Yes, I know, Eret lived! I'm surprised how surprised everyone was by that.
-HTTYD-
Practically asleep before her head hit the pillow, Astrid slept pretty deeply and dreamlessly for an hour or so. Hiccup nudged her awake at the requested time; she did want to get the police interview out of the way, after all. Then they could get on with their lives. He was tapping away on his laptop next to her, occasionally shaking out his stiff, swollen hand.
"What're you doing?"
She mumbled, yawning as she reluctantly shifted from her comfy, horizontal, buried-in-blankets position. Hiccup continued to type, but he did answer her.
"Oh. I stole the guys hard drive while we were there, cloned it and I'm just digging my way through it now."
Shaking her head to clear the sleepiness and regretting it a second later, Astrid whined in discomfort to get it out of her system before trying to ignore the throb of pain in her head.
"Still sore?"
"Mmm. Not as bad as earlier, and I feel way better after a bath and a nap. So, anything exciting?"
"Well, I'm going through most recently updated before I got there. He wrote about me a lot. I think he was trying to write some kind of analysis of me."
Astrid rolled her eyes, shifting to get comfy before resting her head on Hiccup's thigh, mewling until he petted her gently.
"This guy thought you'd be thrilled to get the chance to rape me, I don't trust his psychology skills much."
"Oh yeah, he wrote about that. According to him, I kill rapists to kill myself, as a way to deal with my own internalised desires, as he calls it. Basically, by kidnapping you, he felt he was giving me two things I wanted; you, and the 'freedom' I was denying myself. I mean, this guy was clearly completely off his head. Although, he did also theorise that you secretly liked the Night Fury back, and would have been only too happy to get some serial killer sex."
She couldn't suppress a giggle.
"Well, some of that second bit is kind of right. I didn't know you were a serial killer before we had sex though. The rest is absolute madness."
"Yeah. Well, now he's in a morgue and a few particularly weird spank banks I never ever want to visit."
Astrid immediately dismissed that thought before it could fully enter her head, opting to focus on other things.
"You think anyone recorded the livestream?"
"Oh, most definitely. Why? Was front row seat not close enough?"
"I'm just thinking about how you were probably pretty visible on the stream. Even in the Night Fury get up, there's probably some technology nerd somewhere who could work out your height and frame from it. And if the video footage made it on to the surface web where anyone can find it, then you might have to change your outfit."
Hiccup frowned, hand stilling on her hair for a minute before resuming his petting of her.
"That's a good point. Motorcycle gear is one thing, but my helmet is a custom job. I might have to fiddle with it."
"If you could move in it, might be worth getting a bigger jacket too. Something to bulk you out a bit more."
"Maybe. I can't change my trousers, they have a hidden zip for access to my prosthetic and ordering a new pair of those would probably raise a red flag somewhere."
Astrid hummed, nodding before regretting it as her head twinged.
"Want to check on your mom, and then we go get the cops out of the way?"
"Sure... unless you wanted to talk first."
Though he had come on in quite a few leaps and bounds since they met, deep conversation was not something Hiccup usually initiated, and the way he said 'talk' implied more than just a casual chat.
"About what?"
"Astrid... you saw me. You can't tell me it didn't affect you, seeing that, even with someone as... accepting as you."
She hadn't really taken the time to think about it, not yet. Focused more on everything else, her own feelings were mixed and still a tangled, confused mess if she was honest.
"I... think this conversation should wait til after we're done with the police. I need to focus on not giving away too much."
Hiccup sighed, and nodded.
"Fair enough. I'll leave you to wake up properly. The doctor said to be careful with caffeine after a concussion, but do you want some tea before we go?"
No coffee, and she had to deal with the police? Astrid could have cried.
"You have green tea in right?" Hiccup nodded "then yes please."
She kissed him before letting him up, wanting to reassure Hiccup that whatever conversation they had later, she hadn't suddenly had some kind of 'come to her senses and was leaving him' moment, which she was sure was going on somewhere in that strange head of his.
Reluctantly getting up, Astrid headed to the bathroom first, then got dressed and ambled to the kitchen, finding a steaming mug of green tea and Hiccup chatting to his mom while holding an ice pack on his hand. Valka bade them farewell as Hiccup poured Astrid's second green tea in to a travel mug, checked his mom had everything she needed and painstakingly re-applied makeup to his bruised hand, pocketing the concealer in case he smudged it in the car.
