Chapter 22:

Astrid woke up the next morning feeling quite well rested, which was surprising to her because she'd almost been killed just two days before. A sense of clarity washed over her as her current situation was solidified with the new day. The boy that Astrid could now finally admit to herself she'd had a growing crush on cared for her in the same way, and it felt amazing. It was comforting to know she could now share her experiences with someone in that kind of relationship, something the old Astrid would never have dreamed of but something the new Astrid was relieved she could now express.

Springing out of bed, she quickly peeked under the bandages over her arm to check how her wound was healing and threw on her normal outfit once again, complete with spiked skirt, before heading downstairs to find her parents sharing a pot of tea in the sitting room, evidently now back from the party, although even they had stayed out longer than Astrid herself.

"Morning dear." Freya greeted her, looking up at her daughter as she descended the staircase. "Enjoy yourself last night?"

"I did." Astrid affirmed cheerily, not specifying exactly where she had enjoyed herself…

"How long did you stay at the party? We found you in bed already by the time we came home." Her father addressed her this time, luckily not sounding suspicious of her.

"Not super long. I just met up with my friends for a bit, but I was still really tired last night from the day before so I guess I went home kind of early." Astrid explained. She'd find the right time to tell her parents about Arkyn, but for now she told herself not yet. There was a certain magic lingering from the previous evening since she and Arkyn were still the only two to know about their meeting…about their dancing…about how they'd kissed. Her mind wandered briefly before her father spoke again.

"Well, as long as you had enough fun is all…" He said, sympathy in his voice for his child's discomfort.

Astrid smiled and nodded, grabbing her axe and heading for the back door, calling to her parents as she left the house to get Stormfly. "I'm off to the arena. I'll see you later, I guess, if you don't need anything."

"Nothing from you today, darling. Say hi to Arkyn for us though." Her mother responded.

Astrid froze and turned on the heel of her boot. "Why…?" She asked incredulously, fearing her parents somehow found out already.

"Because the party last night was lovely, and we didn't get a chance to congratulate him." Freya said simply, a face of concern on her face seeing Astrid's confusing reaction.

"Oh- oh right, of course. I'll let him know." Astrid laughed awkwardly, quickly stepping out of her home and escaping to her dragon before her parents could say anything else. "That was a close one, girl." Astrid cooed to the Nadder, who had not flown since Astrid visited Arkyn when he was still in the healer's hut. It was good to be back, though, and she climbed aboard with new enthusiasm, taking off and heading for the arena.

—

Arkyn stood behind his own home, playing with Stinger and wondering what to fill his time with. The Triplestryke was rather flustered that morning, and squawked incessantly in an attempt to get his rider to take him out for a flight, but to no avail. All that came was more fish.

2 days. Arkyn thought. How hard can it be? Turns out, much harder than he was telling himself. Even though he and Astrid were much closer now, Arkyn didn't want to be a bother to her 24/7, partly because he felt he still didn't deserve that privilege, but also because deep down, something was telling him he still had something to prove, and that something was being able to live for himself. It was then he remembered what Astrid had said to him yesterday. "Find something to be more passionate about."

Quickly making up his mind as to what his plans for the day would be based on these words, Arkyn begrudgingly said goodbye to Stinger and began walking towards the forge, silently thanking Astrid for her motivation and wondering what she was up to herself.

It was a short while later that he reached the modest shop. Taking a quick look around, Arkyn stepped into the small entryway to find Gobber bent over a shield, swearing like a sailor as he tried to fit a metal ring over its wooden frame. The boy cleared his throat to get the older man's attention, and the two limbed man glanced up from his work, a toothy grin lighting up his face.

"Arkyn! Me boy, what can I do fer you?" He said happily, speaking again before Arkyn even had a chance to answer. "Great party last night, and congratulations by the way. I can't remember the last time I downed so many flasks of m-"

"Thanks, Gobber." Arkyn cut him off, aware of where the sentence was going. "But I came here to make a sword, think you could help me with that?"

"A sword? Why, we have plenty of swords already for sale, why don't you just purchase one of those? I'll even throw in the hero's discount…" the gentleman winked and pointed to the weapon's stash, offering for the young Viking to look at a few.

