Tangled Vows

Chapter 40

At first, when Astrid awoke that morning, she wasn't entirely sure where she was. The softness of the sheets was different from her own, and the warmth of the body beside her was not one that she recognised.

Yet, as she blinked away the sleep and opened her eyes properly, the memories of last night flooded through her brain, and a small smile pulled at her lips. She turned towards Hiccup's still sleeping form and admired him for a few moments.

He looked beautiful and peaceful as if no danger in the world could befall him. He looked like a prince in the shadows, hidden away from royalty to be with a commoner, like Astrid. Reaching out a careful hand, Astrid pushed away a few stray strands of hair free from his face and admired his peaceful, sleeping form.

Her hand soon drifted down towards his chest, where there rested that friendship necklace that he had gifted them at the County Fair. Astrid still had hers on, having never taken it off, and Hiccup still wore his. Her fingers played with it as she waited for him to awaken, and a smile pulled at her lips as she remembered the previous night.

The way that Hiccup had held her, the way that he had kissed her, and the way that she had wished it could last forever. It was the best experience of her life, and she dreamed that it could always be a reality.

She just wanted to live in this moment.

Suddenly, her playful fidgets were halted by a hand gripping hers and freezing her in place. Astrid quickly looked away from the necklace and towards Hiccup's face, where she could see those sweet, emerald orbs watching her with keen interest, and a crooked smirk lighting up his features.

"Good morning," He muttered, his voice much lower than usual. It made Astrid smile, and a small giggle trickled out from between her lips as she manipulated their hands to be held together.

"Good morning," She replied, watching his face morph between various expressions.

Then, a small chuckle expelled from his mouth and he shook his head with a bewildered expression. Being too curious to let it go, Astrid begged to know what was on his mind.

"It's nothing, Astrid." Hiccup muttered again, "It's just... I had this strange thought that I wanted to be woken up like this every morning." The two of them smiled and laughed together, enjoying the blissful peace of the morning, together in each other's arms.

"I'm sorry," Astrid whispered, snuggling her face against his warm chest to hide her blushing cheeks.

Hiccup frowned at her sudden apology, brushing a hand through her hair to soothe her worries and calm her anxiety. He was perplexed by her words and was curious to know why they had slipped out.

"What for?"

"I'm sorry you had to wait so long for me." Hiccup sighed with a smile at her words, shaking his head softly in response. He lifted her head to look at him so that their eyes met, and she would believe every word that fell from his lips.

"Astrid, I would wait forever for you. I could keep waiting until the universe wouldn't allow me to wait any longer. You're the only person worth waiting for, Astrid. Only you." He spoke with sincerity and love, every word pouring from the deep recesses of his heart and spilling out onto the sheets for Astrid to see.

She had thought she had seen every side of him last night, but Hiccup proved that there were still so many things he had left to say to her.

"Can I really love you?" Hiccup asked, as though he was still unsure whether what happened between them was real.

Astrid smiled, "Of course. So long as I can really love you too."

"You don't have to ask, Astrid." Hiccup smiled with a nod, pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and pulled her body closer so that her head rested upon his chest and his chin against her head.