Astrid was the last one to wake up that morning. Well, aside from Hiccup. She went to check up on him and saw he had moved at some point last night. He looked like he was now sleeping instead of unconscious, peacefully snuggled up on his uninjured side. Astrid was once again struck with the urge to comb her fingers threw his messy bed head but she controlled herself this time. She could see the peach fuzz Ruffnut was talking about coming in more prominently. He must shave as he didn't have the beginnings of a beard when she first meet him yesterday. It already looked better than Snotlout's or Fishlegs's incoming facial hair, and the two of them had been working on it for months. She wonders why he doesn't just grow a beard.
Astrid started imagining Hiccup with a beard till she realized she was just staring at him while he slept. She quickly left Hiccup's side and walked out to the deck. The sun was already out and bright, Astrid couldn't remember that last time she slept in for so long. She stretched in the sun, feeling the warmth on her skin. She hadn't been able to enjoy being outside yesterday with their escape and Hiccup's injury being more important. The Meathead's boat was already long gone. Astrid felt a bit disappointed that she didn't get to say goodbye to Thuggory.
"And this is called the Backbone Plier!"
"AHHHH!"
Astrid wasn't too surprised to hear Snotlout yelling, it was the fact she could here both twins cheering that confused her. Astrid looked over to the Bog-Burglar boat to see Cami on top of Snotlout, twisting his back as the twins cheered on.
"She's been showing the twins fighting moves." Fishlegs appeared behind her with breakfast. "Not that the twins need anymore moves to show off on the rest of Berk."
Astrid hummed as she took the plate Fishlegs handed to her. Dried yak meat with potatoes and radishes. Astrid dug in, eating everything but the radishes. Her and Fishlegs watched Cami teach Tuffnut how to do the Backbone Plier on Ruffnut for a moment, while Snotlout whined on the Bog-Burglar's deck. They both knew they were enjoying the last bit of normalcy they had till Hiccup woke up and then everything would change.
"So, I realized you didn't mention anything in your story about Hiccup's reaction to your engagement." Fishlegs statement seem indifferent, but she could tell how badly he wanted to know.
"That's because I didn't tell him." Astrid tried to stop the blush from forming on her face when she once again pictured herself marrying Hiccup.
"You should probably tell him soon. Otherwise he'll hear about it from someone like Gobber, or worse…" Fishlegs pointed at Snotlout who was now trying to flirt with one of the other Bog-Burglars, claiming he let Cami twist him like a rag because he didn't want to hurt her. How does he not see their looks of anger and annoyance?
"If I can find some privacy I will. I just don't want everyone to watch while I tell him."
"Tell who what?" Came a deep nasally voice from behind. Both Astrid and Fishlegs whip their heads behind them to see the tall, yet scrawny viking looking very disheveled.
"Hiccup!" Fishlegs looked like he wanted to run up to Hiccup and hug him, but he held himself back.
"Hey Fishlegs! Good to see you again."
"Good to see your still alive!" Fishlegs looked like he wanted to say something else. Most likely to apologize for how he treated the lost heir as kids, but he didn't get the chance.
"LITTLE HICCY'S AWAKE!" Tuffnut flew right into Hiccup, slamming him to the floor.
"TUFFNUT!" Astrid yelled while trying to grab him. Ruffnut laughed in the background while Cami came sprinting over to help pull the male Thorston twin off Hiccup. It was harder than expected as Tuffnut was hugging the poor guy in a vice like grip.
"Tuff, you're killing him." Snotlout came up right next to all of them, arms folded like it was a normal everyday occurrence.
"Oh, my bad." Tuffnut chuckled, finally pulling apart from Hiccup. "Sorry little Hiccy, forgot you were injured." Tuffnut yanked Hiccup off the floor. Astrid could see the surprised looks on Tuffnut and Snotlout when hiccup stood at his full height, now towering over all of them. Snotlout looks like Thor himself just came down and slapped him across the face.
"Little Hiccy's not so little anymore." Ruffnut waggled her eyebrows at him before clapping her hand on Hiccup's back as he stood up.
"You're still calling me that, huh?" Hiccup cringed at the slap hitting close to his wound.
"Of course! We gave you that nickname when we were but wee babes." Tuffnut put on a cherub like face, as if he was remembering their childhood.
"And we haven't gotten to call you it in years! We need to make up for lost time Hiccy!" Ruffnut slung her arm around her brother and joined in his flashback, looking off into the distance.
"You really don't have to." Hiccup dead panned. Too bad for him, if the twins wanna call him Hiccy there's nothing he can do about it.
"You're probably hungry so I'll grab you breakfast. Hiccy." Cami smirked at the use of Hiccup's old nickname. Hiccup simply gave her a displeased look.
"So, where have been?"
"How did you not die?"
"What happened to your leg?"
"Was it bloody?"
Astrid felt bad for Hiccup as the rest crowded around him, asking all kinds of questions. A part of her wanted to join in and ask her own questions, but she knew he would need some air so she went to help.
"Guy's calm down!" Astrid squeezed through and stood in front of Hiccup, still holding onto her plate. "Give Hiccup some space. Let him eat his breakfast, I'll check his wound, and then we can sit and talk." She turned to look at Hiccup and asked "Okay?"
