Chapter 23: So I Bare My Skin
Heartened by the promise of good food at her new home after school, the lunch group broke up after they were done eating and went to their separate classes. She and Hiccup had Psychology next, and took seats next to each other.
As he had since they'd left the lunch hall, he continued to ramble.
"Astrid, I mean, it's great that you're pulling me into your social circle, I just don't want to get you excluded—"
"Hiccup, it's not a zero-sum! You having more friends doesn't make me have less friends!"
"I know, but—"
The door opened, and their teacher, Mr Grimborn, entered. The whole class sat up to pay attention. Mr Grimborn—voted by the student body five years running as the 'Teacher Most Likely To Be A Cool Supervillain'—was well liked, with a deadpan sense of humor and a wonderful way of explaining the material.
Astrid watched his expression as he took attendance… and his eyes widened briefly when he got to the Hs and saw them sitting next to each other.
Uh oh.
But he didn't react any more than that, other than to finish taking attendance and then clap his hands together. "Welcome back everyone. I hope that you had a good break. Now, as I mentioned before break, we're starting section three today, on personality development, so open your books…" he said in his posh Received Pronunciation.
The next hour passed in a blur, as Mr Grimborn explained the overview of personality development. Astrid took copious notes, as she always did, but over the last year, she and Hiccup had developed the habit of splitting their efforts and combining their notes later. They meshed very well together in that, with him creating concept webs with major keywords tied together, and her copying the notes from the board. Now, with them next to each other, they seemed to have reached a new height of synergy.
"…and next class, we'll be examining cognitive development. Class dismissed." As everyone got up to leave, Mr Grimborn raised his hand. "Mr Haddock, Ms Hofferson, please hold a moment."
They shared worried looks, but hefted their bags and stayed behind.
As the last student filed out of the classroom, he looked at the pair of them. "So, Young Vulcan," he said to Hiccup, "I see that you two have stopped hiding. Finally."
"Excuse me? Sir?" Hiccup said, adding the honorific after a moment's pause.
Mr Grimborn sighed, even as he smiled at Hiccup. "A number of us in the faculty had already noticed you two growing… closer, over the last few months." He crossed his arms and quirked his lips. "That being said, I'll admit to having been surprised when we were told just how close."
"Sir," Hiccup said as neutrally as he could, and Astrid kept her mouth shut, wondering where this was going… even as she feared she knew.
"Suffice it to say, you could have heard the proverbial pin drop when we were told that our two top students had a bit of an… accident," Mr Grimborn said flatly. "So, while you didn't hear it from me, I will offhandedly mention to my notebook here that we're under strict orders to grade your work extra critically, separate you two if at all possible, and keep a close eye on 'unseemly' behavior. Am I clear?"
"As crystal, sir," Astrid said, choked. Even though she'd been expecting as much, having it confirmed was still somewhat terrifying.
"Good. Now, get to your next class." Mr Grimborn pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I can guarantee you that attendance will be extra strict for the both of you."
They moved to the door, but right before they reached it, Mr Grimborn said quietly, "And Young Vulcan? Congratulations to you both."
Astrid affirmed to herself that she'd ask what the nickname was about, but later, and they both hurried off to their next class.
#
As the final bell rang, Hiccup sighed in relief.
Next to him, Astrid moaned and said, "I second the motion."
"Thirded," came from Heather, sitting nearby.
"Unanimous," Eret said, slumped across his desk.
Fishlegs then cleared his throat. "So, um, Henry, when should we come by? For that debate practice?"
"And dinner?" Ruffnut added.
Hiccup thought for a moment. "Any requests? Or should I just make what I've got on hand?"
"Make what you've got on hand," Heather said. "You've…" she glanced from side to side and said quietly, "You and Ast have a really nasty topic. Don't stress yourself too much."
Hiccup nodded, and thought for a moment. "Say… five o'clock? Food, followed by debate practice?"
There was a murmur of agreement. People were starting to figure out rides and other forms of transportation as he and Astrid left the classroom, making a beeline for the bathrooms.
Releasing their hands, they separated, and went into their respective facilities. Hiccup finished quickly and was loitering outside in the hall, waiting for his girlfriend, when someone called his name.
