Carried Off, a DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon fanfic by Raberba girl (rough draft)
"Come here, babies~!"
Finn and Valka - the dragons - immediately looked up from whatever nasty thing they were eating. Val chirped in delight and rushed to her mother; Finn dipped his head for one last morsel and then ambled over to join his sister.
"Ooooh, what have you gotten into this time?" Hiccup cooed as he tried to get a better look at the pink feathery-looking stuff stuck in Valka's teeth. "What have you icky little troublemakers gotten into~?"
He was a little amazed at how affectionate he felt toward creatures who had been interrupted doing something so revolting. Many of the parents he'd seen at home would yell at their kids for playing in garbage, but Hiccup's disgust seemed so far removed that it had no effect on him at all. All he felt was that he loved his children so much.
Valka yapped at him enthusiastically. Hiccup picked her up and carried her over to a pool, Finn trotting at his heels. "Looks like someone needs a bath~" He cleaned up the baby dragons as best he could, then glanced up at Toothless, who almost always shadowed him.
He had learned from watching other dragon families that making a high-pitched baby noise and poking at a dragon's mouth, particularly if it was a parent dragon, tended to result in barfed-up food. Toothless had given Hiccup weird looks the first few times he'd done it, but the Night Fury was used to the routine now, and the hatchlings were fed properly without a fuss.
"That's right, you two. Come to us when you're hungry, all right? Don't just jump on the first roadkill you happen to come across..."
o.o.o.o.o
In practical terms, things pretty much went back to how they had been before Hiccup had returned from his abduction.
Morale, however, was low. Hiccup had gone from a joke to a celebrity to a traitor; the villagers' usual stress often manifested as vitriol toward the man who had as good as attacked and stolen from his own tribe. The only reason Astrid, the wife who hadn't recognized her husband's dangerous madness until it was too late, didn't suffer more than quiet gossip was because she had been so decisive about dealing with the problem, but there still wasn't much warmth in most of the villagers' interactions with her.
Gobber stayed shut up in his house for several days, this time not even responding to the little twins as he had before. When he did finally drag himself back to work, he never smiled or whistled, and very rarely even spoke. The only times he seemed like even a ghost of his former self was whenever it was his turn to look after Hiccup's children.
About a year after Snotlout got married, his wife fell in battle. Despite the age difference, their marriage had been decent enough - she was a good cook and a skilled lover, which were the qualities he most cared about in a spouse; he had been fresh young meat in her bed, and they'd suited each other as far as their classic Viking talents and attitudes. Snotlout's sadness at losing his wife was genuine, but he had no regrets, for they had done well by each other and she had lived as long as could be expected before dying with honor.
Despite his sadness, there was no reason for him to dwell on his loss. It didn't take long after the funeral before Snotlout was once more setting his sights on the female he'd desired ever since she had started developing into a woman.
Astrid had been alone for months. It was so hard to keep ignoring her empty bed, she was now older and more experienced and felt more confident about being able to manage a man like Snotlout, and from a political standpoint, a Jorgenson would be her most strategic choice for a new husband.
"Awww, come on, babe, I- Wait, what?!"
"I said yes, Snotlout."
"Wh-?! As in...as in, yes, you'll marry me?!"
"Yes, Snotlout - that is, IF your morning gift is-"
"WHOO HOOOOOOOOO I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT, OH YEAH! SNOTLOUT, SNOTLOUT, OI OI OI~!"
'What am I getting into?' she groaned silently, though she couldn't help smiling a little at his childish delight.
It was strange going through the wedding ceremony again, how familiar everything seemed yet how different she felt. She was glad that she didn't have to go through the trouble of moving again, since she'd convinced all the people who mattered that it made more sense for the chieftain's new spouse to move into her house rather than the other way around. She wasn't particularly looking forward to being married to Snotlout, or being married at all, but the restoration of her sex life would be worth it.
