After, what? Almost six weeks, I think? Here's a chapter!

-HTTYD-

She stumbled back a step, looking up at him properly.

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, well, nice to see you too."

"I just got surgery and you almost headbutted my hand, and we haven't spoken to each other in a fortnight."

Astrid wondered if his ire was reasonable - it was true, she hadn't been in touch with him in all that time. And, given his usual behaviour when he was angry, Astrid supposed a sharp tone and not jumping for joy at the sight of her was pretty minor. Their last conversation was one of Astrid saying she didn't know how prepared she was to commit her life, and her heart, to someone like him. No wonder Hiccup was smarting.

Still, it stung that he wasn't happy to see her.

"I... I was meant to take you home."

"I've already been discharged without you."

Of course he had. Hiccup had no indication whatsoever that Astrid was going to turn up. And then she'd been running late because her mother was impossible, and after that she was dodging some reporter who followed her from near her house, having apparently tracked her down to the cafe she frequented. Hence the speedy entrance into the hospital, which led to the almost hitting Hiccup's cast with her head.

Speaking of...

"Miss Hofferson!"

Shit.

Hiccup looked absolutely bewildered as Astrid ducked out of sight, then seemed to spot the man chasing Astrid.

"Who is that?"

"Some reporter who wants to talk about me being kidnapped."

Recovering, Astrid hadn't really left her house much - Heather visited her most days, and her mom was no longer spending the night but was there a few hours each day, fussing over her. Astrid was essentially back to normal, though she still had a little trouble with blurred vision if she focused too hard, which meant she couldn't go back to work.

But that meant that she'd not spoken to any reporters about what had happened - not that she really wanted to anyway - and so there was still a push to be the first to speak to the Night Fury's favourite, who'd been taken in the night and escaped only because of her violent guardian angel.

Hiccup raised one eyebrow, looked back at the reporter who was debating whether or not to get himself in trouble for entering the hospital and took a few steps forward.

"Go away."

"I need to speak to her!"

"No you don't."

Astrid dared peer around from her hiding spot, and whatever the reporter saw in Hiccup's face obviously scared him enough to back up, though he was still looking for her all the while. A taxi wheeled itself up, and Hiccup gestured to Astrid to follow him.

"Come on."

Grateful for the escape, Astrid followed him. Opened the door for him, and after watching his awkward fumble, quietly offered to help put his seatbelt on. Hiccup nodded stiffly, visibly uncomfortable the entire time. That hurt to see; it had been a long time since Hiccup recoiled from her touch. Astrid could have tried to tell herself it was because he was feeling vulnerable needing help in front of the taxi driver, but she'd have been lying to herself.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah, thanks."

The sound of a paper pharmacy bag crinkling in his pocket was the loudest sound in the car the entire ride back. Astrid half expected Hiccup to get out and tell the driver to take her home, but he didn't say a word other than "thanks" to the driver as he paid and got out. Astrid hovered, uncertain, before scrambling out after him. He unlocked the front door and waited for her to come in after him, so Astrid supposed that was as close to an invitation as she was going to get.

"Mom? I'm home!"

He called out, toeing off his shoes at the door and stepping in to slippers that were waiting nearby. Astrid thought it presumptive of herself, but didn't want to track dirt through the house so she slipped her shoes off and followed awkwardly in her socks.

"Did it go well son?"

Valka's voice came back from the direction of the kitchen, so Hiccup headed that way.

"Yeah."

Her gaze found Astrid, and the woman was visibly perplexed by the blondes presence.

"I thought..."

"Oh. Yeah. It was bring her with me or mess up my good hand punching that guy following her. Suppose I could have used the casted side, but I think my surgeon would have killed me. Everything alright while I was gone?"

"Fine, and I'm glad you're back."

Valka yawned right after saying that, and Hiccup turned to Astrid.

"Wait here. Come on, let's get you to bed. Don't fuss, I'm fine."

That was aimed at his mother, and though Valka seemed initially hesitant, she let Hiccup make sure she was settled for her sleep. Astrid shuffled, tense as she waited. Hiccup returned a few minutes later, his cast-clad hand cradled to his chest.

"Why are you here?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Think you said everything already. You're not pregnant are you?"

Astrid blanched.

"What? No!"

"Just checking. It's the sort of thing people mean on TV when they say they need to talk. Is this important? I'm supposed to be resting."

Astrid bit back a spiky retort - she had gone silent on him for two weeks, then just turned up out of the blue.

"Alright. I think Grimborn is stalking me. And I think he knows you're the Night Fury. Important enough for you?"

Ok, maybe she could have been less prickly when she answered. Hiccup paled, shaking his head.

"You... what? Wait, I need to be sitting down for this."

He filled a glass with water, presumably for his post-operative medication, then gestured for Astrid to follow him to the living room. Lowering himself into a seat slowly, Hiccup sighed.

"Alright. What about Grimborn?"

