I think twenty chapters to fuck is a personal best for me. I never usually have that much self control haha.
Also (just as I was setting up to work on this!) if you potter on over to my tumblr (Heathenvampires) you will find a really adorable thing made by diamondsinmyhair for this fic, and I haven't stopped smiling about it for like half an hour at this point.
-HTTYD-
Eret slumbered on at her side, warm and affectionate even in his sleep as he held her close. Valka watched him, occasionally glancing up to the ceiling where Cloudjumper and Tripfire hung. When the angry, injured trapper had first literally leapt into her life, Valka couldn't wait to get rid of him.
Now she could scarcely imagine being without him, after he'd slowly wormed his way under her skin and into her heart.
There were bruises forming on his shoulder where Valka had bitten him, a little lost in the heat of the moment earlier though Eret hadn't seemed to mind, winking when he caught her looking at the bite marks earlier over dinner. Oh, she'd been so nervous when they first laid down together; Eret had been candid with his tales of nights in taverns, that he'd bedded more women (and men, though he shared that rather more quietly) than he could reliably keep count of through the years he'd spent at sea. Valka's sole sexual experience laid many years back as a young, virginal bride, and she'd feared being unable to measure up.
Eret had been beyond gentlemanly, really, checking on her and offering to stop when he saw her in discomfort, taking his time with her until her body relaxed for him.
Gods was she glad they hadn't gone through with that drunken Snoggletog night. They'd fallen together so naturally instead, and it left her with a smile on her face and a sense of contentment in her chest.
Sex with Stoick had been... nice, she supposed, but Valka had been every bit the inexperienced bride on their wedding night, and there had been other nights where the Chief was tired and stressed and simply wanted the creature comfort of his wife before he rolled over to sleep. She'd still been growing back then, while Stoick was a fully grown man. Not the largest age gap on the island, and given how she struggled to fit in with her tribe on Berk Valka wasn't likely to be swamped in marriage offers, so to be wed to the Chief was quite something, but still, those first nights hadn't been particularly pleasant.
A grown woman herself now and more than strong enough to physically contend with Eret, their first time together had been very pleasant. As had their first nights sleeping alongside each other; she'd denied it to Mala, but Valka had been lonely. The simple intimacy of just holding each other through sleep, the most vulnerable moment for any animal, had been more than she'd experienced in over fifteen years.
Oh gods, Mala was going to be so smug about her 'knowing' something would happen between Valka and Eret. Still, Valka wasn't too upset considering it was a development that made her quite happy.
As she turned onto her side to settle down properly and sleep herself, Eret shifted behind her and snuggled Valka tightly before he stilled again, bringing a smile to her face. Her mind did spare thoughts for Hiccup, knowing that taking up a relationship with Eret meant that if she did ever find her son again, she'd have to answer for another man in her life to him.
When she woke, Eret was already awake and watching her sleep through soft, half-closed eyes.
"Morning."
There was a brief hesitation there in his face; like he'd asked her the night before, Eret seemed afraid that Valka would have regrets. Valka did the only reassuring thing she could think of and kissed him, both with small smiles on their faces when they parted.
"Good morning."
Visibly relieved, Eret didn't actually move, seeming rather keen to stay there in bed with her. Much as Valka would enjoy the luxury of that herself, the dragons were waking and she doubted either Stormcutter would let them get away with skipping breakfast or morning flights. Especially Cloudjumper, who was still a little unsure about the whole thing and in need of reassurance that Valka hadn't abandoned him for Eret.
"Come on, up you get."
"Ugh, you're so mean to me!"
Eret rose from the bed with a pout, his back bearing faint red lines that made Valka's face heat, memories of exactly how he'd taken her to pieces last night sparking in her belly. He left for the bathroom while Valka put a couple of logs in the firepit for Cloudjumper to light up, pampering her dragon with affectionate scratches and nuzzles until he was purring lightly.
"All yours, I'm gonna go check on my chickens."
Tripfire ambled off after Eret while Valka got ready for the day herself, and they followed breakfast with a gentle morning flight through air that carried the smell of yesterdays storm. They landed on a nearby island where several plants grew wild, many of which they used in salves and medicine for themselves and the dragons. Eret whistled as he carefully selected which ones to take and which to leave to keep the native population of them seeding, smiled when he looked up and saw Valka watching him.
"I know, I know, you're wondering how I can be this handsome and get anything done right?"
"No, I'm wondering how I forgot how irritating you are last night."
Eret cracked up laughing, placing the bundle of rock blossoms into one of Tripfire's saddlebags before he crossed over and kissed Valka soundly.
"I'll help you forget again later, if you like."
And with that he winked and went back to picking plants, spring in his step and sparkle of mischief in his eye. Determined not to let him fluster her, Valka resolutely went about scouting out some special ferns they were low on, feeling Eret's eyes on her the entire time. He was completely ridiculous and she couldn't help but adore him.
Watching him later as he played with baby dragons, Valka was reminded of a comment he'd made back on that island where he was pretending to be her repugnant husband, a world away from the gentle man he really was.
"Eret."
He looked up, baby Nightmare wriggling in his arms for more belly tickles.
"Yeah?"
"There's... something we should talk about."
His head tipped to the side, indicating Valka should sit by him. She did so, felt his fingers lace through hers while the other hand continued pacifying the dragon in his lap.
"What's up?"
"I... well, you are quite a bit younger than I am."
Eret looked confused as he nodded.
"Right..."
"I realise you didn't say it with any real intent back then, but you did comment to that vile creature on the trapper island about my age."
He looked up at the ceiling, Valka's heart beating a nervous rhythm in her chest as he searched his memories before realisation dawned.
