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(Warning: mild language)

CHAPTER 4

MISARTICULATED

"I had a feeling you'd come."

A high-pitched yelp escapes Hiccup before he can stifle it and something changes in the old man's expression. The muscles at the corner of his mouth lift just slightly at the boy's wide eyes, barely visibly in the darkness, in what could be considered a beginning of a smile. It's gone as soon as it appears and Mildew hunches his shoulder, sullen again.

"H-how, um," Hiccup clears his throat in a poor attempt to save what little is left of his dignity. "How did you, uh, know?"

The old librarian comes closer, his lithe body a mere shadow in the darkness that surrounds them. He flips on the lamp over his desk and the bulb buzzes a little before coming to life. Hiccup winces at the sudden bright light. Mildew grimaces as well, moving his scruffy jaw the way he always does when he is displeased. His bare wings are somehow more apparent than ever before, at least to Hiccup, and he can't take his eyes off them.

"Haven't yer father ever told ya it's rude to stare?" The gruff voice startles him from his thoughts and he quickly lowers his head in embarrassment. He can hear Mildew moving around, his uneven steps shuffling as he draws closer to the teen. As Hiccup dares to look up, he sees the librarian sliding into his favorite chair by the desk. He doesn't miss the way the bare wings stick awkwardly out, making them appear even scarier, more obvious than before. His eyes dart away to focus on the random sheep photo placed by the computer instead.

"I think everyone has heard about what happened by now," Mildew replies casually, smacking his lips. Hiccup feels his muscles stiffening at the nonchalant tone, irritation quickly building up inside him. His fists clench by his sides before he registers it. The old man grimaces again as he observes the teen from the corner of his eye. His hand goes to grab a pair of old, dirty glasses from the desk. "Are ye gonna take a seat, or just stand there like an idiot?"

Hiccup's eyes widen in surprise and he quickly looks around. He leans to grab a nearby chair; it falls as he attempts to pull it towards the librarian and he curses the way his hands shake. Mildew looks less than amused as he observes the embarrassing struggle. Once finally seated, Hiccup lays his hands in his lap awkwardly, his leg bobbing up and down. The rhythmic thudding sound punctures the uncomfortable silence of the old building.

"Ask."

"What?" Hiccup looks at the man in surprise. He can see Mildew's patience is already wearing thin as his expression hardens. "Ask what?"

"Isn't it why ye came 'ere?" He yanks his glasses off again to rub at them with the hem of his shirt. The ragged piece of clothing is not much cleaner, numerous stains splotched across the whole thing, and Hiccup scrunches up his nose in mild disgust. "To ask 'bout the wings?"

"I- well-" Mildew's words catch him off guard and he doesn't know what to say. "I don't really…know why I came."

"Teenagers these days," the librarian snorts with a shake of his head, his oddly cut beard and mustache flailing around as he does so. "You never seem to know what yer doing or why."

Hiccup's brow furrows as his fists balls up on his lap.

"This..." he stands up slowly with a shake of his head. "This is – I don't know why I came." The chair staggers back and he catches it in the last second, cheeks flaring again with embarrassment. He trips over something, a black cable he hadn't noticed, on his way out. The darkness of the room weighs down on him more than he can handle and he just needs to leave. It was stupid to come here in the first place. He doesn't know what he expected to come from this irregular visit. He shivers as his fingers circle the cold doorknob.

"You care 'bout 'er." Hiccup tenses and straightens, turning to face Mildew once again.

"What?" The old man wears an unreadable expression. Apparently done with the glasses, he throws them carelessly back onto the desktop, and Hiccup briefly wonders what the point even was of "cleaning" them. Mildew moves his jaw impatiently and smacks his lips again.

"That's why ye came 'ere." Hiccup takes a few steps back towards the desk and his abandoned chair. Something changes in Mildew's expression. His face is somehow softer, his eyebrows drawn lower as his gaze drops.

"I…I don't know what I should do," Hiccup screws his eyes shut as he whispers out his answer. He leans on the wall beside him, feeling what little strength he had left leaving him.

