Hey guys! Sorry I went awol on you! I had bad ice storms where I live and I had no WiFi most of the day yesterday! It sucked! But I've been working on In Love Part 2 and I've been working on a request from @Tik_tok_star and it was really good! I couldn't decide which one to post first so I flipped a coin! Here is the request, part two of In Love will be published next! I hope you all enjoy! :)
Also if there's any spelling mistakes or random words I apologize I was too lazy to proofread 😂
Astrid stared out the window at the storm clouds that gathered in the East, her heart pumping rapidly. Why the hell did they have to schedule the chief's meeting on August 16th? Of all the damn days...
"G'mornin' Astrid." Valka chimed from behind her.
Astrid jumped but instantly realized it was her. She sighed and waved with a weak smile.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you dear." She smiled as she stepped into the room. "I was just wondering if you wanted to head down to the Great Hall with me? Hiccup's at that meeting and I'm really not much of a cook."
Astrid couldn't help but chuckle. "Yea, that sounds great! I honestly can't cook very well either."
So the two women made their way to the Great Hall, Astrid staring at the sky anxiously the entire time.
Everyone was already gobbling up their breakfast. Left over yak chops cut up into small cubes and put into gravy, smothered over bread. It was one of Astrid's favorites, but she just couldn't find her appetite.
Valka of course, noticed this. "Astrid you haven't taken but two bites of your breakfast. Astrid you feeling alright?"
"Bah! She's fine!" Snotlout snorted from beside her. "She's just scared."
"I don't get scared." Astrid growled at him, shooting him a death glare. The last thing she needed was Valka knowing.
"Sure you do!" Snotlout pushed. "Especially today! It's August 16th! The biggest storm of the year is rolling in as we speak. She's gonna be freaking out all day."
Valka questioned her with her eyes. Was this true?
"Okay so storms make me nervous... it's not a big deal!" Astrid continued to glare at him.
"Oh yea sure, it wouldn't be. Except uh... ohhh that's right. Hiccup isn't here."
Astrid's face went red. "Shut up, Snotlout! Gods, can't you for once mind your own business?!" She stood up and abruptly left the Great Hall.
Fishlegs shook his head as well as Valka.
"What? It's true! She's terrified of storms, everyone knows it." Snotlout rolled his eyes.
"Well I don't believe it was necessary to embarrass her like that." Fishlegs grumbled. "You know she hates herself for it."
"Oh for Thor's sake. The girl's afraid of storms, so what? Everyone has a fear!"
"That's what we've been tying to tell her for years." Tuffnut chimed in.
"We all try to help her when she starts getting freaked out, but Hiccup is really the only one that can calm her down." Ruffnut shrugged.
Valka sighed. "Has Hiccup ever been gone during this huge storm before?"
Fishlegs shook his head.
"Well, lets pray to the gods he gets back before it hits."
******************On a Distant Island********
Hiccup shook his head as the rain poured down on him, Toothless, and Gobber. "The Storm is already heading for Berk."
"I'm sure your girl is fine, lad." Gobber said knowingly.
Hiccup couldn't help but chuckle. "If I ever tried to call Astrid my girl I'd get an axe in my shoulder blade."
Gobber laughed as well. "Most likely."
"Well, we won't get to Berk just sitting here, bud. Let's go."
"Hiccup you cannot fly in this storm! Are you crazy?!" Gobber shouted, realizing what he was about to do.
"I'll be fine, Gobber. Toothless and I have flown in worse. It's gonna take us most of the day to get there, but at least we'll get there before the worst of it hits."
*****************Several Hours Later********
The storm was tearing Berk to pieces. Huge wind gusts, hail the size of golf balls clanked against the roofs of the village's huts, and rain was beginning to flood the pastures.
Astrid was in her and Hiccup's hut, sitting in his chair with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her heart pounded the adrenaline through her veins and she just couldn't stop shaking.
The gang was there too, although most of them were asleep. Only Tuffnut and Fishlegs remained awake.
"It's really not as bad as it sounds, Astrid." Fishlegs squeaked.
"Yes it is." She snapped back, pulling the blanket over her head. She had long since given up on being embarrassed, they all knew her secret anyways. She just wanted Hiccup to get home.
"Well how about we talk about something to distract you from it?" He suggested. "To take your mind of of being afraid."
"I'm not scared, I'm nervous, but alright." She agreed, still trembling.
Tuffnut scooter away from Ruffnut, who was snoring rather loudly. "So why are you so scared of storms?"
"Tuffnut!" Fishlegs was about ready to pull his hair out. "Talking about storms is not going to distract her!! For the love of Thor!!!"
"Well sorrryyyy!" Tuffnut replied with a serious tone of sass. "I was just curious."
"Well you can keep on being curious Tuff, because I'm never going to tell you!" Astrid shouted, leaping from her chair and running to hers and Hiccup's bedroom. "You guys are not helping! Just leave me alone!" She slammed the door to emphasize her point, instantly waking the rest of the gang.
Astrid fell to the floor against the door, hugging her knees and longing for the feeling of Hiccup's gentle yet strong arms around her. Tears stung her eyes as the wind kicked up, howling throughout the cracks in the wood.
"You're fine," she told herself shakily. "You're fine..." the tears pricked again. "You're fine, nothing is going to happen..." the tears fell, making dark spots on her leggings. "Ev..everything's oka—" she finally couldn't lie to herself anymore. "Oh who am I kidding?! Everything's not fine I'm... I'm... I'm scared!"
