So here is the next installation of Peculiarities of Love! To answer some questions real quick: I have had one heck of a life change recently and it has delayed my writing. I am now in a different area, looking for a job, and barely making it with antivirus software to keep my files intact. It has been one long wait, but I finally sat down and almost literally super glued my butt to my chair to write this. But, I digress. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Hiccup sat at the table downstairs, leaned back against a heavy chair. His breath left him in a tremendous sigh as his head drooped down to the table. Toothless was curled up behind him and already asleep. His wing had been bandaged up and stood out in stark contrast to his black scales.
It really wasn't fair that Vikings thought that Toothless needed to drink large amounts of mead before they removed the bolt from his wing and Hiccup himself just had a few grown men hold him down. Gobber had laughed at him when he commented on it earlier and simply said that he wasn't afraid of Hiccup blasting down the building if things got out of hand.
Getting a drunk dragon to move over to the Hofferson hall had been no easy task. Toothless was convinced that he had only two legs and insisted on trying to walk on only his front legs, dragging his back ones in the dirt along the way. After finally getting him into the hall, Hiccup took him to the least likely place to catch fire and let him curl up to sleep.
When that particular hurdle had ended, Hiccup had been so tired that he almost fell asleep with Toothless on the floor, but remembered that Astrid had fallen asleep against him on the way home. So he dragged himself up the stairs to make sure she was alright. Stormfly was with her and he really shouldn't have worried, but seeing Astrid so vulnerable and knowing that HE had been the cause of her distress made him feel responsible for her current condition. After finally checking in on her, he was so exhausted that he just slumped against the wall and fell asleep. That was how Astrid found him when she woke up.
Things had been much easier before all this mess even started. His friendship with Astrid was so easy that it was laughable at how common it was to slip into easy conversation. Now, forced into something neither of them were ready for, even talking to one another felt so awkward and formal. Like an important cornerstone of their relationship had been replaced with expectations and social standing. He absolutely hated it.
His hand curled into a fist as he looked at it. An absurd and ridiculous thought of just lopping off his hand and making everyone better jumped into his head. Hey, it worked with his leg. Hiccup squashed that stupid idea and instead turned his view to look somewhere besides at himself. Very seldom had he been in Astrid's home before and when he was, he didn't really take the time to look around.
It was when he looked above the fire pit that he noticed a recent addition to the house that he could not have seen before. The picture that he had drew for Astrid with her father's help sat on a shelf that seemed totally out of place and looked like the only reason that it was constructed was to support the picture itself. He remembered how difficult it had been to draw that picture at the directions of Angnir alone. It was the first time that he had drawn something from someone else's mind instead of his own.
That mind was dead now. Hiccup tore his eyes from the picture as another wave of guilt flooded over him. He dreaded going to the funeral today. Sometimes being a Viking had some drawbacks and today Hiccup had realized that one of them included impatience and superstition. His father had been quite clear that the funeral had to be today and Gobber had agreed with him wholeheartedly.
Of course no one would think about how hard it would be for Astrid to get married, lose her father, and then have his funeral all on the same day. It made him angry at his tribe for the very first time in his life. He was no better, either. It was by his hand that Angnir had died and it was his life that he had tied Astrid down to for the rest of hers.
He had fought hard for his people and the dragons. Why was fighting for happiness so much harder? Hiccup looked down from the drawing and looked at his once best tunic. He would have to change his shirt at least before attending the funeral.
The soft footfalls coming from the stairs caught his attention as he watched Astrid come down and look at him with her brow furrowed in concentration. She had the plate of trout that he carried up to her in her hands as she moved toward the table. "Hiccup, why is Toothless in the kitchen?"
Hiccup sighed, but answered her. "It looked like the least flammable part of your house." Astrid looked at him in confusion and waited for him to explain further. "Long story short, he's drunk and here seemed the best place to let him fall asleep where everything is less likely to catch fire."
She shook her head and set her plate down on the table and then took a shaky breath. "Hiccup, has the chief said exactly when the funeral would be today?"
