Chapter Text
Wednesday 16th July 2025
mission very totally definitely possible
06:54 am
HICCUP: Today’s the day guys!
SNOTLOUT: ir is bsrelu s day
HICCUP: It’s been day for six hours and 54 minutes, and we’ve got crowds to rally!!
SNOTLOUT: fibe mpre monutrs
6:57 am
HICCUP: Is anyone up yet?
6:59 am
HICCUP: I’m making french toast...
TUFFNUT: GIMME
8:48 am
ASTRID: get ready troops. we march at twelve, setup starts at ten. you all know the plan.
RUFFNUT: yes ma'am o7
FISHLEGS: Snotlout and I are ready!
HICCUP: i need a moment to put my hearing aids in
ASTRID: we won’t leave without you babe
SNOTLOUT: would you give this nice and patient treatment to ANYONE ELSE???
ASTRID: am i dating anyone else?
ASTRID: and yes. i would
SNOTLOUT: i need five more minutes to finish my makeup
ASTRID: hearing aids are different to makeup get your ass out into this corridor
RUFFNUT: tuff and i are ready too
RUFFNUT: heather gtf out here!!!!
HEATHER: okay okay i’m coming! xxx
11:53 am
HICCUP: Final check?
ASTRID: Snotlout and I are running first aid tent A xx
TUFFNUT: currently handing out signposts and flags, and very covered in glitter
HICCUP: Well I’m ready by the stage to start the speeches.
ASTRID: YOU'VE GOT THIS BABE!!!! ❤️❤️❤️
HICCUP: Shit.
HICCUP: Where is the megaphone?
RUFFNUT: dont ask me, im at the snack station
HICCUP: Fishlegs?
FISHLEGS: In the shade tents with the lounge chairs but i can look
HICCUP: No, I know I left it here somewhere.
HICCUP: Heather?
She blinked, the blinding brightness of her screen mixed with the hot, summer day pricking the back of her eyelids. Her name on the screen stayed in the colours dancing behind her eyes.
HICCUP: Heather?
Her friends needed her.
She couldn’t let them down.
(The megaphone was hard to find, but giving up was harder.)
“HICCUP!” Heather held a bicycle rack with one hand, and waved her cane in the air. “I’VE GOT IT!”
She tossed it to Ruffnut, who threw it to Tuffnut, who made for the stage. Leaning forward, he handed it to Hiccup, and he gave Heather a grateful smile.
another scene:
The police stopped in front of the stage, in well organised squadrons. Unease bubbled in Heather's chest. Police at a protest was never, ever a good thing.
One stepped forward and said “this is in violation of protest allowances; you're disrupting the peace. We'll give you one hour to disperse, then you need to leave.”
“Fuck no,” said Heather. Still holding onto Ruffnut with one hand, she pointed to the officer with her cane. “The first amendment decrees we have a right to peaceful—”
Her cane was yanked from her hand.
Panic wiped away her fearless demeanour in a second. “Wait, give that back! I need that!”
“I'm authorised to remove anything being used or threatened to be used as a weapon,” he spoke coldly and clinically, like he was reading from a book.
“Hey! Hey!” Hiccup yelled into the megaphone. “She needs that. Her mobility aid is a right. Give it back.”
The officer ignored him. “Come with me please.” He beckoned Heather, and another officer hounded on Ruffnut. “You have a right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
“Wait, are you arresting us?!” Heather said in disbelief.
“You have the right to an attorney,” the officer continued, “if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.”
“Hiccup? Astrid?” Heather cried out desperately. She was really beginning to panic, fighting against the officer’s harsh grip on her elbow. With a jolt, she realised it was the same arm as her injured shoulder.
She relaxed at once. This whole situation would be ten times worse if she had to deal with unmedicated shoulder pain among everything else.
It was rare she thought like this now, but she wished her body wasn’t so frail. She wished she had the strength to fight back and run away. She wished she could be strong without risking her safety.
With a final push, her and Ruffnut were shoved into the backseat of the police car. The door slammed shut.
“Are you okay?” Was the first thing Ruffnut said to her.
Heather groaned, lolling her head on the tough backrest. She was suddenly homesick for the soft sofas and calm quiet of Dragon Eye. When will she next get back there...?
“It's okay,” Ruffnut whispered quietly to her. “Tuff was hiding behind a bush recording it all. He'll send it around.” She sighed heavily. “We’ve got enough friends to make a riot. Someone will be looking out for us.”
“Someone,” Heather said quietly. “I hope the others are okay.”
“They'll be fine,” said Ruffnut, though she didn't sound certain. “Probably.”
Heather tried to give her a smile. “Hey, at least no one got shot at...” She shivered. Though she’d never been in an active shooting, she remembered lining up against the classroom walls in elementary, everyone too scared to move.
