Without her to hold, he'd be freezing. Without her he wouldn't know where to begin or where to end. It had been three years since first kisses and blossoming romance and now time was still as the two of them struggled to find more firsts. On a frigid night that echoed with that frozen time there was a celebration brewing along with the maelstrom mind of one Astrid Hofferson. Within the resonances of the night there was also the faint sound of music on the dusty roads of Berk. This melody—mighty and loud—hinted a very large coming-of-age party that would soon be the setting of clashing hearts and mingling souls. Astrid was in the midst of said party with wrists wringing as she searched for a gift for Hiccup, as she'd absentmindedly misplaced her homemade present—a bangle that was made of leather and carved wood. It had taken hours to find the smooth bark and longer still to work the leather. The fact that it had been lost was deplorable as it'd been glued to her hands for the past few days, not allowing it to leave her sights for even a second. As her search became unsuccessful inside, she decided she'd take a small venture out. She rubbed her hands together as she walked outside of the rumbling home, generating heat in between them and mistakenly bumping into a barrel. Its cap leapt off and she clawed her hands in anger, giving an exasperated glance to the night sky that was heavy with stars. Just her luck. It was a small thing, but enough to agitate. She leaned down and picked up the lid, just about to deposit it back on the cask when her eyes were set aglow by bottles upon bottles of rum. Just her luck.
When Astrid Hofferson had an idea, it was either disastrous or perfect without an in-between. There were situations such as the Snoggletog incident from when she was fifteen or, well, the wonderfulness of everything that had transpired with Hiccup in the past few years due to that one first kiss. This, the choice to give him her kiss, she'd say, was one idea that she definitely didn't regret. The idea of the night, however, was a coin toss. She stared down at the glass bottles that glistened under the sliver silhouette of the new moon and thought about Hiccup in depth. She knew so much about him after all this time. She knew the touch of his fingers, how they could be either gentle or rough. She knew that his eyes were beautiful in the morning. But what she fumbled for a memory of was the ghosting caress of his hands on her hips or her thighs. The touch of his lips below the collar. The feel of him inside her as they made love by merest candlelight. Remembering this caused her to frown down at the rum. They lacked that magical first because of fear on both sides. Astrid fearing that the experience would be painful rather than beautiful, and Hiccup fearing the experience all together because of his lack thereof. She began to think. Lately their kisses had become longer and his breath heavier and her resolve not to move below the waist weaker. She knew that between them the tension was rising. Tonight was a night to celebrate Hiccup becoming a man, being older and wiser and stronger. What better gift to give than a first such as this. With the rum as an instrument, they'd forget fears, wouldn't they? Their passions would be freer. They could ease their doubts and actually do this. She bounced on her toes and then, with extraordinary pep, rushed back to the roaring party.
She felt pleasantly unhinged as she twirled through the crowd of Vikings, her hands balled in little, excited fists as she searched for her boyfriend. Hiccup hadn't been in the mood for this party in the first place, but she doubted that he could be in such low spirits when everyone was here, the music was loud, the food from the feast was fresh, and it all was for him. She scanned the groups of people, noting Gobber who had his flask practically glued to his lips as he drunkenly tried to dance a jig. Her eyes also fell upon Snotlout who was being surprisingly successful with a redheaded girl, that is, until she splashed her drink on him and stormed off. Like that would really have changed just yet. Astrid laughed as she watched and then finally found Hiccup in a corner with Fishlegs, who was telling him about his own party in a few weeks, describing what he wanted out of it. Astrid sauntered over to Hiccup and was met with a grateful smile. He reached for her arm and gave it a gentle squeeze that registered as a thank-gods-you're-here-I-thought-it'd-never-end. She kissed him hard on the cheek and acknowledged Fishlegs with a nod. "It's nice to see you here," She yelled over the music, "Is it okay if I steal this big lug for a minute or two?"
