Waking up, Astrid felt warmer than she'd ever been before. Her head was groggy but as her memory came back, she let a smile cross her lips, feeling the warmth coming off of the body behind her, one of his arms wrapped around her protectively, his face buried between her hair and her neck. Hiccup must have felt her stirring, because his arm slid down from her waist and he pressed his lips to her nape with a murmur.
"Good morning, my Queen," he purred, watching her turn around to face him as he leaned up on his elbow, resting his head on his upturned hand as his other spread across the expanse of her back, fingers trailing over her hip and along her thigh, making her shiver from the touch and the way they throbbed as a gentle reminder. She hummed, tilting her head up to kiss his lips tenderly.
"My King." He nipped at her bottom lip in return and she reached up, cupping his face with both her hands as they kissed, tongues brushing together as they laid there on the floor of the cave. The kiss continued for about half a minute before a noise sounded on the other side of the dead fire and Astrid broke them apart, looking over her shoulder to see Stormfly and Toothless watching them, heads tilted curiously.
Hiccup chuckled warmly, stroking his hand over her stomach before he tilted his head to nip at the crook of her jaw. "I'll go get us all some breakfast. There's bound to be a fresh water stream somewhere here. I'm not risking going into the sky over the ocean."
"Mmm...do you have to?" Astrid nearly whined, draping her arms around his shoulders after they sat up, fluttering her eyelashes at him teasingly, earning herself a laugh before he gently unwrapped her arms, standing with a stretch. She licked her lips, watching the way his skin stretched over his stomach, the way small muscles stood out before she pouted in disappointment when he grabbed his pants and pulled them on.
Watching the look on her face, Hiccup reached down to help her up, pulling her into his arms for a quick kiss, fingers spreading out over her hips before he pulled away. "I'll be back soon. I promise."
"I'll hold you to that promise," she murmured against his lips, reaching up to tug on his little side braid. "Don't keep me waiting another five months." She watched him smile gently, neglecting to put on his shirt or chainmail before he walked around the dead camp fire, placing his hand to Toothless's head and the two of them taking off down the neck of the cave to the outside. She let out a small sigh, meeting Stormfly's knowing look. "Oh, what're you looking at?"
When Hiccup came back an hour later with a small armful of fish and some sticks for roasting, Astrid was dressed in her binder, skirt and boots, stoking a fire that she'd had Stormfly start. The cold air left from the rainstorm last night was lingering, and the two vikings let themselves enjoy each other's company as they cooked their fish, the dragons proceeding to eat their share before them.
"We could stay like this, you know." Astrid looked out the corner of her eye at him, watching the way he turned his fish over before they locked eyes. He cupped his free hand over hers, fingers stroking gently up her arm. "Blocked off from the outside world, nobody knowing where we are." He pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder. "Start our own tribe."
The thought made her tingle as she turned her head, letting him kiss her tenderly before she broke it off, leaning back on her hands. She gave a small sigh, reaching up to cup her hand against his cheek. "It's tempting, don't get me wrong, but leaving the entire Archipelago to war? You know I can't do that." At the look on his face, she stroked her thumb under his sealed eye socket. "You united three of the Archipelago's most dangerous tribes, Hiccup. If we leave your Grandmother in charge, she could cause war to break out without lifting her pinky."
"I know, I know." He sounded like a little kid, not at all like the bloodthirsty cannibal she'd first encountered. Hiccup leaned his head into her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm. "Maybe after?"
She smirked a little before she shook her head, chuckling. "Maybe." Picking up her fish again, she inspected the meat and started to eat it, careful of the bones, hearing her stomach grumble in appreciation. She watched Hiccup practically devour his out the corner of her eye, her cheeks heating as she thought back to last night.
Fingers dug tenderly into her hips, his face buried into her neck as he joined them together, his own hips rolling against her in a way that made her call out his name, back arching up off the floor of the cave. Lifting her legs around his waist, he started pressing into her, teeth nipping her collar bone, her nails digging into his shoulders...
Astrid shoved a piece of fish into her mouth to keep herself from making any noise at the memory, the heat on her cheeks rising as she drew her legs up, knees together. Staring at the fire, she let her thoughts sober up, setting the remains of her fish down on the ground as she crossed her arms over her legs. "We need to find the dragon jewel before Excellinor and Heather do. It's the key to finishing this whole...thing."
"You're right." Hiccup finished off his own breakfast, throwing the bones into the fire and brushing his hands off on his pants. "Grandmother never informed me on where exactly the warriors had already searched since she thought Heather had me under some kind of spell, but I caught wind of a majority of the Outcasts being sent to Breakneck Bog last month. What better dragon to guard the jewel than the Smothering Smokebreath."
"And if Gothi's records are right and Grimbeard the Ghastly was the last person in possession of it, and he was one of the trickiest vikings who ever lived." Astrid pursed her lips together. "It's not going to be easy." She wrapped her arms around her knees. "A jewel made by Odin to keep Loki's children at bay and protected by the one viking who was as crafty as the God of lies and mischief himself."
Silence fell between them for a little while, their hands finding each other and fingers linking together, their dragons curled up behind them. After a long time, Hiccup spoke, his voice soft. "I think that's why I'm so important to this. Why I have Loki's mark." She remembered the mark she'd seen last night - a birthmark that looked like a snake biting its own tail. She hadn't thought much of it, mostly distracted. She cupped her hand around his tighter, brushing her thumb along his palm. He looked at her out the corner of his eye and smiled slightly, though it was a little bitter. "I was basically being groomed for this. Washing up on Outcast Island, all those years of training...it all lead to this." He looked back at the fire. "I've never told anyone, but I have a very faint memory, from the night I was sent across the Wrath of Thor. I remember someone hovering over me in that storm, as though they were making sure I was going to reach my intended destination. I don't remember what they looked like, but there was something about them that made me calm."
"Hiccup..." Astrid slid closer, settling herself next to him, blue eyes filled with worry before she looked back at the fire, leaning her head on his shoulder. "We don't have to do this, you know," she finally said after a minute or two of quiet, her fingers spreading along his and watching the way they linked and unlinked. "We could just live here, away from the war and all the fighting." When he gave her an incredulous look, considering she'd said the exact opposite before, she smiled, fingers squeezing his.
"No." He shook his head, brushing his lips over her temple gently. "You said it yourself, we're the ones who need to finish this."
"Then we should go back to Berk first. Grimbeard's final resting place is up in the hills past Raven's Point. Maybe we'll find a clue there, make sure we're on the right track as far as Breakneck Bog is concerned..."