Set after Blindsided and before Shell Shocked.
So I just got this vibe that Astrid acts completely different around Hiccup and allows herself some sense of vulnerability compared to when she's around the other riders. But I added Heather cause she's a Hiccstrid super fan.
Only Heather knows.
***
"Heather, will you quit it." Astrid rolled her eyes playfully as the girls both sauntered through the forests of a new island.
"I can't help it. You guys are just so perfect." The raven-haired teen almost squealed with excitement.
"I get it. You're a fan. But you have got to tone it down a notch." Astrid warned.
"Tone what down?" Hiccup smirked as he sauntered towards them, meeting them by the lagoon. He turned to Heather who was failing to hide the smile on her face. "Oh, that."
"Yeah," Astrid confirmed as she made her way to her auburn-haired boyfriend. His arms wrapped around her almost instinctively, pulling her closer. "Find anything?"
"No, you?" He checked.
"Nothing."
Hiccup let out a frustrated sigh. Astrid brought her hand up to brush her fingers through his messy mop of hair, her other, resting over his heart.
"Hey, relax." She spoke softly. "We'll find them."
"How many more dragons will we have to lose before we can finally take these guys?!" He scowled at himself.
"Hiccup, breathe." She suggested, placing her hands on his shoulders to keep him grounded. "Once we get the dragon eye back, they won't stand a chance."
"If we get it back."
"Hiccup, you have spent months planning this mission. There's no way we can fail."
"I guess." He sighed. "I just need something to take my mind off of it all."
"I'm sure we can handle that," Astrid smirked wriggling out of his grasp and darting towards Heather, who was sitting with her dragon just watching the scene unfold. "Bet you can't catch me."
"Astrid, that's not fair. I have a prosthetic leg." He whined.
"That never stopped you before." She thought. "You scared I'm gonna show you up in front of Heather?" She smirked mischievously.
"Oh, you're on. Usual stakes?"
"You know it." She agreed.
Hiccup chased Astrid around the lagoon for at least twenty minutes before she slowed down to let him catch her. Usually, it didn't take so long but she was trying to keep him distracted. Of course, while he had been searching the island from the back of his dragon, she had been searching on foot so was a little more exhausted than Hiccup this time.
He finally tackled her to the ground, pinning her beneath him. Astrid let out a chuckle.
"You got me." She surrendered. Hiccup smiled at her, knowing all too well that she had let him win again. He offered her a hand off the ground and looked across the large lagoon at Heather in the distance.
"We should get back." He suggested. Astrid just nodded. Hiccup spun around and held his hands behind his back. The blonde rolled her eyes and leaped into a piggyback. Hiccup carried her all the way back to Heather on the far side of the lagoon before sitting her on the ground.
"So, he won?" Heather chuckled.
"Yup. Always does." Astrid smiled.
"So, what did he win?" The raven-haired teen wondered.
Astrid giggled as she flipped over, straddling Hiccup's legs, bringing her hand up to his neck, and leaning in to plant a kiss on his lips.
Heather fought back another squeal.
"And if you had won?" Heather furrowed her brow curiously. It was Hiccup's turn to smirk. He threw himself forward pinning Astrid beneath him once again. Though too self-conscious with Heather there. Astrid pulled his neck closer to plant a gentle, reassuring kiss on his nose before connecting their lips once again.
"You guys are so cute." Heather chuckled causing them to part with a giggle. "What? No. I ruined the moment. Ignore me. I'm not even here. Carry on."
The young couple just rolled their eyes at her little rant and continued to gaze at one another for just a moment more.
"Guys, incoming!" Heather warned. Astrid's eyes opened wide as she realized the other riders were approaching. She quickly reversed the roles and grasped her daggers from her belt, holding them up in a defensive position in front of her, with Hiccup pinned beneath her foot.
"There's my sweet little psycho." He teased.
She dropped her hands to her sides and tucked her daggers away. She leaned down to grasp Hiccup by the tunic and lift him from the ground, drawing him impossibly close.
"And don't you forget it!"
***
