No, You Go First

by P_Artsypants

Summary:

The Chief of Berk was a headstrong viking, stubborn and full of pride, and willing to do whatever it takes to keep his village safe. But for a moment, he puts that aside, and listens to his son. In which Hiccup convinces his dad not to make him go through Dragon Training, and the subsequent changes that follow.

Chapter 1: The Talk

Hiccup snuck in the door quietly. The run in with the Nightfury had taken much longer than expected, and he only hoped no one noticed he was missing.

Who was he kidding? No one would miss him.

Though, when he entered his house, Stoick was sitting at the fireplace, whittling, and waiting for him. The boy bit his lip and fled to his room, hoping to not be spotted.

“Hiccup?”

“Dad! Hey! Uh…I-I have to talk to you…”

“I have something to say to you too…”

They both spoke at the same time, mashing their sentences in a mess of scrabbled words. Then, “What?”

“You go first,” urged Stoick.

“Okay…” And he took the chance, because when would his father ever listen to him?

“I was thinking, you know we have a surplus of dragon-fighting Vikings, but do we have enough bread-making Vikings, or small home—“

“Get on with it Hiccup.” Stoick said, crossing his arms.

“I don’t want to fight dragons.”

Stoick stared at his son, blankly, and then laughed. “Come on, yes you do.”

“Rephrase, I can’t kill a dragon.”

Stoick was prepared to rebuttal, but seeing his little son so hunched, so withdrawn…so un-viking, made him hold his tongue. “What was all that bravado about then earlier? You were begging me to let you out there!”

“I know I know…” Hiccup rubbed his arm. “But I…realized something.” He glanced up shyily, wincing all the while. “Promise you won’t get mad?”

Stoick let out a massive sigh doing everything in his power to stay calm. “I promise. I’d rather you not hide things from me.”

Hiccup nodded meekly, still holding his arm. “I…I did shoot down that dragon. So I went down to Raven’s Point to make sure, and maybe finish the job if I needed to. When I got there, I saw him…and I raised my knife, ready to strike…and then I looked into it’s eyes. It was…scared, terrified…I saw myself in it. I couldn’t…I just…I cut it free.” He clenched up, waiting for the onslaught of anger from his dad.

But it never came.

Hiccup peeled his eyes open to see his dad red in the face and a frown on his lips. Then Stoick puffed out air. “So you cut it loose. It didn’t hurt you?”

“He pinned me to the ground and roared in my face. And then he took off.”

“What kind of dragon was it?”

“I think it was a Nightfury…”

“A Nightfury! And you let it go!?”

“I know!” He cried. “I’m sorry! I just…”

A heavy hand fell on his shoulder. “Look, Hiccup.”

He looked up and met Stoick’s eyes.

“Your mother was a lot like you. She was convinced that dragons weren’t as evil as we believed. Even up until the day she was taken.”

“They are still a pest! They do make it hard to live! I just—I just—…” He gestured helplessly.

Stoick steered him over to sit him down at the fire.

“When your mother was here, most of us only used hammers as weapons. We agreed that the beasts weren’t evil, but after she was taken…” He sighed. “Hiccup, I understand where you’re coming from, I really do. But I can’t lose you.”

“Dad…”

“I have to know that you’ll be safe in a raid. But you can’t lift a hammer, you can’t swing a sword…”

“Dad, dad!” Hiccup interrupted. “I’ll stay in the forge.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’ll work. I’ll lift heavy stuff and build up my arms and learn how to use weapons…”

Stoick, who was now calming down, saw the slight tremble in his son and the fear that persisted in his eyes. “Son,” he said softly. “It’s alright. The forge is a good idea.”

“You don’t look 100% sure…”

“It’s not the most honorable. Everyone loves the Blacksmith, but not for a chief. But, you’re only 15. Things may change.”

“Yeah.” Hiccup vocally agreed, but that look in the Nightfury’s eyes had been so haunting, he knew he couldn’t raise a weapon against a dragon ever again. “But…I’ll start to win everyone’s favor by staying out of the way.”

Stoick managed a laugh. “A start it is.”

The little family fell into silence. Stoick continued his whittling while Hiccup sat by. He felt like there was more to be said.

“Dragon training starts tomorrow. I was going to have you start…but while Gobber’s training the new recruits, someone will have to be in the forge.”

Hiccup nodded in agreement, some of the tension coming off his shoulders.

“You’re not a warrior.” Stoick declared, giving him a side eye. “You aren’t bursting with muscle, and weapons are useless in your hands.”

“Thanks…”

“But you have something most of the vikings in this village wish they could have.”

This was news. All his life he had been called useless and a screw up. What could he possibly have that no one else did?

“You have brains, capable of resourcefulness and creativity.”

Hiccup just stared at his dad, open mouthed.

“You couldn’t throw a bola, so you made something to throw it for you. I’ve seen your craftsmanship, I’ve heard your wit. You’re different from all of us, Hiccup.”

Hiccup hunched his shoulders. “I don’t want to be different. No one likes different…”

“Of course they don’t. Because they can’t understand it.” He leaned forward, beckoning Hiccup to look him in the eye. “You won’t be able to lead the tribe like I have, or like my father before me. But you will lead it, one day. You just have to find your niche.”

“Well, what do you want me to do?”

“If you truly believe that the beasts are capable of something more, find a way to make them stop raiding us. A thousand years of fighting hasn’t changed a thing.”

Hiccup considered this thought heavily. His father was putting a lot of trust and faith on his shoulders.

“But son, if you don’t find that solution…one day, you’ll have to put your reservations aside and be like the rest of us. Deal?”

Hiccup glanced to the duffle bag by the door. Stoick was leaving, and this could very well be the last time they saw one another. He nodded. “Deal.”

“Good. Well, keep up the good work. I’ll be back. Probably.”

“And I’ll be here. Maybe.”

—

The next day, Hiccup went down to the training academy, and sat along the upper edge with a notebook. 

“Welcome to dragon training!” Gobber called with gusto.

“I hope I get some serious burns.” Declared Tuffnut.

“I’m hoping for some mauling, like on my shoulder or lower back.” Added his sister.

“Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it.”

Hiccup chuckled a little as he watched.

“You sure you don’t want to join us, Hiccup?” Called Gobber.

“Pul-lease,” interrupted Snotlout. “He wouldn’t last five seconds in the ring.”

“You’re right Snotlout,” Hiccup called with a smug little grin. Though, no one could see it from that distance. “I’d much rather you be in there.”

Gobber interrupted the little spat. “Let's get started! The recruit who does best will win the honor of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village.”

“Which we all know, is going to be me.” Said Snotlout, with a flourish. “I mean, come on. Who else could it be?”

“Maybe me?” Said Astrid, hand on her hip.

“Yeah maybe, if you weren’t a girl.”

Hiccup had to hold back a laugh at the absolute rage that crossed her face.

Soon, Hiccup realized he had made the smart choice of declining dragon training after all. Since Gobber was merciless in his methods. The Grockle sputtered around the arena, it’s eyes focusing on the shields and the weapons. Gobber hung back by the wall, and the dragon paid him no mind. Neither did it notice little Hiccup who sat above. Hiccup noted this. But knew the solution of just ‘not having weapons’ would be received with a firm kick off of the cliffs.

In the end, Astrid careened the shield into the dragon’s snout disorienting it.

“The dragon will always, always, go for the kill.”

Hiccup wrote this down, and then scratched out ‘always’. “Then why didn’t he…?”

—

The Nightfury was not as free as Hiccup had first thought.

Now that it was trapped in the cove, sans tail fin, he had a chance to double his efforts on observation, and perhaps even befriending the Nightfury. Perish the thought!

But he remembered his father’s words and returned to the cove day after day. Every once in a while, he would go the academy and sit on whatever wisdom Gobber seemed to be preaching.

From the look of things, they weren’t fairing very well. He had always assumed Snotlout would be the winner of the class, but it seemed like his ego was his downfall.

And his lack of common sense didn’t help.

Astrid on the other hand, took training extremely seriously. Almost to the point of alienating herself from the rest of the group. She was trapped in her head, focused, with death on the mind.

It was one night at dinner when he took a look into her head. All the other tables were filled, as he sat at one, sketching some ideas for Toothless’s tail. Nothing too noticeable for the other vikings around.

But he was startled when she sat across from him.

“Uh hi Astrid, hi Astrid.” He stammered. Smooth.

“Mind if I sit here?” She drawled as an afterthought.

“No- not at all, you’re fine. I love you—I’d love to have you! Here. Sitting. Just sitting.” He over corrected, his voice too loud.

She stared at him, wide-eyed as he blushed and covered his face with his hands. Then she snorted. “Now I can see why you’re not training with us. Jumpy little thing, aren’t you?”

“Sorry, words aren’t my friend.”

She hummed in amusement and took his notes closest to her. “So what is the great Hiccup Haddock up to this time? What mess will we have to clean up?”

Hiccup snatched his notes back with a frown. “I’m not up to anything.”

“Right. Why do you keep watching us in the academy?”

“Why do you care?” He didn’t mean to sound harsh, but it came out that way. She had never cared about him before. Not unless he did something stupid. Then she was there with her perfect blue eyes, and rolling them.

Astrid shrugged. “I don’t. I’m just curious.” She picked at her food. “You just seem like the only person around here with any decency is all.”

“Oh…did Snotlout do something?”

“He always does stuff.”

“But he didn’t like…you know…”

“Gods no, Hiccup!”

“Okay! I was just making sure!”

She flipped the switch on him. “Why do you care?”

He smiled, “As future chief, I want to know of any drama before it happens.”

She scoffed, “Future chief?”

“I mean…I am the next in line. The only other option is Snotlout, and who would you rather have?”

“You got me there.” 

He cocked his head to the side. “Why are you talking to me again? Not that I don’t enjoy your company or anything...”

“I mean, you said it. You are the future chief. My parents mentioned that I should be nicer to you.”

He shrugged. “Well, I don’t know if I want you to be my friend just to take advantage of my status.”

She cringed. “Yikes, I really didn’t mean it like that.”

“Then how did you mean it?”

“I meant that I want to support you to be a good chief. If no one is here for you and no one believes in you, how are you supposed to lead us?”

He shrugged. “My dad thinks I still have some time.”

“Maybe...” she acquiesced. “But you know, there’s something about you that’s refreshing.”

“What? That not everything I have to say is about strength and death?” He said with sarcasm.

“Basically.”

He wasn’t expecting that. “Oh.”

“You know, I’m kind of surprised your dad didn’t have you enter dragon training.”

Hiccup scratched his cheek. “He wanted me too...but I didn’t think it was a good idea.”

Astrid nodded in understanding and glanced at his notebook again. “So what are you doing?”

He blushed, prepared with a half truth. “Observing dragon behavior. My dad kind of gave me a task, I’m assuming to keep me busy and out of the way. He wants me to see if I can find another solution to our dragon problem...since fighting isn’t changing things.”

“Did I just hear you say you’re trying to get out of fighting dragons?” Snotlout interrupted, approaching the table. “I saw Astrid sitting with you and I was trying to figure out why she would do something so crazy. Now I get it, she’s worried you’re going to doom us all.”

Hiccup bristled, closing his notes. He prepared to leave, but Astrid held a hand out.

“For your information, I’m sitting with Hiccup because he’s my friend, and he’s not a complete idiot.”

Snotlout scoffed. “Like I actually care...” and he walked off.

“Wow...” said Hiccup, breathlessly. “I’m…I’m not used to people sticking up for me.”

“So you made a few mistakes. But you’ve tried to be helpful. I don’t think you should be ridiculed for it.”

Hiccup swallowed, a lump in his throat. “Thank you, Astrid.”

She spared a smile. “If Stoick gave you this task, then I’ll make sure to help you.”

“It’s...it’s kind of a secret. I’m not sure how the others will take it.”

“Can I see your notebook?”

“Why?”

“Because you’re not always at the academy for classes. I’ve had more up close encounters with dragons than you have.”

He shrugged and handed over the book. Debatably, he had more up close encounters with dragons, since the few times he visited Toothless and learned from him. But she didn’t need to know that.

Astrid opened to a new page and began to write down her observations and thoughts from dragon training. They sat in silence for a while while she scratched away, thought, and then wrote some more. 

“Here,” she had dated the page and titled it ‘Astrid’s thoughts on dragons’. “This is my two cents.” Then she stood with a smile. “Your dad is a really good chief. I’m glad he found a way for you to help in your own way.”

“Yeah.” Hiccup didn’t want to mention that he was the one that had come up with idea in the first place. “And, Astrid?”

“Hmm?”

“Thanks.”

She grinned at him. At him! “See you later, Hiccup.”

—

Over the next few days, something began to form between him and Astrid. Nothing romantic…well, at least not on her part. He was pretty obviously smitten with her, and blushed every time he saw her. But she had the decency to never comment on it.

No, there was something like a feeling of camaraderie between them. A sort of friendship, but without the deep emotional talks.

Those were reserved for Toothless.

At meals, and only then, did Astrid join him at his lonely table and share her wisdom. Likewise, he told her some tricks, like the fact that the dragons didn’t like eels and that if you reflected light off a shield, they’d chase it.

She was doubtful, but filed these tricks away for a later date.

Everyone else in the tribe, on the other hand, were being to be merciless to Hiccup. He was of age, and yet refused to go into dragon training? What a brat. Pathetic. Worthless heir. There was talk of him being a dragon sympathizer as well, curtesy of Snotlout. And since Stoick wasn’t around to set the record straight, things only escalated.

Daily, Hiccup was pushed, tripped, and shooed away from vendors and food carts, and even children.

Hiccup thought he couldn’t be any more lonely. He was wrong. The only kind faces waiting for him were Astrid and Gobber.

Even his work in the forge was becoming a problem. People would come to get their knifes sharpened and refuse to let Hiccup do it. If they picked out a weapon he worked on, they’d drop it like it was still hot from the forge.

“Lad, maybe you should just work in the back for a while. Until this all cools down.”

Hiccup scoffed. Like this would ever get better. If one thing was certain, it was that Vikings were stubborn.

Astrid came in one day, Hiccup could hear her. “Is Hiccup here?”

“Depends, are you here to bully him?”

“No, why would I do that?”

“Because that’s all anyone wants with him these days.” He gestured with his thumb. “‘Es in the back.”

Hiccup stood quickly, however, and stepped outside to hide his secrets. “Hi Astrid, hi, how are you?”

“I should be asking you the same thing.”

His shoulders hunched, “I’m…I’m okay.”

She shook her head, but didn’t argue. “I need my axe sharpened.”

“Uh…couldn’t you just Gobber to do it for you?”

“Nope. I know you’re the one that’s been servicing my blade for the last few years. You’re the one who knows it.” She handed the axe over willingly.

It took a little effort to lift it. Like most things did. Put he held it sturdily. “You sure?”

“Absolutely.”

He smiled broadly at her.

—

Chapter 2: The Friend

When Stoick and company returned from their uneventful hunt for the nest, he got an earful.

“I can’t believe you would allow this!”

“He’s a dragon sympathizer!”

“You need to fix your son!”

Stoick didn’t know what to think of this news, so he turned to his confidant, Gobber. “What’d Hiccup do?”

Gobber shrugged, feeling helpless about the whole situation. “Nothing. Really. And that seems to be the problem. He’s the only one his age not participating in Dragon Training.”

“Really?” Stoick rolled his eyes. “They get mad when tries to help, and then mad when he doesn’t. Can the boy get a break?”

“I think so,” Amended Gobber. “Most days he’s off in the woods. Then he’s working on stuff in the forge. And Astrid comes ‘round to talk with him sometimes.”

“Astrid Hofferson?”

“Aye, he said she’s helping him observe the dragons. But I think he’s taken a shining to her.”

Stoick grinned. This wasn’t news. He wasn’t blind. “So everyone knows what he’s up to?”

“Nah, only rumors. Snotlout over heard them talking about an alternative solution to fighting dragons and assumed the worst.”

“Ah, I see.” Stoick said with a nod. “Did he tell you what he’s doing?”

Gobber shrugged. “He only said he was embracing the fact that he can’t fight and trying to find another way to help, with your blessing.”
“Where is he now?”

“Off in the woods somewhere.”

Stoick nodded slowly, and headed up to his house.

—

When Hiccup returned that evening, it was back to the forge. Toothless’ tail was almost finished. It only needed a few more finishing adjustments, and then it would be perfect.

As he worked, he didn’t notice the massive body squeezing through the door...until he knocked some papers off the shelf.

“Dad! You’re back!”

“Aye,” said Stoick, glancing at the leather mess on his desk. “Didn’t see you at the docks. Gobber said you’ve been in the woods a lot lately.”

Hiccup nodded, shrinking into himself again. “Yeah…”

Stoick sensed he was hiding something, but instead of demanding it, he decided to coax it out of him. “How goes your alternative solution?”

Hiccup cringed slightly, thinking about all the garbage that had happened since this whole thing started. “It’s…going.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah…”

“And?”

Hiccup was quiet for a moment, but eventually admitted. “I’ve been observing a dragon in the woods…”

“What kind of dragon?” Stoick pinned him with his green eyes, forcing the truth from him.

“…the Nightfury…”

Stoick frowned. “I thought you let it go?”

“I did. But I injured it when I knocked it out of the air. He…can’t fly. And—And so he can’t do anymore damage to the village! So I’m…training it.”

Stoick’s eyes widened and his eyebrows flew up to his hairline. “You’re…training it? Like a pet?”

“Well…I’m befriending it?” He shrugged helplessly.

“Befriending a dragon…you are Val’s son…” Stoick pinched the bridge of his nose. A little in anger and mostly in frustration. “And what are you going to do with a flightless dragon pet?”

“Well, first of all, I’m learning a lot from him. More than I’d learn from Gobber’s lesson. And second...” he patted his new fin with pride. “He’ll be able to fly again.”

“You’re going to trust that beast to fly and destroy our village again!?” Stoick’s nostrils flared.

“No no!” Hiccup waved his arms frantically. “The tail fin wouldn’t be able to work without me!”

Stoick furrowed his brows. “So...what? You plan to ride the creature?”

“I mean, yeah.”

Stoick silently looked over the the drawings hanging on the wall while Hiccup continued rambling.

“Just think, dad, fire power at our disposal, the strength of twenty Vikings! Flight! There’s so many possibilities!”

“Aye. There is.” Stoick agreed, mulling it over. “But Berk is still not ready to accept dragons as friends. Even if you’ve befriended one. You’re thinking way too far ahead.”

Hiccup frowned and looked back at the tail fin.

“What did you name him?”

“His name is Toothless.”

“Toothless? Not what I was expecting for a dragon, but if he responds to it…” 

“So I can keep him?”

The chief snorted, “What? Like he’s a baby bird?”

Hiccup smiled helplessly. “Please?”

“I’ll tell you what. Tomorrow, I want you to show him to me. If he’s helping you find a solution, and I think he’s safe enough for you to be around, I’ll allow you to continue to ‘train’ with him.”

Hiccup released a sigh of relief.

“But, I need to see some proof of this being helpful. For all I know, you could just be helping the beasts rob us.”

Hiccup shook his head vehemently. “No! Never! I swear! I already have an idea!”

Stoick took a seat nearby, and leaned forward in interest. “Alright then, lay it on me.”

--

This wasn’t going to work.

Granted, Hiccup knew that if anyone figured out that he was the one that came up with it, no one would listen to it. So having Stoick take credit for it was a wise idea.

Problem was, waving eels around instead of weapons during a raid didn’t sound like something the chief would devise.

“I’m not saying to go into a raid unarmed,” Stoick was shouting to the yelling crowd. “Just to take eels with you!”

Hiccup hung in the back of the room, trying to stay as far away from this madness as possible. But he did scan the room, taking in the angry and confused faces.

But all attention was diverted as Astrid stood on a table and shouted. “Listen to the chief!”

Of course, everyone should listen to Astrid. She was the most promising candidate to come out of the dragon training Gobber had been conducting. She had started capable, as most were, but slowly her skills emerged and she dwarfed the other students in comparison. Then, one day, she started using tricks within the ring to make the dragons nearly fall at her feet. She was a true warrior, blessed with knowledge from the gods.

But of course, that didn’t have anything to do with her evening visits with Hiccup. No sir.

“Dragons hate eels!” She shouted again. “I’ve seen it myself!”

Of course, this was a foolish plan. Hiccup had mentioned it to keep Stoick on his and Toothless’s side. But he didn’t know for sure if the eels would work. Astrid had tried it in training, and the Zippleback had recoiled just as Toothless had. But that didn’t mean that all the dragons would do the same.

But it was all he had.

Finally, with Astrid’s endorsement, Stoick got most people on board with the idea of taking eels in with them to battle. Those that didn’t, well, it’s not like they were going in empty handed.

Stoick wasn’t so sure how much faith he had in this plan himself. Of course he loved his son, and of course Hiccup was wickedly smart…but eels? Really?

For now, he would have to trust that Hiccup knew what he was doing.

—

True to his word, the next time Hiccup attempted to go into the woods, Stoick was there. He even helped carry the basket of fish.

“So, what is this? An offering?”

“No, it’s just some food. Without being able to fly, Toothless can’t catch any fish. So I bring him something to eat.”

They travelled past Raven’s Point and over to a little cove. Stoick had travelled these woods many times in his youth, but couldn’t remember ever seeing this place before.

Hiccup dropped the basket and looked at his dad. “Okay, I have a few rules.”

Stoick raised his eyebrow. “Rules?”

“Please,” Hiccup begged, holding out his hands. “I don’t want either of you to hurt each other.”

“Are you saying he’d hurt me?”

“Yes, if you bring a weapon in there, or you raise your voice, he will see that as a sign of aggression and try to protect me by taking you down.”

Stoick scoffed. “I’m not leaving my weapon behind if I’m facing a dragon.”

“Fine, then you don’t get to meet him.”

“Hiccup…” Stoick said with authority.

Though he was nervous by his father’s gaze, Hiccup met it and frowned. “I’m not relenting. Not about this.” 

Stoick had to admit, he was impressed. “Alright. No weapons.” He removed his many knives and his axe from his belt and left it all in a pile outside the cove. “Any other rules?”

“Just…keep calm.”

Slowly, he led both of them into the cove and called softly, “Tooooothless…I have some fish for you!”

Stoick saw a black blur out of the corner of his eye, and turned quickly. A smallish black dragon was hiding in the brush, his eyes dilated and his tail swishing back and forth. He was watching them.

“It’s okay bud.” Hiccup was speaking. “This is my dad, he’s come to say hi.”

Stoick fought against every instinct that told him to charge, or to scoop up his son and run. Instead, he exhaled and let his fists relax. “Ah, hello…dragon.”

The Nightfury slunk out of it’s hiding place and carefully snuck closer. Then once he realized there was fish and no threat, he came bounding out, tongue hanging out like an overgrown puppy.

“There’s my bud!” Hiccup said happily as Toothless nuzzled him in gratitude before tearing into the fish.

“He doesn’t have any teeth?” Stoick asked, noticing the naked gums as Toothless pranced around.

“He does, they retract.”

Toothless demonstrated as he smiled and bared his teeth.

“‘Es a lot smaller than I was expecting for a Nightfury. I assumed he’d be a great big dragon…not that shooting this down is any less impressive.”

Hiccup shrugged. He didn’t count shooting him down as an achievement anymore anyways.

“He might be small, but he’s got a lot of speed and fire power.”

Toothless stood proudly, his head raised as Stoick glanced him over.

“Go ahead,” beckoned Hiccup. “Give him a scratch.” He pointed under his chin. “Right here, he likes it.”

Hesitantly, Stoick scratched the dragon and Toothless melted into a pile of purring goo.

“I never saw a dragon so tame and...cute before.”

“Want to go for a ride?”

Stoick looked at him surprised. “Ah, no. That’s where I draw the line.”

Hiccup frowned and Toothless warbled.

“But, I trust you and your pet.”

The duo smiled at each other.

“And we’ll see how this eel thing works. Maybe he won’t be need to be a secret forever.”

“We can hope. I’ll keep working to see if I can come up with something better. And…dad?”

“Yes, Hiccup?”

“Thanks for being so understanding.”

Stoick rested a heavy hand on his shoulder. “Thank you for being honest with me.” His hand came up and cupped his cheek. “You’re my only family left, son. And I don’t want to lose you.”

“Dad…”

“That’s a big reason why I’m…okay with the dragon, with Toothless. Because I know you’ll never be safer with anyone else. And I don’t mean against other dragons, either. You are my heir, that makes you a target for other tribes. Outcasts, Berserkers…they’re out there. And they won’t wait around forever.”

This was a lecture he had received a few years ago, when he was old enough to understand, but his father hadn’t mentioned it much in the wake of the dragon problem. Like he needed another thing to worry about.

“You really think anyone would try to kidnap me?”

“Yes. Absolutely.” Stoick said firmly. “Because I would pay any amount of gold or goods to have you returned.”

Hiccup couldn’t help but smile. Stoick wasn’t that affectionate of a man, and rarely declared his love. This was as close as it got.

“I’m proud of you, Hiccup. For always trying and persevering against all odds. And despite what all the others have to say, I’m proud to call you my son.”

Hiccup wiped the back of his hand across his cheek. “Thanks dad, that means a lot.”

—

Despite what Hiccup and Stoick feared, the eel plan actually went off without a hitch. At first light, the sentries noticed a flock of dragon’s coming from the North and sounded the alarm.

Many folks just grabbed their axes and swords, preparing for the worst, while many more still ran to the docks to retrieve an eel or two from the catch.

Hiccup watched in awe as angry dragons came screeching down from the sky, only to flounder in the air and turn around as fast as possible at the sight of the eels.

Once those with only weapons got a load of the eel’s power, they too dropped their swords and rushed to find their own.

All in all, a two to three hour raid was over in 15 minutes. Nearly all livestock was accounted for as well.

“Stoick! Stoick! Stoick!” The village chanted. It seemed like a miracle had just occurred. Was this truly the end to it all?

The chief waved his arms and settled the crowd down. “Alright everyone, I know we’re all excited about this little development. But I need to give credit where credit is due.” He gestured to the back of the crowd. “Hiccup, would you come up here please?”

The crowd broke out in whispers as Hiccup wormed his way through the throngs of people, occasionally bumping into them. “E-excuse me, sorry, pardon me…”

“Hiccup, though he may be the smallest among us, has been doing his best from the beginning.”

Hiccup finally climbed the stairs and stood next to his father. The weight of the suspicious gazes of the village fell on his shoulders and he instinctively hunched his shoulders. Stoick’s heavy hand fell on him, however, and rooted him to the spot.

“We all remembered the disasters that came whenever Hiccup tried to do things the traditional way. Right?”

There was a murmur of agreement.

Hiccup wanted to die.

“Well, after a prosperous talk that utilized fantastic problem solving skills, a skill that every great chief needs, Hiccup found the best way to help our clan. Through his vigilant observation, he was the one to discover that the dragons hate eels.”

Dead silence.

Stoick gave him a little pat on the back. “Go on, say something.”

Hiccup swallowed. “Uh…the eels are just the tip of the iceberg. There’s…so much more to learn…”

“Speak up!”

“We can’t hear you!”

He clenched his fists and damn near shouted. “There’s still so much to learn and discover!”

The crowd was quiet and listened.

“The eels will work for now, but I’m working on a more permanent solution. Hopefully one day, we’ll never have to worry about dragons raiding us, but we won’t have to sacrifice our families to do it.” He stood pensively still as the village took in what he had to say. Then, they clapped, awkwardly, and murmured in positive tones. Finally, they dispersed without much else to say.

“Oof,” said Astrid, coming to stand by him. “Sounds like success is a handful of claps, huh?”       

“Yeah, well it’s better than them wanting to throw me into the sea.”

Stoick patted his back again. “Ya did good son. They might not show it, but the village is grateful. Especially at the thought that they might not lose any more family members in battle.”

Astrid nudged him. “Things might even start turning around for you, ‘dragon sympathizer.’”

Chapter 3: The Monstrous Nightmare

Notes:

Hey brain, it’s me. I know we’re unemployed right now and have a lot of free time. But I have other stories I want to write…no? We’re going to work on this? And make it longer than anticipated? Fine fine.

If your interested in me writing or drawing something for you specifically, please check out my tumblr by the same name.

 

—

After the initial raid deterred by the eels, the dragons took a long time to return. They did, however, return sometime after the first snowfall. The eels were waiting, and they were off again. With the patterns of past years, the raids weren’t likely to continue during the frigid winter months, so everyone was able to relax and prepare for Snoggletog instead.

However, not everyone was able to look forward to the holiday.

Astrid sat in the forge as Hiccup worked on several Snoggletog presents that were piling up. “And so, I know I have the skill, but there’s just this unease about the whole situation.”

“Possibly because of me?”

“I mean…” She frowned. “Whether or not you would have told me that dragons are capable of real feelings, that fact still remains that I’ve never killed a dragon before. Of course I’ve always wanted to, but more so to prove myself as a capable fighter and a true Viking! You circumvented it way ahead of time. You didn’t take the training, you haven’t been practicing rigorously for the last three months. If I fail to kill that Nightmare in front of the village, then...my life is over.”

“Astrid, you’re over thinking things. I’ve given you plenty of tips to subdue the Monstrous Nightmare.”

“This isn’t the honor to ‘subdue’ the Nightmare, it’s the honor to kill it!”

Hiccup was quiet as he went to the grinder for a blade. Once he was done, he answered. “Well, I don’t know what to say. You know how I feel about killing dragons.”

“Yeah, I know. And I don’t know if I like the idea anymore now either. But I’m cornered!”

“Do you want me to talk to my dad about it?”

“Your dad may be able to pardon the fight, but the gossip that would come out of it would be unbearable! This fight is all that people have been taking about since Samhain! Ever since you gave me pointers, people are expecting me to walk into the ring and kill the Nightmare by just looking at it.”

Hiccup started wrapping a leather strip around the handle of the sword. “Oh come on. No one is expecting that.”

“Oh yeah? I asked my dad if I could carry his axe into the ring with me, and he said I didn’t even need a weapon.”

“Oh.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Plus, everyone in the village is going to be there! I’m already getting performance anxiety!”

“Well, you’re not helping yourself by psyching yourself out.”

“I know! I know...” she sighed and wiped a hand down her face. “When did it become so easy to talk to you?”

“Pardon?”

“I always thought you were a sarcastic little turd—“

“Oh, I am a sarcastic little turd, but this is serious stuff.” He grinned. “Astrid, I like talking to you, and listening to you. I’m glad that you decided it was a good idea to give me the time of day.”

She hummed. “Sorry I didn’t reach out sooner. I could have avoided this whole situation.”

He shrugged, “yeah, but then someone else would have been in it instead. Like Snotlout.”

She laughed. “Yeah, out of all the others, I bet he’d do it.” She leaned back on the counter she was sitting on. “So what do I do?”

“Well, I could interrupt the fight,” he supposed. “I could run into the ring and tell everyone that we don’t need to fight dragons. Then I could train it right there.”

Astrid barked out a laugh. “Train a dragon!? Hiccup, you have to be crazy. I know you have all these little tricks, but to actually train a dragon? One the size of a Nightmare? Please!”

He smiled softly. One day he’d tell her about Toothless. But for right now, the Nightfury was a secret between him and his father.

She caught her breath and looked at him. “Thanks Hiccup. I’m still uneasy, but I feel better. So, thanks.”

“Anytime,” he said softly.

Astrid left with a little wave, and Hiccup sighed. It was getting easier for him to talk to her too, for other reasons.

“Aw, seems like you two are getting along pretty well.” Said Gobber, peaking up from behind the other wall.

“Gobber?! Wh-wh-how long have you been there?!”

“Oh, about an hour.” He stated, cracking his back. “Painful, but worth it.”

“You eavesdropped on our entire conversation!”

“Aye, it’s how I manage my own mediocre love life.”

Hiccup frowned and crossed his arms. “So, oh great dragon killer, what do you think?”

Gobber got to work on an order himself, seemingly thinking. “I think she’ll have to bite the bullet and kill the Nightmare.”

He was afraid he’d say that.

“So you’ve realized that dragons aren’t killing machines. So what? You aren’t the first. What if it was a flock of bears that came in and stole our livestock? Or ravenous beavers?”

“What’s your point?”

“My point is that we all know that dragons are just animals with instincts. But our whole culture revolves around them and killing them. So you learned a few tricks. You’re making life easier for us. These are all great and wonderful things. But for most people, killing the Nightmare is proof that Astrid is a real shield maiden, a warrior…a viking.” Gobber pinned him hard with his eyes. “And one day, you’ll have to do it too.”

—

After work, Hiccup bought his basket of fish and hauled it down to the cove. 

One day, he entered the cove only to see a little hut built into some tree roots. It was big enough to house Toothless, plus it had a fire pit and a bed with furs, just in case. It also had a place to store tools for working on Toothless’ tail.

Stoick never mentioned it, but he had mentioned that he was dealing with stress by taking long walks in the woods. It was a sweet gesture, and Hiccup wondered if his father was beginning to warm up to Toothless himself.

Today, when he arrived, he noticed that Toothless was in the hut, protected from the snow, and that there was a fire in the pit.

“Dad?” Hiccup called.

“In here.” Stoick beckoned, two chairs sitting opposite the fire.

Hiccup was quick to deposit the fish and take a seat.

“I can see an upcoming conflict.” Stoick stated wisely. He whittled away at some trinket in his hands and Hiccup was brought back to the night when this all started.

“Yeah?”

“I know you won’t want to see Astrid’s fight, but I think you should.”

Hiccup winced. He hadn’t brought it up, but it was pretty obvious he didn’t really want to see it.

Toothless perked up at the sound of his distress and nuzzled under his arm for support.

“Do I really have to?” Asked Hiccup.

“Yes, Hiccup.”

Hiccup frowned a little harder. “Gobber said that one day, I’m going to have to kill a dragon. Because it’s part of tradition.”

“And he would be correct. Some vikings, average vikings, go their whole lives never raising a blade. Whether it’s because they took up a trade, or they became a parent, or simply because they couldn’t stomach it.” He glanced up from his whittling. “But you are no average viking.”

“But dad, we had a deal! I’m finding a solution to stop the dragon raids!”

“Aye!” Stoick amended with a shout. “And you’ve done well. I will hold up the bargain, you won’t need to fight in raids, you won’t need to go through the training…but one day, before you are named chief, you will have to kill a dragon. It’s our heritage.” Then he glanced over at Toothless.

Hiccup paled considerably. “No…no no dad please! Not Toothless! He’s my best friend! I can’t! I won’t!”

Stoick smiled in a disarming way. “I didn’t mean Toothless. I’m sorry for giving the wrong idea.”

The ground returned under Hiccup’s feet as he sighed in relief. “Okay…I understand.”

“But, that may still not be for many years. Either way, I think this is an important event for you to witness. You have a responsibility to your people, and you can’t put it to the wayside for your own scruples. We Haddocks don’t have that luxury.”

His voice was small when he answered, “I understand.”

“That’s a good lad. Now, I think I’m ready to give flying a try, if he’s willing?”

—

The whole village was gathered, just as she feared. So many faces full of anticipation and unrealistic expectations. She wanted to do anything but go in.

“Take a deep breath,” Hiccup said from her side. She didn’t ask him to be here. In fact, she figured he’d be the only one not watching. She hated to admit it, but having him here, keeping her calm and focused, she appreciated it. “You going to be able to do this?”

“No turning back,” she whispered, her voice dead in her throat. “Are you going to be able to watch?”

“Just…make it quick.”

She gave a sort of half smile and proceeded into the ring. The gate to the entrance rolled closed and Astrid was alone. Her knuckles turned white under the tight grip on her axe. Her heart pounded in her ears as she stated just loud enough, “I’m ready.”

The Nightmare burst from it’s cage, filling the ring with fire and rage. It roared and snarled and stomped and climbed, everything it could to do damage and cause fear.

And it worked, because the crowd was in a buzz with shouts.

But Astrid remained focused, remembering all the little tidbits Hiccup had taught her, and all the training she had gone through with Gobber. In theory, this would be easy, but as the Monstrous Nightmare crept closer to her, the heavier the axe felt in her hand.

It hissed, and the fire on it’s body receded.

She narrowed her eyes and fell into a crouch. In a breath, she lunged, and swung her axe with a shout.

The dragon recoiled fast enough to avoid the blow, and the crowd shouted in outrage.

“Come on lass! You’re better than that!”

“Hurry up and kill it!”

Gods, all their shouting was making this unbelievably hard. She swung again and again, each time trying to land a hit, but to know avail. In the meantime, she had to dodge the snapping jaws and swinging horns of the dragon as it charged with it’s head.

Frustrated, she screamed and ran full sprint at the beast, axe raised like a real viking. For a moment, she wondered it this would be it. The final blow.

But it was not to be.

The Nightmare caught the axe in it’s teeth and ripped the blade from her grip, sending it flying out of the arena.

Well, shit.

She hadn’t brought any other weapons in with her. Not even a knife. But the dragon wasn’t getting any calmer, and neither was the crowd.

“What are you doing!?”

“Kill the damn thing!”

“Use your head!”

Hiccup’s voice cut through them all. “Astrid! Give him a scratch!”

Thank gods he was there. It was hard enough to remember her own name with her pulse beating so loud in her ear.

“Alright, Mr. Dragon…” She said softly, falling into a crouch.

The Nightmare mimicked her, snarling. He wouldn’t let her get anywhere near him, or his chin.

“So we’re going to do this the hard way, huh?”

Again, she ran. Leaping, she latched onto the Nightmare’s horn and reached her hand out for it’s lower jaw. Just a little scratch…

Searing pain took her arm instead. It had happened so fast. The Nightmare snapped it’s jaws right around her arm, impaling her with his teeth. She screamed in pain and wrestled to get her arm free, punching, kicking, anything to get it to let her go.

And let it go, it did. As she wrapped her legs around it’s neck for better leverage, it ignited once again, setting her clothes on fire. In an act to safe the rest of her body, Astrid took hold of a horn with her free hand and dropped from the neck. In response, the dragon wound up and snapped it’s head out like a whip, sending her flying and careening into a wall.

—

When Astrid awoke, the room was dark, save for a few candles. She was very weak, and everything hurt, but she managed to look around. Judging by the assortment of herbs and medical supplies, she gathered that she was at Gothi’s.

It made sense, given the last memories she had of the ring.

“Astrid?” Hiccup’s voice spoke somewhere nearby.

“Hiccup?” She returned.

She heard him sigh, “thank the gods you’re okay. That was…brutal.”

“Why are you here?” She didn’t mean to sound harsh, but it was a logical question.

“I was worried…I watched from the gate, so I was the first one in when it opened. You…you hit your head really hard. And your right arm might not…it might not ever heal all the way.”

She tried to make a fist, but all she could do was move a finger.

“I’ll go let your mom know you’re awake.”

Astrid didn’t respond. She couldn’t. Besides being in immense pain, the tumulus thoughts that came with a broken arm ran through her head. Would she ever fight again?

“Oh honey! There’s my sunshine girl!” Phlegma Hofferson ran to her daughter and kissed her head. “Oh I’m so glad you woke up.”

“How long was I asleep?”

“A few days.” Her father answered from the door. Unlike her mother, he didn’t sound overjoyed at her consciousness.

She had a feeling she knew why. “I…I didn’t win the fight, did I?”

“No lass, you failed.”

She sighed heavily as her mother daintily parted her hair. “Well, this isn’t the end of the world. Once you heal in 6 months, you can take the training course again, and kill a different dragon.”

Axel Hofferson groaned. “Phlegma, we’ve been over this. She’s not going to fight.”

“Oh, Astrid is capable of a full recovery. She’s so determined to fight, it’ll be fine.”

“It’s not fine!” Axel shouted. “Our clan is dishonored because of that fight! My only child! She’s…” He grimaced and stormed out of the room.

“Mom…?”

“Don’t pay too much attention to him honey, he’s just…angry.”

“At me?”

“No, no…well…a little.”

Astrid moaned. “I thought I could do it. It would be so easy…”

“Fighting a dragon is not easy. I never had to do it myself, since I married. But you…you are the last Hofferson. Our family already has a bad reputation with Finn…now, because of this fight…”

“We are the scum of the earth.”

“Well, not quite that bad.”

Astrid was quiet, before she glanced over to Hiccup. He was sitting quietly in the corner with his sketchbook, pretending not to listen. She couldn’t fathom why he was here still. She looked back to her mom, “is there anything else I can do to regain our honor?”

“There is…but you won’t like it.”

“What?”

“You can marry someone else with a good family name.”

“You’re right, I don’t like that.”

Phlegma smiled gently and patted her on the leg. “Well, not to worry about that yet. You’re still a few years from marrying age. Why don’t you just rest for now?”

She scoffed. “What else am I supposed to do?”

Phlegma nodded. “Oh Hiccup?”

He looked up from his sketchbook.

“Would you mind staying with her for a bit longer?”

“No, not at all.”

“Thank you, dear. I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

Hiccup stood and dropped into the chair Phlegma had been occupying. “Dare I ask now you’re feeling?”

“Like a hot pile of dragon poop.” She managed to smile.

“Then I might as well deliver the final blow.”

“Might as well.”

“Your shirt totally went up in flames from the Nightmare gel…and everyone saw your boobs.”

She managed to laugh. “Are you serious?”

“Sorry, but I am. By the way…nice.”

She wanted to punch him, but she only swatted at him haphazardly with her good arm. “Jerk.”

He gave her a lopsided grin, before it melted away to a frown. “Look…I shouldn’t have suggested you scratch his chin. I should have known better, but it’s all I could think of on the fly. You had no weapons and—“

“Hiccup, this is not your fault.”

“But—“

“I just wasn’t ready. I guess…I didn’t hate the dragon enough.”

“Well, if you ask me, you’re the most brave, most badass vikings I’ve ever met. You faced a Nightmare without a weapon and wrestled it while it gnawed on your arm. I think that’s pretty awesome.”

She hummed. “Thanks. Means a lot coming from the village idiot.”

“Hey!”

She laughed. “I joke.” She reached out with her good hand and held his loosely. “Thanks Hiccup.”   

Chapter 4: The Romantic Flight

—

It was amazing how stubborn vikings were. Astounding, really.

It had been several weeks since Astrid’s accident in the ring, and yet the whole village seemed to forget that she was a great dragon warrior just prior to her incident.

Hiccup arrived at the forge one evening, after a full day of work, only to pick up his sketchbook. “Evening Gobber,” he greeted.

“Evening lad!” Gobber smiled with a keen look in his eye. Hiccup didn’t dwell on it and made his way to the back room.

But what awaited him there surprised him, to say the least. “Astrid?”

Indeed, the young woman was sitting at his desk, reading a book. Nothing of his, thankfully. Her arm was still in the sling and her hair was tied up sloppily, since she only had one arm to use.

She looked at him, bags under her eyes and skin pale. “Oh, Hiccup. I didn’t think you worked today. I’ll get out of your way.”

“No no,” he waved her off. “You’re fine, I’m uh, I’m just grabbing this.” He took his sketchbook and put it under his arm. “Uh…why are you here?”

“I’m hiding.” She said softly. “My mom has me up everyday doing household chores. She keeps saying that I’ll recover just fine, and I’ll kill the next dragon…but like, she’s also trying to train me to be a housewife.”

Hiccup hugged the sketchbook to his chest. He still wasn’t used to this version of Astrid, the side of her that had taken to speaking openly with him, despite his reputation.

“Sorry for dumping all that on you.” She added with a shrug.

“Hey, it’s cool. I’m used to people throwing garbage at me.” He grinned.

She returned it before it fell away. “But you’ve been off the hook since the eel thing.”

“Eh…kind of. Instead of outright ‘get off my lawn, pipsqueak!’” he yelled, “It’s more like, ‘careful, Hiccup. Don’t push your luck.’”

“I don’t follow.”

“People are just being passive aggressive with me now, instead of outright nasty.”

“Which would you rather have?”

He shrugged. “Neither, that’s why I…” hang out with Toothless, was what he was going to say. “That’s why I hide.”

She hummed. “Since they’ve gotten passive aggressive with you, they’ve gotten nasty with me.”

“Oh Astrid…”

“I try to buy cloth and thread for my sewing lessons and Haggard goes, ‘this cloth is only for good girls that kill dragons, you get the scraps’. And when I try to buy food for my cooking lessons, same thing, ‘You get yesterdays bread. I don’t sell my apples to failures. Only real vikings deserve my potatoes.’ If my arm wasn’t in a sling, I’d…I’d…” And just like that, she lost all her fire power. “My dad won’t even talk to me anymore.”

Hiccup frowned. “That sucks balls, Astrid.”

She managed to smirk. “Well, I’m glad we agree. What did you do? When you were...at the bottom?”

“Well, as the chief’s son, shop keepers were never really rude to me...because they never knew if I was buying for me or for dad. But they weren’t always friendly. I tried humor, tried turning my reputation from ‘Hiccup the complete screw up’ to ‘oh there’s Hiccup being silly again...’” he sighed. “It didn’t work. Honestly...I just took it. I know that’s the worst advice ever but...it’s all I got.”

She groaned. “Well, thanks anyway.”

“And you’re not at the bottom.” He added. “Before this eel thing, before my dad gave me a job...I had no one. Sure, dad tried to be there for me, but unless it had to do with killing dragons, he couldn’t care less. Gobber was pretty okay, but I think he tuned me out most of the time...and even when he tried to make me feel better, he only ended up making me feel worse. And he always tried to discourage me from my inventions.”

“I can see why...” Astrid muttered.

“But...then you came along. You were someone I could bounce ideas off of, someone who I could just...talk to, you know?”

She nodded, meeting his eyes.

“So, I’m just trying to say...even if you feel like you’re at the bottom, you still have me. I think you’re amazing.” He blushed at his confession, but smiled regardless.

She returned it. “Thanks Hiccup. You’re not so bad yourself.”

Hiccup held his breath as a dangerous thought came to his mind. He had already shared Toothless with his father, and therefore, the most powerful, ferocious, dragon-hating person on Berk. But now, because of Astrid’s incapacity, did she hate them as well? Well, he might as well find out now. “Hey, so what are you doing for the rest of the day?”

She shrugged. “Nothing. I was planning on hiding back here.”

“Want to hide with me instead?” He smiled uneasily.

—

Astrid followed Hiccup through the woods, off by Raven Point, she noted. Passed her old training grounds where the trees bore the wrath of her axe. Passed the flat rock where she and her father used to go camping. Finally, they came to a cove, nestled in the quiet sanctity of the forest.

“This is my sanctuary.” He began, halting in movement. “My dad comes here sometimes, but I really only share it with one other, and now I will share it with you.”

This puzzled her, because as far as she knew, he didn’t have any friends. “Who?”

“Do you have any weapons on you?”

“What?”

“Any weapons? Because you’ll have to leave them out here.”

“Uh, yeah, I have my knife?” She took it from her belt and handed it to him. He placed it on a boulder for safe keeping.

