Work Text:
New Berk sat in a deafening silence. As the nighttime animals chittered away in the distance, and the faint sound of waves crashed along the cliff shorelines far in the distance, one would not believe how quiet the Viking village was. What was only recently a bustling hub of action for both Viking and Dragon-kind, now sat in solemness. What only earlier today had witnessed a great battle, and heartbreaking farewell, now shouldered the weight of depression in the aftermath.
Hiccup lay in his bed in the chief's cabin. He tossed and turned, his thin figure wrapping himself in knots with his blanket. Finally he turned to his back and let out a great sigh and opened his eyes to the dark inky black of the night. He had been trying to fall asleep for hours, but it was clearly fruitless. He brought his hands to his face, to rub the tiredness from his eyes, and to massage the red and sore eyes that had spent much of the evening filled with tears.
He slowly sat up, knowing sleep would not come to him. He stared for several minutes down towards his toes. He lingered on the one missing foot, the stump of a leg that for once was freed from its confines of his genius metal prosthetic. Hiccup did not often remove his nifty leg at night, opting to be at the ready in case danger struck. However tonight, whether it be the mood of the encampment or some other feeling entirely, he had decided to sleep without it. He huffed and almost chuckled, "Not that it seems to be doing any good…" He surmised.
His thoughts had run dry. What was once a mind full of ideas and emotions only hours ago, now sat in blank silence. He stared at the wood wall of his hut, not a single real thought coming to him for some time. Finally he sighed again and began to scan the dark room. If sleep would not come, then perhaps he could at least fill a helpful role as chief and patrol the perimeter after such a brutal battle today. He swung his leg over the side of the bed and stood, trying to balance on it. He hopped over to a chair across the room where he had absent mindedly left his prosthetic, grabbed it and slumped into the chair.
He began rolling his pant leg up, and tying on his metal attachment just as had done many times over the past several years since he had lost his foot. It had become second nature to him at this point, and with his home-grown design for the prosthetic, no one could deny he was just as capable as any man with it on. However, in this moment, he felt vulnerable. Without it on, he was reminded that he was nothing more than a hobbling cripple. He was often comforted by the fact his closest companion, Toothless was in a similar boat, having lost part of his tail due to his actions. Tonight however, with the dragons gone, he was all alone.
Completing his task, he stood finally and stretched his arms in the air. As he stepped towards the door and picked up his unique sword from next to entrance. He hefted it between one hand and the other, feeling the weight of it shift from hand to hand. He turned it to the hilt and opened the compartment on the end and removed a small vial from within. He could not see it in the darkness, but he could almost feel the weight of the Zippleback gas within it. He could certainly smell the remains of the scent of the gas that clung to the outside of the chamber. A thought struck him as he inserted it back into his sword, "Huh, I guess this is now a one-time use. I don't know if I'll be able to refill this if I ever use it…"
Hiccup strapped the sword on, and slowly pushed his door open, careful to keep it from creaking loudly as to not wake any nearby sleeping villagers. Shutting it behind him, he stole off into the night, the nearly full moon and clear skies affording plenty of ghostly light for him to see the trail ahead of him. He skirted the edge of New Berk, staying just within sight of the houses as he circled the village through the forest. He swung all the way around the quiet Viking village before being satisfied no one had heard him slip away, nor that any danger seemed present.
He walked deeper through the forest towards the large white cliffs where he had said goodbye to his best friend only hours ago. As he drew within sight of the edge of the trees, he caught a glimpse of the grassy clearing that led to plunge down to the sea. Something within him stopped his advance. Just the sight of the location brought memories flooding back. He had cried enough for the day, he wanted to avoid it all together. He turned and walked away.
He fancied a stroll to another part of their new island. They had not yet settled here long, and so much of the island he had still not walked yet. "Guess I'll have to get used to that." He surmised. He had scouted the whole island from air with the help of Toothless, but now everything seemed so much bigger once he realized he would be walking everywhere again. He looked down at his metal leg as it clanked along, wondering how much more wear and tear it would receive. How would it hold up? How would he hold up?
After several minutes trailblazing through the woods, he realized doing this alone at night may not be the best idea. His sense of direction was quite good, and they were on a reasonably small island, but he thought it wiser to return to the village for the night. He turned and headed the direction he thought was correct, and his senses proved correct minutes later, the village coming into view dead ahead.
