Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand here it is. The last "chapter" of the story. I know I said I'd make multiple endings, and I will, however this is like the "canon" ending of the story. It's a bit longer, but I refused to make it more than one.
Thanks to everyone who stuck with me during this ordeal of a story. I know it was rough at times, but we all made it. I think, I'm not sure. But, enjoy the last chapter and don't forget to leave me a review and tell me what you think. And I will see you in the next story!
X
Chapter 9
X
Hiccup glanced over his shoulder. The village seemed content enough to last a little while longer without him. He slipped from the square, through an alley, and away from the main throng. Eret had vanished from the sky, but Hiccup refused to give up that easily. He had been headed toward the stables, so Hiccup followed, unable to put his unease aside.
The stables were as quiet as they normal were this time of day. Dragons went in and out, lounging, yawning in the dull sunlight. Hiccup opened the side door as quietly as he could and tiptoed inside.
He hesitated on the step. What was he doing? He'd let his suspicion get the best of him. Yet, there was a knot in his chest that wouldn't let go. It nagged at his heart, poked at his stomach, and rubbed his throat raw. He tried to swallow, but it stuck, and he willed himself to turn around on the stairs. This was stupid.
A rumble he knew well relit his panic. He turned back down the stairs and didn't stop until he reached the bottom. Skullcrusher was snoozing right inside. He pawed at the air in his sleep. Eret was here. Somewhere. But the question begged, why?
Hiccup crept through the stables, easing by the sleeping dragons, carefully stepping with his metal leg. He'd just crept by a sleeping gronkle when he was again filled with doubt. What was he doing? Sneaking after Eret? Why? Because of some oddly colored fur? Sighing, Hiccup hesitated in his wandering trek, retreat on his mind, when he heard it. There was a soft change in the air, subtle against the murmuring dragons, at first foreign, but then familiar.
Hiccup tiptoed toward it. Breathing, heavy and quick, a sound to raise his own blood pressure. Soft gasps and intelligible moans slipped from a loft, hidden from view, and a blush came over Hiccup's cheeks.
He is spending a lot of time with Astrid.
That blush, the sensual reminiscence, turned to white hot rage at the very insinuation. No, it couldn't be. It couldn't. He refused to believe it. Hiccup crept to the loft, ears open, waiting. He had to know.
There was a low mumble, inaudible.
A man laughed, and Eret's voice was unmistakable. "I will, don't fret about it,"
"You better, or I'll make sure you don't have to 'fret about it.'"
The hand clutching his chest squeezed terribly, his heart exploded, hot raging blood spewed from the collapsed organ, burning the inside of the lungs, the underside of his skin, and it seethed through in a haze of numb disbelief. He would know her voice anywhere. Astrid. Astrid! He'd refused the suspicion, the odd hours, the budding friendship, and…here she was. With him. Doing that.
He couldn't breath. Hiccup was stuck where he stood. His limbs were numb, his brain frozen, his throat tight. Rooted to the spot, he listened as their breaths quickened, skin slid against skin, and hair tangled in the hay.
Hay. He'd pulled a strand of hay from her pillow, once, and suddenly his rage overwhelmed him. He wanted to ambush them, right there, expose them, and string them up like the adulterers they were. He wanted the entire village to see them for what they were, what they'd done, what she'd done. He wanted to, but he didn't. The loft seemed unreachable, and what lie in it sickened him. He didn't want to see it.
He willed his legs to move, away from them, away from the loft, away from the stables.
X
Astrid tapped her fingers on the table. Valka, sitting across from her, pushed her food around the plate. Neither one of them had eaten very well that evening. Hiccup hadn't come home. They had waited, and waited, but he was still absent. The sun sat, the village grew silent, and Astrid had made a quick lap to look for Hiccup. No one had seen him since that morning.
"I'm sure he's alright," Valka said, her own worry apparent.
"He's never just…flown off like this before, not since being chief." Astrid poked the mutton with a fork. Her gut was in knots. "It's strange. Something's wrong."
"Maybe he just…felt like a flight. To clear his mind," Valka suggested.
"Maybe," Astrid shrugged. She wanted to believe her, but she couldn't.
Dinner grew old and the hearth fire burned low.
"Well, I'm going to bed," Valka eventually stood, her words not without concern, "Goodnight, dear,"
"Goodnight," Astrid nodded.
