Prompt: "Were you ever going to tell me?"
"Were you ever going to tell me?" Astrid stormed over towards Hiccup.
"I'm telling you now!"
"No, I found out." Astrid dropped the envelope containing Hiccup's final pay check on the table. "Would you have said anything if I hadn't found out?
"Of course I would! It's just… I wasn't sure how. I know you've been stressed about your own job and about the house and… I was scared."
Astrid sighed, long and hard, her breath fluttering the bangs around her face. "You should have just said something, instead of lying to me every day."
"I know, I just-"
"That's the bit that got me Hiccup, the lying. You're a terrible liar. I knew something was going on, but I didn't know what."
"You knew? How long?" Hiccup toyed with the white envelope, waiting but Astrid said nothing, her face was flushed with anger.
"Astrid, how long?"
"A week."
"A week?" Hiccup ran a hand through his hair and drew a breath. "I'm sorry."
"Why didn't you just tell me?" Astrid no longer sounded so mad, just disappointed, which was worse. Hiccup stared down at his feet, ashamed.
"I was going to when I found another job."
"You should've just told me you were fired. I wouldn't have been angry if you-"
"Fired?" Hiccup looked up in confusion. "Astrid, I quit."
"What?" Now Astrid was confused. "Why?"
"I just wasn't sure it was something I wanted anymore." Hiccup was looking down again, refusing to meet Astrid's gaze. "
She bent to get herself into Hiccup's line of sight, gripping his chin gently and lifting his face to look at her.
"What do you want?" She asked softly.
Hiccup shrugged. "I don't know what I want any more." He told her. "I guess I was so eager… to get away from Berk, away from Dad and the future he had planned out for me. I took the first course I was accepted in to and it was challenging and it was fun, but I've ended right back up in the same job he wanted me to have and he keeps asking me to come home but he promised me!"
Hiccup pulled away from his girlfriend and sat down hard on the couch. "He promised me twelve months! I know I should have talked it over with you first." He picked at the worn fibres of the couch. Toothless trotted over to sit between Hiccup's feet. "But I panicked… and it just happened."
Astrid felt all the anger leave her.
"I thought you liked your job."
"I did, but I couldn't cope with Dad ringing every. single. day. asking when I was 'going to make the next logical step and come home.'" Hiccup crooked his fingers into air quotes.
"You know he just wants what's best for you." Astrid took a seat beside her boyfriend.
"I know that, but he's going about it all wrong. I don't want the life he's got planned for me. I never wanted that."
"What do you want?" Astrid pulled her feet up onto the couch, wrapping her arms around her legs.
"This. Us." Hiccup reached out and pulled Astrid towards him. "Right now, that's the only thing I'm sure about."
Astrid relaxed into Hiccup's arms.
"You need to do what you think's right," she told him. "The rest will come, and your dad… he'll get over it."
"Thanks Astrid."
"You're welcome," Astrid turned to kiss Hiccup's cheek. "But babe, don't ever lie to me again."
Hiccup nodded earnestly. He'd never intended to keep this from Astrid in the first place, but the longer it went on, the harder it had been to form the words.
Astrid pulled away from Hiccup's embrace and stood. Toothless quickly jumped up to take her place on the couch.
"Where are you going?"
"Nowhere, I've just got a few errands I need to run." As Astrid stepped on to the front porch, she pulled out her phone. She had a phone call to make.
"Hey Stoick, yeah it's Astrid. Look, we need to talk…"
