She was trying to kill him.
There was no other explanation.
His thoughts circled tightly over two - no, three - separate instructions.
Don't close your eyes.
Don't forget to breathe. If you get light headed you'll close your eyes.
Don't… not yet.
There was no doubt in his mind that she was going to kill him. His breathing was erratic and ragged. His heart would explode from keeping the impossible rhythm in his chest but he couldn't slow down. He'd breathe deeply, trying to calm his heart and his mind, but that would bring everything in front of him into focus, and his heart and lungs would take off again.
Blonde hair across his belly, summer highlights of white and gold shimmering under the muted light, soft and warm across his skin. If he followed the path of a tangled strand to her face, he'd see-
He closed his eyes.
"Hiccup."
"How can you possibly-"
"You have to watch."
"You're killing me."
"That's… not what this is." The laugh in her voice made him want to drop back onto the moss and cover his face with his hands.
But he couldn't. He was propped up on his arms, watching.
Watching Astrid.
Who was laughing at him and not bothering to hide it. She was a wicked swirl of gold and silver surrounding the blue of her eyes and joyful curve of her mouth as she laughed, a sound and sight he'd usually treasure and try to freeze in his mind.
He couldn't capture anything of this moment. It wasn't real. It wasn't happening. There was no way.
But she'd folded back the waistband of his leggings with efficient eagerness, run her hands along the length of him, explaining in the same voice she used to plan and explain battle strategy that he couldn't look away, close his eyes, or cover his face. Explaining what she planned to do, and what he had to do in return.
Which was impossible.
He'd tried to cheat, to his own quiet shame. He'd dropped his gaze to his abdomen, hoping she wouldn't notice as he watched the ripple of his breathing seize across his stomach, the way his muscles flexed as he gasped, the way his body responded to the slide of her hands, the warmth of her grasp.
"Nuh uh."
Caught.
"Eyes down here."
He really thought that at any moment, the painful terror and incredibly sharp joy of everything happening in front of him, to him, was going to kill him. He'd wake up in some fuzzy Valhalla, unable to tell anyone why he was there. He wasn't sure this would count as a warrior's death, either. He was fighting, that was for sure. Fighting to breathe and not -
"Hiccup."
What? He'd been looking!
"You weren't focused."
"You're trying to kill me. Seriously."
"I told you, that's not what this is." As she spoke, she ran her hand up the length of his erection, the skin hot and wet beneath her fingers, and it was almost impossible to keep his eyes from closing.
He had to think about something else. And keep his eyes open. And focused. And not thinking about what he was seeing, what he was feeling, the fire she was pouring into his body with her hands and her mouth.
Did she check their surroundings? Were they safe? He couldn't really see - the dragons sounded like they were sleeping. He heard Toothless snoring, and did not hear the click and scratch of Stormfly's nails. Toothless would warn him if someone were nearby, or flying over, or if Stormfly woke up and became upset at Astrid's absence… or upset at her presence, curled around his body, her hair spilling across his skin into the moss beneath him.
Tilting his weight onto one arm, he gathered some of her hair into his hand, winding it loosely around his palm, wanting something to tie him down to the ground beneath him, to keep him from flying out of his body into the fog above.
He glanced up. The low grey clouds still covered them, a ceiling just above his head if he stood up, which he couldn't do right now because he'd fall straight over and he really wanted to avoid that humiliation again.
Was there someone flying above the fog? Was anyone looking for them? Had everyone gone back to Berk and noticed they were the only ones still out on patrol?
Did Astrid know how much time had passed?
Did she know where the sun was in the sky hidden behind the clouds?
He felt the edge of her teeth scoring the sides of his erection up to the tip, slightly painful and searingly erotic. He barely bit back a shout.
"I said. You have to watch. Me. You. Not the clouds."
Her voice was muffled beneath her hair, and by the fact that she was moving her lips and teeth over the tip and-
Her hand squeezed tightly, sliding against his skin, and his mouth fell open, gasping, unable to reach enough air to breathe. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, feel the pulse of his blood in his body, in his chest, and in the dark, hot warmth of her mouth, he felt himself throbbing against her teeth and tongue.
"There's no one here. We'd know. No one around. Just you and me." Her voice was a wicked drenched vibration that surrounded him, and he had to think of something, anything, to keep from coming undone beneath her.
"I want you to."
Had he spoken aloud? He didn't think so. But then her lips closed over him, her hand rose and fell in a tight, slick grip, and her tongue slid over and around him until he didn't know how he remained in one place, how he wasn't shattered in pieces all over the ocean. She was tightening her grasp, and his entire body felt it. Her mouth was wrapping him into a taut bundle of tension with each slide and he tried to avoid breaking, avoid the explosion he knew was imminent.
