A/N: I'M SORRY! Guys, I didn't mean to give you an empty promise, but my schedule was jam packed. Last week was my first try-out exam, and I studied hard for it. I was about to write it on last Saturday but I had to tutor my friends so I didn't have much time. And on the Sunday there was party in my house (my birthday is on 17th of August. Yay!). Please forgive me *bows* I hope this one is enough for the lateness. Based on DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles request. Sorry though, I didn't write it very well on the riddle part. I hope you can still enjoy it.
For me, I think this one is a bit sad (but it will turn happy again, just like always) and a lot of feels. But it's the only way I could write it to stick close with the prompt. I had really given this one much thought. But still, thanks thought for requesting the chapter. Oh, and we have a special guest here (the person has appeared before). Guess who? ;)
To all reviewers: THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT, COMPLEMENTS, AND CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM. I CAN'T DO THIS WITHOUT ALL OF YOU!
Well, Read and Review!
Summary: A debate ended in the worst possible way. But this time, Astrid was at fault. Can she make it up to Hiccup. Or will he make it up for her?
Disclaimer: I do not own How To Train Your Dragon, it respectfully belongs to Cressida Cowell and DreamWorks Animation Studios.
Sorry
"No Hiccup. Just let me do what I do" Astrid scowled in frustration. It was early in the morning. Astrid met Hiccup in the town square when she was going to her training ground. They had been stuck in an argument about practicing using a dull axe. She hadn't visited the forge that week and he knew perfectly well what would happen to something overused such as the latter. Unfortunately, she could be as stubborn as possible.
"Astrid. I tell you one more time, it's no good using a weapon lacking sharp edge. You're not gonna get anything done with it. So just let me hone it for you. I'll be quick as a Night Fury– Err, maybe less quick than that but still fast enough" He let out a nervous chuckle and offered his hands in concern. Not in a million years he would get tired of repairing or merely servicing her favorite item. But he just couldn't see why she was against the idea.
"I'm not a baby, Hiccup. I know what I'm doing!" She huffed, mostly irked at the waste of time she was having.
"But Astrid. It's both not good for you and it's not good for your axe" He pleaded. It's his duty as her self-proclaimed boyfriend to take care of her. But she was just too obstinate to acknowledge that.
"No" She growled at Hiccup and turned away.
"You know what, I don't care what you think. This thing is mine, so what I say goes" She stormed out of the forge in a pissed off manner. Hiccup's eyes widened and he ran up to her.
"Wait. Astrid!" He grabbed her arm roughly as she faced him with her most terrifying glare.
"WHAT?!" She immediately regretted having snapped at him after she saw the hurtful look on his face. Combined with a swirl of other emotions flowing through it. Her muscles relaxed as he relinquished the touch. His head was bowed towards the ground and perked up slightly to inspect her. He sighed inwardly as his body was beginning to become slightly further from her.
"O-Okay. If you think is fine then it's great by me. I'll see you later… I guess?" He said in an unusual inquiry tone as if he was asking himself before his figure disappeared from her line of sight. She squinted her eyebrows. What's gotten into him now? She grunted, oblivious to his feelings and gravity of the condition.
As she began to trot through the forest, thoughts came running all over her mind. Racing over possible prospects of what happened after their quarrel. She shook her head, focusing her mind to the task at hand, which was apparently chopping innocent trees until her body hurts. She started the first round of her non-stop exercising. Wood met axe. Axe met wood. Cutting and slashing mercilessly with the most beautiful form of perfection. Being ever so graceful, she threw and threw without even noticing a crack on her weapon.
Tree after tree was smashed one by one. Turning the small fracture to grow bigger. Continuing with the rhythm, Astrid kept bashing in every direction. As her axe hit the next target, it broke. The shards were thrown everywhere. Astrid was at shock that she jumped out of the way belatedly. A cut on her left forearm as she barely dodged the sudden burst.
She panted heavily from behind a rock where she hid. After making sure her breaths wasn't labored anymore, she stood up to fix herself. Hiccup's word from that morning rang in her head. He was right. Using a battle worn weapon wasn't a very bright move. She picked the remaining parts of her shattered axe. The handle and a few bits of its blade was still intact. She let out a heavy sigh. She'll go to forge and tell Hiccup he was right. Somehow.
Astrid walked through the village in dirty ragged clothes. She didn't mind. For a Viking, it's a badge of honor, if Gobber said so himself. On the other hand, her mind was preoccupied by Hiccup's behavior at the time of their meeting. He looked pretty somber after she shouted unwillingly to him. She'd noted to find a way to apologize about that as well, but without making herself lose her stoic reputation.
