A/N: I actually took this idea from the deleted scene of the first movie "Axe the Grind" (hence the title of this piece) and it's going to be a two-shot being the first one in Hiccup's POV and the second one in Astrid's. I apologize in advance for any grammatical/spelling mistakes you might find but please have in mind that English is not my first language. Hope you enjoy it and constructive criticism is always appreciated! ;)
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
AXE TO GRIND
- Two-Shot -
I was so frustrated that I actually enjoyed working on the forge today. I could take all my anger on the giant bellows by the fire and on the weapons I was forging.
I was busy heating the melted iron to its perfect fusion point when it all started. I was abusing the bellows to incite the fire. It was so hot I felt tiny drops of sweat forming on my forehead. The metal was finally ready to the sword mold so I grabbed the pot with the liquid iron with the tweezers and poured it carefully so it wouldn't spill.
Gobber grabbed the huge mold with his bare arms, grunted and carried it away as I cooled the pot and the tweezers on the water and rushed to help him.
"Ah don't take it to heart kid," he told me once he saw my sour face, "it's his job to be tough on everyone."
"I'm not everyone!" I spat grabbing another pair of tweezers and feeling the urge to slam them against the table, "But it doesn't matter..." I added with a sigh and placed them back where I took them from. Those weren't the ones I wanted. I looked to my right and grabbed the correct ones from the wall.
"The guy is impossible to please." I told him with a scowl. What did I want the tweezers for anyway? I threw them away carelessly as I watch Gobber open the mold and removing the sword.
"He just doesn't want to appear to be playing favourites." Gobber always does this, he always finds excuses to my father's actions.
"He's covered in that department, believe me." I snorted.
Gobber grabbed the sword and started moving to the forging area I ran past him to make sure the anvil was clean and dusted it case there were any metal scraps that could mark the sword's blade.
"If I didn't live in the same house with him, I wouldn't even know he was my father." I confessed.
Gobber slammed the sword against the anvil and for a split second I wished I had strength do the same thing with my father's head. As I said only a split second I would never hurt my father.
"Have you told him that?" He questioned holding out his hook hand so I could switch it to the proper forging hammer.
"Of course not!" I replied. I was so used to changing his hook that I actually managed to do it in a matter of seconds.
"We barely even make eye contact," I went to the other side of the anvil, grabbed the handle of the sword and started rotating it while Goober hit it with his hammer, "and when we do it's always this disappointed scowl like he's been cheated or someone skimped on the meat of his sandwich."
I stopped rotating it and filled my chest with air to mimic my father's big chest. "Excuse me bar maid? I'm afraid you've brought me the wrong offspring!" I also mimicked my father's accent perfectly, I loved doing his impression when I was mad at him and made him sound like a troll. "I ordered an extra large boy with beefy arms! Extra guts and glory on the side!" I emphasized my words by flexing my inexistent muscles and proceeded to point at an invisible Hiccup behind me, "This here, this is a talking fish bone!"
Gobber laughed sonorously and I honestly thought about making a vow.
"No, no. You're thinking about this all wrong." He cleaned his forehead with the hammer and looked at me, "It's not so much what you look like it's what's on the inside that he can't stand."
"Thank you for summing that up." I replied sarcastically.
Gobber shook his head. "No, I mean, there's the Viking way and then there's your way," he pointed at me with his hammer hand, "and your way makes grown men uncomfortable."
I rolled my eyes. "Speaking of uncomfortable, I'd like a new conversation, please." As much as I liked Gobber he was my father's best friend he would always back him up so there was no need of getting anymore frustrated.
"All right. How's it going with the ladies?" He asked smiling deviously.
"Oh yeah, way to get the mood back on..." My sass levels were extremely high that morning and so was my lack of humour.
"Oh c'mon, I've seen the way you look at Astrid." Gobber insisted with a knowing look.
Hearing her name was sufficient to make me light headed. I don't consider us friends though we're mere acquaintances that have known each other since we were babies. We rarely speak so it's not like I have any hope of something actually happening between us. The gods would all fall from Asgard before something remotely close to that happened. Even so I can't help this really tiny little crush I have on her.
"Please, Astrid wouldn't come near me if she was on fire and I had the only bucket of water in town." I scoffed.
"Hey, can I get this sharpened?" My heart skipped a beat as the voice of the girl I had just spoken about filled my hears. Gobber and eye looked at her at the same time.