A startled yelp escaped her lips as ear splitting thunder cracked through the sky. "Damn it!" She pulled the blanket tighter around herself, then quickly dropped it to cover her ears. She'd seen lighting out the window she she knew the bang would come.
Her head dropped to her knees as she sobbed, her heart longing for Hiccup. "Please come home..." she begged. "I need you..."
There was a soft knock on the door and it made Astrid jump.
"Who is it?" She growled.
"Just me."
"What do you want, Tuff?"
He sat on the other side, his back up against the door like Astrid. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright."
She sniffed. "Why do you even care?"
"You're my friend, Astrid. I care about you, and so does everyone else."
"W-well I'm not alright." She closed her eyes, pressing more tears down her face as she rested her cheek against her knees. Her bangs were falling in her eyes, but she didn't care. "I'm scared."
"I know," he replied gently. "I wish I could help."
"That's the thing, Tuff," her voice betrayed her as it cracked. "No one can. It's a stupid irrational fear that never goes away."
Tuffnut's eyes widened. "Are you crying?"
Astrid quickly wiped her eyes, although she didn't know why. It wasn't like anyone could see her. "A little."
"Well I don't know what happened to make you hate storms so much Astrid but... whatever it was it must have been really bad. So.. your fear isn't irrational."
"Thanks, Tuff."
"Anytime, I'm here all week." He smirked.
********************
"C'mon bud, you've got this. We need to get to her."
Toothless warbled in reply. He was worried about her too.
Hiccup cursed under his breath at the rain and wind. He was soaked to the bone and the wind nearly froze him, but he didn't care about that. He just wanted to get to Astrid.
********************
Snotlout was at the door now, although Astrid didn't know it yet. She was still crying, the wind had kicked up to a constant roar and she just couldn't take it. It sounded just like it had that night...
"You're gonna hyperventilate..."
"Snotlout?!" Astrid gasped through her tears. "How long have you been there?!"
"Just take a breath, Astrid."
"Can't you hear it?" She sobbed, frantically trying to block the horrid sound from her ears.
"It's just wind and rain, Astrid." Snotlout replied calmly. "It can't hurt you."
"That's what I used to think..." She grimaced, wiping her tears away with the corner of her blanket.
Snotlout arched an eyebrow. What the heck was she talking about? He wouldn't admit it, but hearing Astrid cry like this scared him. It wasn't the Astrid he knew.
"What do you mean?"
"When I was five, a huge superstorm wiped out my entire village, Snotlout." She whimpered in defeat. Who cared if he knew? "My parents and I were the only survivors. That's why we moved to Berk. We had nowhere else to go. That night was the scariest of my life. The wind.. the screams... the terror... it had come out of..." she struggled to keep her voice steady. "Out of nowhere. And now every time it storms I have flashbacks and the sounds... it's just too overwhelming and I hate it! I hate that is scares me!"
Snotlout then did something he rarely ever did... he realized his mistake all on his own. "I'm sorry, Astrid."
Astrid then broke down into uncontrollable sobs that wracked and punched through her chest and made her let out scratchy, nasally coughs.
Snotlout just didn't know what to do.
***************
Toothless touched down in front of the Haddock household and Hiccup leapt off him and ran inside. It was a bit chaotic to say the least.
"Just leave her alone, she needs to be alone!"
"No one should he by themselves when they're this scared!"
"Shut it!" Hiccup shouted.
"Hiccup!!!" The gang all shouted at once. "Thank Thor your back!"
"Astrid is FREAKING OUT!"
"That's an understatement, sister!"
Hiccup shook his head and pushed through them, he knew where she was. He ran up the stairs and to his bedroom.
"Astrid?"
He found her standing at the window, her hands pressing over top of her ears as tears dropped down her red and swollen face. She must have been crying for hours..
Hiccup ran to her, throwing his arms around her. She hugged him back desperately as his hand came up to cradle the back of her head. (They are hugging like in the picture at the top of the chapter)
"Hiccup, oh thank the gods!" She burrowed her face into the crook of his neck, still crying.
"Shh, I'm here." He said breathlessly. "I'm right here, everything's okay. You're okay."
"I was so scared.. and embarrassed!"
"Shh," He soothed. "Just breathe." He used his thumb to gently wipe away her tears, then he kissed her forehead and held her closer.
"Well no wonder he's the only one that can calm her down! He's all intimate and shit!!!"
"Ruff!!!"
Hiccup and Astrid looked up to see the gang staring at them.
Ruff smirked. "I'm not wrong!"
Astrid simply buried her face into Hiccup's chest again and soaked up the feeling of him, and tried to keep breathing slow and deep.
*********
Later that night, well, more like really early that morning, the gang finally went home. Astrid was tangled in Hiccup's arms as they slept.
Once again, a loud crack of thunder resounded and Astrid was startled awake. Hiccup held her tight against him, his thumb rubbing against her hip in gentle circles.
"Go back to sleep, you're exhausted." He said groggily.
"What if the storm turns around and blows back?"
"It won't, I promise. It's miles away from here now."
Astrid sighed and snuggled closer to him, feeling silly. She wanted him to do a certain thing... but it really did feel so silly to ask if of him...
"Can...can you do that thing where you play with hair? It-it makes me feel better..." she was very glad Hiccup couldn't see how much she had just blushed. She felt very childish. But the childish feeling was soon replaced with tingles as Hiccup's gentle fingers began to run through her hair.
"I love you, M'lady."
