If there was one thing Vikings new how to do, it was throw a celebration and not clean up after themselves before turning in for the night. That meant it would be a busy day for Hiccup. By the time we landed, the sun was nearing cresting the horizon and the first sounds of the roosters were sounding. The village would slowly start coming to life and it'd be a day of catch-up.
I made it back to my hut after bidding him a good day and found Stormfly nestled in her pen. Taking some fresh chicken meat, I roused her from her sleep and fed her a healthy breakfast before taking to the skies. It has become customary for us to share a morning flight around the island, with just us. And while I wouldn't trade it for almost anything, I still wish I could spend it with him too. Responsibilities get in the way sometimes, but that's okay. He has the responsibilities of a Chief, not just to me.
Besides, I have my own things to worry about today. First person I needed to track down was Valka, which isn't hard. She's either with the Dragons or with Hiccup helping him throughout the day. As luck would have it, she was with the Dragons, leading a flock of dragons around the island on Cloudjumper. Perfect time to talk.
Circling Stormfly into the flock, I gain on her and level out next to her. It doesn't take her long to notice that one of the dragons in her flock had another rider and I heard her laugh.
"Hello, my dear Astrid. How are you and Stormfly on this beautiful morning?" She asks, rather cheerfully.
"Great! Just finished a morning flight. You seem like you're in a good mood!" I questioningly comment with a half-smile and she nods. Slowly she has Cloudjumper move closer to Stormfly and sits down on the giant dragon's back.
"Ah-ha, yes. It's Hiccup. I halfway expected him to hole up in his hut today, locking in his own mind thinking about Stoick. More than a few of us had expected it, to be honest. But he was still the first one in the Hall this morning, helping reorganize it and clean. He almost seemed like a new person." Valka admits and, in my heart, I can't help but feel warm as I smile.
"He's stronger than most give him credit for." I say softly and hear her chuckle.
"Oh, I know. He's my son. Speaking of, how was your flight?" She asks and my breath hitches
"Uh, great. Stormfly really likes stretching her wings in the morning."
"I meant the flight before that, Astrid." She states with a motherly gaze and smile.
"What do you mean?"
"Come now, I may not be as spry as I once was but I'm not blind. I saw Toothless take off in the wee early morning hours last night as the Moon crested the high point. And I saw two riders." She says, stopping her walk and pressing a hand to my shoulder. "So?"
"It was good. Really good." I admit. No sense lying to his mom. She only smiles and nods before resuming her stride. As I move to catch up, I reach out then grab my arm with my hand as I walk besides her. "Speaking of, I have a question, if you don't mind… it might be considered, uh, personal?" I state
"Nothing is too personal from my future daughter-in-law" Valka confidently says mid stride and I gulp.
"Ha, ha ha. Yeah. Um. I wanted to know more about that song. The one you and Stoick shared." I say, my voice trailing off, unsure how she'd react. There is a long pause during her walk where I almost want to run away but she lets loose a long breath and nods.
"Why don't you join me for lunch, Astrid. I've even got some chicken for Stormfly at my hut. Come on." Valka says and motions me over to the direction of her hut.
After settling Stormfly and Cloudjumper, Valka boiled some fish and served it with some yak milk and we ate in silence for a few minutes. I'll be honest, it was a bit awkward at first. I've never shared a meal with just her before and I couldn't tell where she was going with it. She had a certain presence about her that could be intimidating. After cleaning up the food plates and refilling the yak milk cups, she settled at the table and nodded.
"I noticed you have a new piece of accessory." She says, pointing to the Deadly Nadder inscribed metal piece. I half smiled, wondering if she'd notice the merged house crests. And, of course, she did. "The insignia on it is beautiful too. Hiccup?" She asked and I nodded. "Well, the boy is nothing if not creative. I saw him with a new dagger on his right-hand gauntlet. I thought it odd, he usually doesn't do weapons, but I didn't ask." She stated, taking another drink and looking at me. Why do I even need to talk, the awareness of this woman is down-right creepy. Though, it did make me smile knowing he already had it worn.
"Yes. They were our own, unique, betrothal gifts to each other. We each had the mind of doing something just for each other. Not just something that's been handed down. Speaking of" I paused and reached into my knapsack and pulled out his original betrothal gift. The one Stoick gifted Valka. "I wanted to give this back to you, to remember Stoick. I was going to last night, but got, um, sidetracked." I admit with a sheepish grin. She shakes her head and closes my hand around the gift.
"Stoick gave that to Hiccup to give to you. Its yours now." She says with a soft smile before leaning back. "So, you wanted to know about the song?" She asks and I nod. "How much do you know about it?"
"Not much. Just that it was the last thing Hiccup saw you and Stoick do together before, well. And he sang it to me last night with his eyes closed. Like he was reliving that scene in his mind." I say.
"We wrote that song together. We each had our own lines, our own versus. We sang and danced it at our wedding in front of the whole village." Valka says softly. "It was our song. Most Berkian couples have their own song. Some less rhythmic than others." She chuckles and I internally groan, I could only imagine what a Jorgenson or Thorsten song was like. Made me shudder.
"How? How did you write it?" I ask uncertainly, looking away.
"We followed our hearts, dear. As I suggest you do when you talk to Hiccup about this later." She says with a smile.
"I- What? How did you?" I stammer and she just chuckled.
"I'm a mother." She answers simply, placing her hand on the table and prompting me to bring mine to hers. "Just follow your heart, Astrid. I have no doubt in my mind that Hiccup has thought about this like you are now. He just does not know how to ask. Viking men aren't always praised for their sensitivity." Valka says, cupping my hand.
"It's one of the many things that I love most about him." I admit.
