Chapter 10: A Shoulder to Lean On.

Chasing the last remnants of a fading dream, Astrid's eyes blinked open and she squinted at the bright room.

Weird, she thought. There wasn't a window there yesterday, was there?

She sat up on the unfamiliar bed and glanced around the unfamiliar room. Oh.

Oh.

Suddenly she wished she'd slept a bit longer, anything to avoid facing today. She was... married? Just like that?

She lifted her left hand to see the Sterling ring resting on her finger, catching the late morning light. An irrefutable proof that her memories from yesterday were as real as reality itself.

She craned her neck to look at the messy pile of sheets on the floor, starkly empty. Hiccup wasn't here. Where was he?

As if in answer to her question, she dimly heard some clattering coming from downstairs.

Judging by the light outside, she'd slept in till the late morning. She must have been more tired last night than she'd realised.

Luckily, her trunk was already in the room, right next to what she assumed was Hiccup's. Making sure to close the door, she quickly changed into some fresh clothes and braided her hair, still not comfortable having it down in front of Hiccup, even if he was technically allowed to see it now.

Finally looking presentable, she turned to leave but her eyes caught a flash of blue and she looked out of the main window of the bedroom, and couldn't help but awe at the brightly lit and endless blue ocean.

Her old room at her house had a marvelous view of the road, and she often woke up to the sounds of squabbles in the market or noisy children playing.

Here though, this house was on an elevated hill, in relative privacy and a stunning view in all directions. Since it was a future chief's house, a clear view of the whole village was a necessary requirement.

It'll take a while to get used to a view like this, she thought. Wait, I don't mean I'll stay here... ugh.

She'd almost forgotten how she was gonna have to make up a new plan to get out of this marriage. And here she was wasting time admiring the view!

Get a grip, Astrid!

As she carefully descended the stairs, the aroma hit her like a brick.

What on earth smelled so good?!

Her stomach gave a tiny rumble in agreement, and she realised she was pretty much famished, having barely eaten the night before.

The little kitchen came into view, along with a Hiccup who was fussing with plates and pans.

"Hiccup?" she asked reflexively.

Hiccup abruptly stopped his motions and looked her way, looking like a kid caught stealing cookies.

"Astrid! I was just- um making some breakfast, I let you sleep in since I figured you must be tired, and I was gonna wake you to eat but now you are here so you are obviously awake and..." he stopped his rambling, looking at her with a sheepish smile. "Um... good morning?"

She blinked. Wasn't she supposed to me mad at him? But the food smelled so good! And she knew she was hopeless in the kitchen so unless she was willing to sulk down to her house in defeat, this was the only food she'd be getting this morning.

Maybe eat first, and then chew him out? Good enough for now.

"Morning" she said, clipping her words to convey her resentment.

She sat down at the table and Hiccup put down a variety of food in front of her along with milk and some fruits.

"I- I didn't know what you like so... I made a bunch of stuff" he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

As she glanced down at the dishes, Astrid couldn't help but exclaim, "you made all this?!"

"Well.. yeah, since it's was just my dad and me as I grew up, and I did the cooking most of the time"

This was an obvious conclusion that Astrid should have known, but it still took her by surprise. She hadn't really thought that without a mother, who would have cooked at the Haddock household.

She hadn't really thought of what Hiccup was like beyond the sarcastic troublemaker who was bullied sometimes and who worked at the forge. He really had a whole life she didn't know about. Not sure why, but she found herself wanting to know more.

They ate together in uncomfortable silence, and Astrid tried to focus on not letting Hiccup know how much she liked his cooking. The last thing she wanted right now is be indebted to him for anything.

Hiccup, on the other hand was trying to think up some small talk or maybe question or really anything to say. Having been thrust into this situation without much preparation, he realised he had absolutely no idea how to talk to his wife. His wife that currently seemed visibly peeved by his very existence.

Finally making up his mind to say something, he said, "Astrid?" making her look up and he saw... her face, her big eyes and slightly pink cheeks, a few rebellious curls escaping her braid, the faintest dusting of freckles around her nose, and before he knew it, he was blurting out, "You are so beautiful"

That wasn't it! He had intended to ask her something along the lines of 'is the food ok?', but his traitorous tongue had other plans, and now Astrid was looking at him all wide eyed and Hiccup was contemplating if hiding under the table was an option.

