The Genius' Bodyguard

by simonjamesroger

Astrid Hofferson is starting a new job at Medtech Start-up Dragonwing. But what will happen when she and her belligerent boss fall in love while a shadow falls over the town of Berk? Modern AU, Rated T, Hiccstrid, Heathlegs. Cover Image to come. Will update rather slowly.

6. Rock and Roll All Night

Chapter 6- Rock and Roll All Night

Wing was a bustling place on Friday nights, and Astrid found this out when she tried to find parking. She ended up heading in at the same time as Heather and Dagur. Her friend and the enthusiastic driver greeted her with hugs. Dagur smiled at her. "So, you heard about karaoke night. Glad to have you here, Astrid. I'm sure my wife is going to love you."

Astrid nodded to him. "I just hope I live up to the hype." They entered the bar, which was, as she suspected from Snotlout's description, packed. A young man with his red hair cut in the military style was serving drinks behind the bar while a blond woman walked up to the microphone after getting a nod from Dagur. Her friends were there, and they motioned her up towards the stage. As she walked, she spotted Hiccup in the corner of the room, sitting with Snotlout and a young brunette woman. Presumably, that was Atali.

The blond woman spoke up, her accent clearly British in origin. "Hello, everyone. It's time to start our karaoke night. My husband, Dagur, will be playing DJ as usual, and we're starting tonight with the free song for our newcomer. Let's all give a warm Berkian welcome to Astrid Hofferson." The room filled with cheers, the loudest coming from her friends, as she headed up. Mala smiled at her. "So, do you know which song you're going to sing?" Astrid gave her a small slip of paper. Mala read it over, nodded, and passed it to Dagur before moving to the kitchen. Astrid walked up to the microphone and looked at the nearby screen. She took a deep breath to try and steel herself before she started.

The piano intro started, and the room fell silent for her. Her voice shook a little as she started to sing.

I hear the ticking of the clock,

I'm lying here the room's pitch dark.

I wonder where you are tonight,

No answer on the telephone.

The silence was more comfortable now, and Astrid felt the strength in her voice grow as she continued.

And the night goes by so very slow,

Oh I hope that it won't end though,

Alone.

As the music swelled, Astrid finally hit her stride, her nerves forgotten, as she poured all of her feelings and all of her heart into the moment.

'Till now, I always got by on my own

I never really cared until I met you.

And now it chills me to the bone,

How do I get you alone?

How do I get you alone?

Everybody else in the room had to stifle their cheers, because they didn't want to ruin the moment. Astrid didn't even remember anyone was there at that point, and continued on without pause.

You don't know how long I've wanted

To touch your lips and hold you tight.

Oh, you don't know how long I waited,

And I was going to tell you tonight.

But the secret is still my own,

And my love for you is still unknown,

Alone.

Astrid's eyes were closed, and she let herself get carried away with the guitar solo. Images of Hiccup smiling at her like he had that afternoon, pictures in her mind she'd had of him since she had started on Monday, were all there. She started back with just that in her head.

'Till now, I always got by on my own.

I never really cared until I met you.

And now it chills me to the bone,

How do I get you alone?

How do I get you alone?

The song died down, and Astrid opened her eyes. The room was quiet for just another moment, and then cheers began to break out. Astrid smiled and gave a curtsey before leaving the stage and darting over to her friends. Fishlegs and Tuffnut were still clapping when she got to them. Ruffnut, meanwhile, spoke up. "Hey, we didn't know you sang that well!"

The friends got to talking as several of the town's residents got up on stage and started performing. The bar was packed to the gills, but everybody kept their conversations quiet enough to hear the singing. The songs were rolling, and everyone was having a good time, when Fishlegs excused himself and took a slip of paper over to Dagur. He then took the stage and performed a song of his own.

Come all ye friends I'll sit you down,

And sing a doleful ditty,

T'was on a day in April month

We started from the city.

We planned a day or two at Mahers

We stalwart men were chosen,

To remove ol' Charlie from Angle Pond,

Who fell in when the pond was frozen.

