There was a knock on Astrid's door at around 8 the next morning. At first, she didn't react, thinking she was imagining it. Then the sound began to get annoying, hammering at her sleepy, sensitive ears, and she burrowed further down into her blankets with a sigh, feeling her cheek rub against Hiccup's warm hair. She smiled at the feeling. It was a reminder of the precious person she was keeping safe and warm in her bed. It felt like he hadn't moved at all the entire night, so exhausted had he been. He was still buried deep in sleep and snoring rhythmically into her neck, his breath warm and moist on her skin.
The knocking grew louder and more insistent, and then Astrid's brain finally connected the dots. Crap, those were probably his parents, and they were probably frantic with worry over their son. Astrid breathed in deeply and hastily propped herself onto one elbow, scrubbing at her eyes. She flicked her gaze briefly down at Hiccup, smiling at how peaceful he looked. He looked very young with all the tension drained from his forehead and jaw, and his cheeks were flushed with heat and sleep. His lips were parted and his bangs were flattened messily to his forehead. Quickly, she pressed a kiss into his hair, and then reluctantly rolled away from him and left the warm nest. When the mattress shifted as she got out of bed, Astrid heard Hiccup murmur something into the pillow, and she watched as he slowly snuggled further down into the blankets and sighed heavily, before he continued snoring once more.
Throwing on her robe, she tied it on her way to the door. Just to be safe, she peeked out the peephole, and saw a woman in her field of vision that was basically the spitting image of Hiccup. Well, there was no doubt about who they were now. She unlocked her door and opened it, hair mussed and dried drool stuck to her chin.
"Hey," Astrid said softly to the woman and the mountain of a man standing next to her, "You must be Hiccup's parents."
The man nodded and held out a hand the size of her head so that she could shake it. How the hell had Hiccup come from someone like that? He was massive! "Aye," he answered, "I'm Stoick, this is my wife Valka."
"Nice to meet both of you," Astrid said, and she backed away from the door slightly, "Come in, come in. Sorry I didn't answer right away."
"No, it's alright," Valka assured her, "It's our fault. We shouldn't have come so early. It looks like we woke you up."
Astrid waved her hand dismissively, "Don't worry about it. Um, Hiccup's still asleep, like, dead to the world asleep, but if you wanted to check on him the bedroom's that way." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder.
Valka nodded, and then her and her husband swiftly made their way to into the bedroom. Astrid stood in the doorway silently, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. Valka was leaning over Hiccup, and the look on her face in the dim lighting of the room spoke of a stunned silence so deep and cutting that Astrid felt it slice through her own chest. She seemed almost afraid to touch him, as if she wasn't sure who this person was that was buried under mountains of thick blankets, and if she did touch this stranger he would shatter like glass. Hesitantly, she touched his shoulder, and then, lighter than a whisper, she let the backs of her fingers brush his cheek. When Hiccup only exhaled heavily in response, Valka laid her palm over his cheek, reacquainting herself with the warm skin and dipping her face so that she could kiss his forehead. Stoick passed a hand up Hiccup's calf and let it rest on his knee, not taking his eyes off his face.
It was so private, and so primal and deeply instinctive, watching these parents reconnect with their grown baby, watching the desire to protect manifest itself in such a physical, loving way, that Astrid felt the need to leave and go sit in the living room.
The unfairness of this whole situation was finally beginning to sink in, and it was choking her in a way she had never thought possible.