Oh no, now Astrid was glaring daggers at him. "What are you playing at, huh? You think you can ruin my life and I'll just forget it overnight because you threw some compliments my way?"

"Astrid! I didn't mean-"

"I'm sick of this whole thing. You're not my husband. And I'm not your wife. So it'll be best we stop pretending like this marriage is anything more than a formality and get on with our lives"

Oh gods, that hadn't gone according to plan at all. Hiccup was suddenly feeling that hopeless feeling again. Like the light at the end of the tunnel had been an angry fire breathing dragon instead of sweet sunshine. And now Astrid wasn't even looking at him.

Grabbing his coat from a rack, he decided to go to work at the forge. He knew that no one expected the newly weds to leave their house for at least a day or two, but he didn't want to anger his wife further. Maybe she'd be calmer by the time he returned.

"I'll be... heading to the forge then... is that fine?" He asked carefully.

Astrid only answered with a non-committal grunt, so he went ahead and left the house, silently wondering what he'd done wrong.

Astrid was angry both at Hiccup and at herself.

On one hand, she knew she'd over reacted, Hiccup had just called her beautiful, something that as her husband he had every right to do, and for a second she'd actually liked it before she'd realised what she was doing.

She wasn't supposed to do this! Act like this was all fine? Act like her freedom hadn't been stripped away overnight and that the thing she'd despised and dreaded for years had come to pass?

She felt like she was betraying herself by getting comfortable in his house, by enjoying his cooking, or by having a cordial conversation with him, and the way her brain had found to remedy that was to yell at Hiccup even though he didn't really deserve it.

Or did he? Astrid wasn't even sure anymore.

Even if Hiccup wasn't really the problem, he was the cause of her problem. She was having a hard time keeping that distinction clear in her mind.

As much as she hated to admit, in her eighteen hours of married life so far, it hadn't really been bad. Hiccup had treated her so well to the point of almost being suspicious, like who even sleeps on the floor in his own house just for her sake? And cooking an amazing breakfast for her when technically she was the one supposed to do the household work?

There had to be an ulterior motive behind these actions right? People just didn't act nice for no reason... At least normal people didn't. She was beginning to realise that when it came to Hiccup, she had truly no idea what to expect.

Her pondering was interrupted by a sharp knock on the front door, and she was half-wondering if Hiccup had returned when her mother's muffled voice squashed that theory.

She opened the door, and was greeted by her mother who was looking way too smiley and happy, along with a couple of aunts.

Ingrid eyed her daughter up and down contemplatively, to which Astrid just crossed her arms and stood firm, giving her most angry glare.

Without even asking for her permission, the other two women went upstairs before returning after a minute, giving nods of approval.

Astrid found herself being pulled into her mother's arms despite her protests. "Oh my little girl is all grown up!" She gushed, and as much as Astrid wanted to deny it, to expose Hiccup's lie, she knew she couldn't, not without proof. They'd just think she was making it up to get out of the marriage.

Her mother glanced at the table still half filled with fragrant dishes, and commented, "told ya he wouldn't be so bad"

Astrid just fumed silently in response.

She really needed to get out of this house for a while.

"...and then she yelled at me a bunch, after which I left"

"Ahh" Gobber mused, grinding away at a mace while Hiccup paced around the forge.

"So?" Hiccup asked. "What do you think?"

Gobber waved his hand hook, "It's just Astrid bein' Astrid, that's all"

"But I don't know what to do! every time I try to talk to her, she shuts me out"

Gobber gazed absently into the distance, before chuckling. "This reminds me of my own wifey from all those years ago. Inge."

That piqued Hiccup's interest. He didn't ever remember Gobber talking about his late wife before, preferring to change the subject when it came up.

"Our match wasn't exactly a happy one, her father was a shepherd from a nearby island and needed the money, so she was saddled with me, the son of the blacksmith on Berk who was able to raise the biggest bride price.

"She was against being sold off like this, against living on Berk, and oh how she hated me! " Gobber smiled forlornly. "Used ta make every effort to give me a hard time. I didn't think we were ever gonna be happy"

Hiccup stopped pacing and looked at his mentor. "What happened?"

"Oh the same old happened for a while. I was a simple lad, and I tried to be a simple husband to her, took care of her. Tried to make her happy even when she'd not be having any of it"

"And then?"