"I appreciate it, but I was wanting a…rather specific style, if that's alright." He walked further into the shop, whispering in Gobber's ear the exact thing he desired. This project would have to remain a secret for now…

The portly man nodded, smiling a little. "Well tha' would certainly be interesting. If ye really want to work on it yourself, why don't you go ahead and get started, and I'll be 'round te guide you 'soon as I'm done with this shield." He said, pointing a hooked hand at the mess in front of him. "Or fer that matter, Hiccup could help you, too. He's back in his workshop tinkering with Thor knows what…"

"Why don't we keep this between us until it's finished?" Arkyn asked, counting on the blacksmith's trust. "It's pretty special to me."

"Whatever ye say, boss. Now the faster ye leave me alone, the faster we can get started."

"Got it." Arkyn confirmed, quickly departing the Viking's personal space and grabbing some parchment to sketch his idea on. It would be the first of several pieces he'd be making, all for the same purpose, all to be unveiled at once. First to Astrid, then to the rest of his friends.

Excited to see his visions become a reality, Arkyn put his head down and got to work, looking forward to not only the result but also what he would learn from Gobber, always looking to diversify his skills.

—

Hiccup opened the door that led from his workshop in the back of the forge to the rest of the building, trying to find more scrap metal that Gobber wasn't using to work on one of his inventions. Instead, he was surprised to find Arkyn there with his mentor, both bent over a piece of paper discussing the drawings laid upon it, of which Hiccup could not get a good enough look at to discern.

The sound of the door closing behind him caused both males to look up with guilty faces, as though they'd just been caught doing something foul, and Arkyn quickly rolled up the paper at the sight of Hiccup standing there.

"Arkyn?" Hiccup exclaimed, looking suspicious. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm…working on something." He hesitated, deciding to at least give Hiccup that much info.

"Oh yeah? Let me take a look." Hiccup half demanded.

Gobber then spoke up. "Oooooh no ye don'. This is something that doesn't concern you…yet." Arkyn was surprised at his willingness to keep a secret, given the man's track record of being a loud mouth.

"Really?" Hiccup asked, very unamused. "What do you mean 'yet'?"

"You'll find out when it's done." Arkyn told him, giving a slight smile. "If you're as nosy as Astrid, you'll probably find out sooner." Whoops. Hiccup hadn't been around either time Astrid had stalked Arkyn, and the Stryerson kicked himself at the slip up.

Another customer showed up and Gobber went to go take care of them, but Hiccup furrowed his brow at Arkyn's words, eventually thinking nothing of it, because he too knew Astrid was nosy. After all…she'd followed him all the way to Toothless' cove several months prior. The mention of her name still piqued his interest, however.

"Hey, speaking of Astrid, did you see her at all last night?" Hiccup asked, concern in his voice.

Arkyn and Hiccup now stood a comfortable distance from each other, the new arrival holding his rolled up paper in his hands, the two friends casually talking in the absence of the older blacksmith.

"Well, yeah." Arkyn started, quickly catching himself when he remembered Astrid's request for confidentiality. "Just at the party though. Why do you ask? You were there, too…"

"Because she left right after that fight broke out. Wait a minute, you were there for that, right?"

"Did she? And of course I saw the fight. How could anyone miss such a spectacle?" Arkyn laughed, sensing he was on thin ice. Lying to someone who'd been so kind to him wasn't very fun, but Astrid's wishes had been so wholesome, and disrespecting them would probably leave him somewhere even worse.

"Okay…I thought so, but no one saw much of you after my dad's speech, either."

Uh oh. "Uhm, yeah, sorry about that. I got pretty swamped after that one. Your dad sure knows how to rile up a crowd. I wanted to make it back to you guys, but after a while it just got to be too much for me. I went home a little early."

"Huh…" Hiccup remarked, looking down and trying to piece things together in his head, the picture not much clearer now.

"I'm sure Astrid's fine, though. Haven't you seen her this morning?"

"No, I wake up early to light the forge on the days I work. Almost no one is awake by then."

Arkyn nodded his head, sympathizing with the Berkian. Back when he was still getting combat training, his days were early, too.

