Author's note: This was a request made by Trixxster103 on Deviantart. Hope you guys like it! enjoy your reading!

For the life of her, Astrid couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this…lonely. It definitely wasn't the kind of merciless and terrible loneliness Hiccup used to endure for years. No. It was the bitter and sarcastic loneliness one could feel when something highly improbable and extremely unpleasant happened and when the only thought that came to mind seemed to be an existential question.

Why me?

Astrid sighed angrily for the umpteenth time that day, cursing the Gods under her breath as she tried at all costs to avoid looking at Snotlout – and failing epically- who was currently busy trying to make it clear that he really could carry out two hundred push-ups without breaking a sweat. A shirtless Snotlout, mind you. She glanced at him and couldn't prevent her face from contorting in a sour grimace. While she was pretty certain some other girls would be impressed by the mountain of muscles the dark-haired teenage Viking displayed unabashedly, she sure as Hel was not.

It was the strangest thing. Working out was a good thing, and muscles were definitely helpful when you lived on an island located solidly on the Meridian of misery, as Hiccup would put it. But as Astrid completed her fair share of planche push-ups –she'd chosen those in the desperate hope that it would put an end to Snotlout's constant bragging- she actually realized she did not like such massive amounts of muscles. Before, she had had no problem with that whatsoever, even though she had never paid attention to Spitelout's son's fruitless attempts to catch her attention. But now, after having spent days and weeks and eventually months with Hiccup…Now, she found Snotlout so rough, and large, and just…undesirable. No, what Astrid wanted, what she needed, was someone warm and gentle, someone who cared for her and would only worry about her pleasure when the time would come. She wanted someone innocent enough that she could mold and shape to do what she found most...arousing.

Hiccup.

For some odd, mysterious reason Astrid found Hiccup...attractive. Okay, she was a horrible liar. She did not find him attractive; she found him delicious. And the reason why she found him that way wasn't either odd or mysterious at all. She was in love and she knew it. For Odin's sake, she even publicly accepted it! What was it? His delectable hips she could wrap her long, curvaceous legs around? The slightly more muscular though still svelte figure he was developing and wasn't quite used to yet? Or maybe it was his demeanor she found tantalizing. Or maybe it was all of this at the same time.

"See, baby? Not a single drop of sweat!" Snotlout happily proclaimed whilst lifting himself from the ground, proudly pumping his torso and extending his arm for her to touch and agree with him.

She gave him her coldest glare, swatting his forearm away and needing all the self-control she could muster to prevent herself from knocking him out there and then. Baby? Just when had Snotlout imagined he had the outrageous right to call her that? Not even Hiccup did!

"Congrats." Somehow, she did not make it sound like a compliment. She hoped against hope the boy in front of her would take his cue to let her be but he simply grinned from ear-to-ear upon hearing her words before he started ranting yet again about how fast he could run. She automatically stopped listening; his words became nothing but a background noise as she stared out into space in the direction of the forge, hoping to see Stoick's son walking down the hill to ask her to hang out with him. She knew she would accept before he even voiced that invitation. In fact, she would probably throw herself at him without a second's hesitation if it meant getting away from Snotlout.

But Hiccup wasn't there and it was her fault.

Astrid sighed, now clearly wanting to slap herself. How could it have come to this? Oh, right. Stupid Ruffnut and her stupid habit to make stupid bets.

Astrid and Ruffnut were making their way to the gathering hall to have dinner and meet with their friends when they passed by a group of apparently horny younger boys who were discovering the raging torment their hormones could inflict on them. They let out a collective and none too subtle high-pitched whistle as the two girls walked past them, making the both of them roll their eyes in annoyance. They simply ignored them and chose to keep walking; those morons were not worth a single glance.

But of course that was when Ruffnut had felt the need to bring up one of her infamous potentially destructive questions. The vicious part was that it was often a statement rather than a real question; a statement meant to make the person she was speaking to react and respond.

"You know, with all those fan girls running after him like he's the catch of the century, your boyfriend may just decide to dump ya someday."

Although Astrid inwardly growled unhappily at that thought, there was no way she was letting Ruffnut lure her that easily.