She thought now, about how she would hide on a bad pain day. How would she run? How would the Riders decide who to leave behind?
Something crashed outside the car. Astrid, arguing with a police officer, and Hiccup standing fiercely beside her.
dialogue:
Heather finally found her answer. Even if it meant death, the Riders wouldn’t leave anyone behind.
scene:
“You mean like this key I stole from the guard?” Ruffnut said, twirling it around her finger.
Heather’s mouth dropped wide open. “You— what the— I can’t believe you!”
Ruffnut cackled, doubling over. She swiped tears of mirth from her red cheeks, her mouth stretched into a bright grin. Her laugh was infectious as always, and Heather found herself laughing too.
“You are properly unhinged,” Heather said.
ch36 title: shockingly, the police are bad at their jobs
Thursday 17th July 2025
[Heather and Ruffnut are released from jail with the Riders’ help after the cops realise they actually did nothing (what a shock /sar) and Heather begins to write a blog post]
She didn’t have to make a speech in front of a crowd to make her voice heard.
This... could be just as powerful.
She flipped open her laptop, logged into the InTheMornings Tumblr account, and began to write.
ch37 title: never underestimate the power of caffeinated uni students with nothing to lose
Friday 18th July 2025
InTheMornings
@thatfashionablecanegirl7
My name is Heather, and yesterday, I was arrested at a protest. Why, you might ask? I pointed my cane at a police officer, and he unlawfully took it from me. He claimed he had to remove anything that was being used as a weapon, but mobility aids are not weapons. They are what we use to get around. And @gaygreengirl_TheThird (my girlfriend) and I were arrested without explanation, and my physical health jeopardised by the way a police officer grabbed my elbow (of the same arm that had my dislocated shoulder).
[Heather gives an amazing speech]
.o0o.
Saturday 19th—Sunday 20th July 2025
[The students threaten a riot and The Edge are forced to become more accommodating.]
ch38 title: sapphic: love ahead
Friday 15th July 2025
[The gang throw a Big Party to celebrate, and it is super cute (Heather, Snot, Fish and the twins bounce along to ABBA in the bathroom) (and Heather is making her wheelchair debut) (last line is “let’s do this!” from Heather, a direct parallel to the first line!!!!)]
“I don’t get why it’s such a big deal, guys, you’ve seen my wheelchair.”
“Yeah, but not with you all dolled up and looking so sexy,” Ruffnut mumbled, carefully applying her eyeliner. “And everyone else will get to see how pretty and fabulous you are.”
“Yeah... but—”
“Heather, what do we say to the self doubt?” Ruffnut tapped Heather on the nose with the bottom of the eyeliner pen.
“We say ‘fuck off, self doubt,’ I know.” Heather smiled up at her, and wow, her face looked stunning in the mirror lights. “God, when did you get so beautiful?”
“Always looked like this, gorgeous.” Ruffnut brought their lips onto Heather’s cheek, enticing a laugh from her mouth. “Are you ready to go?”
“You’re sure you’re not gonna rush us back in here for some emergency blush, or something?”
“Swear on my life, Heather,” Ruffnut said, solemnly raising her hands. “We have everything we need. Oh! Everything, but...”
She dipped her hand into her jacket pocket, and brought out a necklace.
“Oh, wow...” Heather marvelled at the glistening gems, running her fingers over it. “It looks— wait, hang on, that’s the necklace you gave to me!”
Ruffnut cackled, and Heather fondly whacked her with her cane. “I was wondering where that went.”
“What can I say, Heather.” Ruffnut innocently batted her eyelids. “I’m a fine pickpocket.”
“Hey...” Heather’s fingers stopped on an unfamiliar stone. “This one’s new.”
“That and this one here,” Ruffnut pointed to another new stone. “Rose quartz and Moonstone for love, and Carnelian for family. Cos we’re your family now.”
Heather imagined herself in every stage of the past year replying to that. Denial, maybe smiling, hesitantly agreeing, and drawn backward just to shoot forward like a bullet into their welcoming arms.
She smiled back on all those parts of her, and gave each one the hug they all desperately needed. All the past Heathers could never have imagined how beautiful their life would become. Present Heather thanked goodness she made it this far.
The past Heathers would’ve faltered at seeing their future self as a wheelchair user. Present Heather thanked it for allowing her to move around so painlessly.
The past Heathers would only have dreamed of loving someone like Ruffnut. Present day Heather just pulled them towards her, and met their lips with hers.
Ruffnut pulled apart an inch to say “I’ll take that as a thank you.”
Her breath was hot and prickly on Heather’s skin, making her shiver.
“It’s perfect. I love it. And I love you.”
Heather kissed her back. “I love you too.”