000
Hiccup woke very slowly the next morning, and he woke feeling utterly exhausted. Well, that was stupid. Wasn't the entire purpose of sleep so the body could rest and rejuvenate itself? Yet he felt like he had become one with the mattress, like someone had pounded his body flat and smushed his head deep into the wonderfully soft pillow beneath it. And worst of all, he found he had no motivation whatsoever to get up. He really should; he had to pee really badly and his mouth felt painfully dry, but the urge to go back to sleep was so enticing…
He noted that Astrid wasn't in bed with him anymore, and this sent a little surge of alarm through him strong enough to clear some of the sleepy fog in his head. However, he heard her voice on the other side of the closed door, and was reassured that she was at least still in the apartment. Hiccup flicked his eyes up toward the digital clock by the bed and saw that it was after nine o' clock. Even so, knowing Astrid was here and he didn't have to be on the alert for the danger his mind imagined for him, he snuggled a little deeper into the fluffy blanket nest, figuring he could catch at least a couple more hours of sleep. The room was still dim, and everything was quiet and still, and it was so soothing to his nerves, which were always on a state of high alert anymore, that he began to relax and drift again almost immediately.
And then he heard two voices reply to Astrid's voice that he hadn't heard in a long time. At first, he thought they were part of his dream. Hiccup sucked in a breath through his nose, hoping the rush of oxygen would wake up his brain a little so it could process what was going on. But no, it wasn't a dream. Muffled though they were by the door, Hiccup would recognize his parents' voices anywhere.
Well, that was motivation for him to get out of bed. Motivation yes, but even so hauling his heavy, still painful body out of bed was a long, frustrating task. When he sat up, the room whipped around him for a minute, and he felt very much like he would faint. Well, at least he thought wryly, if he fainted he didn't have far to fall. Hiccup waited as his blood flow adjusted to the new angle his body was in, and then when he felt it was safe, he stood up. His legs actually held him up, and Hiccup again thanked Astrid for making him dinner; the food had lent new strength to his limbs that hadn't been there a few days ago.
Rubbing his eyes with one hand and yawning, Hiccup opened the bedroom door with the other and shuffled into the main room. Yes, his parents were definitely there, both of them sitting on the couch while Astrid had pulled up a chair from the kitchen and was talking quietly with them. She was still in her robe and pajamas and her hair had been hastily wadded back, so she couldn't have gotten up too much earlier than him. And looking at his dad, he was as huge and indomitable as ever, but his mom…oh God, his poor mother looked like she was a mess. Her hair was pulled back too, but there were fly-aways everywhere, and her clothes were wrinkled, and she looked so tired…
And he had missed her so badly.
Astrid, who was the only one facing him, saw him walk out and greeted him brightly, "Hey, good morning, corpse. Seriously, I don't think you moved an inch all night. How are you feeling?"
"A bit better," he said absently. His eyes were fixed on his mom, and he had begun to tremble without even realizing it.
Both of his parents turned around to regard him at the same time, and Valka gasped once she finished taking him in. No doubt she saw someone she barely recognized: a half starved wisp with bruises on his exposed forearms and a goddamn pad in his pants because his ass was still bleeding. He probably looked at least ten years older than he was, and he certainly felt it for the first time, right there in Astrid's living room. Seeing his parents, the two faces that had been in his life since before he could remember brought everything into horrifyingly clear focus, and Hiccup felt faint and sick from it. Everything he had lost to become the abused, scared, shaking little coward that stood in front of the strongest people he had ever known…Hiccup was so ashamed and embarrassed that he couldn't even begin to articulate it.
Valka's face crumpled the same time Hiccup's did, and he could feel his throat growing impossibly tight. Seeing his source of childhood comfort triggered in him emotions he didn't remember feeling since he was a little boy. And despite his deep shame, his whole being, right down to his bones, ached with the urge to be coddled and reassured, and to take in his mother's scent once more so he could imprint it in his memories again and re-associate it with comfort.
"Oh Hiccup…" she breathed, and that was all the encouragement Hiccup needed before he was racing over to the couch in a daze. His mother stood up to meet him, and he wrapped his arms around her desperately with a whimper of relief. He felt her arms squeezing him back while her hands rested on the back of his head and his shoulders. She sat down slowly once more, pulling him with her, and once they were back on the couch, Hiccup felt that he still wasn't close enough to her. Without even thinking, he fell into an old rhythm he wasn't even aware his body remembered and draped his legs across her lap, scooting as close as he could until he had pressed himself against her, practically sitting in her lap. His father was hugging him from behind, wrapping his arms around his wife and son, and Hiccup's tears flowed in earnest.
