And now for something completely different. I'm rating this M but it's really M- or T+, a 'lime' some would call it. I may or may not have a follow up to this, depends on my mood, but that's definitely M, so I'm a bit prudish to write it. We'll see. Standard disclaimer: I own nothing.
It was one of the rarest words ever spoken by Vikings because many thought it was a myth or a legend. A rare event that some had seen only once in their lifetime. That word was "summer". Usually it's only warm enough to plant the fast growing crops for three months out of the year. Which isn't to say it was actually warm, just warm-er.
But not today; today it was most definitely summer and Vikings didn't really know what to do with it. They would dress in their wool tunics and leggings and try to do their work as normal. You would normally think the answer would be to wear less, but try telling that to a Norseman. It wasn't that wearing less and showing skin was a religious taboo or culturally inappropriate. It was a simple matter of practicality that you covered yourself completely to protect yourself from the cold. This naturally carried over into the warm months, so running around with arms bare was the height of being risqué. This unnaturally hot day left many a Vikings feeling like a melted candle.
Being Vikings, stubborn as they were, many tried to soldier through the day's work that needed to be done. Some cracked under the heat, leaping into the nearest body of water while other Vikings looked on with pity as they continued to work. So it was that the heat began affecting the minds of these hard working, well intentioned people to think things not normally thought of. To wonder if Thor was at his weakest when there were no clouds in the sky or if the cords of wood you were stacking were mad at you for taking them out of the forest. It became, almost, a running competition to see who would not crack under the oppressive heat of this day of summer. The elders of the village, who could remember the last time they had a summer day, went around reminding people to drink water more often in order to lessen the effects of the heat. People then began to wonder if the elders had cracked first.
Astrid had finished the few chores she was given and was glad to not be working anymore. She had thought that going for a fly was a good idea, but Stormfly was having none of it. None of the dragons were; it seems as the lazy creatures found a good shade tree much more enjoyable than their human's company.
She went around trying to find Hiccup. He was her best friend in the village. Yes, she knew he had a crush on her and she never discouraged him from it. He was funny and smart and such overall good company that she could overlook his tendency to stare at her or give her more attention than was warranted, or even him calling her '"m'lady". "My" lady, as though she could ever be owned by a guy. She, in turn, called him "babe" because he was sometimes helpless like one. Of course, his crush-addled brain convinced him that such nicknames were a good thing. Whatever, he was still a good guy to hang around with.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead; her headband had soaked through a while ago and wasn't doing much to keep the stinging fluids from her eyes anymore. Unbelievably, she heard from Gobber in the Mead Hall that Hiccup was still in the forge catching up on some work orders. She pitied anyone who was still working on such a hot day, let alone being near the heat of the forge. Without a doubt, he needed to be rescued, and she could score her good deed for the day.
As she approached the forge, she heard some crashing of things being knocked over and grunts as Hiccup struggled with something. She hurried to the open door but the added head from the forge nearly drove her back out, despite all the windows being open as well. She stepped in and called to him, "Hi-i-i…"
What stopped her was a sight that her brain refused to process right away. What, at first was a headless, armless man stumbling around the room was, in fact, Hiccup with his wool tunic up over his head, yet he seemed unable to free his head or his arms as he struggled mightily against his imprisonment.
She found it rather funny as she watched him and was about to call out to him when she noticed just how much skin was on display for her to see. To be fair, she'd had the misfortune of catching her father without his tunic on before on several occasions. To describe him in a word, that word would be 'round'. A round, barrel chest, over a slightly round pot-belly, round arms and all of him was covered in a layer of fat to protect him from the prolonged cold of winter. Watching Hiccup here, now, reminded her of some rabbits she had skinned. Every muscle and sinew was on display underneath a thin layer of skin, flexing with each movement and breath. It was morbidly fascinating to watch.
Idly she noted that even a year after making peace with the dragons, time had been good to Hiccup. She had never seen it until now due to him always being clothed. His work in the forge had helped add some muscle to him, though instead of bulky, you could describe him as lean. What also drew her eyes was the pattern of perfect squares that adorned his stomach. She knew it was from hours spent on the back of a dragon, undulating one's torso in time with the wing beats. She had felt the same pattern in her own stomach, but on Hiccup… she felt an odd desire to touch them and run her fingers over them.
Before she could step fully into the room, Hiccup stopped suddenly. His breath heaving with the effort as he seemed to gather himself until Hiccup suddenly began to struggle again, doubling his efforts against his captor with an audible growl. Just before Astrid could move from the doorway to help, Hiccup's head popped out of its prison and he wasted no time in ripping his arms free of the offending garment and throwing it behind him.
The sweat soaked tunic hit the wall next to Astrid's head with a wet splat and stuck there. She felt a spray of sweat hit her face from the impact and she would have been grossed out except for the smell that immediately followed. It was the smell of clean sweat and honest work and the smoke of the forge; this was Hiccup's scent. The musky odor invaded her head seemed to trip up her thoughts and made them sluggish and it seemed as though some great, unknown beast growled and awoke within her.