He felt her laugh, low and playful, more than he heard it, and realized he was speaking but not making any sense. Sounds, pieces of her name, the beginning of a thought he couldn't hold onto long enough to follow to the end, he was incoherent.
A gasp, and a low moan brought his attention into focus. He'd tightened his grip on her hair and pulled without meaning to. He drew breath to apologize, but the words froze in his throat.
She was watching him, blue eyes narrow and hot, watching him, and her enjoyment was clear on her face, evident in her breathing, in the way she shifted her body toward him, toward his hand, pressing her legs together and rolling her lower back as if relieving the same pressure that filled his body to impossible tension. With a stray moment of clarity, he watched her reaction as he tightened his grip on her hair, moving his hand so that he shifted the angle of her mouth moving over his erection, almost steering her movements.
The resulting explosion was monstrous. Her mouth opened slightly, her low gasp drawing cool air over the hot, wet maelstrom of sensation she was causing with her tongue, her hands, her teeth. The shock made him clench his fists, one hand wrapped within her hair, the other grabbing hold of something on the ground beneath him. And when her mouth descended, a low purr of desire in her throat, he lost control.
His orgasm went on for hours. Days, maybe. He closed his eyes. He couldn't help it. He collapsed back onto the moss, his hand still lost in the riot of her hair, reaching and sliding over her head, feeling the rise and fall of her movements echoing the endless reverberations of his body.
He felt completely empty, and deeply, shamefully greedy. He wanted this every day, multiple times a day, her body spilling across his, and her body under his, with nothing but time and scent and desire to explore. When his thoughts became slightly more organized, he could only ponder when, and how, he could be alone with her again. And how soon. Because he needed to do to her what she'd done to him.
When he opened his eyes, she was sitting next to him, gathering her hair behind her and braiding it easily, a smug and very satisfied smile on her face. He sat up slowly, tugging his leggings into place. His breathing was still racing his heartbeat, both too fast to try to control. So he watched her, counting the methodical twists of her hands as she wrapped and braided her hair into something resembling order. The braid didn't have to be perfect. It would be messy anyway if she'd flown.
That didn't stop him from reaching for a section of hair she'd missed and braiding it quickly in a tight, straight queue. She took the braid from him and wrapped it around and through the bulk of her plait, a thread of smooth silk wound amid the slightly uneven chaos.
Confining her hair revealed much of her body, which she didn't hide or seem embarrassed about. But he couldn't figure out what to do, if he should look and feel his face turn bright red, or if he should avoid looking at her, which would probably make her angry. How was it he knew so clearly what he wanted, but had no idea what to do with himself when he had it for a bare moment? Why wasn't this written down somewhere, preferably in a language he could read?
Astrid shifted position before he could react, and landed across his lap, straddling his hips and placing her hands on his shoulders.
"Seriously, you think too much."
He laughed in response, his hands sliding around her waist, his fingers savoring the soft skin he rarely saw or explored.
"Have you seen my bindings?"
"Bindings?" Wait, had he been - yes. He'd been wrapping them around the hand he hadn't buried in her hair. He could feel his face turning red as he pulled the bundle of cloth out from beneath him.
He looked at the bindings in his hands as she stood up and brushed the bits of moss and dirt from her skin. They were made of stitched lengths of old, softened cloth, but he'd seen how the wrapping left marks across her skin, and how much she'd enjoyed taking them off.
Her voice broke through the increasing speed of his thoughts. "Will you wind me?"
"Wind you?"
She gestured toward the bundle as he carefully and slowly stood up. He was still staring at them, his mind flying through ideas and designs.
"Hiccup."
The cloth could be softer, or padded, maybe, and not so tight, though the tension kept-
"HICCUP."
"What?"
She rolled her eyes at him, her braid falling over her shoulder. "Stop pondering whatever you're designing and help me out here."
"You know, you could-"
"Hiccup, you are not going to design better bindings."
He passed one end of the fabric and watched her before taking over, winding the length of cloth around and over her breasts as she adjusted each layer. It looked uncomfortable and unpleasant. "How do you know I'm not?"
She looked up at him with a grin as she tucked the edge of the fabric into the folds. He'd moved closer to help her as the bundle grew smaller, and now, without any effort, she could lean her body against his and smile up at him. The softness of her skin, the warmth of her body alongside his, how much of him was touching her, stole his breath again.
"Many women before you have tried. But hey, have at it."
He'd probably rather concentrate on unwrapping more than designing better methods of confining.
"What?"
As usual, deep in thought, he'd muttered aloud what he'd been thinking. It drove Gobber nuts. He had to stop doing that.
