Reaching Berk didn't take long, usual flight time and once they were there it shocked the villagers to see the others on dragons. Hiccup got them riding? And more of a surprise was getting to meet the Bewilderbeast, Icefire and all the other dragons that traveled back with them. Hiccup explained about the dragon riding and that the dragons with them would be staying for their own safety since the hunters and other enemies of his were out searching for them. It was interesting to see and made others curious about doing the same, the dragon riding that was, but of course, sleep was very much needed before anything else on the matter was discussed. Hiccup was beat from all the training and then flying back, he could afford to sleep on Toothless during the flight because he had to make sure the others were good with the riding. Now it was two weeks later, and he was still teaching them more about their dragons and flying styles.
Today, Hiccup was helping Gobber out in the forge. The blacksmith loved having a helper with all the weapons and bonus that he didn't have to teach him anything because Hiccup already knew his way around a forge. Gobber had stepped out to help Stoick with something so Hiccup was in there alone working on inventions of his or fine tuning a few old ones. He was working in the back room when he heard a familiar voice. Astrid's.
"Gobber? You in here?" she called from the front window, Hiccup got up and moved out there to see her and smiled. "Oh! Hi, Hiccup." she greeted smiling back.
"Hey, Astrid. Sorry, Gobber's helping my Dad with somethin'. Maybe...I can help you?" Hiccup offered.
"I just came by to get my ax fixed, missed my target earlier and cracked it a little. It has some nicks in it also..." Astrid told him as she brought her ax onto the counter as Hiccup picked it up to inspect the crack and nicks.
"Good craftsmanship on it, I can tell it's almost to its sharpening point. It's an old ax, isn't it?" Hiccup asked.
"I was afraid I'd be told that one day, and yeah, it is. I've had it since I was like five...So, can't be fixed huh?" Astrid sighed a little looking down.
"Well, I didn't say that," Hiccup replied.
"It can't be sharpened past the limit. Gobber warned me it would likely shatter it to pieces and I don't want to lose it completely...I-I can get a new ax to use but I don't want to lose that one. Means a lot to me," Astrid kept her eyes on her ax sadly.
"Why don't you leave it with me for a few days and let me see if I can't work a little magic for you?" Hiccup told her.
"Hiccup...Please, don't destroy my ax. I've had that a long time, my uncle gave it to me and it's...kind of all I have left of him," Astrid pleaded softly.
"I won't destroy it. I promise, Astrid. Give me a few days with it okay?" Hiccup smiled and she nodded to him. "So, going flying with Stormfly today?" he inquired setting her ax down on his workspace so he could work on it later.
"Probably since I can't practice my ax throwing at the moment. We're still working on twirls and pull out dives last minute," Astrid shrugged.
"I could help you with that if you want," Hiccup offered smiling.
"Could you really?" Astrid asked quickly, Hiccup nodded just as Gobber was returning.
"Of course. Hey, Gobber, I'm gonna head early okay? Little dragon training before dinner," Hiccup told him, Gobber nodded as Hiccup left the forge and gave a whistle for Toothless and the Night Fury hurried over. Hiccup got on his back and then offered his hand to Astrid as she looked at him curiously. "Trust me," Astrid grabbed his hand as he pulled her up behind him. "Hang on," Astrid put her hands around his waist and held on tightly as Hiccup patted Toothless's head as the dragon took to the sky.
"Alright, so...how is riding Toothless going to help me on Stormfly?" Astrid asked once they were in the air.
"Because if you do it with someone else, you do can do it on your own. You gotta get a feel for it instead of just see it," Hiccup explained when they had leveled out in the sky as the sun was starting to set. On the ground, Hilda, Valka, and Stoick were watching Emma for Hiccup since he'd been in the forge and now they were all watching him in the sky with Toothless and Astrid.
"Okay, I'm ready," Astrid nodded to him, Hiccup stood up and walked behind her as she moved up and held the saddle tightly and he sat behind her.
"In a twirls, rolls, or anything really, you have to hang on tightly and move with your dragon. It also helps to lean with them a little. So for instance...Toothless, barrel roll!" Hiccup called to his friend as he leaned and moved Astrid the same way when Toothless span around fast and after a few times they leveled again.
