A week had went by since Armina said her first word, and she continuously babbled ever since. She seemed to love the attention she got when everyone around her thought she was about to say something, and giggled constantly at Heather and Stormfly's new affection towards her.
Everyone who was going to was now moved into Stormfly's apartment. Hiccup and Dagur slept in the first room to the left in the long hallway leading to the back closet, Heather and Astrid the second room to the right. Stormfly and Toothless' art room was the first to the right, the guest room with a wooden bed for the Hofferson's occasional stay next to Dagur and Hiccup's.
Hiccup stepped into his and Dagur's room, looking around. Dagur had a medium sized brown chest with about four pairs of cloths and two journals for school at the head of his air up mattress. Hiccup's mattress was on the left side of the room, next to his feeding tube pole and machined in the corner. He had two brown boxed at the foot of his bed, one with an assortment of cloths and one with all his most important journals and papers. Why as Hiccup's side of the room was pretty bare with the exception of a small fold out desk and spare prosthetic leg, Dagur had three band posters on his wall and his roller skates next to his skateboard beside a fold out desk Hiccup bought him.
Suddenly Hiccup felt a hand lay on his shoulder, and turned around to smile at Astrid. "Well hello Astrid. What brings you to the boy's room?" Hiccup raised an eyebrow playfully, turning around to face his girlfriend who currently wore her plain blue shirt, skirt, headband, and promise necklace he'd made her. Astrid shrugged her shoulders, taking his hand.
"I wanted to see how you were doing. Toothless and Stormfly went out on a date and promised to bring back dinner. Dagur and Heather are still trying to get Halden and Armina to talk, but haven't had much luck." Hiccup chuckled at this, shrugging his shoulders in response. "Good luck getting Halden to even pay attention to ya. He's developed a little world of his own." Astrid nodded, following Hiccup to set on the air up mattress that was his. They pushed back the green blanket on it, laying on their backs.
Astrid sighed against Hiccup's neck, curling up against his side. The boy in response wrapped his left arm around her waist, his right hand laying behind his head as they stared at the ceiling. Astrid hummed a tone she'd been singing to the twins as her hand slowly traveled under her boyfriend's shirt. Hiccup stiffened at first at the sudden touch, then faced his head away from Astrid, relaxing and letting her do what she wanted.
Astrid noticed Hiccup's distant look as her hands ran up bony ribs and thin skin. She sighed and lay her right arm under Hiccup's head, feeling the plastic of the feeding tube on his cheek. She moved her hand up to his chest, feeling toned muscles combined with bony shoulders. Hiccup shuddered as her smooth hands ran across the center of his torso and back to his ribs, knowing she wasn't trying to make him feel certain ways, but unable to let his thoughts spiral. All Astrid was intentionally doing was feeling how thin he'd been getting.
"Astrid...Why are you.." Astrid stopped her movements at hearing Hiccup's quiet voice, though her fingers still traced his ribs. "I just worry about you." Hiccup made a deep grunting noise in the back of his throat, looking away again a little annoyed. Astrid simply laughed quietly, only finding the gesture to be one of her dorky, cute Haddock.
"So...how long do you think Heather and Dagur are going to be able to handle the twins for?" Hiccup asked after a long moment of silence went by. It was raining outside once more, and the sound of light ice pellets could be heard on the roof above them.
"I hope for a while." Astrid admitted, listening to the noise above. Her eyes suddenly lit up as a thought came to mind. "You know...we've only got a few more weeks until Snoggletog. How are we going to make the twins' first one special?" Hiccup suddenly tensed, and at first Astrid didn't know exactly why. A memory came to mind that pieced things together when she looked at Hiccup's eyes though. He'd only had that look once before.
A few years ago Hiccup would spend every Snoggletog with his mother while his dad was away at war. They'd set up decorations all around the house, hang up lights, exchange gifts despite the small amount of money the household had, and more. Hiccup remembered running at his mother's side as they'd sometimes go to the park Snoggletog week and play little games they'd made up years ago. It was tradition.
Astrid remembered the first time Hiccup had a Snoggletog without his mother. He found it harder to run with the way his prosthetic was becoming irritated during the winter months, and his father was always away. Stoick promised to come back Snoggletog eve, but that didn't ease Hiccup's mind. He missed spending the week doing holiday 'traditions' with his mother. Jogging near the holiday lights to take photographs, gift shopping, and Hiccup cooking the meals his mother attempted but could never figure out.