The door of the blacksmith's house cringed, informing the bulky man inside of a customer. Gobber took a glance of his visitor from his work and found Astrid standing between the door frames. He expressed his gratefulness towards the young warrior with a smile.
"Ah, Astrid. What can I do for ye, lassie?" He put down his hammer and dismantled his prosthesis. Grabbing a different one from his wall of collections, he made way to the star interest of his apprentice.
"Uh, my axe, was damaged. Pretty bad actually. And I was thinking you could get it... Fixed?" She handed the master smith her remnants of axe. Gobber's jaw dropped.
"Wha' did ye do with it?" He eyed the metal in his hands. Holding the handle with its hilt, carefully yet skillfully inspecting it.
"I... Sort of, broke it?" Astrid answered with hesitation. Of course she didn't want to tell Gobber she ignored Hiccup's warning about breaking it. Though not explicitly. Gobber snorted and turned to his anvil.
"I'm not blind lass. I could see that perfectly clear" A tint of red was visible on Astrid's cheeks. She decided to change the subject with the other problem that was intriguing her.
"Where's Hiccup?" She asked bluntly. Gobber stopped pounding in an instant. He swirled around so fast that she didn't even saw him do it.
"He's not here. He's gone" Gobber replied with a frown of disappointment. He saw what took place in front of his shop that morning. And to say he was a little annoyed by her stubbornness. She felt a tight grip on her heart. The previous thoughts and Hiccup's reaction flushed down in her head. The dots connected into one possibility. Her eyes widened in terror. Everything just turned vivid to her.
"Ye should have listened to him ye know. He cares for ye. And what ye did make him think he's useless. You know how self-conscious and pessimist he is" Gobber added. He's really able to erase one's guilt. Sarcastic comment thrown in there. Her body tensed. Oh, no. No, no, no, no. What have I done?!
She ran as fast as she could. Maybe the fastest record she ever set. But she didn't care about that. All she was seeking for is Hiccup. Closing in on the massive house atop the hill she clenched her fists. Odin, please let him be okay. The door opened with a loud bang, making the equal large Viking inside to jump. Astrid didn't spare the person a glance and passed him nonchalantly. Suddenly a hand landed on her shoulder. She quickly turned around and held her fist up in a warning. The person coughed and Astrid remembered that the place was also where her chief was living, not only her beloved.
"Errr, Astrid lass. What a big surprise. What brings ye here?" Stoick boomed in amusement yet awkwardly. Noting that his future daughter-in-law just barged into his house whilst he was home. Unexpectedly, Astrid grabbed his tunic and shook him violently.
"Where's Hiccup?!" She dreaded. Not being in a logical state, nothing made sense to her. Including the fact she was talking to the chief. Stoick raised an eyebrow at her and cleared his throat.
"If I'm not mistaken lass. I saw him earlier, a little down actually. I'd thought he would be spending the day with you trying to cheer himself up" Astrid's eyes glistened with guilt and regret. No... It's too late. Her teeth were grinding against another. Refusing to let sorrow overcome her. She released the grip and pounced upstairs.
The boy nor his dragon was located in the particular room. Her heartbeat was thumping so hard that it made her chest swell. She ransacked his workroom, his drawers, his clothing materials, frantically searching for anything that could lead her to him. She knelt and let the tears she held up to fall. She had messed up. Not only for her, but for him as well. Taking his love for granted, the greatest and most passionate thing she ever received. The thing he could only give himself. The purest feeling that nobody could ever replace.
The stairs heading upwards Hiccup's room creaked. A certain person was also looking for someone. Then he heard sobs. He quietly listened and entered after confirming there was only one individual in there. His mouth was left agape as he ran to the crying blonde.
"Astrid?!" The person spoke. Astrid looked up in immediate surprise, finding the one responsible for bringing her to this world.
"D-Dad? What are you doing here?" She asked in a cracking voice. She sounded so fragile that it broke her father's heart to hear it. She, the one who was always strong and level headed was now breaking down in her own boyfriend's bedroom. As a parent, Asmundr couldn't help but to feel sad as well.
"I think I should be asking you that" He said softly. Comforting her like every time she was sad, but that was before she had Hiccup, and he didn't mind a single bit. Astrid's eyes became more watery as the second wave of tears burst out. She jumped into her father's arms.
