Let's Give it a Year

Chapter 44

The night continued on, and after the events with Alvin, Hiccup never let Astrid out of his sight. Which often made it difficult for her to go to the bathroom, however, he was always convinced to wait outside.

Hiccup had his arm stuck to her waist, pulling her close every second he got and never allowed her to stray from his sight. At first, Astrid had found his behaviour cute and heroic, however, as the party dragged on and the hours passed, his grip upon her waist was becoming tiresome and heavy. Astrid often tried to pry his hand off of her waist, but this was often a fruitless endeavour.

As Hiccup dragged Astrid along with him to another group of co-workers, Astrid was becoming increasingly agitated by Hiccup's constant grip upon her waist. So, when they arrived at the group, Astrid finally managed to pry herself out of Hiccup's grip and stand beside him without his vicious grip around her body.

"Hello, guys. You know Astrid, right? My wife." Hiccup introduced Astrid, making sure to emphasise the 'wife' part of his sentence. He gestured her way with an open hand and a bright smile. Astrid shyly waved back as the boys sent her friendly smiles and cheery waves.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you..." Astrid replied, waving shyly at the men in front of her. They smiled back and one stepped forward to take her hand in a professional handshake.

"Hello, my name is Jack. It's nice to meet you too. I've heard a lot about you." Jack took a sideways glance towards Hiccup with a knowing look and mischievous smile. Hiccup glared at his friend with a warning look, but Jack didn't seem to be much affected.

"Yes, it's lovely to meet you after so long. It seems like forever since you two got married." Another voice perked up. Astrid met eyes with the man who had just spoken, and he seemed to be smiling brightly although his eyes held a different emotion than his face. Astrid nodded in recognition and smiled brightly.

"I know, it has been a long time. Almost 6 months now, right?" Astrid asked Hiccup, turning to him momentarily as she spoke. Hiccup smiled down towards her with a loving look and nodded.

"Probably seems a lot shorter to you two." Jack joked, giving Astrid a short nudge in the arm suggestively. Blushing in response, Astrid tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as the thought of their night together at the inn flashed into her mind.

However, Hiccup noticed her movements and blushing cheeks and felt a surge of jealous rage seep into his skin. No one was allowed to make Astrid squirm and blush other than him. He was supposed to be the only person in the world that could cause such an effect in Astrid's body, and the idea that someone else had been able to do it made him angry.

But he stayed calm despite the raging anger swirling inside of him.

"Yeah! How's it been since you got married? Been leaving many broken hearts in your wake?" Another man suggested with a chuckle, the other boys laughed along. However, Hiccup and Astrid remained silent. Astrid tilted her head and furrowed her brow.

"I'm afraid I don't follow."

"I mean," Jack piped up, taking over from the guy who originally made the comment. "a pretty girl like you. No doubt there would be many broken hearts after they take one look at your hand." At those words, he took Astrid's hand into his and raised it up to gesture at the ring that rested there.

Hiccup's burning rage within him was about to erupt as he saw Jack take Astrid's hand into his own. Touching the skin that belonged to him, feeling the warmth of her body that Hiccup loved. Everything about her was his to know, and for everyone else to imagine.

"Oh," Astrid withdrew her hand and swatted at the air in a flustered state, a shy smile on her face as she blushed at the compliment by the 3 young men. "I don't think I'm that pretty."