"It took some time, but she got used to Berk. Got used to me. Even started caring for me a great deal, to the point where she'd tell me she'd wouldn't change her life for the whole world, and ta be honest by the end I loved her to death, and I think she felt the same for me too"

Gobber's voice grew quieter towards the end, and he discreetly wiper a tear from his eye that Hiccup noticed anyway, his own heartstrings thoroughly tugged by his mentor's heartfelt reminiscing.

Gobber turned to the boy, "My only advice is ta not force her to move on, let her deal with it at her own pace. You continue taking care of her and trust in yourself the way I trust in you. Yer a good lad Hiccup, even if ye have a knack for trouble" he finished with a wry grin.

"I guess I can do that"

"Oh how about ye give her a little somethin'? a gift for the lassie? Like a peace offering. Might help"

Hiccup thought about this. "That's actually a good idea! with all the stuff lying around here, I'm sure I can think of something to make"

"Ye can do that right after you finish sharpening these" Gobber said, dumping a bunch of swords in the unimpressed boy's arms.

Hiccup blew some hair out of his eyes, mumbling "Riiight boss" before getting back to work.

"He slept where?!" exclaimed Ruffnut.

"On the floor against the wall. It's like he was trying to be as far away from me as he could"

"And he didn't touch you?"

"He never even came near me!"

"That's weird. Maybe he's just not into you?"

Astrid sighed. "I'm pretty sure he is, at least from the way he was gawking at me during the wedding and he even called me beautiful at breakfast"

"Dang, Hiccup's got some guts."

"Not only that, apparently he can cook better than me too"

A wry smirk appeared on Ruff's face.

Astrid frowned. "What?"

"Why do you want to break this marriage off again? Seems like you're having a good old time"

"Come on Ruff, I don't care if he is a decent guy, he still got me into this mess and he's the reason my whole plan failed"

"So you still want me to find a way to break off your marriage?"

Astrid pursed her lips. "Yes"

"Okay. I still think you're letting your hurt feelings from the trial keep you from thinking clearly. He might be worth a shot"

Astrid didn't answer, looking towards her new house in the distance and wondering how it all had gotten so messed up.

It had taken the large part of the afternoon, but Hiccup was finally happy with the bracelet he'd made for Astrid. It wasn't anything big, but he still hoped it would convey his affection for her, a small gesture of goodwill.

It was a band with small interlinked metal loops, with a central light blue sapphire crystal which matched the shade of her eyes perfectly.

Putting it in his pocket, he decided to stop at the market before heading home to get some stuff for dinner. Most of all, he hoped his wife's anger at him had simmered somewhat over the course of the day.

However, as he entered a side road towards the market, a voice from behind him made him stop dead in his tracks.

"Haddock"

Turning around, Hiccup saw Thuggory with a couple of his cronies, sneering at him. It had been a while since he'd had a run in with him and his gang, and the unexpected encounter set his nerves on edge instantly. Something about their expressions and body language made it clear they weren't in a chatting mood.

Other than a small satchel of his supplies from work, he was unarmed, and his eyes were rapidly scanning the scene and trying to come up with a plan, and he tried to push down the fear rising up as they stalked closer. Trying to outrun them wouldn't work and would only make it worse. He knew that from experience.

"Don't even try to run, you'll regret it"

Hiccup tried his best to hide the fear on his face as he stood his ground. "What do you want?" He asked firmly.

Thuggory turned to his friends and grinned as if sharing an inside joke, and turned back to Hiccup.

"What I want" he said slowly, as if speaking to a child- "is for you to realise what you've done."

Hiccup set his jaw. Showing weakness in front of a bully only made him feel more powerful. "I've done nothing"

Dogsbreath chuckled. "That's all yer good for, useless. Nothing!"

Thuggory continued, "You really thought you'd steal the hottest girl on the island from under our noses and we'd just forget about it?"

Oh.

Hiccup felt like he should have seen this coming, but he'd been completely consumed by the wedding stuff and trying to appease Astrid and-

He should've known that they'd come for him, should've been prepared. But he wasn't, and they were here, eying him as a predator eyes it's prey.

Even before they'd approached him he had known, calculated all the variables. There was no easy way out of this, three on one. He hoped he could somehow talk his way out of this but...

"Let me go" he said, when Thuggory roughly grasped his collar.

"It's a wonder Astrid hasn't gotten rid of you already, given such a pathetic burden bein' dumped on her"

Hiccup felt his words sting him deeper than they should have, as if somehow he thought there was some truth to them.

