Astrid woke up the next morning feeling after the best night of sleep she had possibly ever had. Hiccup's arm was draped over her stomach and her body was tucked neatly into his. The previous night had been warm enough that they had forgoed the covers and instead laid atop them, still partially dressed. Hiccup was still in his t-shirt and shorts, whereas Astrid wore a loose fitting tank top and comfortable jeans. It had to be the most comfortable position she had ever been in. Held tightly to his chest with his arm wrapped possessively around her. She felt safe, secure and, most of all wanted.
Astrid reluctantly slipped out of Hiccup's grasp and rolled over to face him. He was still asleep, his eyes pressed shut but his mouth was slightly open and a bead of drool was hanging from the corner of it. His hair, like always, was a mess and sat like a bird's nest atop his head. Yet despite all these quirks that (some) other girls may find distasteful or disgusting, he looked like the cutest, most adorable person to her. Almost compulsively she leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to his forehead, backing off a second later to see his snort and move slightly in his spot. Astrid tried to stifle a chuckle but failed and her laughter ultimately caused him to rouse as well.
Hiccup bleakly rubbed his eyes and looked across to find himself staring into a beautiful sea of blue. A small smile graced his lips and he reached up to wipe the drool from the corner of his mouth before he spoke.
"What are you laughing at?" Hiccup asked innocently.
"You," Astrid replied with a smile, "You were drooling everywhere."
"Oh," Hiccup said with a chuckle, "I didn't gross you out did I?"
"Absolutely and I am afraid I am going to have to break up with you," she playfully quipped at him. A look of mock disappointment plastered his face and he pouted, pretending to cry."But in all honesty," Astrid carried on, "You look really cute when you sleep."
"Well thank you, Milady."
"My pleasure."
As she wandered down the stairs into the living room, Astrid surveyed the scene around her. Snotlout was passed out on the couch, deep in his hungover sleep; Ruff was sat on the other sofa with her phone in hand; Fishlegs was in the kitchen cooking breakfast, the smell of bacon and eggs wafting through the room; and Tuff was nowhere to be seen. Upstairs the sound of the shower running could still be heard as Hiccup took one; being the gentleman he was he had let Astrid wash first when they got up. Her hair was still wet from the shower as she couldn't be bothered to use her hair dryer but it was bundled up in her classic ponytail so it was less noticeable.
"Have a good time last night?" Ruff asked with a smirk as she looked up from her phone when she saw Astrid. Astrid glared back at her friend.
"Shut it Thorston, " she replied with a slight scowl on her face, "For your information, even though it is none of your business, nothing happened last night.
"Yeah I get it," Ruff replied with the smirk still plastered on her face, "Nothing happened." She winked at her friend as Astrid strolled over the room and punched her on the shoulder. It was Ruff's turn to scowl at Astrid now and she did just that before returning to her book and grumbling quietly. Astrid smiled at herself then made her way back across the living room towards the kitchen where she was greeted by Fishlegs.
"Mornin," he said as he fiddled with the food in his pan using his spatula.
"Good morning," she replied with a smile.
"You want anything?" he asked, gesturing with the spatula to the mess of fried eggs and bacon in his pan.
"I think I'll just have toast," Astrid laughed in reply before walking over the counter and popping four slices of bread into the toaster. "Does anyone have anything planned for today?" she asked a moment later. By this point, Fishlegs had taken his food of the hob and distributed it messily onto two plates. He called Ruffnut over before turning back to Astrid.
"No I don't think anyone did have any plans," he informed her casually, "We are going back tomorrow so I think everyone just wants to chill out today."
"Speaking of today," Ruff joined in as she slid into a seat around the kitchen counter, "I wanted to go for a walk around the woods. You wanna come?" She directed her question specifically at Fishlegs causing him to get slightly flustered.
"Yeah… Um… Sure, I'll come with you," he managed to stutter out before retreating from the kitchen clutching his plate close to him. Astrid, who had overseen the whole interaction, raised an eyebrow at her friend who had just begun munching down on the breakfast that Fishlegs had made her.
"He's still a bit nervous when it comes to spending time alone," Ruffnut explained through mouthfuls.
"I thought you guys were…" Astrid started but was cut off but Ruff.
"I thought we were too but I don't know. Just between you and me, and I mean nothing bad by it. But I think Fish has some issues with relationships that he hasn't told anyone. I honestly don't know what is happening between us, Strid. I mean I haven't been fooling around with other guys like I used to but we have hardly spoken alone in months so I really don't know. And it sucks. Cus I think I really like him. Ya know, in a way that is different to how I have felt for any boy before. Like he is more than just looks, there is an actual interesting person behind him. God, I sound like such a girl right now."