Astrid was moments behind her. She padded up the stairs, exhausting dragging her down, and kept one ear open for the door, for his uneven footsteps, for anything. She made it to the top and slowly readied for bed. Regretfully, she blew out the candle.
X
Her dreams were silent and cut short. Astrid woke with a fright, the darkness adding to the confusion, as two hands tightly held her arms and pulled her up from the bed.
"Wha-"
"Wake up," Hiccup whispered, urgency plaguing his words, honeyed mead twanging his breath.
"What?" Astrid asked as her eyes adjusted to the dark and her mind calmed. In the bare moonlight, she could see his troubled face. Hiccup looked like a horrible mess. Bloodshot eyes were gleaming with a rage she'd never seen. "Hiccup, what's wrong?"
He was breathless, as if he'd just run, and with every moment that he remained silent her anxiety grew. His wide eyes stayed on her, angry and nervous, and it was beyond unsettling.
"Hiccup?" Astrid asked him. She stood, her panic rising, "Hiccup?"
His hands slipped from her arms and in the darkness his actions were a blur. She didn't see his arm rearing back. He thrust it forward, his fist collided with her stomach, stealing her breath, and sent her to the ground.
"Hiccup?" she coughed, arms around her middle, "Why did you do that?"
"Do you really think there's no reason for it?" his voice was no longer a whisper. His words thundered against the darkness. His fists were balled, knuckles white, and shaking.
"What?" Astrid stared up at him. She sat up, bedpost at her back, refusing to let him see the pain that he'd caused, and gently shook her head.
"If I'd ask Eret, do you think his story would be the same?"
Astrid lost her breath. Hiccup's cold fury bore into her, spikes through her skin, needles poking at her lungs. She didn't have to answer him. He knew. He knew.
Hiccup knelt down to match her eye level with startling speed, leaned into her frighteningly close, with low words seething on his hot breath, that shook in his rage and twisted his tone into a dangerous whisper, "Tell me that it's not true. Tell me that what I heard in the stables was a misunderstanding. Tell me that you didn't do it."
Swallowing hard, she fought with her dry throat to find the words, to unroll the lie that would make this all better, that would shake her from this nightmare, and back into the morning where Hiccup would be there and nothing of this would be real. But the words stumbled on her tangled tongue and she knew that any lie she could make would be useless. He knew.
At her silence, Hiccup reached out and gripped her arms painfully tight, and venom seethed on this words, "Why?"
Why had she done it? Right now, with Hiccup's heartbroken rage staring her in the face, she couldn't fathom an answer. She'd done this to him. His pride had been injured, their marriage wounded, and if it didn't bleed out it would be left with a hideous scar. It was her fault.
"I-I," Astrid stuttered, shame froze her throat, but the truth loosened her tongue, and the words croaked, "The sex,"
"Sex? Hiccup repeated. His tone was raised as disbelief washed over his features. He shook his head as he stood, releasing her arms, and began to pace. "That's all? Sex? You cheated for sex? You cuckolded me, for sex?"
"Yes,"
Hiccup paced the room, his angry mumblings unintelligible, his arms erratic with his thoughts. He suddenly stopped and turned toward her, his voice as sharp as a slap, "Are you fucking kidding me? Sex? What is wrong with you? The Astrid I know wouldn't have done it. You're my wife, Astrid, my wife, do you now what this could do to me? As a chief? I'm supposed to be the upholding image in the village. My family is the model family. What is this going to say about Berk?"
Her words were retuning. She pushed herself back to her feet, "Yes, it was for the sex. I had to get it from somewhere."
"Oh, I'm sorry for having an entire village to run and maintain. My bad for being preoccupied." Hiccup snapped. In his anger, he reached for the cup on his desk that he kept pencils in. His eyes briefly grazed her before he threw it as hard as he could at the wall behind her where it shattered, sending pencils rolling across the floor.
Astrid had flinched, fearing the impact on her person, but still jumped at the breaking of clay against the wood. The pieces were still moving on the floor. Had he been aiming at her? Hiccup was pacing again, to the stairs, to the desk, to the window, hands tangled in his hair and distraught confusion plaguing his face. Her first thought had been to fight back, but she forced her words into silence. He had every right to be upset. He had every right to throw everything in this house at her, and not apologize. She had been the one to make the mistake.
"Hiccup," Astrid pleaded, "I'm sorry,"
"Of course you are."
