Hello all ! Hope you've all been having a lovely day so far. :)

Today I got an anonymous ask on Tumblr, wishing me a happy birthday (THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN) and asking me if I would post on the small headcanons / drabbles I've been writing on Tumblr.

(I've been asked about this so - my Tumblr URL is Nefertsukia if you want to check it out)

Basically, I reblogged a meme that said I'd write a headcanon related to a word, and I got a bunch of messages with words (yay!). Supposedly these would be small things but I'm crazy and have a hard time keeping it short. Lol.

Since I don't think each one is worth a chapter of its own, I'm posting a bunch of them together. These are all Hiccstrid, but I have others! Let me know if you like them, and/or if you'd like me to post the rest of the ones I've gotten (although some of them may have spoilers for HTTYD2, but I will write a warning).

Enough of my yapping! *throws confetti*

Little Things

Ask Her Out

Hiccup was nervous as heck.

Something was going on between them, he knew it. Now she always had a smile to spare him; her lips lingered on an upturned movement, a kindness he wasn't used to seeing in her. The playful pushing and shoving now happened constantly, and he knew she was far more gentle about it than she normally would have been. Her laughter came easily to her now, and there was a softness to it when she was with him.

But mostly, it was the way she would silently lean against him, their sides and arms warring against the cold for a few heartbeats before she pulled away with a heartfelt sigh, the tips of her fingers slowly running through the back of his hand as she moved on.

But Hiccup needed certainty. Reassurance. He didn't quite know what to do about it… It just seemed idiotic to walk up to her and straight out ask her if she wanted to be his girlfriend — he didn't even know if they already were, or not —, but how else was he going to get around to it?

One day, he nonchalantly asked her if she wantedto go flying to the very west side of Berk right before sunset; that's where the sun shines the brightest as it disappears behind the sea.

"Sure!" Astrid answered, gracing him with another one of her easy smiles. They seemed to be getting easier with each passing day. "Let's go get the gang. We could try…"

"No," Hiccup cut her off as gently as possible. He wanted to kick himself in the head already. He breathed in. "I mean… Maybe they don't want to come. So…"

That was a dumb way of wording it. He paused, waiting for her reaction. Astrid cocked her head to the side.

"So you're suggesting we… don't call them?"

Hiccup tried not to do that thing with his lips, but it just comes naturally to him. He felt so suddenly self-aware of everything his body was doing.

"Well, yeah. If you put it that way."

"So you're just asking me."

"Yeah, pretty much. Pretty… much. Nobody else around here. Just you. And me. So. Asking… you." He was a natural at this.

"Well…" Astrid seemed to ponder this for a little while; but the curve in her cheeks betrayed her amusement. "They are kind of loud."

"Yeah," Hiccup conceded with a solid nod.

"Guess they'd be pretty distracting."

"Yeah, they do tend to do that." His palms were sweating. Why were his palms sweating?

"So… it's a date."

"Yeah, it's a date. It's — what. I mean —" he had registered the sing-songy pitch to her voice, but not the content of her words. Hiccup knew he was standing on solid ground, but in the pit of his stomach and the inside of his chest, he felt like he was free-falling.

"Come on, then, silly." Hiccup could have sworn Astrid had cooed; her smile was contagious. "I'll race you there!"

She took his hand and pulled it with a soft tug, gripping his palm with reassuring encouragement, before letting go of it and racing toward Stormfly.

HAIRCUT

It happened gradually; it started with Astrid absent-mindedly digging her fingers into Hiccup's hair. The longer the kiss, the longer her hands would run across his scalp. Neither of them took notice when she began to caress his head when they talked. Hiccup had, however, made a face one day when he got home and saw a small braid hidden among his auburn hair.

Eventually, she volunteered to cut his hair for him. It was a very intimate gesture; one a mother would do for a child, a sibling for the other, a lover for their dearest.

That day marked a new stage in their relationship. In their society, the haircuts were given only to and from the people closest to heart.

The first time they made love, Astrid joked that it was his new, attractive haircut that had won her over and into his bed. Hiccup laughed; but the following day, when Astrid came around to his house, Hiccup had a basin of water ready to be carried outside, along with a small stool.

He asked her to wash his hair outside, in plain sight of all the villagers. The symbolism of this gesture carried much more significance than mere hygene or tenderness: only wives washed their husband's hair, and doing it outdoors was a way of showing the couple's bond was strong.

