Treehouse Secrets

Breathe

Hope you enjoy :)

***

'Fishlegs... Grab my canteen!!!' Astrid ordered as Oakley took a sharp intake of breath.

The large blonde viking rushed to do exactly as she asked.

Oakley slowly opened her eyes, still breathing rather fast, although slower than before. She suddenly found herself wrapping her arms around Astrids waist.

Fishlegs handed Astrid her canteen of water and she wasted no time sitting Oakley up and pouring the contents into her mouth. Oakley managed to swallow some of it before gasping for air and coughing.

Astrid pulled the canteen away, patting Oakley on the back and placing the canteen on the ground.

She began to think back and realized that Oakley hadn't had anything to drink at breakfast, or eat for that matter. Then she thought back even further and couldn't recall her drinking anything yesterday either. Add the blistering heat and 6 hours of non-stop intense excercise and it was no wonder she collapsed.

Oakley let out a raspy moan as she reached her arm out, grabbing for the drink. Astrid grabbed the container and held it up to her girlfriends lips, allowing her to drink at her own pace.

'Is she okay?' Hiccup asked.

'What's happening?' Snotlout added.

'Is she gonna die?' Tuff questioned.

'Should I get Gothi?' Fishlegs asked.

'Or Stoick?' Ruff added.

Oakley wrapped her arms around Astrid's neck and hid her face in her shoulder.

'Guys! You're not helping!' Astrid snapped.

With that, the riders all backed up and sat back down.

'Astrid... Is she okay?' Hiccup asked.

'I'm fine.' Oakley rasped out, gently letting go of her girlfriend and spinning in her lap.

'Oak?' Astrid asked as the brunette shuffled forward and began slowly standing up. Astrid jumped up to hold her up, placing her hands on Oakleys shoulders. Oakley grabbed her wrist and gently slid her hand off her.

'I'm fine, Astrid.' Oakley looked towards the hole she had made in the wall then back towards her girlfriend. 'I wanna go home.' She whispered.

'The tree house?' Astrid whispered in return. Oakley nodded. Astrid sighed but agreed.

***

They finally arrived at the tree house and Stormfly lifted the girls to the window, allowing them to enter, before joining StarGazer on the ground below. The tree house wasn't quite big enough for the dragons.

Oakley entered first and immediately removed the brown over coat and blue shirt she had been wearing. Astrid soon joined her in the hut and stood, not quite knowing what to say. She replaced Astrids blue shirt with her red one with long sleeves before quickly changing into her own leggings.

'I'm gonna go to the bathroom.' Astrid said. 'I'll be right back.'

When she emerged, Oakley was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly she heard a quiet sob coming from behind her, she spun around to see a ladder leaned against the wall. She climbed up and found herself in a hidden room above the rest of the hut, about half the size of the room below, the ceiling was also lower. The room was filled with chests, each labelled; Paper, sketches, blankets, clothes, wood, weapons... the list goes on, the smallest chest only had a small heart carved into it.

She looked around and froze when she saw Oakley huddled in the far corner, her knees tucked to her chest, her head in her lap and a trail of screwed up paper, torn from a notebook.

She looked towards Oakley. She had her eyes closed, desperately trying not to cry, not having much success. The tears began to fall. Astrid rushed to her side and held her close.

'Shhh it's okay, I'm here.' She whispered. She knew Oakley had been bottling up her emotions.

Oakley's sobs started getting heavier. Soon she was hyperventilating. Astrid leaned Oakley against her chest and rocked her back and forth.

'Shhh babe, you need to breathe. It's just a panic attack.' She said softly. 'Hey...' Astrid swept her tear filled bangs away. 'Tell me, what annoys you the most about Snotlout?'

Oakley gripped Astrids shirt.

'Too easy? How about the most annoying thing about me?'

Oakley shook her head.

'Oh come on, there has to be something.'

Oakley took a deep breath. As deep as she could.

'You-'

Breathe

'You stole my-'

Breathe

'Side of... the bed.'

She finally rasped out, her breath slowly returning to normal.

Astrid let out a small chuckle along with a quick sigh of relief.

She looked down and smiled as she noticed the stuffed toy in her girlfriends lap. It was a Nadder.

'Who's your friend?' Astrid asked.

Oakley clutched her toy.

'Dark Thunder...' Oakley whispered.

'Why, Dark Thunder?' Astrid began stroking her girlfriends hair. She found it so cute that Oakley had a stuffed Nadder as a best friend.

Oakley sat up before explaining. 'Mom use to say if something scared us, we should turn it into something positive.'

'So, you're afraid of the dark? And thunder storms? And water?'

Oakley looked away, embarrassed.

Astrid sighed. 'I'm afraid of spooky stories.' She admitted in an attempt to ease Oakleys humiliation, it appeared to be working as she looked up at the confessing blonde. 'Halloween is the worst... I get scared that people don't like me, and I get scared when people start to shout at me.'

Oakley jumped into Astrids arms, it was hard to tell who was comforting who at this point.

'Oak...' Astrid whispered. 'What's in that chest?'

Oakley broke the hug to see which chest Astrid meant. She meant the small chest with the heart.

'Memories... My favorites.' She explained. 'Go ahead.' She nodded, knowing that Astrid was desperate to see what was inside.

She was shocked to see that she recognized almost all of the items. Other than the dagger Hiccup made and an axe with the initials, V.H on them. Presumably Valka Haddock. The rest were all about Astrid. First, there were the two sketches Astrid had made during the storm. Then, a copy of the sketch Oakley had drawn of Astrid and Stormfly, along with a few others of Astrid, her favorite was of the two of them together, gazing into each others eyes, sat in their usual favorite position.

She smile when she saw the rose Oakley had made the day they met and the blanket Oakley had wrapped her in when she first entered the tree house.

Astrid closed the chest and grabbed Oakleys hand, without saying a word. When they both returned to the main room of the hut, Astrid grabbed Oakley and kissed her, passionately, lifting her off the ground. Oakley's legs snaked around her and Astrid carried her to the bed, pinning her and resuming that famed position they usually enjoyed.

Oakley would have normally begun fighting for dominance by now, but she knew that Astrid would never let her get away with that. Not after seeing that most of Oakley's favorite memories were with her. She was determined to prove that she enjoyed their time together just as much.

***