When they arrived, they could already feel the warm steam meeting them in the air. Hiccup smiled, landing Toothless down in one of the hot springs. Toothless waited excitedly for him to unstrap the saddle and tail fin. Hiccup smiled and hurried on taking it off before taking his own clothes off, leaving him in only his fabric boxers, and jumping in the spring himself. The two played around in the hot water, relaxing when they got tired. Hiccup had his eyes closed, enjoying the warmth and the calm wind that dried his wet hair slowly, sometimes opening an eye to find Toothless swimming around happily. He opened his eyes with a smirk, grabbing one of the towels and dipping it in the warm water.
"Toothless," He called, walking towards the dragon that swam over to him. "Time to get you washed," He laughed, walking closer to rub the wet towel against the scaly skin. Toothless shrieked, jumping away. "Get back here!" Toothless swam faster away as Hiccup chased him. He looked back once in a while to find Hiccup even closer. Hiccup grabbed a hold of his tail and gently climbed onto his dragon's back.
"Gotcha!" He smiled, rubbing the towel against his scaly back. Toothless growled, swimming down beneath the water where Hiccup held on tightly. He stayed below for a few seconds until going back up. He looked back and smiled. Hiccup frowned, brushing his wet hair away from his eyes. "Would you just stay still? It's not as bad as it seems," Hiccup said, jumping out into the water as he felt colder. He smiled, placing the towel beneath Toothless chin and began washing it. Toothless purred, his eyes narrowing in delight. "You like that huh?" Toothless crooned in response.
Astrid walked through the woods towards the hot springs, hoping to find Hiccup there. If not it would've been a waste of walking all the way to the springs. She heard laughter as she walked up a hill. A smile stretched across her lips as she picked up her pace and ran up. When she got closer, she had hoped to find him dressing up, but instead found him still undressed in the hot spring. She quickly hid behind a bush and watched in hope to get a better look on the mark she had noticed.
Hiccup had his back to her with a smile, washing his dragon in a good mood. He didn't have any clue that Astrid was watching his every step. She looked around and noticed Hiccup's prosthetic was by Hiccup's clothes. Wow, he really has a good balance, she thought amazed. She watched him as he washed Toothless's neck, rubbing the scales with ease. His muscles flexed as he used force on washing his dragon clean. Something Toothless hadn't been before. Her eyes scanned his muscles, not once leaving them. She felt her lips go dry as she stared at him. He was hot, no doubt about that. Though he may not be the brawny kind, because you could still see his bones, just not as much as before, but he was still strong. Maybe even stronger than any of his friends.
One thing her eyes caught sight of, was the scars. The whip marks from his time on Outcast Island. Astrid shuddered at the thought. All the memories of finding him tortured and bringing his lifeless body back to the ship. She looked up at his face, noticing the healed scratch across his right eyebrow. The sun shone on his face, and his scar shining up like the water reflects the sun at times. It went from a little above his eyebrow across his eyebrow and down past his eye, stopping a little beneath it. His eyebrow was cut from hair where his scar went. It made him look tough and could make him look scary to strangers, but for those who knew him, wouldn't be afraid of him because of a battle scar. They all knew he was the same awkward, yet intelligent, boy from three years back.
Astrid decided she had watched too long without any answers and walked out, revealing herself.
Hiccup whistled a tune he was all too familiar with. He remembered Gobber whistling it in the forge whenever he felt lonely. One day he asked him what the song was called and Gobber had answered. "It's called For the Dancing and the Dreaming lad," Hiccup also remembered how Gobber had told him that it was his father and mother's tune. The one song they sang on their wedding day. Hiccup had always wanted to sing that song for the one he would marry, to honor his mother, but that was to wait for now. Though, that didn't mean he never sang it.
Hiccup rubbed the towel against Toothless left front paw, hearing the familiar purrs from his dragon, when suddenly a twig snapped. Toothless shot up defensively, growling at the trees behind his rider. Hiccup turned around, slowly reaching out for his prosthetic.
"Easy there dragon boy," Hiccup's eyes widened. In an instant, he sank lower to cover up his undressed body. Astrid walked out of the bushes with arms crossed. She rolled her eyes as she noticed how he covered up his body. Now he's shy? Astrid asked herself, thinking back to the day she found Hiccup walking out of the forge shirtless.
"Hi-hey…uhm hi As-Astrid…," He said shyly, barely having his head over the edge. "T-this is awkward…," Hiccup said, nervously scratching the back of his neck. Astrid rolled her eyes and walked over to him, leaning over the edge only a few inches away from his face.
"Your father sent me to get you," Hiccup nodded for her to continue. "Sven's sheep are loose. Turns out they had been during the whole invasion," Hiccup looked at her in disbelief.
"What? But the invasion stopped like two weeks ago!" Hiccup exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.
"Yeah, well apparently Sven also complained about the messy road to his farm," Hiccup groaned, rubbing his eyes.
"I'll add that to the list then," He said. Hiccup stood up and whistled for Toothless. Toothless came over to him and covered him up with his wing as they stepped out of the hot springs. "You mind?" Hiccup asked, turning to Astrid who was sitting on a rock, staring with her head in her palm.
"Nope," She smiled, popping the 'p'. Hiccup rolled his eyes once again and strapped on his prosthetic. He stood up and put on the rest of his clothes, using the last towel to dry his hair. Toothless uncovered him and walked over to Astrid who stood up. Hiccup grabbed his saddle and started working on strapping it to his back and tail.