Or so she thought at first. She put up with Snotlout's leers and ridiculous comments during the wedding feast, since that was only to be expected from him - but then the door to their bedchamber closed and he was consuming her with his delighted, lust-crazed eyes like she was the most delicious haunch of meat he had ever seen, and he was tearing her clothes off and pushing her onto the bed before she was mentally prepared. "Wait-!"
He had her naked now, but was still fully dressed himself as he attacked her flesh with sloppy kisses.
"Slow down, I don't-" She broke off with a squeal as he pushed his hand [*censored because FFN is stupid*], his touch surprisingly gentle even as his mouth practically [*censored because FFN is stupid*]. She gasped for breath, her mind whirling with a mix of pleasure and alarm. This was not the way she did things, she didn't want to be so helplessly at his mercy like this, he was too heavy to push away, she couldn't believe how much she disliked something that felt so good. "Snot...lout...!"
Finally his hands left her and she had a chance to think, but before she could do much more than sit up, he had his pants off, and he didn't bother to undress further before he pushed her back down and shoved himself into her.
She couldn't help the noise she made that he apparently found encouraging, he was going too fast for her to collect her thoughts, she was trapped under him and [*censored because FFN is stupid*], gasping and moaning as he cried out praises of her body that were as insulting as they were complimentary.
'It wasn't...like this...with Hiccup...'
Over the course of their wedding night, she couldn't decide if it was better or worse than it had been with Hiccup. The first time Snotlout spent himself, making an incoherent whining sound of bliss, she finally managed to shove him off of her. She stripped off the rest of his clothes and threw them right out the window, ignoring his feeble protests, then climbed back onto the bed and made him pleasure her until he was ready for a second round.
She made sure she was on top for that, and this time it was much better, with the exception of his ecstatic shouting and screaming. Hiccup had never been so unabashedly noisy like that, or so gleefully and worshipfully derogatory...
o.o.o.o.o
As a lover, Snotlout was more aggressive than Hiccup, which Astrid (usually) liked. He was, surprisingly, a little smaller than Hiccup, which she adjusted to. He was a bit more kinky than Hiccup, which she...liked. Sort of. Sometimes.
He was also more selfish than Hiccup, which she most certainly did not like.
He was so proud of his own manliness, and seemed to assume that she, as the female, was automatically subordinate to him. He seemed to think that he owned her now that he was her husband, that he could grab her and touch her and use her body for his pleasure whenever and however he liked.
"Not now, Snotlout," she hissed, shoving him away. She was glad that her mother and the children were staying with another family during the traditional private first month of a marriage. Astrid hoped that her new husband would keep his hands off her when the twins were watching, or that she could at least train him to be discrete in front of them...she couldn't help feeling uneasy about Hiccup's children witnessing another man touching their mother in such a way. "I have two meetings and a dispute to settle, just wait until tonight."
"You have time for an appetizer, though, right?" he said eagerly, his fingers climbing up her thigh. She hit him savagely so that he fell back with a cry, and marched on to her duties.
That night, she was half expecting her husband to be sulky and set on denying her satisfaction, but instead, Snotlout seized her the instant she walked through the front door, hoisted her up so that she automatically wrapped her legs around his waist for support, and started kissing her lips and throat as he carried her toward the bed, one hand eagerly grasping under her shirt.
'So I'm not going to be punished for hitting him...' This was how it was supposed to be: a properly manly husband who could take a hit, who lusted for her day and night, who couldn't keep his hands off her and thought she was the most beautiful creature in the world.
She was shocked to find that she didn't entirely like it. It was nice to not have to worry about the consequences of her violence, but she had liked being the one in control of her sex life, and even how Hiccup had always fought her as if she was an enemy worth his effort and consideration. Snotlout didn't even seem to see her inside her own body, as if her perfect physical features were the only parts of her that mattered to him.
"I'm starving, wifey," he said playfully as he tossed her down on the bed. "How about getting me something to eat, huh?"
