Hey, everyone! I'm back from hiatus! I actually only wrote a mere two hundred words of that almost-finished book... I literally couldn't stop writing fanfiction. O-O
Anyways, here is your chapter...
Three's A Crowd: Everyone, it seems, knows about Hiccstrid. Everyone, that is, except Toothless. Every time Astrid and Hiccup try to share a moment, an unaware Toothless intervenes. Set shortly after RttE S4.
Requested byyyyyyy... "the guestbusters are awesome!" Thanks for requesting!
This one will be BURSTING with humor, as I'm sure you guys have already guessed. I really hope they make an episode like this in RttE Season 5.
Also, before you start, I would like to tell you guys one thing about story requests:
When you request, PLEASE leave at least A PARAGRAPH of what you want. It's difficult to know what to do with the one-liners you guys request with. I need more than that to build a story, so when you request PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be exact about what you want. :-)
Now that that's out, enjoy the next edition of this fanfiction! (rhyme so, so intended)
Three's A Crowd
"Alright, so Snotlout and the twins are on a recon flight, Fishlegs and Meatlug are experimenting with some Gronckle Iron, Dad's out chiefing, and we're…" Hiccup paused. "Well… alone."
Astrid crossed her arms, nodding. "Yes, that seems to be the case."
It was a few weeks after the Edge had exploded, courtesy of the volcano. The Riders had done everything they could to stop the lava flow and the tremors the explosion had caused, but it wasn't enough. The Edge was almost destroyed, not to mention slowly sinking into the sea. After everyone was rescued (Chicken, Dagur, Shattermaster, the Night Terrors, to name a few), they had been forced to fly back to Berk. The Edge was now becoming only a distant memory as it disappeared beneath the unforgiving sea.
Astrid had just come over from her home to discuss their next move with Hiccup and possibly the others, but only Hiccup and Toothless were home. They were now in the living room, standing by the fireplace.
"So," said Hiccup, "do you want anything to eat? Maybe a drink?"
"No, I'm fine, thanks."
There was a heavy silence, not quite awkward, but unsure of what to do. Hiccup sat down on the couch, soon followed by Astrid. They looked at each other after a few seconds.
"Hey, Astrid," began Hiccup. "With all of the craziness with the Edge and everything, we haven't really gotten to talk about us." Astrid smiled at the easy way he said that. Us. "And… well, Astrid, I would really just like to say how much I've appreciated you these last couple of weeks. They've been tough—I don't know what I would've done without you."
Astrid shook her head. "You would've done fine on your own. You are an amazing leader, Hiccup." She lightly punched him on the arm. "But, thanks."
Hiccup grinned. "Of course… milady."
Astrid's mouth opened slightly, her mood changing abruptly. "Milady? What?! I'm a Viking—not a lady!"
"Not with that attitude, you aren't…" But he was smiling.
Astrid, however, gave him another punch, this one much harder than the last. "That's for the insult, dragon boy."
Wincing, Hiccup rubbed the spot she had hit him. "Dragon boy? I thought only Snotlout called me that."
"Well, maybe he isn't as dumb as he seems, then. It's rather fitting. You know... thinking of your looks."
Hiccup was taken about. "I look like a dragon?"
"A Gronckle, more specifically. Or maybe a Terror. They both have their own similarities to you, so it's hard to choose."
Hiccup wore a playful scowl as scooted over to Astrid. "Oh, you're going to pay for that, milady…" He reached out his arms and tackled her.
Astrid shrieked, laughing. "You really are a dragon!"
Even though it was great fun, Astrid soon pushed Hiccup away from her, tired of wrestling. She blew a stray bang from her face, still breathless from her giggling. Hiccup sat close by her side, a quiet, yet comforting presence.
Their eyes met for a fleeting second.
They glanced away right after… then slowly looked back.
Tentatively, Hiccup leaned forward, as did Astrid. They closed their eyes, about to-
WHAM!
The couple pulled back quickly, alarmed at the noise. The sound had come from behind the couch, and Hiccup immediately looked to the spot. He was surprised at what—or who—he saw.
"What—Toothless!"
The Night Fury grinned gummily, then thumped his tail, giving off the 'happy dog' energy. Hiccup had suspicions that his dragon had jumped from the top of the staircase to the floor, based on the noise he had made.
