Here it is! The third chapter! *yaaaaaay*
To make up for last time's lack of length, this one is quite a bit longer than usual. It also has a LOOOT of Hiccstrid fluff in it - no surprise. And it's a lot more light-hearted than last time (I don't want this story to be all that depressing.)
Thank you all for your feedback you've given me previously. As a first story, I'm surprised this is doing as well as it is.
...Yeah okay, I'll shut up now and let you read.
It was late evening by the time they made it back to Dragon's Edge - they had left later than they had expected. The island was almost completely in shadow. The only light was from the very faint slither of sun in the far horizon, and a fire that blazed in the patch of grass near the dome. Part of Hiccup had hoped that everyone would be asleep by now, to save him from Snotlout's self-obsessed gloating at being older than the rest of them; nineteen, the rest of them being eighteen. Snotlout! Snotlout! oi! oi! oi! That phrase got on his nerves so much. possibly thanks to countless thawfest games in which he would always yell that line in Hiccup's face. It was a chore to put up with the young man. Yet somehow, for some unknown reason, It just wouldn't feel the same without him, despite his constant bragging and shouting.
He and Astrid swooped down to join them. Logs were arranged around the fire, with his friends exchanging jokes from their positions on them. Their dragons accompanied them. Meatlug cuddled against Fishlegs. Barf, Belch and Hookfang play fought away from the group. They landed and dismounted. Hiccup told Toothless that he could play with the other Dragons, to which the Night Fury happily obliged. So did Stormfly.
"Love birds!" Exclaimed a rather drunk Snotlout.
"W-what?" Hiccup stuttered, shocked. How could he possibly know? Unless... No, Fishlegs wouldn't just tell them something like that. Hiccup noticed a barrel, probably a gift from someone. But where would they get one...
They didn't... He scowled slightly at the thought of Snotlout stealing his gift from his father. Upon closer inspection, he could see that it even had his name engraved on the side along with 'Happy Birthday, son.'
"Who told him about my ale?" He demanded, half shouting. When he had first got it, he hadn't told anyone apart from Astrid and Fishlegs; the two that he trusted the most. Fishlegs suddenly looked nervous, playing with his fingers. Hiccup sighed, putting two and two together.
"Great, not like I was saving it or anything." He said, his voice dripping in bitter sarcasm.
"I'm sorry, Hiccup, he was just desperate for some and it just slipped out." Fishlegs apologized.
He decided after a long glare at Snotlout that if his gift from his father was going to be wasted, he was going to enjoy it too. He grabbed two mugs, offering Astrid one after he filled them both to the brim with the intoxicating liquid. She gratefully took it and they joined Fishlegs on the log. Loud noises came from their dragons as they chased each other around.
"Hey, As-hic-strid! D'you know you look like a pillow!" The girl in question groaned in disgust.
"Pleeaase don't tell me I have to deal with this all night!" She exclaimed.
Hiccup shrugged. "Well, he's drunk off of his head. That and, well, he's Snotlout. He'll probably end up trying to drag you to bed with him before passing out." He joked. Astrid punched him, although he could see the laugh she failed to hide behind her smile. "You know I would never let that happen." She asserted. Hiccup rubbed his arm and gave her a look of fake hurt.
"Why do you abuse me like this, Ast?" He complained, giving her the eyes he had learned from Toothless whenever he wanted something. He'd dubbed it 'Toothless eyes'. She pushed him playfully.
"Oh, shut up you're not funny!" She chided, contradicting her definitely amused face.
"I am and you know it!" He shot back before taking a swig from his mug. Unbeknownst to him, Fishlegs and Ruffnut, the only other people who weren't drunk, were staring at them. Ruffnut was smirking.
She was deemed as one of the least intelligent people in the group, just behind Tuffnut. But that didn't mean she couldn't spot love when she saw it. She seemed to cackle a bit inside, as if she was noting this down for later taunting.
Fishlegs sat there, feeling kind of awkward but amused at the same time.
"OOoooh! Love by the c-campfire!" Tuffnut taunted before burping absurdly loudly. Hiccup and Astrid froze for a second, blushing, before sitting up straight. They weren't ready to tell everyone yet. That would inevitably lead to more teasing.
"W-what?" Hiccup said, taking a gulp of ale.
And then another.
And another.
Before he realised it, he had downed the mug purely because his rushing mind couldn't figure out anything to do that looked somewhat casual.
"Um, Hiccup?" He heard Astrid's voice.
"You realise how potent that stuff is?" She continued.