For one moment in that linear mess that had become his reality, he was safe, sandwiched as he was between the walls of warmth that were his parents' bodies. For one moment, the bruises became memories and the thought of blaming himself for the blows inflicted upon him seemed ludicrous.
For one, quiet moment in between the lightning strikes in the storm, he was home.
000
Hiccup probably would have just sat with his parents like that for the rest of his life if his body hadn't reminded him that it needed things as much as his heart did. For one thing, he needed to empty his bladder like right now, otherwise if he moved wrong he'd be emptying it all over the couch.
But thankfully he made it to the bathroom in time, and even better, it looked like he had stopped bleeding. He would take the small mercies wherever he could grab them.
For another thing, the instant that pain was relieved, more pains happily replaced it. His stomach yawned into a cavernous black hole of fitful hunger, shocking Hiccup thoroughly. After how much he had stuffed into his gut last night, he didn't think he'd ever be hungry again, but he supposed it was connected to the reason why he was still so exhausted even though he had slept for nearly eleven hours. His body had a lot of eating to catch up on as well as rest, and now that it had gotten a taste of both it wanted more and it wanted it now. Also, the pain in his lower body had returned with a fiery vengeance, making him feel thoroughly miserable.
So he tip-toed from the bathroom and peered at Astrid through his sleep mussed bangs, belly complaining angrily, and softly asked if she wouldn't mind, possibly, "only if you want to, I mean you've already done so much for me and I don't want to eat everything in your apartment…"
But Astrid shook her head, smiling crookedly, and got up from her seat to place a hand on the back of Hiccup's head and kiss his temple. "I'm hungry too, babe," she admitted, "I think I can make breakfast."
Before she could even ask, Valka was on her feet and offering her help in cooking breakfast. Astrid said she didn't have to, but Valka was insistent, and the soon the women were busy clanging around and chatting up a storm. Hiccup was content to just sit on the couch with Stoick and lean against him, soaking up his dad's heat contentedly. The great thing about being Stoick's son was that Hiccup always got to feel little no matter how old he got; having a seven foot father was great like that sometimes.
In no time at all, breakfast was ready and a comradery was formed between Astrid and Valka based on the boy they shared. Hiccup of course wolfed his down like there was no tomorrow, but at least his dad was there and eating just as eagerly as he was so that he didn't feel so bad.
"When did you guys get in?" Hiccup asked once he started slowing down in his eating.
"Around four in the morning," Stoick answered, "We're staying in a hotel nearby. As soon as the tires of the plane hit the runway your mother wanted to come see you, but I told her that you would probably be tired and you were safe where you were."
"He was right, in the end," Valka said, shaking her head, "Didn't stop me from worrying myself into fits last night, though. Didn't sleep at all. Finally convinced Stoick to let us go at eight this morning. I still feel so bad for waking you, dear." She said this last part to Astrid, who waved her fork dismissively.
"Oh, don't worry about it," Astrid assured her, "I was up anyway, you know, keeping an ear open for you guys so that I could open the door when you came in."
"She told me you were asleep," his mother told him, "But I couldn't help it, I had to check on you when I got there. You were dead to the world at that point, but seeing that you were alive after what you told me on the phone last night helped me feel so much better."
Hiccup nodded. "And I'm glad you guys are here. I feel a lot better now." He took his pain pills as soon as he put down his fork, the languid throbbing making his appetite flee and the food that was already in his stomach churn nastily. Besides, he had a feeling that would be what his day would consist of today; sleep, wake up, eat, pain pills, repeat. He felt too heavy everywhere and in every sense of the word to do anything else today anyways.
"When were you guys planning on going home?" he asked.
"Tomorrow," Stoick affirmed.