“Okay, just…don’t freak out, okay?”

“No promises…”

Together they descended into the cool air of the cove. Hiccup noticed that the fire pit in the little shack was empty, and by extension, his father was absent.

“This is…nice.” Said Astrid with a peaceful sigh.

“Oh…just wait.” A nervous tremor shook his voice, as he scanned the area. “Tooooothless…” He sang.

A pair of rabbit like ears popped up from behind a boulder by the water. Then suddenly, a large black dragon was bounding towards them.

Astrid shrieked.

Toothless skidded to a halt, tilting his head.

“No no no, it’s okay!” Hiccup assured, reaching out for both of his friends.

“Hiccup! What!?” She pointed a finger at the dragon.

Toothless slunk closer, his nostrils pulsing.

“This is Toothless…he’s my friend.”

“You…you have—ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?” Her voice echoed in the cave. “I can’t believe this. You really are a dragon sympathizer! And all this time…those tricks! Those were all from him, weren’t they!?”

Toothless recoiled slightly, his pupils wide.

“Astrid, would you listen to me?” He said patiently.

Seeing that the dragon was not currently a threat, she simply huffed and rested her good hand on her hip. “Fine.”

Toothless lowered himself to be scratched, and purred contently.

“So…do you remember that night that I said I shot down the Nightfury?”

“Yeah?”

He gestured to Toothless.

Realization dawned on her as she gasped. “You mean that’s a…you really did?”

“Why does no one believe me?” He said, mostly to himself. “Yeah, and…he was injured. I saw him in pain and just…I couldn’t kill him. So I let him go. He couldn’t fly, so I just took up taking care of him…and now he’s my best friend.”

Toothless wiggled in excitement over the declaration.

“Everything we know about dragons is wrong. They’re kind, loyal, and intelligent creatures. Toothless showed me. And, I tried to tell you…in a way.”

“You…did…” She agreed, hesitantly. “You said they were capable of other feelings, but I…I didn’t imagine this.” She gestured to the dragon who had rolled over on his back.

“Neither did I. Not until him.”

“Wait,” she began, “you said your dad comes down here sometimes?”

“Yeah…”

“So…he’s okay with this?”

“Yeah…he wasn’t in the beginning. But I told him I couldn’t kill Toothless, and that’s what got me out of dragon training. And once I came up with the eel thing, he was…willing to let me keep Toothless in my life. He said I was safer with him around even. You know, from other tribes and stuff.”

“I can see that.” Astrid amended. Slowly, she reached out her good hand and laid it on Toothless’ snout. The dragon vibrated in excitement.

“So, you want to go for a ride?”

“What?”

“You, me, Toothless, a sunset cruise through the clouds?”

“I…” Was she seriously considering this? Hiccup, who had been the weird, near outcast of the village, and a Nightfury, the most horrible dragon she’d ever heard of. And yet, he gazed at her with warm, friendly eyes, and waited patiently. “Yeah. That sounds…awesome.”

He climb up on the saddle and offered a hand down to her. Carefully, she climbed on behind him, wrapping her good arm around his waist.

“Hang on tight.”

She tightened her hold and nodded against him.

“Alright Toothless, let’s take this leisurely, shall we?”

Astrid held her breath as the dragon crouched, his wings unfurling at his sides, and then leapt, the land falling away rapidly, and her stomach left behind.

She was shouting, “Oh gods! Oh!” And her fingers dug into his chest.

“It’s okay!” He assured, his hand resting on top of hers. “Are you looking?”

“Is it safe!?” She screamed back.

“Yes!” He laughed. “Even if you fall, Toothless will catch you. Don’t worry!”

Carefully, Astrid peeled her eyes open and looked around, taking in the world around her. Clouds surrounded them, like sailing on a ocean of fluff. She raked her hands through the billowing whiteness, only for it to dissolve around her fingertips.

“Clouds are made of water…” she said aloud. “I had no idea.”

“It threw me for a loop the first time too.” He agreed, reaching his own hand out.

“I would have spent my whole life thinking they felt like cotton.” She laughed. “We’re the only ones who know this.”

“Kind of fun, huh?” He glanced back over his shoulder. “I took my dad up here too, during the afternoon.”

“Really? Stoick the Vast on the back of a dragon?”

“Crazy, I know. It took him a couple of weeks to consider it, but once he was ready, we took a lap around the island. Maybe an hour’s flight at most. He liked seeing the village from above, said it made him feel like a true guardian of Berk.”

“You flew over the village during the day? Isn’t that dangerous?”

“We were far enough away that no one would be able to see us on Toothless’ back. Who knows, they might have thought he was a bird instead.”

Toothless warbled, not appreciating the insinuation.

Hiccup laughed lightly and urged Toothless higher passed the clouds. Up where the air was clear, and the stars twinkled against the inky sky. Where streaks of color rippled in the wind, dazzling greens and vibrant blues.

“Wow…” Astrid whispered in his ear. She hugged him a little tighter, and rested her chin on his shoulder. “This is amazing…”

“Yeah…” He whispered back, more at her touch than at the sky.

She shivered a little.

“Are you cold?”

“A little…”

“Do you want to go back?”

“No way!” She protested. “I’ll just scoot closer.” And she nuzzled against him.

Hiccup couldn’t keep the ecstatic grin off his face.

For a while, they flew in silence, the wind speaking volumes for them. After a while, Hiccup turned back towards home, and they saw the flickering lights that decorated their home.

“Gorgeous…” She said again. “If you ever want to bring me up here again…” She began, letting the suggestion hang in the air.

“Whenever you want, just say the word.” He insisted.

“Thank you, Hiccup. You…you’re the best.” She rested her forehead on his shoulder to hide her blush. What was this? She couldn’t be developing a crush on him, could she?

Would that be so bad? Sure, he wasn’t exactly manly by most definitions, but he was always kind to her and did his best to make her feel better. And despite her failure in the ring, he still treated her as an equal. Maybe it was because he understood, or maybe he was happy she hadn’t killed the Nightmare.

They looped around the island again, darkness encroaching on all sides as the sunset faded and the torches from the village hid behind trees.

“Hiccup?” She asked, honestly. “Would you still have been my friend if I had killed the Nightmare?”

What a loaded question. He thought for a moment and questioned her right back, “would you still have been my friend if you were a raging success? Would you have still continued talking to me afterwards?”

“I…I hope so. It wasn’t my failure that brought us together in the first place.”

“True,” he agreed. “It’s just…food for thought.”

“I like you Hiccup, eels or no eels. Failure or not…you just get me, you know?”

Hiccup was lucky that it was so dark out, or else she’d easily see how red his face had become. “I think you get me, too.”

“You’re my best friend, Hiccup.” She declared. “Hope you can live with that.”

“I’m your…? Really?” He turned to glance at her.

“What? Don’t believe me?”

“No, not really. I didn’t think I could be anyone’s best friend.”

“Yeah, well, tough beans.”

He laughed, his shoulders jostling. “Okay okay…thanks Astrid. Unfortunately, Toothless has already fulfilled the role as my best friend…but you’re a close second.”

“Beaten by a dragon,” she scoffed, shaking her head.

“Wouldn’t be the first time.” He muttered back.

The punch that nearly knocked him off of Toothless was well deserved, to say the least.

Finally, they landed back in the cove. The moon was just a sliver and reflected in the bay.

The duo were surprised by the fire going in the little shack as Stoick reclined in his chair. Toothless bounded over to him, begging for scratches.

“There you are, you over grown lizard!” Stoick greeted happily, complying with his pleas.

“Oh, hey dad.”

“When you didn’t come home after work, I figured you were with Toothless…I didn’t expect Astrid to be here too.”

Astrid hunched her shoulders, folding her good arm over the injured one. “Hello chief.”

“Astrid,” he greeted with a nod. “What’s wrong lass? You look guilty.”

“I…” She glanced to Hiccup, seeing him gesture her on. “I just assumed…everyone else in the village hasn’t really been…fond of me lately.”

“Ah.” Stoick nodded. “I see. Still sore about the match, ah?”

“Yeah.”

He stood, “well, as Chief, I try to keep a totally unbiased opinion about everyone in the tribe, no matter their faults or failures.” He stood in front of her, resting his hands on her shoulders. “And in my totally unbiased opinion, you are a viking. You fought bravely, even without a weapon.”

“That’s what I said!” Hiccup chirped.

“And he’s right,” Stoick continued. “It’ll sting for a while, but we vikings are a proud, stubborn people. Soon enough, someone else will make a mistake and everyone will be mad at that instead.”

“I don’t like that idea…”

“Look, the chief and his son are on your side. Just worry about healing, and everything will be fine.”

Astrid wiped her cheeks quickly, hiding that she had become emotionally undone by their kindness.

“Hiccup, why don’t you walk her home?”

“Ah, yeah, I can—sure!” He laughed nervously. “After you, m’lady.”

Once they had departed from the cove and headed into the woods, Hiccup leaned a little closer and spoke softly. “Are you up for a little teenage rebellion?”

Her cheeks lit up at the insinuation. “What do you have in mind?”

—

They hurried through the dark, hand in hand as nerves frayed and heartbeats pulsed. They shouldn’t be doing this. If they were caught, there would be steep consequences.

“Are you sure about this?” Astrid asked with a giggle. Even in her anxiety, she was thrilled.

“Yeah, come on, it’ll be fun.” He urged. “But we have to be quiet.”

The Kill Ring was unguarded, as the watchmen circled the village every hour. The cage on top was open as well, allowing villagers to spare down there as they wanted between training.

“Alright, they’re heading up towards the Great Hall, we probably only have a half an hour before they come back around.” He met her eyes. “Ready?”

“You’re insane, but yes.”

Quietly, the duo made their way over to the entrance and slipped inside.

“Would you like to do the honors first?”

“Okay…which one should I pick?”

“Totally up to you.”

Astrid nodded once and made her way over to the lever on the far side of the ring. With a tug, the ballasts raised and the doors opened. The Nadder, who had up until that moment been sleeping, chirped curiously and peeked out.

“That’s it…that’s a good girl.” Astrid said soothingly.

The Nadder recognized her from training and squawked.

Astrid hushed her softly. “It’s okay…it’s okay…” She spread her arms so the dragon could see she was unarmed.

The Nadder curiously sniffed her, apprehensively waiting to be struck, but it never happened.

“Okay,” said Hiccup. “Now reach your hand out, and turn your head away.”

She complied, and just stood there rigidly.

Ever so gently, the Nadder touched her nose to her hand and exhaled a warm, smokey breath.

Astrid relaxed, and looked up to the dragon with fondness. “Hi there,” she whispered. Then with slow moments, she scratched the dragon under her chin and watched as she fell into a puddle of rumbling goo.

“That’s a good girl,” Astrid cooed.

Next, Hiccup opened the cage for the Gronkle, and likewise, it blearily stumbled out of it’s cage. Hiccup approached it carefully, hands outstretched. “It’s okay…” From behind, he gave it a little push. “Go on, you’re free.”

The fat dragon wriggled in happiness as her pupils dilated. She gave Hiccup a little nudge and then took off, buzzing off into the woods.

The Nadder watched as she left and chirped happily.

“You can go too,” Astrid urged. “Get somewhere safe.”

But the Nadder stayed by her side, just watching with anticipation.

Hiccup opened the cage to the Zippleback and the Terror, and both hesitated before taking off into the woods as well.

“Alright, one left,” Hiccup nodded. “Would you like to do the honors?”

Astrid frowned, her hand hovering over the door. “Do you think he’ll remember me?”

“He might…but I’ll be here, and so will the Nadder. She won’t let him hurt you.”

Nodding once, she agreed and pulled the lever.

After all the ruckus from the other dragons, the Monstrous Nightmare was very much awake. But he did not burst forth in flames and smoke. Instead, he stomped out, and scanned the ring in the faint light of the stars, his gaze falling on Astrid.

He hissed, coming closer dangerously, but Astrid stood ramrod straight, not to be frightened. He sniffed her, sensing her fear, but did not attack. Finally, he nudged against her bum arm and took off into the night.

“Wow…”

“Yeah…crazy…”

Astrid patted the Nadder fondly. “You should go too girl, it’s not safe for you here.”

The Nadder squawked in protest.

“I know we just met, but I don’t want you to get hurt anymore. There’s a nice Nightfury in the woods you could be friends with, if you want.” She knew the dragon probably couldn’t understand her, but she said it anyway.

Finally, the dragon took the hint and flapped off, leaving a heavy feeling on Astrid’s heart. “Would have been nice, having a dragon like you.”

Hiccup smiled at her, “well, Toothless will just have to take you in.”

They began to depart from the ring, but a light by the entrance stopped them.

“The guard!” Hiccup whispered, before grabbing her arm. Quickly and quietly, he hurried over to one of the cages and hid, pressing her between himself and the wall.

“Hiccup…” she tried to wiggle free.

“Shhh…” He hushed quietly, peering between the crack in the door.

“Oh gods…they’re all gone?”

“Looks like it. I bet it was a prank by those Thornston Twins.”

“Yeah…sounds like something they’d do.”

Hiccup held his breath as they came closer, their light reaching into the cages. He pressed himself closer, and looked to Astrid in apology. Their noses were almost touching.

“We’d better tell the chief.”

“Alright…he’s not going to happy about this…”

Hiccup kept her pressed against the wall until the light of the fire faded. Then he relaxed. “Okay, we need to scram.”

Astrid fisted his tunic in her hand and spun him to slam against the wall.

“Ow! Why would you do that!?”

“That’s for man-handling me!”

“Sorry I just—“

She cut him off by swooping in and pressing a rough kiss to his lips. “And that…is for everything else.”

“Uh…”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Hiccup.” She winked before running out of the arena.

Oh gods, what had he gotten himself into now? 

Chapter 5: The Hiding Place

Notes:

I had forgotten about this story, and then WHAM-O! Brain said “you’re going to work on this now.”

The spirit of motivation is as mysterious as it is fickle. It wants HTTYD right now, so I will feed it for as long as it wants. 

Hiccup stumbled home in a love drunk haze. Yeah, he and Astrid had set the entire retinue of dragons in the training arena go free. That was a liberating experience in and of itself! But then after…

A kiss from Astrid! Oh wow! But now what? What did this mean? Were they an item? Did Hiccup talk to his father about betrothals and all that? Or was it just a kiss of appreciation among friends? 

Girls were confusing. 

As Hiccup arrived at home, he saw the door open and the Berk guards reporting to his father what they had seen. You know, the missing dragons? 

“I see. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will have a word with Ruffnut and Tuffnut in the morning.” 

“But about the dragons…?” One guard pried. 

“What about them? Winter is here, and the other dragons have stopped their raids until spring. No classes for several months. They would have been released or killed by now anyway. Don’t worry about replacements. Just get back to patrol.” 

“Yes sir!” They both saluted. They greeted Hiccup politely before getting back to work. 

When Stoick turned to look at him, his gaze was critical. “So. Did Astrid make it home nice and safe?” 

“Uh, yep! Yeppers! A great, nice walk!” 

“You didn’t happen to see the Thorston twins while you were out, did you?” 

Of course, that was not the real question, and Hiccup knew it. Stoick had his eyes narrowed and his hands on his hips. ‘I know what you did,’ his face said. 

Hiccup was prepared to go along with it, but he deflated. “Okay, but can you blame me?” 

“You and Astrid are both on shoveling duty for a week. You understand?” 

“But her arm’s still broken! She can’t shovel!”

“Perhaps not, but she can certainly keep you company…since I’m sure this was your idea.” 

Hiccup groaned as his father could see right through him. It was maddening. 

“Get to bed, lad. You’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow.” 

Hiccup grumbled as he headed upstairs. Rebellion was overrated. 

–

In the morning, Hiccup and Stoick went over to the Hofferson household and knocked. 

“Oh, good morning, Chief! How can I help you?” Phlegma Hofferson asked. 

“Morning Phlegma. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Astrid has a punishment she must serve with Hiccup.” 

Phlegma frowned. “Punishment?” 

At that, Axel Hofferson came to the door, looking furious. “What did that girl do now?” 

“Dad,” Hiccup said with a hushed tone, begging him to be vague for Astrid’s sake. 

“A prank. A harmless prank on the town. Hiccup’s idea, as he has confessed, but punishment must be dealt.” 

Axel nodded in understanding, but didn’t drop it. “As the chief, you are of course obligated to assign punishment to your people. But as a father, I’d like to know the details and dole out my own justice.” His voice was cold, and harsh, not the warm tone Hiccup was used to coming from the man. In fact, ever since Astrid had been hurt in the ring, he had been a totally different man. 

Hiccup cringed, this was going to be ugly. 

“It seems our kids let the dragons out of the training ring.”

Axel’s eyes widened, as his mouth pulled tight. “...she…let the dragons out? The Monstrous Nightmare she was supposed to kill?”

“Axel…” Phlegma tried to reason. 

“ Astrid !” Axel hollered upstairs. 

Astrid scurried downstairs, her arm still in a sling and her hair done up messily. “Yes sir,” she spoke softly.

He grabbed her arm and yanked her, making her stumble and fall over his bent knee. He then spanked her several times, right in front of Stoick and Hiccup. She hadn’t been spanked since she was a child, and never this hard. 

After several swats, he pulled her up to her feet and started yelling at her. “How stupid are you?! Do you like embarrassing this family?! Can you do anything right? No! One mistake wasn’t enough, huh?” 

“I’m sorry!” Astrid sobbed. 

“It was my idea!” Hiccup shouted back. 

Axel turned to Hiccup for a moment and declared. “She knows better than to listen to you, runt!” 

“Axel,” Stoick said crisply.  

The man stopped his yelling and flinched heavily.

Stoick reached out and guided Astrid out of the house to stand with Hiccup. “You two are on shoveling duty all week. I know it will snow more, but just shovel what you can. Make sure the steps to the Great Hall are clear. Astrid, I know your arm is still broken, so just do your best.” 

“Yes sir,” they both said. 

“Now,” he turned to Axel, “let’s have a little chat.” 

Hiccup led Astrid away as Stoick closed the door to the Hofferson home. 

“Are you okay?” Hiccup asked. 

“I’m fine. A little embarrassed you had to see that…” 

“If it makes you feel better, my dad was still spanking me weekly up until I found Toothless…I kind of deserved it too.” 

“I miss my dad.” 

“But–”

“The dad he was before I failed in the ring. I don’t know what happened. I’m kind of tired of it.” 

“I don’t blame you.” 

“What do you think your dad is saying to him right now?”

“Probably telling him not to call me a runt again.” 

“I’m sorry about that.” 

“Eh. At least I know how he feels about me.” 

Astrid frowned. “I swear he talked positively about you before. He actually pushed me to talk to you.” 

Hiccup shrugged. “Maybe he realized that I’m a bad influence on you.” 

“You are not!” 

“I am! I convinced you to rebel with me last night.” 

She smirked. “I don’t think everything last night was bad.” 

“Yeah…?” He smiled a little, a blush dusting his cheeks. 

“Yeah. The weather was nice.” 

“Oh.”

She gave him a nudge accompanied by a giggle. “Among other things. Now, let’s get to work.” 

Thankfully, it was not scheduled to snow that day, so their work wasn’t in vain. Hiccup diligently worked to clear the steps of the Great Hall, while Astrid used a cup and a bucket to spread salt over the little patches of ice. 

They worked for several hours, getting all the steps and then the flat stones around the center of the village. By then, Gobber needed Hiccup in the forge, and Astrid had her own chores to get to. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow for more snow?” He asked with a laugh. 

“Like I could get out of it.” She gave him a brief smooch on the cheek. “See you!” And she trotted off. 

Hiccup stood in place for a moment, the heat on his face melting the snow around him. 

He rode that high through work, until the soreness in his arms kicked in. By the end of work, he couldn’t lift his arms above his waist. He trudged home, exhausted. He didn’t even get to see Toothless today. 

At home, Stoick was reclined in his chair, relaxing by the fire. 

“Welcome home, son.” 

“Ow.” 

Stoick laughed. “Yeah, I remember those days.” He beckoned him over and had him stand in front of him. Then he squeezed Hiccup’s arm’s slightly, massaging his sore muscles. “This will be great for you! You’ll be the size of a mountain by summer.” 

“Oh is that when the rest of puberty will kick in? I’m still waiting on the rest of your genes to activate.” 

“Well son, you’re the spitting image of your mother, and she was a tiny thing.” 

Hiccup groaned. 

After a few more minutes of squeezing, Hiccup flopped into a chair to relax. “Hey dad?” 

“Hmm?” 

“Can I ask how the talk with Mr. Hofferson went? Did you find out what his problem was?” 

“I did, in fact, though I ask you not to tell Astrid.” 

“I promise.” 

“Axel is upset not just because Astrid’s loss was a dishonor, but because he lost a bet.” 

Hiccup sneered. “He betted on Astrid’s fight?”

“It sounded like he fell into it. He was bragging to Spitelout about how good Astrid was, and Spitelout decided to make a bet with him. Axel didn’t think Astrid would lose, so he went all in.” 

“What did he bet?” 

“He didn’t say. Just that it was important.”

“So he lost a bet. Doesn’t mean he has to be a jerk to Astrid about it. She didn’t lose that fight on purpose!” 

“He knows. He said he’ll try to be better. And he owes you an apology for the way he talked to you.” 

“I’d rather he just apologize to Astrid.” 

“That, I can’t make him do.”

Hiccup sighed, knowing it was hopeless. 

“You should probably get to bed soon, lad. You have another busy day tomorrow.” 

—

The week was exhausting. Some days, it was clear, and they were actually able to shovel out significant parts of the town. Some days, there were slight flurries, in which case they had to start over from the Great Hall. 

As they cleared the steps, Hiccup was rewarded with words of gratitude while Astrid continued to get the cold shoulder. She appeared to take it in stride, and didn’t let it bother her. 

Finally, on Friggsday, the last day of their punishment, the sky opened and a blizzard broke out while they were working. Not just any blizzard either. A combination of snow, rain, and ice. It quickly undid all the work they had done, and urged everyone to take shelter. 

“Come on!” Hiccup called, pulling her towards the storage barn. “We’ll camp in here!” 

Astrid followed his lead and went about bolting the door shut to keep out the frigid cold. 

There were two thin glass windows that let in a fraction of light, and an oil lamp on the wall. Hiccup used the lamp to light the brazier near the wall. 

Soon, nice sized flames were up and warmth began to spread through the space. The barn was one room with a hay loft, and full of crates and barrels. Not very cozy, but it was better than outside, and better than getting reprimanded in the Great Hall. 

Hiccup took off his coat and hung it on a nail near the fire. His boots went underneath it. 

“Ugh,” said Astrid, “I’m totally soaked through.” 

Hiccup helped her out of her coat so she didn’t jostle her arm. “Yeah, me too. Is your sling wet?” 

“Yeah. But I can go without it for a little while. My arm is mostly healed.” She hung her coat up as well, along with her sling and boots. 

Hiccup went about looking through the crates for blankets. 

“Hiccup, you can be cool, right?” 

“Me?” He glanced at her. “Sure, you know me. I’m the coolest ever.” There was definitely some sarcasm laced in those words. 

However, it seemed like Astrid either didn’t pick up on it, or didn’t care. “Good.” And she began to strip.

“Wh-wh-what?” Hiccup’s voice got lodged in his throat as Astrid hung her shirt and pants, and even her socks, up by the fire. She was now in just her under things.

“Did you find any blankets?” 

“Uh…” 

“Stop gawking!” 

“Right! Yes! Sorry! Here!” He foisted over a blanket. 

“Thank you.” And she draped it over her shoulders. 

His glance shifted to her bare feet and legs. She had very dainty and cute feet, and shapely calves. 

“Uh…do you mind if I…?” He gestured to his clothes, feeling overdressed and uncomfortable in the wet clothes. 

“Not at all.” 

He turned his back to her as he stripped as well, going down to his skivvies. As he turned back around, he noticed she was studying him intently. He blushed. “ Stop gawking!” He parroted. 

She chuckled. “I suppose I deserved that. You’re just like…” she poked his visible rib cage. “…really skinny. Do you eat enough?” 

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Yes I eat enough, Miss Pinnacle of the Human Physique. I know I’m skinny. Thanks for noticing.” 

She offered a half smile. “Sorry…” 

“Sure you are.” 

Astrid nudged a crate closer to the fire with her foot and took a seat. 

“Oh, you don’t have to sit there, come with me.” 

Astrid stood and followed as Hiccup grabbed his own blanket and then started climbing the ladder to the hay loft. He then led her over to the backside of the loft by the wall. There was a gap between the wall and the loft where light and warmth from the brazier rose above. 

The hay had been smoothed into a seat and a few wool blankets and a fur pelt had been thrown over it. 

“What’s this?” 

“One of my hiding spots.” Hiccup took a seat on the hay, and beckoned her to sit with him. “Now, you can come here whenever you want. Yak jerky?” He pulled the salted meat out from seemingly nowhere.

Astrid chuckled. “Thanks! And thanks for sharing this with me.” She snuggled into the blankets. “I’m sorry that you had to have it. I hope things are getting better.” 

“It was touch and go for a while. The eels solved a lot of issues I was having. But not everyone is convinced I have the village’s best interest in mind. If they found out about Toothless, I’m sure I’d be tossed off of a cliff, no matter what my dad said.” 

“It probably doesn’t help that you’re always hanging out with me.” 

Hiccup frowned, but didn’t answer. 

“It’s okay, I know people are giving you a hard time on my behalf.” 

“Astrid, you are the most amazing person I’ve ever known. No stupid fight is going to keep me away from you. You’d have to do something really heinous.” 

Astrid shifted slightly closer. “Thank you, Hiccup. That’s very sweet.” 

For a little while, they just sat in silence, snacking on jerky. It was a pleasant silence, not one filled with scrambled thoughts of finding something to talk about. Just peace. 

“Hey Astrid?” Hiccup asked eventually. 

“Hm?” 

“What are we?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean…earlier this week, in the dragon arena…” 

“Yeah?”

He blushed, cursing that she didn’t just understand what he was trying to say. “We kissed.” 

“And?” 

“Does that mean we’re…like…together?” 

Astrid shifted to face him. “Do we have to label it? We’re friends. Best friends. Friends that can…do stuff together. I trust you, Hiccup. I kissed you because I wanted to.” 

“Oh…” 

“I’m not trying to bum you out. I just…want to see how this goes, but slowly. If we label it as a relationship or whatever, our parents will move to make a contract, and then marriage, and then babies…I’m not ready for that. I just…wanted to see what kissing was like.” 

Hiccup chuckled. “Well when you say it like that, I understand completely.” It was still kind of disappointing, but time would tell. “You know, it was my first kiss.” 

“Yeah?”

“So if it wasn’t very good…”

“I wouldn’t know. It was my first kiss too.” 

“Oh.” 

“Did you like it?”

“Yeah! It was awesome–er, good, I uh…I liked it.”

She snorted. “You’re such a dork.”

He blushed.

She gave him a sideways glance, trying to be casual. “So…if you wanted to practice…it’s not like we have anywhere else to be.” 

His eyes widened. “Practice? Like–now?!”

“Sure! Unless you don’t want to?” 

“I do! I mean, that sounds…nice.” 

“Then, I’ll just…” she scooted toward him, her knees touching his thighs. She was just a touch taller than him, so she didn’t have to crane her neck up. She leaned forward, breaking into his personal bubble. 

Hiccup squeezed his eyes shut tight and puckered his lips like a fish. 

She pinched his nose. “Not like that!”

“Then what?! I’ve never kissed before! Last time, you snuck up on me!” 

She snickered. “Just relax. We’re…experimenting. You know how to do that, with your inventions, right?” 

“Should I get my notebook?” He asked dryly. 

“Hiccup…” she slowly blinked and looked up at him with her big beautiful blue eyes. 

He swallowed thickly, leaning forward as well. He felt her warm breath on his lips and broke out in goosebumps. 

“This is…kind of exciting…” she murmured.

“And kind of terrifying,” he whispered back. 

Astrid raised her hand and touched his chin lightly, tilting his face to the side. Her heart hammered in her chest, but in a pleasurable way. Not at all like it had the day of the dragon fight. She was going into this with Hiccup, someone she trusted completely with her heart. 

His lips were soft. Last time, she had sort of smashed their faces together, and got more skin than lip, since his lips were so thin. 

But now, he was relaxed, eyes closed, and mouth ever so slightly open to receive her. Like a strong pair of arms there to catch her fall. 

It lasted a few seconds, probably. It was hard to tell the passage of time over the roar of his pulse in his ears. “Wow…” 

“Yeah…” she breathed. She was millimeters away from him, and hesitated to pull away, as did he. There was a magnet between them, keeping them close. 

Eventually, the force compelling them together grew strong, and their lips met again, with more intensity. 

Astrid pulled away slightly, giggling. “What are you doing?” 

She was too close to see his blush. “Uh, kissing?” 

“You’re like, flexing your lips.” 

“What am I supposed to do? Just touch your lips with mine? Aren’t we supposed to move?” 

“Let me try!” She smooched him again, massaging his lips with her own, almost nibbling on him. She hummed, and he returned the noise. 

There was a tiny smack as they pulled apart. “You were right,” Astrid stated, her eyes half lidded. “It feels better when we both move.” 

Hiccup smiled brightly, his chest warm as a soupy feeling swirled in his stomach. 

“I have another idea,” said Astrid, letting the blanket fall from her shoulders. 

“Whatever you want…” Hiccup responded in awe. 

Astrid crawled on her knees until she could straddle his legs and sit in his lap. “There. Nice and close. Is this okay?” 

Hiccup was about to burst. He felt tingles all the way down to his toes as his body burned. All he could do was nod. 

She rested her bum arm around his shoulders and then took the liberty to comb her fingers through his hair, dragging her nails across his scalp. 

Hiccup let out a moan he didn’t know he was capable of making as a wave of electricity ran down his spine, leaving goosebumps in their wake. 

“Did…did that feel good?” 

Again, Hiccup nodded. He was overwhelmed. The feeling of her bare thighs against his, her arms on his shoulders. It was all so amazing, so wonderful. 

“You can touch me, too. If you want. I don’t mind.” 

But where? He started with her upper arms, slowly sliding up to her shoulders. His breath hitched as he whispered, “your hair is a mess.” 

“Pft!” She laughed, the most beautiful laugh he’d ever heard. “Are you asking to take it down?” 

“There’s no point in keeping it up, right?” He managed a cunning smirk. 

She smirked back, crinkling her nose. “Fine. Just be careful.” 

Since she had done it up with one arm, it wasn’t particularly ornate. He tugged on the cord gently, and the messing bun unraveled into a fluffy golden mess. He couldn’t really run his fingers through it, since there were tangles, but he did play with her hair, petting the silky locks. 

Astrid went back to studying him. Her good hand reached forward and brushed his bangs from his face, and smoothed her thumb over his eyebrow. 

“You know Hiccup…you’re pretty cute.” 

His mouth felt dry. He had to take a large swallow before he admitted his truth, “I think you’re the most beautiful woman in the world.” 

Astrid blinked several times, before breaking into a smile that utterly destroyed him. 

Here, in this lighting, in this state of dress and vulnerability, she looked like a goddess. Hiccup felt so full of emotions, they threatened to leak out his eyes. Was this love? It had to be love! All he knew for certain was that he never wanted this to end. Whatever he had to do to keep her in his life, he would. Whether that was making a contract with her family, or never labeling this thing that they had, it didn’t matter. He’d do it. She just needed to say the word. 

But he was too much of a coward to say any of this out loud, so he just beheld her. His hands traveled from her shoulders to her back, where his fingers traced her spine. 

Astrid released a contented sigh, and leaned forward. 

Hiccup prepared for another world shattering kiss, but he was rewarded with her pressing her body against his. Warmth like he had never known sizzled over his skin and he greedily gathered her closer in his arms. 

“This is really nice,” Astrid breathed, her cheek against his neck. 

“I didn’t know…how much I needed this.” He shamefully admitted. 

Astrid hummed, and then admitted herself, “I needed it too.” She didn’t expect inappropriate teenage experimentation with Hiccup would lead to an emotional embrace, but she wasn’t complaining. His honesty solidified it. She trusted him, more than anyone. More than family or any other friend. 

She might even love him. 

Could she love him? They’d been friends for a few months now. How quickly did love grow? How soon could she know? 

This required more experimenting, and perhaps just more time. 

Astrid raised her head from his shoulder, and met his eyes. With just a scant smile, she went in for another kiss. He was with her, and met her eagerly. They discovered a new technique, a sort of push and pull, creating a series of little kisses that ended with little smacks. It became a game of tag, as they chased each other’s lips. 

Hiccup pulled away, breathless. 

“Why are you breathing so hard?” 

“Excited, but terrified.” 

Her thumb rolled over his lips. “You don’t need to be afraid of me, Hiccup.” 

He wasn’t. He was drunk on her. But he was terrified by tomorrow. Of future heartbreak, of when this would end…and he was terrified of finding out how weak he was for this girl. He always knew he was weak, but Astrid could rip his still bleeding heart from his chest and throw it off a cliff, and he would thank her. 

She got back to kissing, before Hiccup pulled away again, a moment later. 

“You okay?” She asked as her hand rested against his thundering heart. 

“Just had a thought…” Astrid watched as his eyes widened and he cringed. “You know what? Never mind!” He went to kiss her again, but she stopped him. 

“What is it, Hiccup?” 

“I thought about…trying something. But it’s gross, so don’t worry about it.” 

“You want to try something?” Her eyes lit up. Up until now, she was trying things with him. It was about time he tried something with her. 

He sheepishly bobbed his head ‘yes’. 

“Then do it. I trust you. You won’t gross me out.” 

Hiccup took a shuddering breath as he guided her into another kiss. This one was slow, a bit more forceful. And then…

His tongue slid against her lips, very briefly, just to make her acquaintance. She shivered. 

“Bad?” He asked. 

She shook her head ‘No’ and dived back in, repeating his action on him. 

Hiccup let out a squeak in surprise before pulling Astrid closer to him and allowing his tongue to dare to spoil Astrid’s perfect lips again. She met him eagerly, sliding and rolling against his tongue, while her hands greedily felt over his body. 

Hesitation left the room, and hormones walked in. The two teens explored with touches and kisses, not saying another word as they went. Astrid ended up sucking on Hiccup’s neck at one point, and Hiccup got to squeeze her butt cheeks. It was a kind of intimacy that was rare, where the touch was more about healing and comfort over pleasure. Their underwear stayed in places, and it never elevated into dangerous territory. 

Eventually, slightly sweaty and very winded, Astrid and Hiccup collapsed on the blankets, still intertwined in each other’s arms. 

“Hey,” Astrid whispered. 

“Hey,” he returned. 

“This was fun. We should do it again sometime.” 

“I agree.”

“And Hiccup?” 

“Hmm?”

“Don’t tell anyone, but you’re a great kisser.” 

He smirked. “I had a great practice partner.”

Notes:

Art by me!

Chapter 6: The Contract

The rest of the winter felt like a dream. The dragons were gone for the season, off for warmer climates, and the town was free from raids in the meantime. It seemed like people were slowly coming around to Astrid’s failure in the ring. They began smiling at her again, and she could mostly conduct business with the stall vendors as normal. 

Astrid and Hiccup did spend a lot of time together, in between chores, working at the forge, and spending time with Toothless. They never quite had the freedom to return to the hayloft, but they often shared knowing looks. Brief kisses were shared in the cove or up in the sky, never in town. These moments of intimacy were theirs, and theirs alone. No viking tradition would dictate what speed this relationship would go. 

As for Toothless, he seemingly didn’t mind staying in the cove, especially with the addition of Stoick’s hut. The weather in the cove was more mild, thanks to the tall walls. Everytime Hiccup returned to the cove, the dragon had another fort built. And by fort, I mean a mound of snow that was tunneled out so Toothless could hide in it.  

Hiccup’s study sessions with Toothless weren’t yielding as much new information, but their connection grew stronger. Some days Hiccup tinkered with his tail, and sometimes they just flew and explored. 

This evening Hiccup sat by the fire, protected from the wind by Stoick’s shack. He roasted his dinner, a fish on a stick, while Toothless ate his own meal. 

HORK HORK BORFF 

Toothless upchucked half a fish for his boy. 

“Uh, no thanks, I’m good.” Hiccup laughed.

A flock of Terrible Terrors, perhaps the only on the island that hadn’t migrated, came out to try to pilfer the stash of fish Hiccup had. 

Toothless wasn’t having it.

Hiccup watched with amusement as the tiny dragons tried to sneak a fish, only for Toothless to swipe it back with a growl. One brave dragon inhaled deeply to attempt to blow a fireball, only for Toothless to puff a small flame in its mouth, making it burp out its smoke and saunter away dazed. 

“Huh, not so fireproof on the inside…”   

“Ah! There you are, son!” Stoick called from the entrance to the cove.

Winter meant that most people were spending time inside. This meant less drama for Stoick, and more time for him to get his actual duties done. By sunset, he was done for the day, and took a hike out to the cove. 

“Hey dad.”

Stoick stepped around the flock of Terrors, not as keen on them, and gave Toothless a fond pat on the snout. “Keeping busy, lad?”

“More or less. You know, I always assumed that the dragons migrated because they got sick of snow, but Toothless plays in it. I wonder what the real reason is? I wonder where they go?”

“They move to be someone else’s problem.” Stoick said, rather callously. Then added, “no offense, Toothless.” 

The dragon rolled his eyes and smacked his gums. 

“You’re right though. It's a good thing we get a break now. What a disaster it would be if they raided and accidently set the store room on fire!” 

“Aye. We had a hard enough year storing up rations.”

“Even with the eels?” Hiccup winced. 

“Don’t get me wrong, the eels helped! We just had a poor harvest this year.” 

Hiccup frowned, then tried, “imagine how helpful dragons could be with farming? Twice the power of an ox!”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself again, son. Find a way to stop the raids, then you can brainstorm all the ways to get the village to accept dragons.” 

Hiccup sighed. “The second one is easier though! We don’t even know why they raid! Or where they go! Look, Toothless eats fish, almost exclusively. He eats a lot, but he’d certainly be able to catch it all on his own in the wild. And even when he joined the raids…” He turned to look at Toothless, and scratched under his chin. “I wish you could just talk and tell us everything, bud.” 

“Aye, that would be the easiest way, hmm? But if dragons could talk, we would have solved this problem generations ago.”

“Yeah…”

“But, son.” Stoick rested a hand on his shoulder. “You’re the first to get this far. I know you’ll figure it out.” 

Hiccup clenched his fist. “I really hope you’re right.” 

Stoick just rubbed his head with a little smirk and settled into his chair by the fire. Hiccup watched him, noticing the look on his face. It was a different sort of smile, one he hadn’t seen his father show before. 

“Why are you so smug?” 

Stoick grinned wider. “Well, not to toot my own horn…but I made an observation of my own.” 

“Wait, what? Observation? You mean you discovered something about dragons?” 

“I did, as a matter of fact! The other day, you were working late in the forge. I came out here and sat for a while…and noticed this.” Stoick took hold of a large stick in the fire, and pulled it out. The end was mostly embers, with a tiny flame. He stood and brought it over in front of Toothless and the Terrors. They all watched. 

Stoick slowly waved the stick around, making a figure eight in the air. The Dragons all crooned softly as their pupils dilated. 

“Whoa…they’re totally hypnotized.” 

“Dragons like fire…who knew?”

They took turns waving the stick around, making the dragons sing with a pleasant tune. It was kind of adorable. Finally, when the embers burned out, the dragons gave a little shake and went back to normal. 

“That has to be useful, somehow,” Hiccup mused. 

Stoick snorted. “Next dragon raid, we lull the beasts into a state of peace and then whip out the eels and send them scattering.” 

“You joke, but that was what I was working on!” 

Stoick laughed, but then became somber. “Something you said bothered me, son. Why they raid. I had never thought about it before. I guess I had always assumed they were lazy and wanted an easy meal. But they come together, all at once, and all types of dragons, even those that shouldn’t get along.” He looked over to where the Terrible Terrors were harassing Toothless again. He took it in stride, and simply smacked them away when they got too close. 

“It’s almost like the dragons coordinate an attack,” Hiccup mused. “I mean, it’s not that surprising, Toothless is very smart.” 

I am, aren’t I? Toothless crooned. 

“Perhaps then, when the weather is better, you and I could look into it more.” Stoick suggested. 

“Like how?”

“Like, on Toothless. We haven’t had any luck from the boats. Maybe flying is the key.”

Hiccup wasn’t sure he liked that idea, but relented. “It’s worth a shot.”

—--

When spring arrived, it was like waking from the dream. The green grass and spring flowers were still a few months off, and for now, spring meant rain, mud, and gray. 

Once the snow had slightly melted, the dragon raids began again. And the first one was a nightmare. Everyone scrambled to find eels to fend them off, but there were none to be found. The eels had their own winter migration, and hadn’t returned to be caught. 

“How could you do this to us?!” 

“You let this happen! This is all your fault!” 

“I lost three of my sheep! I only have three left!” 

“My house was destroyed!” 

Hiccup stood in the midst of very angry Vikings, all violently yelling and shoving him around. 

“I didn’t—of course I wasn’t—p-please just listen—I’m so sorry…” 

Right before he could burst into tears, Stoick yelled over the crowd. “THAT’S ENOUGH!” 

The crowd settled slightly, but by their body language, they were not happy. 

Stoick crooked a finger towards Hiccup, and silently beckoned him to stand next to him. 

Feeling two feet tall, Hiccup slunk up the stairs and stood next to his father. 

“Now, you all have had your whole lives to know how dragon raids work. We all knew the eels were a temporary fix. And they’ll work again when they migrate back to our waters. This solution is brand new, there were bound to be some hiccups—Ah, no pun intended. Don’t take it out on the poor boy.” 

“You're just saying all that because you're his father!” Someone shouted. 

“And what of it?! I’m the proud father to a genius! I’d like to see any of you stubborn goats come up with a better plan!” 

“Dad,” Hiccup stated, stepping up. “I’ll take it from here.” 

Surprised, Stoick gestured it on. 

Hiccup took a deep breath. “I’m sorry that this happened. I only had the best intentions when I gave the advice of the eels. My goal is to save lives, and it failed this time around. I’m not done coming up with solutions. I want to ask for another chance to help. Eventually, I will find a way to stop these raids all together. Will you believe in me?” 

The response was a wave of muttering. Then Spitelout shouted out, “we don’t have a choice!” And then people started to filter away, frustrated that they didn’t get any justice. 

Stoick gave his son a gentle head rub. “It’s alright son. You are tackling the problem with the most investment in it. People are bound to be upset when it goes wrong. They forget how much livestock was saved last year with the eels.”

Hiccup didn’t respond, just sighed in defeat.

“You had a good speech too. It was good practice.”

“They don’t respect me, dad. They don’t trust me.”

“Your fellow men have a hard time respecting boys. A lot of respect will come with age. Don’t get discouraged.” 

It was easier said than done.

—--

Hiccup was exhausted. His deal with his dad did have two terms. One was studying the dragons and trying to find a solution to the raids. It required brainpower and careful observation. The other part of the deal though, was working in the forge, to grow strong and better handle weapons. This was the exhausting part. Hiccup could observe dragons all day, but this was hard work. 

It was late, later than Gobber usually had him work. Gobber had even left for the day hours ago, leaving the work to Hiccup. 

“There you are!” Astrid heaved a sigh. “I’ve been looking for you. I didn’t think you worked this late.” 

“Not usually, no.” Hiccup set the sword down. It needed to be sharpened, but that could wait a second while he took a break. “Spitelout had a big order come in.”

“And Gobber’s not helping you with it?”

“Spitelout asked me to do it, specifically. Something about wanting to keep me busy.” He rolled his eyes.

Astrid hopped up on the counter by the wall, as Hiccup rested in the only chair the forge had, leaning halfway out the door into the cold spring air. 

“I went out to the cove and hung out with Toothless and Stormfly for a while,” Astrid said. “I assumed you would come out there when you were done, but you never showed.” 

“Yeah, I’ve been swamped…wait, Stormfly? Who’s Stormfly?”

Astrid straightened her back and preened slightly. “She’s my new dragon.”

“What? Who? Since when?!” He laughed. 

“You remember our big rebellion?”

“How could I forget?” He said, with a dreamy smile etching onto his face. After all, that’s when Astrid had first kissed him. 

“That Nadder we released, she must have understood me more than I thought. She was in the cove with Toothless. She must have gone looking for him when she migrated back.” She smiled. “She remembered me too! Pranced right up to me!” 

“Wow…” Hiccup breathed. “That’s…that’s incredible! She must have learned to understand us a little from her time in the arena! I know that Toothless certainly understands us! That’s so cool! I–...” mid-rant, Hiccup noticed what she was trying to hide. “What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?” She blinked several times, but her red eyes didn’t clear. Her hair was still a mess, and she had dark bags under her eyes. 

“You aren’t wearing your sling. Did you get cleared today?”

Astrid sighed. “Yeah…that’s kind of why I was looking for you originally.” She unwrapped her arm guard from her right arm. A huge, ugly scar spanned the inside of her arm, and a smaller scar was on the outside. The Monstrous Nightmare’s tooth had penetrated her arm all the way through. 

“So, you got a scar. That’s the mark of a warrior, right?” He smiled, trying to help. “Didn’t you say it’s only fun if you get a scar out of it?”

“The scar doesn’t bother me. But…” She held out her arm and attempted to make a fist. Her index finger curled in, and her pinky curled half way. But her middle and ring finger only flexed slightly. 

“Astrid…”

“I hoped that maybe by time it healed, I’d be able to move all of them. I figured my fist would be weak, but…” 

Hiccup picked up a hammer and went over to her, gently laying the handle in her hand. She was able to hold it with a loose grip, the majority of the hold coming from her index finger. Gently, he wrapped her weak fingers around the handle. “Does that hurt?”

“Not at all.”

He let go, and her fingers slowly released. 

He frowned, holding her hand again. “Maybe, with time…” 

“Gothi didn’t think so.” She finished his sentence. 

He looked up at her, realizing her eyes were welling up with tears. 

“It’s okay,” she breathed. “Because I have Stormfly now. She can throw spines…you just have to get the raids to end. Then she can always be with me and protect me when I can’t protect myself.” 

He stared at her hand, studying the way her fingers moved. Maybe there was still something to be done. Some straps or something? “Can you bring your axe to me tomorrow?”

“What for?”

“I think…maybe I can adapt it for you. If you’re willing to experiment with me…” he trailed off, a blush rising to his face.

Astrid smiled, before tugging on his tunic to pull him closer. “You know how I feel about experimenting with you.” She smirked before placing a cheeky kiss on his lips. 

Hiccup giggled after that, before quickly trying to play it cool. “Uh yeah…we…” He gulped. “We’re great at experimenting.” 

She smiled at him then, big and bright and honest. “Thank you. I just came to tell you what happened, and maybe…I don’t know, get a hug out of it. But you actually came up with a solution…thank you.” 

