The Soldier

[Hiccup POV]

War wage on for months on end it felt like this war would never end, but our unit wasn't doing too bad, all thanks to Astrid. She is a soldier of soldiers and has accomplished quite a lot during her time. I wasn't surprised as Astrid rose up in the ranks, and became Warrant office 1. But what surprised me the most during our time together wasn't her fighting skills… it was us. Now that I know he is a she…. I've been having these weird feelings towards her. I had a general idea what these feelings could be, but it felt wrong…. I was still her supervisor, she was my subordinate. Not to mention people would believe the wrong things if they knew the truth about Astrid. I sat in my makeshift office, leaning against some wooden grates and sitting on a bucket. I sighed as I look over Gobber's new battle plan.

"Sir," I looked up and saw Astrid stopping just in front of me, "Do you have a moment?"

"What is it, Warrant?" I asked and lower my papers.

"General Gobber is wondering if you've approved his plan?" She asked with her eyes looking away from my gaze.

"Tell the general I'll need a few more minutes," I said and looked down at my papers, "I want to make some improvements."

"Yes, sir," she said. She moved back and was about to leave but something inside of her told her to stay.

"Is something the matter, Warrant?" I asked and put the papers down, "Are you unhappy being a Warrant office 1?"

"What? No of course not, sir," Astrid quickly said and shook her hands frantically, "I just have something else on my mind."

"Such as?" I asked

[Astrid POV]

I look at the lieutenant and could feel my heart beating out of my chest. I've recently started to have romantic feelings towards Hiccup, and I simply confused about it. Hiccup was my lieutenant after all…. And I didn't want him to get into trouble. It wasn't something I just recently felt out of the blue. I started to feel something for him as we got to know each other, fought together, protected each other, and experienced the horrors of war. Seeing the things we see every day and having someone to talk too about them… it can bond people and that's exactly what was happening to me.

Should I even admit my feelings towards him? I don't even know if he feels the same…. I could be endangering him. I thought and quickly debated if I should or not.

"Well?" I looked up and saw Hiccup with his arms crossed, "What is it?"

"I've….been enjoying our time together, sir," I quickly said and smiled slightly, "The battles and everything…. Its been a good…. Uh…. Okay not good…. But an interesting experience."

"Yeah, it's been…. I've enjoyed them. I'm not too surprised you rose up in ranks so quickly," Hiccup said with a smile on his face, "I'm quite proud of you."

"Thank you, sir," I said and felt a blush on my cheeks, "It really means a lot coming from you."

"You'll make general in no time," he said and took his papers again.

"Sir…. What about you?" I asked and walked closer towards him, "You've been lieutenant for a few years now… and General Gobber wanted to promote you a few times…. Why haven't you accepted? I mean…. If you don't mind me asking?"

"I just…. I don't feel like…. I deserve it…." Hiccup said and sighed deeply, "Couldn't keep my friend safe… and cried like a baby when he died. That's not how a soldier should act… we are supposed to be emotionless, killing machines."

"Sir, we're not machines, were humans." I said and sat down next to him after I pulled a crate out, "Having emotions isn't a bad thing. It just proves we're not cold-hearted machines. War changes people in many ways…. But It doesn't mean we have to be machines about it."

"My father was a great soldier, rose up to general… and yet he had to save his own son from being kicked out of the military. I don't see myself fit for a promotion because of my own personal views…." He said placing his hand against his knee, "And my father's body…. It could be anywhere…."

"Sir…" I said and placed my hand on top of his, "You are a great soldier regardless of what you think. Just look what you've accomplished. Just look at what your inventions did! It saved us from the U-boats, the trenches on so many occasions, and the amount of lives that were saved. All because of your inventions, not to mention your skills as a soldier."

"If you're father was here," I said as I leaned in closer to him, "He would be very proud of you."

"How do you know? You've never met him," Hiccup said and lean in closer as well, "The Great Stoick The Vast isn't a softie, you know."

"Well, why wouldn't he be proud of you? I'm proud of you, General Gobber is proud of you, your father would have been proud of you, and you should be proud of yourself." I said as I placed my other hand on top of his.

"Do you truly believe that?" he asked as his hand went over my wig and removed it from my head. Letting my blonde hair, gently fall against my back. I blushed some more and look around; thankfully we were in a deserted part of the campground, and most of the soldiers were asleep by now.

"I do…. Hiccup," I said and looked away from him, "You should accept the promotions… you deserve them."

"And you deserve them as well," he said. I look at him and felt his hand being placed against my cheek, "We've seen so much fighting this war… and yet… you still find a way to smile and lighten up my day."

"Hiccup…," I whispered and pressed my lips against his. I closed my eyes and kissed him before pulling back slightly. I quickly felt his hand moving down my cheek and pulled me into another, and much deeper kiss. We stayed like this and simply made out for what seem to be hours on end. It was simply incredible….. and in the amount of trouble, we could be in if people knew about us.