"Let me go" he said again, more forcefully.

"Not yet you one legged filth, yer gonna explain how you tamed that nightmare and then maybe we'll let you go"

Hiccup's eyes widened. There was no way he was gonna explain anything to them, and not like their thick skulls would understand anyway.

"No" he said quietly, when the first punch from Gert hit him in the stomach, making him collapse to the ground with an "oof!"

Thuggory kneeled down in front of him and grabbed his chin, making him look up into his scowling face.

"Yer in no position to refuse us, useless. Start talking or even yer wife won't recognise you after we're done with you"

"Go to hel"

The words had barely left his mouth before Thuggory's meaty fist clocked him in the face, sending him sprawling onto the dirt road, his bag spilling open.

Jarred from the hit, he barely had time sit up before he was pushed back down, hands keeping his arms pinned while Thuggory rained punches on him. His mind was reeling from the pain as blow after blow jarred him to his core. Thuggory paused for a second, and Hiccup managed to gather enough lucidity to kick with his left leg, the metal end of his foot striking him hard in the chest.

"You pathetic little-" he hissed, and gestured to Dogsbreath and Gert to keep Hiccup restrained while he yanked on his prosthetic, making it come free with a painful tug and go clattering onto the road.

Gert spoke, "One legged wimps like you shouldn't play make pretend with fake legs"

Hiccup fought back tears as he spotted Thuggory pick up a large rock and walk over to the metal foot.

He managed to wrench himself free and tried to get to stand but it was impossible without his prosthetic, and he wobbled for a second before another punch from Thuggory's free hand had him groaning in pain again, spitting blood onto the ground.

He could only watch helplessly as Thuggory brought the rock down repeatedly on the foot until it was a pile of bent metal and wood.

The thing he'd spent hours making and fine tuning, crushed to beyond recognition. It felt like a part of him had been destroyed, and it made his heart clench in anger and helplessness.

"You'll pay for that" Hiccup muttered, breathing heavily.

"Oh really? Looks like you haven't learnt your lesson yet. How'd you feel if your other leg was also fake, huh?" He said coldly, picking up the rock again.

Panicking, Hiccup considered shouting for Toothless, even though he was probably too far away to hear him, even though he knew he couldn't let him get discovered, no matter what. Thuggory stood over him and raised the rock, and Hiccup closed his eyes in resignation as he braced himself for the pain-

Which never came.

He heard the rapid pattering of feet on gravel and his eyes snapped open to see Thuggory tackled to the ground by a blue and blonde colored blur.

What the...

Still dazed from the blows, Hiccup lifted his head to see... Astrid?

She had the big brute pinned to the ground with a knee on his chest, punching him in the face repeatedly.

"HOW" punch "DARE" punch "YOU!"

Thuggory tried to speak but Hiccup only heard a "As-oohgh" as she socked him in the mouth again, knocking out a bloody tooth.

Cursing in pain, Thuggory was still rolling on the ground when she turned her attention to the other two bullies who were staring dumbstruck.

Gert was quick to react and was running away, but Dogsbreath wasn't as lucky as Astrid snatched the back of his shirt before he could run, retrieving her axe strapped to her back and driving the blunt end into his ribs, hard.

Crying out in pain, he scrambled off clutching his side, and Astrid called out, "YOU BETTER RUN YOU COWARDS!" after the fleeing boys before turning her attention to their leader, trying to stand up and eyeing her with raw fear on his face.

She had him pinned against a wall with her axe blade at his neck before he had time to blink. Her voice was seething with fury when she spoke, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't lop off your ugly head RIGHT NOW"

"P-please-" he whimpered, looking absolutely terrified, "I swear it wasn't my idea, he-"

"Shut your disgusting, lying mouth" she hissed, pressing the blade firmer until it drew the slightest bit of blood. "I feel filthy to even be sharing air with you, so I'm gonna give you one last warning. If you or one of your lapdogs even think about laying a finger on my husband again, then I'll make sure you won't live another day to talk about it. Understood?!"

He nodded weakly, tears streaming now down his grimy and bloody face.

"Good" Astrid said simply, and kneed him hard in the stomach for good measure, before releasing him and let him limp away in a stuttering mess.

Strapping her axe, she finally turned to Hiccup, who was sitting up on the ground, his pain momentarily forgotten as he had stared dumbfounded at the whole thing.