"I think I got it, so what about dive pullups?" Astrid asked curiously.
"It's all timing," Hiccup instructed, "So let's try something different. You might have an easier time learning the timing if you had a...goal per say." Hunter stated.
"What...kind of a goal?" Astrid asked.
"The kind where you save someone." Hiccup grinned as he got up and slipped off of Toothless. Astrid's eyes widened in fear as she turned Toothless around and placed him in a dive to go after Hiccup. Astrid leaned a little and reached for his hand, pulling him up behind her as he held on and she bit her bottom lip before pulling back on the handles. Toothless pulled up right before they hit the ground and soared back up into the sky, her panting heavily before they eased back to the ground and landed.
"YOU JERK!" she punched his arm, "You scared me! What if I hadn't made it in time? What if you got really hurt?!" Astrid exclaimed
"Astrid, I think you're missing the point here. You did the moves," Hiccup told her softly.
"And what if I hadn't!" Astrid yelled at him now, clearly showing concern that he let himself be in danger in the mere hope she would know what to do.
"Then Toothless would have taken over and done it anyway. The point is, you DID do it. And now I know if I'm ever in trouble who can save me. I trust you to have my back, Astrid." Hiccup smiled as he winked at her then took Emma from his mother and kissed her cheek. "Hello beautiful,"
"Hi, Papa! I had the funnest day with Gammy, Gampa, and Auntie. They showed me all over Berk, even where your old room used to be when you were a baby!" Emma exclaimed.
"Really now, I'm glad you had fun. I bet you're hungry now," Hiccup hugged her tightly as she nodded her head up and down.
"Time for dinner then," Stoick laughed as Hiccup walked with them to the hall leaving Hilda behind with Astrid.
"You get any redder in the face and people are going to think you need to see Gothi," Hilda giggled a little bit.
"Shut up, he scared the hell out of me..." Astrid sighed heavily.
"But Astrid, he trusts you!" Hilda reminded, "Where's your ax?"
"Oh, Hiccup has it in the forge. He's going to try and fix it for me, though, I don't know how. It's almost to it's sharpening limit, plus it has a lot of nicks and cracks in it, I don't know if he can." Astrid sighed a bit.
"I'm sure he can fix it, there isn't much that Hiccup can't do so far. It's amazing to have him around, I still find it weird my brother is alive and in our lives...My parents have never been happier, and he has little Emma. She's so well behaved," Hilda smiled.
"I know right, and he's so handsome too. I love the auburn hair and green eyes, you both have it in fact." Astrid stated.
"When are you going to tell him you like him?" Ruffnut inquired, of course, little did they know that Hiccup was actually standing pretty close and listening to the conversation. He had come back to get something out Toothless's bag and overheard Astrid call him handsome. And now he was finding out she liked him?
"It's...too soon to tell him. We only just got back here two weeks ago and he's still adjusting to not being in the nest. Besides, even if I like him, it doesn't mean he likes me back," Astrid then walked away from them to return to her house.
'She likes me? Like-likes me?' Hiccup thought as he grabbed what he needed from Toothless's bag then returned to the Great Hall. Fifteen minutes later, he saw Astrid coming in with the others as he just looked at her. So she liked him in that way, of course his heart longed for Selby but he knew she was gone now and wouldn't want him to sit around missing his life. Did this mean he wanted to move on right now, not in the slightest. He didn't think he could until he dealt with Drago. Something else he remembered is that Astrid's birthday was coming up and he now knew what he could give her.
(A Week Later)
It took him longer than expected but he got done what he planned to do and today was Astrid's party. Her gift was wrapped up and secured to his back as he got on Toothless's back and took to the sky to reach the Great Hall for the party, it was just a small get together of Astrid family and friends. Stoick and Valka were coming too, Hilda had Emma there with her already. Hiccup was the last one to arrive since he had last minute additions to the gift for Astrid, landing with Toothless, Hiccup got off and left his friend with the other dragons outside as he entered the hall.
"Papa! There you are," Emma exclaimed as she wriggled from her grandmother's arms and rushed over to him, jumping up into his arms.
