Yellow ribbons (HTTYD-oneshot)

Yellow Ribbons (oneshot)

Oneshot challenge with Harrypanther:

Write a oneshot about your preferred old song.

Rules: Minimum of 4000 words, must have Hiccstrid and Rufflegs pairing, and must contain one line directly taken from the song.

Chosen song: Tie a yellow ribbon 'round the ole oak tree- by Tony Orlando and Dawn

Yellow Ribbons

Astrid sighed as she finally stepped out of the gates of the gloomy prison. She looked back and saw the guard closing it without even glancing back at her. She breathed in the fresh air with a content hum and made her way towards the bus stop which was not far from the prison. Astrid couldn't believe that it had been three long years. She was finally free but there was still worry in the pit of her stomach. Her meager belongings had been packed in a plastic bag before she left and she was afraid to look at the pictures now. She might be completely unwanted.

A bus pulled up and Astrid looked at the sign saying 'Berk'. She took a deep breath and boarded. As Astrid stepped into the bus she looked to see that it was only half full. There were two elderly people as well as a few muscled men. A man in a rumpled business suit with short-cropped blond hair sat near the front and he seemed to be concentrating on a crossword book. "You coming in or what?" The bus driver asked her, snapping Astrid out of her musings. She noted that she was still standing on the step leading into the bus and blushed a bit.

"Yes, yes......" Astrid quickly said as she hurried inside. She mentally noted the nametag of the driver saying 'Alvin'. He was wearing the standard blue drivers' uniform and had a bushy beard. Astrid made her way towards the back of the bus. She didn't really feel much like chatting and the stares some of the passengers were giving her seemed a bit judgy. She chose an empty seat near the back but was startled when the blonde woman in the seat across from her leaned over and asked "So what were you in for?"

The portly blond man next to the woman shushed her and looked apologetically at Astrid. "I am so sorry!" He said. "My girlfriend can be such a busybody."

"Aye, she can be." The lanky old man sitting in the middle muttered.

"Oh, you hush Mildew." The nosy woman stated and then announced to the whole bus. "You all were thinking it!"

"It doesn't mean you have to ask it out loud Ruffnut." Her boyfriend groaned.

"Excuse me," Astrid mumbled. "But how did you know?"

"Well that bus stop is in the middle of nowhere and the only thing there is the Hysteria's Women's Penitentiary. I'm Ruffnut by the way." She introduced as she held out her hand for Astrid to shake. "This cuddle bug over here is my boyfriend Fishlegs."

Astrid shook the offered hand and watched the portly man blush at being called a cuddle bug. "So you all know each other?"

"Well, Berk is a small town. So everyone is acquainted." Ruffnut shrugged. "All of us are heading back for various reasons." Ruffnut then pointed at the driver. "That's Alvin the Fluffball. He used to be called Alvin the Treacherous when we were kids until he adopted several Pekinese. He drives the morning and afternoon shifts." She then pointed at Mildew. "Mildew the Grouch. No one has a clue why he takes the bus from Hysteria to Berk every two weeks."

"I can hear you!" Mildew grumbled.

"That means your ears are working old man!" Ruffnut shot back.

"Ruffnut and Mildew don't get along. Especially since the 'cabbage incident' she and her twin were in." Fishlegs elaborated as Ruffnut was still glaring daggers at Mildew.