So sorry for the lengthy delays. That's just how things are at the moment, and I can't change it. Thank you to all who have decided to stick with this story.
Just a warning, this chapter is very much about arranging a funeral. This is the sole reason for Hiccup and Astrid getting to know each other, so without it, there is no story. So read with caution if you think this might be a trigger for you.
Hiccup was just exiting the mortuary early the next morning, when Snotlout arrived at the funeral home to start work. The black haired man had barely entered through the side door entrance before he began to grumble.
"How am I supposed to get my beauty sleep if I have to start work so early," he complained, giving Hiccup a side glance as he walked in.
Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Why don't you try going to bed earlier," he suggested with a long suffering sigh.
Snotlout scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. "I can't do that, I would miss out on my favourite netflix shows," he said, objecting to the sensible advice given. "Unlike you, I actually have a life," he added with a small smirk.
Hiccup could only give him a dry look, annoyed at the dig.
"Well, why don't you start two hours later, then finish an hour earlier each day. Would that satisfy your beauty sleep needs?" he asked with a hint of sarcasm.
Snotlout blinked at him, surprised at the suggestion. "You'd do that for me?" he asked hopefully, as the twins and Fishlegs came in through the side entrance behind him.
"No," was Hiccup's flat response.
Ruff cackled. "Shot down in flames, Snotty."
Snotlout scowled. "Shut up, Ruff."
Fishlegs gave Hiccup a sympathetic look. "Early start this morning?" he asked.
Hiccup nodded. "Yeah. Had a call from the nursing home at six a.m. Mr Edwards passed away last night."
Snotlout perked up at this news. He gave a sly grin. "Did you ask out any of the hot nurses?" he wanted to know.
Hiccup frowned in irritation, but before he could respond, Ruff broke in.
"Why would he do that? He's already got a girlfriend."
Tuff laughed. "Yeah...Astrid."
Hiccup immediately blushed.
Ruff pointed at him, and shouted, "Beetroot! He turned beetroot."
Snotlout pouted. "Aw man...I didn't get a chance to pick a colour."
Hiccup's narrowed gaze swept across all of them. "Don't you lot have work to do?" he asked, before deliberately turning away and stalking off towards the office.
Snotlout turned on the twins. "You can't go saying 'Astrid' around the boss without a warning," he scolded them. "You wasted a perfectly good 'blush-o-meter' opportunity."
Ruff shrugged, and her twin appeared equally unperturbed.
"You were going to lose anyway," she told him, before heading towards the mortuary to begin her day.
Tuff followed her and Fishlegs also turned to leave.
"Was not," grumbled Snotlout grumbled petulantly, his arms crossed over his chest.
Unfortunately for him, nobody cared and he was left standing in the hallway on his own.
"I'll just go and start cremating then," he said defensively to nobody in particular. "Cause that's what I do...cremate."
He waited for a moment, but there was no response. So he decided to give up and leave too.
-oOo-
About an hour later, Hiccup glanced over as Snotlout casually strolled in to the office, his thumbs hooked into his waistband. He stood before Fishlegs but said nothing.
The big man looked up from his work, uncertainty showing on his round face at the stocky man's actions.
"Uh…do you want something?" he asked timidly.
"Yeah…I'd like to work at the cemetery," said Snotlout.
Fishlegs was confused. "The cemetery? Why would you like to work there?"
"Because I'd have 500 men under me," Snotlout replied with a straight face.
Hiccup snorted.
Snotlout grinned, "And I'd be in the dead centre of town."
He paused.
"But I heard business is down at the moment."
Fishlegs groaned, rolling his eyes at the terrible puns.
The jokester in question cracked up laughing.
"Your face is priceless! Why would I leave here, when I can torment you?" he asked, still laughing as he walked out the door.
Fishlegs could only hang his head in defeat.
"Never mind, Fish," sympathized Hiccup. "There's only so many jokes he can do. It has to end at some point."
"Hopefully with his end," grumbled the big man.
Hiccup laughed, shaking his head before resuming his work. Although he couldn't help the small snigger as he recalled Snot's words.
-oOo-
Not long after that, Hiccup was alone in the office, all the others elsewhere on various jobs for the moment. He heard the front door open, and stood up from his desk to see who it was. His heart sank a little when he saw Tessa standing at the counter. Although the cloud of perfume that wafted in before her, should have warned him.
He coughed discreetly.
"Astrid asked me to bring in some photos for the slideshow," she told him brightly. Hiccup doubted this very much but said nothing. Her painted on eyebrows seemed to be placed a little too high, giving her a slightly surprised look. Hiccup had to fight hard not to stare.
