Astrid always recalled the first time a thunderstorm hit the Edge with mixed feelings. A lot of what happened that night made her happy, of course, but how was she supposed to feel happy knowing why it even had to happen?

It had been very unexpected. All of them were doing nothing - literally doing nothing, bar Hiccup, who was working on Inferno - when Fishlegs burst into the room, obviously panicking. He had been keeping watch outside. Everyone was alert, and Ruffnut got up to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. Snotlout scowled very noticeably.

"What's going on, Fishlegs? Hunters?" Hiccup set down whatever tool he was using and ran up to him.

"Storm. Big storm," was the boy's meek reply.

Over the years, Astrid had grown remarkably. And one of her new qualities was that she did notice certain things a bit more, especially when it came to Hiccup. When Fishlegs answered, his eyes widened ever so slightly, and his breath hitched. Immediately, he started barking out orders, but there was something else going on, besides preparing for a storm. There was too much...fear in his eyes, and that made her uncomfortable. Even though they confirmed that the thunder and lightning wouldn't do much damage, Hiccup remained tense, moreso than usual. He was actually scared, and for the life of her she couldn't tell why.

So when the rain started pouring, and everyone was in their huts, the shield maiden looked out the window, biting her lip. The dragons were in the stables, it would be the warmest for them in there, but she couldn't help but wish that Toothless was with Hiccup right now. When they had left the stables, she remembered Toothless giving him a concerned coo, and Hiccup had responded with a shaky, "I'm fine, bud!"

Toothless hadn't looked as though he believed it, and neither did Astrid. Grabbing a fur hood that she had recently acquired from Trader Johann, she slipped into her boots and ran out the door. Immediately, she was soaked, but that only meant there was no point going back. She ran all the way to Hiccup's hut, knocking quite loudly on the door.

When it opened, Hiccup gaped at her, pulling her in almost instantly. "What were you doing? Are you okay? Is something wrong? Are you -"

"I'm fine, Hiccup." She took off the fur cloak and tossed it onto the floor, then cursed herself for not bringing any extra clothes. So she stood there, dripping wet from the rain, shivering and realizing that she hadn't thought this through at all. And all for what? Because Hiccup had a look in his eyes.

But then the thunder cracked, and Hiccup flinched so badly that Astrid thought he had seen some sort of banshee. Her eyes widened and she stated bluntly, forgetting tact, "You're afraid of thunderstorms!"

A dark blush passed over Hiccup's cheeks, and if Astrid hadn't been too concerned with how this happened, she would have laughed. Or maybe she wouldn't, because the boy in front of her looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there forever. But honestly, there was no reason to deny it. Of course, as soon as she thought that, he shook his head frantically.

"N-no I'm not!"

Her eyes softened. "Hiccup, you don't have to hide that from me. I won't tell the others."

His panicked gaze fell on her clothes and then he looked away. "I have a few...tunics, if you want to...you know…"

"Right." Fully intending on not dropping the matter, she followed up to his room and took the offered clothes gratefully. He went back downstairs and she changed quickly. Questioning him was more important, after all.

And boy did she want to. Hiccup was leaning against the wall when she found him, his eyes closed and a bead of sweat running down his forehead.

"Hiccup?"

His eyes snapped open. "Astrid! Hi, Astrid, hi Astrid, hi...Astrid. Uh, so, what are you -"

If anything, her presence made him more nervous, oddly reminding her of the days when they weren't friends and Hiccup stuttered every time she came to the forge to get her axe sharpened. "How long have you been afraid of thunderstorms?"

"I don't know what you're -"

"Hiccup," she said firmly, stepping closer, "how long?"

His throat bobbed, and his shoulders sagged in defeat. Astrid frowned, she didn't like seeing him so beat up, but she really wanted to know.

"Ever since that...day when - when I got hit by lightning, a few years back."

Astrid gasped as those memories came rushing back to her, remembering how horrified she had been when she saw him hit the water, and the crushing relief when she saw he was alive. "But that was a long time ago! Who else knows about this?"

