Ok this is a bit of a filler chapter, because there isn't much story progression but it still has some good stuff crucial to the story line, I was going to continue writing it and make it one big massive chapter but I kept telling myself I want to cut them shorter so I can get them out at a faster pace. Anyways the next chapter should be out soon because it's already in the works but I hope u enjoy this one ^.^


When Astrid woke from the sweat of her blankets, it was still dark outside her windows. Her mind was foggy with sleep as she tried to collect what was real and what wasn't. Only seconds ago, Hiccup's sweet, boyish fingers had been testing the soft skin up and down her thighs.

It was only a dream, she thought highly dissatisfied, yet it had been so vivid, so erotic, it had ripped her right out of her sleep.

She had never really thought much about Hiccup in a sexual light. It wasn't like it was a difficult task to do so, however, it did not appear to be very a common theme within his contents. His manner was so innocent and friendly, that if any dirty sentiments regarding him managed to float their way to the surface, it was because she had exclusively thought of them all on her own.

The boy was a saint; he had this pure, virtuous aura that followed him around and she didn't want to dirty it up with her lustful thoughts.

Sometime during their first real conversation, she had developed an undeniable interest in him. His personality was a breath of fresh air. He was more than fascinating in less than no time.

Astrid couldn't exactly pinpoint when the physical desire started cooking, but now, without a doubt, she was overwhelmingly attracted to his body and she wanted to touch and kiss every inch of his virgin skin.

With a groan of frustration, certain there was no way she was ever going to be able to fall back asleep, she climbed out of bed, threw on a fur robe, and sauntered to the main room, where they kept the furnace and fire pit.

After heating up a few cauldrons of boiling water and carrying them to the other room, she managed to fill the iron tub in about half an hour.

It usually took less time but she was distracted by her thoughts.

The soft whispers and sweet nothings of Hiccup were still fresh in her mind from the promising grip of her dream. She couldn't get the sound of his voice out of her head.

She couldn't stop imagining the feeling of his gentle, unsure lips on hers, or the funny taste of him once she finally was able to slip her tongue into his mouth.

Astrid stripped her robe off and tried not to hiss as she lowered herself into the steaming water.

Now, that she had experienced the high of his evocative flavor it was all she wanted, all she could think about.

She plucked the cork off of a small glass vial filled with a golden serum, honeysuckle almond oil, and added a few generous splashes into the water.

The way she kissed Hiccup—she had never kissed anyone like that before. Physical intimacy was an unfamiliar concept and had been disregarded most of her life. She had never ventured any further than the threshold of innocent playground pecks, which obviously none of them possessed this new passionate savor to them.

The feeling was so fresh and intoxicating, she just couldn't get enough. The moment their lips had touched she was hypnotized. It was a high she had no idea she had been chasing and nothing could replace it.

Over and over, she tried to revisit the feeling, that moment in time when he first opened his mouth, so their tongues could play, a lascivious spell had come over her—she drank him up and couldn't stop.

He had been the one to stop them—the thought haunted her. He seemed to be enjoying the way she kissed him until he decided he had too much and gave up. Perhaps he was worried he wasn't doing something right?

Astrid hoped she hadn't been too forward with him. She had always been the pushy one to instigate any physical interactions between the two of them. It was always her to start the flirting and the teasing, edging closer and grabbing his hand, and now kissing him.

Hiccup seemed to be more than glad to partake in this affectionate behavior, yet she couldn't shake the sense she was being too assertive with him.

She concluded that this sense derived from the guys she was so accustomed to being around. She had never been around a boy so unwilling to make the first move. He needed a push of encouragement. Or perhaps a shove. Or maybe she oughta let him come to her, see how long it takes, but then again, she could be waiting an entire lifetime for that, because Hiccup didn't seem like the type of boy to just grab her and kiss her. However, this was one of the many things she loved about him.

It was strange, she harbored this peculiar attraction to his lack of confidence. She somehow found his shy awkwardness as a turn-on. She loved how opposite he was from the other boys.

