It's nice to know that the rest of you have shared your sentiments on Cami and the chapters overall. I'm very relieved that you found the hilarity in the gang's antics. XD

My semester break will be ending soon, so…I'm not entirely sure for how much longer I can write so frequently. Here's hoping for the best…

And now, onwards to the following days of the Gathering: The Festivals. =)

As the Flower Misses the Sun

"Ye' want a reason? Fine. He's a Night Fury. Fair enough for ye'?"

-A jury member on Hiccup's refused application for the dragon race.-

Vikings were known for many things, their stubbornness issues notwithstanding. Their intimidating size, tenacious ferocity in battle and fierce loyalty to one another amongst them. But perhaps one of their most notorious traits were the fact that when Vikings partied, they partied hard.

The feast of the first night would be forever remembered as the night Stoick the Vast almost cried in public. From laughing. It was because it was also the night Gobber the Belch drunkenly sang several sagas to the crowd in nothing but his underwear.

"Look at the bright side," Snotlout mumbled as the group headed for the docks the morning after for the drakkar race. "At least your dad didn't decide to join Gobber on the third saga." Spitelout Jorgenson, in his drunken stupor also joined Gobber mid-chorus on the one of the last few sagas, although he had the good sense to keep all his articles of clothing on.

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders moodily, nonetheless. He was just turned down earlier for the newest addition to the competitions, the dragon race just because his dragon was the fastest one in existence. A measly factor that should have been glossed over, Hiccup humbly thought.

Even Astrid couldn't fully devote her time (as Hiccup secretly thought she should) to consoling him as she was preparing herself and Cloudbreaker for the race (even if it was hours away from now). She was absolutely excited about the race itself. Not only would she have her hand at breaking her own record at the annual axe-throwing competition tomorrow, but this race might be yet another feather in her cap (or headband). Astrid was nothing if not a healthy overachiever (1).

"Aww, cheer up, dude. It's not your fault your dragon's faster than that stupid Roman god they call Mercury or something," Tuffnut chipped in. No, not really making him feel any better.

"Not helping, idiot," Ruffnut muttered, shoving her brother to the side roughly (pun not intended). At least Ruffnut's physical assault on her brother was of some help. Hiccup couldn't hit any of them without the rest thinking Ragnarok was upon them.

"If it's of any consolation, Hiccup, you would have creamed them with Toothless' +78 in agility. There would've be no competition," Fishlegs chirped in. It was a thorough judgment, Hiccup wagered. Fishlegs never lied when it came to statistics.

"Oh, no competition, eh?" Ruffnut asked rather haughtily to that, Tuffnut snickering at Fishlegs' indirect insult. The twins were in the race as well along with the others, sans the troubled Haddock.

Fishlegs stammered disastrously at Ruffnut's question, his cheeks reddening slowly into what resembled overly large tomatoes.

"W-well, I...what I meant was...uhh, I was trying..."

Everyone else could note Ruff's dangerous smirk as she enjoyed watching the Ingerson babbling over her. Hiccup took a second to consider if this was Ruffnut and Fishlegs' way of slowly coming into a relationship. If anything, it wasn't exactly subtle.

"Enough mumbling," Ruffnut cut Fishlegs straight off with a hand hovering by his face. She then turned around to briskly continue the walk ahead, intent on letting Fishlegs only seeing the back of her helmet. And her swaying hips. It was disturbing that she could be enjoying the stricken horror painted on the rotund boy's face.

Tuffnut placed an arm on Fishlegs' shoulder, his trademark conspiratorial smirk plastered on. "Don't sweat it, 'Legs. That's just her way of saying 'Put up with my crap for awhile more and I might bone you hard one of these days as a reward," he said with a disturbingly accurate imitation of his sister's gravelly drawl.

Fishlegs grimaced and avoided to look at anywhere but the tall blonde girl as Snotlout patted his back.

"That's what you get for picking the craziest girl in Berk to have a crush on," Snotlout said in mock disdain, Fishlegs' shoulders suddenly squaring. "I-I do not have a crush on her!" he protested in all earnest, but keeping his tone low enough to not have Ruffnut in earshot.

