I'm not answering all reviews, because I'm kinda bored explaining myself but this one needed addressing.

Some Thoughts - take your obsessive, toxic monogamy culture and fuck off. Your review is an insult to polyamorous people like myself everywhere. Jealousy, possessiveness and monogamy are not the only signs of true commitment. Your idea that they don't love each other because of this is ridiculous. And this shouldn't even need saying - they were not cheating! Cheating is an act of deception, they were there with the consent of each other. Not. Cheating!

+ to the many people bringing it up, the Eretstrid was shorter because I've written Eretstrid before. Heathcup is pretty new to me. Everything I write is practice to get better. That's literally the only reason. Y'all know I love Eret!

-HTTYD-

Astrid had originally just needed time to process, and Hiccup had been wonderfully patient and understanding and let her have it.

Or so she thought.

When she went back to work two days after... the club, Astrid had every intention of talking to Heather about feeling that the whole 'swinging' thing wasn't for her, then calling and seeing her boyfriend that evening after her shift.

Dropping by the office to ask her boss - she had been sure Heather was on the same shift as her that day - Astrid gave her best winning smile to the man.

"Is Heather on today? Or Eret?"

Placing aside some thick stacks of paper, the boss shook his head.

"They've both resigned. No notice, no reasoning. I now have to fill their vacancies sharpish."

Sensing a delicate subject, Astrid quickly decided to hurry back to her shift. Both Heather and Eret had quit? As she wiped a table, Astrid spied the person who would absolutely know why. He knew everything, it was just usually tricky to get it out of him.

"Tuffnut!"

Tuff turned around, looking up as though he thought the ceiling was what had called his name. Well. Nickname, but nobody had called him "Theodore" in years. What was his mother thinking?

"Who are you?"

"Down here you idiot."

Tuff looked down, spotted Astrid and ambled over like he hadn't just made a fool of himself to the usual crowd. They were pretty used to Tuff though, the eccentric cocktail mixer and dish washer quite the source of amusement.

"What's up A?"

Knowing better than to get caught 'gossiping' rather than working, Astrid dragged Tuff toward the staff bathroom. In hindsight it wasn't the most inconspicuous location, but at least it was empty.

"You know why Heather and Eret quit?"

Tuff looked off into the distance for a minute, tapping his cheek in thought.

"Yes. They... they both thought the other one wasn't quitting."

"That isn't helping Tuff."

He frowned, blinking rapidly for a minute before clicking.

"They broke up! I mean, that's right. They were dating right?"

Astrid took a second to process the facts properly, looking up in surprise.

"Yeah... wait, they broke up?"

"Yep. And obviously they didn't wanna see each other and both quit. Their loss. This job is great! But then I hear Heather was hanging with some guy with a really funny name so maybe she had to change jobs before anyone noticed. Not that I know what they would notice. Girls confuse me. Wait! You're a girl."

Trying not to react noticeably - if anyone had a funny name, it was Hiccup - Astrid settled for sarcasm to get rid of her colleague.

"Well spotted Tuff. You can go."

"Right!"

The blond vanished quickly, leaving Astrid trying to deal with a sudden ache in her chest. Had Hiccup gone to Heather? Already?

And if he had? It was her fault. Astrid was the one who talked Hiccup round into trying the bloody swinging thing. At first it had been fine. Hel, she even enjoyed the sex itself but after... it just all felt a little off. Watching Hiccup across the room with someone else, not with his arms around Astrid the way he knew she liked after they were intimate. Seeing that look of satisfaction beneath somebody else... beneath Heather.

Blaming Heather helped a little. Heather said it wouldn't change anyones relationship and yet she had broken up with Eret. Apparently to move right in on Astrid's boyfriend.

Honestly, she thought Heather was better than that. Hiccup too. But... seemed she was wrong.

Astrid trucked through her shift. She went to the store for ice cream. Astrid sat at home in her pyjamas, eating her weight in some caramel and cookie dough frozen monstrosity to drown her sorrows. One night - she was allowed one night to wallow and fall apart.

Of course, Astrid could call Hiccup and make certain. But... if she heard it from him, it became true. Real. Astrid wasn't quite ready for that yet.

