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Astrid Hofferson knelt in her favorite hiding place by the stream, tucking her few art supplies behind a boulder.
Stormfly shrieked in encouragement from the water to hurry her rider along.
“I’m coming, girl!” Astrid laughed, taking off her studded skirt, leaving her in the shorter chainmail layer underneath. Next were her leather arm braces and metal pauldrons, leaving her shoulders exposed to the afternoon sun.
She left the superfluous parts of her armor in a pile on top of the stone that hid her sketchbook, only topped by her boots. After rolling up the edge of her woolen leggings, she ran toward the water, dropping her axe just beside the flowing stream.
Stormfly trilled and waved her head about to show her glee, horns glinting in the sun. Astrid jumped into the water and splashed her dragon, smiling as the Nadder jumped backward. The fresh air surrounded the laughing Viking and her best flying friend, their noises echoing around the boulder formation at the edge of the stream.
With the sun beating down, the water was a welcome reprieve from the busy life of Dragon’s Edge. Astrid came here regularly to cool off, both physically and from whichever Rider had incurred her wrath. Hiccup tended to frown upon her smiting their friends; this was the better solution. Stormfly wasn’t complaining either—as much as the Nadder loved to track and hunt, the water erased all thoughts of work, only allowing her to play with the pebbles at the bottom of the stream.
The temporary isolation was perfect for both Rider and dragon.
That is, until the familiar and comforting beating of a certain Night Fury’s wings settled into the clearing.
“I thought I might find you here.” Hiccup’s voice was cheerful as he dismounted Toothless, who warbled excitedly at the sight of Stormfly already in the water.
Astrid stopped splashing and stood upright, hands on her hips. “You know I came here to be alone, right?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Hiccup muttered. He was immediately pestered by Toothless, and his noncommittal expression turned into smiles once again. “Okay, bud, I’ll get the tail off so you can swim!”
He quickly and gently tossed the red tail into the grass, unbuckling the saddle. Toothless bounded into the water and chirped back and forth with Stormfly while Astrid groaned from the sudden wave that hit her.
Hiccup chuckled and sat on a large, flat stone that hung over the water. “I’d get in, but…” He gestured to his metal leg and dangled his other foot in the water, boot already discarded on the grass.
Astrid frowned playfully, walking over to him and not caring that she was up to her knees now. “Oh, this old thing?” She flicked the peg leg with her fingers. “C’mon, Hiccup. You can get in without it.”
The pair of dragons bounded past them before he could reply. “It’s annoying to dry afterward, and then my whole leg aches a lot, so—”
“You’re not any fun.” Astrid took to pouting again, placing her hands on both of Hiccup’s knees to lean in closer. “Have a good boring time out of this nice, refreshing water.”
Then she was backing away, splashing Hiccup and effectively hiding the bright blush growing on his face. He hated when she came that close and teased him like that, because she hardly ever stayed. But her smile and laughter, framed by the excited warbling of their dragons, made him forget for a second that he had only kissed her once.
And the thought only lasted a second, because then Hiccup was thinking about her smile and laugh being caused by him. All of a sudden, he wished he was in the stream, tackling her until her back was in the water with him on—
The unmistakable and entirely unwelcome sound of a distant explosion, followed closely by the victorious shouts of one Tuffnut and Ruffnut Thorston, broke the pair’s reverie.
Astrid looked in the vague direction of the noise. “Someone else can handle that.”
Hiccup was about to agree before the distinct scream of Snotlout interrupted him. “Looks like I have to.” He stood from the rock and walked back to his boot and Toothless’s harness. “C’mere, buddy!”
Astrid watched in mild disappointment that her short moment alone with Hiccup had to be interrupted. They were few and far between, given what Astrid believed was Hiccup’s hesitation that he was unable to leave behind from his years as the embarrassment of Berk. Soon enough, he was waving goodbye and flying out of sight.
After their one kiss on Berk a few years ago, Astrid hadn’t thought she needed to give Hiccup many other cues. But as the town grew used to their new way of life, new conflicts emerged, and his previously-evident feelings had faded to the background. The Riders now found their home on Dragon’s Edge and Astrid, for one, had been too busy to make her romantic feelings known to the one-legged future Chief of Berk. He probably had more important things to be worried about than silly romantic pursuits.