"Hey, Henry, got a moment?"
Hiccup turned to see one of the American exchange students—Anthony Sawyer—standing there with an earnest expression and an outstretched hand.
"Oh, hi. Uh, sure." He shook Anthony's hand and winced as the other guy seemed to be intent on breaking a couple of Hiccup's fingers with his grip.
"So, gotta ask, why you didn't answer my messages?" Anthony said after releasing Hiccup's fingers.
Hiccup shook his hand out. "I got a lot of messages over the last few weeks, Anthony. I'm sorry that I missed yours."
"Eh, well, it's all good. So, you landed Astrid, eh? I guess if you didn't read my messages, I can give you congrats in person," Anthony said with a smile.
Hiccup gave Anthony a side-eyed look. "She's not a fish. She's my girlfriend."
Anthony held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Sorry, sorry. Didn't mean it like that. Just, she was one of the last single girls in the whole of the school, and you're dating her. So I gotta congratulate you for that. And," he spread his arms in a friendly gesture, "I'm glad that it's you."
"Huh? Why?" Hiccup asked, confused. This was a first from outside Astrid's circle of friends.
"Well, most of the guys here would just try to take advantage of her, you know? I mean, she's so beautiful and her family's well off, and she's too good to have that happen to her. But you're a nice guy, and I'm sure that you'll treat her right," he said charmingly.
"I'll do my best," Hiccup said a bit guardedly. He was saved from having to say anything more to the other guy as Astrid emerged from the toilets and saw them there.
"Ma'am," Anthony said, giving her a polite nod of the head.
She sighed and took Hiccup's hand. "Come on."
As they reached his moped, Astrid asked quietly, "What did he say to you?"
"Who, Sawyer?" Hiccup asked, checking over his moped for tampering. Already he could tell that this was going to get old, fast.
"Yeah," she said flatly.
"Uh, not much. Mostly congratulations, and wanting to know why I didn't respond to his messages. Oh, and he said that he trusted me to 'treat you right'."
Astrid gave a bitter laugh. "Oh, he would. But he's wrong in that."
"What—ow!"
"Hiccup?!"
"Pinched my finger," he said, pulling the digit free of the moped's innards and sucking on it. "How am I not 'treating you right'?"
She quirked an eyebrow, glanced around, and then leaned in. "Hiccup. Did you or did you not have sex with me without us being married?"
He blinked. "What?"
"Sawyer's like something out of the Victorian era—or America, I suppose. He's a classic 'Nice Guy' with a Madonna-Whore complex that's practically out of a textbook. To him, I'm a 'good girl', because I'm 'pure' and 'virginal.'"
Hiccup couldn't help it and burst out laughing.
She laughed too, but there was a bitter edge to it. "I know, right? Gods forbid that a girl actually have sexual desires of their own!"
Hiccup looked up from the moped and at her. "He really believes that?"
"Yep. So he treats the girls without boyfriends with this dripping paternalism, on how we're not like those other girls. He once told me and Moana that we shouldn't be friends with Cami, Merida or Ruff because they might corrupt us, but since they're whores now for having sex, he's been chasing after them. Oh, and he blew his top when he found out that Heather and Eret slept together and then broke up. Harangued them for daring to have sex and all that, and saying that they shouldn't have done it."
Hiccup said dryly, "Charming. Wonder what he'll say when he finds out about us?"
"Probably the same," she said just as dryly. "Moana, at least, is safe, but he's also shown his racist side there. Because not only is she pure and virginal, she's also 'exotic.'"
"Yuck. Oh, the things I missed being a social outcast," he said dryly and snapped the cowling shut. "I think we're good."
She sighed. "Sorry, but he just makes me so angry."
He put on his helmet, handed her the spare and mounted up. As he started the engine, he said, "I understand, Ast. But cross that bridge when we get to it?"
She snorted and put on the helmet. "So long as I can burn it behind us and dynamite the supports."
He chuckled. "Sounds good to me." She got on the seat behind him and put her arms around him and off they went.
They got home without incident, and she and Hiccup busied themselves with preparing for their guests. The freezer was raided, and Hiccup snorted as he put the pan of lasagna into the oven to warm. "Ma Kosti said that she wanted some more space in the freezer for cookies."
