Sorry this has taken a while, like I said things are getting a bit crazy. That and I've been suffering with back problems lately impacting on my ability to actually use my laptop. Hoping I'm on the mend.
This has taken a while to write, I just hope it was worth it.
Chapter 7 – When Wrong is Right
She was laying in the bed, sleeping mostly. Stirring occasionally. The last thing she had expected was the door to be pushed open and a figure to step inside. Instinctively she grabbed the nearest item to her ready to attack the intruder. They pulled off their shoes and their shirt and Astrid began to panic… until she heard a familiar voice curse as they stubbed their toe.
"Hiccup?"
"Wha… Astrid? Shit sorry."
"What are you doing here?"
"Things went nuclear with Carly. And not the good kind. I went to dad's last night but it feels wrong without Toothless for company…"
"But why are you here at stupid o'clock stripping off?" She hissed.
"I forgot that the spare room you'd be in is my usual room. I was helping on the late night call and decided to come here rather than go to dad's." He mumbled rubbing his eyes. "I'll go sleep on the sofa…"
Astrid sighed heavily and put down the object she'd been holding.
"No it's fine, it's your room. You get in the bed."
"No I'm not kicking you out…" He mumbled. "I'll be fine."
"Hiccup get in the fucking bed. It's not like it's a tiny single."
"Wha…?"
"I said get in. You'll fall asleep on the stairs else." He looked at her surprised and moved to get into the bed next to her.
"Errr thanks…" He mumbled as he lay beside her.
"Welcome. You wanna talk about what happened?"
"Not really."
"You know I'll keep nagging until you tell me."
"She just moaned! For hours! Literally! She didn't shut up until gone two in the morning! But I didn't even get to talk during all this time!"
"And there we go."
"She wanted to make conditions and terms that she expected me to agree to, at two in the morning when I'm too tired to remember what I had for breakfast!"
"So naturally you weren't particularly happy."
"Not at all! I had things I wanted to talk about, things about what I want and need…" He was raging from beside her. "But she wouldn't let me talk! It was all about her, about what she wants! She just made me into a villain and talked about you as though you were the snake in our garden! I was so angry! She just…" Astrid rolled over and placed a gentle hand on his arm
"Hey it's ok… I understand. I'd be angry too. You're well within your rights to be so." She gently squeezed his arm to reassure him.
"It's just not fair Astrid… I tried to do everything right these past few years… But something is still wrong. And things just keep going wrong. But it should be right… right?" He was clearly really distressed right now and he rolled over to look at her.
"I wish I could tell you it should. But sometimes, what we think is right is wrong. And what we think is wrong is right." She said softly.
"Then you come along… and you're everything that I wanted. Everything right. But you're wrong. You're not mine. You should be wrong… because she should be right… but… but…" He looked at her, eyes completely focused on her own, even in the dark. She smiled gently.
"But she isn't right."
"What do you do when wrong is right? You're definitely the wrong thing to be doing… forgive the vulgar sounding, I'm not being literal… but you're so right… you fit… you make sense. You're right when you're wrong." He said to her, his voice a hushed whisper. He reached out and gently brushed her hair behind her ears.
"Why did I find the right one at the wrong time?" He asked sighing, his hand still resting on her face.
"Don't ask me. I finally find a guy I might be able to consider getting serious with and I find out he has a psycho girlfriend." She replied with a light chuckle, trying to keep his spirits up. He smiled at her and she smiled more. She liked it when he smiled.
"You're perfect."
"I'm far from it."
"You're perfect to me." What did you do when wrong was right? It was wrong, but when it was so right what did you do? How long did you fight when this might be it? THE right one?
"I'm definitely not perfect… and you know I'm not."
"I think your imperfections are perfect." He whispered. Damn wrong felt right. He was closer to her now. She could feel the warmth from his body.
"Am I the wrong choice?" She asked him, her lips parted but she barely dared to breathe.
"No." Was his answer and he pressed his lips into hers and kissed her.
It was wrong but it was right. His lips moved against hers like they were meant to be together. The kiss was deep, passionate, needed. He needed this. He needed her. Like water. Like air. He drew her in closer to him as their bodies pressed together, hands roaming along each other. He needed her so badly.
"Astrid…" He groaned between hungry kisses. There was no denying he wanted her. But he didn't want her for just one night. Not even for a week. He wanted her for as long as time would allow. He wanted her indefinitely. She was more than just tempting. He could not resist.
"Hiccup…" She mumbled as his mouth moved to her neck. "…Hiccup… we can't…"
"You're my choice… the right choice…"
"You'd be mine as well… But not whilst you have a girlfriend." She mumbled. "Hiccup… we can't go any further…" She panted. Hiccup pulled away reluctantly.
