Author's Note: Rated M in part two


After the freeze, the village was already starting to pick back up its steam even with the ice plates blocking us in for a while. The air was still cold, and most were wearing their fur coats while working outside unless they were smith working. After a freeze, it was all about damage control. In the past, we had to rely on ourselves to clear the snow and reopen the village. Now, with the dragons, it happened in a single day. There was a common saying that we used, one that was instinctive among our people; many hands make light work. It really rung with us, the sense of community was an important thing in our culture.

When the entire town pitches in to help get everything back up, it makes the individuals job much less challenging and more rewarding. It also meant that when the day ended, no one was so exhausted they felt drained. No single person felt isolated, every individual helped each other when they're own work was done. That's why we often ate as a village in the town hall. Every night there was a gathering at the town hall with food and mead, laughter and stories.

Gobber had really stepped in to help Hiccup by being his stand-in as Hiccup was so constantly torn between his duties as a Chief and his responsibility leading the Riders against the trappers and securing the island. Officially, he was the Chief, and I was the leader of the riders as his General. That said, he was always with the riders, and still lead us in battles against the trappers, not that it bothered me. We were not in a peace time, not really, we were in a war time even if that war rarely made its way to Berk's shores.

Hiccup had a way of seeing things that was so out of step with everyone around him, he just viewed the world differently, though not badly, he could often see solutions I never dreamed of. I had the tactical mind, the warrior's mind whereas he looked more at the larger picture, it was innate. Together, we were an unequaled match, and I was just fine with how things were. I knew he never doubted my ability to lead nor did his confidence or faith in me ever wane.

That said, his faith and confidence in himself was constantly tested, ever since we first left Berk to go to the Edge. Even though most of his actions led to our victories, even through his failures that turned into successes. Every enemy he had faced was not a match for his worst enemy overall, himself. He had constantly judged himself against being the man he was supposed to be and being who he was. As with all viking children, you wish to live up to the legacy of you family and surpass it; to bring honor to it. When he was born as a hiccup, the runt of the entire village, when his entire younger childhood was riddled with ridicule and failure; even the most triumphant success can have a sour aftertaste. I'd like to say he had grown away from all those internal struggles, since he had shot down Toothless, it had all changed. He knows he has done his family and his tribe proud, that he has done me proud.

Since returning with Valka and Eret, and after touching bases with Gobber and sending a Terror mail to Dagur and Heather, we had retired to our house where we sat before a fire pit under a blanket, meat besides us and yakchops picked clean. This had become something of a daily ritual with us, sitting before the fire, holding each other and just being together. It was a place I think he felt truly safe and at peace, a place he could talk softly with words only meant for me. I am growing increasingly fond of these moments that we spend together like this. We would often find our way to the Great Hall to just enjoy the presence of the people, but those moments were becoming scarce as Hiccup wrestled with the proper path on how to deal with the trappers.

I felt his arms tighten around my waist beneath the blanket as he kissed my bare shoulder softly and sighed, his warm breath flowing across my skin as I smile and lean my head back on his shoulder. My own hands tightening around his as I close my eyes and just sit there in silence with him. He was still struggling with his decision to sink their boats. There was more to it than just that simple act, something he was wrestling with internally. Unfortunately for him, he was obligated to tell me, and I had ways of encouraging him to talk.

"Hiccup, what's on your mind?" I ask softly, turning my head over and looking at the side of his face as his lips haven't really left where they kissed last and are instead just hovering. He closes his eyes and I feel the air escape his nostrils.

"I shouldn't have sunk those ships." He mutters against my skin. I smile softly as he speaks while studying the features of his face. It's a face I had memorized in recent years, a face of a sensitive and caring man.

"You did the right thing, how many dragons do you think you saved by doing that, how many cages got sunk. They were going to leave, we know what they would have done, what they were doing. You protected the Archipelago as a whole by sinking those three ships. And we gave the Gronkle a brief, but real burial." I state and he just shakes his head.

"That wasn't why I did it though, Astrid. I just remember feeling… anger. Can you imagine if Fishlegs had seen that Gronkle, how he would have felt? In that moment, I remembered the words of my father and revenge. I remember him talking to me during the longest day, when I had wanted to hunt Viggo down after the incident with the Submariper." Hiccup responds, pressing the bridge between his nose and lips to my shoulder. He was conflicted

"Anger is understandable." I say softly.

"Not when it's the root; in that moment, it wasn't a decision to save future dragons, it was a choice to condemn them on an island of wild dragons. It was an act of revenge, of retribution." He says softly, almost as though he was condemning it.

"What did your father tell you?" I ask, not having heard as that was a weird day for all of us.

"That revenge isn't the answer; but then not half a year later, he told me Revenge can go down like a treat as he tried to strangle Viggo when we found him in his bunker. It was conflicting messages." Hiccup answers, shaking his head. "I know revenge isn't the answer, I know it isn't right, that we are better than that. In that moment though, sinking those ships, it felt good. It felt good to know they were sunk, that those ships wouldn't hurt anyone else, that those trappers were trapped." Hiccup finishes and I nod, cupping his cheek and turning his head so I can kiss him lightly on the lips.

