Hiccup was putting the last screw in on the new door lock for the bathroom, when Fishlegs stuck his head in.
"Your next appointment is here," he said to his boss.
"Oh...good. Uh..." he looked at the mess around him.
"I'll clean it up," Fishlegs offered.
"Thanks."
Hiccup tidied up his shirt and tucked it back in his trousers on his way to the office. Grabbing his jacket and quickly slinging it on, he picked up the paperwork and headed for the arrangement room. Walking in, he was immediately taken aback by the scene in front of him.
There, seated at the centre of the table was a slender blonde woman with a serious scowl on her beautiful face. She had her arms crossed and clearly was not impressed with the company she was currently keeping, four other more generously sized adults and a surly lad.
He had to assume she was Astrid Hofferson, the woman who had spoken to him that morning. He caught her eye, but before he even had a chance to introduce himself, one of the women broke in and stuck out her hand to Hiccup, who politely shook it.
She practically purred, "I'm Tessa, Finn's wife."
"Ex-wife," snapped the blonde, glaring at the woman.
Tessa barely gave Astrid a glance as she pulled the boy in front of her. "This is Ross, my son. He's been so devastated about losing his father." She pouted, and her bottom lip trembled in a very practiced manner, that even Hiccup could see through.
The blonde snorted. "I bet. Especially when everybody knows he wasn't Uncle Finn's kid."
Tessa glared at Astrid, while Hiccup nodded politely at the black haired woman with the heavily painted face, and attempted to smile at the boy. But the lad wouldn't even lift his eyes from the game he was playing on his phone.
Hiccup tried to make eye contact with the furious Astrid again, but this time a balding man with a rounded stomach stuck out his hand. Hiccup shook it, but nearly had the blood squeezed out of his fingers from the man's strong grip. His eyes bulged, but he refrained from saying anything.
"Name's Heff. This is my wife Gerty, and my son Todd." He indicated to the two other heavy set adults. Hiccup noticed the man deliberately left Astrid out from his introductions.
Heff continued. "I'm Finn's brother. Now this is a distasteful business, and we want to get this over and done with as quietly as possible. How soon can you cremate?" he asked brusquely.
Hiccup had to blink at the man's abruptness. "Uh…I'm sorry? I thought we were arranging for a funeral?" he asked slowly, because he was sure that was what he had been told on the phone.
Heff grimaced unpleasantly. "No, that won't be necessary. The man died shamefully. Don't want my family name to be tainted with all this. You understand?"
Hiccup could see Astrid standing up, her face livid. "Oh, the great and wise Heff Hofferson," she snarled sarcastically, drawing everyone's attention. "Your so called 'name' is more important to you than your own brother. You never cared for Uncle Finn. You were always telling him he wasn't as important as you. Just because you accidentally made some money on the stock market, you and your pompous family think you're above everybody else."
Heff's round face grew red, and he shook his finger at his niece in a condescending manner. "Now see here, child. He may have tricked you into thinking he was some kind of hero, but you heard how he died….like a coward! He ran away and left his partner by himself. That's how he got shot!"
Astrid's fists were clenched and Hiccup was alarmed at how quickly things were getting out of control.
"You don't know any of that. The investigation hasn't been finished yet. You've 'conveniently' decided what happened without waiting for any of the facts," she growled at him through gritted teeth.
Tessa sneered. "Please! Everybody knows he froze, honey." She grabbed her son and dragged him unwillingly against her. "My poor Ross doesn't have his father anymore. How is he going to have the things he needs?" she pouted.
Astrid rolled her eyes and gave a loud huff. "You are nothing more than a leech. You're only here to see if Uncle Finn left you any more money. Haven't you sucked him dry enough already? Can't you leave him alone now that's he's dead?"
Tessa sniffed indignantly. "How rude."
"Well if the shoe fits, honey," said Astrid sarcastically.
Tessa turned to an astounded Hiccup. She pouted. "Can you please make her leave? She's nothing more than the niece. I'm his wife…"
"…and I'm his brother," broke in Heff behind her.
Tessa continued, "We should be the ones to decide on Finn's funeral."
Astrid snorted derisively. "What funeral would you lot hold? You'd have him cremated as cheaply as possible so that you can shove the rest of his money in your back pocket. Well, I've got news for you…he made me his executor, so I will be the one making decisions…not you blood sucking monsters," she snapped.
"That's enough! You will leave this room, and I will arrange his disposal," shouted Uncle Heff.
