Hey folks!

A/N: For those of you who don't know me, I wrote a story for HTTYD and I called it 'HTTYD: Astrid Style'. If you haven't read my story, it's just basically HTTYD but from Astrid's POV. I urge you to go read it if you haven't, but if you really are just to lazy to click on my Bio and click on my story, you can read this one and still understand the majority of things. For those of you who do know me, I finally found the inspiration to write this! Please don't hate me for taking forever.

My last story left off with Hiccup and Astrid finally together! *insert dramatic girly sigh* So now, for this story, it's going to have a continuation of their relationship and more. I've added a lot more romance in the Astrid and Hiccup department so I made it T for a few 'implied' gestures-and-or-scenes… *insert evil grin* Some stuff will be pretty spot on character wise, but some of it is major OOC, so please don't hate me.

WARNING: If you have not seen DreamWorks 'Gift Of The NightFury' than you should stop now and go see it. Just go to YOUTUBE and type it in. Its free, about half an hour-long, and will make this story more enjoyable. Some stuff will be pretty spot on character wise, but some of it is major OOC, so please don't hate me. You have been warned.

Movie to see: THE CROODS (A really cute movie if your into all that animated stuff).

Song of the update: COUNT ON ME by Mat Kearney.

Enjoy! And PLEASE REVIEW!

DISCLAIMER: Nah, bra. I don't own any of this, but brownie points to those who do!

GOTN: Astrid Style

Chapter 1: Our Annual Holiday

This is Berk.

Boasting the kind of balmy, fun-in-the-sun climate that will give you frostbite on your spleen. The one upside is our annual holiday. We call it… Snoggletog.

Why we chose such a stupid name remains a mystery, but with the war long over…

My eyes flew open as a familiar squawk and rumble shook me from my restful slumber along with the rest of my house. I wrapped my furs closer to my body and burrowed my head deeper into my pillow, pretending like I didn't hear the insistent scratching just above my head and on my roof.

…and dragons living amongst us…

Another squawk pierced my ears accompanied by more thumping and scratching. 'Why do you always have to wake me up so early!'

"Please Stormfly!" I called out to my empty room, though I knew she could hear me. The noise stopped for a moment as I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. "Why can't you go flying on your own? Or go play with Toothless. Let me sleep!" There was no response and for a fraction of a second, I thought I was off the hook...

I groaned as the thumping and squawking resumed, only louder, meaning if I didn't get my ass up soon she would come in and drag me out of bed whether I was ready or not.

…this year's Snoggletog…

Against my will, I pushed myself into a sitting position and shivered as the cool winter air touched my bare arms. I grumbled quietly to myself as I ruffled my hair to get rid of the snarls and knots it had acquired in the night.

A bump just outside my window gave me reason to work a smile as Stormfly poked her head in through the opening. She cocked her head to the side so she could see my figure and then crooned, her way of asking, "You ready?" and I couldn't help but laugh.

…promises to be one to remember.

"Well good morning Miss Commanding." Stormfly squawked and crooned to me as I pushed the covers from my body. I chuckled and crooned to her back. I hopped out of my wooden bed and tip-toed to my window as Stormfly, my Deadly Nadder, stuck her chin out expectantly to which I obliged by scratching her sweet spot, making her purr in delight.

"Just give me a minute to change, okay girl?" Stormfly squawked and pushed herself the rest of the way into my bedroom. I quickly started dressing in my usual attire and did up my hair in its usual pony-tail braid. Buckling my spiked skirt around my hips and securing my pouch, I was just about ready when I noticed my headband missing.

"Where did I-" and then I smiled when I turned and saw my leather headband in Stormfly's jaws, delicately placed between her teeth. I laughed and retrieved the band, rewarding my dragon with the best of scratches. Her whole body shook with pleasure and I saw her wings twitch with excitement. "Thanks for that. You ready girl?"

