Brave
Summary: Hiccup Haddock left home when he was sixteen. He married the love of his life, Astrid Hofferson, when he was eighteen. At twenty he decided to join the army. Now, twenty-two year old Hiccup is surprising his wife by coming home for good. Astrid quickly learns that he is struggling to forget what happened, sometimes even waking up due to nightmares in the middle of the night. (Modern AU)
A/N: I've always wanted to write an Army fic but I could never figure out how to get one of them honorably discharged, and then it all clicked. HICCUP'S FOOT. Duh.
Disclaimer; I don't own How To Train Your Dragon
Chapter One
Astrid Haddock was in the kitchen with her friends, Lout, Heather, Eret, and Ruff. She had her back turned to them, kneeling in front of a high chair that held her and Hiccup's one year old daughter, Catarina.
Hiccup, luckily, was able to be there when she was born. He happened to be on leave at the right time. Astrid was more than thankful that Catarina got to meet her father before he left again. That possibility of him never coming home always scared her.
And Astrid Haddock doesn't get scared easily.
She just never knows when he'll be getting deployed.
She had invited Ruff over, who brought Eret. Lout, being Hiccup's cousin, stopped by with his fiancé, Heather, on their way home. Astrid didn't really care for the company. She just needed her best friend so that she could tell her what had been bothering.
It wasn't news to any of them that Astrid had been in a bad mood lately.
The whole world could probably tell that she was in a bad mood.
Astrid glanced over her shoulder at the table where her friends were. She wasn't wanting to tell all of them what it was. They would all think she had gone... Soft. And Astrid is far from being soft.
"Astrid." She looked away from her daughter again and over at Ruff who was watching her with a raised eyebrow "What's been bothering you?"
Astrid shrugged, almost violently "Nothing."
"Bullshit."
Astrid straightened up, turning on her heel. She pointed a finger in Lout's face, frowning "Watch your language in front of her."
"Astrid, seriously." Ruff started, eying her best friend with concern "Tell us."
Astrid groaned, walking back over to the high chair and picking her daughter up "There's nothing to tell. I'm doing fine, Catarina's doing fine. What were you expecting?"
Heather leaned an elbow on the table, watching Astrid carefully "You're worried."
Astrid shot her a glare "Why would I be worried?"
"You haven't talked to Hiccup." Eret said, giving Astrid his best sympathetic smile "You don't know if he's alive or -"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence."
Eret was spot on though. Astrid hadn't heard from Hiccup in almost two months. She knows that it happens, and that he's probably just too busy, but the fact that he's actually deployed and she has no idea what's going on is what's worrying her so bad.
The two talked the first few days of his deployment, but she hasn't heard from him since.
"Just..." She hugged Catarina closer to her as she sat in one of the chairs "What if something happened to him?"
Ruff shook her head "Wouldn't they have sent someone to your house or something?" Eret looked over at her, giving her a look of confusion "What? They do that, don't they?"
Astrid shrugged, staring down at Catarina "I don't know, Ruff. I haven't had it happen before."
The kitchen fell quiet. All their eyes were on Astrid. None of them could guess how she was feeling. They didn't have a spouse in the Army with the possibility of never coming back.
Astrid hated these thoughts. The thoughts that were constantly running through her head. She remembers going and getting Catarina the first night she didn't hear from him. She curled up in bed, holding their daughter close and just crying.
Astrid doesn't cry.
Or never did before Hiccup got deployed.
There was a knock on the door and Astrid froze. The only people who ever visited her is Ruff. And she's sitting right by her. Ruff and Heather watched Astrid for a few seconds. They could tell that whoever was knocking on her door was scaring her. They had just talked about someone coming by and telling her that Hiccup isn't alive.
Ruff reached over, taking Catarina from her friends shaking arms "Go get it, Astrid."
"I... What if?"
Eret reached forward, gently pushing her out of her seat "It could also be your parents or Hiccup's."
