AN: Hello everyone! How's it going? Well, new chapter up! Ye-ay… By the way, WARNING! There's a bit of fluff in this chapter…just so ya' know.(;
By the way, the last part of this song is perfect with So She Dances by Josh Groban.(;
DISCLAIMER: Don't own T or HTTYD!
Rapunzel huffed and brushed away a strand of hair. She shifted her aching knees, sighed, and wrung out her rag into the bucket at her side.
Rectina had ordered her to scrub the cobblestones outside of the arena. There were two feelings Rapunzel had about this. 1, she was glad that she could watch dragon training. However, she was not so enthusiastic about having to spend the whole time scrubbing the endless cobblestones.
Pascal squeaked, and Rapunzel turned her head just in time to see him plop into the bucket of water.
"Pascal," she giggled. She reached to fish him out when she heard a footstep, and turned her head to see two booted feet. Her gaze traveled up until she took in the whole entire Viking teenager. She repressed the urge to sigh in exasperation. Great.
"Who are you talking to?" Ruffnut asked obnoxiously.
"M-myself," Rapunzel stammered. She thought with dread that Pascal would be running out of air soon. She flopped the rag into the bucket and squeezed around below the surface frantically, trying to locate the lizard.
"You call yourself Pascal?" Ruffnut snorted.
"Well, sure. It means…it means 'beautiful, gorgeous, amazing wonderful person'," Rapunzel supplied. She mentally kicked herself. WHAT?
Ruffnut looked slightly impressed. "Well, then, I must be the Pascal of Pascals," she answered, a smirk on her face.
"Oh, uh, definitely," Rapunzel insisted hastily. Her hand was still squeezing the rag to find Pascal. "Come on, come on," she thought.
"Why are you still getting water in your rag?" Ruffnut thought.
"Maximum water retention," Rapunzel replied frigidly.
Ruffnut lifted an eyebrow. "Sure," she answered, and walked away.
Rapunzel noticed she was purposely spilling her mug of…something on the ground. Terrific. More to clean up. She scooped Pascal up in the rag and covered him. She lifted him out of the bucket and sat him on the ground and Ruffnut sauntered towards the arena.
"Pascal, are you okay? Speak to me," Rapunzel whispered. She pressed gently on his stomach, and a stream of water poured out of his mouth. He coughed and shook his body, then stood up, offended.
"Sorry," Rapunzel giggled, and let him crawl into her hair again.
The remaining teens gathered around the arena, and Gobber soon joined them. He opened the gate and they entered as they chattered.
They lined up in pairs, and Gobber handed them each a bucket of water. Ruffnut was paired with Astrid, Tuffnut with Snotlout, and Hiccup with Fishlegs. Rapunzel suspected they wouldn't have much of a chance.
"Today is about teamwork," Gobber announced as he opened the doors to the Hideous Zippleback's cage. Immediately, a green fog enveloped the arena. The teens looked around fearfully.
"Work together and you might survive," Gobber chuckled. "Now, a wet dragon head can't light its fire. The Zippleback is extra tricky: One head breathes gas, the other head lights it. Your job is to know which is which."
And how does that work? Rapunzel wondered. Is one head red and one blue? Or does one have a stripe?
The teens fanned out in their pairs.
Rapunzel heard Fishlegs start to mutter. "Razor-sharp, serrated teeth that inject venom for pre-digestion. Prefers ambush attack, crushing its victims in its-"
"Would you please stop that?" Hiccup snapped. Rapunzel giggled, and noticed with dread that Snotlout had opened his mouth.
"If that dragon shows either of its faces, I'm going to- THERE!" he shouted, and threw his bucket of water a the dragon.
Sadly, it was not the dragon, but Astrid.
"It's us, idiots," Ruffnut snapped.
"Your butts are getting bigger. We thought you were a dragon," Tuffnut snickered.
"Not that there's anything wrong with a dragon-esque figure," Snotlout hastily chimed in, hoping to retain his good graces. No such luck.
Astrid punched his jaw, while Ruffnut threw her bucket at her brother, hitting him in the face.
Suddenly, Tuffnut was dragged into the mist, screaming all the way. Rapunzel sucked in her breath as Astrid murmured,
"Wait." Sadly, they were both tripped and Astrid's water spilled.
Tuffnut cannoned out of the mist. He screamed, "Oh, I am hurt! I am very much hurt!"
"Chances of survival are dwindling into single digits now…" Fishlegs squawked.
The mist began to clear, and a head snaked out of the mist. Fishlegs emptied his bucket onto the head, only to be answered by a fountain of green gas. "Oh… heh heh… Wrong head,' he squeaked. He then ran away as fast as his legs could carry him, screaming all the way.
The other head (exactly identical to the other) popped out of the mist by Hiccup, beginning to light its compadre's gas on fire.
"Now, Hiccup!" Gobber shouted, and Hiccup weakly tossed his water into the air. It fell short by a few feet.
"Oh, come on," Hiccup moaned.
"Hiccup!" Gobber yelled in warning.
