Unexpected

A Surprising Discovery

Just a warning: Astrid's pregnancy symptoms did require me to mention some aspects of being female that might be awkward for my male readers. I tried very hard to be discreet so I don't think it'll be an issue. Just throwing that out there.

~KateMarie999

Chapter Three: A Surprising Discovery

Astrid stomped out of the house, leaving the smell of burnt fish and her husband behind. She wasn't sure why she had been so angry with him. She wasn't usually so volatile. What had changed? In a moment, she decided that she needed the company of other women. The only other woman she could think of that wasn't her mother (her mother would just glare at her and tell her she was being immature) was Ruffnut. Not comforted by this thought, she changed direction and headed over to Ruffnut and Tuffnut's house.

She took a moment to thank the gods that Tuffnut had decided to take Barf and Belch to get their teeth cleaned by Gobber. He tended to interrupt every discussion Ruffnut and Astrid tried to have with completely random outbursts. Snotlout was also nowhere to be seen, which was definitely a good thing.

"Why are you here?" was Ruffnut's greeting when Astrid knocked on the door.

"I'm mad at Hiccup." Astrid admitted.

"Oh. Okay." Ruffnut said, opening the door to let Astrid in.

As usual, Ruffnut didn't press for details. Astrid liked this about her sole female friend. She wasn't one to confess her feelings and Ruffnut didn't have patience for them anyway. If she wanted to get emotional about something, Astrid knew her husband would be more than happy to let her cry on him for hours. Not that she ever did anything so ridiculous...

"You look sick." said Ruffnut quite suddenly.

"Yeah, I broke my arm." Astrid replied, pointing to her bandaged arm.

"Not that kind of sick. Like, you look like Tuffnut does every time he breathes in Barf's gas." Ruffnut shrugged. "Except you don't fall over. I like it when he falls over."

Not enjoying the mental picture this statement sparked, Astrid rolled her eyes. The idea of having a deep conversation with Ruffnut was laughable. Times like this made her miss Heather.

"I'm not sick." Astrid said bluntly. "I just fell and hit my arm."

Ruffnut shook her head. "No, it's still different. Like, your face is all white and kind of green and you're sometimes hunched over like you just got punched in the back. Did Hiccup punch you in the back?"

"No, of course not." Astrid said. "Why would you think that?"

"Sometimes Tuffnut punches me in the back."

Why did this information not surprise her in the slightest? Truth be told, the smell of burnt fish did make her feel sick. But the wave of nausea would subside like all the other ones.

"I'm just really hungry, that's all." Astrid said, scanning the house to see if there was any food out.

"Oh. I have bread." Ruffnut picked up a loaf and offered it to her. "It's actually Tuffnut's but I'll just tell him Barf ate it."

Astrid chuckled and accepted the loaf. She ravenously tore it apart and ate it in a most decidedly unladylike manner. Her mother would have been furious but Ruffnut couldn't care less.

"Wow, you were really hungry." Ruffnut said, raising her eyebrows at Astrid's behavior. "Want more? I think Tuffnut has some fish I can cook over the fire."

At this point, Astrid was so hungry she didn't care that she was stealing from Tuffnut. Knowing the twins, there was probably food all over the place. They tended to eat almost as much as Fishlegs (but unlike Fishlegs, they never put on much weight).