"I know you're right… but I wish you were wrong." He mumbled.
"I know… But I'll be here for you anyway." She promised. He rested his forehead against hers and held her close. Lips still sought each other in the dark and temptation led them astray. When wrong felt so right how do you not give in?
Morning bought with it the cold harsh light of reality. Blinking awake, Hiccup found he was laying in his bed at his mom's with his arms around a blonde figure. Shit. She stirred beside him and as she brushed against him he became aware of his morning wood. Shit. Oh shit what did he do?
He went to move, and she rolled over.
Oh gods she was beautiful.
Why was she so much more beautiful this morning than any other? The early morning sun bathed her skin in a soft honeyed glow, making her hair shine like a waterfall of gold. Her nose scrunched up as he shifted and he lay back down again. Her nose stopped scrunching and she seemed to smile softly. Her freckles dotted her face, stretching in a light mask across her nose and by her eyes. He couldn't help reaching across that small gap between them to brush her hair back and stroke her cheek. Her skin was as soft as rose petals. She was so impossibly beautiful. He adored her.
Those soft pink lips were slightly parted as she slept beside him, beckoning at him. He wanted to kiss her so badly. One little kiss couldn't hurt surely?
He leaned forwards, hesitated for a second, and then pressed his lips softly to hers. She tasted so sweet. Like the sweetest liquor he'd ever had the pleasure of tasting. He pulled away from her and beautiful, sleepy blue eyes blinked at him.
"Morning beautiful." He said softly, smiling at her. She smiled back.
"Good morning." He couldn't help it. He cupped a hand to her cheek and bought her lips to his again, kissing her properly, more fully. It sent a spark across his skin when she kissed him back.
"Gods you're beautiful…" He murmured as he looked at her. She gave a small giggle of sorts. "I could wake up like this forever."
"Yeah… it's a pretty good way to wake up." She agreed, smiling more brightly than the sun that dared intrude through his window. He was falling for her hard. There was no arguing against it now.
"I have to ask… last night… did we…?" It was the one thing he was afraid of. That he'd had sex with her. That he'd been caught up in it. That his vivid dream wasn't just a dream.
"No… we didn't go all the way… But we did do things…" She shifted awkwardly. "I'm sorry Hiccup, I gave in to temptation. I shouldn't have let it go so far…"
"Shhh… it's ok… I let it happen too. I'm at fault as much as you. If not more." He assured.
"I still should have stopped it… but everything just felt…"
"Right. I know." Everything was coming back to him now. They'd been kissing. And things rapidly got more heated. They got handsy with each other. There was a lot of grinding and touching… and he was pretty sure he recalled going down on her.
This was bad. They shouldn't have done anything.
But he couldn't undo what was done.
"Hiccup…" Her voice bought him back to his senses. "We should umm… probably get up."
"Oh yeah… we should… I'm not at work today…"
"Me either…" That offered up more temptation. "Errr we should get up and have breakfast or something…" She slipped out of the bed and Hiccup felt his breath catch in his throat. She was completely naked. And by the great gods themselves was she a sight to behold.
Soft subtle curves that had always been masked my shirts and lycra were now fully exposed to him. A honey glow on her skin, light freckles covering her. Scars that dotted her skin, some creeping to places his eyes should not be looking at. He couldn't help his eyes wandering over her gorgeous body, being drawn to the curve of her breasts and those rosy peaks upon them. How badly he wanted to suck on those.
She noticed him staring and her cheeks tinged pink, only making her more beautiful.
"You took my things off last night…" She explained as she looked for whatever he'd thrown aside. He leaned over the bed and threw her his shirt from the previous day.
"There… You can wear that for now."
"Thanks. Errr here's your boxers." He flushed red himself and quickly pulled them on along with a pair of joggers from a drawer and a casual black t-shirt. When they were covered they made their way downstairs. Fortunately his mother had already left for work and was hopefully unaware that he'd spent the night in bed with Astrid.
They didn't say much for a while, both feeling a little embarrassed by their lack of control the previous night. Astrid made him egg on toast with bacon, forming a smiley face and pushing it towards him with a nervous yet playful grin.
"A smiley face?" He questioned.
"Yeah… my way of saying sorry for last night." On impulse, he pulled her to him and kissed her firmly.
"You're 1000 percent forgiven." He assured her before he began eating his breakfast. Under the small breakfast bar, he sent a text to Tuff.
