A/N: This was written as a response to a story request on my DeviantArt account by Gumdrop Boo (ch4rms):
There is a feast-celebration post movie in honor of the new dragon-viking friendship. Dancing. Can hiccup do it? does he have trouble? How much? Can he lean on Astrid? does Astrid dance? Does she dance with other guys who are more capable and maybe it sparks Hiccup to try? Or is Astrid a sour grape when it comes to dancing and has to be prodded and so ends up sitting with him and people-watching the whole time? What do they discuss sans dancing if that's the case?
The morning was cool and clear and bright, one of the last pleasant days expected as autumn shook off the remnants of summer and marched towards the cold desolation of winter. Some of the old timers were predicting snow by the end of the week. Hiccup hoped they were wrong as he casually rubbed the upper calf of his left leg; the dull ache that frequently interrupted his sleep these past few nights was likely to only get worse in the frigid temperatures and he was dreading experiencing his first winter with the injury.
An inquisitive black nose poked at his hand and he smiled in response. Affectionately he scratched the flat scaly head and smiled. "Does your tail hurt as much?"
Toothless responded in his own way, snorting and pressing his face against Hiccup's chest almost knocking the boy over, though the question remained unanswered. Not that it mattered. The Night Fury's endless amounts of empathy and compassion spoke of something deeper than a shared pain.
With a final scratch behind the ear, Hiccup and Toothless left their home to greet the day. Berk was bustling with activity with nearly everybody hurrying about carrying a basket or barrel or bundle. Late season crops were being harvested, meat was being cured, and as many staples as possible were being stored away in anticipation of the harsh, dead season. Hiccup was amazed by both the sight of so many gleeful smiles on the Vikings who, for the first time in the island village's history, weren't worried about these stores being carried off in the dead of night as well as the unimaginable teamwork of dragons helping with the preparations.
"Hiccup!"
The Viking boy jumped as a large hand clamped onto his shoulder. Sudden guilt and anxiety flooded through him automatically after so many years of similar confrontations, but when he turned expecting the disappointed scowl, all he saw was a father's face full of love, pride, and concern. "Hey. Dad," Hiccup replied with a smile of his own, running a hand through the back of his hair.
"What are you doing out here?" Far from the aggravated tone Hiccup was used to hearing that phrase said with, the question was spoken softly and compassionately.
"Just getting some fresh air. The house was feeling a little cramped." He smiled and looked down at Toothless. "Maybe take a ride?"
"Take it easy, son. It's only been three days," Stoick warned with a gentle rumble.
"I know. But I feel good. I promise."
With an indulgent smile, his father replied, "Considering you've yet to stay awake past sunset, I'll respectfully refuse your promise."
Hiccup sighed. It was true that at the end of the day he was nearly exhausted, even with doing nothing but sitting around reading or drawing. After the ride on his first day awake he had barely made it back into the house before collapsing, which made his father declare the activity off limits until he had fully recovered. But he'd only get stronger by pushing himself, and frankly, he was sick of just sitting in the house. While Toothless was always a welcome companion, he did crave being around the other Vikings again, now more than ever, when they were so willing to be in his company.
As if in response to this thought, he heard the call of his name and turned to see the very person he really wanted to see, and Odin help him if his mouth didn't fall into that same goofy grin it always did.
"Hey. Hi. Hi, Astrid. Hi," he said, and he could have sworn he heard his father chuckle. It was good to see her again, though she was one of the few people he had seen every day since waking up, often stopping by delivering food her mother had prepared or asking a random question about dragons. He got the impression – though he'd never suggest it out loud – that she was simply searching for excuses to visit him, but that couldn't really be true, could it?
"Good to see you out again. How are you feeling?" she asked as casually as if she were merely asking about the weather, but her eyes watched him intently, as if any sign of injury or pain would cause her to toss him over her shoulder and haul him back home in an instant.
"Good. Really," he said pointedly while looking at his father.
"And…" She hesitated a moment before continuing. "Your leg?"
