Life on Berk

Duties Can Wait

A/N: Is this an update? Oh my gosh, how miraculous.

Summary: Hiccup is still getting used to being Chief. Needless to say, he is just plain exhausted.

Storehouse supplies.

Check.

Food supplies.

Check.

Dragon pens expanded.

Check.

Burnt down houses rebuilt.

Che-

An explosion and a scream sounded in the distance.

With a sigh, Hiccup lifted his charcoal stick and circled that item on the list.

There hadn't been a single day when a house wasn't being burned to the ground in months.

Months.

He had been Chief of Berk for months. Something always had to be done. He hadn't had a break since he had accepted his role, and he was tired.

He struggled to keep his eyes open at meetings, had a hard time listening when anybody spoke to him, and fought to stay on his feet.

Simply put, he felt like a walking corpse.

He probably even looked like one, too. Each time he caught sight of his reflection, his attention was drawn to the dark bags beneath his eyes, getting more and more noticeable everyday. He would examine himself for a minute, wondering how he was still standing when he was just so exhausted. He could hide it from anyone, sure. Almost nobody knew him well enough to tell how he was feeling. Truthfully, the Berkians had been taking it easy on him out of pity. He wasn't looking forward to the day they stopped pitying his situation.

To Astrid, however, he was an open book.

She had taken to spending most nights at his home since they returned. His mom lived with him too, but even though nobody ever said it out loud, it was an unspoken agreement between all three of them that she didn't know him as well as Astrid did.

Or maybe the two women had talked about it. He didn't know, and frankly, he didn't care.

All he cared about was getting his work done for the day, and then getting dressed in his warmest and cosiest tunic and pants before crawling into bed for a good night's sleep.

Clearly, the gods had other plans in store for him. Pushing his chair back from the table with a loud creek that rattled his bones, he stood and trudged towards the door. He failed to stop when Astrid came barreling in, knocking him over.

"No, no, no, Hiccup," she said, punctuating each word with a poke to his chest. "You're staying right here."

Numbly, he shoved her off and stood, offering his hand to lift her up.

When she didn't grab his hand, he let it drop to his side limply. "I have to, Astrid."

Rolling her eyes, she got to her feet and locked the door behind them, trapping him in the house. "The other riders have it covered. You don't need to be there every time something happens."

"Yes, I do." He reached around her to unlock the door, but she held him back with one arm. "Astrid, don't be like that, please."

"No, Hiccup." She moved away from the door and dragged him to the table before he could make a grab for the door handle. She sat them both down, making sure to place herself between him and the door, and rested a hand on his, drawing circles lightly. "You don't be like that. You need your rest."

"Rest is for the weak," Hiccup quipped weakly with a yawn. He laid his head down on the table and attempted a glare at his girlfriend, despite knowing it would do nothing to persuade Astrid that he didn't need rest. He knew it himself, so why did he even bother trying to convince her?

"You know you need your rest when you start quoting the Jorgensons," she barked out a laugh and ran a hand through his hair. He sighed at the ministrations, but fought to keep his eyes open. "You're the most stubborn Viking I have ever met," she muttered with a fond smile.

"You love me though," he whispered, just loud enough for her to hear. He peeked up at her with wide, forest green eyes and smiled.

She didn't reply, but the corners of her lips quirked up in a tiny grin as she pressed a light kiss to his cheek and brushed his bangs away from his eyes.

"Get some rest," she said softly. "You can carry on in the morning."

"M'kay," Hiccup mumbled, stifling another yawn. "Good night, Astrid."

Astrid briefly entertained the thought of helping him up to his bed, but he was already half asleep. "Good night, Hiccup," she said as she shut the door behind her, heading off in search of her dragon to get as much of the chief's work done as she could.