"Oh—Oh, yeah, that should be, um, fine," Fishlegs voice wavered and he brought his hands together to play with his fingers nervously. He searched for something to distract his attention amongst the party, something to do instead of tormenting Hiccup. He must have noticed an inspiring distraction because his eyes lit up like a bonfire and he began taking off. "See you later, Hiccup."
Astrid waved goodbye and then gave Hiccup a bone-crushing hug. Her baby blues were wide and bright with joy. "Hey, you handsome devil! How do you like your party?"
Hiccup mocked a noise of pain and grinned. He'd gotten used to her straightforward shows of affection over the years and actually found himself liking them now. He hugged her back in a way that somehow made clear an astounding and inexplicable attraction. They stayed like that for what could have been a tiny forever, but instead was a matter of seconds. They unraveled like fine thread, slowly and painfully. Hiccup gazed at Astrid with a severe passion that still somehow managed to be so gentle in its portrayal. He loved her near inconceivably—in a way that sometimes astounded even him. And he wanted her—he truly did, so much so that it made him ache when he thought of it—both under his skin and under his clothes. But he had a habit of not being able to satisfy and not so much in the sexual way. He was a lousy son and a lousy friend, occasionally even a lousy boyfriend. This made him quite afraid of not being able to satisfy in the sexual way. He'd never done anything to nor with anyone so how would he know that he'd be able to do it right? He feared the entire thing and therefore often cleared it like smoke from his mind. He played with the tail of Astrid's braid, staring at the way it was just long enough to flatter the curve of her breast. His cheeks grew pink and he struggled to look elsewhere. "A lot more, uh," He instead met her eyes and that calmed him, "Now that you're here."
Pretending that she hadn't noticed that wanton and wavering, yet ephemeral glance would have been pointless. Instead, Astrid acknowledged it with one once-over that dragged on from the tippity-tips of Hiccup's toes to his lean legs and to his growing problem below the waist. She traversed the lanky body with her eyes, ending her travelling gaze of that extensive map in his green eyes. She placed a soft hand on his chest and looked at him with a smirk that echoed so much intention. This night was going to be perfect and she knew that not by her idea, for which the coin was still in the air, but by the look in his eyes. He loved her and that was crystalline clear, like cooling blown glass or raw, mined quartz. It was raw like quartz too and sometimes the rough edges pierced at her heart as his love curled itself around her in those passing looks. She leaned up and into him, her lips soft as silk and smooth as pearl when she purred into his ear. Her breath had the refreshing scent of birch bark and mint leaves on it as it touched Hiccup's skin. This was a concoction she had invented for the simple purpose of having minty kisses. "Come with me, Viking boy," She grabbed his hand and turned quick, pulling him after her to the sound of his surprised grunt.
They swam through the crowd as fish in the sea, stopped only in their flow by mighty congratulations and rowdy Viking handshakes. Gobber, however, picked Hiccup up in his robust and muscly arms, and gave him a squeeze that seemed to echo with a prominent crack! Hiccup was left woozy when he was deposited back to the ground and staggered blindly a couple of feet away. Astrid winced just watching, her nails pressed in her palms as the massive Viking grabbed him. She would have intervened, but feared the wrath of a hug would then be her burden to bear. Gobber gave a toothy smile and a nod and took another swig from his flask, then Hiccup and Astrid carried on in their swim through the throng of people. Astrid had to wrap an arm around Hiccup for a couple of minutes though, rubbing his sides and making jokes until he finally could laugh without an ache or a pain. She stopped for a pause halfway through their difficult expedition to the door and let the music take hold. She smiled at Hiccup from under her thick, fair lashes and twirled in a circle, grasping his hands in hers and towing him away from the corner they had stopped in. She dragged him to a clear space and danced with him for a while, two souls in the descant music of a wild night, with wild eyes and wild hearts—wild and irrational attraction. They twisted like roots of an old tree, though stumbles befell Hiccup on occasion and he was colored embarrassed. Astrid only answered his nervousness with gentle and quick kisses that were too small to notice from afar. They tangled for a bit longer and then Astrid's laughter pierced the air and she pulled him away from their dance, trailing him behind her as she fled into the cold nighttime air.