In truth it was throbbing. Getting used to the prosthesis was definitely going to be an ongoing process, even after he had tinkered with it to get it more comfortable. But it wasn't something anyone else could do for him, and he knew that sitting around wasn't going to alleviate the problem either. Gobber had sat down with him the day after he woke up and the two smiths had had the most sincere conversation of their lives as the older man discussed the difficulties Hiccup could expect from his new impairment, but most importantly, Gobber had stressed that giving into the pain and dwelling on the difficulties was a sure path to the grave.
"It works," he quipped with a smile, even picking it up and wiggling the metal end about in the air. Toothless whined at him and Astrid gazed skeptically when he started to waver on one foot, but he maintained his balance admirably as he set the contraption back on the ground. Wanting to push past the subject quickly, he said, "I was thinking about flying later, if you, you know, maybe wanted to go with me?" He swallowed hard, expecting the brusque rejection he was so used to but pressed on. "On-on your dragon, of course. Unless you wanted to ride Toothless with me, which is totally fine, too. Your choice."
Her smile was warm but apologetic. "I'm sorry, I'd love to but I really can't today. We're too busy getting ready for the - " She had been cut off by the extremely unsubtle sound of Stoick clearing his throat. She glanced at the chief, startled and guilty, and then said, "I meant I'm helping my mother can some vegetables. But tomorrow would be good, if you still feel up to it."
Hiccup glanced between the two suspiciously, but said to Astrid, "Sure, tomorrow sounds great. I'll check my schedule, but I'm pretty sure it's wide open so I'll pencil you in." He grinned at her in a way that he hoped was charming, but was sure came off more as deranged.
Still she returned a full, sincere smile, and replied, "I'll see you tomorrow. Take care of yourself." Then she lifted her small but powerful hand, wrapped in a fist, and lightly touched his arm. It was all he could do not to laugh. Hiccup was sure he could produce a more powerful punch even in this weakened state; she wasn't even trying anymore. Yet it was something she apparently needed to do, to save face, maintain the upper hand, and so forth. She turned as if to leave, then with a quick glance at Stoick, she leaned forward and placed her lips on Hiccup's cheek before trotting off to rejoin the ongoing activity.
Hiccup sighed. The cheek again. Aside from the one time just after he woke up, she had been diligent about not touching his lips, which was driving him mad. He wondered if he should take the initiative next time, if they were even at a place where that was acceptable, or if it would cause him further undue bodily injury.
Maybe the cheek wasn't so bad after all.
"Son," Stoick said, reminding the boy that he wasn't alone. Hiccup turned around prepared to take up the argument again, but before he could Stoick continued, "One hour. You can be outside for one hour, provided you stay out of everyone's way and don't exert yourself. Then I want you to go home and get some rest. At suppertime, I'll come get your and we'll go to the Meade Hall together to eat."
"Wow, really? That's great, Dad, thanks." Hiccup shared a happy look with Toothless
"Now go have fun, but remember - "
"I'll take it easy, I promise. See you later!" He waved as Stoick walked away, already starting to yell orders to keep things moving smoothly. Then the boy and the dragon went about making the most of their hour of freedom.
))))((((
It was a natural law that no teenager believed their parents knew what they were talking about, but as Hiccup wearily dragged himself back home after touring the village that morning, he had to confess to himself that the hour may have been overly generous. He kicked his boot off and laid down on the bed for a quick nap, and that was where he remained until his father woke him up in the early evening.
"Up and at 'em, boy," Stoick said cheerfully as he shook Hiccup's shoulder. "Suppertime." Toothless was eagerly leaping around the bed offering chortles and grunts of encouragement for the young man to get up.
"Okay, okay, I'm up," Hiccup assured the pair and swung his legs over the edge while rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Sleep well?" Stoick asked.
"Yeah, I guess. Didn't mean to sleep the whole day away though."
Stoick smiled broadly. "That's fantastic. You should be good and rested then."
"Right. For what?"
"Let's go."
