Astrid's POV
"Do you have to go?" I crossed my arms as I watched Hiccup stuff some extra clothing into the basket he was bringing along with him to his meeting.
A sigh escaped Hiccup as he closed the basket and leaned on its lid before he turned to look at me over his shoulder. "I'm afraid so. We have been planning this for a while, after all."
I shrugged before letting out a sigh as well. "I just don't get why I can't come with!"
Hiccup picked up his basket and carried it beneath his arm as I followed him all the way outside to where Toothless was napping in preparation for their trip. With a whistle, Hiccup awoke the night fury, who eagerly shot up and wagged his tail in anticipation for their flight ... until he saw the basket that is. "Toothless, don't be like that! It's not like you haven't carried any luggage before!"
After a lot of back and forth between the dragon and his rider, Toothless eventually gave in with a displeased grunt and allowed Hiccup to secure the basket to his side. Hiccup brushed off his hands before he turned to me with those same hands planted firmly on his hips. "Now, back to you. What was it you were wondering about again?"
I felt my blood boil in my veins at how he hadn't remembered the simple question I had asked him, but decided to let it go as I wasn't really looking for a big fight at the moment. "I don't get why I can't come with."
"Of course, you can come with, but you are the one person I trust most with the safety of the village, which is why I'd rather have you be acting-Chief while I'm away and make sure that the island isn't a block of cinders upon my return home."
I raised a doubtful brow at Hiccup. "I don't think Gobber would appreciate you saying that."
Completely brushing off my reply, Hiccup rambled on. "Besides, it's only three days. I'll be back before you even get the chance to miss me!"
The sigh that escaped me took all my pride with it, causing my shoulders to sink and my mood to drop as my vulnerable side was put on display. "But I will miss you. Hiccup, we've barely been apart since you and Zephyr came to my rescue all those months ago and now you're just ... taking off to the Haven Isles without me."
"I-I know and I'm so sorry," Hiccup stammered as he ran a hand through his hair. "It's just that there is a lot riding on me and their Chief getting along, which is why I'm afraid that you'll distract me so much I won't be able to focus on the task at hand."
Once again, I found myself crossing my arms as I arched a skeptical brow at my husband. "I don't know whether I should take that as an insult or a compliment."
Hiccup didn't even have the chance to defend himself as a familiar voice cut in and took all of our attention with it. "Dad!"
Zephyr threw herself into her father's arms, wrapping her arms tightly around him as if she feared something bad would happen to him if she ever let go. Trailing behind her was her new boyfriend, Syver Jorgenson, who had stopped at a respectful distance from his girlfriend and her father.
I might've been slightly miffed with Hiccup at that moment, but that didn't stop me from grinning at the two of them as Hiccup spun Zephyr around and hugged her back just as tightly as she was hugging him.
As the two of them began exchanging a few words, I found myself standing beside Syver, whose grassy green eyes were locked on my daughter and my daughter alone. "You really like her, don't you?"
Syver blinked in surprise as he turned to me. "Are you talking to me?"
I nodded in response as the boy adjusted his posture and cleared his throat. "I definitely do not just like her, it's much stronger than that, I think."
I raised a brow at the boy as I suddenly became interested in learning more. "How so?"
Syver remained silent for a minute before he spoke, eyes still on Zephyr as she laughed with her father and made sure to give Toothless lots of love as well. "She always knows how to make me smile, her energy just ... lights up any room she's in. She never lets any of us mope around and she just has a lot of room for everyone in her heart. She also knows a lot of stuff, which often proves useful when we stumble upon a dragon in the woods or on a flight. She's just ... amazing and I just hope that I'm lucky enough to get to keep her for as long as possible."
A warm smile lit up my face as I turned to look at the teenage boy who was so obviously in love with my daughter. It wasn't long before my own gaze wandered to the man I considered the love of my life. My heart raced as a warm feeling spread through my chest just at the sight of him. "You know, Syver, you and Hiccup seem to have a lot in common."
Syver knitted his brows together as his face scrunched up in confusion. "We do?"
I nodded at the boy, who was nearly my height. "Absolutely, I bet if you asked him how I used to make him feel when we were the same age as you, he would say the exact same."
"If I know dad well enough, he would say the exact same thing plus a few other things." Zephyr butted in from where she was scratching Toothless under his cheek.
"You were listening to our conversation!?" Syver's eyes widened as panic seeped through his voice.
Zephyr raised a brow at her boyfriend before shaking her head at him. "You do realize we're only a few feet away from you, right?"
"Right ..." Syver scratched the back of his neck as his face grew scarlet. I had to bite my tongue quite hard not to laugh at the boy.
A hand suddenly slipped into mine, sending a wave of warmth that coursed up my arm and spread throughout my body. I turned to face my husband, who smiled so lovingly down at me that I regretted ever having gotten angry with him. "I'm so sorry, Astrid, but we've got to get going now or else we'll be late."
I let out a sigh before I gave his hand a light squeeze. "Alright, I understand."
I followed my husband over to his rather grumpy-looking dragon, who even after all the love and affection he had received still looked as if we had filled his stocking with eel for Snoggletog. Crouching down beside the night fury, I ran a gentle hand over his head. "What makes you so grumpy, Toothless?"
The dragon roared over his shoulder in the direction of the basket that had been strapped to the back of his saddle and yet again I found I had to physically restrain myself from bursting out into laughter. "That's not very nice of Hiccup now, is it?"
A fit of giggles erupted from Zephyr as her father narrowed his eyes at me. "Traitor."
I stuck my tongue out at my husband before turning back to Toothless and caressing the top of his head. "Luckily for you, you are the strongest and most capable dragon for the job, so this should be no problem to you."
For a dragon that wasn't known to be very vain, the night fury sure ate up all of the flattery I fed to him. He stood up on all fours with his head held high as he patiently awaited Hiccup, the basket he had despised so much in the beginning now like a plume on his back to him.
"It seems like I should be handing my title of dragon master over to you." Hiccup stated as he walked up beside me, slithering one arm around my waist as he turned to face me. "I'll see you in three days, alright?"
I nodded in agreement as I ran the tips of my fingers along the length of his jaw. "Alright."
Our lips met in a tamed, yet sweet and loving kiss as we tried our best to not scar our daughter for life — again. As Zephyr made her way up to us, Hiccup and I quickly parted ways as I allowed him to say goodbye to our daughter without my intervention. The pair shared yet another tight and rather long embrace before Hiccup eventually let Zephyr go and climbed atop the now high-and-mighty Toothless.
As Hiccup prepared both himself and Toothless for takeoff, Syver sidled up beside Zephyr and slid his hand inside hers, a gesture my teary-eyed daughter seemed to appreciate.
"Bye, everyone, I'll see you in three days! And by the way, Astrid; it was meant as a compliment." With a sly wink to me and a blown kiss in the direction of our emotional wreck of a daughter, Hiccup and Toothless took off into the skies, disappearing from our view shortly after.
Syver led Zephyr into our house as I found myself still standing in the same spot I had been in for the past ten minutes or so. I had no idea how or why, but for some reason my stomach churned painfully at the thought of Hiccup leaving, as if it knew something that I didn't. Gods, did I hope that gut feeling was incorrect.