She dropped a pile of photos on the counter with a flourish, giving a high pitched girlish giggle which felt out of place on her ample frame.
"I picked out all the ones that showed my best side," she told him, flashing her left cheek towards Hiccup and pouting with her over blown botoxed lips. "See?"
Hiccup felt bile rising up his throat at the sight, and he had to swallow hard to push it back down and suppress a shudder.
Instead, he nodded politely and picked up the pile. Flicking through them, he was met with photo after photo of Tessa and her son in various poses. Not a single one showed Finn.
"I'm sorry, these photos seem to be of you and your son,...not of Finn," he told her.
"Well of course they are, sugar. Who do you think was taking the photos?" Tessa told him with a wide smile, designed to show off her whitened teeth.
"Do you have any of Finn?" Hiccup asked, his brow raised. He was pretty sure he already knew the answer.
"Oh no. Finn always preferred to take photos of me," she replied, plumping up her curls with one hand.
"Okay then. Maybe I'll wait to see what Astrid brings in," Hiccup told her, trying to hand the self-portraits back.
She didn't take them, instead she closed her manicured fingers over his hand and pushed them back.
"You keep those, honey. I have plenty," she told him with a sultry purr and a wink.
Her hand lingered over his, and Hiccup was horrified to find her blinking rapidly at him in a flirtatious manner.
Hiccup was stuck between two unpleasant scenarios. The more he tried to give the photos back, the longer her hand stayed wrapped over his. But if he tugged his hand back, he would be forced to take the photos with him. Neither option was great, but he went with the lesser evil. He tugged his hand back along with the narcissistic photos.
"Uh...thank you for taking the time to bring these out. I'll let you go now, I'm sure you're very busy," he told her, hoping she would take the hint and leave. His hand was twitching and he had an insane desire to scrub it clean.
"Oh no, honey," she said, coming behind the counter and plopping herself down into Fishlegs chair. "I have a lot of time for you. Say, you sure are handsome, aren't you. Are you married?" she asked suddenly, making Hiccup blush.
"Um, no, no I'm not," he answered, beginning to stammer with her forwardness and wishing desperately for anybody to walk in right now and rescue him. Plus her perfume was making him dizzy.
She scanned around the office, scrutinizing it. Hiccup could almost hear the gears churning behind that dyed hair do. "You must make a lot of money, here. I mean, people are popping off all the time, needing expensive funerals. Am I right?"
Hiccup was becoming quite irritated with the woman's abrasive and uncaring attitude. Her intentions were so transparent it was laughable. Well, it would be if a slice of Hiccup wasn't on her menu right now. He needed to get rid of her, but he baulked at throwing her out.
His teeth were gritted but he fought to stay polite. "A Funeral Home is an expensive business to run. I'm sorry, but I must say goodbye. I have another appointment shortly," he said, giving the biggest hint he could and waiting expectantly for her to take it.
Unfortunately, she didn't. "That's all right, sugar. I can keep myself amused right here till you come back," she told him, nestling into Fishleg's chair to make herself more comfortable. She heaved her oversize purse onto her lap and rummaged through it, pulling out a smaller bag. She then proceeded to empty its contents onto the desk, tipping nail polish and fake fingernail paraphernalia all over Fishleg's paperwork.
She opened a bottle of nail polish and Hiccup nearly reeled backwards when his nasal cavities were assaulted by the overpowering smell. She didn't seem to have any care or concern over where the liquid was going, and Hiccup was nearly apoplectic with visions of red polish spilling over important papers.
"Er...Fishlegs paperwork is on that table," he began, shifting the papers and hoping to prompt her to move on.
She gave him a red lipsticked grin. "That's okay, honey. I've worked in worse places."
Hiccup blinked, taken aback. Just when he was beginning to think he was going to have to resort to rudeness, he was given a reprieve. Snotlout walked into the office to return the van key.
"Hey Hiccup, I picked up...woah, er I didn't realise you had a guest," the black haired man said, his brows raising high when he spotted a client where clients had never been before.
"I don't. This is Tessa, part of Finn Hofferson's family," Hiccup forced out.
"Widow, honey. Needing to be comforted by a rich man," she pouted.
Hiccup nearly threw up at her attempt to give him a beguiling smile. Turning his back to her, Hiccup opened his eyes wide in a 'help-me' message to Snotlout.
Snotlout watched Hiccup performing confusing facial athletics. He wasn't sure if Hiccup was sending a message in face code, or if he was in the middle of a seizure. But when Hiccup tilted his chin towards the front door, Snotlout's dim expression brightened. Hiccup gave an inaudible sigh, hoping the buff man had finally received his message.