"No," she gasped, but wasn't quick enough; he'd managed to get her leggings off and was kneeling [*censored because FFN is stupid*]. "No, Snotlout!" She'd learned that he was always happy enough to go down on her, but that he then expected her to return the favor, and that was something she refused to even consider ever doing for him. She hadn't yet figured out how to persuade him to accept a one-sided arrangement, and didn't want to risk 'owing' him before then.
He struggled to lift her shielding hands away, then when he was unsuccessful, he ducked down and started [*censored because FFN is stupid*] persuasively at her fingers.
"Stop. Stop or I'll break your nose."
He grinned at her lasciviously. "I dare you." He seemed surprised when she did successfully manage to beat him away, but he quickly got over it once she shimmied out of the rest of her clothes and allowed him to climb on top of her, which was a rare occurrence.
He usually didn't mind letting her be in the dominant position, but it was as if he was keeping track and made sure that he was on top more often, as if that was a way of establishing his role in the relationship as well. Astrid would have none of it, and learned to take him by surprise and gain the advantage, until he developed a new rule in their game that always greatly boosted his 'score.' 'Games,' she thought. 'Now that is just like it was with Hiccup, the power struggles and the trade-offs and working the system...'
Except that Hiccup had been easier to play with. As long as he got the bare minimum of whatever he wanted, he was willing to give more than he took, unlike Snotlout who was determined to 'win' even when he was already ahead.
Astrid was still stronger than Snotlout overall, but he was a lot stronger than Hiccup had been, and so much harder for her to physically control for long. She was utterly horrified the first time she found herself facedown beneath him, unable to break free. "NO, Snotlout!"
"Don't worry, babe, I know what I'm doing. I promise you'll like it."
"NO!"
She hated it, completely hated it, but he triumphantly showed her a slick finger as if that was proof that he'd been right. "See? Told ya you'd like it."
"I HATE YOU!" She'd kicked him out of the house for nearly three days after that, furious at him but also at her own traitorous body. 'Just because it felt good doesn't mean I wanted it! Just because you could control my body doesn't make it okay that you did that to me...!'
At least it was curing her sex addiction. Not enough for her to make his banishment from her bed permanent, but...she didn't crave sex anymore, the way she had when Hiccup was her lover. Sometimes, she actually wasn't in the mood for sex, or even dreaded it; sometimes, even when Snotlout had been amenable to her stated desires and less selfish than usual, she would still feel dissatisfied as she lay in his arms afterward.
Another problem was that even though Snotlout was brash and crude and arrogant and selfish and idiotic, he wasn't entirely bad. She couldn't hate him as much as she wanted to, which meant she was reluctant to give up on him so quickly. Sometimes his compliments actually felt like compliments, sometimes he'd do unexpectedly sweet things like bring her flowers or make her dinner (his cooking, though not as good as Hiccup's, was surprisingly decent). Sometimes, instead of his usual practice of grabbing her [*censored because FFN is stupid*] and sticking his tongue in her mouth, he'd simply put his arms around her and inhale the scent of her hair and tell her she smelled like the best soap ever.
Then other times, it'd be the pushy entitlement routine, and she'd hate him all over again. Like right now, as she clenched her teeth to try to stay silent. She was bent over with her hands pinned above her head as her husband merrily pounded away behind her, and she refused to give him the satisfaction of her moans. 'This is not okay, this is not what I signed up for, you might be my husband but even you are not allowed to rape me, I don't care how wet you made sure I was before you shoved yourself into me, I did NOT agree to this-'
She was struck by sudden realization. She hadn't thought it was possible for a man to be raped by a woman, yet that was the accusation Hiccup had always leveled at her. She wasn't quite sure if real rape could even exist within the bonds of marriage, and she hadn't thought that someone could be a victim if they physically enjoyed what was done to them, yet...wasn't that exactly what was happening to her now? The man holding her down and thrusting into her was her husband, and her body was betraying her, but she hadn't wanted it like this and he hadn't listened to her protests. She didn't feel loved - she felt humiliated and suffocated and helpless.
'That's what I did to Hiccup,' she realized, wanting to scream with horror. 'What is happening to me right now... I did this to Hiccup. I did it to him every - single - night.'
