Tunic

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Hiccup gives Astrid one of his tunics:)

Thanks to MissPitchPerfect25 for helping me out with both this oneshot and the previous one!

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Biting her lip, Astrid rushed out the door of her hut. Huge drops of rain hit her, and her bare toes threatened to sink into the muddy ground with each step she took. However, she wasn't going to give up. She needed to get to her best friend.

"Hiccup!" she called as she skillfully climbed through his window. "Hiccup!"

"Astrid?" The auburn-haired Viking's eyes cracked open. "Why in the name of Thor are you -"

"Here in the middle of the night, I know," she finished. "It's for a good reason; I promise."

"Go on."

"There's a dragon rider. I looked out my window and saw him. And I know it was nobody in our group; the dragon wasn't like anything I'd ever seen before."

Sitting up, Hiccup quickly lit his bedside candle. The flame showed him the blonde's dripping, shivering figure. "Oh gods, you're soaked." After quickly fastening his metal leg, he jumped off his mattress and grabbed two thick, fluffy towels from a nearby shelf.

"The dragon wasn't like anything I've ever seen before," Astrid repeated. "It was hard to tell what exactly it looked like in the dark, but I think it sort of resembled an owl." She began to peel her nightgown from her skin.

Hiccup covered his eyes. "An owl?"

"Yes. I was gonna go take Stormfly to do some stalking, but the rider left too soon."

"Are you sure it wasn't Heather on Windshear? I mean, we did tell her she could visit whenever she wants."

The blonde tossed her soggy garment aside, then started to struggle out of her wet undergarments. "It was not Heather and Windshear! I would've recognized them." A chill ran through her body. "Is there any way to start a fire in here?"

"Toothless," Hiccup prompted, the hand over his eyes still in place.

The Night Fury groaned. If being woken up by a late night visitor wasn't something to be irritated by, being prompted to start a fire when he'd rather be sleeping was.

"Come on, bud."

Knowing he had no choice, Toothless trudged over to the fire pit his rider had created at the back wall of the hut.

"But anyway, Hiccup, I know it wasn't Heather." Astrid dropped her underclothes on top of her nightgown. She then grabbed one of the towels her friend had provided.

"Wait...you said it looked like an owl?"

"Yes, I thought we've been over this." She undid her braid and began to squeeze water from her hair.

"I think I've seen that dragon in the Dragon Eye. It's called a Stormcutter. I remember that Fishlegs said it has the ability to navigate through storms, and is also extremely protective of its family."

Astrid grabbed a brush from Hiccup's bedside table. "So you're saying..."

"Don't go after it alone. If it has a good relationship with its rider and sees you as a threat, it could kill you." He paused. "Did you see what direction it flew off in?"

"North."

"Okay. The storm should be cleared by dawn. We'll leave then."

"Are you sure we shouldn't go now?"

"Astrid, we won't stand a chance against that dragon in this storm, even in a group. It would be safer to wait."

She didn't answer. Instead, she simply worked on brushing her knotted hair. Once she finished, she forced the rest of the water out of it, then patted her still-shivering body dry.

"Astrid? You still here?"

The blonde grabbed the second towel and quickly cocooned herself in it before making her way to the fire pit and sitting down. "Of course I'm still here. By the way, you can stop covering your eyes."

Hiccup moved his hand away from his face. "Are you warming up at all?"

"A little."

He grabbed the blanket from his bed, then walked over to her and tucked it around her slender frame. "You better stay here for the rest of the night. I wouldn't want you going back out and getting all soggy again." With a small smile, he settled in beside her.

Astrid stretched out her feet so that her icy toes were closer to the fire. "Do you happen to have some clothes for me to throw on?"

"Oh...of...of course." Silently cursing himself for not offering clothing to her sooner, Hiccup moved to the chest at the end of his bed and pulled out a green tunic. He was now taller than her - a fact that he was proud of - so his tunic would likely reach to her knees.

"Thanks." The blonde took the garment from him and let the blanket slip from her shoulders. She then tossed the tunic on before sliding her towel off from underneath.