Astrid gasped in outrage and drew back her fist, ready to aim straight for the pompous round man. Hiccup's eyes opened wide, seeing what was about to happen. He launched himself towards the furious Astrid, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her backwards. It took all his strength to restrain the struggling woman, but somehow he managed to drag her out of the room while she yelled obscenities towards her family. He took her into the second arrangement room, past a very startled Fishlegs.
"Get me Ruff and Tuff. Now!" ordered Hiccup, before closing the door.
Fishlegs didn't hesitate, and quickly called the twins on the intercom.
Not long after, the twins were knocking on the closed door. Hiccup opened it and they could see a blonde woman pacing furiously at the back of the room, screaming and punching the solid concrete wall.
They both raised their eyebrows, but Hiccup told them quietly, "Ruff, Tuff…I need a removal service."
The twins immediately rolled up their sleeves. "Which ones?"
"All of them," he said lowly, indicating towards the other room.
"Oh, a complete house job. Been a while since we had one of those. Ready sis?" said Tuffnut.
Ruffnut cackled and fist bumped her brother. "As ever."
Hiccup closed the door confident the twins would do their job, and turned back to the highly agitated woman still pacing and screaming her frustration. Tears of rage were drifting down her cheeks, and he could see that she'd hurt her hand. He grabbed a few tissues from a box, and walked over to her.
"Here…let me have a look at your hand," he said quietly.
Astrid stopped to stare at him, as if she'd only just noticed he was there. She turned her damp gaze to her fist and was surprised at the damage she had caused.
"Oh!" was all she said, her rage suddenly dissipating at the distraction.
Hiccup took her hand in his and gently mopped up the blood from her split skin. This simple and caring action made her take notice of the man in front of her. Letting her gaze drift over his tousled auburn hair, and the kindly green eyes he flashed at her, Astrid was amazed to find herself somehow trusting him.
His long fingers were attentive and soft, and staring at them seemed to unlock the tension she had been suffering from ever since that terrible phone call telling her of Finn's death.
Without knowing why, she started telling him everything.
"They weren't supposed to be here, but they wouldn't leave me alone. They kept insisting they had to be involved even though I knew they didn't care about Uncle Finn. He deserves a decent funeral because he was a wonderful and brave man, and he had many good friends. We all loved him and he would go out of his way to help anyone...Pity he had such lousy family," she finished savagely.
Hiccup gave her a small smirk, trying to cheer her up a little. "Oh, I don't know. His niece seems to be pretty devoted."
Astrid gave him a sad smile. "Thank you for that."
Hiccup threw the messy tissues in the rubbish. "Wait a moment...we need to bandage this," he told her, indicating her bruised hand.
She tried to tug it away from his grip. "You don't have to do that. I'll fix it later."
"No you don't," he said firmly, keeping her hand in his. "The sooner this is cleaned up, the quicker it will heal. Will you let me?" he asked gently, refusing to let go till she nodded. She gave him a small smile.
Releasing her, he went to the door and beckoned Fishlegs over. "Can you get me the first aid kit please?"
"Sure thing, Hiccup."
He waited till the other man handed him the kit, then only partially closed the door. Spreading the equipment out on the desk, he pulled out the disinfectant and a bandage before sitting on the couch with her. While he tended to her hand, Astrid apologized.
"Sorry about your wall."
Hiccup glanced over at the mark where she had impacted. He smiled, "Don't worry about it. I think your hand came off second best anyway. Although remind me never to get on your bad side. I'd hate to be the recipient of one of those power punches."
She giggled, surprised at how easily he made her laugh. He flashed those green eyes at her again, a mischievous glint hidden there.
"Oh, I'm sure you'd handle it. You look pretty tough," she teased him in reply.
He picked up the leftovers and stood up, "Are you referring to all this raw manliness?" he asked her, with a sweeping gesture to himself.
She laughed, and turned her lovely blue eyes on him. Hiccup stopped short when he realized he was drowning in a sea of blue. She was a client…a very beautiful one, but still a client. That meant she was from the 'no-go' zone. And right now she was hurting. He needed to maintain his professionalism.
He dropped the rubbish in the bin. Clearing his throat, he sat behind the desk. "Do you think you'd like to make arrangements for your uncle's funeral now?" he asked carefully.
She instantly sobered up.
"Um….can they really change anything for the funeral?" she asked hesitantly, referring to the rest of her family.