"Right," Tuffnut scoffed. "And your Gronckle's a vegetarian."

The rest of the walk was filled with an awkward silence that almost never befell the group before. Ruffnut eventually slowed down to talk with her brother about the dragon race later while Fishlegs kept his lips pursed tight. Snotlout decided to engage his cousin in a discussion that felt completely one-sided, eventually dropping the entire plan soon after.

Tuffnut broke the collective silence when he rushed ahead of the group as they approached the cliff overseeing the docks. "Hey, c'mon! They're gonna start!" he yelled at them, the rest breaking off into a run. True enough, the various drakkars (one from each tribe) were lined up in an even line and awaiting the grand horn to sound off. "There's our dads!" Ruffnut exclaimed, pointing to the drakkar with the colors of Berk emblazoned on its sails. Spitelout Jorgenson, Ironspit Thornston and Gillgut Ingerman were several of Berk's best rowers and it didn't look like they would be retiring from that post any time soon.

Stoick, being the host chief, was standing by an enormous brass horn reminiscent of the ones by the Mead Hall, ready to give the signal for the race to begin. Hiccup could see several dragons in the air with Vikings perched on top, surely to get a bird's eye view of the race. *why didn't we think of that?* he thought to himself.

At that, he scowled at the thought of not bringing Toothless along after all. The black dragon, although resting nicely by the hearth at home would have wanted to experience the festivities. Dragons didn't like to remain cooped up when they weren't remarkably lazy.

"Hey, why so serious?(2)" Hiccup snapped back to reality after Tuffnut broke through his thoughts. He must have not relinquished scowl as of yet. "I know you don't want Freezing to Death to win again like they did for the past two years, but hey, take it easy."

"Speaking of which, how *did* they win for that two years? I mean, aren't they supposed to be all rigid and stiff from all that cold?" Snotlout interjected. Hiccup couldn't for the life of himself tell if Snotlout was being serious or trying his hand out at humor, but it caught Tuffnut's attention away from himself, so he couldn't complain, really.

Before Tuffnut could get a word out, the huge horn blasted through the air, the vibrations rattling the bones of the teens even from this distance. The dragons hovering around the sea were wobbling around in mid-flight, their riders stuck in a balancing of covering their ears and just holding on to their dragons.

But amidst all the audible chaos the drakkars began pushing forward through the ocean, oars violently churning the waters to foam as the captains bellowed the thunderous mantra of "STROKE! STROKE!" to keep the rowers in a uniform rhythm.

"Woohoo! Go Berk!" Ruffnut yelled as the other boys whooped in support of the drakkar trying to break the stalemate. Even Hiccup found himself joining in the cheering for Berk's pride. It had no relation whatsoever with the fact that his potential father-in-law, Arkin Hofferson was rowing alongside the other mighty oarsmen. No, not at all.

"You think Freezing to Death rigged their boat to go faster?" Fishlegs suddenly pointed out amidst the cheers, and it stopped immediately.

"You know what?" Tuffnut said first, scratching the bottom of his chin. "Maybe they did!"

"How do you know that? Maybe they're just better," Snotlout challenged.

"Right. Tell that straight to your dad and mine's faces, why don't you?"

"Besides," Hiccup tried to add in edgeways. He needed a reason to not continually be moody in the most macho way possible. "How do they rig a row-boat to go faster?"

"They could've made it lighter," Fishlegs shrugged, his calculative gaze on the Freezing to Death drakkar so intense Hiccup feared it would have spontaneously combusted. Then Berk would be blamed of foul play.

"If they made the hull several centimeters thinner on all the wooden sides, they would be able to gain a +10 on acceleration with a -9 on drag. It doesn't sound like much but it should give them a good distance from the other ships."

And Hiccup resigned to the fact that he was the only one who could have understood most of it. Most.

The others must have shared that trail of thought as they shrugged, concentrating back on the race. They were more used to Fishlegs' spontaneous bits of info on a regular basis.

