She took a long, deep breath of relief, filling her lungs with some much needed fresh air once she was finally able to leave and cover the opening of the tent behind her.
The Moon was already up high when Gobber fell asleep, softly snoring, his face occasionally contorted by the anguish that was still dwelling on the back of his unconscious mind.
Who would have guessed that the bulky blacksmith would be the one who needed comforting words and hands the most after the dragons had left? Well, it was no surprise for Valka. She had known him since birth and she was no stranger to the sensitive part of his soul – sadly, it wasn't the first time they mourned together. She was there for him, listening to his sobs and whimpers, patting his broad shoulders, telling him that Grumpy was surely safe and would be happy with the rest of the dragons in that magical place Hiccup and Astrid enthusiastically effused about. But she also acknowledged and embraced his pain; it wasn't hard, since loss and sorrow were ravenously feasting on her heart too.
It was only natural that they still relied on each other after all these years, since they had always been very close. Gobber was the first to know that she developed feelings for their chief, he was the one who first suspected that she could be with child after she ungraciously puked her guts out on a spring morning in the corner of his forge and he was the one who spent every night with the chief and the chieftess after their tiny, premature little boy was born and they were worried sick for his fragile life.
But sometimes his honesty could hurt. When everyone else were tiptoeing around Valka's much belated and very sudden return, the blacksmith was the only one who dared to tell her that leaving her family was a shit move, and even though it broke Valka into a million pieces over and over again, she appreciated that someone in Berk had the guts to finally tell her off.
Gobber was also the greatest source of information when it came to Hiccup and Stoick. Valka spent endless nights at his place listening to whatever old stories he was willing to share about her long lost family. It was hard on her, but she had to learn more about his son's past to understand his present, to make it easier to communicate with him.
Of course, the mother-son relationship was far beyond repair, it was virtually non-existent, but neither of them wanted to force any bogus bonds with the other. Valka was more like a distant aunt for Hiccup, with a shared love for dragons, than anything else.
It wasn't a problem for either of them. Valka became a loner among the dragons, and even though she had been living with her tribe for over a year now, she still had a tendency to minimalize her human contacts to the people she felt comfortable with. Her son on the other hand had all the emotional support he needed; it became quite obvious for Valka from the moment she first observed Hiccup and Astrid together.
Later she learnt from Gobber that Astrid had always been the apple of Hiccup's eyes, but it took a while until that clumsy knucklehead finally won her heart and made his move. The blacksmith recalled drinking half a barrel of ale with Stoick after one of the twins had made a quite detailed and somewhat rude remark about why Hiccup was constantly smiling like an idiot and disappearing out of sight with Astrid every so often. "Ye know," the blacksmith said with tear soaked eyes, "Stoick lov'd that lass as his own, eh, maybe even more..."
Valka soon understood while Stoick had been so fond of Astrid. She was fierce and brave, a little stubborn, too, like all Vikings, yet level-headed and collected when needed. Valka had to admit to herself that she had never ever seen such a perfect constellation between two people, and since one of those two was her own son, she cherished the gods for bringing them together and making it possible.
She also adored her son. She knew he had never been surrounded by females, since he had spent most of his time with his dad and Gobber, but it seemed that he figured out how to handle a woman - although Valka was sure Astrid had given him hints when it was needed.
So it was only natural that Valka tried to encourage and support their relationship as much as she could.
After everything went down, Valka moved in with Hiccup, because it felt convenient, back to the room she had left so many years ago, but she often spent the nights out with the dragons or at Gobber's. She knew Astrid was a frequent visitor at their house, but it wasn't exactly a secret. She found them together more often than not, she caught them a handful of times doing those sweet silly things only true love makes people do.
She witnessed numerous tickle fights, she caught them hugging, saw many innocent kisses and a few less innocent ones, found them curled up in front of the hearth, either engaged in some serious discussion or just sleeping with Toothless.
The only thing she didn't know was the level of intimacy the two lovebirds had. Of course, she neither had the means or the right to ask, but she often wondered... They had no problem with kissing and hugging in front of the whole wide world, but since they had never been caught in any awkward situation by anyone, it either meant that they were more or less innocent or surprisingly lucky. Both options were fine with Valka, after all, it was their business, although she was secretly rooting for his son, because it seemed that he wasn't opposed to the idea of getting married at all.
From what she understood, it was Astrid who brushed off the topic, claiming it to be too soon, finding valid reasons, problems to be solved and tasks to be done before everything else.
Valka took another deep breath from the crispy air of the night. She looked up at the sky, which was filled with a plethora of stars, but looked empty and bleak without the dragons. The disappearance of the beloved reptiles and the grandiose task of building a brand new home for the tribe without their help was probably another good reason to delay the nuptials, she thought.