In two seconds flat she was out my window and gone from my sight. I raced over to where she had disappeared to, launched myself outside into the morning air, and -as was expected- Stormfly instantly caught me. We rose into the sky quickly and I took a second to enjoy the winter surroundings.

The snow had fallen by the barrels last night as everything was covered in the prettiest whites. All the houses and fields of Berk were covered in the cold fluff, and if it wasn't encased with snow, then it was with ice. The sun was shinning and everything looked dazzling, sparkling and shimmering in the morning rays. Off in the corner of Berk, I could just see the Haddock house, but I couldn't tell if anyone was home.

To recap, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III befriended a NightFury he dubbed Toothless and learned to train him. He not only saved Berk because of their friendship, but Hiccup stopped a 300 year old war between dragons and Vikings. Sadly, Hiccup lost his left foot while sacrificing his life for Berk, but he lived as did Toothless. Now everyone rides dragons, and I still have my best friend and Stormfly has hers.

More recap, I used to hate Hiccup. He wasn't much of a Viking compared to everyone else, and his quirkiness made him the oddball of us all. But then came Toothless and, one terrifying-yet-incredible ride later, Hiccup and I became the best of friends as did Stormfly and Toothless. Well… maybe Hiccup and I were little more than that… Okay, a lot more than 'just friends'. Yeah, I kissed him, we're dating, and every Viking on Berk knew it.

Right now though, all Vikings were up and about, making preparations for Snoggletog none the less. The adults were helping decorate the walkways and houses, while the younger kids kept themselves and the dragons entertained with snow fights and races. Snoggletog Eve was a mere four days away, and still there were so many things that everyone had to get done, but the best part was we got to do it with the help of our fellow dragons.

Speaking of which, Stormfly decided that I was taking to long and I suddenly found myself gripping the rope around her much tighter as she sped through the village. We swooped down closer to the younger children who screamed and laughed with excitement, snow fight long forgotten. I glanced down at my blue dragon who glanced at me, and we both had the same idea.

Dragon riding had become a sport here on Berk, our previous one being dragon hunting; but riding them was far greater than killing them in my opinion, though if you had asked me that a few months earlier I would have told you the lader was better.

Riding dragon's was a popular, but a new favorite -though mostly among the teenagers than the adults- was dragon tricks. It was a kind of competition, whoever could do the greatest tricks with their dragon pretty much just got bragging rights above everyone else.

Me and Stormfly had worked tirelessly on our performances, skipping out on chores to practice and enduring the punishments because of it. But that feeling when we finally mastered a trick was incredible and well worth it.

So there we were, our latest masterpiece in mind and a whole group of eager audience members… who could pass that up, really? "Game on, girl," I whispered to my dragon and she crooned with anticipation.

I slowly adjusted myself so that I was crouched on her backside, her wings flapping in an even pattern. The children bellow started jumping and shouting, eager to see what would happen. Some of the adults looked up from their work and watched with worried expressions. Not every trick went according to plan, me and Stormfly definitely had enough bruises and cuts to prove that. But this one was foolproof… mostly.

I moved myself down toward the base of my dragon's tail and made sure to pause for anticipation. Trusting that Stormfly wouldn't get over excited or try the trick too soon, I jumped off of her back and grabbed her tail at the last second. As soon as I grabbed her tail, Stormfly flicked it forward and I performed a front flip as she perfromed an aerial spin. For a second, I felt nothing beneath me and it crossed my mind that I was going to end up with some more bruises and a hurt pride. With a jolt I felt Stormfly back under my feet, and I registered the kids who had watched as they started to cheer.

"Yes! Nice one girl!" I cheered as Stormfly brought us closer to the ground near the square. We lighted down and upon slipping off her back I noticed a small circle of kids gathering around us.

"That was so cool!" cried one boy wearing a helmet much to big for his head.

"Astrid can you teach me to do that!" shouted a girl who couldn't have been more than five years old.

