Life on Berk

Apologies and Gifts

Summary: Hiccup messed up big time and decides to make it up to Astrid by giving her a gift.

Takes place around RTTE/before HTTYD2. I make a reference to the axe Astrid has in HTTYD2 here.

Hiccup sat back in the saddle, clutching the new axe he made for Astrid, as he and Toothless headed back to Dragons' Edge.

"I really messed up, Bud. Do you think she'll like it?" Toothless crooned in response. Hiccup sighed.

The other riders had gone to do their own things, leaving Hiccup and Astrid at the Edge. Astrid had invited Hiccup over for lunch that afternoon. Unfortunately for him, Astrid's cooking hadn't improved one bit. He had taken a single bite and regretted it.

Now, she was mad at him.

It had been an entire week, and he'd spent it coming up with a good way to apologize to her. After many ideas being thrown out, he decided to make her a new axe. He'd been planning to make it for her birthday, but he figured he could come up with something else for that. Making sure they were on good terms was much more important.

They landed at the arena, where Astrid was doing target practice with Stormfly. Upon seeing the Night Fury, Stormfly bounded off with him to play, leaving Hiccup alone with Astrid and her axe. He gulped.

"What are you doing here, Hiccup? Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?" She flung her axe at the target, the blade splitting the wood right down the middle. "Or I could just use your head as a target," she muttered under her breath, not caring whether he heard her or not.

Hiccup was at a loss. He thought he had given her enough time to cool off. Apparently not. All the things he planned to say to her as an apology, he forgot. Under the threat of the Viking's axe, he was reduced to a stammering mess.

Thor, help me. Hiccup gathered up what courage he had left, clutching the newly forged weapon in his hand.

"I came to apologize, Astrid," he started, hoping Astrid would stop throwing her axe around the arena, and pay attention to him. He could tell she was listening though. She turned to him for a split second, not without a glare, urging him to go on before she used him as a target. Ouch. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away. About your, uh, cooking skills." He cringed, waiting for the axe to come his way. When it didn't come, he continued. "I was scared of how you'd react. But now I realize it's better to just be truthful with you. I'm sorry." He looked down at the ground.

Admittedly, Astrid wasn't waiting for an apology. She was planning to take out her anger on innocent targets found around the Edge, maybe even some trees, before going to find Hiccup again. Now, she felt awful. Guilty. Hiccup was blaming himself. No doubt, Astrid was mad at him. He hadn't told her how he really felt about her cooking. That's what hurt the most. He was scared of telling her the truth. Astrid didn't like it when others hurt her pride. She was a Viking. But she could take it if it involved helping others. In this case, helping others not get sick from her horrible recipes.

Sighing in defeat, Astrid retrieved her axe from the target and walked towards Hiccup. Hiccup seemed to tense more the closer she got, so she relaxed herself. Seeing this, Hiccup relaxed, too.

Stopping in front of him, she put a hand on his shoulder. She looked up into his forest green eyes. "I'm sorry, too."

They both smiled at each other for a while before realizing what was going on. Hiccup cleared his throat, trying unsuccessfully to get rid of the awkwardness. Astrid brought her hand back down by her side, fidgeting with her axe. "So we're good?" Hiccup asked her.

"Yeah. We're good." It was only then that she noticed the axe he was holding behind his back. Her eyes trailed to behind his back in curiosity. "What's that?" She asked, eyes wide in wonder.

"What? Oh, this thing? It's nothing. It's just something I felt like carrying along with me today. Nothing weird." Too bad he was a horrible liar. He couldn't lie to save his life. Maybe he could, in such dire situations, but they wouldn't ever take that chance. Knowing Hiccup though...

She gave him a look that clearly said she didn't believe him. He groaned.

"Fine." He rolled his eyes. "I made this for you. It's a peace offering of sorts, I guess? I've had the idea in my head for a while and decided now would be the perfect time to make it." He explained as he brought it from behind his back to show her. She took it from him.

As he rambled on, she studied every detail on the weapon in her hands. Gods, it was beautiful. Her eyes trailed along the wooden handle. At the end of it was a larger replica of the metal skulls she wore on her belt. The end was covered with wool, and wrapped over with leather all along the entire length. The blade, from what she could see, was a perfect mixture of ordinary metal mixed with Gronckle iron, to give it the same weight and balance as an ordinary axe, but with better strength and resistance. Where the blade was attached to the handle, he'd wrapped long strands of pink and blue dyed leather around the blade to add some color to it. The blade itself was not unlike her own, crescent-shaped, but it was bigger to suit her growing stature, just like how he'd made the length of the handle longer, and much easier for hand-to-hand combat. No, this wasn't an axe for throwing, like her mother's axe. This was a deadly weapon for attacking foes up close.

Astrid flipped the axe so the blade was resting on the ground. On the end of the hilt was Hiccup's initials. He never fails to outdo himself.

"Hiccup, this is beautiful. When did you make this? Why? You really didn't have to," she tried. Hiccup was having none of it.

"After I left your hut, Toothless and I flew back to Berk. It took a while for me to come up with the design. Then I spent a day in the forge and flew back as soon as it was finished," he explained. "And I really did have to. I was going to make it anyway for your birthday. I just thought you'd like it now, since your birthday is months away." Suddenly, the ground looked very interesting.

"I really don't know what to say, Hiccup," she looked into his forest green eyes. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," his smile turned smug. "However, I'm willing to help you improve your cooking skills if you want. Odin knows you need the help."

She punched him in the arm, hard enough for him to wince, but not enough to cause serious injury. "That's for being a idiot." She pulled him in for a kiss. "And that's for everything else."