Hiccup: Ok, you might win.Sent 9.12
Tuff: Wait what? Sent 9.12
Hiccup: Astrid… I spent the night in bed with her. Sent 9.13
Tuff: What?! No way! You guys fucked?! Sent 9.13
Hiccup: No… Not really… I got in late and she let me stay in the bed with her at mom's. And well… we talked and then wound up kissing… and we may have used our hands and mouths and done a bit of grinding… Sent 9.15
Tuff: Fuck… Sent 9.15
Tuff: You seriously need to ditch the bitch. You clearly wanna be with Astrid. Sent 9.15
Hiccup: I wanted her last night. And I still want her now… But will I want her forever? Sent 9.17
Hiccup: Ok yes I would. But it isn't that simple Tuff… Sent 9.17
Tuff: Actually Hiccup… It's the simplest thing in the world. Sent 9.17
Tuff: Do what's going to make you happy bro. Sent 9.18
Hiccup put his phone down and looked up at Astrid. She'd started her breakfast but had stopped to make a fuss of Toothless. It put a smile on his face watching her. She was just there, hair loose and natural, make up free, wearing his shirt and nothing else, making a fuss of his beloved Toothless. She was so perfect. It was a vision of the future he had always wanted.
She was just so right.
"Hey, quit staring." She chuckled, looking up at him, Toothless too. He seemed to be looking at Hiccup and demanding to know why she smelt of him.
"It's hard not to stare." He confessed. "You look amazing. I like this view."
"He is gorgeous." She teased, kissing Toothless on his furry head. His tongue lolled out in happy approval and his tail wagged excitedly. "Hey, crazy idea… But why don't we do something together today? We could finish breakfast and take Toothless for a walk… and maybe we can make dinner and a dessert for when your mum gets back…" She suggested. The fact she hadn't suggested anything to fill the main body of the day sent his mind reeling with forbidden yet tempting ideas.
"That sounds great. How about the rest of the day, what shall we do with that?"
"You know Berk, I'm just here visiting. Take me to places you think are worth visiting. And not just the usual tourist things. The private Hiccup tour. That's what I want." Already he could envision taking a walk down to the cove, show her the museum, walk down by the docks… There were numerous possibilities. Lots of little places he liked to visit himself. Places she'd appreciate.
"I can do that."
"Great. That's settled then. Eat up, and we'll get dressed and get cracking!"
The day had been entirely perfect. Hiccup could not have wished it any better than it was. They'd dressed and taken Toothless for a long walk down by the river. For a while they'd just walked, like a teenage couple too shy to hold hands. They talked and Hiccup confessed his internal struggle regarding the situation with his parents, and the one with Carly.
Astrid had taken his hand to comfort him.
But she didn't let go.
And they'd walked on behind Toothless, hand in hand, a picture perfect couple with their dog.
They'd then gone to the docks where Hiccup bought them fish and chips which they enjoyed as they walked along the beaches of Berk. They visited the museum and Astrid marvelled at the history of Berk. He adored the way her eyes lit up as she read the tales of Vikings and legends of sea monsters and dragons. The childish excitement on her face when the visited a room full of fossils and the playful way she dressed in the Viking get-up on the replica long ship. Hiccup loved it all. They left the museum with a book on Berk, a camera full of photos (because Astrid said her camera was her life preserved in film) and two plastic Viking helmets, a plastic sword and a plastic axe.
Somehow the simple pleasures of being carefree and playful only accentuated her beauty. Hiccup could not remember the last time he smiled this much.
Hiccup then led Astrid to the cove. They ended up spending hours down there. Toothless splashed in the lake and swam happily whilst they lay on the shores, talking and laughing, soaking up the peace and simplicity of the moment. Then Toothless had decided they needed a swim too. So they'd waded in the shallows and then ended up completely drenched after a splash fight got out of hand.
He'd splashed her, she splashed him, it continued, Toothless had to join in… and then she'd gone tumbling down and caught him as she did so, making an almighty splash and fully drenching them both. They'd laughed and helped each other up… and then she pushed him back down and ran away resulting in what could only be described as kiss chase.
He'd finally caught her and they rolled to the ground laughing before lips found each other again and they began kissing in earnest. Hands began to roam across wet skin and clothes, but Toothless interrupted, which was probably best, and they headed home.
They were still laughing when they stumbled through the front door of Valka's house, a soggy Toothless pushing past them excitedly.
"It was definitely your fault!" She laughed as she kicked off her soggy trainers and walked through to the kitchen, dripping occasionally as she went.
"It was definitely your fault! You pulled me down!" He protested as he copied her, still laughing as he pulled off his now drenched t-shirt and threw it into the washing machine.
"Yeah but you splashed me first!" She retorted, pulling off her socks and shorts and jeans, throwing them into the washing machine too, standing with only her vest top (which was completely see-through following their little water adventure) and her underwear, hands on her hips.