Hiccup stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her. “I can still give you a hug though.”

She breathed against him. “You’re the best, you know?”

“I’ve been told.”

“And humble!”

—--

Only a few days later, Astrid finished up her chores early to meet Hiccup at the cove. They were going to go for their first flight together on separate dragons. She had been so excited! She even got to introduce Stormfly to Stoick.

“Oh, so there’s two now?” He had lamented. 

“You’re next, you know,” Hiccup had teased. 

“I’m not training any beast!” 

It had been rather funny, and the memory still brought Astrid joy. The chief of her clan, more or less approved of her training a dragon! With Stormfly on her side, she was sure to help Hiccup find a way to stop the dragon raids! 

“Astrid, dear, where are you going?” Phlegma asked, jolting Astrid from her memory. 

“I’m meeting up with Hiccup,” she said simply, scooting on her boots. 

“Actually…we have something to talk to you about…” Her mother said, not meeting her eyes. Phlegma was usually an optimistic person, but her tone held nothing but dread. If anything, it was the tone a child had as they told their parents they broke a family heirloom.  

“What’s wrong?” Astrid asked, on edge. 

Axel walked into the room, a grim look on his face. “Perhaps you should have a seat.” 

Astrid sat down on a bench, as she was instructed. Axel took a seat next to her. His hand rested on her back, more gentle than he had ever been, especially with his shift in personality. He gazed at her, eyes full of sorrow and grief. 

“Dad?”

“I’m so sorry, Astrid.” 

Astrid sighed, his apology like a balm on her broken heart. Was he finally over her failure? Was he finally trying to make amends?

“I forgive you, dad.” She smiled.

But he only shook his head. “You won’t forgive me. I’ve done something horrible.” 

And then he proceeded to tell her what had happened. What was at stake, what the future held for her, and that she had no say in the matter. Each word brought her lower and lower, a knife cutting into her chest, threatening to cut her heart right out from her ribs and leave it bleeding and quivering on the floor. Betrayal. Absolute, horrible, betrayal.

“YOU’RE A MONSTER!” She shrieked before bursting from the house. She ran. Ran for her life. Ran to what made her happy, what felt like home, and what she would soon be losing. There, perhaps she could glean a fragment of joy before it was all over.

—-

While the storm was still gathering, and things were seemingly falling apart, lightning struck suddenly and hard, destroying the very foundation to Hiccup’s happiness. 

All seemed well, as he and Stoick spent an evening together in the cove with Toothless. An easy day, a quiet day, a day that didn’t give any indication of what was going to happen. 

“Hiccup!” Astrid’s voice echoed over the forest. 

“Astrid?” He called back. 

“Hiccup!” There was so much pain and sheer terror in her voice. He stood and started quickly towards the entrance. She appeared quickly, running at top speed. “HICCUP!” She cried. She ran to him and flung her arms around him, burying her face into his shoulder and weeping openly. 

Hiccup stood frozen, shaking, before he hugged her back. 

“Lass? What happened?” Stoick asked, his tone serious and hard. 

Stormfly squawked, and stood nearby, crooning cautiously. 

Hiccup pet her hair. “I gotcha,” he whispered. “When you’re ready, tell me what’s wrong?” 

“My father!” She wailed. “He–he–he bet on my fight!”

Both Hiccup and Stoick winced, already knowing this, but not prepared for how badly it would affect her. 

“Well, you know how vikings are–...”

“He bet me ! He made a bet with Spitelout and I lost that fight and now I have to marry Snotlout!”

“WHAT!?” Stoick and Hiccup both shouted. 

Astrid pulled away slightly to grab Hiccup’s tunic. “It’s already been arranged! Those weapons Spitelout ordered were for my father! They made up the contract and exchange and everything! I didn’t even get a word in!” 

Hiccup stood shell-shocked. This couldn’t be happening! Everything had been going so well, and now…he was losing her? He didn’t even get a chance to fight for her?

“How do I undo this?” He asked his father. 

Stoick shook his head. “I’m sorry son, but this is a contract between families. The chief has nothing to do with it.” 

“But–but you have to be able to do something! Anything!”

“We could try talking to Axel and Spitelout, if they both agree to call it off…” 

“My dad will agree,” Astrid said quickly. “He wasn’t happy about the agreement. Please, please Stoick. Please talk to Spitelout! I beg you!” 

“Alright lass, alright,” Stoick sighed, patting her head. “Let’s go and have a word with the man.” 

By the time they returned to the village, night had descended. Hiccup walked with an arm firmly around Astrid and held her hand with the other. 

The three went to the Jorgenson household, and Stoick took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

A moment later, Spitelout opened the door. He smiled, though it didn’t seem genuine. “Stoick! What can I do for you so late an hour?” He then noticed Astrid crying, and chuckled. “Oh chief, you’re not getting involved in this, are you? Axel and I have a gentlemen’s agreement.” 

“I’m not here to command you to do anything. I would never use my position as chief to do that. No, I’m here as Stoick, the man. Astrid asked me to talk to you.”

“Well, there’s not much to talk about. The contract has been agreed upon and I paid the bride price, he paid the dowry. It’s settled.”

Stoick kept calm, eerily calm. “Spitelout, I am very curious though. You didn’t see how much time Astrid and Hiccup spent together? Did you not consider that?”

“I noticed, but you and I both know that has nothing to do with it. You and my sister were in a contract, even though you barely knew each other.”

“Yes, but neither I nor Valka were particularly close to anyone before our contract. I’m not saying that Astrid and Hiccup are romantically involved, but given time—”

“Yeah, I know.” Spitelout said sharply. “So that’s why I took my chance now. If I wanted my son to marry well, I needed to make the contract now.” 

Stoick’s nostrils flared. “And so you did that without considering the lass’s feelings?”

“Since when did you ever care about feelings, Stoick?” Spitelout spat. “You certainly didn’t care about my sister.”

“I loved Valka!” Stoick bellowed. “And how dare you insinuate otherwise!?”

Spitelout yelled right back. “If you really loved her, you would have protected her better! She wouldn’t have been taken!” 

“Are you—wait, you’re not doing this for Snotlout, are you? You’re doing this to spite my family!”

Spitelout gave a bitter smile. “It's in the name, Stoick.” And then he slammed the door in his face. 

“Unbelievable.” Stoick bit. He turned to look at the kids, only to see Astrid looking completely devastated. “Lass, I’m–”

“He’s horrible!” She croaked. “A stupid feud! He’s ruining my life over a feud!” 

Stoick shook his head woefully. “I’m sorry, lass. I’ll try talking to him in the morning. Spitelout can be reasonable, on occasion.” 

Astrid didn’t have much hope in that regard, and elected to hold onto Hiccup as long as she could.

—--

The next morning, the horn that signaled an announcement echoed across the village, and everyone assembled in the square. 

Hiccup already knew it wasn’t going to be good, based solely on the fact that his father was standing on the steps, along with Astrid and Snotlout. Spitelout and Axel also stood on the steps, behind their children. Once everyone was assembled, Stoick raised his hands for everyone to settle down.

“Good morning everyone. As you have all surely noticed, the next generation, my son’s generation, has reached the age of marriage. Axel Hofferson and Spitelout Jorgenson have completed a contract to bring their children Astrid and Snotlout into marriage!”

Hiccup scoffed. Stoick was delivering this news as clinically as he could. 

“The wedding will be in the fall, after the first harvest. And because this is an important affair for our family, Hiccup will be conducting the ceremony.” 

“What?!” Hiccup barked out in outrage. 

The assembled immediately began gossiping, and throwing looks over to Hiccup. 

“It will be his first ceremony as heir, but we believe this is the best opportunity for him to learn.” 

Hiccup grit his teeth and clenched his fists. How could his father let this happen?

All in all, the crowd gave congratulatory cheers, more so for the prospect of having a big party than the actual marriage. 

Once they started to disperse, Hiccup rushed up the stairs. “Dad, you can’t be serious! I can’t…please don’t make me…” 

Stoick corralled Hiccup away, a hand on his back. “Look son, I tried, but Spitelout is set. He originally wanted the wedding for this week, but I got him to agree to the fall. That way, you and Astrid have time to adjust.” 

“But why do I have to do the ceremony? I don’t even want to be there!” 

“That’s what got Spitelout to agree. We have to take the blessings where we can get them.” 

Hiccup peered around his father to look over to Astrid. She was standing awkwardly as Snotlout was talking at her. She looked miserable. 

Hiccup couldn’t tell what Snotlout was saying, but by the sneer she threw his way, it wasn’t a pleasant conversation. 

“This sucks.” Hiccup said tersely. 

“You’re a viking, lad. It’s time to buck up.” He gave him a rough pat on the back. “Besides, you still have Toothless.” 

Hiccup scoffed. “Yeah, well Toothless isn’t even allowed in town.”

Notes:

Aaaaand cue all the 'I knew it!' comments. :)

Chapter 7: The Mission

Notes:

For anyone wondering and lamenting about the angst and heartbreak coming with this development, I tried to keep it light. :)

And all marriage and wedding stuff is just not going to be historically accurate. They’re helmets aren’t correct, Berk isn’t a real place, so I’m making up the lore for that topic (based on what we see in the third film).

A few days into her engagement to Snotlout and Astrid was ready to throw herself off a cliff. 

Was that too dramatic? Or perhaps morbid?

Didn’t matter. He was just so…obnoxious. 

“And I told the guy, you know what I said to him? I said you mess with the Snotster, you get the horns! That’s what I said!” 

“And this was Tuffnut you were fighting with?” She drawled. 

“No, that was the last story. This was a totally different guy. A guy you never would have met.” 

“Right.” She smirked. 

She was trying. The chief had worked so hard to get the ceremony delayed, she figured she ought to at least try to make the time worth it and attempt to fall in love with Snotlout in the meantime. 

It wasn’t working, but no one could say she wasn’t trying. 

She spent time with him. Time she’d normally spend with Hiccup. That was the hardest part, of course. When separating herself from Hiccup, she also separated herself from Toothless and Stormfly, and at such a critical time in her training too! 

She tried not to think about that snowy afternoon in the hayloft with Hiccup either. It was for the best that she forget about him entirely. 

That was easier said than done, of course. Especially as he sat at the table across from them. 

“Snotlout, Astrid,” he said cordially. 

“Hey Cuz! How goes the Dragon Sympathizing?” Snotlout chuckled. 

‘How goes the woman stealing? ’ “It’s great, thanks for asking,” Hiccup responded, bitterness in his words. He unfurled a large piece of paper in front of them. “Now, since I’m working in the forge, have design experience, and the gods apparently hate me, I’ve been assigned the task of designing your…” he sighed hard. “Your wedding home.” 

Wow, the gods really did hate him. 

“Oh really?” Snotlout said, with a disgusting curl to his lip. “Is that so?” 

“Yes. So do you want to give me helpful input, or do you just want me to wing it?” He smoothed the blank paper out. “And don’t worry, I’ve already planned two nice sized beds in different rooms.” 

“Haha,” Snotlout stuck out his tongue. He considered all of this, his mouth scrunching up. A very unused thinking face, if there ever was one. “I want a nice big basement. A place to spar and tame these bad boys,” he flexed his arms. 

Hiccup didn’t comment on it, just drew a box off to the side to signify the basement landing. 

“Oh, and of course, I want a giant metal ‘S’ on the front. For Snotlout!” 

“Or for ‘Stupid’.” Hiccup muttered.

“Shouldn’t it be a ‘J’ for Jorgenson?” Asked Astrid. 

“Or ‘Jackass’?”

“This is my house, Astrid. Not my dad’s.” 

“His name starts with an S too.” She argued back. 

“Okay okay,” Hiccup butted in. “Let’s talk about accessories later, once it’s built. Focus on the house.” 

“Well,” said Snotlout. “Make sure the bedroom can fit the biggest bed possible.” 

Both Hiccup and Astrid scoffed. 

“Hey, it’s not what you think! She kicks!” Snotlout pointed at Astrid. 

“I do?” She sneered. “How do you know that?” 

“Yeah. Remember that camping trip we all went on last summer? Me and Tuff shared a tent, the fish boys shared a tent,” he pointed at Hiccup. “And you and Ruff shared a tent.” 

Hiccup did remember the camping trip, because it was the first and last annual trip for his generation. He was supposed to share a tent with Fishlegs, but the boy took up the whole tent by himself so Hiccup had to build a lean to to sleep in. He ended up laying in poison oak and got a horrible swollen rash and got the trip canceled. Of course, that had been another blow to his popularity. 

“Ruff said she had bruises for weeks from you kicking her,” Snot explained. “So I want a nice big bed. Preferably one with one of those chastity boards that I can drop if she gets too violent.” 

Hiccup started laughing then. 

Astrid kicked him under the table. 

“Ow! I can see why you’d kick in your sleep! It’s muscle memory!” 

She kicked him again. 

Hiccup rubbed his sore shin and then lightly drew the main outline of the house while Snotlout and Astrid watched. He drew the area for the loft, and made a note of ‘big bed with board’. 

“That’s all I care about,” said Snotlout. “Astrid’s going to be there more often since…” he attempted to whisper, though it was still full volume. “She’s the woman!” 

“Thanks, Snotlout.” Astrid droned. 

“Anytime. You kids have fun! I got stuff to do!” He waved with a flourish. 

So Astrid was left alone with Hiccup to design her marriage home to another man. It started out awkward, but then it became kind of fun. 

“Do you enjoy cooking? Would you like a dedicated kitchen area?” 

“I think…if I had the space, I might try to cook more often. Mom’s teaching me to make bread, but my loaves are pretty flat.” 

“Bread’s not too hard. You must be kneading it too much, or not letting it rise.” 

“That’s what mom says! Wait, you know how to cook?” 

“Of course! You think my dad has time to make meals with all his chiefing?” 

“Hmm. I never thought of it before. I guess it makes sense.” 

“Of course, I don’t always cook. We often get food from other people in the village. Mrs. Sorenson makes too much stew, or Fishlegs’ mom brings a small shepherd's pie.” 

“Do you do the other chores too?” She asked. 

“Like laundry and mending? Sometimes. The other ladies sometimes stop over and pick up our laundry. I assume they think ‘I might as well do theirs while I’m doing laundry’. I do all the mending though. I made this tunic!” 

“Not surprising. I saw your leather working on Toothless’ tail.” 

“You know, I learned to sew from Snotlout’s mom. She taught him too. Told him a man ought to know how to repair his own clothes if he can’t find a wife.” 

Astrid snorted. “Are you saying Mrs. Jorgenson thought Snotlout would be single for a long time?” 

“Your words.” He smirked. “How about the bathroom? You want an inside tub?” 

Astrid’s eyes widened. “An inside tub? You can do that?” 

“I’ll put it under the stairs, and put a grill underneath so you can have warm water.”

“Now you’re spoiling me!” 

Hiccup smiled. “You should enjoy something about this marriage.” 

“Pft.” She shook her head. 

Together they planned out a dream home. It raised Astrid’s mood considerably. If she had to be married to a man she disliked, at least she was living in a cool house. 

Astrid looked at Hiccup, a big smile on her face. It was nice to spend time with him again. If she was lucky, Snotlout would let her continue to be friends with him. Then again, jealousy might ruin that. 

“I’ll take these prints to Gobber, and we’ll get to work.” 

“Where’s the house going?” 

“At the edge of the woods. If you’re lucky, you can sneak out to see Stormfly.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “And there’s space for a stable for her when the time comes.” 

“Thank you, Hiccup. That’s so cool.” 

He beamed at her. “Anything for you, Milady.” 

—-

They were getting away from Berk for a few days. The village thought Hiccup and Stoick were going for a father-son bonding camping trip, but really, they were going on a secret scouting mission on dragon back. The idea had been passed back and forth a few times, that maybe the reason they hadn’t been able to find the dragon’s nest with the boats was because only a dragon could find it. It was Hiccup’s thought, and he had just been able to convince his dad that a two man scouting mission was better than introducing Toothless to the tribe as a compass. 

And getting away from Berk for a while would be a good distraction from Astrid.

“Remember dad, keep it light.” 

“Aye lad. I was about to say the same thing.” He checked over his pack, as Hiccup peaked over. 

“You don’t need the flint.” 

“Oh. Right! That will be convenient.” He took it out. “I packed a knife. Are they going to be alright with that?” 

“Toothless trusts you now. You can bring your hammer too, if you want.” 

Stoick considered it, and decided to take it with him, just in case. 

They left early in the morning, before people could see how little they were taking with them. 

“You think Astrid will mind that I’m taking Stormfly?” Asked Stoick.

“I asked her, and she’s thrilled that Stormfly gets to go on the trip. The poor Nadder doesn’t get off island a lot these days.” 

Stoick nodded. “Astrid’s been rather busy. She brought over some soup two nights ago.” 

“She did? Why didn’t I get any?”

“You got dinner with the other men working on the house, didn’t you?” 

“Yeah…I guess…was it good?”

Stoick smirked. “You want to know what Astrid’s cooking was like?”

“I asked, didn’t I?”

Stoick chuckled. “That you did. It tasted a lot like your mother’s cooking.” 

“That good?”

“Son, your mother was known for her kind heart and good looks…not her cooking.” 

Hiccup snorted.

They reached the cove, and Toothless and Stormfly started dancing around, full of energy and excited to see them. 

“Hello, pretty girl,” Stoick said cautiously, petting Stormfly’s snout. “You’ve seen me a few times. I’m no Astrid, but do you think I could fly you for a while?”

Stormfly squawked and lowered herself so he could mount her. Hiccup brought over a saddle. “Here, don’t want to get a sore butt.” 

“Thanks son.” 

Hiccup helped him strap the saddle on, before climbing on Toothless. “You think you can handle your first solo flight being a long one?” 

“Astrid seems to have whipped this Nadder into shape. As long as she cooperates with me, we’ll get along great.” 

“Sometimes I think you’ve made great progress accepting the dragons, and then you say things like that.” He took off. 

“What? What did I say wrong?” Stoick called back. He gave Stormfly a little pat, like Hiccup had instructed, and she took off into the air. 

Once Stoick caught up to Hiccup, they started their journey in earnest. 

“So,” said Hiccup. “Where are we going?”

“The raids come from the North. I think that’s where the Nest is. Hopefully as we get close, the dragons will take us right there.” 

“And we’re not going to hurt them, right?”

“I’m certainly not taking the nest by myself.”

“I’m here.” 

“What are you going to do to a dragon? Let them eat you so they can choke on you?”

“Ouch, but fair.”

“This is a scouting mission, first and foremost.” 

Hiccup nodded, trying not to think too much about what was so uncertain. What were they going to find at the nest anyway? It was a nest, after all. Were they storing it all for winter like the Vikings did? Maybe they’d find a bunch of babies. Then he’d feel really bad. 

Hiccup wanted to end the raids. But he didn’t know if he wanted to do what it took to end them. 

“You’ve been busy lately,” Stoick noted. “Between studying the dragons on the island and forge work, I rarely see you.” 

“I’m trying to keep busy. Besides, Snotlout and Astrid’s house isn’t going to build itself.” 

“We put up houses overnight. You don’t need to work so hard on it.” 

“I want it to be nice for her…and Snotlout.” He added as an afterthought.

“Should I invite some of our allied chiefs with young daughters to come and meet your acquaintance?” 

Hiccup frowned. “No. And I don’t really want to talk about my love life anymore.” 

“Fair enough.” Stoick gave a respectful nod. Then, after a few moments of silence, he added, “knowing Snotlout, he won’t live to see 20. You can have Astrid when she’s a widow.” 

“DAD!” 

They flew on and on. Conversation hadn’t been easy for them for many years, but since that fateful night before the snowfall, when Hiccup had just shot Toothless down, their relationship had started to improve. Stoick was still a Viking with years of dragon slaying under his belt. While Hiccup was a boy filled with ideas of things that were—well, not dragon slaying. Bridging the gap between the two was difficult. 

So it was no surprise that they flew for an hour without a single word exchanged. 

“Hmph,” Stoick grunted eventually. 

“You say something, dad?” 

“Just thinking,” Stoick peered over Stormfly’s side. “The ice on the sea is pretty thick. I don’t know if we could’ve gotten a ship up here even in the summer.” 

“Then if we are close to the nest, it would make sense, right? Go where the ugly pink things with pointy sticks can’t go.” 

“Who’re you callin’ ugly?” 

“Not you, obviously. I meant all the other vikings.” 

Stoick snorted. “A fair theory…if you throw out the idea of them migrating for winter.” 

“Maybe they just…hunker down?” 

“Perhaps.” Stoick took a compass out from his saddle bag. “We’re still heading north. I would have thought we would have reached the nest by now.” 

“Do you think we’re off course?” 

“Hard to tell what the right course is in the first place. We’ll go a bit further, and then take a wide loop back.” 

“Looks like a bit further is fog.” Hiccup pointed. 

Stoick narrowed his eyes. It sort of looked like the fog he encountered at Helheim’s gate. “Maybe we aren’t so off course after all. Let’s see if we can get above it.” 

The fog was thick, and it was impossible to see the ocean below it. But it did have a top, and they rode over it like a boat in the water. The fog went on for what looked like forever, to the edge of the world. Hiccup’s heart began to beat faster, as a sense of unease settled over him. Somewhere in this fog, somewhere near, the nest of dragons laid. 

Toothless’ ear flaps raised, and he course corrected suddenly, making Hiccup jolt. 

“Buddy?”

Stormfly let out a squawk and likewise jolted to the right, focused on something. 

“Easy girl,” Stoick said softly, but deadly serious. “I think they’ve got the trail.” 

Hiccup swallowed thickly, the anticipation of discovery thundered in his veins. He had a horrible feeling that by time the reached the end of this journey, his life would be irrevocably changed, and he didn’t know if that was exciting or terrifying. 

Stoick and Hiccup flew side by side, with maybe one wingspan of space between them. 

They watched, with shock and awe as a figure breached the fog in front of them. A human in grotesque, animalistic armor holding a staff, rose in front of them, standing tall, proud, and unafraid.

If they were riding several hundred feet above the sea, what was he standing on?

Several deafening seconds passed before Toothless warbled. 

The person swiveled quickly, startled by the sound. Hiccup could not see their face, but they clearly saw him, and tapped the staff twice. The figure sank into the fog, only to emerge quickly on the back of a huge dragon, easily twice the size of Toothless. It was orange and had two sets of wings.  

“Toothless, it’s okay, it’s okay!” Hiccup quickly assured his dragon, but more to himself. 

The stranger and his dragon flipped backwards and dove back into the fog. 

“Wait!” Hiccup called, and urged Toothless after him. 

“Hiccup!” Stoick shouted after. “I can’t keep up!” 

“Stormfly’s a tracker, you’ll find me!” And he raced off, afraid to lose this stranger. 

The appearance of a human filled Hiccup with all sorts of emotions. If there was a person in charge of these raids, then perhaps they could be reasoned with? They could trade instead, and Berk could learn how to train dragons like this person had! 

Toothless burst through the wall of fog to find a rocky island, halfway made of giant ice spikes. Distantly, he heard his father yell. “What in the beard of Thor is that!?” Before he and Toothless dove into a cavern. 

“Careful, bud!” Hiccup attempted to slow his friend down, but Toothless blasted an echoing roar down the tunnel, and proceeded to nail every twist and turn. “Wow…” Hiccup whispered, delighted to learn something new about his dragon. 

How did that other dragon navigate through here?

Toothless landed in a cave. There were a few other dragons resting that perked up when they entered. 

“Halt your approach, viking!” A woman’s voice called. “Your kind is not welcomed here!” Hiccup spotted her then, with the dim light shining through the ice. She was crouched up on a ledge, her dragon behind her. “This is a dragon’s sanctuary, not a killer’s playground!” 

“I’m not a killer!” Hiccup protested. “I’m a friend to dragons! All I want is to bring peace between vikings and dragons.” He hopped off of Toothless. “See? This is Toothless. He’s my best friend.” 

The woman used her staff to lower herself to the ground, as she slinked closer. 

“We’re trying to find a way to get the dragons to stop raiding us.” He stood rigidly as the woman crept ever closer. Her movements were like a wild animal. “I just want to talk.” 

“You’re so young…just a boy…” She cooed, coming closer still, and reaching a hand out towards him. 

“Uh…yeah…well, I’m sixteen. I just look small.” He attempted to chuckle. “Late bloomer.” 

Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at him. “...Hiccup?”

His eyes widened and he blinked several times, stunned. 

The woman removed her helmet and tossed it to the side. She stepped into his personal space and caressed his face, her callous fingers trembling as she touched him. 

She had vibrant green eyes, auburn hair streaked with gray, and high cheekbones. 

“Should…I…know you?” Hiccup asked, extremely uncomfortable. 

The woman seemed to fight for words, then eventually said, “...no.” 

“You certainly seem to know me…” He desperately tried to joke as she touched his hair. 

She had tears in her eyes as she kissed his forehead gently. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Okay!” Hiccup chuckled uneasily as he danced away from her. “That’s…that’s enough of that for me, thank you.” 

The woman kept staring at him, a wistful smile on her face. Then her brows drew into a crease. “That man with you…?”

“Oh, that’s my dad.”

“...Stoick?”

“Yeah! He’ll catch up soon.” 

She backed up, fear rolling off of her in waves. “I have to go. He can’t see me.”

“Wait wait wait,” Hiccup grabbed her arm. “You can’t leave! We need your knowledge! Dad and I are training the dragons, but the rest of the tribe still hates them. Please, we need your help!” 

“Hiccup!” Stoick’s voice echoed down the tunnel. “Add to your notes! Nadder’s don’t have great night vision!” There was a clatter of rocks. “Ow! Watch it missy!” 

The woman looked stricken towards the cavern entrance. “Please Hiccup, he mustn’t see me!” 

“Why? Dad’s really mellowed out these last few months. I think since we’re so close to peace, he’s finally calmed down. Whatever you’re afraid of, don’t be.”

“Hiccup…” Her jaw trembled. 

Hiccup knew he wasn’t that strong. This woman could break free of his hold easily, but she wasn’t trying. Was she afraid of hurting him? Hurting his feelings? 

Finally, Stoick and Stormfly all but fell into the cavern, Stormfly tilting so that he fell off. 

She squawked angrily at him. 

“It wasn’t my idea!” He yelled back. He grumbled as he stood and dusted off his clothes. When his face raised to find his son, his eyes went wide and his jaw dropped in shock. 

Hiccup got behind the woman and pushed her forward. “Go on. He won’t bite.” 

As the woman turned and met Stoick’s gaze, the look on his father’s face changed to something he had never seen before. Awe? Reverence? He looked damn near tears. 

“Well, go on!” The woman shouted at him. “Get ta shoutin’!” She stood a little straighter. 

Stoick took off his helmet.

“I didn’t come home, afterall. All this time…never said a word about where I was. And now—”

Stoick only stepped closer, eyes riveted on her. 

Hiccup watched, goosebumps running up his back. A part of him had a guess at who this was, but the rest of him denied it vehemently. After all, she was dead…

Wasn’t she?

“By the gods, Stoick! Won’t you say somethin’?”

Stoick raised a hand to her face, touching her so tenderly. “You’re as beautiful as the day I lost you.” 

All the fight went out of his woman, and she clutched onto Stoick as tears started to roll down her cheeks. 

Stoick kissed her then, tenderly. Like someone who hadn’t kissed in so long and wanted to savor it. 

“D-dad?” Hiccup whispered, overcome with emotion. “Is…is she…?”

“Aye, lad.” 

The tears on Valka’s face doubled as she rushed back to Hiccup and crushed him into a fierce hug. “My baby…my baby boy!” 

“M-mom…Mom!” And he hugged her back, coming unraveled at the seams. All these years, and he finally had his mother. She was here. She was alive! 

Stoick surrounded them and lifted them off the ground in a hug. He was laughing and weeping, so overwhelmed with emotion, it just spilled out of him. 

Hiccup looked at his beautiful mother. “Let’s go home, mom.”

Valka looked much more forlorn and reserved at that. She pulled away from the boys, slowly backing away towards her dragon. 

“Val…?”

“I can’t go back,” she breathed. 

“Why not, love?” Stoick wasn’t accusing, just concerned. 

“Hiccup said so himself, the tribe still hates dragons. I’ve lived alone, among them, for 15 years. I…I couldn’t go back to a society that hates them. And…I don’t know…” she looked at her hands. “Being away from people…it changes you. They’d hate me too.” 

Hiccup looked to his dad, pleading.

“We can’t leave you here, Val. I just found you! I don’t want to lose you again.” 

“I know, my darling. I don’t want to leave you…but…”

“We’re close!” Interrupted Hiccup. “I’m working on stopping the raids, that’s why we came out here. It won’t be long and then–” 

“They won’t understand.” Valka said patiently. “They didn’t back then. If I return before there’s peace…it could endanger your father. He’d be a traitor. They don’t know you’ve befriended dragons, do they?”

Stoick shook his head. “It’s been our secret.”

“The cove!” Hiccup chirped. “The shack in the cove! She can live there until we get everything figured out! And you can bring—um…” He looked at the large dragon that was now examining Toothless with wise old eyes. 

“Cloudjumper.” 

“Cool.” He smiled. “You can bring Cloudjumper, and come and go as you want, but that way, you’ll be near, and we can see you!” 

“Please Val…” Stoick begged. “That’s reasonable, isn’t it?” 

Valka was quiet for a bit, mulling it over. It would be a slow start. Like stepping into water up to your knees instead of jumping right in. “Aye. It’s reasonable.” 

“Then you’ll come back with us?”

Valka swallowed, and then nodded. “To the cove. For now.” 

Stoick grabbed her into a tight hug and kissed her face. “Thank you! Thank you!” 

Valka started giggling as she half-heartedly tried to escape. “Alright alright! Let me just pack up a few things.” 

The men followed her through the caverns as she led them to her living space. It was like a balcony to an auditorium, and she led them in through the back. She had fur pelts for sleeping, a large clay pot for cooking, and other odds and ends. 

The boys didn’t see any of it. In front of them, they had a perfect view of what was inside the giant ice pillar. 

One dragon surrounded by hundreds more. This one singular dragon was the size of the mountain the Great Hall was built into. Not the hall itself, the mountain . It was mostly white, and had a great mane of fins from its back. Two huge tusks protruded from its mouth, big enough to wipe out the village with one swipe. 

“I didn’t know dragons could get that big.” Stoick said, weakly. 

“Every dragon colony has its queen, but this is the king.” Valka said proudly. 

“Is this the guy causing the raids?” Hiccup asked, desperately hoping the answer was no.

“No.” 

Both Hiccup and Stoick breathed a sigh of relief. 

“The Bewilderbeast is a kind and benevolent alpha. But all dragons from a certain distance can hear his call, and come to worship him. It is likely how your dragons found this place.” She picked through her belongings, deciding what was worth taking with her. 

“But…something like this… is causing the raids?” Hiccup pried. 

“It is likely.” She bagged up some strange looking tools, only the gods knowing what they were for. “The night I was taken…” She paused and looked to the ceiling. “Cloudjumper had landed on our house. I went to protect you, Hiccup. You were just a babe. But what I saw instead…he was watching you with awe. I had expected a horrible sight, but I saw a kind and gentle creature. I don’t know why he took me. Perhaps to fulfill his task? But as we flew from Berk, he broke away from the rest, and continued north. He brought me here, and the alpha graciously let me stay.” 

Cloudjumper appeared from the other wall, blocking the sight of the alpha. Toothless appeared next to him, tongue lolling out. He seemed to be having a good time. 

“I can only guess that Cloudjumper is loyal to this alpha first, and whatever spell sent him to Berk…he broke from it before he could deliver me.” 

Stoick rested his hands on his waist and chastised the great dragon. “You could have at least brought her back, you know!” 

Cloudjumper just cocked his head, looking mildly offended. 

“It’s in the past now, love.” Valka stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. 

But was it really? That dragon, that other alpha, was still out there. A great tyrant. Was it the size of this alpha?

Or bigger?

Valka didn’t take much with her. Some things she had made from whatever she could find she would start to pack, and then Stoick reminded her gently, “Love, I can get you actual socks made of wool,” or “darling, Hiccup is a very talented blacksmith, I’m sure he could make you a better hammer than a rock tied to a stick.” In the end, she ended up taking some armor she had made from dragon hide, and a stack of journals she had made herself from homemade parchment and leather. As Hiccup held one for her, he studied it, seeing a few doodles in the margins. It gave him a strange feeling.

He and his father had been polar opposites. He could never see much of his dad in him, besides a few physical traits like his nose. 

He took after his mother. Knowing that gave him a sense of belonging. He wasn’t the only one of his kind. He wasn’t the odd one out anymore. 

Before leaving, Valka made a point to say goodbye to the alpha. She spoke to him like an equal. She introduced Hiccup and Stoick, letting the beast breathe a wisp of ice onto them. She explained that she was leaving for now, but may come back to visit. Then she kissed his scales and gave him a hug.

As much as one could hug a mountain. 

Stoick just stood amazed, enraptured that his wife could speak to such a creature. 

Then it was time to leave. 

“What’s this?” Valka’s voice came hard as she finally noticed Toothless’ tail. “A wound from the tribe?” She snarled. 

“Actually…that was…my doing?” Hiccup tensed up. “It’s kinda…how we met. I knocked him down, and when I went to finish the job…” He patted Toothless’ snout, feeling that old guilt bubble up. “I couldn’t do it. I cut him free, but he couldn’t fly. So I decided to study him. I made him a new tail, and learned how to fly with him. Dad and I made a deal then. I wouldn’t go into dragon training, if I worked in the forge and tried to find a way to end the raids.” 

“He did good, for a while,” Stoick rubbed Hiccup’s head. “Figured out the dragons don’t like eels–”

“Aye, reminds them of sea serpents,” Valka added, nodding like it was common knowledge.

Hiccup filed that tidbit away for later. 

“So we had vikings waving eels around during raids instead of weapons. Scared the beasts right off!”

Valka laughed. “That’s a funny thought.” 

Hiccup’s mouth pulled to a thin line as he admitted. “The eels are gone on migration, so the tribe is going to have to go back to weapons unless I can come up with something else…that’s why we went out. To see if we could find the nest and stop the raids.” 

The pieces to the puzzle seemed to click for her then. Where Berk was, what was going on… “how long ago did this happen?” 

“Ah…about a month or so before Snoggletog.” Hiccup mused. 

Valka looked surprised. “That’s been six months now? It took me three years to get Cloudjumper to let me ride him!” 

Hiccup tried not to feel too smug. 

“Well of course!” Stoick said, smug on his behalf. “He’s our son. So he’s a genius.” 

So they were just having a smug-fest, huh?

Valka smiled at both of them. “Let’s go home, my loves.”

The flight home was fascinating. While Hiccup may have trained the dragons faster, Valka still had several years of flying under her belt. She occasionally stood on Cloudjumper, but most of the time, she was climbing and jumping to sit behind Hiccup or Stoick. Like the height of a 400 foot fall didn’t scare her at all. 

Hiccup supposed that it really didn’t. Cloudjumper would catch her, he was certain. Like Toothless would catch him if he fell. 

Stormfly might catch Stoick with some prodding, but he didn’t want to test it.

“I never pictured you as a Nadder fan,” said Valka to her husband. “Not that I imagined you liking dragons in the first place. But if you were to appreciate one, I thought it’d be a Monstrous Nightmare.”  

“Aye. Those boys are mighty impressive. Too afraid he’d light me on fire though. No, this Nadder is–she belongs to Hiccup’s friend, Astrid. Our one other dragon lover.” 

“Astrid…Astrid…the Hofferson babe?”

“Oh she’s a babe, alright. Tell her, Hiccup!” Stoick laughed. 

“Not funny dad,” Hiccup droned. 

“Where’s the lass now?” Valka asked, missing the resentment in Hiccup’s tone. 

“She’s been busy. Her parents have her in cooking and sewing lessons. And this is all a secret, so she couldn’t get away.” 

“Oh, I see.” Valka nodded astutely. “You’re sixteen now, Hiccup? That’s marrying age…” She began to tease. 

“Yeah, and that’s my least favorite topic. If we could steer clear of it?”

The ride back was much more animated. Hiccup told his mother all about the things he had discovered about the dragons. Valka shared her own insight, her words occasionally being garbled together into nonsense. 

It quickly became apparent that she really truly hadn’t had anyone to talk to in years. Once she started talking, she went on and on, admitting things a bit too easily. Neither Stoick nor Hiccup minded, but Hiccup could picture a few judgmental vikings that would give her a hard time if they saw her now. 

Eventually, they arrived at the cove. 

“Oh, this is darling!” Valka cooed. She looked over the little shack with fondness. 

“It’ll be a little cramped, but since the weather is nice, Toothless won’t try to get in there with you.” 

“Oh we can share!” She said enthusiastically. She then spoke to Toothless, making nonsensical noises. He responded with a friendly warble, his mouth opening wide. “Retractable teeth!” She chirped, sticking head fully into Toothless’ mouth. “Amazing!” She pet his tongue. 

Stoick looked quite ill. 

While Valka was making herself at home, Stoick started up a fire to make dinner. “Now, all we need is some fish.”

On cue, Cloudjumper barfed up a dozen long dead fish. Toothless, wanting to be included, barfed up a half of one on Hiccup’s lap. 

“Oh…thanks buddy.” Hiccup patted his nose. 

“Good boy, Cloudjumper!” Valka praised, and talked to her dragon in that weird garbled language. Then she scooped up three of the slimy fish and took them over to the lake to wash the dragon saliva off. 

Stoick looked even more ill. “You know…I think I have some yak jerky stored in the shed…” 

The little family gathered around the fire and for the first time, ate together. Hiccup ended up trying his mother’s fish, which wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t good either, but at least it was cooked. 

They sat and talked past sunset, when the cove grew dark and the only light came from the fire and the half moon. 

When silence fell, and Toothless laid his head on Hiccup’s lap, Stoick started to whistle. 

Hiccup found it odd, as he rarely heard the man do so. 

Then he started to sing, and Valka gasped. 

“ I'll swim and sail on savage seas

With ne'er a fear of drowning

And gladly ride the waves of life

If you will marry me… ”

Valka gazed at him, eyes shimmering with tears. 

“No scorching sun

Nor freezing cold

Will stop me on my journey!

If you will promise me your heart

And love… ” He held the note for a second, hoping that she would finish it. 

And she did. “ And love me for eternity

My dearest one, my darling dear

Your mighty words astound me

But I've no need of mighty deeds

When I feel your arms around me. ” Valka stood, holding her hands out to Stoick, and they began to dance. A dance that Hiccup had seen at weddings before, but never experienced, obviously. 

“ But I would bring you rings of gold

I'd even sing you poetry

And I would keep you from all harm

If you would stay beside me. ”

Hiccup had never heard his father so full of joy. Genuine, down to the core joy. He got goosebumps the moment he realized it was because his wife was taken. His very joy had been snuffed out, and he hadn’t been this truly happy until she was back in his arms. 

“ I have no use for rings of gold

I care not for your poetry

I only want your hand to hold

I only want you near me. ”

Hiccup watched his parents; his long lost mother, and his emotionally distant father, as they danced and batted their eyes at each other like teenagers. Their love had never left. It was always there. After 15 years, it only took a glance, and they were the same as they had been.  

“ To love and kiss, to sweetly hold

For the dancing and the dreaming

Through all life's sorrows and delights

I'll keep your laugh inside me .”

A cold, hollow feeling swept through him. A very sad and lonely thought rattled in his mind, and interrupted the happiness he was feeling. 

‘You’ll never have this,’ the traitorous voice said. And it was true. In only a few months, Astrid would be married to Snotlout. Then what? Hope his father found a good match for him? And then be stuck on the same island as her and see her miserable everyday? No. He wanted what his parents had. This intense love that transcended time. He was desperate for it, even. When Hiccup had his worst days, he’d think back to the afternoon in the hayloft, when they kissed and held each other. Sure, the kissing had been amazing, but her touch was addicting. The embrace they shared, that was so much flesh against flesh, he craved it. It was an intimacy he had never had with anyone. A connection that gnawed on his soul. 

Much like his connection to Toothless, a friendship that went beyond the ability to speak…if he and Toothless had to separate, there wouldn’t be any other dragon to fill that hole. Likewise, there wouldn’t be another woman to take Astrid’s place. 

Maybe in a few years, it wouldn’t hurt so bad. 

“ I'll swim and sail on savage seas

With ne'er a fear of drowning

And gladly ride the waves of life

If you will marry me !”

Stoick and Valka laughed in each other’s arms once they finished their song. They giggled and kissed and muttered sweet nothings in warm tones. 

Hiccup was content to leave them in their bubble of love until Toothless let out a sad croon. 

Valka and Stoick looked at Toothless, and then at Hiccup. 

“Son?” Asked Stoick, concerned. “What's wrong?” 

“What? Nothing, nothing!” 

“You say that, but you got a waterfall on your face.” 

Hiccup wiped the slew of tears from his cheeks, hoping they had been invisible in the night. 

“Oh, my baby boy!” Valka cried. She rushed to him, and scooped him up to sit sideways in her lap. 

Hiccup went from desolate, to confused and embarrassed. Sure he was small, but he was still 16, almost an adult, and she was holding him like a toddler. He looked at his father. 

Stoick just gave a half hearted shrug and said, “just let her have this, son.” 

Hiccup chose to relax, and Valka took the opportunity to comb her fingers through his hair and kiss his temple. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Momma’s here.” 

Hiccup wiped his face again, making sure all those pesky tears were gone. “I’m fine, mom. Really. Just got emotional about you and dad.” 

“Ah,” said Stoick with a nod. “I know what this is about.” 

“It’s not anything! I was just—“ 

“Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III you are a terrible liar and you know it. This is about Astrid, isn’t it?” 

The use of his full name made him shut up. He just gave a little nod. 

“What happened?” Asked Valka. “Do I need to talk to her?” 

Hiccup sighed. “No. Astrid’s engaged to Snotlout.” 

“Snotlout? My nephew Snotlout?”

“Yeah.” 

“Well my boy, unrequited love can be hard.”

He shook his head. “It’s not that.” Then he spilled the truth, telling her all about how Astrid was there at the beginning, when everyone thought he was just a screw up. How she had studied the dragons during training, and in turn he had given her pointers to help in the ring. How she had gotten hurt from the Nightmare and everyone had cast her out, except for him. How they rebelled and freed the dragons from the arena. 

It was surprisingly easy to talk to her. 

“And then…she kissed me. I think she was happy that I did what I could to help her feel better. Ever since then, we had occasionally exchanged kisses in private. We didn’t want to tell anyone right away because we both knew contracts and marriage and babies would be brought up. I don’t know if she had any deep romantic feelings for me, or just…liked me more than the other boys.” He sighed. “But Spitelout and her father bet on her fight against the Nightmare. If she lost, she’d have to marry Snotlout. It’s all been arranged. He even admitted to noticing how close Astrid and I were and decided to act quickly so Snotlout could marry well. She didn’t get a word in.” He didn’t mention anything about the hayloft. That was his little secret with Astrid. Besides, a kiss was a kiss. That’s all that mattered for the sake of the story. 

“Well how do you like that!” Valka barked. “Why the little Hobblegrunt! I can’t believe he would pull this stunt! You know, your father and I were married first, even though Spitelout is older. My father kept trying to marry Spitelout off to other ladies but he refused every offer. He threw tantrums and ripped up every contract that was made. When he was 20, he brought Helga home and said he was finally ready to get married.” She shook her head. “He was seeing her the whole time. Dad could have arranged a contract for them, but Spitelout decided not to say anything. We all knew they liked each other too. Helga’s father said she wasn’t interested so dad never bothered.”

“Well, Snotlout likes her. I think that’s about it.” Hiccup shrugged. 

Stoick cleared his throat. “You know that’s not it, Hiccup.” 

“Dad, you’re not going to tattle, are you?”

“Tattle?” Valka chuckled. 

“Oh! I’ll tell the whole sorry truth! That lout brother of yours is doing this to slight us! Apparently, I didn’t protect you, so he’s been holding a grudge for 15 years! He saw a great opportunity to embarrass us, and took it!” 

“But I think Snotlout really does like Astrid, shallowly.” Hiccup added. “Two birds, one stone and all that.”

Valka scoffed with a little headshake. “Men can be so petty.”

“So…would you talk to him?” Hiccup asked, hesitating. 

“Oh my darling,” she hugged him closer. “I would. For you, I would do anything. But I don’t think it’s wise right now. If I suddenly reappeared, I’d have to explain where I’d been…there would be a lot of accusations of me being a traitor, and your father could get in trouble. Spitelout might even feel more betrayed and double down. No dearest, I can’t help you.” 

Hiccup sighed. “I was afraid you’d say that.” 

“I know!” She perked up, a wicked grin on her face. “You should fight Snotlout! Show who’s the better mate!” 

Hiccup chuckled weakly. “Except Snotlout would smear me across the arena floor. I’m the weak one here.” 

“Oh. Right…well then you’ll simply need to bed her!” 

Stoick choked while Hiccup froze, wide-eyed. 

“It’s quite simple! Once your scent is on her, it will deter any other potential mates!”

Stoick started laughing then. “My love, these are young people, not dragons. If Astrid sleeps with Hiccup while under contract, there would be outrage, scandal! Remember? That happened to the Ivarson lass.”

“Oh,” Valka blushed. “Of course. Perhaps I’m not the best person to ask for advice now, hmm?”

“At least it’s entertaining,” Hiccup chuckled, leaning on her shoulder. 

Suddenly, there was a sharp crack up above, like someone stepping on a stick. 

Stormfly perked up and gave a happy little squawk. 

Astrid appeared at the entrance, her axe cutting through the air like she had a grudge against breathing. “Stupid barbaric idiot! Who does he think he is, ‘3 foot massages a week’? Gah! Oh I’m massage his feet alright! With a hammer!” She then realized there was a fire going and she wasn’t alone like she thought she’d be. “Oh, you’re back…” But as she took in the sight, she realized Hiccup sat in the lap of a strange woman. “Uhhh…”

“I can explain.” 

Notes:

Bet y'all weren't expecting THAT HUH??

Hiccup be like:

 

 

Consider sending me a doodle?

Chapter 8: The Preparation

“Mom, Astrid. Astrid, Mom.” 

“M-Mom? You found your mom?!” Astrid stuttered. 

“Crazy, right?” Hiccup shrugged. 

“Oh honey, she’s beautiful!” Valka cooed, approaching Astrid like she was a wild animal. She delicately touched her hair. “Oh lass, I remember breastfeeding you as a babe!” 

Astrid’s face contorted in a grimace, not sure how to feel about that. 

“You’ll have to excuse her, lass. My wife has been alone among the dragons for the last fifteen years.” 

“What? What did I say?” 

Stoick spoke softly in her ear. 

“It’s perfectly natural!” Valka responded, louder. “Phlegma was ill, so I breastfed her for two weeks. Who fed Hiccup after I was taken?” 