However, much to everyone's surprise, including Rapunzel's, the dragon began to retreat.
"Back! Back!" Hiccup ordered the dragon. "BACK! Now don't make me tell you again!" The Zippleback entered its enclosure without resistance. "Now think about what you've done," Hiccup continued. He shut the door and turned, wiping his hands on his vest.
Everyone gaped at Hiccup. Fishlegs dropped his bucket.
"Okay! Are we done here?" Hiccup asked abruptly. "Because I have some things that I need to…" He trailed off. "Yep, see you tomorrow." Hiccup exited the ring, leaving behind a gawking crowd.
Rapunzel's mind raced as she scrubbed once more. What could have made the dragon not want to be near Hiccup? The answer came to her so quickly she sat straight up, causing Pascal to tumble in the water.
That sneaky little devil. He must have used an eel! Rapunzel almost burst out laughing as she fished Pascal out of the bucket. How clever could someone get?
oOoOo
Rapunzel slowly padded outside. It was roughly 1:00 in the morning, but the call of nature waited for no-one. Thankfully, the guard was asleep; she crept outdoors and entered a stand of nearby trees.
When she finished, she quietly crept by the smithy on her way back to the sleeping quarters when something wet hit her cheek. She paused, confused, and looked up just in time to see rain come pouring down. She gasped, immediately soaked to the bone, but a mischievous smiled came on her face and she looked around. There was no-one about, and how could she miss this opportunity?
She curtseyed. "Why, thank you, kind sir," she murmured. "I would love to dance with you." She took an imaginary hand and began to waltz in the rain. She twirled, imagining for a moment that it was Eugene she was dancing with. They would do this all the time back in Hopskirid. They would sneak outside at midnight and dance in the rain, twirling and laughing in hushed tones. She imagined his face for a moment, then blocked it out. That was enough. She wanted to savor this rain.
By now, her feet were dirty and she was cold, but she didn't mind. She simply danced her cares away. She curtseyed, clapped, spun, and did fancy footwork on the cobblestones. She had forgotten how fun this was.
oOoOo
Hiccup brushed some hair out of his face and looked up in surprise as he heard noise. No-one was supposed to be out this late at night! He rushed to the window, then smiled in releif. It was Rapunzel. …But what was she doing? Was she…dancing? In the rain? No-one danced in the rain on Berk. Well, apparently Rapunzel did.
He grinned as he watched her spin. She was really pretty. Her hair was weighed down by the rain and she was completely soaked, but she was beautiful.
Hiccup watched her for a few minutes. He looked at his tools. He was working on a saddle for Toothless (come on, he couldn't ride Toothless holding his tail all day), but could that wait? Maybe just a few minutes… He took off his apron and slowly opened the door.
oOoOo
As the rain began to fall a little harder, she started to waltz. She grasped an airy hand and began to slowly twirl when her hand was taken by an actual flesh and blood hand, and she whirled around to see Hiccup holding it, smiling slightly sheepishly.
"Mind if I cut in?" he asked quietly.
"Be my guest," Rapunzel smiled, and they began waltzing. Back, side, front, side, as the rain pinged off their faces and slicked down their hair.
Rapunzel thought with a start that Hiccup was really cute, the way his hair almost completely covered his nose, and his awkward smile, and his laughing eyes.
Rapunzel, starting to feel tired, laid her head on his shoulder, blinking sleepily. Rapunzel felt Hiccup tense, then slowly relax as they continued their waltz.
"Rapunzel?"
"Hmm?" Rapunzel brought her head up once more.
Hiccup eyes seemed to search through her, then he gently brought his head forward and kissed her for a split-second on her lips.
Rapunzel jerked back, shocked.
"Oh, gods, I'm so sorry, Rapunzel, I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry, that was stupid," Hiccup began blubbering as he let go of his hold on her wait and hand, clearly embarrassed. He lapsed into ashamed silence.
Rapunzel placed her hangers on her lips, still tingling. She looked at Hiccup, then down at her hand. She closed her eyes, then made a split-second decision.
She rushed forward, grabbed the sides of his face, and planted her lips firmly on his. Through half-lidded eyes, she could see his eyes pop open in surprise, then slowly close.
The ran poured down and soaked them further, but to Rapunzel, it seemed like little drops of heaven,
They embraced for what seemed an eternity, then broke hold.
Hiccup breathed deeply. "Rapunzel, I…" he trailed off, not seeming to know what to say.
Rapunzel blushed and smiled. "I should go back," she whispered, then ran off.
Hiccup stared after her, a shocked expression still on his face. Then, it slowly broke into a smile, and he quietly opened the door of the smithy to continue working. All hope of sleep for him was gone.
Was that okay? Fluffy enough? Not too fluffy? My first romantic scene…
Thanks people for reviwing!
Mcknight13: Really? I think of Rectina as a fat, 50-year-old lady. xD Interesting that you think of her as a Mother Gothel. Thanks so much, by the way. You're my steady reviewer. That means a lot.
To the others: Requests are duly noted! Hiccup and Rapunzel it is!(;
PLEASE REVIEW!