Amidst all the tightly-packed vessels, Freezing to Death's drakkar was leading by a slight advantage with Berk coming in with a close second. The other ships were in no way far behind and Hiccup knew that even one slip or an oarsman going out of rhythm would result in someone losing the lead. Or gaining it.

And he never remembered ever wishing more feverently for some random Freezing to Death person to gain a hand cramp. But he reckoned that animosity for a foreign tribe wasn't exactly wise when this whole gathering was centralized on general peace between them all, with some healthy competition to boot.

"C'mon! Stroke harder!" Snotlout cried out, regardless of the fact that when taken out of context, that sentence sounded very wrong to Hiccup. He was a healthy 16 year-old, after all. Even the slightest things can be perversely related one way or another.

And as the ships still remained in their seemingly stationary positions even as they surged through the waters, one of such ships seemed to slowly but surely make its way to overtake one dragon figurehead with another.

Berk were breaking into first place.

"That's the way! C'mon!" Tuffnut yelled, punching fistfuls into the air, practically oozing as much charisma from his every pore. Ruffnut let out a high-pitched holler that Hiccup had no intention to imitate. Even Fishlegs was giddily whooping along.

And that was when the cheering ceased on Hiccup's part. The reality hit him that if Astrid were there, cheering just as loud and as jovially, he would have no problems joining in. Right now, if he were to do that, even with the others already accepting him into their fold, he would feel so painfully out of place. Almost 10 years of estrangement and alienation didn't just heal over the course of a few months. The melancholy from not being able to get in the dragon race and the absence of Astrid hitting him squarely in the gut didn't help any.

But just so as much as his body was telling him to not be a total kill-joy and just cheer on for the heck of it, Hiccup's mind refused to deliver the order. The others were not paying any heed to his sudden inaction, so why should he care? He was just slinking back to being invisible anyway.

It was anticlimactic, sure. Awkward, definitely. But like some self-deprecating drug, Hiccup couldn't refuse indulging himself it. Still, he kept a wary eye on the still-leading Berk ship, and from their height they could see the finish line, the ships barely halfway there. Hiccup did not envy the oarsmen, that's for sure.

"Damn, that's a long stretch. Think they'll make it?" Tuffnut asked to no one in general. And as expected, Fishlegs took the initiative.

"If they keep the drakkar at this constant speed and acceleration, they should have a 65% chance of winning provided the winds maintain their +5 boost in speed," he said in one breath.

"All I heard were 'speed' and 'winning', so…that's a good thing, right?" Snotlout asked. "Heck yeah!" Ruffnut cheered as she continued to watch the ships race on. "Go Dad!"

Not a second after, Freezing to Death's ship was inching closer and closer to the lead with the Bog Buglars closing in. That was the thing about leading in a race. Sometimes upsets just happened.

"Oh for the love of Thor, gimme a break, man! Can't you let Berk win this once?" Tuffnut cried out with his hands to the skies, as if the embodiment of lightning and victories himself would pick favorites in a race, of all things.

"Let things take their course instead of praying for the gods to do something, gnome-brains," Ruffnut grumbled, forcing her brother to stop flailing his arms like a madman. "Besides, look, we're catching up with them."

True enough, Berk's dragon figurehead was poking out amongst the garbled mess of racing ships to surpass that of Freezing to Death's. As long as the figurehead reaches the finish line first, they would win the race.

"Just hope the oars don't tangle up like they said it did last year…" Snotlout muttered regarding an incident last year when the Meathead clan was hosting, involving Berk, Brass Monkey and Hopeless's oars clashing amongst one another's, resulting in a three-way tangle up that left them biting the dust –or sea foam, in this case.

In Hiccup's inner morbid episode, he grumpily half-wished the ships would tangle up by the oars. At least that would shut the others up. Realizing what he was thinking, Hiccup slapped his own forehead. How could he be so stupid to want that to happen? Right, because I'm not in the best of moods, remember?

Deep down he knew it was stupid, but the inner six year-old who wants to throw a tantrum for not having his way was really winning some votes in Hiccup's head.