Stoick sighed. “Phlegma.” 

“Hear that, Astrid?” Hiccup droned. “We’re bosom buddies.” 

She kicked him. “Don’t make it weird!” 

Hiccup hopped on one foot as he held his throbbing shin. “Yeah, I deserved that.” When the pain started to subside, he resumed his normal stance. “So, what made you come out here to escape?”

Astrid groaned. “I was on a…’date’ with Snotlout. If you could call it that. I swear, he is the most tone-deaf, egotistical, annoying sack of crap!” She looked ready to break something. “And you know the worst part? He has these moments, these little nuggets of decency, where he seems like he’d be a really good friend to have, and then it’s like he becomes self aware of it and switches into Snotlout the pig-faced creep!” She smacked her face and dragged her hands down her cheeks, stretching her eyelids. “It has to be his dad. If he could get away from Spitelout for a week. He might be able to become…an eighth of the man you are.” 

“Aw,” Hiccup said with a smile. 

“But enough about me ! You have a mom!”

“I have a mom!”

“Mom!”

“ Mom! ”

“Yes, yes, dear, I’m here.” Valka wrapped her arms around him and rested her cheek on his head. “And here I was afraid that leaving you with your father would turn you into a boorish meathead.” 

“Thank you for that, darling.” Stoick said, sarcastically. 

“Hey!” Hiccup chirped. “You used sarcasm! I must be rubbing off on you!” 

“Son, I flew out and back into this cove on a dragon, you don’t think you’re influencing me?”

“I’m dying here, Hiccup,” Astrid pried. “How did this happen? I assume you two didn’t find the nest.”

“We found a nest.” Hiccup then explained how they had traveled too far north and Toothless and Stormfly heard the call of the alpha. He described the island, the caverns, and his introduction to his mother. 

“And then he goes, ‘you’re as beautiful as the day I lost you’ and, I’ll admit, I almost cried.” 

“Aww!” Astrid sang, looking at Stoick. “I didn’t know you were such a romantic!”

“Well lass, didn’t have a reason to be so before.” 

Astrid’s heart broke a little. 

“It’s alright my love, I’m back now. Even if it takes years to find peace with the dragons, I’m still here on Berk. You can see me every day.” 

Stoick raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “What I wouldn’t give to wake up with you each day.” 

“Damn, your dad is so smooth.” Astrid whispered. 

“Kinda like me, ah?”

“No.” 

Hiccup then explained what else he had learned. That the dragons all had an alpha that controlled them, and likely, there was a queen nearby that was causing the raids. Things took a serious turn then, as they discussed what this meant. 

“How are we supposed to stop a dragon the size of a mountain?” Astrid asked. 

“Well…train it?” Hiccup suggested. 

Valka scoffed. “Train an alpha? No, darling.”

“But you were so friendly with the Bewilderbeast–”

“Because he was friendly to me first. That alpha is benevolent in nature, and isn’t threatened by anything. Certainly not little ole me. But also, and more importantly, he only eats fish. If he had an appetite for red meat, I wouldn’t be here.” 

“So, you think Berk’s queen likes red meat?” Astrid clarified. 

“That’s my working theory, based on what I’ve seen.” Valka’s mouth pulled into a frown. “I’d like to be more helpful, but the behavior of the alpha up north is so different from what I remember of Berk’s raids. Dragons, no matter how kind and intelligent, are still animals. They will be motivated by food. However, these raids may be for control, or something else. We won’t know until we observe.” 

“We can’t observe it until we find it,” Hiccup added.

Stoick hummed. “My love, didn’t you say the alpha up north has a call and all the dragons in a certain distance come to worship it?” 

“Yes!” Valka chirped. “If we get close enough to the queen, our dragons should be able to find it!”

“True,” Stoick amended. “But what is stopping our dragons from doing whatever that dragon wants? It’s making all these others raid us. Why wouldn’t it work on these three?” He gestured to Toothless, Stormfly, and Cloudjumper. 

Hiccup and Valka exchanged a look, both hoping the other had the answer. Neither did. 

“I suppose, I will go make some more observations with the north alpha,” suggested Valka. 

“But–” Stoick took her hand.

“In a few days,” she clarified. “I’ll stay here a bit longer. And then I’ll go back. Just for a little while. Now that I’m with you, it’s going to be hard to stay away.” 

Hiccup glanced at Astrid, who had her face turned toward the ground, a sour frown on her lips. 

“Yeah,” he whispered bitterly. “Hard to stay away.” 

—-

Hiccup was hard at work. Despite what Stoick had said about not having to work hard on Astrid and Snotlout’s house, Hiccup spent much of his day there. It got him out of normal work in the forge, which would have been making weapons for raids. 

The shell of the house had been completed. Soon, he and the other men would get to work building furniture. Though Hiccup had already built the bed. It had kind of been his own personal joke to see just how big he could make it. He stopped when it could comfortably fit a Monstrous Nightmare. 

But now, he was working on the shingles. Each one had been cut with a curve, so they looked like dragon scales. Once upon a time, the houses had been decorated to represent dragons, in an effort to protect them from destruction. It hadn’t worked, but the designs had remained. Astrid and Snotlout’s house would have a gable decoration carved to represent a nadder, though he hadn’t finished it yet. 

It was a warm spring day. The sky was blue with big billowing clouds. The wolfsbane and saxifrage were in full bloom. Children played in the streets, and men and women alike bustled about. 

Hiccup tried not to think about all of it, and instead, just work while his mind ruminated on the dragon problem. 

Perhaps giant earmuffs would work? How else would he get Toothless to block out the alpha’s call? 

He hadn’t heard from his mother in a week. She was still gone up north, on her newest journey. And all he could do was hope she found something. 

“Hey!” 

Hiccup stopped his hammer for a moment to look down to the ground. Snotlout stood there, looking awkward as ever. 

“Hey,” he offered back. 

“Need help?”

Hiccup blinked a few times in surprise. “Uh, sure, if you want. There’s another hammer down in that bucket.” He pointed.

Snotlout climbed the ladder to the roof and got to work, building his own house. 

It’s about time , Hiccup thought, bitterly. 

They worked silently for a little while, while Snotlout sighed. He sighed again. And then louder and more exaggerated. 

“Can I help you?” Hiccup bit. 

“Well…” Snotlout mused. “I was just thinking…you and Astrid are close, right?”

“I’d say so.”

“Well, since she and I are getting married, I figured, I should probably…you know…get along with her?”

“Things aren’t going so well, huh?” Hiccup held back a smirk. 

“It’s weird. She’ll come and find me, and she’s pleasant enough, and then she’ll get this look on her face like she got a whiff of yak dung, then she storms off. I don’t know what to do about it. I chalked it up to girls being weird, but I figured I’d at least ask someone who figured her weirdness out.” 

Hiccup rolled his eyes. “Well, there’s your first problem. Astrid isn’t weird. She’s very level-headed. She just doesn’t like people who boast. So if you want her to stick around you, try being humble.” 

“Hum-ball? What’s that?” 

“Gods above…okay, you know that thing you do when you talk about how awesome you are?”

“My favorite thing.”

“Don’t do that.” 

Snotlout scoffed. “Then how will she see how awesome I am?”

“She has eyes and ears. She can notice for herself.”

“Astrid’s eyes and ears obviously don’t work if she’s hanging out with you.” 

Hiccup rolled his eyes and felt the weight of the hammer in his hand a little too keenly. One expertly placed thwack would make Snotlout shut up. Yes… “Look, you asked me for advice, and I’m giving it to you. You don’t want to get along with your wife? Fine.” 

Snotlout ‘hmph’ed and crossed his arms over his chest. “I didn’t even want to get married. This is all my stupid dad’s fault.”

Hiccup set his hammer down, now intrigued. “You didn’t want to get married?”

“I mean, one day! And yeah, I figured it would be Astrid, because she’s the hottest and the best warrior…but then you guys had to get all buddy-buddy and made my dad panic.” He pouted. “If anything, it’s your fault!” 

“My–! Snotlout, I didn’t have any friends until Astrid came along! I still don’t really have friends! You, Fishlegs, and the Twins are acquaintances at best!” He crossed his own arms. “The Hoffersons are the ones that suggested Astrid be nice to me.” 

“Oh, so are you saying it’s their fault?”

“Your dad is the one that made the bet, so it’s all on him!” 

“Yeah, but Astrid lost the fight!” 

Hiccup wiped his hands down his face. “I get it now, Astrid.” He muttered to himself. 

“What was that?” 

“Here’s another tip. Astrid is always right. Even when she’s wrong, she’s right.” 

“That’s dumb advice.”

“Once you get close to her and better understand her, she’ll concede to being wrong on occasion. But right now, you have to treat her like everything she says is correct.”

“But–”

“Just, trust me.”

“I wouldn’t trust you with a plate of food.”

“You want me to booby trap your house?” 

Snotlout frowned, and then giggled. “You said booby.” 

“How am I related to you…?” Hiccup shook his head, and then got back to work shingling. “Love takes time and effort. If you really want her to like you, then you need to try.” 

“I am trying!”

“I don’t mean you need to tell her all the reasons that she should like you. I mean, you should attempt to love her.”

“I like her plenty!” 

“Even if she wasn’t beautiful? Even if she can't fight anymore?”  

Snotlout was quiet then, the rug pulled out underneath him. 

“What else do you like about Astrid?” Hiccup tried. 

Snotlout didn’t answer. 

“Try to find an answer to that question, and perhaps that will help.” 

Snotlout turned it around on him. “Okay, well, what do you like about Astrid?” 

“Me? Why does that matter?”

“I need a hint, Hiccup! Give me something to look for in her! Throw me a bone!” 

“Okay okay!” Hiccup gnawed on his lip, trying to find an answer that wouldn’t get him punched. “Astrid is very confident. She takes what she wants and doesn’t apologize for it, but that doesn’t mean she does it without thinking. In fact, she does what she thinks will help the people around her the best. She’s determined and passionate. She’s hardworking, and doesn’t back down from a challenge. She’s…very smart and clever. She’s kind, and can be very gentle.” 

“Oh I’m going to barf.” 

Hiccup frowned. “Just answering your question.” 

“Is she a good kisser?”

Hiccup’s face went bright red. “W-w-what makes you think I would know a thing like that?”

Snotlout gave him the most knowing smirk he’d ever seen. “Oh come on, Hiccup.” 

“No really! We’re just good friends!” 

Snotlout chuckled. “Unless you don’t know about that... ” 

“Know about what?”

“That you were walking around with a hickey on your neck after that blizzard last winter. It’s all anyone could talk about for a week!” 

“What?!” He clapped a hand over his neck, where Astrid had sucked on his throat. “I NEVER! I WOULDN’T–YOU’RE CRAZY!” 

“Wow, I forgot how terrible of a liar you are. So spit it out. Is she a good kisser? How far did you guys get? Give me all the juicy details!” 

Hiccup scrunched his nose up. “You’re worse than the ladies that gossip at the well.” 

“Mom makes me fetch the water. SPILL!” 

Now this was a place of power Hiccup had never been in before. He had dirt that Snotlout wanted. Dare he dangle it like a carrot? Barter? 

“She’s a terrible kisser,” he finally said.

“And that’s how you got a hickey?” Snotlout drawled. 

“Look at me, Snotlout. You think I could have thrown her off? We had gotten cold in the blizzard, and were cold. I suggested huddling for warmth, and she…took what she wanted, and didn’t apologize.” 

“Damn.”

“Yeah. She bites. Hard. And she has sharp nails. And she’s really into hearing sounds of pain, so she ground her knee into my groin.” 

Snotlout grew paler and paler with every word. 

“There was also talk about her getting rope and a whip, but I talked her out of that.” 

“Okay okay, I get it. Astrid is…a fighter through and through.” 

Hiccup shrugged. “I guess all I can do now is wish you luck. You’ll need it.” 

“Right.” Snotlout gave a defeated sigh. “Oh, almost forgot.” He tossed a bag of gold coins to Hiccup. 

“What’s this for?”

“Her wedding ring. Dad said you’d know how to make one.” 

“Oh…yep. S-sure do…” 

“Cool. Thanks!” And he started back down the ladder. 

“That’s it? You’re not going to keep helping?!”

“You’re doing great, Cuz. I wouldn’t want to get in the way. Ciao!” 

Hiccup yeeted the hammer into the distance.

—-

Later that week, when he had finally built up the nerve, Hiccup went over to the Hofferson house and knocked. 

“Well hello Hiccup,” Phlegma said, with a slightly sad smile on her face. Most people wouldn’t have noticed, but Hiccup was astute. 

“Hello Mrs. Hofferson. Is Astrid available?” 

“Yes!” She practically shouted. She hurried over, and Hiccup was startled by her appearance. She wasn’t wearing any armor, but a cream colored dress with a blue apron over it. The neckline of the dress gave him a funny feeling in the stomach. “Please tell me you have a huge errand you need my help with.”

“Astrid,” Phlegma reprimanded. “You’ve got to stop procrastinating on your dress!” She gestured to the pile of dainty blue fabric on the table. 

“I’ve pricked my finger so many times that once more, I’ll start a fountain and ruin the dress!” 

Phlegma scoffed. “Fine fine, just don’t stay out too late.” 

“Thanks!” And she left with him. “So, what’s up? I hope I’m not actually in the way of whatever you’re doing.”

“You won’t be in the way,” he assured, as he started walking towards the forge. “I just need to get your measurement for…your ring.” 

“Oh.” She deflated. “They’ve got you doing that now?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, if you make it, it’ll be all the more special.” 

“I can’t promise it’ll be fancy. I can do fine detail work, but it’s been for other things , not jewelry.”

“You know I’m not a fancy girl. Whatever you come up with, I’m sure it’ll be great.”  

“Well, that makes me all fuzzy inside. Thank you, Astrid.” He smirked. “Now, while I appreciate the total freedom, I would like some direction. What metal do you want? Gold or silver?”

“Just those options? I want something strong, but not crazy expensive on my finger that I’d feel guilty about.” 

He chuckled. “I had a feeling you were going to say that. I think I’ll experiment.” 

“Careful with that word around me, Haddock.” 

Hiccup sputtered. “I didn’t mean–!”

Astrid patted his back. “I’m just messing with you!” Gods, it was so nice to be around him again. He was so much nicer to talk to than Snotlout. Of course, she knew that, but knowing and experiencing were two different things. 

When they arrived at the forge, Gobber was putting things away, though the fires were still up. “There ya are, boy. Here to work on the ring?”

“Yep. Or at least try.”

“You know you just needed a bit of string, right? You didn’t need to bring Astrid here.”

Astrid groaned. “Oh but Gobber, you don’t understand! I’m dying at home! I just needed to get away from my mother!”

“You will in a few months, lass. I thought you’d be eager to stay with her.”

“I’m eager to pretend I didn’t hear that.” 

“I get it. I know when I’m not wanted!” He dramatically put his hand to his head. Then he gave Hiccup a poke in the chest. “Be good.” 

“As if I would do anything!” 

Gobber cackled as he meandered away. 

Gobber’s comment infused the air with a bit of awkwards as the two teens stood next to each other. “You…needed my measurements?” Astrid prompted.

“Oh…right. Go ahead and take a seat.” 

Astrid hopped up on a counter, as she always did when she visited the forge. Hiccup left and returned quickly with a ball of twine and a piece of charcoal. 

“It’s really very simple. I just have to wrap this around your finger, and mark it where it overlaps. Then you’re free to relax.” 

“Sounds simple enough.” She held up her left hand.

He took hold of her fingers. “Astrid! Your hands are freezing!” 

“My hands are always cold.” She shrugged. 

“Well, they have to be warm for me to measure, or it will be off.” He wrapped both of his hands around hers, and breathed on her hand. 

“Uh huh, sure.” 

“I’m serious! Your fingers shrink when you’re cold. Something about blood flow.” 

“Huh. I did not know that.” So she allowed him to hold her hand, pretending that she wasn’t enjoying his touch as much as she was. 

Then, when he deemed her hands warm enough, he wrapped the string around her finger. “Is this tight or loose enough?” 

“I think you’re pulling on it.” 

He relaxed the line a little. 

“That feels right.” 

“Good…good…” he marked the twine and let go of her hand. “And there we go!” He looked up to smile at her, noticing that he was too close. Her face was right there, her eyes drinking him in, that magnetic connection taking hold. He grew closer, his eyelids growing heavy. 

If he wasn’t imagining it, her eyes were on his lips, and she was leaning in. 

She was too beautiful. Her hair was braided perfectly, and the forge illuminated with a haunting orange glow. Without her pauldrons, her slim and feminine shoulders were all on display. As she leaned forward, her neckline dipped, exposing her perfect collarbone and the tantalizing swell of her breasts. 

Someone had to sacrifice. Someone had to stop this before it turned into something that would only bring them pain. More than it already was. 

Hiccup reached his hand up and pressed his thumb to her lips. “I…” 

“Thank you.” Astrid mumbled against his thumb, before pressing a little kiss to it and pulling away. “You always were the more level-headed one.”

“Astrid,” he swallowed, moisture collecting in his eyes. “I don’t want you to marry Snotlout.” 

“Surprisingly, I don’t want to marry him either.” She smirked. 

“I just wanted to say it, in case…” 

“In case I thought you were okay with it? No, Hiccup. I didn’t think you were.” 

“If you need anything–”

“You’re my number one man.” She confirmed with a nod. “Spitelout said hanging out with you wasn’t proper, but Snotlout said he didn’t care.”

Hiccup sighed then. If Snotlout was allowing their friendship, then perhaps things would be okay. “That’s good.” Now all he had to do was get over this crush he had on her.

Who was he kidding? Crush? No. He was undeniably in love with her, and would continue to be for years. 

Hiccup finally pulled away from her and went to the workbench. 

“You sure I can stay here? I won’t be a distraction?”

“You’re always welcome here, Astrid.” He said earnestly. She would be a distraction, but one he didn’t mind. 

—-

After 24 hours of work, Hiccup finished Astrid’s ring. It was one of his best works, and he was hesitant to give it to Snotlout early. So he kept it in his backroom, in the box, on his desk. Sort of as a reminder that he had to get over her. 

But it was becoming increasingly difficult to do so. Especially when she was becoming more and more beautiful everyday. The lack of axe and armor did nothing to soften her edge. She appeared as brutal as always, but when they would end up alone together, she would relax, and almost appear delicate. Where everything else on this island threatened to hurt him if he wasn’t careful, Astrid always made herself a safe place. 

He couldn’t indulge. But he was ever so grateful for her consideration. 

It was mid-afternoon. Valka was back and Hiccup and Stoick had taken respective breaks from work to go eat lunch with her in the woods. 

“Oh, Ingerman’s chicken soup! I haven’t had that in years!” Valka gushed, as she recognized the dish from just the smell. 

“Did you eat anything that wasn’t regurgitated fish?” Hiccup asked, with a chuckle.

“Of course! There was fresh fish, and regurgitated chicken! And lots of wild fruit.” 

“Okay okay, not while we’re eating.” Stoick reprimanded. “Or I’ll regurgitate this soup.” 

Hiccup elected to change the subject. “So…any new thoughts on the alpha?”

“I am afraid not, my love.” Valka sighed. “I spent much time observing my alpha, but he never sent any commands. The other dragons seem to come and go as they please. What's more, I haven’t seen another Nightfury. Not in all the years I spent there. Deadly Nadders and Storm Cutters, yes, but no Nightfuries. I don’t know how they react to alphas.”

“We’ve been catching eels again,” said Hiccup. “They’ve been working well since Spring. That should give us some time.” 

“Hiccup…” Stoick began to reprimand.

“Dad, I know what you’re going to say. But this is all I have right now! We have to find a way to stop that Alpha, wherever it is, or else the raids will just keep happening.” He stirred his soup around in thought. “Maybe Toothless and I should go out looking for this thing. If the northern alpha is peaceful, we might never get the information we need from it.”

“Absolutely not! I’m not letting you get anywhere near that nest by yourself, let alone without a solid plan. No, we will take another fleet by ship.” 

“ That’s a worse idea! ” Valka and Hiccup said at the same time. 

“Is…this a bad time?” Astrid piped up from the entrance of the cove. 

Stoick relaxed. “No lass, come and join us.” 

Hiccup scooted over to make room for her on the log he was sitting on. She had brought her own lunch to eat with them, as well as some chicken for Stormfly. “Here girl,” she tossed the leg to her dragon. 

Stormfly swallowed it with a gulp and sang a happy song.

“And this is for you, Mrs. Haddock,” she handed her a triangle wrapped in wax paper. 

“Mrs. Haddock, that’s a name I haven’t heard in forever!” She laughed as she took the gift and unwrapped it. “Oh dear, is this your mother’s kringle cake?”

“Yep! She off handly mentioned that you used to love it. So I stole a slice for you.” 

Valka tore into it messily, the way she ate most days. “Better than I remember!” She sang. 

“That was very kind of you, lass.” Stoick smiled at her with a gleam in his eye. 

“It was no trouble! Actually…I came asking for a favor.” 

“Whatever you need,” Hiccup assured. 

“So, I’ve been eating dinner with the Jorgenson’s a lot. Spitelout can be…a bit daunting.” 

“What did he do?” Valka asked lowly. 

“Well, nothing too bad. He’s just been going on and on about how our wedding is going to be the event of the year and that everything is going to be perfect…” She frowned. “He gave me this look a few times that seemed to indicate if I messed anything up, I’d regret it. So I was hoping you could lead me through the ceremony a few times until I have it down?” She looked at Hiccup.

“Me? Why me?” 

“Son…you’re the one officiating, remember?” Stoick reminded.

“Oh! Oh no! I totally forgot!” He stood quickly, startling Toothless, who laid at his feet. “Dad! I haven’t practiced or prepared at all! The wedding is in a month! Spitelout is going to kill me!” 

Valka chuckled to herself.

“Now son, don’t panic. You have a month.” Stoick sighed. “I don’t blame you for getting distracted. Your uncle has had you doing almost everything for this wedding.” Then he muttered something that sounded like, “the asshole,” under his breath. “Why don’t you and Astrid go up to Gothi’s and rehearse up there?”

Hiccup was about to ask why his father couldn’t just teach them, but figured he was fishing for an excuse to spend some alone time with his wife. 

“She taught me, afterall.” 

“Okay. Yeah, that’s a great idea, dad.”

“Don’t forget to have Gobber or Fishlegs go with you to interpret her writing. I heard Fishlegs has a real knack for it.” 

“Then while he’s there, he can teach me too.” Hiccup chuckled. “Can you get away for a little while?” He asked Astrid.

“Oh please, you know I’m always looking for an excuse to get out of housework. Besides, it’s wedding practice. Mom can’t argue with it.” 

“Then let’s go find Fishlegs.”

Chapter 9: The Oops

Notes:

Reminder, I’m not being historically accurate with wedding traditions in this fic. I’m only mentioning that because we get into the meat of ceremonies in this chapter. 

“Why don’t you go tell your mom where you’re going to be while I pop into the forge?” Hiccup asked. 

“I suppose I should. Where’s Fishlegs?”

“I think he’s down at the arena with the others. They’re practicing with each other since no new dragons have been caught.” 

“Oh no, how did the old dragons get out in the first place?” She giggled at their little inside joke. 

“Whoever freed them must be horribly attractive.” Hiccup feigned drama. 

She snickered, and gave him an affectionate punch to the shoulder. “I’ll meet you at the arena.” 

He nodded as they separated.

“Hey Gobber,” Hiccup greeted as he entered the forge. 

“Back from lunch? I got an order for a new plow from Mildew!” 

“No can do, boss. Astrid and I are going up to Gothi’s for wedding practice.” 

“Need a translator?” He asked a bit too eagerly. 

“We were actually going to ask Fishlegs.” 

Gobber looked disappointed, but not offended. “Aye. That boy has a good intuition with Gothi’s drawings. I’m liable to say something wrong and get whacked. Have fun with your rehearsal!” 

“I’ll try…” Hiccup mumbled as he went into his workshop. All he had to do was grab her ring, and then it was off to the arena. 

As luck would have it, Astrid came out of her house just as he was passing by. 

“Was Gobber bummed that we didn’t need him?”

“I think he was happy to not get reprimanded by Gothi.” He chuckled. “I also had to grab your ring. Do you want to see it now? Or keep it a surprise?”

“Oh I want to see it!” She said, eagerly. 

Hiccup smirked as he handed her the little box. 

Astrid knew that whatever Hiccup made, it would be perfect for her. But she hadn’t anticipated how ‘perfect’ it truly was. The ring was a pale golden color, with two circular black stones on the outside and three oblong blue stones making a fan shape in the center. It was simple, but elegant. 

“It’s steel, brazen with gold for color, but that way it’s nice and stable.” 

“Where did you get the stones?” 

“They’re actually dragon scales. The black are from Toothless, and the blue from Stormfly. I figured…if you ever had a bad day, you could just look down at your hand and all three of your friends would be there.” He smiled as she examined the ring. He expected a compliment, or maybe even a hug, but he didn’t expect her to look up from his masterpiece with a quivering lip and eyes filling up with tears. 

“Astrid…” 

Then she started crying in earnest. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks as she fought to wipe them away. She hated showing weakness, and that’s what she considered crying to be. 

“Come here,” he took her hand and led them into a narrow alley between two houses. Then he pulled her into a hug, a hand gently rubbing her back. “I’m sorry Astrid. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” 

“You didn’t,” she sobbed. 

“But—“ 

“Hiccup, I’m upset because I wanted it to be you! You showed me so much kindness and understanding…your world was more than fighting and killing. You gave me Stormfly, and so many great memories. I thought, surely one day, when the time came, I’d get to marry you. It would be fun! It would be like—like the hayloft. Except everyday with no consequences! We would be able to sit up together at night and joke and laugh! I know there’s more to marriage than that, but I told myself, if I had to get married, then that’s what I wanted. I actually changed my mind! I didn’t want to get married at all! Ever!” She fell on his shoulder, still weeping. 

Mourning. 

“And this is just a reminder of what I don’t get to have. A husband that knows me better than I know myself.”

Hiccup squeezed her tightly, and confessed quietly, “I wanted to marry you someday too.” 

—-

When Astrid had enough, she straightened up, wiped her face, and bravely asked, “how do I look?” 

“Like a hot mess.” 

She determined that was good enough, and together, they went down to the arena to find Fishlegs.

Since there were no dragons to train with, thanks to Hiccup and Astrid and also the eels, the teens in training were forced to train with each other. Ruffnut and Fishlegs were sparring, and Snotlout and Tuffnut were wrestling. 

Hold on. That’s not accurate. 

Ruffnut was bashing a mace against a shield Fishlegs was holding in terror, and Snotlout was tying Tuffnut into a pretzel. 

“You kids having fun?” Astrid smirked from above. 

“Yeah!” Cried Ruffnut. 

“No!” Cried Fishlegs. 

“You here to spar? I need a partner that’s not totally lame,” said Snotlout. 

“Hey! I’m not lame! I’m just practicing the art of water. Just flow with the movement. Direct the energy through you.” 

Snotlout cranked his arm over. 

“Oh I’m hurt! I am very much hurt!” 

“We came to borrow Fishlegs,” Astrid said, unbothered. 

“Oh thank Thor!” Fishlegs threw the shield at Ruffnut and ran out of the arena.

“What do you need Fishface for?” Snotlout asked, still pinning a screaming Tuff. 

Hiccup explained, “We’re going to Gothi’s to practice the wedding ceremony.” Then he added begrudgingly, “you should come too, Snotlout.” 

Snotlout scoffed. “I don’t have to think about that crap for another month. I’d just as soon stay here and kick ass, if it’s all the same to you.”

Ruffnut took the momentary distraction to tackle Snotlout to the floor and free Tuffnut. 

“Suit yourself,” Hiccup shrugged. 

Fishlegs joined them up top, almost looking giddy. “Ohhh! This is so exciting!” He pranced as they started towards Gothi’s. “Aren’t you excited, Astrid?”

“To be eternally bound to the dumbest asshole on this island? I’m ecstatic.” 

“Well…when you say it like that…” 

“You’re good at interpreting Gothi’s drawings, right?” Hiccup asked.

“Better than I thought I’d be. Since my mom’s one of the healers, she wanted me to train with her and Gothi. I picked it up really fast.”

“Well, it’s always good to have a back up plan in case the whole dragon slaying deal doesn’t work out.” Astrid said, a sour note to her tone. 

Fishlegs winced, but then proceeded. “I didn’t really want to fight dragons. I read the manual like 27 times, and once you memorize all the ways dragons can kill you…it kind of removes the desire to be anywhere near them.”

Hiccup and Astrid nodded at that, feeling differently, but appreciating what he meant. 

“Oh! Is that your ring?” He pointed at the little box Astrid was holding. “Can I see?”

“Sure. Hiccup did a great job.” 

Fishlegs held it up in the sunlight, “Oh wow, Hiccup, this is amazing…it’s kind of like you’re good at everything except killing dragons.” 

Hiccup chuckled, “thank you for summing that up.”

“These blue scales are from a Nadder, right? Where’d you get the black ones?”

Hiccup was surprised he knew they were dragon scales, but it was Fishlegs. “I found them in the woods. Not sure what dragon they belong to. I’d like to think it’s a Nightfury.” 

Fishlegs examined it closer. “You know, it could be! There aren’t a lot of black dragons. Nightfury’s are camouflaged at night, so they could be all black!”

If only he knew. Hopefully someday soon, they could introduce the dragons to the village, and they could all have warm relationships and fly. That was the dream.

Soon enough, they climbed the mountain to Gothi’s and knocked on her door. 

The old woman gave them an appraising glare as she opened the door. 

“Hi Gothi,” Hiccup began. “We’re here to—”

She held a hand up to silence him, and then wrote in the sand that covered the floor of her hut. 

“Oh, already!” Fishlegs peered over Hiccup’s shoulder and interpreted the squiggles. “She says she knows why we’re here.” 

“Oh. Okay. My father must have talked to her, then.” 

Gothi gestured them inside and wandered around, collecting supplies. She gave Fishlegs instructions to move a pedestal over to an open area in the room. Then she drew a circle on the floor. 

“She says, stand in the middle of the circle, facing each other, and join hands. Astrid on the right, Hiccup on the left.”

“Shouldn’t I be–?” 

Gothi shook her staff at him, threateningly. 

“Okay, okay!” He took his spot. “Guess we’re running through a mock ceremony?” He asked Astrid, quietly.  

She shrugged, but didn’t speak, afraid of getting hit. She held out her hands, and he took them, his palms up, like he had seen only a couple of times. 

Gothi brought over a tray with a bowl and a long strip of fabric, while Fishlegs lit the circle of candles around Hiccup and Astrid.   

“Do you have the rings?” 

Astrid nodded and took hers out of its box. 

“I didn’t know I was—” 

Gothi rolled her eyes and went to her dresser. There was a small chest filled with jewelry, and she picked out three or four rings to have Hiccup try on. The second, a plain silver band, fit, so she pocketed the rest. 

“Give each other the rings,” Fishlegs instructed. 

They did so, and then retook each other’s hands. 

Gothi gave a short sigh, and seemed a lot more pleasant now. She reached up and pushed both of their bangs out of the way, then dipped her fingers into the bowl on the pedestal, and smeared what looked like blood on both of their foreheads. 

“Is this…real blood?” 

WHACK. 

“Okay okay! I’ll stop talking!” 

“Now you will place the rings on each other’s hands. Hiccup, you go first.” 

Hiccup gave Astrid a little smile as he slid the ring onto her dainty finger. Once in place, she did the same, her hands shaking. It was kind of cruel to have them mock this out when it would be someone else in a month. But they needed the practice…at least, that’s what they kept telling themselves.

Once they both had the rings, they retook each other’s hands.

Gothi then wrapped the thin cloth around their hands and wrists. 

“The cloth is wrapped 9 times, to represent the marriage transcending all 9 realms.” 

Hiccup nodded heavily. 

Then Gothi wrapped a red cord around their hands and tied a double knot. 

“She says you can practice this knot on a tree or chair later, Hiccup. It’s not hard or complicated.” 

 Hiccup again nodded. 

“Now it’s time for vows. Hiccup, you go first.” 

“Uh…”

WHACK.

“She says, you will prompt the couple with the call and response of the following: Beloved, I seek to know of you, and ask of the Gods and Goddesses that I be given the wisdom to see you as you are, and love you as a Mystery.”

Hiccup took a deep breath and repeated Fishlegs.

 

I will take joy in you,

I delight in the love of you.

You are to me the whispering of the tides,

The seduction of summer’s heat.

 

You are my friend,

My lover,

Grow old and wise with me,

As I will do with you!

A life before us of rainbows and sunsets,

And a willingness to share in happiness and in sadness.

 

“I love you.” Prompted Fishlegs.

“I-I-I love you…”

“I adore you.”

“I adore you.” 

Then it was Astrid’s turn to recite the vows, and she did it effortlessly, as she did most things. A sad smile crept over her face, though Hiccup couldn’t guess what it meant. 

Gothi scratched the next part into the floor, and Fishlegs dutifully interpreted, too focused on the job to realize what was happening. “Hiccup Horrendous Haddock, do you take your chosen and beloved mate, Astrid Hofferson, to be your lawfully wedded companion, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part? Will you keep your love and trust, caring for and cherishing your beloved:

Will you keep the promise of this rite?”

“Yes?” Hiccup asked, more as a question. Why was his name being used? He’d been whacked enough times today to just trust Gothi’s methods. 

“Astrid Hofferson, do you take your chosen and beloved mate, Hiccup Haddock, to be your lawfully wedded companion, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part? Will you keep your love and trust, caring for and cherishing your beloved:

Will you keep the promise of this rite?”

“I will.” Astrid smiled. 

“You have declared your consent before your Gods and Goddesses within this holy circle. May our Mother Goddess Frigga strengthen your consent and fill you both with her blessings. By the witness of our Gods, Goddesses, and ancestors are these sacred vows made manifest. I hereby pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

“Oh, well that’s a lot to remember to say. Do you have it written down somewhere?” Hiccup asked. 

WHACK.

“Ow! What did I do?! I thought we were done!” 

Gothi circled a squiggle and pointed at Astrid. 

“What’s she saying?”

Fishlegs blushed. “She wants you to kiss Astrid.” 

“What? Why?”

Gothi looked at him wide-eyed and perplexed. Then she frantically scribbled in the sand. 

As Fishlegs watched, he went wide-eyed and pale. “Uh Hiccup…you guys said you were coming here to practice, right?”

“Yeah?”

“She thought you were coming to elope…she married you. For real.” 

Hiccup suddenly felt very light headed as he looked down to the wrappings over their hands, and then to Astrid. She was trying and failing to suppress a smile, like she was amused rather than surprised. He rounded on Gothi. “Astrid’s engaged to Snotlout! Why would you think we wanted to elope?!”

“She says everyone saw the hickey on your neck last winter after that blizzard.” 

Hiccup blushed several shades of red, before looking back at his bride. His bride! “Astrid, I am so so sorry! I had no idea she would–I thought–you know I wasn’t trying to–!”

“Hiccup,” Astrid said softly, squeezing his hands. “It’s okay. It’s really okay. I wasn’t thrilled about getting married, but I resigned myself to it. So I was ready to marry, and anticipating it. This is…a preferable outcome.” 

“I—My dad is going to kill me. He gave me this responsibility and I—no, forget my dad! Spitelout is going to actually murder me! Do you know how much money he paid me for all that stuff!?”

“Then pay him back? You didn’t spend everything did you?”

“I had to buy materials! Gah! Gothi! You have to undo this!”

WHACK.

Fishlegs read, “You made a sacred oath in front of the Gods. I will not annul this marriage.” 

Then Gothi smiled as she wrote something else, almost as an afterthought.

“She says you guys make a better match anyway.” 

“I’m dead. I’m so dead!” Hiccup tried to pull away, but his wrist was still tied. “Please help?”

Gothi soundlessly laughed as she untied them.  

“Well, thanks for all that…I guess. I suppose we have to go face the music…” Hiccup imagined all the yelling and threats of bodily harm he was about to receive. Spitelout might actually try to kill him. Maybe they should tell Stoick and Axel first and have them present for Spitelout.

Gothi shook her head, and pointed at Astrid.

“She still wants you to kiss…” Fishlegs blushed. “And she said, ‘make it good.’”

“What’s that supposed to—”

Astrid hooked her ankle around his knee, making him lose his balance and start to fall backwards, but she caught him around the waist and dipped him, presenting a searing kiss to his lips. 

Then, a moment later, he was righted, and she dusted him off. “Good enough for you?” Astrid asked Gothi.

The old woman and Fishlegs both clapped for them. 

Winded and star struck, Hiccup wobbled towards the door. “At least I will have fond memories before I die…” 

Astrid was a few steps behind him, and once they were outside, she started giggling. 

“What’s got you so happy?” Hiccup asked, still pale and hopped up on adrenaline.

“I don’t have to marry Snotlout! No more dinners with the Jorgensons! No more forcing myself to be nice to him! And I get to move out of my parents house! I get to live with my best friend!” She stood up a little straighter. “And one day, I will be chieftess! Not too bad a catch, if I do say so.” She reached over to take his hand, but he pulled away from her. “Hiccup?”

He just looked at her, trying to find words, but was too gripped with dread. 

“Just a few hours ago, you said you wanted to marry me…unless you were just saying that to make me feel better?”

“No!” He did take her hand then, holding it tightly in both of his. “Astrid…I didn’t lie. I did, do, want to marry–I guess be married to you. I’m sure tomorrow I’ll be singing and dancing, but right now…I feel like I cheated. I didn’t do anything to deserve to marry you. I didn’t make a contract with your dad…”

“But you made all the weapons for the bride price. You built me a house, you made me a ring. And you went to rehearsal with me. If you had been able to ask my dad for my hand, he would have given you permission in a heartbeat. You didn’t need to trick him to win me in a bet. If anything, Hiccup, you did more to deserve me than anyone.” 

Hiccup let out a shuddering sigh. “That makes a lot of sense, thank you.” 

“So you’re not going to try to get rid of me again, right?”

He chuckled helplessly. “No, dear.” 

“Then let’s go tell our parents and Spitelout. I’ll be right here with you.” 

“And so will I,” said Fishlegs, sneaking up behind them. 

“Gah! Fishlegs! How long have you been there?” 

“...You don’t want to know. But I’ll come along with you to explain what I saw.”

That eased the dread even more. “That will be a big help, Fishlegs. Why don’t you go ahead into town? I think my dad might be in his secret meditation spot in the woods. He doesn’t want anyone to be able to find him when he needs a break.” 

“I can respect that! I have several secret meditation places on the island. We can tradesies!” 

“Later, Fishlegs.” 

“Oh right! I’ll go wait in the forge!” And they split up. 

As they made their way back to the cove, Hiccup imagined all the words his father had to say. He gnawed on his lip. What would this turn into? Hiccup certainly didn’t have the money to pay Spitelout back for those materials. He didn’t think his father had that just ready to go, either. This was a nightmare!

As he spiraled, Astrid’s warm hand connected with his, and she twined their fingers together. 

He looked at her. 

“I get that you’re nervous, and I know why, but I’d like to hold my husband’s hand, if that’s alright.” 

Wow. Husband. What a thought! 

“Okay,” he said, dreamily. 

When they arrived at the cove they saw Valka sitting by the shack with a sewing project. Stoick had left. 

“Did Dad go back?” Hiccup asked, stating the obvious. 

“Oh a little while ago. How did rehearsal go?” 

“Depends on how you look at it…” he hesitated. “Astrid thinks it went really well. I think it was a disaster.” 

“My my! What happened?” 

This would be his litmus test. His mother probably wouldn’t react too badly to the news, being that she’d been removed from humans for so long. 

“Well, mom…meet the wife.” And he gestured to Astrid. 

“Wife? Your wife?!” 

“Yeah…Gothi thought we came to elope, I thought she was doing a mock ceremony…” he rubbed his face. “Oh this is so messed up!” 

Valka burst into laughter. Hard, loud, unrestrained laughter. She fell backwards off her seat, and still kept laughing. 

Hiccup worried if his mother had actually gone insane. Considering what she had been through, it was only a matter of time. 

“I’m-I’m sorry, my love!” She kept laughing, and slowly pulled herself off the ground. “It’s just–you and your father were both telling me how you’ve had…a bit of an unlucky streak with the village. And now this!” 

“Yep. We all know that the gods hate me.” 

“Oh honey…” she cooed. She stood and went to him, petting the hair from his face and wiping the blood from his forehead. “It’s not all bad. Astrid’s your good friend, afterall.” 

“I’m thrilled about that part! I just don’t think I’m going to live long enough to enjoy it.” 

Valka chuckled warmly, pulling him into a hug. “My little boy is a man! When you have the real ceremony, make sure it’s after peace comes, so I can be there, okay?”

“Can you not hear me? I’m. Going. To. Die!” 

“You have your father’s dramatics. Have you told anyone else yet?”

“Not yet,” said Astrid. “We were looking for Stoick. But I’m glad you’re first to know.” 

Valka went and gave Astrid a hug. “It makes me feel like I’m part of the community. Even though it was an accident, I’m happy for you two.”

“Well, if it all goes tits up, then I guess we can go live in your little ice palace,” Hiccup breathed. 

Astrid chuckled then, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Alright look, bum arm or no, I’m not going to let Spitelout kill you, okay? Just relax. It’s going to be awkward, but we’ll be okay.” She took his hands and held them. “We are going to be okay, right?”

Hiccup nodded then, feeling slightly guilty for not being happy like she was. 

Toothless noodled his way between them then, as if asking why they weren’t pampering him. Of course, they showered him with love and scritches. 

—--

Once they returned to the village, they started looking around for Stoick. 

“Pst!” Gobber called from the forge, a big grin on his face. 

“Oh boy. I bet Fishlegs squealed.” Astrid chuckled as they went to the forge.

Once they crossed the threshold, both Hiccup and Astrid were scooped into a big bear hug. “OH LAD I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU!” 

“Had…what…exactly…?” Hiccup grit out from his squashed lungs. 

Gobber set them down. “A loophole! I knew you were determined to get Astrid out of this loveless marriage crock! And you did! Good on ya!” 

Hiccup looked over to Fishlegs. “You didn’t tell him it was an accident?”

“I did! I mean–I wasn’t going to tell him anything! But then he started grilling me and…you know I don’t work well under pressure!”

“I mean, I figured you’d end up telling Gobber. By the end of the day, I’m sure everyone will know. But Gobber, it really was an accident.”

“Sure, lad.” 

“I swear! We went for practice! We even invited Snotlout to help, but—”

“I know, I know. Fishlegs gave me every single detail. So…when Gothi asked you for your vows? And asked if you would take Astrid as your wife, you didn’t think to question it?”

“Well…she kept hitting me…” 

“And now you’re married!” Gobber guffawed. “That’s rich! I’m happy for ya lad. I’ll give ya the next two weeks off for the honeymoon too!” 

Hiccup blushed as he just hid his face in his hands. “I can’t believe this.” 

“Come on, babe,” Astrid nudged him. “We still have parents to talk to.” 

“Oooo babe!” Gobber sang. “They already started with the pet names!” 

Hiccup just stuck his tongue out at him as they exited the forge. 

—-

When they found Stoick, he was surrounded by multiple vikings, and seemed to be in the middle of settling an argument. 

“Let’s go tell my folks first,” suggested Astrid. “I don’t think your dad will take it well right now.” 

“Agreed.” 

So they went to the Hofferson household. Axel would still be at work, but Phlegma was home. When they entered, Phlegma had Astrid’s wedding dress on a dress form, attempting to fix the stitching that Astrid had butchered. 

Phlegma looked up to them to greet them, and then frowned. “You eloped.” 

Hiccup sputtered. “H-h-h-how did you–?”

“Mothers know these kinds of things.”

Hiccup held back the retort ‘my mom didn’t’. 

“You also still have blood on your foreheads.” 

Hiccup and Astrid were quick to try and rub it off.

“Well, I suppose you won’t be needing this dress then. Honestly, Astrid. There were other ways to get out of sewing!” 

Astrid laughed. “Mom! I didn’t do it on purpose!”

“We really did go for practice, but Gothi thought we were eloping…it’s kind of a mess.” Hiccup rubbed the back of his head. 

“And don’t get rid of the dress, mom. We’d like to have a proper ceremony later, so I’ll wear it then.” 

That seemed to flip Phlegma’s attitude as she ran to them with tears of joy and laughter. “My babies! All grown up!” 

Yeah, that felt more appropriate.

They stayed and talked for about an hour, relaying the events as they happened. Then Phlegma turned her attention to packing up Astrid’s belongings. 

“You don’t need to pack everything. I’ll be back.” 

“Oh but I need to make sure you have anything you need for tonight at least! It’s your wedding night!” 

While they both turned red in the face, Hiccup did have other concerns. Would he be allowed to live in that home he built? Spitelout had commissioned it for Astrid AND Snotlout. Perhaps his father could help figure that one out. 

As they left the Hofferson house in search for Axel, Hiccup took Astrid’s hand. “Hey, uh…your mom made a good point. Tonight will be our wedding night. If you don’t want to… you know …we don’t have to. I’ll just say…I’m willing to do whatever, and follow your lead.” 

She smiled at him then, a tinge of pink on her cheeks. She took on that delicate nature then, that was reserved for him. She leaned close to his ear and whispered, “don’t worry, we’ll have fun.” 

Goosebumps broke out over his arms and neck as Astrid pulled him away to find her dad.

—-

Axel Hofferson worked at the lumber mill, on the river at the edge of the village. He was no Stoick the Vast, but the man was huge from lifting tree trunks onto the mill. 

He locked the blade when they arrived. “Hey kids! Need more wood for the house, Hiccup?” Because that was the reason Hiccup had come here so often in the past. 

“I got this,” Astrid told Hiccup. She strutted right up to her father, swallowed, and said crisply. “Dad, Hiccup and I just got married.”

The pleasant customer service smile slowly slipped off of his face. “Pardon?”

“We went up to Gothi’s to practice the ceremony, but she assumed we wanted to elope. So, now we’re married.” 

Hiccup was prepared for yelling. But he was not prepared for Axel’s screaming. A raw, primal scream, directed upwards towards the gods. He screamed once, for about 10 seconds, and then again, for about 20. 

“What in Odin’s eye patch is going on over here, Axel?” Another worker, Olav, hurried over with an axe in hand. He calmed slightly when he saw the kids. “Oh Hiccup. What did you do?” 

“MARRIED!” Axel screamed.

“Who? You two?” Olav pointed at Hiccup and Astrid. “That’s nice. But wasn’t she engaged to Spitelout’s boy?” 

“It was an accident.” 

“ACCIDENT!” Axel shouted again. He was red in the face and visibly shaking. 

“Dad…maybe you should sit down?”

Instead, he scooped them both up into a hug, one in each arm, and started weeping. 