Astrid nudged him with her elbow. "What did you say?"
He took a breath, figuring honesty and desire were his best options. "I'd rather unwrap instead."
"You and me both," she replied, the smile in her voice muffled by the shirt she was pulling over her head.
He flushed, and looked around for his clothing and the skin of water as she found the rest of her belongings.
When they were dressed and only slightly disheveled, they wandered back hand in hand to where Toothless was stretching. Stormfly was calm, watching them both with one eye as she tilted her head toward Astrid.
"Guess she's no longer guarding you as closely," Hiccup said quietly.
"No, she and I worked things out. We have plans."
"Oh, Gods."
"You'll like our plans."
Oh, Gods.
He'd reached Toothless' saddle bags and was preparing to fly back to Berk when he heard a muffled shout from above the fog.
Astrid jumped up from where she crouched by Stormfly's saddle, scanning the muted sky above them. "Was that… Tuffnut?"
…
With a roar and the sounds of sparking, Barf and Belch broke through the clouds and crashed into the hillside below Toothless and Stormfly. Instinctively, they curled into a circle to absorb the impact, which threw Tuffnut out of his saddle.
"Belch! We have - OW - talked about this. You have to - OUCH - land with out hitting the - OW - land." He came to rest in a haphazard tangle of hair, helmet, and limbs alongside a large rock. "Ooooh, that hurts. That very much-"
"Tuff, are you ok?"
Astrid was right behind him as he ran unevenly down the slope, but she turned to look after Barf and Belch, who were getting to their feet unsteadily, both heads making uneven loops in the air.
Tuff stood up, brushed off his clothes, and began trying to untangle the horns on his helmet from his hair. "Fine. Well, mostly fine. I'd say 80% fine, maybe 82%. I am a little hungry."
"You just crash-landed a two headed dragon by yourself, and you're hungry?" Astrid was incredulous.
"Well, you know, food is the best response. Or maybe weaponry. Or mead. Mead is always good. Do you have any?"
Hiccup shook his head. "Where's Ruffnut? Is she ok? Why isn't she with you?"
"Ruffnut! Yes. She's probably hungry, too, now that I think about it."
Astrid rolled her eyes at him over Tuff's shoulder.
"Tuff. Why are you here, and where is Ruffnut?"
"Oh! Right! Yes, my good man. Thank you for noticing my dashing arrival."
"Tuffnut."
"I have no idea where Ruff is, that feckless she-beast. She is entirely without fecks. Devoid of all!"
"Did she fall off?" Barf looked at Astrid, eyes widening, and tried to take off. Belch refused to budge.
"No, no, she's fine. I think she's fine. Like I said, she might be hungry."
Astrid's expression compressed into angry lines that indicated she was going to get her axe and hit him any minute. Hiccup put his hands up, both to placate her and draw Tuffnut's attention back to him. "Where did you last see her? Are you worried about her?"
"Worried about her? No! I'm worried about him!"
"Him? Who is him?" Astrid said, her voice thin with frustration.
"Uh, Snotlout? Who'd you think?"
Hiccup rubbed the top of his head with one hand."So, wait, Ruff is missing, and you're worried about Snotlout?"
Astrid shrugged. "Makes sense to me."
"You don't think it'd be…." Hiccup circled one hand in the air trying to come up with the right word. "Uh, better to leave them alone?"
"No," Tuffnut said, placing his helmet back on his head. "That would be very bad. Very bad."
Astrid folded her arms, and moved to stand next to Hiccup. "Why, exactly?"
"She has my book — stolen again, I might add, as in, she stole it again. And I hadn't removed the pages about ropes, traps, manacles, and maces."
"Manacles and… oh, Gods." Hiccup wouldn't let himself look at Astrid. He knew the pages Tuff was talking about. He had read similar pages. He could feel himself turning red, and he knew Astrid noticed - he heard her trying to smother a laugh. "So we need to find them."
"Eh, it wouldn't hurt. Or it might have hurt already, by the time we get there."
"Where did you last see them?"
Tuff interlaced his hands behind his back and walked slowly in a circle, frowning up at the clouds. "We landed to check out a flat rock on an island. Ruff insisted. Said it had potential. For what, I have no idea."
This time, Hiccup couldn't stop himself from glancing at Astrid, who looked at him at the same moment, a mischievous smile on her face.
When Tuff didn't continue, Astrid took a step toward him. "And then?"
"Oh, well, I went, ah, off to attend to necessary business, which is when I need to -"
"Yes, we get it." Hiccup sighed. "And?"
