Let's Give it a Year

Chapter 45

Astrid awoke the next morning in an unfamiliar room, however, there was something familiar about it that Astrid couldn't quite put her finger on. Her eyes fluttered open in the bright room, the sun shining through the half-opened curtains, and allowed Astrid a better look around the room. Flashes of last night spark in her memory as she looked at the clothes strewn across the floor, the mess that had been caused in their wake as they had stumbled across the room and onto the bed.

"Oh, gods..." Astrid sighed to herself as she scrunched her face and hid into the pillows, hiding her blushing cheeks from any prying eyes. "I can't believe we did that..." She muttered to herself, her face still buried in the pillow.

However, despite any shame or embarrassment she may have been feeling, she couldn't wipe that insane, bright smile off of her face. Slowly rising out of bed, and finding one of Hiccup's nearby discarded shirts and pants, Astrid made her way out of the room with the memories of last night still floating around her head.

She blushed as Hiccup's words from last night repeated in her head. His warm, soft tone made her feel like she was being hugged by a soft blanket. She had truly fallen in love with a wonderful man, and she wouldn't trade him for the world. So long as he extended her the same courtesy.

"Morning, Astrid!" Hiccup called out to her as he watched her stumble sleepily into the kitchen, the events of last night clearly just catching up to her. "How are you feeling?" He asked with a smirk, before turning back to the stove where he was cooking up some breakfast.

Astrid waddled her way over to him, her feet unbalanced and her stride sloppy as she collapsed herself onto his back and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his back.

"Sore," She muttered in reply, knowing that Hiccup wouldn't be expecting that type of explicit answer.

And she was right.

She giggled to herself as she noticed Hiccup's back tense and a small blush appeared on his cheeks from her short answer. Giving him a small poke in the side, she jolted him out of his trance and brought him back to reality as he smiled back down at her.

"Sorry,"

"It's okay, you don't need to apologise for that. It's a common after-effect." Astrid replied easily, snuggling her face more into Hiccup's back. A warm sensation filled Hiccup's body as he felt Astrid willingly touch him and be near him like this, making him feel loved for the first time in a long time.

"But I feel like I should." He smiled and gestured at the pan he was cooking on the stove. "How about some extra bacon for, milady?" He smirked, knowing the effect that that nickname had on Astrid. She couldn't stop the blush from appearing on her cheeks as she nodded happily from his suggestion.

"If there is an offer for it, I would be a fool not to take it." She giggled, doing a slightly posh accent to her voice as she replied. Hiccup chuckled along with her and gestured to the kitchen island with a smile.

"Alright, as you wish. Do you mind setting up for me? It's nearly ready." Hiccup announced, giving the food another toss in the pan before getting out a couple of plates from the cupboards.

"Sure thing, hon," Astrid replied, letting go of Hiccup's waist and grabbing some cutlery for the two of them and setting them up on the kitchen island. Hiccup had become momentarily stunned by Astrid's nickname for him, however, he quickly jolted himself out of it and continued to set up breakfast.

Once everything was set up and the breakfast was set up in front of the two of them, they got stuck in. Astrid enjoyed the greasy, delicious taste of the bacon and the chewy rubber texture of the egg on her plate. Hiccup's breakfast had become her favourite delicacy because he made it so rarely, and she always enjoyed his meals.

Hiccup watched Astrid eat with a pleasant smile, absent-mindedly eating his own whilst doing so. He enjoyed seeing the sparkle in her eye whenever she took a bite from his homemade meals, the smile whenever their eyes met at the table. He loved everything about her, even when she was eating.

"I love you..." Hiccup whispered absent-mindedly, not fully realising he had said it out loud. Astrid smiled, with a small blush on her cheeks and turned towards him.

"I love you too." She smiled brightly, luckily with an empty mouth, and Hiccup felt his heart race at her smile. She was magnificent, a real gem. And she loved him.

"I want you to be my secretary." Hiccup announced suddenly as Astrid was about to take a bite from her breakfast. However, his words stopped her in her tracks so that the food was left hanging on the fork. She slowly lowered the fork as she turned to face him with her eyebrows furrowed and a quizzical look taking over her features.

"You... What?" Astrid was momentarily stunned by Hiccup's words, but his expression never changed. Hiccup titled his head slightly, but his stoic emotion didn't falter from his face.

"I want you to be my secretary." He paused for a moment, confused about Astrid's surprise and silence. "I don't know what is so confusing about that?"

"No," Astrid started, turning to face him properly and taking his hands into her own. "No, it's not that it's confusing. It just... I'm just surprised. That's all." Astrid smiled nervously, not sure of her own emotions anymore as she took Hiccup's hands into her own. "Why me, anyway? Don't you already have a secretary?" She asked, remembering the irritatingly jealous secretary that sits in front of his office like a hormonal hawk. She hated that girl.

"Yes, I do. But she annoys the hell out of me. Always thinking that she has got a shot with me, even after I got married." Hiccup sighed, the frustration at hearing about Heather making his fists want to involuntarily clench. "That's why I want you to replace her!" Hiccup announced excitedly, turning to her with a bright smile.

"You want me to be annoying?"

"No! No, no, no. That's not what I meant. I mean it in the way that, I would rather have a secretary I am comfortable with, rather than that..." Hiccup cut himself off before he gave Heather a rude name. Astrid chuckled at his silenced word, knowing what he wanted to say but didn't. She smiled, lowering her head and nodding sagely.

"I understand what you mean." She met his eyes again. "But I thought we agreed that I would stay as Thorald's secretary. So that I could get more information and evidence against him. You know, be the 'man on the inside' as it were." Astrid reminded him, but this only made Hiccup sigh heavily and lower his gaze to the floor and his grip upon Astrid's hands tighten.

"I know what I asked of you, and now I want to change it."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want you to be in danger, Astrid!" Hiccup's voice rose dramatically in volume, almost blasting Astrid's hair off of her shoulders. Hiccup took a deep breath in and relaxed his shoulders. "If Thorald works out that you are working with me, and know all about his mixing with the board members. He may keep you away from me and continue to threaten me. I just..." He sighed again, pulling Astrid closer for a comforting hug. "I don't know what I would do if you got hurt because of me. I just can't lose you... Especially not now."

Astrid rubbed his back gently, his words sinking heavily in the air around them as the seconds ticked by. Astrid smiled and nodded in understanding, hugging him tighter as her decision was made in her mind.

"Okay. I accept." Hiccup smiled and pulled her closer. "I will be your secretary."