Draugr

Eight

"Thanks, Hiccup," she said in a relieved tone and stood. Then she paused. "Are you taking me up?" He nodded and rose, following her as she walked ahead of him up the steps, her hips swinging as she walked. Pausing partway up, she smirked at him. "Like anything you see?" she purred and he flinched, wondering what she was doing. Then she sped ahead, pausing to wait as he trudged up the stairs and walked to the door. Then she paused, her eyes wide. "Could you...?" she asked him and he reached over, opening the door. Quietly, he walked past her and in, peering at the meticulously neat desk, the pen aligned with the side of the papers, the little image of the lovers framed in plain pine the only decoration on the work-space. He quietly walked to the desk and gently stroked the image of Astrid.

Heather gently nudged him and began to rifle through the papers, searching the drawers thoroughly and then huffing in exasperation.

"Nothing here," she muttered. "Where is it? Where has she put it?" Hiccup stared at her.

"What is it?" he asked gently. "Can I help?" She glanced up into his concerned eyes-and flung herself against him, sobbing softly. Shocked and momentarily frozen, he warily wrapped his arms loosely around her and gently patted her on the back. "Um...Heather...? Are you okay?" he asked warily. There was a pause and she sniffed, hugging him closer.

"It's just so sad," she mumbled, her voice mumbled by her contact with his tee-shirt. "And-and I don't want to ruin her company because I can't access the funds..." She lifted her face and swiped her eyes. "If you find anything-please let me know, okay?"

"Um...yeah?" he said warily as she abruptly lunged forward and pressed a firm kiss on his lips, her eyes closing and arms winding around his neck. He went rigid, his eyes snapping wide open and he urgently pushed her away. "Heather-please!" he said desperately. "I-I don't..."

"Oh Hiccup-you can't give up on life," she murmured. "It's not what Astrid would have wanted..." He pushed her back more determinedly, looking shocked and completely stunned.

"Um...I'm good, thanks," he gabbled, totally discomposed. What the Hel? And he almost sighed with relief as the doorbell rang and he pulled away from her, almost racing through the door. "Gotta get that!" he said and ran down the stairs. He wrenched the door open and gave a huge sigh of relief. "DAD! Oh, I'm so pleased to see you!" he exclaimed as Heather elegantly walked down the stairs, a small smirk of her face. Following his father's surprised and mildly disapproving gaze, Hiccup blushed and then turned back to face the huge man, gesturing wildly to the jet-haired woman. "Um-you remember Heather? Astrid's friend? She-she came here to ask something about the business..."

"And to check how you are," she said sincerely. "Good to see you again, Mr Haddock. I should be going, Hiccup. Busy, busy! I've still got Astrid's company to run." She pressed a quick platonic kiss on his cheek and swung away. Stoick watched her leave before he walked in, staring very disapprovingly at his dishevelled son, clearly just from bed and the beautiful, jet-haired woman who had walked out of his home.

"Son?" he asked gruffly, "what was that?" Hiccup waved his arms wildly.

"I really have NO idea!" he exclaimed. "I mean, she comes here to check on me then she wants to see Astrid's office and then she's all over me!"

"Of course, I have nothing against you moving on, son, but don't you think it's a little soon?" he asked cautiously, sitting on a chair that creaked alarmingly and grabbing Hiccup's coffee. The young man rolled his eyes and poured two fresh mugs, rescuing the remains of his previous coffee and tidying them away then sitting in the chair Heather had vacated.

"I am not moving on," Hiccup said in a low voice. "Thor, I'm not sure I'll ever be ready to move on! And certainly not with Heather! I mean...she never really approved of me because I distracted her perfect, ruthless, business-orientated friend and turned her into a happy, domestic...person! She's not my type. Ever. At all. Totally..." His father sighed.