"Hey, sweet lips. I bet you never seen guns like these before," he said to the woman suggestively, pumping his biceps. "How about you come over here in the light to get the full affect," he told her, pointing towards the front door.
She looked up from her nails. "Do you have money?" she asked shrewdly.
"Sure, I do. I'm loaded thanks to a rich uncle. Plus my cousin is giving me half his business," he lied smoothly, causing the woman to smile and pack up her equipment.
"What kind of business, honey?" she asked, fluttering her lashes at him as she walked around the desk to him.
"Oh, it's a good one…everybody is dying to get into it," replied Snotlout, shooting Hiccup a 'you-owe-me-one' look as he led the woman outside the building. Hiccup was happy to take it, sighing deeply in relief once she had gone. Although he had to face palm at the joke. He quickly tidied up the desk area in case she came back, before finding an envelope for the photos she had given him. He'd show them to Astrid later on.
-oOo-
Hiccup was still madly waving the office door, the ceiling fan turned to hurricane speed in an attempt to remove the strong odours left over from Tessa, when Snotlout sauntered back in through the front door.
"What are you doing?" he asked with a raised brow. His boss was known to be a little eccentric on occasion, and it wasn't always obvious to him why he did what he did.
"Removing the stench of gold-diggery," muttered Hiccup, still flapping the door.
Snotlout sniffed cautiously. "All I can smell is nail polish and cheap perfume," he said in slight confusion.
"That's the one," said Hiccup, stopping what he was doing to reduce the fan speed.
Snotlout still didn't understand, but didn't really care anymore, so he shrugged. "Whatever."
"So where's the future 'Mrs Lout' now?" asked Hiccup, straightening his tie and sitting back at his desk to resume his work.
Snotlout beamed proudly. "She's waiting for me down at the café. I told her I'd come after I finished with my important business meeting. Cool, huh?" He was practically jigging on the spot in his excitement. "It's all part of my plan for seeing three woman at once."
Hiccup raised his brows high at this one, but before he could say anything, Snotlout was already spilling his 'masterful' blue print plan.
"You see…I tell lady 'A' that I have an important meeting, while I go see lady 'B'. Then I tell lady 'B' that I have an important meeting while I go see lady 'C'. Then I tell her that I have an important client while I go back to lady 'A'. I tell you, it's foolproof," he gloated.
Ruff strolled in, Tuff right behind her. "Oh there's a fool in it alright, I have proof of that," she cackled, fist bumping her brother.
Snotlout scowled at the twins, crossing his arms in irritation. "Do not," he huffed.
"Do so. You'd have to find three woman who actually want anything to do with you first… at the same time. You can barely find one."
"Shut up Ruff," he growled, before turning on his heel and leaving while he still had some dignity.
Tuff scratched his head in confusion. "Why would Snot want to date more than one woman?"
Ruff was quick to answer. "Cause he's an idiot."
Tuff shrugged. "Can't argue with that."
Hiccup sighed and shook his head. He was only grateful that the one woman Snotlout had attracted, was no longer contaminating his office space with her overpowering cosmetics counter.
-oOo-
That afternoon, Hiccup was feeling a lot less grateful. In fact, he was trying very hard to stay patient. He had to take several deep breaths, but he couldn't quite suck in enough air to quell the rising frustration... or the raging urge he had to lift up his hands with his fingers curled into claws...and strangle the life out of Snotlout.
The black haired man himself was leaning one elbow on the counter as if he had all the time in the world to goof off, while boasting to his boss.
"You should totally come out with me tonight. You can be my wing man. When the girls see you looking so pathetic they'll skip right past you and see gorgeous me. I'll head for..."
"...the chapel, where you are supposed to be cleaning windows right now," finished Hiccup firmly.
Snotlout paused with his mouth open mid-sentence, giving the leaner man an uninterested glare. "Whatever...what I was trying to say was that I'll..."
Hiccup broke in again with his 'boss' voice. "Snotlout, stop bugging me and go do your job. Alright? Astrid will be here soon and I need to be prepared."
Snotlout gave a sly grin as he glanced out through the glass panel in the front door. "Okaaay. Speaking of Astrid, here comes your girlfriend right now, and she's looking devastatingly beautiful as usual. Maybe I'll go spread some of the Snotlout charm on her so she can see what a loser you are."
"What? No...you can't go...and she's NOT my girlfriend! Why do you keep insisting on calling her that?" frowned Hiccup, leaning discreetly sideways so he could see around the black haired blockage to verify if the information Snotlout had supplied was true.
It was.
Snotlout gave a loud obnoxious laugh, his eyes lighting up with the chance of a little mischief. "Haha haaaa...you so totally got the hots for the blonde babe. Hiccup's got a girlfriend, Hiccup's got a girlfriend," he began to singsong.
