Sorry about the delay! I have ummed, and arred for so long about whether to remove or leave in these next two chapters that I have confused myself. In the end I did a rewrite and decided to throw it in with both eyes shut tight and hope for the best. You are more than welcome to skip over them and go to the next ones after than, which shouldn't be too far away. This story will have four different sections. The first is Astrid and Hiccup getting their act together. But once they do...bam! That's when the trouble starts. Please hold on till then!
The next morning, Astrid rocked up to the Haddock's front door again, ready to take Toothless for a walk. To her surprise, she found Hiccup and Toothless waiting for her, sprawled out on the front doorstep enjoying some early morning sunshine.
"I thought you were supposed to be at work this morning?" she asked bluntly.
"And good morning to you too, Astrid. So nice to see you again," he drawled sarcastically.
Astrid refused to bite. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" she questioned, her hands on her hips and one eyebrow raised. "Are you playing hookey or something?"
"Can't a man spend time with his two best friends without being under suspicion," he replied evasively.
"Not when it's you. What are you up too?" she asked suspiciously, crossing her arms in front of her, like a parent confronting a naughty child.
He responded airily, "Nothing sinister, I promise."
She raised her eyebrow again. He laughed, and raised his hands up in the air, surrendering to her interrogation.
"Okay! I give! I managed to get through some serious study yesterday…."
"...with my help…" she interrupted.
"With your help," he agreed. "Plus I had an emergency flight last night, so Gobber said I could have this morning off work to make up for it. But it was too nice a day to study, so I figured I'd come with you and Toothless. Can't let you have all the fun!" he grinned, his head tilted to one side, squinting up at her looming over him in the sunlight. Astrid noted with interest that he was very adorable in this position, like a cute puppy.
Her stance softened, and she put out her hand to help him up off the front step.
"Come on then, let's not waste the sunshine."
She reached out to grip his wrist, enjoying the feel of his larger, calloused hand over hers as she braced herself, ready to haul him up. As he pulled on her for leverage, she noted the sinewy muscles in his forearm and how his biceps bulged pleasantly. It was moments like this that reminded her that no matter what taunts Snotlout said about Hiccup being skinny, he was also packing plenty of muscle. Not the 'in-your-face kind', like Snotlout, but a much more subtle kind. She decided she liked the latter version much better.
"Phew! Hiccup, you must have put more muscle on, cause you sure feel heavy!" she exclaimed, after finding she had to put in a bit more effort than normal to help him up.
He gave her a cheeky grin as he dusted off the back of his shorts, causing the muscles across his shoulders to move in a tantalising way under his low cut singlet shirt. He also wore baggy shorts, his pale legs showing that he spent far too much time with them covered up. But not today. Running required shorts along with his carbon fibre running prosthetic.
He teased her, "If I don't keep fit, how could I keep up with you? Then who would keep you company? Huh?"
She responded immediately, "Toothless of course!" she told him with a straight face.
"Oh, so you prefer the wolf's company over mine, do you?" he crossed his arms in an attempt to look offended. He failed.
"Oh for goodness sake! Let's go already!" she said exasperated. "You talk too much. At least Toothless and I would have been on the track by now," she hinted, none too subtly.
That shut him up.
"Okay, you win, let's go," he submitted.
"Finally! By the way, you need to wear shorts more often. Your legs are blinding me," she told him, as Hiccup attached the lead to Toothless' harness and they stepped out at a fast pace.
"Oh har, har! Wear sunglasses and deal with it."
"You should! You've got nice legs, Hiccup. Don't worry about what other people think," she was earnest in her appeal, but blushed slightly when she realized what she had said.
"Nice legs, huh?" he peered at her sideways, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"Of course you would pick up on that!" she threw her hands up in the air in embarrassment. She didn't really need to highlight the fact that she had been checking him out, and she was mortified at her slip up.
He just grinned and said nothing.
It didn't take long before they reached the entrance to the forest walking tracks. They chose their usual path, one of the longer and more reclusive trails. They liked it because of the challenge it provided, but also because the seclusion allowed them to let Toothless roam free without the fear of coming across anyone else. When other dog owners laid their eyes on the black wolf running towards them, it usually involved a very negative reaction. Something they preferred not to repeat too often.
Hiccup glanced over at Astrid as they stepped out into a slow jog, Toothless matching their pace by his side.
"So," he asked casually. "Do you think we might run into Eret again today?"
