~~**~~Hey everyone! XD Wow, so I'm sorry, once again, for the lag in updates! I mean, I've been away from updating this story forever! Don't worry though, as you can see, it's not abandoned yet! lol I just ran out of creative juice for a while and no one could help me get it back, but I think I've gotten on the ball again^^; Please read and review and expect more to come! Everyone enjoy! ;3 ~~**~~
"Timed Out"
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He was having trouble keeping his eyes off of him. The little brunette was being drug around by his demanding girlfriend, maneuvering all over the hall to speak to anyone they could come into contact with. There were only two problems with that. One: He didn't seem to WANT to be drug around, instead seeming too attracted to any abandoned and half filled tankards he could scrounge up on the tables they were near when no one was looking. Two: He wasn't coming his way; ever. Matter of factly he seemed to be avoiding him like the plague; without ever looking at him at all. It was like the scrawny viking knew where he was without really having to pay attention. It was starting to drive him mad.
Part of him wanted to throttle the boy for ignoring him, when he was so obviously here just for him, and the other part of him just wanted to talk with him face to freckled face. The sickness reared its ugly head at that thought. It growled from deep within his chest, doing its best to work the noise up his throat before he washed it back down with a swig of mead. Images of his hands wrapped around the brunette's thin throat burned through his brain, the boy gasping for air on the tail of a long moan, eyes rolling back in their sockets as he slammed their hips together in a bone shattering grind.
Tuffnut blinked and shook his head, heavy brow furrowing as he dropped his eyes to the floor and touched his throbbing temple. He ran his tongue over his teeth, trying to squelch the diseased desires inside of him, trying to shake off the thoughts that were playing through his mind on an unforgiving silver screen. He brought his drink to his lips again, finishing its second half off in one hefty swallow. His father had taught him to drink like a man, and how to drown the undesirables in the drink alongside of it. He frowned, able to feel the tension still coiled tightly around his form, almost making him buckle beneath the sudden pressure. His mug dropped to comfortable level in front of his chest, eyes following it, gaze latching onto his hand as it held the mug's handle; he was shaking.
The thought of all these people knowing something was wrong with him, the thought of his body betraying him at such a time, of showing weakness to all these important villagers, enraged him. His sight flickered, winking in and out of a black haze that he was grinding his teeth against. He closed his eyes, bowing his head and tangling a hand in his fine hair, tugging invisibly in desperation to distract himself from his fast fading control. His mug began to dance in his grasp, only serving to make things worse, as if mocking him.
"Tuff? Did you hear me?" Ruffnut's slender hand grazed his shoulder, cool against the heat of his skin. The sound of her voice infiltrated his thoughts, filling his ears enough to snap his eyes open and whip his gaze to her unsuspecting own. Concern filled her features for a second, her lips parting to ask him that hated question. "Are you alright?" Almost enough to send him over the edge again.
He straightened up and shook his head, smoothing a hand through his hair before coughing into his fist, shrugging. "I'm fine." She arched a brow, a smirk playing in the corner of her thin mouth.
"Oh really? So I just imagined the look of death you just fixed me with a moment ago?" She cocked a hip to the side and he pulled from beneath her hand, nodding his head as he did. His gaze traveled around the room again, upset playing in the back of his mind as he realized his little almost episode had lost him track of his little viking.
"All in your head, yes. Surprising, considering how empty it usually is." He spotted the boy, staggering his way towards the open door, stumbling every few steps of the way. Tuffnut started off after the brunette, shaking his head as he wondered where Astrid had gone off to. All that hovering and demanding she was doing all night and she chooses the worst moment to let her charge out of her sight. She chooses the one moment that Hiccup is at the bottom of the mug to walk off and let him fend for himself. This rate he'd fall down and hurt himself. Couldn't have that. He was just going to make sure the boy got home without a scratch; nothing more, nothing less.
"Tuff! Where are you going?" He gave a clipped shrug of a single muscled shoulder, tossing his hand up in a half-assed wave before dropping it back to his side and starting to push through the crowd again. She wouldn't come after him. Ruffnut had better sense than that. She'd attack him when she got home. He'd put up with it tonight, if only for the moment ahead of him. Sure he was just going to walk Hiccup home, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy being alongside of him for a bit.
"Oh I know...I know...!" Why is she telling you then? The question had been roaring like a fire in his brain all night. He wanted to scream it at her. If he had to hear the phrase leave her mouth one more time he'd spit nails. All night he had been drug around behind her like a dog on a leash. And all night he had let her do it. Better to have someone guide him through the motions while he was drinking himself into oblivion than to be left tripping all over like a fool. But, no amount of mean in the world could tune her voice out completely; and it was grating on his nerves worse and worse every second that ticked by.
He turned around, spotting an abandoned tankard sitting on the table they were standing next to. The chubby metal mug looked like it was standing guard over the gnawed at meat and bone scattered all over the metal plate it was on. Something sparked in the emerald of his eyes, the little voice in the pit of his stomach squealing in delight at the promise of an even closer, even tighter, embrace of the black abyss that was inebriation. He didn't even sneak a glance over at her this time, just dropped her hand and turned, snatching the mug and biting down on its rim before someone could pull it away from him.