"I don't love him, I never did," Astrid bit her lip, his eyes were borrowing into her, burning her, to see such hatred, anger, and malice, all aimed at her, because of her actions. "I love you, Hiccup,"
"Oh, do you?"
"That's why I married you,"
Hiccup laughed, the sudden burst of air more disturbing that his anger. "It doesn't matter."
"Why not?"
"I could have you both publicly executed. You know that." Hiccup seethed, his humor gone and his tone dark. His eyes were blazing.
She nodded.
Hiccup's stare lingered on hers for a moment longer. "Whatever, I don't want to think about this right now."
Astrid opened her mouth to speak, but he was already on his way down the stairs. The door slammed and she was frozen to the spot. He could have them killed. The entire village could watch, jeering and cheering. She collapsed onto the bed, her limbs shaken, as the harsh possibilities set in. She'd never seen Hiccup so mad before, not at anyone.
She couldn't just sit here and wait. She had to do something. Finding her strength, she ran downstairs. She needed to find Eret before Hiccup did, before he stirred the village to hunt him down, or something else. She was preoccupied as she reached the first floor and she almost missed the glare from her mother-in-law. Valka was peeking out of the bedroom, but Astrid didn't wait for her to speak. She was out the door and into the night.
X
Astrid ran until she came to Eret's boat. She jumped onto the deck and rushed to the cabin door and beat against it with both fists. She heard a rough grumble on the other side.
"Eret!"
"Oy, I'm coming," Eret shouted from the other side. There were a half dozen footsteps and the door was pulled open. His face was groggy, unshaved, and still half asleep, but at the sight of Astrid his cocky grin returned. "Oh, making house calls now?"
"Eret, not now, Hiccup knows," Astrid said quick. His reaction was subtle. His lips twisted downward, but not into a frown. Was that disappointment? "You need to leave. He's pissed, I-I've never seen him like this, you need to go."
Eret, sighing, nodded. "Alright,"
Astrid took a deep breath as Eret started to rouse the sleeping crew. She'd expected more of a fight than that, but she wasn't complaining.
"Come on, lads, we're due for an emergency getaway." Eret shouted.
"No, Eret, you don't have time, take Skullcrusher and go." Astrid shook her hear at him. "They can meet you later,"
"I'm not leaving my ship behind, or my crew," Eret said.
"If you stay here, you're a dead man."
"I am aware of that, thank you," Eret said. His tone was upset, bus his face was unreadable.
She retreated to the docks while he and the crew readied the ship with skilled efficiency. The boat departed from the dock, but Astrid refused to go home until she knew they were on their way. Whatever befell them, it was her fault. The sail was lowered, and Eret looked back, his black eyes lingering on her, until she could no longer see him.
X
Berk slowly vanished into the night behind them. The crew, although tired, worked to get the ship out into open waters. Still, if Hiccup wanted to find them, there would be little difficulty. He had the fastest dragon known to man, and Eret had a ship powered by the wind and drunken sailors, there was no bet.
Had he expected anything different? He'd told himself the risks, and he ignored them, like always. Astrid had told him that she would always prefer her husband. He knew that. And yet, it still left him feeling empty. Why did she have to go and do that to him? What was it about that damn woman that he couldn't let go?
Part of him wished she'd picked him over Hiccup, but he knew what trouble that would be. Astrid was demanding, a perfectionist, and needed to feel like she was somewhat in control. That wasn't the woman for him.
She wasn't the woman for him. This, he told himself repeatedly, and would until it sank in.
X
Astrid retreated back to the house. With each step dread shot up through her legs and into her back and neck, stinging and prodding. She'd made such a horrible mess. On the front step, she glanced out to the endless waters. She couldn't see even a spec. It lifted a small amount of the pressure, but the majority remained.
Her hand firmly grasped the door's handle. Why did it feel like there was a trap waiting on the other side? A tripwire holding a blade? An angry mod waiting to rip her apart? She gritted her teeth and forced a straight face. She had done this to herself. She would face the punishment.
Inside, Hiccup and Valka sat at the table, their hushed conversation came to a sudden halt. Astrid briefly caught her mother-in-law's stare, but her eyes were quickly adverted to the ground. Hiccup said nothing, but the cold fury in his eyes was burning lower.
"I, uh, excuse me," Valka cleared her throat and vanished into the bedroom.
The silence was overwhelming. Hiccup stood, the chair's feet scratched on the ground, and the sound seemed to echo off the walls.