She gave him an odd look. "I thought we were over Eret. Unless you want to date him? Besides if he sees me with Toothless and you, he might just want to run the other way. I believe he was under the impression you and your brain may have parted company. And if you keep asking me about him, I might have to agree."
Hiccup spluttered, then coughed, "Uh, okay? I'll drop it."
"Good! Now step up the pace, you're slowing me down," she ordered, pulling ahead of him slightly.
"Yes, ma'am!" he mock saluted her, picking up speed so that he matched her again. He was glad that she so quickly squashed any discussion of Eret. It put his mind at ease that she seemed to have no lingering thoughts about the man.
The two were silent as they jogged side by side, their arms and legs pumping in a steady rhythm. There was something very satisfying about moving together like that. It also said a lot about how in tune they were with each other. Astrid liked that Hiccup had finally caught up with her in terms of fitness and endurance. She liked it a lot. It meant that he could challenge her as much as she challenged him. They could push each other's limits and she never had to hold back anymore for him to keep up. Plus exercising together just felt good!
They paused briefly to let Toothless off his lead when they were sure they had gone past all the regular traffic. Toothless showed them just how fast he was by pelting down the path in front of them at full speed, his long fur waving rapidly behind him. They laughed at his eagerness, then quickly got back on the trail themselves.
-oOo-
The pair had been running at a rapid pace for quite a while, a glossy sheen of sweat covering both of them. The sounds of their footsteps was subdued by the thick canopy overhead. The undergrowth was thin enough for them to enjoy the plants and the wildlife they came across.
Or the ones that Toothless flushed out anyway.
Said canine was currently charging back towards them, when he startled a fat pheasant out from its hiding place in the bushes in front of them. The sudden flapping of wings caused Toothless to veer off course, colliding with Astrid's legs and causing her to stumble directly into Hiccup, sending them both tumbling into the dirt on the side of the path.
Hiccup took the brunt of the fall, landing on his back with a painful groan, Astrid and Toothless piled over the top of him. The wolf scrambled to his feet first, pushing Astrid back onto Hiccup as she attempted to right herself. Hiccup groaned again as she accidentally hit him in several soft spots.
"Sorry, Hiccup!" she forced out between laboured breaths as she stood up.
She bent down to extend a hand to help him, but he just put his hand out in a 'wait a second' gesture, as he collapsed back onto the ground, recovering from the shock of being upright and running one second, then horizontal on the ground with several bruises and plenty of pain in the next. He gasped for breath and groaned again.
"Did you get the number of the truck that hit us?" he asked in disbelief.
She giggled, "Yeah, I think it was 'W.O.L. .one.'" she said. The guilty party sat there with his head on the side, watching the two of them, as if to say, 'Why are you on the ground?'
"Come on, you're fine," she insisted, shaking her hand at him so he would hurry up and take it.
"Says you who had a soft landing…on me," he grumbled, sitting up.
"Always take your own personal airbag," she quipped, gulping in huge breaths.
He reached out to take hold of her outstretched hand, but as he did, a sudden jolt of pain shot through his left knee and he gasped out loud.
"You okay?" asked Astrid, frowning in concern.
He paused to take a few deep breaths till the pain subsided enough for him to form words again. He shook his head, "Not sure. I may have twisted my left knee," he told her, holding onto his leg.
"Can you walk on it, do you think?" she asked again, biting her lip in worry.
He shrugged as he looked up at her, "Don't know till I try."
"Okay," she said slowly. "Do you need help getting up?"
He thought for a moment, "Let me try first." He rolled over, pushing himself up on his good leg. Astrid had to hastily grab at him when he lost his balance and threatened to fall over again. He grunted, and gritted his teeth against the pain exploding in his knee, but he was finally up, leaning on Astrid's shoulders and breathing heavily, as she firmly wrapped her arm around his waist and braced herself to keep them both upright.
"Made it!" he told her with false cheer, his leg clearly bothering him.
Astrid was worried. They were a long way from any kind of help. And they had no phone reception out here.
"Come on, Hiccup. I want you to lean up against this tree, so I can check over your knee," she told him firmly.
"I don't think I'm in much of a position to fight you," he told her weakly, as he complied with her demands, reaching out to hold onto the closest branches.
She let her arm slide from around his waist, and focused on his now visibly swollen knee. She prodded it gently, looking up as she heard him gasp quietly.
"Sore?"
"No, I react this way all the time when beautiful women poke my knee," he jibed.
Astrid flushed slightly as she stood up and crossed her arms. "Well, at least the droll factor is still high," she told him flatly.