Hiccup growled, his teeth grinding together. "I don't date clients. Now can you please leave before she gets here?" He could see Astrid was already halfway to the office and closing in fast. Hiccup really needed to get rid of the shorter guy.
Snotlout snorted, and cupped his hand around his mouth. "Hey Astrid!" he began to yell towards the closed door.
Hiccup immediately smacked a hand over the other man's mouth, much to the instant disgust of them both. Snotlout spat him off.
"Whatcha do that for?" he demanded.
Hiccup wiped his hand on his trousers, his face screwed up in revulsion. He glanced out the glass panel, and saw that Astrid was almost to the door. He began to panic and tried to shove Snotlout out of the office before the black haired man could embarrass him further, but Snotlout fought back.
"Stop that!"
"You stop that," Hiccup hissed, the two shoving each other like kids in a playground.
The door opened, and Hiccup immediately let go of Snotlout to quickly straighten out his clothes. Snotlout stumbled slightly, then grinned.
"Hey, Hiccup. You're girlfriend's here," he muttered snidely.
Hiccup could only shoot him a warning frown, while Snotlout laughed obnoxiously before finally leaving the office.
Hiccup ignored him and approached Astrid with a welcoming smile. She hesitated.
"Have I come at a bad time?"
Hiccup made a mental note to kick Snotlout's butt later, hoping his blonde client had not heard the inappropriate comment. He really didn't need that kind of complication right now.
He shook his head. "No. That was just an employee who should remain behind the scenes."
Hiccup really wanted to growl at Snotlout, but couldn't. So he plastered a smile on his face instead.
"Oh," said Astrid, her voice wavering a little with indecision.
He waved her towards the arrangement room. "It's okay, I promise you. Snotlout thinks it's funny to annoy me occasionally. He believe he's some kind of jokester."
Astrid gave a small smile. "Like that, huh?
"Yes, unfortunately," he replied, giving her a genuinely warm smile while he held the seat out for her. "It doesn't always work out for him, so there's that to look forward to."
She snorted, then giggled. Hiccup grinned. She had an appealing laugh, and despite the gravity of the situation they were in, the lyrical sound lit something inside him. A warm sensation spread across his chest.
Once Astrid was settled, Hiccup went to sit opposite her. Before he did, however, he remembered something.
"Oh, hold on a moment," he said, straightening up to walk back to the office. He collected an envelope, then returned, handing it to Astrid.
"Tessa came in earlier with these photos for the slide show," he told her cautiously. "Would you like to check them over?"
Astrid was surprised at this information because she couldn't recall asking for any. She had only mentioned to Heff last night that she had planned to have a slideshow, for the sole purpose of aggravating him. She knew he would probably pop a nose vein at the idea of broadcasting Finn's 'uncouth' lifestyle to the public. And predictably, he had.
He had yelled at her for a good half hour, telling her to stop this nonsense immediately. He had even told her it was "bad enough you are going through this farce of a funeral. Now you have to actually show everybody what type of a man he was?" After that she had watched, half fascinated with just how purple his face could become while he ranted about her ruining the family name.
Which of course she had responded to with a snarl, "Don't come if you're so concerned over losing face. Stay right away from me and Uncle Finn's funeral. We'll all be much happier without you."
She thought Heff might feint from pure rage right there and then. Instead, his voice had upped a few decibels while he tried to shout her down, telling her he was going to make sure she didn't make a fool out of him or slander his name by telling people lies about what a 'hero' Finn was. He was determined that if they had to hold a funeral, it would be a traditional, yet brief one. He didn't see the need to prolong the uselessness of the whole procedure.
Astrid had nearly threatened him with her favourite axe when he had dared to degrade the uncle she had loved as a second father. Instead, she had gritted her teeth so hard she was sure she had dislodged a filling and told them all strongly to get out of Finn's house. She didn't want to give him any reason to find a way to have her removed as executor of Finn's will. She already knew he was seeking a way to legally intervene. Of course, he wasn't going to be able to find one. Not till it was too late, anyway.
She also knew that Finn's security cameras had captured the entire argument. She smirked. If he tried anything, the video footage would show the true story. Hers.
So when Hiccup held out the envelope supposedly filled with photos, Astrid couldn't help but eye it suspiciously. She took it and began flicking through the pile. Immediately her face twisted in disgust. Before she had even finished scanning through them, she placed them back in the envelope and held it out by the corner.
"Do you have a bin?" she asked acidly.
Hiccup wordlessly pulled one out and she dropped the offending photos in without hesitation.
