"Is this okay?"

His voice was a whisper as it dropped low and gravelly. The room was lit by a few dim lamps and a candle on the table, normally abandoned by Merida but today was date night. She thought she might as well try for once.

Hiccup's hand was resting on her waist tentatively, while the other wound into her hair gently. She felt weak at the knees, the man had already kissed her more times than she could count that evening...

"Yes," she said, slightly breathlessly but a smile stretching over her lips, "yes you can hold me there. In fact, I give you permission to hold me anywhere you wish unless I ask you specifically not to, or you're not comfortable with it. Alright?" He nodded, and even in this low light she could see the scarlet flush stain his cheeks bright red. I did this, she thought to herself as she fiddled with the hair on the nape of his neck, winding it between her fingers, I'm the reason his voice is all low like that and why his heart's beating so quick and why he wants to hold my waist and touch me God knows where else...

He looked at her from where she sat beside him and smiled so genuinely she swore that part of her had died and gone to heaven. How could he be so, how could she get so, how was she so lucky -?

"Sorry," he grinned, "I just, I never thought I'd be here. I never thought I could be with someone like you. I never thought you, of all people, would choose me."

He leant in to kiss her again with a smile on his lips, but Merida pushed him away for a moment.

"What?" she asked, incredulously. When Hiccup proceeded to look, admittedly, very confused, she elaborated. "We've known each other for how long now? Seven years? You've had a crush on me for three of those, knowing full well that I would never date someone unless I knew them inside out and trusted them with my life?"

The young man blushed beet red.

"Well, I know, but still -"

"And you were the only one who fit the bill, so I can't believe it took you so long to actually figure out who it was when I said that I liked someone, and you were still genuinely shocked when I asked you on a date -"

"Stuff doesn't always sink in," Hiccup smiled and Merida rolled her eyes but still smirked. "Thanks for everything tonight by the way -"

"Don't mention it," she smiled, "I'm a bad cook at the best of times so I'm just glad it was all edible -"

"I meant the kiss."

"... Oh -"

"-Can I," His voice was low again, that husky tone she'd heard before, "can I kiss you again?"

His hand was on her chin, two fingers lifting her face so her eyes met his. With the tiniest of pauses, she nodded, and he wasted no more time. Gentle hands caressed her waist and back as she pressed her lips against his fervently and eagerly; he responded in kind. Her fingers ran through his already unkempt and windswept hair, tracing tiny circles on the back of his neck until he had to pull away for air.

"Merida -"

His voice was so quiet yet it wasn't a whisper. He didn't even need to be quiet, they were the only ones in the house and it wasn't like there was any noise, he could speak so much louder but the tiny way he said her name made shivers ripple through her body.

"Yes?"

"I'm, shit, I think I'm falling for you. And I don't want to ruin this, God, I never want to ruin this, it's everything I could want and you're, oh my god you are just incredible and it pains me how you can't see it yourself because, my god, you're so beautiful -"

"What?"

"You're so stunning. You, oh dear God, you're everything that I've ever wanted. I, I think I'm falling in love with you."

Merida did nothing. She merely took his face in the palms of her hands and kissed him, harder, faster than before, desperately trying to reassure him she felt the same; she didn't know how to craft her words so they wove together into a visual representation of the madness inside her mind. He responded in kind, his hands reaching for her back as he pulled her closer; breaking away for air she let out a breathless whisper.

"I think I'm falling in love with you too."

With that, he kissed her again, over and over, his hands on the small of her back and hers deep in his auburn hair. His fingers skirted up her back to her bare skin on the nape of her neck; her senses were so heightened that she gasped at the bare contact. Her back arched into his touch and, in a moment of defiance and deliberate planning, she gripped onto his hands and placed them over her chest. He stammered and gasped.

"A-Are you sure about -"

"I want you, Hiccup. I don't want anyone else. I want to show you how much."

He paused for a moment.