"I really think they've got a chance here!" Fishlegs excitedly exclaimed as Hiccup spared one glace upwards. The struggling fleets of ships were edging closer to the finish line by the second and Berk were going head-to-head with 'Death. The gang knew the oarsmen were beyond tired and fatigued by now, but none of them were willing to give in just yet. The stubbornness issues did have their quirks.

"Come on, come on, c'mon!" Snotlout and Tuffnut were threatening to fall off the cliffs from sheer amount of enthusiasm alone. On Ruffnut's orders, Fishlegs was busy clenching a fistful of the boys' fur jackets, just in case.

They were this close to the finish now, Berk exchanging positions with 'Death with such frequency that none of the gang could not really tell who was leading. And then every ship barreled their way through the line, the crowd below that did not look unlike ants to the gang from this angle erupting into celebration.

"Who won?" asked Tuffnut, who decided to climb atop Fishlegs as if it would have given him a better view, ignoring the rotund boy's protests that it would not help. The tension and noise in the air was so thick that it could have been cut and kept for tomorrow's toast. And who could blame them? There was no clear victor and it was these situations of sudden death that did not sit well with the teen Vikings.

"Wait, they're waving the victor's flags," Hiccup decided to chip in an effort to stop the miniature pandemonium behind his back. The celebratory flags that flew were hard to make out but he could recognize the brilliant shade of scarlet and the coat of arms…

"We won! Berk won!" Snotlout jumped several feet in the air as everyone else whooped and hollered, Hiccup almost regretting the even bigger pandemonium that took the earlier one's place. He really wished that Astrid was here to join in the celebration instead of training with Breaker for that stupid race. Nothing brought him more joy than seeing Astrid's face practically glow whenever she smiled, and he needed it so much now like winter hearths needed firewood.

And as if the gods themselves were hearing his innermost plea (take that, Tuffnut) a brilliant blue and yellow Nadder perched up besides Hiccup, its rider beaming ahead at the ships that were now docking again. Hiccup would never grow tired of watching the way the sun shone on her own sun-colored hair to an almost white-hot sheen, her intense blue eyes inviting him to just lose himself in them.

"Astrid," he weakly breathed. She regarded him with the same beaming pride she was giving to the ships. "I can't believe we won!" she cheerily said to him before looking at the rest. "We were this close to losing to Freezing to Death! But we pulled through at the last second like that," Astrid went into explaining, showing how Berk's ship spearheaded its way over the rival ship just mere meters away from the line.

"You just flew in from there?" Ruffnut asked, pointing a thumb at the docks.

"Yup. Didn't think you guys saw me as you were jumping for joy like idiots," Astrid lightheartedly scoffed. Hiccup sniffed. What, Astrid didn't notice him moping around? Or was she carefully glossing over that?

"Who cares? We won for the first time since the year of Thor!" Tuffnut whooped, swinging his fist in the air. His pride for his father's participation must have only added to his pride for Berk's win.

"Here's hoping for another one next year," Fishlegs added in weakly. "Damn right, 'Legs!" Tuffnut said as he and Snotlout wrapped their arms around his neck (which was no mean feat due to the large boy's height) and they made their way to the town square. Astrid got off Breaker and told her to head on home first which the Nadder did, the blonde girl then joining her taller counterpart as Hiccup trudged behind.

It didn't take long for Astrid to notice something was amiss even as the boys were going on like nothing happened.

"Okay, what's wrong with Hiccup?" Astrid asked Ruffnut, the other girl rolling her eyes. The Thornston twin could see the conviction in Astrid's eyes, and she did not like it one bit, especially when she had nothing to do with it. This time.

"Hey, he's been Mr. Grumpy-shorts since earlier. We had nothing to do with it," Ruffnut said whilst shaking her head, Astrid chewing over that thought. Ruffnut had no trouble lying straight to Astrid's face but the exasperation in her tone was as genuine as she could tell. She just hoped that she was right.

"You sure?"

Ruffnut blinked. "Is the great Astrid Hofferson in doubt?"