"Hiccup, revenge isn't always about punishing those who deserve it. Like you just said, it can be a deterrence. By showing that such actions result in consequences, it can deter them in the future. Isn't that the whole point of our preemptive strikes on the trappers, freeing the dragons they capture? To show them that their actions have consequences." I explain softly, pressing my forehead to his and lightly pecking his lips again as his eyes remained shut. "Hey, look at me." I state and his eyes open as he smiles lightly.

"I'll never understand where you come up with some of this stuff, but I appreciate it. I appreciate you more than I can ever begin to repay." Hiccup says softly with a smile and I nod, smiling and kissing him once again.

"Consider it repaid." I answer against his lips. "You owe me nothing, well, except for your continued love and support and all that." I tease and he smiles slyly, I feel his hands shift around my waist as his fingers find the soft spots around my stomach and grip, making me squeal as he starts tickling me.

"And all that it is!" He says playfully as his legs lock around mine to try to control me as I can stop the forced smile and laughter from his tickling.

"Hiccup! Hiccup!" I exclaim amid several laughs as I writhe in on his lap, rolling and arching my back as he continues his ticklish assault. This is yet another way that only Hiccup could touch me, and this sort of torture was acceptable form him, I enjoyed it when he became bold like this, even if it ended with me overpowering him. After several moments of torturous tickles, I roll over and grab both of his hands and pin them to the back of the wooden chair above his head as I now straddle him. He smiles looking up at me.

"I guess I'm at your mercy now, milady." He says softly, looking up at me and smiling.

"I guess you are." I answer in a whisper as I lean down and kiss him on the lips. He'd done gotten me excited, now we'd both reap the benefits.


It was still daylight outside, not that one could tell from within the house amid the firelight. It may as well have been dawn, dusk or midnight, it didn't matter. The walls were thick, the house was warm, the outside was cold. There were a pair of mead cups that had been knocked to the ground with a bundle of hastily discarded clothing that were a top of besides those cups. I truly was at Astrid's mercy as she straddled on the large chair next to the fire pit.

She had since released my hands to remove her clothing and I had removed mine, though we were wearing little to begin with. My hands traced up her body and both of them found each of her breasts as I closed them around her breasts and squeezed softly, playing with her nipples in between my fingers as she moaned and grinded her hips down against me. Her hands propped her against my shoulders as she leaned in and bit at my lip before kissing me passionately. Our tongues finding each other's and layering one another, tasting each other and closing our lips together. I hadn't entered her yet, as she grinds her bare bottom against my exposed member, pressing it against my lower stomach and not letting it gain enough of a position to slide within her, on purpose. She had enjoyed teasing me in such a way and honestly, I did too.

We continued our dance of tongues as her grinding increased and she moaned inside my mouth, my hands continuing playing with her breasts. I briefly open my eyes and see hers roll back in pleasure as I feel both our breath hitch. We maintain the kiss as long as possible, breathing through our noses until we cannot anymore and part, low hefty panting escaping both of our lips as our faces flush together, she looks down at me with a longing smile.

"I do not know how you do this to me, Hiccup." She whispers, leaning in and kissing me briefly again before pulling back.

"What do I do to you?" I tease, leaning up and biting down on her lip before tugging and leaning back, prompting her to follow with another kiss and pressing down with her hips. Her lower wetness had already layered my member and groin with her, I could feel her slide as she grinded. The feeling, the scent, the heat was so potent I often lost myself within it. I hear her groan as she smiles and shakes her head. She looks down at our collective waists and I do as well, where I see her grinding against me.

"This." She whispers, then takes her hands over mine on her breasts and helps me squeeze her breasts and nipples, I can feel them becoming more erect as she moans. "And this." She whispers as I continue massaging them. "It's hard to explain." She adds softly and I smile, leaning up again and pressing my lips to hers as I speak.

"Then show me." I say softly against her lips and I feel her smile as she moans and nods. I feel her grinding come to a slow as she inches more forward on my stomach, pressing the tip of my member against her entrance. She slowly lifts her hips up and my member follows her in its hardening state as she bites her lip and sits back down on it, letting it slide fully inside of her slowly as we both moan together, our lips finding each other. We had become proficient in making each other feel good, at finding each other's most pleasurable points, ways for me to enter her without using our hands in various positions. We were growing beyond exploring each other to completely knowing each other, and it was something I loved. Sure, there were still things we'd explore together, we hadn't explored everything, and we would in time.

This was something each of us longed for because it was more than just sex, it was more than just pleasure; it was about being together. Astrid and I have done almost everything together for most of our teenage and adult life, yet it was never forced, and never did I once not want her around. We weren't toxic with each other like I had seen from other relationships. There were others that seemed forced or created based on family politics, arranged marriages. It was something that was being phased out of our culture as a whole. Like when Throk had come to try and take Ruffnut's hand in marriage, the modern viking woman commanded much more respect, and Astrid, my beloved, deserved much more than she ever asked for or received. I could only hope I could do her justice for all she had given me.

