HTTYD: Blackmail.

Hiccup liked Gobber. A lot. But as he cast a look over his shoulder to see the huge amount of work that the two-limbed man had left for his apprentice, Hiccup decided he temporarily hated him just as much. The young Viking had been stuck within the heat of the forge since before the first beams of the sun could rise over the sea and the chances he would get out before it was setting again were, well, inexistent. Stoick and Gobber had left Berk together with a dozen of men in order to negotiate a trade treaty with the nearby –if two hundred miles away could be considered as such- island of Crom, and Hiccup had been happy at first at the prospect of having more free time on his hands to spend with Toothless, Astrid, and the rest of his friends. That is, until he found the note Gobber had left in the forge – Hiccup had actually managed to decipher the man's handwriting, which was really something to stand in awe of – to make sure his apprentice would do what he was expected to do and what consequences he would have to suffer if he did not.  How unfair was that?

The fact that Toothless was sleeping and snoring rather loudly beside the fire did not help to calm the teenage Viking's temper. Hammering angrily and yet precisely on the blade he was currently working on, Hiccup furiously thought of all the wonderful and far more interesting things he could be doing and had planned to do instead of being stuck with shields and swords and axes and bolas and harnesses and riding gears in need of repairs; an environment that wasn't exactly the talkative type. When his stomach grumbled in persistent, stubborn greetings, Hiccup also remembered he had not eaten anything since dawn and was consequently starving. Throwing his hammer aside, he did not bother to take off his apron and approached the still sleeping Night Fury.

"Just so you know, it's the middle of the afternoon."

The dragon cracked an eye open to glance at his human, and, seemingly deciding it was not really worth the effort, closed it again.

"Oy!!!!! It's not my fault we're stuck here!!! You could at least be a little bit supportive, don't you think?!?"

At the back of his mind, Hiccup wondered when exactly had Toothless learned to snort this well.

"Stupid, useless reptile…Anyway, you probably don't care but I'm going out to grab something to eat, and you can make your puppy eyes as much as you want, I'm not coming back with a basket of fishes for you. Got it?"

The dragon let out a clearly unsatisfied huff. No flying, no fishes, not even a single bunch of that grass he loved so much, that day was obviously a cursed one. Wait a minute. What was that sound he could hear? Concentrating on his sense of smell, the Night Fury picked the familiar scent of Astrid. She was nearby, and if he could get Hiccup to see her, maybe he would get some wonderful, foul-smelling fishes after all.

Stretching his paws and wings as he got up, Toothless trotted over to the window of the forge and took a look outside, not paying the slightest attention to the angry words of his rider he had just bumped into.  Sure enough, Astrid was out there, chopping some wood for a purpose he was not aware of and, quite frankly, did not care about. What he cared about was the fact that his rider's love interest was turning her back on the forge, and that he could hear the rider in question walking over to where he was.

"What on earth are you looking at? If I didn't know you, I'd bet everything I have that you've just seen your-

Toothless smirked as well he could as whatever Hiccup was going to say got stuck in his throat and he began staring at Astrid, mouth agape, through the window.

The blonde Viking was lifting her axe high above her head, the blade shining dangerously in the clear light that preceded storms, and for a second it stayed there as Astrid carefully aimed for the middle of the log she was going to cut in two. To Hiccup, it was amazing how every single motion she made conveyed her confidence and grace. Astrid Hofferson did not just hold a weapon in her hands. No, Astrid Hofferson belonged to the rare category of people who had the extraordinary ability to become the weapon they use with every fiber that constitute their bodies. And slowly, ever so gracefully, the axe began to draw the arc of a circle that would result without the slightest doubt in two perfect halves of wood. Hiccup peered at the way her back bent forward, naturally following the movement of the blade, and how that very motion made her braid flow alongside one of her shoulders, and how the spiked-skirt she wore lifted up just enough for him to glimpse her round, firm rear-end that he would more than probably love to grab someday and…

Wait a minute. Her rear-end?

