Hand on my Heart

Time gone By

Chapter 4

"Well, I thought the answer would be obvious." Astrid giggled. She decided that giggling would be more Viking like than bursting into tears. She may not have loved Hiccup long to the casual observer, but they knew nothing. The thing nobody knew was that she had secretly liked him for years. When they heard the news that Hiccup's mother and Astrid's father were likely dead, they had bonded over it. They may have only been eleven years old but it was significant to her. Nobody had offered her even a word of comfort when he'd found her sobbing in the woods. At first she'd told him to get lost but he told her that if anyone could understand, it was him. They'd cried together that day and she'd let him cuddle her. Berk had always been a place where everyone knew everything about everyone and yet he'd never told a soul about it. It would have been quite a feat for him as well, letting the village know that the ice queen Astrid had cried... and yet he didn't. She'd harboured feelings for him since then. Although, she kept her distance and it crushed her every time she saw someone pick on him.

She had her own quiet way of extracting revenge on those people. If it was Snotlout, she'd punch him extra hard. If it was an adult, she'd find a way to humiliate them so they would know the feeling. Eventually, the village eased up slightly on their ridicule of him as they all understood it themselves now. She never acted upon her feelings for him purely because of her father. He had wanted her to be a shield maiden and that meant no husband for her. It all changed when Hiccup had taken her on that flight she would never forget. She had fought her feelings for him so fiercely; she ended up coming across as cold. She used to daydream about scenarios where things would be different. It didn't bother her remotely what people thought of him or what they thought of her for wanting him. She always figured that if she were with him, she could easily take care of anyone that dared say anything about him... After all, she had been doing it for years.

When he had faced the Red Death, she was sure that she had lost him. That moment where Stoick had announced that he was alive, she made a promise to herself that she would no longer let her father control her life. After all, what parent wouldn't want their child to be happy?

"Right." Hiccup looked down at his feet and she noticed him deflate. She laughed again.

"You are so stupid. Of course I will." She smiled at him and his head snapped up.

"I... I... I..." He stuttered.

"Just kiss me, Hiccup." And he did. It was the first time he had ever kissed her, even if she told him to do it. She pulled away and rested her forehead on his. "You can kiss me whenever you want." He smiled at her widely and gently embraced her. It aggravated her that he still seemed to walk on eggshells around him. "Hiccup? Why are you so cautious around me?" She asked confused. He hesitated for a moment then took a step back.

"Astrid... please... don't take this the wrong way... I'm not used to you talking to me, let alone telling me that you want to be with me. It's just very... sudden." He said apologetically and she huffed with frustration. Of course she could see his point but it still frustrated her. If she ever saw her father again, even if it was in Valhalla, she was going to punch him right in the nose.

"Hiccup, I guess it's time I told you the truth." She grew nervous. "I've loved you ever since that first day in the woods." He hesitated for a moment and considered what she had said.

"That was all Toothless' doing, not mine." He said to her honestly and her jaw dropped. Did he not remember?

"Not that day, Hiccup. The first day we ever spent in the woods." She said more firmly. If he didn't remember she was going to smack him silly. Realisation shadowed his face; then it grew grim.