"So, what do you say we get some rest before we have to go look for that Stormcutter?"

"Sounds good to me."

As Astrid stood and turned around, Hiccup struggled to keep his jaw closed. The tunic fell off her left shoulder, allowing the candlelight to illuminate the small freckles that stood there. Her hands were nearly hidden by the long sleeves, and the way the fabric hugged her hips reminded him that she was no longer a girl, but a young woman.

"Hiccup?" she prompted.

He shook his head as he sat down on his mattress. "Sorry. Let's just..."

Smiling, she crawled beneath the covers while he removed his metal leg. The two had enjoyed a few sleepovers during their time on Dragon's Edge, and every time had ended up sharing a bed. They were close enough that it wasn't awkward; in fact, it was quite comfortable to sleep beside a good friend.

"Do you mind blowing out the candle?" he asked with a yawn.

Astrid obliged before cuddling against Hiccup's side and pressing her still chilly toes into his one remaining ankle. She felt her cheeks grow warm as he wound a protective arm around her middle and leaned his head against her golden hair. He might have been thinking about the Stormcutter while he drifted off to sleep, but the dragon had completely left her head. All that was on her mind was how wonderful it felt to be snuggled up to a certain auburn-haired Viking.

...

Hiccup allowed Astrid to borrow his tunic. He almost had to, as she needed something to wear that wasn't rain-soaked for the walk back to her hut. But to her surprise, he told her that he didn't care if he ever got it back. She wasn't sure why he was so willing to give up a piece of his clothing, but she was delighted nonetheless.

After a long day of trying in vain to track down the Stormcutter with the other dragon riders, she took a warm bath in a hidden hot spring to soothe her aching muscles. Once she was finished, she toweled off and slipped Hiccup's tunic over her head. The smell of woods, fresh air, and Night Fury plasma blast hit her all at once.

His smell.

She loved it. Now, she could feel like he was with her as she settled into her bed. Her dreams were filled with the illusion that he was holding her while she slept. She could almost hear him mumble in his sleep, and feel him shift around beside her and subconsciously pull her closer. It wasn't as satisfying as actually lying under the covers with him, but it was a close second.

However, after laundry day, she found herself at his door with the tunic in her hand. It wasn't that she didn't want it anymore, it was just that there was a small problem.

"Hey, Astrid," Hiccup greeted.

"Hey." The blonde stepped inside and tossed the garment at him.

He looked confused. "Why...why are you giving this to me? I told you that you could keep it."

"You see, Haddock, I have a bit of an issue." She stepped closer to him. "When you told me I could have it, it uh..." Her cheeks reddened, and her eyes turned to the ground. How strange was her explanation going to sound?

"It what?"

"It erm...it smelled like you." By this point, her voice had dropped to a whisper. "But now it doesn't."

"It smelled like me?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." She felt her face flush deeper. "It did. And I...I was wondering if you could wear it for a day or two so that it...so that it can uh...have your scent again."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I...I can. But why do you erm...why do you want it to smell like me?"

"Do I really need to answer that?"

"Well, I um...I'd like to know."

Lifting her head, Astrid took a deep breath and wound her arms around her friend's neck. She then rose to her tiptoes and pressed a gentle kiss onto his lips. Words were never really something she was good at; she was better at expressing herself through actions. Fortunately, Hiccup had grown to understand this strange method of communication.

The young man's eyes momentarily widened in surprise at the sudden gesture before grinning and hugging her waist. As she tucked her head into his chest, he rested his chin atop her golden hair. "I'll sleep in it tonight," he promised eventually.

"Thanks." She lifted her face and brushed her lips against his a second time.

Hiccup brought a hand to the back of his head. A single kiss was one thing; however, two within fifteen minutes was an entirely different situation, and he wasn't quite sure how to react. "Uh..."

"I erm...I like kissing you." Astrid's cheeks tinted pink.

He gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah...um...I like it, too. Now, about the tunic..."

"What about it?" She folded her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow.

"I'll wear it to bed tonight. After I take you for an evening flight on Toothless."