"That sounds great actually! I'm starving." To prove his point, Hiccup picked up one of the radishes on Astrid's plate and popped it in his mouth. Astrid was disgusted by it, hating radishes herself.
"What? I said I was hungry." Hiccup replied when he saw her staring at him.
"No, you can have them!" She handed Hiccup her plate, which he gratefully took and started eating the rest of her radishes. "I don't eat things that taste like dirt." She finished, sticking out her tongue in disgust.
"You don't like radishes?" Hiccup asked.
"Nah, it's one of the few things Astrid refuses to eat. You could probably torture her with the stuff!" Ruffnut threw her arm around Astrid and began poking her cheek, twisting her finger into Astrid's face.
Astrid elbowed Ruffnut in the ribs, causing her to fall to the floor in pain. Cami then arrived with Hiccups own plate with more than enough food piled on. Hiccup chucked the last few radishes in his mouth and took the new plate of food. Cami directed Hiccup back into the cabin, but he went to sit by the side of the boat instead. Astrid ordered the others to get back to their chores, and most walked away with only a few last looks at Hiccup.
"You should tell him." A voice coming from right behind Astrid startled her. Cami was right behind her, unmoving even as Astrid cocked her arm back to throw a reflex punch.
"What?" Astrid asked, stopping herself before she punched the smaller blonde.
"The engagement." Cami clarified. "He has a right to know."
Astrid rubbed her forehead. "Yeah, yeah. I know, it's just weird. I never thought I'd have to talk about this with him."
"You should know…" Cami started but Astrid cut her off.
"I already know he had a crush on me."
"Actually I was gonna threaten you. Hurt him, or take advantage of his kindness, and I'll kill you." Cami said it like she was talking about the weather, completely unbothered.
Astrid looked at her blankly for a moment. "What kind of person do you think I am?" She asked, crossing her arms.
"I don't know. All I know is you treated Hiccup horribly when you were kids." Cami replied, crossing her arms back at Astrid.
Astrid wanted to stand her ground, but she knew she had no footing. Sighing she uncrossed her arms and looked down to the floor.
"I know that too. And I know he has every right to not accept my apology." Astrid looked back up at Cami, letting her know she was serious. "If Hiccup wants to break the engagement that's fine by me, I wont stop him."
"What if he doesn't want to break the engagement?" Cami egged her on.
"I'll go with whatever he decides." Astrid turned away from Cami. The moment she did her mind started spiraling with what she just said. Would she really keep the engagement if that's what Hiccup wanted? She hadn't actually thought that far ahead. Realistically they should probably keep the engagement, it could look suspicious if they broke it. Unless Hiccup had a girlfriend somewhere else. Odin's beard, he could already be married for all she knows!
Astrid snapped out of it just in time. She was now standing in front of Hiccup, unaware she had started walking in the first place. He had just looked up at her surprised, with his mouth full of food. He held up his hand, telling her to give him time to chew his food, as he quickly swallowed what he was eating.
"What's up?" He asked. He was still looking up at her, his kind green eyes looking right into her own. Her heart speed up a bit and for a moment she forgot what she was doing.
Stupid Dead Man's Charm! Astrid thought as she finally looked away, sitting down in front of him.
"I need to talk to you. It's kind of important." Astrid looked back at Hiccup who nodded and popped another radish in his mouth. Disgust over came her, she had to hold back from making a face. Thankfully, him eating those disgusting dirt flavored vegetables made him less attractive to her.
"If this is about your apology, I forgive you." He said it so offhandedly it took Astrid a second to remember when she apologized.
"Oh, you do?" She didn't know why she questioned it. Hiccup had never been a mean person or one to hold a grudge.
"Yeah, we were kids. It was ages ago. Besides, you weren't that mean to me."
Astrid opened her mouth to disagree, but thought they could talk about this later. She had to tell him before someone interrupted them.
"Can I ask you something?" Hiccup cut in when she didn't immediately reply.
"Uh, sure?"
"Why did the Outcast capture you?"
"What?" Astrid thrown off by that question and how easily it lead into what she needed to tell him.
"I'm sure you're an excellent warrior," Hiccup quickly added, waiving his hands in front of him in defense. "but that still doesn't explain why they took you? Or why my dad's meeting up with Alvin to get you back?"
"Ah, hahaha. The thing about that is…" Astrid was stalling, she didn't know why it was so hard to tell him they were engaged. "The thing is, after we thought you were dead the next one in line for Heir was Snotlout."
Hiccup nodded. "Yeah. I'm assuming my dad started training him right away."
"Well, not right away. It took him a year to finally announce…I'm getting off topic." Astrid stopped herself from babbling. "Anyways, Stoic trained Snotlout for almost a year and it did not go well."
"Really?" Hiccup looked at her confused. "I thought my dad had wanted someone like Snotlout as an Heir?"
"Yeah, he really regretted that. Snotlout was a nightmare! Worse than a dragon raid. He almost started a war with the Berserkers!"
"Well, to be fair, it's not hard to start a war with Dagur."
"No, this was with Oswald."
