Writer's note: This is one of my favorite chapters for this fic so far!

He'd promised to her a talk. He had yet to fulfill that promise.

It wasn't a pleasant subject, and Hiccup wished it could be wiped from both their memories. He couldn't forget, and he doubted Astrid would as well. He knew she wouldn't. He'd catch the side glares she shot his way. The evidence of a beginning maelstrom flashed behind her eyes at his procrastination.

His timidness had returned. The embarrassment of the awkward experience played out in his head stilling his hand every time he wished to reach for her. Did she think less of him for not being able to pleasure her in that way? Hiccup stressed over the assumed answer. They'd come miles and boundaries far from their wedding night when Astrid chose to slice a dagger's blade across her ankle than consummate their marriage. But now, he'd taken a giant step backwards in just one misbegotten moment.

On the third evening since the incident, they were headed to the cove to take Toothless flying. Astrid had jogged ahead leaving Hiccup to meander along the trail alone. He couldn't wait to get in the air. To soar through clouds and reach for the sun and forget the weight that had dragged on his shoulders for the last few days.

His boots had barely hit the grassy cove floor when Hiccup found himself dangling above said floor.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelped. The Night Fury carried him deeper into the cove. "What's gotten into you, bud?"

Up ahead Hiccup spotted Astrid. Her arms folded over her chest and her steely gaze narrowed upon him. Uh oh. He was in trouble.

"Thank you, Toothless," Astrid said, and gave a gestured command.

Toothless unceremoniously dropped him in front of his wife. Hiccup's legs didn't catch, and he landed on his bottom. He shot a sharp glance over his shoulder at his dragon, who was looking quite amused.

"Traitorous reptile," he grumbled, getting to his feet and face to face with his wife. "Astrid, what's this about?"

"I know you didn't wet your pants."

"Oh. You figured it out, huh?" All the exasperation deflated out of him. He turned to hide the burn on his face and threw his arms up then slapped them down to his sides. "But why wouldn't you? You're Astrid!"

He didn't catch the slight falter of Astrid's features before she fortified herself again.

"Some husband I am. I can't hold it in long enough to pleasure my wife." The words sounded strange on his tongue, even after the last few months of marriage. Sometimes it was hard to conceive that he was still a boy in a very grown up world, playing a very grown up part.

Astrid dropped her arms, softening the glower she'd been projecting on him. "Hiccup, don't beat yourself up over it. Just because it happened this time, doesn't mean it will next time." She sighed. "It's kind of my fault anyway. I caught you off guard and forced you into it."

He didn't want her to take the blame. Astrid's strength was immeasurable, but as the leader of their household, Hiccup felt he needed to take responsibility. "No, Astrid. It's not your fault. You wanted what any wife would want, and I was the one who ruined it."

Images of her dressed in the transparent gown flooded his mind's eyes. The perfect picture of beauty. "You were beautiful in that gown. gods, you were stunning! I still think I'm in some crazy dream that you of all people want me and would allow me to touch you. And—"

"Hiccup?"

"Hmm?"

"I get it, babe."

"Sorry." He'd gush over her a thousand years if he was granted that much time. "I want you, Astrid. I really, really want you. But when it happens, I want it to happen naturally. The two of us, in the moment…"

"I understand. I want it to happen that way too. I got a little carried away." Her palm left scorch marks through his shirt where she rested it on his chest. "I guess we have some ways to go. That means more of this." She dipped in for a firm kiss that lingered upon his lips. A promise of things hoped for, of moments yet to come that would lead them to the passion they both longed to experience one day.

Hiccup found his fingers inching around her waist and wondered how he didn't notice he had reached for her. This was what he was speaking of. The naturalness of gravitating to one another. The little gestures of intimacy that would occur without thought.

It was in that moment, Astrid being a breath away and her palm searing into his chest, that the love for her welled up inside him. They'd come so far, opened themselves up to learning about each other and from each other.

"Astrid, are you happy? With what we are? With what we have?" Hiccup had wondered upon these questions for weeks and the courage was finally there to accept whatever answer was given.

The corners of her mouth lifted into a soft return. An elegant eyebrow arced into her bangs. "This isn't where I pictured myself. In a marriage faker than Gobbler's leg. With someone I tried to not give a second's thought about most of my life."

Hiccup's expectancy began to crumble with every word, but that wasn't the end of her answer.

She gave him a shake then cupped his cheeks. "You surprised me, Hiccup. I wouldn't trade what we have for any other life. At times, it's scary and unpredictable, but I've never been this happy in my life. You did that."

Hiccup was suddenly caught in a memory. I did this – he'd murmured as he gazed at Toothless' bound and mangled body not that long ago. The accusation toward himself had filled him with crushing guilt. But this new, hopeful statement – you did that – caused a flood of joy to well up inside him.

He'd done something right. He'd brought happiness to the girl his heart flipped over the moon for.

Hiccup leaned forward, focused on those oh-so-tempting lips, but was left with an empty space filled with laughter. He flicked a glare Astrid's way. A smile spread across her face as she rung with laughter once more.

"You'll have to catch me for another one," she playfully taunted.