“My ribs…will be so bruised…by the end of…the day!” Hiccup wheezed.

After a long while, Axel set them both down. “My beautiful children! This is what I wanted! Astrid couldn’t do better!” 

“Dad,” Astrid rolled her eyes. 

“I mean it! Sure, you’re a little rough around the edges, but you’re only 16! So much room to grow!”

“Gee…thanks, Mr. Hofferson.” 

“Call me dad!” Axel beamed. “Oh I can’t wait to see the look on Spitelout’s face when he hears about this! That’ll teach him to trick me into that stupid bet!” 

“Trick?” Asked Astrid. 

“More or less,” Axel sighed. He pressed a kiss to Astrid’s hair. “I had been celebrating your upcoming battle with the Nightmare at the Great Hall. I had my fill of mead, but Spitelout kept giving me mugs. You know how he is. Telling me to relax, telling me I was being a killjoy…once I was pretty sloshed, he bet me on the fight. You know the rest.”

“Wait,” asked Hiccup. “Do you actually remember making the bet?”

“Yes, I do. And I say trick, but I should have known better…” Then he smiled again and tugged them to his sides. “But it doesn’t matter anymore! You two are going to be so happy!” He kissed Astrid and gave Hiccup a warm squeeze. “I’ll have to return all those weapons though, shame about that. They were beautiful.”

“Oh, uh, I think you can probably keep them. I made them. I’ll just refund Spitelout.” 

“You made them? I thought Gobber did.” 

“Nope. Spitelout specifically wanted me to make them.”

“He made my ring too!” Astrid held her hand up for him to see. 

‘Oh, that’s lovely, lass. Many a woman would kill for a piece that pretty.” 

Astrid beamed. 

“And the house…” Axel mused. “You built that too, of course.”

Hiccup nodded. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I built it, yes, but it’s on Spitelout’s property.” 

“You could always move it.” Axel smirked. 

“Move it? You can do that?” 

“Sure! That would really twist the knife, wouldn’t it? Spitelout thinks he can force his nephew into building his son’s house and then keep it when the marriage falls through? All he ends up with is an empty plot with a basement!” 

“The basement is all that Snotlout wanted, anyways.” Said Astrid. 

“So tell me, how does one get married by accident, anyways?” 

So Astrid and Hiccup took turns recounting the ceremony. Axel just beamed and giggled the whole time, absolutely thrilled with the turn of events. 

“Just wait until Spitelout gets a load of this!” Axel said, far too enthusiastically. 

“Actually, I’d love to wait for Spitelout to hear this. Maybe if I wait long enough, he’ll forget all about the wedding and he won’t punt me into the sun.” 

Axel laughed joyfully. “Oh Hiccup, you’re such a joker!” 

“I mean, I wasn’t joking.” 

“Who’s left to tell?” 

“My father, and the Jorgensons. I was hoping to tell dad next so that you and him could be witnesses to my execution.” 

Axel clapped his hands eagerly. “Then let’s go find your father!” 

“What about work?” Astrid asked, pointing to the sawmill. 

“My daughter just got married! To Helheim with work!” 

Hiccup just hoped Axel’s joy was universal. 

——

Axel, Fishlegs, Astrid, and Hiccup went back into town, looking for Stoick. The poor chief was still involved with a disagreement with some tribesmen. Stoick looked rather annoyed. 

“Maybe we should…?” Hiccup began. 

“This is more important, son.” Axel urged. “Go on.” 

Hiccup took a deep breath and waded into the swamp of Vikings. “Dad? Dad!” He called. 

“I know you’re not happy with the gold, but he’s being more than generous. Hiccup! I’m very busy!” Stoick shouted over the bickering.

“I need to talk to you!” 

“Can’t it wait?” 

“No!” 

“Is it about your work with the raids?” 

“No!” 

“Then just spit it out!” 

Hiccup swallowed thickly and blurted, “Astrid and I just got married!” 

The arguing settled down as each of the assembled men digested what the boy said. All eyes were on him. 

“What did you say?” Stoick asked, almost a whisper. 

“You heard right,” Axel said, a smirk on his face. 

The other Vikings started whispering then. 

“Right,” Stoick cleared his throat and turned back to the group. “Sven, you stored your sail in a poor place, so it’s not unreasonable to believe that Hoffmere would take it, thinking it was garbage. He’s offered you gold to replace it, and I think that’s the fairest deal you’re going to get, since the vermin would have made a nest of it by winter anyway.” 

“Aye,” Sven said breathlessly. He was staring at Hiccup, slack jawed. 

Stoick turned to Hiccup and Astrid. “Have you had dinner?” 

“No sir,” Hiccup said softly.

“Okay. Then let’s go get some dinner. I’ll be done here for the night.” 

“But Stoick—“ someone tried to stop him. 

“Later. I have some…very very important work to do.” He started towards his house, his hand grabbing Hiccup by the back of his shirt. 

“Dad, first I need you to know it was an accident! We went up there to practice, just like you suggested, but Gothi thought we were there to elope! It was all just a big misunderstanding!” 

Stoick didn’t say a word as he led all four up the hill to his house. 

“And when I tried to get her to fix it, she said she wouldn’t because we made an oath in front of the gods! I swear we didn’t mean to do it! Please believe me!” 

“It-it’s true sir!” Fishlegs bravely added. “I saw the whole thing! I was concentrating so hard on making sure that I was interpreting right, I didn’t even notice it was wrong! They even invited Snotlout to practice, but he refused!” 

“We thought she was leading us in a mock ceremony,” Astrid continued. “It didn’t seem weird to me.” 

Once at the house, Stoick became more gentle. He went to a pot on the hearth, and lifted the lid. “Roast beef with potatoes and carrots. A nice comfort meal for a crazy day. Are you staying for dinner, Axel?” 

“Ah, no chief. Thank you for the offer. The wife should have something at home for me.” 

“How about you, Fishlegs? This is your mother’s cooking.” 

“O-o-oh, no no sir. No thank you! I just came as a witness.” 

“Very well.” Stoick nodded as he went to the kitchen area and took out bowls. He was impossible to read. 

True to the name, stoic.

“Dad…? Are you…mad?” 

“No,” Said the man. Though he chunked off a messed up piece of bread from the loaf with one chop of a meat cleaver. “Just…thinking.” 

Astrid and Hiccup were silent as he dished up their dinners and handed it to them. 

Finally, he asked, “How much did Spitelout pay you for the weapons and the house?” 

“He paid four gold for the weapons and fifty for the house. I kept sixteen for labor.”

Stoick nodded and went to his lock box. “I will pay the difference, if you will refund your gold.” 

“I will! And I’ll pay you back!” 

“You don’t have to do that, son. I would pay this price in the first place.” 

Hiccup went and retrieved the coins he had made from Spitelout. 

“Then Spitelout will owe you the dowry,” said Axel. “I paid him half the lumber for that house.” 

“We will see what he has to say. I have a feeling negotiations won’t go well. It’s fine and good to pay back materials and wealth, but there’s something else we’ve taken from Spitelout.” 

“Trust?” Hiccup winced. 

“His dignity.”

Dread laid like a heavy blanket on Hiccup’s shoulders. Spitelout hated being made a fool of. He didn’t take any jokes on his behalf, and slights against him were dealt with severely. 

“Are we going over there after dinner?” Hiccup asked, stirring his bowl. 

“No. Spitelout will hear of this soon enough. Your little announcement in the town will no doubt spread to the entire tribe by morning. He will come to us.” 

“I was afraid of that.”

“And what about you, Axel? You seem rather pleased with this turn of events.” 

“With all due respect, Chief, I don’t like Spitelout or his son on good days. It killed me to see that bet fall through. I know it was my fault…but can you imagine how sweet it would have been if Astrid had won?”

“Wait, dad. What were you going to get out of it, if I did win?”

“He was going to pay your dowry, when the time came.” 

Hiccup smirked to himself. That would have been sweet. 

“Plus, it would have been great to get him to shut up for a while. But don’t beat yourself up over it, lass. You really did give that Nightmare a fair go. Not many warriors would have stayed in that ring after they lost their weapons. You went in with your bare hands! That’s courage unlike any other.” 

If only Axel knew that dragons were actually rather tame, and that the Nightmare had ended up apologizing to Astrid. But they’d keep that secret for a while.  

Like death itself, a heavy knock came from the door. 

“Oh gods…” Hiccup stood and started pacing. He hadn’t touched his food. 

“Let’s just see where this goes,” Stoick rose and went to the door. 

Spitelout stood like a shadow in the door, and was just a blur as Stoick opened it. He shouldered passed Stoick and thundered across the room. Hiccup gave a high-pitched yelp of pure terror as he was hoisted from the ground by his neck. 

“You little shit stain!” Spitelout seethed. “I’m going to crush you like a bug!” 

Hiccup could only gasp and claw at the hands on his neck. 

Luckily, Axel and Stoick quickly got the situation under control as they pried Hiccup free. Stoick hooked his arms under Spitelout’s to hold him behind his head. “Touch my son like that again, and I won’t hesitate to take away your ability to walk.” 

Spitelout growled in anger. 

“You okay?” Astrid asked Hiccup, touching his neck. 

Hiccup panted while he sat on the floor. “Traumatized, winded, but I think I’m okay.” 

Snotlout then ran into the room yelling like a banshee, battleaxe raised and aimed for Hiccup. 

“Nononono!” Hiccup shouted. 

Again, luckily Axel had much more fighting experience and quickly disarmed Snotlout and pinned him with the weapon. “Calm down, lad.” 

“Calm down? Calm down?! That little twerp stole my girl!” 

“That ‘little twerp’ is your future chief! And you better remember that!” 

Spitelout scoffed. “Oh give me a break! That little pain in the ass? The tribe would rather see the entire village burn to the ground before that nuisance took up chiefdom. And you know it, Stoick!” 

“Shut up.” 

“I was trying to set up the perfect ruling couple for this tribe! Snotlout and Astrid would have been perfect for Chief and Chieftess! But you refuse to see that this boy of yours is rotten and a mistake! Everything he touches, he ruins!” 

“And that’s why you had him make everything for Snotlout’s wedding?” Axel retorted. 

“To keep him busy! I was doing the town a favor! Once he lulled everyone into a false sense of security with those eels, I knew it would only be a matter of time before he got someone killed!” He stared daggers at Hiccup. “But instead, he ruined my son’s life.” 

“It was an accident,” Astrid bit. “I felt very strongly that you wanted the ceremony to be perfect, so I asked Hiccup to help me practice for it. We went to Gothi’s. She thought we were there to elope, but we didn’t know that until it was too late.” 

Spitelout scoffed. “It doesn’t matter if it was on purpose or not. Everything that Hiccup gets involved with gets messed up. He’s a walking disaster. He’s a hazard.” 

“He’s your blood,” Stoick reminded, tightening his grip. 

“He’s all the worst parts of my sister. The parts that got her killed.” 

“You take that back you bastard!” Stoick shouted. 

“Dad, let him go.” Hiccup demanded. 

“What?” 

“I should talk to him, man to man.” 

Stoick hesitated, but begrudgingly released Spitelout from his headlock. “Remember my warning.” 

Spitelout rubbed his neck, but appraised Hiccup with narrowed eyes. He didn’t speak. 

“Here,” Hiccup handed over the bag of coins. “What you paid me for all that work. I had nothing to do with this being an accident. If you really want to be upset with someone, take it up with Gothi, though I don’t recommend it.” 

Spitelout took the coin, but still remained quiet. 

Hiccup turned to Snotlout. “I know there is much more to be solved here than just what I owe your family. Accident or not, I did break your contract, and for that, I’m sorry. Stealing your bride brings offense and dishonor to your name, and that’s something I have to pay for.” 

“Hiccup…” Astrid warned. 

“What do I have to do to make this up to you?” 

Spitelout continued to stare at Hiccup, as he stood tall. 

Well, as tall as he could. 

A smarmy grin took over Snotlout’s face. “You wanna make this up to me? Alright then, you can do my chores for two we–”

“A fight.” Spitelout interrupted. “In two weeks. You, Snotlout, no weapons, no armor, just fists. In front of the whole tribe. Then when you lose, everyone will see that you’re not fit to be chief.” 

—-

Hiccup sat in his room, which might be the last time he’d be there for a while. Astrid went home to make sure everything she needed was packed. 

Spitelout graciously allowed Hiccup and Astrid to live in the home Hiccup built, temporarily, until Hiccup built another home on Stoick’s property. The house had been commissioned for Snotlout, and Spitelout wanted him to live in it. Something about teaching him about responsibility.

When Snotlout heard he’d have to take care of the house by himself, he was less than thrilled, and stormed out. 

Fishlegs had sheepishly slunked out at some point, but Hiccup hadn’t remembered when. 

Now Axel, Stoick, and Spitelout were talking business. Who owed who what and how much. The conversation was much too quiet for Hiccup to hear, as Spitelout had mostly calmed down. Hiccup figured the man would never be over it, but hopefully once Hiccup figured out how to come to peace with the dragons, Valka would come back and things would be better. 

Hiccup had most of his room packed up. He had been throwing out a lot of his work since he had found Toothless, since most of his blueprints and sketches had to do with killing dragons. The work for Toothless’ tail and saddle were at the forge. 

So now, most of his room was packed into a large trunk. It was too heavy for him to lift, so he’d need his father’s help. And there was no way he was going downstairs while Spitelout was still there. 

He heard the door open and close, and then the house became quiet. 

A moment later, Stoick climbed the stairs and stood in the doorway. 

“If you’re going to lecture me about how careless I was, or something like that, I already know I messed up and I’m feeling pretty low at the moment.” 

“Son,” Stoick said softly, crossing the room to sit by Hiccup’s side. “What Spitelout said is ridiculous and unfounded.” 

“No it’s not.” Hiccup shook his head. “Do you remember what you said to me the morning I shot Toothless down? Everytime I walk outside, disaster strikes.” 

“That was said in anger, and I’m sorry. You have absolutely proven me wrong.” 

“Yeah, because you saw Toothless. You see where my talents lie. The rest of the town sees…the spoiled, lazy heir of the chief weaseling out of Dragon Training because he’s a chicken. Killing dragons is everything to these people…and I’m nothing to them. And this fight with Snotlout will just prove it.”

“Do you think you could win against Snotlout?” 

“No! Absolutely not!”

“Do you think you could bring peace between vikings and dragons?”

Hiccup stopped then, his brow furrowing as he looked up to his dad. “I…I think I can.”  

Stoick gripped his shoulder. “Lose this fight, Berk may not recognize you as chief. End the war on dragons, you’ll be the greatest viking that ever lived.”

“I…think you’re exaggerating…” 

“I’m not, Hiccup. You will train and fight Snotlout. It will hurt, and you’ll feel awful. But it will all be forgotten. So don’t lose sight of what’s really important here.” 

“Easier said than done.”  

“I know what will cheer you up.” Stoick smirked. 

“Yeah?”

“Getting this trunk to your new house so you can start your wedding night!” 

“DAD!!”

Chapter 10: The Wedding Night

Notes:

Sorry for the wait (it’s my MO.) I was working on a DnD campaign and then I rediscovered the Sims! I made Hiccup and Astrid, obviously.

Gratuitous kissing in this chapter!!!! I bumped up the rating on the fic. 

Hiccup walked in his front door. Or, what would be his front door for a few months. He only hoped that he’d have help from the rest of the tribe next time around. He was still pretty exhausted from building this house.

“Hi Astrid,” he smiled. 

“Hi Hiccup,” she smiled back.

“ Hi Hiccup ,” her parents parroted, in a sickly sweet tone. 

“I did not say it like that!” She protested. 

“Oh you have nothing to be ashamed of, lass! He’s your husband! Be soft for once!” 

She rolled her eyes. “Where was this teasing and giddiness when I was engaged to Snotlout?”

Phlegma giggled. “Snotlout wasn’t walking around with a hickey on his neck last winter.” 

Hiccup clapped a hand to his neck. “Again with the hickey?”

“Aye, a badge of honor.” Stoick said, lifting Hiccup’s trunk onto his shoulder. Hiccup had insisted on helping Stoick carry it here, but it looked like his help had been more of a hindrance. “A mark of a fight not won with your hands, but your wits.” 

“Is there ever an analogy from you that doesn’t have to do with battle?” Hiccup chuckled. 

“Not any good ones,” Stoick laughed as he took the trunk up to the loft. 

“You know,” said Phlegma. “It’s a very lovely house, Hiccup. But I can’t help but notice…the lack of furniture.” 

In fact, there was a hearth, and a countertop creating a kitchen area, but not much else to see in the main room. A bathing area was under the loft, but it too was sparse in furnishings. 

“Yes, well, Gobber assured me tables and chairs and such would be built before the wedding…but I threw his time table off by about a month.” Hiccup grimaced. 

“Well, you’re always welcome to eat with us, or up in the Great Hall.” Phlegma offered. “Although…maybe appearing in public could be a bit…”

“Dangerous?” Hiccup suggested. 

“Contentious.” Said Stoick as he returned. “Some people were very excited about Astrid’s marriage to Snotlout. Others were just excited about the party.”

“Well, we’re still going to have a proper wedding in the future. Right dad?” Hiccup asked. 

“Aye lad. It's important for you to have a traditional ceremony. One that would invite our allies. It would be the biggest event of the year.” 

“Oh boy, more anxiety,” Hiccup chuckled breathlessly. 

“Well, we’d like to give you two your privacy, but…do you even have a bed to sleep in?” Axel wondered. 

“Yep! I actually had to build it before the house was finished.” Hiccup smirked. “Snotlout wanted a nice big bed so that Astrid wouldn’t kick him while sleeping.” 

“I don’t kick!” 

Phlegma smiled. “Oh darling…yes you do.” 

“I’ll just say goodbye to my shins now.” Hiccup cringed. 

“How big of a bed are we talking?” Axel asked. 

“It’s a little ridiculous, if I’m being honest.” Hiccup beckoned them to follow him upstairs to the loft. 

“HICCUP!” Astrid shouted as soon as she saw it. 

Axel and Phlegma started laughing again. 

“You know,” said Stoick. “I’d ask to trade, but I don’t know how you’d get this out of the house.” 

“You can’t. You’d have to take it apart, or take out the wall.” 

“Hiccup! There’s no room for anything else in this room!” Astrid walked around the perimeter of the frame. She had about two feet of space on all sides. “Where do we store our clothes? Or anything else?!”

Hiccup smirked then, feeling fairly proud of himself, and held up a finger. “Observe.” He pulled a handle on the side of the frame, and the whole bed flipped up against the wall. Underneath, there were several drawers along the edges, and trunks in the middle. “Ta-da!”

“Oooh!” Axel and Phlegma clapped. 

Astrid nodded slowly. “Alright, that’s pretty cool.” 

Hiccup beamed at the praise and lowered the bed back down. 

“I think all that’s left is to let you both get settled in,” said Stoick. “So we’ll get out of your hair.” 

By the giggling that Phlegma and Axel shared, you’d think that they were the newly wed couple. 

“Yes yes, two teenagers alone on their wedding night, it’s very funny.” Astrid started to shove her parents back downstairs. 

“Now, there’s no rush in the morning. Come over whenever you’re hungry, and I’ll make you some food!” Phlegma chirped as she was being actively herded out the door. 

“Bye mom! Bye dad! Thanks for your love and support! Now leave us alone!” 

“Bye honey!” They both sang.

“I’m not going to have to push you out the door too, right?” Hiccup looked up at his dad. 

“You couldn’t if you tried.” Stoick rubbed his son’s head, and gave Astrid a kiss on the cheek. “Have fun!” 

After Hiccup closed and locked the door behind him, he let out a big sigh. “Now what?”

“I think this is the part where we become hopelessly entangled in limbs and tongues and you whisk me away to the bedroom,” said Astrid, with a smirk. 

“Is that—you want—can I?” Hiccup faced her, trembling, and puckered his lips like a fish. 

She pinched his nose. “I thought you knew how to kiss?”

“I did–I do! I-I-I-I just…haven’t practiced in a while…” He said sheepishly, wringing his hands together.

“Well, we have plenty of time to practice. You remember that, right?” she chuckled.

Hiccup gulped and tried to laugh too, though it sounded weak.

She came close, resting her hands on his chest, starting to lean in. But she stopped, concerned. “Hiccup, you’re trembling.” 

“I-I-I’m just cold is all.” 

“Okay,” she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. 

He let out a deep breath before hugging her back. His hold was strong, and he rested his face against her neck. She smelled nice. Not a flowery girly smell, but something warm and slightly spicy. 

He probably smelled like fish. 

“You’re not actually cold, are you?” Astrid asked as she pet his hair. 

He swallowed, but didn’t answer. 

“You can tell me anything. I won’t judge.”

“I know. I just…don’t know how to say it.” 

She gave him a tight squeeze and pulled away. “That’s fine. Let’s just relax–”

“Oh, that’s part of the problem, I can’t.” He shrugged his shoulders, to appear more casual than he was. 

“Why not?”

“Oh, no reason, really. I only just got married today, which wasn’t expected. And since the beginning of the year, even with the eels helping with the raids, the village is back to disliking me. And taking someone’s bride is a huge no-no so I’m kind of worried that will compound into disaster.”

“Hiccup–”

“And my uncle wants me to fight my cousin, which I absolutely can’t do.” 

“Yeah, but that’s–”

“Not for two weeks, I know, but I can’t help worrying about it. And now, I’m here with you, alone, and I was excited about it earlier, but now I’m realizing what that means and what the expectations are and I don’t know how to… you know . And I want to be the best for you, but I know I’ll mess up. Like…it’ll just hurt for you, and then I’ll finish and pass out and I don’t want that!” 

“Whoa, Hiccup, slow down,” Astrid hushed, petting the hair on the back of his neck. “Look. I have no experience with sex either.” 

“You can at least say the word.” 

She chuckled. “Fair. But we don’t have to do that tonight. We can wait.” 

“But you said we were going to ‘have fun’.” 

“Sure! Doesn’t have to be sex though, right? If it gives you performance anxiety, then let’s wait on it.” 

“Are you sure? To not consummate the marriage—we’re already in hot water!” 

“When have we ever done anything the correct way? We have a pair of dragons out in the cove, for Frigga’s sake! Besides, how are they going to know? I’m not going to say anything. So you don’t have to say anything.” 

“I…guess…” 

“Did you bring sleep clothes?”

Hiccup was startled by the sudden topic change. “Uh, yes. I did.” He pointed upstairs.

“I’m going to get changed too. If the only place to sit in his house is the bed, then we might as well get comfortable.” 

“Y-yeah. I’ll wait for you upstairs…” he said in a daze. He climbed the stairs, and found where his father had wedged his trunk. His bed clothes consisted of a pair of black linen pants, and an old white tunic from his father (several years old, and hemmed). Hiccup changed into the pants, but hesitated putting the tunic on. Maybe it would be alright to go without? Afterall, Astrid had seen him shirtless before. Would it make her uncomfortable though? Last time, it had been because their clothes were soaked. Now, there was no reason he shouldn’t wear a shirt. 

“Huh. Who knew you were hiding some nice back muscles?” 

Hiccup flinched and drew his shoulders up to his ears. “Oh! You got dressed fast!” He turned around and froze. 

Astrid was just wearing a light blue tunic. It reached down to her fingertips. It was only a little loose, still accenting her curves. He could even see the faint view of her nipples peeking through the shirt, though he was certain she didn’t think he could. Astrid worked on unraveling her hair, making this mind blowing experience so much more amazing. 

“Wow…” he squeaked. 

“What?” 

“You’re…so beautiful…”

She scoffed, but blushed as she walked around the bed to sit beside him. He realized she was undoing her hair with one hand, while she held her brush in the other. 

“Can I brush your hair?” He blurted. 

“Uh…if you want to?” 

Reverently, he took the brush and ran it through her golden locks. He hit a snag, and moved to start from the top. 

“The whole point in brushing my hair is to undo the snags.” 

“But I don’t want to hurt you…” 

“Here, give me the brush.”

Hiccup frowned as he handed it over. He hadn’t even started!

Astrid quickly brushed through her hair, untangling the knots. Then she gave it back. “Here you go. Now you can do it.” 

He brightened and got to work. He would hit a snag, but carefully untangled it with his fingers instead of tearing through it with the brush. 

“What made you want to brush my hair?” 

“Well…it’s something husbands get to do, right? Wash and brush their wife’s hair? I always liked your hair too. It’s really…” he struggled to find a word that wasn’t ‘beautiful’ again. “I like the color.” 

“Well, it feels nice. So thanks.” 

A few more runs of the brush, and Hiccup finally relinquished his role. To his dismay, Astrid then gathered up her hair and twisted it into a bun on top of her head. 

“You sleep with your hair up?” 

“Keeps the tangles out.” 

“Ah.” Now that she was here, and they were in this state of vulnerability, he didn’t know what to say. This wasn’t like the hayloft, where they had been relaxed and secret and had all the time in the world. There was weight now, and expectations. People knew where they were and what they should be doing. 

Astrid kept taking glances at him, careful not to outright stare, but she seemed to notice something that tickled her and started laughing. 

“What? What’s so funny?” 

“Your chest hair.” 

“My what?” He looked down at his chest and covered the patch with his hand. “What’s so funny about it? We Vikings have to stay warm!” 

“Sorry, no no, there’s nothing funny about your chest hair.” She removed his hand from his chest. “A few weeks ago, Snotlout all but ripped his shirt off in front of me to show me his chest hair. He was ‘finally a man’ and ‘a true Viking’, but it was just one hair. You’ve got him beat, which is the funny part.” 

He looked back down to his sternum. It was no carpet like the rest of the tribe, but now, he was pretty proud of it. He lowered his voice by an octave, and stated, “aye lass, you’ve picked a real man for your husband. Everyone knows a man is not measured by his muscle or his prowess with a weapon…but how much chest hair he has.”

Astrid started giggling. “That was a flawless impression of your father.”

“I practice.” 

She rested her hand on his chest, right over his heart. “But Hiccup, I need you to know that you’re more of a man than Snotlout is, chest hair or no chest hair. You have a job, you built a house, you trained a dragon…it doesn’t matter that you can’t swing a sword. Snotlout wasn’t even that good in the ring. I know everyone gives you a hard time, but I would never, ever, want to be married to someone other than you.” Then she leaned in slowly, giving him enough time to prepare. 

Hiccup’s eyes fluttered closed, and he tried not to pucker his lips, but just relax. His pulse pounded in his ears as the thrill of anticipation put him on edge. He was finally going to kiss Astrid again! Of course, they had earlier that day, but he had been caught so off guard he hadn’t enjoyed it at all. In fact, he was a little afraid she would drop him. 

After a few seconds, Hiccup was keenly aware that there was no kissing happening. He peeled an eye open to find her looking at him, eyes lidded with an amused smile on her face. 

“W-what?” He asked as he felt the blush sweep over his face. 

“You know, I’m always the one initiating our kisses.” 

“Nuh uh!” 

“Name one time you kissed me first.” 

“I’m pretty sure I kissed you first in the hayloft…one of the times.” 

“That doesn’t count! I started that whole thing!”

“Oh so you count that whole afternoon as one kiss?”

“Of course not! But once you get permission to kiss, it’s understood that permission lasts for a while. So starting a kiss right after one ended is easy compared to the first!” 

“Alright, fine, may I kiss you?”

“By all means!” 

He could do this. She just said she wanted him to kiss her, so all he had to do was…do it. He leaned forward, letting his eyes close slightly, but not all the way. He didn’t want to miss, of course! And to further improve accuracy, he held her face. Wow, her skin was soft! 

Her hands crept up to his shoulders.

He tilted his face slightly, and pressed his lips to hers, gently at first, and then with more passion.

What was he afraid of, again?

Her kiss sent tingles to every inch of his body. He felt warm, and a fuzzy feeling grew in his head. 

Astrid wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer to her. The touch made him squeak. But he soon relaxed and wrapped his arms around her waist. 

After spending several months trying to deny any feelings he had for her, Hiccup felt overwhelmed. Fighting between ‘you shouldn’t do this’ and ‘she’s all yours!’ He could kiss her as long and as much as he wanted. There was no one and nothing that would tell him otherwise. 

Astrid pulled away for a moment. “You sure you haven’t been practicing?”

He scoffed. “How? With who?”

She shrugged. “A pillow, the bedpost…Toothless.” 

He gagged. “Of course not!” His hand ran up and down her back. “But…you and Snotlout…did you–?”

“Never even held his hand.” 

Hiccup released a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. 

She leaned in again, kissing him more intensely. He returned the fervor, meeting her lips eagerly. His hands fluttered over her, trying to find a place to hold before settling on her waist. 

Astrid pushed against his chest, making him fall over onto the bed. 

He looked up at her, and she looked down at him. 

“Hi Husband,” she smirked. 

“Hi Wife…” he breathed. Hiccup scooted backwards so that they weren’t hanging off the side of the bed. 

Astrid was quick to straddle his legs to get more comfortable, and then dove back into kissing. Her hands dove into his hair, her nails scratching against his scalp. A wave of shivers went down his spine and he let out a little moan. It seemed like she remembered that little trick from all those months ago.

By the smile pressed to his lips, Hiccup knew she knew. 

Oh she was going to smug about it? Well, now it was war!

Hiccup dug his fingers into her hips, and with a mighty heave, flipped them over so he was on top. 

Astrid pulled away abruptly, staring in surprise. She didn’t know he had the strength or the balls to do that. “No.”

“No?”

“No!” She hooked her legs around him, grabbed his arms, and flipped them back over, pinning his arms over his head. “There!” 

“What!” He barked, wiggling in her grip. She was much stronger than him, and had him pinned so well he could barely move at all. 

Stupid warriors. 

Astrid looked him over, scrutinizing her prize. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like a Monstrous Nightmare staring at a fish fry. In fact, I think I have seen a Monstrous Nightmare look at me like that.” 

Astrid didn’t answer the question, but instead stated, “contrary to popular belief, you do have some nice muscle here.” 

“Wait, I do? Where?” He tried to look down. 

“Like here,” she jabbed her finger into his side, making him flinch with a yelp. “And here,” she spidered her fingers over his abdomen, making him wriggle violently. “Oh and we found a ticklish spot!”

“You wouldn’t dare!” He squirmed. 

“Flip me over, will you!?” And she wiggled her fingers all over his stomach, making him jerk around. 

“Aaaahhh–A-A-Astr—AAAAHH—AH AH AH!” He didn’t laugh or giggle, no it was more like a really low scream. 

Astrid giggled though. “What was that?! You sound like a Terror stuck in a pipe!” 

“Oh I’m sorry, is that not the reaction you wanted? It’s not like I can control it!” 

“Why do you always have to be so sassy?”

“Sassy’s my middle name!” 

Astrid considered this for a second and asked, “I thought your middle name was Horrendous?”

“Short for Horrendously Sassy.”

“Haha, very funny.” And she went to tickle him again, but before that, she readjusted her grip, and noticed something. She rolled her hips. “Hiccup…are you–?”

“Yes, don’t draw attention to it.” He blushed again, if it was possible.

“How?! From tickling?!”

“No! A very beautiful girl is sitting on me, and her very shapely bosom is basically right in my face!”

“Stop staring at my shapely bosom! You’re not allowed to!” 

“I beg to differ, madam. As your husband, I do declare I am allowed to stare at your shapely bosom! I might even ogle!” 

Astrid narrowed her eyes, planning her next attack. 

“Tickle me again, I dare you.” 

“No…I have to find something else.” 

“Do your worst, Shieldmaiden! I can take it!” 

She shrugged. “If you say so.” Slowly, she lifted her free hand up to where her other was pinning him down. Then she slid her hands up to his, intertwining their fingers together. This brought her close, where she could see his eyes wide and sparkling with wonder, his chest heaving with excitement. She rolled her hips again, eliciting a whine from his throat. 

She met his lips in a kiss, sweet, tender, and deceitful to her intentions. 

Hiccup simply thought the game was over, and relaxed, rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles. He could melt into her. He could just stay like this. Laughter, jokes, intimacy, if this is what marriage was, then he was more than pleased. He understood what all the hubbub was about. 

Astrid’s delicate tongue caressed his bottom lip, he whimpered again and opened his mouth to her. Their tongues danced a tango, exploring, caressing, thrilling. 

Their lips made a loud smack as they pulled away, and Astrid pressed heated kisses to his cheek and jaw. Finally, she came to his throat, and lathed her tongue against it, making his eyes cross. 

What had he done to deserve such affection? 

Suddenly, Astrid bit his flesh, gnawing on his skin, not enough to bleed, but more than what was sexy. 

“Ow…ow…owowowow!!!” Hiccup cried, trying to pull away from her. 

She pulled away herself, satisfied with the bruise and marks she had left. 

“OW!” Hiccup repeated, emphasis on the ‘ow’. 

“That was for telling Snotlout I bite. Don’t want him to think you were lying, do you?”

Hiccup groaned. “He told you I said that? Ugh…”

“I should thank you for it, honestly, I think you scared him away from trying to force a kiss on me.” 

“Gee, I feel the gratitude.” He used his shoulder to rub against his neck, since she still had his arms pinned. 

Astrid let his hands go, dragging her hands down his arms, down to his chest and then stomach. This made goosebumps raise on his skin and Astrid giggled.

“Alright.” Now with use of his arms, he was able to thrust his hips to buck her off. “If I had known you were going to bully me, I would have reconsidered accidentally marrying you.” He turned on his side, turning his back to her. 

“Aww, Hiccup. Don’t be like that!” She rolled over so she spooned behind him, wrapping one leg over his. “I’m sorry if I went too far. I just…feel really relaxed around you. I get goofy.” 

“And bitey.” 

She giggled and wrapped her arm around him to rest on his stomach. She snuggled her face into his neck, smilingly like a love sick school girl. “You make me really happy, Hiccup. I didn’t think I’d get that with a husband. I thought…before we became friends, I’d either have to marry Snotlout or an older man. Maybe even a man from another tribe, and I’d never see my family again.” 

Hiccup rested his hand over hers. 

“I didn’t think I could have this. I know it’s only our first night together, but I’m already enjoying it.” She kissed the mark on his neck. “So sorry for being annoying.” 

He scoffed. “I’m not actually all that upset.” 

“Good!” She grabbed him and pulled him backwards so that he rolled over. Then, he was laying against her side, his head on her chest while she ran fingers through his hair. 

For a moment, he wondered if maybe these roles should be switched. Shouldn’t he be holding her ? But his face was so close to that shapely bosom he didn’t really care.

Astrid was the type to sleep hugging a pillow, and while Hiccup was certainly more boney than a pillow, he was warm, and he offered that comforting feeling that you can only receive from touch. And as a bonus, Hiccup had elected to go without a shirt, making the skin to skin touch even more intense. 

“At the risk of getting myself punched…” Hiccup began.

“Hmm?”

“What was your plan for your wedding night with Snotlout? I can’t imagine you were going in unprepared.” 

She laughed, and didn’t punch him like he feared. “Why would you ask that?”

“Curiosity.” 

“Well…I had a really really bad plan.”

“Oh?”

“Yep. I was going to barricade myself in the bedroom, using heavy furniture to block the door, and then I was going to sneak out my window, grab my emergency bag I had packed, and take off into the woods to escape from Berk on Stormfly.” 

“You were not!”

“I was so! Of course, if the council insisted on escorting me and Snotlout to the bedroom, I would have had to come up with something else. Like, excusing myself to the bathroom and sneaking out the back. Or something like that. Glad I don’t have to worry about it.” 

“And where would you have gone, if you had escaped?”

“Not too far, so you and Toothless could find me. I would stay away long enough to be presumed dead and wait to return until Snotlout took another wife.” 

“So thirty years, at least.” 

“Give or take.” 

He sat up so that he could give her a kiss on the cheek. “Well, I’m glad you’re still here.”

“Had I known eloping was in the cards, I would have asked you to marry me months ago.” 

“What was all that ‘not wanting to label things’ you said in the hayloft?”

“It was true then. I thought I had time to just goof around. I hate being forced into things. If it’s on my own accord to get out of something, I’d do it in a heartbeat.” She hugged him tightly. “Plus, you’re cute.”

He chuckled. “The ultimate trophy husband, hmm?”

“The biggest catch of them all. And when we solve this dragon raid problem, I’ll be the envy of all the village girls!” 

Hiccup smiled at that, but didn’t let his doubts ruin the moment. 

The word ‘when’ kept being passed around, when they should be saying ‘if’. He had been confident when his father asked if he could solve the raids, but it was only in comparison to winning a fight against Snotlout. There was still too much uncertainty for Hiccup to be optimistic.  

—-

They fell asleep at some point. It wasn’t surprising, given how comfortable the bed was and how relaxed they were in each other’s arms. Hiccup awoke the next morning quite uncomfortable, and sweaty. His arm was numb, as Astrid was laying on it. Her face was pressed against his bare chest. Her legs were tangled with his, giving him a weird cramp in his thigh. He didn’t have any pain in his shins though, and couldn’t remember her kicking him at all. 

With his one free hand, he played with her hair, that was half unraveled from her bun. 

This was perfect. 

Astrid woke not long after him, unsticking her face from his chest, and looking up at him with furrowed brows. 

“Morning beautiful,” he said, dreamily. 

“Oh hi,” she responded with a sleepy smile. It seemed she had remembered him, and was rather pleased to wake up with him. 

She untangled her limbs and started to stretch. “How’d you sleep?”

“Good. Better than I thought. But yesterday was kind of exhausting.”

“I slept hard.” She cracked her neck. “It was pretty nice actually.” She sighed and looked over to him. Then her eyes widened and she started laughing.

“What?” He looked himself over. “Bedhead?”

“Your neck!” 

He rubbed the place she had bit him last night. It was sore, as bruises usually were. 

She tried to stifle her laughter, but it came out as little giggles. “You have this red ring where my teeth got you, and then the whole thing is purple!”

“And this is funny to you?”

“I’m so sorry!” She guffawed. 

“I’m starting to think that you aren’t.” 

Astrid only giggled more before pulling him into a warm kiss. 

That made it a little better. Besides, it was like his father said. A scar won in a battle not one with his strength, but his wits. And in the grand scheme of life, he felt like he was winning. 

—-

Once they were dressed and presentable, hickey withstanding, they prepared to go to the Hofferson household for brunch. However, a note had been tacked to their door. 

“Who’s it from?” Asked Astrid. 

“My dad. Says that the news of our wedding finally made it all around town, and people feel jipped that there were no celebrations. Looks like everyones bringing a dish to make a veritable Smörgåsbord up at the Great Hall.”

“We should probably go then, right?”

Hiccup sighed. “I guess.” 

“Don’t worry, I’ll beat up anyone that gives you a hard time.” 

“Thanks. I’ll get the bandages for your knuckles ready when we get back.” 

They weren’t that far from the Great Hall, but they might as well live a mile away. Those that weren’t up at the festivities watched as they passed, and giggled as they did so. 

The Great Hall was thriving. All sorts of merriment and gaiety were in full swing. Some men were sober, some were tipsy, and some had been drinking since dawn. Songs were sung, laughs were had, and everyone seemed fairly jovial. 

Once Hiccup and Astrid entered, several people turned to see who had arrived, and lit up at their appearance. 

“The newlyweds!” Stoick shouted over the crowd. 

Cheers went up, accompanied by wolf whistles. 

“Way to go, lass!” Someone shouted. 

“Finally putting that dragon training to use?” Someone else shouted. 

Hiccup rubbed his neck self-consciously. 

He and Astrid were escorted to a table where the twins and Fishlegs were already seated, then food was brought for them. 

“Thank you,” Hiccup said politely. 

“So…you guys are like, married or whatever?” Said Tuffnut. “That’s crazy. I thought Astrid and Snotlout were betrothed.” 

“They were, doofus,” said Ruffnut. “That’s what Fishlegs was saying earlier?” 

“Oh he did? I wasn’t listening. I was thinking about what color my fire would be if I was a dragon, and what it would smell like. It would be green, and smell like fried oysters.” 

“Uh…yeah,” Hiccup said, not really knowing what Tuff was rambling about. “We accidentally got married yesterday, and Gothi refused to undo it. So, here we are.” 

“Yeah, accident, like we didn’t see the goo goo eyes you two made at each other for like, the last two years.” Said Ruff. “Especially from you, Hiccup. You look like a kitten left out in the rain.” 

“I-I-I do not!” 

“Do to,” said Tuff. “You get all droopy when you see her. Like this!” And Tuff imitated a love sick smile, complete with batting eyes and a slouched posture. 

“I do not!” Hiccup insisted. 

“Actually Hiccup…” Fishlegs tried to argue. 

Suddenly, the last empty spot at the table was filled as Snotlout took a seat. He looked annoyed. 

“Hey Snotlout…?” Hiccup tried to be casual. 

“Ugh, if I have to listen to my dad whine about being humiliated in front of the tribe anymore, I’m going to feed myself to a Monstrous Nightmare! The man is infuriating.” 

“So…you aren’t mad at me?” Hiccup clarified. 

“Oh, I’m mad at you, but I’d rather sit over here than with my family.” 

“You’re just in time then!” Said Ruff. She leaned in conspiratorially. “So, how was it?” 

“How was what?” Hiccup asked, innocently. 

“You know, hiding the pickle?” 

“Making a yak with two backs?” Added Tuff. 

“Gland-to-gland combat?” 

“Ramma jam the slam ham?” 

Each euphemism brought more color to Hiccup’s face. 

“It was great,” Astrid said, cool as a cucumber. “A little nerve wracking at the beginning, but I think we went 3 or 4 times. Right babe?” 

It occurred to Hiccup, after several heart pounding seconds, that she was lying, potentially to make him look good. “Oh. Y-yeah. It was…nice.” 

Ruff laughed so loudly that Astrid missed the stricken looks that crossed the boys’ faces. 

“And she’s still walking? Damn, Astrid’s tougher than I thought.” 

“Man,” said Snotlout under his breath. “Hiccup’s the first one to go to Pound town? Unfair.” 

Hiccup was horribly embarrassed, while Astrid just shook her head with amusement.

“With that out of the way, you looking forward to the fight, Hiccup?” Ruffnut asked with a dangerous smile.

The giddy feeling Hiccup had was snuffed out immediately. “Uh…”

“We’ve been training,” Astrid interjected. “Snotlout might have strength, but Hiccup is very fast and nimble. It could be anyone’s fight.” 

The table, and those around, burst into laughter. 

“Yeah, anyone’s fight…” Hiccup drawled. 

Snotlout smirked. “Speed might be helpful if he could use a dagger or something, but this is hand-to-hand. One punch, and I’ll lay him flat.”

Hiccup had finished his meal at this point, scarfing down everything since he hadn’t eaten dinner. Then he tried to sneak away. 

“Not so fast, son,” said Stoick, grabbing the back of his shirt. 

Hiccup groaned. 

Stoick lifted him to stand at the edge of the fireplace, where everyone could see. Then called the crowd to attention. 

“My friends and family. I’d like to thank all of you for coming to this celebration of my son’s marriage to Astrid Hofferson.” 

There were a handful of cheers. 

“Because of the circumstances of the marriage, a formal, traditional ceremony will be happening in the future. You will all have your week-long festival.” 

More enthused cheers. 

“Furthermore, in two weeks time, Snotlout and Hiccup have agreed to have a fight to settle the matter of honor. Hand-to-hand, no armor or weapons.” 

“Why wait to have the wedding after the fight? The lad can’t get married if he’s dead, Stoick!” Someone shouted. 

Hiccup paled considerably. 

“Now now, the fight isn’t to the death,” Stoick insisted. “But it is a fight nonetheless. These are the terms that the Jorgensons, Hoffersons, and Haddocks have agreed on. So once it’s over, regardless of the winner, I don’t want to hear anymore about it. Gothi has blessed and ordained the marriage, and there’s nothing more to do about it.” 

Glancing over the crowd, Hiccup noted that most people were just happy to be partying right now, and the promise of more partying and entertainment. 

Only Spitelout was fuming and glaring in the corner.

Chapter 11: The Training

Notes:

As per my tumblr:

My husband has been dealing with a minor medical issue. It’s not life threatening, but it’s still rather scary and painful for him. Seeing him in pain, doing a lot of stuff for him…it’s made me a little depressed and emotionally drained.

I know it’ll pass. He’s had surgery and is on the healing side.

I haven’t written in months. Haven’t really thought about them either. I know I don’t owe anyone any explanations or apologies, but I feel better just putting this out there.

Once they were released from the most awkward breakfast, Hiccup suggested they flee town for the rest of the day. Astrid agreed heartily, and they packed up a few supplies. 

It was a wonderful day for a picnic. That’s what Hiccup and Astrid had told her parents, at least. Hiccup hadn’t told Astrid all the details, but since she was no longer spending her days preparing for her wedding, he could finally take her to see the Bewilderbeast. 

All she knew was that there was a large dragon to the north, and that’s where they were heading. 

And they would have a picnic there too, so it wasn’t a total lie. 

“I can’t wait until we don’t have to take this hike all the way out here anymore,” said Astrid. “It’s nice and all, but it’s always a longer walk than I expect.”

“Try lugging a basket of fish every other day.” Hiccup smirked. 

“Why are you so skinny again? You swing a hammer every day, lug fish five miles…”

“One day, my body will realize it should be huge and I’ll explode to be twice the size of my father.”

“That’s excessive.”

“You’ve heard of a 6 pack? I’ll have a 24 pack.” 

“And so much muscle, you can’t comb your hair or tie your boots.”

“Oh, better stop now while I’m ahead then.” 

Astrid chuckled and bumped him with her hip. 

—-

They arrived at the cove and found Valka hard at work with a leather craft project. 

“Oh hello, son! Didn’t know when you’d be coming around today, if at all…” she gave a knowing glance towards Astrid. “All things considered.” 

Hiccup ignored the insinuation. “Now that Astrid’s free, I wanted to show her the Bewilderbeast.” 

“Oh absolutely! My camp is still set up, so you should be alright to stay there for a while.” 

“What are you working on?” Astrid asked, noticing the leather. 

“It’s a little belated wedding present.” She held up her project, and it appeared to be a leather jacket, reminiscent of her own leather armor. “It will be treated with scales to make it fireproof.” 

“Wow!” Said Astrid. “So Hiccup gets his leatherworking skills from you?”

Valka laughed. “Not hardly! I looked at Toothless’ tail, and that’s a masterpiece! This…this is a prototype. If Hiccup utilizes the coating I put on it, I’m sure he could make a better one.” 

“I’m sure it’ll be great, mom. Thank you.” He walked over and kissed her cheek. 

“Here, why don’t you try it on? I think it might be big on you, but you can grow into it!”

Hiccup smirked and donned the jacket, already knowing it wasn’t going to fit. It came down below his rear and the sleeves went past his fingertips by at least a hand length. And even the shoulders came halfway down to his elbow. “It’s a little loose.” 

Valka just laughed. “I’ll put some buttons on it so you can secure it until it fits.” 