She took a few small steps towards his son's tent, wondering whether he needed company. She was sure, he was up, probably feeling as lost as herself… Then she heard a faint crack behind her, as if someone had accidentally stepped on a dry twig in the dead of the night. Valka looked over her shoulder and spotted a slender figure, hiding behind the wide trunk of an oak tree. The shadowy figure hadn't noticed her, but waited for a long moment, then when everything seemed tranquil and still, started to sneak towards Hiccup's tent. In that moment Valka realized that her son wouldn't need her for the night, so when the figure disappeared behind the pelts that covered the opening of her son's the tent, she turned around and headed for her own place.
"Hey," Astrid greeted him quietly, then not waiting for an invite, she quickly crawled to the bed where he was lying sideways, wide awake, with puffy eyes.
"Hey," he said back in a gentle tone, feeling already a little better by her mere presence.
Kneeling in front of him, she pushed a cold, pointy nose to his neck and placed a tender peck on his stubble-covered jaw.
"I can't sleep," she complained. He lifted his head and looked into her eyes. They seemed darker than ever, probably because of the lack of light inside the tent.
"Me either..." he said and paused for a moment to cup her face and kiss her lips. "I debated going to your tent, but I'm guessing it's a little crowded with you parents and all. Did they notice you leave?"
"Nah, they lost track of me years ago," she answered honestly with a small, mischievous grin while she moved away from Hiccup to kick of her boots.
Hiccup scooted over and lifted the pelts for her while she wiggled herself into a comfortable little spoon position. When she stopped moving, he hugged him from behind, pulling her a little closer.
"Plus they know I'm in good hands," she added and reached for Hiccup's hand which was on her stomach. She wove her fingers through his and lifted up his hand to her lips to place a few little kisses on his palm.
There was a moment of hard silence then Astrid turned her head to look into his eyes. Her blues and his greens were still dark and filled with tears.
"We'll get through this..." she said quietly and he nodded slowly.
She turned back and scooted even closer to him, pressing her back to his chest. Neither of them wore their dragonscale armours any more, but at least they could feel the comforting heat emitting from the other. Hiccup sniffed and pushed his nose to her neck while holding her close. She sighed for one last time and he rocked her a bit from behind, until sometime later they both fell asleep.
He woke up at the crack of dawn, still holding Astrid in the same position. His arm felt numb, so he tried to move it slowly without waking her.
"I'm up," she yawned, "force of habit..."
"Yeah, we got used to flying around for a couple of hours before everything else," he answered trying not to sound bitter, but not being able to hide his disappointment.
Astrid turned around pushed herself up a bit to plant a quick kiss on his lips.
"I know we are on their minds, too. It's just...It had to be this way," she said sounding a bit more cheerful than before.
"Yeah, I know," he agreed.
"And we have a lot to do."
"I know, I know, we have to build a new village."
Hiccup tried not to think about how hard it was going to be without the help of the dragons, but each and every idea he had involved them.
She shook her head and a foxy little smile appeared on her face. "I meant we as in 'you and me'."
He quirked an eyebrow, not being entirely sure what she was referring to. It could have been some sort of euphemism for being intimate, but Astrid hardly ever gave vague hints, she usually directly went for what she wanted.
"We need a plot."
Hiccup was still confused. Probably she meant something private by it, like a plan to sneak away from the watchful eyes of the villagers, because the current tent situation wasn't exactly foolproof...
"A plot?" He asked back curiously.
"Yes, a plot. For our house."
Still confused, he waited for further explanation. He must have made some dumb expression, because Astrid giggled and placed a tender kiss on his nose.
"Well, there's no point in building separate houses for us. It wood be a waste of time and timber."
Hiccup shook his head to clear his mind. A thousand thoughts were rushing through his brain, but only one of them really mattered to him.
"Are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting?" he asked sounding unsure.
She nodded.
His jaw dropped.
"Yes!" He said a few seconds later, full of enthusiasm and vigour and then he started to kiss her face feverishly.
She giggled again, trying to push him away playfully. "Did you just answer the question I didn't have the chance ask?"
"Mhm," he answered, still being occupied with kissing her.
"Heeey, calm down, hotshot," she complained.
He needed to gather all his strength to raise his head and look into her eye.
"Okay, why now?" He asked, trying to sound a bit more serious.
She took a deep breath. "Well… I figured we still have plenty time to arrange everything until the first snow arrives… and then you know, we can have our first Snoggletog together..."
"As a couple?"
"As a married couple."
"I like the sound of that," he said in a husky voice while his focus shifted on her lips and he leaned a bit closer to her.
"As much as I'd like to run to Gothi to find us the perfect date for the wedding, I'm afraid, if I wake her up, he would crack my skull with her staff," he whispered to her lips.
Her smiled grazed his mouth. "Then stay. I happen to like your skull as it is."
"So we still have at least an hour to kill, right?"
"Mhm," she nodded but the rest of her words were swallowed by his kiss.
[Yep, I'm not dead yet, I'm just more active on tumblr and ao3.]