EDIT 2/28/16 No more internet at home hopefully means I will get these edits (and future chapters) done without too much time wasted… Just changed some typos, and cleaned up some wording.

Chapter 9: First Date Activities

As soon as they finished eating Rapunzel was up, clearing away the dishes. Jack a moment behind, and within minutes they had settled into an obviously familiar routine as he washed the dishes and she dried them.

Hiccup met Astrid's gaze across the table, just as she started to wonder what she was supposed to do now.

"Do you want to see the stables?" he asked.

"Sure."

They got their jackets and boots from by the front door.

"I forgot to ask how you like the jacket," Hiccup said, as she shrugged into it.

Astrid pulled her hair from the collar and tugged the jacket into place. "It's a little stiff, but otherwise it's great."

"The leather will relax over time," he said, leading her over to the sliding door, which opened out onto the backyard. About a hundred yards away she could see the second building that she had noticed the day before.

Toothless bounded out ahead of them, practically jumping up and down in excitement.

"I also waterproofed it," Hiccup said, nodding to the jacket. "So it should be good through the winter."

That was something she had wondered about that morning. She was glad to know she was saved the time.

"You're really a full service operation."

"Hey, I'm a small business," he said with a shrug. "Gotta keep my customers happy. One bad review and I'm done for."

Astrid smirked, burying her hands in the pockets, which were lined with some kind of soft, warm fabric. They walked briskly across the lawn, but not fast enough for Toothless. He kept running impatient circles into the shadows, then back to see what was taking them so long.

A thought crossed her mind, and Astrid was about to ask what they were going to do about Pitch's jailbreak the week before… but the thought vanished when the doors of the stables slid open, and warm light flooded onto the grass.

Whatever Astrid had expected when they used the word "stables", this wasn't it. She stepped over the threshold, into a warm, brightly lit space made mostly of stone, and wood that looked fairly new. Instead of one or two dragons, she counted at least ten.

Most of them were smaller, with maybe a three foot wingspan, perched on the various beams and shelves. They regarded her curiously, heads cocked to the side. The ones that weren't fixed on the food troughs, at least. The air smelled like smoke, fish, and a musky odor she couldn't place.

Her eyes were wide as she looked around at the other dragons. Three or four were roughly the same size as Toothless – if not larger.

The largest was grey and red, with a crown that gave him a decidedly owlish look. He sat in one of the open stalls, looking down at the others with obvious derision.

"That," Hiccup said, following her gaze, "is Cloud Jumper. He knows he's in charge, and makes sure everyone else does too."

Cloud Jumper regarded Hiccup coolly.

Astrid was staring at the massive dragon, when movement to her left made her look over. A blue dragon was coming up to her, leaning its head down to examine her carefully. Her muscles stiffened in surprise as the dragon tilted its head to peer at her with one yellow, slit pupil eyes.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about you," Hiccup said, coming over. He rested a hand lightly and easily on the dragon's neck.

It blinked, before looking over at Hiccup.

Only once the eye contact was broken did Astrid dare to look the dragon over. It had a bird like structure, blue scales decorated with red and yellow. A crown of yellow spikes radiated back from its head, while more lay flat along its tale.

Hiccup started scratching just at the base of the dragon's jaw, and it tilted its head back in obvious pleasure.

"Where did you come from, girl?" he asked, looking the dragon over.

The dragon make a clicking sound in the back of its throat.

Hiccup looked over at Astrid. "We bring the ones who have the hardest time surviving in the wild – or who just prefer my mom over her brother. They don't usually show up out of nowhere."

The dragon looked insufferably pleased… and she turned her gaze back on Astrid. Who swallowed nervously. A contrast to Hiccup, who seemed totally relaxed as he talked to the dragon.

"What are you doing here, huh?

"There's legends that the dragons used to be able to talk," he said, after a moment. "I don't know if it's true, but it would make my job a whole lot easier."

Cloud Jumper stood up, and Hiccup and Astrid both looked over towards the door in response as Valka came into the stables.

"Have you ever seen her before?" she asked, nodding to the Deadly Nadder.

Hiccup shook his head.

The dragon pranced away from Hiccup on its two legs, and came back over to Astrid.

"She seems to like you," Hiccup said.

Astrid wasn't sure if she should be flattered or nervous.

Valka chuckled. "Hiccup, I'm leaving for Berk now. Will you be all right?"

She clambered up the dragon's leg with the ease of practice, until she stood on the dragon's back.

