A/N: HEY GUYZ, LOOK HOW QUICKLY I UPDATED. No, it's not the end of the world; just the end of this fic. *sniffle* Seriously, though, guys...I cannot believe I am ending this thing. I started this a few months shy of a year ago, and now...it's over. Wut. I still remember seeing the trailer for HTTYD and at the part when Ruffnut gets in Hiccup's face and says, "You're crazy!...I like that," I thought, "Well, even if the movie sucks, I'm gonna like that girl." And I was so right. I saw the movie with my two best friends in the world at our school's movie theater, and I just fell in love. Not just with Ruffnut, but with the whole world of Berk. How can you not?

I wrote this fic because I love Ruffnut, and I felt like she got brushed off much too easily in the movie. It's clear she likes Hiccup, and even if her line about liking him because he's crazy was just for comedic purposes (although if you've made it this far into the fic, you can see I believe otherwise, lol), you can't argue that she got the shaft. So that's why I wrote this; to say that no, it isn't okay that she had to watch her best friend get the guy she wanted...but you know what? That's okay. She's a Viking. She's gonna get over it. Because when you're fourteen, you aren't always gonna get the guy or girl that you want. This is real life, and in real life, we don't always get what we want. In fact, we rarely get what we want, and I'm not gonna be one of those authors that lies and says we do. That...sounded really harsh and soapbox-y, which was not how I wanted it to sound...um. Basically what I'm trying to say is that things don't always work out the way we want them to, and that's okay.

If, however, the ending of this fic really and truly bothers you, do keep in mind that I write quite a bit of Ruffcup, because they are my OTP; you can check out I'm Gleeking Out and/or This is Berk if the idea of Hiccrid and/or Rufflegs distresses you as much as it does me.

Finally, I want to give huge, huge, huge, huge, HUGE thanks to everyone who reviewed: Ninja Kangaroo, Raee, MWA220, BlindMaster, RockstarVikingAngel, ichthyosaurus, Darned4AllEternity, Hicc, xv323, u r awesome, 123NinjaKat (I miss your reviews, girl :(), Catnip-Packet, Bookworm181, TemariTheWolf, draco-x, ShadowOne, 4ever2010, Annabeth The Unicorn, LeDragonQuiMangeDuPoisson, Voldyne, JustBlossom, Irako of the Desert, almne, musiclover99, Huynh D, BlackShadowedMoon, Jet Warrior, Loti-miko, Capito Celcior, Glitterthorn, Hoprabbit, Zero Reader, and anyone else who may come along after this chapter. Thank you all for your encouragement; you don't know how many times I was in a bad mood and you just brightened my day. Seriously. Thank you guys for everything.

And now for the final chapter. For the last time: enjoy!

We had dinner at Mead Hall that night, but I left early because "I was feeling kinda sick". It was mostly true; everytime I saw Astrid and Hiccup looking at each other and flirting with each other, I felt like I was gonna hurl. It's totally bad enough to watch the guy you're secretly in love with flirt with his new girlfriend, but when his new girlfriend is your best friend…that shit is not cool. I didn't feel like going into my actual house, though, because my parents would just want to talk to me, and I was not in the mood to talk. So I sat outside and scratched Zigzag and Spike; at least there were still a few males who appreciated me.

Tuff came home a while later; before he even sat down, he said, "Did you know that Astrid kissed—"

"Hiccup? Yeah, she told me," I droned. Thank you, Tuffnut, that was exactly what I wanted to talk about. Not.

Tuff plonked onto the grass beside me. "So, are they, like…?"

I shrugged. "Probably. She wasn't sure, but she seems into him, and he's obviously had a thing for her for years, so…"

Tuff watched me. "Are you gonna do anything about it?"

I snorted. "Like what? Try to break them up? She likes him, he likes her; even if I was able to get between them, they'd still like each other, and we all know Hiccup's never gonna go for me while Astrid's around, and then everyone would be miserable. It's just easier this way."

Tuff had to think about this for a minute. I'd been thinking about it all day. Finally he said, "That kinda sucks for you."

No shit. But I shrugged again. "I'll get over it. I'm a total sexpot; I can have anyone I want." Except the only guy I wanted, apparently.

Tuff snorted but didn't say anything. He started scratching Zag under the chin; after a long time, he said, "Astrid's kind of ugly."

I know he was just saying that to be, like, comforting or whatever (because let's face it: Astrid? Is totally hot), and I wasn't exactly mad at Astrid, but I'm not gonna lie: I felt a little better inside when he said that. I nudged him with my shoulder. "Thanks," I mumbled.

