WARNING: bit of a risqué fluff/smut and overall silliness in this post... I'm not sure if it should be filed under M-rating or not, but I suppose not? is this NSFW-ish? xD

SUMMARY: Hiccup makes Astrid feel at peace most of the time, but he also has a way of triggering a hot restlessness within her - mostly unwillingly.

Silence

Astrid had been awake for a while now; but Hiccup was still dozing off, sleeping with his bare back turned to her. She was the kind of person who sometimes just hated being still, hated having nothing to do with her hands.

Astrid was, of course, perfectly capable of keeping quiet and unmoving. But that didn't mean she liked it all the time. The silence was bothering her, when it usually brought her solace.

Right now, Astrid was bored, and so needed something to do… Her eyes fell upon the young man snoring peacefully beside her, and she understood all to well the reasons for her sudden restlessness...

She smirked.

"Stoooop it, that tickles!" Hiccup whined as he stirred awake, groggily trying to push Astrid's hands away from his exposed torso. He pulled the fur cover – which she had dislodged – over himself, but it didn't prove to be much of a defence against her persistence.

"Oh come on, you big baby…" Astrid cooed, batting her eyelashes at her beau in a hopefully adorable way. He didn't buy it.

"No. You know I'm ticklish," Hiccup said firmly, his lips set into a straight, thin line. He was visibly grumpy from the rude awakening.

"I know."

"And you know I hate tickles."

"I know," Astrid sighed. "But it's not like I was doing it on purpose…"

Hiccup scoffed, unconvinced. He lay belly-side up, clutching the heavy blanket up to his chin like a little kid.

"Honestly! I was just tracing your scars," she said, tugging at the furs until she managed to pry them from Hiccup's hands, dragging the makeshift fluffy barrier over them instead of between them. Hiccup groaned, but didn't try to claim them back.

Astrid scooted over, pulling him into a sideways hug and resting her head on his chest. She pressed herself heavily against him, sliding one of her naked legs up and down his and rocking her hips beside his thigh suggestively.

Hiccup didn't say anything; he just let out a half-moan, half-grunt of mild exasperation. He knew all too well where this was going.

"Ah, c'mon… I've barely had time to catch my breath."

He didn't mean it as an actual complaint and Astrid knew this all too well. There was still a thin film of sweat over his burning skin; her hair was still damp, clinging to her neck and shoulders. A thin veil of steam wafted from their bodies, an effect of the contrast between their warmth and the bedroom's cold temperature.

Their lovemaking had been tender yet energetic, desperate even; as it always was whenever they'd been into an argument and then decided to end it with a kiss. The kisses would never suffice, however, and they would just end up completely tangled in one another, sometimes still half-clothed.

She didn't even have to rub up against him for long.

"Ah… there you go. Looks like catching a breath will have to take a rain check," Astrid murmured teasingly into Hiccup's ear, nudging him with her nose. He chuckled and kissed her forehead; he made to turn himself sideways to kiss her fully, but then… she…

"Astrid."

"Hmmm?" She asked nonchalantly.

"… what are you doing?"

"Uh. Nothing?"

Hiccup paused for a moment, squinting suspiciously at her like she'd grown a cabbage on her head.

"You do know that's not how it's supposed to –"

"I know, I know," Astrid cut him off, "But this is so much fun! Actually, I want to look."

"Wha – no, you're not gonna… Hey, don't – aw, come on! Don't wiggle it like that!" Hiccup tried to push her off once again; he failed, unsurprisingly.

Astrid had thrown the fur covers back – Hiccup shivered at the sudden contact with the cold air – and was now admiring the way her hand jiggled his half-soft length around. Left and right, left and right, round and round, bobbing like a Terrible Terror partying on dragon nip.

"Yeah…" Hiccup deadpanned, face flush as a tomato and just about ready to hide his face under a pillow. "That's arousing."

"Just look at it go!" Astrid laughed heartily, any attempt at appearing sensual now completely abandoned. Her head was still rested upon his chest, and Hiccup could feel the smile pulling widely at her lips.

Of course, Astrid knew she had the goofiest smirk on her face – but she couldn't care less. It was great, being able to just let go with someone like this. With Hiccup, she could just unleash her inner goofball… and embrace her inner Freyja. Win-win.

"Isn't that enough? I liked what you were doing before a lot better." Hiccup asked, rolling his eyes around dramatically even though Astrid wasn't even looking at his face. He then added, jokingly, "You'll make it sick, jerking it around like that."

"But isn't that the point?" Astrid asked, still laughing. She pushed herself up on her elbow and looked at Hiccup straight in the eye. "Just flip it and rub it around until… well…" she shrugged and bit her lip, knowing how this always caught his attention, "…until it spills."

Hiccup tried not to let her suggestive behaviour get the best of him.

"Yeaaah, actually, that's not really how it works," he droned, shaking his head in overstated disapproval, basically mimicking the flailing about that was going on down below his waist.

"But isn't this how you taught me?" Astrid asked with fake naivety. She loved their little games and banters; but this one was just taking it to a whole new level of intimacy. Of trust. And it was fun – bonus point – so she loved it more than she'd want to admit.

Actually, she loved him more than she cared to confess…

"I must be a terrible teacher then."

"The worst," Astrid replied, sticking her tongue out at him. Hiccup merely seized the moment; he tilted forward and sucked her tongue into his mouth. She squealed in surprise, but welcomed the playfully sloppy kiss nonetheless.