Though, she oughta give him some charisma points. Last night, he had been so witty and so cute and had her laughing the whole time. She remembered while laying in bed how her cheeks had hurt from smiling so much.

She had no idea if it was on purpose or not, but Hiccup talked in this husky voice that only occurred when they had been intimate toward each other. She found she really liked hearing him speak that way. It was rather tantalizing, a word she would have never thought of using to describe him.

After she had soaked in the bath for a while and scrubbed her body clean of all her filthy thoughts, she got dressed, deciding to get an early start for the day.

Astrid tied her long braid's end off with a little blue ribbon and after debating it back and forth in her head, she finally dabbed a bit of cocoa butter on her lips to make them softer and sweeter. She wasn't sure what the day would entail, but she would make a point to steal another kiss from Hiccup.

Lunch wasn't such a big deal today. She was delighted to sit at Hiccup's crummy, corner table again. Although she desperately wanted to, she and Hiccup did not talk about the kiss. She was going to bring it up, but she convinced herself not to. She told herself that she should just cut him a break from all the hot and bothered teasing. However, in all actuality, this was the least of her concerns. For the first time, she was truly too nervous to vocalize her thoughts.

Astrid decided that she wasn't going to overthink every second of his presence and just wanted to resonate with the friendly, childlike energy that radiated from him. So they leaned their heads together and looked through his Book of Dragons some more, unbothered this time around, their backs turned to the rest of the world.

She couldn't help but notice how he didn't bother to touch his lunch again, but she didn't say anything about it.

Astrid thanked the stars, Cato didn't cause an explosive scene this time. When she stole a little glimpse his way, she was relieved to see him sulking over his plate, meanwhile, his friends beside him were continuing their merry day, laughing and attacking each other with their vegetables.

She had known Cato for a long time and at one point would have called them friends, but right now, she did not feel that way and she did not feel bad for him. He had been growing stale for some time, but, now, with the foul way he was behaving, he had tarnished himself in her eyes. It would take a lifetime of apologies for him to redeem himself.

After lunch, when Hiccup said he had to go work the forge again, it was a struggle for

Astrid to hide her disappointment. If he noticed, he didn't say anything and after giving it some thought, she actually preferred it that way.

With minimal planning, she told him she would catch up with him later, uncertain where and when, but she would find him, somehow. There were only so few places he could be.

Wondering what she could possibly do all day without a boy to entertain her, it dawned on her that she had never had this dilemma before, much less thought process. All her life it was always about her, every decision had been a selfish one for her own best interest. She would always find a way to be proactive with her time, with or without the company of friends. Never once had she stopped and thought for a second, 'oh what am I going to do today without this person,' or 'oh I'll be so bored without so and so,' until this very moment.

Unappetizingly, she settled for some defensive training with one of her girlfriends.

The subtle breeze was warm and crisp, promising a great day for a swim, although, she wouldn't take one. The pleasant sun was dousing a tan on their exposed arms and faces, and with every step was a crunch of dry leaves and stray sticks amid the path.

"So what's your deal, Astrid?" Ruffnut did not waste a second of time with idle small talk while they walked the trail together towards the training arena.

Surprisingly enough, she and her brother were some of the exclusive Viking teenagers permitted by Cato and his wicked friend group to sit at the center table, where the other alleged 'cool' kids ate lunch and every so often dinner.

"What do you mean?" Astrid replied absently, already knowing what she was referring to.

"Like you haven't sat with us for the past two days?"

Like I'm assigned to sit there?

"Yeah, I've been sitting with Hiccup Haddock, instead," she answered matter-of-factly.

"I know, I saw that," Ruffnut raised her brows in bewilderment, "I don't get it, though. Is it a prank or something?"

"No. What?" Astrid couldn't understand why it was such an outlandish concept to everyone else. "I just wanted to sit with him. He's actually really cool."

"Yeah, I mean, I personally don't have anything against him," Ruffnut defended herself, then smirked impishly, "I honestly think he's cute."

Astrid's stomach fluttered at her words. Naturally, she wanted to join in and make a fuss over him with the other girl but she said nothing of the sort.

"Did they talk about me? Or him?"