"What? Nah,'s fiine." He imitated being hammered. She crossed her arms, clearly not entirely impressed. Although behind her disguise, Hiccup could still see amusement.
"Hey guys! We should totally play a game or something!" Tuffnut exclaimed.
"Yeah! This is boring!" Ruffnut agreed.
"We should all take turns in the boar pit! Oh! Or maybe all at onc-"
"I swear to Odin if you finish that sentence, you won't be able to use that 'boar pit!" Astrid yelled, grimacing. Tuffnut froze, a look of horror on his face.
"You wouldn't!"
"Guys! Stop arguing, do you want to play a game or not?" Fishlegs exclaimed. Everyone turned to look at him in astonishment. He seemed to pale a bit, and shrank down again.
"Umm." He didn't seem to know what to do in the situation. Looking down, he saw a mug of ale at Fishleg's feet as well.
"Has he been drinking too? Fishlegs never shouts like that." Astrid murmured into Hiccup's ear. Hiccup shrugged.
"Truth or dare!"
"Spin the bottle!"
The twins proceeded to argue for at least five more minutes until one of the group suggested both. Snotlout shoved his mug into the air.
"I go first! I pick dare!"
"I dare you to... Kiss Astrid!" Tuffnut exclaimed. Astrid's face went from mortified to furious in a matter of seconds.
"Oh no you don't!" She asserted. Hiccup felt his own anger - an unfamiliar feeling for someone like him - bubble up inside him. What made things worse is that Snotlout looked more than willing to try.
Hiccup glared at the viking as he stumbled over to Astrid, who, like Hiccup, had clenched her fists.
"Hehe! Hiccup looks piiiissed!" The atmosphere was tense as Snotlout stumbled closer. If Astrid hadn't punched him in the face, Hiccup had a feeling he would have.
"Ow! Son of a halftro-"
It wasn't like one of the friendly punches to the arm she gave Hiccup every now and then, Hiccup could feel the force of the blow.
"Do you want another?" Astrid exclaimed before Snotlout could finish his insult. That seemed to shut him up, and he sat back down, in a huff, nose bleeding. Fishlegs watched the whole thing with hesitant amusement.
"Guys? I think this game has already gotten a bit out of hand." He stated. Hiccup let out a breath he didn't notice he was holding. That meant that he wouldn't get asked the question that he had no doubt was on the others' minds.
"Pffft. Naaaah!"
...maybe not...
Hiccup shrank a bit, unwilling to receive more taunting for the others.
"Hiccup! You gotta play too!" Tuffnut stated. Hiccup sighed. He expected this. He braced himself.
"Fine... Dare." He closed his eyes, waiting for it.
"Kiss me." His eyes shot open wide. That voice was unmistakably, not Astrid's. But rather, Ruffnut's.
"W-What?!" Ruffnut burst out it laughter, falling over and seemingly unable to breathe apart from the convulsive roar of her cackling.
Astrid was staring dragon teeth into him. As if I could feel more uneasy right now.
"I'm not doing that, Ruffnut." He asserted, glancing at Astrid, who seemed to be a little reassured at the statement.
"Yeah I know I was only kidding! The look on both your faces! priceless!"
"Thank Thor for that!" Hiccup muttered under his breath to Astrid, who... giggled. She slapped a hand over her mouth and her eyes widened as if she didn't quite believe she - The Astrid Hofferson - had just giggled... over a boy.
"Nah, you gotta kiss Astrid instead."
Aaand there it is. Like clockwork, the two blushed profusely. Astrid looked as if she was about to make a run for it. Before she could, Ruffnut had her in an arm lock.
"H-Hey! Let me go!" The blonde Viking writhed, trying to get free. It only succeeded in making her arms ache a little bit.
"Oh no you don't! I'm not gonna budge until you let him do it!" Although she didn't seem to be too upset about the dare, she was more furious and indignant at being held down like she was.
He thought for a long time about any potential way he could get out before it was too late. He was about to blurt out some rushed excuse about being tired and wanting to go to sleep, when he had a thought. What if Astrid saw it as a sign that he didn't like her? That he wasn't into her? That would definitely screw things up between them and he didn't want to be on the receiving end of a punch like the one she'd given to Snotlout. Maybe if he snuck away without anyone noticing? They might forget...
No, don't be stupid, Hiccup. Of course they won't forget.