"Tell 'er." It's so simple and straight to the point that Hiccup almost feels offended. Silence falls between them as he scowls down at his shoes. The sound of the buzzing lightbulb turns obnoxious and Hiccup turns to glare at the little dusty lamp on the desk. Mildew shifts in his chair a little but he's clearly miles away, lost in his own world.

"I-I can't, I can't do that," Hiccup finally answers after a longer pause. His hands slide up his face to grip his disheveled hair.

"And why is tha'?" The harsh tone makes him glance at the older man. The teen wonders whether he meant for it to sound so rough or if it was more out of habit than anything else.

He opens his mouth to retort, to inform the gruff old man how insane an idea that is, that it could never work, that it would destroy all of what is still left between him and Astrid. But, it starts to occur to him just how much truth there really is in the blunt statement. The wings are already on his back, and he needs to believe that they were given to him for a reason. As much as Astrid's reaction hurt him, she sought him out later, and if he was willing to admit it she had looked just as lost as he felt. Even if she were to turn him down... He needs to tell her how he feels. She deserves that.

The truth is, the way he feels when he is around her – it's indescribable. He doesn't need the wings to feel as though he's soaring high in the sky when she is near him. Her smile is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen and her melodic laugh always brightens his day in a way nothing else can. He loves the way her eyes shine when she's happy, the way she rolls her eyes dryly when he tells her a particularly bad joke, or the way her nose scrunches up when something annoys her. He's known it all for quite some time now, but it wasn't until now that he truly realizes what it means - or that he's allowed himself to admit it.

He would do anything for her. It's as simple as that; no hesitance, no questions asked.

"I need to go," he quickly says, still in a daze as he pulls away from the wall. It has to be his imagination playing tricks on him but he swears Mildew smiles at him as he staggers out of the building. He shields his eyes as he exits the library, squinting painfully as he accustoms to the bright sunshine. He breathes out. He has one more class left for the day; he shakes his head, squaring his shoulders as he decides to take a walk away from the beckoning school building, and soon off the schoolground itself. He needs to think some things through.

It occurs to him that Mildew never actually told him what happened. A part of him is glad; perhaps it's better it stays a mystery.

Hiccup stumbles through the small city of Berk, not paying much attention to the few people that stare at him. Light rain scatters the streets and the cold wind, a regular companion on Berk, has pushed most people to stay in their warm, cozy houses. The village is peaceful and mostly empty at this hour and Hiccup finds it calming. He pauses as he walks past the local florist's shop in a poorer part of the town. The red roses displayed proudly in the window call to him and he dares to smile.

Astrid would like those.

Astrid Hofferson takes her time as she makes her way back home. She knows that she will be swarmed with questions from her parents the moment she steps foot into the Hofferson household, just as she had been the day before. She doesn't feel strong enough to face them at that exact moment.

She doesn't feel strong anymore. It weighs her down.

She thought she knew who she was, thought she could handle anything and everything that could be thrown at her. But this… this was so unexpected.

Gray clouds cover the sky completely and she clutches her coat closer to herself, the cold wind causing her to shiver. She rubs her arms as she passes different stores and old-fashioned houses built in a traditional Berk way, and she's thankful that the rain has at least lessened to a light mist. Some rainwater drips down from the steep roofs and she does her best to avoid the puddles that on the raddled pavement. Cars drive past every now and then and she has to avoid being soaked by the cold water from the dirty street. That's the last thing she needs right now.

Just as she passes the old, battered building of the local florist's, muffled voices from behind one of the buildings catch her attention. She comes to a halt, worry shyly nestling in her chest. Something at the back of her mind is screaming at her, and she doesn't understand why. She turns towards the dark alley between an old bar that recently went bankrupt and an already-closed second-hand shop. The wind howls but she can still hear some sort of commotion coming from the passage.

The voices are still too distant for her to understand what exactly is going on but the tone suggests a fight of sorts. She swallows and pauses in the middle of the street. Brawls and violence are not anything uncommon in that part of the town and the rational side of her tries to convince her to just let it go.

But she can't.

Something, something, pushes her towards that dank alley, a force that she can't seem to fight or argue with. Slowly, tentatively, she takes a few more steps towards the voices. She jumps slightly when a loud clang echoes around, as if metal hit metal with a lot of force. She slides across the wall of the second-hand shop, her palm running along the cold, dampened bricks. The wind eases some once she steps further, the space closed-off and sheltered with buildings on two sides, and Astrid tilts her head to the side, trying to catch something.