"We'll be fine," he nodded. "Have a good trip."

"It was a pleasure to meet you Astrid," Valka said, and Astrid had to tear her gaze away from the Nadder to look over.

"You, too," she said.

"You're welcome to come back any time," she said.

"Thank you."

Cloud Jumper trotted out the door, and Astrid's jaw went slack as the dragon extended its four massive wings into a giant X. They took off with a single jump, leaving Astrid's line of vision.

She turned to Hiccup, too awestruck to speak.

"Yeah. A prize fighter father, and a mother like that," Hiccup said. "I wasn't under any pressure growing up."

Toothless seemed to have decided that there had been enough conversation, and head-butted Hiccup's shoulder.

"Oh, is it flying time, Mr. Bossy?" Hiccup asked, turning to the dragon. "Can't you see we still have company?"

The dragon just bumped his head into Hiccup's chest.

Scratching the dragon's jaw, Hiccup looked over at Astrid. He looked suddenly sheepish.

"I dunno. You – uh – wanna come?"

"What, flying?" She hoped her voice hadn't squeaked when she said "flying".

"Sure."

Astrid may have taken a step back. "N-no thanks. You can go, I'll…"

Hiccup cocked his head to the side as he looked at her. And she suddenly realized just how much time he had spent with his dragon companion, because the movement was almost exactly the same as Toothless's. Then, after a moment, she saw the corner of his mouth pull in a grin. "You're not afraid, are you?"

"Afraid of what?" she asked defensively, crossing her arms over her chest. "Flying?"

"Or heights," he said, even as he climbed up onto Toothless's back with an effortless grace. Like some of the other motorcycle racers she had seen, but more impressive because he was mounting a living, fire-breathing dragon.

Astrid couldn't say "no" to that – she didn't like lying. So she didn't respond.

Toothless walked right up to her, Hiccup on his back, and nudged her crossed arms.

Astrid hesitated, arms loosening as she looked at the dragon's large green eyes. His lips were pulled back in what looked like the dragon equivalent of a smile. And that let her notice something.

"Wait, doesn't he have teeth?" she asked, looking at his gummy smile.

"Retractable," Hiccup said. "Come on – one ride. You haven't lived until you've ridden a dragon."

Was it just Astrid, or was Toothless's smile…reassuring? She was so focused on the dragon that she wasn't looking at Hiccup.

"It's safe, I promise," he said.

Now her eyes flicked to him. "I'm sorry, how many times have you fallen off in the past two weeks?"

"That was my fault," he said.

She still hesitated.

"You're the star athlete at the college with the most extreme sports department in the country," Hiccup reminded. "I've seen the way you ride."

"That's different."

"How is that different?"

"I'm not doing stunts two hundred and seventeen feet in the air!"

Hiccup chuckled. "No stunts, then."

She found she wanted to. How often did someone get to ride on a dragon? And sitting on Toothless's back didn't seem especially dangerous. It's not like she would be standing on the edge of a cliff or something.

"One ride," Hiccup repeated. "It's that, or you can go back into the living room and watch Jack and Rapunzel try to pretend they're not making eyes at each other."

The corner of Astrid's mouth twitched in a grin. Well, if those were her options…

Taking a deep breath, she stepped around to the dragon's side. Hiccup offered her his hand, which she accepted as she climbed up behind him. The saddle was made to accommodate two (she had seen footage of him flying with Merida and Rapunzel at different times), so it wasn't hard to settle in. Beneath her, she could feel the subtle rise and fall of the dragon's ribcage as he breathed. In front of her, she could feel the same from Hiccup, though his breaths were smaller.

"You ready?" Hiccup asked.

"No," she said flatly.

He gave a breathy laugh. "Hang on."

"To what?"

"Uh…me, I guess."

Before she could respond to that, Toothless grew tired of waiting and bounded forward. Behind her she both heard and felt Toothless spread his leathery wings. She threw her arms around Hiccup's waist without a second thought, burying her face in his back and trying not to scream.

She knew the moment they left the ground from the way her stomach plunge downward as they pushed away from gravity. Oh stars. Why was she doing this? Wind rushed in her ears. Her arms squeezed tighter, clinging for dear life. She felt Hiccup's ribs vibrate as he laughed under his breath. She would have hit him…but that would have required letting go of him. And that did not sound appealing in the least.