Hiccup shook his head firmly. "No. You've already sent through the paperwork which proves you are the executor of your uncle's estate. They can sing and dance as much as they like, I'll only take my directions from you," he assured her warmly.
She nodded, deep in thought. "Thank you, I appreciate that… Yes, I'd like to do this now…before I lose my nerve," she told him with a shudder.
This was going to hurt a lot, being suddenly responsible for the final farewell of her beloved uncle, the man who had practically raised her after her parents died. He'd always been there for her, despite his own troubles, and she felt his loss acutely. It really didn't help that other relatives had stepped in, instantly condemning him over the unproven theory of his death. It almost felt like several knives stabbing her all at once, the pain was that intense.
Hiccup could see how devastated Astrid was by the whole ordeal, and he felt his heart go out to her. He wanted to do everything in his power to make sure her desire for a proper send off for her uncle was fulfilled.
He picked up the first aid kit and swapped it for the paperwork that had been abandoned in the other office. Starting with the first form, Hiccup took in a deep breath and began. They had to fill in all the data about Finn's life…his date of birth, where he lived, his occupation...questions like those.
Astrid struggled bravely through it all, but there was something so cold about recording hard data on a person's life. None of it related the kind of man her uncle was. Warm-hearted, generous to a fault and incredibly courageous. As she thought about the stories behind the facts, she found herself teary eyed.
Hiccup subtly pushed a tissue box towards her. Astrid eyed it off as if it were the enemy. She scowled and told him fiercely, "Hofferson's don't cry. We're tough and...and..."
She stopped and stared at him in horror at the realisation she wasn't going to be able to prevent it. Her eyes were wide, her lashes barely holding the tears hiding there. A single drop escaped, flowing gently down her cheek.
Her face crumpled and she burst into tears, covering her face with her hands in grief and embarrassment. Hiccup pushed the box of tissues towards her again, and she hastily grabbed a few.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry," she said, her voice muffled behind the tissues.
Hiccup's reaction was immediate. He had to offer her some comfort. Maintaining a professional distance was all well and good when your client had support. But Astrid had no one.
Hiccup swiftly came round the desk to sit beside her, and placed a warm hand on her shoulder. She found herself sub-consciously leaning towards his tender touch, finding this man who was practically a stranger, more caring and compassionate than her own family.
"It's okay," he said softly. "Take all the time you need. Even tough guys have to cry sometimes."
His gentle words seemed to trigger the fragile dam wall of her emotions to break once more, and the tide was not willing to be stopped. She cried harder, curling in on herself. He rubbed her back in a soothing manner, while she gulped and grabbed more tissues to wipe the unending flow of tears.
He was so close and warm that she instinctively turned her head, resting it on his shoulder.
Hiccup hesitated for only a moment before sliding his arm around her back. It surprised him how natural it felt to do that simple action. But he chose not to dwell on that, instead waiting patiently for her sobs to settle. Then, when she was wiping away the last of the wetness from her swollen eyelids, he quietly withdrew again.
He fed her more tissues, while she dabbed at her cheeks. Looking at him with red-rimmed puffy eyes, and runny nose. She felt embarrassed and a little foolish.
"I'm sorry, I don't normally fall apart like that…or hug complete strangers," she told him, her tone muted and snuffly.
Hiccup merely covered her hand with his own, and told her earnestly. "It's okay to do that here. I don't mind. Maybe…this place can be like your safety zone…the place to let loose your true feelings. And know you will never be judged."
She gazed into his caring deep green eyes, and was surprised to find herself believing him. Astrid felt a rush of appreciation for what Hiccup was offering her. Right now, her world was in complete turmoil, but she found his presence a calming force.
"Thank you...maybe I'll take you up on that," she told him quietly.
He smiled, a lop sided grin that she found mesmerizing. She took a closer look at the man in front of her, and noticed how attractive he was. Astrid didn't realise that she had been staring until Hiccup nervously cleared his throat.
"Oh, sorry. Um..." she stuttered, embarrassed she had been caught.
"Yeah, that's okay. Ah...how about we finish this tomorrow?" he suggested. "You've had quite a disturbing day."
She nodded, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. "That sounds like a good idea. Um...what about Uncle Finn? Is he...?"
He smiled warmly at her again. "He's here. We'll look after him for you."
"Okay." Astrid stood to leave, but first turned back to Hiccup. "Thank you," she told him sincerely.
Hiccup walked her to the front door, waving good bye until she was out of sight. Once she was gone, he turned around to distractedly walk back into the office...and found himself face to face with the rest of his crew.