"What is it, bud?" said Hiccup with a sigh. Of all the times... Astrid laughed a little, not seeming to be bothered, and appeared to be amused with the situation.
Toothless sat up on his haunches, then opened his mouth. Hiccup could see bare pink gum, like always. Then, suddenly, just the bottom half of his teeth extracted. The top remained buried in gum. Toothless retracted his bottom teeth back under, then brought them back out again. Over and over he did this, bursting with this new revelation.
Hiccup couldn't help but chuckle. "That's very nice, Toothless… but… did you have to discover that now?"
Toothless closed his mouth, then cocked his head, curious about what his rider meant.
Hiccup tried to figure out a way to explain what was going on to his Night Fury. See, compared to humans, dragons took a longer time to process that people had started a relationship. This change was fairly strange for them, unlike the Dragon Riders (save Snotlout), who watched all too giddily every time Hiccup and Astrid interacted.
"It's fine, Hiccup," said Astrid, leaning back. "I'd better go, anyway... My parents might wonder where I've gone. I haven't seen them for a while, what with the Edge and all, and they miss me."
After saying her goodbyes, Astrid departed the house, leaving Hiccup alone on the couch.
He glanced at Toothless, who was now sitting in front of him with a huge and over-excited smile. Hiccup couldn't bear to be angry with that face. Yet, he still was disappointed.
"Thanks a lot, Toothless," sighed Hiccup, "for ruining my first date."
Toothless only extracted his bottom teeth in response.
Hiccup gestured to a couple of houses in front of him, then the sky. "Isn't it a beautiful day, Astrid?"
The young woman nodded, smiling. They were on a walk today—no flying on dragons. Just old-fashioned walking on feet. It was a nearly a week after the Toothless fiasco, and Hiccup wanted another try with Astrid, so he had invited her to take a stroll about the village. It was a very nice day for a walk, and Astrid had agreed to Hiccup's request. Toothless and Stormfly trailed behind them, grunting softly to themselves.
"It really is," said Astrid.
Hiccup snuck a look at Astrid, only to find her staring at him with an amused expression.
"What?" Hiccup asked.
Astrid smiled. "Hiccup, we're in a relationship now... if you want to go on a... a date with me, you just have to ask. And of course I'll say yes."
Hiccup scratched the back of his head, suddenly shy. "I know, I know... it's all so new, though. But it's a good kind of new. A great kind, in fact." He grinned at Astrid. "It's nice being with you. Just you."
Astrid felt her cheeks warm a little. Their hands crept towards each other, about to hold. And then-
"TOOTHLESS!"
Toothless had just stuck his snout into Hiccup's hand, slobbering all over it. Groaning, Hiccup pulled his hand back, shaking off the saliva with obvious disgust.
"You know that doesn't wash out!" he shouted at the Night Fury, who very much did know. Meanwhile, Astrid was fighting back laughter. Toothless gave his dragon chortle, then swatted at his rider with a paw. Hiccup exclaimed in surprise, yelling, "Toothless, would you stop that?!"
Astrid burst out laughing, and Hiccup's plans for the day crumbled. Toothless kept on ruining the romance. Two was company, but three... but three was a crowd. Still wincing, Hiccup tried to come up with a scheme that would prevent Toothless from barging in, yet also let him and Astrid have their time together. A good time, though, not one spent sitting uncomfortably on the couch while Stoick boomed away at his incredible feats.
Fortunately, it didn't take much time to think up of. Hiccup just had to think back... back to the beginning of Hiccup and Astrid.
Later that evening, Hiccup knocked on Astrid's house's door. "Milady? Are you home?"
He heard footsteps start, then pace over to the door. It opened a moment later, and Astrid stood there, looking slightly surprised upon seeing the other Rider.
"Oh! Hiccup, what are you doing here?" she said.
Hiccup grinned, then waved an arm with a flourish. "I would like to take you on a flight this evening, if you would like to do so, since our previous plans were interrupted by a certain Night Fury..." He coughed at Toothless, who was ignorantly playing in the grass next to Hiccup. "So, what do you think?"
Astrid smiled back at him. "That would be great. I'll go get Stormfly, and then we can g—"
"No, no," Hiccup interrupted. "Just you and me on Toothless. You know, for old times sake. Our..." He spread his hands, searching for the right words. "'Romantic flight.'"