"Ready to go?"
"Let's get this over with. We might meet our new best friend."
Hiccup raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"Eret said he was handing over the case. Someone else might now be up our ass with murder investigations."
"Oh. Yeah. We're not trying to seduce this one."
"Spoilsport."
He rolled his eyes as they headed to the car.
"You haven't even met them yet."
"So? I have broad tastes."
He snorted, opening the door for her before circling to get in himself. Astrid tried not to let her sore head rest against the seat too much, and Hiccup was nice enough to be careful with the speed bumps on the roads as they went along.
It hadn't been that long since she was discharged from hospital. A few hours, at most, really. But already, it seemed Eret had gone ahead and 'handed over', and Astrid couldn't see him anywhere - not even in the 'Night Fury room', which the door was open to.
"Ah. Miss Hofferson. How are you feeling?"
The guy she vaguely remembered Eret introducing as his superior spotted them first, coming over. Hiccup's hand tightened around hers.
"Like I got clocked in the back of the head and then some rude guy tried to question me before I was allowed a shower and a sleep."
He nodded.
"Fair enough. Inspector Hunter is being reassigned, so you'll be talking with me and the new officer assigned to the Night Fury case."
She'd been expecting Teeny, the one who was never far from Eret when they were in the station, and who, according to Hiccup (who'd been in the station once before even Astrid for his line up), had been on the case longer than Eret.
Instead, they were introduced to somebody new.
"This is Superintendent Grimborn."
"Oh, call me Viggo, please. I hear you had quite the experience, Miss Hofferson."
Something about him put Astrid on edge immediately. He was perfectly presented, with neat hair and a groomed goatee, uniform pressed to within an inch of its life and straining around a strong build. Eret had been a little... looser, with his shoulder length hair always threatening to escape its tie and the tattoo on his neck.
But the really unsettling thing about Grimborn was his eyes. They were a dark, dark brown, seeming almost black when shadows crossed his face. And honestly, Astrid felt a bit like they saw right through her.
"You'll have to forgive me, I'm still concussed so might not be totally clear."
Grimborn nodded slowly, looking at Hiccup next. Astrid did the same.
If they weren't in the middle of a police station, Astrid would have thought she was watching Hiccup hunt, because he looked simultaneously eerily calm and absolutely murderous.
"Of course. Shall we?"
"Sure. You're new around here. Bringing in the big guns now?"
She suspected Eret's boss had been considering moving him along already when Astrid was kidnapped, otherwise it seemed a little too swift.
"Oh, I volunteered when I heard my colleagues were struggling. Worry not, Miss Hofferson, I have an excellent case closure rate."
Well, I think you've met your match Grimborn, Astrid thought to herself as they headed to an interview room.
"So, what can you tell us about what happened? What do you remember?"
Though his hand stayed laced through Astrid's the entire time, Hiccup's eyes never left Viggo's. Astrid did her best to remain semi-vague without outright lying; if the video footage did make it out there, then she didn't want to risk being caught in a blatant lie.
"I think they sort of... forgot I was there, to be honest."
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, I was left tied up while they beat the guy up, then spent ages going through the guys knife collection. Then I got tied up in the kitchen instead, for a change. I think it was the kitchen. I remember smelling gas, so I guess there was an oven."
Grimborn didn't write a single thing down, fingers steepled just in front of his face and only moved so he could speak clearly to her.
"Did they say anything to you?"
"Not that I remember. There was a lot going on, and I was kinda fuzzy in places."
"Yes. You had traces of a sedative in your blood test, I believe."
That was news to her, but given how long she was unconscious, Astrid wasn't all that surprised. She sipped from her half-cold green tea, stomach turning over slightly when Grimborn turned his attention to Hiccup.
"And where were you while all this was going on?"
Please be calm, I know you hate this.
"Sleeping. Then I reported her missing. I was told to stay home and wait, which I did because I had to take care of my mom. She's sick. I was still about to go out looking for Astrid when I got the call she'd been found."
"You just... waited?"
Hiccup scowled. Astrid hoped he didn't snap back.
