The next day as promised, Astrid looked for Hiccup during lunch. She scanned over the crowded Great Hall for his sulking figure.
The array of lively, familiar faces advertised under spreads of sunlight, filtered through massive, arched windows. Each one of their faces belonged to a voice participating in this diverse symphony of sorrowful and delighted voices that cantered over the sound of clanking tankards and tinkering silverware.
Without much effort at all, her gaze quickly landed on Hiccup, seated at a table alone in the corner.
Of course. She rolled her eyes.
He was hunched over a hefty book when she approached, his plate of untouched lunch pushed off to the side, yet another big surprise.
"No wonder you're so thin, you're too preoccupied reading that you forget to eat," she hailed him with a joke.
Hiccup jumped at the unexpected sound of her voice, but his speckled face broke into a smile when he realized who it was, here to fulfill her offer.
"Astrid, hey," he stammered, his eyes were seemingly hesitant to fix on her own.
As she took a seat, setting her plate down directly across from him, he raised his eyebrows in skepticism.
"I can't believe you actually wanna sit with me."
She wished for him not to be so doubtful of her intentions.
"Nice to see you too," she played a scowl, pretending to be insulted.
It was rather fun to lightheartedly taunt him. Since their encounter yesterday, she found that it gave her little pricklings of joy to mess with him. She would even go as far as calling him a friend.
"I mean, yes! Of course, it's great to see you, too!" He flushed a bit of pink, scrambling for his words, "I-I just didn't think you would ever want to. To sit with me."
He played with the edge of his page uncomfortably.
She had to admit to herself it was quite entertaining how awkward he was being. It was one of those things about him she found she was really drawn in by.
"Well, believe it or not," Astrid said as she leaned in just a smidge closer so she could read every freckle anddetail—is that a scar? "I was looking forward to hanging out with you, over here at this dingy, old table."
She ate up the way he smiled.
"Yeah, me too," he agreed dreamily. "We can switch tables if you want."
"I didn't say I didn't like the dingy table," she patted the tarnished wood appreciatively.
They shared a small laugh, before Astrid quirked a sly eyebrow, always wanting to keep him on edge.
"Unless, you would rather come sit with me, at my usual spot over there?" She teased, gesturing to her normal place at the front, center table, full of rambunctious, older teenagers.
Hiccup laughed nervously at her absurd suggestion.
They both, in unison, had glanced that way, when she spotted Cato, glaring directly at them and she knew Hiccup did too.
Astrid had to admit, she was nervous of what judgmental things her comrades would say to her. Or even worse, what they would say to Hiccup. She would never let him see the falter in her courage though.
"Uh, why is that guy staring at us?"
"Don't pay attention to him," Astrid said quickly, reaching across the table for Hiccup's hand to stop him from making eye contact with the other boy.
It worked like a charm. He flinched at the warm, unfamiliar contact their intertwined hands shared, blinking dramatically down at the sight before his colorful eyes then bounced back to hers uneasily.
"That's Cato," she groaned his name like it was the pained her to say. "He's probably just jealous or something."
The moment she said it aloud, Astrid realized that this could potentially be really bad for Hiccup. The last thing she wanted to do was give those bullies another reason to go after him. She would make a point to assure no harm would come his way.
"Jealous?" He echoed, bewilderment programmed over his youthful face, "Of who? Me?"
"No, the other guy sitting with me," she said flatly, "yes, you!"
She laughed at her own joke, but in all actuality, it was the way his whole face flushed. She realized they were still holding hands when she felt him shift beneath her grip.
The awareness of this shared contact was deafening. This stifling feeling of their skin touching one another felt as if it were heightening with every manual breath, and suddenly, it was too overwhelming—she snuffed the flame and casually retired her hand.
"What's this book your reading?" Astrid asked coolly as she bent her head to the side to get an angled view of the endless expanse of pages in his dense book.
