ASTRID POV

Several days passed after that while Jack continued to practice and improve his "healing" ability. I didn't bother him too much because he said he needed to concentrate. He seemed really determined to honor our deal, which was another thing about him that I liked.

We still continued our dragon training in the academy but today was an off day. That means, besides eating and throwing axes in the woods for an hour, I had nothing to do today. I didn't feel like flying by myself, so I visited Hiccup in the forge to get my axe sharpened.

"Hi, Hiccup. Are you busy?" I popped my head in the room.

"A little bit. Apparently I'm the only blacksmith on Berk, and these weapons just pile up when I'm not here."

"Well, since you're here anyway..." I presented my axe from behind my back and gave a sweet smile with my request. "Please?"

"Of course. I should've known," he groaned. "I'll take care of it."

"Thanks." I handed him the axe. While he got to work on it, I checked out the other weapons lying around in the forge. Bringing one closer to my eye, I noticed some markings on the blade and handle.

"Did you make these, Hiccup?" I asked.

"Yeah, Gobber taught me how to engrave weapons, so I've been practicing on some."

"These are awesome. Hey, can you do my axe too?"

"Sure. I'd love to." he smiled. "What inscription do you want to carve on it?"

"Hmm, I don't know," I said.

"What about 'Defender of Berk'?" he asked.

"That sounds perfect."

Hiccup brought out his engraving tool and hammer while I examined more weapons. Ever since we started trading with lands, our armory grew with more exotic weapons and armor. Not everyone at Berk uses it, though, because they only trust swords and axes. 

"Whoa, look at this claymore! It's massive!" I picked up the sword. "Did we make this?"

"No, actually, we got some weapons as gifts from Trader Johann. They're all in a pile over there," he pointed before going back to his engraving.

"Hehehe, freedom!" I yelled, hoisting the great sword in the air. 

"That blade is really sharp. I would've loved to have seen how they forged it," Hiccup said. 

"And it's great for killing!" I added.

"Yeah... okay. Not really why I like the sword but--"

"Oh my!" Something caught my eye so I put the claymore down and ransacked the weapons pile. "Oh! Hiccup, this is a halberd! See this hook at the back? It's for taking down enemies on horseback and this pike is for stabbing them when they're on the ground. See?" 

"Oh, th-- that's interesting," he ducked his head out of the way as I swung the weapon around. "Here's something you'll like." 

I turned around to see Hiccup handing me another weapon.

"What are they?" I asked, feeling the weapons in my hands.

"They're called brass knuckles. You put your fingers through them and when you punch someone, you can break their face-- whoa, not me!" He put up his hands to block.

"I'm just kidding, Hiccup," I giggled, putting my fist down. "These are so cool."

"If you want, you can keep them. No one else wants them so they just sit here and take up space," Hiccup mentioned. 

"Really? Thanks, Hiccup," I said. "I'll practice with them all the time."

I kept playing with the brass knuckles, punching the air and making lame punch sound effects.

Hiccup laughed, "You are so cute."

I immediately stopped and looked him straight in his eyes. Simultaneously, he covered his mouth in shock.

I dropped my brass knuckles and walked toward him with a serious face.

"Astrid, I'm so sorry. It just slipped out. Please don't kill me," he begged.

I backed him into a wall where he couldn't retreat any further.

With my right hand, I grabbed the back of his head and whispered into his ear. "Did you really mean that?"

I heard an audible gulp from Hiccup before he replied. "Well, yeah."

"Good. Because that makes me really happy," I whispered, pulling back to see his reaction.

He grinned and flashed those olive green eyes that I daydream about all the time. 

"You don't have to be scared of me, Hiccup," I said. "I'm a nice person... most of the time."

"Seriously?" he said.

"Well, I'm nice to you, at least. We've been friends since forever. I won't get mad at you unless you do something really stupid." I smiled while caressing the back of his neck. 

"Something stupid... like this?" Unexpectedly, he slipped his arms around my back and pulled me closer to him until our noses touched each other. 

"No, you're doing really good," I whispered.

We're alone in this forge, right? Maybe I can have some fun.  

"Uh, Astrid. About that night... a few days ago," he whispered.

"Yeah?" I raised my hand and rubbed little circles in the back of his head.

"I felt... really weird." He also started rubbing circles on my back, which almost made me jump up and scream my head off in excitement, but I knew it would've killed the mood.

"Weird?" I frowned and pulled my head back a little.

"I-- I mean a good kind of weird. I don't know how to explain it," he said. "It felt really nice."

We stood there, rubbing each other's back, almost in a kind of awkward position. So, I felt we needed to move things forward.

"I think we can do something that feels nicer, though," I whispered. 

It satisfied me to see Hiccup's blushes and wide eyes. I was back in that dizzy, feverish state where I didn't care about anything but having Hiccup in my arms. 

I couldn't stop myself anymore and kissed Hiccup on his tender cheek, making a small pop sound when I pulled back. Yup, that felt really good. However, Hiccup had a frozen dazed expression.

Did he like it? Did he hate it? React, Hiccup! Do something! Oh, no, I broke him!

Hiccup finally shook out of it. I was expecting him to run away and never talk to me again, thinking I was some creepy girl who was obsessed about him. Well, I am, in a way.

He looked into my eyes before dipping down toward my lips. 

Oh yes.

Come on, Hiccup... kiss the pretty lady...