She brushed her hands together, then told him stiffly, "If you'll excuse me for a moment, I need to wash off something nasty."
Turning sharply, she marched out of the office to the restrooms where she intended to scrub her hands clean. Hiccup knew exactly how she felt. His skin was still crawling after his earlier close encounter of the unwanted kind with the brazen woman too.
Astrid was back a few minutes later, her smile having returned, much to Hiccup's relief.
"Shall we proceed?" she asked, much more calmly.
"Of course, m'lady," Hiccup smirked, waving her back towards the arrangement room.
After they had settled at the table, Astrid pulled a USB stick out of her purse, but hesitated with it.
Hiccup watched her. "Is that the music?" he asked gently.
She nodded.
"Are you still worried about your choices?"
She seemed to shake off a thought. "I know I shouldn't be listening to him, but... Heff told me it was ridiculous to have modern music at a funeral. He said classical was what people would expect." She looked up him worriedly. "Is that true?"
Hiccup had to bite his tongue to prevent a sharp retort against her uncle Heff. He had spent all that time with Astrid yesterday, trying to reassure her to be comfortable with her choices, only to have that controlling buffoon reduce her to an uncertain wreck again.
Hiccup placed his hand over hers holding the USB and looked directly into her eyes.
"What do you think, Astrid?" he asked her, his gaze not leaving hers as he waited for her response.
Astrid held her breath, unable to tear herself away from him. He seemed so confident in her choices, that she felt a surge of bravado. Hiccup was the director. Funerals were his business. He was the expert, not Heff. If Hiccup felt her decisions were right, then she should too.
She pursed her mouth tight in determination and nodded.
"You're right. This is for Uncle Finn...not Heff," she decided.
Hiccup's lip twitched in satisfaction at her answer. He pulled his hand back, gently taking the USB stick with him.
Astrid had to suppress a shudder at the action, feeling a tingle in her fingers where his hand had been. She kept her eyes locked on his, feeling a wash of emotion overcome her. How did he do it? How did he make her feel like he cared so much about what she thought? That what she said was important to him?
Hiccup held up the USB stick like a prize and smirked, breaking the spell that Astrid had been under.
"Let's see what you've got, shall we?" he asked, pulling a laptop across the table and plugging it in. A few keystrokes later, the tinny sounds of heavy rock poured fourth, making Hiccup sit back with a wide grin. His head bobbed along with the beat, and Astrid found herself laughing at the sight.
"Who knew you'd be a head-banger," she teased.
His eyes lit up with mirth at her words. "I'm a man of many surprises," he assured her, his fingers picking up the rhythm against the table.
"I'm sure," she grinned, finding herself trying to discretely tap along to the music with him.
He spotted the action and pointed to her hands. "See? Right there. That's why this music is the right choice. You enjoy it too. Every time you hear this song, you'll remember him. And because you like it, you'll hear it often. Do you think if you chose some generic classical piece, that you would ever listen to it again? Would it really honour his memory?"
Astrid was surprised at how passionately he spoke to her, and found herself thinking on his words. He was right, of course, she knew that deep in her gut. She did love this song. It was one that she had danced to on many occasions with her uncle, when she was a teenager and they were goofing off and having fun. It wouldn't feel right to have any other song but this one.
She gave a slow smile at the realisation. "No, it wouldn't. You're right. But you missed out something," she told him softly.
He looked at her curiously. "What's that?"
Her grin widened. "Every time I hear it, I'm also going to remember you...a secret hard rocker."
He laughed delightedly, and Astrid giggled too.
"Well, it can hardly be a secret if you know about it," he told her, chuckling.
"I'll be sure to tell it from the rooftops," she teased him.
He gasped in mock horror, putting a hand to his chest. "Nooo...not the rooftops," he pretended to beg.
She grinned, then told him in feigned seriousness, "Okay. I'll just whisper it into the cupboard instead."
He let out an exaggerated "Phew," wiping his hand across his brow. "I'm safe."
He reached over to stop the music. In the quiet that followed, he smiled gently at her, the previous moments of madness already behind them. Astrid felt a little sad the magic had been broken. She had unexpectedly been enjoying herself, and hadn't really wanted it to end. Another place, another time...perhaps they could have danced together with song after song playing for just the two of them.
Her eyes widened at the thought. What was she doing? Thinking like that was only going to cause trouble. And besides, he didn't see her like that. Why would he? He had grieving family members sitting across the table from him on a regular basis. She was unlikely to be the first person he had ever looked after so well. Or the last.
Hiccup was tapping on the keyboard again, seemingly unaffected by her thoughts. Astrid struggled to get herself under control, but almost lost it again when he turned those expressive deep green eyes on her once more. Astrid gazed at him, thinking idly to herself that Hiccup Green was now her favourite colour. He smiled, and she realised with a start that she had done it again, so she cleared her throat and focused on what he was doing on the computer instead.