She was desperate to keep silent, she had never let Snotlout see her tears before, but this was too much. She hoped he was too far gone on pleasure to notice, she hoped-
Why was he stopping?
"Hey...are you crying?"
"GET OFF ME!" she screamed, and then sobs were bursting from her uncontrollably.
"Whoa! Whoa, whoa, I- I didn't mean-"
His grip had loosened, and she was finally able to break free. She stormed up to the loft and crouched down by the bed frame, hugging her arms around herself. She wept because she'd been overpowered and used like a lifeless object, she wept out of remorse for something it had taken far too long to realize she'd done wrong, she wept because Snotlout had seen her cry and her humiliation was complete, and now she wept because the loft was SO EMPTY without him, her real husband, Hiccup, gone forever, he was a traitor but all she could remember was his gentleness and his kindness and his-
She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and she turned away in dismay, wishing that she'd gotten dressed first, feeling so vulnerable and frightened but having nothing except her hair and her limbs to cover her nakedness with.
"Babe?" Snotlout sounded hesitant, uncertain.
"GET OUT!"
Of course he ignored her, but his arms were gentle as they went around her. "Hey...Astrid, really, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."
"Don't touch me," she ground out. He was still naked, too. She couldn't bear the touch of his bare skin on hers.
"I'm sorry," Snotlout said earnestly. "I know I can be too much for the ladies sometimes, but nothin' I can do about it...it comes along with the territory, heh."
She burst into laughter, surprising herself. He really meant it. He really thought he was such a stud, he had no idea how ridiculous he was. It was almost cute. She still wasn't about to forgive him for forcing himself on her, but she could see a little bit how a certain type of woman might find him endearing.
She struggled a little, though not very much, when he pulled her into his arms to carry her. "Come on back downstairs, I'll get you something to drink," he said encouragingly.
"I don't want something to drink."
He kissed her on the nose as if she was an adorably protesting child. "Of course you do. Come on, babe, let me make it up to you. I really am sorry."
"Snotlout," she said seriously, taking his face between her hands, and he actually paused and looked at her for a moment. "Don't ever do that to me again. Holding me down like that... I don't like it. This isn't some coy 'No really means yes' thing; I really don't like it."
He frowned and started to reach between her legs to check. Furious again, she slapped him hard across the face, struggled to her feet, and stormed down the stairs.
Their marriage didn't even last a month. Before they had finished consuming the mead from their wedding, they were divorced.
To be continued...
Author's Notes: I looked up Viking divorce as research for the genderswap, and discovered that there were actually only three legal grounds for divorce - severe physical abuse, financial insolvency by one or both partners, and if the husband tried to take the wife out of the country against her will. I guess...maybe Astrid tricked Snotlout into taking her out of Berk's territory or something? (Granted, apparently the sagas list many other other, often more trivial reasons for divorce. I don't know what the relation is between the stories and the actual law.)
Source: . (Though a lot of the saga-related text is identical to some of the text here: . )
Some of Astrid & Snotlout's sex scenes actually originated when I wondered what HiccStrid in this AU would have been like if Hiccup really had been a woman and Astrid had been a man. For a while, I just thought it'd be a "What if?" scenario I'd never have reason to write, but then I was trying to figure out whether Astrid would have tried to remarry in the years between Hiccup's exile and their reunion. I didn't really want her to, and I found a way to get Fishlegs and Tuffnut out of the way, but then as I was experimenting with what SnotStrid's sex life would be like, it struck me as being a perfect opportunity for Astrid to experience the same kind of thing she had put Hiccup through. I didn't consciously use the genderswapped HiccStrid sex scenes, but the SnotStrid ones I drafted ended up being similar in some ways (though with adjustments made to keep them in character), like male-Astrid not considering it to be rape as long as it wasn't physically harmful.
Ftr, I did end up starting to write the HiccStrid genderswap after all, mostly because my muse was practically writing it without my permission. X''D