—-

Astrid was in complete bliss. Riding Stormfly hadn’t been a pleasure she could indulge in. Her alone time had to always be accounted for, and she was never to be alone with Hiccup (that hadn’t stopped her from trying at least). But now, she was a happily married woman, to the boy flying beside her. Whatever happened next, she could deal with. Especially with Hiccup at her side. 

Hiccup was equal parts happy and full of dread. He still rode the high of Astrid finally being his…but they were on their way to see the Alpha. This dragon, the size of a mountain, and another one like it was out there somewhere, waiting. Slowly consuming Berk. 

Sure, the upcoming fight with Snotlout was daunting, but the inevitable face off with the other alpha struck him to the core. 

How does one face something like that?

Suddenly, Astrid dropped from Stormfly, landing backwards in his lap, facing him. He almost fell off Toothless himself. “Ah! Astrid!”

“You didn’t notice me above you? Toothless did!” She put her arms around his neck, in a flirtatious way. “What’s got you distracted?”

“Well, you, now.” 

“Okay, but before that.” 

Hiccup sighed. “Just…it’s hard to explain. I think you’ll understand when you see the alpha.” 

“Ah, I think I understand. Don’t worry, babe. I’m right here, ready to help with whatever you need.” She pressed a deep kiss to his lips, and then used her foot to change Toothless’ tail to turn him over so he was flying upside down. 

Hiccup let out a yelp at the sudden change, while Astrid let go with a laugh. Stormfly was below them now, and Astrid gracefully landed back in the saddle. 

“Why are you such a good flier?” He snarked as he righted Toothless.

“Because I don’t have to control a tailfin, and Stormfly’s been flying with me a lot longer than I’ve been riding. She knows what she’s doing.” 

Toothless let out a gabbing warble. 

“Don’t mock me!” 

Despite the fear, Hiccup laughed, and felt a lot better. Astrid was a good distraction. 

—-

They arrived at the ice cavern about an hour later. It was the same as the first time he’d been there. Teeming with every imaginable dragon species, the Alpha leisurely basking in the icy waters. 

Hiccup looked over to gauge his wife’s reaction, and was not surprised to find her equal parts fascinated and terrified. 

“Let’s go say hi!” He insisted. 

“…Kay.” She squeaked, only managing that in her shocked state. 

They landed on a grassy outcropping, and immediately, Stormfly trotted off to play with some other Nadders, while Toothless leapt up to a higher cliff to get a different look at the Alpha. 

“So…” Astrid breathed as this huge, white, unblinking mountain stared down at them. “There’s something this size closer to Berk?” 

“That’s the thought.” 

“Huh.” She swallowed. “And it’s mean?” 

“Or just…really hungry. I suppose this guy probably eats a lot too. Mom just says he prefers fish.” Hiccup slowly reached out, and touched the rough skin of the dragon’s nose. “Hi! I’m Hiccup! My mom used to live here…I guess she still does on occasion…and this is my friend—wife, Astrid.” 

Astrid laid a shaky hand on his hide, next to Hiccup. 

The dragon let out a puff of the coldest air Astrid had ever felt, chilling her to the bone. 

“Mom says that’s how you know he approves.” 

Astrid shook the ice from her hair. “Good to know I passed.” 

The alpha turned from them then, to look at Toothless. They had a nearly silent conversation, only communicating with low hums. 

“What’s going on?” Asked Astrid. 

Hiccup shrugged. “I’m not sure.” 

They watched as the minutes stretched on, and the humming continued. 

“I guess they’re talking. Maybe we’ll give them a moment. Did you want to see the babies?” 

Astrid’s eyes lit up. “Babies?!” 

—-

The Nightfury was back. He had returned with his pet human, along with the unfamiliar Nadder and another human. 

The humans stood in awe of his presence. While they weren’t dragons, he gladly accepted their adoration. He studied them, just ultimately allowed them to visit as he found them posing no threat. 

For such a commanding and powerful species, this Nightfury willingly bowed to the king, as he should. In time, with confidence, he could be a great alpha to the lands he visited from; the island ripe with humans willing to pamper and care for him. If this little human was anything like the woman that roosted here, it is an indication of the dedication they possess. 

Alpha , the Nightfury dared to speak, dared to reach out, dared to stand in his presence. But he came with humility, and graciousness. He would receive an audience.  

What would you ask of me? The alpha returned.

The lands that we roost are under the control of another alpha, an alpha with a greedy hunger. I and this Nadder have broken free of her control, but many more suffer under her. The humans would live in harmony with dragons if she didn’t command us to raid them , said the Nightfury.

It is not my war to wage , the alpha argued. 

Nor do I want you to fight it. How can I block out the alpha’s call and protect my boy? The Nightfury looked over to the little humans that were observing the other dragons in the sanctuary.

Where is the rest of your flock? Asked the Alpha. Where are the other Nightfuries?

Devoured, said the Nightfury, when I was just a fledgling. I barely remember.

Your question makes more sense then. You haven’t had anyone to tell you.

Tell me what?

The nature of the Nightfury.

—-

They returned after dark. They dismounted not too far from the village, and allowed Toothless and Stormfly to walk back to the cove. They were tired. Exhausted, even. The overload of so many dragons to see and the long flight stole their energy. 

When they returned to the village, Astrid automatically turned to go to her parent’s home. 

“Where are you going?” Hiccup asked, with a smirk. 

“Home?”

“After all the work I put in, and you won’t even call it home…” he sighed dramatically. 

“Oh! Wow! Yeah!” She laughed. “That was just yesterday, wasn’t it?” She took his hand and held it. “For a moment there, I forgot I was married.” 

“Gee, thanks.” 

She bumped her hip against his. “Then let’s go home.” 

He led her up to the house, a permanent smile etched on his face. It was hard not to be happy. They kept sneaking glances at each other, just because they could. 

“Would you like me to draw you a bath?” Hiccup asked. “Help you relax after these crazy few days?”

“You said we have a heated tub, right? I think that’d be nice!” 

“Then, I’ll go get the water.”

“Don’t strain yourself too much. We have an early and busy day tomorrow.” 

“We do?”

“Yep! I’m going to start training you for the fight!” 

Hiccup dropped the bucket just as he picked it up. “You’re–we’re–what?” 

She didn’t elaborate. “So I expect you to be in bed and asleep by the time I’m done with my bath!” 

—-

Astrid began stretching, as Hiccup awkwardly looked around. “Why are we training on the beach?”

“If you can fight on sand, you’ll be able to fight on the stone floor of the arena.” 

“I don’t know if I agree with you, but you’re the master here.” 

“And don’t you forget it. So let’s see what we’re working with.” 

“Astrid…” Hiccup sighed. “I don’t know what you’re trying to do. It’s going to be a bloodbath.” 

“I said put ‘em up!” She nearly shouted.

With an eye roll, Hiccup put his hands up to fight. 

“Like you mean it, Hiccup.” 

“Fine.” He hunched his shoulders slightly, and spread his feet a little. 

Astrid gave him a mighty shove and he tripped backward, landing flat on his back. “Ow! What was that for!?”

“Get up,” She said sternly. 

Obediently, he put his hands on the ground and attempted to push up, but Astrid just shoved him again. 

“Get up,” she urged again. 

Frustrated by her mixed signals, he tried one more time to get to his feet before she shoved him again. 

“Again.” 

“I can’t! You keep pushing me!”

“What would you need to keep me from pushing you?”

“I don’t know! My hands? But I need them to help me get up!”

She nodded sagely, like she had just unlocked the secret of the universe.

Hiccup sat up, and crossed his arms and legs. “No offense, Astrid, but this is pointless. I’m no match for you, and while you have better technique, Snotlout has more strength. He’s going to flatten me! Are you just trying to toughen me up, or something?”

Astrid held her hand out to him, a blank expression on her face. 

With another sigh, Hiccup took it and allowed her to help him up to his feet. Once he stood solidly in front of her, she grabbed his shoulders, not too tightly, and looked him in the eye. 

“Hiccup. I was there when Spitelout said those awful things. We both know they aren’t true.” 

“He’s kinda right.” 

“No. No, he’s not. Hiccup, I watched you. My parents urged me to be friends with you because you would be chief one day.”

“I know.”

“But I didn’t approach you right away. It took me a few months. I was afraid of my reputation, and I had to get over that. You were so eager to prove yourself to the tribe, that you dove head first, without thinking, into trouble.”

“I think we’ve had this conversation before.”

“But you found your niche now.” 

Hiccup groaned. “Yeah, but no one can know about it yet! And what if I can end the war between dragons and vikings? You think they’ll just all accept me and Toothless suddenly? It’ll take years–maybe even an entire generation before they’re over it!” 

“Hiccup.” Astrid squeezed him tighter, urging him to listen. “You probably won’t win this fight, in fact, I guarantee you won’t.” 

“Gee, thanks.”

“But,” she said sternly. “You’re going to put up a Hel of a fight. You’re going to last longer than anyone expects. You’re going to show them that you’re tougher than you seem, and that you’re growing. That will count for a lot.” 

“Who’s going to care about that? All these people ever care about is who wins or loses.” 

“Usually, yes. But everyone knows this fight is unequal. They’ll expect it to be over fast. So, we defy expectations. You’re good at that, right?”

Hiccup frowned harder, but ultimately nodded. “Okay. Tell me what to do.” 

She pulled away. “First, I’m going to teach you how to fall.” 

“Fall? How does that help?”

“Do you know the rules to these fights?”

“Uuuhhh…no. I wasn’t allowed to see them when I was a kid, and then wasn’t invited to watch when I got older.” 

“Well, there’s no weapons and no armor, just fists. There’s three rounds. Each round ends when one opponent pins the other to the ground for ten seconds. It’s best two out of three, or an automatic win if there’s a knock out. Other than that, there’s no rules.” 

“Wait…so like, I can bite?”

Astrid laughed. “Yes, biting and scratching are legal.” 

“Eye poking? Nut kicking?”

“All legal. However, a lot of vikings consider these tactics cheap so they aren’t used very often.” 

“Interesting…”

“So,” she elaborated. “If you fall wrong, Snotlout can take advantage of that to pin you.”

“Okay, so what’s the correct way to fall?”

“Push me.” 

He pouted. “I don’t wanna.”

“We’re on sand!”

He pursed his lips, then shoved her gently by the shoulders. She fell backwards, but twisted slightly and flung her arm out behind her and slapped the ground. “My hand takes the brunt of it, and my head stays up. Do not let your head hit the ground.” 

He nodded, taking notes in his mind. 

“Now watch me get up.” She raised both of her hands up in front of her face. “I keep my hands up to block any attacks coming in. Then I bend my dominant leg, and slide it underneath me. Roll up onto my knee, transfer the weight over so I can get my foot down, then pop up! No hands necessary!”

“You’re amazing.” 

She shoved him so he stumbled. He ultimately lost his balance, but flung his arm back and slapped the ground like she did. 

“Good! Now get up!”

Keeping his arms up, he mimicked her movements to get up to his knee, then his feet. 

“You’re a natural.”

He beamed. 

They practiced that a few times, Astrid pushing him over so he could block and stand. 

“Alright. Now, let’s work on your stance so that you’re a lot harder to push over.” 

“Do you have a miracle diet for me to gain 50 pounds in the next two weeks?”

She chuckled. “No. But I think I know what your problem is. Stand in a fighting position for me.” 

He stood with his feet slightly apart, hands raised to his face. 

“Okay, you’re close.” She used her foot to nudge his feet apart slightly more. “Feet should be shoulder width apart, and put your dominant foot forward slightly.” She nudged his right foot forward. 

“Uh, actually…” he switched, putting his left foot forward.  

“Really!” She said with awe. “I never realized you were left handed.” 

“Most people don’t. It frustrated my dad and Gobber when they taught me–er, tried to teach me how to swing a sword.” 

“Well, in this situation, it shouldn’t matter. Anyways, keep your knees bent.” She shoved him, with the same strength as earlier, but he stood his ground. 

“Hey! That’s pretty good!” 

“So that’s what we’re going to cover today. I’ll teach you how to get out of grapples starting tomorrow.” 

“Awesome! So we’re done?”

She shoved him, a lot harder this time so he staggered. “Not even close!” 

—-

“This one is relatively easy to get out of,” Astrid stated. The second day of training began on a hazy day, keeping them a lot cooler than they had been on day one. Astrid just grabbed his forearm and held tightly. 

“You say that, but nothing you’ve shown me has been my first instinct.” 

“That’s kind of the point, Hiccup. If everything you do is contradictory to what Snotlout expects, he’s not going to win easily.” 

“That makes sense. But how do you know he doesn’t know these moves? What if he does expect these reactions?”

“Well…my mom taught them to me. And her mom to her. These are more or less ‘girl moves’ because they don’t rely on strength, but opportunity.” 

“Oh…”

“And I’m sure Spitelout has taught Snotlout the ‘tackle and punch’ techniques.” 

“Yes, can confirm.” He looked down to her strong fist still holding him. “Okay, then how do I get out of this?”

“You’re going to roll your arm over, and then do a little twist. Here, it’s easier to show you.” She placed his hand on her arm. She started thumb side down, then flipped her arm, palm up, which made his arm twist awkwardly. Then she moved her whole arm to crank his hold over until he couldn’t physically hold on anymore. “Then, for an added injury…” She grabbed his arm back and yanked him forward suddenly, where he would have collided with her striking knee, if she hadn’t stopped.

Hiccup let out a preemptive yelp which dissolved into a relieved sigh when the impact didn’t come. “Astrid, I have to produce an heir some day, don’t scare me like that.” 

She flicked him in the forehead.

—-

Hiccup was beginning to think Astrid enjoyed training him more than she was letting on. 

“So in a headlock, your opponent is going to try to put this bone against your throat.” Astrid had her arm around his neck, pressing her arm, thumb side, into this windpipe. 

“Yep, this is familiar,” he rasped. 

“What you’re going to do is turn your head towards my elbow, and slide my arm over so you can breathe.” 

He did as instructed, finding a pocket in her elbow to catch his breath. 

“Now, you’re going to use your elbow, like I showed you, to hit me in the ribs.”

“But–”

“Just mimic it.” 

He made a fist, and wrapped his other hand around it. Then using his arm like a lever, he jabbed the air right next to Astrid’s ribcage. 

“Oh! That was a good one!” She let him go. “You might have to do that a couple of times to get him to let you go.”

“This would have been handy to know years ago!” Hiccup lamented. 

“Better late than never! Now, what to do when your arms are pinned!” She wrapped her arms around his torso, pinning his arms at his sides. He could still move his lower arms, but had little leverage. “So with this one, he’s going to expect you to grab his arms and pull down, so go ahead and do that.”

He did as instructed, not surprised to see that he had little effect on her hold. 

“Now, you’re going to go up onto your toes, bringing your hips forward, then you’ll drop down onto your heels and slam your butt into my pelvis.” 

“What? That’s not going to do anything.” 

“Just try it. And do it with conviction.” 

Trusting Astrid, Hiccup did as instructed, bringing his hips forward, and then slamming backwards with as much force as he could muster.

He heard Astrid let out a wheeze as she let go of him. 

“Oh my Thor, are you okay?!” He whirled around to check on her. 

He was not prepared for her to grab his butt and give it a squeeze. “By the gods, Hiccup! You have the boniest butt ever!” 

“...I guess it’s to my advantage in this situation, right?”

—-

“Uncle! Uncle! I said UNCLE!”

“Spitelout’s not going to save you anytime soon, Hiccup.” 

“No, I’m cursing him for getting me into this in the first place. Now will you get off?”

Astrid sat on Hiccup’s back, thankfully not up high enough to make it hard to breathe. And he was also grateful that she had decided not to wear her barbed skirt. Wrestling was hard enough when your opponent wasn’t a pin cushion. 

“Sorry Hiccup. This is where you need the most practice. If you can get Snotlout off of you when he tackles you, you have a shot.” 

“Yeah, sure, so…how do I do that? You have my arms pinned.” 

“Sure is a pickle, huh?” 

“…you’re not going to tell me?” 

“No tricks here. You’re on your own.” 

“So I lost this round. Got it!” 

“Alright,” she got off. “Then we need to work on the part before you’re pinned. If he is still scrambling to get a hold of you, then you have a chance.” 

“Can we call it a day, then? I’m exhausted!” He still laid on the ground, not even caring that his face was in the sand. 

“We’re not done, but we can definitely take a break. Your stamina has been increasing each day, too! You can fight for about an hour at a time now!” 

“I won’t last that long in the ring, but thanks for the compliment.” 

Astrid just smiled at him. Then she dramatically whined. “Ugh, I’m so hot and sweaty. I’m going to be gross for the rest of the day!” 

“Why don’t you go take a dip in the ocean?” Hiccup asked, still too tired to move. “It should be warm enough in the shallows that it's tolerable.”

“You know, that’s a great idea. I think I will!” She said enthusiastically, not revealing he had fallen for her trap. 

Hiccup laid on the ground, just resting, as he heard the shifting and dropping of clothes. 

When he finally got the energy to roll over and look at her, his breath left his lungs in a gust. 

Astrid was up to her knees in the water, and totally, completely naked. She had her back to him as she waded out. 

She coyly looked back at him. “Are you going to come in too?”

He suddenly wasn’t tired anymore, and clambered to his feet, rushing to get undressed as well. 

Astrid giggled as his vest got caught on his head. “Someone’s eager.” 

“I’m just…also very hot…” He kicked off his boots and shimmed out of his pants. Then he was left in his skivvies, and looked back up at her. 

Astrid had turned around, facing him fully, and not at all embarrassed to be seen by him. 

His bride, standing there, just for him. 

“Well?” She quirked an eyebrow.  

He looked down to his underwear. “Uh…”

“You can keep them on, if you’re more comfortable. I won’t judge.” 

“Nope! You got—you’re all…I can too!” 

She snorted. 

Hiccup held his breath before taking off the last bit of clothing and dropping it onto the pile of clothes. Then he hesitantly looked back at Astrid, who seemed quite stricken. 

“Uh…you know, it’s really…not as big…as it seems?”

“Hiccup! How!? What?!” She actually started laughing quite hysterically. “Since when?!”

He swallowed before making his way into the water with her. “Like I said…it’s…a little bigger than average. But because…you know, I’m me…it’s an optical illusion.” 

Astrid then scoffed and started laughing. “I get the jokes that everyone was making now, I suppose.” 

“Jokes? What jokes? Oh no…you don’t mean the boys…” 

“Snotlout assured me several times that he would be able to satisfy me in bed, and the twins overheard a few times…let’s just say I heard about the size chart.” 

Hiccup blushed, and tried to look away from her, but like a magnet, he kept getting drawn back to all that perfect, smooth skin. 

“Seeing something you like?” She teased, flipping her braid over her shoulder. 

“Yes. Very much so. You’re…so perfect, Astrid.” And he almost got emotional. She allowed him to look at her, to kiss her…

She crooked a finger at him, beckoning him closer. 

He obeyed, feeling awkward and excited as his blood pulsed in his ears. What would she do?! 

She held out her hands to him, and he took hold. Then she raised his hands up to her chest and let them rest over her breasts. 

“There. That’s my permission. Whenever you want, you can touch me like this.” 

Boobs! He was holding boobs! Every teenage boy’s dream, and he was doing it! Oh what had he done to deserve such favor from the gods?!

“You can move your hands, you know.” She politely reminded.

“Ha ha, yeah…” He gave her a brief squeeze and turned giddy. “Cool.”

Astrid smiled softly and rested her arms on his shoulders as he awkwardly massaged her flesh. 

“Thank you,” he said softly.

She scoffed. “You’re thanking me for this?”

“Yes, and not just for this, but for everything else.” His hands left her chest and moved to wrap around her body, pulling her into a hug. She was warm and soft, in a way nothing else was. 

She returned the hug, hiding her blush against his shoulder. 

“You’ve made my life better,” he declared. “Gave me confidence. Gave me affection. So…thank you.” 

Astrid squeezed him tightly, savoring his touch. “Hold your breath.”

“What?”

Without any other warning, she threw them sideways into the water.

Hiccup broke the surface sputtering, his hair in his eyes. “Hey!”

“I told you we weren’t done with training!” She declared, laughing.

So their wrestling match continued, though this time they were both naked and in the water. 

Hiccup didn’t complain.

Chapter 12: The Fight

Two days before the fight, Hiccup and Astrid returned home to see a note tacked to their door. It had been a long day between flying with the dragons and training to fight. The last thing Hiccup wanted was to see a note. 

 

Hiccup, come to the forge. 

Astrid, go see your mother. 

-Stoick

 

“That can’t be good.” Hiccup began to lament. 

“It’s probably fine,” Astrid tried to placate. “We’re home at the same time we usually are. And we’re still technically on our honeymoon. What would he be reprimanding you about?”

“That’s why I’m worried!” He chuckled humorlessly. “I suppose I should go. But I might need boob therapy when I get back.”

“You are a boob.”

“Touché.” 

Astrid kissed his cheek. “It’ll be fine. I won’t wait up.”

So Hiccup made the short trek to the forge, dragging his feet all the way. It was past sunset at this point, but the sky was still visible. The houses were tinged in blue and orange from torchlight. 

The forge was brightly shining on the hill. Laughter echoed from it, so that had to be a good sign. 

As he appeared in the doorway, he found several men from the village sitting around the cleared worktable. There was a keg, some steins, and several bottles of ale sitting and waiting. 

Stoick, Gobber, Axel Hofferson, Bucket and Mulch, and Astrid’s other uncle Leif all looked to him as he entered, and cheered. 

“There ya are, lad!” Stoick said boisterously.

“What’s going on?” Asked Hiccup.

“It’s a bit backwards, but we never went through the sword ceremony!”

Hiccup was puzzled for a moment before he clarified, “you mean…breaking into the old tomb to retrieve a sword?”

“That’s the one!”

Hiccup groaned. “Do I have to? I’m already married!” 

“Correct! So, we thought we’d mix it up a bit!” Said Gobber. “Since you two said you’ll have an official wedding in the fall, we’ll do the sword ceremony closer to that.” 

“So…what’s tonight?”

“The fun part!” Said Axel. “We drink and tell ya how to please a woman!”

Hiccup stood silently as they all laughed. He could smell the alcohol in the air. They’d started drinking without him. “Can we do the sword thing instead?”

“Nonsense!” Stoick swept him off his feet and plopped him onto a stool. Then a stein of mead was placed in front of him. 

Being so young meant that Hiccup hadn’t partaken in a lot of drinking. That was usually something a boy his age would do in secret with his friends…but he didn’t really have any. 

The mead was mostly sweet, a flavor that he found he could tolerate easier compared to the ale. 

The first mug disappeared before too long, and was refilled. 

“Wait,” Hiccup belatedly realized. “You guys are the ones that are supposed to be teaching me about pleasing a woman? You guys have never been married,” he pointed at Gobber, Mulch, and Bucket. “You're my father-in-law, so I don’t really want to have this conversation with you,” he said to Axel. “You’ve been widowed for 16 years, and you're my dad.” He pointed to Stoick. “That means Leif is the only one qualified. And even then, he’s still Astrid’s family.”

Leif cheered and chugged his drink. 

“Aye lad, but we’ve all lived around women. We know what it takes to live in harmony with them. And so we’ll pass that information on to you,” said Mulch.

“And we’ll never pass up a chance to drink!” Sang Bucket.

“Aye, that too.”

Did you know that the more fat and muscle a person has, the easier it is for them to hold their drink? In contrast, the smaller and leaner, the less alcohol is needed to get drunk. 

Another mug was emptied and refilled. 

Part of it was the general thirst of talking and laughing with friends, and part of it was hoping that the alcohol would make the situation less awkward. 

It started out simple enough. ‘Treat her with dignity and humbleness.’ ‘Don’t demand work from her, but agree on expectations early.’ ‘Discuss it with her if something is bothering you, don’t hold on to resentment.’ These were things that Hiccup knew, and they seemed rather obvious. Perhaps someone more like Snotlout would need more elaboration. 

Hiccup quickly asked for a refill when Gobber uttered the phrase ‘when you want some lovin’, you gotta prime her, and not just thrust it in.’ 

Hiccup realized that the drinks they had were a little stronger than he expected, and that he could not hold his liquor as well as his father. His face felt warm, and he felt like he was floating. Words came out of his mouth before he could consider them.

Before he knew it, he was waking up in his home with a splitting headache, dry mouth, and nausea. “Oh no…” he lamented, trying to sit up, but flopped back down as his stomach protested. 

His joints were all sore, well, more sore than he had been the rest of the week. There was also an itchiness on his chest, but that was rather minor in the grand scheme of things. 

As he laid in bed, he could hear his wife talking to someone downstairs in hushed tones. He gave it a minute, and concluded it was either his father or Axel. Neither great options when he remembered what he could from last night. 

Slowly, he pulled himself out of bed, still in his clothes from the night before. 

So he changed, hoping the fresh clothes would rid him of the stale and dingy feeling. When he removed his shirt, he went to scratch at the itchy spot, though quickly realized what had happened. 

An echo of his own voice returned from last night, slurred and far too enthusiastic for his own good. “That’s a great idea!” 

He was never drinking again. 

Now dressed in clean clothes, he felt slightly better and sauntered downstairs. 

It was his dad. He and Astrid sat at a little table with a pair of chairs. 

“Morning.” Hiccup mumbled. 

“ Afternoon ,” Astrid greeted, with some amusement. She got up from her seat and beckoned him to take it. “Your dad brought over this set this morning. Seems like even when drunk or hungover, these men know how to build furniture.” 

Stoick laughed. “You know Gobber has a full pint of ale first thing in the morning, right? Something about loosening up the joints.” 

“I don’t doubt it.” Hiccup chuckled. 

Astrid placed a large mug before him. “Don’t worry, it’s just water.” 

“Oh sweet release!” He started to chug. 

“Your first hangover treating you well, son?” Stoick smirked. 

“No. It’s kicking my ass. I’ve never felt this horrible in my life.” 

“Well, the fight isn’t until tomorrow evening. Plenty of time to rest. It is partially my fault for making you drink so much. You have my blessing to take it easy.” 

“Great. Man, I can’t remember anything that happened last night.” 

“That’s probably for the best…” Stoick said with a little smirk on his lips. 

“Why?” Hiccup asked, with horror. “What happened?” He turned to Astrid. “What did I do?” 

She shrugged. “I don’t know. When your dad brought you home, you were out cold over his shoulder. You slept hard all night.” 

So they both turned and looked at Stoick. 

“Well, as the night went on, you got a little more loose-lipped. Most of it was unintelligible, but you did tell everyone about Toothless.” 

Hiccup paled considerably. “No…” 

“But I doubt anyone will remember, or understood you were talking about a Dragon. Mostly, they’ll just think you were talking about a toothless friend you made in the woods.” 

“Definitely never drinking again.” 

“How do you remember all this?” Asked Astrid. 

“Lass, look at me. It takes a lot to get me drunk. And I’ve been drinking a long time. I know how to handle my liquor. And I worried Hiccup might say something, so I took it easy.” 

“And this little souvenir?” Hiccup tapped his chest. 

“That was Gobber’s idea. You loved it.” 

“What?” Astrid pried. 

“I’m too embarrassed to tell you right now,” Hiccup admitted ruefully. 

“Don’t worry Lass. You’ll know soon enough…especially if that skinny dipping story is true.” 

“No! No no!” Hiccup protested. Then he groaned, “ugh, can’t anything good happen to me without the whole village knowing?” 

“Again, everyone was drunk. And what happens in the forge, stays in the forge. Don’t worry, son. We’ve all had our drunken confessions.” 

After a brunch of eggs, Hiccup went back up to nap. The window was open slightly, allowing the cool sea breeze to keep the room fresh. Distant gulls called out among the waves. 

Despite the nausea and headache, Hiccup was easily pulled back to sleep. He slept most of the day, in fact, and only roused slightly when Astrid called out to him. 

“Hiccup? I’m going to make sure Toothless is fed, okay? You just rest.” 

“Mmhhhmmm.” 

Evening turned to night, and Hiccup never even noticed when Astrid joined him in bed. 

On the morning of the fight, Hiccup arose early. He was slightly disoriented and dehydrated, but overall, much better from the day before. 

Astrid still laid sleeping beside him, her soft snores quickly becoming a sound of comfort. 

Today was the day. By the end of it, he’d be back in bed, and probably bedridden for at least a week with broken bones and open wounds. 

His nose already hurt just thinking about an incoming punch. 

He got up and dressed quietly, doing his best not to disturb Astrid, then he left the house in search of an early breakfast. 

The sun was behind the trees in the east. The sky alight with an orange gradient. The air was cool, and dew still wetted the grass. 

Only a few people were up at this hour. The baker was one of them, and Hiccup followed the scent of fresh baked bread to his shop. His window was open, and the baker smiled as he approached. 

“Oh, morning Hiccup! Not the Haddock I usually see this time of day,” said the baker. 

“Yeah, I’m…up early.” 

“I remember my stag night,” said the baker, good natured. “Took me a week to fix my sleep schedule.” 

Hiccup sighed. “Of course the whole town knows about the stag night.” 

“Sure, what with everyone hootin’ and hollerin’! Your father at least had the decency to let everyone know to get some wool for their ears. Now, what can I do for you?” 

Hiccup gave him a little smile, “I smelled your bread and wondered if you had anything prepared for breakfast.” 

“Got just the thing! Fresh from the oven rolls, and strawberry jam from the madam.” 

Hiccup’s very empty stomach growled at the words. “Sounds perfect.” 

“I’ll get that right up.” 

“Make it three, my good man,” a voice interrupted from behind, startling Hiccup. 

Ruffnut and Tuffnut appeared on either side of Hiccup, resting their arms over his shoulders. 

The baker’s smile faded. “Hello you two.” 

“And a fine morning to you as well,” said Tuffnut. 

“Let it be known, our mother has had a word with us this morning, and we are here on our best behavior…and bring payment for our tab.” Ruffnut held up a bag of coins. 

The baker’s mood improved. “Well now, that’s more like it! I’ll prepare three rolls!” He took the money and got to work. 

“So…” Hiccup began, conversationally. “You two are up early.” 

Tuffnut scoffed. “Are you kidding? If the sun is up, we’re up.” 

“Really?” 

“Early mornings are the best times to be awake. Then you get to witness all the pranks you set the night before go off!” 

“Oh, now I get it.” Hiccup smiled. 

“Besides,” said Ruffnut. “It’s a fight day. Gotta start early if we want a nice sized book.” She held up a stack of paper.

“Why am I not surprised that you guys are setting up bets?” 

The baker returned with a sheet of rolls. “You guys are running bets on this fight? Really?” He chuckled. Then he added, “no offense Hiccup.” 

“Some taken.” 

“What are the odds?” 

“That’s the beauty of it, my good sir. While the odds of Hiccup winning a round are 0 to 3, we’ve taken some considerations for other odds.” 

“Gee, thanks.” Hiccup rolled his eyes. 

“There’s a 1 to 2 chance that Hiccup survives a round.” 

“The fight isn’t to the death!” Hiccup protested. 

“True, but it is until knock out, so by ‘surviving’ we mean unconscious.” 

“You two came up with these?” 

“The conditions. Fishlegs helped with the math.” 

The baker set the first plate in front of Hiccup. “Any other odds?” 

“2 to 1, Snotlout claims he’s won the fight before the ref actually declares it.” 

“Meaning he’ll at least be focused for the first round, and he’ll protest the other two…if Hiccup survives that long.” 

“Oh, and then there’s a 1 to 2 chance that Stoick will stop the fight early to save Hiccup’s life.” 

“Wow!” Hiccup called. 

“Interesting set,” said the baker with a smile.

“So…can we put you down for anything?” 

“Three gold pieces on Snotlout bragging.” 

“The easy win, but not much of a pay out.” 

“And then, one silver piece on Hiccup.” 

“Surviving?” 

“Winning.” 

Hiccup looked surprised, but then again, it was just a silver piece. 

“Very good!” Said Tuffnut, pocketing the change, while Ruff marked him in the books. 

“You know,” said Ruff. “You aren’t the first person to bet on Hiccup winning.” 

Hiccup sat up a little straighter. 

“Let me guess, the chief?” Asked the baker. 

“Hell no,” Tuff laughed. “He only bet on Snotlout bragging.” 

Hiccup deflated. 

“Gobber bet three gold pieces, and Axel Hofferson bet ten.” 

Though smiling, Hiccup said, “I need to talk to Axel about his gambling problem.”  

“Why would Axel bet a number like that?” Asked the baker. “Ah, no offense Hiccup.” 

“Still some taken.” 

“The scoop is that Hiccup’s been training with Astrid. And honestly, I believe it.” Tuff gave Hiccup a nice pat on the back. “If anyone’s going to take Snotlout down a few notches, it’s this guy.” 

“You think so?” Hiccup brightened. 

“Sure! I’m not going to bet on it, but yeah! Think about it. Fishlegs? Me or Ruff? Astrid certainly could have before she broke her arm. You have the element of surprise.” 

“Completely unsuspecting.” 

“Non threatening even. Like a baby deer!” 

“I’m less flattered the more you speak.”

“Tell you what, Chief Jr. We’ll give you a ten percent cut on the takings if you win.” 

“How generous.” 

“Merely a token of our esteem. Just make sure you win before Snotlout brags for the highest possible payout.” 

Hiccup sighed. “Noted.” 

—-

After breakfast, Hiccup went down to the cove. The fight was in the evening, and he had a lot of time to kill before then. And he would rather spend it away from the town. 

It could very well be his final hours. 

Valka was still asleep when he arrived, as was Toothless. But with some gentle poking and prodding, he got the dragon awake. 

After all, Toothless didn’t get to see Hiccup the day before, so he was rather excited to see him. 

Hiccup saddled him quietly, and they left for a long morning flight. 

“You have no idea what’s happening, huh bud?” 

Toothless gave a low whine. 

“I haven’t been very frank with you about it. I mean, you knew how I felt about Astrid, and I told you how close we were. Do dragons have a concept of marriage? Anyway, you knew that Astrid and Snotlout were supposed to get married.” 

A warble. 

“Right. I complained about it for months. Well…I don’t know how to explain this, but I accidentally married her first. You were there when I told my mom, remember?” 

Toothless made a noise that Hiccup swore was a laugh. 

“So while I got to marry her like I had been dreaming about since I was 13, I have to fight Snotlout to restore his honor. It’s happening tonight.” 

Toothless hummed, a low sound that was both comforting and telling. 

He knew exactly what Hiccup was dealing with. 

“So. Yeah. I wish you could help with this, but…ugh. I’ll get in bigger trouble for that. All that to say, I might not be able to come out here for a few days. Possibly. It all depends how hard I get my butt kicked. Astrid’s been training me, at least. I might be able to survive longer than I expect.” He shook his head slowly. “I’m not optimistic though.”

Toothless decided enough was enough of the moping, and tucked his wings in suddenly to drop from the sky. The sudden drop made Hiccup’s stomach float into his lungs as a scream ripped out of him. Just as quickly, Toothless unfurled his wings and caught them. 

Then Hiccup busted out laughing, the adrenaline starting to course through him. “You’re right bud. No use worrying about it right now. Let’s do that again, but higher!” 

—

Despite his valiant efforts, Hiccup found himself marching through town, towards the arena. The sun was a few hours from the horizon, and the rest of the village was finishing their dinners. 

Hiccup had no appetite. 

The squawks of birds combined with the hub-bub of the crowd sounded like a funeral dirge to his ears. It was time. 

Stoick was there when he arrived, as well as a few townsfolk eager to get the good seats. 

Stoick smiled at him and clapped a hand to his shoulder. “There you are! Didn’t see you all day! Surprised you showed up a little early. Thought I’d have to pull you out from under a bed somewhere.” 

“Like a scared cat? Come on, dad. Don’t you have any faith in me?” 

“Son, no offense, but everyday that you’re alive is a miracle.” 

“Can’t argue with that.” 

“Now, I can’t be in the ring with you, so I asked Gobber to take my place. I’m sure Astrid will be with you too.” 

“In the ring? What for?” 

“Technically, to pull the combatants apart at the end of rounds. But in this case, you’ll probably need someone to drag you over to get your wounds treated.” 

“Noted.” 

“I’m also not mediating the fight. I didn’t want anyone to assume I was being biased. So, I have to just be a quiet observer. Just wanted you to know so you weren’t sad I wasn’t being more supportive.” 

“Oh, I don’t think you could be more supportive if you tried,” Hiccup snarked.

Stoick gripped his shoulders, but not too firmly. “Hiccup. No matter how this turns out, remember, it’s not important.”

“That’s what I’m banking on at least.” 

“And, your mother wanted to give you her love and luck too.” 

“That’s sweet.” 

“She’s watching up there,” Stoick pointed to the cliff that looked over the arena. 

Both Valka and Toothless emerged from hiding in the foliage to wave at him. 

Hiccup screwed up his lips. “I’m worried that Toothless will come to my help.” 

“Your mother assured me she has him under control. But we’re all here for you son.” 

It was then that Astrid and Gobber arrived, with Spitelout and Snotlout not far behind them. 

“Ready to get beaten within an inch of your life?” Snotlout smirked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

As a group, they entered the arena. A wide circle was drawn on the stone floor in chalk. Two chairs sat in opposite corners. The Jorgenson’s took the left-most chair, leaving the other for Hiccup. 

Spitelout and Snotlout began having a hushed conversation, most likely last minute suggestions on how to brutally maim Hiccup. Snotlout removed his helmet, vest, and tunic. 

“You should take yours off too,” commented Astrid. “One less thing for him to grab.”

“And,” added Gobber, “they have to see you aren’t wearing any armor.” 

Hiccup grumbled, but conceded. 

Astrid had seen him naked, being shirtless wasn’t a problem. No, it was the new, permanent addition to his torso he thought she’d have an issue with. 

Hiccup slowly removed his tunic, before dropping it onto the chair, and then held his breath for the impending reactions. 

“Hiccup…” Astrid breathed, slightly in awe, and mostly amused. “Wh-what?”

Over his heart, in mostly neat lettering, was Astrid’s name. Tattooed for the rest of eternity. 

“I’m never drinking again,” he said simply, with a little shrug. 

“Oh…” Gobber gave a disappointed sigh. “That looked so much better last night. What did you do?” 

“Me?! You were drunk when you did it! You probably messed it up! I’m just happy it’s spelled right.” 

“There’s a first for everything.” Gobber grinned. 

“Are you serious?!” Snotlout shouted from across the arena. “You got her name tattooed?! You little maggot, she’s not even yours!” 

“She’s my wife, you idiot!” Hiccup snapped back, proudly. 

Snotlout squared his shoulders and began to stomp over, but Spitelout gripped his arm. 

“Keep that anger, but wait a few minutes.” 

Oh great. Now Hiccup was really going to get it. 

At this point, most of the village had arrived, and the rest were trickling in. 

Stoick stood. “Attention!” His voice echoed over the crowd. There was instant silence. 

He had to teach Hiccup how to do that someday. 

“I’d hate to welcome you all to tonight’s event, but what was promised is promised. My son, no matter how well intentioned or accidental, has caused a slight against the Jorgenson family. They have agreed to settle the matter with a fight. After said fight, no matter the outcome, I expect the rest of you to drop the matter entirely.” 

There were some mumbling from the crowd, and Hiccup distinctly heard someone say loud enough, “wouldn’t have been an issue if Spitelout hadn’t tricked poor Axel.” 

“I will now turn it over to Hackjaw, the reigning champion of the Mead Hall brawls, who will be mediating the fight as an unbiased eye.” He gestured to the man. 

“Aye, thank you Chief,” said Hackjaw. “Now, you boys listen up.” He called down to Snotlout and Hiccup. “As you may very well know, there are very few rules in an honor fight. No armor, no weapons but your fists. This fight is not to the death, and if one of the contestants dies, the surviving contestant will be treated as a murderer. And we don’t want that, do we Snotlout?” 

Snotlout scoffed as some of the audience chuckled. 

“There will be three rounds, each round lasting 3 minutes. After each round, we will judge who the winner is and if the other combatant is able to continue. There is no conceding, we will determine if you’ve had enough.” 

Hiccup sighed and hung his head. 

“If a combatant is knocked unconscious, the other will be declared the victor of the fight. In the off chance that there is no knock out, the winner of the majority of rounds wins. If there is a draw and the end result is a tie, we will add a quick one minute round at the end. Each round begins and ends with a horn.” He pointed to silent Sven, who held an hourglass and a horn. “Are there any questions?” 

“What’s the chalk circle for?” Asked Hiccup.

“Try to keep the fight in the circle to protect the others in the arena.”

“What’s the rule on broken bones?” Snotlout asked, while cracking his knuckles. 

“Legal.” 

Hiccup swore aloud. 

“If we are ready, combatants step into the ring.” 

“You got this,” Astrid promised. 

“Yeah right.” Hiccup chuckled darkly. 

When both Hiccup and Snotlout stood in the ring, Hiccup assumed his fighting stance, now muscle memory from all his training with Astrid. 

“I hope the marriage was worth it,” Snotlout sneered. “Because I’m about to break you so bad you’ll wish you were dead.” 

“Or, you could just rough me up a bit and we’ll say I owe you a favor?” 

“Can’t wait to break your jaw so you stop being such a smart ass.”

“I should have run when I had the chance.”

“Ready!” called Hackjaw. 

The horn sounded, and Hiccup clenched every muscle in his body, totally frozen in fear. 

Snotlout ran at him, full tilt, a primal roar ripping from his throat. He slammed into Hiccup, lifting him off his feet, then quickly threw him to the ground, knocking the wind from his lungs. 

Hiccup only had a second to contemplate how stupid that was before Snotlout’s knee dug into his sternum, and the punches came.

The first blow turned his vision white. It wasn’t the first time he’d been punched in the face, but this was the first time it was against the ground where his head couldn’t move. 

Right to the face, full strength, knuckles drilling into his bones. It was a flurry of blows, each one blending in with the last, all tenderizing his face. A few to his nose, a few to his upper cheek, a couple to his jaw. 

If he hadn’t clenched everything, it might have hurt a bit more, if possible. 

The horn blew, but Hiccup barely noticed, as Snotlout had yet to relent his assault.

It was suddenly over as Snotlout was forcibly pulled off of him by Spitelout and Gobber. 

“There’s no way that was three minutes!” Snotlout yelled up to Hackjaw.

“I can end the round early if I think someone has had enough!”

Astrid ran to Hiccup and knelt beside him. “Hiccup?”

“Don’t touch him!” Cried Hackjaw. “Hiccup, lad, are you awake? Can you hear me?”

Hiccup raised a weak thumbs up to Hackjaw. 

“No knock out! Snotlout wins the round! One minute break before the next round!” 

Gobber and Astrid each hooked an arm under Hiccup and dragged him over to sit in the chair. 

He already looked awful, and the bruising hadn’t even set in yet. Blood poured from his nose, split lip, and eyebrow. 

Astrid took a wet washcloth and tried to gently wipe the blood away, but without a bandage, it would be a problem again. 

“Water,” Hiccup huffed. 

She took the ladle provided and gave him a drink. 

He sipped it, swished the water around in his mouth, and spat it out on the ground. It was mostly blood. 

“Bucket,” he then said. 

Astrid gave him the whole bucket of water, about to question what he was doing when he dunked his whole head in. 

He flung his head out a moment later, his now wet hair flopping back. 

“Are you okay to go again?” Asked Gobber. “Because if you're at all disoriented, I can tell the judges, and this can be over.” 

Hiccup pushed his wet hair back and wiped the bloody water from his face. “I have to try again. Astrid worked so hard to train me, and I totally screwed it all up. I have to try again.” 

Astrid rested a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t do this on my behalf. All the ‘louts want is to punch you around. They did that. You can be done.” 

“One more round.” 

Gobber didn’t look too sure, but nevertheless, helped him to his feet.

On his own, Hiccup went back into the ring. 

Snotlout faced him on the other side. Hiccup noticed with a strange hint of pride, that Snotlout’s knuckles were bleeding. 

“What? We’re going again? I think it’s pretty clear I’ve already won this thing.” 

That declaration sent up equal cheers and boos from the crowd. 

Hiccup smiled. Oh right, the bet. 

“Round 2!” Hackjaw announced, and Hiccup dropped into his fighting stance. His face throbbed, and his body trembled with adrenaline. 

The horn sounded, and Snotlout ran at him just like the last time. 

This time, Hiccup wasn’t frozen. He clenched his muscles, and as Snotlout collided with him, Hiccup dug his fingers into his back, brought his knee up, and drilled it right into Snotlout’s stomach. 

This made Snotlout release his grip slightly, and Hiccup got out of the grapple and scooted several feet away. 

The crowd cheered. 

“Why you little—!” Snotlout grit, running at him again. This time, he went for his neck, and Hiccup expertly weaved out of the hold. Snotlout got him into a headlock, and Hiccup used his elbow to dig into Snotlout’s ribs and get out, just like he and Astrid had practiced. 

Every grapple, Hiccup had an answer for. Every punch, he knew how to deflect or move with to avoid pain. 

Snotlout kicked Hiccup hard in the side of the knee, causing him to lose his balance, at which point, Snotlout gave him a hearty shove to knock him down. Hiccup fell, but braced himself with his arm so as not to hit his head, then he quickly rolled up onto his knee and got to his feet before Snotlout could hit him while he was down. 

The crowd went wild, chanting Hiccup’s name. It seemed like regardless of bets, the village was excited to see a good fight. Stoick’s cheers were the loudest.

“Stand still!” Snotlout shouted. 

Hiccup didn’t respond, remaining laser focused on avoiding the next attack. 

Snotlout threw a nasty haymaker towards Hiccup’s head, which he blocked with both of his arms. This left his stomach open, and Snotlout landed a heavy punch there. 

Hiccup crumbled forward, winded again. But before Snotlout could hit him again, the horn sounded. 

“Oh come on!” Snotlout shouted. 

“End of round!” Hackjaw declared. “A draw!” 

This made the crowd go crazy again, as Hiccup returned to his chair. 

Astrid shook his shoulder enthusiastically. “That was great! I knew that training would help!” 

Hiccup managed to smile. “I’m kind of impressed with myself, honestly.” 

Gobber crouched at his side. “You have one round left. Think you can do it?”

“I feel a little light headed,” Hiccup wiped the blood from his face that continued to pour from the first round. “But I can do it.” 

“I’ll let you in on a little secret. I promise that no one is going to give you any grief for fighting dirty.”

“Fighting dirty?”

“Cheap shots.”

Hiccup nodded heavily. “Sure. And I’m sure no one saw how many times Snotlout pinched and bit me during that round.” He held out his arm that had a bite mark on it. He glanced over to where Snotlout was resting. He looked pissed, but Spitelout was worse, reaming him out and pointing out everything he had ever done wrong. 

“I get it!” Snotlout finally shouted back, loud enough for Hiccup to hear. “I didn’t even want to do this stupid fight! So just let me finish it!” 