Astrid responded kindly with a slug to the Thornston's arm, the taller, lankier girl shrugging off the blow. It lacked the usual ferocity that the girls had no problem in lashing out to one another.

"I'm sure. We've been nice to him and all. I'll bet he's just still miffed about not being able to participate in the race later."

Astrid took a second to understand. What race?

Then it hit her. "You mean the dragon race later? He told me he was fine with it before I left."

"Correction: He told you he was fine with it. You were too excited about it when you took off that you didn't see whether he was lying to you or not. You always did tell me you could read him like a book," Ruffnut said with mock admonition, Astrid avoiding eye contact with the other girl.

"And if you so much as tell another soul about what I said…" Astrid began dangerously when she mustered enough thick-skinned courage to look Ruffnut in the face, the other girl already lifting her hands in a casual display of surrender. "I know, I know. You'll pull out my hair and kick me in the gut and then you'll bring the hurt. I'm hurt you have that little faith in me, Ast'."

"Shut up," Astrid growled as they continued walking on their own pace to the village square, trying her level best to not steal even a glance behind. "You think I should talk to him about it?"

"You're asking me about boys? What in Odin's name possessed you to think that-?"

"Because you've been stuck with a twin brother since birth and last I checked, he's a boy, isn't he?"

Ruffnut raised a thin, graceful eyebrow at Astrid's choice of words. "You know, if I took what you said out of context…" She didn't push that matter further when Astrid snarled.

"Fine, fine. But you do remember that Hiccup and my idiot of a brother are almost two different creatures, right?" Ruffnut challenged, and Astrid had to relent. "Now Fishlegs, on the other hand…he's just the fun-nest thing to tease and tickle till he turns as red as a tomato."

Astrid chose to leave Ruffnut be with that evil grin of hers and she made her way with slow but confident strides to Hiccup. No point stomping your way over and scaring him half-to-death before even the first word comes out.

He notices her first and he almost freezes on the spot. Still the same Hiccup.

"A-Astrid?" he asked as the dread in his face grew just that little more with every step Astrid took without an answer. "Is there something wrong?"

"Hiccup," Astrid began, trying not to sound too stern. There was just so much tough love you could give the boy.

"We need to talk."

)()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(

"You're breaking up with me?"

Hiccup didn't even realize the words came out of his mouth, disbelieving as it sounded. Sure, she hadn't said those words exactly herself, but he knew for a fact that whenever a girl says 'we need to talk', it was Splits-ville in sight.

But it was the irritation that grew on her face a second later and a very hard shove to his shoulders that caught him off-guard.

"Who the Hel said I was breaking up with you?"

She was annoyed. No, she was more than annoyed. She was beyond annoyed with a handful of anger and just a pinch of murder in her eyes for seasoning.

"Because whenever the girl says 'we need to talk' it usually means something's wrong, and I'm not good enough or 'it's not you, it's me' and we all know there's no way you'd do anything wrong 'cause you'reperfect to me and I…"

Astrid had her arms crossed at this point as he continued rambling his reasons out. Usually she would have cut him short and saved him from wasting his breath but the strong desire to humor him and to let him vent out a little did no harm.

"You done?" she asked when He finally trailed to a finish.

"Yes," he weakly replied. Surely by now he knew he was wrong about her wanting to break up with him.

"Then let me make one thing clear," she said as she closed the distance between him again. He could see her arms rise up and he shut his eyes and stiffened his entire body, waiting for the blow to come.

Instead, two gentle palms cupped his cheeks and he dared to open his eyelids, looking into Astrid's sliver-blue eyes, and he was lost in their trance.

"I love you, Hiccup. Get that into your brain. I. Love. You," she said, and crashed her lips firmly onto his to prove her point.

And he could find no reason not to believe her. He chided himself for an uncountable amount of times. How could he even doubt her feelings for him? How could he just jump to conclusions at the slightest hair-trigger?

They broke for air mere seconds later, but Hiccup had not had his fill just yet. His longing for Astrid's lips just grew tenfold and she was just right there. How could he not claim them when they were mere millimeters apart?