Astrid snorted. "Well, she's getting that!"
A couple of containers of chicken stock followed, and Hiccup busied himself making a pot of soup out of them. Checking their fresh vegetable supplies, he got out a bunch of mushrooms and onions, some carrots, snow peas and bok choy, and sliced and diced them. Setting Astrid to peeling some ginger and garlic, he started to saute the vegetables in oil. Once the mushrooms were releasing their juices, he got out the good garlic press, and let Astrid take out some of her frustrations by crushing the garlic and ginger with it.
"Feel better?" he asked after the crushed spices were merrily sauteing.
"Much," she said with a smile.
He grinned and added the stock. As it came to a boil, they busied themselves with thin-slicing some chicken breast, which went in once the soup was at a simmer. Some soy sauce, scallions and bamboo shoots followed, and a large spoonful of sesame oil rounded things out.
Astrid sniffed over the pot greedily as the Thai Ginger Soup finished. "Okay, so what is everyone else having?"
They laughed, and then there was a knock at the door. Hiccup went up to get it and let Astrid's friends—and his friends now, too, come to think of it—into their home.
#
Snotlout's spoon clattered as he half-dropped it into his empty bowl, making Astrid give him a look. "Gods, that was good," he said. "Coz, I know we butt heads a lot, but you're a damn fine chef."
Hiccup snorted and Astrid affected a pained expression.
"What's wrong?" Hiccup asked, looking at her.
She started looking all over the dining room. "What do I do, what do I do?"
"What? What is it?"
"I… I agree with Snotlout!" Astrid said in a humorous panic.
There was a pause as everyone digested her proclamation—along with the food.
Then…
"Ragnarok is at hand!" Heather said, wide-eyed.
"The Fimbulwinter is upon us!" Dagur said pretentiously.
"Goodbye, warm weather!" Fishlegs bemoaned.
Moana swore and said, "Quick, quick, disagree! I don't want to freeze!"
They all laughed, but then a sick sort of sense of anticipation seemed to settle on them all.
Then Astrid bit the bullet. "Okay. So… who goes first?"
"We still have to decide who takes what," Cami said sullenly. "Tuff and I have to decide who gets the UN position, and who gets the Tory position."
"Lie back and think of England?" Heather deadpanned.
Cami snorted. "Funny. No, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that access to information is a right, but the Tories want to make it a privilege. And 'privileges'," she emphasized lightly, "can be revoked."
Astrid commented, "And that one was personally addressed to you two, for all of the online activism you two do."
Cami scowled. "Yeah, kinda figured that out already, Ast." She scoffed and sighed. "Sorry. I shouldn't be taking it out on you."
"Not a problem. This was done specifically to make us angry," she said with a nod.
"Yeah. Let's not give him what he wants," Merida added with a frown.
"So, what's the best way to handle this?" Eret asked.
"Coin flip," Fishlegs said. "Leave it up to chance, rather than stress ourselves out over who gets what."
Astrid nodded, and a quick search of Hiccup's backpack found a pound coin. "Call?" he asked.
She took a deep breath. "Heads, I get pro-, tails, I get anti-."
He nodded and flipped the coin. Catching it, he slapped it onto the back of his hand, paused, and then lifted his hand off.
Tails.
Astrid swallowed and nodded. "So you get pro-abortion, I get anti-abortion."
The coin was passed around the room, and the others flipped, pair by pair. Cami had to defend internet access as a privilege, while Merida had to argue against gay marriage. Eret had to argue for lab testing on animals, and Fishlegs was going to have to argue for economic development. And Dagur had to argue for adoption.
Nobody was very happy, but they'd at least settled that without argument.
Trying to set a good example, Astrid pulled Hiccup up and to the head of the table. "All right. So, how do we want to handle this?"
Merida commented, "Technically, we should be researching and preparing and all of that first, but I think that we might just want to get a first trial run done and over with. Those not debating or judging will take notes on where you need to polish things."
Ruffnut nodded. "Yep. And hey…" she scowled. "At least with the topics being tailored for us, we're already familiar with them."
Eret grumbled, "Want to bet that's one of his excuses?"