We seven men came roaring down

From the road to Roaches Line,

We might have stopped in Avondale

Or Brigus might have been fine.

We was hungry as sin but we never stopped in

Nor took any time to park us,

We all of us knew that we must get through

To remove old Charlie's carcass.

Here's To Charlie Horse,

Here's to Shave the Master

No better horse ne'er ran the course

Or pulled the logs more faster

Here's to Charlie Horse and I wants ye all to know

Charlie's gone to the big Corral where all good horses go.

After the song had picked up at the end of the intro, people took to the floor to dance, and the room started to fill with clapping and laughter.

In the car was Ol' Pocket Crumb

And beside him Old Moose Coosten,

And Barracuda Bill and Jimmy Clark,

In the back seat he was roostin'

There was Smiley Stubborn and the Mounted Police

It wasn't hard to find him,

And Johnny Pollack and Sagebrush Sam

Was sitting right in beside him.

Kevin and Buck was also there,

But they brought some brawn and brains,

They was aiming to help as best they could

To remove old Chuck's remains,

Charlie was like a brother to Shave

And he loved him well of course,

Charlie was a very good man you see

Although he'd been a horse.

Here's to Charlie Horse,

Here's to Shave the Master.

No better horse ne'er ran the course,

Or pulled the logs more faster.

Here's to Charlie Horse and I want ye all to know,

Charlie's gone to the big corral where all good horses go, Ho!

As an instrumental break kicked in, Fishlegs started dancing on stage, a wild dance of kicks and whoops. Astrid scanned the room from her spot on the dance floor, and spotted Hiccup at a table with his cousin and a young, brunette lady. Hiccup was clapping and laughing just like everybody else in the room. The joy on his face stunned her. Soon, however, Fishlegs was settling back in.

Now I'll spare you all the gruesome details

And just relate the end.

With two stout dories and a few strong ropes

We removed old Shavey's friend

We gave him a decent send off,

With all our hats removed.

So long as we helped old Shave and his friend,

Our loyalty was proved.

Somewhere up in the great beyond his eyes are shining bright,

Charlie nods an approving nod cause he knows we did him right.

Shave will join him there one day

And he'll bring the harness leather.

And so for all eternity they'll pull the logs together.

Here's to Charlie Horse,

Here's to Shave the Master.

No better horse ne'er ran the course,

Or pulled the logs more faster.

Here's to Charlie Horse and I want ye all to know,

Charlie's gone to the big corral where all good horses go.

Oh, here's to Charlie Horse,

Here's to Shave the Master.

No better horse ne'er ran the course,

Or pulled the logs more faster.

Here's to Charlie Horse and I want ye all to know,

Charlie's gone to the big corral,

Where all good horses go.

Astrid was gaping at Fishlegs as he walked back over. "I've never heard anything like that before." She was shouting to be heard over the raucous cheers.

"It's a song Hiccup plays sometimes. Working for him, you pick up a lot of music."

Astrid scanned the room for Hiccup again, and found him speaking to Snotlout and the young girl. Snotlout laughed at something, when suddenly the door of the bar burst open. Every head turned as a tall, dark-haired man and a smaller redhead walked in. She heard Ruffnut's squeal in her ear. "Eret!" The man quickly found the source of the voice, and a smile spread across his face. Meanwhile, the redhead was cutting through the crowd, seemingly headed for Tuffnut.

Tuffnut slapped Astrid on the back, and she realized the twins were standing on either side of her. "Astrid, meet the Ericson siblings. Eret is Ruff's boyfriend, and the little one is my girlfriend Chicken."

Astrid gawked at him. "Chicken? What kind of name is Chicken?"

Ruff spoke up. "Her name is Chelsea. Tuff's just weird."

Heather looked at her watch. "And now that they're here, I think it's my turn. Don't want to wait too long before I get up there, or people will start calling for it." Heather made her way over to her brother, and the room fell dead silent. Even the just-arrived Ericsons said nothing. Heather took the mike as her brother set up her song.

Day after day, I must face a world of strangers, where I don't belong.