"I want a Deadly Nadder when I start training," said another as she walked up to Stormfly and scratched her under her chin. I was glad that Stormfly was well trained, otherwise just walking up to a Deadly Nadder like that would have gone off more painfully. But Stormfly didn't mind them, and seeing so, more of the kids started petting and grooming her. I stepped back to watch, humored with their excitement.

"Astrid!" I glanced in the direction someone had called my name and I saw that it was my mother, Dagna Hofferson. I left Stormfly to be groomed by the children and jogged over to where my mother was helping hammer a few decorations into the market stalls. Without turning she said, "Why don you help with the decorations? Thars a lot to do, and we could all use a lil help. Especially the shields."

"Sure thing mother," I replied before walking off to get Stormfly; but a loud holler caught my attention.

"AsstriiiiIIIDD-!" Uff! My breath left me instantly as someone ran directly into me and knocked us both to the ground. Ridiculous snorts of laughter wiped the glare clean off my face as I started to chuckle along with Ruffnut. Her helmet was offset because of our collision and she was red in the face, grinning like Loki. "Whoa! Sorry, Astrid. Me and Tuffnut were trying to slide down the hill standing up, and you got in my way." To prove her point, her twin brother Tuffnut came zooming past the two of us at record speeds.

"WOOO! HEY RUFF! I WI- SHIT!" Just then, Tuff lost his footing and slammed right into a ladder. Snotlout, who had been standing on the ladder, tipped over and fell directly on top of Tuffnut. Ruffnut and I burst into laughter as the boys started wrestling with one another but the snow was making them look like Snow Men.

I picked myself up and helped Ruffnut to her feet as well. She righted her helmet then asked, "You want to come to the Peak with us? I'm gonna dare Tuffnut to slide down the mountain on his chest, naked!" I cringed at the image and shook my head.

"Sorry Ruff, but I need to help with the decorations otherwise my mother will have a yak." Ruffnut smiled and shrugged it off.

"Well speaking of yaks, where's your boyfriend at?" I rolled my eyes and punched Ruffnut in the arm. She hissed in pain, but started snorting with laughter when she noticed the new color appear in my cheeks.

"Just because his hair reminds me of a yak, doesn't mean he is one. And besides, only I can call him yak-boy," I declared. Ruffnut grinned.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is that your special name for him? Something you use with him, late, late at night?" It took me a second to figure out what she was implying and when I did, she was hauling her ass as fast as it could carry her, cackling the entire way. I shouted at her, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. Only Ruffnut would be able to get away with saying stuff like that about me and Hiccup, otherwise everybody else would get a beating.

But the Gods were playing favorites today, because as soon as Ruffnut turned around to see if I was chasing her, she ran right into Fishlegs and both fell to the ground in a heap. I burst into laughter as Ruffnut got red in the face, as did Fishlegs. She glared in my direction as I clutched my sides.

No one else knew about Ruffnut's secret little crush on Fishlegs, but she entrusted me with that secret a while ago, and I've always tried to pick out the differences about her when he's around. Like she'll straighten her braid or fix her necklace, just the little things that no one else would notice.

I remember how Hiccup told me that Fishlegs actually had a small crush on Ruffnut, but I didn't tell him about Ruff's crush. Even though we're dating, Hiccup can't keep secrets, the only exception being Toothless, and I didn't want my strong friendship with Ruff to crumble because of him, so I kept it to myself.

I turned away as Fishlegs tried to help Ruff to her feet, while Snotlout and Tuff stood around laughing at them; no doubt in my mind they would recieve a beating the second Ruffnut was on her feet. I still needed to find Stormfly and get some work done, that way we could go flying and maybe work on a new trick or two.

She was still in the group of children, except now a few of them were trying to climb onto her back and she was starting to get annoyed. I smiled to my poor dragon.