It also didn’t help that she was known for her ruthlessness, not sentimentality. Even being in touch with her emotions in Hiccup’s presence was difficult sometimes…like just then as she touched his knees, when she could have leaned in just a touch farther, just to test the boundary. Just in case he still held the flame of affection for her. But in their daily life, they rode together, ate together, took walks and breaks for their dragons together, and lately, developed a sunset routine.
For the past few moons as Hiccup used the setting sun to use as light for his sketchbook, Astrid had taken to sitting beside him on the wooden planks outside the Clubhouse to sharpen her axe. Toothless and Stormfly often joined them for a nap, but no matter what, the two Riders would sit in comfortable silence or easily-flowing conversation. It was Astrid’s favorite time of day, second only to her moments spent with Stormfly in this very stream.
She attempted to shake the thoughts of her closest friend out of her mind, knowing that the longer they dwelled, the less normal they became. There were days she didn’t mind those thoughts, and today was not one of them. Not when he looked like he belonged next to her in the water instead of perched on a rock, nervous to get his prosthetic wet.
“I’m gonna get out, girl,” Astrid addressed Stormfly, sprinting from the stream and to the rocks where her clothes hid. The grass pricked her feet as she dug for her sketchbook and a few sticks of charcoal, running back to that same rock Hiccup had sat on.
Stormfly trodded to Astrid’s side gently, not getting water on the pages of the now-open book. She tilted her head in curiosity while Astrid began to fill in the details of an abandoned drawing. A few silent minutes passed and then Stormfly shrieked in delight, bounding across the water to strike a pose.
Astrid laughed, returning her attention to the sketch of her dragon. It was almost finished. She was grateful for Stormfly’s assistance in making sure she got the shading right—mostly of the scales and horns. In this light and the shadows it brought on Stormfly’s beautiful scales, the shading came naturally to Astrid. She finished it quickly and turned the book, presenting it proudly to Stormfly’s peering eyes. She squawked in approval and made a few triumphant laps up and down the stream.
Astrid smiled down at the sketchbook while her dragon enjoyed the cool water, dipping her toes into the stream. Her blue eyes wandered to the blank page next to Stormfly’s charcoal likeness. Like it had dozens of times before, her mind conjured an image for that particular page.
And this time, it was Hiccup. Well, one could call that “dozens of times”, too. She was quite experienced in the art of his portraits.
It was easy to think of his face and hair as she brought the charcoal to the page again. She thought of the structure of his jaw that she seldom had the opportunity to touch. She thought of his strong nose and thick eyebrows. Then came his fluffy hair, bangs and little braids and all, brushed out of place from the wind and Toothless’s saliva from a wayward kiss. Astrid wondered how much worse his hair would look if she could mess it up and tug on the plaits.
She sketched some details to the lines in the braids by his neck, making sure to keep them short enough, before moving to his eyes. They always sparkled in the bright sun and changed in the shadows of a fire’s flickering flames. They shone in the night air, illuminated by only the moonlight, and suddenly, Astrid was thinking about his hair again.
Last month was the first time they had gone flying together at night with no mission in mind—no job, no chore, nothing. It was just the two of them and their dragons, flying in the middle of the night under the full moon. Astrid was still thinking about it, including how Toothless and Stormfly made a race out of their excursion. It had led to them coasting above the clouds and Hiccup had leaned back against Toothless.
The joy on his face, the look in his eyes, the wind sweeping his hair, and the moon shining on his jaw all made Astrid smile in remembrance. She sketched the rest of his hair with those images fleeting through her mind; then, she moved to the bottom of the drawing. She arched the charcoal on the page to give his neck shape, cutting it off at the line where his red tunic sat above his collarbone.
Astrid pulled back and looked at the drawing, pleased with herself—and clearly pleased with her stunningly accurate representation of Hiccup Haddock. Her drawings of Stormfly and the landscape of the Edge were merely factual. She used references and proportions as a skilled artist would, staying true to the version in front of her eyes. But all her drawings of Hiccup showed how she really saw him. He was a kind and merciful leader, yet he commanded attention.
He was everything to her and he had forgotten how much she cared.
Stormfly chirped an approval of the second drawing before insisting on Astrid getting back in the water.
“All right, fine! I’m coming!”
She placed a spare, thin sheet of scales between the pages to ensure that the charcoal wouldn’t smudge when she closed the book. She tossed it back into her small box of supplies and jumped back in the water, flicking it upwards at her dragon.
