Zephyr

Chapter 8

"So, tell me what happened while I was gone?" Astrid asked. "Traitor!" Tuffnut said loudly to his sister. "You were supposed to wake me up." Astrid, Ruffnut, Fishlegs, Hiccup and Snotlout were sitting on a table while Zephyr was playing in the playhouse. "Stop whining and sit next to me, you big baby." Astrid said and chuckled. She moved to give Tuffnut some place to sit. Tuffnut kept his glare at Ruffnut, but sat next to Astrid. Ruffnut held Fishlegs' hand. "Hey Astrid." She said. "Yeah?" Astrid said, then saw their hands. "We're getting married." The couple said. Astrid grinned. "Oh my gods, really? Congrats guys. When?" Astrid asked and held Ruffnut's hand. "After two months." Ruffnut said. "I'm in town just in time." Astrid said. "What about you, Ast? What's going on with your love life?" Snotlout asked. Hiccup looked at Astrid. Their was a pretty awkward silence between all of them. Ruffnut smacked Snotlout's head, making him jump of his place. "Not awkward at all." Astrid muttered softly. "I'll...go check on Zephyr." She said. Tuffnut took the hint and stood up, so Astrid could stand up. "Coming with ya. Wanna say hi to Zephyr. Also to avoid this awkward situation." Tuffnut said. They both walked to the playhouse. They spotted Zephyr on the top of a slide. Zephyr slid through the slide. "Zeph!" Tuffnut called. Zephyr smiled and ran to them. She hugged Tuffnut's legs. "Hi!" Zephyr said, excitingly. "Hi love." Tuffnut said and kneeled down. "Mama, Tuffie, I made a new friend." Zephyr said. In a week, Tuffnut and Zephyr really bonded well, which made Astrid really happy to see her daughter bonding with her best friend. "Aiden!" Zephyr waved to a little raven haired boy. The boy walked to them. "Hi." Aiden smiled shyly. "Hi Aiden." Astrid and Tuffnut both greeted the little boy. "Those are your mommy and daddy?" He asked. Astrid's breath hitched as she looked at Zephyr. She could see a glint of hurt in her eyes. "No, this is mommy and Tuffnut. He is mommy's best friend. I don't have a daddy." Zephyr said. Astrid heart ached. "How about you both go and continue playing? I'll be right back, you can go back to our table if you need something. Also nice to meet you, Aiden." Astrid said and smiled. "Okay mommy. Come on Aiden." Zephyr said. As soon as Zephyr was out of sight, Astrid ran outside of diner. Tuffnut followed her. "Astrid, hey." Tuffnut said. She was breathing heavily in verge of crying. "This is all my fault, Tuff." Astrid said. "Zephyr doesn't know her dad when he is in front of her because of me." "Hey, hey, hey...breathe." Tuffnut said and wrapped his arms around his best friend. "I-I did this. To Zephyr, to Hiccup." Astrid said. "It's fine." Tuffnut said. "Don't tell me it's fine!" Astrid yelled and pushed him away. "It's not fine! I'm this selfish, arrogant bitch that left the guy who I once loved and took his daughter away from him!" "You wanna hear this? Fine, yes, you're selfish. Is that what you want to hear? But you're trying the good thing. Yes, the first five years of Zephyr's life hasn't been with her father, but make sure that she'd have her father in the future. Okay?" Tuffnut said, caressing Astrid's face softly. "Since when you are this wise?" Astrid asked. "I'm not exactly a teenager anymore, am I?" Tuffnut said. Astrid chuckled and shook her head. At night, Astrid and Zephyr were on Astrid's old bed. "You had fun today, kiddo?" Astrid asked. Zephyr nodded. "And tomorrow is your first day at school here." Astrid said. "I'm thinking of we get our own place." "But won't nana be lonely?" Zephyr asked. Astrid smiled and kissed her head softly. "No, because her will be coming to live with her." Astrid said. "Oh." Zephyr simply said. "Also, I wanted to ask you a something." Astrid said. "Would you like to meet your dad? He lives here in this town." Astrid said. "Would my answer upset you?" Zephyr asked and frowned. Astrid smiled sadly. "Of course not, silly. This isn't about me, it's about you." Astrid said and poked Zephyr's nose. "Then I want to." Zephyr said.