"'Romantic flight?'" laughed Astrid. But she inclined her head a moment later. "Well... alright, then. Are we going now?"
Hiccup gestured to the clouds, which were colored in lovely shaded of pink and orange. The sunset was beginning—one not to miss. "What better time is there to go?"
"None, I guess."
They both smirked. The pair then came over to Toothless, who immediately sat up in attention. Soon, they were both settled on him, and at Hiccup's word, they soared off into the skies.
Hiccup was right. The evening was perfect weather for a flight. There was a permanent smile stuck on his face that only grew larger as the three came up above the clouds and the sunset and into that starry universe that never failed to take their breaths away. And, hopefully, Toothless wouldn't ruin this. He couldn't... could he?
"Thanks, Hiccup," Astrid whispered in Hiccup's ear after a few moments. "I really needed this."
"Anytime, Astrid," Hiccup murmured back, his worries slowly fading.
Astrid's arms wrapped around him comfortably, just like that first flight with her, and Hiccup turned his head back to look at the young woman. They grinned at each other, reminded of another time they had done this. Hiccup then leaned in to kiss Astrid, and Astrid did the same. They were almost there… almost about to...
But, of course, Toothless had to intervene. Again.
He suddenly folded his wings and dove down, letting himself free-fall. Astrid hollered at the sudden movement, and Hiccup twisted in the saddle to try and control Toothless.
"TOOTHLESS! STOP IT! WHAT IS IT WITH YOU LATELY—OH, GODS—"
Toothless had just begun the spins. And lots of them. Though both Hiccup and Astrid were used to this by now, it didn't make the experience anymore pleasant than it already was. Though Astrid had stopped yelling, she grabbed Hiccup's arms to keep from falling off.
"We usually take a flight out around this time!" Hiccup shouted to Astrid. "And this is what we do—he must think that's what he's supposed to do now—TOOTHLESS! Agh! You useless reptile—bud, you need to stop!"
They continued.
Hiccup's jaw set. He took in a deep breath and bellowed, "STOP!"
Perhaps it was the abrupt angry tone Hiccup had used, or maybe Toothless was just tired of flying, but he obeyed his rider's orders and jerked to a complete halt. He only flapped his wings to keep them upright.
"Toothless," Hiccup panted. "Bud. Every time... gah, how do I put this... Let's see." He cleared his throat. "Toothless, Astrid and I are in a relationship now. I know it's hard to understand for dragons, but... but we are. And every time we try and share a moment, you... well... jump in and mess it up. Now, Toothless, you are still my best friend, but I'm just saying that I can't only spend time with you. I can't constantly take you on flights, or—or applaud at your new discoveries, however fascinating they might be. I'm sorry, bud, but... things are changing." He swallowed, noticing the disappointed droop of Toothless's ears. "It doesn't mean that I'll never have time for you, though. You're still my buddy."
Toothless whined, then picked up his head to look at Hiccup in the eye. The Rider felt Astrid squeeze his shoulder in response to the speech.
"I really like Astrid," Hiccup whispered to his dragon. Astrid could hear him, but he didn't care. He really was fond of her, and Astrid knew that. "So can you do us this favor, Toothless? Just, you know, if you see us about to hold hands, or even kiss, just let us be? What d'ya say, bud?"
Toothless nodded his head after a heavy moment, making Hiccup grin and scratch the Night Fury's head. "Thanks, Toothless." He then turned back to Astrid, quirking up an eyebrow. "And now, milady, I believe I owe you one romantic flight."
"You do, dragon boy."
Hiccup stared Astrid in the eye, smiling. Before anything else could happen, he leaned in and kissed her. Astrid smirked as Hiccup pulled away and nudged Toothless's sides to say they could go.
"Then a romantic flight it shall be!"
Special thanks toooo...
FanWriter02, thepurplewriter333, phieillydinyia, Goldeneyeddragon101, katurdi, annnnddddddd DragonGirl310! THANK YOU FOR YOUR REVIEWS, GUYS! I LOVE YOU!
I must say I am surprised at how popular this is! Over thirty reviews at four chapters, nearly forty follows, almost thirty faves... it's amazing, as this is my first attempt at writing romance! So, thanks, everyone, for all of your support. :-) It goes beyond words.
I hope you enjoyed this! See you next time, and please drop a review! *waves*