"So, uh…" Hiccup began, clearing his throat and nervously glancing at Rapunzel every other second. He didn't want to point it out but she had been reading the map upside down. "Not that I don't doubt your… map viewing skills or something crazy like that but, um… We're lost, right?"

Hiccup and Rapunzel had been friends for years. Well, they were more like "secret" friends, actually. Neither of their parents knew that the other existed, and they wanted to keep things that way. It was hard, though, when all they wanted to talk about was each other. When they slipped up, it was easier for Rapunzel. Mother Gothel was convinced that coughing was becoming a part of her personality while Stoick thought that Hiccup was trying to be hip or something. Almost like "Rapunzel" was the cool thing to say whenever you were about to sneeze.

With Hiccup and Rapunzel living in completely different places, hanging out was definitely not an everyday thing. In fact, Hiccup always wondered how they managed to meet in the first place. Definitely an accident, though. Toothless had been exhausted from flying and a light coming from a tower was a miracle in itself. Still, they planned accordingly and tried to see each other at least every few weeks. Hiccup's creativity was appreciated around Rapunzel and it was the same with Rapunzel's… well… everything around Hiccup. She had no other friends, so that's probably why. Might have something to do with the fact that Mother Gothel had forbid her to ever leave the tower.

When they did hang out, though, things never seemed to go well. Probably why they were lost in –

"No!" Rapunzel denied immediately. Her face had been buried in the map and memorizing every line, so he was taken aback when she suddenly looked over at him and waved her other hand around like some crazy person. Hiccup also took note of the fact that she was doing that weird chuckle thing she would do whenever she was lying. "I don't like that word… Lost… We're, um… I totally know where we're going. I'm just not telling you because I want it to be a surprise. Right, Pascal?"

Hiccup's nervous expression was unchanged. He tilted his head back to look at the chameleon on her shoulder for confirmation and his shoulders slumped considerably when he received a flat look. If Pascal could talk, he would definitely be saying something along the lines of, "Don't believe a single word she says."

Rapunzel saw the exchange apparently because her seemingly convincing look of hope crumpled. It was amazing how many emotions could cross her features in a matter of seconds.

"Okay!" she suddenly yelled, throwing her hands up in the air and sending the pathetic excuse for a map soaring through the air. "You caught me! I have no idea where we're going! It's just that this is the first time that I got to choose where we went because I could never make up my mind… and I really wanted you to see this cool cave…"

She was doing that thing where she mumbled under pressure and Hiccup had to help her.

He grabbed a hold of her shoulders and shook her gently, turning her to face him. It was amazing that one look from him was enough to calm her down. He slowly nodded at her, indicating that she needed to breathe.

"You're right, Hiccup," she said after letting out a breath. "I'm so glad you think so! It's going to be dark soon and we still have time, so let's go!"

As she grabbed a hold of his hand to lead the way, he found himself blushing. Though, she was completely focused on following the dirt road they'd been walking on for the past hour to notice.

"Wait a second…" she muttered, stopping immediately. "Where's the map?"

Not that it really mattered since she was reading it wrong… Still, he didn't want to be a jerk and say that out loud. He didn't mind if they were lost as long as they were together. She could lead him off a cliff and he'd probably thank her.

Her head had turned in many different directions but the map was long gone. She looked back at him with an apologetic look.

"I think it's gone, Punz… But maybe we should turn back? Toothless might be wondering where we are. He was pretty exhausted when we left," Hiccup said.

"Yeah," she agreed. It was hard to ignore the dejected look on her face, though.

As they turned around, they heard the noise of a twig snapping somewhere. It wasn't as bright as it was outside an hour or ago, so they found themselves feeling like sitting ducks. Her fingers hand immediately dug into his bicep. He'd taken off his gear in the tower, though.

After several more sounds echoed through the forest of the seemingly same twig, a rabbit hopped onto the dirt road and looked at them for a moment. Its head tilted as it stared, so perhaps it was picturing them as lettuce or something. Eventually, it hopped away. Hiccup wanted to laugh at the fact that Rapunzel had been holding her breath, even after the rabbit appeared.

She was in some sort of trance and Hiccup leaned to whisper in her ear. However, at that very moment, she chose to turn her head towards him. His widened eyes stared into hers as he felt her soft lips on his rough ones. Huh?

Slowly, he withdrew his face and their lips disconnected. He wasn't sure why her lips had been so moist. Maybe she'd been licking them or gnawing at them this whole time and he didn't notice. The cool air wasn't exactly unwelcome on his lips, though.

She looked up at him with wide eyes. After a few seconds, she tried to form a coherent sentence but failed miserably as her mouth opened and shut several times. A blush creeped over her cheeks and her hands immediately went to cover her face. The damage was already done.

He was sure he was blushing as well, but he couldn't find it in himself to feel regret. Instead of taking advantage of the moment, though, he said, "We should go back."

She dropped her hands and nodded frantically. He thought that whatever happened was a major step in the wrong direction and that this would never happen again but… It was hard not to notice that she would sneak a glance or two at him every few moments and gradually moved herself closer to him. Maybe it was a subconscious thing. He pretended not to notice, though. He liked Rapunzel and if this accidental brushing of their lips made her think of him that much more, then he couldn't find himself regretting it at all.