Hiccup's POV
"Good morning, my lovely wife." I yawned as I wrapped my arms tighter around Astrid's shoulders.
She shook her head slightly as she let out a chuckle. "I don't think I'll ever get used to being called that."
I chuckled as well before I pressed a kiss to her forehead. "How are you feeling?"
She shrugged, eyes closed as she spoke. "Better than I had expected to be honest, turns out we got all worked up over something that wasn't so bad after all."
"Wasn't so bad? Is that supposed to be an insult or a compliment?" I snorted as I gave her arm a light squeeze.
She rolled her eyes as another chuckle escaped her. "You know what I meant, you knucklehead."
"Do I, now?" I teased.
Astrid wriggled out of my grasp only to place herself atop my lower abdomen, in turn straddling me as a playful smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. She leaned down towards me until our noses almost touched. I gulped.
"Yes, you do" Her smirk turned into a grin as she pressed a quick kiss to my lips, only to jump out of bed right after.
"What are you doing? Come back!" I complained as she was busy getting dressed. She turned to me with the same smirk from earlier as she simply waltzed past me and strode down the stairs.
I let my head fall back into my pillow as I let out an audible groan.
***
I laced my fingers with Astrid's as we strolled through the woods that surrounded our little hut, our dragons running far ahead of us as they slinked their way past all kinds of hinders from large rocks to tiny saplings.
I blissfully smiled down at Astrid. I couldn't remember a time I had been as happy as I was right in that moment, alone with my wife as our dragons joyfully chased each other around the woods.
Astrid furrowed her brows as she noticed me staring. "What are you doing?"
"I'm looking at my wife, is there anything wrong with that?" I raised a brow at her as another smile tugged at the corners of my lips.
She snorted as she rolled her eyes. "You are one strange creature, Hiccup Haddock."
"No, I'm your strange creature." I grinned at her, earning yet another roll of her eyes as she let out a chuckle.
As the trees slowly became fewer and fewer, we eventually reached a beautiful cliff, which overlooked the ocean and the sun that was beginning to set. I exchanged a look with Astrid as we both made a silent agreement to sit down there. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders as we let our feet dangle off the edge.
"You know what? I really like this. I really like exploring the world with my wife." A soft smile appeared on my face as I gazed down at Astrid, whose eyes were sparkling just as much as the ocean below us.
"I guess I really enjoy it too." Astrid smiled as she leaned her head onto my shoulder.
We sat there for a while, watching the sunset and enjoying the other's company as our dragons played in the background. Nothing could ever be as perfect as that moment, nothing.
"Astrid?" I looked down at her as she lifted her head from off my shoulder, a puzzled look on her face.
"Yes?"
"What do you say we go explore world? Just think about all the fun we've had exploring just this island and imagine how amazing it would be to explore the whole world, together, as husband and wife! Imagine the things we could find! Maybe a few new dragons species, perhaps even another night fury!" I rambled as I could practically feel myself glowing with excitement. "And then when we've done that ... I don't know, maybe we can settle for a calm life on Berk with a kid or two?"
Astrid furrowed her brows as she avoided my gaze. "Hiccup ..."
"What is it? Did I say something wrong?" I asked her, desperate to find what weighed her down.
"Hiccup, we are the Chief and Chieftess of Berk, we can't just disappear for years to go explore the world! We have responsibilities waiting at home, people who need us to be there for them, people who need us to protect them." Astrid explained, all traces of humor completely washed away from her face as her forehead creased.
I stroked her cheek with my thumb. "I have to admit, I didn't think of that ... but now that we're two on the job, we can make time for exploring and other activities like that!"
"Hiccup, you and I both know that won't work. You can't run from your responsibilities, you can't run from the people who rely on you, the only thing you can do is gather up your strength and face them, no matter what," Astrid shot me a small smile before she stood up. "See you at dinner."
She brought her fingers to her lips and whistled for her dragon, who immediately stopped playing and came over to her rider. Astrid climbed atop her and took off.
Toothless came waddling out of the forest, eyes glued to the duo that were flying away from us as he laid down next to me. I patted his head. "Maybe one day we'll get to do all the exploring we want to, bud. Maybe one day."
