This is my first Hiccup/Astrid fanfic, so I hope you like it :) I've found that there aren't enough good stories about this couple that don't involve... ahem... you know. So it's just a (hopefully) cute story with them being a couple and explaining the events that led up to HTTYD 2. Enjoy!
Toothless bounded up to Hiccup, pushing him over. Hiccup laughed, rubbing Toothless' face and his own aching ribs. "Hey, bud," Hiccup said gently. "I missed you too." Toothless smiled awkwardly, showing his pink gums, then nudged Hiccup excitedly. "Ohh, you smell my fish, don't you bud? That isn't for you!" Toothless flicked his ear at Hiccup, rolling his eyes. Hiccup sighed and took a large slimy fish out of his coat.
Toothless devoured it in several large gulps, like some massive cat. "There isn't any more!" Hiccup said, chuckling as Toothless nudged him all over, sniffing. Toothless snorted and sat down, staring at him reproachfully. "Come on, bud. Time to go see the world!" Toothless rose to his feet, flicking his tail.
Hiccup hooked his metal foot into the stirrup, swung his other leg up and over and braced himself. Toothless leaped forward, once, then again, and suddenly he launched them into the air. Hiccup had done this a million times before, but it never got old. Hiccup scanned the air, then the sea. "If you really want more fish, there's a swarm of them down there," he pointed out. Too late, he added, "Don't go under-" the rest of his sentence came out as a large air bubble. Toothless broke the surface with several wriggling fish in his mouth, then swallowed them.
Hiccup sighed, taking off his coat and wringing it out. "You're too generous, Toothless," Hiccup said as Toothless regurgitated a few fish heads for him. "Really." He brushed them into the ocean and Toothless groaned disapprovingly.
"Come on, Toothless. Astrid and Stormfly are probably already waiting for us. And no more fish!" Toothless smacked his lips, then launched himself back into the sky. Sure enough, when they got close to their rendezvous point, Stormfly and Astrid were already circling above. "C'mon, bud!" Hiccup cried. Toothless beat harder with his powerful wings and they covered the distance in no time.
When they reached Astrid and Stormfly, the two dragons angled towards the ground and landed gracefully next to each other.
"Astrid," Hiccup said with a large grin.
"Hiccup," Astrid said with a small, reserved smile. For a moment they looked awkwardly at each other.
"Come here, you," Hiccup said, pulling her close.
Toothless rolled his eyes. He thrust himself between them, growling. "Toothless!" Hiccup said, a little angry with his dragon. Toothless looked at Hiccup with large eyes, lowering his head submissively, then jumped to his feet, twirling first to the right and then to the left. He swished his tail and turned away from them, looking back as if to say "follow me!"
Astrid and Hiccup looked at each other. The two humans followed their two dragons. Ever so often Toothless would look back at them to check that they were following, then purr ever so slightly and turn his head back. Stormfly eventually joined him, seemingly knowing where Toothless was headed.
"Where is he taking us?" Astrid finally blurted.
"How should I know?" Hiccup said, raising his hands up in a shrug.
"He's your dragon!" Astrid snapped angrily, then covered her mouth apologetically.
"Stormfly is leading as much as Toothless is, and I'm going to guess that you still have no idea where we're going," Hiccup said.
Astrid sighed. "I'm sorry. We've just been walking for a long time, and I'm getting a bit tired. I shouldn't expect you to know where we're-"
Hiccup laughed and scooped her up in his arms. "Well, why didn't you say so?" he said playfully. Toothless flicked his ear at them, as if to say, "I know what you're doing back there."
Astrid gave an over-exaggerated sigh. "You just love the fact that you're bigger than me," she said. "I'm still the better fighter, you know. I could make you drop me if I wanted to."
"Oh but you don't, do you?" Hiccup said. She smirked and shifted her head in his arms. Rather suddenly, Toothless rose onto his hind legs. "I think... we're here," he said, letting Astrid slide from his arm. She stood back up, using him as a crutch. They were looking into the opening of a massive cave.