"Argh!" He jumped backwards. "What are you all doing here?"
"What. Was. That?" asked Fishlegs, his eyes wide.
Hiccup avoided eye contact with the others, and nervously pushed past them all. "I don't know what you're talking about. She's a client having a very hard time. I'm just helping her...the same as I do with every client."
Snotlout snorted. "They don't all look like her."
"Yeah...and she totally fancies you," added Ruffnut.
"Just like Hiccup is keen on her," said Snotlout, leering at him.
"What? No! I'm not 'keen on her'. She's a client," Hiccup said, defending himself.
Ruffnut turned to her brother, "Classic denial. First stage."
Tuffnut nodded sagely. "So totally true, sis."
"Hiccup's got a girlfriend!" sang Snotlout.
Hiccup rounded on them all. "I don't know what you think you saw...but Astrid is a client. Nothing more. Nothing less. A client. Got it?" he told them firmly.
Ruffnut sniggered, "A client you've got the hots for."
"I. Do. Not. Date. Clients," Hiccup told them through gritted teeth. "Ever!"
He stormed off through the office, grabbing his keys as he went.
"Fish, I'll be back later."
After Hiccup had gone, Fishlegs turned to the others, "Guys...I think we had better leave him alone for this one. I think it's serious."
Snotlout laughed loudly. "And miss out on all this drama? Good one, Fishface."
The twins sniggered, following the buff man out of the office. "Yeah, good one!"
Fishlegs sighed, watching them all go. Shaking his head, he muttered to himself, "I hope you know what you're getting yourself in for, Hiccup."
-oOo-
Hiccup arrived at work extra early the next morning. He had a lot of paperwork to get through and he wanted a head start. His first priority was to check the diary. Reading through it, he frowned. When Astrid had left the previous day, he'd failed to set another time for her to come back.
Hiccup only had enough time to pick up her uncle's file, when the phone rang.
"Good morning. Haddock Family Funerals. You're speaking with Hiccup," he said in a well-practised and polished voice.
"Good morning, Hiccup. This is Astrid," came an obviously tired feminine voice.
"Astrid! How are you?" Hiccup asked warmly. He was delighted to hear her voice again, although he wasn't prepared to admit it.
"I'm fine, thanks. I wanted to say I really appreciate what you've done for me so far. This whole event has been a lot tougher than I realised…and it's only because of you that I haven't taken an axe to something."
Hiccup was a little alarmed at this admission and made a mental note not to end up on Astrid's bad side. He struggled to keep his voice steady.
"Er…you're welcome," he said. "I'm glad I could help. Were you coming in today?" he asked, wanting to keep the funeral plans on track. None of the necessary decisions had been made yet.
"Of course," she told him, although he could hear the tremble in her voice. It only took a few moments to set a time, before Hiccup hung up and continued with his work. He was still feeling a little distracted, thinking about his blonde client, when the phone rang again.
"Good morning. Haddock Family Funerals. You're speaking with Hiccup," he said smoothly.
"Just the man I wanted to talk to," came an authoritative male voice.
Hiccup mentally cringed. It was Astrid's uncle Heff.
"Mr Hofferson. What can I do for you?" asked Hiccup politely, although it was taking a lot of effort not to grind his teeth at the man's unpleasant tone.
Heff didn't waste words. "I've spoken to Astrid last night, and she's asked me to take over the arrangements for Finn. She's not doing so well, the poor lass. This whole business has taken its toll on her."
Hiccup's brows shot upwards at the supposedly sympathetic words. The sincerity was so obviously fake, that he had to hold back a snort.
Heff continued in his brutish way, "She's given me her instructions on what she wants, so I will be in there shortly to tell you how things need to be done and to sign the forms."
Hiccup frowned deeply, knowing full well what the man was trying to do. He hadn't managed to shove the obstinate and forceful blonde warrior out of the way, so now he was trying to railroad Hiccup instead.
"Really?" asked Hiccup suspiciously.
"That's right. She wants to organize his cremation straight away…today if possible," Heff told Hiccup, who had to shake his head in shocked disbelief at the brazen attitude of this guy.
"Well….that's all very odd, considering Astrid has already signed all the forms. Plus she rang me only five minutes ago to make an appointment to finish the funeral arrangements," said Hiccup slowly, wanting to make sure the other man heard him clearly.