Dagur grunted, "I have a standing policy of not taking sucker bets."
That sent a light, if bitter, chuckle around the room.
"Okay, so, warmup debates then?" Astrid asked. "Five minutes a side, then rebuttals?"
"And half of us judge and the other half take notes?" Heather suggested.
"Sounds reasonable," Moana said, and got out her tablet. "Let's do this."
Astrid took a deep breath. "Hiccup, can you start?"
"Me? Why me?" he asked.
"Valedictorian," Heather offered with a smile. "Got to set a good example for the rest of us!"
He scowled, but nodded.
As he and Astrid stood at the head of the dining room table, he took a deep breath, and then another.
"What?" Astrid asked. "You okay?"
"Just remembering our practice debates over break," he said, and she nodded.
Hiccup straightened, and, after a false start, began to speak.
Astrid listened intently. For all of his shyness, he was a good speaker…
Too good, almost.
She listened and felt her throat grow tight as he laid out the bodily autonomy reasonings. And he was right. It was her body, and she had the right to do with it as she pleased.
…but it was their kid.
She shook her head. He wasn't addressing her. It was a debate, nothing more.
"…family planning services allow for a couple to space out their children for when they're economically ready to raise them, helping break the cycle of poverty…" her lover said, and it was like a blow to the gut.
Were they ready to have a kid? They'd be seventeen, heading off to college, and while Hiccup was a genius, how would that genius fare under the weight of raising a child? Because Hiccup was right—raising a kid was a major undertaking.
"You okay there?" he asked, and, having been directly addressed, she replied, "I'm all right. But economic decisions are only one factor. What about familial and emotional considerations?"
Hiccup blinked. "How so?"
"Well, it takes two people. Shouldn't the father also have a say?" she rebutted.
Hiccup shook his head. "That leads to women being forced to carry children they don't want."
Astrid choked and rebutted. "And the father's wishes mean nothing?"
Hiccup's eyes narrowed. "When he can carry the baby for nine months and risk all sorts of fun medical issues, sure."
"Tone," Heather chided.
"Sorry," Hiccup said belligerently. "But that's the point. It's the mother's body, she gets to decide what happens with it. And if that decision is 'No', then nobody else gets to say otherwise and have her risk herself for their benefit."
Astrid wanted to cry out that it wasn't a risk, but instead she glared and said, "But with proper medical support, the risk is negligible."
"But still present!" Hiccup rebutted instantly. "It's still a major undertaking!"
"I'm not denying that, but he should still have a say in it if he's invested at all! Sure, a lot of guys just bail on the girl," guys not like you, she thought, her heart hammering, "but if he's invested, shouldn't he have some input?"
"If he's invested, then he has input! He can talk to his girlfriend like any decent guy!" Hiccup fired back.
But you haven't. You've been leaving it entirely in my hands, Astrid thought. Don't you care? She tried to quash that thought. She knew that he did care, but it was there now...
"Besides," Hiccup continued, "There's a double-standard at work here anyway. The man suffers none of the social fallout or stigma for unintended pregnancies or abortions. Girls are 'sluts' and 'whores', while guys are 'players' and 'studs'. If the men are not bearing any of the risks-medical, social, economic-why should they get a legal say?"
They went back and forth from there. Heather tried to restore order a few times, but she couldn't get a word in edgewise as Astrid fired argument and rebuttal back and forth with Hiccup. By the end of it, Astrid was nearly in tears as she was nearly shouting. In the back of her mind, the thought went around again and again, no matter how much she tried to dismiss it as irrational. You don't want it. You want to abort it.
Her chest heaving as she took deep breath after breath, feeling her eyes stinging with unshed tears, she stared as Hiccup rebutted her point on maternal support, almost shouting himself.
Then the thought rang through her mind, and she screamed, "Hooligan!" and turned and ran for the stairs.
She needed to get out of here… and away from this.
#
Hiccup stared as Astrid vanished from the room, her safeword ringing in her ears. Everyone in the room was staring at him, eyes universally wide.
"What just happened?" Moana asked quietly.
Hiccup breathed out slowly. "Astrid and I… we agreed to… to use 'safewords' in case either of us were feeling overwhelmed."