Their breath moved like opaque and ethereal shadows, winding in the dark and catching the attention of the starlight. Astrid's hands were warm like a golden sunrise and diverted Hiccup's thoughts from the aching and chilly air. She wrapped them tight around each one of his hands and Hiccup couldn't help but beam. Berk was an icy and unforgiving place and she was a distraction and an escape from that coldness, but also born from it. He'd known her for a long time and still saw the briskness of Berk in her blue eyes. Although, ever since their relationship had begun, there was kindness there too. At first he'd felt that the indescribable feelings he'd had for her were fear and, in a way, they were. Fear of her beauty and her straightforwardness, but also of the way she yanked on his heartstrings like a cat with thread. But as he'd fallen deeper into love with her he realized that there were things that she did that took his breath away and drew him in. Like the joy in her eyes at surprises and gifts and celebrations. The way she dragged him behind her and he had no choice but to follow, her hand in his like an anchor latched on tight and somehow extraordinarily pleasant. That incredible love he felt for her when she pulled him after her was present tonight.
Hiccup was then pulled to a halt, having been watching her untamed laughter spill free into the air and her eyes glisten with indescribable happiness and the sting of the cold.
"We're there already?" He said, surprised by the abruptness of the trip.
"Of course we're here already. Did you think I was taking you on an adventure?" Astrid's grin was knowing.
"You often do…" Hiccup raised one eyebrow and gave Astrid a suspicious look.
"Well, this adventure was short and sweet." She put one hand on her hip and used the other to lean on a barrel that was snug in the alley between two buildings where they'd stopped. "I sort of misplaced your present so I was looking for it and… I found something."
She seemed to glow with excitement. Hiccup wanted to drag this out a little and said, "My present?"
Astrid's glare was a playful one and she knocked the cap off the barrel, inclining her head in Hiccup's direction and then gesturing toward the cask. "C'mere."
He moved with a tentative nervousness and then met her at the brim of the container, staring down into the chasm of glass bottles of rum. His caution was immediately visible. He took a step back and gave a single shake of his head. "Astrid, uh, I don't know. This is probably a bad idea. Drinking all of this is, uh, probably a bad idea."
"We wouldn't drink all of it, Hiccup. Besides, it's a beautiful night and it's your coming-of-age party. You're a man now and, I bet, one who can hold their liquor." Astrid encouraged, making a wide gesture with her hands.
"Still, I'm not so sure that we should, um, get drunk. My dad he's…"
"Stoick the Vast! If there's a Viking who can handle himself with rum, it's him. You're his son. I'm sure he'd understand."
Hiccup paused and then went to protest some more when he realized that Astrid was right. His father was not a man known for being ceaselessly sober and it was his night. A few glasses of rum couldn't hurt anyone and Astrid was a responsible girl. Still, he made a final protest, "I'm not sure if it's a good idea, though."
"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock—"
"The third." Hiccup said in a way that would've agitated her long ago and grinned.
"The third," Astrid returned his grin with a smirk of equal charisma. "It is your eighteenth birthday. You deserve to be a little wild. Although… If I'm pressuring you, you don't have to do this. Of course you don't."
He answered her melancholy doubt with the grasping of one of the many bottles and giving it a look as if it would answer his questions as to whether this would be good for him. He knew that liquor had the potential to be a disastrous thing, but he had also been told that it had the potential to be a vital ingredient for great new experiences. He rarely gave in when it came to situations that had the potential for disaster, because he'd rather things be safe than dangerous. But new experiences were key in growing up and maybe he'd like this one. He thought about it. And—and maybe if he allowed himself to be freed by the rum, unafraid and not as timid as usual, he could move a little farther with Astrid. On that note, he glanced at her and her soft smile, her eyes still set tenderly afire by the idea of him letting go. He would try this, at least, for her. Maybe it wouldn't be half bad. "Okay, alright. A little rum couldn't hurt."
