2A/N: Lo and behold, I am not dead! A miracle, I know. This little bunny has been sitting on my computer for well over a year, and I'm not sure why. I think I wanted a larger story for it to go along with, but I've never been able to formulate a good one. That being said, I've decided to post it on its own. Now, a little bit of explanation for this one-shot that no one asked for!
My headcanon is that, after the destruction at the end of HTTYD 2, Heather came to Berk and offered the services of the Berserkers in the cleanup. Another one of my headcanons is that Hiccup and Astrid got married as soon as possible after Berk is cleaned up. Add in that I ship Heather and Eret (or, Heatheret, as I think I've seen it called), and you get this little tiny ficlet. Please read and review!
Heather smiled to herself as she saw Hiccup pull Astrid into the beginning of a dance. They looked happy, and Odin knew they deserved it. It had been a long few months for everyone, but for them in particular. Now, with both of them in their wedding clothes – stomping, spinning, swirling – and having eyes only for each other, they were positively glowing. Heather's heart swelled to see it.
"They do look great, don't they?"
Heather started violently, then immediately puffed out an aggravated sigh as Eret chuckled behind her. She hated when he did that.
"Yes they do," she answered, giving him an irritated glance. She refocused on Hiccup and Astrid and her gaze grew thoughtful. "They've worked so hard and been through so much…" Heather mused. "It makes me happy to see them so happy." Eret made a noise of agreement.
"So," Eret said after a brief pause. "What do you say we join them?"
Heather snorted. "What, in the dance?"
"Sure." Eret replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Heather gave a short laugh and turned to smirk at him, but he was looking at her intently in the firelight.
She gave him a strange look. "You're not serious."
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"It's a wedding dance."
Eret glanced over at the ring of people clapping and twirling. "So? I see lots of people dancing who aren't married." Heather followed his gaze and saw that he was right.
"Ok," she conceded. "But regardless of that, it's a Berkian dance. I don't know any Berkian dances, do you?" she asked pointedly. Eret crossed his arms and looked like he was thinking, and for a moment Heather thought she may have won out. Then a grin crept up on his face.
"No. But honestly," he gestured towards a line of staggering villagers who looked like they had enjoyed the mead a little too much, "I really don't think it would matter."
Heather opened her mouth to reply, but as she studied the dance, she realized it could only be loosely termed as such. She shut her mouth and tried to think of a response, but before she could formulate anything, Eret had grabbed her hand and was dragging her towards the ring of dancers. She only had time to give a quick and panicked yelp before Eret twirled her once – a wide (almost maniacal) grin plastered on his face – and she was off into the fray.
Heather soon forgot to be angry with Eret, as she was too preoccupied with not being trampled on to think of anything else. She grabbed hands with anybody who reached towards her and stepped on more than a few toes, but no one seemed to care. Three turns, four turns, spin your partner, move on. She came into Hiccup's vicinity, and he grabbed her, swinging her long enough to yell "Isn't this great?" over the riotous music, and then releasing her before she could catch her breath. Spin to the left, spin to the right, stomp twice, move on.
At some point during the chaos, Heather realized that if she could get to the outside edge of the circle, she could probably step out and no one would notice. She pulled past two people, and was almost there when another arm caught around her waist. She nearly crashed into the chest of the man who had pulled her back in, and when she glanced up, a mixture of surprise and anger colored her features.
"You!" she shouted over the cacophony, but Eret just threw back his head and laughed.
"Oh, come on," he prodded, spinning her briskly, "you can't tell me that you're not having fun." They moved away from each other for a moment, but then they were back again.
"I could!" Heather yelled, trying to catch her breath.
"But that wouldn't be truthful, now, would it?" They passed by again, and Heather caught another glimpse of Hiccup and Astrid, both beaming. She spared a glance for everyone else around her and saw the pure joy written on their faces, and then she caught sight of Eret coming her direction. He saw her too, and his face split into a wide grin. Heather pressed her lips together tightly to keep herself from smiling as he caught her up again, but Eret saw through it.
"Ah ha!" he shouted triumphantly. "See! It's not so bad." She shot him a half-hearted glare, but it's poison was even further diluted by the grin that was tugging at her mouth. By the time the dance was almost over, that little grin had grown into a full tooth smile, and she was laughing too. The music finally stopped, and as all the dancers clapped and hooted for the musicians Heather smiled up at Eret. He looked at her, smiling as well, and Heather felt something click into place in her mind. Her breath caught in her throat.
Oh.
A/N: I hope you liked it! Please leave a review if you did. Or if you didn't. I'm always open to critiquing my writing. Thank you so much for reading!
(If there are any of you out there who follow my other stories and have been wondering where the heck I've been, I'm sorry! My life has been kind of crazy recently, and I've also had a bit of writers' block. I promise I'm working on my other stuff, and I'll get back to it as soon as possible.)