"Sorry kidos, but I need Stormfly back now." There was a chorus of 'Aw's, but a blue head perked up immediately. I held back a grin and pretended to be sorry that I was taking away their new play toy. I caught sight of Fishleg's Gronkle, Meatlug, bumbling about aimlessly. "Why don't you guys go play with Meatlug?" to which they all ran off to greet the brown beast. I watched them race each other until something nudged me from behind.

I turned and scratched Stormfly under her chin as she squawked her thanks. "Well we're not out of doing work yet, so let's go put up some shields," I replied. We both walked over to the wooden mass that we in Berk call a Snoggletog Tree, which isn't actually a tree but a bunch of wood nailed up in a triangle formation and shields nailed into the boards for décor. I picked up two shields and laid the third one on my foot so I could kick it up as soon as I tossed the other two. I turned back to Stormfly to see if she was prepared.

"Ready girl?" I asked, and gave her the signal for her tail spikes. She crooned in understanding then let the spikes splinter apart. I chuckled and sent the shields flying into the air and Stormfly whipped her tail, pinning each shield to the Snoggletog Tree. I nodded to her, saying that she did a good job and she squawked in response.

By midday we had cleared the pile of shields that needed to be put up and I was grooming Stormfly of any misplaced scales while she was admiring herself in the metal of a shield. I snorted. She could be so vain sometimes it was utterly shocking. That's why for her Snoggletog present I was getting her a mirror to put in the shed, that way she didn't have to use the one in my room because she would have her own.

A rumble of laughter broke above the noisy crowd and we all quieted when the chief, Stoick the Vast, began to speak. "Well done! Well done, all of you! I nevar thought I'd live to see this day. Peace with the elder Berk," and suddenly Stormfly nuzzled into me, purring loudly. I knew why too.

I smiled brightly and hugged her, patting the soft spot on her snout. "Aw, I love you too girl," I replied and she did the typical thing of dragging her wet dragon tongue over my head. I gagged a little and Stormfly cocked her head to which I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, even that, I love." Stormfly was my best friend, maybe second best when it came to Hiccup, but still. A few months before now and I was in the arena with Stormfly, except we were attacking each other back then, and now I can't even imagine falling asleep with her not by my side, or her waking me up to go flying. It just seemed too unreal.

"This will surely be, the greatest holiday Berk has evar seen!" With that the Vikings cheered and the dragons warbled. Everything was perfect.

Until it all went to the Underworld.

There was a sudden rumble mixed with something that sounded like it was beating, and it caused Stormfly to jerk her head toward the sky. I quickly noticed that all the other dragons were doing the same as Meatlug and the twins dragon, Barf and Belch, did the same. I looked up at the sky, but it remained empty. 'What is…' I needn't finish my thought because I soon had my answer.

It was like a giant cloud that rained dragons had suddenly appeared over Berk. It was a gigantic parade of dragons, clearly not from around here with enough to fill at least twenty islands! Gronkles, Nadders, Zipplebacks, Terrors, Nightmares, even a few uncommon dragons were flying overhead, such as The Skrill and a few Whispering Deaths. For a second, all that could be heard was the beating of wings and the stir of the wind. Then Hookfang, Snotlout's dragon, roared.

That roar seemed to snap all the rest of the dragons from their stupor, because all of them spread their wings and lifted off into the sky. Suddenly people were thrown into a panic as riders were knocked off their dragons and left on the ground as they rose into the sky and joined the other dragons overhead.

I watched as Snotlout call for Hookfang who had already taken off, the twins race after their Zippleback on foot, and Fishlegs storm after Meatlug. A million questions buzzed inside my head at once, 'What's going on? Where are they going? Is something wrong?' but only one stood out to me now. "Where's Hiccup?"

If anyone knew what was going on it would be him. He trained the first dragon, he had to know why they were suddenly leaving us. I ducked as a Monstrous Nightmare nearly took out his rider taking off. I turned and saw Stormfly with a look that made my stomach drop and my heart speed up. The same look the rest of the dragons had right before they took off.