"Are you, are you sure this isn't rushing things a bit? I mean, I'm not complaining, really, but it is only our first date and I don't want to run into this and then one of us realise we can't continue or something -"

"I know, and I thought about this too, really, I did." Merida moved a little further away from him in an effort to make him feel more comfortable. "But believe me, I wouldn't date anyone unless I was absolutely sure that I was doing the right thing, let alone have sex with them. I'm not saying that I wanted sex!" She stuttered as Hiccup looked at her in part alarm, part shock, but nothing could disguise the red flush staining his cheeks scarlet. "I mean, I trust you, I always have, and, I knew that you were the only one that I wanted to, that I wanted to, to have me. All of me."

In that second, Hiccup didn't think he'd ever loved her more. He pulled her in close, his hands on her back and burying her face in her hair. Her name was the only word on his tongue and he didn't care either. God, he was so intoxicated with this, with her, with the touch of her lips and the scent of her hair, with the promise of something more. And yet, and yet ...

"I want to wait. If that's okay. I just, I want to get used to the very idea of us just at the moment. Because I love you, and I want you, God, you have no idea how much, and I won't lie to you, I've thought about this before, but I want to wait until we're both sure this isn't a one night fling. If that's alright with you." Her eyes were wide but somehow, he knew he didn't have any reason to be alarmed.

"Hey, no, please," She held onto his hands as she spoke. "It's okay. Really. I completely understand and we don't have to do anything, anything - not until you're ready." She searched his eyes for understanding. "Okay?" He nodded, a blush creeping over his cheeks. "What is it?" He flushed deeper scarlet.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want you to feel like I was depriving you of something that you really wanted -"

She took him by the shoulders and stared into his eyes so deep he swore he was being interrogated.

"Hiccup Haddock. Don't you ever tell me that I need to put my satisfactions before your comfort. Ever. I don't care what, I don't care when, I don't care how much I want it, if you aren't okay, then you tell me. I love you. I am never, never, going to let you suffer on my behalf. Alright?"

He smiled weakly.

"Alright."

She smiled, widely, grinning at him as she stood up from the sofa.

"Well, if that's sorted, I suppose the only thing to do now is to escort you out? As you're not staying the night," She grinned again, wickedly. Hiccup rose to his feet too, smirking.

"Hey, hey, just because we're not having sex does not mean that I'm finished with you yet," He placed a hand on her lower back as he approached her from behind and kissed her neck softly.

"Is that a threat?" Merida whispered, slightly breathlessly. She felt him grin against her skin as he merely kissed her again in reply. It was enough for her; she turned around and kissed his lips, harder, faster, over and over, and over.

And over.

A/N I wrote this to obviously have a cute little one-shot and also sorry for being absent for like... a year (oops). But also, this little story raises a very relevant issue which I feel is very appropriate to address.

PSA: Consent.

CONSENT APPLIES TO BOTH PARTIES. DON'T GO PRESSURING YOUR BOYFRIEND/GIRLFRIEND/PARTNER INTO SEX. THEY AREN'T SAYING NO TO BE ANNOYING, THEY PROBABLY - DON'T. WANT. SEX.

So... you'd be committing a crime if you coerced anyone into it in any way by violating their consent. I know someone who was coerced into sex by his girlfriend at age 13 (THIRTEEN. THIS IS A PROBLEM), so don't even try to tell me this isn't a relevant issue.

Sex abuse, especially in males, (in women and others too, but I'm choosing to focus on the male problem here, it never gets enough attention and it really, really should) is very real and often unreported as they are told to 'man up' or told 'men cannot be sexually abused'. Personal favourite: 'you probably enjoyed it'. Imagine being raped and told that your complaint was irrelevant because your body reacted to a stimulus against your will.

Well, this needs to fucking stop; no I will not apologise for my language use. It ruins lives when they are torn apart by mental illness and anxiety; the person is left emotionally and physically violated, often with trust issues which will severely impact their later life. I'm tired of sitting quiet and seeing it affect those I love and care about, seeing them break under the pressure, that they believe it was their fault or that they need to get over themselves.

So be mindful, to others, to your partner, to yourself. I'm sorry if this sounded angry and one-sided, but to be honest, there shouldn't be any other sides to this argument, and we should be angry about this. If you want to talk about this or anything else, my messages are always open. I'm no expert, but I've been told I'm good at advice and comfort, so if you want to talk, I'll always be here.

Thanks for listening whatever audience still reads these, I do appreciate it.

- ArrowsAndFire