"I-I messed everything up. It's my fault!" Asmundr rubbed the back of her daughter. He cradled her into his arms as she dampened his shirt with her silent tears. He let a small smile graze his lips while reminiscing memories when she was little. So energetic. So playful. So loveable. And he would always remember how she caught the eyes of the small Haddock boy. It's just too adorable for him to forget. A little weird for a tough Viking like him.
"What happened?" Inquired him. Astrid sniffled and answered in a low whisper in between sniffles.
"I-I... I hurt his feelings" The answer left Asmundr confused. To him, Hiccup wasn't one to easily be beaten up. But that's a different matter if involving Astrid.
"And that is because…?" He continued. Astrid grew angry at her father as he couldn't pick up the hints that had been scattered. She pushed herself from the fatherly embrace, making Asmundr puzzled more about the whole situation, and snapped at him.
"I TURNED HIM AWAY, OKAY?! He was concerned about me! And I was too stubborn to accept it!" Astrid admitted in shame. Her father frowned. Not every day that Astrid messed up this bad. She doesn't usually messed up at all. So, he settled to lighten the mood. Chuckling as he stood up from the crouching pose he was just in. Astrid glared at him.
"How can you laugh at a time like this?!" She said harshly yet a little hurt. Her father walked up to her and held her by the shoulders.
"Astrid, I know now is not a good time. But I can ensure you Hiccup is not like any other man. In a good way of course" He let out another chuckle which got silenced by Astrid's death aura.
"What I'm trying to say is, you still haven't thrown the whole fish to the dragon. Meaning you can still ask for his forgiveness. And I wouldn't doubt he will be the one apologizing to you, if I do know him myself" Astrid stayed silent. Asmundr bid goodbye and left shortly. In the meantime, Astrid was processing what her father meant when she saw a parchment she could have sworn she didn't see before atop his nightstand. She picked it up and read it.
To Astrid. I'm sorry if I got you mad. I only wanted to tell you how dangerous it is but I'm sure you know about that yourself. I shouldn't have doubted you and your shield maiden skills. I'm an idiot thinking that you couldn't take care of yourself and to think that you don't need me to keep you safe and sound. I guess if you don't want me to prod anymore in your daily life you could rightfully have that. But if you want to, I don't know, maybe patch things up, I'm currently at 'where our lives started'. You might think I'm cowardly running away from trouble. Still, I'll wait for you.
Good luck. That is, if you want to try and find me.
Hiccup.
The note was the only thing needed for her tears to build up once again. But she didn't want to lose this chance. She's not going to cry any longer and instead she will ask him to forgive her. She didn't care about her pride of never apologizing. All she want was Hiccup to be with her. She pocketed the piece of paper and was about to run when a thought passed by. She realized she didn't have a clue where he was. Where our lives started? What did he meant by that? It definitely can't be Asgard. Thor knows he's not dumb enough to commit suicide.
She sat down on his bed. Plummeting herself into his scent of burnt metals and dragon scales. She cupped her chin while being deep in thought. All of the sudden, her mind clicked. She's not as smart as Hiccup, knowing full well he is the smartest person she ever met. But she doubtlessly figured out where he was. The cove.
He was just sitting there. Toothless was bounding up and down on the small pond, splashing water near him that fortunately didn't make him wet. A rustle from the bushes behind made his instinct to kick in. He motioned his dragon to stay put and knelt to hide himself from the view. When the person appeared, his body felt numb. He didn't know what to do. So he kept his silence and rested his body onto the rock he had been leaning on.
The person looked left and right. Even up and down. Then she saw a silhouette of the boy or man she had been trying to find for all day. Slowly tip toeing her way to him, and finally meeting him face to face. The encounter was a little saddening that it made both of them a little weary of their actions.
"Hiccup…" She spoke first. He didn't say anything and stared at his remaining foot as if it was the most interesting thing at the moment. She bit her lower lip and continued.
"I-I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry for what I said earlier today. I didn't meant to make you think I don't want you or I don't need you. On the contrary I need you so badly. Without you beside me, it just feels empty. I need you to keep track of me. I need you to keep me on the ground when I'm lost so high. I need you to tell me good things to make me laugh. I need you to keep me close to you to feel safe. I need you" The bomb was laid down. As quivering as her voice ever was, the sincerity in it was not covered at the very least.
Her body was shaking. Her hands were trembling. He could see the drops of water making its way down her cheeks. But he was still a little too discouraged to make any move. He fiddled with his fingers and observed her. She was still standing with her head down in shame. The long dry trail of tears was rejuvenated by the newer ones. Dropping from her round oval face onto the cold hard ground.