"Can I go with you?"
Valka said, "Baby, we were planning on you coming home with us. We didn't think you'd want to be here anymore after…everything."
There was a pause, where Hiccup glanced at Astrid, who met his eye, and then he glanced back to his parents.
"Can Astrid come home with us?" he asked in a small voice. It was pathetic, but the idea of leaving without her ached and made him scared in a way he didn't want to think about or he wouldn't be able to breathe. Oh, but then the guilt was back, because he was being such a jerk assuming she'd want to go with him when she had no reason to leave this place. What was wrong with him?
"I mean, she doesn't have to if it's too much trouble," Hiccup added hastily, and then to Astrid said, "You have a life here and I don't want to take you away from it."
Stoick and Valka glanced at each other, before Valka said meaningfully, "Of course she can come, Hiccup. She means a lot to you, and I want you to be surrounded by as many people that care about you as we can manage."
"Of course I want to go," Astrid said, looking at him incredulously, "I'd be too worried about you to focus on anything here anyway. I don't know if you realized this or not, but you're pretty important to me, Hiccup. As long as your parents are okay with it, I'll take a leave of absence from work and take the return trip home with you guys."
Hiccup felt like a huge weight that had been crushing his chest before had suddenly lifted. In reality, he had been scared that if Astrid stayed here, Heather would find her and do something awful to her in place of him. But if she was with them, he'd be able to rest a lot easier.
Soon enough, the pain pills began to kick in hardcore, and Hicup began to nod off right at the table. When he started snoring softly in his seat and then waking himself up with his snores, Valka figured it was high time he went back to bed.
"Alright baby, let's get you back in bed and you can nap," she said, leading him away with a hand pressing on his upper back gently.
"And while you're doing that, we have some important things to do," Astrid winked.
Hiccup moaned with distress at that, and quickly gave his mother his biggest, most wide-eyed beseeching look he could managed before begging, "Don't go! Stay, please? I don't think I can be by myself yet."
Valka clucked sympathetically and squeezed his shoulders in a one-armed hug before she assured him, "Don't worry, I'll stay right here. I think your dad and Astrid can handle the grown-up things while you rest and get better."
Hiccup nodded slowly, only half awake now, and gave soft grunt of assent. After his mother had led him back into the bedroom and shut the door, he dove back into the blankets and curled around them like they were a long-lost friend. He was very sleepy and his body was drowning in bone-deep exhaustion, but he still didn't conk out until after his mother was sitting on the bed beside him and touching his face reassuringly.
He had a passing worry that he would never be able to sleep on his own again, before nothingness engulfed him and it didn't matter anymore.
000
Hiccup was woken by the sounds of angry grumbling and harsh whispers outside the door a few hours later. He already felt quite a bit better, his nap having accomplished its job. He could hear his mom's voice talking with the irritated sounding voices of Stoick and Astrid, and as soon as he righted himself he got out of bed and decided to investigate.
"What's going on?" Hiccup asked, voice crackling roughly. He rubbed one of his eyes absently, trying to forceful wakefulness into it.
All three of them turned to look at him at the same time, and Hiccup knew that they had just been talking about him. Crap. Still, Stoick's teeth were grinding so hard it looked like he was going to start spitting out tooth powder at any minute, and Astrid's face was turning purple with rage.
But the real kicker was the angry tears beading up on her lower lids.
"They went to the police station while you were asleep," Valka explained, coming to stand beside him, "They were going to file a report against Heather and give them all the evidence so that you would have a good, solid case in court. But"-
"That stupid bitch got there first," Astrid growled.
Hiccup shook his head, disbelief cold and icy in his veins.
"Yeah," Astrid continued, "She got there first and filed a report. But you know what she said in hers? Get ready for the biggest load of horseshit you've ever in your life. In the report she filed, she claimed you were the one abusing her."
A/N: Shit I did a bad thing, didn't I? Sorry not sorry trololololol XD