Serendipity (Hiccup x reader)

Chapter 23

"Well Erland is an old friend." You responded, twirling your hair anxiously and not looking up at anyone.

"Old friend?! Woah, what did I miss?" Snotlout laughed, glancing around at everybody with a grin, hoping that someone will join his laughter.

"Nothing important." Erland waved his hand dismissively. You jerked your head to the left at his reply and looked at him in disbelief.

"Yeah, nothing important." You repeated Erland's words, glaring at him while he just stared with a challenging look on his face. Tension was slowly building up, but it crashed down when someone cleared their throat and you snapped out of your trance.

"Anyway, Snotlout this is Erland." You said pointing at the sandy coloured boy sitting next to you. "And Erland, that's Snothead."

For once the room wasn't quiet and everybody snorted at your lame joke. Snotlout, on the other hand just corrected you with a deep growl.

The next couple of minutes, the normal friendly atmosphere came back and everyone was chatting like before. Erland remained quiet most of the time, though he still laughed when someone said or did something funny. He awfully reminded you of your past self because that's how you used to be around the gang for the first time.

Your eyes landed on Hiccup who was resting his head on his hands. He was staring at the table and looked deep in thought with his eyebrows furrowed together. You got up from your seat, earning a glance from everybody before they continued their chatter.

Then you made your way towards Hiccup, stooped down and whispered in his ear. "Let's go for a walk."

He smiled and got on his feet, both of you looked at the gang who were too deep in their conversation to even notice you leaving.

The moment you set foot outside, the frigid night wind seeped through your skin making goosebumps resurface on your arms. You inhaled the fresh air and smiled.

Hiccup took your hand and intertwined his fingers with yours and you guided him down the docks. The island was relatively quiet today, except for your synchronized footsteps and the occasional bird chirping in the distance. You looked to your right, seeing the moon glistening on the churning sea, tiny little specks covering the night sky, making it look majestic as ever.

"Someone's awfully quiet today, what's on your mind?" You stepped in front of Hiccup and grabbed both of his hands into yours. You swayed left and right while Hiccup stayed motionless.

"You." Hiccup replied after a few seconds later, you stopped moving and grinned.

"Me? I'm flattered." A giggle spilled past your lips, but stopped upon noticing that the auburn haired boy didn't crack up the expected smile. You took a step back and then walked alongside Hiccup who let out a faint sigh and you turned to face him.

"It feels like I found out another, more darker, side of you." Hiccup confessed and you frowned.

"Are you... disappointed?" You reluctantly questioned, chomping on your lips afterwards. You scanned Hiccup's face for any emotion, his features more accentuated under the midnight light. But even so, they held nothing but calmness.

"No, its just- I never knew you've had such a traumatic experience." Hiccup responded with a generally hurt tone and it made your face drop. Of course he had a point, but he was forgetting that even you were reminded about all of this just recently. You remained quiet, not knowing what to even respond to what he had said so you just nodded slightly.

A moment of silence passed before you spoke again. "So you're not going comment anything about me stealing?" To that Hiccup shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well you needed to so... I guess it's acceptable?" Hiccup trailed off. "Besides, that's in the past. You don't steal now."