Chapter 15:

Now to make up for all those chapters that didn't have moments of our favorite pairing. And be prepared to laugh your head off at what Draco does!

Things pretty much returned to normal on Berk in about a few weeks. Well, as normal as it was for the people who lived there. There was still some small chunks of ice here and there, but it was normal otherwise.

Mortem was able to get used to his new role as Alpha, and even his family called him that out of affection. At Mortem's request, Feral and Rex built an ice cave similar to that of the old one to honor Benignus. The dragons at first refused to stay, but eventually agreed after realizing how much had been done for their old leader.

Draco was pretty much living in a dream. He was surrounded by new dragons that hadn't been documented, and there was even a pack of Speed Stingers for him to study. He only stopped writing down information to eat and sleep, he didn't even stop to bathe himself. Draco didn't hate baths, but he didn't love them either. Especially when he'd rather be studying the dragons.

It was because of Draco's lack of human interaction that had given Astrid the idea for him to attend a meeting with Hiccup. It seemed like a good idea, but Draco was often one to blurt out embarrassing information about people at the wrong time. He didn't mean to, but it was hard for him to keep all of his thoughts to himself. Especially if he wanted to teach other, younger children about dragons someday.

Draco didn't hate spending time with his father, the fact was he was too busy. Well, whenever Draco wanted to do something, Hiccup had some duties to attend. And whenever Hiccup wanted to spend time with Draco, the boy couldn't tear himself away from the Book of Dragons. They were able to dismiss those times, but they both knew that it couldn't keep up for very long.

Draco also hadn't been in the Great Hall for quite some time. But that wasn't what was making him nervous. One of the Speed Stingers had laid an egg, and he wanted to be there to see it hatch. Hopefully this meeting wouldn't be too long.

It took a while for all to take their seats, and it took even longer for them to quiet down. But once the Great Hall was quiet, Hiccup took the opportunity to speak up.

"I'd like to thank you all for coming, and before we start the meeting, is there anything that any of you would like to say?"

There was silence at first, but Draco suddenly raised his hand. "I want to say something, but I..." "It's okay," Hiccup said, "No one's stopping you, Draco." Hearing this, the boy didn't hesitate to walk up so that he was standing next to his father. He pointed to Hiccup's hair. "The little braids in his hair? He totally hates them." Hiccup's eyes instantly widened as the Vikings began to mutter amongst themselves. "Now, hold on a second..." Hiccup's sentence was cut off by Draco finishing his statement. "In fact, the only reason he keeps them in his hair is because Mom's the one who braids them."

"DRACO!"

The boy ignored his father's shout and continued to talk.

"That's not all. He was also uncomfortable with Hic being named after him because he thinks that his name is..."

That's when Hiccup panicked and quickly covered Draco's mouth to keep him from talking. "THAT'S ENOUGH!" He paused before stating, "You're supposed to say things about yourself. Not other people, especially me!"

"I have something to say," Snotlout said, "I'm bored! I'm too smart for this stuff!" "Oh yeah?" Tuffnut said, "If you're so smart, then how come your dragon lost a roaring contest with that madman?" "Shut it, Tuff!" Snotlout shouted, "It's your fault we got caught in the first place!"

Hiccup sighed. This was going to take a while.

Luckily for Hiccup, the meeting had to be dismissed early due to some unlucky dragons getting caught in what remained of Drago's traps. He wasn't able to get over Draco's embarrassing rant that morning, though. He was hoping that Astrid hadn't heard any of it. Especially the part about the braids.

Hiccup had been longing to spend time with Astrid for a while, but was often held back by work around the village. He missed the days of it being just the two of them, in their teen years, with no responsibilities to worry about. And he knew for a fact that Astrid missed those days as well.

Maybe there was a way for him to make it up to her.

Draco took off running as soon as their house was in view. There was no way he'd miss the opportunity of seeing a Speed Stinger hatch from its egg. Hiccup sighed as he watched Draco run off.

Draco didn't stop until he reached the nesting site of the Speed Stingers. There was a single egg that had been laid in the nest of the Lead Stinger, and it was going to hatch soon. The young boy sat down, his eyes practically glued to the egg. He'd wait all day if he had to in order to see the egg hatch. Luckily for him, the Speed Stinger pack had been friendly towards the Haddocks ever since Mortem became the Alpha. The especially took interest in Draco, who was eager to learn how they lived and hunted for food. He was also thinking that he could find a way to train them. If there was anything that Draco hated more than bad people like Drago and Dagur, it was untrainable dragons. Maybe he could somehow train the Speed Stinger that hatched from this egg to show everyone that even untrainable dragons could be trained.

The Speed Stingers watched Draco with interest as the boy sat with his gaze never leaving the egg in the nest.

Hiccup practically stumbled into his home with Toothless beside him, in case he had to hold his friend up. Hiccup collapsed into a chair, Toothless crooning nervously. Hiccup sighed and ran a hand through his hair. If Astrid had heard Draco's embarrassing rant, he'd never hear the end of it. And he was sure that she wouldn't forgive him for not telling her the truth.

He had never actually told her that he didn't like her braiding his hair, but he didn't say that he loved it either. He didn't really say anything about how he felt about it, thinking that he might hurt her feelings. And now there was a chance that she had found out, and he knew for a fact that it would take more than a simple apology this time.

Toothless sat down as he watched his friend hang his head in embarrassment. He wanted to smile, but he knew that would only make his rider feel worse. He crooned softly before retreating into his special room, where his rock bed was.