Hiccup's lips were curled the right way, his fingers were hitting the right keys on the keyboard with the right rhythm, but inside he was kicking himself. He couldn't believe he had just flirted with Astrid like that. Even if it had been pretty mild, it was well past what he should have done.
He had only wanted to encourage her, to prevent her second-guessing herself. Instead, he had played with her hands like some cheesy Romeo. The fact that they had felt so soft and delicate under his larger ones was a fact he was trying desperately to ignore for now. Unfortunately for him, it was going to prove a lot harder than he expected because he now had to deal with the other items on the USB stick...her photos.
Image after image scrolled across his screen of Finn, with a younger Astrid included in a lot of them. A jumbled assortment of photos that showed Finn with his family, mostly Astrid and her parents, and his friends. Occasionally the sour face of Heff made a compulsory appearance. A slightly blurry photo of Tessa standing next to Finn holding baby Ross was also included, although Hiccup got the impression Astrid had deliberately chosen the worse photo she could find of Finn's ex-wife.
Hiccup clicked the button for the next photo, and had to stop short. He tried to muffle a totally unprofessional snort, but it was too late.
Astrid rolled her eyes. "It's okay, you can laugh," she told him tonelessly, although he didn't miss the light dusting of colour rising across her cheeks.
The twinkle in his eyes gave away his mirth. "Why would I do that? You look so cute with those pigtails," he teased.
She nodded proudly. "Even at twelve, I was rockin' it," she said, then broke into a wide grin.
Hiccup chuckled. "I have to agree." He clicked to the next photo, one of a smiling Finn holding up a bottle of beer, surrounded by friends posing in a similiar fashion. His blue collar worker roots were plainly on display. None of the high-end lifestyle that his eldest brother Heff so espoused was evident at all.
Astrid leaned forward, and Hiccup caught a waft of her perfume. He inhaled slightly deeper, finding the scent quite pleasing to his olfactory nerves. He couldn't help but compare the delicate aroma to the overpowering sensation that Tessa had delivered earlier that day. He found he didn't mind Astrid's fragrance at all.
"That's my dad," she interrupted his thoughts, pointing at a guy pulling a crazy face who had his arm slung around Finn's shoulders.
Hiccup could't help but chuckle at the goofy brothers. "Looks like they were best buds," he commented.
Astrid nodded, an affectionate grin tilting up the corner of her mouth. "They were. They hung out together all the time. The two of them were always the life of any party."
Her breath hitched, and Hiccup glanced sideways at her. She was taking in some deeper breaths, doing her best to keep it together. Once again, Hiccup found his heart breaking for this woman. She used to belong to a tight-knit family group, barring Heff, and now the only relatives she had left were the total opposite to everything Astrid stood for. He found himself at a total loss of what he could possibly do or say to make her feel any better. There was no solution for this.
He cleared his throat. "Um...I noticed that these photos are not in any kind of order. Could you help me work out the youngest to oldest pics?"
Astrid hastily thumbed away a drop of moisture from the corner of her eye. "Sure. I'm so sorry I didn't think about this beforehand. Would have saved you a bunch of time if I had," she apologized, her smile watery and her tone wobbly. Hiccup chose to ignore all that, instead he focussed on the photos on the screen.
"That's not a problem at all. In fact, I should be apologizing to you. I normally ask for that at the beginning, so I'm sorry."
A smile briefly flitted across her lips. "So we're both sorry. Now we have to spend extra time doing this instead of more important stuff."
Personally Hiccup felt he was in exactly the right spot, but he nodded anyway. "I don't want to hold you up, if you need to be somewhere else. We can still do this tomorrow if you prefer?"
She shook her head, her hand resting so very gently over the top of his for a moment. Hiccup resisted the urge to glance down to find out why his skin felt so much warmer where she had touched him.
"It's okay. I'd rather do this now, if that's alright?"
He agreed. The two spent the next half hour huddled closer together than was strictly necessary, analyzing the photos on the tiny laptop screen. He took every opportuntiy to gently tease her about her younger self, and she responded with her own playful responses. For just a few minutes, it felt as if they were two friends together catching up on old times. The rest of reality was currently suspended. Unfortunately, it had to come to an end.
Hiccup retyped the name for the last slide. "That's it. We've got them all," he told her. He could hear the relunctant tone in his own voice, and hoped she hadn't noticed. But it seemed something was still bothering her, judging by the way her brows were furrowed and she was chewing on her bottom lip.
"All okay?" he asked.