"That sounds pretty much like what just happened," Cami said.
"And… and why was Astrid feeling overwhelmed?" Moana asked cautiously. She clearly suspected why, judging by the knowing look on her face, but wasn't saying anything.
Hiccup swallowed and looked around the room. Everyone else in here knew already, come to think of it.
Heather interrupted his thoughts. "You go check on her. We'll fill her in, alright?"
Hiccup nodded and left, as quiet conversation began behind him. Climbing the stairs, he took a deep breath and braced himself at the top before walking over to his… to their bedroom door. Another deep breath, and he knocked softly on the doorpost.
"Come in, Hiccup," Astrid's voice said softly.
Walking carefully, he entered, and found Astrid huddled on the bed, hugging her knees up against her chest.
Giving her space, he stood over by the wall, and just looked at her, waiting for her to talk.
"Astrid?"
"Mmmh?"
"I…I'm sorry that I got too deep into the debate."
She took a deep, almost ironic-sounding, deep breath. "I told you to, didn't I? So, it's my fault, too." She sighed and patted the bed next to her. "Come on, sit down. I feel guilty for you just standing there."
Hiccup cautiously moved over, and sat stiffly next to her, and she curled up next to him.
"And I'm sorry for getting in too deep as well," she said softly. "I know that this is what Mr Mildew wanted, and we played right into his hands. Forgive me?"
He took her hands in his and ran his thumb over the back of her knuckles. "What is there to forgive?" he asked softly. "We're good… and I love you."
She took another deep sigh, the tension noticeably leaving her body as she did so, and said softly, "I love you too. And… thank you."
They sat like that for a while in silence, Hiccup gently stroking her hands and back.
Just as he thought about going downstairs and telling everyone that they were all right, Astrid's breathing changed. "Hiccup?"
"Yeah?"
"I… I was just thinking on all of this… and what was said." She fell silent for another minute.
"And?" he prompted when the tension grew unbearable.
"Hiccup… I've… I've decided." She pulled herself free of his hands and turned to look him in the face. "And… and I'm going to keep the baby."
I'M BACK!
God, this chapter gave me the worst writer's block ever. I must have gone through a dozen edits, at least, on that debate-argument, and chewing myself up on whether or not it was good enough and had enough impact to warrant her making the choice!
But, hey, I'm past it now, and while I can't promise speedy updates, I do have the entirety of the rest of the story outlined, with significant portions of those later arcs already drafted (me trying to evict the scene plot bunnies from my head in order to try to free up space for this chapter!)
Responses to the last chapter reviews! (sorry for the delay!)
Grizzly98: Big locker! (and Scottish schools don't use them). Glad you liked the Samhain outfits! And I'm having fun with Moana here, yes. She's so out of place it's hilarious.
BrawlerGamer: He has not yet put 2 and 2 together, no. And he might have to, for comfort, to avoid... bunching. And you spotted those characters, yep! And it's totally on purpose.
Saberstorm: The problem with rules is that you need to have someone willing to enforce them...
CajunBear73: Hehe... yes, they've broken in much of the house by now.
Squall321: As Astrid noted, her father and Mildew are old friends...
Harrypanther: That's putting it mildly, and he's based here on a few teachers of my acquaintance.
Alejandrathemexican: Agreed!
DeathBerryHime: And let Dagur get expelled for assaulting a teacher? As for the student body, they'd had some time for the news to not be as "new" and adjust. And, yes, this group is starting to grow together.
LexieFanatic: Grr is right!
Vivi-ntvg: Very much so, yeah... As for recommendations this time... ;)
Valkyrie: Good analysis!
Shadowda: Oh, don't "worry", there will be plenty of people that dismiss or apologize for abuse. Just their core group aren't assholes like that.
Now, continuing on with my recommendations:
The BurningTrilogy by Viv-ntvg. ;)
An interesting take on the Hiccstrid relationship, with Astrid being an organized crime boss in the canonverse Archipelago with a strong soft-spot for Hiccup. The relationship develops wonderfully over the course of three fics, with a strong believability-nothing feels forced or out-of-character, although this version of Astrid is very brutal at first. But that's part of her characterization, and she grows and develops very nicely, as does Hiccup.