So... I haven't written anything in a while, and I've certainly never written for the HTTYD fandom before. I haven't even watched the second movie.
This was written for Hatter for the Secret Santa fic exchange thing we both signed up for - if it sucks, dude, I'm so sorry. We have like zero fandoms in common, and I tried, okay? xD
Snow, Ice and All Things Nice
When it wasn't under attack from fire-breathing dragons or, more recently, their faeces, Berk could just be heaven on Earth.
There were many things that made Astrid feel this way, naturally: the dragons, the weapons, the geography, and being able living out her life in Viking way with many like-minded people...Her favourite part though, that had to be the climate. She loved the winter – loved how the snow could fall and fall until everything was pure white and she could just throw herself from the roof of her house and land on the ground almost unscathed. She loved being able to discreetly hurl snowballs at anyone who got on her nerves (Guaranteed to cause some pain and mild discomfort, but not death. Why wouldn't anyone love it?). She loved how enemies from the South, unused to their hyperborean weather, let their weapons slip from their numb fingers, allowing her to end them without too much trouble. She loved strolling around the village, watching her fingers turn blue and purple, before breaking into a sudden run until the burn in her lungs spread throughout her body and the sweat running down her body made her clothes cling to her skin, and she needed to throw herself another pile of snow to cool herself down. And if she decided to visit her boyfriend, she would find him more often than not shivering under a blanket, giving her an excuse to cuddle up with him until one of them was dragged away.
Not that she'd admit that last part. Well, not with words.
"I'm glad you enjoy the more pacifistic lifestyle," Hiccup commented. Though he was on the other side of the workshop and wasn't even facing her, she could see the corner of his lips quirking upwards.
"You know you love that about me," she quipped, earning herself a fond eye-roll.
Once he'd turned away, she hopped off the table where she'd been sat and sauntered over to stand behind him. He had a good few centimeters on her now, meaning she had to stand on tiptoes to reach his ear. That didn't really matter to her though - he still couldn't lift half the weight she could.
"Hiccup~" she purred.
His breathing hitched, making her smirk, but his tone remained even as he continued to work. "Yes, Astrid?"
"Well~" she began. Her fingers weaved themselves through his hair as she leaned closer, somehow managing to gain enough height to rest her chin on his shoulder- ah. He'd stooped. Jerk. "I saw that the lakes had frozen over completely on my way here..."
"Th-that doesn't happen around here a lot at all, does it?" He'd tried to keep his tone deadpan again, bless him. "What do you propose we do to- ah, celebrate?"
"Hmm..." Astrid licked her lips as she pretended to think. "We could... go hang out in the Cove. Just the two of us, and Toothless and Stormfly, of course... Maybe take some ice-skates, some food as well, and firewood to keep you nice and cosy..."
He gave her a sideways glance. "You're being all seductive so I'll forget that I'm about as graceful as a yak on the ice and will let myself fall flat on my butt in front of you, aren't you?"
Batting her eyelashes, Astrid leaned closer to press her lips against Hiccup's cheek. "Of course, babe."
Hiccup shook his head, a chuckle escaping him. "Alright, alright. Let me just put some finishing touches on this-" He gestured to the saddle in front of him. "-and we can get going."
Astrid took a moment to admire the shine of the leather, the evenly placed stitches, the collection of papers scattered across the table that detailed the shape of a Gronckle's back and various other measurements that meant nothing to her. His attention to detail was just incredible – and apparently the details hadn't even been put on yet.
"Is this for Fishlegs?" she asked, reaching out to run her fingers over the cool material.
"Yep." Hiccup pointed to the plan view of Meatlug's back. "A Gronckle's anatomy being so different to that of the other dragons, like his spine curving outwards rather than in, obviously - I've been watching Meatlung and Fishlegs for a while now, and I'm quite sure it can't be particularly comfortable for her if the saddle keeps slipping forwards, so..."
