Written for a kissing prompt on Tumblr. Constructive criticism is appreciated.
What a Girl Wants
Astrid considered herself a woman who knew exactly what she wanted.
Sometimes it was to have her beloved axe cared for by their experienced blacksmith. Or to battle any foe in her Chief's name. Other times it was something a little more mundane such as a new batch of chickens for her beloved Deadly Nadder, Stormfly. During frustrating moments, she wished for more obedient fellow Riders that actually listened to a word their lead Dragon Rider said.
Astrid didn't often wish for much.
Today, there was something else that she wanted.
It had only been a few months since Hiccup had been made Chief with Stoick the Vast's sudden passing. And as with other times a father's chiefdom was given to his son, there were tribes who saw it as an opportunity to test the successor and find whatever weaknesses he might have, all to exploit it for their own gain.
That was the way it sometimes went in the Barbaric Archipelago, where life was a struggle. Particularly when the heir succeeding their predecessor was as young as twenty year old Hiccup Haddock, who also did not have the greatest reputation already.
He had been born small, early and weak. Unlike most other Vikings, he had stayed as the thin fishbone he had been his entire life. Even despites his 6ft1 height, with which he had outgrown his friends, he was the one who was still often called a runt.
It didn't help that Hiccup was a Viking who spoke his mind, no matter the circumstances. Who fought for what he thought was right, which had landed him in trouble before.
Being a runt, a 'hiccup', in a Viking world where brute strength was everything, others tended to see him as a weak link in an otherwise strong settlement. It was the job of the new Chief of Berk to show them otherwise.
A visit to one such doubting tribe, the Thundering Thunderheads, was supposed to be such a show of strength. Not a physical one, but one of character. Or so were Hiccup's original intentions.
Go over there without dragons as a sign of trust and to make it clear Berkians were fighters even without them, meet with their Chief and let it be known that the Hooligans were still strong even with Hiccup now as head of the tribe and sign a new treaty. Rinse and repeat with each new visit to a different island.
That was the way it had gone with the two previous signings. Without too much trouble. And he had expected it to go this smoothly a third time aswell.
Clearly they were wrong. For the Thunderheads had other plans in mind to ensure the prosperity of their own tribe and for that they were in need of some of the materials one could only find on the island of Berk. They had absolutely no intention to trade peacefully for them.
This included the rare and incredibly strong metal called Gronckle iron. Weapons made from this material could slice through any regular sword or armour. It made them very desirable.
The creation of Gronckle iron was, after the disbanding of the Dragon Hunters, a secret belonging solely to the Hairy Hooligans. More specifically, it belonged to their blacksmiths, the Dragon Riders and their resident Gronckle expert.
The Chief of the Thundering Thunderheads wanted this secret and believed the Runt of Berk could easily be 'persuaded' to tell him.
Of course, he hadn't met Hiccup Haddock the Third yet.
What had, at first, started as a threat towards him and what may happen to the people of Berk should he refuse had quickly turned into an unfair fight.
The Dragon Riders have had their fair share of losses and victories, but they were a crazy bunch with stubbornness issues and a leader who could best be described as unorthodox and that would still be an understatement.
Before long, an impulsive back-up plan to get back to their ships had destroyed their armory, their great hall had been wrecked, set several buildings on fire simply because the Thorston twins wanted to and their leader had been captured.
It was a first for Hiccup, who had never taken someone hostage before, but he needed something to use as leverage and make sure his Riders stayed alive in enemy territory where they were greatly outnumbered. There have been a lot of new firsts for him since ascending to the Berkian throne.
Now they were hiding near the docks, attempting to negotiate for the release of their boat in exchange for the freedom of their Chief. Theirs was build similar to that of Berk, which gave them plenty to hide behind.
Hiccup explicitly gave them his word that nothing would happen to the big man himself, who stood quietly with them in a trance to show that he was still alive. Disbelieve visible on his features as he had not expected the Runt to turn the tables on them like this, not when he was the one who was outnumbered.
The Thunderheads holding their one way off the island hostage looked uncertain. They wanted to give their surrender and save their leader, but seemed to await an order from him.
Despites being there with just a group of six Dragon Riders and one mother of the Chief in a village filled with enemies, Hiccup was the one who held all the ropes.
Astrid, who had been keeping her eyes trained on the defeated Chief standing before them, took a glance at Hiccup, who sat next to her with his brows furrowed and his lips pressed together into a thin line. His jaw was tense, which told her that he was clenching his teeth. Yet, despites the look of utter seriousness on his face, he didn't seem all that troubled.
He was a man who knew he was close to victory, but still remained vigilant, reminding them that the final decision to surrender or continue fighting lied in the hands of the opposing Chief and not with him.
That was a look that made the difference between the boy he once was and the man he was now. A show of relaxation while still keeping up a tense appearance, the apparent believe that he was already winning while still knowing that the tides could turn.
The doofus she fell for was nowhere in sight, like an entirely different person sat next to her, yet he was also so familiar.
"Never retreat! Never surrender! Think about the future of your tribe and fight!" Hiccup closed his eyes briefly as the Thunderhead Chief ultimately decided against giving up now, despites his own village burning down behind him.
"That's a shame." Though still very much against taking lives unless it was a last resort, there was no use in having a hostage now. Hiccup could hardly let the man go, knowing that he would take the first chance he'd get to stab one of them in the back, preferably the young Chief who had captured him in the first place.
So he settled for the next best thing and threw him off the docks. He proceeded to listen intently for that screaming to be followed with a satisfyingly hard splash as he hit the water down below.
"So much for plan B." He sighed, keeping his cool in a way only he could, while still looking slightly like he was a puppy who just got kicked with those green eyes of his.
"And what is plan C?" Astrid asked, not too worried about the men charging up to them and the other Riders.
Hiccup took a look around himself, for anything that could be of use to them. They were coming at them from two different sides and one, the Vikings previously guarding their longboat, were lined up and begging to be taken out by that pile of barrels he saw stacked on one end.
Get them rolling and their path to the ship was free.
"Eh, I may have something in the works." Barely a moment had passed and already a new plan had been formed.
Grabbing the collar of his chest piece, Astrid pulled her husband-to-be to her and silenced his yelp with her lips on his in a brief kiss.
"Get us out of here, Dragon Boy." She spoke after they separated. Hiccup gave her a determined nod and a look that made her heart flutter again.
Astrid was a woman who knew what she wanted in life and in that one short moment it was a simple kiss from her fiancé before another impending battle.