"No, he hasn't. I wasn't exactly allowed to stick around while I was bleeding out. But I'll make sure to ask him here in a bit. Everyone is helping to build the boat as quickly as possible, so I want to do what I can to help." Hiccup kept his answer guarded, but truthful. He felt that she deserved that at least.
She took another breath, then nodded. After that, she purposefully moved closer to him. "Hiccup, we need to talk." The implications hit him so hard that he almost sat down on the spot from the unexpected change of topic.
"Wha-what!? Where did that come from?" Hiccup firmly grasped the crutch under his right arm, trying to take support from it as best he could.
"Everyone wanted us to get married. We did, but now I don't know what to do. All this time, I was thinking about how I was going to get through this stupid thing and I didn't even think about what was going to happen after." Astrid seemed to sigh as her breath left her in a rush.
"Hey, I didn't even think I'd get this far. I was sure that I'd screw something up again." Hiccup was rooted to the spot, seeing Astrid struggle with whatever she wanted to say.
"We talked a little about how this marriage thing was going to work, but I wanted to lay down a few rules." Astrid was shifting back and forth on her feet.
Hiccup knew why she was both so determined to talk to him and still reluctant to do so. "Good idea. Yeah, let's do that. I have no idea what I'm doing, so a little direction would be great."
"I've never done this either, Hiccup." Astrid looked at him pointedly.
"Right. Why would you- You know what? Go ahead. Rules." Hiccup berated himself for stating the obvious, but tried to stop as quickly as he could.
"First off, hands off. You touch me, I take a hand, got it?" Astrid raised one of her eyebrows at him. With an audible gulp, Hiccup nodded quickly. "Second, I'm not going to cook or do your laundry. Good little housewives are not something I aspire to be. Third, you are not sleeping in my room at all. You stay down here in the bedroom on the first floor. You got all that?"
Hiccup felt a little like an intruder instead of a husband, truth be told. True, he didn't expect Astrid to hang all over him, but he had hoped for a little more warm reception that what he was being told he would get. He caught himself from thinking any further down that path of thought. He was married to Astrid. Against her will and right after she just lost her father. Of course she wanted to protect herself. Vikings did not accept change very well, the dragon war for the past few centuries proved that.
There was little Hiccup could do to change her mind, so he just nodded his head and accepted what she wanted. Take care of each other. A haunting thought jarred his thoughts once again and forced him to step outside his comfort zone again. "Alright, but I have a few rules of my own."
Astrid looked at him a little hesitantly, but nodded for him to continue. "If this is going to work, I need you to talk to me. We are still good friends and I want to be there when you need me." Astrid looked a little uncomfortable, but nodded regardless. "I want to make you happy, Astrid. I promised your father that I would look after you and I intend to keep it. I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to marriage, but I'm hoping we can learn it together." Hiccup slouched a little, but continued.
"You told me before that you were happy that it was me that you were marrying and not someone else. I feel the same way, Astrid. I feel guilty that I'm enjoying the thought of spending the rest of my life with you. I don't expect you to do anything you don't want to. That's why I want you to have this."
Hiccup reached into his pocket and pulled out another ring. "This is the wedding ring that you never got to put on me. When we got married, we didn't have a choice. So I want to give you one right now. This ring will be your choice." Hiccup reached over and placed it in her hand. "Hold onto that ring until you feel like it is time to give it back to me. Until then, we will be friends and nothing else. You are not cornered, Astrid."
Astrid looked at the ring, then back to Hiccup. Her eyes shifted back and forth from the two a couple of times before she closed her hand and then took a step towards him. She pulled back her fist and lightly punched him in the arm. "Idiot." Then, she hugged him with both her arms tightening around him. "Thank you."
He expected it to be short, but was surprised that she hadn't moved after a few seconds. If anything, she was holding him tighter. She wasn't crying, but he could tell that she was struggling not to. So he did what he thought was best and dropped his crutch to steady her as much as he could with both arms. They stayed like that for a few precious moments before she slowly pulled away. Then she bent over and picked up the crutch that he let fall to the floor.