Astrid nodded. What Eret said could be true. Parents. It's most likely parents. It has to be parents. She slowly got to her feet, putting good thoughts into her head. Hiccup wouldn't die on her. Never. Even if he did, he would still find some way to come back and annoy her in that way that she hates to love.
Her thoughts then went to the 'what ifs'. What if Hiccup is dead? Catarina won't get to know her father. She wouldn't get to have a cute father/daughter dance at her wedding.
"Hiccup Haddock you better not be dead." Astrid mumbled to herself as she reached the door.
Her hand froze on the doorknob. Would she really be able to handle it if he did die? She would lock herself up with Catarina in her room and just cry forever. How are you supposed to get over someone who you've been in love with practically your whole life?
Okay, not her whole life. They've known each other since birth.
He's been in love with her since they were kids. She didn't even realize she had feelings for him until their seventh grade year, and they've been together since.
Still. He's her best friend. Her soul mate. What would she do without him?
She took a deep breath. Astrid Haddock isn't scared of anything. She can face this.
There was another knock on the door, this time more impatient. She let out a sigh and pulled it open, preparing herself for the worst.
"I was beginning to think you weren't going to let me in."
Astrid hadn't realized she had shut her eyes until she heard the voice. That nasally voice that she loves to hear so much. Her eyes flew open "Hiccup?"
She didn't take the time to notice that he was on crutches. She only cared that he was here. Alive. He's alive.
Astrid didn't think before she lunged forward "Hiccup!"
Hiccup let out a laugh before letting his crutches fall to the ground so he could catch his wife. He didn't care about them now. Astrid. He wishes he could have told her what was going on, why he hadn't been talking to her. He knows that he's going to get punched for it later, but for now all that mattered to either of them was reuniting.
For good.
Astrid doesn't know this small detail, of course.
She pulled away from her, tears threatening to fall.
Why would she cry? Hiccup is safe. He's safe and home with her and their daughter.
"What are you doing home? I wasn't expecting you home for another.. Eight months or so."
Hiccup glanced down, and that's when she finally noticed.
He was still holding onto her waist, keeping his balance. How did she not notice this when she first saw him? Right. She was too caught up in their reuniting that all she wanted to do was hold him forever.
His left foot is gone.
"How... What happened?"
Heather came walking out of the kitchen a few seconds later. They didn't know what was going on and they were starting to think the worst since Astrid hadn't come back. "Astrid are you-" she stopped when she saw Hiccup standing there. Smiling down at his wife "Hiccup!"
Astrid turned when Heather said his name, and the next thing she knew Lout, Ruff, Catarina, and Eret were rushing out of the kitchen to come see Hiccup.
Astrid turned to look at him, giving him an apologetic smile. If she had known he was coming home, she wouldn't have people here. She's almost positive that he doesn't want to talk about this to other people yet.
"Hiccup! What are you doing back?"
Astrid kept a hand on Hiccup's hip as she kneeled down, picking up his crutches for him. She heard some gasps and assumed it was Heather.
She rested a hand on his shoulder "I'm so glad you're back."
"Yeah, me too." he returned the smile she was giving him before going into the house. He let out a sigh. He's missed being at home. The comfort of Astrid, and... "Where's Toothless?"
As if he heard his name, Toothless came bounding down the stairs, whining. He knew that voice. He hadn't heard that voice in months. He jumped up, putting his paws on Hiccup's shoulders, knocking him over and licking his face.
Hiccup let out a laugh, pushing Toothless away from his face "Okay, okay, bud. Calm down! I'm home, you can relax!"
Toothless let out another whine, not moving away from Hiccup in fear that he would just leave him all over again.
"Okay, Toothless. Come on. Let him breath."
Astrid pulled Toothless away from Hiccup before she held her hand out to help him stand.
There was a squeal from behind the couch where Ruff was standing.