Hiccup sat on the edge of the guest bed in the Hofferson's house. He'd been living with them for quiet a while now, and his mother had been gone for a few months. The boy was still devastated though, and the holidays didn't help. Yeah, he had his father coming home for the first time in forever on Snoggletog eve, but that didn't make everything cheery all over again.
"Hey Hiccup?" Fourteen year old Astrid asked, knocking on the guest bedroom door which was cracked open. She entered the room to see Hiccup with his hands in his lap, his prosthetic leaning against the foot of the bed. When the boy looked up as if just now noticing her presence, he quickly folded his legs and tried to reach for his prosthetic.
Astrid, having always had a close relationship with the Haddock boy, quickly reacted and ran to the side of the bed. She grabbed Hiccup's hands, holding him still so he couldn't grab the fake leg. The boy looked up at her with wide eyes, but slowly relaxed after seeing Astrid's warm smile.
Astrid gently tugged on the top of Hiccup's left leg, though the boy wouldn't budge. "Let me see it." She said only sternly enough to make Hiccup listen, but not enough to startle him. Hiccup unfolded his legs, allowing Astrid to see his reddened amputation sight that was slightly swollen.
"Hiccup...why didn't you tell me or my parents that it was bothering you? We have medication to help with this kind of thing." Astrid spoke more gently this time, laying a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. The boy looked away with a blush on his cheeks, shrugging his shoulders. What a dork. A cute one though.
"I-I uh...I don't like it when other people mess with it and...I-I didn't know if you'd-I-I mean...well..." Astrid rolled her eyes in response to Hiccup's stammering, and silenced him with a finger to his lips. "Take it easy, breath Hiccup." Hiccup did as he was told, taking a deep breath and attempting to clear his mind. "Now, you didn't know if I'd what?"
Hiccup looked down at his lap, shrugging again in reflex. He only spoke when Astrid rubbed comforting circles in his back. "I guess...odd? Weird? I don't know the exact word for it." Astrid smiled warmly, tracing her right thumb down his jaw line before wrapping her arms around him in a hug.
"Hiccup, you're the weirdest person I know, and one heck of an oddball." Hiccup made an annoyed grunting sound at this, before Astrid pulled back and smirked at him, her hand still resting on his cheek. "But..." She paused for suspense, before lightly kissing his forehead in a comforting gesture. "Since when have I ever cared? You're odd nature and weird ideas are what make you Hiccup Haddock. Those are the traits our family admires about you. Don't you realize that?"
Hiccup blushed slightly as Astrid spoke after kissing his forehead, then nodded his head in understanding. He wrapped his arms around her again in another hug. "Thank you Astrid. For everything." Astrid smiled, nodding her head in satisfaction. "No problem Hiccup."
Hiccup still lay beside Astrid on the air up mattress in his room, having said nothing as the girl next to him seemed to go into a distant place. Just as he'd closed his eyes to get some rest, the hand on his ribs moved again before Astrid sat up with a weak smile.
Hiccup lay below Astrid as her hands fell over his heart. "I think I can understand why you'd be so tense about the idea of Snoggletog. Last time you were this quiet for this long was when we were fourteen." Hiccup's eyes widened, and he too smiled weakly as he realized just how much attention his girlfriend paid to their moments together.
"I guess. I mean...I just don't know how to be all jolly and cheery for the twins when every other minutes i'm worrying about my father. It was hard enough to learn to celebrate with you, Ingrid, and Agnar without thinking about my..." Hiccup trailed off, his expression once more falling. Astrid hated that sad look clouding his forest green emeralds, always had. She knew grieving was a way of life, and even though two years had passed, her boyfriend still felt sad about the death of his mother sometimes.
"But..." Astrid pulled Hiccup to a sitting position, leaning on his shoulder as they looked at Dagur's posters on the other side of the room. "The important thing is that you did learn, Hiccup. You never gave up and celebrated life over death. You never gave into that dark depression that nearly overtook you so many times." Astrid and Hiccup shuddered in sync at that memory. The boy had had a rough hill to climb after the death of his mother before he was himself again.
Hiccup sighed and nodded, a smile on his lips once more. There was that lopsided smile Astrid loved to the moon and back. "Yeah. You know...I never would've made it past that depression if it wasn't for you. Sure your parents helped. A lot actually. They never sat by my side when I cried though. They were never able to read me and figure out what secrets I had to hide. Most of all, they never held me after a nightmare, or rocked me when I couldn't stop my own tears. Granted, I didn't let them. I was far too prideful to let the Hofferson's see me at my weakest. You were my exception though, Astrid. Just like you have been these past few weeks after I got news of my father's capture. It's like you always say when things get tough. Every soldier has weak spots, and when they do, they have to have trust in their fellow soldiers to get through."