Again however, something stopped him, a knot within his chest told him he would find no comfort here. He felt himself being gently tugged back towards the cliffs. He was tired of going in circles, but felt there was still nothing better to do, or rather nothing else he could do. He obeyed his instincts and snuck back towards the grass ledge. Just as it once again came within his sightline, he heard a single small twig snap nearby. Someone was close, watching him. He slid his sword to the ready, it making a faint scrapping noise against his clothes as he drew it.
In a flash he was knocked to the ground, flat on his back. In the glint of the moonlight, he saw a familiar battleaxe trained at his throat. His instinct to bring his sword back up to meet the attacker was instantly silenced. He let his grip on his sword go loose and sighed.
"Oh, it's only you…" The feminine voice above him relaxed.
Hiccup reached a hand out to the figure, who helped haul him back to his feet, "Astrid, what are you doing out here in the middle of the night?"
While her axe now rested at her side, she kept her guard up on her emotions, "Nothing, just patrolling the perimeter."
Hiccup looked over his shoulder towards the cliff, then back to Astrid, "And we both just so happened to run into each other here of all places." He tilted his head towards her knowingly, "Right…" Astrid only hung her head in shame and said nothing. Hiccup was quick to throw his arm around her shoulders and comfort her, "Hey, It's alright. I miss them too." She sniffled a little, and Hiccup turned them to face the clearing. "Come on, lets go face this. Together."
The couple forged ahead out into the clearing, towards the cliff. Hiccup's grip on Astrid's shoulder remained as the walked, her head falling onto his shoulder. When they reached the cliff edge, the slowly sat down next to it, more gingerly than they would have in the past when their dragon friends were nearby. Gently they each swung their legs over the edge to let them dangle as they had so many times before, but they were more cautious to keep their weight away from ledge as they leaned back a bit more.
Together they sat, slowly swinging their legs in the air, silent as they both simply remembered. After a long time, Hiccup finally spoke, "It's all going to be different now."
Astrid raised her head from his shoulder, took a breath and held it, shutting her eyes tightly for a moment. Then exhaled slowly and turned to Hiccup, "I don't know Hiccup. I just don't know what to do. They were our friends, our family. You know as well as anyone just how special our bond was with them. How can you be so calm like we didn't just throw away the best part of our lives, our culture?"
Hiccup's eyes shot her a look, but he said nothing, "I'm sorry Hiccup, I didn't mean…"
"It's ok Astrid. I don't blame you one bit." Now it was his turn to take a long slow breath, admitting, "Honestly, I think I am only not crying now because I feel like I have run out of tears to shed. You know Toothless meant the world to me. I know Stormfly meant the world to you. Now…I guess we have to find out what our lives will be like without."
Hiccup sighed again, "It was the right decision Astrid. I have to tell myself it was the right call to make. It's what my father would have done."
Astrid moved a hand up to his cheek, "It was. For the safety of our people. For the safety of our…the dragons."
Hiccup looked out across the waters for a moment, feeling Astrid's hand move away. His head sunk low in shame, "I'm scared Astrid." She raised her brow in worry at his comment, "I'm scared things will go back to the way they were. Without Toothless, how can I lead the people. I've always just been a skinny little runt, and without the aid of dragons, they'll all see me as useless and weak again. I'll never be worthy of…"
Astrid punched him in his shoulder hard, knocking him to his back, "OW! Why would you do that?" Before he could protest further, she grabbed his shirt and hauled his body back up and met his lips with hers. Despite his confusion, he did not resist as she pressed into him further, her hand securing the back of his head as they embraced.
When she broke the kiss, her eyes threw daggers through his, as though she could she right into his soul. "Don't ever tell me you are unworthy Hiccup Haddock! Don't ever think these people will just turn their backs on you just because you no longer ride a dragon." Her gaze softened as her memories of their years together danced across her mind, "I did not fall in love with you because you were a dragon killer, I did not fall in love with you because you could tame or ride dragons, nor did I fall in love with you because of Toothless, or Stormfly, or any of the dragons. I fell in love with you Hiccup because you were the strongest of us. Despite everything you faced, all the pressures and adversities you were up against, you chose your own path, you dared to be different in the face of all odds. Those choices you make, the man you have always been, that man has given all of us so much more than we deserved, and you have given me more than I ever knew I wanted."