"No, no, no," I called out to her, but she had already spread her wings. I started running for her and shouting, "Don't leave Stormfly! Don't go!" but she was already in the air. My heart started dropping and my eyes stung as tears suddenly blurred my vision. "Please!" I watched as Stormfly rose higher into the sky, until a familiar black figure caught my eye. Hiccup. I raced forward as Hiccup lighted down with Toothless, blinking away the tears that threatened to escape. He saw me coming and quickly dismounted.

"Astrid!"

"Hiccup!"

We crashed into each other thanks to the snow and ice, but managed to stay on our feet. I spoke before he could. "What's going on?" I pleaded. "Where are they going?" His face pretty much said it all.

"I was going to ask you that," he replied, looking worried. My stomach dropped as my lunch threatened to reappear and I quickly looked away as my vision started to blur. I needn't look far because a huge crowd of worried Vikings was racing toward us. One of them ran directly into me, and I would have fallen flat on my ass hadn't it been for Hiccup's quick reflexes. He righted me and pushed me behind him as more and more panicked, angry, and confused Vikings circled us.

"Why did they leave?"

"What's happenin'!"

"What if they nevar come back!"

All the questions blended into cries and shouts of incomprehensible words. Hiccup tried to keep as many Vikings at bay, but they pressed in on us and the crowd was rapidly growing wilder. If I hadn't been clutching Hiccup's hand at the time, I'm sure I would have been trampled. His hand was keeping me up, in more ways than one and my eyes were starting to blur again.

"Calm down! Give 'im a chance to speak!" The crowd instantly pressed back and I was allowed to breath again as Stoick pushed his way to his son. "Hiccup… where have all our dragons gone?"

With bated breath the crowd waited for his answer. They thought he would know, after all he was the one who knew the most about them. But Hiccup only shook his red-brown hair in confusion.

"Dad… I don' know."

The crowd of Vikings let out their breathes and looked to the ground in sadness. Our new best friends had just up and left us and we didn't even know why.

There was a loud screech and we all turned to see Toothless looking up at a Deadly Nadder, but not just any Deadly Nadder, my Deadly Nadder. Stormfly hovered a few feet off the ground just above Toothless and they seemed to be talking to one another, as one would croon and the other would warble in response. After a few seconds, Stormfly took off after the rest of the dragons and Toothless remained on the edge of the cliff. More tears threatened my vision and I actually had to rub my eyes for fear someone would see.

After several moments of silence the chief finally spoke with a sullen voice. "Everyone is to report to the Great Hall this evenin' and a meeting is to be held there about the dragons at once." And with that, the Vikings started to leave. I was still having a staring contest with the ground and trying not to cry, when someone spoke to me.

"Astrid?" I quickly turned away from Hiccup and frantically tried to make it look like I wasn't crying.

"I'm fine. I just-" Before I could make up the rest of my lie, I was being pulled by Hiccup, who still had a hold of my hand, towards the forge. He pulled me inside and to the back where his workspace was, then he shut the door. He let go of my hand and started pumping the fire to get it going so we wouldn't be left shivering.

I had never been inside Hiccup's workplace before and I busied myself with observing every detail I could. The pictures of Toothless and his inventions hung on his walls as displays, other papers with random scrawls of writing were strewn everywhere else, and metal or unfinished weapons littered his floor. In a word: messy.

"Astrid?" I didn't respond to him, because if I did my words would get caught on the lump in my throat and I might as well have started to cry, so I remained silent. But I wasn't silent long as Hiccup grabbed my hand and spun me around to face him.

I could only imagine how I looked. Teary eyed, red in the face, and sniffling can really do a number on a girl. And I'm not just any girl. I'm the kind of girl that you don't want to mess with or point out her mistakes, unless you want a trip to the Healers. I refused to look into his big green eyes. Those eyes that were so observant in that they would probably see right through my hard exterior to the girl I liked to hide behind my strong walls. The girl that I didn't like to see. She had flaws and was weak.