"Oh, it's nothing," Hiccup folded in the corner of the page he had been reading and snapped the thick binding shut.
"It's not nothing," Astrid reached across the table for it, but Hiccup dallied the book just out of her reach.
Despite wanting to resist her efforts, the playful smirk that played on his face promised otherwise.
"C'mon lemme see what book your reading," Astrid fussed. "That thing is probably heavier than you are."
"Oh, ha-ha. Haven't heard that one before," he scoffed, shaking his head, always making sure to maintain the book far from her proximity.
"Give it here," she ordered, unrelenting.
"You're going to make fun of me if I show you!" Hiccup accused cynically.
"I'm always going to make fun of you Hiccup," she said, inadvertently stirring the butterflies up that had been pending inside her.
For some reason, saying this out loud felt as if she was declaring an undying love for him and it sent scorching waves of heat over her cheeks, she was confident he would notice.
Fortunately, he was always blushing too and happened to be in that moment, just as bad as she was.
"Alright, fine," he sighed in defeat and pushed the book across the table to her. He then crossed his arms in an attempt to adopt a more careless demeanor, looking off into empty space.
The Book of Dragons. Wondering what Hiccup had been so worked up about, she skimmed the title before curiously flipping through the pages. She recalled learning about the legend of these creatures, once a long time ago, during an academic lesson. Astrid remembered how all the other little girls were put off and some even frightened by these mythical beasts, while she was remarkably captivated. She tried to think back if Hiccup had been in that class with her, but despite all efforts, it was just a blur.
She smiled to herself, paused open on a page with a two-legged blue dragon, as she realized and appreciated that they both coincidentally shared a mutual liking for dragons. A fascination she forgot she even had until now.
She wondered how different everything might have turned out, if only they had just relayed their common interest to one another, back then, in their elementary years. They might have become friends a lot sooner, or maybe even more, but only Thor knows.
Hiccup was over there trying to dismiss her occasional glances, but she could feel him growing uneasy in the silence with every turning page.
"This is…really cool," she said slowly, inducing his eyes to flicker to hers, "I always liked dragons, too."
She adored the way his face lit up.
"Really?" He scoffed.
He then uncrossed his arms to lean onto the table, his interest evidently recollected.
"What do you know about them? Most of what I learned is in this book, here," he said feverishly, tapping the page. Do you read at all?"
He had leaned in closer to Astrid, perhaps too excited to notice. But she wasn't nearly as hyper as he was, and she could taste the full gravity of his nearness.
"Um…not too much," she admitted an answer to both questions, regaining touch with words.
"I know everyone says they're only legends, dragons. But, I swear—sometimes, I think I can almost remember seeing one once, a very long time ago."
"I know that feeling," Astrid, too, sometimes had strange dreams, or maybe they were memories, that she couldn't quite piece all the fragments together. It would hardly be a glimpse or some peculiar feeling, but she knew for a fact that she had never seen a real-life dragon.
"You think you've seen one too?"
"No. I mean—I know that feeling of, you know, those distant, fuzzy memories you can't tell are real or not."
"Yeah, it's a weird feeling," he said, pausing in thought, giving her a chance to admire the gap between his front teeth.
"I kind of like it," she shrugged.
"Oh-h no," Hiccup suddenly looked as if he saw a ghost.
"What?" She frowned, puzzled. "What is it?"
He was looking past her, into the expanse of the dining hall and suddenly it occurred to her exactly what—who was coming.
"Don't worry," she reassured Hiccup with sparkling eyes, before turning around in her seat to meet her correct prediction.
When they had made eye contact earlier, she felt it would only be a matter of time before he stalked over here to demand some answers. She had given him the benefit of the doubt, hopeful he was at least decent enough not to confront her in public, but here he was, towering at the edge of their table.
"Astrid. What are you doing?" Cato's bitter greeting was coded with thinly practiced patience. "I saved you a spot."