"Sorry little one, I was finishing Astrid's gift." Hiccup smiled as he faced Astrid now, "Happy birthday,"
"Thank you, I'm glad you could pull yourself away from the forge to come," Astrid told him gently.
"Wouldn't miss it for the all the metal in the world," Hiccup replied as she blushed at the remark, "I'm here now so let's get this party started,"
"Finally, Astrid wouldn't start without you," Snotlout stated. The time ticked away as Hiccup sat at one of the tables with a mug of mead as he watched Astrid talk with Hilda and Ruffnut, Snotlout and Tuffnut were eating, Stoick and Valka were entertaining Emma. Or maybe she was running around and having fun all her own, he didn't know. What he did know was that he couldn't stop looking at Astrid and she kept taking glances at him.
"Papa?" Emma said as she climbed up beside him.
"What's up baby girl?" Hiccup looked at her with a smile.
"You should give Asty her gift from you, she's opened everyone else's..." Emma told him as Hiccup looked to the wrapped gift sitting beside him on the bench. He probably should give it to her, he knew she'd been waiting for it a while. Hiccup finally stood up after finishing the mead in his mug, then he grabbed the present and walked over to the group of young adults.
"Hi, Hiccup. Got sick of sitting over in the dark corner, did you?" Hilda chuckled a bit.
"Yes...and no. I realized that Astrid opened all her gifts except for mine, so I brought it over..." Hiccup replied as he held it out to Astrid as she smiled lightly and took it from him, Hiccup stepped back a little to give her room and she sat down to unwrap it. When all the paper was off, her eyes widened seeing the ax sitting before her on the table.
"Wow, it's...beautiful, Hiccup. Did you make this yourself since mine can't be fixed?" Astrid inquired as others had come over to look at it and admire.
"That is your ax, Astrid," Hiccup responded which took her by surprise.
"What, no. This isn't my ax...you knew what mine looked like. Cracked, nicked, and wouldn't survive another sharpening..." Astrid sighed a bit.
"Astrid, listen to me. That is your ax, check the handle. Still has your uncle Finn's initials carved in and then yours right under it. I know it doesn't look like yours, that's because I fixed it...just like I promised I would." Hiccup told her.
"It looks...great but it still won't survive..." Astrid looked at him, "I thank you for making it look this good again, though, almost like new," she added smiling at him.
"I'm actually a little hurt you don't believe me when I tell you I fixed it. So, I'll prove it to you." Hiccup sighed as he picked it up by the handle and brought it back over his shoulder aiming for the stone wall.
"Hiccup, don't! It'll shatter!" Astrid said quickly getting to her feet but Hiccup let it go as it stuck into the rocks, the room fell quiet now as he walked over to it and pulled it out. The only marks were the ones on the wall from where the ax head had been. Hiccup handed Astrid the ax again as she looked over it, not even a scratch on the metal and she looked at Hiccup with surprise.
"H-How...did you make it so strong and sharp?" Astrid asked still in shock. "Even Gobber said it couldn't be fixed..."
"Gobber doesn't know all my secrets about forging. Aside from fixing and sharpening it, I made it indestructible," Hiccup told her.
"That's impossible, lad..." Gobber mentioned.
"Not when you use Gronckle Iron. You were right, the ax when you gave it to me, could not be fixed by normal means. So, I did break it down, melt the original metal and then combined the Gronckle Iron with it and reformed the ax head. Finally, I sharpened and polished it and that's why it looks so new. But it is the original metal, just stronger. It's made from the same metal I use for Inferno. Your ax will never break, Astrid, or require a lot of sharpening." Hiccup explained softly. "Plus it's lighter," he added with a smile.
Astrid held the ax in her hands as she smiled wide before putting it down and wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek, "Thank you so much! It's the best gift ever!" she exclaimed.
"Yo-You're...welcome? I think. I'm glad ya like it, Astrid. Happy birthday," Hiccup hugged her back and then she let go of him, blushing like mad that she had kissed his cheek and now calling herself stupid for it.
"Sorry...over-excitement, you know?" Astrid tried to recover quickly.