***
"Sorry, but we're going to win this one, m'lady!" I shouted triumphantly to Astrid and Stormfly, who were quickly weaving between the trees behind us.
"Not as long as there is air in my lungs!" Astrid laughed as she and Stormfly swooped in from under us and landed neatly on the white sand that seemed to stretch for miles upon miles.
Toothless and I landed right after them, unable to keep the grins off our faces. "Yeah, yeah. I suppose congratulations are in order?"
A playful smirk danced across Astrid's lips as our eyes locked. "I suppose they are."
I took another step closer to her, wrapping my arms around her waist as I gently tugged her forwards, leaving our lips mere inches apart as we gazed lovingly into the others eyes.
It had been two days since our little clash on the cliff, and after a long discussion at the breakfast table the next morning, we apologized to each other whilst also respecting and understanding the other's viewpoints.
I pressed a quick peck to Astrid's lips before pulling away and letting my hands slide into hers. "Follow me."
"Why?" Astrid raised an eyebrow at me as she curiously followed. I climbed atop Toothless and offered her my free hand, which she naturally rejected as she climbed atop the dragon by herself.
"You'll see." A wide smile spread across my face as I activated Toothless' tail and we shot up into the skies at breakneck speed, Astrid's arms wrapped tightly around my waist after she had dismissed her own dragon.
As we pierced through the thin layer of clouds that were covering the night sky, we were met by the beautiful sight of the full moon, accompanied by millions of stars that had been spread all over the dark background. I felt Astrid relax against my back as she turned her head up to watch the amazing scenery.
I patted Toothless lightly on the side of the neck as he let out a soft coo, signaling that it was time to go down. We touched down on a small flower field on the side of the mountain, it wasn't big, but the look of awe on Astrid's face told me everything I needed to know.
As we made our way to the edge of the small flower field, we were greeted by an amazing view of the absolute striking night sky. As we sank down in the middle of the flowers, Toothless went on to install himself on a nice little ledge not far away from us.
"Wow," Astrid sighed. "I don't think I've ever seen something as beautiful as this."
I raised a brow at her as we laid down on the ground, gazes fixed on the glittering stars above. "Really? I could've sworn we own a mirror!"
A chuckle escaped Astrid as she landed a punch in my arm. "You're such a dork, Haddock."
"You sure you should be saying that? You're a Haddock too now, you know." I grinned at her, but my smile faded as she drew her brows together and a look of sadness washed over her.
"I forgot about that." She muttered, refusing to meet my gaze.
I sat up beside her, placing a hand on her arm. "Did I say something to offend you?"
"What? No!" Astrid quickly defended herself as she shot up to a sitting position.
"Then why do you seem so glum all of a sudden?" I furrowed my brows at her as I let my thumb glide across her warm cheek.
"You noticed that, huh?" She replied in a low tone, her gaze still miles away from mine as she wrapped her arms around her legs, pulling them closer to her chest.
"I'm your husband, of course I noticed." I shot her a small smile as she finally turned towards me. "Now I beg of you, could you please tell me what's bothering you?"
"I ..." Her gaze landed at her feet as her brows drew even closer. "I know it's kind of irrational, but I'm kind of sad to no longer be a Hofferson. My name has been my whole identity my entire life, everyone knew who you were talking about if you said 'Astrid Hofferson' but now ... now I'm Astrid Haddock, Chief Hiccup Haddock's wife, and I feel that's all I am to everyone."
I cupped her cheeks with both my hands as I forced her to look at me. "Astrid, your name doesn't define you or who you are, you do that, and just because you've changed your last name, it doesn't mean that you are any different than you were before, you're still the same Astrid you were way before you married me and you always will be, I know that and so does everyone else."
Dark ocean eyes filled my vision as her brows drew further apart. "Are you sure?"
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life" I smiled at my beautiful wife. Gods, was I lucky.
"Thanks, babe." The ghost of a smile danced across Astrid's face as she dug her nose into the crook of my neck. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
I placed a kiss on her forehead as we slowly sank back down into the flower field. "Neither do I."