Set after Blindsided and before Shell Shocked x
***
"Heather!" Astrid shrieked as she and Stormfly landed on Berserker island in the dead of the night. The raven-haired girl sauntered out of her hut drowsily, rubbing her eyes sleepily, shortly followed by her dragon, Windshear.
"Astrid?!" She gasped. "It's the middle of the night! Is everything okay?!"
"We need to talk. Now!" The blonde rasped out.
"I'm sensing a girl talk?" Heather mentioned, noticing the panicked look on her friend's face. Astrid nodded and both girls mounted their dragons and took towards the coast.
***
"Astrid?" Hiccup called as he searched the outpost in the early hours of the morning. The very early hours. "Astrid?!" He shouted before lowering his voice. "Where are you?" He mumbled to himself.
He flew towards the lookout post where Fishlegs was sitting after his patrol shift. He had agreed to work a double shift so Hiccup could finish the plans to get the dragon eye back. Which he had been working on all night long.
"Fishlegs? Have you seen Astrid, I can't find her anywhere." He worried.
"I saw her hours ago flying west towards Berserker island." He mentioned.
"Okay, Fishlegs you're in charge."
***
"Okay, care to tell me what was so important that you flew all the way here in the middle of the night?" Heather yawned as they landed on the beach.
"I'm in a crisis." The blonde admitted.
"I'm gonna need a little more information than that, Astrid." The raven-haired rider folded her arms and rose a brow, awaiting a real answer.
"I sorta have— a guy problem."
"An 'I have no room to bury him' problem? Or an 'I like him' problem?" Heather wondered.
"An 'I really like him' problem." She confessed.
"Too bad. I could've helped with the other one." Heather chuckled. "I assume we're talking about Hiccup here?" Astrid nodded, rubbing her arm nervously. "Of course." Heather rolled her eyes. "But we already knew that. So it doesn't explain why you came all the way out here?"
"Okay, how about a 'we kissed last night and I can't stop thinking about it' problem?"
"Now, that's more like it." Heather squealed with excitement, suddenly wide awake as she jumped into the blonde's arms. "It's about time. I was about to lock you guys in a room until you finally confessed."
"Heather, I'm serious." Astrid sighed as she slunk to the ground, tucking her knees to her chest and drawing in the sand with a stick. Heather joined her as Stormfly and Windshear started chasing one another. "I mean, I've kissed him before. But this time was different. It was mutual. It was... it was perfect."
"So, what's the problem?" Heather wondered.
"Because now it's all I can think about." Astrid exhaled. "I couldn't sleep. All I could do was think about Hiccup. He's been working around the clock to get the Dragon Eye back and I'm starting to get worried."
"Astrid, that's perfectly natural." She reassured, placing a gentle hand on the blonde's shoulder. "It's an instinct. I'm sure Hiccup is feeling the same way you are."
"Heather, I've never done this before. I have no idea what I'm doing. How am I supposed to make this feeling go away?"
"You can't. It's love, Astrid. It's a pretty hard thing to shake." Heather informed. "And you are not going to undo all my hard work." She joked, earning a small chuckle from Astrid.
"So, what do I do now?" She wondered.
"Tell Hiccup." The raven-haired teen suggested.
"Tell Hiccup, what?" The girls spun round to see the auburn-haired rider leaning against his night fury at the edge of the sand. Astrid jumped up and raced into his arms. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." She fibbed as she backed out of the hug. Her arms rested against his chest as his hands sat on her hips. Heather cleared her throat and gestured for Astrid to come clean.
"Astrid, you can't just fly off on your own in the middle of the night without telling anybody. I was worried sick."
"You're right, I should've told someone. It won't happen again."
"So, what's this thing you want to tell me?" He wondered as his curiosity got the better of him.
"I just think you need to... calm down on the Project Shellfire thing. You're gonna work yourself to death." The blonde admitted.
"Astrid, I thought we talked about this-"
"I know, but you're clearly exhausted and I can't sleep knowing that you're not."
"Why didn't you just say something?"
"Cause it's all still so new. I'm not used to being like this. With you."
"I know what you mean." Hiccup agreed. "I went looking for you this morning and when I saw you weren't there, it's like nothing else mattered and all I cared about was making sure you were okay."
Astrid grasped Hiccup's leather shirt and tugged him close, connecting their lips.
Heather couldn't help but squeal with excitement. Astrid giggled against Hiccup, the vibrations causing Hiccup to join her as they parted. Astrid hid her blushing cheeks in Hiccup's tunic.
"Sorry, I ruined the moment." She said, backing towards her dragon. "Don't mind me. Carry on you two."
Astrid planted her face in her hand as Hiccup glanced down at her.
"We should get back." He suggested planting a gentle kiss on her forehead.
***
Later that night
***
Astrid lay awake in her bed, staring at the ceiling as Stormfly came and rested her head in her rider's lap.
"I know girl." Astrid gently stroked her dragon's snout. "I'm trying." She sighed. Stormfly let out a frustrated huff before racing out of the hut. "Stormfly?!"
***
"Stormfly, what are you doing?!" Hiccup shrieked as the Nadder dragged him into the hut. She nudged him forward as Toothless wandered in behind them.
"Hiccup?" Astrid yawned. "What are you doing here?"
"Why are you still awake?" He asked her. She folded her arms, glaring in his direction, in an attempt to look mildly intimidating, despite her exhaustion.
"Did you seriously just ask me that?" She scowled.
"And I think we have our answer." Hiccup sauntered over to Astrid and sat beside her, pulling her into his arms.
"Hiccup, what are you doing?" She thought.
"Well, you said yourself, you can't sleep knowing that I'm not. And it doesn't look like the dragons are gonna let me out of here anytime soon. So, let's sleep." He suggested.
"No arguments here." She sighed contently, nuzzling into his side as they quickly drifted off to sleep.
***
