Tangled Vows

Chapter 27

With great reluctance, Astrid left Hiccup alone in the house to take care of the store. It wasn't something that she wanted to do, and frankly, she would rather spend time taking care of Hiccup.

But what he had said raised a valid point. He was a grown man, he had been sick before, and he was more than capable of taking care of himself. However, that didn't stop Astrid from wanting to take care of him, and making sure that he was well looked after.

It mostly upset her that Hiccup cared so much about the store that he didn't even really acknowledge her sudden care for him. It was as though it were her duty to look after him, and not something that he didn't need to point out at all.

That frustrated her a little. She wanted him to point it out, to make her feel important, to acknowledge that it was a kind thing to do. But she heard nothing of the sort. Instead, he scolded her for trying and tried to get to the store despite his ill health.

The least she could do was go in his stead.

That's how Astrid ended up being stuck behind the counter at Hiccup's hardware store, waiting expectantly for these important events to occur. Granted, when she had arrived that morning - later than usual - the delivery men were waiting to deposit their packages and Astrid had to apologise profusely for her lateness.

However, they seemed very forgiving.

Unfortunately, the day was rather slow, and Astrid spent a large majority of the time standing around not doing anything. She did what she could to busy herself, like re-stocking shelves and tidying up displays. But she often found herself returning to the counter and waiting around for someone to stop by the store.

"Good afternoon, Astrid," Gobber's cheerful, Scottish voice called out from beyond the boredom and startled Astrid out of her thoughts. Looking up, she saw that the man was standing before her wearing the biggest smile she hadn't seen in a long time.

It was so infectious, that Astrid couldn't help but smile back.

"Gobber! Good to see you today." Astrid greeted him with a bright smile. "How's everything?"

"Oh, you know. Not doing too badly," He shrugged, not complaining either way about his life. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"That's good." Astrid nodded, their conversation slipping away. "Anything I can help you with today?"

"Actually, I was hoping to speak to Hiccup. Is he in the back?" Gobber asked curiously, trying to look over Astrid's shoulder towards the door leading into the back. But the shadows blocked his view and he could see nothing.

"Uh, no. He's actually sick today. He's at home." Astrid replied apologetically, not wanting to disappoint or upset the man. Especially if it was an important matter they wished to discuss.

Oddly, Gobber just raised a brow at her words and looked at her with great confusion. It seemed as though the concept of Hiccup being anywhere but the store had rendered him completely speechless, and the idea was too heinous to be within the realms of possibility. 

"Hiccup?" Gobber replied, stunned to the point of speechlessness. 

Astrid nodded.

"You managed to persuade Hiccup Haddock to stay home when he was sick?" Gobber asked sternly, worrying Astrid slightly by his tone. Yet she still nodded nonetheless.

Somehow, Gobber's previous serious tone switched suddenly into a raucous eruption of laughter, the kind she had not expected from Gobber. He almost doubled over from the force, before cooling himself down and slapping the desk.

"You are a magician, Astrid Hofferson!"

"I'm sorry?" She asked, genuinely confused by this reaction.

"I mean, that boy would come into this store come hell or high water. There could be a tsunami approaching, and he'd still come to work." Gobber explained his reaction, the biggest smile pulling at his features as he almost celebrated this minor victory of Astrid's