From that day onward, Snotlout stopped his attempts on Astrid entirely. The village was in a hubbub; this was allowed because Hiccup was the Chief's son, otherwise it would have been quite the scandal.

But even Stoick himself was pleased, despite the sheer audacity of the two young lovers. He patted Gobber's back with a smile plastered on his face, ever the romantic. "Look. That's my future daughter-in-law."

BEDHEAD

Hiccup's hair puzzled her beyond belief. Whenever he awoke from slumber it always looked unruly in the most devious way, while incomprehensibly carrying the appearance of actually having been groomed somehow.

For some reason, Astrid became quite intrigued by this. It was only after they started sleeping and waking together, that she actually began to take note of this strange phenomenon.

At one point, she even considered cutting his hair a different way, just to see if it made a difference… and, admittedly, also little bit out of jealously.

But as much as she wished her hair looked more like his in the morning — more composed, smoother — she feared changing the haircut would trample the magic created by that auburn mane.

Hiccup, exceedingly unaware of her internal struggle, would often rub a lazy hand into his head with complete aloofness. And instead of fussing it up, he would just make it look even better.

Astrid groaned. She thought of the way he would swoop by and drag that helmet off his head after a long ride on Toothless; there was something provoking about seeing Hiccup with his breath uneven and an unruly head of hair to match the wildness of flight in his eyes and cheeks.

The fact that all this happened purely by accident was even more stirring; and soon enough more urgent thoughts about him filled her mind, demanding she drag him back to bed.

There was no denying that Astrid felt thoroughly pleased with herself when she managed to mess his hair up beyon repair. As she lay naked by his side, their breathing and heartbeats still scrambling to return to some sort of normalcy, she studied his face through hazy eyes, admiring how the damp, darkened tufts clung to his forehead and stuck into various haphazard directions.

Her long, content sigh caught his attention. Shiny green eyes blinked at her through a mist of satisfaction, and Hiccup smiled sheepishly despite himself. "Hey Astrid… have I ever told you how much I love your bedhead?"

BREAKFAST

Hiccup watched, with some concern, as Astrid chewed her bread with half-lidded eyes and just about as much energy as a fat house cat. She looked tired. Dark circles under her eyes, sluggish movements, half-hearted replies to his conversation.

"You need to eat," Hiccup told tell her tenderly: He made sure he'd brought her the freshest and tastiet food he could find, to stimulate her appetite, but apparently this wasn't working. She didn't even look at the fruit.

Astrid was usually the first to wake and prepare the breakfast, but over the past two weeks it had been exceedingly hard for her to get up in the morning.

But it was no wonder. Hiccup's eyes fell on the cradle just across the table, their child wrapped in fluffy blankets and blissfully asleep.

It wasn't that their baby was particularly loud or demanding during the night. She wasn't, really; people would tell them they could count themselves lucky for that.

But Astrid couldn't sleep. This was her first child, whom she had brought into this world though sweat and blood, whom she had spent months talking to through the swell of her belly. "Our child", she would say with unmasked pride, placing the infant in her father's arms and hugging him from behind. "She's perfect."

Hiccup knew why she behaved this way. Just a week before childbirth, another couple's newborn had died in its sleep during the night. When the parents woke up, they were met with the horror of finding their child gone cold, forever trapped in endless slumber.

Astrid couldn't even manage to attend the funeral. Suddenly, she was riddled with fears.

So she would sit up for most of the night, staring at the little one's sleeping form. Checking if she was breathing, quietly humming lullabies from their childhood. Hiccup would often come home to find his wife sitting in bed with their daughter in her arms, both asleep.

He wondered how her arms never went numb.

By the time Hiccup had finished his meal, Astrid was still only halfway through her bread. He was about to scold her when there was a faint little cry coming from the wooden crib, and with surprising energy Astrid sprung from the table and picked the gurgling baby up to her chest.

"Good morning, gorgeous! It's time for your breakfast."

SKATER

Hiccup would build many different contraptions for his offspring to play with. More often than not, the children would gather in their father's wide office. This was, for all of them, quality family time — going over funny ideas for inventions, trying out new things, doodling 'blueprints' in any available surface.

Seeing his own spirit of inventiveness reflected in his children from a small age was something that Hiccup would never fully get over. It brought a peace and comfort to his heart, seeing how creative his little ones could be.

One day, one of the kids came up with a funny idea — why not attach wheels to a plank of wood? That sounded fun. The idea stemmed from the fact that, in spring and summer, there wasn't much snow around for them to do one of their favorite activities — snowboarding!