Astrid clutched a bottle and curled the neck in her fingers, the feel of the glass chilly and raw. She pulled it free from the others and shook it as it sounded with a slosh, the rum thankfully kept from freezing. Although that was to be expected as it was that type of alcohol. She held it by her side and then moved towards Hiccup, pressing the bottom of the bottle into his tummy. Then she kissed him, firm and intentional, as if there could be any mistaken intention in a kiss. She twisted her other arm around his neck and nipped at the lower of those pink lips and reddened it with her teeth. Furthermore, she slipped her tongue wetly through them and coaxed his to play, though his response was timid, as Hiccup kisses often were. Her only reply to that shyness was to push her body against his in a manner of forthright sensuality, moving her hips and fitting them to his. She moved like waves of a calm sea, slow and steady and her lips were still pushing, urging at Hiccup's with focused intensity. Finally, he lifted his tongue to twine around hers and pressed back, fingers leaving the touch of the bottles behind. He snaked one arm round her waist and the other made little work of her braid, untying it from its bonds and letting his fingers slide through it like a waterfall of silk. She smirked into their heating kiss, as it shielded them from the biting air and then pulled him ever-so-closer in the hopes that there could be more space to conquer between them. She sighed when, alas, they couldn't be any closer. At least not without shedding some clothing, and that made her eyes brighten and she began to pull away. He twisted those traveling fingers in the fairness of her hair and tugged her closer, a quiet groan falling from his lips. "You're so beautiful, Astrid."
"Rum," She murmured back only to leave Hiccup in an obscure confusion when she parted from him. He felt his fingers slipping from her hair and watched with pleading eyes, reaching for it even as it fell from his clutch. Astrid rolled her eyes at his fumbling hands, using the one hand of hers not currently clutching a bottle to hold one of his. She replaced their fiery kiss with one on his cheek and said, "Let's go liven the party."
And with that they returned to the bustling celebration, which had become a little more buoyant since their brief escapade. The twins were here now after being gods know where and Gobber had somehow encouraged more than a couple of people to follow his wavering lead and begin to dance, including Snotlout. He—unlike everyone else who seemed to at least get the hang of the melody that the band of fiddlers was playing—was rolling his head completely out of tune and wildly flailing his arms. This could be traced to the three cups of extremely strong wine that were now void on the table that he'd formerly been standing by. Hiccup wanted to laugh. Looks like somebody had Astrid's idea already—that was, one that involved alcohol. Astrid leaned over Hiccup's shoulder and asked, quiet as a whisper, "Where's your dad?"
"Uh, I think he went to bed already. Planning this whole thing was kind of exhausting for him." Hiccup nodded sympathetically and looked around the party, only to be startled by a loud roar of wild spontaneity.
"I have rum!" Yelled Astrid as she thrust the bottle high into the air, shaking it so the liquid hit the cork. Everyone turned in her direction and at the same time released an uproarious howl. For a moment, they cheered for her before it dissipated and they rushed, each of them, in hopes for even a drop of that intoxicating beverage. "Oh, no, guys, this one's for the birthday boy."
"Arm wrestling for it! Whoever wins gets the bottle!" One of the Vikings shouted louder than the rest, and Astrid thought it might've been Ruffnut and her brother's voice followed hers, "We'll have shots! Each of us!"
"What was that?" Astrid tilted her head. "Me and Hiccup should lay out shots and arm wrestle for them?"
Hiccup nearly made a grumble of protest, but Astrid turned and rubbed his arm with soft reassurance. "It'll be fun, Hiccup."
"Alright." He conceded with a smile of submission.