Hiccup whipped around at the sound, looking straight at his daughter. Astrid pushed him onto the couch so he was sitting before she took Catarina from Ruff and walked back over to Hiccup "Do you know who this is, Cat?"
Catarina stared at her father. She hadn't seen him since she was nine months old. Hopefully she remembers who he is. Her first word was 'dada', no matter how hard Astrid tried to get her to say momma.
Hiccup gave Catarina a gentle smile full of hope "Hi baby. It's been a while."
Catarina's smile fell as she stared at Hiccup. She was trying to figure out who he was. She knows that she's seen him before. His smile fell and Catarina tilted her head. She's seen that same look on her moms face a million times.
"Dada!"
Hiccup let out a sigh of relief as Catarina repeated the word. Astrid handed her to him with a smile. It was good to see them together again. She can tell that Catarina missed her daddy, and her daddy missed her just as much.
Heather, Lout, Eret, and Ruff took one look at this family and knew that they needed to leave and let them catch up.
"Astrid, Hiccup, we'll see you later."
Hiccup and Astrid looked at their friends, nodding and waving as they walked out the door.
Astrid watched her husband and daughter, leaning back into the couch. She missed seeing this. When Catarina was first born, the two use to fall asleep on the couch everyday, and it was something Astrid always looked forward too. Hiccup was a good father. He loves Catarina, probably more than he loves her. And that's saying a lot.
"So, babe." Hiccup looked away from Catarina's smiling face to his wife "What are you doing home so soon, and what happened... There?" she asked, motioning to his foot.
Hiccup sighed, setting Catarina between them. He ran a hand through his hair before smiling "I'm home, obviously.. For good." Astrid's eyes widened. She had expected to hear that he was just on another leave. She wasn't expecting him to be home for good. That's all she wanted! "And for the leg... Well. That's why I'm home. Discharged."
"Honorably, or?"
"Yes. Honorably." Astrid tilted her head to the side, waiting for him to continue "Well, there was this girl-"
Astrid practically growled "Excuse me? Is that any way to start this story?"
Hiccup paused. He hadn't thought of what he said before he started. Right. Starting a story like that to his wife isn't the smartest move "Sorry, milady. What I mean is, she was in my squad. Tori, I think her name was. I didn't really get to know her. Anyways, you know how we were deployed and all that. Apparently, the enemies planned an attack, and we had no idea. So, girl and me are in this building, you know, keeping watch. The next thing I know I see someone throw a bomb in a window, I pushed her out the door, but I got stuck in the building."
Astrid frowned. Hiccup took a bullet for some girl. Astrid had to shake the thought out of her head. His squad member or whatever it's called. He did the same thing she would have done. She reached over, running her hand through his hair in hopes to keep his mind off the worst of it.
"That was only the second day, too. Which is why you didn't hear from me for a while. I was in the hospital. Getting surgery done on my leg. It was crushed. I finally made the decision to just have it amputated. That was only after I woke up from the coma, though."
Astrid's face turned from frowning to glaring in a matter of seconds. Her hand stopped moving "You were in a coma and no one told me?!"
Her voice got louder as she talked. Hiccup flinched, Catarina looked up at her with a whine. How dare they not tell her that her husband was in a coma!
"Shouldn't they have told me that!? I was worried sick about you! I thought you were... Were dead or something!"
"Astrid-"
"No! What if you had died? Would they have told me then?"
Hiccup picked Catarina up, setting her in the floor and out of the way. He scooted towards his wife, pulling her closer "Astrid. I'm not dead. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."
They put Catarina to bed shortly after he told her what happened. Astrid was exhausted. She had an exciting day. Hiccup came home. It's not a dream, her husband is home for good. This is the best thing that could happen to her.
Even if he did come home short a limb. She's willing to help him.
This was the first night that they slept together in months. The first night she got to cuddle her husband in months.
It's also the first time that Hiccup has ever had a nightmare, tossing and turning all night waking his wife up.