"Damn, that's bad! Almost impressive." Hiccup nodded to himself looking both shocked and impressed.
"Well Stoic didn't find it very impressive, and decided Snotlout wasn't cut out to be Heir."
"So, Snotlout's not the Heir anymore?"
"No."
"Then whose next in line for Heir?"
"Stoic decided the best person to be Heir was…me." Astrid waited to see what Hiccup would say.
"Obviously." Astrid was pleasantly surprised by his immediate acceptance. "But your family's not related to mine in the slightest? Not even by marriage."
"Haha, funny you should say marriage!" Astrid once again stalled while Hiccup just looked at her confused.
"I'm now Heir…because I'm your…betrothed."
It took a moment for the news to sink in. Hiccup kept looking at her then off to the side.
"What? When?" He finally asked, a blush appearing on his face.
"Well, Stoic told everyone we were engaged at birth; but technically we've only been engaged for three years."
"So we've been engaged for three years?"
"Yes."
"But the rest of Berk thinks we've been engaged since birth?"
"Yes."
"And this was all so you could be Heir when you all thought I was dead?"
"Yes."
Hiccup was quiet for a moment. "So… are we still engaged?"
"I mean, yeah…" Astrid wasn't quite sure what he meant.
"No. I mean," Hiccups face was completely pink now, "are you gonna break the engagement when we get back or, or do I?"
"That's up to you!" Astrid said that a little louder than she meant to, she could feel the blush she's kept back this whole time coming through.
"I mean you were kind of forced into this…"
"No, no Stoic asked before hand…"
"But you though I was dead so…"
"That was definitely a head spinner when I found you!"
They both lapsed into uncomfortable laughter for a second before it died down and they were stuck in their own thoughts. Astrid didn't know what to say next. This was all so weird.
"So that's what Cami was talking about." Hiccup looked like he just understood something, but continued to look embarrassed.
"What? When did you talk to Cami?" Astrid couldn't figure out when the two had time to talk about this.
"Huh? Oh, I woke up last night while Thuggory was on watch. Cami woke up too, so the three of us talked and at some point Cami brought up my dating life and I had no idea why; but now I get why." Hiccup held his head in his hands for a minute.
Astrid wasn't stupid. Obviously the two Heirs woke Hiccup up to talk to him. Not a bad plan, gave them the privacy they needed to talk with Hiccup about everything that was going on. She just hated how out of the loop she was.
"So, who knows?" Hiccup asked, bringing his head back up.
"What?"
"Who knows the engagement plan?" He clarified
"Oh. Our parents, Gobber, and Gothi. That's it." Hiccup nodded thinking about it.
"And we 'supposedly' knew?"
"No, no. We 'supposedly' were going to find out once we were of age with the rest of Berk."
"Gotta give my dad credit," Hiccup stretch his arms out. Astrid could hear the slight pop of his shoulders. "that's a pretty good plan. It's legitimate enough to scare off an usurper."
"That was exactly your dads thinking." She nodded.
"I'm sure Snotlout didn't take it well."
"He took it better than expected." Astrid smirked. "Only screamed for one full week."
"Wow!" Hiccup faked enthusiasm. "He's really matured hasn't he."
Astrid laughed. She always found his sarcasm funny, but would stop herself from laughing at it before. She couldn't remember why, other than because it was Hiccup.
"You should of seen how he acted as Heir! You might have finally been able to give him some pay back." Hiccup always had a sharp tongue and she had never wished for it more than when Snotlout was Heir, all the snarky comments he could have made would have burned Snotlout.
"Was he really that bad? Like, I knew he would be bad, but that bad?"
"Worse." Astrid filled him in on more of Snotlout's shenanigans when he was Heir while Hiccup ate his breakfast. They're conversation flowed easily, and Hiccup was a great audience for her stories. He gasped in the right places, laughed at the right time, and even waited for her to finish before adding in his own commentary.
At some point Astrid noticed he wasn't eating his breakfast anymore, even though he still had plenty of food on his plate. She tried to get him to eat more, but Hiccup claimed he was full and that Cami just put too much food on his plate. Then she tried to check his wound, but Hiccup waved her off telling her he checked it when he woke up. She doubted that, but didn't feel comfortable arguing with him. Yet. Turns out Hiccup can be just as stubborn as Stoic. If she can deal with Stoic for three years she can handle Hiccup too. She'll just let Cami know about this. If Cami is unhappy with how little he ate or about Hiccup not letting her check his wound then she'll corner him and force her help on him. Astrid was about to make another attempt at checking his wound when the lunch bell rang.
"Seriously, I just finished breakfast." Hiccup groaned.
"Yeah, I'm not hungry yet either." Astrid stood up anyways. "But the others will want answers so we should go sit with them and you can tell them everything."
As Hiccup stood up Astrid took the chance to punch him in the shoulder.
"What was that for?" Hiccup caught himself before he fell over and started rubbing his shoulder
"I would like a warning next time you're gonna push me off a cliff." Astrid turned to walk away.
"There's gonna be a next time?" Hiccup attempted to make it sound like a joke, but Astrid could hear the hope in his voice.
"Who knows?"