Sixteen year old Astrid Hofferson sat alone in her room, just silently pondering over things that she need not worry about. She had recently developed depression, and had decided to keep it to herself. Usually, Astrid would go to Hiccup for advice and guidance, but she didn't want to put a huge burden like this on her boyfriend's shoulders. He didn't deserve to be weighed down by that, or so that's what she told herself. She tried to find ways to slip out from under the sadness and pain that kept her awake as she later cried herself to sleep, but found no way to escape from it.
Astrid had talked to Gothi two weeks before, wondering if there was any sort of cure for her depression. Unfortunately, Gothi did not have an antidote this time, but suggested that Astrid drink herbal teas every day to help her calm down and allow her mind to relax. Although the tea did help, it simply wasn't enough. The depression weighed on Astrid like a storm cloud, storing up all the pain until one day it bursts and all that comes from it are tears. She needed a cure, not just a treatment, but there was no cure for this kind of disorder yet.
If Astrid wasn't at Hiccup's house, Hiccup was at hers. Although Astrid's father wasn't very keen on Hiccup dating his only daughter, he approved of the couple and tried his best to tolerate Hiccup to make Astrid happy.
So on this certain day, Hiccup lightly knocked on the Hofferson's front door, soft enough that Astrid could barely make out the faint sound. Hiccup then walked inside the house, gently closed the door behind him, and went lookng for Astrid. Once he discovered she wasn't downstairs like she usually was, he headed up to her room, his metal leg clinking on the wooden floorboards
"Hiccup," Astrid's father spoke, grabbing the boy by the arm so he could talk directly to him. "Please make sure that you don't upset Astrid. Keep her happy. She's been up in her room more often than usual and she's been very quiet lately. I think something's wrong, but I just don't know what it is. Will you make sure you're being extra careful around Astrid as to not upset her?"
"Of course, sir," Hiccup responded, a bit of panic teeming in the back of his mind. He too had noticed Astrid had been acting a bit strange, but apparently there was more going on than what meets the eye. "I'll go check and see if she's alright."
Astrid's father smiled, giving Hiccup a light pat on the back. "Thank you."
"No problem, sir," Hiccup answered. He began to walk down the rest of the hall to Astrid's bedroom that was on the left side. Her door was closed, which it normally wasn't, but Hiccup lightly knocked and opened the door when he heard a soft, "Come in."
"Hey, Astrid," Hiccup grinned as he closed the door and took a seat next to Astrid on her bed.
"Hey, Babe," she silently murmmured back. At that point, Hiccup would feel a pair of lips kiss his cheek and a giggle afterwards, but he neither felt or heard either of those. It's not like he forced Astrid to do that, but she did it without question. Her face didn't even seem to brighten up the slightest when Hiccup walked into the room; something was definetly wrong.
"Astrid," Hiccup began, taking his girlfriend's delicate hand in his. "Hey, talk to me. Don't be afraid, M'lady. I'm right here ready to listen to you."
He recieved no response. Astrid was definetly hiding something.
"Babe," Hiccup spoke again, eyeing Astrid as she stared down at the floor, a deep and heavy pain flickering in her blue eyes. "I'm right here."
Again, Astrid was silent, but she found the strength to speak up.
"Everything!" she cried out, her body beginning to shake. "Everything's been going wrong! I can't seem to do anything right; I can't sleep, I can't do well in dragon training, and I can't even throw my axe properly!" she thrust her face into her hands, tears lining her eyes. "Everything...everything's gone wrong."
Hiccup just looked at her for a moment, trying to figure out exactly why she seemed so distressed. She had never been this upset before, so there was definitely something more going on.
"Astrid," Hiccup spoke again. "What are you not telling me?" Tears lined his eyes as well, and he heaved in a heavy breath. He patiently waited for his girlfriend to answer.
Astrid exhaled deeply, her shoulders slumping as she did so. She just couldn't lie to Hiccup; he needed to hear the truth anyways.
"Depression."
"What?" Hiccup asked, a bit confused at her one word answer.
"Babe, I've been really depressed recently, and I even went to Gothi to hopefully get some help with getting rid of this. Unfortunately, there's no cure. She's instructed that I drink herbal tea and such, and I have, but it's not enough." She then let out a small sob, all her emotions pulling at her from every direction. "It's just not enough."
Hiccup instinctively wrapped his arms around her, and Astrid buried her head into his chest, taking in his familar and comforting scent. Hiccup's arms gently rubbed her back, and his head was laid atop hers. A few tears escaped his eyes, which Astrid happened to notice. She reached her hand up to his face and wiped the remainder of the tears away.
"Babe, don't cry, I'm already doing that for you," Astrid responded with a soft laugh.
"That's the thing, Astrid," Hiccup continued on. "You shouldn't be crying at all. There has to be something that can make you feel better."
Astrid Hofferson smiled, adjusting her position so that her head was laid on Hiccup's shoulder. "Unfortunately, there's nothing that can change this. Oh, I just don't know what to do."
Hiccup looked at Astrid, his heart breaking every passing second. He could tell that his girlfriend was in a lot of pain, and it hurt him that he wasn't able to stop it.
"Hey," he spoke softly, rubbing Astrid's arm to soothe her and keep her warm."We're going to get you through this."
"But-"
"No 'buts!' I'm going to help you overcome this, and I promise I will be there every step of the way."
Astrid smiled, a few tears falling down her cheeks as she stared at Hiccup lovingly. "I love you," she said, her voice just above a whisper. Her voice was breaking from her tears, and Hiccup quickly pulled Astrid's head to his chest and waited patiently until she eventually couldn't stand the pain anymore.
Her body trembled from her sobbing, and her small hands gripped Hiccup's green tunic. She wanted to hold her boyfriend as close to her as possible. He made her feel safe.
As Astrid let out all her tears, Hiccup rubbed her back. He began to cry as well, upset that his love was so devastated. He hated seeing her that way, and he promised himself he would do everything he possibly could to stop the pain. He wouldn't rest until his love was happy.
"Just remember, M'lady, I'm with you, every step of the way."
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A/N
Hey!
So I wrote this one shot over the course of my periods of depression. I felt like I needed to put it into writing, so Astrid's pain and her feelings of this depression are kind of based off mine. I thought that would make it a bit more relatable and realistic so...yeah.
There's this head canon that I have that Astrid went through a small period of depression as she tried to figure out who she was. She no longer had to fight to be the best in her class, she didn't want to kill dragons anymore, and she clearly has feeling for Hiccup now, and sometimes transitions like that tend to take a toll on us.
Anyways, I hope you liked this one shot!
Have an amazing day! :)