But Hiccup didn't need to look into my eyes to know something was wrong. It was like he always knew. He always knew what made me mad or what made me happy. He always knew what to say when I was flustered for words. He always knew what to do to make me laugh so hard when I was so upset. He always knew how to comfort me when I needed it, just like what he was doing know; pulling me away and out of the public eye because he knew I hated to show my other side. That girl with the weak walls and a lot of flaws. He knew me so well.

So when he brought both his arms around me and pulled me close, I wrapped my arms around him, buried my head in his neck, and cried. He was my comfort zone.

One of his hands rubbed my back while the other wove into my hair and stroked it. At some point, he started kissing my forehead and whispering things that would soothe me and make me smile. It worked until I remembered that Stormfly wasn't waiting outside for me, so we could fly back home together, then I'd cry some more. I was so scared and confused. I could remember only two other times when Hiccup had seen this side of me; once when he was about to face the Nightmare in dragon training, and the second was my first ride on Toothless.

Back then was the first time I ever trusted him. Now, I trusted him completely.

We were all gathered in the Great Hall, and pretty much everyone was in disarray.

After my little cry fest with Hiccup, I made him swear he wouldn't tell anyone to which he nimbly smiled and promised he wouldn't. Then he gave me one of his signature goofy grins and I had to punch him a few times to get my point across, but it was playful punching and he knew it.

When I was able to make myself look presentable, we started walking towards the Great Hall as the rest of the Vikings had done, and I couldn't help a wave of sadness as I thought of how much faster it would be on Stormfly.

Now all the Vikings were gathered in the Hall and complaining to one another about their dragon problems. I was over in the corner with the rest of the gang, sulking. Hiccup stood next to me, frowning, while Snotlout accompanied my other side, an angry scowl on his face. Tuffnut was seated backwards in his chair looking grim, and Ruffnut was mindlessly kicking the ground. The only one who seemed the least bit interested in the other Vikings was Fishlegs and he was rather quiet, for some reason.

"Where did they go?" someone would cry out.

"Snoggletog is ruined," said another.

"It's not ruined!" Everyone turned to see Stoick rise above the others and start pacing the Hall. "We're Vikings! We've been perfectly happy celebratin without dragons for generations and thars no reason we can't do it again!" I scoffed at his words as he continued. "Now, we don't know where they've gone off too… but we have to have faith that they'll be back again soon. Am I right?"

A few Vikings nodded their agreement, but I stuck to my wallowing. Suddenly Gobber called out, "YUR RIGHT! WE ARE VIKINGS! WE ARE TOUGH!…most of the time." I rolled my eyes, because Gobber was dressed in the most festive, and ridiculous, Snoggletog outfit I had ever seen and it did nothing to prove his point. Instead I turned my half-smile into a frown.

Just as a few Vikings started to sing a Snoggletog ditty, I nudged Hiccup and nodded my head toward the door. He nodded just as Snotlout tapped Tuffnut's shoulder and motioned for a leave. We all snuck out, unnoticed.

As we walked, we remained mostly silent until we got to the square. Ruffnut was the first to speak. "That was depressing." Everyone mumbled their agreements. Another wave of hurt hit my heart as I remembered my favorite blue head.

"I know," I said, frowning. "I was looking forward to spending the holiday with Stormfly." I swallowed the lump that had made its way into my throat and I willed my vision to remain unchanged. Suddenly, Fishlegs started whistling, and like I said, remained unusually quiet. I would have thought he'd be blubbering like he ususually does because Meatlug was gone. Those two had become really close, and I wasn't the only one to notice his out of character behavior.

"What are you so happy about?" questioned Tuffnut. "Don't you miss Meatlug?"

Fishlegs froze as we all waited for his response. "Me?" After a brief pause, he coughed and started, "Oh- yeah… I-" He started blubbering like he usually does, but there was something off with him still and he wouldn't face us. "I miss him so much!" My eyebrow rose and we all waited to see if he'd say more, but instead he bid us good night and took off for his home. 'That was... unusual. Maybe he's just covering up his sadness.' I suddenly gasped.

