Let's Give it a Year

Chapter 36

They finally made their way back onto the promenade, the hard concrete of the road and pavement beneath their feet made the walk back to the inn much easier than if they had stayed on the sand. The sand beneath their feet was soft and bumpy; it was uneven and a natural trip hazard for everyone that ever crossed it.

As they walked along the promenade, Astrid gazed out towards the ocean and admired the moon's reflection on the rippling water, She listened to the waves crashing against the shore of the beach, rushing across the sand as it raced closer to the promenade. However, due to her distraction, she didn't take much care with her feet and ended up stumbling over her own feet in a foolish and clumsy manoeuvre.

"Woah!" She yelled out as she fell to the floor suddenly, taking Hiccup by surprise as he leapt down to the floor to check whether she was okay.

"Astrid! You okay?" He asked worriedly, his eyes flickering across her body as though he was a robot scanning for injuries.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Astrid waved him off and began to stand up off of the floor. However, as she began to put weight onto her left foot, she fell back down to the floor with a cry of agony and her hand gripping the joint upon reflex.

"Astrid! What's wrong?" Hiccup asked again, panic and worry seeping into his voice. He wasn't sure whether she had just twisted her ankle, or whether she had broken the whole foot. The thoughts terrified him, but luckily Astrid wasn't looking at his face and was more concerned with her own injury.

"Oh, damn it. I think I've twisted my ankle a bit. I'll be fine, just need to be careful."

"No, you're not fine," Hiccup announced and crawled in front of Astrid. He waited there in front of her, still crouched down onto the ground and Astrid sat behind him wearing a confused expression.

"What are you doing?" Astrid quirked her head, her hand still wrapped around her ankle as she tried to apply a small amount of pressure on the injury to lessen the pain. Hiccup looked over his shoulder at her and gave her a small smile whilst gesturing to his back with a small quirk of his head.

"Hop on."

"What?" Astrid chuckled, realising what Hiccup was offering her and the fact brought a smile to her face. "You want to give me a piggyback ride?" She asked an eyebrow raised as she tried to understand his intentions. Hiccup just shrugged and started to slowly rise up from a crouch.

"Well, if you want to walk around on a twisted ankle than be carried back, then I'll---"

"Wait! Wait..." Astrid yelled out, pulling Hiccup back down to her level and crouched back down in front of her with his back presented to her. "If you're offering, then it would be rude to refuse, right?"

"Hop on then, milady." Hiccup chuckled as he felt Astrid clamber onto his back.

Quickly wrapping his arms underneath her thighs to give her extra support and make sure she doesn't fall, Hiccup began to stand up with Astrid clinging to his back like a monkey. Once he stood up and gave a small glance over his shoulder to check that she was alright, Hiccup started walking back to the hotel whilst carrying Astrid on his back.

It wasn't a long walk, but neither was it a short one. The journey probably only took them 4 or 5 minutes, but to Hiccup carrying Astrid on his back, it felt like 10. Once they arrived outside the door to the inn, Hiccup slowly placed Astrid back on the ground and stood before her with an abashed and exhausted look on his face.

"Was I that heavy?" Astrid asked with a chuckle in her voice as she noticed Hiccup's red face in the darkness of the night. She smiled as she watched Hiccup scratch the back of his neck, an action she recognised as a nervous twitch.