"When I returned from my very necessary business, which took some time, I might add, thanks to all that cooking Sigrid is doing. Astrid, what does she put in the meat pies? They're marvelously dense, better than yak pockets, but afterward-"
"Tuff."
"Oh, right. Yes. As I was saying, when I was done, they were gone. Barf was trying to take off, and Belch wouldn't let that happen because Belch is the best dragon in the world, am I right, B? Yeah? Who's the best dragon?"
Belch ambled over, mouth open, tongue out to receive rubs and praise from Tuff, while Barf sulked and looked between Tuffnut and the sky. Hiccup felt sorry for him and went over to rub his chin. "It's ok, Barf. Ruff's fine. Just… out for a bit. She'll be back."
He heard Astrid smother another laugh, this time not as effectively.
"So anyway, H, if you're done playing favorites with my dragon, Hookfang was gone, and so were Ruff and Snotlout."
"Right, so as I said," Hiccup replied, folding his arms. "Shouldn't we leave them alone? It's not like she packed the book, did she?"
"No, she didn't, but we shouldn't leave them alone H, because as I said, I didn't take the pages out."
"But if she doesn't have the book-"
"Doesn't matter. Trust me. Snotlout is in grave danger. Or danger of being left in a grave. Either way, we should find him."
"Ok, Toothless and I will fly back with you to the island you landed on, see if they came back. Astrid, can you head back to Berk to see if they've shown up there?"
Astrid nodded.
"Good. We'll meet back at the academy in a few hours."
"Which is when, exactly?" Tuffnut looked around. "Is there no sky on this island? What is this place? A skyless island? How did you find it when you were in the sky?"
"How did you find it?"
Hiccup was glad Astrid asked the question, as he wasn't sure he wanted to know.
"Oh, Belch can track anything. Especially Ruff. She reeks of fish guts and yak dung most of the time."
"But she's not h- we haven't seen or heard her in the last few hours." Hiccup stumbled over his reply, but Tuffnut didn't notice, or he didn't care.
"She definitely went this way, but Barf made Belch lose the scent. Started bawling or sneezing or whatever that was."
"Tuff, Zipplebacks don't really have the ability to track other dragons or scents over long distances," Hiccup said slowly.
"Well, why was Belch so determined to fly this way?"
"I have no idea," Hiccup replied. "But the best place to start looking is where you saw them last."
"I think we should stop at Berk on the way back," Astrid said, turning toward Stormfly. "Before you go flying off, make sure they didn't return home already."
Tuffnut shrugged and headed over to his saddle. "I'm sure they didn't. Ruffnut had… plans."
"What kind of plans?"
"You, my good man, do not want to know."
Hiccup and Astrid raced back to their dragons, who were ready to take off once Barf and Belch leaped into the air.
Astrid's voice, quiet and sly, reached him as he pulled himself onto Toothless' saddle. "Actually, I kind of do want to know her plans."
With a grin, she leaned forward as Stormfly took off. With a shake of his head, Hiccup signaled to Toothless, and they followed both dragons into the clouds.
…
In the end, they didn't have to search for very long. Tuffnut stood up in his saddle as they flew, trying to navigate and search for Hookfang. He only fell off once, to Hiccup's surprise, but in doing so spotted a flash on the eastern horizon that seemed likely to be a dragon. It turned out to be Hookfang flying directly toward them, or towards Berk, more likely, with both Ruffnut and Snotlout on his back.
Tuffnut flew over their heads and turned Belch upside down so he could yell at his sister. "Ruff! You traitorous traitor!"
"What'd I do?"
"You abandoned your dragon!"
"Oh, Barf, I told you I'd be back. Why didn't you tell Tuffnut? I told you to tell him."
Hiccup was about to tell her how unsafe it was to leave Tuffnut behind without telling anyone where she was going when Astrid flew close to get his attention. "Hiccup. Look at Snotlout."
Snotlout had a frightened expression on his face that was strangely familiar. His cheeks were red, his brows down low over his eyes, and his helmet was pulled forward to try to cover as much of his forehead as possible. His tunic and leggings were soaking wet, though it was hard to tell whether he was sweating or if he'd been dropped in the ocean. His mouth was compressed into a thin, almost invisible line, and his eyes were darting everywhere, looking anywhere but at the other vikings. He looked shocked and terrified.
He looked exactly like Fishlegs had the day Tuffnut started boasting about the Book of Not Dragons.
Hiccup was aghast. "What'd she do to him?"
"Exactly what I'm wondering," Astrid said, her voice steeped in wicked curiosity.
Hiccup looked at her as the group turned toward Berk. Her laughter floated back toward him over the water, conjuring images in his mind that were dark, and tempting, and hot.