"Astrid, come with me." he demanded flatly.
"Where?"
He shook his head, "You gave up the right to ask me questions and receive answers."
Astrid shivered at the cold on his tongue. He didn't look at her as he passed her on the way to the door. She followed him back outside, around the house, and into the stables. He motioned for Toothless, who was still saddled, and gave him a warm stroke. Stormfly stirred and Astrid greeted her, happy to see a face that wasn't disappointed, and reached for the saddle.
"No, you're ridding with me,"
Astrid dropped her hands to her sides. If they were flying then why couldn't she take Stormfly? The sudden fear of him leaving her behind, somewhere forsaken, somewhere far and lost, spread like ice over her skin. But, as he climbed onto the saddle, she climbed up after him.
Toothless pounced into the air, flapped his wings furiously, winds whipped, and clouds rushed past as the cold seeped through her clothes. He flew fast and Astrid clung to his waist, suspecting that he was urging Toothless to fly recklessly on purpose. They were both jostled and bucked as they dipped in between clouds.
They ducked back beneath the clouds and Astrid spotted their incoming destination. It was a small boat fleeing Berk. Her throat tightened.
"What are you doing?"
He wouldn't answer.
"Hiccup?"
"Shut up," Hiccup spat.
His anger clogged her throat.
Toothless landed on the ship's deck with a rough thump. The men looked around, startled and uncertain. Among them, Eret looked neither surprised nor worried. His eyes met Astrid's for a brief moment before she tore hers away.
"Go inside," Hiccup commanded.
The men gave worried glances between Hiccup and Eret. Sighing, Eret nodded, and they all abandoned their posts and retreated to the cabin.
"What is this about, then?" Eret shrugged.
"You know what it's about." Hiccup said with the same threatening power of his father. "Eret, you're banished from Berk. Exiled. If you return, under any circumstances, it's a death sentence. No questions asked."
Eret nodded, "Seems fair enough."
"Astrid," Hiccup said over his shoulder. "I'm giving you a choice. Either be exiled with him, or come back to Berk and be tried."
The look on his face broke her heart in two, shredded the halves, and stomped on them. His stark terms stole her breath. Was that it, then? Be exiled or be killed? She did not want to live with Eret. She didn't love him, they both knew that, however the latter option would require her actions to be publicized. There was little doubt a trial would leave her with anything short of imprisonment or execution. Viking men were not kind of cheating women. Not at all.
Banishment or humiliation.
Tears were welling behind her eyes as both men were awaiting her answer.
"Berk," she said so quietly that she barely heard it.
"What's that?" Hiccup asked.
"Home, to Berk." Astrid sucked down the tears and looked him in the eye when she said it. His face was unreadable.
Eret let out a great sigh, "That's a relief. A woman aboard a ship is terrible luck."
Astrid glared at him.
"Okay," Hiccup nodded.
Just like that, they were racing through they skies. Astrid clung to his back, shielding the freezing wind from the fresh tears on her face.
X
The east was warming as Toothless landed back outside the house. Hiccup dismounted without a word and unsaddled Toothless while Astrid meandered inside. She collapsed into a chair by the fire. Dying wasn't exactly preferable to a life as a pirate's sea whore, but if she had made the right decision, then why did she feel so nauseated?\ She was struck by the sudden thought of running. If she left that night she might be able to catch up to Eret. He could find her a tavern or something to work out, or a nice seaside village to start a new life in. All of this would be a horrible dream that she could forget.
No. She couldn't do that. She knew she couldn't. She couldn't leave Hiccup like that, even if she'd ruined their marriage and was looking death in the mouth. This was her home. It had been her mistake and it should be her punishment.
Hiccup came inside, shutting the door with one hand and unbuckling his armor with the other. There was no ready expression as he passed, reaching out for her, yanking her from the chair, and pulled her up the stairs.
"Wait, Hiccup. Hiccup?" Astrid tried to speak. She stumbled in his grip, but did not fight him. Although, he could have just asked her to come upstairs.
The bed hit the back of her knees and she fell onto the blanket. There was no time to move. Hiccup was on her, hands pulling at her clothes, yanking them over her head and down her legs. He stripped her completely, pushed her onto the bed, and nudged his way between her legs.
"Hiccup?" Astrid pleaded with him, but he wasn't listening.
He entered her with more force than necessary, and her nails dug into the shirt on his shoulders. The second was just as hard, roughly pushing on her insides, hitting something that pinched. She tried to scoot, but he held her firmly.