They rose higher and higher, the cold air nipping at her cheeks, and all she could see in her mind's eye was the video footage of Hiccup's fall. If they fell, there would be no helpful ice ramp to catch them. And she was pretty sure they were a lot higher than two hundred feet now. Not that she dared lift her face from Hiccup's back to see. How high were they going?

After what felt like forever, their flight leveled out, and a bizarre sense of weightlessness settled over Astrid, now that her stomach had eased back into its rightful place. Carefully, loosening her hold on Hiccup, she lifted her head from his back, and dared to look around.

Stars.

More stars than she had ever seen, in a never ending black sky. They sparkled cheerfully in the cold air, as if welcoming her to this strange new world she found herself in.

She risked looking, not quite down, but to her right, and slightly downward. She didn't quite believe what she saw, so she looked a little less right, and a little more down.

Below them a sea of swirling silver blue clouds stretched as she could see.

"This is amazing," she admitted, tilting her head back to look at the sky full of stars.

"Told ya," Hiccup said.

He shifted his prosthetic foot and they banked in a wide, shallow arc through the sky. The tip of Toothless's left wing dipped into the cloud sea. They glided for a while, not speaking as Astrid tried to take it all in.

"Look down," Hiccup said after a couple minutes, his voice soft in the quiet.

Astrid looked down. Vertigo started to rush in on her, but she pushed it back when she saw what lay below them. Through a break in the clouds she could see a wide clearing among the trees, and two buildings. Light flooded from one opening in the smaller one, while the larger one sat in a pool of light from all the windows.

"Is that your house?" she asked.

He nodded. "Do you want to go in, or keep going?"

"Keep going," she said.

She just saw the corner of his mouth pull in a grin. "There's something I want to show you."

They banked again, this time to the right. They no longer glided, Toothless's powerful wings pumping with purpose.

"So, how many other people know about this?" she asked, her grip on Hiccup tightening a little. "About you guys being the Big 4."

"Gobber," Hiccup said. "I needed his help a lot when we got started, so I had to tell him. And Eret, since he was working for Drago when we first met him."

"He worked for Drago?" She had known Eret for almost three years, since he had started working for Gobber. The thought of him working for someone like Drago Blüdvist had never occurred to her. Sure, there had been those jokes about a probation officer… but still.

"How do you think he handles working for Gobber?" Hiccup chuckled. "He says that, after Drago, Gobber is a breeze. And it worked out, since that's when I had to quit working at the shop on a regular basis."

"How did I never see you there?" she asked. "I've been in and out of that shop as long as I can remember."

"As long as I can remember, too," Hiccup said. "We met once when we were kids, but you might not remember. But when I worked there I, uh… I had a habit of hiding whenever I saw you coming."

"I didn't beat you up as kids, did I?"

That got a laugh from him. "No, it was… forget it."

Somehow, that raised more questions than answers. She still couldn't believe she hadn't seen him in all that time, but she was pretty sure she would have remembered a face like his.

"Look up ahead," Hiccup said, bringing her back from her thoughts.

Up ahead, as they descended through the clouds, the city skyline came into focus, until it lay spread out before them.

She had seen the skyline from a distance, and she had seen bird's-eye-view photos. But this… This was totally different.

Red and white lights traveled down the freeway in and out of the city, like blood through a beating heart. It glowed with all the lights that tried to keep the night at bay. They were too far away for her to see people, or individual cars on the streets… but it was still obvious that the city was alive. She remembered what Rapunzel had said about life, and how it was more than she ever could have imagined.

Looking at it from this perspective… Astrid understood exactly what she meant.

"Kinda puts it in a new perspective, huh?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid nodded. "The world must be so boring for you. I mean, you see this all the time, then you have to go back down into it."

She imagined it was something like every time she was on a track, free to race at whatever speed she wanted, adrenaline coursing through her veins… Until eventually she had to stop.

"Not really," he said. "It's made me more of aware of just how much happens that I don't see."

But he hesitated, and she knew there was more to it. "You're right, though. Rapunzel showed me this quote once, about how once you've flown, your eyes are always looking up to the sky, wanting to be up here again. And it's true."

Astrid smirked.

Toothless flew over the city, from one end to the other, and Astrid forced herself to look down so she could see the blurred lights of cars as they went down the long streets, all trying to get somewhere. Home? Away from home? Trying to get a taste of the thrill she herself was having at that moment?

