AN: To say that this chapter is late would sound like a joke... So I'll just say that I'm glad I finally found the time to write it. ^^

. o O o .

Chapter 12

With unseeing eyes, Eret gazed into the depth of his mug. It was filled with some of Hiccup's tea, not the strong coffee he would usually drink at this criminal time of day. Or rather, night; it wasn't even dawn yet.

He should be in bed, sleeping. He should be lying next to Hiccup, listening to his breathing, calm and even, reassuring. He should let that sound soothe him, that he was alive, that he was safe. But the events of the previous day had thrown him off completely, and Eret was wide awake, even without any caffeine.

Hiccup had almost died!

That wasn't something he could ignore, not even for the sake of a little sleep. Eret might have rested a bit, lying next to Hiccup, warming him in his arms, holding him and making sure he didn't slip away, but he hadn't slept. And now, he sat here in their kitchen, staring into his mug and tried to decide how to feel.

The Undine... That she was real was out of the question; her image was still staring at him from Hiccup's painting, with those big eyes that he couldn't forget even if he tried. But what did she want? Was Hiccup right and she'd come to save him? Or had she lured him into the water in the first place? Why else would he have gone into the ocean fully clothed? But when Eret had found him, he'd been on solid ground, too far up the shore for the waves to have carried him there. None of it made any sense ...

For endless hours, his mind was going in circles now, thinking the same thoughts again and again and again. Nothing made sense, and he knew that no matter how long he thought about it, it wouldn't get any better. Maybe, hopefully, time would bring him the answers he needed.

When the sun was finally about to rise, he got up from his seat with a heavy sigh and went to boil more water. He needed more to drink, maybe some coffee this time after all. And he should go and look after Hiccup, whether he was ready to wake up after sleeping for twelve hours straight or whether he needed more rest. He was pottering about, taking sips of his coffee and preparing a cup of tea for Hiccup when he heard it.

A tentative knock on their backdoor.

Eret whirled around, staring. Who could that be? It was way too early for any visitors, and they never got visitors anyway. And even if they were to get visitors, they would ring at the main entrance.

A stray thought came up to his mind, sending his heart pounding, but he dismissed it directly. That wasn't possible! It couldn't be–

The knock sounded again, and this time Eret shook his head and went to open it. Don't be an idiot! , he chided himself. It's probably just the postman or maybe Mrs Ingerman. It can't be...

The moment he laid eyes on the person outside, he froze. Pale skin, almost white in the grey morning light. Blond hair hanging in dark wet strands around a round face. And the same big eyes that had been ghosting through his mind for days now, deep and blue like the ocean.

She stood entirely still, eerily still, unmoving and not blinking even once as she gazed at him. Then she cocked her head and leaned closer, the motions too fast for his eyes to follow.

Eret jerked back in surprise. He thought about fleeing, about running away as fast as he could, about screaming. But his body was frozen in place, stunned. He had no idea how much time passed as she scrutinised him, utterly silent and moving in that strange jerky way.

It seemed unreal. Like a nightmare, maybe. Had he fallen asleep after all? She couldn't be real , could she? His heart was beating at a rapid speed, and even if he had been able to move, he wasn't sure what he would have done.

However, the choice was taken from him, when he heard other noises – coming from behind him . A door opening and closing, the shuffling of footsteps, a yawn. Then, "Mmh, is that fresh tea I smell? I hope you brew some for me, too? A cup of tea wou–"

Hiccup broke off, presumably when he entered the kitchen and saw that Eret wasn't alone. The creature's – he wasn't sure whether he could call her a woman – head snapped around and in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

Eret instantly turned around toward Hiccup. And indeed, now it was he who got inspected closely. Eret incidentally noticed that the creature wasn't wearing any clothes – and why would she? – but couldn't pay that fact any mind. All his attention was on how she was looking at Hiccup, how he reacted in return.

Hiccup was gaping at her, his eyes wide. He blinked a few times, as if to make sure he wasn't imagining things, then muttered, "Am I still dreaming?"

Carefully, Eret shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

At his words, the Undine cocked her head and raised her hand, again with such an eerily quick movement. Hiccup didn't shy away though, held entirely still as her pale fingers reached for his face.

With bated breath, Eret watched, slowly stepping closer. He couldn't say why, but the situation still didn't feel real. But somehow, he knew that it wasn't a dream. That the Undine was in their house! She was real, solid, about to make true physical contact. Who knew what that would mean for them? The thought was unsettling, to say the least.

But when she touched Hiccup, her fingers tracing his nose, jaw, and mouth with an almost childlike curiosity, Hiccup didn't react as Eret had expected. He didn't shy away, wasn't startled, and instead just let her do. His eyes brightening and his lips splitting into a wide grin. "Well, hi there," he greeted her in a cheerful voice.