Astrid looking out for him? Even when she'd presumably been mad at him? Hiccup was half thinking that he'd started hallucinating from the pain until she walked up to him and knelt down to his level, concern etched all over her pretty features.

"Are you ok?" She asked, softer than he'd ever heard before.

"Umm.. I-" the close proximity to her blue eyes was making him forget how to form coherent sentences. "He broke my leg" he said dumbly.

Astrid's eyes widened. "What?!" She carefully knelt down next to his good leg making him correct quickly, "I-I meant my fake leg"

"Oh"

He didn't missed the relieved sigh she let out, then she started gathering his spilled things back in his bag, along with the broken parts of his prosthetic leg.

Satchel slung over her shoulder, she offered him a hand. "Come on. We should go home"

He looked nervously towards his stump, embarrassment making his ears redden. "I- I can't walk.."

She helped him up anyway, making him balance awkwardly on one foot when she said, "Put your arm around my shoulders"

Hiccup hesitated, and she pulled his left arm around her shoulders, gripping his waist with her right hand to keep him steady.

Hiccup felt his good leg go weak at the extremely close proximity to his wife, but he managed to stay upright as she helped him shuffle along towards their house.

It was a slow and awkward, but they steadily made progress along the path. Hiccup's thoughts were in a frazzled state, wondering why on Midgard had Astrid saved his sorry behind. Given her attitude towards him lately, he'd expected her to happily let him take the beating, maybe even enjoy the show. He managed to ask, "H-how did you find me?"

"I asked Gobber, he said you'd gone towards the market"

"Oh"

"Why were they bothering you?"

Hiccup felt his throat close up. "They... they don't need a reason, I think beating me up is therapeutic for them" He averted his gaze, and Astrid eyed him sideways.

"Hiccup" she said in a warning tone, and in that moment he realised just how downright scary she could be if she wanted to.

"They- they were angry because I... because I won in the trials. Because I married you"

Astrid was silent for a few moments as they continued shuffle-walking together, before mumbling "rotten pigs" under her breath.

They finally reached their house and Astrid pushed open the door and helped him down onto the sofa in the main room, before placing a hand on his cheek with delicateness he hadn't thought she was capable of, and checked his face for injury.

"I'll need my medical kit... it's probably at my hou- my parents' house" she corrected. She looked down at his legs. "Can you make another one?"

Hiccup nodded. "I can, but it'll take a day or two. I- I have a set of crutches at my old house, the one I used for a few weeks after the... the accident."

She nodded, "Ok, I'll get them too" she said and stood up to leave.

"Astrid wait" He called, making her turn around.

"Thank you... for saving me" he said, forcing himself to meet her eyes even though he felt nothing but shame at being such a helpless excuse of a husband.

"You don't need to thank me Hiccup, if anything, it's my fault this happened. I... I'm sorry" she said before leaving, leaving Hiccup sitting there with his jaw lying on the floor.

Astrid Hofferson never apologized. At least she hadn't in the many years he'd known her, to anyone, let alone him.

As much as he tried, the faintest flicker of an idea made its way out of his subconscious and into his thoughts anyway.

Maybe she does care for me after all.

The door opened some twenty minutes later and Astrid entered holding a pair of crutches in one hand and a pack of medical supplies in the other.

Hiccup was still sitting at the same place, trying to ignore the various bruises all over him that were really starting to hurt now.

She set the crutches down and sat next to him on the sofa, and instructed, "close your eyes" with a look that didn't warrant any protests.

Hiccup did so and nervously offered up his face, flinching when she wiped the blood and grime off his skin with surprising tenderness. Dabbing at the cut on his cheek, the corner of his mouth, and his chin until his face was mostly clean.

Hiccup opened his eyes to see her face so close she filled his vision, and she was frowning at a particularly deep cut on his temple.

"Better bandage this one" she muttered to herself, and ignoring Hiccup's meek protests, began applying some antiseptic lotion and a bandage, with the same gentleness as before. Hiccup just sat there stunned, feeling as if her fingertips brushing his skin sent sparks all the way to his brain.

His elbow had a decent scrape on it and it received the same treatment, cleaned with the cloth and bandaged up. Her hand brushed his side and he winced in pain. She stopped immediately. "Let me see that"

"It's- it's fine-" he stammered, shifting away from her insistent hands.