Hiccup, for once, didn't pay attention to his retreating friend. There was a squawk from outside, and Hiccup knew that Astrid was home. There was no mistaking Stormfly's friendly croons and growls. He turned his head away at the sound of the door opening.

"Rough day?"

Hiccup had been expecting her to ask that. He shrugged. "It wasn't that bad." Astrid let Stormfly run past her to join Toothless in the Dragon Room before approaching her husband. The closer she got, the more nervous Hiccup felt. What if she had heard Draco's rant? "You know," Astrid said, grabbing a chair and sitting down next to him, "I happened to pass by the Great Hall this morning, and I happened to hear a few things." "What things?" Hiccup asked, trying not to sound panicked. Astrid shrugged. "Just something about braids." Hiccup groaned. She had heard it.

Astrid turned to look at him. "Care to explain why Draco was saying that?" she asked. Hiccup sighed. "Astrid, I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you, but I..." He paused, ashamed of not telling the truth before. Astrid raised an eyebrow. "But what?" Hiccup sighed before finishing. "I didn't want you to feel bad. I mean, you're always there to support me, and...I thought that if I told you, then..." He was cut off by Astrid hugging him. Stunned, Hiccup started to hug her back when she suddenly pulled out of the embrace and gently punched him in the arm. Well, gentler than usual. "You could have just told me," she said, "You didn't have to keep it a secret." Hiccup would've sighed again if he wasn't surprised by the sudden punch. "Guess I can't really keep anything from you, can I?" he asked. Astrid shook her head.

Hiccup lowered his gaze to the floor. It was true that he didn't like the braids, but he had actually gotten used to having them. Especially since they were most likely going to be a regular thing. He suddenly remembered that he had wanted to spend more time with Astrid, and realized that this could be his chance. He snapped back to reality when he felt a small tug on one of the braids. He didn't need to look up to know that it was Astrid. "I'm sorry," he muttered. He heard Astrid chuckle. "You don't need to apologize," she said. She tugged on the braid before letting go and taking his hand. Hiccup shook his head. "But I should have told you the first time." He started to pull his hand away, but Astrid tightened her grip. "I know that you're under a lot of pressure," she said, "But if you would listen to me..."

"I'm failing."

Astrid's expression changed to shock at what Hiccup had said. He sighed before continuing. "I'm still trying to get used to all of the work that has to be done around the village, and I can't spend as much time with my family. I want to spend more time with you, Astrid, but...somehow, I can't."

Astrid didn't say anything at first, since she was stunned, but she had an idea. "Then I won't speak," she said, "Just let me show you."

Hiccup's eyes instantly widened. He knew those words. Those were his words. He looked up to see Astrid smiling at him. Realizing what she was doing, he nodded.

Hiccup and Toothless had missed flying above the clouds, with nothing but them and the open sky. And it had been a while since Astrid had joined them in their usual flights. And the moment couldn't be more perfect.

Now that he had gotten back on his dragon, with the love of his life behind him on the saddle, Hiccup could finally relax. It was just like he remembered, with the open sky and the sunshine reflecting off the top of the ocean. He had missed flying with his best friend. And now they could fly together again, with their worries behind them.

Astrid was happy to be spending time with Hiccup again. They had been through a lot together, and they both needed some time to reflect and relax. She could still remember when they were teens, and she'd do almost anything to relive those moments.

The late afternoon soon drifted away and was replaced with the early evening. The sun was beginning to set, lighting the sky with pink and orange, like a field of wildflowers. The calming winds had nearly put Toothless to sleep, and the black dragon soon turned back and headed to the cove in a daze. It didn't take long for them to get there, and as soon as Toothless landed, he fell asleep almost immediately. He hadn't been able to relax for a while, since he and Hiccup were always busy, and now he could finally take a nap without being woken up five minutes later.

Hiccup and Astrid both dismounted a slumbering Toothless and headed to the other side of the cove, so they wouldn't wake him up. When they were a far distance away, Hiccup turned to Astrid.

"Do you like me?"

Astrid stared at him in shock before smiling. She knew what he was up to. She gave him a gentle punch in the arm before replying. "Not really." Hiccup smiled back at her before pulling her into a hug. They had used the "L" word almost every day of their lives, but it never lost meaning. And they didn't care if they said it too often, for it was how they truly felt. Hiccup buried his face into Astrid's fur hood.

"I love you."

His words were muffled, but she still heard him.

"I love you, too."

They pulled out of the embrace. Astrid reached down and pressed the button on Hiccup's flight suit that released the fin on his back. Hiccup chuckled as the fin popped out. "That's never going to get old, is it?" Astrid laughed in response. Hiccup sighed. "I'll take that as a 'no'." Still laughing, Astrid pulled him to her.

"Come here, you."

Hiccup was momentarily surprised, but he got over it quickly. They both leaned in for a kiss, meeting each other halfway.

On the other side of the cove, Toothless opened one of his eyes. He immediately noticed the two lovers and grumbled quietly. He shut his eye, rolled over, and went back to sleep.

Astrid and Hiccup paid no attention to the grumpy dragon, their attention was only on each other.

And it would be for a long while.

Sorry for the long wait, but exams have finished, and I should be able to update more frequently. Yes, there will be more Hicstrid from this point forward, and some moments with the kids as well. Feel free to leave a review, if you want.