Okay, this is the first of "alternative endings." They aren't as long or detailed as the first.
X
Chapter 0: Alternative Ending 1
Hiccup watched Skullcrusher vanish. Why did it bother so much? He wanted to follow, but he didn't.
He is spending an awful lot of time with Astrid.
It's not true. Hiccup refused to believe that Astrid would do such a thing. Eret wasn't her type. She loved him, told him so, and he refused to believe any different.
"Chief!"
The familiar call rang.
X
Astrid was stretching her arms over her head as she pushed through the doorway, the smell of Valka's stew bubbling over the hearth, the warmth of the fire melting the cold.
"Afternoon," Valka smiled.
"That smells good," Astrid peered into the caldron.
"Oh, thank you, it's my special brew."
Astrid wasn't sure if she wanted to know what that meant. She meandered upstairs for a quick afternoon nap. She was exhausted, but she hadn't laid back onto the bed a few minutes when a high pitched squawking interrupted her rest. She peered between her fingers to see a blue terrible terror sitting on the windowsill, his big yellow eyes staring at her.
"Go away," Astrid waved her hand at him and rolled over.
Squawk.
Astrid groaned. She felt the little dragon land on the bed. She rolled onto her back and sat up. The persistent dragon was looking at her, and stuck his back leg out, where a letter had been securely tied.
"Oh," Astrid said as she reached for the note. She pulled the string and unwound it from the dragon. It was slightly wet and crumpled.
The dragon curled into a ball on the bed, but Astrid didn't notice. She had unrolled the letter. The words fell off the page and nothing else around her registered.
X
"Hey, Mom," Hiccup said as he came home. "That smells good,"
"Thank you, I'm getting better at this cooking thing." Valka smiled.
"Astrid home?"
"Yes, we went upstairs to nap. You should wake up for before dinner so she can sleep tonight,"
Hiccup nodded and jogged up the stairs. "Astrid, are you sleeping…?"
Astrid was sitting on the bed, a letter in her hands, while a blue Terrible Terror slept beside her.
"Astrid?"
"Who is Ata?"
"W-what?" Hiccup swallowed.
Astrid waved the letter at him, "Ata. The girl who's writing you. She wants to meet you. She wants to see you, again."
"Where-"
"It arrived my terror-mail." Astrid said flatly. "He was looking for you, I assume, but he found me first."
"Oh…" Hiccup swallowed, his throat tight.
"Who is she?"
"I-I…uh, well," Hiccup started, but no lie sounded good enough. "She's a Branded Brute, the woman that houses Mom and me…and,"
"You're friends?"
"Yeah, I guess you could say that,"
"What happened?"
"I-I…" Hiccup stuttered. "It meant nothing, Astrid I promise, I was drunk, she tricked me,"
"You slept with her?"
"She basically raped me, I had little say," Hiccup said quickly. He stepped around the bed to kneel in front of her. "Astrid, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I know I've done wrong, I know, and it doesn't matter how many times I apologize, I won't blame you if you never forgive me, I'd understand, but please, you need to know that I keep telling her no. I ignored her first letter, she's-"
"Hiccup," Astrid put a finger to his lips.
Hiccup's hands were shaking on either side of her. Why wasn't she mad? She'd been angry, he saw it in her eyes, in her voice as she read the letter, but that anger was gone. Her hand on his chin was soft.
"Astrid?"
"It's okay," Astrid half-laughed.
"What? Not it's not,"
"No, Hiccup, listen to me, it's fine," her smile flexed downward, "I…deserve it.
"Wha-"
"Let me talk, you need to hear this," Astrid pressed her thumb against his lips. "I slept with Eret."
Her thumb was still against her lips, but it didn't matter, because his words had gone. Her eyes glistened as her thumb rubbed against this mouth.
"I deserved this," Astrid whispered. "I should be the one on my knees begging for forgiveness,"
"Astrid," Hiccup mouthed against her finger. He reached up and pressed his own against it.
"I'm sorry," she said, her words curved by tears, "I'm sorry. I love you, I do, I shouldn't have done it. But I did, and there's no changing that."
"So neither of us are without blame," Hiccup sighed. "What happened to us?"
"I don't know," Astrid shook her head. "It just…happened. You were gone and Eret just…kind of was there. And it…happened."
"But, that was it, right?" Hiccup asked. "I fell into Ata's bed, but once. How many times have you and Eret…you know."
Astrid paused, her eyes widened, and her breath caught on her lips.
"Astrid?" Hiccup asked, his panic resurfacing, "You didn't…"
"I-I'm sorry," Astrid cried. "I know, I deserve the worst. I'm a horrible wife. I wouldn't blame you if you left me for this…whatever her name is. I wouldn't. From her letter, she sounds nice. You deserve nice. You deserve the best."
"No," Hiccup shook his head. "I don't care about deserving, I care about you. I want you."
Astrid sobbed.
"What? What did I say?"
"You…you're amazing. And I betrayed you."
"I don't…I don't care." Hiccup took a deep breath, trying to swallow this information, trying to push it down, "It doesn't matter anymore. I'm your husband, you're my wife, no one else."
"Dinner's ready," Valka called from downstairs.
"Astrid, promise me, no more secrets."
"I promise." Astrid nodded.
"Now come on, let's eat, we'll deal with the mess tomorrow."
X
The village was shocked when the gossip of Eret's exile that dawn flooded through Berk. Whispers of his offense caught fire. No one whispered within ear-shot of their chief, however, in fear of reprimanding or glares. Everyone wanted to know if the rumors of Eret's flirtation with the chief's wife was true, but no one was brave enough to ask, except for Snotlout, who was then sporting a second missing tooth.
Hiccup came home after a strenuous day of pretending to not notice their stares and whispers. He plopped down at the table and graciously accepted whatever his mother had prepared.
"Rough day?" Astrid asked, sitting across from him. She'd stayed inside mostly, claiming that she had come down with a sudden cold.
"It's the same. They think I don't know what they're saying." Hiccup sighed.
"It'll pass," Valka said calmly. "They just need something else to think about. Nothing like this has happened for a while. To them, it's better than candy."
Hiccup stretched his arm across the table and motioned for Astrid's hand. She placed hers in his. He caught the stare that passed between her and his mother.
"What?"
Valka smiled as he patted his shoulder.
"What?" Hiccup asked again.
"Hiccup, you remember when I went to see Gothi last week?" Astrid smiled.
"Yes…?"
"Well, I did go to Gothi, but not for herbs." her smile widened. "It's still really early, and a lot could still go wrong, so it's not a sure thing, but,"
"What?" Hiccup looked between her and his mother.
Astrid gripped his hand, "I'm pregnant,"
"Really?" Hiccup mouthed. A baby.
"That'll give them something to talk about," Valka smiled.
Hiccup stood up and leaned across the table to kiss his wife.
X