She hesistated. "Uh...I need to ask about my uncle's clothes. Um...Heff has been telling me that Uncle Finn needs to 'look presentable'. He said it was important for Finn to be in a suit. Is that true? Because Uncle Finn doesn't even own a suit. I mean, how do you go suit shopping for a dead guy?" she asked worriedly.
"First of all...don't get a rental," Hiccup smirked.
"Seriously?" was Astrid's flat response. She frowned, but he could see a tiny smirk begging to be let free, hiding there at the corner of her mouth.
"Yeah, the repayments are a killer," he grinned.
She groaned, but smiled anyway. "That's terrible."
He laughed, then grinned reassuringly at her. "Listen, he doesn't have to wear a suit. What about his favourite clothes?"
"Um...actually, he was proud of his work uniform," she told him, biting her lip tentatively. She thought for a moment. "I was proud of him in his uniform." She began to tear up at the memories, and grabbed a tissue.
"I'm sorry," she sniffed, dabbing at her eyes.
"Do't be. It's going to happen anyway. this is the place for all that...remember?" he told her softly, offering her another tissue. She took it.
She nodded, while delicately wiping her nose. "I know. And I thank you so much for that," she told him, her tone muted.
She peeked up at him with her red-rimmed eyes shimmering, and Hiccup had never felt the urge to hug somebody so badly in all his life. He was so torn. Astrid needed comfort and he dearly wanted to hold her in his arms while she grieved...but he knew that would be crossing the line. So he stayed seated in his chair and agonized over her instead while he did the only thing he could.
"You're welcome."
Astrid gave a final sniff. "Um...I know I keep doing this, but I have to ask. I told Heff that I wasn't ordering any flowers for the coffin, and he went right off the deep end." She grimaced sourly at the reminder of yet another argument with her demanding uncle. "He said it was 'preposterous' that there were no flowers. He told me...actually, scratch that...he roared at me, that all funerals have flowers, that it was only 'proper'."
She made air quotes at the last word, her scathing tone telling Hiccup exactly what the blonde-haired woman thought of her uncle's arrogant attitude.
Her eyes lifted to his again, and Hiccup could see the indecision flitting behind those blue irises. He wanted to erase it and see the confident and sassy Astrid return. So he smirked.
"Well, either people are dropping like flies around him, for him to attend so many funerals and have that kind of knowledge...or he's running a secret funeral home that I haven't heard of yet. I wonder what it's called? Maybe 'Heff's Fancy Funerals - only suits and flowers allowed'," he suggested with a teasing grin.
Astrid snorted. "Stop it," she said, semi-seriously, but the obvious smirk gave her away. "You're wrong on both counts. He's the one who wrote the 'correct' funeral plan for all his upper-class snooty friends and they follow it. So when he attends, there are always flowers... and men in suits."
"Ahhh...of course that's it. I should have known," he responded with a snap of his fingers, the corner of his eyes crinkling in amusement.
She chuckled, her eyes lit with that bright light that Hiccup was looking for. He reached over to place a hand over her wrist, then asked her seriously, "Astrid, tell me this...you know what type of a man your Uncle Finn was...how would it make you feel to come to his funeral with flowers, sedate orchestral music and your uncle in a suit?"
She frowned pensively as she thought about it. "Like I was at a stranger's funeral. It would feel like a lie."
He nodded, pulling his hand back. "A funeral is to respect the memory of those we have lost, and that means referencing the things that meant the most to them. So, let's do this your way...and remember the type of man Finn really was," he suggested kindly.
She nodded, and Hiccup was pleased to see the lines of worry ease from her forehead. The smile she gave him, was one of relief and reassurance as she looked directly into his eyes.
"Thank you so much Hiccup. I know I'd be lost without you."
Hiccup was struck by the sincerity of her words, and he delayed for a moment before answering. "I'm glad to be able to help you in any way I can," he reassured her warmly.
They continued to gaze into each other's eyes for a few more moments than was comfortable, before Astrid suddenly cleared her throat and nervously dropped her focus to her purse. She opened it and made a show of taking out her keys.
"Umm...I should probably leave now. You're a busy man, and I've already taken up too much of your time," she told him hesistantly.
Hiccup was dismayed that he'd been caught staring at her for so long, so he stood up rather quickly from the table, rushing to help her with her chair. She rose to her feet.
"Er...would it be okay if I come back tomorrow with Uncle Finn's uniform? Maybe about ten o'clock?" she asked.
Hiccup nodded, then indicated the way out of the arrangment room into the reception area before following her out. "I'll check the diary," he told her, before leaning over the counter to grab the book he needed.
