How Not To Have A Relaxing Holiday

Seaside Shenanigans

A/N: When people go on holidays (or vacations) they sometimes behave differently to how they normally do at home. So any OOC-ness is entirely intentional and yes, I know certain people normally wouldn't behave like this. It's a story. Daily updates.

-o-

FOUR: Seaside Shenanigans.

Though he did his best to enjoy his friends' presence, the twins' ridiculous antics that ended up spilling their Sangria, throwing the olives as missiles and eating all their snacks had really started to annoy Hiccup. He was getting hot, though the breeze off the sea was cooling-but the fact that the waves were splashing over a long zone of very damp, soft sand meant that he stood no chance of getting into the sea. So he pretended to be asleep as Astrid rose and walked into the waves, diving in and swimming strongly out, then circling and heading back in. Snotlout, Throk and the twins immediately followed her and began playing, splashing and diving like kids. Somehow, Tuff seemed to have acquired an inflatable that was in the shape of a chicken and he was paddling around, rolling it over everyone he could.

Quietly, he sat up and watched her, an unfamiliar feeling of jealousy washing over him as he watched her enjoy herself with their friends. No one else stayed as they all went into the sea, splashing and clearly having fun as Hiccup remained isolated on the beach. Breathing hard, he fished in his pockets to get his phone and earbuds and quietly blue toothed on and then thumbed on an audiobook, before lying back and closing his eyes. It was wonderful and warm but he was surrounded by empty beds, with the sounds of all his friends shrieking and laughing in the sea.

He was roused from his self-imposed cocoon when a shadow fell over him and a dripping Astrid smiled down on as him as he opened his eyes.

"Hey Babe," she said happily. "The water's lovely."

"Wouldn't know," he told her sourly, closing his eyes again. She immediately sat at his side.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Aren't you feeling well?" His eyes snapped open.

"What's wrong?" he repeated. "Guess." Her brows furrowed as she looked at him.

"Sorry-didn't you want to swim?" she asked him. He scowled, an unfamiliar expression.

"Actually, I did," he said and then gestured to his leg. "Except, of course, I can't get into the sea with one leg on my own-while I could at the pool." Her eyes widened and then she rubbed her forehead.

"Sorry," she sighed. "I forgot."

He paused. He had worked very hard to be treated exactly like everyone else, striven with all his might so that his leg wasn't an issue and that it didn't really hold him back from doing things that he wanted to do. And he supposed he should be pleased that it hadn't crossed her mind, that she hadn't focussed on his limitations when she had thought about going swimming because he did swim-and well-back home.

Except there were things that he couldn't do-and though he told himself he didn't allow himself to be limited by his leg, mentally he edited his goals so they didn't include anything impossible for him, because he found the limitations of his disability still hard to deal with when he slammed into them face first. And this was one of those times, where he was with a group of able-bodied people-his friends, allegedly-and he was restricted and unable to join in what they could do without even thinking. It had hurt, being left on the sidelines, unable to join in and he felt a frisson of irritation that Astrid, of all people, hadn't considered he might want to join her in the water.

"It's okay," he forced himself to say. "I mean, I try not to let it hold me back, Guess I did too good a job, hmm?" She smiled at him then, her face lighting up and she gave him a damp hug.