"You can be so stupid sometimes, you know?" she said.

He flashed her that lopsided smile that was both infuriating and disarming at the same time, and she couldn't even attempt to berate him any longer.

"Sorry," he meekly replied with a shrug, that grin turning into the same one a four year-old would give if he was caught red-handed stealing sweetbread from the pantry. She had her brothers to credit for in-depth knowledge on that.

"So…back to normal yet?" she asked, trying to put the past couple of minutes behind her now that Hiccup is smiling again. And in her humble opinion, not a day should go by where he doesn't flash her that silly grin. That silly sweet grin that should only be meant for her.

"Well, as far as normal can be for me," he joked as she lightly punched him in the arm.

"Alright, now hands off. The race starts soon and I don't want the others to think we left them to go make out or something," she said. Hiccup surprisingly did not let go and she was having quite a tough time breaking his grip.

Questioningly, she looked straight to see a different grin plastered on his face. It was a new, dangerous, seductive smirk where his eyes are half-closed and the forest-green orbs are darkening slowly, only one edge of his lips tugging subtly upwards as they were closed shut. It was the lopsided grin again, only a billion times sexier.

She couldn't even gasp out his name as her voice suddenly caught itself in her throat. "You know," he broke the silence for her in a strange, husky voice that was entirely Hiccup and not Hiccup at the same time. "What if I want them to think we went off to make out or something?"

Oh gods.

"Wha-?" was all she could breathe out before Hiccup claimed her lips hungrily. It was new, different, a ferocity never before shown by Hiccup and she welcomed it with equal parts of worry and giddy excitement. But she could never allow herself to be lead in this dance for long, so she wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss on her own, not resorting to tongues just yet, not while she has his lower lip firmly pinched between hers.

Her head was spinning so much that she could almost feel like she was moving and turning about on the same spot.

Wait, she was moving on the spot.

Before she knew it, her back was firmly pressed against the smooth surface of one of the many boulders there.

"They'll come looking for us," she weakly reasoned when a large portion of her mind wishfully hoped against it.

"They can wait for ten minutes or so," he said noncommittally before treading light kisses on the smooth skin of her neck.

"Just ten?"

"More or less. Now will you just let me fuss over you?" he asked, earning a curt nod from her before he tugged at her tunic, tentatively exposing more milky skin. The kisses he peppered over her left shoulder blades left her squirming and she responded by wrapping one of her legs over his own, locking his thigh onto hers.

"Mmm, don't stop," she whispered, Hiccup all to glad to obey that order. He tugged the collar of her tunic southwards instead, exposing the beginning of her cleavage. His lips agonizingly made their way slowly from the shoulder to the newly exposed bit of skin, the cool windy air leaving such a wonderful contrast against his hot kisses.

"Oh gods, Hiccup," she groaned as he daringly kissed the gap of her cleavage, her fingers digging into his hair. His other hand snuck behind the bottom of her tunic, snaking a hand smoothly up her back. She arched forward as her head shot backwards ever so little, Hiccup absolutely loving how this show off just how lithe and athletically sexy her body is.

He shifted his kisses over to her bare, toned stomach as he lifted her tunic with both hands. The delicious paradox that was his calloused, yet delicate hands holding her entirety in between them could only come from a blacksmith's touch. He nuzzled his face against the warm alabaster skin of her torso before kissing every rise and bump of her sinewy muscles.

Astrid let out a sultry gasp of release as his pinprick administrations centered on the core of her body, so agonizingly neither here-nor-there. He refused to touch or kiss anywhere near her breasts and the spot he dubbed as her 'special spot' as she had never given her approval, and she found that so sweet and yet so exasperating at the same time. He was such a sweet guy to a fault.

But to think of it, she herself couldn't complain, though. This spot wasn't exactly the best place to be anywhere near partial nudity, even if his kisses are the best guilty pleasures ever.

He slowly dragged his hands to her ass where he couldn't help but give them a firm squeeze (she thanked Odin that at least he took initiative on that part of her body) before he tugged her leggings down a little.