"I know. Show him. And don't be afraid to come to me for advice, but ultimately, Astrid, you will need to follow your own heart. Not what someone else thinks you should do or say. Both you and Hiccup deserve each other exactly as you are, not what others think you need to be." Valka says. "I can make a suggestion though." She asks and I nod. "Go on another flight tonight, just the two of you. Let your voice find itself on the wind with each other. And take Stormfly, your dragons are intuitive, I'm sure you'll find they can be of great benefit in these situations." She says and I smile.
Hiccup was right about Valka for sure. I wouldn't get any alone time with him until tonight, so tonight it would be. Gives me plenty of time to think some things up.
Another long day of doing chiefly stuff was nearing an end. The Great Hall was cleaned, the armory resorted and the Dragon Pens under the island were fixed up and cleaned. That and a few minor issues around the village. It seems in the passing years, the twins have not wavered in their undying support for Loki, and that can be problematic at the best of times.
Luckily, our time at the Edge got most of that out of their systems, but there are still occasions where they got a bit carried away. Shockingly, they kept their shenanigans to an unseen minimum on the one-month anniversary. Guess even they have a degree of sympathy underneath.
Thankfully, Odin willing, these past few years of trials our people have faced has brought us closer together. Even the Jorgensen's were less antagonistic than normal, and I remember a time when Snotlout said he wouldn't live at Berk with me as Chief. Brings a chuckle out of me as the day winds down and the sun begins its descent across the horizon. I figured we had maybe thirty minutes of solid daylight left. Enough time for a ride on Toothless, maybe with Astrid, if I could find her. She and my mother had both been mostly missing throughout the day. Though my mother had helped me at the Great Hall this morning.
As I near my hut, I hear the familiar caw of a Nadder outside my hut, playing with Toothless and I smile. She's certainly no stranger anymore. Opening the door, I find her sitting at the table doodling something in a notebook. She'd started carrying one in recent times.
"Hey babe, welcome home" She says, looking up with a smile and honestly the sound of her saying that to me was like music.
"I'm glad to find you here, and that you'd call it home." I admit, pulling up a chair and sitting next to her at the table as she closes the notebook and clasps hands with me.
"Anywhere you are is home for me, Hiccup." She says and leans in, pecking me on the lips as I grip her waist and pull her in closer, turning it from a peck to a full-fledged kiss. She didn't fight it and just smiled into it and after a few seconds, to recover our breath she laughed. "Where did that come from?"
"I'm just really glad you're here." I answer and she smiles
"And here is where I'll stay. I, uh, hope you don't mind." She pauses and gestures above her towards where my bedroom is and I can see a knapsack of her belongings.
"Are you sure?" I ask, looking at her in the eyes. "It's not really traditional to live together before we marry."
"Nothing about anything you have done to Berk is traditional, Hiccup. And it's not, living, yet. Just, staying here. Most of my stuff is still at my parents hut but, you're who I want to be with and" she pauses, looking away as I can see her cheeks turn rosary red.
"And?"
"And sleep next too." She finishes, looking back to me with a smile. I smile and pull her closer, so now she's sitting on my lap as I embrace her.
"You're welcome here with me." I say softly and kiss her a couple times softly on her neck as she lets out a long, happy sigh and maybe even a slight moan. Pulling away but keeping her close, I nod to the notebook. "So, working on anything special?" I ask playfully and she smiles and nods.
"You could say that, I'm having a tough time making it work in my head." She admits, resting her head on my shoulder.
"What is it? Can I ask or is it a secret?" I question with a smile, brushing her hair gently and kissing her on the forehead.
"It's no secret for you. I, um, I've been thinking about that song you sang last night." She says softly and I let out a light laugh.
"Not sure that I really sung it, but yeah." I sheepishly answer.
"Well, I've been thinking about" She starts but trails off, looking down but keeping her head on my shoulder as her embrace tightens. "About…" she mutters again. "About our own… song." She finished and my heart skipped a beat. Surely, I've thought about it.
The last time I've heard her sing was when we encountered Garff the Deathsong Dragon. And ever since seeing my dad and mother dance to that song, I've wanted us to do the same. But we've never really danced. Well, that's not true. Back on the Edge, she started to help train me in fighting and that sort of became a dance for us, then there's our dragon flights…
"Hiccup?" Her voice breaks me out of my train of thought.
"Astrid. I, uh, yes. I've thought of that too. I just wasn't sure how to bring it up to you, not that we've ever danced together either. But, I'd be lying if I said I haven't dreamed about it. We haven't really had a reason to sing or anything like that since Garff was a hatchling." I admit and she traces her hand over my chest and nods.
"I miss that dragon." She sighs
"Maybe one day soon, we can go see if he's still out there. Just the two, er, four of us." I offer and practically feel her heart leap.
"I'd love that." She says, lifting her head from my shoulder and pressing her lips to mine.
This kiss isn't one we break quickly as my right arm snakes around her back and my left cups her neck. She resituates so she's sitting on my lap, facing me, our lips pressed together. I feel her tongue trace my lower lip and my lips part, allowing our tongues to meet for probably the second time. This time, though, there was less apprehension and more appreciation
When we finally break, the fire from the fireplace flickers as we both catch our breath and I laugh.
"And, uh, where did that one come from?" I ask with a smile
"I just wanted to. No other reason, really." She shrugs and smiles.
"Good enough for me." I respond and reach for her notebook. "So, do we want to put our heads together and come up with our own song and dance?" I say, pressing my forehead to hers.
"Thought you'd never ask." She answers and kisses me one more time before resituating again, still on my lap but so we could both look through the book. I won't even try to lie, I never want her to leave my arms again. Her warmth, her smell, her presence, just her, is enough for me to feel at peace with everything.