"Ok, so maybe I did…" He admitted, swallowing hard at the sight of her. Trying not to give anything away, particularly when she peeled her vest top from her body. He quickly pulled one of his shirts from the wash-basket and threw it to her. "Consolation prize, put that on."
"Do I get to keep this then?" She teased as she dropped her bra and panties, making Hiccup blush scarlet to his ears and turn away bashfully. Astrid smirked and pulled on the shirt, only when Hiccup caught this movement out of the corner of his eye did he turn back around.
Damn she looked hot.
"Yeah… yeah sure. It looks better on you anyway." He spluttered out.
"I can tell." She said with a wide grin. "Go put on some dry stuff and then we'll get cooking. Your mum'll be back before we've even started else." Hiccup took the excuse to leave the room to redress, and to let the growing erection in his pants subside.
Cooking turned out to be a rather messy, and incredibly flirtatious activity. He was certain there was no need for it to be even half as messy as it was with them. Toothless had taken shelter under the table, venturing out only to lick smackerels of food off the floor. Hiccup had a very obvious hand print on his ass where Astrid had smacked him with a tomato covered hand. The red imprint on his black tracksuit told a very clear story. There was flour in both their hair and she was splattered with tomato sauce too. Food was splashed around on every surface but finally they seemed to actually be cooking.
"Hey, come taste this. Does it need a little extra something?" Astrid asked as she stirred the tomato based sauce for the pasta, holding up a spoon to taste the sauce and then holding it slightly forward for him. Hiccup couldn't resist the temptation. He kissed her, tongue briefly slipping into her mouth before he pulled away.
"Hmmm… tastes pretty good to me." He replied smirking. She punched him playfully with a grin.
"Come on you… actually try it!"
"Oh alright then." He let her feed him the sauce and then smacked his lips appreciatively. "It's definitely fine. I promise."
"Thank you! How's dessert coming?" She asked him as she continued stirring.
"It's pretty excellent if I do say so myself." He said smugly. "Very rich and delicious." She raised an eyebrow at him.
"We'll see."
"Here, take a taste, I guarantee you'll swoon!"
"Oh confident are we?"
"Absolutely milady!" He swiped a finger through the thick chocolately mixture and held it out to her but before she could lick it off he smeared it on her nose.
"Oh!" She exclaimed in surprise, eyes wide. "You cheeky bastard! You'll pay for that!" Hiccup was laughing too much to care right then.
"I don't think I will! You look so funny!" He laughed. "Ok, ok… I'm sorry… I'll clean it off I promise, here," He kissed her nose and licked off the mixture making them both chuckle. Then he took another swipe of mixture on a finger for her. "This time I'll be good. I promise!"
She clearly didn't trust him though. She gripped hold of his hand to stop him moving it and then she very slowly and deliberately licked up his finger before sucking on it, making a real show of it.
The way she looked at him told him she knew exactly what she was doing to him and what was going through his head. He bit his lower lip as he watched her. She kept going for another minute and then moved away licking her lips.
"You're right… it is excellent. But don't go getting cocky."
"You're such a tease!"
"Was too tempting."
"You are terrible."
"But you love it."
"No… ok yeah…"
"Knew it."
He glared at her and she glanced sideways at him smirking. She was unbelievable. In so many ways. And she was right. He did love it. Something felt natural about doing things like this with her. Just having normality. A real life. Doing normal things like walking the dog, cooking a meal, sharing a bed. This was right, it was perfect and it was what he wanted.
He watched as she poured the sauce over the pasta and place it in the oven for a while. He could envision this as a future. He could see them cooking on their travels, trying new exotic foods, or maybe just old favourites. He could see them in their own home, just making dinner. Maybe even for a child…
And just for a moment, the vision was clearer than anything had ever been before. The dream was vivid and clear.
Astrid in the kitchen just musing around, making food, him coming in from work and greeting her with a kiss before being charged by a small child, an Astrid miniature, Toothless loping along behind.
Oh the vision was so clear. So beautifully right. He wanted that vision, that future, so badly. It was all he could see now.
"You're staring again." She said from where she was crouched down.
"Sorry, I just can't help it."
"Clearly." She teased. "What was it you said earlier? You like the view?" She patted down her legs as she straightened back up.
"I really do. In fact, I don't like the view… I love the view." He just kept staring at her, marvelling at every inch of her, shaking his head lightly as if in disbelief. He just couldn't get the image out of his head. Spending his life, the future, with her.
The teasing grin on her face slipped and she looked at him more seriously.
"Hiccup?" He shook his head again and wrapped an arm around her waist.
"C'mere you." He pulled her close to him and kissed her firmly. She didn't resist. Her arms slipped around him and she kissed him back.
