"It's beautiful," he mumbled to himself as he gazed at the vastness of the mountains, seemingly stretching on forever. The sun was setting over the Highlands and the young Viking wanted to freeze the moment forever so that he might draw it one day. Though, he thought to himself irritably, he'd never capture this well enough in merely charcoal. Or the girl sitting and carving patterns on her bow for that matter. The princess was a mess of colour and fire, sparks were twisted into her hair and ice pierced her eye like a dagger. He didn't expect to admire his playmate from years gone by so much actually, he was only here to establish trade routes after all. Something about her drew him to her though, it might have been her snarky remarks at dinner or the way she'd stubbornly pull a curl free from her tiara or headdress so it fell in front of her eye. Whatever it was, it was intriguing.

They hadn't had much time to talk, however when they did they were always under constant surveillance from the king and queen, so when they suggested they have a day to themselves, to explore the kingdom, Hiccup accepted gladly. Merida had taken them riding that day; Toothless was back home on Berk so that meant the only alternative form of transport was Angus, her horse. Hiccup had never been horseback riding before so he didn't know quite what to expect. It turned out to be much harder than he anticipated. He was left clinging to her waist for dear life and while he wasn't complaining about that part he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in the unfamiliar saddle, disliking the way his backside got a constant pummelling. When they arrived however, the appalling ride and the ache in his rear was certainly worth it.

The princess didn't answer his comments though, only hummed to indicate that she heard him. "You don't think so?"

"Well I see it a lot," she shrugged, "it's not so much of a big deal to me. But it's one of my favourite places," she smiled to herself and Hiccup found something inside him snap and a rush of colour ran up his neck. He thanked the stars he'd chosen to make his flight suit with a high collar. "I come here whenever I can. Free days, mostly. I don't get many of them, so I have to enjoy them whilst I can. It' calms me down; whenever I've finished my target practice I'll come here and watch the sun go down. That's if I don't climb the Crone's Tooth."

"The Crone's Tooth?" he asked in admiration. "You climbed the Crone's Tooth?" The princess nodded with a grin and he looked at her in astonishment. "I mean, I tamed a dragon. But the Crone's Tooth? With the Fire Falls and everything? That I couldn't do."

"That's because you're a wee lamb," Merida chuckled, reaching over and tickling him until he was curling up and a wide smile stretched over his lips.

"Merida stop! That - stop it!" Hiccup kept laughing, unable to get away whilst she giggled watching his reactions. "Merida, I swear to Thor -"

"What can you do?" The princess grinned as she continued her assault, "I am first born descendant of Clan Dunbroch and I will do whatever I want!"

"And I am heir to the throne of the Hairy Hooligan tribe!" Hiccup tried to twist away but it was no use, "and I command you to stop!"

"What'll you do if I don't?"

At that moment Hiccup managed to grab her hands and pin them down. She was flat on her back and the young Viking was leaning over her, their faces closer than they realised. Merida's eyes grew wide as she noticed how their noses were brushing each other's and they grew wider still when he took a breath to steady himself and brushed her lips with his. Her fingers curled into his hands as he stayed there a second that lasted an hour, but when he realised she wasn't responding he drew back quickly, sitting up and then jumping to his feet. Well, foot.

"Sorry," he mumbled to himself, starting to ramble, "didn't think, was being stupid, better get back, it's getting -"

"Shut up."

"Huh?"

Merida cupped his cheek with her hand and pressed her lips against his, earning a muffled "oomph!" Her eyes were closed determinedly and as he realised what was going on, he closed his own eyes slowly, winding his arms around her. In that moment they were pinned to the ground yet they were also flying higher than the eagles soaring above the towers in Dunbroch castle. Nothing was rushed, nothing needed to be. They were suspended in their own little part of time which no one would be allowed to trample in and ruin.

When they drew apart their foreheads pressed together and their breathing was unsteady, constantly failing halfway through inhaling. Merida's eyes were still closed; Hiccup had opened his before her. He took the moment to appreciate and recognise that even her rose-gold eyelashes seemed to glow in the light of the dying sun. Finally her eyes opened and he was hit with another wave of the seas surrounding Dunbroch on a summer's day, the colour there was so vivid. Until she tightened her grip, he didn't realise they'd been holding hands. One was still wound into her hair; he fiddled with a particular curl that wound itself around his calloused thumb and she smiled at him.

"I should tickle you more often if this is the outcome."

Hiccup laughed, his voice low and husky. "I should tackle you to the ground more often then. Who's the 'wee lamb' now, huh?"

"I could beat you in a wrestle any day, fish bone."

"You're in for it now," Hiccup said with a grin, tickling her under her arms until she chortled and snorted then shrieked for him to stop, which he obviously didn't. He continued until she managed to roll on top of him and, like he'd done to her, pin his hands above his head. Her hair tickled his cheek and she had a wicked grin on her face.

"Come here, you."

Merida leant down to meet him happily and as the light of day died and the moon came into view, the stars sparkled in their eyes like summer sun on the sea.

A/N Sorry for being so inactive!! I've been so lazy - hopefully I'll get some more chapters done of the new stories I'm working on. I'm not going to have wifi for a week so I'll be working as hard as I can. Once again - sorry :((