How Not To Have A Relaxing Holiday

Romance Rescue

NINE: Romance Rescue

The twins were shocked when Dagur kicked in the door of their suite. Ruff was snuggled up to Throk and Tuff was lying in his single bed like a corpse, his hands crossed over his chest but all three inhabitants sat up like a shot as Dagur, Fishlegs, Heather and Mala walked in and glared at them.

"Excuse you!" Ruff snarked. "What are you doing here?"

"Wait, let me guess..." Tuff began as Heather walked forward and cuffed his head.

"Idiot!" she scolded them. "Have you any idea what you've done?"

"Oh come on!" Tuff protested. "I haven't finished guessing the first one-unless it was one of those rhetocrical questions..."

"Actually, we do require an answer!" Mala told him seriously. "And I am surprised at you, Throk. You have always been so serious and reliable-until this..." The tall, red-haired man frowned.

"I don't understand..." he began, his deep voice hoarse from sleep.

"Hiccup and Astrid!" Heather snapped. "They've split up!"

"WHAT?!" all three sleepers said in shock.

"But how?" Ruff asked.

"And why?" Tuff added.

"Well, some muttonheads-who were asleep in this room-have no recognition that they needed some time together," Fishlegs told them sternly.

"Leaving him in the sea," Dagur added as Fishlegs blushed.

"Stopping Astrid from going after him when he was unhappy," Mala added.

"Not sending someone when you decided to go water skiiing," Dagur added.

"Booking the snorkelling trip and not checking that he was able to go," Heather piped up.

"Not getting off when he was ejected," Fishlegs added sternly.

"Invading their walk when they finally got some private time," Mala told them sharply.

"And insisting we all went to a Club when Hiccup had asked Astrid out for what was clearly a private romantic meal," Heather finished.

"Not to mention abandoning Hiccup when he got punched instead of Snot," Dagur growled.

"Did not!" Ruff protested.

"Tuff-you were the one who shouted RUN!" Heather told the male twin.

"But Snotlout was the one who yelled LEAVE HIM! and dragged Astrid out of the Club," Throk pointed out.

"Snotlout was the one who booked the Snorkelling Trip and promised he had checked everything out," Ruff added.

"He was the one who started the race and kept goading Astrid," Throk continued.

"And he was the one who said we should all go to the Club," Tuff put in.

"And he was the one who made us go water skiing," Ruff admitted. "He booked the boat then came back and told us we had to go now because the guy was fully booked for the rest of the day. It was only when we finished that the guy told us he was free..."

"So we could have gone and got Hiccup and given him the choice," Fishlegs said unhappily.

"It's almost as if he was trying to keep them apart," Tuff commented as Heather and Fishlegs shared a look.

"You know, I think that was exactly what he was doing," Heather realised. "I know Astrid was excited at seeing us again and Hiccup was very generous in buying us all dinner for getting his room back. But when Snot joined us at breakfast, he started to ease Hiccup aside from the moment he arrived. Everything was the opposite of what Hiccup wanted to do. And he's stuck to Astrid like a leech."