Astrid rarely got sick, and when she did it was always on an important day. There was one very memorable occasion, however.
Their small group of young Vikings were finally old enough to help a little during the dragon attacks. Even if they were only putting out fires or operating the older, clumsier machines that only took down a dragon on a full moon, they were still out there in the fight. Which was better than watching from your window.
But, because the gods hated her that week, she was sick.
Her mother had hastily dropped her off at Gobber's workshop and ran to join the fight. While people were shouting and taking swings at the flying monsters, Astrid was stuck to help bend metal into preferable shapes and try not to throw up on anything from the illness.
"Astrid!" Gobber yelled, before a heavy battle axe was thrown into her arms, "Sharpen that, quick!"
Huffing, she carried it over to the wheel and let it ripple back to its original sharp edge.
"So, Astrid, how's it hanging?" A lazy, over relaxed voice cooed sickeningly.
Her eyes narrowed to slits as she tried to ignore the endless annoyance that was Snotlout. Without glancing in his direction, she threw the axe to the woman waiting in the line behind him, causing Snotlout to yelp in fear.
Directing her attention to the raging fight outside the shop's stand, she whipped around and kicked a box full of nails sending them flying everywhere.
Of all the days. Of all the months. Of any year. It had to be that day. And she had gotten so good with her aim, too. Now she was stuck in tool shop while everyone she knew was taking down a dragon. Plus the added bonus of listening to Snotlout drone on and on about how he could, like, totally bring her a bucket full dragon heads, that he had slain, only for her, all for her, not like-
"Get out of here, you're blocking the way," came the nasally, unsteady voice of Hiccup, cutting through Snotlout with the bold statement.
Astrid raised her eyebrows at Hiccup for being so brave. Last she could remember Snotlout had driven his head into a pile of dirt.
But now with the fight booming in the background and impatient adult Vikings standing behind the moron, Snotlout was forced to awkwardly move to the side, doing what Hiccup told him to.
Hiccup grabbed the swords from the hands of the men and women before him, turning on his heel-
Catching sight of Astrid for the first time that night, all of the things dropped from his arms and he stared with his mouth falling open and his eyes widening like saucers.
"What're ya doin', boy?" Gobber shouted, snapping Hiccup back to reality. Hiccup flew to the ground, gathering everything up and rushing them over to the sharpening table, stealing glances at Astrid on the way.
She watched the strange display of affection with amusement and mild confusion before a crack of lightening sounded behind her overpowering all of the other noises in the fight.
The words, "Night Fury!" were bellowed, and without pause Astrid went back to chucking weapons into awaiting hands.
With another crack of lightening Berk was lit up by vibrant blue light for a split second. Gobber took this as a bad sign.
"Stay here the both of you," he called as he hurriedly adjusted a different hand on to the stub that was what was left of his left arm. He turned to burst out of the door, but stopped. Turning back he pointed a finger at Hiccup and ordered, "You. Stay. Here. Don't leave."
Astrid turned her gaze on him watching as he mumbled a yes with his skin flushing to a deeper shade of red.
By this time the fight had reached its final moments. Every Viking could feel it. So there was no one stopping by the workshop in need of sharper tools.
"What did you do?" Astrid asked Hiccup as she hopped up onto the dirty side counter.
His eyes darted up to hers. He fiddled with his shirt hem, his mouth opening and closing. He took a step forward then quickly took it back as if he had stepped on burning coals. Hiccup looked like he really had something to say, but he also appeared to be choking.
"You're really weird," Astrid said bluntly.
Hiccup looked at the ground, "I know."
As the fight trickled to an end Astrid sighed and exited the musty shop. As she stepped out she called to Hiccup, "Goodnight." Without waiting for an answer she stalked off to her house, but not before she heard him call back, "Goodnight. Nice job, umm, sharpening the, the tools…" Then to himself, "Damn it! You idiot…"
She smirked at his complete patheticness and horribly thought out comments that hardly made sense.
Walking back through Berk after a fight was as it usually was. The air was warm with the after breath of fire breathing dragons, and, since no one seemed to have been killed that night, excitement. Some patches of grass still lightly burned, so Astrid went out of her way to stomp them out. As she was making her way over to a certain spot she noticed two sets of footsteps walking along behind her.
With a groan Astrid realized that the people they belonged to were Ruffnut and Tuffnut.
"So, Astrid, how was Hiccup-sitting?" Ruff mocked.
"Yeah, did he manage to kill someone?" Tuff asked, "How about himself? Did he at least do us all a favor and somehow kill himself?"
She spun and locked her best get-out-of-my-face look on them.
"Go away before I throw up on you," she warned with a deadly low voice.
They merely rolled their eyes before trotting away, pushing at each other until they both fell down a hill. Astrid watched the exchange with bare amusement showing through her features. She then turned on her heel and walked away from their stupidity.
Later that night while she was trying to get some sleep her mother entered her room; finally back from helping pick up some of the fallen houses. She called across the room, "Astrid, was everything okay at Gobber's workshop? You weren't sick while you were there, were you?"
Astrid sighed. She rolled over in bed.
"Nothing to report."
AN: not the best ending on this one…. Sorry
