Hiccup awakes at dawn the next morning, feeling more nervous than he had before his first real flight with Toothless. That experience had been both terrifying and exhilarating, but seems now to pale in comparison to the potential of what today promises to hold for him.
Dashing down the stairs with an awkward gait due to his leg, Hiccup grabs some dried venison to eat on the way to the forge. He didn't know how early Astrid intended to be in meeting him, but he didn't want to keep the girl waiting.
The village is predictably empty as the boy makes his way through the streets, chewing on his breakfast while hobbling hastily towards the forge. A few roosters start to crow as the sun peaks over the horizon. His bad leg bothers him in the morning cold, making the journey uncomfortable, but he ignores it. The nervousness churning in his gut drives him to a near run. He feels ridiculous, that he just might be a fool for going this early to wait for her. Normally, the forge didn't open for business until at least a couple of hours after dawn.
As he turns the last corner before the forge, Hiccup halts in surprise, stumbling a little on his artificial leg when he looks across the way to see Astrid appear, turning a corner on the other side of their mutual destination. The girl was jogging while carrying her dragon saddle, but then stops short as her gaze falls upon him with wide eyes. It's hard to tell, being so far away in the early post-dawn light, but Hiccup is sure that he sees her cheeks flush a bright red.
The two teenagers look at each other in shock, neither willing to move first. Astrid clutches the saddle to her, while Hiccup shifts his weight nervously. He still finds that balancing with his new foot can be a bit tricky, especially in the early morning when he was still stiff and the air was yet cold.
Finally, Astrid sets her jaw and strides forward, clutching her saddle to her. Hiccup swallows and immediately follows suit, hobbling forward to meet her. The two watch each other intently as the distance narrows, until at last they stand together in front of the blacksmith shop. Hiccup looks at her quietly, noting that she's wearing just a plain cloth skirt, instead of her typically armored one. He wonders why, as the two watch each other in awkward silence for a while.
"Hi," Hiccup finally greets her, his gut churning nervously.
"Hi," Astrid replies with a slightly anxious voice, glancing at him with a shy gaze.
The two keep trying to look at each other in the nervous silence, blushing as they both look away whenever they make eye contact.
"Soooo…you're here early," he hesitantly comments.
"I wasn't sure what time you opened the forge," she answers with a hint of defensiveness as her cheeks color a shade of red. "You're here just as early, so obviously I was right."
He grins, meeting her gaze as she watches him indignantly. Astrid then looks at him thoughtfully and asks, "but what about you, Hiccup?" He looks confused and she lifts an eyebrow, challenging him, "do you always start work this early?"
Hiccup falters, sputtering a little as he answers, "ahm, well, uh, yeah! Of course! I mean, there's lots to do, ya know?"
Astrid smirks at his answer, clearly reading the truth in his eyes. Now it was Hiccup's turn to blush, clearing his throat as he starts to rub the back of his neck while watching her anxiously. "Yeap! Lots of saddles to fit and repair, nothing but busy, busy, busy!"
Astrid's expression falls a little at his comment, and Hiccup immediately feels bad for bringing it up. "Yeah, sorry about this," she starts to say, shifting the saddle guiltily in her hands.
"No no no! It's okay!" he blurts anxiously, cutting her off. She looks at him in surprise at his outburst. "I mean, we can't fly together until I fix your saddle, right?" he asks with a slight grin.
Astrid smiles shyly again at his reply and answers, "Yeah, that'll be pretty fun." Their eyes meet as they share an nervous smile, the both of them blushing. Neither spoke for a while, the silence growing thick.
"So, um, here's my saddle," Astrid suddenly blurts, pushing the heavy leather equipment into his arms. Hiccup grunts and stumbles a little bit, having difficulty with his false leg, wincing as his stump throbs a little at the additional pressure.
"Sorry!" Astrid cringes, looking on with a guilty expression, half reaching for him as if worried he was going to topple over.
"It's okay!" he assures her, waving a hand as best he can while he manages to recover his balance. Hefting her saddle, he forces a smile. "Let's get this fixed, so we can go."
Astrid nods with an embarrased smile as he walks towards the door. He fumbles with the latch while hefting the saddle, looking back at her with an awkward smile. Astrid giggles silently, covering her mouth as she watches him with adoring eyes, which only causes the boy to blush as he struggles. The latch finally releases with a metalic jingle, and Hiccup looks back at the door to push it open.
The girl hesitates at the doorway as he walks in. Hiccup makes his way into the cold and dark forge, dropping the heavy leather onto a table. Taking a deep breath, he looks around for Astrid, a smile playing upon his lips when he sees her waiting at the door.
"You can come in, you know," he tells her with an amused voice, watching as she blushes again.
"Oh…yeah. Thanks," she says simply, awkwardness written across her face as she slowly walks into the room, looking around at the various weapons, saddles, and smithing tools. Hiccup turns with a grin and hefts the saddle, spreading it out on the table. "So where're the broken straps?" He asks with a suddenly business like tone, looking over the leather assembly with a critical eye.
Hiccup had, of course, designed and made all of the dragon saddles for the various breeds, even going as far as to start customizing them for individual riders and dragons. He always hated it when his equipment broke, since as often as not in these yet early days of tame dragons, it was because of a design flaw. Riders' lives were dependent upon his creations, he couldn't afford to be Hiccup the Screw-up anymore.