Spitelout jutted out his jaw, but retreated, throwing a wet towel at the back of Snotlout's head. 

“Ready?” Astrid asked. 

“Let’s end this.” Hiccup stood, shaking out his limbs. 

Snotlout joined him in the circle, his eyebrows furrowing in thought. No doubt, Snotlout could see the graphic amount of blood pouring from Hiccup’s face. 

There had to be some satisfaction.

The horn sounded, signaling the last round. 

Neither moved. Hiccup, waiting to go on defense again, and Snotlout deciding what move he was going to make. 

“Take him down!” Spitelout hollered. 

Snotlout then smiled, looking slightly smug. “You know what? I’m going to let you have the first hit.” 

“What?” Hiccup asked, only slightly thrown off. 

“Yeah!” Snotlout laughed, widening his stance, and raising his arms out to his sides. “Give me your best shot.”

“What are you doing, you idiot?!” Spitelout raged. 

But Snotlout simply seemed to not care, and waited patiently for Hiccup to hit him. He even closed his eyes. 

Perhaps it was a trick? No, Snotlout really was too cocky for his own good sometimes. Hiccup moved closer, slowly, thinking. If he did this right, he could actually win. 

With all the strength his little body could muster, he kicked up, right between Snotlout’s legs and sent his balls inside his body. Snotlout crumbled forward, a satisfying wheeze slithering through his lips. 

Hiccup took the opportunity to grab Snotlout by the hair and bring his face down while Hiccup raised his knee. Bone against bone connected in an audible clack, Hiccup’s kneecap striking right between Snotlout’s eyes, and Hiccup dropped his opponent. 

Everyone stood still for a moment, just waiting for Snotlout to get back up. 

“Snotlout! Get up!” Spitelout yelled, his voice breaking. 

Snotlout didn’t move.

Gobber ran over to check, rested a hand on his back, and then on his neck. He smirked and called to Hackjaw, “Snotlout’s out cold.” 

“THAT’S MY SON!!” Stoick screamed, his voice echoing over the arena. 

A smile began to break out on Hiccup’s face as the cheers of the crowd were deafening.

But it was good he didn’t drop his guard, because Spitelout was livid and ran straight at Hiccup, his fists already swinging. 

Hiccup performed the same maneuver on Spitelout as he just had with Snotlout. He kicked the man clear in the nuts and bashed his face with his knee. 

The crowd went silent.

As Spitelout hit the ground, Hiccup backed up, actually terrified. “Oh gods! I didn’t mean too!” 

Fortunately, Spitelout seemed to take it better than Snotlout had, and wasn’t knocked out. He staggered to his feet, groaning. Then, as he held his head, he began chuckling to himself. “Alright, alright, I suppose I deserved that.”

Hiccup took a further step back. 

“What a wallop! Sure, it was no punch, but it certainly did the job!” Spitelout was still laughing. He shook his head. “Ah, this whole thing was a lot of nonsense wasn’t it? Sorry about that lad.” And he went over to Snotlout and poked him with his foot. “Alright boy, let’s go home and get you patched up.” 

Hiccup dropped his arms in shock. 

He felt light headed again, that cotton-in-the-ears, fuzziness in his brain. He stood awkwardly in the arena as the village erupted in a roar. People were throwing things, shaking the chains around the dome, and hitting each other. 

“You did it!” Astrid cheered as she collided with him. Hiccup went boneless as she picked him up and spun him around. “I’m so proud of you!” 

Hiccup grinned at her, despite his dizziness. He managed a sound of affirmation that sort of sounded like, ‘yuh’. 

Astrid then grabbed his face and kissed him full on the lips. 

It was then that Hiccup finally passed out.

Chapter 13: The Wait

Notes:

Hello! We're moving into the end of this story. I struggled with this chapter because it's a transition, and I didn't know how to handle it. But I figured it out! Hopefully the next few chapters will come quicker!

“To the victor goes the spoils,” Gobber chuckled. 

“If by spoils, you mean a trip to Gothi’s then yaaayy…” Hiccup drawled. 

He and Snotlout were both in Gothi’s hut, actually. Snotlout was reeling with a concussion, and was first in line for treatment, while Hiccup sat nearby, holding a rag to his nose while Gobber held another over his eyebrow. 

“Why is Astrid retrieving a Deadly Nadder spine again?” Hiccup asked. “I think I was fading in and out of consciousness when you gave instructions.” 

“That’s simple, lad. Nadder spines have venom in them that paralyzes their prey. But just a little bit rubbed on the skin has a numbing quality. And since you need a whole lot of stitches, it’s better to be numbed. Makes you flinch less.” 

“Especially if it’s my face,” Hiccup supposed. 

“I coulda won ya know,” Snotlout drawled. “I let you win though, cause you needed it. I’m a good person like that.” 

“Yes Snotlout, you probably should have won. But you had no idea I was going to knock you out with that hit. Don’t act like you threw the match.” 

“I almost prevented myself from being knocked out, but I didn’t.” 

“You’re full of shit.” 

“So’s your mom.” 

“That doesn’t even make sense.” 

“Oh yeah, well so’s your mom!” 

“Hiccup lad, the boy has a concussion, he’s even more dumb than on the average.” 

“I’ll drink to that!” Snotlout cheered, holding up a roll of bandages like a cup. 

Hiccup rolled his eyes, the action actually hurting. As Gothi tended to Snotlout, making him a tea to help with his brain swelling, Hiccup sat patiently and waited, trying not to let the throbbing in his face bother him. 

“I’m back,” Astrid announced, several Nadder spines in her arms. 

“Wow lass! Ya pick the Nadder clean?” 

Astrid chuckled, “I picked the impaled tree clean.” She handed the spines off. 

They watched as Gothi ran a knife down the sides of the spine, against the grain. A little gel beaded up on the surface, and she spread it on Hiccup’s face like butter. 

He winced at first, but soon the pain ebbed, and disappeared. Then all feeling, and he felt very droopy, and his mouth felt puffy. 

Astrid took over Gobber’s spot as bandage holder, while Gobber watched Snotlout. 

Gothi worked diligently to make sure the bridge of Hiccup’s nose was straight, and then she got to work stitching up the cuts on his forehead and cheek. 

Cleaned of blood, Hiccup at least started to look more normal. The cut on his lip was still blood red, but didn’t bleed. Almost every inch of his face was dotted with abrasions or bruised. His eyes were bloodshot, and surrounded by swollen purple bags. 

Astrid stared at him, sadly, before kissing his cheek. “You’re a mess.” 

“I feel like it,” he said, a line of drool coming out of his mouth. “Whoops.” 

She dabbed his mouth with a handkerchief. “At least it’s not blood. You spat a lot out. I worried you had bitten your tongue.” 

“I don’t think so. I think it all came from my nose.” 

Gothi gave instructions in the dirt, while Gobber translated. “Keep the wounds clean. Get plenty of rest and drink water. He can have some of this tea if the pain comes back. The Nadder poison should last 24 hours.” 

That was fine with Hiccup. This awkward numbing feeling was preferable to the hot ache from the wounds. 

Astrid took his hand and led him out of Gothi’s house. 

He blinked blearily as they walked. “I wanna see Toothless,” he demanded. 

Astrid actually barked a laugh. “Uh, no. No, you’re going home, and you’re going to rest. Your parents will make sure Toothless is fed and scratched. You’ve been awake since the crack of dawn and you’re dealing with blood loss.” 

She expected him to protest a little. Maybe a whiny little childish tantrum. But no. He just said, “‘Kay.” 

Smiling, Astrid steered him back to their shared home. Once inside, he tottered on his feet. “Okay yeah, maybe I’m…not so full of energy. Not for that walk.” 

She led him over to the table and had him sit. “My mom brought dinner over for us earlier. You weren’t home, but I saved plenty for you.” 

The house smelled delicious, a scent of meat cooking over the fire, mixed with herbs and spices. His stomach rumbled, hungry and empty, long having digested that roll he had for breakfast. 

Astrid served up the bowl and put it in front of him. 

“I’ll be right back,” she took up the two large buckets used to fill the tub. “I’m going to draw you a bath.” 

Hiccup actually felt his eyes get a little misty. “You don’t have to.” 

“I want to,” she declared, before leaving the house. 

He didn’t have the energy to protest, and the food just smelled so good. 

So he ate his dinner quietly, more food falling out of his numbed mouth than he wanted. 

Then he was done and Astrid was escorting him to his bath, and helping him out of his clothes. He didn’t even mind. 

Did he also have a concussion?

Astrid winced, and he looked at her in concern. She was looking at him though, her face screwed up. 

“What?” 

“I thought your worst injuries were on your face, but your ribs are all bruised.” She gently prodded his side. “Does that hurt?” 

He winced. “Yeah.” 

“I was worried about that. Here, let’s get you in the tub. I put some healing salts I use after tough training. It should help with sore muscles.” 

Carefully, he stepped in the steamy water, the heat and slight lavender scent making his still tense muscles start to uncoil. He laid back, the water coming up to his collarbone. He involuntarily moaned. 

“Is that okay?”

“It’s perfect.” 

Astrid sighed. “Good.” 

Hiccup leaned his head back and closed his eyes, too tired to do anything else. He worried slightly that he’d fall asleep in the tub, but at least Astrid was around. 

Speaking of Astrid, he heard her scoot the little step stool closer and ring out a rag. A moment later, the cool rag was placed over his eyes, soothing the angry bruising and swelling there. 

Then, Astrid took his hands, and began to clean his fingernails. 

“What are you doing?” He murmured. 

“I have to sleep next to you, and your nails are all full of dirt and Snotlout’s blood. Completely gross.” 

“That’s surprisingly…tender of you.” 

“Well, don’t get used to it.” 

After she did his nails, she washed his hair, scrubbing the dust and gore away. 

“This is really really nice, you know, you could open a spa.” 

Astrid delicately moved her arms down to his shoulders and started to massage. “Oh really?” 

“Yeaaahhhh…” he moaned, completely in pleasure. 

Astrid then dug her fingers into what meat there was in his boney shoulders and kneaded him like old dried dough. 

“Agghhh!” Hiccup cried out. 

“I’m a real masseuse, huh?” 

“It was a joke!” 

After she let go, he rolled his shoulders to get feeling back. “Hold on, do that again.” 

“What? Attempt to break you in half?” 

“Yeah, but closer to my neck this time.” 

Concerned, but curious, she dug her thumbs into the slope of his neck, tenderizing him. 

He let out several pained groans as she worked, but then sighed in relief when she was done. 

“That did the trick,” he breathed. “I feel like I can actually relax now, thank you.” 

“Huh,” she shrugged. “You’re welcome, I guess. I’ll let you soak in privacy for a while. If you fall asleep and drown, I will kill you.” 

He snorted. “Noted.” 

Some time later, when the water became lukewarm and the siren song of the bed became too strong, he staggered to his feet and drained the tub. Astrid left his nightclothes in the bathroom, and he dressed before trudging up the stairs. 

Astrid was already in bed, stretched out, only wearing a long tunic, and propped up with the pillows, reading a book. 

“Feel better?” She asked, not looking up. 

“You’re on my side.” 

She laughed. “Okay! I thought you wouldn’t want to crawl all the way over here.” 

“Oh, that’s true. I don’t.” He flopped bonelessly down onto the downy surface, awkwardly shuffling to get his feet up. 

Astrid couldn’t stand the pathetic sight, and grabbed him by the waistband and yanked him up on the bed. “There you go.” 

“Thanks…I’m totally exhausted.” 

“I can tell.” 

“Thank you for getting me home and taking care of me,” he murmured, slowly drifting towards sleep. 

She blew out the bedside candle. “You’re welcome.” 

“Are you proud of me?” 

Astrid scooted up beside him and gathered him in her arms, spooning him. “I’m so proud of you.” 

He hummed as a smile broke through the numbness. 

“Now that it’s all over, can I confess something, and you not get mad?” She asked. 

He furrowed his brow. What was all over? “Hmm?” 

“I knew what was happening at Gothi’s and purposefully didn’t stop it.” 

Hiccup’s eyes blew wide open, well, as much as they could with the swelling. He pulled away from her, and propped up on his arms, and leaned over her. “Pardon?” 

She nervously giggled. “Uh…yeah. When she had us do our vows, and she had you say your name, I knew then that she thought we were eloping.” 

“And you didn’t say anything?!” 

“Nope. Because I saw my chance.” 

He sputtered in outrage. “Chance for what?! To humiliate Spitelout? To send me on some noble quest for public acceptance?! Or just to get out of marrying Snotlout?!” He knew he was being hysterical, but her confession made the gauntlet of ‘what if’s’ run in his mind. 

Astrid didn’t look the least bit bothered. “I saw a chance for a lifetime of happiness with my best friend…and the man I love.” 

All the fight left him like a puff of smoke. “C-c-come again?” 

She chucked. “You heard me right.” 

He leaned closer, staring at her deeply. “Please, look me in the eyes and say it again. I need to know this isn’t just some dream that I’m having while still passed out on the arena floor.” 

She gently cupped his face with her hands, and he could just barely feel it. “I love you, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock. With all that I am.” 

He trembled. “Wow…wow…I…Astrid…” 

“Does that mean the feeling is mutual?” 

“Y-yes! Yes of course!” He declared. “I’ve loved you my whole life! Since we were children! I-I-I’ve only fallen harder and harder for you since those days you started talking to me. I tried to let you go, but I couldn’t. So many nights, Astrid, so many nights I thought about the hayloft. I knew I could never love another woman again. I…I love you.” 

Careful of the cut on his lip, Astrid pulled him down into a gentle kiss. 

“I’ll never get tired of that,” he said, dreamily. 

“So…you’re not mad at me?” 

“No. I would have been if you had said it was to stick it to the Jorgensons, but honestly, if I was in your shoes, and I noticed what Gothi was doing…I’d have a hard time stopping it too.” 

She pulled him down to snuggle with her, pressing his head to her chest. “I’m sorry you had to fight Snotlout. I didn’t expect that to happen. But that’s partly why I insisted on training you. I knew this was my fault. I owed it to you.” 

“No one has to know about this,” Hiccup murmured, getting sleepy again. “It’s still Gothi’s fault…you just took advantage of the situation.” 

“Yeah. I think it all worked out rather well.” 

He giggled as he rested his head against her breast. “I’ll say.” 

—

In the morning, Hiccup awoke slowly, coming in and out of wakefulness. Sleep felt like sand in his eyes as he blinked hard. Wiping his face resulted in a painful throb throughout his eyes and nose. 

Oh, right. The fight. Well, if the pain was any indication, that meant yesterday wasn’t a dream. He got his ass kicked, but he won in the end! 

“Morning,” Astrid said softly, above him. 

He blinked again, trying to orient himself. The pillow he was using was Astrid’s stomach, and he was curled around her, legs tangled with her. He realized he felt her playing with his hair too. 

He unfurled, sitting up to look at her. Her eyes were still sleepy, hair undone and messy. She grimaced when he faced her. 

“That bad, huh?” 

“The bruising has developed a…floral hue.” 

“I’m purple, got it.” 

She pouted. “At least you won the fight.” 

“True, and got the girl. Hey, did you tell me that you love me last night?” 

“I did!” 

“Oh good, that wasn’t a dream either.” He laid back down, curling into her side. “Maybe another hour or so of sleep…” 

“Or, we could go get breakfast up in the great hall. Should be plenty of drunk people ready to sing your praises.” 

Hiccup’s stomach growled on cue, and he rested his hand on it. “I suppose…”

“Then you can come back and take a nap, or we can take a leisurely stroll to the cove and hang out with Toothless!” 

He pushed to get up, now excited. “Now that sounds like a plan!”  

—

The Great Hall was teeming with village life, as usual. It was still morning, and people often brought their breakfasts, plus food to spare, up to fellowship with their neighbors. Today it seemed a little more lively, however, which could be chalked up to the fight. 

Vikings loved any and all reasons to party. 

When Hiccup and Astrid walked through the doors, people turned to greet them, only to switch to a grimace as they got a load of Hiccup’s face. It was a comedical “ayyyyeeuugghoooohhhhh” sound. 

Hiccup hadn’t looked in the mirror that morning. The Nadder poison still made his face numb, and it felt like it had swollen three times the normal size. He couldn’t quite open his eyes either. 

Astrid led them to their usual table, where the other teens, excluding Snotlout, were sitting. 

“Oh Hiccup,” Tuffnut cooed in jest, “purple suits you so well.” 

“Haha. Very funny.” 

“Is Snotlout still at Gothi’s?” Astrid asked. 

“No, he’s mostly recovered,” supplied Tuff. “Though, I did hear a rumor that he was training for some sort of ‘rematch’.” 

“Nope,” said Hiccup, slapping his hand on the table. “One fight was enough for me, thank you.” 

“Speaking of the fight!” Chirped Ruffnut. “You, my good sir, are owed some winnings!” 

A hefty bag of coins landed on the table, mostly filled with copper and silver pieces. 

“We did so good,” Tuff chuckled. “The biggest payout was to all the people that bet on Snotlout declaring himself winner first. But, all of this came from the people that took the easy bet of Snotlout winning.” 

“I’m…still a little offended,” Hiccup muttered, shifting the bag. 

“Well, I know your dear F-I-L is rolling in the dough. He bet the most on you winning. He said something about recouping everything he lost to Spitelout.” 

“All that free wood towards Snotlout’s house. It’s Astrid’s dowry.” 

“Well then, there you go. Now you’re his favorite kid.” 

Maybe it was mean, but Hiccup looked at Astrid and said, “well, at least your dad won off of one of our fights.” 

“Hiccup!” She shrieked, before nailing him in the shoulder with an unrestrained punch. 

“Yeah, I deserved that one,” he wheezed. 

“What are you going to use your winnings for?” Fishlegs asked, good naturedly. 

“Well…what about chickens?” 

The table collectively looked at him like he was speaking crazy talk. 

“Chickens? You?” 

He shrugged. “Why not? I like fresh eggs in the morning. And…” he leaned in to speak softer to Astrid. “The stray cat you’ve been feeding in the woods likes chicken, right?” 

Astrid felt her heart flutter. He was talking about Stormfly. He remembered her dragon’s favorite snack. 

“O-oh, yeah. She does.” 

“Ohhh! What kind of cat?” Fishlegs asked eagerly. 

“Lynx.” 

“Aren’t those kind of dangerous?” 

“She bites,” Astrid smirked. 

“I’m…no longer interested in this cat…” Fishlegs trailed off. 

“About the chickens,” Hiccup continued. “It’s really up to you, Astrid. If I get busy in the forge, you might end up taking care of them. I don’t want to force you into it.” 

“I’ll think about it, but it sounds fun.” 

Good food, good friends, good atmosphere. Besides the dull ache in his face, Hiccup felt good. Maybe too good. 

And that was weird. 

As they ate, random townsfolk came up to congratulate Hiccup on his win. Animatedly, they recreated his fight, each retelling becoming more and more ridiculous. 

“And you kicked ‘im tween the legs, and he flew six feet off the ground! E’ll never sire children!” 

Hiccup chuckled, not really knowing how to respond to all this positivity. 

Just a lot of shy ‘thanks’ were uttered. 

—-

At the cove, Hiccup embraced Toothless, who gave him a long, loving lick. That felt really bizarre with the numbing sensation on his face. 

“That was the first fight I’ve seen in fifteen years, and boy, was it ever a good one,” said Valka. “You really rang Snotlout’s bell! And Spitelout’s! They’ll think twice before messing with a Haddock!” 

“I guess so. I haven’t seen Snotlout since Gothi’s hut. I don’t know if he’s still coherent. I heard a rumor he’s training for a rematch.” 

Valka laughed, but Hiccup wasn’t joking. 

They spent hours with the dragons, flying around the backside of the island, racing, and playing tag. The girls kept nagging Hiccup about taking it easy with his injuries, but he didn’t heed them much. 

As they took a dinner break, Valka brought over a package for Hiccup. “I finally finished it! It’s a belated wedding gift, or a congratulatory prize, whichever you prefer.” 

Unwrapping the paper, Hiccup was delighted to find the jacket she had been working on. Now, all done and ready to wear. It was black, treated with loose scales from Toothless. 

“Oh, this is great!” He donned it, pleased to see the sleeves were buttoned up to fit perfectly. “It’s comfy! And warm! Thank you, mom. I love it!” 

“And I love you,” she cooed, rubbing her nose on his cheek. 

“Aw mom,” Hiccup blushed, embarrassed. He still wasn’t used to having a mom, much less her unfiltered behavior. 

But the affection was nice. 

One last gentle, night time flight, and Hiccup and Astrid called it a day. 

As they made the trek back to the village, they walked in silence. The night was quiet, occasionally an owl or crickets cutting through the still ambience of wind in the leaves. 

But for Hiccup, it wasn’t quiet. Something made his hair stand up and goose flesh rise on his skin. He shivered. 

“Cold?” Astrid asked. 

“No,” he lied. “Just…a chill down my spine.” 

She wrapped her arm around his waist. “You okay?” 

“It’s…hard to tell. I think everything is fine, but…something feels off. It feels wrong.” 

“What? The woods?” 

“No,” he sighed in frustration. “I don’t know how to explain it. The world, the world feels weird.” 

Astrid raised an eyebrow at him. “Is it just because you’re finally able to have your happy ending? Now that everything is peaceful and you’re a pinnacle of the community, it’s an unfamiliar sensation?” 

He shook his head. “There’s not peace. Toothless and Stormfly and my mom are still out in the cove. The alpha is out there.” Another shiver ran down his spine as he realized what was wrong. “And we haven’t had a raid in a while.” 

“Well, then we’re due for one. Hopefully it’ll wait until you’re fully recovered, and then we can finally find this thing.” 

Hiccup started walking, his gut churning unpleasantly. “Knowing my luck, I don’t think it’ll wait.” 

—-

When it was still dark out, and Astrid was snoring softly, Hiccup heard the roar of a dragon. Then two. 

“I knew it,” he snapped, throwing the blankets off. 

Astrid was startled awake by the action. “Huh? What? What’s going on?” 

“A raid. It’s about to happen.” 

“You’re sure?” 

He pushed the window open further and looked outside. It was still way too dark, but he could definitely hear chirps and squawks. 

“Any minute now, the horns will sound.” He fumbled to change into proper pants and a shirt. He pulled on his brand new jacket as well, fastening it closed. 

“I’ll come with you,” Astrid started to get up. 

“No.” He stopped her softly. “I’m just doing a scouting mission. I’m just going to follow the raiding dragons back to where they came. I need you to stay here and cover for me. It would be suspicious if we were both gone.” 

“I guess…” she frowned. “Are you sure you’re recovered enough? Your stitches—“ 

He kissed her as a distraction. “No, I’m not fully recovered. But I need to go now. Who knows how many raids we’ll have before winter?” 

Astrid didn’t look so certain. Her mouth pulled into a thin line. “I still don’t like it, but I can’t find anything else to argue with.” 

Just then, horns and bells started ringing, a warning for the raid. 

“Here we go.” Hiccup tied up his boots. “If anyone asks, I’m at the forge. If Gobber asks, tell him you don’t know.” 

“Okay,” she said, breathlessly. 

That horrible sense of dread stirred within him again, stronger this time. It made him hesitate, and even a little afraid. 

“Hiccup?” She asked, seeing him frozen. 

He shook his head, trying to force himself to be brave. He kissed her once more, before fleeing down the stairs. 

Something was different about this raid. He could feel it. Once he got outside, he could hear more anger in the dragons. As he watched them come into view, his heart sank as he saw they weren’t going for food. They were blasting at houses, the guard towers, anything they saw. 

Standing and gawking wasn’t going to get anything done. So he booked it into the woods, running as fast as his little legs would allow. His face throbbed and his nose dripped. But he had to get to Toothless. 

He skidded into the cove, the dragons perking up at his arrival. 

“What’s going on?” Valka asked. “Cloudjumper woke me. The dragons seem spooked.” 

“Yeah, there’s a dragon raid. I think it’s going to be a bad one.” He ran to Toothless and scrambled onto the saddle. 

“What makes you say that?” Valka asked, boarding Cloudjumper. 

“The dragons aren’t just going for food. It looks like they’re attacking anything they can find.” 

Valka hummed in thought, seemingly disturbed. “The Alpha…might be on to us. If the dragons haven’t been bringing back food for it…it might be lashing out.” 

“Then they’ll need you,” Hiccup declared. 

“Me?”

“Anyway you can, you have to help Berk drive them off. You know how to do that better than them. I don’t know if eels will cut it.” 

Valka seemed unsure, but ultimately agreed. “Just…don’t engage the Alpha. Find its location, and come back. Your father and I will help create a plan to deal with it.” 

“I promise I’ll be safe.” Though, he wasn’t sure that was true. That sense of unease continued to thrum through his small body, with a mantra of ‘don’t go, don’t go, don’t go’. 

But he ignored it, and had Toothless take off towards Berk.  

Chapter 14: The Queen

Astrid dressed and emerged from her house. Now she could see the dragons in the firelight. More encouraging, she could see her fellow Vikings waving eels around more than swords. 

She ran down to the supply warehouse to collect an eel for her own, only once there, she was disappointed to find they were all gone, taken by vikings one step ahead of her. 

Well, maybe there were some at the docks!  

A flaming Nightmare screamed over her head, colliding manically into the warehouse, and predictably igniting it. The Nightmare shook off its collision and flew off. 

“Come on, man,” Astrid chastised the beast, long after it was gone. At that point, she began the water brigade, grabbing a bucket and getting to work putting out fires. That’s what she was supposed to do, anyways. What all the teens her age were supposed to do. Anyone that hadn’t passed dragon training was on water duty. 

She held the bucket in her off hand, because with her right, she still couldn’t form a fist to hold the handle. 

A grim reminder of what was lost. 

But it didn’t matter. She had Stormfly now, and soon, Stormfly would be living among them. Stormfly, Toothless, Cloudjumper, and Valka. They could all have a home in the village. 

Once three houses were out, Astrid could see a lot of the dragons retreating. The raid was coming to its close, with a lot more smoke and fire in the air than ever before. Astrid decided it was time to get Stormfly and rendezvous with Hiccup, even if he had never asked for it. 

“Astrid! Lass!” Phlegma ran towards her, just as she was turning towards the woods. “Your house is on fire!” 

“Oh come on!” Astrid threw her arms up in defeat, and went to go get the bucket again. 

—

Valka had Cloudjumper perch on the hill by the Great Hall. There was so much chaos going on in the square, she doubted anyone could see her. 

Especially with all this smoke! 

She moved again, landing her dragon behind her old home. She doubted it, but hoped that Stoick was still there. And as luck would have it, he was just leaving the front as she entered the back. 

“Stoick!” She stopped him. 

“Val? What are you doing here?!”

“Hiccup and Toothless have gone to look for the Alpha. He asked me to come here and shoo the other dragons away.” 

Stoick barked a laugh. “Well, you can certainly try. Looks like this time, the beasts are out for revenge rather than loot.” 

“Revenge?” She tilted her head. 

“Aye, haven’t seen them taking things, just destroying it. The eels are working, but only just. Can Cloudjumper put out fires?” 

“Aye.” 

“Then that will have to be enough. Just…try not to be seen.” 

Like divine providence, Gobber chose that moment to burst in the door. “Chief! There you are! Have you seen Hiccup? I need him in the forge! I need—” he trailed off. “Oh dear Thor.” 

“Hello Gobber,” Valka greeted weakly, wiggling her fingers. 

He opened his mouth, shook his head and stated plainly. “Later.” Then he turned to Stoick. “I need Hiccup.” 

“‘E’s not here. We’ll talk about it all later.” 

Gobber nodded heavily, looking back and forth between the chief and previously late wife. “Aye, later later…when this developing headache goes away.” 

—

Hiccup flew over Berk, wincing at the destruction already unfolding underneath him. People were screaming, houses were on fire, and dragons were flying out of control, making the skies a nightmare to navigate. 

“Alright bud, keep it steady. Let’s see who’s heading back and follow.” 

A Nadder and Gronkle emerged from the smoke and started heading away from the village. Hiccup picked his targets, and had Toothless stealthily tail them. The farther away they got from the village, the quieter it became. The sounds of war slowly faded, a stray shout, an echoing roar, and then silence. 

Soon, he became attuned to this new environment. The open ocean, roiling with an impending storm. The squawks of the two dragons he was following, and then slowly more and more. A Nightmare appeared beside him, the very same from the arena. He’d know it anywhere. And then the Gronckle, and then the Zippleback. They all flew beside him, sparing glances at him, but mostly focusing on flying forward. 

“Hey guys,” he called weakly. “H-h-how’s it going?” 

They didn’t even respond. Like they were pretending he wasn’t there.

And then he heard it. A strange, alien sound. A constant trilling, a low note, but constant and pulsing. Toothless grumbled, shaking his head. 

“You okay, bud?” Hiccup rested a hand on his head. 

Toothless merely warbled, a familiar sound of affirmation. That would have to be enough. 

They flew for so long. Too long it seemed. Then again, the trips the fleet had gone on often took days. 

Then the day began to break. No beautiful bursting sunrise came, no lovely pinks and oranges. The gray sky merely became lighter, and the ominous fog ahead became visible. 

“Helhiem’s Gate,” Hiccup breathed. 

They had been right all along. There was something here, but no ship could get to it. He’d heard the stories of the vicious attacks in the fog. 

Would he be any safer? Of course! Toothless was here to protect him! Though…that didn’t really make him feel any less anxious. 

He looked around, gauging the amount of dragons around him, and that feeling of disgusting dread only slithered further into his gut. Everywhere he looked, up, down, side to side, and behind, he was surrounded. All manner and types of dragons, all singularly focused and moving like a hive. 

All under the spell of the tyrant. 

“This was a mistake,” he whispered. 

They hit the fog. Not being able to see the dragons only made it worse. He could hear them all around, fluttering and growling. But were they onto him? Did they care? Would he be attacked as an interloper? 

Or was he so insignificant they wouldn’t notice? 

There was a mountain in all this fog. A fortress for a king, and they were intruding. Toothless flew into a cavern, expertly weaving through the snaking tunnels. 

And then they were in the throne room. 

A volcano. A large, open cavern, with red glowing smoke concealing the lava from sight. But he could definitely feel the heat. 

Toothless landed on a ledge, one that granted cover to peer behind. And then he just watched. Because that’s all he was supposed to do.

Watch. 

He watched as the dragons dropped offerings into the volcano and took their place in court. He watched as one lone Gronkle puttered over and regurgitated a single fish as its tithe. 

And he watched as a behemoth of a dragon rose from the smoke and snatched the dragon up in its massive jaws like the crack of a whip.  

One bite. It didn’t need to chew. One second there, gone the next. 

Hiccup felt all the blood drain from his face as his mouth became very very dry. 

“We…we need to go.” He whispered to Toothless. 

Hiccup felt Toothless tense underneath him, preparing to take off, when all of a sudden, he froze, his ears perking up. 

The Queen was looking right at them. 

—

Toothless had a feeling this would happen if he ever returned. He trusted Hiccup implicitly at this point, but he did have his worries, and it seemed it was not unfounded. 

He knew they were going to fail when the Queen emerged. He knew they were detected when it took a deep breath and its nostrils flared. And he knew they were doomed when those three sets of eyes swiveled to narrow right at them. 

Its voice drilled into his skull, casting its spell he had an answer for now. 

There you are, traitor. 

—

Toothless scrambled desperately up the rock, just trying to get enough space to take off. The other dragons in the cavern started swarming, some even blocking their route. Toothless merely used them as stepping stones, setting his claws into them and moving forward. 

Hiccup leaned forward, keeping his head down as he helped Toothless navigate the perilous cavern. All the while, he could hear the Queen sucking in a big breath. 

They cleared the lip of the volcano just as a giant plume of fire rushed out. 

“Okay, that was way too close,” Hiccup breathed. “Nice escape, bud.” 

Toothless warbled, but did not stop his frantic movements. His wings pumped rapidly, not even effectively. 

Hiccup realized why only a moment later. The ground rumbled, rocks rolling and crashing behind them. Hiccup turned and watched the Queen in all its gluttonous girth break through the side of the volcano, and start stretching its wings. 

It was going to chase them. 

“Oh shit,” Hiccup laughed incredulously, because of course it would. The gods hated him so much, of course an angry, hungry dragon the size of a mountain would try to chase him down. “Don’t stop, bud! He’s coming!” 

Toothless squealed, flailing his legs in an attempt to move faster. 

“Toothless,” Hiccup said calmly, but firmly. He rested his hand on the dragon’s head. “We’re faster than this thing. We can outrun it. But you have to focus. We can do it!” 

Toothless snorted. He tucked his wings in, and they dove a few feet, before he spread them wide again. Then he started pumping in earnest, each flap propelling them onward. 

“That’s it bud!” 

The Queen roared in anger, and Toothless faltered slightly. 

“Ignore it!” Hiccup demanded. “Just keep going, Toothless. Just listen to me! You got this! We got this!” 

But Hiccup kept taking glances behind them, seeing how far they had gotten. The Queen had not given up, but it was falling away quickly. 

“We got this, we got this,” he kept chanting. Hiccup wasn’t even sure where they were going. ‘Away’ he supposed. They could figure the rest out later. 

Just when true escape looked likely, other dragons started colliding with them, or getting in their way. These dragons seemed dazed, bumbling around. 

“He’s trying to slow us down,” Hiccup realized, just as they recovered from a particularly nasty impact from a Gronckle. “You okay, bud?” 

Toothless didn’t respond, just continued onward. 

—

What’s wrong, little Fury? Don’t you want to reunite with your hatchlings? They’re waiting for you in my gullet!

—

It started drizzling. The rain felt like little needle pricks at the speed they were going, but they simply couldn’t slow down. Any inch lost could be the end. 

Toothless just flew, spinning and dropping to avoid the Queen’s minions that hindered them. 

Then Hiccup saw Berk. 

“We’re almost home, Bud! We’re almost—!” 

No wait, that was stupid! They were leading this monster right to Berk! It would swallow the village whole! 

“We have to fight it.” 

Toothless let out a sound that could only mean, ‘are you out of your mind?!’ 

“We don’t have a choice!” He cried. “Berk doesn’t stand a chance! Maybe…maybe we can frighten it enough to leave us alone?” He was spitballing at this point, but even then, it sounded far fetched. 

Hiccup turned back to gauge just how much time they had. 

About 30 seconds, it seemed. 

“Dammitdammitdammit!” He cursed. 

Without thinking it through, he steered Toothless toward the sea stacks instead of directly at the island. “This is where we’ll make our last stand. Somehow. I hope.” 

—

Astrid was now covered in soot, but her house was out. As was most of the village, thanks to the light rain and ‘mysterious spontaneous waterfalls’ that opened up when it was still dark out. 

Astrid went to find the chief, who was already issuing orders for repairs. 

When they had a moment alone, she stated, “Hiccup left right when it started. I was going to go catch up with him…but our house caught fire.” 

“I know,” Stoick nodded. 

Astrid gave him a questioning look. Hiccup wouldn’t have made a detour across the village, would he? 

“The ‘mysterious spontaneous waterfalls’ told me.” 

“Oh, so that was…” she pointed towards the woods. 

Stoick nodded. “Don’t know where she is now though. Probably retreated when the sun started coming up.” 

They didn’t have time to ponder it more, as a horn sounded. Another raid? But there weren’t any dragons visible! 

“Dragon! Dragon!” The watch guard shouted, nearly tripping over himself to get to Stoick. “Look!” He pointed East, over the Arena. 

Indeed, a large figure with wings was flying over the ocean towards Berk. 

Gobber joined the group, eye glass in hand. “What in the beard of Thor—?” 

Stoick snatched the eyeglass and looked, trying to get a view of the creature. 

And boy, did he ever get a glimpse of it. “The Alpha…” He breathed. 

“What are you on about?” Gobber asked. 

Astrid took the eyeglass when Stoick went slack in shock. She gasped, “Hiccup’s out there too!” 

“What?” Stoick took the glass back. “Where?!”

“Up in front of that thing, on Toothless!” 

“Toothless?” Gobber asked, lost in this development. “The strange friend Hiccup made in the woods?” 

Astrid rolled her eyes. “Hiccup trained the Nightfury he shot down. He named him Toothless, and this morning, he went on a scouting mission to find out where the raiding dragons were coming from. It looks like he found the Alpha dragon, and now it’s following him!” 

“While this sounds like something Hiccup would do, I’m completely gobsmacked,” Gobber started. “Wait, does this have anything to do with that ghost of Valka I saw?” 

“Don’t worry about all that now!” Stoick shouted. “We need to worry about that–that thing!” 

“Why would he lead it towards Berk?” Astrid asked. “He’s smarter than that…”

“Panic can cloud the mind. Get your Nadder and go see if you can help him.” 

“ Your Nadder?” The voice of Axel Hofferson cut in. 

Astrid whirled around to face her father. “D-dad!” 

“I came here to get orders, but I’m hearing a lot of hogwash! Astrid, have you been keeping a dragon as a pet?!” His accusations started drawing a crowd. 

“I knew it!” Someone else shouted. 

“The both of them are dragon sympathizers! They’re going to sacrifice the village!” Cried another. 

Astrid threw her arms up in frustration. “I’m telling you people, that is not remotely what is happening right now!” 

As people began to gossip and lament about the end of the world, Spitelout came running over. “Chief! Chief, the catapults are primed and ready! Once that devil gets in sight, we’ll shoot!” 

“ No! ” Cried three voices in unison. One Astrid, one Stoick, and one…

Valka shoved her way through the gathering crowd. “Don’t you dare, Spitelout! My son is out there! You will not fire!!” 

The crowd became deadly silent as they all looked to Valka, and then to Spitelout, and then Stoick. 

“Val, I told you to stay hidden,” Stoick spoke calmly, but spared the briefest smile, knowing why she made herself known. 

“You…you knew?” Spitelout breathed. “Knew that my sister was alive?” 

Stoick rounded on him, puffing out his chest. “Aye! For a few months now, I knew! Hiccup and I found her on a scouting mission.” He clenched his fists and looked at the tribe. “A scouting mission that we executed on dragon back.” 

More panicked whispering and scared glances. 

“I don’t expect any of you to accept this news right away. I will answer your questions later. But right now, this is what you need to know.” He pointed out to the Queen which only seemed to get bigger, and it was still a few minutes away. “That creature is responsible for all the dragon raids upon our village. Hiccup figured that out. He left this morning to follow the retreating dragons on the back of his own. A Nightfury, nevertheless! It was supposed to be a scouting mission, but it appears something has gone wrong.” 

“What do we do, Stoick?!” Someone cried. “There’s not enough time to run!” 

“The catapults!” Said Spitelout again. “Hiccup’s too small of a target! I’m sure he’ll be fine!” 

“No!” Said Valka again. “The catapults will only make the alpha more angry and turn its ire to us! Our weapons are not strong enough to kill it!”

The roar of the beast echoed over the ocean, proceeding its arrival in heartbeats. 

Stoick gnawed on his tongue, and made the announcement he hoped to not regret. “We trust Hiccup, and we pray.” 

—-

“Alright, the sea stacks are close. They have to slow it down!” Hiccup declared. He kept turning around to look, only to find the beast singularly fixed on them. 

Maybe it didn’t even see Berk, but it certainly would once it killed them! 

Hiccup turned around just in time to help Toothless weave around the sea stack, a nice tall, heavy one. 

The Queen plowed through it like a rotten tree stump. 

“Well, I was hoping that would do something…” Hiccup winced. “Come on, we have to make some sort of dent in this thing!” 

His rapid thoughts stopped as he heard an explosion behind him. He looked, and to his surprise, the Zippleback from the arena was hovering just above the Queen’s head, having just loosed a fireball. Another one came from the Nightmare, and yet another from the Gronkle.  

The three dragons Astrid and he had saved from the arena were here to help! 

While all of the Alpha’s sounds appeared angry to Hiccup, the growl it let out caused a change in Toothless. 

The Nightfury ducked and weaved through the air, before swooping to turn around. 

It was time to face this thing.

Their three friends retreated just far enough away to be safe, circling Toothless and the Queen to watch the fight unfold. 

Toothless inhaled and let loose a plasma blast when he got right up to it, then banked to dodge out of the way. 

The Queen roared, sounding pained. 

“Alright! We just need a few more of those, bud!” 

Though, he spoke too soon, as the Queen reared up and unleashed a torrent of fire, blasting in an unpredictable wave to hit anyone it could. 

Hiccup was a blacksmith. He knew fire, and he knew burns, but the blast of heat that swallowed him and Toothless was indescribably hot. He only had time to tuck his head under his elbow as the burning orange rolled over them. 

He felt pain, searing, screaming, agonizing pain! And then it was over. 

He peered his eye open, thankful to see Toothless still up in the sky. The leather saddle had blackened and charred. His hands were red, but not too badly burned because they were protected by the flaps on Toothless’ neck. 

He could see the huge bludgeon of a tail starting to circle around, preparing to strike. He moved his foot, attempting to change direction, but there was no change, not even a click. 

Hiccup turned in his seat, checking the status of the tail. Unfortunately, it was on fire, and halfways burned away. “So that’s not good.” 

Then he looked down to his stirrup, expecting the line to be broken, but instead, it was gone. All of it was gone. The stirrup, the line, his boot, his pant leg…all that remained was a bit of charred flesh and bone under his knee, and blistering and blackened skin the rest of the way up. 

“Oh, that’s also not good,” he chuckled weakly. 

The mere sight of the gore made nausea rise and his sight went spotty. His head felt like it was swimming, and cotton filled his ears. 

“N-no…not now…” 

He looked up, staring in horror as the tail was right there! Swinging and falling and —! 

Toothless’ roar echoed through the sky as he spun rapidly, disoriented and sick. The ocean was up and then beneath, then to his side, and then he was looking at Toothless. Toothless was falling away, scrambling with his paws, calling out and crying with his big green eyes. 

Hiccup didn’t really process all of it. His blood roared in his ears, and everything felt hot. 

And then he was cold, and the world was dark. The impact in the water hurt, but was just a pinprick compared to the rest of the pain. He wondered if he would drown. He wondered if Toothless was okay. He wondered if the Queen was turning to Berk and soon they’d all be gone. 

Then something snagged his jacket and pulled him out of the water. He coughed and sputtered as he was dragged across the surface, and then he was set down on a rock. 

Hiccup sat for a second, panting as his vision cleared. He watched the Nightmare fly away, staying close enough to help, but only just. 

So he wouldn’t drown. But would he be helpless to watch his home be destroyed?

The water crested over him, the salt stinging his burns. 

The Queen was just before him, so close he could reach out and touch it. It’s breath was acrid and rancid, and so so hot, it made his skin ache and sting and pulse. 

Then, something stood above him. A dark shadow, shading him from the heat and protecting him from the teeth that were the size of a longship. 

“Toothless…” Hiccup murmured, reaching up and touching his friend’s belly. 

Toothless’ claws dug into the rock, hard, chipping the stone. 

A blue light appeared from within the Nightfury, growing brighter and brighter and hotter and hotter. He opened his mouth and inhaled, the wind whistling through his nostrils. 

The blast that Toothless released was violent, shredding teeth and scales from the Queen and knocking it backwards into the water. 

Hiccup took the moment to climb back up on Toothless’ back, which was a struggle with his foot. 

The Queen slowly started to right itself, before another devastating blast gathered within Toothless. 

Hiccup watched as a flood of dragons poured forward from the direction of Helhiem’s gate. They were moving from the Queen’s side to theirs, resting on the sea stacks or hovering nearby. 

Toothless released his second blast, which tore a piece of the Queen’s crown from its head. It shrieked in pain, its anguished roar echoing over the ocean. 

Toothless roared right back, trembling with the might of his fury. 

“Whoa,” Hiccup breathed, petting Toothless’ neck. 

The Queen made a pathetic noise then, a whimper maybe. It rose, the water churning and sloshing against Toothless’ side. 

Then it was in front of them again, staring at Toothless, unmoving. Slowly, it leaned forward, and then bowed its head. 

Toothless stood tall, before turning to roar at all the other dragons. 

As a whole, they cried back, the sound deafening to Hiccup. 

As Hiccup lowered his hands from his ears, he asked his best friend, “did…you just become the alpha?” 

Toothless warbled and lolled his tongue out.

Hiccup just barked an incredulous laugh. 

The Queen, or former queen rather, dipped her head farther so that her hooked nose was right in front of Toothless. He leapt, jumping up onto her snout for a ride back to Berk. 

Hiccup flopped forward, exhausted and in immense pain. But from where he laid, he watched Berk come closer and closer until the Queen placed her nose against the cliffs and Toothless could scramble off. 

—

Astrid held her breath as the stream of fire filled the sky. Even from a mile out, she could feel the heat. 

A black streak was now on fire, and falling from the sky. 

“He’s hit!” Gobber yelled, his voice full of fear. 

Then the great dragon turned and smashed its hefty tale into Toothless and knocked him off course. 

Astrid shouted Hiccup’s name, too far away to see him, but knowing this could very well be the end. 

The Queen swung it’s head side to side, seemingly searching for its prey. Breathless minutes went by with no sight on Hiccup or Toothless.

“There!” Said Gobber, eyeglass in hand. “On that little rock! I have sight on the Nightfury!” 

Stoick yanked the eyeglass for himself and looked where Gobber had pointed. “Oh gods, Hiccup’s wounded. He’s…oh gods…” 

Astrid covered her face, too afraid to look. 

But she moved her hands when she heard the telltale sound of a Nightfury preparing a blast. 

Blue fire exploded over the Queen, knocking it over. Even without the eyeglass, everyone could see the blue glowing figure perched all alone on the rock. 

Toothless blasted again, breaking off a piece of horn from the Queen’s head. Then he roared, that oh so familiar roar that had brought her comfort for many months. In this context, it sounded haunting. It rumbled in her chest and brought a tear to her eye. 

“He’s challenging the alpha!” Valka cried. 

Miraculously, the Queen got up again, but this time, it stayed low and then bowed . It was bowing to Toothless! 

The other dragons, which she hadn’t even seen in the chaos, roared in unison. 

“He won!” Valka cried again. “Toothless! He won!” 

“What does that mean?” Stoick asked. 

“It means that the other alpha has sworn loyalty to Toothless! And to our son!”  

Stoick stared wide eyed as the big brute allowed Toothless to climb on its face and escorted them to Berk. 

Villagers backed away as it came closer, but it didn’t roar or show aggression. It just walked through the waves until it arrived and presented the conquering heroes. 

“Ugly bastard,” Gobber commented, now he was up close and personal. 

Toothless jumped down, his wings back and up to shield most of Hiccup from onlookers. Then he turned to look over his shoulder and barked an order at the previous queen. 

That mountain of a dragon almost looked sheepish as it turned to retreat. It didn’t go back towards Helheim’s Gate though. Instead, it went towards the other side of the island and started to climb up the large mountain in the middle. The mountain Berk had known for ages. 