Heff tried to bluster his way out. "You can't listen to her. She's upset and doesn't know what she's saying. I will be in there shortly to take over."
Hiccup had to take a deep breath, so he could remain calm. "I'm very sorry Mr Hofferson, but I believe Astrid is quite capable of making the necessary decisions. Plus she has shown me the legal documents that state she is the executor to your brother's estate and has every right to plan his funeral. Your assistance will not be required."
"Not required?" yelled the man excruciatingly loudly. Hiccup had to pull the phone away from his ear. "I'm his brother, I have every right to tell you what's required. And I demand he be cremated today! I will NOT stand for this shameful business to be broadcast all over the paper…."
Hiccup interrupted firmly. "I'm sorry sir, but I'll only be taking my directions from Astrid. Have a nice day."
And with that, he hung up the phone.
He had to pause for a few moments to control his anger, his eyes blazing with indignation at Heff's outrageous behaviour.
"How DARE he?" Hiccup fumed, slapping his hand on the table.
Fishlegs had walked in the door at that moment, but jumped at Hiccup's unexpected outburst.
"Yipe!"
"Oh sorry Fish. You wouldn't believe the phone call I just received," he told the startled man, before promptly relating all that had been said. At the end of it, Fishlegs was so frightened, he hoped he didn't have to talk to Astrid's uncle anytime soon. He scuttled nervously over to his desk.
About an hour later, Hiccup had finally managed to settle his sense of frustration and was back at his desk completing his tasks when the phone rang. Fishlegs was in the other room, so Hiccup answered.
"Good morning. Haddock Family Funerals. You're speaking with Hiccup."
He waited expectantly, but all he heard was a 'click' as the caller hung up. Hiccup shrugged and placed the phone back in its cradle, continuing with his work. Probably a wrong number.
This happened three more times throughout the morning, and Hiccup was beginning to get suspicious as to the origin of the phone calls.
The next call that came through however, Hiccup was busy, so Fishlegs answered.
"Good morning. Haddock Family Funerals. You're speaking with Fishlegs."
"Good," came a brusque voice, making Fishlegs tremble instantly. "Finn Hofferson is my brother, and I'm not happy with that Hiccup fellow. He's doing a terrible job, and isn't professional at all," Heff shouted rudely over the phone line. "I want you to be the funeral director….not him."
"I'm sorry sir, but I won't be able to take over," Fishlegs squeaked, feeling threatened and under pressure. "Astrid has already told us she's the executor, so we can only take our directions from her," he managed to stammer out.
Hiccup looked up sharply at Fishleg's words, listening closely.
"She has no right to arrange this funeral," the man roared through the earpiece at Fishleg's trembling form. Fish held the phone away from his ear and cringed.
Hiccup rose quickly from his seat, and strode over to Fishlegs with his hand out. Fishlegs gladly handed the handset over.
"All yours," he squeaked, and practically ran from the room.
"This is Hiccup Haddock here," he said firmly. "I'm afraid Astrid has every legal right to take care of her uncle's funeral. She has expressed her confidence in me as her funeral director, and I intend to carry out her wishes. As I've already told you today, all the correct documents have been completed, and Astrid has provided rock hard evidence that she is the sole executor and responsible for Finn's funeral. I would kindly suggest that you leave well enough alone, and let her be to do what she needs to do," he said, speaking strongly.
"How dare you!" Heff shouted furiously. Hiccup could almost hear the other man's blood boiling, an image of the man's reddened face flashing through his mind. "You're not a funeral director! You're nothing more than a hustler, praying on people's weakest moments."
Hiccup pursed his lips in tightly controlled anger. He spoke coldly. "It would seem to me that the true 'hustler' might be yourself. This is the second time today you've tried to overrule Astrid's decisions with outright lies. I would suggest, sir, that you stay away from here until the day of the funeral."
Hiccup had to hold the phone at arm's length away from his ear, to prevent his eardrums being burst from the indignant shout that was emanating from it. He decided not to waste any more of his precious time with such a horrible person and he put the phone down with a firm 'click'.
In the real world, (where I live anyway) a cremation cannot go ahead if there is any objection to it. But in this case, its not the cremation Heff is objecting to...its the funeral service itself. Astrid is the legally signed executor, chosen by Finn himself. So she has the legal right to organize it. Naturally, the funds are being taken from Finn's estate which is controlled by Astrid. So it's all above board. Doesn't mean Heff is going to like it though...
So...whatcha think? Keep going or pull the plug (no pun intended)