"Hiccup" she said, sternly. "Lift up your tunic"

Despite knowing the context, the words still set his face ablaze. Luckily, Astrid was too focused to notice as she made him lift the fabric to expose his stomach as she applied the lotion on the bruise there. "I'm used to treating wounds you know" she murmured at noticing his unease.

Finally done, she stood up and went to wash up.

After the pain had dulled somewhat, Hiccup stumbled to the kitchen on crutches, not having the hang of using them after so long.

He was trying to start a fire for dinner but was finding it difficult to stand and use his hands at the same time, when Astrid returned.

"Why are you standing?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Oh I thought I'd.. umm... reheat the stew for dinner"

She frowned. "I can do that. You go and sit"

"B-but-" he tried but she put her hand on his arm and guided him to the table. Returning to the kitchen, she got the fire started and put the pot on to heat, and got some bread from the pantry to go along with the meal.

Hiccup couldn't help but wonder why she was doing all this herself, she clearly wasn't the sort to enjoy house work. While she fussed with some bowls, he found himself staring at his wife like he was seeing her for the first time.

Her face scrunched up in concentration, a bit of sweat on her brow, and she wiped some stray bangs from her eyes, making Hiccup avert his gaze, blood rushing to his face. Even though she was his wife now, he still felt like the old Hiccup, trying to get an eyeful of his pretty crush.

Astrid returned to the table and they ate together, in a comfortable sort of silence rather than the awkward one from the morning.

Later, Hiccup was sitting at his desk in their room when he suddenly remembered something, and dug the bracelet out of his pocket, only to have his heart sink to his feet.

The sapphire crystal had a web of cracks running through it, it probably broke when Thuggory had pushed Hiccup to the ground. With trader Johann not returning for weeks, there was no chance for him to get a new one.

To a girl as perfect as Astrid, he couldn't even consider giving something broken like this-

"What's that?"

Hiccup froze, lost in his thoughts, he hadn't noticed her enter the room. He quickly put it in his pocket. "N-nothing!"

She narrowed her eyes, and it was then that Hiccup noticed she was dressed in a nightgown, braid open and hair framing her pretty face, arms crossed, and looking increasingly agitated at him by the passing second.

"Hiccup, you'd better not make me ask you again" she said, and he sighed in defeat. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. He wasn't supposed to fall and the bracelet wasn't supposed to break and she'd probably feel insulted by it now.

He took it out and placed it in her open palm. "I... I made this for you, but it broke earlier when I fell. I'm sorry- I'll just take it back-" he reached for it but she pulled her hand away.

"What? You made it for me right? It's mine now" she said defiantly with some mirth in her voice, and turned with shoulders squared, walking over to the bed.

Thoroughly confused, Hiccup stood up on his crutches and saw his little bed nest he'd made on the floor was nowhere to be found.

"Where is-"

"Don't be daft, Hiccup", she rolled her eyes.

"Huh?"

"I'm not gonna make you sleep on the floor, you're still hurt" she gestured over to the other side of the bed. "There's plenty of space"

Hiccup was still unsure. "It's- It's fine really, I don't wanna make you uncomfortable"

Astrid stood firm. "I'm not a child Hiccup. It's fine. How about this-" she grabbed his charcoal pencil from his desk and drew a light line through the middle of the bed. "You can have your side and I'll have mine. No crossing into each other's space, that's the rule"

Seeing she wasn't gonna be talked out of this, he reluctantly agreed and got into his side of the bed after removing his fur vest.

Astrid blew out the candle, and he was extremely aware of her as she slid under their shared covers, he could feel the pleasant warmth coming from her side, the sounds of her breathing, and as terrified as he was of her, as he recalled the day's events, how she had saved him and took care of him, he had to bite his cheek to stop himself from impulsively blurting out "I love you!" or something along those lines. He'd definitely not live to see tomorrow if he did that.

Hiccup used to think that he was relatively clever, but for the life of him, he couldn't decipher the enigma that was his dear wife, at least not in the day and a half he'd been married to her so far.

He felt a strange ache in his heart when he heard her breathing even out and he realised she'd fallen asleep next to him, just like that, like it was a completely normal and ordinary thing.

The fiercest girl he'd ever known, trusting him enough to be at her most relaxed and vulnerable state with him in the same room, with him right next to her. When he finally followed her into the world of dreams a while later, a smile of contentment graced his lips.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this extra long chapter! I think it captured the essence of my story well, and I'm quite happy with how it turned out. Do let me know what you think :)