Hiccup walked with his father and Toothless along the now-empty village paths towards the large gathering hall, which was rather strange to Hiccup, especially after seeing the place teaming with activity earlier. But as he looked around, not a soul was visible, as if the entire village population had been reduced to just the three of them.
Hiccup didn't put much more thought into it as they reached the enormous doorway and the smell of roasting meat caused his stomach to grumble hungrily. With a great flourish Stoick reached for the handle and pulled it back allowing Hiccup to walk through. As soon as he stepped into the cavernous room, he realized it was filled to near capacity and every single face – human and dragon – was looking at him. With nary a moment to even contemplate what was going on, the human population burst forth, crying out, "SURPRISE!" while the dragons, most of which occupied the rafters above, roared in counterpoint.
Hiccup took a startled step backwards only to hit his father's impressive girth. Stoick's hand grasped Hiccup's shoulder to steady him and said, "It's all for you, son."
Hiccup turned to look at him. "What's going on?"
A merry rumble erupted from the chief's chest. "It's a celebration! A feast in your honor. We've been waiting until you were feeling up to it. The lassie was particularly insistent on it," Stoick confessed in a whisper, nodding his head towards the right. When Hiccup looked in that direction he was pleasantly surprised to see Astrid smiling broadly at him and clapping, causing his whole face to burn red. "Well met, my fellow Vikings and new friends!" Stoick bellowed to all and sundry in the hall. "Here we sup and drink and dance and be merry in honor of my son, Hiccup Haddock, and the new-found peace he has brought us with the dragons. Let the feast commence!" Cheers and dragon-cries resounding through the air in response.
With one last smile and a slight push of encouragement, Stoick sent Hiccup along towards Astrid and the rest of the teens minus Ruffnut as he took his place at the head table.
"Hiccup!"
"Buddy."
"Good to see you up and around."
"Yeah, yeah, let's eat!"
Hiccup nodded and smiled to the group that had crowded around him. Astrid took his hand and led him to their table, motioning for him to sit. "I have a plate for you," she said, putting down a sumptuous setting of meat, vegetables, and freshly baked bread in front of him.
"And here's something for our big hero to drink," Tuffnut chimed in slamming down a mug overflowing of ale. "Let's get to partying!" he cried, tipping back his own tankard and downing the contents in one continuous swallow
"Uh, thanks," Hiccup said quietly as Astrid sat down on his right with her own food. Tuffnut, Snotlout, and Fishlegs took the bench opposite them, and Hiccup gave them each a grateful smile. "So you did all this?" he asked Astrid before taking a bite of meat, only to have a black dragon's head poke from beneath the table where the rest of said dragon had squeezed. Snotlout cried out as his foot was rudely stepped on. Indulgently Hiccup slipped a chunk of pork to Toothless, and returned his attention to Astrid.
She smiled at the exchange and shrugged noncommittally. "I mentioned it. Everyone else was interested and it happened. I didn't really do anything special."
"I don't know, I think it's pretty special," he said, trying to sound suave, but the snort and laughter across the table told him he fell short of his mark, and he returned his attention to his meal with slightly flushed cheeks.
They continued to eat in silence, occasionally sharing a glance while Snotlout proudly talked about how amazing his new dragon companion was, proclaiming her "the most awesome dragon on the island." Fishlegs attempted to interject several facts about Gronckles, such as their ability to fly even while sleeping, but was cut of summarily and told to be quiet about his "flying rock." Tuffnut seemed less inclined to partake in the whose-dragon-is-better contest and instead tried turning the conversation to his well-sculpted biceps, only no one paid attention.
Suddenly out of nowhere, Ruffnut dropped down on the bench to Hiccup's left, throwing her arm around his shoulder and placing her face inches from his. "Hey, dragon boy," she breathed and the ale wafting from her breath made his eyes water. "Music's going to start up soon. You going to show everybody what a good-looking pair we'd make?"