I'm not that strong

It's nice to know that there's someone I can turn to who will always care,

You're always there

When there's no getting over that rainbow,

When my smallest of dreams won't come true,

I can take all the madness the world has to give,

But I won't last a day without you.

So many times, when the city seems to be without a friendly face,

A lonely place,

It's nice to know that you'll be there if I need you, and you'll always smile,

It's all worthwhile,

When there's no getting over that rainbow,

When my smallest of dreams won't come true,

I can take all the madness the world has to give,

But I won't last a day without you.

Touch me, and I end up singing,

Trouble seems to up and disappear,

You touch me with the love you're bringing,

I can't really lose when you're near.

If all my friends have forgotten half their promises, they're not unkind,

Just hard to find.

One look at you, and I know that I could learn to live without the rest,

I've found the best

When there's no getting over that rainbow,

When my smallest of dreams won't come true,

I can take all the madness the world has to give,

But I won't last a day without you.

When there's no getting over that rainbow,

When my smallest of dreams won't come true,

I can take all the madness the world has to give,

But I won't last a day without you.

The room remained so silent you could hear a pen drop as the ending piano faded, and then it erupted into applause, cheers, whistles, and calls for an encore. Astrid knew, though, that even though the song had been sung where everybody could hear it, only one person was being sung to: Fishlegs. And Astrid couldn't think of a more beautiful way to tell someone how much you cared then through song. She turned her head to the newcomers soon enough when other Berkians began singing again. "Hello. My name is Astrid. It's nice to meet you." Eret flashed her a grin while Chicken vigorously shook her hand. "Lovely to meet you! I'm Chicken, and this is my brother Eret. Say hi, Eret!" Astrid thought Eret was about to say just that when Chicken sped right on through him. "So anyway, I think we could be good friends. Wanna hang out some time?"

Heather stepped in as she got back from the stage. "Give the girl some time to breathe, Chicken."

Astrid turned to her friend. "That was amazing! Like, recording artist amazing!"

Heather blushed. "Well, yeah, but it wasn't what I wanted to do with my life. I'm happy as I am."

Astrid noticed Tuff heading towards Dagur with a paper in his hand. "He's going to follow that?"

Fishlegs nodded. "Yeah. He does it so nobody else has to."

Tuffnut stepped up to the mike as an intro immediately familiar to Astrid started to play.

I eat filet mignon seven times a day

My bathtub's filled with Perrier

What can I say?

This is the life!

I buy a dozen cars when I'm in the mood

I hire somebody to chew my food

I'm an upwardly mobile dude

This is the life!

They say that money corrupts you

But I can't really tell

I got the whole world at my feet

And I think it's pretty swell

I got women lined up outside my door

They've been waitin' there since the week before

Who could ask for more?

This is the life!

You're dead for a real long time

You just can't prevent it

So if money can't buy happiness

I guess I'll have to rent it

Yeah, every day I make the front page news

No time to pay my dues

I got a million pairs of shoes

This is the life!

I got a solid gold Cadillac

I make a fortune while I sleep

You can tell I'm a living legend

Not some ordinary creep

No way, I'm the boss

The Big Cheese

Yeah, I got this town on its knobby little knees

I can do just what I please

This is the life!

That's right, I'm the king

Number One

I buy monogrammed Kleenex by the ton

I pay the bills

I call the shots

I grease the palms

I buy the yachts

One thing I can guarantee

The best things in life, they sure ain't free

It's such a thrill just to be me

This is the life!

This is the life!

The room was in uproarious laughter as Tuffnut finished his song. Astrid was leaning on Heather to keep herself upright. In all the commotion, she didn't notice Ruffnut slip up to the mike until a guitar intro started up. She looked up as Ruff started her song.

So she can't go out tonight again:

Her sister's sick, she's gotta baby-sit.

Yeah, that sounds like a pretty good excuse.

Now you didn't hear any of this from me,

But things aren't always what they seem.

Brace yourself, this may come as a shock to you.

Girls lie too,

An' we don't care how much money you make,

Or what you drive or what you weigh,

Size don't matter anyway.