I locked my arms around his small frame and he did the same to my waist.

He closed his eyes, leaned in, and before I could claim his lips...

"Guys!" 

Curse my life.

"What?!" I roared at the doorway. Who's the son of a half-troll who barged in here?

Hiccup and I had pulled away, but still held each other in our arms. 

"I did it! I can heal Hiccup now!" Jack announced, jumping up and down in glee.

"Really? That's great!" Hiccup cheered.

"Y-yeah, that's great..." I cheered blandly.

I was actually really happy for Jack and Hiccup, but I was too disappointed at the time to celebrate. You won't be able to slip away from me next time, Hiccup.

* * *

The time had finally come. After several days of practice, Jack felt he was now ready to heal Hiccup's leg. 

Gothi watched the process closely to check if it was done correctly.

"Okay, here goes." Jack shot a dark blue frost blast at Hiccup's leg.

"Oh-- oh, that's cold!" Hiccup shivered in his chair.

The ice spread around the point where the prosthetic was attached before being absorbed into the skin. After careful examination, Gothi gave the nod to Gobber.

"It's a success!" Gobber cheered.

"Yeah!" Jack said.

According to Gothi, this means that Hiccup would never have that stupid relapse again.

I hugged Jack  with a giant smile on my face. "Thank you. I knew you could do it," I said softly.

"Thanks for believing in me," Jack replied, returning my embrace. 

"I could just kiss you right now, Jack," I said, flowing with happiness that Hiccup was healed.

"I wouldn't mind kissing you either, Rid-Rid," Jack smiled.

Really? Well... I guess there's no harm. I might as well get one kiss for all my efforts today.

"How about we slow it down with all the kissing." Hiccup split us apart with his arm. 

I chuckled at Hiccup's effort to stop us. In my state of glee, I almost forgot that Hiccup was the only person I wanted to have my lips.

"No, just on the cheek?" Jack still tried.

"Nope, sorry." Hiccup was now standing between us, acting as a wall.

"Forehead, then?"

"Sorry, Jack. Maybe when Hiccup's asleep," I said with a smirk.

"Yeah... we'll just wait until Hiccup goes to sleep..." Jack smiled deviously.

"No, Jack is leaving right now. Thanks for visiting. Come again in ten years." Hiccup playfully began pushing Jack out the door.

"Okay, okay, no more kissing," Jack smiled. "You guys are great. I'm glad we all got to be friends."

Hiccup smiled and faced him seriously. "You're a good guy, Jack. Thanks for what you did. You're always welcome here at Berk."

"Wait, you're not leaving, are you?" I asked, my smile disappearing from my face.

"I've healed his leg. My work here is done," Jack said. "I'm needed elsewhere, Rid-Rid."

"I'm gonna miss you," I said.

"Not as much as I'm gonna miss talking to you," Jack replied. "You take care of each other, alright?"

"Come visit again, alright, Jack?" I said.

"I'm sure we'll meet again," Jack said before we hugged for the last time. 

Jack grabbed his staff. "See ya, Gobber and old lady!"

With that, Jack flew to the skies, free as a bird. He did a few loops before disappearing into the horizon. 

And there he went. A mystery, a stranger, a myth... a friend. Jack was almost like a passing dream, but I'll miss him a lot.

We left Gothi's house to walk around. Hiccup walked beside me on a Berk pathway away from the village.

"I wish he didn't leave so soon," I groaned.

"He's a traveler, Astrid. He's happiest when he's free and not tied down like us," Hiccup explained. 

"You make us sound so boring, Hiccup," I chuckled. "We should do some more exploring, out there in the great beyond. Somewhere that hasn't been mapped out yet!" I declared excitedly.

"Okay, don't worry. I'll take you anywhere you want to go," Hiccup said. "We'll get back to exploring soon enough. Remember, we all had a crazy past couple weeks." 

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I said. "At least it's over now. We won't have any more problems with your leg."

"So... what's this 'Rid-Rid' business?" he asked.

"It's Jack's nickname for me. It's really silly," I said. My cheeks were blushing from just discussing that stupid nickname.

"I think it's okay, but I prefer saying Astrid. It's sounds a lot more beautiful," Hiccup grinned at me, stopping my beating heart.

Instinctively, I punched him in his small shoulder in my excitement. 

"Oww!"

"That's for being so sappy," I said. "And this is for being so sweet." 

I grabbed his neck and pulled him in for a kiss until...

"Astrid! Astrid!" a voice called.

Oh, come on, what is it now?! Can't I have any time alone with Hiccup?! Do I have to kidnap this boy in order to kiss him--

I turned to see Fishlegs ran toward us. How did he even find us?  

"Astrid, your father said he wanted to talk to you. He said it's urgent," Fishlegs panted heavily.

"You better go," Hiccup added.

"Yeah, you're right." I left them and jogged down the hill.

My father doesn't usually ask for me like this. What could he want?

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A/N: I'm glad we're in this part of the story where Hiccup and Astrid are more comfortable with each other and they can kiss... almost. Honestly, I'm a little starved for some Hiccstrid kissing in this story, but I wanted to build it up so we'd earn the kisses. Sorry for interrupting them all the time, but I promise there will be so many kisses in future chapters that we will get sick of them.

I'm kind of excited for the next few chapters, but I hope I didn't make them too dark. Thanks for reading and voting!