From the corner of his eye, Hiccup saw Astrid lean forward and gape at Ruffnut, eyebrows drawn together in unmistakable ire. "Uh, I don't know about that," Hiccup replied trying for diplomatic. "I'll probably just watch everyone else. I was two left feet on the dance floor before I lost my left foot." He grinned, trying to diffuse the suddenly tense situation, while leaning slightly to the right to try and dislodge her arm.
Ruffnut wasn't having any of it though. Laughing as if she'd heard the best joke ever, she pulled him closer and dropped her voice even more. "You know, I always thought you were real funny. And cute." Her free hand came up and caressed his chest. From his position beneath the table, Toothless glanced between Ruffnut and Astrid, who was now clenching her fists and grinding her teeth, no doubt readying an escape plan to get Hiccup out should things get violent.
"Really?" Hiccup replied before he could stop himself. "That's why you were always mocking me every chance you could get with your brother and Snotlout?"
Tuffnut burst out laughing, pointing at his sister. "He told you." With a growl, Ruff picked up Hiccup's plate and launched it across the table, where the rim collided with Tuffnut's nose with a metallic clank before all the food scraps slid onto his face and shoulders. "Ow! Oh I am hurt!" Tuffnut cried, cradling his nose with both hands. "You know my nose is my best feature," he whined. A pack of Terrible Terrors that had been flying nearby took a sudden interest in the spilled food and landed on the lanky boy causing him to thrash around wildly. "Hey! I am not a picnic!"
Ignoring her twin, Ruffnut turned back to Hiccup. "Well at least I never yelled at you in the middle of dragon training like a child!"
"What is your problem?" Astrid finally yelled across Hiccup.
"You, you're my problem," Ruff replied, also leaning forward to address Astrid. "You think you can shake your ass and he'll just forget how you treated him? You don't get to stake your claim on a guy you barely looked at before and he doesn't get a say! Let Hiccup decide for himself!"
"Wait," Hiccup tried to interject meekly. "This isn't really - "
"Shake my ass? You're the one hanging off him like a dead pelt!"
Ruffnut sneered. "You snooze, you lose, baby." Then she placed a kiss on Hiccup's cheek with a loud smack.
"Guys, come on - "
"Forget it!" Astrid said throwing her hands up as she stood from the bench. "I don't need this. He doesn't need to decide anything. I'm out of here."
"Don't let the door hit you on the way out!"
"Astrid! Wait! No!" Hiccup tried to call her back, but she had disappeared in the crowd. "Odin damn it!" he swore under his breath.
"Forget about Miss Stick-in-the-mud," Ruffnut said, gripping his chin and turning it back towards her. "She wouldn't know a good time if it seared off her perfect hair. You, me, a Night Fury? We'll own this village."
Hiccup gripped Ruffnut's arm and pulled it off him, while sliding down the bench away from her. "You're, uh, you're really great, Ruff. And, yeah, Astrid did yell at me, but she had her reasons." His face darkened. "But at least she never went out of her way to humiliate me just because it was fun." Ruffnut's mouth fell open as all hints of humor faded away. The three boys had taken a sudden intense interest in their meals instead of looking at him. Hiccup swallowed before continuing. "It's all in the past now, and I don't think it'll be helpful to dwell on it. But I've already made my decision. I'm sorry." He stood up and straightened his vest. "Enjoy the rest of the feast."
He slipped into the crowd in search of Astrid, Toothless close to his heals. Behind him he heard Tuffnut jubilant voice yell, "Crash and burn, loser. Crash. And. Burn."
"Shut it, Tuff," was Ruff's quiet response, completely devoid of her usual verve, which only made Hiccup's chest clench in guilt. She was crazy, and kind of scary, but he never wanted to hurt her. Or anyone for that matter. But he also couldn't pretend those years of being the butt of their jokes didn't happen and hadn't left their marks.