His voice was an irritating mosquito, persistently inescapable in the heat. He glared at her, under a sweep of white-blonde, with penetrating, scornful eyes. It seemed like he was trying his hardest not to acknowledge Hiccup's presence.
"Well you can give it away, I'm sitting over here today," she replied shortly, feeling more than satisfied with herself when she saw the furious way his veins jumped out on his neck.
"Sitting here?" He echoed, his face twisting into a sneer, finally acknowledging Hiccup, "with Haddock?" He exaggerated his name as if it were an explicit word, then laughed cruelly. "For what? What could this loser," he gestured to the smaller boy "possibly have to offer you that I don't?"
"Loser?" Astrid scoffed, folding her arms over her chest, her heart racing with anger and the fiery urge to defend Hiccup.
It was important that she remain strong, it was evident that in this moment, she ought to play that role for the both of them.
"You heard me," he shot a glare at Hiccup, who sank down in his seat.
Her blood boiled and she couldn't contain her anger.
"You mean the chief's son?" She protected his name. "He's more of a man than you'll ever be!"
Cato gawked at her stupidly, unable to find any words in the heat of the moment, and Astrid took this opportunity, fueled by a fresh spark of courage to snarl another remark.
"And what do you mean, for what? I'm tired of you shallow people! I don't hang out with anyone for personal gain—I don't have alternative motives, like your psychotic ass!"
"He's a weak child!—" Cato cried, ignoring her attack on his identity.
"And you're an incompetent pig! Why are you so obsessed with him?"
His jaw dropped as he scowled in dramatic confusion—it was quite entertaining.
"Fuck this shit! What are you even talking about?" Cato seethed in fury, unable to think of anything better.
The commotion was drawing a few heads their way.
The raging boy glanced around at his curious audience, then fixed back on her, lowering his voice to a frantic growl.
"I can't believe the way you're acting, Astrid—Haddock's poisoned your mind!"
"No he hasn't," he's freed me. Her icy eyes shot daggers. "I've just come to my senses."
"No! You've lost your fucking mind!" Cato threw his hands up, his voice rising again.
"Will you shut up!" Astrid snapped at him before sheepishly glancing around at the other kids watching.
"I don't fucking care!" He fumed, not really making sense. Then, evidently losing his temper, he leaned over the table, challengingly close to Hiccup, who again cowered down, looking rather small.
"What are you playing, Haddock?" Cato spat with rage.
Astrid thrashed her arm between the two boys, "Screw you! Leave him alone!"
"Stay out of this, Astrid!" He doubled on her, snatching her arm in his furious grip.
"Let go of me!" She hissed, ripping her arm from his grasp.
"Screw both of you!" Cato practically shouted.
He roared in caveman frustration, slamming his fists on their table and ratting their dining ware. He had attracted unwanted attention once again, before dramatically storming off towards the doors.
Thank the gods he's leaving, Astrid exhaled, feeling like she could finally breathe again.
"What are you looking at!" They heard him bark at someone in the retiring vicinity.
Astrid rubbed her eyes until she saw stars, wishing this hadn't been such a scene. The questioning looks fixed in their direction made her insides squirm and she just wanted to go home for the day. If this moment of spotlight made her uneasy, she couldn't imagine how uncomfortable Hiccup must be.
Cato was a demon. He thought he knew everything and acted like he owned everyone, including her. While it was obvious he had some feelings for her, she lacked regard for him.
Whenever she hung out with that friend group, she tried her best to brush off his tired pickup lines and ignore his aggressive flirting.
Over time, she had caught a few glimpses of Cato's weird, possessive tendencies. He might dissuade another guy their age from training with her, just so it could only be him, whenever he could help it. Orhe would throw an arm over her shoulder whenever they sat together, talking over any other boy who tried to speak to her, and if he couldn't manage to for any reason, he would glare at his threats with impatient, jealous eyes.
She was tired of dealing with it. She was exhausted from putting herself around people that were draining her of her energy, sucking the life out of her.