"It took a serial murderer to find Astrid, I'm not sure what I could have done."
Hopefully his bad mood was played off as frustration, or maybe even shame that he hadn't been able to help her.
"I see."
Wow. Grimborn really had a knack for pushing Hiccup's buttons, already. Astrid squeezed his hand gently, pulling Hiccup's attention over to her instead.
"It's ok. I'm ok now."
He nodded slowly, squeezing her hand back.
"Well, unless there's anything more you have to tell us, I think we can wrap this up and let you get back to your recovery, Miss Hofferson. Would you like some recommendations for counsellors?"
"What for?"
"Well, you endured quite the trauma. Kidnapped, and witnessing a murder? I would think some form of therapy is necessary."
Oh. Right. Astrid should probably agree with that.
"Uh. Maybe later, when I don't feel like my brain is trying to escape from my skull. One thing at a time, yanno?"
"Of course, of course. Well, thank you for your time, and your help. Let us hope the Night Fury made a mistake in coming out of hiding."
"Are you saying saving me was a mistake?"
That was the first time this Grimborn character looked uncomfortable, though it was only for a second or two.
"No, but it does not excuse their behaviour."
Astrid shrugged, and left it hanging like that as Hiccup got up, helping her to her feet.
"Your place or mine?"
"Yours. Doctors orders."
Hiccup let out a light chuckle, nodding and the two of them left. Astrid was acutely aware that Grimborn was watching them, could feel those dark eyes boring in to their backs. Her boyfriend wisely waited to react until they were in the car, his face darkening.
"Babe?"
"I'm fine. I just... don't like him."
"Me either. If he wasn't wearing a uniform, I'd have thought he was a murder suspect."
Hiccup snorted.
"I don't think uniforms and murder and mutually exclusive. Remember the copycat?"
"Yeah... that wasn't even that long ago, either. You've had to come up to the surface a little more lately."
"Yeah. Mom's gonna give me a lecture soon, I just know it. Come on, let's get you back to bed."
Valka was waiting up for them, to hear how it went.
"We met the new lead on the case."
"Oh?"
Astrid picked up while Hiccup went to make tea, obviously needing to do something with the nervous energy jittering inside him.
"Yeah. He's kind of... intense. Definitely smart. Not gonna be as easy to mess with as Eret, but since I am no longer a Night Fury suspect, I don't need to mess with him really."
Hiccup placed her steaming green tea down before reaching in to the fridge for milk, eyes still a little dark.
"He definitely thinks something is up with me. The temptation to just get rid of him is pretty strong, not gonna lie."
Valka tsked, shaking her head at her son.
"I understand, but until you think he actually suspects you, stop putting yourself in the line of fire so easily."
"So if I think he suspects me, you won't scold me for taking him out?"
Hiccup's wry grin made it look like they were bantering about curfews or messy bedrooms, not murder to cover up more murder. Valka rolled her eyes, then thanked him for her tea. They drank in relative silence before Hiccup saw his mother to bed, then came to retrieve Astrid for the same thing.
"When was the last time you slept?"
Astrid had been clocked in the head and sedated, but she'd also had a nap. Hiccup looked exhausted, dark circles really starting to show under his eyes now the spark of rage toward Viggo Grimborn had faded somewhat in his familiar, safe surroundings.
"Uh. Before I reported you missing. Been a busy couple of days though, I admit. I know we need to talk, but do you mind if I take some painkillers and conk out right now? My leg and hands are killing me."
"Sure. I could do with more sleep anyway. And maybe a conversation about watching you kill someone is better to have well rested and slightly more recovered from concussion."
Hiccup nodded, moving to brush his teeth and undress before crawling in to bed and washing down his heavy duty pain relief with the water bottle on his bedside. He waited for Astrid to join him, humming when she ran her fingers through his hair; she could still smell the shampoo there, from when he'd undoubtedly taken a shower to wash off the blood and burning smell that would have lingered.
He was asleep in minutes, face pressed in to the cotton of her t-shirt, her fingers still resting against his scalp. Honestly, she needed the extra time to figure out how the Hel they were going to talk about what happened.
She hadn't really expected it... but a part of her did feel scared by it.
-HTTYD-
Ooooooh!