Awestruck, the villagers witnessed the beast tear a cavern in the mountain, and slither inside. 

“Has that mountain always been a volcano?” Someone asked. 

“Hiccup!” Stoick was at Toothless’ side, examining him. “Son, can you hear me?” 

Hiccup was barely conscious as he fluttered his eyes. “Dad? I think we…I think we did it…” 

“Oh, you did it alright!” Gobber said, coming up to the other side. “Scared us all to death, you did! You’re lucky your mother was here, or Spitelout would have ordered the catapults to attack.” 

Hiccup weakly chuckled. 

“Baby,” Valka called, placing her hands on Toothless’ snout. “You should be so proud. That was amazin’!” 

Hiccup smiled through the praise, but asked, “Wh-where’s my wife?” 

Astrid pushed her way forward and reached for him. “I’m here! I’m here…are you okay?!” 

He smiled, but shook his head no. “I think…I need to see Gothi.” He patted Toothless’ wing that concealed him. 

Toothless warbled as he dropped the wing and revealed the gruesome remains. 

Astrid let out a startled cry. 

But Gobber just scoffed. “Oh it’s not so bad. I’ve seen worse! You’ll probably just lose below the knee. Might be a bit before the burns heal though.” 

Hiccup blinked blearily a few times before saying, “good to know,” and then passing out.

Chapter 15: The Wounds

The moments following Hiccup passing out were frantic. He slumped forward and Astrid and Stoick were quick to catch him and ease him off of Toothless. 

“Stay with Toothless,” Stoick told Astrid. “You don’t want to see this.” 

Astrid wanted to fight and insist that she could help, but what could she really do? Just looking at Hiccup’s wound made her weak in the knees. 

“But–!” She protested anyway. 

“ Stay, ” Both Stoick and Valka said, Stoick to her and Valka mostly to Toothless. 

Stoick carried his son up to his house, quickly being followed by Valka and the ever stalwart Gothi. 

Toothless let out a long groan, which made the assembled crowd shuffle and murmur, before laying down on the grass. He bowed his head slightly, closing his eyes, but didn’t seem to try to sleep. Rather, he was probably exhausted. Astrid didn’t know how far he had flown, but he had certainly been gone for a long time. 

She stepped up to him and pet his head, sending a new wave of astonished whispers up through the crowd. 

“Oh right,” she muttered to herself. “Leave me alone to defend against the village…” 

“So who’s this creature?” Said Gobber, hobbling up behind her. “Is that the Nightfury?” 

“What was that beast? What is an ‘alpha’?” Someone else asked. 

“No,” demanded Spitelout. “Where has my sister been all this time?! Answer me that, Astrid!” 

“Did the chief know?” 

“What is happening?”

“What happened to Hiccup? I couldn't see!” That one sounded like Tuffnut. 

Astrid opened her mouth to call for silence, but her father beat her to it. “ Enough! ” 

He didn’t quite hold the same authority as the chief, so there was still some impatient mutterings. 

“It’s clear that Astrid is the only one that has answers right now while the chief is tending to Hiccup. If any of us want answers, we have to go one at a time.”

A loud groan went over the crowd. Patience was not a big viking trait. 

“Let’s address the immediate threat.” Axel looked meaningfully to the black dragon at her side. 

Spitelout huffed, crossing his arms. He begrudgingly agreed that the dragon in front of them was the most important issue to get sorted. 

Astrid looked at the sky, which was not getting brighter, despite being midmorning at this point. The rain still fell, and would continue to do so. This would take a long time to explain, and making sure the village was as comfortable as possible would make this a lot easier. “Let’s go up to the Great Hall!” She suggested. “Get out of the rain, get some mead in our blood…” 

“Oh I’ll drink to that!” Someone shouted.

“As long as I can put my feet up…”

“They have the fire goin’ up there, right?”

Astrid sighed as people started trickling over to the Hall. Apparently, her idea was a good one. As long as they were comfortable, it was likely they’d listen better. 

Gobber and her parents stayed by her while everyone slowly dispersed. 

“Well lass?” Gobber asked, wondering why she wasn’t leaving. 

“He needs to come too,” she petted Toothless’ side. “He worked so hard, and he deserves a nice warm fire and some fish.” 

“We can get some fish for the beast, right?” Axel asked his wife. 

“You’re not serious…” 

“It’s our Son-in-law’s pet. Besides, he won me all that gold. I can feed a dragon…” and they wandered over to the storehouse. 

Gobber looked over Toothless, his years of dragon expertise making him a little more keen than the others. “Ah, I see a problem.” 

“What?”

“This buckle…” He casually reached forward and touched Toothless’ hide, right by his saddle. “Looks melted. It’ll be impossible to take the saddle off. More importantly, it might have melted to his scales. I’ll get a few tools and meet you both at the Hall.”

It was rather interesting, she supposed, that some people just needed to know Hiccup was behind the idea to come around. 

Though she supposed some people had an immediate distrust because of Hiccup.  

The village had really flip-flopped on him in the last year. 

“Toothless,” she prodded, gently petting his head. 

He blinked up at her, listening, but still so exhausted. 

“I know you don’t want to move, but there’s a nice big room on the hill that is dry, and it has a fire going…and we’ll get some fish for you.” 

Apparently that sounded good, as Toothless stood up and stretched, his wings fanning all the way out and trembling at the effort. Then he looked at her for guidance.

Astrid led him up to the Grand Hall. Folks were still making their way up, but paused to watch as Toothless passed. Everyone gave him a wide berth, but no one seemed actively hostile. Some even spared a smile. It probably helped that Toothless was wobbling on his feet and fighting to keep his eyes open. 

In the Hall, Astrid led Toothless right up to the firepit. “Here bud, nice and warm.” 

Toothless yawned and stretched again, before making a circle around the pit, trying to find the most comfortable place. He ended up plopping in front of it, sitting with his paws tucked under him, like a cat. 

The assembled villagers watched, utterly fascinated. None of them had ever seen a dragon curl up to sleep. To them, Dragons were full of power and terror and fire from the sky. 

Once Toothless was settled, people resumed conversation slowly. Most people kept their eye on him, but as he sat still, there was not much to observe. 

“Alright, I think I figured it out!” Gobber called, making Toothless twitch. “This will get that saddle off!” He had a big pair of metal scissors, a chisel, and a hammer. 

Astrid grimaced as Gobber casually walked up to the Nightfury and started prodding him. Toothless was docile, but even he had his limits. 

Not today, it seemed. Gobber cut the straps off the saddle and removed most of it, but then he went in with the chisel and knocked the melted metal free, taking a fair amount of scales off in the process. Toothless let out a little whimper, but didn’t even open his eyes. 

“There we go. All done!” Gobber gathered the charred saddle and melted control rods and fin into a pile. “Well, I’ll have some work to do with that. Don’t think it’s salvageable.” He told the dragon. 

Toothless yawned again and stretched his paws in front of him, then rested his head on them. 

“‘E’s kinda cute…in a big reptilian sort of way.”

“He’s a big softy,” Astrid assured. She looked around the Hall again, gauging the crowd. 

It looked like everyone was here. People were drinking mead or hot tea, some had even brought their breakfasts. She noticed many people were leaning against the tables, no doubt relaxing after the hard fought raid. 

Her parents arrived a moment later, bringing a basket of fish forward and offering it to Toothless. 

Toothless raised his head and stole a fish, his eyes barely open. 

“Poor thing’s so tired he can’t even eat,” chuckled Phlegma. 

Astrid took this as a sign to get started, and climbed up on a table. She put her hands on her hips and stood tall. “Alright everyone, have a seat.” 

The conversation settled down, and some of the few standing folks sat. Still, it seemed those in the very back were not relaxed at all, and ready to run in a moment’s notice. 

They could do what they wanted, she supposed. 

“His name is Toothless,” Astrid began, gesturing to him. “Because he has retractable teeth. Do you all remember that night Hiccup claimed to have shot down a Nightfury?” 

There seemed to be no recognition as people slowly shook their heads. 

“Oh come on, really? It was only…” had it been a year already? “Anyways, he made this device that threw a bola out and knocked Toothless out of the sky.” 

“The Mutilator!” Gobber snapped his fingers. “Oh he worked on that for months! Then a Nightmare stepped on it, and he scrapped it. He was so gung-ho about it, I always wondered why he’d abandon it so easily…” 

“May I continue?” Astrid asked, with a glare. 

“Eh, sure.” 

Rolling her eyes, she went on. “Then, Hiccup went to the woods to kill the Nightfury, but, as Hiccup put it, ‘saw him in pain and couldn’t kill him’. But, he had ripped his tailfin off, so Toothless could no longer fly. He took refuge in the cove out by Raven’s Point.” 

Toothless blearily opened one eye, and saw everyone sitting down, still staring at him, but not poised to attack. He decided it was safe enough and took the opportunity to roll over, tummy up, and scratch his hide on the hard rock before falling asleep.  

“Aw,” said Fishlegs. “He’s like a big scaly cat!” 

Astrid smiled at him, and then continued. “Hiccup decided then that he couldn’t go through with dragon training, and came home and told his father as much. Though, I suspect he gave a different reason. They came to an agreement, that if Hiccup worked in the forge and studied the dragons for weaknesses in his freetime, he didn’t have to go through dragon training.” 

The crowd murmured at that, people remembering Hiccup’s absence from last season’s dragon training class. 

“At some point, Hiccup came clean to his father. Though I don’t know the specifics, I know that Stoick eventually agreed it was smart for Hiccup to have Toothless as…well, a guard dog. Despite kicking Snotlout’s ass a few days ago—” 

“Hey!” 

“Hiccup’s never been one for fighting. Toothless would protect him from other dragons, or the Outcasts, or other enemies of Berk.” 

“Really?” An old man, Mildew, from the back of the crowd heckled. “I doubt our chief would allow a dragon to be around his son! Much less, a lame one that was an easy kill!” 

Astrid remained calm, brushing off this comment. “Again, I wasn’t there. I don’t know what Hiccup said to convince Stoick. But I do know that Toothless is where Hiccup learned about the eels.” 

More murmurings. Things were starting to make sense. 

“I met Toothless sometime after my…incident with the Monstrous Nightmare in the ring.” She rubbed her arm. “Hiccup introduced us to cheer me up. I was wary of him at first too, very much so. But Hiccup assured me he was friendly…and he took me for a flight.” 

It seemed like the mere idea stirred up a mix of emotions. Some disgust and horror, and some curiosity and fascination.  

The twins were the first to jump to their feet, grinning maniacally and enthusiastically. “We volunteer to be dragon riders!” Said Tuffnut. “Just imagine! Us! On dragonback! Soaring, blasting…it would be a match made in Valhalla!” 

“Absolutely not!” Their mother shouted. “You two are too much of a hazard on the ground!”

“Okay…” they sighed, dropping their shoulders. But they both sent conspiratorial winks at Astrid.

“As I was saying—” 

A squawk sang through the air, as a blue Nadder led a group of dragons to sit outside the door of the Hall, drawn by the light and heat. The other three dragons, a Gronkle, Zippleback, and Nightmare all looked familiar, though Astrid couldn’t place them. The dragons lazily and peacefully settled in the doorway. The Gronckle waddled in, and approached Toothless. It gave him a lick to the face, waking Toothless up briefly. 

“Oh!” Astrid figured it out then. “Stormfly, did you find your friends from the arena?” And she walked up and petted the Nadder like it was a large dog. 

“...from the arena?” Gobber questioned. “Wait…it was you!” He shouted. 

“Who let the dragons out of the arena? Sure was!” She smirked. 

“Hey no fair!” Ruffnut bitched, “We got grounded for three weeks for that!” 

“Yeah!” Hollered Tuffnut. “I mean, totally awesome prank, and we totally would have done it, but it’s super unfair we got punished for something we didn’t get to enjoy.” 

Ma Thornston slammed her two children’s heads together, silencing them. 

“So you learned how to domesticate the beasts,” said Spitelout, coming forward. “Good, wonderful, we can use all the help we can get. But what of my sister, Astrid?!” 

Astrid nodded to him. “Yes Spitelout, I’m just about to get to her.” 

The Gronckle bothering Toothless gave a little chattering noise at the Nightmare and the Zippleback, then the three of them left together out into the storm. Stormfly remained, sitting patiently like a chicken at the door, but not blocking it so that people could come and go. 

Astrid pet her fondly. “Stoick believed that they might have a better chance at finding the nest if they went scouting on dragon back—”   

“Stoick the Vast? On a dragon? You’re joking!” Gobber laughed. 

“I’m not!” She stomped her foot. “And I would have gone too, but someone bet my hand into marriage to another boy!” She glared at Axel. 

He shrugged. “I thought we were over this?” 

Astrid smirked and persisted, “They traveled North, and eventually found another nest. Apparently, when Valka was taken all those years ago, she was taken to a different nest than…that one’s.” She gestured vaguely in the direction they saw the previous Queen leave. “This other nest was less hostile, and Valka survived there, living with the dragons, befriending them…when Hiccup and Stoick found her, they persuaded her to come home, but just to the cove. She had too many reservations about joining the tribe while we were at war with the dragons.”

Spitelout’s nose flared. “She cared more about those beasts than her family? Than her people?” 

“You are exactly proving her point,” Astrid bit. “She learned what we had a long time ago. And how were we to explain her return?”

Spitelout grit his teeth before throwing his axe to the ground. Then he turned and left, not caring about the rest.

“Don’t worry about ‘im.” Gobber nudged her arm. “You’re doing good. Keep going!” 

“Well,” Astrid played with her fingers. “Valka was the one that taught us about alpha dragons. They’re the leaders, the chiefs of the nest. The one that Valka lived with was this huge white dragon, with big tusks, and it sprayed ice instead of fire!” 

A sound of awe rose from the crowd. No one had ever heard of an ice breathing dragon! 

“I met him,” she said. “So gentle for being so big. I think he was bigger than the one we saw this morning. But Valka explained that these huge dragons have the ability to…control other dragons. She theorized that Berk had a nest close to it with a dragon just as big and powerful. We didn’t know how to defeat it…so we decided to find it and study it for weaknesses. And that brings us to this morning.” Astrid swallowed the lump in the throat, now realizing all that had happened to Hiccup in the span of a few hours. 

The sight of his leg—

“Hiccup and Toothless would follow dragons retreating from the raid to see where they went. He was just supposed to locate it, but…well, he’ll have to explain the rest.” 

“So now what?” Asked Axel. “That beast is still alive. It’s on our island now!” 

People started calling for action and protesting. Panicking and bickering. 

“Everyone stop!” Astrid shouted. 

Toothless sleepily sat up and sent a harmless blast up to the ceiling. It exploded in dazzling blue and purple light, with a bang to silence everyone. 

“Thank you Toothless,” she nodded to him. 

He hummed before taking another fish and settling down. 

“I think we’re okay,” Astrid soothed. “Valka and Hiccup will know more, but…I think Toothless usurped the alpha, and now…he’s in charge.” 

Slowly, heads turned to stare at the sleeping dragon. He laid awkwardly on his side, one leg up in the air, and tongue hanging out of his mouth.

“All hail the king of dragons?” Gobber shrugged

—

After Astrid’s reveal of everything, people seemed to calm down, at least a little. 

They were still passing glances back and forth as dragons moved through the village, but for the most part, it was business as usual. It was time to start rebuilding. Folks took stock of what repairs were needed. Axel spent overtime working in the mill, and Gobber in the forge. 

The chief’s house was quiet. No words from Stoick or Gothi. No good news, no bad news. So perhaps all there was to do was keep busy, try and make sense of the chaos. 

But everything changed the next morning. 

When the sun rose, the roosters made their daily chorus. A cacophony that awoke most of the village. 

Then came the rumble. 

The whole village shook before a horrendous roar filled the air. 

Astrid clambered down her steps, fighting to get outside, only to see her neighbors frozen in horror, staring at the mountain. 

The behemoth was emerging from the volcano, claws scraping the surface of the rock as it slid on its belly into the ocean. 

Bells started clanging, and horns sounded as the beast deformed the water and moved towards the village. 

“It’s coming for revenge!” Someone shouted. 

“Where’s the Nightfury!? Someone get the Nightfury!” 

“We’re doomed!”

“Odin preserve us!” 

Astrid was stuck trying to make sense of it all. Was the old alpha coming back to challenge Toothless again? Was this round two?

Her heart slowed its frantic beating as she saw Toothless slinking out of the Great Hall, where he had slept all day and night. He yawned and stretched, and was overall totally unbothered. 

“Wait!” Astrid called, trying to calm everyone down. 

Toothless roared, though it wasn’t nearly as loud as the one he had yesterday, or even the call of the behemoth. 

The old alpha surfaced at the cliff face, right where it had dropped Hiccup and Toothless off the morning before. It leaned in—

And dumped a ship’s load of fish right on the village square. 

Then it made a chuffing sound at Toothless before returning to the ocean and swimming away. 

Once gone, folks came out of hiding and stared at the strange offering. 

Toothless barked again, and patted over to the pile, beginning his breakfast. 

Slowly, from where they had been roosting for the night, from the forest, to the cliffs, about two dozen dragons came forth. Stormfly and Cloudjumper and the arena dragons among them. They all swarmed the pile and feasted. 

Finally, there was some movement from the chief’s house as Valka ran out, wide-eyed and startled, then she spotted the pile of fish and started laughing. 

No one else could even breathe. 

“Oh it’s alright!” She waved her hands about. “A good alpha provides for their flock! Since Toothless isn’t able to collect this feast on his own, he had to get a little help.” 

Astrid was more interested in the way Valka carried herself. She was relaxed and smiling. That had to be good! Hiccup had to be—

“Val?” Spitelout called, stepping around the dragon frenzy. “My sweet sister, is that you?” 

Her face hardened, almost instantly, as she snapped back, “Aye.”  

“Oh Val…I missed ye so much.”

“Oh really?” She crossed her arms. “And that’s why you tortured my husband and son?” 

Spitelout went pale as a sheet. “Th-that’s not…” 

“Oh I know all about it! And don’t you dare act like I don’t!” She stomped towards him and poked him in the chest. “You tried to take away his chance for happiness. You broke his heart! Why do you hate my son?!” 

Spitelout put his hands up, and started backpedaling. “I don’t! He showed his capabilities in that fight with Snotlout in the ring! And well—” he gestured out to the ocean. “With this whole business.” 

“Oh so now he’s worthy of your affection?” 

“Well, yes—”

She put her hands on her hips. 

“No, I mean, no!” 

“Spitelout, I’ll never forget what you said to me when he was born. Do you remember?”

Spitelout swallowed. “Unfortunately.” 

“You said that if he died, it was no big deal. The next one would be stronger. Do you remember that?”

Spitelout winced away and looked sheepish. Astrid didn’t know he had that in him. “I only meant…you know, he was Stoick’s first born. He needed to be strong…” 

Valka, having spent the last fifteen years around the dragons, had not had the practice of solving disagreements with diplomacy, instead, attempted to end the argument the only way she knew how.  

She screamed at him, and then leapt, tackling him to the ground. 

Astrid had wanted to ask her how Hiccup was doing, but seeing the sibling reunion, she opted to just go see herself. 

She headed up the hill to the chief’s house, where the door was still swinging slightly open from Valka’s hasty departure. Dread pooled in her gut. She wanted to see Hiccup, see that he was okay, but she wasn’t sure if she could bear to look at his leg. 

Or what was left of it. 

She knocked timidly at the door. “Hello? Chief? Can I come in?”

“Aye, lass,” Stoick answered, sounding far too subdued for her liking. 

She pushed open the door the rest of the way, and found them. Stoick’s bed had been brought to the center of the room, and Hiccup laid upon it. Stoick was at one side, while Gothi stood at the other. 

“I wondered when we’d see you,” Stoick said, softly. 

But Astrid was too drawn to the figure on the bed.

He was able to keep two inches below the knee. Just enough so he could bend his leg like normal. His thigh almost up to his buttock was scarred all around the outside, or would be scarred when it healed. Right now, it was slathered in salve and wrapped in gauze. Gothi had to scrape the burnt flesh away. 

He had a blanket draped over his lap and good leg, but the bad one was visible, in all it’s gory detail. The bandages did a lot, but they were still saturated with yellow and red blotches.

“It was a huge break that Val had made that jacket for him. Gothi said that was the only reason he survived. The skin of his hands, ears, and back of his head is all burned, but more like a bad sunburn than the blackened char on his leg,” Stoick explained. 

Indeed, Astrid could see the red and blistering skin on his hands as they rested on his stomach. 

“The impact from the beast’s tail caused some bruising on his ribs, and probably a bump on the head, but thankfully nothing worse.” 

Nothing worse. Like losing his leg wasn’t that big of a deal. 

“Why did it have to happen to him?” Astrid blurted out, still frozen at the end of the bed. “He’s…the kindest, funniest, smartest, most loveable boy in the whole world. He’s the best of us, and…” she sniffed. “Why did this have to happen to him?” 

“Now dear,” Stoick stood and put an arm on her shoulder. “Gobber was right, you know. There’s been worse. And since he’s so young, he’ll probably adjust to it better than the others.” 

So young. Astrid stared at her Hiccup, her husband as he rested. He really looked too young. Covered in ash and bandages, sinking into the blankets and pillows…he really looked too small. Too frail. 

Valka returned a moment later, nose bloody and covered in dirt and grass. 

Stoick balked at her. “What happened to you?”

“I had a…discussion with my brother. He’ll be over to apologize later.” 

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “You went to make sure there was no dragon emergency, only to come back with your brother’s pride in hand. You haven’t changed a bit.” 

“I had to make sure he’d behave when Hiccup was awake,” she argued. “He’ll need all the family support he can get, right Astrid?” 

Astrid jolted out of her reverie when her name was spoken. She had been thinking through logistics, how he’d get upstairs, or how they’d get the bed down. 

Likely, he’d be staying here for a few weeks.

“Oh—yes!” 

Stoick smiled at her, gently. “Now Astrid, if it wouldn’t be too much of a problem. Would you mind sittin’ with your husband for a few hours? I have got to make sure the village is recovering after…all that.” He gestured outside. “And Val hasn’t slept since the raid.” 

“I’m fine, Lover,” Valka argued. 

“Oh I’m sure you think you are, but why don’t you go over to their house and get washed up? Eat a little, take a nap. Hiccup’s bound to be asleep for a few days more.” 

Valka didn’t look so sure, and glanced at Astrid. 

“I’ll sit with him,” she assured. “I’ve been worried sick, honestly.” 

“There, ya see? Astrid’ll be with him.” 

Gothi nodded, pleased that she wasn’t needed anymore. She handed over a piece of paper to Astrid before giving her an uncharacteristically maternal pat on the shoulder and hobbling out of the house. 

 Astrid glanced at the paper, wondering what it could be. 

For the first two weeks, apply salve to burned area twice a day. No weight is to be placed on the amputated leg. The following two weeks, apply salve once a day. Light weight training is encouraged. One month after, apply as needed. It will be best for Hiccup to try to get up and about, but he should take breaks. 

No flying for 6 weeks!!!

Ah, a care guide. It seemed simple enough, but the ‘no flying for six weeks’ was absolutely going to kill him. Or Toothless.

That means she’d probably have to figure out a way to fly him if Gobber could even rebuild the tail rig. 

Or, Toothless would just have to go stir crazy until Hiccup could get up. She imagined him trying to work in the forge in a wheelchair. 

He was certainly crazy enough to try. 

A moment later, she looked up and realized she was alone. The others must have slipped out while she was distracted. No matter. 

She opted to sit beside him on the bed, instead of the nearby chairs. The salve was on the bedside table, in a large canister. She decided to pass the time by smearing some on his less severe burns. 

She scooped up a little in her fingertips, then gently dabbed it on his hands. 

His hands that were so small compared to hers. And despite that, they had created so much. They had made a dragon able to fly again. They built a home for her, and the ring she wore. They knocked Snotlout out, and somehow cleverly stole her heart. 

And he did it so effortlessly. 

“....mm…dad?” Hiccup roused slightly, his throat dry and his eyes barely open. 

Astrid gaped. He was not supposed to wake up for several days still. But she wasn’t complaining! She thought of something clever to retort instead of just flinging herself on him and weeping. 

“Does this touch feel like it could belong to Stoick the Vast?” 

His eyes closed again. “You’re right…not calloused enough.” He moved his hand over, searching for hers. 

She noticed and delicately held his fingers. 

“I’ll have to thank Odin later,” he croaked. “For letting my first dream be of my beautiful wife.” 

Astrid ran her thumb over his knuckles. “You aren’t dreaming, babe. You’re awake. You’re okay.” She felt a lump forming in her throat. 

He was quiet for a while, and Astrid wondered if he had fallen back asleep. Finally, he breathed out. “No, you’re right. I’m remembering the dream where Toothless and I ate a yak together. This makes more sense.” 

She chuckled, and raised his hand to kiss his delicate fingers. “I’m glad you’re okay.” 

“Like…80 percent intact, right?” 

Astrid slammed her eyes shut. A part of her wanted to pretend like his leg wasn’t gone. Like that would all come later, and telling him about it would come later too. But it seemed he remembered. 

“Thought so.” He chuckled darkly. “I knew this would happen to me. Not tough enough to enter Valhalla, not favored enough to come out unscathed.”  

“Don’t say that,” Astrid sobbed. “You just ended the war between vikings and dragons. It’s because of the gods’ favor that you get to see it.” 

He peered a sleepy eye up at her. “And you don’t mind having a cripple for a husband? I’m not going to be able to do anything for you for a long time. You’ll have to carry me, dress me, bathe me, maybe even feed me—” 

Astrid fell on top of him, burying her face into his chest and hugging him with all her strength. “I don’t care. I’ll do all of it. I just want a husband that’s alive. I want you, Hiccup. However much of you there is, I want it, and I’ll cherish it.” 

“That’s…so sweet. But could you cherish it with…a little less muscle?” 

“Tolerate it.” 

“Okay.” 

Still teary-eyed, she let go, and pushed up to look down at him. The redding of the face made her think that she really had hugged him too hard. 

“I didn’t hurt you too much, did I?” She asked, realizing she was close to his injured leg.

“No,” he chuckled. “I was kidding. If you crushed me to death in one of your bear hugs, it wouldn’t hurt at all, and I’d die a happy man.” 

She gently cupped his cheek, aware that some of that skin was burned. “I’m serious though, Hiccup. We’ll get through this together. The only part about your leg that bothers me is the pain it has and will cause you. I don’t want that for you.” 

He gave a wry smile. “If you’re there to kiss it better, I’ll be fine.” 

“I better get started then,” she said huskily, leaning in. 

She captured his lips in a fervent kiss, so filled with love and relief. He weakly met it, but she could tell he was on the brink of falling back to sleep. She delivered a few more pecks and then pulled away. “I’m proud of you.”

He had both eyes closed, but answered, “for completely messing up the plan?”

She scoffed. “What plan? We didn’t know how to defeat that thing. But you did it.” 

“Toothless did it,” he reiterated. “I just steered.” 

“He needed you. I saw him protect you. You gave him the confidence to go up against that thing. You guided him. You were his strength.”

Hiccup’s mouth flexed as he mulled her words over. 

“This was just as much you as it was him. Never forget that.” 

“...is Toothless okay?”

“Yeah,” she petted his hair. “He’s tired, and he’s been sleeping a lot. Kinda like you.” 

“You should have seen him, Astrid. He flew so hard, so fast. He was so scared, but he did it.” 

“And you weren’t scared?”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure I peed my pants.” He chuckled. “I was so sure I was going to die.” 

“But you didn’t. You’re home. And you get to think about what’s next.”

“Next?”

“Yeah! Now everyone can have a dragon! We just have to teach them how.” 

He yawned. “Sounds exhausting.” 

“I’ll get started on it. Lighten the load for Berk’s hero.” 

“Berk’s hero? I kinda like the sound of it.” 

“Yeah? Well don’t let it go to your head.” 

He curled his fingers around her hand, happy to have her close. “I promise, I won’t.”

“Hey, I’ll let you get back to sleep, okay? Just rest.” 

He pouted. “Can I get another kiss?” 

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, you can have another kiss.” She leaned over and smooched him. 

“And you’ll stay here with me?” 

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Notes:

One more left!

Chapter 16: The Aftermath

Two weeks later

 

“Absolutely not!” Stoick boomed over the village square. 

Everyone present turned to look at what Stoick was yelling at, only to see Hiccup finally up and about. 

Well, not exactly up. He was in a wheelchair. And the image you have in your head is probably wrong. Viking wheelchairs were not ideal. It was a chair, and it had wheels, small wagon wheels at the bottom. It allowed for mobility, but the person sitting in it was at the mercy of those around him. Of course, since Hiccup had one leg still, he could kind of kick and scoot around, though it wasn’t practical.

Hiccup had cleverly found a temporary solution, as he held onto Toothless’ tail and had him pull him around. 

Stoick stomped over. “You’re not supposed to be up yet.” 

“Dad, please. I’m going stir crazy! I promise I’ll take it easy, but Astrid said she’s teaching the others to train their dragons, and I want to see how it’s going…and I want to make sure the tail that Gobber’s been working on is right.” 

“Who gave you the chair?” 

“Gobber, obviously.” 

Stoick looked around for the man, wishing to glare at him, but he was over in the forge. 

“It’s okay, Chief,” Astrid assured. “I’m making sure he’s taking it easy.” 

“Oh, and I supposed you helped him into the chair too?” 

“If by ‘help’ you mean ‘picked up and put me in’ then yes, she helped.” Hiccup had tried to insist that he could do it himself, and he just needed her for balance, but Astrid could not be persuaded otherwise. 

She had been doing everything for him, nearly smothering him when they were together. She had even helped him put his pants on this morning. It was humiliating. 

If not touching. 

Stoick pinched the bridge of his nose. “What am I going to do with you, son?” 

“Uh, trust me to be responsible?” 

Stoick glared at the three of them, not happy with the situation, but obviously understanding where they were coming from. 

“Fine,” he groaned. “But the second you feel tired, you’re goin’ back to bed!” He pointed up at the house. “And I better not see that butt out of that chair!” 

“Yes sir!” Hiccup smiled, just happy to be allowed outside. 

“Come on,” Astrid beckoned. “The others are training down at the arena!” 

Hiccup took hold of Toothless’ tail. “Alright bud, let’s show these losers how to really tame a dragon!” 

“Slowly!” Stoick bellowed. 

They did heed Stoick’s orders and leisurely made their way through town. 

Folks stopped and stared as Toothless passed, and then shouted greeting to him. 

“There you are, lad!” 

“Good to see you out and around!” 

“Got yourself a fine steed for your wagon!” 

Hiccup couldn’t help but smile as the wave of well wishes washed over him. It had been a while since he was so thoroughly welcomed in the village. 

Astrid felt it too. Though, she hadn’t been locked away for the last two weeks. People were smiling at them, both of them. 

The looks towards Toothless weren’t necessarily friendly, but not hostile. Just intrigued. 

Who could blame them? The injured son of the chief, the runt of the Hooligan tribe, was holding onto the tail of a Nightfury. 

That was the fabled, mystical, elusive Dragon only heard about in stories. 

And little Hiccup was playing with it like an overgrown kitten. 

There were bound to be some looks of awe and confusion. 

There was enough awe to be shared, however, as other village folk had seemed to pick out their own dragons to love. 

Granted, no one else was riding one, but they were petting and scratching and over all trusting the dragons in a way that made Hiccup’s chest swell. Mrs. Larson was hanging laundry on the line, and a Nadder was helping her do it. Ingmar was repairing his roof and a Zippleback was handing shingles up to him. 

The best one was the rotisserie. Someone had rigged up a spit with a boar and a few chickens to roast over a sleeping Nightmare. The spit was connected to the water wheel at the mill to keep it continuously turning. 

“Look my boy!” Said Axel, proudly. “I took a note out of your book and made a little gadget of my own!” 

“Wow dad, that’s great!” Hiccup said. 

The man grabbed him up and out of his chair and into a tight, bone-crushing hug, slightly for the praise, but mostly because Hiccup had called him ‘dad’. 

—-

The three made their way down to the arena. Toothless nudged Hiccup’s chair down the sloped entrance, and he rode down and entered with a cheerful “whoo!” 

“Hey, look who it is!” Said Tuffnut, stopping Hiccup’s journey with a boot to the side of his chair. 

Hiccup cringed, preparing for the ridiculous nickname. 

“Hiccup! The Dragon Master and Jorgenson Blaster!” 

Hiccup barked a laugh. 

“That’s not funny!” Snotlout yelled back. “I’m telling you, I threw the fight on purpose! I could have willed myself to not pass out!” 

“It’s okay, Snotlout,” said Hiccup. “I could never beat you again if I tried.” 

“So you’re admitting it now? You’re not even going to give me the satisfaction of a rematch?”

“Snotlout, I don’t have my left leg.” He gestured to his stump. “How is fighting you now even fair?” 

Snotlout narrowed his eyes. “Fine, but once you can walk like Gobber, it’s go time.” 

“Whatever,” Hiccup rolled his eyes. He glanced around the arena, taking note of the assembled dragons. 

Fishlegs seemed to be getting along really well with the Gronkle, as he scratched it and cooed at it. 

The twins had taken the Zippleback, and they were taking turns throwing fish up and guessing which head would eat it. 

The Monstrous Nightmare kind of lingered by Snotlout, but there wasn’t much interaction going on. 

“So,” Astrid began. “We’ve been working on trust. I showed them how to form a loose bond with the dragon by holding out your hand and letting them come to you. Everyone managed to do it!” 

“Great!” Hiccup praised. “So, have we thought of names?”

“Oh oh oh!” chirped Fishlegs. “Meatlug’s so easy to get along with! He likes scratches here, here, and here!” Fishlegs demonstrated by scratching the Gronkle in several places before she fell over, rumbling. “See? He’s nervous around thunder, and his favorite rock is sandstone.” 

“That’s—amazing, Fishlegs! Glad to see you’ve bonded so well with your Gronkle.” 

“He makes it easy,” Fish gushed. 

“Well…great. Who would like to introduce me to their dragon next?” 

“This is our dragon,” said Tuffnut, casually. “This head is Barf, that head is Belch.” 

“No,” said Ruffnut. “This head is Belch, that head is Barf.” 

“That’s what I just said, Stupid!” 

“Don’t call me Stupid!” And they started fighting, slapping each other. 

But, Hiccup watched in pleased fascination as the two heads each grabbed a twin and pulled them apart. It didn’t stop the siblings from trying to hit each other, but at least they were out of range. 

“Okay, Barf and Belch,” he nodded. “That sounds about right.” He kicked his chair around to look at Snotlout. “So, how’s it going with the big guy? Make yourself a new buddy?” 

Snotlout put his hands on his waist. “Hookfang isn’t my ‘buddy’, Hiccup. He’s my partner in battle. I’m training him to be the ultimate killing machine.” 

Hookfang simply puffed a tiny fireball at Snotlout, igniting his pants. 

“Ow! Ow ow ow!!” Snotlout went running for a bucket of water. 

“I see we have work to do over here…” Hiccup muttered. 

—-

After cataloging what he needed to cover with the other riders about training their dragons (especially if he wanted to keep them from burning the village down), it was off to the forge. 

“What do you think?” Gobber held up the prototype leg. “I call it ‘making my way downtown 2.0.’”

“Uh, kinda long name. What about ‘Hiccup’s leg’?” Hiccup deadpanned. 

“I thought you liked naming contraptions.” 

“I do! But…this one is my leg. I don’t feel right naming it, or any part of my body, for that matter.” 

“Most men would disagree, but that’s your prerogative, I suppose.” He hobbled over to the workbench where Toothless’ tail rig was laid out, mostly assembled. “Now, I followed your surprisingly detailed blueprints and replicated the prosthetic tailfin you made. Real masterpiece, there!” 

“Thank you, I learned from the best.” Hiccup smiled.

Gobber poked him in the chest. “You tryin’ to flatter me? You tryin’ to butter me up?” 

“No, no! Why would you think that?” He grinned. 

“Alright you little bugger.” He rubbed his head affectionately. “There’s just one part of the tail left, and then all that’s left is for you to heal.” He held up the stirrup, and showed that the leg clicked into place.

“Wow, that’s great!” 

“At first, I couldn’t get it to stay locked in, now I’m having a hard time getting it to unlock. Might cause a bit of a problem when trying to dismount!” 

“Oh, I see. Can I work on it?” 

“I was hoping you’d say that. Got lots of folks asking for work to be done. I didn’t want to put this off, because it's a matter of you and Toothless getting around.” 

“I appreciate it so much, Gobber. I can iron out the little kinks. Gothi still says I have a month before I can try a prosthesis anyways.” 

“Lots of time to tinker, huh?” 

“I have to. I’m going stir crazy. Astrid and I already redesigned our new house three times. I think we finally made a perfect design, but if I don’t have another project, I’m liable to change it again.” 

Gobber laughed. “You’re not able to walk around and you’re already designing a new house? What’s wrong with the old one?” 

“It’s on Spitelout’s property. He wants it back. He jokingly said I could take the house and move it…which I’m starting to consider. Except I think it’d be funny to leave the giant bed there. That and the basement were the only things Snotlout wanted.” 

“I’d love to see the look on his face when he wakes up and sees a hole with a bed in it.” 

Hiccup stayed at the forge for the rest of the day. Toothless laid at his feet and he diligently worked. 

Only when the Green Death (that’s what the Twins started calling it, and the name caught on, “cause it’s green and Hiccup almost died”) made her dinner time call, did Hiccup realize how busy he had been. Excited, he scooted across the forge to watch. 

The Green Death surfaced from the water, dumped a load of fish on the cliff next to the forge, and then retreated. She climbed up the slope to the volcano and slipped inside, retiring for the night. It never got any less amazing to watch this behemoth dragon at work. She had submitted to Toothless’ call, and now she was almost docile. 

The rest of the village came alive then. Dragons swarmed the fish, while vikings started heading back home for the evening. Yes, the old queen had definitely found her place in the village, and life on Berk was peaceful. 

For like a week. 

Because of Hiccup’s condition, Astrid and Hiccup and Valka and Stoick had switched houses. There was no way to get Hiccup up the stairs, and no way to get their bed down the stairs. So switching for a month was the compromise they came up with. 

For the two weeks of their marriage, Hiccup and Astrid had shared the largest bed on Berk. One the size of a room. Now, they were sharing Hiccup’s old bed, that was teen sized. 

Neither of them complained, as it was nice to be close, especially as it started to get colder.

So here they were, fast asleep in the main room, holding onto each other as they softly snored.

Before dawn had broken, horns and bells started blaring. All the signs of a raid. 

Astrid bolted up, immediately awake. Toothless, who was on the floor nearby, also popped to wakefulness. 

“Babe,” Astrid shook Hiccup. “Babe!” 

“Hu-huh?” He blinked rapidly. 

“There’s a raid!” 

He scoffed, turning back over. “You’re having a nightmare.” 

“I’m serious! Listen!” 

He paused, then heard the shouting as well. He sat up quickly. “A dragon raid?” 

“Couldn’t be, right?” 

“We need to get out there!” Hiccup beckoned Toothless over and climbed onto his back. 

“You’re not supposed to be flying!” She chastised. 

“I can’t! But we need to move! Hop on!” 

She obeyed, climbing on behind him and taking hold of his waist, before Toothless took off bounding outside. 

Stoick was at the square, with several vikings surrounding him with torches and weapons. There were several dragons around, but not raiding. Rather, they were waiting for instructions to help. 

“What’s going on?” Hiccup asked, trying to get his father’s attention. 

Instead, his mother answered, coming up to their side. “A raid. A viking raid. About two dozen ships.” 

Hiccup swallowed thickly. Leave it to these neanderthals to declare a war right after one was finished. 

“Can we tell who?” Asked Astrid. 

“Outcasts,” said Valka. “Led by Alvin the Treacherous. He’s had a beef with your father for years.” 

Hiccup beckoned Toothless closer to Stoick, listening to what the man was saying. 

“Bucket and Mulch will take the elderly and children to Thor’s beach. The rest of you, gather weapons and prepare to board those ships.” 

“But chief, we don’t have enough ships in our fleet to take them on.” 

“Dad—” Hiccup tried to speak up. 

“Not now Hiccup.” Stoick held up a hand. “It will have to do. We’ll simply have to designate people to steer and push off so we can board multiple ships at a time.” 

“Dad!” 

“Not now, Hiccup! You shouldn’t even be out of bed! We’ll handle this!”  

Hiccup understood his father’s worry, even if it was unfounded. He started to formulate his own plan, then snapped his fingers. “Of course, it’s so simple.” 

“What’s simple?” Asked Astrid. 

Hiccup leaned down to talk to Toothless, “take us to the cliffside.” 

Toothless complied and bounded over to the grassy edge. From here, they could see the little lights on the ocean from the ships. Hiccup slipped off the saddle and sat on the grass still covered in dew. 

“What are we doing?” Asked Astrid, crouching next to him.  

“Getting a front row seat.” Hiccup smirked. “Toothless, sorry I can’t help you fly there, but I think our new friend can help with our problem. Try to tell her to frighten them first, and then start smashing. This isn’t a buffet.” 

Toothless yipped and wagged his tail. He did an excited little circle before bounding off towards the forest. His call echoed, blasting out over and over and farther and farther away. 

“Wait, you don’t mean…” Astrid pointed towards the mountain. 

“Yep.” 

Stoick came running over. “Son, what is your dragon up to?” 

“Oh, you’ll see.” 

The ground started rumbling. People began shouting in fear, and some who realized what was happening, in premature victory. 

The Green Death burst from her volcano with a fireball and an echoing roar. 

“Oh, nice entrance!” Hiccup complimented. 

The dragon leapt from the volcano and into the ocean, creating a great wave. 

Gobber joined them at the cliffside, spyglass in hand. “They’re panickin’. Probably wettin’ themselves.” 

Stoick rested his hands on his hips. “Now why didn’t I think of that?” 

The lights on the water shifted, and some went out as the wave hit them. Distantly, they could hear the invaders shouting. 

The Green Death submerged under the water, and seemingly disappeared. 

“Oh, she’s fun,” said Gobber. 

The rest of the town who had gathered in the square, were now watching from the cliffs, still with weapons and torches in hand just in case, but just watched in awe. 

The great beast burst forth from the ocean, right in front of the armada, and blew another fireball into the sky. 

At that point, Toothless returned from his trip, panting. 

“Just in time to see the finale, bud.” Hiccup scratched him heartily. 

Toothless enjoyed the scratch, but didn’t relax completely. He kept his eyes on the battle below, and prepared to intervene. 

But the Green Death only dove back into the water and retreated. 

Whole ships were on fire, but those that could move had turned and were making a hasty retreat from Berk’s waters. 

“Well, that was fun.” Gobber shrugged. “I think I still have time to sleep before I have to be in the forge.” 

Slowly, carefully, the Green Death emerged once again, but this time right in front of the cliffs. Close enough to touch. 

So Hiccup did. He reached his hand out and touched her, scratching her hide, though it probably felt like a tickle of a gnat. “Who’s a good girl? Who’s a good girl!? Who’s a force of nature? It’s you! It’s you!” 

The Green Death made an almost happy chuffing noise. 

“Hey dad, do we have any boar or deer carcasses in the food storage?”

“What? Are you telling me you want to give her a treat?” 

“I think she deserves it!” 

So, they gave her two boars and an elk, before she retreated back to the volcano to sleep. Those were supposed to be food for winter, but considering she stopped a seemingly unbeatable raid, no one was too cut up about it. 

Seeing the giant dragon in action like that, seeing that she could be reasoned with and persuaded to help gave Hiccup some ideas. 

Another week later, he decided to try to experiment. 

He was good with that, afterall. 

When the Green Death made her morning tribute of fish, he called out to her. “H-hey Green! How’s it going?” 

The Green Death looked at him, this tiny toothpick of a human, balancing with two other toothpicks holding him up. 

“I have a favor, if you wouldn’t mind?” 

—-

Astrid awoke to rumbling. A different, much closer rumbling. Hiccup wasn’t in bed, and she had a horrible feeling that he was responsible.

She burst from the house, stumbling down the steps. 

Hiccup was right there on the grassy hill, using crutches instead of the wheelchair. 

“Hiccup?” She squawked. 

“That’s good, yep…keep going…that should do it!” He was talking to the giant, giving directions like one would to builders. 

The Green Death had a talon in the cliffs bordering the Great Hall. She had burrowed a hole through one side and out the other, exiting on the hill behind the chief’s house. 

“W-what?” Astrid asked. 

“I had a different idea for our house, you’re going to love it!” He gushed. 

“H-H-Hiccup?!” 

“Alright!” He called to the Green Death. “Just one more thing!” He leapt on Toothless’ back and rode him across the square over to their old house. 

“You can’t be serious,” Astrid drawled. 

Apparently he was, as he pointed at it and said, “alright, pick this one up!” 

Toothless barked what was probably a translation. 

The Green Death squinted her several eyes and tilted her head. Then slowly reached over the entirety of the village with her dizzyingly large leg. 

Gods this dragon was enormous. 

She pinched the house with her claws, crushing the sides, but lifted it up anyway. 

Then Toothless pounced back to the hillside, where Astrid stood. 

“Alright, set it down here, gently!” 

The Green Death tilted her head the other way, and swung the house over, and dropped it none too gently on the grass. 

“Careful!” 

The beast lifted her head to the sky and gave a head pounding rumble. 

She was laughing. 

“Alright, that’s enough from you!” Hiccup chastised. 

Now, Astrid spotted the dead elk on the grass, and watched as Toothless tossed it up to the beast, who chomped it up with a sickening snap. Then she retreated to the ocean once more. 

After a minute of shocked silence, Astrid yelled, “what the hell was that!?” 

Hiccup seemed to just now notice her. “Oh! Morning honey! I came up with a new idea for our house! You’re going to love it!” 

“You already said that.” 

“I did? Oh. Well, I was too excited! Did you see that?! She did exactly what Toothless told her! She likes red meat, so giving her a treat encourages her to listen to Toothless!”

“So I saw…” 

He pulled out a blueprint from under his arm. “Okay, so I took your basic floorplan, but I had an idea. What if we built into the cliff? Look, I added this launchpad, and it connects to a stable for the dragons—”

Astrid stood on her tippy toes and kissed him, restarting his brain. 

“Babe,” she giggled. “I’m happy for you. I’m happy you’re inspired, but please…can we work on getting you standing on two feet first before you start renovating the village?” 

He smiled at her. “I suppose I could take it easy.”  

Notes:

And that's a wrap! Thank you all so much for sticking with this story over the LITERAL YEARS it took me to write it!

I'm really in the HTTYD mood right now, so stick around for a bunch of oneshots, and potentially a longer fic.

Notes:

If you have any questions, please feel free to DM me on my tumblr, P-artsypants That is the place to go to see concept art, news on updates, news about my other fics and my original book...and a lot of memes.
Or message me on Discord @p_artsypants.