"Astrid—" Hiccup started to say, perhaps to comfort her.
"Don't—it's fine Hiccup. Please, spare me."
She blinked up at him, at his worried frown and he appeared to be a little shaken up from all that. He appeared younger, smaller at that moment and she felt an unexplainable urge to hug him, however, she did not move.
She had to remind herself, she wasn't dealing with the same male company as she just had, or ever had before—it was only her sweet, vulnerable Hiccup.
Astrid's gaze promptly softened on him.
"I am so, so sorry about him," she apologized, unable to find any other words to describe how terrible she felt for putting him in this situation.
"It's alright," Hiccup shrugged his little shoulders.
If this event had fazed him, he was doing a very fine job of hiding it.
The prominent desire to hold him was growing brighter, perhaps as bright as his eyes.
She was hungry, even just to touch him again, just to feel the warmth of that sparkling contact. She wanted to hold his hand like before, but last time she had a reason to and this time she had overthought it too much and psyched herself out.
Her gaze wavered on his hand for a moment, only miles across the table.
Never one to act on how she really feels, she remained seated, so close, yet still so far away, forever out of reach.
Her brain called the shots, not her heart.
The heated anger that had just been at its record pique, today, just a few moments before, had already depleted from her. She wasn't exactly relaxed now, still feeling tension. But a different kind now of tension now, perhaps from overthinking—being in Hiccup's company—but more than anything, she was happy, even just after that nasty encounter.
A comforting thought clouded her—it was just Hiccup, here with her now. Just the two of them. Astrid fastened onto this idea, loving how it sounded in her head.
"It's not alright, though. He's such a low-life," she said, sickened by her association with Cato.
"Is that guy your ex-boyfriend or something?"
"Gods!—No! Don't make me puke," she rasped, unable to bring herself to imagine that idea. "I hang out with his friends. I think he has a thing for me."
"Yeah, you think?" Hiccup laughed softly.
She swallowed, enabling herself to study his lips.
Their mutual chemistry began to trickle back into their bubble.
"Maybe just a little crush," She said, returning the amusement. Like I have on you. She wanted to say it so bad, there was no denying it at this point, but her tongue would never allow her.
"Well, he talks to you like he's your ex. He treats you very disrespectfully," he observed.
"Yeah, he thinks he owns me or something. That shithead."
"I don't like it. Makes me feel funny," he admitted, wrinkling his freckled nose.
Was this a thread of protectiveness or even jealousy, she sensed?
It was gorgeous to think of Hiccup as protective over her.
She beamed at him, pestered by the flip of her stomach.
"But, um, on a real note," he paused, his eyes meeting hers for a long note of undivided contact. More than he could usually handle at a time, "T-thank you for sticking up for me. You didn't have to…nobody has ever done that for me before."
Her heart melted with fondness over him, as well as it burned with a sting of mercy. She had hoped and prayed he didn't deal with torments very often, but a disheartening feeling told her otherwise, reminding her not to be so naive. In this morbid, judgmental village, it would just be too good to be true.
"I won't let them pick on you anymore, Hiccup, I won't stand for it, not for a moment," she promised.
"Astrid, really, I can—"
"Please. You tell me if he ever gives you trouble, okay? If anyone does," she said firmly, feeling a charge of confidence to finally reach over the table and grab his hand.
At last! It felt so good. Finally, they had reunited. The feeling of their equally dainty hands flush against one another, was a scalding jolt of electric heat that bled down to her fingertips and snaked up her arm.
He glanced down for hardly a second, before his eyes darted back up to hers, the sudden, intimate contact making him blush.
This was all Astrid had craved for as long as she could remember—the past few minutes.
She had him in her hand. She dared to move her thumb delicately over his knuckles, tracing a line of affection across his milk-white skin and feeling him very slightly jump beneath the subtle endearment. For a secret moment to herself, he belonged to her, as he did every time they held hands.