"I got an idea!" I turned to face the rest of my friends with an enthusiastic smile on my face. "Let's come up with a bunch of new holiday traditions. You know, to burry the sadness!"

I glanced from Tuffnut, Snotlout, to Ruffnut, all of whom look un-amused. They collectively sighed in disagreement. 'And here I am trying to do something nice!' I glared at Hiccup, who hadn't said anything yet, and he looked at me surprised. But he quickly recovered and started nodding his head.

"Actually, Astrid might be on to something," he agreed and I smiled.

"Of course you would agree with her. She's your girlfriend after all." I glared at Snotlout and tempted myself with the idea of throwing him in the nearest snow bank, but Hiccup beat me to it.

"Yes she's my girlfriend Snotlout and I'm agreeing with her, though I don't see how the two are related… unless your jealous of course," he said, facing his cousin. I smirked when Snotlout's face turned red.

"I think that it could get people's minds off their missing dragons. It's a good idea and I probably would have thought it myself if Astrid hadn't beaten me to it." I fought to cover my blush by fixing my bangs. Hiccup never really stands up to people, but when he does, he can do it with style. By now, Snotlout was pissed, I was reminded of my snow bank idea if it came down to a fight, but Tuffnut silenced everyone.

"Easy for you to say." We all turned and he nodded in the direction of the cliff. "Your dragon can't go anywhere without you." We looked and sure enough, Toothless was on the cliff-side, impatiently looking out over the ocean and twitching his wings.

"Must be nice," commented Ruffnut, clearly pissed. Hiccup's face fell, and Snotlout calmed down enough to leave him alone. The twins walked off without another word, as did Snotlout, and it was just me and Hiccup. His face was turned down and his brows were furrowed, like he was in deep thought.

"Hiccup?" I asked, taking a step closer to him. His head snapped up and he resumed his nonchalant composer.

"Here, I'll walk you home." He offered me his hand and I took it up with mine. I like it when we hold hands. The calluses and scars from his work in the forge and riding Toothless made his palms rough, but his hands were always warm and they fit mine perfectly.

We walked the pathways of Berk in silence, but a nice silence where we didn't have to talk and we could just think. I was thinking about what to give Hiccup for Snoggletog. I still hadn't picked anything that screamed 'Hiccup!' and I was running out of time. 'Maybe some new riding gear. Or would he like a new tunic better?' I just couldn't decide, and before I knew it, we were walking up the steps to my home.

I stopped before my door and turned to face him, grabbing him and pulling him into a tight hug. He smiled against my neck and hugged me back.

"Thanks for not telling anyone." I mumbled as his shoulder smothered my words. He scoffed, playfully.

"Please, Astrid. If there is one thing I can do its keep a secret." I laughed and pulled back, punching his shoulder softly. He chuckled lightly, before taking my hand in his again and pulling me closer. Our foreheads touched and I blushed lightly, closing my eyes. "But you're welcome, anyways," and he leaned in, capturing my lips with his soft ones.

I sighed and tugged the laces on his shirt to bring him closer, wrapping my other arm around his shoulders. His arms closed around my waist and brought us flush to one another. I still blushed at our closeness, like I always do, but we kissed like we'd done it a million times, though it would only take two hands to count the number of kisses we've shared. Hiccup's not the boldest Viking, and like I said before, I'm not a lovey-dovey person.

But… then again, I've changed before and so has he.