Waking up with a stomach ache and the occasional threat of tears, Astrid got out of bed, put on her running shoes and went out to pound the pavement. Running was cleansing, therapeutic for her. Her feet didn't care she had boy trouble. Her legs weren't caught up on what happened in that club. The ground under her shoes wasn't bothered by who was dating who. Astrid could run until it hurt and hurt it did, but by the time she got out of the shower she felt a little more human.

Astrid told herself that she didn't miss him, and maybe it would have worked. But she kept finding herself missing the strangest things about him.

Like lunch. Cute post it notes on her sandwich tubs, or Hiccup's habit of cutting fresh fruit and vegetables into unusual shapes - Astrid had one had and cucumber triangles nestled next to the rest of her stuff, and it won strange looks in the staff canteen but made her smile.

Sleeping wasn't so bad at first, but after a couple of weeks Astrid began to really miss the way Hiccup's arms wound round her as she slept. Missed his heartbeat against her back and his kisses against her temple.

Her broken laptop mocked her; Hiccup had never gotten around to fixing it. The memory of him sat at her table, lean chest bare and the smell of oil in the air flashed through her mind, the one mug on her drying rack looking sad and lonely.

"You alright lass?"

Mulch quizzed as Astrid served him his drink - they had replaced Eret, but not Heather yet - and she realised she was lost in her head a little again. There was an advert for keeping an eye out for motorcycles on the road playing, and it was a bitter reminder of her own two-wheeled rider. Not that he was hers anymore it seemed.

Surely if Hiccup wasn't with Heather, he would have come to see her. Or at least called her? Surely?

The longer Astrid thought about it, the angrier she got. Hiccup at least owed her an explanation. An apology. The truth.

As soon as her shift ended, Astrid tossed her apron on it's hook, grabbed her car keys and made a beeline for her (ex?)boyfriends flat. She still had a key, plus a fob for the electronic entry on her keyring, so Astrid was able to head straight into the building and up the stairs to his floor.

Breaking in was tempting. Potentially getting arrested was not. As she approached to knock the door, Astrid heard a distinctly female voice on the other side. Raising her fist, she hit the wood quite hard. The frame may or may not have rattled a little bit.

"Expecting someone?"

"No."

The two owners of the voices were close to the door. One was Hiccup's...

The other wasn't Heather. When Hiccup pulled open the door, she recognised his mother behind him. That made hitting the door a tad excessive, Astrid noted in a distant part of her mind.

"Uh. Hi? Did you come here to see me, or did my door piss you off?"

Hiccup... he looked terrible. Exhausted, cheeks messy with stubble longer than she had ever seen it. A little of her faded, replaced with some concern for the state he was in.

"Both?"

He raised an eyebrow, mother visibly loitering to listen to them and Astrid didn't want to have any of the conversations she came over with in mind in front of his mom.

"Can we talk?"

Hiccup let out a humorless chuckle, turning away from her as though he was unable to continue looking at her.

"Finally come to tell me about Eret?"

Astrid flinched inwardly, hoping it didn't come out on her face how wrong-footed she was.

"Tell you what about Eret exactly?"

"I haven't heard a word from you in three weeks."

"And you think I've spent it with Eret?"

Hiccup finally looked at her, something like surprise and wariness and maybe hope in his tired green eyes.

"You're... you're not the blonde?"

"I guess that makes you not the guy with the weird name."

As soon as Astrid said that, Hiccup felt his heart turn over in his chest.

Had the last few weeks of him trying to deal with his broken heart - not to mention losing Astrid as one of his closest friends - all been caused by a misunderstanding?

"Do you think perhaps you should invite her in rather than talk at the doorway son?"

His mothers voice intruded on Hiccup's racing thoughts, which made him snap upright.

"Oh. Yeah. Do you want to come in?"

Astrid stared at him for a minute, then nodded and walked in. Hiccup closed the door behind her, suddenly quite aware he hadn't taken brilliant care of himself for a few weeks. His mother had detected a low mood over the phone, swooped in to coddle her heartbroken son.

Hiccup ended up telling her everything. Not his proudest moment, but she had been remarkably understanding. Soothed him. No judgement.

"All couples have trials and troubles son. What matters is that we learn from them."

"I learnt something. She prefers Eret."