"Definitely not. I'll let you work then." She grinned, ruffling his hair despite his protests. "Stormfly and I'll be up on Jackdaw Cliff. Don't take too long now."
Astrid narrowed her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips as she stared her dragon down. Her fingers curled tightly around the handle of the axe, making sure it wouldn't fall as she gently swung it back and forth... back and forth... Stormfly growled... back and forth...
She swung her arm back with all her strength, letting the axe fly over the edge of the cliff.
For a split second, no one moved. Then her hair whipped around her face as a whirlwind of blue shot past dangerously close sending clumps of snow at her sunlight blocked by the silhouette of a Deadly Nadder a battle cry and Astrid ran to the overhang, her lips twitching as she watched her dragon's sleek body cut through the air towards the sea like a fireball. Stormfly's wings burst open as her jaw parted, catching the handle of the axe Astrid couldn't even see between her teeth, then her back arched and she was levelling out- no, doing a perfect U-turn. The tip of her tail skimmed the surface as she turned, sending out the smallest of ripples and then she was soaring up again, past Astrid and into the evening sky.
Astrid let out a whoop of delight, one that Stormfly echoed the axe was safely at Astrid's feet. "That was pretty good," she said, scratching the back of the dragon's ear.
Stormfly let out soft sounds of contentment as she angled her head just right.
A large shadow appeared on the untouched snow beside the pair, indicating that a Night Fury and his rider were about to join them. Stormfly immediately ceased purring.
Toothless landed silently and nodded at Astrid and Stormfly in greeting, angling himself better so Hiccup could see them without having to turn around.
"I won't comment on how dangerous that was," the brunet called with a grin, sweeping his hair out of his face.
"That's a very good idea, Hiccup," she replied, waving the axe she'd just picked up. Turning away, she began the process of fitting the axe into its place on the saddle. "You should take your own advice."
Toothless' growl sounded suspiciously like mocking laughter, and Astrid grinned.
"Shut up," Hiccup muttered, swatting the dragon's side with the back of his hand. "So- are we ready to go?"
"Just a second." She took a step back with the pretence of making sure nothing was out-of-place on the saddle, and winked at Stormfly. The dragon lowered her head lightly in understanding. "Thanks for adding the covering for the axe, by the way."
"Well," Hiccup began, the pride just evident in his voice. "I know how much..."
She moved back towards Stormfly as he continued to speak, something that she knew had caught Toothless' attention. The Night Fury did nothing, however, as she made herself comfortable of Stormfly's back, or when they took off without warning.
"...two people miss- Astrid!"
The blonde looked over her shoulder at Toothless, who seemed totally unfazed by the turn of events and was already on their tail. She could never get over how intelligent the Night Fury was – he'd known he was about to get a race from the second she and Stormfly had decided on it.
Letting out a bark of laughter, Astrid returned her attention to navigating. Her eyes burned, her fingers were turning numb, and her clothes were still wet from diving into the snow that morning, but this, this thrill of the chase, the blood pumping through her veins – this was what she lived for.
At last- directly ahead of them, the Cove. She pressed her knees to Stormfly's sides, signalling for her to lose altitude, and leaned forward to unhook a bag from the saddle. Toothless flew past them almost lazily, but Hiccup had noticed her movements... Stormfly had now cleared the trees and the ground below was flat-
Grabbing hold of the bag, Astrid leapt.
The roof of her house was, admittedly, much closer to the ground, meaning her landing strategies weren't quite as important then. But she was a Viking. She wasn't going to break her back because she was diving from a slightly higher distance. Throwing the bag to the side, she adjusted her helmet and armour and spun around in the air and let the snow engulf her.
"...Ouch."
For a moment, she wasn't sure she could still move. But then Hiccup appeared in her field of vision, his expression such an odd mix of exasperation, awe and worry that she just had to burst out laughing, and that cleared up any doubts she had.