Thus the small cups carved of goat horn were placed in a row on one of the tables, ten to be exact. Hiccup poured the rum as was his honorary duty of being birthday boy and also to make sure no one snatched it from him. He was a bit clumsy with it and missed a little, a couple droplets dribbling onto the table and receiving verbal scorn from at least a dozen of the surrounding Vikings at good liquor gone to waste. He made a face and just continued on, filling the shots up to the last one and then taking his place on one side of the table. Astrid joined him, her hands curling in excited fists as she slung her long legs over the seat. Hiccup was pretty sure he knew who was going to win this thing, but nevertheless he was prepared to try. He daringly held up his arm, clenching and unclenching his fingers and knitting his eyebrows at Astrid with played-up confidence. Her answer was to raise one eyebrow and then grasp his hand in hers tight, eyelids half-lowered and radiant with a bit more than competition. Her hand was cold and dry, somewhat callused and he slid his fingertips back and forth on the soft back of it, to be met with a sigh of mixed feelings. He detected sarcastic superiority and a bit of something else. Astrid twisted her wrist for a moment and combed her fingers along the inside of Hiccup's wrist and it was as though an electric understanding sparked from it. She was turned on and, shit, dear gods, now he was too. Maybe this was just her trying to mess with his game, but it seemed pretty clear that that wasn't it.
Then a shimmery blue fabric was thrust in front of their eyes and Astrid's arm was pushing on his, her elbow anchored hard in the rough wood of the table. Hiccup's arm was falling simply out of the shock of it and he pressed back, staring at her with an intense twist of rivalry and lust. They were evenly matched. Astrid felt the passion in Hiccup's handsome green gaze and nearly wavered, her fingers clutching at his knuckles. He rolled his eyes playfully and pushed harder, his strength an equal and cosmic representation of his yearning for her. This, their fiery feelings, was also at an equal. The cheers of various Vikings rained on their ears like the beat of rolling thunder but it did not register in their minds nor their hearts and they both pressed on. Their breath became heavy not only on their lungs but with a longing that began to permeate the air. The press of their arms in the wrestle was at a standstill. Suddenly, they couldn't hold back the rising tension and they both leaned forward to a rough and incredibly swift lock of lips, one that seemed to contain within it the passion that had been rising. Their hands fell weak and Astrid's was pressed down on the table but with no force. The only force that Hiccup exerted in that moment was that of his kiss against hers.
Everything was quiet in that instant and all of the people who had previously been yelling their bets into the open air were no longer betting on anyone. They stood in shock, about fifty Vikings who'd seen quite a lot in their gruesome lifetimes. Snotlout was goggling with wide eyes that had nearly jumped from his head. The twins were also staring, though they were looking from the couple back to each other at least every second. Fishlegs had his nails in his teeth and was glancing around the party and then at Hiccup and Astrid. Gobber seemed to be the only one who hadn't really noticed. The two split like glue, quick and painful. They kept one another's gazes for a while longer, rejoicing in each other's company with grateful but messy smiles, still intoxicated by a shared lust. Quietly and cautiously, Hiccup said with a gesture towards the shots "Five and five?"
"Five and five." Astrid replied, breath nearly lost. They each took their shots in speedy succession and ran out the door with a gaggle of giggles. Everyone, now left behind by their entertainment, began to talk amongst themselves until Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and another burly Viking began to fight over the abandoned bottle of rum. This, it seemed, was the first shot fired and suddenly everyone began to fight over this one bottle when, ironically, there was a bucket of them outside. Vikings.
Again left to the brisk air, the couple was cold. However, they took shelter against a post in the square and began to share more kisses. This time they were not burdened by a lack of fuel and they delved into that unbridled passion with fervor. This time it was Hiccup who pinned Astrid against him, his lips those that pushed against hers. He tangled his hands in her hair with a smile into their kiss. Her hair was so stunning and oddly, gods, it made him ache. It shined so beautifully under the light of the stars, too, like thousands of silvery gold threads. He pulled on it lightly and drew her in close to press his tongue against the seam of her lips, sliding it past with great care. She moaned and coiled her tongue around his. He began to turn his hips and slide them against hers, being more than somewhat turned on as time continued on. She moved back and they both shivered and shook until Astrid realized that they were about to have sex in a very public place and slid her hand between their chests. "We can't do this here."
"Astrid." Hiccup whined in a voice that he would like to believe was unbefitting of him, and Astrid smiled.