Finally, seeing no way out of this, Hiccup looked Astrid in the eye and moved closer. She seemed to stop struggling and stared back, her facial expression changing. A rare but strong wave of confidence swept through him, and he found himself not caring what the others would think. Besides, Snotlout and Tuffnut were too drunk to really see anything. He gently nodded to Astrid, as if to check if it was okay with her. She slowly nodded back, and Hiccup closed the distance between them. He pressed his lips against hers. Relief accompanied lightning as Astrid kissed back. It was meant to be a quick peck, but Hiccup found himself deepening it, sliding his hand up to caress Astrid's cheek. He felt her hands wrap around him, one burying itself in his hair. Any previous awareness of the outside world blurred into nothing. Overshadowed by the single most important thing right now. Nothing else mattered.
A brief thought flickered in his mind. Why did we wait so long? A thought that was brushed aside almost immediately, but not organised like the rest of his mind. It was still there, waiting to be noticed again - out of place, disturbing the neatness of everything else like a discarded drawing of one of his past, failed inventions among shelves of masterpieces. He would come back to it, rethink and see to it at a later point.
And it would bug the heck out of him until then.
For now, he sat there, mesmerised by the softness of his girlfriend's lips and how her heart beat in sync with his own. How she let out tiny, almost inaudible moans when he pressed harder. How her hands gripped his waist tenderly, yet firm beyond all belief at the same time. How her skin beneath his hand was smoother than he could ever have imagined despite her warrior like demeanour and life style. How he never wanted this moment to end. How he was disappointed when they were forced to separate so that they could breathe.
Even after they split, he still hovered close, staring into two sky-blue orbs that reminded him of his flights with Toothless when he would feel so happy, so free. Distracted from the troubles he left behind on the ground. Yet he was still on the ground, but that feeling was still there, possibly even stronger than it had been for a long time.
He had completely forgotten where they were and who they were with.
"Oh, my!" Ruffnut stated, grinning devilishly. As if his face wasn't red enough.
"Now you gotta take it to the next level! Know what I'm sayin'? How about a run in the boar pit?" She snickered.
"I-I swear to Odin, Ruffnut! If you mention your boar pit again I will fill it in!" That shut Ruffnut up. They'd finally found a way to silence the Twins. Of course they would take advantage of it as much as possible. Astrid was blushing just as much as Hiccup, and when she turned back to face him, she punched his arm.
"That's for making me think you were going to kiss Ruffnut." She said, smirking.
"What? But I didn't eve-" Astrid's lips on his cheek silenced him.
"And that was for-"
"Everything else?" He cut her off, grinning. Until she punched him again.
"Yeah, I guess I probably deserved that." He gave her a lopsided grin before taking another sip of his ale.
"Yeah? Well you're gonna get more at this rate." Astrid threatened, jokingly.
"I should get some armour or something."
"Then I would just switch where I'm gonna hit you." Astrid stated, smiling cheekily. Hiccup sighed in mock defeat.
"But Astriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid~" He pleaded, giving her 'Toothless eyes' again - more exaggerated this time. She stared at him, her lips quivering. Moments later she burst out in laughter.
"O-Oh Gods!... Hic... Hiccup! That face it... I can't breathe!" She bent over, trying to recover. Every time she glanced at Hiccup, she was just set off again. He grinned and started to tickle her, going straight for her sides. She jumped in shock.
"N-no! Ha-Hiccu-st-stop! please don- I'm gonna- gonna hit you so hard for this!" She sputtered through erratic laughs. Hiccup laughed to himself at his girlfriend's inability to form words effectively. She was putty in his fingertips. She started to slip back on her log from the delicate assault on her lower body. Her arms swung at him, involuntarily or not - it was hard to tell. But he ducked and carried on. She let out a yelp of shock as she slipped. Hiccup darted forward to catch her before she landed in the dirt - which would have sucked for both of them. He caught her with his arm around the back of her neck. Their faces where remarkably close. Hiccup found himself staring into her eyes, which stared straight back. He smiled and planted a swift kiss on her lips before hoisting her back up to her seat. She still looked a bit spaced out from the kiss.
"Yoo hoo! Anyone home?" He teased. She shook her head and glared at him. She cracked her knuckles, and Hiccup instantly regretted everything.
