Will it be forever?

Chapter 27: Together Again

Astrid's POV

"Wake up, sleepyheads!" I hollered as I continued mixing the contents of the bowl I held in the crook of my elbow.

Not too long after, a loud thud could be heard from upstairs, followed by the sound of two heavy objects being dragged across the floor before the stairs began creaking. Down the stairs slumped a sleepy Hiccup and a half-awake Toothless.

"Can I ask what all this commotion is about?" Hiccup yawned as he ran his hand across his face. I placed the large bowl on the table and produced two smaller bowls, beckoning for Hiccup to sit as I placed Toothless' basket of fish before the dragon.

I sat down at the table and grabbed wooden spoon. "I made breakfast."

"Oh," Hiccup blinked rapidly as I began serving him the oatmeal I had prepared up for the two of us. He visibly gulped. "Looks delicious."

"Thank you! Now instead of complimenting my cooking, eat." I commanded him as I took a spoonful and downed it. Hiccup stared at the oatmeal for a second, as if he feared it would jump up and choke him, before he hesitantly dipped his spoon into the gooey substance and glanced over at me.

I raised my brow at him, waiting to see if he was willing to try the oatmeal or not. One could call me surprised when Hiccup actually stuck the spoon in his mouth and swallowed, looking like he was fighting back the urge to spit the oatmeal out. Gods, the look on his face was priceless.

But despite the clear disgust he had for the meal in front of him, Hiccup finished it all, leaning back in his chair like an old drunk after a long night in the Meade Hall as he pushed the bowl to the middle of the table. I smiled at him. Maybe he really was dedicated to fixing this relationship after all.

As I cleaned up after breakfast, I couldn't help but let my mind wander to the night before. We had returned to Berk, where I had expected Heather and Henry to be at the front of the welcome wagon, only to find out that Heather was currently serving a sentence in the Coast Island Jail for child abduction, which definitely made the return home much smoother than I had expected. The rest of the evening Hiccup and I had just decided to talk out our problems, before going to sleep in the same bed for the first time in forever.

"Well, we have an entire day ahead of us to do whatever we want. What do you say to a nice little flight?" I asked Hiccup as I placed my hands on his shoulders and let my fingers knead his stiff neck.

Hiccup's hand wrapped around my fingers as he leaned his head on them. "I say that's a brilliant idea. Itchy Armpit?"

My smile grew into a grin as I dug my nails into his shoulders, holding him down. "Itchy Armpit."

I sprung out the door, whistling for Stormfly as I kept on running towards the edge of the island, Hiccup and Toothless still lightyears behind me as I leapt off the edge, only to be caught by my dear dragon a moment later.

As we zoomed through the skies, I was certain we were miles ahead of Hiccup and Toothless. But alas, I was wrong. As we broke through the clouds and reached the burning pink top of the sky, we found Toothless and Hiccup, flying upside down, right above us.

Hiccup lifted the visor of his helmet, revealing a boyish grin and sparkling green eyes as the duo flew in sync with the two of us. I couldn't help but laugh at Hiccup's antics. "You really had me thinking I was ahead of you for a second."

"I can't always let you win, you know." Hiccup chuckled as his gaze locked with mine. A smirk tugged at the corner of my lips.

"The race isn't over yet, loverboy." I teased as I got up on my knees on Stormfly and pulled Hiccup down for a sweet and tender kiss. As I pulled away, his already tomato red face had turned into a deep shade of crimson as he froze in place, allowing me and Stormfly a head start.

Itchy Armpit was within our reach as Stormfly and I managed to keep the first place in the little race we had against Hiccup and Toothless. But just as I was thinking that victory was ours, a familiar figure glided past us in his flight suit.

"M'lady." Hiccup greeted before he let his hands fall to his sides, allowing him to plunge at top speed down to the Itchy Armpit. Thor, how I wanted to wipe that grin I knew he hid under his helmet off his face.

I patted Stormfly on the side, signaling for her to follow Hiccup's lead as we dove down past him, and gently landed on the soft grass that covered the cliff overlooking the Itchy Armpit. Moments later, Hiccup and Toothless landed beside us.

"Congratulations, you won the race!" Hiccup grinned as he took off his helmet and held it under his arm.

"I'm aware. Better luck beating me next time." I grinned at him in return as I sat down at the edge of the cliff, letting my legs hang freely over the edge. Hiccup quickly followed suit and plopped down beside me, wrapping a protective arm around me.

"I'm glad we can do this again, we haven't done anything remotely close to that since the honeymoon." Hiccup admitted as his gaze wandered across the beautiful landscape that made up the Itchy Armpit.

I glanced up at him before I let my head rest on his shoulder. "I'm glad we can do this too. I must admit, I've missed this Hiccup, I've missed being able to do things like this with you."

Hiccup pressed his lips to the top of my head as the sounds of our dragons playing in the background filled our ears. "I've missed it as well. I swear to you Astrid, I'll try my best to be more there with and for you."

I sighed happily as a soft smile tugged at the corners of my lips. "That's all I've ever wanted."

I nearly fell asleep on Hiccup's shoulder as we sat on the edge of the cliff, gazing at the gorgeous forests that covered the valley beneath us. But when I felt Hiccup's shoulder tense, my eyes immediately fluttered open.

"Do you see that?" Hiccup asked, narrowing his eyes at something on the horizon. I followed his lead and searched for whatever he was looking at.

"What do you mean? I don't see a thing..." Hiccup suddenly took hold of my chin, pointing my head in the direction of what he was looking at, and that's when I saw it, thick, black smoke rising on the horizon. Hiccup and I exchanged a look, and we both knew what we were going to do next.

We flew towards the looming smoke cautiously and on alert, ready to duck away from a trapper's net at any given moment. As we inched closer and closer to the source of the smoke, the sound of deep laughter filled our ears as we were met by the sight of the of what looked to be an army, camping out on the shores of a small island.

Hiccup and I exchanged another look as we inched closer and finally saw the the sails of the ships the men had likely brought with. My throat ran dry as I struggled to swallow properly. I felt my insides twist and turn in my stomach as my eyes were fixed on the curled skrill painted on the sails, memories of a time I would rather forget flooding my mind as I tried my best not to lean over the side of Stormfly and throw up.

"Let's get out of here, girl." I whispered to Stormfly, my voice shaky as I tore my gaze away from the Berserker settlement. I tightened my grip on Stormfly's saddle, digging my nails into the leather as we turned back in the direction we came from, not even bothering to ask Hiccup about his opinion before leaving.

As we flew back in the direction of the Itchy Armpit, Hiccup and Toothless eventually caught up to us. My eyes met Hiccup's and it was clear to me that he more than understood my distress over seeing those sails again.

"We... we should go home, we can't risk the Berserkers invading whilst we're not there." Hiccup spoke, tearing his gaze away from mine as he let it fall back in the direction of Berk.

I nodded slowly as I settled into Stormfly's saddle. "Agreed."