This was supposed to be just a cute fluffy one-shot, but somehow it turned into this. :D
Love Story
Sure, she'd always been the fierce, strong, fiery war maiden she was. Able to swipe grown men off their feet with one blow, yet able to duck and jump and be as agile and graceful as a dove. Fierce and gentle, she'd always been talented.
I'd always known this, and I think that's what made me fall in love with her. Sure, there'd been that boyish teen crush running on hormones, for she'd been the most beautiful girl I'd ever laid eyes on. Flaxen blonde hair tied in a messy braid, metal armored skirt clinging and swaying around her hips. All the guys fell for her, but I fell the hardest. I'd go dope when she walked by- or heck, if I even saw her I'd daze out in a dreamy haze. So many times Gobber would swipe me on the head, telling me to pay attention and stop ogling. But she never failed to break me.
I felt like I was on top of the world that night I took her on Toothless. I'd begun to think that she'd hate me forever, and my future had been uncertain given to Toothless's identity and existence. But… she sided with me, when I feared no one would. She believed in me and trusted me, her hate was dropped, apologies were said and made.
She changed, yet remained.
I earned a friend. A female friend no less.
After all that happened, and after that time she actually kissed me on the lips, I was afraid. I didn't know what we were anymore. Were we just friends with benefits, or were we a couple? What were we, what had we become? It was all so unbelievable to my mind. I had always dreamed of such things happening, though in the back of my mind, I new deeply that they were impossible.
How could I, Hiccup the "Useless", get Astrid Hofferson's approval? How was that even plausible?
So I kept my distance, we respected one another. And as the months went on after the Red Death and Berk's change, we all grew closer, the gang and I. It wasn't until nearly a year later, around my sixteenth birthday, that I realized I was no longer the outcast. I was the hero, the Dragon Trainer. I was respected, looked up to, and… and loved.
It was strange, odd, and new, but man it felt so good. Nothing on the planet had ever felt so good as being loved and cared for. And while being babied wasn't my thing, it still felt wonderful when Astrid hugged me, or Toothless snuggled against me during the hard times, and when my father simply spoke the words, "I'm proud of you, son."
Astrid and I, we were young. We were shy, awkward, and unsure. Granted, we were only kids. We had all the time in the world, and we definitely took it.
I'd watch her closely however. Because, heck, I'm a guy, I loved her to the end of the archipelago and back, and she's beautiful. Not just physically, which I began to take less note of, though I still noticed it. What began to shine however, wasn't her physical beauty, but her inner softness. She was gentle and caring, having changed so much from the hardcore gritty girl she'd been only a few years back. She was not only growing up before my eyes from teen girl to woman, but she was maturing.
That's when we began dating. That's when we realized we had stronger feelings for each other then just "friendship". We were growing up. We shared our first real kiss before a brilliant sunset, although our relationship was kept fairly quiet. We took it slow, we let our love for each other grow. We were still kids, uncertain and hesitant. But we loved each other for who we were, so we knew we shouldn't fear commitment.
It wasn't until I was eighteen that I noticed she watched me as well.
I'd finally hit my growth spurt and put on a good five-six inches of height, now topping her by a few. I'd have to glance down to look her in the eyes, and she'd have to look up. It was a new prospective, but one I was proud of. I'd been certain I'd be the small gangly kid I'd always been, but apparently- as in all other aspects- I was a very late bloomer. Snotlout could no longer brag about being the tallest, for nearly all us guys- and girls- had passed him up and left him behind.
Not only that, but I actually had some meat on my bones. Sure, I was still skinny by Viking standards, but I wasn't "scrawny" anymore. Dad just called me "lean", saying I was healthy. Took after Mom, I guess.
Nineteen came, and that's when we realized… we weren't kids anymore. More responsibilities came, along with my training for chief-hood, and Astrid's more intense battle training with the dragons and her trusty axe.
It wasn't until my father brought up the suggestion of a marriage contract, that it hit me full force that this wasn't the silly shy game anymore. We were in love, we wanted more then just courting. We'd been betrothed for months now, but it had been a mere statement. It hadn't come to me that it meant marriage was on the way.