"Just follow me. I know somewhere." She slid nimble hands along his arms and then began to walk towards the woods, tugging him after her gently.
The scene was one like a painting, the sky so bright with the stars it was a pulsating glow that trembled on their skin. Aside from that, the contrast of the spaces in between the glimmering embers, was as dark as a room in the night without candlelight. There was no snow on the ground as the seasons were only just beginning to change and the frigid cold in the air was really just nippy for Berk. Instead, the grass was sprinkled with a dusting of fading leaves that crinkled and crunched beneath rushing feet. The trees, when caught by the sparkling skies, lit up with colors. Reds, oranges, golds, like an everlasting sunset etched in the veins of the leaves. Pools of water were glistening like shimmery abysses of shadows. Their breath curled into steam, too, causing the twisting look of smoke. It was also an eerily quiet, but in a way that comforted them like a blanket of protection. One that shielded them from the unkind and robust noises of the world, their valiant guardian the quiet hoot of the owl when five minutes intervals had passed, their only message of the time. They crept through that silent forest like elk, with careful steps and simple noises like breath.
Finally, they stopped their soundless trek in a clearing by a lake of still water. So still it took their breath away just staring, wondering how anything could be so clear and frozen without being ice. They moved to the ground in slow motion, their clothing slipping from them until bits of their shed skin were quivering with lack of heat and so they stole it from each other. They glided against one another like cold-blooded snakes in search of heat and that they were. Looking blindly for heat and sex, their lust a drive in it all and an instrument in pushing them closer. The alcohol helped too, breaking them from chains of previous fear. Astrid sat up slowly on Hiccup's hips and felt his cock straining against her heat beneath the last bit of his clothes. She unwrapped her pelt shirt from her torso like a present, her breasts now free from the layers that had held them back. She smiled at him with shyness, and turned her shoulder so he couldn't see, but she was met with the touch of gentle and heated hands, and that warmth was irresistible. He cupped one breast in his hand and rolled it, thumbing at her nipple and its pebbled hardness as a result of the cold. He leaned up and she blushed as his lips, somewhat wet from licking them, touched the little nub, parting and surrounding it. She whimpered as he licked it within the heat of his mouth and slowly pushed him back down. "Wait. Come with me."
Dressed only in bits of cloth that made for linen panties, she slid away from the warmth of him and ran to the lake, its eminent stillness beckoning her to disturb it. She moved from the edge of it into the freezing water, gasping at its coolness. That didn't deter her, though, and she only sank further into its depths, turning within the water and tilting her head back to get her blonde locks wet. Hiccup watched from afar and shook his head. "Astrid, it's freezing. You'll get sick!"
She ignored him, still, and moved under the water, swimming away from him and his troubling doubts. The mere touch of the stars was touchingly warm and she turned onto her back, floating on the surface of the water and staring into the sky. Hiccup crunched through the leaves and went to her, his hands shaking with the fear that this wasn't that good of an idea. He waded into the water in only a single layer of his clothing, still more than she wore, and swam out to her. He reached out to touch her and she twisted, sliding beneath the water and then resurfacing only to twine her arms around his neck. He stared at her and wondered how they could be so different and yet still love each other as much as they did. Her eyes were wild and his were cautious and critical. He shook his head, looking at the water droplets on her lips and still feeling an indescribable urge to kiss her. "Astrid, it's cold out. You're absolutely freezing."
Astrid answered his care for her with a wet hand pressed to his cheek, her lips tinted purple with the glacial air. She had fire in her that was so warm that it forced Hiccup closer to her and drew him in like a fish on a line. She pressed those quaking lips against his ear and they felt frozen. However, beneath the water, everything else was still burning him so pleasurably. She whispered against him, her voice a tad lost but pleading, shivering as much as her body. At the same time, her legs slid up and she slotted herself against him like she belonged. Without her, he'd be freezing tonight. Begging, just begging, she said with those cold drops of water on her lips, "Then keep me warm."