She seemed startled by his words, her fingers hovering an inch away from his skin. Then, slowly, as if in slow-motion, her expression changed. The corners of her lips curled upwards, then the rest of her features followed until there was an awkward copy of Hiccup's grin on her face.

Eret wasn't sure he could believe what he saw. "Is she… imitating you?"

Hiccup nodded, slowly. "It looks like it, doesn't it?" Then he chuckled when she nodded in the same fashion. "Was that a yes or do you really just imitate me?" he asked.

He got no answer though. The creature just blinked, the smile slowly fading from her face.

Eret swallowed, then made a cautious step closer. "Do you even understand what we say?"

The Undine's head whipped around, big eyes drilling into his. But again, she didn't answer, and if he wasn't mistaken, he saw something like confusion in her eyes.

"I don't think she does," Hiccup murmured, staring at her in fascination.

For a while, there was little change. Hiccup and Eret were at a loss for what to do with the Undine in their home. All she did was move back and forth between them, around them. She seemed giddy, if that was the right word, as far as they could guess from her behaviour. She didn't talk or make any other noise, but she seemed to shake from something like chuckling every now and then, joy radiating from her eyes.

She didn't respond to whatever they told her other than turn her head in the direction of the sounds. Gestures seemed to help more. When Hiccup offered her a shirt to put on – they couldn't help it, her nude body was distracting! – she only looked at it without comprehension at first. She took it, but only to feel the texture of the fabric as it seemed, her hand running over the cloth is clear amazement. It took several attempts of gesturing of both of them before something like understanding dawned in her eyes, and then several more tries until she'd manoeuvred her arms through the sleeves.

Awkward and weird as that incident had been, it was still normal enough to ease Eret's tension, for the moment at least. Whatever she was doing here, she didn't seem to pose any direct threat. It was still eerie tough, to watch her abrupt movements, to feel her cool fingers on his face, or her utter lack of sense for personal space.

"I wonder why she came," Hiccup mused. He was sitting on the sofa now, still clearly exhausted by the events of the previous day. In his hand, he held his mug of tea, but only occasionally took a sip from it as they watched her inspect the room. She always stayed close to one of them but appeared to be very interested in everything she saw.

Eret snorted. "Isn't that obvious? She's curious."

Hiccup nodded, then directly shook his head. "Yes, but that's not what I mean. She never even showed herself before, we only saw her by accident. And now she came here? What changed?"

"That's a good question." Frowning, Eret followed her with his eyes as she rushed around him.

Then something happened. He didn't know what it was, but suddenly she was swaying where she stood, one hand reaching out to grasp at his arm for stability. Her knees gave way beneath her and Eret caught her just in time before she fell to the ground.

"What the–" he cursed under his breath, guiding her to the ground. She was even lighter than she looked.

Hiccup jumped up. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure. She stumbled, and…" Eret carefully watched the Undine. She looked dazed, her eyes not focussing as they'd done before. "I don't know. But maybe something to drink might help? Could you get her some water?"

Hiccup nodded, rushed over to the sink and poured her a glass.

Meanwhile, Eret experienced an unexpected change of heart. Half an hour ago, the fact that the Undine had appeared at their door just like that had somewhat terrified him and he hadn't been able to understand how Hiccup had stayed so calm. But now… She really didn't seem threatening at all.

Or was that just what she wanted him to think?

When Hiccup returned with the water, she at first seemed confused but then eagerly drank the entire content without a pause. It seemed to help; her gaze focused again, first on Hiccup and the glass, then on a spot behind him. In the next moment, she was gone.

Bewildered, Eret stared into his empty arms, idly wondering whether he would ever get used to her sudden movements. Or whether he'd even need to get used to them…

A second later, both he and Hiccup looked up at the sound of running water, spotting the Undine standing by the sink. She leaned forward as water ran over her hands, her face wet as she drank eagerly.

. o O o .

Thirst.

It was a feeling the creature hadn't known before. She hadn't known what it was, had no word for the burning sensation in her throat or the dizziness that overcame her. But when she felt the water soothe the ache, she understood.

Without thinking, she rushed to where the smaller human had gotten it then basked in the constant stream as it wet her tongue and her skin. It was nothing to the power of the ocean... but for now, it was enough.

It was enough to clear her thoughts of the hazy mist, to let her think and see clearly again. Her head whipped around to the two humans still crouching on the ground where she'd fallen. They were making their weird incomprehensible noises, watching her with worried eyes.

