Merida pulled her jacket around her as tightly as she could. The chilling rain was pouring in sheets, and the brisk wind was throwing droplets into her face. It really didn't help that she was wearing one of her best suits either. Oh why did her mother insist that she go to this meeting? The least she could have done was made sure that Merida got home safe and dry! Merida shivered, and warm too. And now, she felt sure that she was going to catch a cold. But what was it that her father said? She was so hot-headed that no cold could ever catch her! She snorted as she could hear her father's voice in her head saying that. A splash of water from the street nearly doused her, catching only her stockings. She let out a groan as she paused at the corner, waiting for the traffic to lessen enough for her to cross, but stayed back far enough that another car wouldn't almost douse her, again. Seriously, what was her mother thinking? Merida wasn't a on the committee! Nor did she really want to be! She let out a huff as she stomped her feet, trying to keep warm.

"Is that you? Merida?" came a voice from behind her, startling her out of her complaining thoughts. She turned around, and her eyes widened at the sight of the person standing behind her, and with a big umbrella no less.

"Hiccup! What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be resting with that leg of yours?" she asked, indicating his prosthetic.

"You mean lack of one?"

"You know what I mean," she grumbled, shooting him a glare.

He let out a soft, but sad chuckle. "I do know what you mean, but, I just couldn't stay inside for much longer. I thought I was going to go crazy! And with Jack around, well, he wasn't much help."

Merida let loose a loud guffaw. "When has that wee lamb ever been much help to you?"

Hiccup let out a laugh, "Oh man, you'd better not let Jack hear you say that anymore. He just hates it when you call him a 'wee lamb'. He's not much of a lamb anymore, more like a ram, though he'd rather a wolf." Both burst out laughing.

Merida calmed down enough to say, "Well, too bad, I'm going to keep calling him a wee lamb. If he wants to fight me over it, he should know I'll win for sure."

"So, um, what you doing out here, getting yourself all drenched?" asked Hiccup.

"Ugh, getting home. Mother insisted on me attending another one of her meetings, again," muttered Merida with a groan and a roll of her eyes.

"Oh, um, would you like it if I escorted you home?"

"Well . . ."

"I do have an umbrella," Hiccup said with a nervous smile as he glanced up, indicating the obvious plus.

"Well, when you put it that way, yes please!"

Hiccup chuckled, "Alright, alright, you don't need to get all excited!"

"Well, if you've been trying to get home in the pouring rain while both of your parents are at the town meeting and there's no one to drive you home or pick you up, then you'd be excited too!" quipped Merida as she quickly stepped underneath the safety of the umbrella.

"What about Maudie?"

"She's got her hands full with the boys," remarked Merida as the two stepped to the curb. Hiccup merely let out a chuckle as the two turned their attention to crossing the street. They walked a ways in silence before Merida cleared her throat and spoke. "So, um, how's college going?"

"Well, it's certainly going," Hiccup replied with a grin.

"Hiccup, you know what I mean," Merida said as she shot him another glare.

"Alright, yes, I do know what you mean. Well, what can I say? Classes are fun and interesting. I'm glad that I don't have to do too much so it will let my lack of a leg heal properly. But, it's also given me something to do. Right now, Spring Break is just killing me."

"Well, you're not dead yet. Must not be doing it's job well," quipped Merida. Hiccup glanced at her in surprise before bursting out laughing.

"No, I guess not," he finally managed to say.

"What? Do you want it to?" Merida snapped.

"Dying from boredom is very different than literal dying," pointed out Hiccup.

"Well, I don't ever want you to die, not yet," whispered Merida as she grabbed a hold of his arm and leaned into him. Hiccup tilted his head and laid it on top of Merida's red curls.

"I won't, not as long as you live," he whispered back. She buried her face into his sleeve so as to keep the tears from falling.

"I was scared that I'd lost you in the accident."

"Hey, like you said, if it was supposed to kill me, it wasn't doing it's job very well," muttered Hiccup. Merida couldn't help but snicker at that. Hiccup joined in for a few minutes, though smiles were on both of their faces after they stopped. They walked slower the closer they got to Merida's house, neither one wanting to break the moment. They didn't want to speak for long either, letting the patter of raindrops remind them that they were still very much alive. But the moment they stopped in front of Merida's house, they paused as they thought of something to say, they wanted to stay in each other's presence.

"Um, would you like to come inside and warm up for a bit?" Merida finally asked.

Hiccup shook his head with a sigh. "No, I wish I could, but I need to get back home. Dad doesn't even know I came out, and you know how he gets when he's worried."

"You didn't even let your dad know you came out? Hiccup, why . . ."

"Hey, don't you start sounding like him too. I'm an adult, I can take care of myself."

A slight blush came to Merida's cheek as she stammered, "Oh, no, no, that's not what I meant. I was going to say, why do you need to hurry back then, if you don't like it when he treats you like a kid still?"

"I'd rather not deal with the drama either way."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Mer, I'm sure. Well, I'll see you around." Hiccup waved as he turned to walk away.

"Hiccup wait!" called out Merida. Hiccup turned, and Merida jumped into his arms. In his surprise, he involuntarily let go of the umbrella, and the wind pushed it into the neighbor's garden. "I love you, you silly fish."

"I love you too, my little mermaid," Hiccup replied with a smile. He leaned in for a kiss, and Merida met him halfway quite willingly, and happily. The two let the rain soak them as they lived in that kiss, their first kiss. When they pulled back, they were already practically soaked.

"So much for you not letting your dad know," muttered Merida.

Hiccup chuckled as he replied, "Oh, don't worry, I'll just take a shower."

Merida burst out laughing. "You had this whole thing figured out, huh?"

"Well, except for the part where I walked you home, even though I did wish for it, um, yeah, pretty much," replied Hiccup with a grin. Merida laughed, but quickly paused.

"Wait, you wished to see me?"

"Oh come on, Mer, don't tell me you didn't wish to seem me too?"

A blush rose to Merida's cheeks as she glanced down. "Well, I guess? I wasn't thinking of it, just wishing to get home quickly without getting drenched. I mean, it's not that I don't want to see you, I wish I could see you every day! It's just, at that moment . . ."

Hiccup let out a chuckle, "You were wishing for an umbrella?" He walked over and grabbed his from the neighbor's yard before returning to Merida.

Merida replied with a nervous smile, "Yes?"

"And I just so happen to have one. What do you say to that?" he asked with a wink.

"Like it was the best thing to happen today! I'd get caught in the rain everyday if only you could come with an umbrella."

Hiccup let out a gasp. "What's this? Is Merida Dunbroch trying to be sappy?"

Merida snorted as she swatted at him playfully, "Oh be quiet. But, as you can tell, I'm horrible at it."

"Well, you know, like with a bow and a quiver, if you practised, you'd become better at it," muttered Hiccup as he leaned in with a mischievous grin on his face.

Merida giggled, "Maybe, but there is one thing I know I'm good at."

"And what's that?" asked Hiccup, his eyebrow arched. Merida merely shot him a grin before pulling him in for another kiss, this time the umbrella staying in Hiccup's hand. The sound of rain pit-pattering against the umbrella was all that could be heard as they relished the tender moment.