Been awhile…hi, everyone! I have not forgotten about MTW. In fact, since I planned out the story, I feel more confident about trucking through to the end of this story…which is still a ways off, but…yay, motivation!

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Noctus Fury (anonymous): Like father like son, huh? Haha.


Chapter 8: Ruffnut's List of (Not So) Helpful Ideas

Astrid woke up and found that Hiccup had returned sometime after she had fallen asleep. She had woken up early today; lately, Hiccup would be off attending to chief matters by the time Astrid would wake up. It was not usually like that and Astrid attributed the sleeping habit change to be related to her growing baby.

Today, Astrid had promised that she would meet with Ruffnut and listen to the other girl's advice. However, she was in no rush. Everything was so calm and peaceful; Astrid was not ready to disturb the tranquility. Ever since Hiccup was thrust into role as chieftain, Astrid barely ever got the chance to see him relax anymore; he was always running off to somewhere. Whether it was settling disputes or leading meetings or simply planning the daily operations of the village, Hiccup was always doing something.

Now, though, as he slept, Astrid could see the content smile upon his face. For once he was relaxed and at peace. Knowing that brought a smile to Astrid's own face. It was impossible to stay angry with her husband. Frustrated, yes, but not angry. Astrid loved Hiccup and that love never failed to dissipate any anger she could ever feel towards him.

Carefully, Astrid stood up from the bed. Looking back, she checked to make sure that she had not woken Hiccup. Luckily, he had not stirred. Good. He deserves a decent rest for once. One without disruption. Silently, Astrid dressed for the day and walked down the stairs for a quick breakfast. She did not really want to eat right now, but knew that she needed to for the baby. Besides, she knew that Ruffnut would not be stopping by this early; she was definitely not a morning Viking. Hopefully, I can keep the food down this time. It's getting better, but…the last thing I need is for Hiccup to hear and wake up.

Astrid made a simple breakfast mix of ground oats, flavored slightly with mild herbs. Breakfast was usually the hardest meal to eat, so Astrid kept the flavorings a little on the bland-side. The healer dubbed this issue "morning sickness" because it was supposedly worse in the mornings, but it didn't just occur in the morning. For a while, Astrid had felt like it was pointless to eat because none of the food stayed in her.

Astrid ate her breakfast slowly, attempting to savor the meek flavoring of her ground oats. She hoped that eating slowly would help to keep the food down. So far, it seemed to be working. Though she did feel a little queasy at times, there was no immediate threat to indicate a need to empty her stomach.

She was just finishing up her breakfast when Hiccup walked down the stairs. Astrid could tell that Hiccup noticed her presence when his eyes flickered over to hers for just an instant. He did not speak though (not even a "Good morning, Milady. Sleep well?") before heading outside to attend to whatever tasks he had planned for today. Sighing, Astrid watched her husband leave and continued to stare at the closed door. He's still… We need to fix this. Now more determined than ever Astrid finished washing her dish and utensils while waiting for Ruffnut. Astrid was just contemplating what she should do while waiting when Ruffnut creeped in through the front door.

Looking around and catching sight of Astrid, Ruffnut whispered, "Hiccup's not here, is he?" as if she was on some top-secret covert mission.

"Relax, Ruff, Hiccup left already. I told you yesterday that he would be gone by the time you arrived."

Ruffnut eased up and walked over to the couch where Astrid was sitting. "So, I'm guessing you didn't figure out anything about what Hiccup meant," Ruffnut began. When Astrid shook her head, Ruffnut continued, "I thought about it last night and I came up with some possible solutions you can try."

"Well, your guess is as good as any. What are they?"

From one of her pockets, Ruffnut pulled out a list that she had obviously written last night and passed the paper to Astrid. Astrid skimmed over the list of ideas that Ruffnut presented. She reread the points several times before finally looking back up to Ruffnut who was obviously expecting feedback.

"You don't seriously think these 'suggestions' are going to work, do you?" Astrid asked, skeptical.

"Of course they will," Ruffnut replied, unfazed. "Try them!"

"No, seriously, Ruffnut. Baking? Pampering? Where did you get these ideas?"

Ruffnut shrugged. "I don't know. Isn't that what men like?"

Astrid facepalmed. Why did I ever think it was smart to ask the one female Viking on the entirety of Berk who has never had a boyfriend for advice on how to patch things up between me and Hiccup? "Hiccup is a Viking, Ruffnut. He doesn't need pampering. Besides, have you seen me try to cook food?" Surely Ruffnut remembered the Yak Nog experiment from several years back.

"Hey," Ruffnut defended, throwing her hands up in surrender, "You said my guess was as good as any. All I did was give my guess."

"Well…" Astrid began but stopped. Those had been her words. "You're right. I did say that and…I guess I could try some of the points from your list. I just…wish I knew what it is that Hiccup actually wants. This is like some twisted riddle that only he knows the answer to and…I hate not knowing that answer."

Astrid thanked her friend and Ruffnut stayed for a little while longer. After these last few days, Astrid was grateful for the company; she missed having someone that she could talk with and with whom she could share her thoughts.

On the hand-crafted wooden table in front of them, lay Ruffnut's list of suggestions and Astrid felt her eyes drift often to the discarded paper. Could any of those silly ideas actually be the one that Hiccup had in mind? Would any of those suggestions mend the broken bond between Astrid and her stubborn husband?

Even after Ruffnut left a few hours later, Astrid was still wondering. When Hiccup arrived home much later, Astrid still felt no closer to an answer than yesterday when she'd initially asked for Ruffnut's opinion. Somethings would never change. Astrid still hated that she did not have all the answers.


I just don't know why I suck so much at coming up with endings for chapters. Maybe I'm just frustrated. My laptop's been having issues again… Might have to get it serviced or something. Hope not, but it is my preferred of the two that I own. Hope you liked the chapter anyway.

Thank you all for reading and supporting More Than Words!

Posted: December 1, 2015