She looked at him questioningly before Hiccup started kissing her soft, creamy thighs, eliciting a squeal from the girl. She jolted slightly upwards when his teeth gently grazed her skin, his tongue prodding at her skin, leaving damp traces as they went.

She can't help but get excited at how close his face was to her…special spot (stupid Hiccup…) and all she needed to do was hike her skirt up, push her linen panties slightly to the side and…wait, would Hiccup even want to put his mouth there?

It terrified her and at the same time, there was no greater turn-on at the thought of Hiccup's very talented tongue working its magic inside her most sacred virtue.

But no, not in public, not like this.

"Hiccup," she said, lovingly stroking his hair.

"Mmm?" he mumbled through his feverently increasing licking. Oh gods, the licking…

"I think that's enough," she struggled, trying so hard not to cry out just how good this all felt. There was still an off chance that someone was still around that area, even if Hiccup positioned himself and Astrid away from the main road, the boulder their only shield from prying eyes.

"I don't know how much more I can take before I have to…"

At that Hiccup paused instantaneously. Did Astrid just insinuate that she was going to –what?-…go over the edge?

"Right," he said, rolling her leggings back up. He tried to steady his breathing whilst attempting to quell the blood flow that was concentrated on one certain area, Astrid wiping the several beads of sweat that ran down her forehead. He gingerly placed her tunic back to decent length and straightened out any folds and crumples that didn't look right, all the while wistfully wishing that he was undressing her instead of the doing the polar opposite. Her breathing was taking longer to come back to normal than his and he noted her husky, oral breathing as her limps fell limply to her sides. The only thing still holding her up was Hiccup as his hands gripped gently at her sides.

Internally, some part of Astrid internally berated herself for allowing the wild throbbing of her loins to die down before she could reach the blissful peak, but she had to force herself to think about the smartest thing to do.

Somehow, Hiccup understood why she was scowling out of a sudden and his pride swelled up a few notches. Astrid had to stop what they were doing because she was close to losing control of herself. And why should he be denying her of such a pleasurable and wonderful experience, Hiccup wondered with a sly smirk.

"You know, I could help take care of your problem," he suggested with a soft whisper into her ear, and Astrid's heart almost leapt from her throat.

Shit, he knows.

"D-Don't be ridiculous," she growled, giving him a shove that was far too weak to be from Astrid. He did see the edges of her lips tug upwards, and he found relief in that. At lease she knew I was joking around.

She had half the mind to counter his banter along the lines of 'If you wouldn't be so noble all the time, you would be able to help take care of my problem,' but ultimately she decided against it. What kind of boy would restrain himself from going any further than his own self-imposed boundaries when the girl is already all hot and bothered?

That's right, her boy. He loved her and better yet, he respected her. Even this far into their relationship he dared not do anything without her say-so, and she found mutual respect in that as well.

"But-" Astrid said as she wrapped her arms around his neck again, locking silver-blue eyes with deep green ones.

"-maybe one of these days-" she continued, one of her hands then hovering dangerously on the base of his pants. She could practically feel him catching his breath.

"-we can get a hands-on approach-" she crooned, slipping her thumb into his waistband, the boy taking in a ragged, sharp intake of breath, but remaining frozen on the spot with his hands wrapped around the small of her back.

"-on taking care of each other's…problems?"

It was the hint of hopefulness in her tone at the end that made Hiccup gulp hard. Did she just suggest that they take things to a further level?

But too soon later, she removed her thumb from his pants and gave him a peck on the nose. "You're drooling, Hiccup," she said, suppressing a laugh.

He gingerly brought a sleeve to his lips to wipe off whatever repulsive trails of saliva he might have showed to Astrid as she brushed several stray bangs from his ever-growing fringe.

"Y-You're serious?" he dared to ask. Astrid's offer was too good to be true, but he had to make sure, even if it means a slug to whichever body part she wants or her completely taking back the offer.

She did neither.

"Yes, I am. But nothing too daring before we get some kind of contract done between our parents," she warned him, but Hiccup was once again too high on cloud nine to feel the necessary fear. She mentioned a contract. That means she sees marriage as something entirely possible in the future, right?

