A/N: I've been holding off on posting this for a little while to build a buffer of chapters. Don't worry. This story is far from dead.

Moving on, did I mention that this story would be short? In that vein, no review responses this time.

…

Astrid's day started off fretfully, with her hurrying to don her uniform - black shorts and a grey shirt with the logo of the hospital where she had trained and done some work as a physical therapist in the past - and eat breakfast so that she had time to do… something.

Something nice for Hiccup, to help her figure him out some more.

Not because she thought he deserved it. She wasn't quite at that stage yet, even if her Uncle (and if she were honest with herself, she did as well) wanted her to be.

Sighing, she flicked on her tv to the weather channel and sank into her sofa with a bowl of cereal waiting on the arm immediately to her right. The weather was always a matter of great importance on Berk.

…Well to start off, Bucket reports that the bucket on his head is feeling incredibly tight this morning, suggesting a large storm closing in, which has been confirmed by our meteorologists. So our advice is to button up coats, raise hoods and keep a firm grip on your umbrellas. Things aren't going to be calm today…

Astrid flicked the tv off as it hit her.

Wolfing down the rest of her cereal, she snatched up her umbrella, grabbed her coat and was out the door not five minutes later.

From there, she was hurrying through the streets to her destination while deep in thought on what to say in the conversation that would follow.

…

To his dismay at later having to deal with the development, Hiccup opened the door just in time for a roll of thunder to break and rain to cascade down.

However, the weather was not his main concern at that moment. Rather, it was the blonde female on his doorstep, who had knocked on his door in the moments prior.

"How the fuck did you find my house? Did you speak to Snotlout or the Twins?"

"Let's just say you were distracted when I followed you home yesterday. Wanted to make sure you got home okay, after…"

"After what?"

"Nothing important."

"Uh-huh."

"Anyway, do you want to borrow my umbrella?" Astrid prompted, waving the accessory around while still holding it over her head.

Hiccup's eyes narrowed and he searched her face for ulterior motives. "Why?"

"Extending an olive branch. You should try it sometime."

"I'll pass, thanks," said Hiccup, turning to head back inside.

"Shame. Guess your mother never taught you manners."

Hiccup stopped in his tracks, then turned with an expression that made Antarctica seem as warm as a sauna. Astrid instinctively backed up a step. Then another few as Hiccup advanced until mere centimetres separated them.

"Listen here you frigid bitch. Never let me catch you talking shit about my mother. You can hate me all you want; the feeling is mutual, but never say anything like that again."

Then Hiccup turned and continued on his way back inside, slamming the front door shut behind him.

Astrid let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Alright then. Time for Plan B.

…

Later, when Hiccup was in his office at the base, there was a knock on the door.

Hiccup groaned, then stood and approached the door. "Really Astrid? Are you going to try this again?" He jerked the door open. "Try something new-"

Astrid wasn't on the other side of the door. Well, she was, but she wasn't alone, and she hadn't knocked on the door. Rather, a military police officer had done that.

Hiccup waved a hand with forced cheerfulness. "Thuggory. How can I help you?"

"Morning. Have you been to any physical therapy appointments lately, sir? Astrid here has informed us that you haven't."

Hiccup sighed, looking past Astrid - who was looking rather smug by this point - with narrowed eyes, then refocusing on Thuggory. "I haven't, no. I suspect you require me to go along to them from now on."

"Yes. Otherwise, I'll have to arrest you, for potentially being unfit for duty."

"Very well. Do you want to escort me there or am I free to walk to her office by myself? Just so I don't do anything else wrong."

Thuggory rolled his eyes. "You're good. Go on now, both of you."

…

Hiccup flopped onto the couch in Astrid's office. "Well played Hofferson. You've got me in your office. What now?"

She looked at him with hands on her hips. "Get off the couch. I want to see how well you walk with that prosthetic."

"Not a chance. Not until you answer my question."

"Now we go through a physical therapy session together, it ends and you go back to your work. That's it."

"That's it, huh? And why do you want to help me? After yesterday, I thought you would want to avoid me as much as possible; that was my goal after all. What changed? Or did nothing change and you're just being annoyingly persistent?"

"That's the ultimate question, isn't it? I'm not going to answer it. One question, one answer. If you want more answers, get up and walk around the room. I'll tell you anything you want once we're done here."

Hiccup fixed her with a serious look. "Is that a promise that you'll keep? That I get to ask anything I want after this? Might want to reconsider that."

"Well, us Hoffersons are meant to be fearless. So why not? Now, get up before I start sounding like a broken record."

This earned Astrid a small amount of laughter from the man on her couch. It sounded nice to her ears. Much nicer than his screams from the day before at any rate.

Almost before she knew it, she was offering a hand to help him get up. Almost immediately, Hiccup looked suspicious of her hand.

"What? I promise it won't bite."

Hiccup's face darkened and his voice was firm when he replied. "I don't need any help."

Astrid sighed, suddenly a tad exasperated. "Just take the hand, Hiccup."

"No," he responded, facing away from her on the couch and drawing his hands to his chest.

"Hiccup," she said, her tone low as she snatched for one of his hands, only for him to draw it out of her grasp just as quickly.

"Why can't you just let me help you?!" She snapped.

His face shot to hers, eyes cold and voice louder than hers. "Why would I let someone like you help me?! I was doing just fine in Afghanistan. I don't want your help!"

As he finished, he shoved her away. She stumbled and fell to the floor as he got up, at last, ignoring her completely as he started forward.

Though he did pause by the door. "I don't trust anyone easily Astrid. If you want to know exactly why, come by my office in ten minutes. Otherwise, I'll tell Thuggory about what I did and get discharged. Only fair, right?"

Before she could reply, he was gone.

…

"Hiccup?" came her voice.

Hiccup stopped pacing and swiftly approached the door. Taking a breath to steel himself, he opened the door.

He looked her over, wringing his hands. "Come in, Astrid. Did I hurt you back there?"

"No, don't worry."

He couldn't heed her advice.

Turning away, he hurried back to his desk at a pace that would suggest he was on fire. "Come sit down and let me know; do you take Tea or Coffee?"

Astrid blinked owlishly at him. "Why?"

He was still standing when he replied. "Because I think I owe you an apology and an explanation for what happened back there, and the explanation isn't short as you might imagine. So, Tea or Coffee?"

…

A/N: Obviously the dialogue is hinting about a few things, so I can tell you that the next chapter will consist of a number of flashbacks to explain the reason that this Hiccup is like this. Strap in, folks.