"Well, duh. No shit, they talked," said Ruffnut. "Most of them weren't really bothered, though. Just kind of confused? But um, Cato's pretty pissed about the whole thing."

"Yeah, trust me, I know," Astrid sighed heavily recalling the details of their exhausting, little spats.

"Today, he was weirdly quiet but definitely still really mad," Ruffnut explained, "But yesterday, he wouldn't shut up about you guys, then he finally snapped and went over there when…"

"When what?" Astrid demanded, the anticipation gripping her.

Ruffnut hesitated for a second, then finally spit it out.

"When Snotlout said Hiccup would be the one to take your virginity."

"What!?" Astrid's face burned red hot. It was a graphic thing to say out loud, yet she would not deny it, though she did try to brush it off, "I swear he's always trying to provoke some shitstorm."

"Well, you know Snotlout, he's such an asshole," Ruffnut acknowledged, then to Astrid's fear, "But, uh, anyway, is it true?"

"Is what true?" Astrid gave her a side-eye.

"You and Hiccup," Ruffnut bounced her eyebrows playfully.

"I mean, we're friends," She danced around the answer, feeling her face grow hot again.

"Friends? That's cute," Ruff smirked, "But come on, you can tell me the truth. I'm not going to say anything, I swear."

Although Astrid had known Ruffnut for most of her life, she was still on the fence about trusting her with sensitive information, considering she shared the same air she breathed with her twin brother.

For some reason, though, the topic of boys seemed different. Perhaps, it was exempt from all the pointless things Ruff would share with her brother. It felt like Astrid could open up to her; she was one of her only girlfriends after all.

"Okay, maybe I kissed him," Astrid bit her lip in an attempt to fight her unstoppable smile.

"No way!" Ruffnut gasped, covering her mouth. "You need to tell me everything. Don't leave anything out. Give me all the juicy details! How was he?"

"He was, um…he was nice," Astrid said vaguely, absorbed by the arousing memory of Hiccup's hot mouth on hers, "Gentle…um, inexperienced, I guess, but in a good way."

"Mmm, you're so lucky," Ruffnut hugged herself as she imagined it. "I've been waiting forever for some mouth-to-mouth action with one of these cuties."

Astrid couldn't help but roll her eyes in amusement, although she really did like talking about this kind of thing with another girl. It made her feel like the older girls she used to look up to—so mature, being able to discuss such sensual details.

"You have to tell me, did he slip you any tongue?"

Astrid's heart did a backflip for the unexpected question.

"Well…kind of, I had to do it first though," she couldn't help biting her lip again as she remembered his funny flavor that she had been craving all day.

Ruffnut screeched accordingly.

It was quite exciting to feed little bits of her girlish attraction to a friend.

"Honestly I'm kind of surprised," Ruff said, "I didn't think you were into boys like Hiccup Haddock."

"Me neither, honestly. Until I ran into him the other day and actually started talking to him."

"But he is really such a dork. Wait—is that why it's actually kinda hot?" Ruffnut's jaw dropped dramatically as if she had solved some ongoing mystery. "No, that is so hot."

"Ruff, I've never met anyone so remarkable in my whole life. He's like an angel or something."

"Woah, you're in love," Ruffnut's blue eyes widened crazily as she came to her conclusion.

"Shut up! Don't say that. I am NOT in love. We just started hanging out a few days ago."

"Astrid's in lo-ove," Ruffnut sang.

"Seriously, cut it out," she had gone the color of a tomato, her cheeks burned to the touch. "It's just a little crush. And please try not to spill too much to Ramsey or the other guys, especially Cato."

"Aww why-yyy?" Ruff teased. "Are you guys trying to keep this little fling a secret or something?"

"No, I mean—not really. It's not like that. I just honestly don't want those idiots to have more reasons to wanna hurt him. Just try to keep it on the low."

Astrid knew that if it ever came down to it, if one of those guys were to lay even a finger on Hiccup, that would mean war and she would slaughter them all…or at least make them bleed and break a bone or two.

"Yeah, okay, okay. I won't say anything," Ruff threw her hands up innocently, "I'll be cool."