"Ok. Well, that night you dropped me home, he was in my living room" Hiccup's eyes widened "which was creepy in itself. And he had the video of you. He said he thought I'd want to see it. But my mom arrived before long, and he left without a fuss."

Hiccup frowned.

"How did he get in? I locked your door."

"You did? Are you sure?"

Hiccup nodded, fiddling with the box of painkillers he'd taken out of the bag.

"Definitely. It took me three tries, my hands were shaking."

As he remembered every detail of every murder he'd ever committed, clearly enough to paint them after the fact, Astrid believed him. Which made Viggo Grimborn being in her home all the more terrifying.

"Then I don't know how he got in. I had my keys. You still have your copy, right?"

"Yeah. But he could have picked the lock. Might be worth investing in a better one."

"Heather already made me get a new lock fitted. Your key doesn't work anymore."

Hiccup shrugged.

"I'll take it off my keys when I can use both hands again. Is this all that's happened?"

"No. I haven't been out other than for my concussion follow up, and to see Heather at the cafe. But I saw him on my way to the appointment, and I swear I saw him outside the cafe more than once. But he was gone when I looked again. I might be losing my mind, who knows?"

"Why do you think he knows who I am? Has he spoken to you?"

Astrid shook her head.

"No. But there was something about the way he said he thought I wanted to see the video... I don't know. I might be overly worried. But I do think he's following me."

Hiccup rubbed his face.

"Right. Well, you could report him."

"I could, but he's just going to deny it."

Astrid chewed her lip as Hiccup started fumbling to pop out a pain relieving tablet from the blister pack, and she noticed just how tired he looked. She hadn't told him everything... but he had a right to know.

"I need to tell you something else."

She didn't mean to say that just after he swallowed his tablet, it was just the end result of her spending several long seconds debating.

"Oh?"

"Heather knows."

Hiccup choked on his water.

"What do you mean, Heather knows?"

"I didn't tell her! She told me she already knew!"

That was stretching the truth a little, but Heather had already become quite convinced before she brought it up with Astrid.

"And you didn't deny it?"

"I tried! But this was like, the morning after you politely threw me out, when I was still concussed. Hard to be a convincing liar with head trauma."

Hiccup scowled.

"So you just... told her?"

"Yes. And she said she wasn't going to say a word, because you saved her life."

"That's not the point! You were here talking about not being able to trust me not to hurt you, and then went right out and broke my trust in you not outing me."

She could tell by the twitch of his hand and the harsh set of his features that Hiccup was a lot angrier than he was letting on.

"Yes, I did. And you have no idea what a damn relief it was."

"Oh yeah, real relief for you I'm sure."

"It was! I've gone through all of this at your side, and I've never said a damned word to anyone. And that's the problem. I can't talk to anybody. I can't talk to your mom about you. And the one time I tried to talk to you about all this, openly and honestly, you shut down and kicked me out."

Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"You said you were scared of me, so I drove you home after making sure you'd be taken care of. How is that kicking you out?"

"You didn't want me here, and we both know it."

"You're right. I didn't. I still don't" Hiccup picked up his phone, adept at managing it one handed from years of dexterity problems already "so you can leave. And just to be sure you make it home safely, I've ordered you a taxi."

"And that's it?"

He shook his head, but even standing clearly cost him some energy as he got up.

"No. I'm not done with this, but I'm exhausted and just took morphine, and honestly I don't trust you enough to sleep with you in the house, especially not with my mother here. Now get out."

The icy tone of those last three words scared Astrid more than any shouting and screaming could have done. Hiccup waited as she put her shoes back on, unlocked the door to let her out and she heard it lock again as soon it shut behind her.

She looked around, half-expecting to see Grimborn hovering nearby again. Hiccup didn't exactly live on a busy street. The taxi he'd called did indeed roll up soon after, and Astrid was informed he'd paid in advance for it. Like always, it was jarring to reconcile someone so terrifying with someone who could be so... tender, caring.

The mounting anxiety and stress she felt manifested in a gods-awful headache, and as Astrid still wasn't back to a hundred percent post-concussion she didn't try to fight the urge to curl up in bed. She did try to fight the urge to cry, because she knew it would aggravate her headache. That was a losing battle, and her mother came back in time to find Astrid a sobbing wreck on her bed.

"I told you not to go."

"Mom, now is not the time, alright?"

Tsking, her mother soothed a hand over Astrid's flushed, clammy face before pulling her into a hug. Astrid cried herself out for a little longer, let her mom push water and painkillers on her for her headache. A little dizzy when she stood, Astrid ambled to the kitchen for food, then texted Heather to let her know Hiccup knew she knew. It wasn't an easy message to send, because in her moment of honesty to Hiccup, she'd ended up putting Heather in danger.

If she'd been asked a month ago, Astrid would have laughed at the idea she had to warn her friend to be careful of Hiccup.#

But a lot had changed since then.

-HTTYD-

*flings chapter into the void and hides under a rock*