They reached the other side of the city, near the train tracks, and Toothless started to arc back around, dipping closer to the ground. Something caught Hiccup's attention, and his head whipped around towards…something. All Astrid saw the gentle flutter of a clear plastic tarp.

"Hang on, Bud," Hiccup said, just as they started angling back up. His tone had taken a serious weight.

They stopped in midair, Hiccup looking intently towards a stack of shipping containers.

"What's wrong?" Astrid asked.

"Wait here," he said. "I'll be right back."

Toothless started to descend, but Astrid tightened her grip on Hiccup's jacket.

"No way."

"Astrid—"

"No," she repeated, not exactly thinking about what she was saying.

Hiccup looked back at her, and she realized that she was being carefully appraised, as he considered what was probably about to happen. She expected him to argue further.

Instead, he nodded.

"Alright," he said. "Just keep quiet."

Just her hold on Hiccup's jacket was enough for Astrid to feel that his muscles had tensed as he brought Toothless low over the train yard.

"Stay in the shadows, Bud," he said softly.

Toothless wove in between the scattered pools of light cast by the few lampposts set up around the yard, towards the shipping containers that were stacked four or five high. He came to land next to one of the higher crates, staying in its shadow as he stalked towards the edge.

From the outside, the containers had appeared to be a solid block. But when they reached the edge, Astrid found they were looking down at a twenty by twenty foot space, illuminated by an industrial lamp perched on an old crate. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at the three men who stood in the opening.

"Is that—"

Hiccup gestured for her to be quiet.

She was sure that two of the men were the Stabbington Brothers. The third was too far out of the light for Astrid to see his face. Just that he was tall and broad.

"You're sure it's secure?" one of the brothers asked, and Astrid almost missed it across the distance.

The other nodded.

She and Hiccup both leaned forward, careful to stay in the protection of the shadows.

"Last I heard, you gentlemen were in the employ of Gothel," the man said, in a deep, nasal voice that managed to be lazy and insulting at the same time. "When you managed to stay out of prison."

"Gothel's partnered with Pitch Black, and whatever kind of team he's putting together," one of the brothers said – the larger of the two.

"And you two aren't interested in working for the Nightmare King?" The question sounded rhetorical, as though the man didn't think anyone wanted to work for the Nightmare King.

"The Big 4 are a nuisance, sure," the spokesman brother said. "But we're more interested in money than revenge."

Astrid swallowed the lump that had risen in her throat. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she was sure Hiccup at least could hear it.

There was a silent moment that stretched and tense. When the shadowed man spoke, Astrid got the impression that, whatever this conversation was supposed to be about, this was the information he was really here for.

"So that's what Black is after? Revenge?"

"As far as we know."

"Are you gonna hire us or not?" the second brother – the one with the eyepatch – asked, obviously losing patience.

The man gave a dark, humorless laugh. "Gentlemen, if Pitch Black is about to turn Burgess City into his personal playground for exacting revenge on the Big 4, then I have no intention of hiring anyone. I intend to cut my losses and leave town before the storm hits. There must still be somewhere that hasn't been overrun by these costumed freaks and their fire breathing pets. That dragon has cost me a fortune in merchandise." He cleared his throat. "You would be well advised to do the same."

"Why did you have us come all the way out here if you're not hiring?" Eyepath asked, the anger in his voice giving the question the air of a threat.

The other put his hand on his brother's arm, though Astrid guessed he had no problems with violence. He just wanted answers first.

But before Ratcliffe could answer, Hiccup nudged Toothless's sides with his heels. The motion just enough warning for Astrid to tighten her hold on his jacket.

Toothless lunged down into the opening below them, towards the three. It took all Astrid's will power not to make a sound, or grab onto Hiccup's waist again.

From there, everything happened so fast she barely had time to breath.

Toothless went first for the portable light, knocking it off the crate with a flick of his tail. It rolled across the packed dirt and gravel, causing flashes of light so rapid her eyes didn't even have time to adjust before it went black again.

It felt like being on a roller coaster, diving this way and that, only catching glimpses of what was happening when the light was just right. The men called to each other, but Toothless was did an excellent job of stopping them whenever they tried to make a break for the exit.

The light finally came to a stop on its side, and Toothless moved to ensure it was behind them, shining directly on the three men. Astrid blinked, her eyes trying to readjust.

Before they did, Toothless roared and lunged forward one last time. The men stumbled back… right through the open door of an empty shipping container. Hiccup jumped off the dragon's back to slam the door shut and slide the bolt into place.