Hiccup produced a high-pitched strangled noise as that piece of information fully registered into his mind- which automatically went blank- and then gasped audibly, and Toothless let out a curious sound that was remarkably similar to the way human beings chuckle. This was going to be fun. Deploying one of his pitch black wings, the Night Fury blocked the view his rider was suddenly entranced by. Hiccup instantly snapped out of it, brain managing to shake back into place, and all thoughts about getting some food down his throat were forgotten as one single idea kept hammering madly in his mind: enjoy the view.

Cursing his dragon in a low voice, Hiccup grabbed the delicate membrane and somehow managed to close it again on Toothless's flank, completely oblivious to the fact that he had only succeeded in doing so because the mighty reptile agreed to comply and offered no protest.
Oh, this sight was priceless, and Hiccup was pretty sure that any guy in his right mind would agree to be damned by the Gods if it meant being allowed to even glimpse it. And here he was, staring at Astrid whilst she repeated the same motions over and over again, and the logs beside her began to heap up considerably, and she was unaware of the level of attraction she radiated, and he took glorious pride in knowing he was her boyfriend, and…

And he found himself staring at a black wing once again. Toothless snorted at his rider's choice of words to describe what he was doing, and allowed him to get lost in the contemplation of Astrid once more. And the little game kept going until Hiccup's protests began to echo louder and louder, until the Night Fury refused to budge an inch, stubbornly obstructing the view.

"Toothless!!! Would you stop that?!? I'm trying to look at her!!"

The dragon looked down at his human companion, and opened his jaws.

"You can't possibly mean…No way!! I refuse to give in to such an odious blackmail! You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Toothless huffed; ignoring the forefinger the teenage Viking waved at him in accusation, he simply rolled his massive shoulders as if to say "Okay, your choice."

Eyes widening at his dragon's antics, Hiccup was torn between anger and frustration. For the love of Thor, that reptile shouldn't have him wrapped around his claw, right? Right indeed, said the little voice at the back of his mind, and yet…there's Astrid out there, and she's beautiful and far more interesting to look at than shields and whatever stuff could be found in the forge.

"Alright", Hiccup eventually whispered in defeat, "You win. I'll bring you a special treat, but please let me look at her again!"

Purring in uncontested victory, Toothless closed his wing and Hiccup practically lunged at the windowsill to resume staring at the love of his life…and was only met with the sight of an abandoned heap of neatly-cut semi-logs.  

"What? But…Where did she-
"You know, you could have just come out and said something."

Hiccup jumped in the air, letting out a frightened yelp as Astrid, who was leaning against the wall, burst into unrestrained laughter.

"Astrid!! I thought we went through this! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"C'mon Hiccup, slaying the Green Death kinda means there's little chance you're ever going to die because of a sheer heart attack." Astrid replied easily with a smile. "You'll probably end up killing yourself one way or another anyway."
"Thank you, I feel so much better now."
"You're welcome. So, did you enjoy the show?"

Hiccup's face turned scarlet in less time than Astrid needed to say 'dragons'.

"Ah, er…I…Um…Is it just me or is it getting hot in here?"
"You're in the forge, Hiccup. Next to a raging fire. Of course it's hot."
"I meant hotter."
"I know."

Smiling, Astrid left her spot against the wall and reached out to scratch Toothless's neck, and the dragon crooned happily under her touch. Bending over the windowsill, she grabbed her boyfriend's apron and yanked him towards her, until their faces were inches apart.

"I should beat you up for having stared at me the way you did, you know."
Hiccup gulped. "And are you going to do it?"
"No."
"Dare I ask why?"

She gave him a soft kiss on the lips and smiled mischievously at the way he kept his eyelids closed to savor it completely until the very last second.

"Because I think it makes up for the countless times I did the same when you were busy working on some piece of metal or leather and didn't pay attention to me. Needless to say, I was a bit stealthier than you."
"What?!?"
"Yep. And Toothless didn't let the cat out of the bag."
"WHAT?!? HOW?"
"Real simple. I paid him with a bunch of fishes."