This was not how she'd imagined their meeting would be. No, the truth was that she hadn't thought about it at all, but... But this didn't feel right, not enough. Their noises made so sense to her and she had no idea how to let them know what was on her mind either. They hadn't attacked her, that was something at least, but what now? Had she made a mistake by coming here? How could she spend time with them when they were so wary of her? She really hadn't thought this through.

Stupid , she chided herself. I should never have come here, should have stayed away.

But even as she thought that, something in her chest clenched painfully. She might not know what to do now, but she knew that going back was not an option. She just had to find a way to make them understand that... that... What was it that she wanted? She wanted to spend time with them, to be near them.

Her eyes lingered on them as the smaller one helped the bigger one up. They made more noises, then the bigger one nodded, brushed his lips against those of the smaller one, and left this part of their construction.

She blinked. Right, that was what they always did first thing when they met. Maybe that was her mistake, why they were treating her so differently. A smile spread across her face. That was something she could rectify quickly.

Without hesitation, she moved to where the smaller one stood. He flinched as if he was surprised to see her in front of him, but then smiled in a friendly way and made some more incoherent noises. She ignored them. Instead, she reached to hold his head still and did what the bigger human had done, pressing her lips to his.

Oh, that feels nice. Warm and soft .

She retreated, trembling with silent giggling, then did it again. This time, she poked her tongue out as she'd seen them do before. The human made a noise that sounded surprised, but when his lips parted, she didn't pay that any mind. He tasted good, sweet. Eagerly, she licked up the wetness in his mouth, shuddering when she felt his hands on her waist. So far, they hadn't touched her. It felt good. So warm.

After a few heartbeats, another sensation came up. It was strange, like a wave of warmth that slowly spread through her body, starting from where she felt him on her mouth and her waist. As if, bit by bit, something inside her was changing.

Then it stopped. No, not the changing stopped, she realised, but the human stopped touching her. There was a noise from somewhere behind her and when she turned she saw the bigger human gazing at them with wide eyes.

Right, she couldn't leave him out. She felt dizzy, though in another way as before, but pushed that sensation aside as she moved to the doorway where the bigger human stood. His eyes became even wider as they focused on her but he didn't move. Curious about whether he would taste as sweet at the other, she brought her mouth to his, humming quietly at the wonderfully warm feeling of his lips. She had to stretch to reach him but that only meant that she could feel more of him, his chest against her own.

His mouth didn't taste as sweet, she noticed, but sharper. Different, but just as good. She clung to him to get more of these sensations, shuddering in delight when that warm wave from before kept spreading through her. It moved to her chest, along her arms and legs all the way to her fingertips and toes, up her neck until it reached her head.

There, something like a lightning strike exploded in her mind. It made the world around her turn in circles until up was down and she didn't know where she was anymore.

Everything around her turned black.

. o O o .

Still stunned by the Undine's kiss, Hiccup stood frozen in place. His eyes were on where she now kissed Eret, and some unconnected part of his mind commented that it was a sight he could get used to. But before he could either follow that line of thought or chase it away, it was over. Their kiss ended abruptly as the Undine slid to the ground, leaving a rather dazed Eret standing.

Without thinking twice, Hiccup hurried toward them, kneeling down next to the unconscious Undine just as Eret did the same on her other side.

"What happened? Does she need more water?" he asked, worried. He pushed one arm beneath her shoulders as the other reached for her hand, lifting her upper body a little with Eret doing the same one her other side. No matter how weird it was to have her in their home... she'd saved his life. He couldn't stand the thought of something happening to her now.

But Eret shook his head. "I... I don't think so," he muttered. "It's... Are you okay? How are you feeling?"

The last words were clearly directed at Hiccup, even though he didn't quite understand the urgency in them. "Yes, of course, I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?"

Eret grunted. Again, he shook his head, but this time it was more to clear his head than a negation. "Because that kiss felt... strange somehow, and I... I don't know..."

Okay, now that Eret had said it... "Yeah, I felt it, too," Hiccup admitted. "But I'm okay. More concerned about her."

I'm fine.

"I think she's fine," Eret murmured. "Maybe she just needs to rest?"

Resting sounds good.

Both he and Eret gasped, their heads jerking to look down at the Undine. Her eyes were open, tiredly looking from one to the other.

"Did... did you hear that, too?" Eret's voice was little more than a whisper, disbelieving and shaky.

Gulping, Hiccup nodded. "I did."

The Undine blinked.

You can hear me?

This time, there was no mistake. Her mouth hadn't moved and the voice wasn't audible, not really, more sounding directly in his head. But that didn't change that he could hear her words, clear as crystal. Hiccup exchanged a quick glance with Eret who nodded, even as he looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

"We do."

She blinked again then her eyes widened. A beautiful smile spread across her face, wide and radiant, and a sudden wave of joy surged through him.

And I can understand you, too!