Hear No Evil || ×TatoTheDestroyer×

×THIRTY-FOUR×

The chilling air tugging on your hair and clothes as Astra's wings sliced through the air began to comfort you. Flying had always been your solace, the one thing that gave you ultimate freedom. On the back of a black beast, you could do anything. Neither you nor Hiccup had spoken since you began your flight, unease and tension forming a barrier between the two of you. The incident with Peter had really made you more uncomfortable, and now you feared not only would you become a man's slave, and become property, but that you would now also be trapped with the son of a horrible man, who once attempted to do horrible things to you. It was a lot to process.

"(Name), love," Hiccup finally said, bringing Toothless in closer towards Astra, so you had a better chance of hearing him. His voice was soft, gentle; he knew you had a lot on your plate, and wanted to try and ease the weight on your shoulders. "You can talk to me. I want to know what's going on in that pretty little head of yours." You smiled softly, eyes closed and relishing the compassion he had. You may never know what it's like again if your father has his way. "I'm," you paused, trying to find the words. Some seemed lodged in your throat as if trying to stop the wrong ones from being uttered, whilst others vanished from your mind. "...scared." You finally decided, letting out a breath of air. "Terrified, actually. I love you, and—" You froze mid-sentence, as you realised you had admitted to him directly that you love him.

There was silence, before he said, "I love you too, (name). More than anything." You let out a sigh of relief, the anxiety dispersing with those words. "I'm just terrified of what's to come. I'm going to marry a stranger. I'm going to lose my freedom. I'll lose my family, my friends," you glanced over at Hiccup, who's smile fell, "but most importantly, I'll lose you. And that's absolutely terrifying." Your hands tightened on the leather strap of Astra's saddle-less saddle, knuckles turning white from the strain. You heard a click, then felt a shuffle behind you, and tensed as Hiccup wound his arms around your waist, resting his chin on your shoulder. "Hic, what about Tooth-" he shushed you, gently tightening his grip on you as a reassuring squeeze. "I changed the gear, so he could fly solo. I thought you might need some comfort." He wasn't wrong, you were leaning into his touch, feeling relaxed and calm now that his arms were wound around you. "It's okay to be afraid, love. There's so much uncertainty, and you're scared of what's to come. That's human, it's normal."

"I don't feel normal, Hic." You admitted head hung low. "I've lived with dragons for so long, these things aren't normal in their society. You're just free. You just support the family. This isn't the case with humans. Everything's been so foreign, so overwhelming that I don't know how to deal with a lot of it." You sighed, rubbing your eyes. "A part of me wishes I had just stayed at the nest, and not ventured out into the Archipeligo. But I would have never met you, never fallen in love, and...and..." You couldn't stop the tears that rolled down your face. Your sobs were quiet, muted as if to hide the fact you were in anguish. They rolled down, tears hitting the back of Hiccup's hands. He made shushing noises, trying to soothe you. "Hey, hey. Shhh, it's okay, love. Everything's going to be okay. We're going to get through this, and we're taking you back to Berk, no matter what your father says, okay?" You murmured an "Okay." back to him half-heartedly, not fully believing him. You didn't have doubts, but you didn't believe that it was okay at all.

There was so much on the line, and you were utterly petrified. "Can...can we race? I wanna feel the wind in my hair, and get my last few tastes of freedom." It was as if his heart stopped at that moment. He felt so helpless and broken, knowing you felt the same. He tried to hold onto his hope, knowing the more you doubted him the more it slipped away, between his fingers like sand. It pained him to think that he had no power here, that he couldn't protect you from your father's choices. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Of course. Anything for you, mi'lady."

He gave you one last squeeze, and a peck on the cheek, before carefully making his way onto Toothless' back, trying not to fall downwards towards the ground. He made it, and locked his prosthetic in place, changing the gears so he could control his dragon's tail flap yet again. "Last one to my father's house is a rotten egg!" You called, Astra crooning as she dived below the boys, beginning the race back towards your childhood home. "Hey! That's cheating!" Hiccup cried in protest, Toothless trying to catch up to Astra, but he was laughing, and enjoying the moment. He wouldn't let anything taint a moment like this, no matter whether you were playing fair or not. He wanted you to have pure, happy memories untouched by these awful circumstances. He wanted you to remember what joy was like and that he'd be waiting for you in Valhalla when the time came.