Astrid and I talked more and more, we spent more time together. The gang teased us constantly, and for some reason… it felt good. We didn't do the marriage contract for we… we just weren't ready for that. We were wanderers, still trying to find ourselves in the big world we lived in.
But we promised our love to one another, we always went to the other for console, for comfort, for love. I'd occasionally go to my father or Toothless, but more and more often I'd end up trudging off to find Astrid.
We had our first fight.
Gobber always laughed about how you weren't a "true" couple and you were not ready for marriage until you had a good squabble. I'd laughed with him, taking it as a joke. But I realized… fights were no laughing manner. It was torture.
It lasted almost a week of avoiding one another, of Astrid being silent. A silly disagreement with two stubborn Vikings never ended shortly, and Dad had reassured me that it would be solved in due time. He and Mom apparently went through several of the same happenings, but Thor, I couldn't imagine going through anything so horrible again.
Astrid came and apologized first, saying she'd been insufferable and inconsiderate of my thoughts. My anger and grief instantly fell away and I'd hugged her close, apologizing repeatedly and telling her it was my fault. We both knew we played equal parts in it, but both of us were desperate to take the blame.
Twenty, that's when Dad passed away.
That's when I became Chief.
That's when my world crumbled and fell together in shattered pieces. That's when my life was redirected so sharply, when my world changed forever. When I had a mother, when I had a tribe.
I floundered hopeless, not only in grief but in anxiety, depression, and stress. Toothless was always there for me when he could be, trying to comfort me and give me strength. But he was Alpha, he had duties as well. We were both young and inexperienced leaders of our people, we both fell into uncertain and grief-filled times.
But Toothless couldn't be there for me at all times, and I couldn't always be there for him. There were times I was all the way on the other side of Berk while Toothless was on the other side of the Archipelago- on business.
But Astrid… Astrid always came when Toothless couldn't. Mom tried too, but she was just as new to being a mother as I was to being a Chief. Astrid knew me, she understood me. She always knew when I was hurting. I'll never understand how, but she did and still does.
One day, two months after Dad's death, was the worst day I'd experienced in my Chiefdom.
I wasn't eating, I'd stopped that weeks before, eating only when I necessarily had to. I wasn't sleeping, not on my own choice but just because I simply couldn't. The village was still being cleaned up, I was stressed, for there were talks of rebellion from several in the village. I was wary and always carried Inferno on my hip. I ignored my friends, my Mom, my girlfriend… even Toothless.
I rejected everyone, I fell into myself. I wanted to be left alone for eternity. I hadn't asked for any of what was happening, of what had happened. I… I didn't know what to do, I didn't want to do what needed to be done.
I was afraid.
But Astrid came, she fought against the being I'd become. I tried to push her away- both mentally and physically, but she fought right back. She broke the glades, and I crumbled.
I was nothing but pieces of who I'd once been.
She was the first to piece me back together. Then it was Toothless, then my Mom, then the gang… then all of Berk. Through love. I began to live again, I moved on, kept my father near, but not the grief. I came to an understanding that my Dad would want me to live my life, would want me to lead bravely and fully. To live life as I'd wished, but to lead Berk as he had.
And I did.
I began to smile again. I loved again, I gave, I accepted, I laughed and began to be myself once more.
That's when Astrid and I wed.
It was the happiest day of my life, to be certain. The day I could call her Mrs. Haddock. When she took my name and promised to love me till death, and I promised the same to her. We kissed sweetly as the village cheered and clapped, calling our names joyfully and proudly as we walked down to the Chief's hut together. As one. We were married.
It's been a month, and Astrid just found out she's pregnant. I couldn't be happier, but I'm… scared, at the same time. Am I really ready to be a father? I can't help but think of my own Dad, and wonder what he thinks from his place up there in Valhalla. Gobber and Mom say they bet he's awfully proud, Gobber claiming he'd always wished I'd gotten married years ago just so he could have some grandkids.
But Astrid and I, (and you too, Toothless, yes) we're a family. We're starting our own legacy, our own path. And only the future will tell us what's to come, and how our story will end.
Hope you enjoyed this! Please Review. :3
-Kat (FanWriter02)