Growing Taller
Disclaimer: I do not own DreamWorks's How to train your Dragon.
Chapter 4: How?
"Land Ho!"
Those two words sent Hiccup into a whole new world of relief and utter bliss. Stepping off the creaking, mouldy wood and onto solid, secure land had seemed like a dream the night before, while he was trying his hardest to sleep among 13 snoring children, with only a potato sack for a pillow. The trip from Berk to the mountain island by row boat took two whole days after all. It was now just entering the dusk of the second day of the trip back home, and Hiccup couldn't wait.
He wanted more than anything to fly straight there on the back of Toothless's neck, skipping the final 2 kilometres of ocean left between him and freedom, but unfortunately, the Nightfury had a lot of recovering to do, and was lying on his belly, asleep, in the middle of the deck. It had only taken Hiccup a week or two after arriving at the hunting grounds to realise that Toothless's reptilian body was anything but ideal for the juvenile winter climate in the mountains, what with temperatures of minus 20 degrees Celsius and constant blizzards that rendered the skies there un-flyable. So yea, taking toothless probably wasn't one of the best decisions. But then again, Hiccup wasn't the one that made it.
He looked out again over the wet railing of the ship, across the surging seas of Berk, only to have his view blocked by an offshore island cliff face. He gazed up at the grassy hillside on top of the tall island, and smiled after realising just what island cliff face it was. The last time he had seen it was four months ago.
Sure, the poor water supply and the horrible food they were served had caused Hiccup to wish he were home, but the major factor contributing to his homesickness was something much less cynical. A promise he had made, bonding him symbolically to the one back home, who was undoubtedly waiting for him.
"Astrid! Big news!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut had burst through her front door, apparently with big news. The blond looked up from the book she was reading, her blue eyes expectant.
"He's back."
All Astrid could do was gasp. Those two words had sent Astrid into some sort of high made of hope and overwhelming happiness. She beamed a million smiles in one, tossed the book aside and shot towards the door, before running into the shed to get Sky, and following Ruff and Tuff on their Zippleback towards the docks.
On arrival, she saw dozens of Vikings flourishing around the wharfs, massive arms waving like mad. She looked passed the horned helmets and out into the sea. She saw the same boat she had seen 4 months ago growing bigger and bigger as it sped towards her. She squinted as much as she could without closing her eyes, trying to make out the faces on the ship, but it was not yet close enough. She ran forward and joined the horde of yelling parent Vikings, and clasped her hands together, wondering what she might see when the ship finally made it to shore. She only hoped that she would be able to hold back the tears until then.
The boat hit the wharf with a 'thump' and kids and Vikings piled out and into it, desperate to see the ones they hadn't seen for four months. It would be the same for Astrid, had she been able to move. She pushed through huge muscular Viking after Viking, searching for his face, his hand, his synthetic foot, anything. She was in a haze of embraces and tears and happy reunions.
Suddenly the familiar sound of Nightfury wing beats caught her attention. She looked up.
"Toothless! It's great to see you!" The black dragon was hovering just above the crowd of Vikings, causing bursts of wind to beat down on her. Toothless looked down to her, smiling in reply, before flying to the back of the pack, landing on the hill that looked over the whole mass.
"Wait! Toothless! Where's—!" Just then, someone bumped into Astrid's back. She fell forward, and landed harshly on her knees. Holding back the urge to beat the crap out of whoever had knocked her over, she turned herself around, still on the ground, and the first this she saw was a glint of sunlight reflecting off metal, a metal foot, to be exact. Except this metal foot seemed to be two sizes too small for its wearer.
"Ah! Sorr—!" Astrid heard her favourite voice cut off in a gasp as he realised just who he had rudely knocked over. He immediately grabbed her hand and hauled her back onto her feet, staring into her eyes. Astrid found herself lost in his, too. And so they both stood there, beaming like idiots. They both entered a world all their own, away from the haze of shouting and weeping and strong Viking embraces all around them. Until Astrid finally plucked up the courage to tear her gaze away from his forest green eyes and check out the rest of her long-lost boyfriend. And for the second time that morning, she gasped loudly.