-Astrid's POV-
Astrid had felt so much pain in the past few days that she was afraid her heart would go dull. Thankfully, Hiccup had stayed by her side through it all. He was the only reason she could still go on. She didn't know why she hadn't realized it before that night. Sure, she'd had a crush on him since he took her on that amazing flight on Toothless. Well, after she'd almost thrown up her lungs. But she'd always kept it down, like it was just something getting in her way. More recently, she'd grown to think of Hiccup as more than a friend, in a way, but that night, she knew for sure what he meant to her and what she meant to him. She knew why she swayed as he looked at her with that crooked smile of his. She knew why her heart always skipped a beat when he touched her, why she always giggled when he stumbled over his words. And she knew why she loved it when she cradled his head in her lap in his drunken stupor. He'd had about 3 and a half mugs of his dad's ale and was almost as drunk as Snotlout. Granted, she'd had quite a few herself, but she could take a lot more than Hiccup, seeing as she'd been drinking a for lot longer than he had. The first time he'd drunk any sort of ale or mead was just a few months ago on his birthday, when he'd just got that barrel of ale from his father. He'd invited her and Fishlegs over to his hut to share it, not inviting Snotlout or the twins in fear that they would do something stupid... Well, more stupid than they normally do. He hadn't gotten hammered then, but he'd been tipsy. He'd even hugged her unprovoked, which was something he would never have normally done at the time. When Hiccup had too much to drink, it seemed to affect him worse than all of them combined, which was an amusing thought.
"Hiccup, slow down!" She berated him as he reached for his mug. He looked up, barely managing to focus on her.
"Wh-Hic-y? I'm not fastly drun... no thas noright." His face screwed up as if he was trying to think hard. He trailed off as he seemed to fall asleep in her lap.
"Okay guys I'm gonna go get s'mor al..." Snotlout burbled before passing out and landing on his face. Tuffnut wobbled over and poked him.
"Awesome! He's dead!" Tuffnut stood up too fast, and promptly passed out on top of Snotlout. Astrid and Ruffnut laughed violently. Hiccup woke up, looking confused. Toothless bounced over, nudging Hiccup's leg. He ended up falling onto the ground, frighteningly close to the fire. He sat up and looked at Toothless, who tilted his head in confusion.
"Big cat! Bi-... Black cat! No... Dragn!" He slurred, cuddling Toothless clumsily. Astrid giggled and snorted a bit at his... childish antics. She remembered a four year old Hiccup chasing around a poor stray cat he found.
Toothless shook his head, unbalancing Hiccup. He stumbled back, heading towards the fire. Astrid's heart was caught in her throat as she darted forward to stop him from becoming a singed fish-bone.
Now that she thought about it, he wasn't a fishbone. Not at all. He was thin, but he wasn't as fragile as he was 3 years ago. Though she'd never seen him drunk before. In fact, she didn't think he'd ever been drunk before. She carefully directed him back to his seat, where he immediately started to fall asleep on her lap again. Astrid gently ran her fingers through his hair, massaging his head that would definitely hurt in the morning. Toothless looked over, with puzzled eyes. It was as if he thought his friend had gone mad. A puddle of ale was on the floor from where Hiccup had dropped it. Toothless padded over and sniffed it carefully. He withdrew his face, his nose wrinkled and shaking his head. Ruffnut was sitting there, cackling.
"I didn't think Hiccup could get drunk!"
"Mh.. Wa's that shoutn'?" Hiccup stirred. Astrid brushed her hand through his hair subconsciously, looking down as his eyes peeled open. Previously, he hadn't been able to focus on anything, but now, his eyes locked on to Astrid's. He blinked a few times, looking mystified and in awe. His mouth formed an 'o'. Astrid tilted her head slightly in confusion. The ale had turned him from a lively, ever so intelligent young man into what resembled a vegetable brained idiot.
"Woah... You are... Valkyrie?" He exclaimed, clumsily placing his hand on her face. Her heart skipped a beat and she blushed. Did he really just say that? ...Who am I kidding? He's drunk! ...I can't see. Still, she couldn't shake the light feeling she had in that moment. She would talk to him about that later.
"OooooOOOooh, you're his valkyrie!" Ruffnut taunted. Her blush deepened into a dark red, although no one could see it past Hiccup's hand.
"I- I'll punch you so hard!" Astrid yelled, taking Hiccup's hand from her face. That was her third threat towards the others that night.
"N... No violence, please." Hiccup mumbled, holding on to Astrid with both arms around her waist. She'd had to replace her spiked skirt with a large piece of cloth so that Hiccup wouldn't get any more injuries from it. She'd have to make those spikes a bit more blunt to stop these things happening all the time. The injury on his thigh was still clearly visible, although not bleeding anymore - Thank the Gods.
He was going to be in a lot of pain in the morning.