It wasn't a messy kiss for too long, though; soon enough their lips and tongues rolled up their sleeves and got to some serious make-out business. The mood began to settle again.

Hiccup groaned when Astrid finally stopped haphazardly toying with him. She got her hand moving just the right way, as Hiccup's fingers glided down her sultry thighs and towards her – what?

Astrid's hand became completely still. Hiccup broke the kiss and gawked at her in mild indignation.

"What?" She asked, her voice once again deceitfully casual, but her eyes had that edge that clearly indicated she was playing a dangerous little game.

"Don't 'what' me," Hiccup replied, tilting his head down south to where he firmly believed her hand was supposed to be.

"Fine, I won't 'what' you."

And then Astrid plopped back down – thank Odin his bed finally had a mattress – and snuggled under the blankets as if nothing had happened.

"You gotta be kidding me," Hiccup drawled, the hint of exasperation making his voice sound raspy and strained.

"Let me check your scars," Astrid spoke from beneath the furs. Oh. So that's what this was all about.

"… what? Now?"

Her head peeked from under the blankets, blue eyes lit up with amusement, and she nodded.

"But… but!" Hiccup stammered, now straight out pointing at his very obvious and very impatient arousal and looking as if he had a deadly wound that needed to be tended urgently.

"Pfff. I'll get it back up in no time!" Astrid replied, as if she were talking about sharpening her axe, or braiding her hair. Hiccup just crossed his arms and slanted his head sideways, frowning and very much unamused.

"I'm not that easy."

Oh. Was that a challenge? It was on.

Astrid snapped forward and grabbed Hiccup, wanting to drag him down with her. He refused to do so without a fight though, and for a while the two lovers pushed and pulled at each other, stark-naked and ignoring the chilly temperature of the bedroom.

They laughed loudly, giggling at their own stunts, nearly stumbling to the floor in their playful tug-of-war. Hiccup eventually allowed himself to be pinned down on the bed; Astrid climbed on top, straddling him with a victorious "Aha!"

They didn't move for a while; just looked at each other until they no longer needed to gasp for breath, until their lips were no longer strained in an effort to stop grinning madly… Even the air surrounding them seemed to become still, as if trying not to disturb them.

Their closeness was indescribably enjoyable and undeniably comforting; a thrill akin to that of flying, yet infinitely more peaceful. They relaxed into one another as two lovers who are also closest friends, and there were no words that needed to be spoken…

But Hiccup was never able to keep quiet for long, anyway.

"I really enjoy the view from down here," Hiccup said in a soft voice, breaking the silence. His eyes purposefully rolled down from Astrid's face to her breasts and he smiled cheekily; his allusive smirk gave her a severe case of the goosebumps.

She smacked him on the arm light-heartedly and, tucking her loose hair behind her ears so it wouldn't fall to Hiccup's face, bent down to kiss his forehead. They rubbed their noses softly, tenderly; a habit they'd fallen into whenever they were this close.

"Turn around," Astrid directed, her index finger making circular motions in the air as if instructing. Hiccup was about to question her, but then decided against it. He figured a back massage would be great right about now.

"As M'Lady commands, M'Lady shall receive," Hiccup replied with a salute, eliciting a giggle from Astrid. She spread her legs a little, to allow him some movement, and lightly sat just below his bare, freckled bottom.

Astrid then kissed Hiccup between his speckled shoulder blades, working her way down his spine very, very slowly. Her fingers traced patterns on his back, and he knew what she was doing – looking at his scars again.

Not that he was littered with them, but he was a Viking. Scars were a part of their people. Why she took a sudden interest in his was completely beyond his grasp.

Hiccup didn't care anyway; it was actually quite relaxing, to his surprise. He figured it was because now she wasn't tickling him at all – he had a few marks on the sides of his ribcage, and those were definitely ticklish areas. No, Astrid was actually being delicate and soothing.

Lips, fingers, warm breath. So slowly, so gently... He felt himself drifting into a limbo, trapped between lazy drowsiness and increasing yearning. He could only hear the rustling of the moving furs, the quiet smacking of her lips on his skin.

He could stay like this forever… if only she'd let him.

"HEEEY!" Hiccup shrieked in a mist of surprise and indignation; such an unbecoming sound for a grown Viking man! But then again, he wasn't used to being bitten on his butt, and had most certainly not been expecting it.

"Why would you do that?" He demanded, and in his efforts to sit up he nearly threw the overly-amused Astrid off his bed; but she couldn't stopped laughing.

Not when they began wrestling playfully and tickling each other, not when they finally wound up toppling down on the floor in a tangled mess of sweaty limbs and an occasional poke of his prosthetic on her calves and feet. They didn't bother getting back up on the bed; the furs had been dragged along with their bodies, providing cushion enough for the occasion.

Not even when Hiccup entered her, as each gasp and moan of hers always had a hint of a giggle in it. Only when she cried out his name with nothing but pleasure behind her voice, and shook beneath his weight with a final sigh, did her laughter stop entirely.

They both drifted back into sleep holding each other, sticky and messy and poorly wrapped in the thick blanket. Right then, nothing existed outside of Hiccup's bedroom.

This was the kind of silence Astrid welcomed... For the time being.

END

For some reason isn't letting me edit this document properly... Hope I post this correctly.

Anyway, I was very insecure - and still am - about posting this chapter BUT I feel like I have to do it, now. So if this gets somehow edited don't feel surprised (if you even notice it, lol).

Happy New Year! We're almost in 2014 now... and I'm late for dinner, oops!