Tangled Vows

Chapter 28

When the end of the day finally rolled around, Astrid didn't waste any time in closing up the shop. Making sure to give it a thorough check before actually leaving, Astrid locked the doors and began to almost sprint along the streets back home.

As she listened to the impatient footfalls of her feet against the pavement, her mind wandered back to the conversation she had with Gobber earlier that day.

She had always suspected that Hiccup had a crush on her when they were younger, but she was never sure. There was a time when she felt a similar way, but she never wanted a romantic relationship with him, mostly because she knew that she would ruin it. Hiccup mattered too much for her to mess everything up between them.

However, she wanted to do things differently now. It wasn't right that the two of them were going to heal this rift between them and then separate. Astrid didn't think she could handle that. So, it only made sense for them to become something different than what they had been before. Nothing more than friends, but maybe something different than how they used to be.

It was worth a try.

This was Astrid's thinking as she unlocked the door and stepped inside. Everything lay still in the house, nothing was disturbed and it all seemed rather quiet. Looking around the house, Astrid concluded that Hiccup hadn't left his room at all that day and had been resting in his room as Astrid had ordered him to.

She was glad that he listened.

With a quiet sigh, Astrid marched her way upstairs quietly to go and check on the patient.

Opening the door as quietly as she could, Astrid carefully peeked through the door. Her eyes immediately landed on the figure sleeping peacefully in the bed. It seemed as though he hadn't moved since the morning, and the soup she had brought him that morning was sitting completely devoured on the side table.

Stepping inside, Astrid neared Hiccup's bed to retrieve the tray. As she did so, she thought that she'd check up on Hiccup. Leaning in close to his peaceful, sleeping form, she reached out her hand and gently checked his temperature.

He still felt hot, but a lot better than he had been in the morning. Nevertheless, he still needed rest.

"Astrid?" Hiccup's voice called out from the stuffy quiet of the room. Looking down, Astrid saw that Hiccup's eyes were struggling to open as they were still plagued by sleep.

She smiled and perched herself on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

Hiccup rubbed his eyes and tried to prop himself up to speak to her, but felt too weak to do so. So, he just lay down and craned his head to look at her whilst Astrid looked over him carefully.

"Better than this morning," Hiccup replied softly, not questioning why Astrid was back in his room.

"Good," Astrid announced happily, "Are you hungry? You haven't eaten anything since this morning." She noted, pointing at the finished soup on the side table.

Hiccup sighed.

"I can't get out of bed."

"How about I cook you something?" Hiccup scoffed, rolling his eyes and letting out a soft chuckle at the suggestion. "What? What did I say?"

"Nothing, Astrid. It's just... You're not the best cook." Hiccup revealed hesitantly. But Astrid wouldn't hit an ill man. She wasn't that cruel.

"Really? Well, you ate my soup didn't you?" Astrid gestured to the empty bowl beside his bed. Hiccup looked between Astrid and the empty bowl and proceeded to think for a moment before cooking up his own reply.