"-op," a weak sound is followed by a wounded yelp and her heart squeezes with unease as she is struck with familiarity. She can't place it exactly but she feels, she knows, she needs to find out what is happening. Her hand dives into her jeans' front pocket, checking whether her phone was in easy reach. She pulls it out and grips it tightly, her nails digging themselves into the plastic case. As she takes another step further, her boot lands on something softer. A plastic wrap crackles under her shoe and she looks down with a racing heart. Her eyes land on a bouquet of flowers, beautiful red roses, thrown carelessly into a puddle of putrid water and now sadly torn.

"No!" The phone falls out of her hand with a clatter when she hears it. Thousands of thoughts cross her mind but in the end it's only one word, a name, that repeats itself over and over again in panic.

Hiccup.

Hiccup!

Hiccup!

Flowers and phone completely forgotten, she sprints towards the back of the old bar. Cold water from the puddles soak her shoes and the ends of her jeans as she runs but she pays no mind to it, only one thought in her head and one alone.

"Where's your soulmate now, huh?" A breathless voice reaches her from just behind the corner, followed by a huff and another pained yelp. "I bet she's somewhere out there right now, being fu-"

"HICCUP!" The two men, or rather, a man and a boy, gathered at the back of the dirty building look up at her, surprise clear on each of their faces. The older of the two, tall and scraggy in build, grimaces at the sight of her. His dilated pupils and absent look alarms her and she automatically reaches for her phone only to find the pocket empty. She briefly notices the flash of fear crossing the other boy's young face before she begins to search for her Hiccup, her wide eyes flickering from side to side in frenzy. She finds him between the doors with a broken-out glass and a rusty dark-blue garbage container as he lays with his legs sprawled out and wings soiled from the mud and disgusting rainwater.

Her stomach turns at the awful odor coming from the leaking sewer pipes and the container. The alley's walls are covered with the crudest of graffiti that look as if a drunk ten-year old with a filthy mouth had drawn them in a hurry. A tattered rat flits right underfoot as she crosses the small distance between her and Hiccup.

"Hiccup," she repeats his name, this time much softer as she kneels beside him. She crouches to meet him eye to eye. He squints at her with a dazed look and she fights the urge to pull him into her arms. He would be safer that way; she would protect him.

"Astrid?" He questions, his eyes slowly widening with realization. She opens her mouth to respond when she hears someone walking up to the two of them. Her muscles tense and she straightens.

"Hey, hot shot, what do you think you're doing, huh?" The druggie calls out and her fists clench as she stands and turns his way. The man has an unsettling smirk spread uglily across his acne-covered face. Astrid presses her lips into a thin line and clenches her jaw. He notices and his smirk grows with unexplained, sick satisfaction. "Why don't you-"

Astrid doesn't wait a second longer and her fist collides with his face. She hears a "crack" indicating she has probably broken his nose but she feels no guilt connected to it whatsoever. Her nostrils flair and she growls as the repulsive beanpole falls to the ground quite ungracefully. She shoots the younger of the pair a menacing look and he turns his head to look around nervously.

"Bitch!" the druggie wails on the ground as he clutches his bleeding nose. The boy takes a hesitant step back, his brown eyes on his companion, drug dealer, probably, or maybe older brother. Before Astrid can do anything, the boy darts out of the dark alley the same way she came in a short moment ago. She growls but doesn't follow him, not when the other one is still here and Hiccup is still in potential danger.

"Sven, you fuckface!" The man manages to stand up shakily. Swaying to the sides, he lifts his hand and uses the hem of his grimy sweatshirt to dab at the bleeding. His focus turns to Astrid again. Her heartbeat speeds up further when she sees the crazy look on his face.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" he growls out, moving her way. From the corner of her eye, she notices Hiccup's poor attempt at standing up. He ends up falling to the ground again, banging his head on the old pipe that runs horizontally across the wall and clutching at it with a long groan. She doesn't feel strong in that alley, so close to the person clearly under the influence. Fear grips at her heart but she does her best to not let it show and stands tall instead. This is her chance.