"Let's go see what we can do to help." Astrid looked up at him as she handed his crutch back and smiled at him.
"Yeah, let's go." Hiccup grabbed the crutch and started to hobble outside when he felt a warmth engulf his other hand. He looked down and saw Astrid holding it. After she shut the door behind them, she didn't even look at him. She just faced forward and continued walking, but she kept a firm grip on his hand. Hiccup thought that maybe, just maybe, there was hope for them yet…
Stoick heaved mightily as he helped set the mast into the boat. The woodwork was done and now all that was left was the passenger. He was glad that the village all felt it necessary to hurry in making the boat. No one but Angnir lost their life and they all felt responsible for that. While they were out in the water, trying to stay alive, he was out fighting on the ships that were threatening their homes. Angnir would be remembered as a hero, he was sure of it.
When Gothi had first come to him and instructed him to build the boat and send Angnir on his journey to Valhalla immediately after the attack, he was surprised and confused. However, when the village elder gives you a clear instruction on what the spirits want, you listen. He felt bad for Hiccup and Astrid, though. Today was supposed to be the day that his son got married, not lose another family member he just got.
A heavy sigh was heard right next to him as Gobber leaned up against the stone wall right next to him. "Well, I'll say this much, that's the fastest we've ever built a boat before." Gobber started to pick his teeth with his claw hand.
"Aye, it is. You heard what the elder said. We have to have the funeral today. And that means a boat." With a heavy sigh, Stoick slumped against the wall next to Gobber. "I just don't understand why it had to be today. It was going to be such a good day."
Stoic felt Gobber prod him in the gut quickly. "It still might. You seeing what I'm seeing?" He then nodded toward the village. Stoick looked up and saw Hiccup and Astrid walking down towards the boat. Hiccup had his crutch and hobbled about slowly, but Astrid kept his pace and didn't run off without him. However, it was the sight of the two holding hands that made Stoick smile.
Stoick looked back at Gobber and saw a smug smile adorning his face. "Well, it certainly makes it better than before." He then got up and went to greet his son and new daughter in law. When he got closer, he saw Astrid release Hiccup's hand and then stand next to him.
"Hey, dad. Is there anything we can do to help?" Hiccup seemed a bit pale, but otherwise looked alright.
"Son! We just finished building the boat. The others are gathering shields and decorations for it now. If you two want to go grab a few, we could put them on it here soon. We have to cast it off in the next couple of hours while we still have the daylight." Stoick couldn't help but smile. He knew that he shouldn't be smiling due to what was happening, but he couldn't contain himself much longer.
"Have you two decided on where you're staying?" Gobber butted in.
"Yeah, we are going to stay at the Hofferson hall. We thought that it would be a waste to let the hall go unused." Hiccup answered.
"What about you, Astrid. Are you doing well?" Stoick looked at her and watched her straighten her back.
"Yes, chief. I'm fine." It was all that he got out of her, but he was satisfied with it. After all, she was the strongest Viking of her generation… aside from his son, of course.
"Well, if you're going to get what you need for the boat, you had better hurry. We are going to go look for some ourselves. Make sure you are back before dark." Stoick took a step back, then turned to Gobber. "Don't you have some spare shields in the forge?"
"Aye, that I do!" Gobber picked up the hint and started to hobble off. Stoick spared one more glance at the now departing couple, seeing their hands locked once more. Yes, there may be some hope yet. "Are you going to let a one legged Viking beat you up to the forge? Some chief you are!" Gobber hollered at him.
Stoick sighed, but started up towards Gobber. "Gobber, the forge is the other way."
Gobber stopped, then turned around. "Right, I knew that. What are you waiting for? Hurry up or I'll leave you behind!" Stoick sighed, but trudged after his best friend.
Sorry again guys, I was gone for a bit too long. Not a lot is happening yet, but I wanted to focus more on Hiccup and Astrid for right now and how their feelings are progressing. I want to thank everyone who faithfully kept telling me to write some more. I plan on releasing the next chapter within a week now that I have my laptop back in running condition. Thank you again for all your support!