It wasn’t until she made it all the way back to the Edge that she realized her art box was still beside the boulders, forgotten until she could go back and get it. In secret, of course…because no one, not even Hiccup, knew about her hobby.
And that was just the way she intended to keep it.
⚔ ⛨ ⚔
Tuffnut and Ruffnut Thorston made a hasty exit, leaving Snotlout to the rapidly-spreading flames. Hiccup and Toothless would arrive soon to remedy the situation and by then, their fun would be over.
With a victorious, echoing shout of glee, the twins flew to the center of the island.
“That!” Tuffnut held a finger in the air, dramatically flipping one of his blond dreads over his shoulder in the process. “Was a magnificent display of the gassiest dragon on record!”
Barf and Belch agreed with enthusiasm, and Ruffnut clicked her tongue. “Quite so, brother! Now, for our final task of the day…”
Tuffnut whooped loudly, startling Belch. “And then it’s dinnertime!”
At the mention of food, the Zippleback swooped low to the ground in the gaps between the trees. The twins screamed, trying to wrangle the dragon back into the sky, but they soon stopped beside a stream and a group of boulders clustered beside a great oak.
Barf and Belch immediately threw off their riders and took off to the water, lapping some up to drink and tossing waves onto the twins.
Ruffnut groaned in frustration and laid back on the grass, staring at the clear sky. “We’ll never get them out of the water!”
Tuffnut stood and put his hands on his hips, frowning at their misbehaving dragon. “And today was going so well!”
Barf and Belch turned to the twins for a moment, almost smiling at the pair. Then they leapt onto the highest boulder and crashed into the water again.
The motion caused Tuffnut to glance at the rocks, and upon seeing the box that lay in the grass, he let out an excited shout. “Look!” He retrieved the art supply box and showed it to Ruffnut. “Hiccup must have left this behind earlier.”
“Makes our job easier,” Ruffnut replied slyly. “Now let’s find Astrid.”
⚔ ⛨ ⚔
The twins did not find Astrid. In fact, they didn’t find anyone in the woods but a very naughty Night Terror stray.
It turned into a lengthy distraction while the twins hopped on Barf and Belch in order to chase off the smaller dragon. By the time they made it back to the Edge and the art box was abandoned in the Zippleback’s stall, it was time for the Riders to gather inside of the Clubhouse and eat dinner. All thoughts of Astrid’s drawing skills were forgotten at the sight of steaming, flavorful mutton.
The sun began its descent as the Riders ate, dipping closer and closer to the waterline. Only a small amount of food ended up across the table in someone else’s hair. The open door cast a warm glow on the group and Astrid glanced at Hiccup’s brown hair and freckles, appreciating the tone that the sun gave it. Her thoughts turned to his face in her sketchbook and she wondered how he would react to seeing it.
Thor, help me . He couldn’t know about her hobby—at least not yet—even if he was an artist himself. He could help improve her technique, and maybe she could find out if he drew her in the dozens of little books he carried around.
When the mutton was eaten and the table was cleared, the twins dashed off with devious smiles. It was no stranger than usual, so Astrid thought nothing of it. Her only focus was on Hiccup sitting at the edge of the walkway outside the Clubhouse. She picked up a sharpening stone, setting herself beside Hiccup and swinging her axe from its sheath.
With the handle on her lap and stone in one hand, ready to strike the blade, she turned to the boy leaning against Toothless. “Where’s your sketchbook? You’re not drawing tonight?”
Hiccup shrugged and motioned to the open pack of knives in front of him, sliding one from the leather and beginning to sharpen it. “This needed to be done.”
“Oh.” She tried not to sound disappointed.
He always lost himself in drawing, no matter the subject, and she always loved watching his eyes go to another place. His entire face would relax and he’d sometimes stick his tongue between his lips in order to concentrate. She never tired of that stress-free expression.
“Did you solve whatever the twins did to Snotlout earlier?” she prompted.
Their conversation was lost to the breeze and witnessed only by the dozing dragon behind them while the Thorstons snuck into Hiccup’s hut.
“It has to be around here somewhere!” Ruffnut complained, sitting down on the stone circle for Toothless’s bed.
“If I were a weak-chinned Viking,” Tuffnut ignored her, pacing on the lower level, “what hiding spot would I come up with to deter only the most genius of Nuts?”