"You'll tell me," she insisted, churning with butterflies, fighting to maintain eye contact.
It was apparent he was too, mesmerized by her awaited touch and attentive gaze.
"Alright, I will," he obediently agreed, too caught up in the heat of the moment to care anymore what he was agreeing to.
She gathered her courage, deciding it was a decent moment to further his understanding of how she felt about him.
"I care about you, a lot, Hiccup," she found her words slowly, wanting to say it right.
His cheeks burned rich as blood.
"I-I care about you, too," he managed softly, perhaps turning a heavy gear of confidence as well.
The length of eye contact he was tolerating was incredible. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze for encouragement.
"And ever since I became friends with you, I feel like I've woken up from this boring, repetitive dream I've been trapped in for so long," she confessed, the best way she could manage, feeling a quick, hot shade of red, like Hiccup.
He inhaled sharply, but quietly, "W-wow, Astrid..I, uh, it really does mean a lot to hear you say that…" he stuttered, "It's also kinda funny."
"Huh? What is?"
"Because, to me, ever since I became friends with you, not any of this has felt real," his green eyes were chilling.
When he said this, her arms prickled with goose flesh. She closed her eyes for some heartbeats, knowing this was meant to happen, sure that they were meant to be. She felt as if they were following their path of fate through the dark like it was a buzzing, golden trail illuminated by lanterns and fireflies.
"Hiccup that's beautiful," she said opening her eyes, still holding onto his soft hand.
"Hm?"
"I love the way you said that," she elaborated. "It made me feel funny. In a good way."
He eyed her with his charming eyes, a boyish smile spread over his face.
It was silent for a few moments before Astrid was sure he would hear the sound of her pounding, racing heart, which she was far too prideful to address.
"Are you doing anything after this?" She blatantly asked.
His mouth frowned to the side a bit and he sighed, "Yeah, I have to help Gobber at his forge for a while."
"Oh," Astrid felt herself deflate a little.
Hiccup picked up on it, "But I mean if you're not doing later tonight, after-"
"Yes! Wanna do something together? Let's take a walk by the water," she suggested excitedly, but when she caught the way his brow quirked, she thought to herself for a moment, the idea of the two of them walking alone under the stars, along the shore seemed pretty…romantic.
Her face suddenly felt hot enough to fry a fish on and she retracted her hand from his a little too quickly.
"To practice swinging some weapons or something," she briskly added to clarify.
She wasn't implying they do anything over there. Did he think that? Or was she overthinking it all?
"I'm not very good with stuff like that," he smirked clinically.
"Aww c'mon, I'll teach you," Astrid implored, looking down at her plate, for the first time.
She flicked a carrot around with her fork, playing with it while she spoke.
"It'll just be you and I, again. You can be my new training partner," she purred, peeking up at him through her long lashes.
"Who's your old one?" he challenged narrowing his eyes, though a playful note played in his voice.
"Oh, shut up," she teased, "it changes all the time. I train with different people every day."
"Must be nice," he scoffed flatly.
Her heart sank and she worried for a second if he was annoyed.
"But I want to train with you," she tried not to whine. "That's why I'm inviting you to practice with me tonight. I'll teach you how to swing a sword or a mace or whatever your type is."
"My type?" when he cracked a gap-tooth smile she felt an instant wave of relief.
"You gotta have a type. Everyone does," she said. I think I just figured out what mine is.
"My type, or class, I guess, is an axe. It has more cleaving power than a blade, yet less precision, that's why I think you oughta use a sword instead, personally," she went on to explain. "But then again, you should try out different weapons to see what you like."
"Alright, alright," Hiccup slowed her down, "I'll be delighted to come and play sword fighting with you if it'll make you happy," he smirked, his cool eyes always grabbing her attention, "But seriously, you can't make fun of me."
"Hiccup," she rolled her eyes. "I already told you. I'm always going to make fun of you."