"W-what's wrong?" Hiccup asked, a bit freaked out.
"How did you get so ho—...uh...tall?" Astrid asked, still looking at him up and down, unbelieving of his inhuman 4 month growth rate. And indeed, he was at least a head and a half taller than he was before. Not only that, his hair was a tad longer, hanging just over his eyes teasingly. His shoulders were broad and well built, and his arms seemed to have grown a bit (not too much) buffer under his sleeves.
"Oh. I had a growth spurt. Kinda sudden I know." Hiccup scratched the back of his neck, and developed a pink tinge to his cheeks. "I grew out of my foot while I was there, and had to walk around on a slant for the rest of the time."
Astrid laughed briefly, noticing the clumsy-looking angle in which he was standing on the hill. But that laugh was too much for Hiccup to bear. He moved hesitantly forward, wrapping his strong arms around the small of her back, pulling her closer into an embrace. Astrid blushed, a bit surprised. She had always been the one to make the first move on him. This was something new to her. None-the-less, she didn't pull away. She pulled her arms out from in-between their chests up around his neck, relishing the moment.
"I missed you." Astrid breathed into his neck, closing her eyes.
"You have no idea how much I missed you too" Hiccup replied, as if he was sighing in relief. He pulled away from the hug, and looked Astrid straight in the eyes. "Okay. There's something I have to say that I've been practicing for four months." He said, making Astrid cock her head.
"Astrid Hofferson." He started. Astrid nodded, waiting. When he finally said it, it all came out in a quick blur.
"I-love-you-and-I-want-to-be-with-you-for-the-rest-of-my-life. Will you be my official girlfriend?"
But Hiccup didn't receive the 'become weak at the knees and fall into his arms' reaction he was expecting. Instead, she laughed, happily and joyfully, not mockingly. A light pink dusted her cheeks, and she looked up at him, before reaching up high and bumping him on the head.
"Ow! What was that for—?"
"Thats for leaving me for four months. And for being stupid." She stated.
"Stupid? But you—!" Before he could finish, she presented him with her usual surprise kiss. Except this time she had to stand on her toes to reach his lips. She pulled away quickly, leaving him gobsmacked, again. She loved his expression when she did that.
"That means 'Yes'."
And with that, Hiccup leaned in once again, giving her a taste of her own medicine. His kiss lasted longer and was much more affectionate. Astrid gripped his shoulders as she tried her best to reach high enough. Hiccup gripped her waist to make it easier for her. She could feel their temperatures melding together as and they finally broke apart for air. Puffing, they touched foreheads, a slight laugh escaping Astrid's lips. She was happier than she had ever been before.
They began to attract the attention of the Vikings around them, and Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruff, Tuff, Gobber and Stoic all cheered for them. But their moment was interrupted when Toothless and Sky, keen to join in on the celebrations, jumped up and knocked them both down. Toothless licked Hiccup's face relentlessly, and he and Astrid burst out in laughter as they lay on the grass with their dragons.
Stoic came over and pounded Hiccup in the back, followed by Gobber. A small crowd gathered around the two laughing Vikings as Hiccup began telling everyone of the not-so-great time he had in the mountains. But even so, he had to be grateful for his father, as something much greater had come out of this. Even if it didn't turn out exactly the way he thought it would, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and Astrid Hofferson could be together, forever.
He wouldn't change it for the world.
Thats it for my story guys :') hope you all enjoyed, and I hope the ending was satisfying enough. If u did enjoy, please review it would really help me out a lot. I had a lot of fun writing this. I'll apologise now for any annoying grammar or punctuation mistakes I've made so far, I can't be bothered searching for them and fixing them XD. if anyone likes One Piece, then stay tuned, I have an idea for a LuffyXNami fic that I hope I can start on soon. Thankyou all so much and please review ^^