"Ye-Yeah, it's cool, don't worry about it." Hiccup replied to her while rubbing the back of his head a little. It was this moment that Emma came over and took her father's hand, then Astrid's and put them together before leading them to the middle of the room. "E-Em, what...are you doing?"
"Dance with her," Emma giggled.
"Em, you can't just go around making people dance together..." Hiccup sighed some.
"But Astrid does want to dance with you, I heard her tell Auntie about it." Emma informed as Hiccup's eyes widened at the same time Astrid's did, of course, she blushed a deep shade of red that Emma just blurted out that she wanted to dance with Hiccup. Now, he looked at her and she had a hard time looking him in the eyes. The room was quiet watching closely, "And you wanna dance with her too cuz you're still holding her hand, Papa,"
Hiccup hadn't really heard her, he was still looking at Astrid. "Is...she telling the truth, Astrid? Do you...want to dance with me?" Astrid bit her bottom lip and managed a single nod to him, "Well, then I won't deny you a request on your birthday." her eyes widened a little, he was agreeing to dance with her!? Hiccup lifted her hand up and brought her figure close against his own before moving her arms up and around his neck while he put his hands on her hips, she blushed a little. "Don't be nervous," he whispered to her. After a moment, the two started dancing slowly together. There was no music but they didn't seem to care and their eyes never left one another.
After a few minutes, they just stopped and stared at one another while still in the position they had been in while dancing only Astrid's hands had moved to the front of his chest. Everyone held their breath watch the two, no one moved or blinked either. It felt like an eternity to them, however, in the truth it had only been maybe seven long seconds before Hiccup leaned down slightly, closing his eyes and pressed his lips to hers. As soon as they touched, Astrid's eyes closed as well and kissed him back. They were kissing! Hiccup had kissed her first and it wasn't just a quick peck, it was a REAL kiss between them. Emma's giggling is what got them to break the kiss and both blush while looking at one another.
"Not that...that wasn't amazing but...why did...you kiss me?" Astrid asked quietly.
"Well, in truth, last week I overheard that you liked me and...as I spent all week to fix your ax for today, I...realized that I like you too, Astrid. You're smart, beautiful, damn good dragon rider and fighter. What isn't there to like about you?" Hiccup replied calmly.
"But...what about your...wife, or...former now since she passed away?" Astrid inquired.
"I'll always love her, first girl I loved and married, had Emma with. No one can take her place, but I know that she wouldn't want me to just...sit around and wish things could be different. I know she's gone and will always be around for Emma and I in some way or another. Selby would want me to move on and find happiness again and...I feel that happiness around you, Astrid." Hiccup explained. "The question is now...what do you want? You like me, I like you...where do we go from here? What do you want to do about this?"
"I want...there to be an us. To date, to be together. What I want, is to be with you, Hiccup." Astrid replied a little nervously.
"Then we can be together, as long as you understand that my daughter comes first no matter what?" Hiccup arched a brow at her.
"Of course, I'd never step in between that. Besides, I find her adorable," Astrid smiled lightly as Emma beamed brightly. "Does this...make me your girlfriend now?"
"I would say so if that's what you want to be to me?" Hiccup held her hand still.
"That is what I want," Astrid replied to him.
"Ask and you shall receive, Milady," Hiccup leaned in and kissed her again.
"Best birthday ever," Astrid giggled after the kiss as she leaned against his shoulder and everyone started clapping and cheering. Emma jumped into her father's arms and hugged him.
"You be nice to my daddy, Asty," Emma warned as Astrid saluted her and poked her nose.
"Don't worry, Emma, I won't hurt him," Astrid replied to her, Emma crawled over into Astrid's arms and hugged tightly.
"Then you're okay with me!" Emma said as Hiccup and Astrid both laughed. Now it was a perfect day to both of them. It had been true what Hiccup said to Astrid, though, he wasn't sure about how he felt but over the last week, it just happened and he couldn't stop it. He cared about Astrid and this time...he wouldn't let anyone take away his happiness. Hiccup made that vow to himself in silence, if he ever saw Drago Bludvist again, he would kill him this time for taking Selby and in order to protect his family and friends.