Hiccup looked at her blankly for a moment before a smile crept to his lips. His hand swiped aside the locks of brown hair that had fallen in front of his face. He looked her square in the eyes before slowly leaning in and gently planting a kiss on her forehead. He then drew her into his chest, her head resting there, feeling each breath he took, his chest rising and falling. "Thank you Astrid. You always know when I need a stern correction."
"Hiccup!"
"I know, I know…" he chuckled, "It was far more than that. Your wisdom and guidance have helped me so much. Promise me you'll never stop giving me the truth."
"Never." She said, "Somebody's got to keep you in line. And I certainly won't let another woman take that role."
Silence for a moment was followed by a hearty laugh from Hiccup which pierced the still night. "I wouldn't have it any other way. At least one thing won't change. There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid." Her long golden braid shone in the moonlight, and Hiccup counted himself lucky to have her here. He stroked her hair absent mindedly, his deep thoughts returning. "Or maybe it can change too?"
A terrifying chill ran through Astrid's spine, and she bolted upright and glared at him. "What? What do you mean?"
Realizing his mouth might once again get him into trouble, he had to quickly calm her, "No, that's not…not like that. That isn't what I meant." He paused for moment thinking again, "Astrid, did you see me fall?"
Astrid was still perplexed and uneasy, "No, but everyone told me about it. Luckily the light fury saved you."
"Yea, luckily…" he trailed off for a moment, "Astrid I've been thinking about that fall all day. How many times over the years have we relied on our dragons to save us from something like a deadly fall? Too many right? I've been thinking all day and all night…if something like that happens again, it's all over."
"So? We just need to be more careful now."
"Yes, true," he bowed his head a little, "But what I mean was, when I was falling, Toothless was gone. I assumed the worst, I was going to die, but I didn't. I think about what happens if something like that happens again and…and all I can think about is you. Yes I need to be more careful, we all need avoid the risks more than before, but what I am saying is, I can't stop thinking about what I would miss with you, and what I would do to you if something happened. I love you Astrid."
Her eyes sparkled, "I love you too Hiccup. But you already knew that."
"We both know that. Everyone knows that." he protested, "So why can't our relationship change? We've always known that this was going to work, that we belong together and love each other. Why can't we move forward and get married? Haven't we waited long enough?"
Astrid shifted uncomfortably, "I…I don't know Hiccup. I just, I just always thought we weren't ready…but it has been a long time."
"I don't know if you are ready, I don't even know if I'm fully ready, but if I am to lead these people as chieftain, I want to have the strongest, bravest, most beautiful and loving woman by my side as chieftainess. Will you marry me Astrid?"
"Yes, you know I will." She replied without missing a beat, "I just have a lot of emotions going on up here with the dragons leaving you know." She tapped the side of her head.
"So do I. So do I. I'm not trying to push anything immediately, but could we at least tell the village that is the plan, that we can start making those plans for the future?"
Astrid looked out over the waters, along the direction of the departures of the dragons. She reminisced moments with Stormfly, and the gut wrenching feeling of saying goodbye. She took a deep breath and felt the cold night breeze blow her hair in the wind for a short moment. Her whole culture had shifted multiple times throughout her life, she had lived in several places, taken many risks, fought many battles, and made an unbreakable bond with her amazing dragon. Despite all that change, the one constant was Hiccup.
She turned to him finally, "Alright. Let's do it."
Hiccup in his excitement jumped to his feet and wobbled slightly near the edge of the cliff. Astrid shot to her feet and grabbed his chest to steady him. They weren't going to go over, but even the slightest waiver in balance now instilled a fear back in them that they had not felt for many years. Her chest heaved up and down as she breathed heavy, their eyes wide as they stared at each other.
"Perhaps we should get some sleep first and tell the village tomorrow." She suggested.
Hiccup nodded, glancing over the cliff edge before shuffling a little farther away from it, his voice a little squeaky with fear, "Yeah, maybe we should get some sleep tonight at least."
She smiled and quickly kissed him again on the lips before boring holes in his eyes again, "Yes, but don't forget. There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid."
With that, the two mutually agreed to head back to the village. They walked together, holding hands as they left the clearing and the cliff behind. They left behind their greatest friends in life, but in learning to let them go, they gained an even greater love together.
Thank you for checking out this work. Please if you are so inclined, check out my other works, even those about other Fandoms. Everything I write about is a passion project that are told through Fandoms that have had great emotional impact on my life. Please check out my Liberty's Kids works, or the show or fandom. It's a small fandom that could use all the love it can get!