"Hiccup, please," Astrid gasped. She'd never felt so…helpless before. "…it hurts,"
He said nothing. His face was away from her, his breaths hot on her ear. She gritted it. Each thrust hurt, like he was trying to cause her pain. She waited, praying for his quick release, and had never been more glad at the sound of his spill. He kept himself inside, to insure his seeds' planting, and pulled out with the same toughness. He left her on the bed as he fixed his clothes.
Astrid, ashamed and afraid, pulled the blanket over her. When Hiccup was dressed, he reached for her arm, "Stay inside. Until further notice, you're grounded."
X
Astrid barely slept. The night had left her exhausted, but sorely awake. She remained inside, petting Stormfly through the window, and worrying herself sick. She kept to the bed, tossing and turning, waiting for either sleep or death to take her. Valka came and went, her voice, as well as Hiccup's, drifted up the stairs, talking of village politics and simple things.
The morning eased slowly into the afternoon when at last Valka spoke. Her voice trailed up the stairs, nervous, "Astrid, dear, come down and help me with dinner."
At first, Astrid didn't hear her invitation. Her eyes were on the ceiling and her mind was dazed, half asleep.
"Astrid?" Valka tentatively came up the stairs, one at a time. "Astrid, come on now, you'll waste away if you don't eat."
Somehow, through her coaxing, Astrid ended up downstairs chopping cabbage for the stew. Valka stirred the hearth fire while the silence between then intensified. At last, Valka cleared her throat.
"While I don't condone what you did, I can understand why." she said carefully. She caught Astrid's eyes. "When I was a girl, younger than you, I had a friend who married young. Bertha, was her name. Her husband was a wealthy man, but he was as dull as a rock. Bertha confided in me about her lackluster marriage. She said he was as worthless in bed as a man could be," Valka's smiled flickered, "She said it was like being under a pile of squirming fish."
Astrid had stopped chopping cabbage.
Valka cleared her throat again, her eyes shifted downwards, like Hiccup's did when he was about to say something embarrassing. "Bertha had an affair with a man from another tribe. Her father had been a trader and she often went with him. It took a while for her husband to figure it out."
"What happened to her?" Astrid asked quietly.
Valka coughed. "She, uh, left her husband to live with the other man. She was banished, really, because if she would have stayed she likely would have been killed at her husband's request."
"You think I should have gone with Eret?" Astrid asked bluntly.
Valka's cheeked reddened. "No, no, I simply meant that I understand why a woman might cheat. Eret was a fine looking young man, and most women have a soft spot for pirates, and…a woman has needs. I know that Hiccup has been busy. He can't help that."
Astrid felt her cheeks burn.
"But," Valka leaned forward and gently laid a hand on Astrid's, "I don't want the gory details, but was he really that good?"
Astrid couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her disbelief echoed out of her throat as laughter.
Valka squeezed her hand, "You can tell me, woman to woman."
"Okay," Astrid nodded. "Yeah, it was good. If he'd been bad at it I wouldn't have done it."
Valka smiled.
With the atmosphere lightened, Astrid's throat unfolded. "Valka, I love Hiccup, dearly,"
"I know, dear," Valka nodded. "If you didn't, you would be off sailing the seas. You see, Bertha didn't love her husband. She saw a chance to leave and she took it."
Valka smiled, but her eyes were full of pity. Astrid tried to smile back, to accept her attempt at cheering her up, but it had only worked to lessen their severed relationship. At least, Valka didn't hate her entirely.
The door opened and Hiccup came in. He took a step, saw them, and paused. His eyes went between the two woman until Valka stood up.
"Dinner isn't quite ready,"
"That's fine," Hiccup shook his head. "Astrid, come upstairs,"
She felt her stomach pit. She was sore from that morning and didn't like the idea of another round. She followed him upstairs, a nerve in her stomach flip-flopping, and was relieved to see him standing at the desk.
"Yes?" Astrid asked quietly.
"Your trial is set for tomorrow." Hiccup said nonchalantly, as if remarking on the weather, but those simple words froze her.
Bertha's story was still fresh in her mind. Her husband would have had her killed. Would Hiccup do the same? He was so angry. A faintness numbed her legs and weakened her balance. She felt the world begin to shift, threatening to tumble, when Hiccup's strong grip fastened around her arm.