She saw his shoulders sag as he exhaled. "I hate doing that without my helmet."

"What now?" Astrid asked, as he came back over to Toothless.

"Now, we go home," he said, remounting in front of her. "Rapunzel or I will call the cop we deal with when we have to, and he'll take it from there."

The answer was so… casual.

"I recognized the Stabbington Brothers, but who was the other guy?" she asked.

"Ratcliff," Hiccup sighed. "He's a local crime lord – mostly just smuggling and gambling rings. If the Stabbington Bothers were looking for employment it would have been as enforcers or something. He'll probably walk, as usual." Annoyance crept into his voice at that last. Obviously, this wasn't the first time Hiccup had caught Ratcliff red handed.

Toothless rose from the ground, taking to the sky once more. The trip back was less surreal, her mind too occupied for her to pay attention to her surroundings. They were back at the ranch before she had fully processed everything.

"Sorry it turned into… that," Hiccup said, as they landed on the back porch.

Once he had dismounted, he turned back to offer her a hand to help her down. Astrid could have gotten down without help, but she accepted never the less.

"Do you do that a lot?" she asked.

"Do what?"

"I used to think you guys were only in it for the attention," she admitted. "But tonight was nothing like what they show on the news."

"That would have made for some lousy news footage," he pointed out.

Astrid smacked his shoulder with the back of her hand.

He chuckled, rubbing his shoulder.

"Yeah," he said. "We do that a lot."

Nodding, Astrid tried to figure out if that required a response, or if she should just go inside.

Through the glass of the sliding door she could see Jack and Rapunzel in the living room, which looked warm and inviting. She decided to go in. Anything that needed to be said could be said there.

But before she started to slide the door open, she realized there was something she wanted to say while they were alone on the pourch.

Turning back to Hiccup, who was a step behind her, Astrid pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

"Thank you." She turned away quickly, before she could think too much about what she had just done, and before she could see his reaction.

"There you are," Rapunzel said, as Astrid stepped through the door.

"She's making me wait for dessert," Jack said, a hint of whine in his tone. He lay on one of the couches, reading what looked like a school book. A moment later his expression turned serious as Hiccup came in. "What happened?"

Hiccup slid the door shut once Toothless has followed him inside. Exhaling, he rolled his right shoulder as he walked into the kitchen. "The usual – the Stabbington Brothers were talking to Ratcliff down by the tracks."

"Where are they now?"

"Locked in a shipping container," Astrid said, grinning despite herself as she flopped down into one of the arm chairs.

Jack snickered.

"Are you guys all right?" Rapunzel asked. She had gone into the kitchen, though Astrid couldn't see what she was doing.

Hiccup opened the door of the fridge and pulled out a bottle of orange juice. "We're fine."

Rapunzel looked at Astrid, who nodded.

"You know, Hiccup, that's not what they mean when they recommend active first dates," Jack said.

"Shut up," Hiccup said, pouring a glass of the juice. As he took a drink, he glanced over at Rapunzel. "Sorry, Punz, I forgot about dessert. I didn't think we'd be gone so long."

"As long as you're both okay," Rapunzel said. "Do you want me to call the detective?"

Hiccup nodded. "The phone is in my desk drawer."

Rapunzel finished serving dessert before she vanished through the archway, presumably into Hiccup's room. Astrid felt a strange twitch of something in her stomach that she couldn't quite name as she realized that. But she pushed it aside, and instead focused on savoring the apple pie with homemade whipped cream, spiked with nutmeg and allspice.

Merida seemed to appear out of nowhere as soon as Rapunzel started serving up the pie.

When Rapunzel returned a few minutes later, she sat next to Jack, who adjusted his position to accommodate her. They sat close, elbows occasionally brushing, and glancing over to make brief eye contact whenever they did. Jack would grin, and Rapunzel would blush as she smiled. Every so often they would lean over to whisper to each other over the conversation about school work and weekend plans.

Astrid remembered what Hiccup had said about the two pretending not to make eyes at each other, and decided she was very glad that she had gone on the flight. She had been anyway… but she wasn't sure how much of those two she could handle. Hiccup and Merida made nothing of it, so apparently it was the normal routine.

Once she had finished, Astrid set her plate on the end table next to the armchair, and leaned her head back, listening to the others talk. Not even paying attention to the words. Before she could even register just how tired she was, Astrid sank into the welcoming embrace of sleep.