Old story but revised with a lot of background added. Been through hell and back lately so we'll see how far this gets/ Its not my best work, and I'm sorry for that ahead of time.

"So my little warrior has a crush!" Vestar bellowed in his deep howl as Astrid's mother giggled by the fire pit and nodded. "She's only a wee lass though! How can she have a crush at just 7 years of age Sassa!?"

Sassa laughed and stirred the coals before walking over to her husband and sitting down next to him. "I don't know Vestar dear but when she came in this evening from playing with that Haddock boy she was all smiles and giggles. Now hush before you wake her up!"

"What do you mean smiles and giggles?" Vestar asked quieting down a little but keeping his amused and outraged tone.

Sassa tried to hide her grin as she got up and stirred the stew again hanging from the spit. "She just kept gushing over the boy and how everyone was trying to climb this tree to get one of the Thorston twins axes down and couldn't do it. Apparently he came up with this way to get a grip on the tree so one of the other lads could get a good start climbing. Snotlout I think his name was…" Sassa said pensively. "I don't think Astrid was impressed with him at all."

"Ah well I don't know about a crush there Bera." Vestar said with a wink calling her by the nickname reserved for nights by the fire like this. "I think my girl just appreciates a good strategy to get things done."

Sassa removed the stew from the stove and set it on the table before Vestar pulled her into his lap. "I don't know dear." she said enjoying his warmth and burying her face in his chest "She seemed pretty smitten to me."

He smiled. If that was true he was definitely in for a treat one of these days, haggling with the chief and his son over his daughter. Boy could he wait for that day!

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About seven and half years later, she'd finally got up enough courage to kiss him after everything that happened with the red death. They'd been friends for years, or at least in her mind they had been. In all her strength she hadn't really talked to him much growing up, refusing to acknowledge the feelings she had for him. It's been a week now though since the very public kiss and if she's honest with herself… she's been avoiding him again… a little bit.

"Astrid? Can you come in here please?" she hears her father say as she walks in the house. She cringes. It's his stern voice.

"Yeah dad?" She says standing in the doorway, ready for a quick escape if she's in trouble.

"Tell me about this kiss with the Haddock boy the village is talking about." He said facing the fire so she couldn't see his face.

Gah.. She choked a little as her face went red. "I uh…What…what about it?" There was no point denying it happened she guessed.

He smiled wide and turned to look at her then. winking "Do I need to ask him what his intentions are with my daughter?"

"WHAT! No! No! It…It was nothing dad, honest!" She was a little relieved at his smile but embarrassed by his accusations.

"Oh don't lie to my face now lass!" Vestar gasped. "Ye've had a thing for that boy since you were yea high!" he said holding his hand up about four feet from the floor.

"D-DAD! No I haven't!"

Vestar laughed heartily "Oh darlin' it's all over ye're face! Ye need to go get 'em if ye want him though. I hear he's a hot item to the ladies lately."

Thoroughly embarrassed she took a step backwards towards her room. "O-Okay dad I'll keep that in mind… Night!" She didn't give him time to answer before she was halfway up the stairs to her room.

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The next afternoon her chores were done, she'd practiced with her ax that morning, and it was freezing as always outside. Bored, she thought about what her father said, he was right. She needed to suck it up and at least talk to Hiccup, so she headed to the forge.

When she walked in though, it was loud with the sounds of his hammering. Surprised by his language also as he cursed Snotlout to the Gods for something. She grinned and said something but through the noise, he didn't hear so she perched herself up on one of the work benches and waited for him to be done.

She didn't have to wait long. Working the forge his whole life Hiccup had it done in a matter of minutes, and turning to through it in the cooling water he jumped at the sight of her sitting there.

"Woah! What are you doing here?" he asked finishing with the now steaming sword and hanging it on the wall.

"Nothing! Just bored and decided to come see what you were up too." she smiled.

He grinned back at her and picked up his next project. "Oh you know the same old hard labor." He teased, setting the hammer down on the table and wiping the sweat off his face.

"Psh hard labor my ass!" she teased back, knowing full well that it wasn't an easy job working in the forge but giving him hell for it anyway.

He tossed a wry glance back at her as he pulled the warn wood handle from the metal. There was so much he could say about her ass, but him being Hiccup there was no way he'd say that to Astrid Hofferson. "Yeah, right!" he said sarcastically agreeing with her as he surveyed the splintered handle.

She watched him smile through his intense concentration on his work and somehow found it fascinating. How had she not done this before. That intense look he got and the way she could see the wheels turning in his head as he figured out how to fix something. "How do you do it?" she said after a long period of silence between them, and he looked up from the piece of new wood he was measuring to answer her.

"Do what?"

"I don't know, everything?"

He looked even more confused "Like in the forge?" he shrugged and looked back down at his measurements "I don't know, after eight years working here you kind of learn the do-all way of getting things done."

I guess in a way he answered her question but somehow she wasn't quite satisfied with the answer. Maybe she'd really meant how do you make me feel like this? Or how do you tell a guy that that kiss didn't just mean I'm glad you're alive.

But she answered him anyway with a shrug of the shoulders and an understanding nod. For hours she sat there and watched him fix various weapons and saddles, every once in a while joking and talking with him while he worked.

She went home smiling like an idiot that night and once again as she went to bed, her father found himself having that same conversation with his wife that he'd had those many years ago.

So? I know some parts are very choppy and corny so let me know what you think. Would you keep reading this?