Hiccup's question draws Astrid's attention back from eyeing the assortment of items hanging on the wall. "Oh, it's right here," she answers eagerly, quickly walking to the table in an attempt to point out the damage. As she does, Hiccup turns to look at her, inadvertantly moving into her path. She bumps into him, knocking the boy backwards as his balance was shifting to his prosthetic. He yelps in panic at the sensation of falling, waving his arms about him.
"Hiccup!" Astrid cries out in alarm as she reflexively grabs his forearms to keep him from falling. Her rescue is so aggressive that she inadvertently pulls him to her, causing his body to bump heavily against hers. Hiccup grabs her waist as he struggles to stay upright, trying to keep from knocking her over in the process.
The two teens look at each other with wide eyes as they suddenly find themselves face to face while embracing tightly, their breath coming in heavy gulps. Astrid's grip tightens about Hiccup's forearms as she feels the warmth of his thin body pressed against hers. He isn't bulky, but she can still feel the firm, lean muscles of his frame, the result of his many hours of dragon riding. She flushes a deep red as she stares into his eyes, her heart pounding in her chest.
For his part, Hiccup can't put a single thought together. He has the girl of his dreams snuggly wrapped in his arms, and by the look on her face, she is just as amazed by this sudden turn of events as he is. He can feel her curves pressed against him, her quickened breath warming his neck and face, her heart racing along with his. Involuntarily, his hands tighten upon her waist as he feels her grip his forearms firmly.
Neither one of them move, the seconds that tick by seem like hours. Hiccup barely breathes, for fear of breaking whatever magical enchantment was keeping this angel in his arms. He wants nothing more than to kiss her, but is terrified at the prospect. The boy looks at her with wide eyes, swallowing heavily as he tries to muster the courage. Astrid watches him with an anxious gaze, biting her lip.
In spite of everything that had happened, Hiccup can't bring himself to do it. The fear of rejection is too great. His gaze falls from hers as he starts to release her.
Astrid's tightens her grip on his forearms, holding his hands right where they are on her waist. Hiccup looks back up at her in shock, meeting her gaze just before she leans in to kiss him passionately, her lips pressing hungrily against his as he yelps against her mouth with surprise. Hiccup hesitates only for a moment before kissing back ferverently, again gripping her waist firmly.
Astrid moans weakly against his lips as he suddenly and passionately returns the kiss. The three times she had kissed him previously, he had been too surprised to do anything. Now, his lips press firmly against hers, making her whole body heat up and flush with excitement at his eagerness as she simply melts inside. She slides her hands up his arms, caressing his neck and face. Her fingers glide through his hair and then she wraps her arms about his neck, deepening the kiss, her tongue pushing its way between his lips.
Hiccup whimpers as Astrid kisses him more intimately, his knees going weak as she leans into him, pushing him back against the table. His arms wrap tightly about her waist, pulling her slim form snugly against him as his tongue entwines with hers. The two teens kiss with wild abandon, pressing up again each other as they lose themselves in the moment.
"Well, it's about time you two got on with that!"
Hiccup and Astrid jump apart at the sound of Gobber's voice. Both flush a deep red, looking over with wide eyes at the grinning smith as he hobbles into the shop.
"Gobber!" Hiccup exclaims nervously as he glances over at Astrid, sharing a guilty glance with her, the both of them blushing all the more as their gazes briefly meet and then quickly break apart. "W-w-what're you doing here?" he asks, looking back at the smith.
"Well, it's only my shop, isn't it?" The large man replies, "So why would I be here…?"
"I mean, why are you here so early?" Hiccup amends.
"Well someone's got to light the forge for the day," he answers as he sets about that very business, leaving Hiccup feeling like an idiot. Though he almost never came in early enough to do it, the boy knows well enough that the forge needed to be lit a couple hours before business started in order to get the furnace hot enough before opening.
"Obviously you're too busy to do it, so I guess that leaves me." Gobber grins with his typically sarcastic tone upon he sees Hiccup's frown, then adds, "I'd ask what you two are doing here, but that's pretty obvious…"
The two teens both look all the more guilty at Gobber's jibe. Astrid clears her throat, attempting to look him in the eye. "I…I brought my saddle over for Hiccup to fix," she starts to say, until Gobber interrupts her.
"Oh, is that a new way to fix saddles, Hiccup?" The smith asks with a wide grin, chuckling at the sight of the teens squirming awkwardly. Astrid turns an even brighter red and looks down, snapping her mouth shut.
Gobber chuckles and waves his claw at the two, turning to see about the forge. "Go ahead and fix 'er saddle, Hiccup." His apprentice nods anxiously, half turning back to the workbench, but then turns back to the smith.
"Uhm, Gobber?" he starts off hesitantly as the large man glances back at him with a raised eyebrow. Clearing his throat, Hiccup continues nervously, "would you mind if I took the rest of the day off, after that?"
"Oh? Now why would you be wanting that?" he asks knowingly.
"I…I invited him to go flying with me after he fixed my saddle," Astrid interjects meekly, blushing even more than before.
The smith smirks at the two. He says nothing for a moment, letting the two squirm under his gaze. Neither can look him in the eye.
"Be off with ya," he says with a chuckle, turning away to tend to the forge.
The teens breathe a sigh of relief, turning back to the saddle, when Gobber adds, "have fun, you two…but not too much fun!"