"Ten o'clock's fine," he told her, picking up a pen to write the new information in. He looked up from his notes only to find her eyes on him, gazing at him curiously.
"What's the matter," he asked with a twitch of concern, wondering if perhaps he's got ink smudged across his nose.
She paused for a moment, as if deciding whether or not to say anything.
"Can I ask you something personal?" she asked tentatively,
Hiccup tensed, thinking she was going to say something about his odd behaviour from when he had blatantly stared at her.
He hesitated for a moment. "Ahh sure...go ahead."
She smiled sweetly at him, and Hiccup felt he might just melt under the warmth flooding him if she was going to keep doing that.
"I always thought funeral directors were old, wise men. You seem much too young to be a funeral director, and be so wise too. Can I ask... how did you end up in this business?" she asked, genuinely curious and wanting to know.
Hiccup reacted with surprise, taken aback at her question. He gave a small chuckle. "I guess I should say thank you for inferring I'm wise. I'm not, by the way, just so you know." He paused for a moment longer, before answering her question. It was one he'd been asked before, but somehow, it didn't seem right to spout off to her the casual line he'd used on previous occasions. The real answer was quite painful, and not one he wanted to share with casual acquaintances.
But with Astrid, he could see she really cared about what he was going to say. It wasn't just idle curiosity on her part. Hiccup felt himself relax. He wanted to tell her.
"In case you didn't realise...I'm actually third generation funeral director. So you could say I've grown up into it. My mum died when I was just a baby, so dad used to bring me here while he worked. Trust me, I wasn't interested in carrying on the family tradition at first. I was as selfish as they come, wanting to do other things, go other places. You know how it is when you're so young."
Astrid gave a small smile and nodded encouragingly, waiting for him to say more.
"I mean, I used to help out all the time anyway. Dad made sure I learned all there was to know. But I never took it to heart. Strangely enough, it wasn't until dad died, that I truly appreciated what he had been saying all along. Preparing for his funeral was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do..." Hiccup had to stop to swallow down the ball of emotion that threatened to choke him, his gaze drifting towards the view outside the glass door for a moment.
Astrid touched his arm lightly in understanding, and he brought his focus back towards her.
"I realised that being a funeral director was an important choice for me. I had the ability to help people...and it was something I was proud to do. So...here I am. Still helping."
She smiled warmly at him. "And doing a wonderful job at it, Hiccup."
Astrid found herself spontaneously leaning forward to give Hiccup a firm but brief hug. "Thank you so much for sharing your story with me. I find it very reassuring that you know exactly what I'm going through." Her eyes were misting over and she had to blink several times to gain some control.
The pained smile that Hiccup gave in return, was not the rehearsed one of a funeral director, but rather one of a son still feeling the loss of a father. He maintained his focus though.
"You're welcome Astrid. Anytime."
She turned to leave, but asked first. "I'll see you tomorrow at ten, right?"
Hiccup nodded. "Ten it is. I'll be here.
He hadn't moved for several minutes after she'd left, when Fishlegs came in.
"Everything okay Hiccup?" he asked, concerned over his friends preoccupied stare.
Hiccup came back to life, giving his friend a reassuring grin. "I'm fine. Thinking about the old man, that's all. But hey, life has to go on doesn't it?" he said with false bravado.
Fishlegs gave his friend a sympathetic look. "Sure. Doesn't mean it won't hurt now and then," he answered sagely.
Hiccup could only nod. He needed a few minutes to gather himself together before his next task. He didn't regret telling Astrid any part of his story. He felt she would take care of what he had said and keep it close. But he had been glad she had left when she did. He hadn't really wanted to end up a blubbering mess in front of her.
Not in front of a 'client', he reminded himself grimly.
-oOo-
It was after six o'clock in the evening, but Hiccup was still in front of his computer in the semi-darkened office. All the others had long ago left for home, but he had stayed to finish the slideshow for Astrid. He could have waited till the next day to start on it, but the thought of all those photos of Astrid and her family flashing across the screen while the others hung over his shoulder and mercilessly teased the heck out of him was more than he could deal with.
Plus this way, nobody would notice how long he lingered over the photos that contained a younger version of Astrid. Or how his mind wandered, imagining himself with her in those earlier years as he recalled the stories she had told him that afternoon when they were laughingly arranging the photos. When she had become melancholy, he had watched her carefully, offering some soft words of comfort. But she had then bravely shaken that off to grin at the next image. Hiccup remembered everything she said, and her words rolled around in his mind while he cropped, edited and matched the slides to the music Astrid had chosen.
By the time he had completed the slideshow a couple of hours later, Hiccup felt like he'd known Astrid and her family for years.
He also knew he was in trouble.