"Thank you."

Upon entering the arena, a part of Astrid wanted to linger behind Ruffnut to try to hide out of view from everyone, but it just wasn't in her blood to act like that. She reminded herself that she wasn't a frightened little mouse. She was a fucking tiger. A fierce, powerful warrior, and no boy would ever intimidate her.

When they walked in, they first made their way toward the weapon racks so Ruffnut could get equipped. While Astrid followed, she scanned over the training occupants, hoping none of them would have enough balls to confront her about her alleged scandalous behavior.

She caught sight of Cato from a debatably safe distance. He was wielding this considerable, two-handed mallet, a choice of weapon that wasn't his usual style and was swinging it relentlessly against a battered, wooden training dummy. She guessed he might be letting off steam due to this whole situation constantly working against his wishes.

Even from a distance, she could detect the rage in his powerful hits and she couldn't help but wonder if he was imagining his maltreated target was Hiccup.

Though it was only a plausible theory she had just spun up in her head, it was enough to kickstart the protective instincts in her wolfish heart.

She wanted to take her axe and brutally massacre whatever wooden combat pell was in his immediate view to demonstrate the wrath he would suffer if he crossed Hiccup again.

However, her idea swam away as her flight or flight might have triggered when Snotlout was the first person to notice their female presence.

"Where's your boyfriend?" He sneered a greeting as he swaggered over to them.

Astrid took notice past Snotlout's smug face, at the way Cato had stopped his vicious swings to listen with a sudden pique of interest.

"He isn't my boyfriend. Just saying, since you've all been breaking your necks to know so bad," Astrid retorted sharply.

"Hmm. Well, you could have fooled me," the condescending tone in his voice was already biting a nerve.

He rotated his shoulders dramatically so they would crack loudly, perhaps a gesture in an attempt to impress them.

"Did you get bored of him already and come to see me?"

Cato was looking their way.

"You wish. Hiccup's actually very busy working today," she narrowed her eyes as she made him out to be so mature, "so now, I have to find ways to distract myself."

"I can think of a few," Snotlout's tone sent her skin crawling as he advanced a step towards her.

"Gross," she could help but cringe, taking a step back accordingly, "Not a chance in hell."

"Hey, I don't know what you're suggesting," he played stupid as he tried to turn it on her, his blue eyes gleaming with amusement, "I just meant we could practice some archery or something."

"You know, Snot," Ruffnut piped up, seizing his brawny arm. "I happen to be on the market for available bachelorettes," she batted her eyelashes rapidly under his disgruntled gaze.

She doubted Ruff's intentions were to step in and save her, but her sudden advances on him worked in Astrid's favor to distract him from the mild pursuit.

"Relax, Ruffnut," he threw an arm over her shoulder, "There's plenty of me to go around."

He leaned in close to Ruff's face and raised his eyebrow suggestively.

"We can all fit in my bed."

Ruffnut opened her mouth to say something, but Astrid cut her words off before giving her any time to entertain his vile idea.

"No, thank you! We're good," she maintained an upbeat demeanor as she snatched Ruffnut off of him, pulling the other girl to her side, "Now, if your interrogation is over, please, go away so we can actually get some practice in."

The sly smile never left Snotlout's face as he shook his head with a sigh, "I love it when you play hard to get."

It surprised her how easy it was when he actually walked away.

Astrid watched how his distancing figure made the mistake of heading in Cato's direction and was forcefully stopped, perhaps for some questioning of his own because he had just been seen talking to her.

It was funny to her because it seemed that intimating harmless guys and pursuing pointless matters was all Cato had left now, considering Hiccup was practically untouchable at this point.

Unlike everyone else in the world, as it seemed, Astrid was not scared, even the slightest bit, of Cato. It felt as if she was peering through a sunglass and could see every malevolent particle of his translucent façade.

If he wanted to swing his stupid mallet so hard, she would just have to swing her axe harder. She would make a point to appear violent in front of him.

"Alright, let's practice," she said, turning to Ruffnut. "I wanna get this urge to break things out of my system."