Valka had insisted Hiccup actually reach out to Astrid and be certain, but Hiccup's wounded pride wouldn't let him. He reckoned if Astrid hadn't turned up and staged war on his front door, his mother would have convinced him. Or done it herself. His mother did so love to meddle and fuss.

Now, faced with his (ex?)girlfriend, Hiccup wasn't quite sure what to do with his awkward self.

"What did you mean, I'm not the blonde?"

"I heard the guys at work talking about Heather being single again, and that Eret was already dating 'some spunky blonde girl'. That's... you to a T. And you hadn't gotten in touch and I was trying to give you space and-"

Astrid placed a hand against his mouth, quieting Hiccup quite effectively.

"I heard Heather was dating someone with a weird name."

Hiccup had to move her hand, feeling her pulse quicken when his fingers touched her wrist gently.

"Yeah, she's dating Justin, according to Scott. Or as he's better known-"

"Fishlegs."

Astrid finished for him.

"You thought I..."

"You thought I had too."

Valka's voice cut between them as she leant in and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I think I'll leave you to sort this out between the two of you. You know where I am if you need me son."

She kissed his cheek and let herself out, all while Hiccup and Astrid just stood in silence. It took them both a minute to speak again.

"You honestly thought I had gone off with Eret and left you wondering?"

Slightly ashamed, Hiccup nodded.

"I should have thought better of you, but I think I let my own insecurities rule out proper logic. My moms been trying to get me to go talk to you ever since I told her."

"You told her? Everything?"

"Well I didn't go into excruciating detail but yeah. She was surprisingly ok with it."

Astrid frowned, pacing and leaving Hiccup hanging as he waited to see whether they were... he didn't even know. Had they broken up? Was the damage irreparable?

"I don't think swinging was for us."

Us. Us meant both of them. Hiccup latched onto the word with perhaps too much hope.

"I don't either."

Before Hiccup could think what else to say, Astrid had turned and thrown her arms around his middle. He held her in return, relief surging as Astrid squeezed him tight and nuzzled beneath his jaw. She pulled away pretty quickly, nose wrinkled.

"You need a shower. And a shave."

"I know... you uh, wanna wait out here?"

Astrid nodded and perched herself on the sofa, shooing at him from her position of making herself quite at home. The vision made him unreasonably happy.

She was back.

He tried to talk himself being too hopeful as he ran the electric shaver over his face and neck, clearing the thick scruffy mess there to leave only the usual stubble - Hiccup found wet shaving far more irritating to his skin. This was gentler for him.

Then he hopped in the shower, cleaning the smell of work and poor self-care from his skin and conditoning his hair properly, stepping out feeling a new man. His reflection was slightly less sore viewing too, the shower and shave seeming to take five years off his face. Hiccup realised he didn't have clean clothes in the bathroom and felt daft for his oversight, wrapping a towel around his waist and using another to try and stop his hair dripping everywhere.

"Forget your clothes?"

Astrid gave him the once over, grinning.

"... Maybe. I was in a rush to be clean so you might hug me again."

She smiled a little wider, ignoring the residual moisture on his skin as she came over and hugged him again.

"Yep. Definitely better."

Hiccup chuckled, doing his best not to soak her with the wet towel from his hair as he returned her embrace.

"So... we gonna talk about stuff?"

"Later. Naptime."

Astrid led him to his bedroom, openly ogling his bare backside when Hiccup dropped the towel and pulled on fresh bottoms. Then she waited expectantly until Hiccup laid on his side, kicked off her shoes and curled up in front of him. Maybe she had been having terrible sleep like he had.

Either way, Hiccup wasn't about to complain about the insistence upon a nap together. He slid his arm across her waist and spooned around Astrid's back. She sighed happily, wriggled to get more comfortable and stilled soon after. Hiccup's determination to stay awake and appreciate her presence faded beneath exhaustion, his eyes falling closed to the lullaby of her soft breathing next to him.

When he woke, Astrid was already awake next to him and smiled when she saw his eyes open. Hiccup smiled back, stroking her soft cheek with no consult from his brain.

"Hey you."

Astrid touched the hand on her cheek equally gently.

"Hey yourself."

"I missed you."

Hiccup found himself saying, again with no consult from his brain. Luckily, Astrid didn't seem to mind.

"I missed you too. And I can't believe you thought I would leave you for Eret. If he was my type, Scott would have had a chance don't you think?"