"Hiccup… Would you, f-forgive me?" She closed her eyes in expectation. She couldn't live anymore if he said no. He was everything to her. And it took her fourteen years and him being in a comatose state to realize that. The suspense was killing her. Before she was about to do anything, he finally spoke at last.
"I was never angry at you, you know" He said reassuringly with unusual seriousness. That day was full of unusual things.
"I just thought, you might want to end our relationship or whatever we have now because we think differently. As a matter of fact, opposites" Her eyes widened and quickly cut him off.
"No! I would never want that. And who cares anyway if we're the total opposite of each other?! We worked out for the past years, and you know both of us loves each other" The impromptu confession made Hiccup and Astrid to blush. She just seemed unable to say anything right from that morning. It was Hiccup's turn to feel nervous and bit his lip unconsciously, reciprocating her action as a heat of the moment.
"You, love me? Do you... Mean it?" He whispered. His voice was low but enough for her to decipher what was he saying. She took a deep breath before answering.
"Yes" Was her simple reply. To add prove to the statement, she took a step forward and kissed him gently. He was too dumbstruck at the fact Astrid just apologized, confessed, and now kissing him. Sure, they might consider themselves boyfriend and girlfriend. But they still haven't said the 'I love you' line yet. And not very much kissing either, due to the speed of rumors traveling on Berk. But after what just happened he didn't want anything else but just to hold her in his arms the same way she demanded him to and never let go. He grabbed her waist as if it was a muscle memory and kissed her back in a blazing passion. His touch burned her skin even though he didn't even touch any. He's the only person that could do that to her. To emit such reaction from her. To have such control over her. And she loved it nonetheless.
They parted afterwards and looked straight into the eyes of their loved one. He couldn't resist those blue shining orbs in her eyes that always made him think it's created as a blessing. And she was the same as him as well. As if staring into the forest itself, his eyes was green and concrete. Full of determination and love. Passionate and dedicated. Describing the amazing person he is.
"Hey Astrid?" He said, breaking the blissful atmosphere.
"Yeah?" She responded while looking him lovingly.
"How did you figure it out that I'm here?" His eyebrows were raised curiously. It did poked his interest of how she got the idea of coming there. Her cheeks tainted red and a small embarrassed smile was plastered on her face.
"Well... You did say on your note. Where our lives started..." She glanced at him and he didn't say anything to let her know that she can continue. She gulped.
"So... By our, I translated it into us. Meaning where we or us started. And I guessed it was when I kissed your cheek here, at the cove. Where I saw the real you. Where you showed me the real side of dragons we've never bothered to see. Where we went on that... Romantic flight" Not only her but Hiccup was also scarlet. No matter what he did or does, nothing could discard those memories. Not like he even want to anyway.
He returned her previous smile and let his hands roam on her flesh until he spotted a scar with fresh red blood. He instantly touched it as a gesture of asking for explanation and she looked away shyly.
"My axe... Broke" He looked at her disbelievingly. She just nods in affirmation and he sighed.
"I'm sorry Astrid. For everything" He flattened his forehead with hers. She was about to retort when her father's words returned to her head. She chose to roll her eyes and snort.
"Guess my father was right after all" She said with a grin. An Astrid grin.
"About what?" Asked him with a smile. Both admiring and simply grateful that everything between them was back to normal and better if possible, which is true.
"Well, let's just say he kind of warned me that you will be the one saying sorry instead of me" He gave a wry smirk. It's just his nature to apologize, no matter who is right or who is wrong. But that's just one of the things Astrid loved about him. So with that, she sealed their union with a kiss. Who knew being sorry could be that rewarding?
A/N: I'm not pretty sure this is the best I can do. It sucks, I know (9th grade, that's what I'm talking about). But well, what can I do. I guess I have to live with it for one year. So anyway, how was it? Good? Bad? Anything? Please tell me in the reviews. Do you guys like Asmundr? Astrid's dad has made an appearance once more (see chapter 12) and this time I made him as a good character. If I don't know any better I would've said he's bipolar. Well, I did promise to change him from an 'Astrid hater' to an 'Astrid lover' as per HiccupHaddockLover (implied actually). Hahaha...
For those who guessed that I'm a girl, SORRY! But I'm a BOY :D Didn't expect that, huh? Hahaha...
Well, guess I'll see you on the next chapter (which I really hope I can finish tomorrow). Bye! Stay up to date and keep on reading!
-MDzkM