Gravity finally took hold of the tunic and pulled it to the floor, though Hiccup didn't notice. He hadn't even cared where he threw it. With great passion, his eyes scanned the room for the object of his desire. In two steps he crossed over to the water bucket and took up the ladle up to his lips as he drank deeply. Though he wasn't quite successful as some of the water splashed from his shaky hand onto his shoulder to run down his back, following the curves of his muscles in tiny rivulets and Astrid's head seemed to tilt of its own accord as her eyes followed the rolling droplets.
She was about to call out to him again, Hiccup threw aside the ladle, turned and plunged his head into the bucket and, in the process, shove his butt in Astrid's direction. This surprised her in a way she found humorous; she snorted in laughter. She was sure he couldn't hear her with his entire head under water. However, when he didn't come up right away and Astrid caught herself noting that it was certainly a very nice butt that was pointed towards her. She could see the top of the crack, which was also humorous. It was an overall nice package and it was… she tried to find a good word… 'spankable.' Was 'spankable' even a word? It was the only word she could think of that described it best as she took a couple of steps forward and raised her hand. She bit her lip, wondering if he would be offended or would it be a good joke? He might choke on the water a little but he would live, right?
Hiccup stood up suddenly before Astrid could swing her hand, an arcing spray of water splashed overhead forcing Astrid to step back, her hand lowered and she was left feeling unfulfilled.
Hiccup wasn't done with the bucket yet as he grabbed it and lifted it over his head and poured the water onto his face, oddly turning her direction and she was captivated once again as a slow cascade of water washed over the front of his torso, the lines of his stomach and his nipple blurred in and out of focus as the clear water rushed over them. The weight of the water also soaked into Hiccups pants dragging one side of them down passed his hip bone, leaving Astrid to gape at the line that separated his thigh from his hip. Most frustratingly there was something in front, something just below the sparse hairs directly underneath his navel that his pants seemed to hang up on and would not allow them to drop.
All too soon, it was over and Hiccup lowered the bucket, finally taking note of his surroundings. "Astrid," he cried, having seen her standing so close for the first time.
"Hiccup!" Astrid responded, feeling as though she had been caught at something and suddenly noticing how dry her mouth was. Was that drool on her chin?
Hiccup didn't seem to notice as she wiped her face as he seemed to try and hide his nakedness behind a water bucket. "Wh-wha-at are you doing here?" he studdered.
"Um…" Astrid was suddenly stuck, not remembering her initial intentions for coming here and being caught staring, she had to think quickly, "I, um… I was worried because it's so hot outside and I… I came to check you out." Her eyes widened at what she implied, "Not that I'm checking you out, I mean I came to check out how hot you are… were… are… You're hot. YOU'RE OVERHEATING!" Her brain didn't seem to want to shut up. Finally, with Hiccup looking at her like he was trapped in a room with a crazy person, she took a breath and continued. "And… and I came to see if I could help you out in some way… and, oh, look. Your water bucket's empty."
She snatched the bucket from his fingers, leaving Hiccup exposed. She grinned madly as he crossed his hands over his chest, covering his nipples, uncrossed them to let his arms hang at his side. Feeling exposed, he crossed his arms again, fully. Still feeling odd under her gaze, he put one hand on his waist and cocked his hip so Astrid was almost certain his pants would finally fall the rest of the way, which they didn't. She immediately began chastising herself for actually wanting them to fall.
Unable to keep herself from staring, she managed to at force her eyes to Hiccup's face and torso. "So, I'll just go and fill this up for you," she said walking backwards towards the door. "You just stay as you are and keep doing what you are doing and I'll be …" she tripped on the threshold but caught herself on the door frame with one arm. "Yeah," she turned and bolted.
Hiccup stood there, staring after poor girl, wondering what in the world just happened. He turned wandered back to his workspace to find some dry clothes.
Astrid pulled the water up from the well as fast as she could, dumping it into her own bucket before plunging her head into it. The shock of the cold water cleared her head and cooled her brain so she could think rationally again. Finally she pulled her head up to find someone sitting next to her.
"What in the world are you doing?" Ruffnut asked in a slow measured voice reserved for dealing with crazy people.
"Ah," Astrid began, her eyes not quite meeting Ruffnut's as she looked for an answer. "Getting water for Hiccup?"
"You really think Hiccup wants to drink your sweat and spit? That's sick, Astrid."
"What? No." Astrid was about to pour out the bucket when she looked at it. Hiccup would be drinking part of her, meaning she would be part of him. That… had an appeal. "N-no, of course not," she said pouring out the bucket. "Don't be gross." She pulled up a fresh bucket of water.
Ruffnut insisted on following Astrid back to the forget despite Astrid telling her not to. "Hiccup, I got you some more…"
Astrid gasped as she saw Hiccup standing there pounding on the anvil, wearing only gloves, an apron, and a boot. The muscles in his back rippled and even his buttocks flexed with each hammer stroke. He looked up and smiled at her. The beast that awoke within her seemed to bypass simple need and roared its demands to her. Astrid passed the bucket to Ruffnut, sloshing her with water, as she ran from the forge.
"What was that about?" Hiccup asked.
Ruffnut looked at Hiccup as he stood there in his apron, brown undershirt and tan pants, and shrugged her shoulders as he passed him the water bucket. "I think the heat's getting to her."
Actually, I'm open to revision on this chapter. Any suggestions on how to describe a guys wet body or the reaction of a girl getting worked up would be appreciated.