There she was... Standing in all her glory, her axe rested against her shoulder, her skin looked ever so smooth and flawless, her perfect blond hair was glowing in the sun and framing her even more perfect face and those icy blue eyes! Oh her beautiful eyes took my breath away... Ok so maybe my crush is not that tiny but I didn't let it show.
Or at least I tried. As usual I failed miserably.
"Astrid!" My throat was completely dry, "Hi, Astrid. Hello there. Welcome. What can I do-"
Before I could finish my sentence Astrid threw her axe at the table in front of us and eyed me disinterested and as if what she had just done was the most normal thing in the world.
"Hey! My mainly apprentice here will service all of your needs." Gobber told her pushing me forward. I glared at him discretely but I couldn't be angry at him. At least he tried to offer me a hand whenever he could and I have to take into account that he only has one so yeah... Gobber is okay I guess. Scratch that he's more than okay he's pretty much my second father.
"I have to... go... get... some... I'm just gonna go outside." He excused himself with a nervous laugh and grabbed some nails on the way to make his cover seem more credible. He wasn't the brightest though.
I looked back at Astrid and let out an equal nervous laugh, "Gobber..." I simply told her shaking my head as if apologising for this awkward moment.
Astrid looked at me emotionlessly and took her axe from the table with ease. I held my hands out for her so she would give me her axe. She eyed me suspiciously but let it fell on my hands and if I wasn't embarrassed enough already my hands accompanied the metal weapon to the floor. For the love of Odin! She made it look like it weighted less than a feather. Stupid gravity...
"Okay, razor-sharp battle axe, coming right up." I told her praying the gods I wasn't as flushed as I felt.
"Careful! That's my mother's." She adverted as I started to pull the axe towards the sharpening stone wheel.
Astrid took a look around the forge and stopped by the weaponry wall taking a close look at the swords.
"So, I saw you guys on fire patrol last night." I began trying to small talk so it wouldn't be so awkward but she didn't even look at me she just kept looking trough the swords, "Looked like a good time."
"Yeah, I didn't get burned, though." She replied still not looking at me and took a sword from the wall, "It's only fun when you get a scar out of it."
My eyes widened involuntarily. Something is terribly wrong in this village... But I tried to play it cool.
"Yeah, no kidding, right? Pain. Love it." Hiccup you big fat liar, I thought to myself as I started rotating the crank of the wheel. But I had to continue playing cool, it was imperative! "Yeah, I would've been there too but... Uh... I was out downing a Night Fury."
I started sharpening her axe and memories from last night took over my mind. How literally everyone wanted me to go inside, how I managed to take my newest invention to Raven Point, actually shoot down the Night Fury and telling my father about my accomplishment hoping he would believe me and for once be proud of me only to be scolded for ruining everything. He never believes in me and I'm not the lying type, he just sees me as completely useless and hopeless.
And it's true... I managed to find the Night Fury early this morning but when I tried to kill it I didn't have the guts to do it. It looked as scared as me so I just set him free...
"So yeah, pretty busy." I concluded pushing those thoughts aside.
"Really?" She actually seemed interested! "Where-"
"No, it got away..." I lied, "But... Hm... It won't be back anytime soon, believe you me." Believe you me? I internally face palmed myself at my Astrid-induced dyslexia and stupidity.
"Yeah, you know, this apprentice is just my, sort of, on the side... Hm... I'm mostly here to bulk up and lift some iron and stuff... Become one with the steel."
I wasn't lying this time. I have this theory that my father got me this apprentice spot thinking it would help me get some muscles but until now... No results. How surprising.
Astrid had been quiet for a while so I looked over at her and definitely did not expect that! At all! There was a table leaning against the weaponry wall (we have way to may tables around here!) and Astrid decided to check out one of the highest swords thus having to bend over the table to be able to reach it.
She had had her growth spurt in the beginning of the year and she had definitely outgrown that skirt... I have to be completely honest with you I'm not innocent when it comes to girls. I'm attracted to them and I wouldn't mind getting a girlfriend but I am not a pervert!
The sudden... Vision made me gasp and loose the control the axe in the sharpening wheel which led to a huge dent on it. I looked away almost instantly. Oh gods she was going to be so mad at me for denting her mother's axe that I'm was sure she'd chop me in pieces with it.
Without her noticing it I put it down and decided to change its blade for a new one. Meanwhile Astrid lost her interest in the weapons and proceeded with her tour around the forge. She stopped by the door to my office.
"N-no you're not actually supposed to... Uh..." It was too late she had already opened the door and walked in.