"I would leave," Astrid takes some pride in the fact her voice doesn't tremble as she speaks. She sees some hesitance in the bloodshot eyes of the druggie. She realizes then that the man before her is a coward. That he, too, is afraid, but, as opposed to her, he is not as good at hiding it. Her hand ghosts over her empty pocket. "Unless you want me to call the police."

His eyes widen, a flicker of realization in them, before narrowing. He studies her for a short moment before stumbling a few steps closer to the passage that "Sven" escaped down not long ago. The thin man glances back at Hiccup shortly. He clearly decides the "brief squabble" is not worth a conflict with the police because he spits on the ground angrily.

"This time," he snarls before giving Astrid a somewhat hungry look. "You're lucky I don't have the time for shit like that right now, princess."

Astrid glares daggers at his back as he stumbles away. His nose is still bleeding profusely but a smirk makes its way back on his face. She tries to ignore the cold feeling that washes over her and rushes back towards Hiccup instead. He looks slightly better, somewhat more aware of his surroundings than before and she lets out a quick breath of relief. She can see a beginning of a bruise on the side of his face.

"Son of a half-troll, rat-eating, piece of dragon-"

"Astrid?" Hiccup uses his right hand to awkwardly prop himself up and her face softens when she looks at him. "Why- What are you doing here?"

His hand slips on the wet pavement. The wings bump into the pipe behind him and he winces. Astrid reaches to help him steady himself and his face reddens at the contact.

"Not that, not that I don't want you here. Because I do. A lot. I mean, uh, how did you, how did you find me?"

"I was just- I heard them and you and-" Astrid trails off uncertainly. It's impossible to explain, she realizes. She doesn't fully understand what pushed her to come to the alley. It's something beyond her comprehension, something that only gods themselves can understand.

She sticks her hand out, choosing to let it go in order to ask him with sincere concern, "Are you okay?"

Hiccup looks from her, to her, then observes her outstretched hand for a moment longer before finally taking it, allowing Astrid to pull him up towards her. He, however, turns out to be lighter than she originally thought, and he stumbles forward with the extra speed. He grips her arms to stop them from falling over, bringing them both breathtakingly close to one another, their noses almost touching.

"I-uh." Hiccup stutters out, his eyes meeting hers for a brief second.

"Let me-" Astrid starts weakly, trying to untangle them. "Just-"

"I- oh, right." When they finally manage to pull apart, Astrid tucks back a loose strand of hair and coughs into her hand awkwardly.

"So.."

"So."

"Thank you for-uh for saving me out there." Hiccup's quiet words make Astrid's head shoot up. Saving, Hiccup said. She has saved him. A warm feeling passes through her whole body, and she can't help the brief smile that stretches over her face, despite knowing how silly it is. It fades once she dares to look at him again. His face, swollen from the hits and red from, she assumes, the biting cold, is turned the other way as he desperately avoids eye contact. The wings are a mixture of brown and gray and she has to stop herself from reaching for them.

"I'm sorry." The words tumble out of her mouth rushed and messy. He turns to her abruptly, still dazed and clearly surprised upon hearing her words.

"Wh-What?"

"I'm sorry for leaving you there after… after it all happened." She says it all in one breath, feeling as though a great weight has been lifted from her shoulders. "I got scared. It was overwhelming. And unexpected. And I-" Hiccup's brows soften and he stares at her with his lips parted. Astrid closes her eyes for a moment to gather her thoughts. "I… I wasn't as brave as I thought myself to be."

"You're the bravest person I know." He immediately contradicts her and her heart swells as she hears him say that. She feels like she is soaring; she feels weightless. Even, even though she knows that what he is saying is not true.

"Hiccup-"

"I'm serious." He sounds so sincere that part of her starts to believe it, wants to. He shakes his head a little. "I'm the coward. Y-you wanted to talk… but I run away. I guess…" he cuts himself off before he, in his mind, would say too much. But she wants to know, she needs to know. Her hand goes to his chin, drawing him to look at her. She is busy searching his face, trying to find the answers that he is not willing to give by himself.

"Are you going to turn me down now?" He asks it barely audibly and she freezes.

"What?"