His eyes closed as he dropped his head back and let the tepid liquid swim down the back of his throat, a gulp echoing in the shadowed confines of the mug before he could stop it. He almost tossed the mug back on the table, spinning back around on his heel with a goofy grin, quickly regretting the motion when the room rocked around him for a second. He bit his tongue, pushing a hand against his forehead to make the sudden throbbing ache to go away.
Astrid frowned lightly, noticing the woman she was talking to wasn't paying her attention any longer. She turned, glancing at Hiccup to see what he could be doing that was so strangely interesting. He looked pale and green all at the same time, his hand trembling as it tried to hold his head steady, a look of pain arresting his boyish features. She frowned a bit deeper, reaching out to lay a hand on his shoulder and startle him into jumping, making him whimper when he did so. "Are you alright, Hiccup? You look like,"
"I'm going to be sick." He groaned, wincing as he turned and tried to stagger away, obviously straining to keep himself upright. His free hand flew to wrap around his stomach, clutching at his tunic and twisting in the fabric. He paused and doubled over, gritting his teeth against the retching lurches that were trying to work their way up his spine. Astrid came over and grabbed him by the arm, shaking her head with a scowl at him before looking up and smiling to the woman they had been speaking to, waving a small plea for excuse as she started to motion Hiccup off.
"You're embarrassing me and your father, you know that? I thought I told you not to drink any more." They weren't going to make it to the door, she knew that as well as he did. So, she led him into a shadowy corner and kicked a mop bucket over for him. He dropped to his knees, tears rolling down his cheeks as he opened his mouth and emptied the contents of his stomach into the grimy water at the bottom of the wooden bucket.
"Fu-ck..." The groan tapered into a whine as he found a second to smear the back of his hand over his open mouth, drawing in a quivering breath. He blinked, planting his second hand firmly against the dark of the wall he was standing next to, managing to take in another slow breath. He might of gotten lucky, he might've just needed that one good cleaning. The thought seemed to strike a chord his body didn't like. He doubled again, yelping as he wrapped both arms around his knotted stomach, feeling like someone had just sunk their fist into his bowels. His knees gave way as he lurched forward a second time, vomiting over Astrid's bitter words.
"You had better not touch any more tonight. I would send you home, but you need to say something to the congregation before you leave, so you might as well wait till your dad gives his speech." She just kept talking. He wasn't sure she had an "off" button; a thought that terrified him. He couldn't imagine having to listen to her day in and day out. Not when he could be listening to the rumbling growls and groans of a deeply satisfied blonde twin he knew.
He sat back on the floor, leaning back on a hand as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve this time. A cough escaped him, but he suddenly felt lighter, and much better. Of course, now his head was clear...it hurt, but it was clear. Which explained why he could suddenly FEEL Tuffnut's hands roving and groping all over his body, the warmth of his calloused fingers roughly leaving no inch unexplored. He dropped his head back, closing his eyes and reveling in the almost forgotten feeling, a small smile pulling at his lips as his body relaxed and heated beneath the comforting phantom touches.
"Are you done?" She didn't wait for an answer, matter of factly she pulled him to his feet as soon as his eyes opened and the words left her tongue. "Come on, she'll be wondering where we went, people will start to talk, Hiccup." She started him off towards the crowd, forcing him to blink as they entered the candle light once more. They were moving too fast. The room was too bright. And he was pretty sure the noise decibel had just risen to an obscene level. He tried to tug against her hold, whimpered as he opened his mouth to tell her he needed to stop for a moment, needed to go back and hug his mop bucket again, but she jerked him forward without a word.
"I'm sorry, poor Hiccup needed some fresh air. All the heat was making him a little sick to his stomach." She waved his temporary condition off dismissively, smiling at the vikingess once more as they stopped in front of her and picked up the conversation again. "Oh, I know..." She nodded her head, drawing out the words with false empathy. He winced as they plowed through his ears and into his brain like a needle. He needed to distract himself again. He could barely handle this drunk, he KNEW he couldn't handle it sober. He turned and glanced around for the nearest forgotten mug, finding one a few seats over, sitting conveniently next to a second.
The liquid burned down the back of his aching throat, tasteless on his cotton coated tongue. He dropped the mug to the table again, licking his lips and running his tongue over his gums as he reached for the second mug. The bile after taste clung to his breath, mixing with the sweetened mead, almost making him wretch for a third time. Instead he grimaced and swallowed deep, dropping the mug to belch behind his lips, expelling the sour air softly into his fist before shaking the feeling off. Another mug sat not too far away. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure she was still distracted, then dove after his prize.
It was Tuffnut's fault. If he hadn't been such an ass, HE wouldn't be here trying to drown himself. He wouldn't want to rip Astrid's hair out and choke her with it. Hiccup chugged the little over half a mug of mead he had discovered, a thin stream trickling from the corner of his mouth to drip onto the table carelessly. As soon as the thought crossed his mind the guilt washed down his throat, choking him into dropping the mug and bending over the table with a wide eyed sputter. He drug his sleeve across his mouth, glancing over at Astrid again, watching her giggle with the woman she was still speaking to.
Another woman had saddled up to his place in his absence, but he didn't feel much remorse for the lost spot. Another wave of guilt crashed over him and he turned back to the table, eying the contents of his new found mug before searching the rest of the area for more drink. Astrid seemed to have given up on him for the night and though he was sad for the loss of the distraction, he was all too happy to sit down at the table and continue working towards his goal of utter unconsciousness.