"Let me guess, he wants me to gather the sheep and build a new barrier?" Astrid shook her head.
"No, he wants us, as in us and the rest of the academy, to get them," Hiccup nodded as he finished strapping the saddle and tail to Toothless.
"All done!" He smiled, walking over to the saddle. He was about to jump on when Astrid stopped him. "What?" She smiled evilly.
"Not yet dragon boy. You're still missing one thing," She smiled, taking a handful of his hair on the right side behind his ear.
"Argh, come on Astrid. Braids are for women," Hiccup groaned, standing still so he wouldn't cause any pain to himself.
"No, they're for both women and men. For men they're to show the affection of the other and mark them as yours," She smiled, beginning on the second braid. "And for women it's to keep the hair away," Hiccup nodded calmly.
"Okay- wait what?" Astrid laughed, jumping onto Toothless. Hiccup's eyes narrowed as he looked up at her. "So does that mean…you like me?" Astrid punched his shoulder and rolled her eyes.
"Did it really take you that long to figure?" Hiccup looked away, muttering something to himself. "Now come on, your father is waiting," She said, dragging him onto Toothless. Toothless growled in agreement. Tired of waiting on the two of them. Hiccup rolled his eyes and strapped his prosthetic to the stirrup. Toothless flew up in the air once Astrid wrapped her arms securely around Hiccup's waist and Hiccup extended the tailfin.
"You know, if you want me to be with you, you could just say so," Hiccup smiled, looking at her as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?" Hiccup chuckled, looking forward as the village came into view. The sun was just setting, making the sight of Berk look beautiful. Hiccup wouldn't have asked if it wasn't a perfect time like this. He was sure if he did it someday it rained, Astrid would've mocked him for that if she said yes.
"If I did, would you say yes?" Hiccup teased, smiling from ear to ear. He didn't feel nervous for her answer, because deep, deep down, he knew she would say what he wanted to hear. And there was no doubt about that.
"Let's see," Astrid teased back, looking up at Hiccups face, trying to stop herself from smiling widely. "Yes," She smiled, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the moment. Unfortunately, the moment didn't last very long as the sound of sheep rang in their ears. She looked below them to find a pack of sheep running into the woods. Astrid nudged Hiccup's shoulder. "Down there," She pointed to the sheep just before they went out of sight.
"Let's go," Hiccup said, steering Toothless down for a dive. Right before they were about to crash, Hiccup pulled up and chased the sheep. Toothless sped up and swooped down closer. "Here they come!" Hiccup warned. He turned around to face Astrid who held tightly onto his waist. "Hold on," She nodded and held him tighter as Toothless grabbed two sheep and glided with his back facing the ground. Hiccup grabbed the last sheep before Toothless turned back around and then flew up in the air, heading for the farm. "Good job bud," Toothless growled proudly.
Astrid smiled at the two, happy to see such a powerful bond. She always herd Hiccup compliment everyone whenever someone did something. No matter the reason. He always encouraged people around him with his words, and she was proud of him for that.
As they rounded the last corner, they saw their friends with their dragons looking up at them. Toothless landed lightly on the ground after dropping the two sheep in his paws. Hiccup unhooked his prosthetic and jumped down, placing the sheep down before he helped Astrid down.
"Look who decided to show up," Tuffnut rolled his eyes, leaning on Belch's horns in boredom. The two walked over to them.
"Ooh, someone hasn't collected any sheep for the competition," Snotlout nudged Astrid playfully, winking at her. Hiccup came over to her, wrapping an arm around her with a smile.
"First of all Snotlout, she's the one who collected the sheep. Not me," Snotlout snorted. Astrid turned around to look at him with a questioning look, but Hiccup continued. "And second, what competition?"
"The sheep catching competition?" Ruffnut sassed, leaning her head on Barf's head lazily.
"Guys, this isn't a competition," Hiccup tried to reason with them.
"Uh, yes it is?" Tuffnut said, straightening up.
"No, this is just a task from silent Sven," Hiccup said.
"We may have forgotten to tell you that," Hiccup looked at Astrid questioningly.
"Forgotten to tell me what exactly?" He asked.
"Silent Sven broke his silence. It's so cool it makes my ears ring," Tuffnut cheered, gesturing to his ears. Hiccup rolled his eyes. Out in the distance they heard a hideous sound. Everyone covered their ears.
"That would be him," Fishlegs said, mounting Meatlug before he set off in hope to get anywhere else than that voice. Hiccup looked up in the sky to see his friends flying off, leaving only him, Astrid and Heather behind with silent Sven approaching them. Hiccup walked over to Astrid, giving her a peck on her cheek before he walked towards silent Sven.
"I'll see you two ladies later," Hiccup smiled before getting back to work.
Heather looked at the two confused. Of course Astrid and Hiccup hadn't come out official yet, but she could still see the little connection between the two. Though, it did make her confused, so she decided to ask.
"Are you two…," Heather trailed off with a smile, expecting Astrid to continue on.
"Oh shut up," Astrid rolled her eyes, punching her shoulder. She whistled Stormfly over and mounted her before she turned to Heather with a smile, holding out her hand. "And yes, we're official," Heather smiled, jumping onto Stormfly and the two set off towards the village.
It didn't take them long to arrive, considering the distance between the village and the farm. From above, they could see the Vikings repairing the last of the houses. They had made sure to make room for Hiccup's new plans for making the village stronger. No one, but Hiccup, Gobber and Stoick had seen the plans, but everyone knew they existed.