He breathed out a sigh of relief. "I hope your win is worth all the damage you're suffering."
"I need to do these stunts while I'm still young," she replied with a grin, pushing herself up into a sitting position with difficulty. Damn, it was cold. Her whole body was probably covered in bruises. And both Toothless and Stormfly were staring at her reproachfully from their spot by the pond.
...Maybe that jump was just a little out-of-character.
" We've got nearly thirty more years to live, if we're careful," Hiccup pointed out. He turned around and let himself fall flat into the snow beside her, wincing as it soaked through his clothing. "How do you do this on a regular basis?"
"How do you not do this on a regular basis?" Astrid returned easily, flopping back down and slowly moving her limbs back and forth. "If you're gonna live in Berk, you might as well love it."
Hiccup let out a laugh, but said nothing. Astrid closed her eyes, focusing on the movements of her arms and legs, the crunch of the snow underneath her, Hiccup's gentle breathing as he, too, made a snow angel to keep himself warm. It wasn't often that she felt alive when she was perfectly relaxed, but Hiccup had a way of making even that happen.
Her eyelid parted slightly, suddenly curious of why the world had fallen quiet.
Toothless had curled up in a nest of snow he'd made, his tail gently moving back and forth as he drifted out of consciousness. Stormfly, though, had taken off to play in the sky. The fading light was making it difficult to keep an eye on her, but frankly, that just made Stormfly's swooping in and out of trees to scare the living daylights out of birds that had fallen asleep more entertaining.
She loved that dragon.
Hiccup... He, too, was watching Stormfly, but the slight twitch of his eyebrows and the pursing of his lips were the signs of his mind working hard to make sense of something. Curious, Astrid turned her head towards him, letting her other eyelid flutter open as well. He was biting his lip now, and by the way his freckles twitched, it was almost as if trying to stop them from tugging into a smile, one she couldn't help but mirror. His gaze drifted from Stormfly to the night sky, the lines on his forehead disappearing slowly, and eventually, his eyes settled on her.
"What's up?" she asked, shooting him a grin.
He returned it, a pink tinge that she was sure had nothing to do with the cold spreading across his face. "You know me, just thinking."
"Oh, yeah, I know." She got to her feet, easily hiding the grimace as the muscles in her back stretched. "Hey, weren't we gonna go skating?"
He looked up at her incredulously. "You still want to do that?"
"It was my idea," she said, narrowing her eyes playfully. "As if I'd back out just like that. Hiccup."
Laughing, he attempted to push himself up. However, it quickly became clear that he couldn't do much more than sit around and shiver for the next few minutes, so she tracked down the bag she'd thrown during the fall – which had travelled a surprising distance, even for her.
"That took you a while, Astrid," Hiccup said when she returned, his lips twitching into a smirk. He waited for her to sit down beside him, open the bag, and begin to sort through its contents before speaking again. "Sure you didn't... injure your knee or anything?"
She punched his torso, earning herself a grunt. "Sure your sass didn't damage your insides or anything?"
"Well played, Astrid Hofferson," he muttered, rubbing his stomach as subtly as he could. "Well played."
She fished out the bones and the leather straps from the bag. "Alright, give me the feet."
"I can do it," Hiccup said, swivelling around to angle his feet better anyway.
Astrid took her time securing the bone to the metal, making sure the wedge and the toe were perfectly aligned, that she'd looped the straps enough times, and Hiccup seemed to be trying to not comment throughout the whole process. She worked much quicker with the other foot and her own feet, years of practice having made the actions second nature to her, and was on her feet again only a moment later. "Alright, Hiccup," she said, holding out a hand. "Let's do this."
This time, he accepted her help gratefully. "Ugh..." he mumbled, brushing snow off the back of his trousers. "Why did I do that again?"
"Quit your whining," she laughed. Grabbing hold of his hand, she tugged at his arm. "The ice isn't going to be here forever, you know."