Hiccup lifted his hand to Astrid's cheek, leaning in for a kiss. "You, Astrid Hofferson, are the only soldier on my battle field who'd I'd trust with my life, my tears, my secrets, and heart." Astrid was shook by the words Hiccup managed to come up with, and guessed his occasional ability to be so poetic originated from one of two possibilities. Either he read stuff like this in all the books he read, or, he spent a lot more time listening to Fishlegs than she'd originally thought.
Astrid shivered as Hiccup suddenly brought her out of her thoughts with a kiss. This one was different than most others. Rather than the typical quick and deep or slow and steady, there was a hole other combination. Their lips moved slowly with soft strokes, though they moved their own ways. Rather than locking and moving in sync, both mouths traveled their own way, but always met in the center to send another spark of ecstasy through the frames and minds of both lovers.
Hiccup brought his hand up to Astrid's cheek, gently brushing his knuckles past her ear and pushing back her hair. Astrid sighed in contentment, her tongue occasionally swiping her boyfriend's upper lip as her hands lifted to his chest in order to feel his furiously beating heart. The heart that beat for her.
The kiss continued for a few more moments. Despite how into the moment Hiccup and Astrid were, the kiss felt more asexual than erotic. It was more of a comforting gesture. Not only that, but it reminded both of them how connected they were, without the rest of the world around them. A moment of peace and sparks, vision hazy as feeling became the dominant sense. Mostly a feeling of trust was shared between the two lovers who needed a private moment to confide in each other without others around.
Hiccup pulled away from Astrid after a bout of thunder outside pulled him out of his thoughts. No later than that they heard Halden and Armina begin crying in sync, obviously scared of the sudden loud noise and lightning they could see through the living room windows. Heather and Dagur soon entered the room, Heather holding Armina, Dagur Halden.
Astrid and Hiccup both blushed as the two siblings raised an eyebrow, wondering what was going on between their two best friends. "Uh...should we keep them a little-" "It's fine Heather! We were just talking about...personal stuff and Snoggletog." Astrid tried to be as vague as she could while still being believable. She wasn't technically lying, just telling half the truth. Dagur looked at Hiccup with a wondering look, and the boy simply nodded at Astrid, saying she was right.
Halden squealed louder than he currently was, twisting and turning in Dagur's grasp. Hiccup let go of Astrid, and walked towards his friend to grab his son. "Allow me. Common sport, what's got you so worked up?" Halden started to quiet down when his father began rocking and talking to him, but he quickly started getting worked up again when more thunder sounded. Armina jumped in her skin, crying for about a second in surprise rather than fear. So long as she was being held and talked to though, she just continued on babbling.
"Huh, sensitive one aren't you?" Hiccup asked curiously. His son didn't show any sign that he was listening and continued wailing as the rain hit the roof harder, causing a racket outside. Armina became uneasy too, and reached out her arms for her father. "Daddy!" She called out, eyes brimming with tears.
"Uh Astrid? Can you take Halden?" Astrid nodded and grabbed the little boy from Hiccup's arms. She sat back down on the bed, and held Halden against her shoulder. The baby gripped at the material in her shirt, his cries muffled against his mother's shirt. It wasn't until Astrid began humming and Heather sang her lullaby 'the storm king' she'd once learned that the baby began quieting down.
Armina held onto her father tightly, her blue eyes staring up into his with fear and curiosity at the same time. She seemed to be asking something almost, though Hiccup couldn't translate it of course. Despite only being nine months old, the girl was incredibly smart already. She babbled to her father as if expecting him to be able to translate. Hiccup simply tried to play along, multitasking between making cooing sounds of his own to the baby and trying not to blush as the other three young adults in the room teased him.
After the storm quieted down a little bit, Halden and Armina were sound asleep. Hiccup lay on his back with both babies laying stomach down across his torso. Astrid sat beside him on her knees, doing little braids in his wild auburn hair.
"Hey Astrid?" Hiccup asked suddenly after Astrid finished another braid in his hair. The girl hummed a yes in response, laying her hand on Armina's back to keep the girl who was currently stirring in her sleep from rolling off of her father's torso.
"Thank you. F-for everything." Astrid nodded with a smile, leaning down to kiss her boyfriend's lips. She lay down beside him, pressing her nose to his neck making Hiccup laugh.
"No problem Hiccup. No problem at all."
(A/N) So...I know a while back I SAID this would only be a few more chapters, but I really don't know how many it's gonna be. My mind just spirals!