He cringed slightly at the prospect of his distant cousin dating his girlfriend, but conceded Astrid's point.

"Hey, you thought I was with Heather. You know full well my type is blonde."

Astrid pouted a little petulantly.

"I think its clear we both made assumptions when the sensible thing would have been to talk to each other."

"Yeah. You're very right. So... shall we talk now?"

Humming to herself as she traced shapes over the back of Hiccup's hand, Astrid was visibly thinking.

"I'm not sure there's much to say. I'm sorry for pushing you into it though."

Taking a minute to think, Hiccup shook his head.

"You didn't push me. You presented your thoughts, and I agreed. Look, we tried it. It didn't... doesn't suit us. It wasn't a mistake. It was... a learning experience."

"You think?"

His wounded ego finally having stopped being a hindrance to talking, Hiccup was able to call on the conversations with his mother and soothe Astrid's concerns.

"I do. I'm sure there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of happy couples who do this stuff. We just aren't one of them. And that's ok."

This was where their compatibility and benefit to the other showed; Astrid made him strong, helped him feel secure in himself. Hiccup made her calm, grounded her racing mind and over-analysing.

"And you're happy to leave it at that?"

"I am if you are. We both handled ourselves a little poorly immediately after, but now we're here and talking about it."

Biting her bottom lip in thought, Astrid eventually nodded.

"That all makes a lot of sense. So... are we ok?"

"I am if you are."

Hiccup waited for her to answer. It took a minute, but Astrid opted to say they were ok by kissing him. The feeling was like a warm drink, sliding down to curl in his belly and soothing any leftover tensions. Gods had he missed kissing Astrid. She was equally responsive, clutching at his bare shoulders and still-damp hair in that way that only she did. Heather had been... greedy, hungry for sex but Astrid was simply hungry for him.

When the two separated, both were a little flushed, breathing a little harder. Astrid's eyes were bright, widened. Knowing she could tell he was aroused by her, Hiccup hastened to clarify that wasn't an expectation of his.

"If you wanna wait, I'm ok with that."

She visibly considered it, then shook her head and pressed against him again.

"Mmm. Nope. Been too long."

Before Hiccup knew what was happening, Astrid had crawled on top of him and resumed kissing sense clean out of him. They both grappled with her top, peeling off her clothes with the occasional expletive as they had to move apart to get trickier items off. Astrid went for his pyjama bottoms in short order, leaving both naked against each other and Hiccup would have known it was Astrid blindfolded, her body moulding to his as they made out on his bed.

He was very glad his mother made him clean up his flat the day before, caring and fiddling but not enabling him as he wallowed. So the sheets their bodies tangled in amongst were clean, soft against bare skin. Astrid's sensitive spots were intrinsically mapped in his own mind, tickling lightly along her waist and watching the blonde girl writhe beneath his touch.

Hiccup reached for her hair braid - he hadn't missed how she kept it up at the club. Astrid's hair being down was a sign of trust all by itself, and when she helped Hiccup untie it to free long blonde waves of golden silk, he knew they were definitely still good.

Astrid's limbs shook gently when Hiccup's fingers dipped down between her thighs, stroking and touching the way he had learned won him the best reactions. His girlfriend didn't disappoint, arching her back and rolling her hips into his touch, holding his gaze as best she could until pleasure took over her body. Her eyes closed and her lips parted, moans increasing from soft whimpers to hungry whines.

"Hi-iiii-ccup" Astrid's voice caught as he raked his nails teasingly down her inner thigh, knowing how she loved it "don't tease. Need you."

Reaching for him, Astrid curved up into his body wantonly, seeking his heat and lean muscles with her hands on skin. Hiccup indulged both their want for kissing, groaning against soft lips when Astrid's knowing fingers wrapped around his cock, stroking gently and touching the sensitive spot just beneath the head that made Hiccup keen in the back of his throat.

Astrid's hips pushed up into his, seeking Hiccup's body and he loved how she trembled as his cock rutted against her clit. She was slick, ready for him and Hiccup needed to move for protection, but Astrid's tight grip on his body wasn't really allowing it. She growled when he tried again, leaving him trying not to laugh at her scandalized expression when he attempted to move.

"I need a condom."