Ruffnut only grumbled and clambered down the steps to join her brother in the search. He opened cabinet doors and drawers, prying for hidden bottoms or trick latches, finding nothing.
“Why would he hide something that he’s always carrying around?” Ruffnut thought aloud while Tuffnut was neck-deep into investigating Hiccup’s wardrobe.
“Excellent thought, sis, except…” Tuffnut’s voice was muffled and Ruff sighed in annoyance.
Then he popped out of the tall mahogany wardrobe and held up a wooden box. “Here it is!” He was grinning triumphantly, leading Ruffnut to snatch it out of his hands and sneak back out of the hut.
Tuffnut shut the wardrobe and followed closely behind her, glancing toward the Clubhouse on their way back to their hut. “Looks like Astrid is quite occupied this evening. We’ll ask in the morning.”
“Good thinking.” Ruffnut nodded. “Hiccup will be too busy until then and won’t even notice it’s missing!”
⚔ ⛨ ⚔
The next morning, Hiccup went directly into the skies without a thought of his sketchbook or supplies, supposedly safely tucked away behind a collection of tunics. It was one of his more used sketchbooks, and not for brainstorming inventions.
He was almost embarrassed at how much he drew Astrid, but then again, he wasn’t given much other opportunity to study her focused facial expression or hair or sparkling blue eyes. His solitary flights were the other outlet for his lifelong crush on the Viking warrior.
Even before puberty, he admired her from afar, and since they had grown quite close as friends, his feelings only grew. It was impossible for him to avoid the “more than friends” reminders around her.
Even if he knew that she didn’t feel the same.
⚔ ⛨ ⚔
“Go away!” Astrid yelled after hearing an insistent knocking on her door. Whoever it was was interrupting her beauty sleep—it wasn’t often she was spared from morning patrol and she wanted to savor it.
The knocking didn’t cease. “Don’t make me set Stormfly on you!” she shouted, getting out of bed and storming downstairs.
That threat made the knocking stop, even if whoever was outside the door didn’t know that Stormfly was currently in the stables.
After tugging some furs around her shoulder to cover her bed clothes, she opened the door and frowned. “What do you two want?”
Ruffnut and Tuffnut stood grinning and silent outside her door in the bright morning sun.
“Someone better start talking or I’m going to—”
Ruffnut answered first. “We have something to ask you. It might take a few minutes.”
“Okay, so?” Astrid’s frown deepened. “Please tell me it’s not what you asked Fishlegs the other day.”
Tuffnut’s eyes widened dramatically. “We would never!”
It was then that Astrid noticed he was hiding something behind his back. “What do you have there?”
“It has to do with the question,” Ruff explained. “But you should get dressed first.”
“Should I eat something in order to wake up enough to deal with the question ?”
“Definitely,” they answered in unison.
Astrid rolled her eyes. “I’ll be at the Clubhouse in a few minutes.” She shut the door and turned, dropping the furs on a bench and climbing back into her bedroom.
She changed into a familiar blue tunic, leggings, chainmail skirt, and finished with her leather, studded skirt, snapping the skull-belt into place. She picked up her pauldrons from where she left them on the floor last night and put them on. Next was her axe on the lower level. She hurried down the steps again and swung the blade into its rightful place on her back, opening the door and squinting in the sun.
Whatever the twins wanted had better be important.
She still hadn’t gotten the chance to go back to the stream and retrieve her sketchbook, so being interrupted from that plan was not the ideal way to start her day. When she walked through the open doors of the Clubhouse, the twins were at the table, scarfing down breakfast. Snoutlout was throwing darts into the wall, Fishlegs was attempting to keep Chicken from his plate, and Hiccup was nowhere to be found. The one thing that could have made this terrible start better wasn’t there—he would be finishing patrol soon.
“What do you guys want?” Astrid asked the twins, sitting between Fishlegs and Ruffnut to eat the serving someone had saved for her.
Tuffnut excitedly finished his food and stood dramatically. “We would like to put your skills to use by…” He pulled something from his seat and set it on the table with a flourish. “Capturing our likeness in charcoal!”
Astrid blinked, dumbfounded. On the table was a wooden box of art supplies. “Is this a joke?”
It was Tuffnut’s turn to blink. “What do you mean? You don’t want to—”
Ruffnut gasped. “But it would be so fun to—”
“ Enough , you two!” Astrid yelled, standing.
Fishlegs and Snoutlout looked in curiosity but kept quiet. They knew from experience what happened when anyone other than Hiccup interrupted an angry Astrid.
“Did you steal this from Hiccup?” she continued to pester them, taking the box into her own arms.
“We found it by the stream over by—”
“Never mind.” Astrid groaned. “I’ll take it back to him myself.”
She stalked out of the Clubhouse and went directly to her hut, knowing that the twins had found her own box and assumed it was Hiccup’s. No longer mad of their ridiculous request, she was merely relieved that the twins hadn’t discovered her hobby.
Back in the safety of her own hut, the door closed, Astrid set the box down and pulled a rope to open the slats of her roof so sunlight could pour in. It was one of her favorite inventions of Hiccup’s—practical, genius, and reminded her of him every time she wanted light in her hut.
She sat down and flicked open the small metal latch of the box, lifting the lid to make sure nothing was missing.
Oh, gods, no. Inside was a sketchbook not her own. Did the twins really get Hiccup’s box from someplace else and had just told her the wrong thing?
Hesitant, Astrid lifted the sketchbook. Underneath it was Hiccup’s container of charcoal pencils and a number of other small supplies. Scrap paper lay scattered around the box, some with notes or scribbles, some blank. Astrid could see a vague outline for a new tail for Toothless.
This really is his.
Astrid flipped over the sketchbook and opened it, feeling the rough leather between her fingers. It was definitely Hiccup’s. She had seen this in his hands or on his workbench or desk a thousand times, but had never caught a glimpse of what was inside.
Her curiosity compelled her to flip the pages past diagrams, architectural notes, names of dragon classes scribbled in his terrible handwriting, and—
Astrid’s breath caught in her throat.
In frighteningly accurate detail, her face was sketched onto a page of Hiccup’s sketchbook. It was of that shared moonlit dragon ride, when she had been busy staring at him leaning back on Toothless. He must have been staring too, because he managed to capture the playful glare she remembered dealing him after he told a particularly bad joke.
She couldn’t stop looking now. The next page was even worse—it was one of their sunset conversations captured in her laughing expression, blue eyes apparent even in the black and white drawing. She continued to flip the pages, mouth hung open, dry and gaping, at the sight of dozens more sketches.
Some were a few years old, but others, like that moonlit ride, were not even a few weeks ago. They all captured a specific moment, a conversation with Hiccup and Astrid, and she surprised herself by remembering every single one of them.
So he hasn’t forgotten all this time…
Astrid knew of Hiccup’s childhood crush on her. It was obvious and especially clear during their one and only kiss. But with how busy their lives were and how close they had become, Astrid thought her new and ever-increasing feelings were unrequited. The pain of thinking he no longer thought of her in that way—maybe because she was now a friend and the mystery had worn off—started to subside.
She didn’t need his confirmation; the sketches were enough. And yet…
Astrid closed the sketchbook and raced to put it back, latching the lid and leaping up from the bench. She closed her roof slats and ran out the door, box under one arm, to the stables.
“Good morning, girl!” Astrid unlocked the stall door and Stormfly marched out, stretching and shrieking a response.
She was the only dragon still inside, and for a moment, Astrid felt bad. But the Nadder was forgiving, allowing Astrid to mount her and direct her out of the stables. She held tight to the box still under her arm, slipping onto Hiccup’s patrol route. She couldn’t have this conversation with him in the air, but she still needed to find him.
⚔ ⛨ ⚔
The last thing that Hiccup Haddock had wanted to see when Toothless landed in front of the stables were the Thorston twins.
But he never had Odin’s luck on his side, so he merely sighed in resignation, placed his hands on his thighs without dismounting, and stared. “Yes?”
From the look on both their faces, Hiccup assumed they had already forgotten about yesterday’s fiery debacle. Tuffnut was trying not to grin, and Ruffnut held something behind her back.
“I’m kind of busy today, you two, so can you just—?”
“We may have borrowed this,” Tuffnut explained, and before Hiccup could ask more questions, Ruffnut revealed what she was hiding. “To ask Astrid to draw us.”
Hiccup dismounted Toothless in a rush to snatch his supply box away from Ruff with a glare, immediately worrying at the mention of Astrid and if she had seen the sketches of her face inside. “Why would you ask her that?”
“You didn’t see her draw Stormfly and Garff in the sand last week? It was a masterpiece!” Ruffnut continued.
Hiccup remembered that but he still didn’t understand. “So you took this from my hut?”
“Actually, we took the other one from your hut,” Tuffnut jumped in. “This one we found by the stream, forgot about it after we had to chase off a terribly naughty Night Terror, and left it in the stables overnight.”
Before Hiccup could say anything else, Ruffnut interrupted. “Yeah, sorry about all that. Astrid didn’t draw us, of course, but she took that other box to give back to you. Why do you have two of them, anyway?”
Realization began to dawn on Hiccup. He looked down at the box in his hands and saw that it wasn’t as worn as his own, and the latch was slightly different. He would never leave his supplies down at the stream; in fact, the only time he was there was when he was with—
“Yeah, yeah, thanks guys,” Hiccup muttered, turning and hopping back on Toothless. The Night Fury flew him the short distance to his hut while he stared at the box in his hands.
Hiccup almost tripped when he jumped off of his dragon and onto the wooden deck outside his hut, managing to right himself and shoo the clingy Toothless away. “Wait outside, bud. Take a nap or something.”
His eyes never left the box until he set it down, looking around his hut to make sure Astrid hadn’t dropped off the other one. His. She had his sketchbook. Then, against his better judgment and the voice of his father telling him to mind his own business, Hiccup was opening the box.
Inside, underneath a sketchbook that Hiccup picked up, were meticulously arranged supplies, pencils, and spare paper. He smiled at how Astrid-like it was as he opened the sketchbook in his hands. Everything in its rightful place, just like her axe in its everyday holster, like her braided hair—
Hiccup almost fell off his stool. On the left page was a picture of Stormfly and on the right was a picture of him. Between the two pages was a thin sheet of dragon scales to prevent smudging, meaning that Astrid had done this very recently. His face was etched into the paper in detailed charcoal strokes, smiling wide, hair waving in the wind.
Was that how he smiled? Was that really how smitten he looked? Or was Astrid just…drawing how she saw him?
The thought made his heart race and thoughts swirl. He kept flipping the pages, seeing various landscapes around the Edge, Stormfly by herself and some other dragons, and more sketches of his face than he’d ever imagined or dreamed to see.
Not a single one of his fantasies involved Astrid drawing him, so this was an even bigger shock than if any other of his dreams had come true. But here it was, the evidence of feelings he thought she might have lost or realized were misplaced after all these years. She never made another move after that kiss and neither had he, fearing that she thought it was a mistake. And in the time they had been living on Dragon’s Edge, doing everything together, he hadn’t wanted to ruin the precious friendship they had developed.
Apparently, more than friendship had been developing on Astrid’s side all this time.
Hiccup didn’t allow himself to doubt or worry about the possible platonic meaning of her drawing his face over and over again, knowing that he would lose the nerve if he let himself wonder. He shut the box, carrying only the sketchbook as he ran out the door.
“Buddy, can you find Stormfly for—”
Before Hiccup was finished, the Nadder appeared in the sky with Astrid on her back. Even in the distance, the sight of her stole Hiccup’s breath right from his lungs. He held the sketchbook to his chest when Stormfly changed course, heading right for him and Toothless.
The Night Fury had been curious about his rider’s nervous energy, now only focused and excited to see his best friend flying toward him. Hiccup didn’t dare to breathe until Stormfly and Astrid landed a few paces away, both dragons beginning to occupy themselves with playing and warbling back and forth.
Neither Rider said anything for a split second. Astrid stood still at the other end of the deck with Hiccup’s supply box under her arm.
Then she was rushing toward him with apologies, face bright-red with what he hoped was an embarrassed realization, and he was taking equally rushed steps to meet her. “The twins, they, um—I’m sorry, I didn’t…I didn’t know it was yours, and I—”
Hiccup reached her and held out his free hand. “Stop.”
“Stop?” Her eyes darted between his, cheeks flushing even brighter now, and Hiccup knew if he didn’t try now, he never would.
Letting her sketchbook fall to the wooden deck below them, Hiccup reached out to take her chin in one hand and grabbed her waist in the other, connecting his lips to hers.
There was no better feeling than finally being able to do this.
His entire body lit up with warmth and happiness, rejoicing in the vast improvement of this kiss to their first. She didn’t move away as he clutched at her waist, tilting her head toward him. His hand wandered from her chin to spread his palm across her jawline and trace her cheek with his thumb.
Just when he thought he had died and went to Valhalla, she was kissing him back, both of her hands pulling at his waist to bring him closer to her. The supply box was forgotten when his fingers drifted to grasp the back of her neck. But it fell to the deck, spilling open and scattering pencils and paper everywhere. The wooden box hit part of his metal leg with a clash.
Astrid pulled away with a gasp and covered her mouth. “Oh my gods, I am so sorry!”
“I don’t care,” Hiccup muttered and kissed her again, keeping his hand on the back of her neck. “I don’t care at all,” he repeated with new confidence when they separated.
Whatever was in her kiss made him bold, made him want to touch every inch of her face and run his fingers through her hair. So that’s what he did, or least, he tried to. Her blonde hair was in its usual braid. He stared at it in disdain before noticing how messy it looked.
“Did you sleep in this?” He brushed the bangs at her forehead.
“Yeah,” she whispered, close enough to his face now to look up at him through her eyelashes. He thought he might faint at the sight before she spoke again. “I didn’t have time to redo it like I normally do, since I was looking for you and all.”
His nerves faltered. “You were—?”
“Of course I was.” Her voice was still quiet and uncharacteristically mellow. “I saw all the drawings of me and realized how recent they were, and I just knew I had to tell you…well, you saw them for yourself.” She finished with a shrug, glancing at her sketchbook on the deck.
“You draw, too.” It was all he could think of to say, even if it was obvious. “You draw me.”
She didn’t reply, and the air between them grew thick with tension again. Hiccup breathed deeply and held her face with his hand, the other still on her waist.
“After all this time, I thought you might have…” he started in a whisper.
“Forgotten? Moved on?” she prompted, slowly moving her hands to rest on his chest, playing with one of his pauldron’s leather straps. “That’s what I thought you had done.”
He wanted to laugh at how ridiculous that was, but he could tell she was serious. “No, never. I could never forget how I feel about you. And I could never forget about that kiss.”
“Me neither.”
All of a sudden, Astrid seemed to be a lot closer to Hiccup. “So, just to be clear…” he started, growing more hesitant. He couldn’t believe what had just happened less than five minutes ago, least of all that she was still in his arms, hands grasping at the front of his tunic.
“You’ve been waiting for this ever since that kiss? You’ve…liked me?” He tried not to sound too dumbfounded. He no longer looked like a twig of a pre-teen, but that didn’t change the lifetime of taunts he still had to work on reversing.
Astrid smiled bigger than he had ever seen before, and Hiccup’s confidence returned in full-force. “Of course I like you, idiot. You don’t see me drawing the twins over and over again, do you? Or spending every waking moment with Snotloud? Taking night rides all alone with Fishlegs?”
Hiccup recoiled, jokingly cringing while his heart soared at her admission. “Now that would be a sight.”
“Mm-hmm.” Astrid took his tunic in her fists, yanking his face to hers and kissing him again with a force that almost made his knees buckle.
He mirrored her passion by tightening his grip on her waist and slipping his hand to the nape of her neck and into her large, loose braid. Their lips moved in tandem as he followed her lead, not minding in the least to simply lose his mind over her touch.
Then her hands went from his tunic to his hair, tugging at the ends of it.
Gods, I must be dreaming.
The moment she carded her fingers through the side with his braids, pulling on them slightly, a noise he had only ever made in complete privacy slid from his throat without warning. He didn’t even feel embarrassed, because Astrid made a similar groan right after.
“I’ve always wanted to do that.” Astrid separated their lips far too quickly. Her grin was devious. “I’m glad you like it too.”
Hiccup pulled her back into a kiss, only breaking it to say, “I’d let you do anything to me.”
“Hiccup Haddock!” she chastised, lightly slapping the back of his head.
He had the decency to look abashed, truly not knowing what had come over him. “I didn’t mean it like that !”
“Yes, you did.” Astrid rolled her eyes affectionately and used her hair-tangled hands to pull him in again.
“But I like that too,” she whispered after a moment, both of them catching their breath, foreheads pressed together.
“How did we go so long without this?” Hiccup murmured, one hand traveling up her back while the other brushed her hair from her eyes.
“I would say I don’t know, but I do. We were too scared to do anything.”
