Treehouse Secrets

Pressure

***

The ship finally docked on the shores of Berk and Oakley had never been so relieved to feel the solid ground beneath her feet.

"You okay, Lass?" Gobber wondered as stumbled towards a nearby tree. "You're not looking too good."

"Uh-huh." She nodded, bending over to rest her hand on her knees. "Just... gotta take a knee for a second."

"Okay, Sweetie. Just breathe." Astrid suggested as she rubbed gentle circles on her back.

"It was her first boat ride. She's been sick since the moment we left." Hiccup explained as he petted his dragon.

"I see," Gobber noted.

***

The gang all headed straight for the great hall for lunch.

"Oak, you really should try to eat something," Heather advised, noticing the brunette was just playing with the food on her plate.

"I'm not hungry." She fibbed, staring blankly at her plate. Astrid carefully tucked the bangs away from her face and placed the back of her hand against her girlfriend's forehead.

"You still not feeling good?" She wondered. Oakley shook her head, resting her head against the blonde's shoulder. Astrid quickly finished her lunch and pulled Oakley into her lap, straddling her hips. Oakley wrapped her arms around Astrid's middle and nuzzled into her neck.

"I don't think I've ever seen this side of her before." Heather realized.

"Well, she never gets sick." Hiccup explained. "Like ever."

"Well, it is her first time out in the world. It was only a matter of time before she caught something." Fishlegs mentioned.

"No, I don't think that's it." Astrid furrowed her brow. "This just isn't like her." She said as the brunette wriggles in her lap, presumably falling asleep. "She's been off for a few days now."

"Wait, she was sick before the trip?" Snotlout questioned.

"Not sick. Just not herself." Astrid corrected, subconsciously tracing the wound on her girlfriend's hand.

"Maybe you're right." Hiccup thought. "You should take her home. Let her get some rest. I'll take over as acting chief for a while." Astrid nodded, shaking Oakley gently to keep her awake.

"Let's get you to bed." She suggested. Oakley just nodded sleepily, only reinforcing the belief that she was anything but okay. The girls stood from the table and headed towards the door as the others all continued to talk. "OAK?!" The riders all spun towards Astrid's shriek as Oakley's legs buckled beneath her and she fell to the ground.

***

"You're okay. Take it easy." Astrid assured as Oakley shot up to find herself in a rather unfamiliar place.

"Where-"

"You're at Gothi's," Lotus explained as she sat by her side. "You collapsed. Just relax."

"I have work to-"

"Hiccup's taken over as acting chief." Astrid interrupted. "Oak, you're overworked. You're stressed and you're putting far too much pressure on yourself." She explained. "That's what's making you sick."

"Gothi says that the more stress, the worse you'll feel," Lotus added.

"No stress?" She thought. "Try telling that to my dad." She snickered.

***

Over the next month, Hiccup had taken over chiefing duties while Oakley and Astrid finished their hut, at their own pace, making sure to stick to a routine as much as possible. Oakley was starting to feel a lot better. The occasional headaches for sure, but much better than before. They finished their hut just in time for the chief to return. It was a lot like the treehouse, with a similar layout but split into two layers, with some extra space for the dragons.

"Now all we have to do is move all of our stuff," Astrid mentioned, dusting her hands off proudly.

"Well, I say we take a well-deserved lunch break," Oakley suggested.

"Good idea."

***

The girls raced to the great hall. Oakley won. They looked up towards the back of the hall to find Stoick sitting in his usual spot.

"Dad!" Oakley cheered racing into his arms.

"Ms. Hofferson told me what happened. How are you feeling, Lass?" He checked.

"Better." She assured. "And my hut is all finished."

"That's what I like to hear."

***

It had been two weeks since Oakley had moved to the village. They still hadn't told anyone about Astrid moving in too, so the blonde would sneak in every night, as they were usually the first ones awake anyway. Astrid climbed up to the window of Oakley's bedroom for the sixteenth time but was shocked to find her bed empty. She furrowed her brow in confusion for a second before her attention turned towards a grumble at the edge of the room. She lit a torch on the wall to find StarGazer tied and muzzled.

***