"Dream all you want. Hiccup won't dump me."

"Oh really? And, if I may ask," Ruffnut demanded with a raised eyebrow and a devilishly-looking grin, "How can you be so sure about that?"

"Because he told me so. Happy now?"

"Actually, nope. If your lover-boy is so nuts over you, why doesn't he ever get jealous when the other guys hit on you?"

Now that was a good question. It was true that, as far as she was concerned, Astrid had never seen Hiccup acting out of jealousy. And she really didn't give a damn about it. But what was that supposed to prove?

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that even if what you say is true, any guy in his right mind wouldn't let someone else flirt with his girlfriend. Unless he doesn't really care, that is."

"Hiccup doesn't get jealous because he knows I won't let any other guy get near me."

Ruffnut grinned wickedly at Astrid's statement, making the latter regret her words instantly.

"So what you're basically saying is that dragon-boy takes you for granted and you're okay with it? Wow. Never thought you'd fall that low."

Astrid froze, biting her lower lip so hard she was sure she would draw blood from it. She turned round almost too fast for the eye to see and gripped the Thorston girl by the front of her tunic, her eyes nothing but a blue inferno but the lack of reaction on Ruffnut's part told her she might as well have been humming a bloody lullaby.

"He. Doesn't. Take me. For. Granted!"

"Oh yeah? Well," Ruffnut spoke in that triumphant manner, knowing already she'd touched a nerve, "Prove it."

"What?"

"Next time Snotlout flirts with you, play along and we'll see how your oh-so-devoted boyfriend reacts. I bet he won't even lift his little finger. Whoever loses has to take care of the other's dragon's shit for a week. Deal?"

Astrid snarled angrily and hardened her grip on Ruffnut's tunic, both of their faces getting closer until their noses almost touched.

"You're crazy. But deal. Just so you'll shut up."

And so it was that after having shaken hands, both girls entered the hall, took their respective plates and sat at the table where the boys already were. Astrid took her now usual spot beside Hiccup, who greeted her sweetly with one of his trademark lopsided smiles that made her heart melt every time. But not that time. She was on a mission: proving stupid Ruffnut how wrong she was. The female twin sat opposite her, grinning and obviously waiting for Snotlout to attempt one of his lame flirtatious 'tactics', as he liked to call them.

She didn't have to wait for very long.

Stoick the Vast called for his son to come over to where he was for a second, and as soon as Hiccup got up, Snotlout rose and took the now temporarily vacant seat beside Astrid. She fought the immediate urge to push him away, knowing Ruffnut was keeping an eye out for the tiniest movement she'd make. So, she pretended she didn't care about Spitelout's son's presence and concentrated on eating her meal.

Snotlout, on the other hand, couldn't believe she hadn't punched him yet and decided to see just how far his luck could and would stretch. Hiccup was slowly coming back when he was left rooted to the spot upon seeing the scene in front of him. His cousin had just dared to snake one of his beefy hands around Astrid's narrow waist and she wasn't doing anything to remove it! Rage and jealousy unleashed themselves within him, filling every fiber of his being, body and soul. He angrily strode along to where Snotlout was, intending to tell him to knock it off immediately when, suddenly, he heard him asking Astrid if she wanted to come to his house the next day to work out with him. Hiccup stopped walking and pricked up his ears, confident that she would refuse. But when he heard her reply with a simple "yes", he felt as if he'd just been struck by a bolt of lightning. As if his whole world was shattering. He couldn't move. He simply couldn't. Even Snotlout did not seem to believe she'd just given him a positive response.

Ruffnut motioned for Astrid to look behind her. She complied and felt her heart tighten upon seeing the way his green eyes were blazing with hurt. She silently begged him to do something – anything – to claim her as his and make Ruffnut swallow her stupid words, but Hiccup simply stood there, staring sadly at the hand Snotlout had put around her waist. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally looked at her again.

"Go ahead, if that's what you want." He said, and Astrid hated how he tried to make his tone sound flat and neutral when he was obviously trying to suppress the lump in his throat. "You're free."