"Toothless. He would help me sometimes, we'd just sort of...sit together." He waved his hands around to emphasize his point. "But he used to ditch sleep for me because I couldn't sleep - still can't." He laughed weakly. "I didn't want him to miss out on it tonight."

"Oh, Hiccup." She hugged him around the neck, rolling her eyes fondly at his obvious embarrassment. "It's completely understandable."

He relaxed into her, his arms snaking around her waist, his head resting in her hair. "If the others knew..."

"They won't find out. Relax, Hiccup." She put a hand under his chin and nudged his head up so his eyes met hers and she smiled reassuringly. "I can keep a secret."

"I know."

A loud crack of thunder sounded across the room again, and Hiccup flinched violently, his grip on her tightening, before he pulled back and their hug broke. This was worse than she thought, really. He was terrified of this. How had she not known before?

"I can stay here tonight."

"You don't have to."

Astrid rolled her eyes again. "Yeah? Well, I want to." She glared at him. "Got a problem with that?"

"If I did, would you care?"

"No."

Hiccup laughed softly, but then the stupid thunder cracked again, and his entire body tensed up. He bit his lip and closed his eyes. "I - I really don't want you to see me like this."

"Like what?" She threw an arm around his neck as though they were just two friends grabbing some fish to go.

"Weak. Scared. Un-viking."

"If you weren't 'un-viking', then we wouldn't be friends with the dragons right now. Un-viking is a good thing when it comes to you."

A small pause.

"But that's not a word, Hiccup."

A relieved laugh escaped his throat. "For a second, I was worried something had happened to the great Norse stickler."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

It seemed like he had just said it spontaneously. Like he didn't really have a good comeback, so he went with that. But apparently her lips didn't agree, because they crashed onto his as soon as the words came out of his mouth. That would make him shut up, alright.

He gasped faintly, but his hands found her waist again and pulled her closer, while her hands flew up to tangle in his hair. Something she had to physically restrain herself from doing a lot of the time, because his hair always looked fluffy and soft and like he had just woken up that way.

Hiccup turned and pushed her against the wall as they continued kissing. He was putting some of his weight on her, so, reluctantly, her hands left his auburn mess and she was going to put them down when he grabbed her wrists and pinned them against the wall parallel to her head. Astrid whimpered - whimpered - at this new...vulnerable position, entirely inexperienced to this kind of intimacy. Then again, Hiccup probably was too. But it didn't seem like it, especially when his tongue poked out and swiped against her lower lip, seeking permission.

Without being very certain as to what in the name of Thor she was doing, Astrid opened her mouth, letting his tongue slip by and suddenly she was all but overcome with a very different sensation than the one she got from a simple peck on the lips. Her senses were on fire. He could have been on fire and she probably wouldn't notice in this moment. The way he was pressed up against her wasn't exactly helping matters either. Hesitantly, very hesitantly, she let her own tongue slide out and mix with his. Too much was happening all at once and Astrid was loving it. She could get used to this kind of feeling. Not for the first time, she wondered why they kept going with the "just friends" thing. She was standing in his hut, pressed against a wall, and they were lip-locked. They were definitely not just friends.

And then the thunder cracked again and ruined everything.

Hiccup pulled back, eyes shut and shaken. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," she murmured, placing a hand on his cheek. He nuzzled into her touch.

The pair made their way up to the bed quietly, not saying anything, and Astrid pushed him back on the bed and lay herself down next to him, listening to his quick breathing. "It's okay to be afraid, you know."

"Careful, or the vikings will disown you."

She laughed and snuggled in deeper, finding his hand and intertwining their fingers. When the thunder cracked again, he squeezed her hand, letting her know with a simple gesture that he appreciated what she was doing.

And when Ruffnut didn't find Astrid in her hut in the morning, and Hiccup had not come out of his hut, she did not keep quiet about it.

IDK guys