Hiccup spoke again. "You know, I'm sure she's fine too, I just wish she stayed a little longer last night. She barely showed up at all…"

"I get that." Arkyn forced himself to say, although he was beginning to become suspicious of Hiccup's comments. Saying anything might blow his cover, however, and there was no way to be sure yet, although the more he thought about it the more the possibility of Hiccup also having a crush on Astrid seemed plausible.

"So you're really not going to tell me what you're making, huh?" Hiccup asked again.

"Have some patience, will ya? It won't take me and Gobber very long…4 days max. Just try and keep your busy hands out of my stuff." He joked, referring to Hiccup's knack for tinkering.

"Oy! You two." Gobber had finished with the customer and now turned to face the two boys, interrupting their conversation. "Can ye stop yammering fer a moment and watch the shop while I go retrieve some tools tha' the tanner borrowed from me?"

They nodded together, knowing his question was more of an order, and Gobber stepped out, walking in the direction of the tanners and leaving the two teens alone in the otherwise empty forge.

—

Astrid grumbled as she landed Stormfly in the town square. There had been no one to see in the arena when she'd gotten there. Big surprise…all her friends were probably snoozing the day away in the wake of the late night party, or so she'd thought. Astrid was in search of Arkyn specifically, and remembering he couldn't fly, she'd also stopped by his house to unfortunately find him missing there as well.

About to give up, the girl's last two ideas were the town square and the cliffs, although it was doubtful Arkyn had climbed all the way back up there on an otherwise day off simply because he couldn't find anything else to do. Not spotting her new companion, Astrid was preparing to take off again when Gobber came hobbling into the small scene, spotting her at its center.

"Aye, Lass? If yer looking fer Hiccup, he's workin' at the forge taday."

"Not Hiccup actually, but thanks anyway. Say, Gobber? Would you have seen Arkyn anywhere today? I haven't seen him since the party." She found it strange that the portly Viking would assume she was looking for Hiccup, but they were indeed good friends so it was nothing too out of the ordinary.

"Ah. Arkyn's at the forge too. Don't expect te find ou' why though, he's sworn me te secrecy." The man said.

The forge? Astrid thought. She supposed it wasn't that out of the ordinary, just not what she'd expected. "I appreciate it, Gobber." Astrid thanked him, taking off for real this time, arriving at the small shop a short time later as luckily it was not that far away.

Unfortunately she now needed to come up with a real reason for being there. It was true that Astrid did drop by the forge unannounced on occasion, but this time it wasn't for Hiccup, it was for Arkyn. Deciding on her cover story, Astrid strolled into the shop to find the two boys talking.

"Hiccup? I need my axe sharpened." She called, pretending to only notice Arkyn after the fact. "What are you doing here?" Astrid asked this with her best acting skills in play, feigning surprise.

The two boys looked up quickly, halting whatever their conversation had been, and stared at the girl that now stood there.

"Hi Astrid."

"Hi Astrid."

They both stammered at once, clearly not planning on her visit. "Astrid, didn't I just sharpen your axe last week?" Hiccup asked, walking forward to take a look at her weapon, slightly confused. As he did so, Arkyn quietly and sneakily slipped the paper he was holding in his hands behind his back and dropped it on the table he was leaning against so Astrid wouldn't see it.

"Yes, you did, but I…think it got a little dull when I dropped it after I fell off of Stormfly." Astrid hesitated, scrambling for some sort of believable excuse as Hiccup inspected the blade.

"Well it looks ok to me, but I'll sharpen it real fast if it makes you feel better." He said, green eyes fleeting over the sleek curves of her trademark accessory. "How's your arm, by the way?" Hiccup asked, moving towards his grindstone.

Astrid blinked. "Oh! It's getting better."

"Good!" The Haddock smiled, beginning the sharpening. "Arkyn told me about what Gothi said to him, too. I'm just glad you two are ok."

"Better that than on a boat to Valhalla." Arkyn joked, standing up straight.