And then he turned round, limping away until he disappeared behind the gigantic doors of the hall, leaving an overly confident-looking Ruffnut, a disbelieving Snotlout and an unknowingly crushed Astrid behind him.

Gods, how Astrid wished she could have just ignored Ruff's stupid bet, but her pride was telling her otherwise. And why hadn't Hiccup tried anything to tell Snotlout to get the fuck off of her? Could Ruffnut be actually right? Did he really take her for granted?

No. He wouldn't.

No. Why would he have told her that she was free to choose, if he took her for granted? But then again, did he not know it was he that she loved, not Snotlout or any other guy for that matter?

Snotlout was still bragging about his physical skills when she tried to pay a little bit of attention to what he was saying, instantly regretting it and deciding this conversation was the epitome of a one-sided one. It was only then that she heard the familiar noise of a particular prosthetic leg as it repeatedly touched the ground. Immediately looking up, she almost couldn't believe her eyes as Hiccup himself really came down the hill towards her and Snotlout, the same determined look on his face he'd had when first making her promise not to reveal a thing about his forbidden friendship with a Night Fury. The same Night Fury who was trotting happily behind his rider, looking impatient and…smug?

She couldn't help but stare as Hiccup came to a stop in front of her. Snotlout had not even noticed his presence yet. Astrid reached out, wanting to explain that it was nothing but a stupid bet and that she really was sorry but he didn't let her utter a single word. Instead, he placed a finger on her lips and pointed with his right thumb at Toothless.

"Don't say anything. You're coming with me. Right now."

It wasn't a question. It wasn't even a suggestion. It was an order. She absent-mindedly noticed he was wearing some weird leather gloves, and figured they were a new addition to his flying gear. Feeling happy at the prospect of flying with him and having the opportunity to explain it was all Ruff's fault, Astrid only smiled and nodded before deftly jumping on the black dragon's back, waiting for him to join her.

However, Hiccup didn't mount with her as she'd expected. Instead he made his way to where his cousin stood and lightly tapped on the bigger boy's shoulder to signal his presence.

"Yeah, baby?" Snotlout asked as he turned round, expecting to see Astrid smiling up at him and responding to his advances.

Hiccup did not give him a second to understand what was going on before his left fist –protected by the leather glove he was wearing, a leather glove he had worked on all night long at the forge, improving it by adding pads of steel on the parts meant to cover his knuckles- brutally collided with his cousin's face.

Astrid gasped as Snotlout actually staggered back in surprise and Hiccup sent another punch that resonated with a satisfying crack around the area of his cousin's now bleeding nose. Apparently her training sessions with Hiccup were proving to be very efficient.

"That's for flirting with my girlfriend." Hiccup declared solemnly before Snotlout could comprehend what had just happened. "Go find yourself another one."

Astrid heard Toothless huff with what she swore was pride and agreement. She chuckled. Yes, Ruffnut had been wrong all along, and she couldn't wait to see her face when the female Thorston twin would hear about this. Hiccup hitting Snotlout just to make it clear he didn't appreciate his cousin's behavior? A totally new record in Viking history. And, Astrid remembered all of a sudden, Ruff would have to deal with double dragon chores for a week. After all, she'd never said a thing about Hiccup reacting immediately.

Toothless crouched down as Hiccup walked away from a dumbfounded Snotlout and mounted on his dragon's back, his prosthetic foot now clicking easily into place. Astrid beamed at him, wrapping her arms around his waist whilst the Night Fury shot up in the air, deploying his powerful wings and letting out a roar of utter pleasure.

Flights with Hiccup and Toothless were always amazing, but this one felt special to Astrid. She figured they would talk about the stupid bet later on, and then she would make sure he'd understand how sorry she was for even listening to Ruffnut in the first place. But for now, she let the both of them revel in the fact he'd just fought for her, and it was ridiculously gratifying.

Because of course Hiccup didn't consider her for granted. She was his conquest, wasn't she? Smiling broadly, she leaned into his back until her lips were close to the shell of his ear.

"Hiccup?"

"Hmm?"

"Love you."

She saw him grin blissfully as he bent forward, urging Toothless to fly higher above the clouds.

A new romantic flight was worth a reconquest.