Chapter 13

Merida pov

We were at the Standing Stones waiting for Hiccup; it was already late in the afternoon. We agreed to meet here after our group flying lessons at noon. I got to say we've come a long way from where we were. Luckily for us the boys wanted to end things quickly since they were trying to woo some fair maidens with their dragons. Unfortunately, instead of the two of us coming here together Hiccup had to hold back because Da wanted to talk with him. So I decided to get cleaned up and have him meet me here.

I rambled to Wildfire "Well here goes our first date. Well technically we didn't say it was a date. I did say it was a date, so it was. Wasn't it?" I looked towards Wildfire. She shrugged at me at me and gestured at the sword at my side. Almost questioning "If this was a date why do you have a sword?"

I answered "I'm not the kind of girl who gets wooed by a gift or two. Or the kind for long walks on the beach or having poetry recited to her." She rolled her eyes at me. "So I decided to spend some time with him where we first met, which would have meaning to us and spar with him. After all, I enjoy a good spar and he's a Viking so he must as well" She snorted at me as if she thought it was a terrible idea. Wildfire then nudged me and turned her head to the sky. Then just like how we first met, Hiccup landed on the very same spot.

"Sorry I'm late Merida" he said

"It's fine. What did Da want to talk with you about?" I asked

"He suggested that I forge weapons for the guys as well. Said he didn't want people thinking I was playing favorites." I cringed slightly. Hiccup did something nice for me and ended paying for it in the end. As if he read me he said "Its no trouble though. I still have Gronckle iron to go around fortunately."

"Gronckle iron?"

He explained "Meatlug ate a strange assortment of rocks one day that didn't agree with her stomach. After the contents ended up everywhere I found that the material was stronger than anything I knew of. It's the metal I made your arrows out of."

I nodded. He asked "So what did you want to do out here?"

I explained to Hiccup what we would be doing. Although he found it odd to come all this way for a spar, he still drew his sword (he didn't ignite it). Alright I'll admit the spar wasn't the best of ideas but it's what I came up with. Besides I've been itching for a good fight for a while.

We each took our positions and engaged each other. It's safe to say after the match it was clear about one thing. He didn't have a clue of what he was doing. Even though he wielded the blade with precision and great timing, he didn't have any form at all. This made him an easy opponent for someone like me. After I knocked him on to his back and sat on top of his stomach to signify my victory.

"Sorry Hiccup, but you still have a way to go before you can best me." I said

He smiled back at me "Duly noted"

I smiled back at him and leaned back. No anger, displeasure, or even resentment at being beaten by a girl. Hiccup really was something else. After I pushed my hair out of my face, I noticed that Wildfire and Toothless were looking at us with wide eyes.

"What is it you two?" I asked.

Their eyes shifted between me and Hiccup quickly. We looked at each other, not knowing what was wrong with them, until we looked at our positions. I didn't realize at the time what I was doing. I was sitting near Hiccup's lower torso. If anyone were to wander by, they would think we were…Oh god!

Once this thought entered our minds we each quickly tried to get up from the ground. When I was halfway up though, my foot slipped on the grass. I slammed back down on Hiccup and my head banged against his, hard. I rolled off of him and we each groaned in agony.

Great work Merida. Princess of Grace you are.

I leaned forward and rubbed my head just as our dragons came over to see if we were alright. Hiccup sat up beside me. He remarked "Man, you could split a boulder with a skull like that"

"You ok Hiccup?" I asked embarrassed

"I'll live. Merida, your hand" I looked at my hand to see some blood from a cut. I must have cut my hand on a rock when I fell down. It was shallow and would close up soon enough but it bled a bit. Hiccup grabbed a roll of cloth from a saddle bag "Here let me" He began to wrap the cloth around my hand. "Isn't this typically supposed to be woman's work?" I asked nervously thinking of how the servants would treat Da's wounds.

"We're not typical people Merida" he replied calmly. It was true; we weren't how you would define normal. A warrior princess and a small Viking, we were definitely against the grain. When he finished wrapping my hand, we got caught looking into each other's eyes. I could get lost looking into those emerald eyes.

"Merida, I just wanted to say that the reason I made the bow was because I…I…."

I shushed him "Hiccup. I know…and I like you too" Then before my courage left me I closed the gap between us and kissed him.

Men have kissed my hands or my cheeks, but this was my first real kiss. I may have leaned against him a little too much because I could feel him fall backward with me. Then we stopped. I didn't even have to look to know that Toothless moved so that we could lean against him as we kissed. After that we practically melted into each other. This was...amazing! I didn't want it to end. Sadly we needed to breathe. When we separated, we were both breathed deeply and took in big gulps of air.

"Wow" I whispered

"Yeah" he replied

Toothless and Wildfire roared in union. Almost as if they were congratulating us on finally doing this. We chuckled at them and I sat beside Hiccup with my back to Toothless. Hiccup inquired "So what exactly are we now?"

I smirked at him "A couple of course. Although we probably shouldn't tell anyone about us just yet, not everyone likes you. If they find out your probably a dead man" Oh no, this sounded like something from one of those terrible romance stories mum made me read when I was younger.

Hiccup sighed "If they find out about us, I'm dead. If they find out I'm a Viking, I'm dead. I've been between a rock and a hard place before back on Berk, but man this takes the cake"

That sparked my curiosity "Berk? Is that your homeland? Berk?"

He froze. I guess he hadn't meant for that to slip out. He seemed to have a habit of letting things slip once in a while. This subject though it felt….dark, like it was one hell of a skeleton to find in his closet. He turned away from me "Yeah, the isle of Berk. That's where I'm from."

"Why aren't you there now?" I asked

"It's not much of a home anymore" he muttered

"What do you mean?"

He closed his eyes his eyes and he bent forward. It looked as if someone stabbed him in the heart. Toothless worriedly looked at him and then he turned to me. The look he gave me practically screamed "YOU FIX HIM RIGHT NOW!" I nodded in understanding to him and I wrapped my bandaged hand around his "I'm sorry. You…..you don't have to talk about it if you're not ready"

His face softened and he opened his eyes "Thank you Merida" I squeezed his hand in assurance and smiled. Once he sat up again, I rested my head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around me. Even though Hiccup recovered Toothless was still gave me a distrusting look. Until Wildfire remedied that by biting at his ear, they glared at each other for a moment. After that things finally settled down and we all just sat there together and watched the sun set between the trees.

Thought this day had its ups and downs, as first dates go this definitely topped the rest.