Traversing the hall while it was full was no easy task at any time, but as he was the guest of honor he had to stop and respond to a myriad of well-wishers who wanted to shake his hand or offer a motherly kiss on the cheek. By the time he had nearly circled the hall he was afraid Astrid had left and with her any chance of finding out if there was anything between them. He was close to giving up when Toothless whined and bumped his hand, pointing his nose towards the back corner. Hiccup looked and saw the unmistakable blonde braid as she leaned casually against the wall, not really looking at anything. "Thanks, bud," Hiccup whispered and moved towards her.
With everyone having had a chance to eat their fill, the Vikings began moving tables aside while a group of musicians started to set up along the side. Hiccup sidled up along Astrid and said, "Looks like the real fun's going to be starting soon."
She glanced at him with just a hint of happy surprise then turned away again. "I thought you hated dancing."
"Nah," he replied with a shrug. "I was just never good at it. Or never had a good partner."
"I'm sure Ruff will make a great partner," she said coldly. "She'll probably pick you up and toss you around like a bashyball."
Hiccup chuckled politely, and then said, "I don't want her to be my partner."
"Why not? She's right," Astrid replied, morose, eyes downturned. "I was awful to you. You shouldn't even be speaking to me right now."
He nudged her with his elbow. "Yet here I am. Talking to you."
"You don't have to be nice."
"Actually I kind of do have to be. Nice. Being the son of the chief and all." He grinned at her, which brought out a small involuntary smile in return. "But I want to be too."
"How can you forgive me?"
With a slight hesitation, he reached out and grabbed her hand, relieved when her only response was to grip his back. "It's easy. You kept the most important secret in the village for me. For Toothless. And you stood by me, even at the worst time when everyone else turned away. You didn't give up on me or let me give up on myself. What's there to forgive after that?"
Before Astrid could respond Toothless had placed his head between the pair with plaintive croon. Both teens chuckled at him and laid their free hands on his head, inadvertently causing their fingers to touch. They looked at each other and grinned, simultaneously petting the dragon and touching fingertips. Soon the hall rang with joyous music and the cleared space was filled with dancing and laughter. They could see Tuffnut and Snotlout in the middle of the fray, clapping and stomping with great grins on their faces then linking arms and swinging each other around hard enough to pull them off their feet.
Astrid giggled at the boys' antics and then looked at Hiccup. "So," she said, having to lean closer to him to be heard through the music. "Do you want to try dancing?"
"Eh, I don't know about being in the middle of the crowd," Hiccup admitted, worried about a variety of disasters that could befall him.
"Well we don't have to go over there."
Toothless backed away, noticing the way the two humans were looking at each other and, realizing that he wasn't going to get any more attention, he slunk through the crowd towards the long table that still had food set out for the partygoers to enjoy throughout the night.
"I don't know if I can move fast with the music," Hiccup said next to her ear.
Her hands came up to steady his waist as she moved close to him. "We don't have to move fast."
He nodded and placed his hands on her shoulders, which he noted happily were not heavily armored for the evening's celebration. They began to sway together, taking small steps side to side and turning in a slow circle as they gazed into each other's eyes. With each change of tune and tempo, they remained together in their own rhythm, unconcerned with rest of the crowd.
Hiccup's right hand had slid further and further across her back until he was cradling her shoulder in the crook of his elbow, and she had intertwined her hands behind his back so that there was barely any space between them. He lifted his left hand and boldly touched her cheek causing her to close her eyes. He couldn't stop staring at her mouth and, drunk from the festive atmosphere, took the ultimate risk.
He touched her lips with his own, his hand still cupping her cheek. Her eyes opened in surprise for just a moment before closing again and pulling him closer. All pretense of dancing stopped as they simply held each other, kissing in a way Hiccup had never imagined experiencing before: slow, not passionate yet, but not just friendly either. It seemed to go on and on, and he savored every sensation of his skin sliding across hers and the ghost of her breath. His right hand gripped and massaged her shoulder, pulling at her shirt without realizing it. When their mouths finally parted, she smiled at him and laid her head on his shoulder.
"Oh, yeah," he breathed. "Definitely better than the cheek." He wrapped both arms around her and hugged her tight, just rocking together with the music.