He nudged me back. "Anytime," he mumbled back.

Viking bonding, yo.

There was a party at Mead Hall the next night to celebrate Hiccup's victory over the Red Death, and even though I was still feeling kinda shitty, I figured I'd feel better if I drank. Plus my brother is totally hilarious when he's wasted, and I never pass up the chance to watch him make an idiot out of himself. Like he needs to be drunk to do that.

I felt better after a cup of ale, courtesy of Uncle Bloodnut, and I was working on a tankard of mead and watching Tuff and Snotlout fight over who could hold their drink better (Tuff could yap all he wanted to; he always passes out before Lout) when Hiccup came up to me.

"Hey, uh, Ruffnut, how's it going?" he asked. He kept moving his hands from his hips and then folding them over his chest and then dropping them like he couldn't figure out what to do with them. If he wasn't so busy trying to figure out what to do with his hands, he would've seen that mine were turning white because they were gripping my tankard so hard.

"Pretty good," I said, clearing my throat. Gods, why is my voice so gross?

"That's good." He looked at something in the crowd and licked his lips. "So, I guess Astrid's told you already that…you know…she…I…we…"

Ugh. I tried not to look as grossed out as I felt. "Yeah, she told me."

"Yeah, I figured." Hiccup looked seriously freaked out; he kept shifting his weight from foot to…peg?...and looking around like he was afraid someone was after him. "Well, uh, since you're, you know, her best friend, I was wondering if, you know, you just happened to know if, uh, er, well, that is…I mean, the thing is…"

I felt embarrassed for him. "Spit it out."

He turned red. "I really like her," he blurted. "But I wanna know if…if I should…you know…ask her out." He gulped.

I stared at him. "Why wouldn't you ask her out?" Hello, he'd just saved the entire village, and that included Astrid's life. Even if she wasn't into him (and it was pretty obvious she was), she owed him a date.

He turned even redder. "Well, I mean, there is the distinct possibility that, you know, she might not exactly reciprocate my, er, feelings…"

Well, didn't this story sound familiar? I let out a huge breath and set down my tankard on the table behind me. "Look, Hiccup, I'm gonna tell you this from personal experience: don't wait around to ask out the person you like, because they won't be single forever, and you could miss your chance. If you like her, go for her. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Dismemberment—"

"She'll say no," I cut across him. "Hiccup, she likes you; a lot. I really don't think she's gonna turn you down." It wasn't weird enough that I had two pet dragons, no; now I was giving the love of my life dating advice so he could get my best friend.

Hiccup smiled at me. "Thanks, Ruff. You're a good friend."

"Fuck yes I am," I muttered, taking a huge swig from my tankard.

"And, look, I don't know who got away from you," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "but…he doesn't know what he's missing out on."

I actually felt myself laughing—oh, irony. "Thanks, Hiccup." I sighed and jerked my head towards the crowd. "Now go get her."

Hiccup took a deep breath and disappeared into the crowd. I sighed again and leaned against the table.

My name is Ruffnut Thorston, and my life is not fair.

I'm pretty sure that stories—unless they're told by Gobber—are supposed to have a moral. I guess I don't really know what the moral of my story is. Lame, right? I guess it's something like…don't be afraid to be yourself, or something sappy like that. Even though that's totally wrong, because what if you're really weird and you act like yourself? Then you would have no friends and the chief would have to tie you to a mast and send you out to sea because everyone thought you were crazy or something. So no, being yourself isn't always, like, the best advice.

Although…maybe if I'd let Hiccup know I liked him instead of pretending I didn't…maybe I'd have him instead of Astrid. Maybe we both would've found Toothless and learned to fly him together. Maybe we could've convinced everyone that dragons aren't so bad, that they were attacking us to survive. Maybe we could've taken down the Red Death a lot easier. Maybe Hiccup wouldn't have lost his leg.

Maybe he'd be mine.

But I guess that there is one thing I learned, and that's to stop thinking about the past. What happened, happened. Maybe it didn't happen the way you wanted it to, but moping about it won't help you; you just have to keep going and hope that there are better things waiting for you around the corner. Maybe there are. Maybe there aren't. But you're not gonna know unless you go for it.

Damn. I'm deep.

Anyway, that's my story. I hope you got something out of it, or at least found something to keep you busy on a rainy day. Mostly I hope you don't make the same mistake I made, because it will be a long time before you stop regretting it.

Ruffnut out, bitches.