"Because I know I've been a complete idiot, and it's completely understandable if you do- owwww."

Hiccup's hands fly to grab his stomach. Astrid restrains herself from punching him again.

"You moron!" she sputters out. She can't help herself and her fist collides with his upper arm, albeit with a little less force because of his ordeal. "Why would I turn you down?"

"W-well, I-" Hiccup starts, but Astrid doesn't let him, cutting him off instantly.

"Do you seriously think I would be running around the school to try and hunt you down for the last couple of days just to… to turn you down?!" She raises her voice, focusing on one thing only.

"I-"

"You know, for someone so smart, you can be a complete and utter twit sometimes, Hiccup. I cannot beli-"

Something warm and light is pressed against her lips, successfully shutting her up, and it takes her a few seconds to realize Hiccup is kissing her. Or at least trying to. Their noses bump into each other awkwardly. She can feel his hand on her right upper arm as he clumsily stabilizes himself. His lips barely graze hers, kissing her in the most innocent and unexperienced way possible. That doesn't stop an electrifying streak from rushing through her body. She can't even respond to that bold move, because Hiccup pulls away.

"…You kissed me," Is all she can blurt out, completely breathless. Astrid still can't really comprehend what happened. She isn't even sure it actually did happen. Hiccup's face doesn't look normal with the unnatural red coloring, and yet she fears he is going to faint.

"I'm so sorry!" The words tumble out of his mouth in a rush. One of his hands starts flying into the air, while the other grips the back of his hair. "I-I don't know what, what came over me. I'm, uh, I…" As he trails off, he finally dares to look at her. She stares at him in return, and brings her fingers to her lips. His brows crease in worry. "A-Astrid?"

"You kissed me." She can see him swallow nervously. Her blue eyes catch the sight of his thin lips and she fights the temptation to grab the front of his shirt and kiss him. Properly this time.

Maybe she will.

"I've never been kissed before," she says instead, and the realization of what she that means hits her when she sees the surprised and abashed look on his face.

"I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean…" He cuts himself off awkwardly, trying to explain his behavior somehow. "Th-this was my first, too."

"I gathered that." Astrid clamps a hand over her mouth the moment the words escape, regretting ever saying anything at all.

"Whe- What is that supposed to, uh, to mean?" She recognizes the challenge in his voice as small and inconspicuous as it seems. He observes her warily, but he doesn't look to be overly hurt by what she so stupidly blurted out. Astrid dares to say there is even a teasing glint in his wide green eyes.

"Your lips should actually touch mine, you know." Astrid takes up the unspoken challenge, feeling more comfortable with a sudden sense of familiarity. This Hiccup reminds her more of the one that used to make her laugh all the time, not so long ago.

"They- they did!" Hiccup exclaims as he throws his hands into the air to make it more dramatic. "Like you could do any better..."

This is what she has been waiting for. All of the previous hesitance gone, or at least forgotten for the time being, she marches his way and plants a solid kiss on his lips. He lets out a surprised yelp, but it doesn't take him long to register what is happening. The thrill of the first kiss is nothing compared to what she feels now. Her whole body is on fire and her heart does a weird flip when she feels Hiccup's lanky arms enveloping her in a hug. It's a completely new sensation, albeit not unwelcome. Her palms move up his shoulders, deepening the kiss. She freezes when her fingers touch something rough on her way up.

Wings; she had completely forgotten about them. It's a ridiculous thought – to forget about the thing responsible for the whole mess – and she breaks the kiss to look at them. They still have a sick look about them, but the orange luminescence coming from the sunset make them seem more alive and she can't think of anything as equally captivating. She reaches to actually touch them for the first time but Hiccup goes rigid, covering her hand with his before she can.

"They're not that impressive," he whispers softly, trying to take her attention off them.

"No, Hiccup..." Astrid shakes her head, her voice just as quiet and gentle. "They're beautiful."

He lets go of her hand and she runs her fingers through the feathers. Hiccup stiffens further, his shoulders going extremely tense. The feathers are sharper to touch than she thought they would be, but she assumes it's connected to the sickly gray color. They amaze and intrigue her nonetheless. The whole thing feels stupid to her all of a sudden. And to think that no more than a week ago everything was completely different. She would have never thought…

"This is all so dumb." She sighs as she pulls away. Hiccup quirks one of his eyebrows at her, waiting for her to elaborate. " Why don't we just… start over?"

