To Sir Baron: Let's just leave it at that he has come across it when Trader Johann had been rambling on about one of his journeys to faraway lands.
To earthraindragon1: I'm glad you like it. They are 15 years old.
To the rest of my readers/reviewers: Thanks! It's good to know you guys have enjoyed my story so far. I will try my best to get updates in here and there.
Thanks for the review guys! This is my first time writing a fanfic, and the positive reviews were a pleasant surprise. That being said, I regret to inform you that updates for this story are likely to be few and far between as I am rather busy at this given point in time. Still, fret not for I shall still try to make as much time as possible to update the story for my beloved readers. Anyway, onwards to the next chapter!
Hiccup awoke with a start from his rather pleasant dreams, which had much to do with his anticipation to spend time with Astrid. Checking the position of the Sun in the sky, he guessed it was only around 7, so he had time to get rid of his morning wood, do some drawing and mentally prepare himself for whatever he had just been dragged into. His father had already left for his early morning rounds as chief, so he didn't have to worry about getting caught in the act as he made his way to his outhouse.
Unbeknownst to Hiccup, Astrid had awoken at the same time and had decided to check in on him to see if he had woken up already. She quickly washed and dressed herself, before grabbing her trusty axe and heading out. As she made her way over to the chief's house, she pondered over what she would get Hiccup to do that day. Running? Lifting? Throwing? Sparring? She couldn't really make up her mind, so she decided she'd get Hiccup's opinion on it. Nearing her destination, she thought she heard some strange noises coming from the Haddock's outhouse. Perhaps Hiccup is up already after all, she thought to herself. She had seen Stoick walking about while on her way over, so it only made sense that Hiccup would be the one using the toilet. Moving closer to knock and confirm the identity of who was inside, she heard some grunts and groans, and then a distinct "HHNNGGH, Assssstriiiid!"
Now Astrid, while not ignorant to what married couples do on their wedding night and on other separate occasions, had not heard of pleasuring oneself before. As such, she had no clue as to what Hiccup could possibly have been doing. However, feeling a little concerned for Hiccup's voice had sounded a bit strained, she went ahead and knocked on the door.
"Hiccup? Are you ok? I heard some strange noises coming from in there."
Having just finished his morning ritual, Hiccup was in a state of peace, but upon hearing the voice of the person he was fantasizing about coming from just outside the toilet, panic immediately set in, especially since she had apparently heard him making noises.
"Astrid! Hey Astrid hi Astrid! Umm, wh-what are y-you…doing here so early? It's not 8 already is it?" He asked while quickly cleaning up and preparing himself to look as normal as possible given the circumstances.
"Well, I wasn't sure if you would wake up on time, so I decided to come over and check in on you. Guess it wasn't needed huh," she replied.
"Yeah…I guess so..."
The first thing Astrid noticed when Hiccup appeared at the door was that his face was flushed, and he awkwardly stood there as she inspected him.
"So…what WERE you doing in there? I heard my name too, and I don't think that's necessary for what people would normally be doing in a toilet do you?" She asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
Hiccup had been wrecking his brain to come up with a believable excuse, and after weighing his options decided on one.
"Uhhhh…well, I thought, you know, since I'm going to be tortured later, I might as well start it off first myself with some…PUSH UPS! Yea…I was doing push ups in there."
"Aaaand why would you need to say my name while doing push ups?"
"Well, erm, I'm not too sure either, it just kind of happened? Like, I guess I was using you for some motivation?"
Astrid didn't buy it of course, but she couldn't really think of anything else Hiccup could have been doing. Deciding it didn't really matter in the end, she gave up further questioning. She did, however, decide to torture her friend a little more for not being truthful, even though it was probably a white lie.
"Ok. Well now, what say you to an earlier breakfast then? Since we're both awake already. No point in lazing about more than necessary huh? Wouldn't be good for your body to go and get sluggish when there's work to be done soon. Let's go!"
With that, she turned and headed for the Great Hall. After a few steps, she realized Hiccup wasn't following her.
"Umm, at least let me change into a more appropriate outfit first?"
"Alright, but step on it! I expect you at the Great Hall in 10 minutes pronto!"
"Yes, ma`am!"
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(At the Great Hall 10 minutes later)
Astrid had already begun her meal when Hiccup arrived. As he approached her, she decided he was too scrawny and so needed to bulk up a little.
"Alright, first things first, you're gonna need to eat a hefty breakfast to make sure you have enough energy to last till lunch. So, get going! Make sure to eat lots of protein."
"Okay."
As Hiccup was getting his food, Snotlout, for some reason, was also up and about already, happened to pass by.
"Hey fishbone! Whatchu gonna do with all that food huh? Keep it to feed wild dragons so they don't eat you instead? Haha!"
"Well, I thought since most of the villagers, including you, seem to be getting a little too pudgy, I might as well help you all slim down by taking a little more food. After all, maybe I'll stop being a fishbone someday if I eat more." Hiccup drawled sarcastically.
"Pudgy? What's that?" Being the pea-brained prick that he was, Snotlout had no idea whether Hiccup had just insulted him or complemented him.
Hiccup, not looking for trouble so early in the morning, decided to go with a less insulting description.
"You know, large beefy arms, stout body and muscle everywhere? Yeah…"
Luckily for him, Snotlout bought it.
"Hmph! That's right and don't you get forget it! Maybe I'll let you touch my guns someday, when you're no longer a walking fishbone," Snotlout flexed his biceps, trying to look cool.
I'd probably rather stay a walking fishbone then, Hiccup thought to himself.
After the awkward exchange with Snotlout, Hiccup quickly made his way back to Astrid and began eating.
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With breakfast out of the way, Astrid led Hiccup into the woods towards her usual training spot.
"Nothing like a pleasant morning stroll through nature to aid digestion eh?"
"Yup…"
"I saw Snotlout talking to you back at the Great Hall. What did he want?"
"Oh you know, the usual, belittling me, flaunting his 'guns' as he puts it, being a Viking through and through. Ah, and he was also so kind as to offer me a chance to touch his 'guns' when I am no longer a walking fishbone. How generous of him eh?"
Astrid laughed at his witty sarcasm, but still felt somewhat disgusted with Snotlout.
"Well, guess you'd want to stay a walking fishbone then."
"My sentiments exactly…"
They finally arrived at their destination, and Astrid put Hiccup to work.
"I trust you know that this is not going to be easy, right?"
"Yep. Pain? Love it!"
"C'mon Hiccup, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it!"
"Alright alright, what do you want me to do?"
"You see that tree there?"
"Yeah…you're not going to ask me to chop it down or something are you…?"
"Ha ha, very funny Hiccup. Don't go giving me any ideas or you might regret it."
"Ok, sorry ma`am!"
"We'll start with some endurance training. I want you to run to that tree, then over to that other tree there, and back. Repeat that 10 times and then I'll give you a few choices. Pick one and that will be the agenda for the day. Go!"
I'll be absolutely frank here; I'm not entirely sure where I want this story to go. On one hand, if I were to go deep with the dragons and stuff, it's probably going to take quite a long time to finish with my busy schedule. On the other hand, if I didn't do that, I feel like the story would be kind of incomplete. Therefore, I'd like your opinions on the matter. However, I may still stick my original ideas, since I have a rough plan of how I intend to go about the story along those lines.
Anyway, R&R! Let me know if you liked this chapter, and if not, how you think it should have turned out. I'm changing the rating to M to be on the safe side.