Astrid noticed that his gloves were back on since he'd removed them the previous evening. Oh well. She thought. There would be more chances to hold hands with him later. The poor guy had only just become comfortable with taking them off in front of her. With how much she knew they meant to him, that certainly could not have been easy. At least he wore a smile in the present moment, eyeing her warmly. This reminded her of why she had to go through the trouble of making up dumb stories in the first place, and she circled back to her original question.

"So why are you here, anyway?"

"Just hanging out." Arkyn said, and luckily Hiccup remained silent. "Luckily it's easy to walk to the forge."

Astrid smiled, although she found it strange that Arkyn's first instinct was to hang out with Hiccup rather than come and find her, especially after last night. Something Gobber had said suddenly rang aloud in her mind. "Don't expect to find out why though, he's sworn me to secrecy." Well what had that meant…? The man could have been joking, but knowing his typically loud mouth and bad habit of speaking without a filter it was unlikely. Was Arkyn trying to hide something from her? Perhaps he was trying to hide something from Hiccup… She decided to table it for later, wanting to wait until they were alone in case that was the situation.

"Hey, Astrid?" Hiccup's voice snapped her out of her thinking. "Was everything ok last night? You said you'd be back and then never showed."

Shit. Thought Astrid. She'd meant to just check on Arkyn and then return to the party, but things hadn't exactly worked out that way…not that she regretted it, but it still put her on the spot again. "Oh, umm…" The girl was really scrambling now, and the pause became suspiciously long. "Stormfly has been acting all strange since we fought the Screaming Death. I think she got really spooked when she sensed it coming on the beach, and last night when I left for the party I knew it wouldn't be long before she started getting restless again. I got back to find her chewing a hole in the ground, looking for a snake or something. It took me all night to finally calm her down…" Astrid trailed off, trying to make her emotions of worry seem believable, when luckily her Nadder was as happy as ever.

Predictably though, Hiccup bought it, expressing his sympathies for the girl's companion. "Wow…I'm so sorry, Astrid. I didn't know."

"Neither did I." Arkyn said, giving her a wink when Hiccup wasn't looking.

"It's ok Hiccup, she was doing better this morning!" Astrid said, trying to sound chipper so the Haddock didn't get any ideas.

Hiccup smiled again, not saying more, keeping his focus on the work he was completing.

A brief silence fell over the 3 as no one really knew what else to say, an odd awkwardness penetrating the mood.

"What time is it?" Arkyn asked, ending the spell.

"Nearly mid-day." Astrid answered, glancing out the small shop door towards the sun's position.

Arkyn nodded. "You two ready for lunch?" He looked at Astrid specifically, who smiled back.

Hiccup finally finished his sharpening and looked up, rejoining the other two near the center of the room as he handed Astrid her axe back. "I still have some more work to do. Gobber usually has to dismiss me." He said with a frown.

Astrid reciprocated the expression. "Well that's too bad…I could eat."

"Well by all means, don't wait for me!" Hiccup protested, nearly ushering them out of the door. "We eat together almost every day. I'll catch you guys some other time. Maybe even tonight…"

It was obvious he was disappointed in the situation, likely out of the endless monotony forge work offered these days, but Astrid was not going to complain about the notion of having lunch with Arkyn when it was just the two of them. "If you're certain…and thanks for sharpening my axe!" She called as she left the shop, Arkyn strolling out not long after. He was sure to hide his drawings before leaving them unattended on the table.

"My pleasure as always, Astrid. Happy to do it." Hiccup called back. And with that, the pair left him, walking towards the Great Hall together. Stormfly trailed behind Astrid, slightly annoyed they weren't flying, but with Arkyn's condition it was the respectful thing to do. The girl patted the dragon's snout empathetically, reassuring her companion that they'd be airborne once more soon enough.

—

"Hoooly Thor…" Arkyn exclaimed as he and Astrid stepped into the Great Hall. Evidence from last night's party was strewn everywhere, decorating the space in a less than desirable state. Overturned mead flasks were thrown about the floor, and Arkyn's boots felt sticky in the half dried liquid as the pair approached the group's usual table, although they found it empty and happily occupied it in the relative silence of the mostly empty building.

"I told you." Astrid chimed. "Berk loves to party…"

"Can't say I regret not hanging around for all this." Arkyn remarked grimly, smiling across the table at the Hofferson.