Toothless grunted and waddled over to a much smaller cave near it. "It's too small for you, bud," he said as Toothless, in vain, tried to stuff himself through. "Come on, I'm going."
"I'm coming with you," Astrid said. Hiccup crawled through the narrow entrance of the cave until it widened out into a cavern. "Oh," she said with surprise.
A small girl was huddled against the far side of the cave. "We're not going to hurt you," Hiccup said. "We're friendly. I promise." He reached out his hand, and the girl shrank back timidly, her face coming out of the shadows. Now that he could see her more clearly, he could tell that she was older than he had originally thought, in her mid to late teens. He estimated about sixteen.
"Come on," Astrid said. "It's okay. I'll protect you." The girl shook her head. "Was it the dragons? Did they scare you?" The girl paused, then shook her head slowly. "Can you talk? Are you alright?" The girl shook her head no, then nodded yes.
"Hiccup, what do we do? She can't exactly tell us what her name is, or where she came from. Or why she's so scared!"
"Do you have a name?" Hiccup asked the girl. She paused, then shook her head. "Do you mind if we call you... Rain?" she shook her head no again.
"Really? As great a dragon rider as you, and you come up with Rain?" Astrid said teasingly.
"Hey, I tried," Hiccup said seriously. Astrid punched him gently in the arm to let him know she was teasing. "Are you going to come with us?" Rain nodded and walked over to them on wobbly legs. "There are dragons out there. But don't worry! They're friendly." Rain nodded again. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but instead a growly chuckle came out.
"What in Thor's name-" Hiccup said as a small dragon crawled out of a side cave, answering her strange call.
"Can she speak dragon?" Astrid said. "How did she even understand us?"
"I have no idea!" Hiccup said frantically. "We need to tell Stoick. Or someone! Rain, are you coming?" Rain, who Hiccup could judge very accurately to be a small sixteen year old, stood, carrying her dragon, which was essentially a baby stormfly. The nadder was identical in every way except for a patch of creamy white covering part of its face. Rain gave Hiccup a thumbs up and led the way out of the cave, looking back at her every few minutes.
Hiccup had to pause to blink the sun out of eyes, but immediately he felt a sharp jab in his side. "Ow! What was that for?" Hiccup said, rubbing his aching ribs.
"Look! Look at that!" Astrid said, pointing at Toothless.
"I- see! I don't know if I believe it, though!" Hiccup said, blinking more. Rain was stroking Toothless and talking to him in a strange language of grunts, groans, purrs and chirps. Toothless was taken aback for several moments, then leaped into the conversation with a variety of sounds, some that Hiccup had never heard before.
"Come on!" Astrid said, jumping on Stormfly. "We have to get back and tell Stoick- forget the map!"
"Come on, Rain!" Hiccup said, helping her onto Toothless. When they landed, their gang immediately surrounded them.
"Did you find any new islands?" Fishlegs said excitedly.
"Did you make some vikings run in terror?" Snotlout said, rubbing Hookfang's cheek.
"Were there any explosions?" the twins said at the exact same time, with matching wolfish grins. Hiccup looked at Astrid for support.
"No, no and no. We didn't even lift off the island. Where's Stoick?" Astrid said, coming to Hiccup's rescue.
"In the dragon caves, working on the stables, I think. Why?" Fishlegs said nervously. Hiccup was already leading Toothless towards the caves.
"We'll... we'll explain later," Hiccup said hurriedly, running to catch up with Astrid.
"Hey, who's that girl?" Ruffnut asked Tuffnut, squinting to make them out.
"That's Astrid. We know Astrid," Tuffnut said. "Duh. Did you lose your brain somewhere?"
"No, I mean the girl on Toothless' back," Ruffnut said, rolling her eyes and punching Tuffnut's arm, hard. "What, didn't you see her?"
"Oh hey. Do you think they know? HEY! HEY HICCUP THERE'S A LADY ON YOUR DRAGON'S BACK! Oh no! He didn't hear me. HEY-"
Ruffnut clamped her hand over his mouth. "Don't tell him, you idiot!" Ruffnut said sternly. "Maybe she's a ninja. Think of all the destruction she could cause..."