His lips moved against mine in a soothing rhythm, but I'm sure he could feel my heart pounding against my chest as the kiss was everything but calming. His lips were soft and warm, and I could taste the ale we had at dinner on his breath. I wrapped both my arms around his neck and pushed both of my hands through his soft yak hair, playing with it unconsciously. His hands rubbed my sides and I gasped silently when he gripped my hips and pulled me closer to him, though I'm sure that would have been impossible the way we were pressed together. It made me dizzy. Our lips continued to move together, our mouths getting a bit wider each time we pulled back, but not far enough to lose full contact with each other as we touched ever so slightly. He sucked lightly on my bottom lip, causing me to whimper softly and him to grunt quietly as I ran my fingers through his hair, scratching his scalp. Heat suddenly rose in a place it had never risen before and I blushed madly because of it, but I didn't stop. I scratched Hiccup's scalp again and this time when he grunted, he pushed me against my door with a light thud and pressed himself even closer to me. One of his legs wedged between mine, his knee brushing the spiked tendrils of my skirt aside as it lightly grazed my inner thighs. The heat suddenly rose and I curled my outside leg around his, bringing our hips even closer together. We both moaned at the contact. We had never done anything that could match the kiss, not even remotely close yet. 'Yet being key, Astrid.' It was that yet that had me guessing and blushing with dirty thoughts. I'm sure my mother would have a fit if she saw me pressed against Hiccup, my father would probably have his head, and if she could only hear what I was thinking about, she might die on the spot... but the best part... was I didn't even care. In the dead of night, with our parents still out at the Great Hall, probably drunk, we held onto one another for dear life and explored our newest boundaries. This could have gone on for longer or turned into something else entirely, but we desperately needed air, so we finally broke apart, gasping.

My heart was pounding a solid beat and I'm pretty sure I could feel his heart thumping against my chest as we tried to inhale all the air we had been missing. That kiss had been our longest, not to mention steamiest, yet. And again with the yet. Our faces were bright red and I'm not sure if it was from the lack of air or from our newest position. My leg was still hitched around Hiccup's hip, but I found that one of Hiccup's hand had traveled down there to the back of my thigh, his other one still latched onto my hip. One kiss had done this to us. I had to bite my tongue and hold back a moan so I wouldn't beg for another one. Our eyes caught and I smiled as he did the same.

"I should let you get some rest," he said, though he made no move to release me. I huffed my breath to move my bangs out of my eyes and stalled.

"Well rest is very important, is it not?" I asked, as if we were actually debating the subject. Hiccup nodded and smirked as he pressed himself against me more, causing me to bite my lip so it wouldn't quiver.

"Indeed. Everyone should get some rest every once in a while."

I looked into his deep green eyes that looked at me so intimately. He leaned in closer and I thought we might never leave my front step, until he crossed his eyes and gave me the goofiest of his grins. I burst into laughter as did he. It was just too ridiculous for us to handle; us talking so nonchalant after a kiss like that. I lowered my leg from his hip and he pushed off the door, releasing me. We finally succeeded in reducing our laughs to small chuckles, and Hiccup took hold of my hand once again. I smiled brightly.

"Goodnight, Astrid." He leaned in and kissed me chastely. I smiled against his lips and when he pulled back, I saw that he was smiling as well.

"Goodnight, Hiccup." And with that he let go of my hand and waited until I was inside before making his way down my steps. I leaned against the door in bliss; eyes closed and sighing like a love-struck, teenaged, hormonal girl, until a whoop outside caught my attention. I turned and peered through the boards of my door to see Hiccup grinning like a joyous idiot as he punched the air and jumped around, trying to whisper-shout as quietly as he could. I pulled back and put a hand over my mouth to stop my laughter. 'He is such a dork sometimes. Then again... he's my dork.'

With that I was completely unprepared for my bedroom upstairs, because when I stepped inside my smile faded. I had completely forgotten about Stormfly, and now this room was a depressing reminder of my best friend. The only things left of her ever being here were a few of her scales and the claw marks in the floor boards.

A new wave of sadness hit me as I quickly kicked off my boots and jumped into my bed, tears already falling and making my eyes heavy with sadness.

"Please bring her back," I prayed to the Gods. "Please come back." With that I fell asleep, tears still running down my cheeks.

Like I said, major OOC right there. But anyways, R&R, please!