Night had just fallen, and the moon hung low in the sky. It cast its narrow gaze over Berk, eyeing beadily what was to come. It made Astrid sweat.

She tread through the grass up to the Chief's residence with the comforting weight of her axe strapped to her back. Not that she was going to use it. It steadied her spirit more than anything else. Fastened her courage.

Astrid knew he'd had those land disputes to settle today so she waited until sunset, and then waited some more, just to make sure. To be completely honest, she had asked for the day off from Berk guard today to note Hiccup's whereabouts throughout the day. She wasn't stalking him, despite what Stormfly was insinuating at dinner. She was just being thorough. Astrid wasn't going to let him slip through her fingers this time.

He had to know.

As she reached the front door her breath caught in her throat. Suddenly she didn't want to do this. Is this what Hiccup had felt when Stoick had told him he'd be the new chief? She wasn't sure she could do it.

Nevertheless, Astrid set her jaw, raised her knuckles, and rapped on the dark, wooden door.

One moment passed. Then another.

Astrid shifted from foot to foot. This was taking too long.

Another moment passed.

Maybe she should knock again? Astrid raised her knuckles. She was about to knock when the door swung open to reveal Valka, who lit up with a warm smile on seeing Astrid.

She checked over her shoulder before saying in a hushed voice: "Astrid! Good to see you, lass. How have you been?"

Astrid tried to smile back, but it came out more as a grimace.

Valka nodded knowingly. "I'll get him for you. By the neck of his shirt if I must." She turned and disappeared up the stairs.

Astrid heard muffled voices through the upstairs floorboards. Two of them. She let out a breath. He was here. She clenched and unclenched her hands. Hurry up, Thor damn it, Hiccup.

As if by command, Hiccup appeared at the top of the staircase. She caught his eye, and saw his brow furrow slightly and his lips purse. Astrid refused to show her fear.

"Hiccup," she said tightly. She cleared her throat. "Hiccup," she said again more clearly, "we need to talk."

"Yeah, we do," he said as he stepped down the stairs towards her.

With a several more steps he was standing right in front of Astrid. Almost close enough to touch. But she didn't. Instead she said, "I have to tell you something. And I should have said it far earlier."

Hiccup nodded. "Go on, then."

Astrid swallowed. "Um." Her voice wavered. "If…if we get married we'll have to have children."

Hiccup looked at her askance. "No, we won't. Why do you say that?"

"No, I mean my parents want me to."

"Have you told them you're not ready?"

"Of course. But they say I have a duty to continue my bloodline."

"Duty?"

"Yeah, you know. And they said once you propose I have no excuse not to…you know…" Astrid trailed off, blushing.

A red tinge touched Hiccup's cheeks as well, but otherwise he remained stoic.

Just like his dad, Astrid mused. "Well…are you going to say something?"

"Maybe you should come inside." Hiccup stood aside.

Astrid tentatively walked in. She glanced at Hiccup. When she saw he was already looking at her, she looked away.

Hiccup shut the door behind her.

Astrid fidgeted with her hands. "So, are you going to say something?"

"I don't have a problem with you not being ready for that. Hel, *I'm* not ready to have children yet either. Why should I expect you to be?"

"Oh." Astrid smiled tentatively. "Yay?"

"Not yay." The smile vanished from Astrid's face. "The problem is that you didn't tell me about this situation with your parents earlier. Why?"

"It wasn't even an issue until you proposed. Why should I have made it into one?"

"Because you should have realised I was going to at some point, and that this," Hiccup gestured to the both of them, "was bound to happen if you didn't." Hiccup buried his face in his hands and sighed. Then he looked at her. "We're a team, Astrid. You're supposed to talk to me."

Astrid was silent for a few moments, and then, quietly: "I'm really sorry, Hiccup."

Hiccup didn't respond for a while. He had one hand on his hip and the other stroked his stubble; he seemed to be thinking. Hard. Eventually he said, "Do you get why not sharing with me was a bad idea?"

"Yes, I do, I swear. But please understand why I did it. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It was a rookie dragon rider move," Hiccup smirked, "but still, I get it."

Astrid smiled tentatively. "So, are we good?"

"First, swear to me you'll tell me about these sort of things in future," he said intensely. "We always share these things with each other. Always."

Astrid nodded. "Yes, I will. I promise."

"And second," Hiccup knelt on one knee, "will you just marry me already, you gronklehead?"

Astrid sniggered. "Fishlegs won't like that you said that."

Hiccup shrugged. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

Astrid put a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow. "Says the man who just scolded me for withholding information."

Hiccup grinned smugly. "Yep. The very same."

Astrid laughed again. "Yes. Yes, of course I'll marry you, Hiccup. But," worry crossed her features, "what should we say to my parents?"

Hiccup stood and held both her hands in his own. "I can handle it."

"Hold on, why just you?"

Hiccup grinned again. "Because I'm their chief. What can they possibly say to me?"

Astrid snorted. "Oh, of course, o great Dragon Master. How could I forget?" She raised a hand to her forehead as if to swoon.

Hiccup nodded. "There we go. Now go home, we should both sleep."

Astrid stepped back and bit her lip nervously. "Ok. But I want to talk to my parents with you. They're my parents, after all."

"Yeah, of course you can. Now shoo." Hiccup gently pushed her out of his house and slammed the door behind her.

Astrid stood on his doorstep, nonplussed. She opened and close her mouth a few times. "That dragon is a terrible influence," she muttered and walked away, grumbling along the lines of, "stupid dragon master," all the way home.

A/N: Ok, first up, there are some reviews going on about how Hiccup should be far more angry. There's already a review on the last chapter that goes through why he wouldn't be in four short, but lovely, paragraphs. But I'm still going to say it myself: it's not in Hiccup's character to hold grudges for long. His best friend (Toothless' physical body, at least) murdered his father and Hiccup forgave him because he understood. Similar sort of thing in this case. Hiccup understands, and because he's able to understand others, he can be compassionate to them. It's why he was able to befriend Toothless in the first place - he understood the dragon was afraid, and so couldn't bring himself to kill Toothless despite the immense personal gain that would follow. It's the centre of the entire franchise - understanding and compassion over ignorance and fear. I won't ever alter Hiccup's character for the sake of anyone's revenge fantasies.

Second up, this is my first completed fic that isn't a one-shot, so woohoo \o/. There may be some roughness around the edges of this fic, but I hope y'all had fun anyway. Thanks for reading!