"Astrid?" his voice was distant. "Sit down."
He pulled her to the bed where she collapsed, expecting a repeat of that morning, but instead Hiccup knelt on the floor, his elbows resting on her knees, his green eyes swaying slightly.
"Astrid, look at me,"
She tried to. Why was he moving? A hand reached out and touched her face. It was cool, like the outside, and it melted against her hot cheek. Hiccup steadied, and the pitting in her stomach eased.
"Astrid, do you love me?" Hiccup asked quietly
Nodding, her answer was barely a whimper.
Hiccup leaned toward her and left a kiss on her forehead. "Lie down, okay? You need some sleep."
She obeyed him and curled into the pillow. She watched his figure retreat down the stairs.
X
Hiccup couldn't swallow the stew. Everything tasted sour on his tongue. His stomach was twisted so tightly that he'd been sick several times that morning. It had all left him feeling dead. How could they had made such a terrible mess?
He should tell Astrid the truth. She wasn't the only one who'd mess things up. But his had been an accident, a phantom of a thought after too much mead, while hers had been deliberate. How many times had she and Eret been together? How long? He wanted to know, but he dreaded the answers. When was enough really enough?
He glanced up at the quiet bedroom where Astrid slept, these thoughts eating away at him, before heading back into the village for this evening rounds.
X
Time passed treacherously for Astrid. She slept in fits, accompanied by terrible dreams that left her gasping and sweaty. Dread seeped into every fiber of her being as the time of the trail inched closer. Food refused to be swallowed and she spent too long dry-heaving to retain an appetite.
She shook violently as Hiccup came up the stairs. He stood at the top, regret and sorrow on his kind face. He stepped closer, a hand gently moving across her cheek, "It's time to go,"
She broke. She grasped him weakly by the shirt, "Please, Hiccup, don't do this, forgive me, please. I know what I did was wrong. What I've done can never be fixed. I'm the one to blame, I know, but I still love you, even if you don't love me anymore. Please, Hiccup, I would rather you kill me here, yourself, than take me in front of others to be humiliated and tortured for their entertainment."
Somewhere in her words she had begun to cry. Tears flowed from her eyes and soaked her cheeks. She clutched his shirt and pulled him closer, burying herself, tears soaked into the material. His arms rose and gingerly laid around her shoulders. Lips softly met her temple.
"I do still love you." he said, "But I can't live in a world where I can't trust you, and I want to trust you, and I want you to trust me."
"Hiccup,"
"Let me finish," Hiccup said to her hair. "Astrid, there never was a trial."
"What?"
"I made it up to scare you. Everyone thinks you're sick." Hiccup shrugged. "I-I couldn't do it. I couldn't send you to your death like that.
"Hiccup," Astrid hugged him close. Damn him.
"You should know," Hiccup said, his hands tensing on her shoulders, "That you're not the only one who's made mistakes."
"What?" Astrid leaned away from him, "Hiccup, what could you have possible done that makes this less horrible?"
He blushed. "When Mom and me went to the Branded Brutes, I…I-I kind of…I was tricked, first off, because I'd been drinking, and it…just happened."
Astrid didn't have the words.
"But it was just once, I promise, and I was not in completely control of my judgment," Hiccup began to panic.
"Hiccup, Astrid gasped out, stunned that he would compare such a thing, still shaken over the nonexistent trial. "Don't feel that way. I should be the one begging for your forgiveness."
His arms tightened around her. "Astrid,"
She wrapped her arms around his waist. How could he make this his fault? It was hers, completely. "It's fine,"
"No, it's not fine," Hiccup shook his head. "Astrid, I'm your husband, yours, no one else. You're my wife. We belong to each other, bound together, just the two of us, forever. We both broke that contract."
"Now what?" Astrid whispered.
"I don't know." Hiccup shrugged.
"Let's start over," Astrid kissed his cheek. "No more secrets, or lies, or anything else. We will tell each other everything."
"I promise I'll make time for you, even if I have to sneak away," Hiccup kissed her hair.
"I promise, from now on, I'm yours, all yours, and let Thor strike me dead if I make myself a liar."
"Deal," Hiccup released her just enough to tiled her chin toward his mouth.
They'd kissed, but not like this, not with as much love, renewal, and forgiveness. With arms enclosed around each other, their new start was celebrated, with lips, with hands, with hips. They held each other close.
"Dinner's ready!" Valka called upstairs.
X