"Hey, everyone's gotta be girly sometimes," Astrid replied before she frowned slightly. Ruff started laughing,
"I can't believe you, Astrid Hofferson, just said that. Perhaps Hiccup has gotten to you already."
Not a word to anyone Thorston," Astrid threatened the other girl in her usual Astrid manner, "I did not just say that."
"Whatever you say, Hofferson," Ruff replied with a grin, earning her a swift punch on the forearm.
"Don't you have a walk to get ready for or something?" Astrid asked, clearly slightly annoyed.
"Yeah I do actually," Ruffnut replied, "Have fun with Hiccup today," she winked at Astrid and slipped of the seat, exiting back into the living room.
"Heads up, Hiccup heard Astrid call out as he made his way down the stairs. His hair was still damp and clinging to the top of his head in places and in others it was stuck up at weird angles like usual. The next second a piece of toast hit him square in the face causing him to recoil in surprise. He heard Astrid snort as she tried to stifle her laughter in the kitchen and Ruff burst out laughing from where she was sat on the couch. Hiccup recovered from his shock a second later and looked across towards the kitchen, raising his eyebrow at his girlfriend.
"What was that for?" Hiccup asked her in a very confused tone of voice.
"I said heads up," Astrid replied innocently as a slight, mischievous smile spread across her face.
"I know you did. But I didn't expect you to be lobbing toast at me."
"Well maybe you should learn to expect the unexpected Haddock," Astrid replied in a joking tone, "Now eat your floor toast. We are going out in a minute."
"Do I have no say in this?" he asked back as he reached down to pick the toast off the floor although he had no intention of eating it)
"None at all," she replied with a grin.
"Is it always gonna be like this?" he asked with mock annoyance plaster on his face.
"Yeah so you better get used to it," she quipped back before throwing another slice of toast at him (which he caught this time).
Another rock splashed along the surface of the water as it exited her hand. They were walking side by side down the rocky pebble beach that bordered that lake. The sun was slightly obscured by some light grey clouds that hung in the sky up above but overall the day was as warm as it could be. Hiccup's arm brushed hers as they walked, sending a surge of electricity up her forearm. Astrid turned to look at him to see he was staring absentmindedly at her with a large smile plastered on his face; it made him look like a doofus (albeit a very cute one).
"Enjoying the view?" she asked Hiccup with a laugh. It seemed to shock him back to the moment and he stuttered for a moment before flashing her a lopsided smile that made butterflies sprout in her stomach. She smiled back at him after a second before reaching down, plucking another rock up in her hand, and sending it darting across the lake.
"Astrid?" She heard Hiccup say in a rather questioning tone from behind her, causing her to turn around to face him.
"Yeah?" She replied in an equally questioning tone.
"Have you, umm. Have you actually said anything to Eret about us yet?" he asked with his hands resting on his neck in the classic awkward Hiccup pose.
"No, not yet," Astrid replied, seemingly surprised at the question, "Does it really matter?"
"Well considering he still thinks you two are dating or whatever was going on with you. I'd say yes. It does kind of matter." It was clear from his voice that he wasn't angry or even mad about it but something about what he had said riled something up within Astrid.
"Why do you even care about it?" She asked, her voice taking on a sharper tone.
Hiccup seemed to sense that he might cause an argument if he didn't handle the next few sentences correctly and in response, his face softened and he took a step towards Astrid, raising his hand her face and gently caressing her cheek as she spoke.
"It's just," he said softly, noticing her relax a little already as she seemed to melt into his touch, "I want us to be clear of any drama as quick as possible Milady. So we can get down to it just being you and me. I just want to tie up any loose ends as soon as possible." Hiccup smiled softly at her, staring into her azure blue eyes with his soft green ones. After a second Astrid smiled back at him and smiled as he withdrew his hand from her face.
"Okay," she relented to him, "I don't have signal here, but as soon as I do I will tell him that things are over. Alright?" Hiccup smiled at her and then nodded before taking her hand in his.
"Now come on," he exclaimed, "We still have a whole day to enjoy before we head back!"
Hey guys and gals, again I wanna apologise for how long this took to come out. I am currently in the middle of exams and so I am focussing most of my effort on them but I will try to write some more chapters fro this and my other story in the small break I have at the moment. Thank you for waiting for so long and I hope you enjoy.
-Pluckycross