For Milady

TWELVE: Losing no matter what

TWELVE: Losing no matter what

Hiccup had returned home after dark, entering his home through the roof hatch and slumping onto his bed as Toothless had fired his slab and curled up. Both were clean and had missed the night meal so Toothless had caught some fish on the way and cooked one for Hiccup to eat. But in truth he had little appetite.

Fishlegs had surprised him. His friend tended to be self-conscious and nervous when talking about relationships and Hiccup could only conclude that he and Heather had been having long talks about the subject. But his advice had been unexpected, for Hiccup had truly expected to be advised to keep the contract and protect the Tribe. Fishlegs was very traditional and wanted his family safe...but for him to admit he would take up the burden of protecting the Tribe to allow Hiccup to follow his heart was..unnerving.

Wearily, Hiccup fumbled with the straps and buckles of his leather tunic, his lips curling as he performed the routine task, his mind sliding back to the fragments he could recall of that night, of Astrid in his arms, of her generous love and warmth. He slid the garment over his head and rested it by his bed and as he did so, his hand brushed the little braids that she always wove into his hair. In his mind, he had been delighted when she started to do this, because she was marking him as her territory-and even though he always whined and grumbled about her putting them in, he always kept the braids. And he wanted to be with her so much that it ached but she recognised the duty that came with his blood as much as he chafed against the unfairness of his fate. But how could he fail Berk again? Yet in doing that he failed Astrid...and the baby...

"Milady," he murmured, looking over at Toothless. The dragon was already asleep, deep heavy breaths sounding as the Night Fury slumbered.

"Wow-your eyes must really not be working if you think T looks like Astrid," Tuff said from the hatch. Hiccup yelped and stumbled backwards as he saw the twins hanging upside down from the hatch.

"Gah! Don't you know the meaning of personal space?" he gasped, then glared at them.

"Of course," Ruff said calmly. "But we can't come and bother you if we don't come into your personal space!"

"Or desperate," Tuff continued. "I mean you would have to be really desperate if you wanted to..."

"And we're gonna stop there," Hiccup said urgently. "Look, I just need to be left alone right now..." Ruff looked at him and then shook her head.

"No, you don't," she told him seriously, flipping round to land on his bed and crouch by him. "Look, Hiccup-we know we're crazy and don't concentrate very often but we hate seeing you like this. You without Astrid is a bit like me without Tuff."

"Yeah-that would be terrible...or would it?" Tuff mused, flipping round to crouch on Hiccup's other side. The auburn-haired Viking looked alarmed because he made a policy never to get between the twins and cringed back as they both wrapped an arm around him. "Look, we can see you're unhappy, young Hiccup..."

"Never really bothered you that much before," he muttered.

"And that's unfair," Ruff scolded him as his eyes widened in shock. "You mistake our surreal response to adverse events and refusal to acknowledge your propensity to accelerate into a downward mood spiral as not caring...when our intent is diametrically the opposite..."

"Indeed-as my sibling so accurately delineates," Tuff added and hugged Hiccup tighter. "Hiccup-we're your friends and we want you to be happy..."

"Especially if you can swing a Maid of Honour role in gratitude for our input?" Ruff added hopefully.

"Guys..." he murmured as they wrapped him in their arms.

"Thorston sandwich!" they said in unison. Finally, he stopped struggling and allowed them to hug him warmly until he finally relaxed.