"What is all of this?" She asked with a strange look on her face.
"Oh... Hm... Those? Nothing. Just some stuff I'm working on." I rubbed the back of my neck embarrassed. That room was kind of my private space where I could draw all kinds of weaponry that would help guys like me become as good at killing dragons as Vikings like my father and the only person I ever let in was Gobber.
Her presence in there was strange but on the other hand it could be interpreted as a new level of intimacy between us. I saw her look at the sketches in my walls and desk and took the opportunity to change the blade without her noticing.
"It's just... Confidential upper level development I can't really talk about it, so..." I took the blade from the handle as quickly as possible and went looking for a new one.
"'The Mutilator'." She read from my office as I picked a similar blade and carried it to my working table.
"Yes, yes. Basically it uses twin-weighted counter-levers to launch crisscrossing blades in four different directions." I told her as I made the arrangements to put the handle back in the axe.
"How do you hold it?" Astrid questioned and I imagined her cocking an eyebrow at my strange sketches.
"Well you don't. You shoot it." I explained as I twisted the handle into the blade. I was trying to keep calm but her presence and the fact that I completely screwed up her axe where making my heart pound so loudly against my rig cage that I was surprised she couldn't hear it in the other room.
"Oh, well..." She sounded disappointed, "I'm more of an old-fashioned 'take it down with an axe and then lop its head off' kind of girl. It's kind of the Viking way, right?" I heard her play with something but I couldn't see her from where I was standing.
"Go Vikings." I agreed finishing twisting the handle.
"I can't wait to get started tomorrow." Astrid said as she exited my office and by that time I was already sharpening the new blade. "We finally get a chance to show 'em what we've got. I am so excited!" She was actually smiling, not at me of course but I found her excitement about whatever was happening to her tomorrow cute. Her smile made her look even prettier.
"Yeah..." I replied pretending to know exactly what she was talking about, "I'm so excited for you." I looked at the sharpened blade to see it if it was enough.
"What, you didn't hear?" She caught me red handed but didn't mentioned it, I shrugged in response. "They're pulling men to crew the ships"
I stared at her in confusion. "And you're happy because... you... uh... like to wave goodbye?" I asked regretting saying it as soon as the words escaped my lips.
"No, stupid." Astrid rolled her eyes, grabbed a small dagger from a nearby table (as I said, to many tables) and touched its tip. "They need replacements to defend the town." She set it down and walked towards me as she saw me finish with her axe. "We start training in the morning! We'll be fighting dragons!"
"Astrid!" Someone called from the door. It was Snotlout who spoke but her whole gang was there waiting. Oh just great I finally get some alone time with the girl of my dreams and those guys had to ruin everything for me! "You coming to practice with us or what?" He insisted.
Astrid turned to me, her face wiped out of her previous excited smile and held out her hand so I could give her axe back. I obliged and as she tested it her brows furrowed.
"This feels different." She commented eyeing me as if I had replaced her precious axe for another. If only she knew... I'd be dead that's for sure.
"Oh... I rebalanced it. Tightened it up." I quickly replied, "Uh... Finessed it. We're a full service outfit in here." I nodded to make my lie seem more credible.
"Thanks." Astrid said.
"Sure." I shrugged and saw a small smile playing on her lips. Oh Thor! She was actually smiling at me! Oh gods! My heart started pounding furiously again.
Astrid turned her back to me and caught up with her crew. "I hope I get some serious scars out of this!" I heard Snotlout said louder than necessary as she reached them.
"I know, like a jagged one across your cheek!" Ruffnut butted in as they started walking away. Instinctively my hand flew to my cheek and imagined an ugly scar there. "Yeah, or right through my eye!" Her twin agreed as excited as she was. I felt my stomach churn in disgust as I covered my eye with my hand too. These people are completely mad I tell you!
I watched them disappear at the end of the street and sighed. I wish I was as cool and skilled as they were but no! I had to be the screw-up Hiccup... At least I finally got to have an actual conversation with Astrid she seemed way more reachable when she wasn't with those guys, especially Snotlout. He is my cousin from my mother's side and made sure to ruin my day any time he could but this time he couldn't.
Astrid had smiled at me. I replayed the scene in my head countless times and found myself smiling goofily. Maybe I was wrong about us not being able to be together. Who knows...?
A/N: So yeah folks this was it :) If you haven't seen this deleted scene go see it immediately because it's awesome! I will try to post Astrid's POV wither this evening or tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed!