Something different...

6. First kiss

"Harald, stop!"
Hiccup ran into his house.
"What are you doing here?!" Harald yelled, kicking his daughter in another corner of the room.
"Harald. Astrid needs Gothi's help. Or she won't survive long. Please. Trust me."
"Trust you?! Huh. You embarrassed me in front of the whole village! And now you want me to trust you?!"
"I'm sorry, Harald. But this has to end. The way you treat Astrid. She doesn't deserve it. Neither did Emily." Hiccup went closer to him, putting his hand on Harald's shoulder.

Suddenly, Harald hit Hiccup straight in the face. But Hiccup didn't fall. He just stood there, his hand on his nose. Then, Hiccup hit Harald, who then stumbled back and collapsed.
Hiccup rushed to Astrid, who was still lying on the ground, but she tried to sit up.
"Easy there, Astrid. You're still hurt." He said while he picked her up in bride style.
"H-H-Hiccup? You're hurt, too. H-How? I thought you were mad at me." She mumbled quietly before she fainted in Hiccup's arms.

Astrid's POV:

I felt it again. The warm breath of my dragon. Stormfly's warm breath on my cheek. How much I loved that!
"H-hey, girl." I slowly opened my eyes and sat up carefully.
"Wait! I'm in Hiccup's house. You're in Hiccup's house! Does he know you're here?!"
"Yes, he does." I turned to the voice. It was Hiccup. He was sitting on a chair beside his bed.
"How are you feeling?" He asked.
"You're... you're not mad...?" He chuckled. He shook his head.
"No, I'm not. I never really was. I was so stressed about the chief duties to protect the village from dragons, and then, when I saw you, being a friend of the dragons, made me so upset, so I let the anger and the pressure out on you. I'm so sorry, Astrid. I never wanted you to feel bad." Hiccup came to me and sat on the edge of his bed. I hugged him suddenly. At first, he seemed to be shocked, but then, he hugged back. This was the feeling of warmth and safety.
But then, I groaned. My ribs hurt when I sat up.
"Take it easy, Astrid. You have three broken ribs, a bruised arm, and a broken nose. Gothi said you have four weeks of bed rest." Hiccup said gently, stroking my cheek. He took a strand of my hair between his fingers and put it behind my ear. I smiled at him. We leaned to kiss each other. I closed my eyes, hoping to feel Hiccup's lips on mine.

But at that moment, Gobber ran into the room.
"Aye, chief! I'm sorry I interrupted something special, but we need your help down at the village." Hiccup just nodded, kissed my forhead, and went with Gobber out of the room.

I just had a moment to realize that Hiccup wanted to kiss me!

Hiccup's POV:

I was blushing like crazy. My thoughts were with Astrid the whole time. I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that we actually almost kissed!
Some villagers needed help with the dragons. I helped them quickly and made my way back to my house.

I entered my bedroom and saw Astrid sleeping. I could hear how difficult it was for her to breathe with a broken nose. Mine was broken, too, but not as much as hers.
I slowly laid myself on the bed, beside Astrid.
"Mmph?!" I heard her mumble, and then she looked at me.
"Hey. Keep sleeping. Everything's fine." I stroked her head, letting her know I'm here.

~two months later~

Author's POV:

"Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine, Hiccup. You can stop worrying about me now." Astrid and Hiccup were sitting on a cliff near Berk and enjoying the sunset. She showed him how to ride a dragon.
Yes, Hiccup Haddock was riding a dragon, too. To be more specific, the Night Fury. He named the dragon Toothless.
"Well, I'll never stop worrying about you. It's just the way it is."
"Yeah, yeah. I guess that goes for me, too." Hiccup looked at her.
Her beautiful ocean blue eyes shone when she looked at the sunset. Her silky blonde hair fluttered a little bit in the light breeze. She was just perfect. A perfect worrior. A perfect friend. She was everything perfect.
"Astrid?"
"Hm?" She turned her head towards him.

But he didn't say anything.
He just leaned in and kissed her.

At first, Astrid was shocked. But then, she kissed back. And they pulled away.
"Wow." Hiccup whispered. Astrid chuckled lightly, putting her head on his shoulder and her hand around his waist. They sat there still, watching the sunset and enjoying the silence.