"Sorry, m'lady," he apologised sincerely. "Sarcasm levels tend to go up when pain is involved."
Her smile was grim as she contemplated what they were going to do. "Unfortunately, there will be a lot more of that before we get home," she told him morosely. "You need rest, ice and compression...none of which I can offer you."
He shifted his weight off the tree a little and started fiddling with the bottom of his shirt.
"What are you doing?" she asked, frowning slightly.
He pulled on the hem, making a ripping sound. "I can make a rough bandage with my shirt. Would that be enough?"
She stared, fascinated as she watched him reduce the length of his shirt, till it hung jaggedly along his midriff, exposing his well-muscled abs. Astrid was torn between laughing at the absurdity of his shrunken shirt, or staring at his revealed stomach. She could almost feel herself drooling and she had to force herself to pull her gaze away from him and focus on the job at hand.
Astrid was feeling more and more unsettled about the thoughts she was having towards Hiccup. They had been friends for ages, and sure, he had become more handsome as he had matured, but that didn't explain all those treacherous feelings she was developing about him. Sometimes she would find her thoughts taking her down paths she had never associated with Hiccup before. And it terrified her. Frightened that following those thoughts would cause her to lose her very best friend. And that was something she did not want to do.
She forced herself back into the present, watching Hiccup wrap his impromptu 'bandage' into a ball. He turned to her curiously.
"Astrid? You okay?" he asked in concern.
She shook herself mentally, "Yeah..." she frowned, frustrated that she had allowed herself to be so distracted. "...thinking what to do," she lied.
He handed the torn length of material to her, "Will this be enough?" he asked again.
Taking it from him, she pretended to look critically at the small ball.
"It should be okay." She crouched in front of him and placed one knee on the ground, tentatively holding up the material and slowly wrapping it around his injury, shivering slightly every time she had to brush her arm up against his leg.
By the time she had finished and had tied off the end of the bandage with shaking fingers, she found that she was having a hard time just breathing. She hadn't realised that crouching so close in front of him, while getting up close and very personal with his slightly hairy leg would be so wildly confronting.
Astrid looked up only to find that Hiccup had turned a deep red, and was purposely studying the trees beside him, to avoid catching her eye.
"Hiccup? Are you okay?"
"Uh...yeah...I...I mean...no...umm...That's...that's good, thank you. Makes it feel...uh...a bit better...I think," he stuttered. Which made Astrid blush with the realisation that their closeness had unsettled him as well.
She blinked a few times as she stood up, and tried to ignore her turbulent thoughts.
"Do you think you could try walking with it now?" she asked, attempting to slide an arm around his waist again, but hesitating when she noticed him becoming rigid at her touch. She waited a moment, until he seemed to come to a decision and he tentatively reached out to wrap his arm around her shoulders. She gripped him firmly around his midriff, pushing her shoulder into his side as he gradually shifted his weight onto her and his sore leg.
"Take a step," she commanded, watching him closely as he stepped forward in trepidation. His hold on her shoulders suddenly tightened as he fought the shearing pain and bit into his lip.
"Take a moment," she reassured him gently, as he closed his eyes and blew the pain out through pursed lips, his face pale.
Astrid watched him like a hawk, wondering how they were going to get home. They were deep in the forest, where very few people ever ventured. It had taken them long enough to run here, it was going to take forever to slowly crawl out.
"We have to keep going," he told her, his voice trembling. "I don't want to be stuck here all night, waiting for someone to find us," he finished, finally daring to catch her eye again. She stared up at him. She could see the obvious pain he was trying so hard to conceal from her, but also determination.
"Unless..." he started. "Unless you leave me here..."
He didn't get a chance to finish as she shook her head vigorously at him. "Don't even say it," she warned.
"But Toothless could stay and..."
"And nothing, mister! I am not leaving you! Get that into your thick skull right now!" she ordered in a stern voice, almost stabbing him with her finger to emphasize the point. "It would still be hours before I could get help back here. Do you understand?" she told him forcefully.
"But..."
"No buts. I am not leaving you!"
He stared at her for a few moments, then gave her a soft smile. "Thank you," he told her simply.
She nodded, "Good. Now let's get moving. We've got a long way to go."
"Yes, boss!"
"And don't forget it," she grumbled, as she resettled herself back under his arm, and his grip tightened around her shoulders.
"Okay? Ready to go?"
He sighed, "Let's get started. This is gonna hurt for both of us, I know."