"Start over… what exactly?" He sounds worried, and she bites the inside of her cheek. She doesn't know how to explain what she has in mind. Words…. Why do you need words?

"Would you consider not-going to prom with me?"

"What?" Hiccup's voice echoes. Astrid curses herself and her inability to voice her thoughts properly yet again. The left side of his mouth turns upwards shyly, almost unnoticeably. "I thought you had to go."

"They," Astrid pauses to look at him. His eyes don't leave her face, a hopeful gaze thrown her way. A small, shy smile forms on her lips as she hugs herself. "They will survive without me, I'm sure."

Hiccup grins at her, his uneven teeth out in all their glory. He still looks a bit uncertain, hesitant, as if Astrid were to escape him any second. Or that it would be him that would be doing the escaping. But she is not going anywhere, and neithrt is he. They share a look, a mutual understanding of sorts, and she knows they will make it work somehow. She feels as though a great weight has been finally lifted from her shoulders.

"I'd be honored." His hand goes to grip her own, slowly and unsurely. She hangs onto it, squeezing it lightly. Maybe it's her eyes deceiving her but she swears the wings look better already. Hiccup's smile falters and he bits his lip, clearly in deep thought.

"What's wrong?" Astrid tilts her head slightly, taking a closer look at him. His green eyes shoot to her briefly.

"Promise me something?" Astrid nods without any hesitation, eyes locked on him. "I don't want this to... change – " He pauses, sheepishly rubbing his neck with his other hand as he tries to gather his thoughts. "What I'm trying to say is… we're still us, right? I'm still me and, and you're still you." He frowns. "That doesn't make sense, does it?"

She laughs for the first time in the last few days. It's quiet and soft, and it makes her feel much better.

"I think I know what you mean." She smiles at him gently and he returns the gesture. "Small steps."

"Small steps," he repeats quietly with a nod and leans in for another kiss. They meet halfway this time. She smiles into the kiss, finding it no more thrilling than the last two. Something brushes by her soaked boots and she pulls away with a gasp. A rat - she swears it's the same one as before - darts by and slinks under the garbage container. Astrid glances at Hiccup and their eyes meet. She can't really say why, perhaps out of relief, but she bursts out laughing. Hiccup
soon follows.

It's the most beautiful thing she has ever heard.

"Daddy, how did you get the wings?"

The first thing that Hiccup hears in response to that is a loud, obnoxious snort to his left. He turns around to face his wife. Astrid is taking an innocent sip of her tea but he can see clear amusement sparkling in her bright blue eyes. When he raises his eyebrow at her, she only laughs into her cup, her hand casually resting on her stomach. He grins at her in response, in love with the sound of her beautiful voice.

He is glad they can laugh about it now, even though, at the time, it was far from a laughing matter to them. He wants to believe they matured and came stronger out of it, learning to trust and listen to each other rather than try to face it on their own. He wishes he could go back in time and whack his younger self for being too self-conscious and stubborn, sparing him the, as it turned out, completely unnecessary heartbreak.

"Daaaddy," he feels someone tugging at his right wing. The feathers, now beautifully healthy and pearly white, are something he is proud of. His smile widens as he looks over his shoulder to watch his, their, beautiful daughter. Her blue eyes, so like her mother's, shine with hope, and she doesn't wait long before pulling him down into a chair and climbing onto her dad's lap, the five year old's favorite spot. Hiccup places a gentle hand on the small of her back and the girl snuggles in, resting her head on his chest as she gazes up at him eagerly.

"Okay, okay," Hiccup laughs and his eyes meet Astrid's. There had been a mutual understanding between them ever since. His wife smiles softly and nods in silence, encouraging him. He grin widens as he looks at her.

His Hero.

THE END

It's done, finally! I hope you enjoyed it! :D

Guest review:

Guest:No, this is most definitely not a rewrite or an adopted story. The only thing that I can think of is my Tumblr where I also posted the story. :D I hope this is what you are referring to. ;)

Till next time!

~InsertACreativeNameHere