"No, just the next few months," he deadpanned, following her to the edge of the lake. "It's a good thing my butt's frozen, because I am going to fall the second I touch the ice, and it would hurt like hell otherwise."
"Not with me, you won't," promised Astrid. Taking his other hand, she took steps backwards onto the ice until he had no choice but to follow.
Hiccup wasn't particularly clumsy on the ice, but it seemed he could certainly keep his balance if he knew that a certain cousin wasn't about to hurl chunks of ice in his direction. He didn't stop chewing his lip until they reached the middle of the pond, and by then, he seemed to be almost relaxed.
"Well," he said at last, staring down at their feet. "I didn't fall. I think... I might actually give this skating thing a try."
She grinned. "You won't regret this." Letting go of one hand, she moved to his side and pointed towards the rocks – well, a pile of snow now - on the other side of the pond. "Why don't you lead me over there?"
Hiccup pursed his lips slightly, going over what he'd learned before, and then carefully- carefully leaned forward. His right foot slid over the ice smoothly, and though the left was shakier, he didn't slip. Soon, they were both gliding across the pond, and even when Hiccup was close enough to the rocks to scoop up the snow atop them, he hadn't stumbled once.
Astrid squeezed Hiccup's hand, not at all surprised. "Let's go around the whole lake this time!"
"No congratulations?" he asked, an eyebrow raised- and quickly began to skate at the sight of her elbow.
He moved faster now, with more confidence, and the grip on her hand slowly began to loosen. "You know," he said, glancing at her over his shoulder. "I'm starting to see why you like this so much."
It was only then that Astrid remembered why she'd done all of this in the first place.
"We should come out here again some other time," Astrid said nonchalantly. She let go of his hand to place it on the small of his back. "Not too soon, though. I'm sure your design needs a little updating before we can trial it out."
He turned his heel outwards and she mimicked him, and once they lost speed he turned his head to face her. "Which one are you talking about?"
"The ice-skates, the ones that cut through the ice." Astrid nodded, sure that he would catch on soon. "It uses a blade rather than a bone...?"
A small frown made its way onto her face as he thought. "I... Yes, yes, I remember." He turned suddenly, catching Astrid by surprise – an arm was wrapped around her waist before she stumbled. His face was alight with childlike wonder, his gaze so soft that her knees almost gave way again. He was beautiful. Not handsome or rugged, not at this moment. Just beautiful.
"I haven't looked through the old books in years- I-" He broke off with a laugh. "Wow, Astrid, I can't believe you read those- This is- This is kinda embarrassing, actually..."
Laughing, she reached up to pat him roughly on the back. "They were pretty good, babe. You should go over them again at some point, you know. We'll appreciate it more, I'm sure of it."
He chuckled. "Yeah, I know, I..."His eyes widened a fraction. "Hey, I caught you by surprise."
Smirking, she shook her head. "I didn't expect you to do something that could very well have you sprawling across the ice." Her eyes widened as she looked over his shoulder. "Like not watching where you're-!"
Thump.
"Uh... Astrid?"
She punched his arm. "I know where my knee is, idiot." At least, that was what she intended to say, but her face was pressed into the snow and she could barely breathe.
Finally managing to prop herself up on her elbows, she inhaled deeply- and promptly snorted everything back out. There was snow in her nose. Odin's sake.
Hiccup was nice enough to not laugh at her until he was certain she wasn't about to die, but he didn't hold back after that, so neither did she with her punches.
The way his eyebrows furrowed when they parted ways... It made her wonder if what was on his mind were those words- the ones that she'd realised a long time ago expressed all her feelings towards him as simply as possible. Even if they weren't, it didn't bother her too much. She knew how she felt and she knew he was happy, and frankly, that was all that mattered.
Yeah, I tried xD It took me a while to get started, which is why it's a little late. I hope you had a good Christmas though!
-Elle
The cover image came from here: neir-2-you . tumblr post/68524999093/