She grinned back. "Neither can I."

Arkyn sighed, enjoying the now calmed down nature of the recently bustling Great Hall. "Well this is nice, isn't it? It's just us."

"It is nice." She agreed, grabbing one of his hands under the table and squeezing the soft leather of his glove in her own.

"I take it your parents don't know yet?" Arkyn asked, gently letting her hands go and getting up again to get a plate of food. Astrid followed closely.

"No, not yet. It hasn't felt right. I can't keep making up these fake stories though. I'm not very good at it…"

"Neither am I. There were a few close calls in the forge before you showed up. Hiccup just asks too many questions."

"He really does, but you know his heart's in the right place. He's the caring type."

"I'll bet he is…" Arkyn replied, hinting at his suspicion of the Haddock's crush. Astrid didn't pick up on it, however.

She asked another question as the pair collected their meals. "Were you really just 'hanging out' with him? Is that something you two do?"

Arkyn faltered slightly. "Well…sort of. I'm sure it is something we'd do if the circumstances set it up."

"But…..? Spill."

"Astrid, do you trust me?"

"I suppose I have to now, don't I?"

"Yep, you sure do." He grinned. "I can't tell you right now, but I promise once I'm done what I need to get done you'll be the first to know. Besides, you're the one who told me to find something to be passionate about. Just give me a few days."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Fine. A few days. It better be worth it though."

"I hope it will be." Arkyn smiled, beginning to eat.

There was a pause as they enjoyed their food, but it wasn't long before conversation sprang up once more. The boy spoke again.

"Astrid, um…"

"Hmm?"

"Will your parents even be ok with…me?"

"Are you worried? I don't see why they wouldn't be…"

"Well I didn't exactly ask them if we could-"

"My mom doesn't care about that."

"Why did you say your mom specifically? What about your dad?"

"Um, he's a little more protective, but he's met you already and you're still alive, so it'll probably be fine." She explained, looking at him tentatively. "Is everything ok?"

Arkyn sighed, avoiding her gaze and speaking slowly. "I just figured they'd probably want someone…"

"Someone…what?" Astrid pressed, intrigued.

"Someone who wasn't considered…'damaged goods.'"

"What?!" Astrid raised her voice, surprised at what she'd just heard. "Why would anyone think you're 'damaged goods?'"

Arkyn's words became more sharp. "I don't know Astrid, maybe because I'm an orphan from an island almost nobody has ever heard of. I know how much family name matters with these kinds of things, and right now mine means nothing. There really isn't much I can offer you…I'm not exactly the chief's son." he almost sounded embarrassed.

"You honestly think I care about that?!"

"Of course not. If you cared about that we wouldn't be sitting here right now, but your parents might. This all seems just too good to be true. Forgive me for being a little self conscious…"

"Arkyn, I…" Astrid wore a face of shock. She would have never guessed he felt this way. "Listen, you have nothing to worry about. All they want is for me to be happy, and I'm happy with you. Arkyn…being an orphan doesn't define your character. Hell, after last night everyone considers you a hero, and rightfully so! Your name already means that."

The boy folded his hands and rested his chin upon them, looking strained. "I- I know it's silly. I just know that they care about you a lot and…what if I'm not enough for the-"

He was suddenly silenced when Astrid leaned over the table and kissed him, making sure no lingering eyes were present in the hall beforehand. She made it last before sitting back down, locking eyes with Arkyn, who now said nothing.

Astrid stared at him with a pained expression. "You just let me handle that then, because you're enough for me."

Arkyn smiled, receiving the urgency of her words. What would I do without her? He thought, feeling comforted by how sure she sounded. Giving a nod of understanding, he whispered the words "thank you" and reached a hand across the table to hold one of hers.

They finished their lunch in relative peace after this, shifting the mood into small talk and jokes about recent memories. It was not much later that they parted ways, promising to meet each other in the forge again the next morning since Hiccup wouldn't be working that day. Silently, they covered their tracks and left the hall without a trace- and just in time, too. They met a large crowd of people headed to the structure for the lunch rush on their trip down the hill, luckily none of whom noticed their involvements.