Hiccup hummed in silent thought for a moment, not answering. All he cared about was that Astrid was in front of him now, staring at him with all the love in the world in her eyes.
Love? Yeah, that’s what this is. Love.
“What are you thinking?” she asked, fingers still playing with his hair.
A terribly good idea popped into his head. “You know what we can do now?” he returned as if he didn’t hear her, kissing her again for good measure.
She took a moment to respond, muttering against his lips, “What?”
He pulled away far enough for her to meet his eyes, hand trailing along her chin while she looked up. “Make up for lost time.”
“Hiccup!” she hissed and glanced around as if someone was watching, swatting his hands away. “We have things to do today! They’ll wonder—”
“Oh, come on! I’m their future chief. I can’t take a morning off now and again?”
Before Astrid could further protest, he let go of her and kneeled on the deck, picking up the supply box and setting things right.
“You’re not gonna help?” he called up after a moment, not looking at Astrid as he gathered some spare paper. “I wanna show you all of this.”
“Oh! Yeah, sure!” Astrid showed up in his peripheral vision when she knelt, hastily picking up pencils and charcoal sticks.
Hiccup tilted his head and stopped. “What did you think I was gonna say?”
“Nothing! I mean, exactly this; showing me your—”
He reached a hand out to stop her and a pencil fell from her grip, rolling away from them. She tried to go after it, but he kept a firm grip on her forearm.
“Astrid?” He met her eyes, noticing how they glittered in the ever-rising sun. “What did you think I meant?” His voice lowered unintentionally, but it worked out rather well, because Astrid went beet-red.
“Oh, I see.” He nodded casually and let go of her arm, taking the supplies she had gathered and putting them into the box, closing it with finality. “Well, we can get to that another time.” He picked up her sketchbook and the box, standing.
Astrid’s blush remained as she stood with him, blue eyes piercing his. Another bad idea came into his brain and he couldn’t resist saying it.
“I want to save that for when we don’t have any chance of being interrupted.”
He grabbed her waist with his free hand and made sure she understood that statement with a searing kiss, making sure he didn’t drop the box this time. She tilted her head back in surprise and kissed him back with enthusiasm. Her hands came to his face so she could control the kiss better—he gladly let her, because the next thing he knew, her tongue was peeking through his lips. He opened his mouth into hers and hummed in appreciation.
She reciprocated by moving a hand back to his hair, this time, scratching his scalp in desperation to have him closer.
He drew back quickly, breathing heavily. “Don’t…Don’t do that. Not here.”
She looked confused for a moment, almost hurt, and Hiccup wished he had let her keep going, before her eyes softened. A playful glint came into them. “For next time?”
“For the uninterrupted next time,” Hiccup promised with a grin.
He let go of her waist and backed away, holding the box and sketchbook out to her. “Take these.”
She took them in both hands and looked at him in bewilderment. “Okay?”
Her internal question was answered when Hiccup stepped closer and reached behind her. Before she knew what was happening, his hands were gripping her hips, she was up in the air, and her legs were wrapped around his waist.
Astrid let out a shriek or surprise and Hiccup started walking to his hut, laughing at her reaction.
“You know, you’re a lot stronger than—” she started, earning a glare from the man carrying her as they passed through the open door of his hut. “Never mind.”
Hiccup soon put her down in the dimly lit hut, taking the box from her and putting it on the floor. He sat beside it and opened the lid, taking out his sketchbook. “I want to know which one is your favorite.”
⚔ ⛨ ⚔
At sunset that day, when the table had been cleared and the rest of the Riders went to the arena to mess around, Astrid Hofferson and Hiccup Haddock sat down on the deck outside the Clubhouse.
Toothless lay behind them as they leaned against his back, side by side. Astrid took out her axe and began to sharpen it while Hiccup took out his sketchbook. She unashamedly peeked to see the blank page he flipped to.
Her face began to take form in the charcoal, hair flowing out of its braid, cheeks flushed from the sun…or maybe a kiss. Hiccup leaned over to meet her lips, staying there long enough so that when he drew back, her face would look different.
Yeah, that’s a kiss-flush. Not a sunset one.
She grinned in thanks and returned to her axe-sharpening, happy to let the flush remain on her cheeks. No one else had the power to disarm her like Hiccup did, and she was perfectly content to be given the privilege to kiss him whenever she felt like it.