And then it got him thinking about a marriage to Astrid. And he could find no fault in that. Spending everyday with her instead of meeting at appointed times. Both of them sharing a home, a dining table, a couch, a bed…Toothless, would have to make do with Breaker moving in, which wasn't a problem. Both dragons were okay with one another. Maybe he would extend the house for them? Or they'll build their own? Then they would need to have kids, and Hiccup liked the idea of having kids, especially the process of making them. Which led him back to their future bed…

"Hiccup? Hiccup? ...I lost you at contract, didn't I?"

)()()()()()()()()()()()(

Woohoo, more reviews than the previous one, and honest opinions to boot! Don't stop now, folks! =)

Naruto Reincarnate: Yup, I mention all my reviewers. You all get equal parts of love from me. =)

Fictionfreak: So sorry to keep you guys out of the loop for so long. =( And it's good to know that you've stuck with this fic since the beginning. It means a lot to have you sum it up, really. =) Are there more fics out there about Cami and Astrid bickering over Hiccup? So far I haven't found one, though...

A. Kingsleigh: Glad that you're fine with the arc. As for Cami causing some havoc for the others, well I'd expect things to go awry with the way Tuff and Lout often react, right? =) Gives me some great ideas too, thanks!

Givinglight: What an aptly selected name, 'cause that's exactly what you did! =) Glad to know that my humor works for you. =D I hope this dose of lemony fluff will suffice for now?

goodguywithanevilmind: Thanks! Well I think the other tribes wouldn't really bother, 'cause hey, kids will be kids, right? =) Just hope the other tribes don't know exactly what's the topic in discussion, right? ;)

Lady Bronte: Thank you so much! I tend to forget that the gang is mostly about being fun, fresh and silly instead of the more mature tones I gave them in the earlier chapters, right? And as for Hiccup, *snicker* I do remember how I was when I was 16, so when the first opportunity of imagining 3 pretty gals in a hot mess jumps into mind, who wouldn't want to indulge in said fantasy, eh? ;)

Voldyne: Hehe, well, I agree, an interesting image indeed. ** Well I would say it was more of a discussion between them, 'cause they are good old friends, but either way, glad you liked it. =)

Psycho Kitty Alchemist: Well it's good that you're honest about it, which makes your review especially valuable 'cause it tells me I did something right by you this time around in chapter 8, and just pushes me to make something more to this range when it comes to involving Tuff, Ruff, 'Lout and 'Legs. Well yeah, I'd imagine the initial 3 to be dirty-minded for their age with Fishlegs being the nervous conservative one. His voice actor tells me as much when I watched the 'The Making Of.' As for Hiccup, well I'd imagine that as any normal 16 year-old would he couldn't help but conjure up his own little fantasy, y'know, hormones and all ;). Glad I could make you laugh with this one! Thanks again, and hoping to hear more from you! =)

Romance and Musicals: That's what I think too, since she's the epitome of the perfect Viking girl and she's just perfect for Hiccup. I'd like to explore more on Stoick and Astrid when I can. =) And yes, it's about time that he had a better understanding about his boy now that the relationship between them has improved. You could tell from his discussion with Gobber early in the movie that he wants to make the connection with his son, he really does. And for the naughty thoughts, hehe, glad so many of you are sharing snickers and giggles with me on that bit. XDD

DarkArk: Well it's refreshing to have Hiccup in a pervy perspective, no? XD

4ever2010: Well it's good to have someone who has a good grasp on the books here. Source material is simply the best, right? =) And as for Thuggery, ooh, do I sense a crush here? ;) And Hiccup's nasty side, let's see how he puts it to practical use, eh? XDDD

Kittehz: It's alright, you made your mark for chapter 8's review, so no harm no foul. =) Thanks, I tried to put it as humorously as possible when they found out it's Cami, 'cause she's such a huge troublemaker in the books. =) Her notoriety should precede her wherever she goes. And cookies, yay! Nom nom nom. XD