Let's Give it a Year

Chapter 23

Astrid could barely sleep that night, tossing and turning in her bed she barely got a wink of sleep. Instead, she lay on her bed with the sheets covering her body and her gaze focused on a certain point on the ceiling.

The memory of his lips remained engraved upon her brain, the taste and feel of them forever haunting her dreams as she softly touched her lips. It felt as though he was still there, the ghost of his touch still lingering upon her lips as she lost herself in the moment again.

Snapping herself out of it, Astrid turned over in her bed forcefully, trying desperately to snap herself from her thoughts about Hiccup. Nothing could happen between them, and Astrid knew that. But something inside her didn't want that to be the case. There was more to them than she had first thought.

"What are you doing to me Hiccup?" Astrid asked herself as she turned over in her bed for the final time before the ringing of her alarm awoke her from her trance.

Barely having gotten a wink of sleep that night, Astrid lazily turned off the alarm and sluggishly made her way to the bathroom to wake herself up. However, the cold shower and light makeup on her face somehow didn't make her look any less dishevelled.

With a resigned sigh, Astrid shrugged at her sloppy appearance and headed for the door, unlocking it slowly and revealing an auburn-haired figure stood waiting on the other side. His presence caught Astrid by surprise and she almost thought it was a hallucination, but when he grabbed her waist to stop her from slipping over on the floor as she stepped back in surprise, she knew it wasn't.

"Woah!" Hiccup called out as he caught Astrid in his arm. Steadying herself, she stood in front of him proudly and attempting to hide the fact that she hadn't slept at all last night. "Be careful, the floor can be slippy in the morning when you're not paying attention, milady."

"Don't call me that." Astrid spat coldly, her gaze avoiding Hiccup's figure as she held herself together. Hiccup furrowed his brow at her words and spiteful tone, confused about her mood.

"I always call you that." Hiccup pointed out, showing his confusion at her tone.

"Well, it sounds like I'm your wife or something. No one's around, you don't have to care about me you know." Astrid cringed at her own words, hating herself for spewing such nonsense to him as she tried to forget the images of last night. Hiccup felt a small stab in his chest as the words fell from Astrid's lips, her tone scolding him as he stood there helplessly.

Astrid lowered her head and rushed past Hiccup, not daring to meet his eye as she sidled past and hurried back into her room. Closing the door rather forcefully, Astrid found herself back in her room with her back against the door. When she heard the door to the bathroom close, Astrid let out a small sigh and slowly slid down the wooden material to the floor, her knees tucked into her chest.

Hiccup shook his head as he watched Astrid rush into her room, her apparent awkwardness making Hiccup feel guilty about what happened the night before. Was she embarrassed because she kissed him? Or just because it was him? Hiccup couldn't tell, and he was mostly not wanting to know, quite resigned to avoiding the situation and wanting to forget about the whole thing.

"She's probably embarrassed about last night, that's why she said those things. Let's just pretend it never happened," Hiccup told himself as he looked at his reflection, his gaze lowering to his lips. "She didn't kiss you..."

Instinctively, Hiccup raised a hand to his lips and softly touched the skin as if he could still feel Astrid's presence lingering upon the skin there. A part of him regretted not kissing back, not having the nerve to show her that her action was in agreement, to reciprocate that action. Even if it didn't mean anything.