She noticed that Fishlegs was being very quiet. Looking over to him, he was fast asleep leaning on Meatlug. Right now he would probably be ranting about some 'interesting' new type of fauna he'd found or something. She yawned, letting out a small sigh as she did so. She'd lost track of time whilst they were around the now dying fire. Looking to the sky, she could see that the moon was well on its way into the horizon, about half way between midnight and dawn.
"We should probably get you to bed." She said, half to herself. She poked his cheek to wake him up again. His eyes slid open and he groaned.
"Come on, Hic." She said, grabbing his arm and placing it around her shoulder to keep him steady. Toothless was curled up not far from them, letting out soft crooning sounds. The recently turned 'young adult' stumbled a bit. She tightened her grip so he didn't face-plant. She would punch him later for making her do this. She decided, grinning to herself. It seemed that Hiccup had completely forgotten about his metal leg, as it dragged across the ground noisily, uselessly. This didn't make it any easier on her, as he kept tripping over it and almost taking her with him. As they got to the wooden ramp that led up and around to his hut, it finally happened. His prosthetic got caught on the small step between wood and grass. She let out a surprised yelp, followed by an 'oomph' as she hit the wood. Hiccup was lying next to her, not moving. Concerned and annoyed, she inspected him. Turns out, he was fast asleep, snoring quietly face down on the wooden path. She sighed, half in frustration and half amusement. He was so pathetic in this state. It reminded her of how he'd been all those years ago, before he befriended Toothless. She'd heard that he was born earlier than he was supposed to, according to his father and Gobber. That must have been why he wasn't as strong as the other Vikings. He'd been getting less frail recently, although he was still weak compared to, say, Snotlout. She cringed at what had happened earlier that night. Snotface had always tried - and failed - to flirt with her. It just made him look gross and unpleasant to her. She had long realised that her type didn't fall within the typical Viking nature; beefy arms, horrifically violent and nothing short of idle-brained with no wit. Hiccup was the opposite of all those things. He didn't get in fights willingly and avoided conflict as much as possible. His intelligence and wit was unmatched throughout the village and beyond. Not that he would ever own up to it.
And then there was Toothless. Ever since that night, where Hiccup had shown her his true nature, she'd held a special respect for the dragon. His presence was very loud - if he was nearby, you could feel it. After knowing him and his rider for quite a few years, she'd come to the realisation that if there was an animal that Toothless would be comparable to, it would be a cat. His silent intelligence and curiosity was so present, yet so mysterious. His eyes held so many wondrous images that Astrid couldn't even begin to comprehend. He was naturally prideful, and somewhat aloof. It was a silent understanding between him and the other dragons that he was above them, in a way.
And of course, he was as irritable and slow to trust as a cat unless Hiccup trusted the newcomer enough.
It was only fitting that Hiccup, with his unmatched intelligence would bond so closely with the -worryingly to some - wise and prideful dragon whom, like him, was one of a kind - completely unique. They suited each other, like it was always meant to be him and his dragon - no, his friend.
She realised that she'd been in thought for about a minute, while her boyfriend was still sprawled on the floor. Blushing, she shook his shoulder gently to wake him up. He grumbled a bit, but didn't fully wake up. She huffed in frustration, and instead opted to just carry him and avoid any more mishaps. She turned him around and placed one arm around his back and the other under his legs, hoisting him up. He wasn't very heavy at all in her trained arms. He'd probably not put on too much weight since he was fifteen, growing up, but not much out. She blushed as she realised that he'd definitely grown in terms of muscles, even if it wasn't all that much.
His lightweight build didn't hinder her walking speed much at all, and she actually found it kind of pleasant to have a source of warmth so close to her. He grumbled a bit in his sleep and coiled his arms around her chest. She marvelled at how different he acted when he was drunk, or asleep, or both. If he was sober in this position, he'd be blushing furiously and trying to think of excuses he could stutter out to walk on his own.
The cold night air battled them as they - well, she shoved open the door to Hiccup's hut. It was a relief to get the wind off of her bare legs.
...Her bare legs...
She froze, dropping Hiccup. Her face paled and her eyes widened in horror. He let out a groan of pain. She looked down towards her legs, where her skirt should be. Nothing, only her white undergarments. She then remembered - she had replaced her skirt with a pit of cloth to stop Hiccup from getting hurt on her lap. That piece of cloth must have fallen off when she'd stood up.
"Ohhhh no..." She let out a groan of dread.
Ruffnut probably saw the whooole thing...
Whoop! Another chapter over! Humour isn't exactly my strong point, I know. I'm not too sure how long this story will go on for. Maybe another chapter or so. I dunno, feel free to have your input below!