Hiccup approved. Astrid didn't. So, of course, Hiccup and their three little ones went behind her back…

It didn't take long for Astrid to find out; when her son arrived home with a bloody knee and two front teeth knocked out, it wasn't difficult to figure out how and why. The girls were fine; they were too happy and giggly to even notice the scratches on their skin.

They were grounded for a week. All of them, Hiccup included.

BLANKET

Hiccup had always been a quiet sleeper. He didn't move around much — save for when he had nightmares. He preferred to sleep on his side, and at times his mouth hung slightly open. It wass not uncommon for him to wake up in the morning with dried up drool crusted down the side of his face, or flaking over his beard.

Astrid, on the other hand, was entirely restless.

She turned over and switched positons often. She kicked the blankets off the bed, even when it wound up getting cold at night; they would often wake up shivering, and Hiccup always complained as he pulled the covers back up.

There was something endearing, albeit terribly annoying, about the way she slept with him. After a certain point, they had to move their bed over to the wall — Hiccup had gotten tired of waking up on the hard floor in the middle of the night because of her.

It's not that she pushed him off the bed out of annoyance; quite the contrary. At night, already fast asleep, Astrid would always seek his body. She pulled him to her, or lay herself on top of him, throwing one of her legs over his legs, nestling her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arm across his chest.

Sometimes, Hiccup would wake up short of breath, or halfway hovering above the floor, only to find her lying on top of him or entirely on his side of the bed…

Well, technically, there were no sides of the bed. Both sides were her side; or rather, the side where Hiccup slept was the side where she had to sleep also. She always had to feel his skin on hers.

And as the years went by, falling asleep without him became harder and harder. There were nights when she knew no rest until she felt his presence near her; in the silence, the sound of his steady breathing would lull her into slumber.

It is said that when a lovebird dies, its mate will not hold on for much longer. It gives up on living, unable to remain in this world with half of its soul far gone.

Astrid was found lying in their bed, wrapped up in their favourite blanket. Her white hair meticulously braided and her clothes pristine, her wrinkled features serene and rested. Blue eyes forever closed, only to be reopened once she joined her husband in the afterlife.

Over her chest, nested between her crossed arms, was the last tunic her husband wore and a drawing of them he'd made when they were young.

Don't read this last one unless you've watched the second movie. Thanks!

AFTERMATH – CONTAINS SPOILERS TO THE END OF HTTYD2

After many hours of hard work and of talking to literally every single person in the village, Hiccup felt exhausted, and it was like nothing had sunk in yet. He went home almost at the crack of dawn, completely worn out... but, somehow, there was a surge of energy running through his veins.

Valka couldn't stay in her old home just yet. The memories, the pain, it was all too fresh. She wanted to fly to the sanctuary and see if there were any injured dragons left in there.

Astrid agreed to stay with Hiccup in his home. She wanted to give him a massage, so he could relax. She helped take off his leather armour, working through the buckles as she hummed some calm tune. Her fingers wove into his flesh soothingly, over his tunic, untangling the knots in his shoulders.

Hiccup stopped her, calmly. Without saying a word, he pulled his tunic off and brought her to his lap for a long, well-deserved kiss. In complete silence, he removed her shoulder protection and kissed her jawline once, twice, thrice... then he buried his face between her shoulder and neck and gave out a long, dragged out sob.

Astrid had to stop the tears welling in her eyes. "You'll be fine," she whispered to him, sweetly. "It's alright..."

His arms crushed her against his chest; the way he kissed the top of her collarbone became needy, desperate even. She didn't protest when he began to undo her skirt. She laid down beside him as he pulled off her leggings, and she removed her tunic herself.

For someone who had been through such a hectic day, Hiccup sure had plenty of energy left to spend; but once he was done, he fell asleep almost immediately.

Astrid didn't bother going to her house. She was already home, in his arms, listening to the rhythm of his heart, and stilling his cries when the nightmares came to haunt him.

END

Thank you all for reading. :) Hope you've enjoyed them! Do you think I should post more little collections like this as I jot them down? Lemme know.

I know I have a bunch of others to tend to, AND I'M LATE I'M LATE, LATE FOR A VERY IMPORTANT DATE! But please bare with me as I only write during my spare time. XD (and sometimes during work when it's a slow day... but don't tell my boss).

Thank you to all of my reviewers. You guys keep me going. :)