A/N: Hi there :) This is a companion story to my other fanfic 'From the Beginning'. Check it out if you haven't read it yet.

From a very young age, Astrid accepted she was most likely to die alone on the battlefield.

She would never get to grow old, become someone's wife or have a family of her own. That type of domestic future didn't exist for her.

She barely even had a future, if at all. Only the present really mattered.

The war with the dragons needed to come to an end and she was going to dedicate her whole life to make sure it did. She was going to keep training, keep fighting and pushing herself until her very last breath.

Her life might be short-lived but it wasn't going to go wasted.

Protecting Berk was what she had been born to do.

This was Astrid's reality ever since her uncle and brother both died tragically.

There was a time she had been seduced by adventures and thrills as any child would be, but those days were were long gone now. That optimistic and naive version of who she used to be was dead. She only lived in the harsh reality of the truth.

Astrid Hofferson didn't need hopes or dreams. She didn't need pleasures or fun. She didn't need anyone or anything.

She just needed to succeed.

So why, oh why was she always so distracted by 'him'?

When they had been five, she used to follow Hiccup Haddock and his cousin Snotlout around. She was well aware of the fact that Hiccup Haddock didn't care for her but it still didn't stop her from trying to impress him.

Not that she would ever admit to this now, just reflecting over it caused deep embarrassment.

She had been blind in her admiration for him while he and the other kids had thought of her as naught but worthless and disposable. Simply because she didn't meet their standards and wealth.

But no more.

Astrid Hofferson was done with living up the expectations of others.

She had only one purpose now and no one was going to stop her.

It wasn't meant to happen like this. Hiccup Haddock wasn't supposed to get in her away. Again.

She had been so focused and determined for years. Trained herself to exhaustion every day. Never cared for anything but fighting in the war.

While Hiccup had only slacked off, chasing his own needs and desires.

Hiccup didn't care for anyone but himself. He was never where he should be. Always arriving late, and sometimes not attending training at all. Apparently he had more important things to do. It didn't matter to him that their parents' war was about to become theirs. He didn't care wether the people of Berk lived to the next day or not. It was all beneath him.

So how come he have beaten her so effortlessly? All of the sudden and out of the blue.

As popularity shot up for him among their peers, Astrid remained on the sidelines. She may not know Hiccup very well but she had been around him since birth. The way he was behaving was weirder than usual. Almost as if he had turned into a different person.

No one suddenly got as good as Hiccup did in such a short amount of time. Especially someone like him who became so easily distracted, so unfocused during training. Something wasn't right, and she was going to be the one to find out.

He may have fooled everyone, but he hadn't fooled her.

She was going to find out how he had cheated his way up to the top.

...And find out she did.

It turned out to be something different than what she had expected.

This was the first time they stood on mutual ground, seeing each other for who they actually were and not the false perception they both had held of one another for a while. A whole new world beyond her realms of imagination had opened up. It was almost like a veil was lifted off her eyes, and it was both exciting and terrifying.

After they returned back to the cove she began to understand how wrong she had been about him.

Hiccup did care. He cared a lot. Not in the traditional Viking way but in his own unique way. More importantly, she realized he had never changed. He was still the same, the boy from the forge.

But this was the first time she had seen him stand up for something. The first time she could see to what lengths has was willing to go just to protect his beliefs. To protect his own.

This stirred something inside her.

Astrid Hofferson had never been good at expressing herself in words.

So she did the next best thing she could think of. She punched him on the arm, followed by a quick kiss on the cheek.

"That's for everything else," she mumbled, avoiding eye-contact.

And then she ran away from him. Her heart drumming violently against her chest.

Astrid's eyes frantically searched for his body. It was difficult to see through all the black smoke and dust. She pushed past the people in the front to see the Chief kneeling before the Night Fury.

Her heart dropped, eyes growing wet.

No. This couldn't be happening!

There was no Berk without Hiccup. Imagining life without him caused her pain, and so much regret.

How could she already lose him before she ever even had the chance to really love him?

Then suddenly, she heard the Chief exclaim.

"Hiccup!" he shouted. "He's alive! You brought him back alive," he said to Toothless.

Everyone around began to cheer and Astrid let out a painful laugh of relief and happiness.

The rest of the journey back was a blur. Hiccup was in a critical condition and they might need to amputate his foot.

Astrid swallowed back a painful lump but remained by his unconscious body through the process. Silently praying to the Gods for him to make it through.

The weeks afterwards were painful and long. Hiccup was recovering but it was taking its time. She tried to stay by his side as much as she could between looking after Toothless and Stormfly and helping the rest of the dragons settle around on Berk. Like Hiccup would have wanted if he had been awake.

One time the Chief found her on the floor next to Hiccup's bed, sniffling and begging him to wake up.

"Astrid," Stoick the Vast said, frowning. "You are still here?"

Astrid suddenly snapped her head up in surprise. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I'll leave."

"No, no. Don't be absurd," he said. "You are welcome to stay. I just don't want you to wear yourself out, that's all."

She nodded, settling back on the floor and grabbing Hiccup's hand in hers. Stoick watched her for a moment before sinking down on a stool nearby.

The silence was thick until Astrid felt the need to break it. "I wish.." she started slowly, taking a deep breath. "I wish we had not wasted so much time. I wish I could take it all back," she said, a single tear escaping her eye and sliding down her cheek. "But it's too late now."

"Don't say that." The Chief shook his head. "It's never too late."

Astrid eyed him warily but didn't speak.

"There are a few things I have done, said.. that I will regret for the rest of my life. Things that can never be taken back. But I can be there for him now. Be the father he needs me to be," he explained. "We might not be able to change what has happened in the past but the present matters just as much, if not more. My son is going to need a shoulder to lean on, someone to support him."

Astrid nodded, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, "Don't forget Toothless," she reminded him.

Stoick quirked an eyebrow.

"Hiccup is going to want Toothless by his side when he wakes up," she clarified.

The Chief laughed, "Already speaking on my son's behalf," he chuckled. "Well, I'll think about it, alright? Now, go and get some rest young lady, you are going to need it."

Astrid nodded again, standing up with a smile. She turned to the unconscious boy one last time.

"From now on, I will always be there for you. I promise," she whispered down at him, giving his hand another squeeze before letting go.

They were at Dragon's Edge riding on each of their respective dragons around the island. Astrid whipped around to see Hiccup catching up to her. He shot past her like lightning. It seemed no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't beat a Night Fury. Well, they were one of a kind after all. Astrid thought to herself, grinning.

After flying a few more rounds, they duo ended up settling down with their dragons on the beachside of the island.

Astrid watched Hiccup curiously as he stepped on the crusty sand with his prosthetic foot, taking careful, measured steps so he wouldn't trip himself. It had almost been five years now since the incident with Red Death but this was a scar that would remain.

Hiccup eventually sat down beside her, and the next thing she knew, he was trailing a finger down her arm. Astrid's breath hitched at the sensation.

It seemed like even after staying platonic best friends for all these years, the romantic spark between them never died.

When Hiccup smiled at her crookedly, she couldn't help but smile back.

The future may be uncertain and cloudy, but one thing was for sure.

She was just as distracted by him now as she had been back then.

The girl who had never expected to fall in love, had somehow ended falling for the boy in the forge.