A/N: Hello, my peoples! I know this is NOT what I should be working on but A&M is being obstinate.

Anyway, this is my first forage into previously unknown territory called the obsession-inducing How To Train Your Dragon fandom. Yeah, I was excited for this movie to come out before… then I saw it. Then saw it again with the boyfriend, cousin, and sister in tow. Then forced my mother to buy McD's Happy Meals I wouldn't eat just for the Dragon toys. Then I forced her to take me to buy the toys in stores. Then spent all weekend writing 20 pages of fanfic material when I should have been doing homework that luckily got postponed. But enough of that. Enjoy the plotline that invaded my brain and disturbed my sleep for days.

Disclaimer: Do not own the frigging amazing story of How To Train Your Dragon. Damn.

Astrid was lying on her bed with her feet resting on the headboard. She stared up at the roof of her now-dragon-access-capable house and thought. This was a normal pastime for her but the subject wasn't: she was considering her loving relationship with Hiccup.

It was strange to think that, only mere months ago (though over a year now) she thought he was just a foolish child that couldn't keep his head on earth and whose blatant disregard for her way of life irked her. Now… he was more precious to her than she could have ever imagined him being.

They'd all seemed to have paired off: she was with Hiccup; Tuffnut was with an older girl that had three dragon deaths under her belt (back when the village appreciated that sort of thing); Fishlegs had fallen for a tiny girl two years his junior while teaching her to train her Gronckle; and Ruffnut and Snotlout…

They weren't really together. He hovered over her in a protective and possessive way and she never seemed to mind. It was rare to see them even speak to one another but it was the general consensus that they were in love… or at least, in like. Once, Astrid had seen them sneak off together, Ruffnut taking advantage of her brother's distraction with his girl. Curiosity one of Astrid's biggest faults, she followed them. She found them sitting together, speaking in hushed tones. It was the first time she had seen either one of them serious (well, excluding when they found out that Hiccup had lost his foot). Snotlout had said something with a small smile on his face and Ruffnut had blushed, extremely uncharacteristic of her. Seeming to be made braver by this, he reached out and gently ran his hand over her cheek. She had looked down then up again, then leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. All three were shocked by this occurrence and Astrid high-tailed it out of there, hoping the lovers wouldn't hear her leave.

Astrid was smiling at the memory when Ruffnut burst into her room. She didn't even flinch when the girl flopped down beside her on the bed, jumbling her and all her possessions that lay on it with their owner.

"Hi," Ruffnut said.

"Hey," was the reply she received.

"Having fun?"

"Sure." Ruffnut laughed then situated herself so that she and Astrid were facing opposite directions on the bed. Ruffnut smacked Astrid in the stomach and Astrid kicked her shoulder in retaliation. They kept that up for a few minutes before Astrid's mother asked what was going on for them to be making so much noise.

"Sorry, Mom!" Astrid yelled downstairs. She and Ruffnut sighed and settled back down.

"So how's the boy-toy?" Ruffnut asked. It was how she always referred to Hiccup when he wasn't there. And sometimes when he was. Astrid ignored the nickname for the most part.

"Good. He and Toothless are off somewhere, trying to find where the new dragon nest is. He says he wants to find out their best breeding habitats so that way we can find something nearer to Berk for the dragons we have to use. He expects it to take a while. Years, maybe, he said."

"Huh."

"Mmmhmm."

They lay together in companionable silence, staring at the roof beams that Astrid's Nadder had made her roost. It was a while before either spoke. Suddenly, Ruffnut sat up.

"How far have you and Hiccup gone?" she asked. Astrid jumped. Ruffnut continued, "I mean, the whole village saw you guys kiss but that was over a year ago now, and you're both almost 18. You're past marriageable age and going to be living on your own soon." Ruffnut refused to look at Astrid as she said it.

"We've never done more than kiss. And he just about has a heart attack every time. Why?" Astrid asked, cautious. She didn't want to know. She really didn't want to know.

"I guess I've one-upped you there then."

Astrid gaped. Her mind refused to wrap around what her best friend was telling her. She knew Ruffnut and Snotlout were intimate but she never expected… And who could be sure it was Snotlout? Ruff had never been really affectionate with him and when she had seen them together was months past. She shouldn't ask… but she had to. For her own peace of mind.

"You've… with Snotlout?" Ruffnut nodded, still not looking at the only other girl her age in Berk. Astrid expelled a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"When?"

"About a month ago, the first time."

Astrid put her hands over her face at the phrase "the first time". To be honest, the news and the tone with which it was delivered shocked the hell out of her. She'd never imagined that Ruffnut could be involved in… something like that. But she had more questions.

"Were you scared? The first time?" That odd phrase sounded worse in her mouth than it had in Ruff's.

"No. Not really. I think I would have been if it hadn't been both our idea. But I'm scared now." She looked at her for the first time since the conversation had started. She knew how much it took for this rough-and-tumble girl (no pun intended) to admit that she was scared of anything.

"Why? Why are you scared now?" She kept asking questions she knew she didn't want the answers to. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she stop when she so obviously needed to?

"Astrid… what if I'm-?" Astrid's mother, Eiri, chose that moment to walk into her daughter's room. She saw the expressions of both girls and the smile that had been on her face slipped off.

"What's going on?" Ruffnut looked terrified while Astrid looked helpless. She looked back and forth between her daughter and the girl's best friend. "Someone needs to tell me. Now."

"Tell her, Ruff. She can help." Astrid said, pleadingly. She couldn't help her friend on her own. Ruffnut looked in no way convinced.

"Tell me, girl," she said kindly. "I know your own mother isn't as much of a confidante as she could be to you and your brother but you know you can tell me anything. Think of me as your second mother." Eiri smiled at Ruffnut and the teenager smiled backed tentatively. The story came poring out of her in the end and she finished with the fear she had been expressing to Astrid when her mother had walked in.

"Eiri, what if I'm pregnant? What the hell should I do? My father will kill me."

"Your father won't kill you, first of all. I won't let him. And if you're pregnant," Ruffnut flinched at the word, "we will deal with that as it comes."

"What will happen to Snotlout if I am? Will you protect him too?"

"What do you mean?" Astrid cut in, confused and slightly angry.

"My brother will kill him. Tuff will kill him, we all know it so don't tell me I'm being silly," Ruffnut added when Eiri opened her mouth to refute it. "He'll protect me, no matter what. Even if I don't need protecting."

"There is no use stressing about it until we know for sure. Have you bled in the last month?" Ruffnut looked at her as if she was crazy.

"Of course I have. My Zippleback is still pretty volatile and bites me every once in a while." Eiri sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"She means, have you had your cycle in the last month, Ruff?" Astrid translated.

"Oh. No, I haven't."

"Ok. We start from there. The only thing to do now is wait. If you don't have it for two months, then it's time to start stressing. So save your worry for then. Also, tell no one, not even Tuffnut what is going on, all right? No need to incite panic in others."

Ruffnut agreed then got up to leave, but not before giving Eiri a tight hug, after which she left the room (and house) at a run.