As she awaited the chase, time slowed to nearly a standstill. Hiccup wanted to record every tiny detail. The joyful smile unmarred by hardship and war. The blue sparkle in the eyes that gleam only for me. Nothing could spoil this snippet of life Hiccup vowed to record in his memory forever.

And then, he launched after her. Around the cove they dashed, dodging rocks and slipping on mossy patches. Astrid was fast and her endurance could not be matched. Hiccup grazed her twice, almost trapping her in the corners of the cove. Astrid eluded him both times. Hopping up on a rock, she planted her fist onto her hips triumphantly.

Hiccup had a plan. The silent communication him and Toothless had practiced was paying off. Astrid cried in surprise as she was lifted in the air, dangling from the Night Fury's mouth. She kicked out at Hiccup as he approached.

"Not fair, Hiccup!"

"Payback for earlier."

Astrid's fists clinched, but she relented, "Fine."

He nodded his head for Toothless to let her down. Astrid's nose wrinkled at the dragon slobber on her neck and swiped what she could away. Hiccup wasn't giving up until he'd collected the spoils from the chase. He stepped up to her expectantly, eyebrows raised. A little growl escaped Astrid's throat, but she leaned in to press her lips to his. Her hand snaked behind his neck, teasing his hairline as she also teased his bottom lip with the tip of her tongue. Hiccup was so focused on his prize that he didn't noticed the cold, slimy wetness of Toothless' slobber on the back of his neck until Astrid pulled away, grinning like a dragon sitting atop its hoard.

"Consolation prize."

Her laughter echoed through the cove.

He couldn't get that image out of his head. The love that swelled in him at that moment as Astrid bounced off, her smiling shining back at him like the golden rays of sun. He had to capture it.

Hiccup's charcoal worked along the brown parchment, scratching out thick lines, forming life. He retraced the memory from earlier that day. The way her hair fluttered around her face. The quirk of her mouth. He wished he could capture the playful gleam in her eyes. Hiccup sat back in his chair, satisfied for the most part with his finished piece.

A soft weight rested on his shoulders. "What? No stick figure this time?"

Hiccup shakes his head. "You deserve to be more than a stick figure. I'm the real-life stick figure."

Astrid leaned over his shoulder, skimming a fingertip along the empty space of parchment so not to smudge the charcoal. A thoughtful quirk of her lips played on her face. She straightened, and Hiccup was caught off guard as the chair he currently resided in was yanked backwards, the legs scraping along wooden planks.

He watched Astrid curiously as she stepped around the chair. His eyebrows jumped into his bangs at her plopping down in his lap. Her right arm slithered around his neck and draped over his shoulder. Her other arm ran along his collarbones, connecting with its match.

The nightgown that was currently covering her was her usual fare, not the sensual number that she adorned a few evenings prior. This gown is safe, not accentuating her youthful curves…among other things. The softness of her liberated breast press to his side, the sensation cozy instead of lust inspiring. Hiccup is thankful for that. Not every little touch should ignite flames. He must learn to handle the flames before he catches on fire again.

Hiccup wound his arm along her waist, another place on her that wasn't awkward anymore. But his other hand hung down toward the floor, unsure of where to settle. Astrid couldn't make all the decisions for them. He had to trust in her honesty and patience with their relationship. If he did something wrong or disappointing, she'd tell him.

Hesitantly, he lifted his dangling arm. Like a benevolent breath before a prayer, Hiccup rested a hand upon her knee. Testing the waters, he grazed his knuckles along her lower thigh, leaving a thick invisible line in his wake.

He crept ever-so-close to the pinnacle of her leg. This was uncharted territory, a place on Astrid's body he'd never traversed. Her thigh was muscular, as expected, and tight as he gave her a gentle squeeze through the gown's material. Astrid's fingers twirl at the ends of his hair, distracting him from his explorations.

How did his life become a fantasy that played out while he had stirred in bed at midnight? How did a 15-year-old disaster become blessed with such luck? A twinge of fear struck Hiccup's core suddenly. Him and Astrid were risking everything for their new cause.

His chest rose and fell in deep breathes. What if their plan to train dragons failed? What if Berk didn't listen? What if Toothless was discovered and lost forever? There'd be horrible, heartbreaking consequences, not only for the dragons but for him and Astrid and the home they had built together.

"Hiccup," he heard Astrid call from what felt like a distance. Warmth cupped his cheek. "Hiccup?"

"Hm?" Hiccup turned within the wall of her palm. How could the hands of a fierce shieldmaiden be this gentle…this loving? Not much different than a dragon, he supposed.

Astrid gave a tiny, strained chuckle. "You look like you were lost at sea."

He met her gaze. The lantern was running low, casting long shadows in the room. "I'm fine."

Astrid shifted a little in his lap, and Hiccup was thankful she was much lighter without her daily gear. She peppered a few kisses along his cheekbone, the contact seeping through his skin and relaxing his distracted mind.

Hugging her close, Hiccup shut his eyes and tried to record every tiny detail of her against him. Tonight, he would live for this. Any worries of tomorrow would have to wait.