Marriage Talk

...

"Hiccup, are...are you okay?" Astrid asked as she landed Stormfly on a cliff of Dragon's Edge, where Hiccup was seated beside Toothless. He was staring across the water, one hand mindlessly scratching the Night Fury's head, and the other lying in his lap.

The auburn-haired Viking turned at the sound of his best friend's voice. "Oh, uh...hey, Astrid." He forced a smile.

"What's wrong?" A worried expression crossed the girl's face. After quickly dismounting her dragon, she plopped down beside Hiccup.

"It's...it's my dad. First he's trying to insist I need to start training to be chief, and now he's trying to push me to find a wife. He says nineteen is too old to not have a wedding planned." Sighing, he buried his face in his hands.

"Oh." Astrid frowned. "Well, who does he want you to marry?" Her fingers found their way into her friend's hair, and she began the process of twisting a small section of it into a tiny braid.

"He says he wants me to choose. But if I don't have anyone by the end of the summer, he's gonna start asking around when he visits other islands."

"Well, do you like anyone?" The blonde raised an eyebrow.

"Erm...well, uh...you see, there's this one girl, but I...I don't know if she'd...if she'd accept my offer. She doesn't really seem like the um...marrying, cooking, cleaning, having children type." He scratched the back of his neck.

A pang of jealously swept through Astrid. "Who is she?" she asked, a bit more harshly than intended.

"Never mind."

The two sat in silence while Astrid finished off Hiccup's braid.

"It's weird to think of myself married," the auburn-haired Viking started eventually. "I mean, I guess all of us are gonna get married someday." He paused. "Well, maybe not all of us. You seem uh...you seem pretty devoted to staying a shieldmaiden."

Astrid's cheeks turned red. "Erm...uh...well, I would like to be a shieldmaiden, but you know...um...there is one Viking that I wouldn't mind marrying, but..." She shrugged as she trailed off.

"And who is this? Do you have a secret boyfriend that I don't know about?" Hiccup narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, no, no." She shook her head. "He's not my boyfriend. He's...he's just my best friend."

Now, it was his turn to blush. "Hey, what a...what a coincidence. I uh...I wouldn't mind marrying my best friend, either." He let out a short chuckle.

For a few seconds, their gazes met, and small smiles played on their lips.

"I mean, I'd feel a lot better if she was in bed next to me every night, so I wouldn't have to worry about erm...uh...her sneaking away from Berk to go on early morning flights," Hiccup went on.

"And how do you know she would give that up?" Astrid crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, you know, being in bed with me, she wouldn't...she wouldn't be able to get enough of all this raw Vikingness." Letting out another chuckle, he gestured to himself.

"Hey, don't get your hopes up." She gave him a friendly nudge. "I'm not giving up my sunrise flights that easily. But I will drag you with me sometimes."

A wide grin spread across Hiccup's face. "So, does this...does this mean...erm...does this mean that you'll marry me?"

"I never said I'd marry you." Astrid's words, which came from lips with an equally wide smile, were followed by a gentle punch on the arm as she struggled to keep her joyful tears from flowing down her cheeks.

"Um...yeah, I uh...I was...I was kinda erm..." He began to turn red again.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Haddock. Of course I'll marry you." Without warning, she embraced Hiccup and buried her face in his neck.

The auburn-haired Viking returned Astrid's hug. "Hey, it's okay. Don't cry. I'm not that bad of a guy to be stuck with, am I?" he asked at the feeling of a tear hitting his skin.

"I...I love you," she said, gripping him tighter.

"I love you, too, milady."

The two sat there for longer than they could remember, simply enjoying the act of being in each other's arms. When they finally broke apart, it was because Toothless was nudging his rider, reminding him that it was nearing lunchtime.

"So, should we...should we go back to Berk and tell your dad?" Astrid asked, wiping her moist eyes with the back of her hand. "If we hurry, we could probably get there by sundown."

Hiccup shook his head. "Nah. It can wait until morning. For now, let's just go enjoy a nice meal together. At my place."