Girls lie too,

Don't think you're the only ones,

Who bend it, break it, stretch it some.

We learn from you,

Girls lie too.

We can't wait to hear about your round of golf.

We love to see deer heads hanging on the wall,

An' we like Hooter's for their hot wings too.

Other guys never cross our minds.

We don't wonder what it might be like.

How could it be any better than it is with you?

Girls lie too,

An' we don't care how much money you make,

Or what you drive or what you weigh,

Size don't matter anyway.

Girls lie too,

Don't think you're the only ones,

Who bend it, break it, stretch it some.

We learn from you,

Girls lie too.

Yeah, girls lie too,

We always forgive and forget.

The cards and flowers you never sent,

Will never be brought up again.

Girls lie too.

Old gray sweatpants turn us on.

We like your friends and we love your mom.

And that's the truth,

Girls lie too.

Yeah that's the truth,

Girls lie too.

The raucous cheering continued, and several more performers started stepping up, some even in pairs or groups. Astrid mostly ignored this to speak with her friends. The group continued to chat for hours, before calls for Hiccup started. He stood up, motioned for the crowd to quiet down, and beckoned for Fishlegs. The big blond smiled, and the two got up as the room, for the first time since Heather's performance, quieted down.

Hello darkness, my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone,
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
'Neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp,
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw,
Ten thousand people, maybe more,
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
No one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools" said I, "You do not know,
Silence like a cancer grows,
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you,"
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed,
To the neon god they made,
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming,

And the sign said, "The words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls"
And whispered in the sounds of silence

The hall was silent for some time again before breaking into a fresh set of cheers. Astrid was absolutely awed at the performance the two men had put on. Finally, after the cheering died down, Mala took the mike. "Well, it was great to have everybody here, but I think its time for the last song of the night. Hiccup and the boys are going to be singing the last song, and its Last Call for Alcohol. Stay safe, everyone!"

Astrid watched as Hiccup and Fishlegs were joined by Eret and Snotlout. A guitar riff started to play, and Snotlout stepped to the mike first.

I was a highwayman
Along the coach roads I did ride
With sword and pistol by my side
Many a young maid lost her baubles to my trade
Many a soldier shed his lifeblood on my blade
The bastards hung me in the spring of twenty-five
But I am still alive

Next to the mike was Fishlegs, in a slightly deeper pitch.

I was a sailor
I was born upon the tide
And with the sea I did abide
I sailed a schooner round the Horn to Mexico
I went aloft and furled the mainsail in a blow
And when the yards broke off they said that I got killed
But I am living still

Eret took the mike next, singing even lower, and several of the girls in the audience swooned as he started. They all got dirty looks from Ruffnut.

I was a dam builder
Across the river deep and wide
Where steel and water did collide
A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado
I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below
They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound
But I am still around

The other three stepped up to the mikes and joined in.

I'll always be around and around and around and around and around

Hiccup stood up to the mike last, singing the lowest of the bunch. His voice filled the hall, and Astrid had to steady herself on the table as she felt her legs weakening a little.

I fly a starship
Across the Universe divide
And when I reach the other side
I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain
But I will remain

The boys all joined together for the last little bit of the song.

And I'll be back again, and again and again and again and again

Soon enough, the bar started emptying out, and Astrid joined Heather and Fishlegs on the way out. "That was a lot of fun, guys. I think I'll be back for it next week."

Heather smiled at her. "Glad you enjoyed it. We'll see you on Monday!"

I promised you guys early 2019, but I intended on January. Sorry for the delay. I'm also not sure how good this chapter is, part of why it took so long is I'm not super happy with it, but I'm not sure why. Reviews would be much appreciated on this particular chapter. Anyhow, I'm releasing a one-shot called Bus Stop and the start of another multi-chapter fic called Taken, both for HTTYD, today. After those, I'm going to alternate chapter releases between this and Taken, so the first chapter of a stroy to go up after today will be for this, than the next release will be for Taken, and so on. Please give those a read too if you have the time.

All the best,

The Author