"Is this about... are you trying to have the baby talk with me?"
"I... yes."
"Right. Well... I hadn't thought too hard about it until you brought it up, to be honest. But... if you're trying to tell me you think you are too old to have another child" the fact he acknowledged that she already had a child, even in passing, it definitely made Valka adore him all the more than if he pretended her life before the dragons meant nothing "then I'm gonna be straight and say thats probably a good thing."
"Oh?"
He gestured around them, earning a sound of discontent from the dragon in his lap for the cessation of tickles.
"Yeah. I mean, this is no place to try and raise a baby is it? What would we do when there's a big rescue on? It's not like dragons can change them or nurse a kid. And even if it wasn't about that, if I had to pick between having a kid and being with you... I'd choose you."
The way he said it was almost casual, as though Eret wasn't making a pretty heavy statement to someone he'd only been... whatever they were now, for all of a month. Of course, their feelings had been budding away for much longer, but still...
"Eret, I..."
He shrugged, smiling.
"You don't have to say anything. Just know that I mean it."
Squeezing her hand, Eret stayed quiet other than to laugh when his little dragon friend wriggled happily with little dragon laughs, enjoying the tummy tickles. Tripfire was napping, else she'd likely have demanded similar treatment from her human friend.
When they retired to bed together again that night, Eret took the news Valka was still feeling a little tender with no complaint and just cuddled her close.
"It's fine, really. You never have to worry about saying no to me, alright?"
Valka nodded, Eret kissing her with a smile before he settled more comfortably in their bed. Cloudjumper stuck his head around the doorway first, seemingly checking he wasn't walking in on anything (or was, so he could interrupt Valka giggled to herself) before he and a handful of other dragons entered the room to settle down for the night. Tripfire leant over the bed for a final chin scratch from Eret before she suspended herself upside down for sleep.
They were ripped from a peaceful slumber by a very anxious Shovelheim who'd been out scouting, half-asleep but used to rushing into their armour in an emergency. It wasn't that often they had to go on a raid in the middle of the night, as most hunters didn't go dragon trapping in the dark, but some would transport under the cover of a black sky and so there were nights they spent out on rescues to stop them. Eret was rather sweet to watch when half asleep, a little clumsy and stopping to yawn with half his armour on while Tripfire sat ruffling her wings impatiently with her saddle on the floor in front of them. If she could put it on herself, Valka felt sure she'd have mastered it by then.
His dragon grumbled as Eret packed dried meats and water bladders before he put her saddle on, seeing Valka roll her eyes as she waited crouched on Cloudjumper's back.
"Hey, there's a lot more of me than you, and not once have you been mad I remembered snacks for a long flight. C'mon, lets go."
He yawned into his gloved hand as they took off, confident enough to hold his saddle grip one handed even on ascending flights now. The brisk night air shook the residual tiredness from their systems, the energy of an upcoming rescue thrumming as the scouts led them on the trail. Eret's sleepy grousing was replaced by his single-minded intention to help her rescue dragons as they slipped through the night, closing in on the convoy of ships full of dragons.
Eret had come a long way from looking to Valka for instructions and tripping over himself to get to cages. Valka barely had to look his way to know he would be dodging trappers and freeing dragons en masse, jumping over dragon tails without looking down as he disabled a bola-shooter as Valka and Cloudjumper moved past him to free a couple more dragons. He was at her side before Valka even worried for him when she was accosted by hunters, team effort taking the enemy down as Stormcutter fire tore through the deck around them. Satisfied she was alright, Eret disappeared below deck and soon there were dragons bursting through the disintegrating ship deck, free to the sky at last as Eret reappeared.
Mindful claws lifted them bodily from one ship to the next before they repeated their tactics there, sword and staff and scaled companions an effective arsenal that broke free several dozen dragons from cramped cages and tiny cells. Many fled the second their wings felt freedom, but more still stayed to help. Or possibly get revenge. Eret whistled to her, a signal he'd found one too injured to fly and so Valka guided one of their carrier dragons over with her staff, their wordless communication much better than it used to be.
There was soot on his armour when they finally flew away from what was left of the ships, enough dragons liberated that Valka was proud of the dent in the dragon trade they'd made that night. Eret brushed at it and most of it came away, revealing the bright colours beneath that reflected off both he and Tripfire in the moonlight.
He was easily entrusted to handle half the workload of tending to the injured - Eret had handled all of it when Valka was injured herself, though he'd had to ask advice on occasion and then made Cloudjumper keep her from leaving her own rest. They ensured the sick were well tended to afterwards, and only then did Eret pull her close and kiss her deeply, passionately as he held her tight.
"You are incredible, you know that?"
"You are quite something yourself."
Her heart thumped faster in her chest, feeling almost... giddy when Eret looked at her as he did just then, possibly not even aware of just how much Valka marvelled over him.
Eret was a hope she didn't know she'd had; when Valka chose dragons over people, it was with a solid knowledge that she'd never be able to show the truth to another, that humans were just too incapable of change. She didn't know what to do with that hope, not yet, but in Eret she had someone who proved change was possible on some level. And until then, she had... a lover, a companion who enriched her days and her nights just by being there, who challenged and accepted her and who believed as strongly as Valka did that the dragons deserved to be safe and protected, and who was willing to charge into the fray with her.
He was so many things Valka didn't know she needed until she had them, and she was so very thankful Eret had been willing to see that dragons were such wonderful creatures, that he'd had the capacity to fight through the pain that brought him to trapping to begin with, and that he'd been willing to stay.
-HTTYD-
Honestly I love these two a whole lot. And Cloudfire.