"Fuck the condom."

He understood rather quickly, knowing Astrid wanted everything to be different to the night at the club. They'd only been for one of their agreed upon two trips for sexual health checks, but both had come back clear and Astrid was on other contraception. They had used protection with Eret and Heather. All risks were minimal.

"You sure?"

Astrid showed no signs of doubt, stroking at his back and curling a leg around his hips.

"Mhmm. Want you."

Hiccup tried not to let the sudden burst of heat in his gut overwhelm, knowing Astrid was offering a heartfelt trust in him to be taking care of both her emotional and physical health, trusting him with her body and heart as one. Still, she seemed no more patient than usual and wriggled expectantly, only calming when Hiccup was finally inside her.

Fuck, it was a world of difference. Not necessarily physically, but emotionally. They were joined with no barriers between them, Astrid's soft heat welcoming him inside her and Hiccup felt every inch. Hiccup's hands went beneath her thighs, leaning back and taking Astrid's body with him. As she adjusted to the new depth, Astrid's hair tumbled down her back and tickled at Hiccups hands. By the gods, she was the most beautiful thing Hiccup would ever be blessed with, he was certain.

The position was deep, close and intimate; their faces were barely six inches apart, his hands curled around her lower back and Astrid's arms loosely draped across his shoulders. Her knees dug into the mattress either side of him, allowing her the leverage to ride Hiccup in long, deep motions at her own pace. Already wound tight, Astrid still drew it out in slow thrusts to torment them both with acute pleasure.

Satisfied Astrid could support her own weight, Hiccup let one hand roam her heaving chest, thumbing swollen nipples and stroking her sensitive sides. Astrid shuddered against him with every touch, biting at his shoulder when Hiccup's fingers slipped down to press firmly at her clit. He felt her tighten around him further, nails dragging down his back on every thrust as everything began to make Astrid fall to pieces.

Hiccup ensured he kept his rhythm as best he could, Astrid's shaking thighs tiring under the exertion but they were both teetering on the precipice, he could feel it. Could taste it in the sweat on Astrid's skin as he held her tighter, wrist aching from the awkward angle but Hiccup kept up the pressure against her hot clit until Astrid made those sweet, sinful sounds before quaking in his hold, skin breaking on his back and shoulder where she clung tighter to him in every way she could.

Dizzy with the heat and pleasure, barely able to remember how to breathe, Hiccup let the feel of Astrid's spasming muscles around his cock take him to Valhalla with her. They pitched and rocked together like a turbulent ship, the shakes and quivers taking seemingly forever to abate until they were sweaty, spent against each other.

Not to mention sticky, Hiccup's half-melted mind supplemented as he felt his come leak from Astrid's body. That would be an adjustment to get used to he mused.

Helping Astrid lay back down, Hiccup found himself pulled down with her. Opening his arms gave him an armful of satisfied blonde girlfriend, head burrowed in against his chest paying no mind to his sticky sweat as they cuddled.

"Mmm. Much better."

"I'm very glad to hear that."

Astrid made a contented sound against his chest, purring like a cat when he ran his fingers through her bed-mussed hair and squirming when his fingers mapped the dip of her lower back.

They might've stayed in that little bubble forever... had Astrid's stomach not growled.

"Did you skip dinner to come yell at me earlier?"

"Yep."

Chuckling to himself, Hiccup reluctantly peeled himself out of Astrid's embrace and hunted for his discarded bottoms.

"I'm going to go make food."

"And hot chocolate?"

Astrid's hopeful face peeked up from the messy bed, making him smile again. His cheeks were starting to hurt and he revelled in it. It was worth it to be so ecstatic with Astrid back.

"And hot chocolate. But you'll have to get up. No-"

"Eating in bed. I know. I'll get up in a minute. Comfy."

Astrid splayed herself back in the rumpled sheets with a defiant huff at the prospect of getting up, but she called out to him again before he left the room.

"Hey Hiccup."

"Yes milady?"

"You still need to fix my laptop."

One blue eye was cracked open, peering up at him. He laughed lightly.

"I think I can swing that."

-HTTYD-

To everyone who enjoyed the fic... See you on the next one!

To everyone who didn't... tough noodles.

(and to everyone who actually thought it wouldn't be HEA... do you know me at all?)