Hiccup's still form.
She moved the rock along the edge of the blade creating a loud grinding sound which caught Hiccup by complete surprise making Astrid smile to herself. "Still got it" She thought to herself.
"Buh-uhh.. Astrid! Wha-what are you doing here?" Hiccup stuttered as he tried to calm his racing heart.
"I came to find you when Toothless ran into me with your leg in his mouth." She said as she held out his prosthetic to him.
Hiccup looked at her with a confused look before it clicked in his head what the dragon was trying to do. "Why that little…" he started to think before Astrid cut through his thoughts. "Why are you out here without a leg?"
Hiccup was caught off with her question but tried not to show it. "I uh… I… I… I... needed time to think..." He half lied. It was true that he was thinking deeply.
"Hiccup I know when you're lying. You stutter when you lie or afraid. The only times you are afraid is when you're afraid that I will see through your lies." Astrid said pointing an accusing finger at him.
Hiccup sighed and just looked at her before turning away and gesturing to sit down next to him which she did, much to his relief. "I have just been…. I feel like….oh for Odin's sake I don't even know how to describe it…" Hiccup says with some frustration.
Astrid puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder causing Hiccup to look up at her to see a soft smile on her face. "Hiccup… take your time…" She says with a soft voice.
Hiccup nods his head and takes a deep breath. "Astrid… I… I'm still frowned upon by people in the village… I mean… I finally got my father's approval and I finally have friends that I can count on… but… I just… people still see me as Hiccup the useless… and I still feel like Hiccup the useless…" He says with a shaky voice.
Astrid looks at him with sadness. It was true that people still clung to their old ways and saw that everything Hiccup has done was lies, shambles, and mistakes. She knew Hiccup had gone through this all his life but she knew if this kept up Hiccup could quite possibly never recover and will make real mistakes.
"Hiccup… you know that you're not Hiccup the useless… you never have been… we were all wrong… I was wrong about you for years… but you, you opened up my eyes to another world and more importantly who you are as a person." Astrid confesses startling herself at her straight forwardness.
Hiccup looked at her with shock but soon it turned back to a frown. "Ya right…." He says resting his chin on his arms.
Astrid watched him for a while before deciding on something she never thought she'd reveal to anyone in her life. She decided she was going to sing to him to show him what she truly saw in him.
"Hiccup… I never thought I'd ever do this but you're going to hear something no one else has heard from me before so don't tell anyone got it?" She threatened making Hiccup flinch and nods his head very fast.
She stood up with a sigh before starting to hum a tune. Then she began to sing…
Paint yourself a picture
Of what you wish you looked like
Maybe then they just might
Feel an ounce of your pain
Come into focus
Step out of the shadows
It's a losing battle
There's no need to be ashamed
Hiccup could only stare in shock at Astrid as she sang with a voice of a heavenly angel. "She had a voice like this this whole time and no one knows that she can sing like this?" He asks himself in shock as he continued to listen to the heart felt words she sang.
'Cause they don't even know you
All they see is scars
They don't see the angel
Living in your heart
Let them find the real you
Buried deep within
Let them know with all you've got
That you are not your skin
Oh… Oh…
Hiccup strapped on his leg and stood up to follow Astrid as she sang taking in every word she spoke. "She… she actually understands me?... Has she really accepted me for me?" He thought with amazement.
When they start to judge you
Show them your true colors
And do unto others
As you'd have done to you
Just rise above this
Kill them with your kindness
Ignorance is blindness
They're the ones that stand to lose
'Cause they don't even know you
All they see is scars
They don't see the angel
Living in your heart
Let them find the real you
Buried deep within
Let them know with all you've got
That you are not your skin
Oh
Well, they don't even know you
All they see is scars
And they don't see the angels
Living in your heart
So, let them find the real you
Buried deep within
Let them know with all you've got
That you are not
You are not your skin
Oh… Oh…
Astrid finishes her singing as she opened her eyes and looks at Hiccup wearing a shocked expression. She shifted uncomfortably under his stare and was about to say something before Hiccup grabbed her and pulled her into a tight embrace. Astrid stiffened before easing into the embrace and hugging him back.
"Astrid…you have no idea how much…..that song meant to me…" Hiccup said with a few tears falling from his eyes. Astrid could only hug him and comfort him till they pulled away from each other.
Hiccup wiped his eyes and gave her a small gap toothed smile which Astrid smiled in returned before she punched his arm. Hard. Hiccup yelped and grabbed his arm and rubbed it trying to ease the pain.
"What was that for?!" Hiccup exclaimed.
"That was for making me sing instead of listening to my words." She said with a small smirk.
"But you had a beautiful voice that just proved more that you truly fit your name as 'Divine Beauty'." Hiccup mumbled but Astrid heard him.
Astrid could only try to hold back the blush that was rising on her cheeks. She grabbed his tunic and pulled him into a kiss catching Hiccup by surprise. Hiccup was stiff before melting into the kiss.
"And what was that for?" Hiccup said in a daze and a goofy grin on his face.
Astrid smiled and responded, "That was for just being you."
They sat and enjoyed each other's company for hours on end with Toothless playing in the water trying to catch himself some fish. It wasn't till sunset that Hiccup spoke up.
"Hey Astrid?"
"Hmmm?" She responded opening her eyes and looking at him.
"I've been thinking… that song was truly something… and you're right… I know who I am and I will always be me. I will ignore what others think and treat them like how I want to be treated. With kindness and care. I can't thank you enough Astrid. How can I repay you?" Hiccup asks.
Astrid thought for a minute before smiling. "How about you take me on a flight with Toothless tomorrow at sundown? It could be a date." She said waiting to see his reaction.
Hiccup froze up and looked at her with confusion and a flushed face. "A…a… a date? D…does that mean we're… a c…c…couple?" He stuttered.
"Well I did lay a claim on you in front of the whole village didn't I?" She teased before kissing his cheek.
Hiccup smiled and nodded his head. "So I'm allowed to call you my girlfriend?" He teased back.
"Down dragon boy. Yes you can. So is it a date?" She asked getting up.
"You bet it is. Shall I escort you home milady?" He said with a smirk.
Astrid punches his arm lightly laughing a bit before nodding her head.
As they left Hiccup turned to her and kissed her on the lips. "I love you Astrid." He said as he broke the kiss. Astrid kissed him back then hugged him tightly. "I love you too Hiccup. My dragon boy."
(I hope you all enjoyed this story the song is Skin by S.i.x.x. am and was truly inspirational for this story.)