There was certainly lust and passion, longing and desire that filled our hearts and eyes when we gazed into each other during our time alone. Moments of pure lust when nothing else in the entire world mattered but the feeling of her body as it squeezed against my member, the sound of her voice as she moaned against my lips, her sweat and scent as our bodies moved. Watching her abs contract as she rocked her hips to mine, feeling her breasts tighten and her nipples become harder with each passing thrust.

We were both young, we were fit and lean from our years as Dragon Riders, training as warriors for the people of Berk had given us a certain vigor in the impassioned times of sex. There were limits to our bodies and we often pushed them to those limits together.

I run my hands down her body and back up to her breasts as she keeps hers on my shoulders, her hips rocking back and forth as I move mine up and down, making her body bob up and down as she grinds. My member filling every bit within her, hitting her every point. I felt her muscles contract around the tip of my member amid my thrusts, as if going to such a point that I could go no further. Each time, she let out a low moan as she leaned in and kissed me. Her warm, panting breath combining with mine as our lips lock and our tongues dance again.

We'd have our time to explore at a later time, but now, we were both more than content just staying like this. This was one area I was glad to have her dominate, her be in control, I absolutely loved it when she rode me like this. Our lips part as she presses her forehead to mine and one of her hands reaches behind my neck and cups it as she smiles, breathing heavily.

"I'm close." She whimpers softly, pecking my lips again as I smile, returning the peck and thrusting up again against her grinding. She nearly yelped as I felt her hips contract again and start to shake as her eyes rolled back. "Hiccup! Don't-stop. Ag-again." She murmurs softly as she grinds down more against me, her breath against my lips as I nod, kissing her lips again as my hands slide down to her hip. Helping to guide my thrusts, I thrust up again and again, each one earning another impassioned moan as she leans her head forward and presses her face into my shoulder, muffling her load moan as I keep going, her own grinding increasing as I feel her contracting again and again. The pressure I felt from within her was building to my own pressure as I felt ready to explode within her again.

"I'm close… too." I mutter and she kisses my neck as I feel myself about to explode.

"Do it." She whispers softly and I smile, my thrusting not slowly as I feel myself about to reach a climax and explode. I don't hold back and let go within her, filling her with my passion as she shudders and cries out in pleasure as she reaches her own climax nearly at the same time, as though mine had been the trigger. I can feel her muscles spasm and tighten around my member, her legs shake as her body shivers and she leans into me.

Our hips slow to a mere rock as her abs continue to contract as her hips move and shake, her face buried in my shoulder as her breathing is heavy and shaky. I wrap my arms around her back and hold her, feeling her back slick with sweat and kissing her neck, taking in her scent and closing my eyes. I truly loved how she smelled, especially after we were together like this, it was a difference scent, an alluring one.

We stayed like that for a long while, our bodies slowly relaxing before she slide off of me and just sat there with me for a moment. After those comfortable moments, we each got up together and walked to the bucket and helped each other wipe down before sitting back down together, still naked, still together and very content.

"We both needed that." She whispers softly as my hands had found their way back around her waist and her hands rested on mine as she leaned back into my chest, one of her legs draping over mine as her head rested on my shoulder.

"Anytime you need that, you let me know, milady." I tease, kissing her shoulder as she smiles softly and moans lightly, closing her eyes.

"Careful I don't take you up on that and we start taking risks." She teases.

"Like the Academy?" I ask playfully and she nods.

"Gods, that was so alluring, I felt so fevered. Definitely that." She answers softly and I smile, tracing her shoulder with my lips, kissing up her neck to her ear where I lightly bit her earlobe and smile.

"I'll take you anywhere you want, however you want, whenever you want." I state softly and I just hear her moan softly.

"Mmm, good to know." She answers.

We stayed like that for a few hours, honestly, until the day was nearly done and darkness began to fall. It was another day where I was on Berk that I wasn't sought out for remedial tasks, though I still felt obligated to make an appearance to the rest of the town. As dusk began to approach, I could feel Astrid's soft breaths as her chest rose slightly; we had fallen asleep like that for over an hour. Kissing her neck again, I feel her start to stir as she moves slightly.

"Mmm, what?" She whispers.

"Are you hungry? Want to go to the Great Hall for dinner tonight? Maybe take a dusklit flight around the island together then go to the Hall. Might be nice to make an appearance and check in with the people." I ask and she nods, turning her head and smiling before leaning in and kissing me.

"Sounds perfect, let's get dressed and head on over." She answers softly and smiles. Sitting up, she pauses and looks back at me and smiles. "Thank you." She says and I turn my head in confusion.

"For what?" I ask only to see her shake her head lightly with her smile never fading.

"Being you. Come on, let's go." She says and takes my hand, pulling me up. Together, we get dressed and head out on our dragons. The air was still cold, but our bodies and hearts were filled with nothing but warmth that'd stave off even the coldest of winters.