She hadn't made it back to her own hut. It had been a long day; the flight around the mountains to gather supplies had been a tough one, paved with bitterly cold winds that kept their shivering hands glued to the saddle straps. They'd arrived home late evening, resolving to warm themselves up at the central hut around the fire before they went back to their own rooms. They'd wrapped themselves in blankets, curled themselves up by the fire, and talked until the sun had slipped down below the horizon, which was when Hiccup decided to take his leave.

It wasn't until that morning, when Hiccup was the first up at dawn, that he realised she hadn't managed to make her way back to bed. He found her, head rested on the elbow slung across the bench, mouth slightly parted, hair out of place. The morning sun was peeking through the slats in the ceiling, dusting her hair in gold like a halo around her head.

A smile tugged at his lips, and he knelt onto the wooden floor. "You should have gone to bed, my lady," he muttered, unable to resist pulling a curl out of her face and tucking it behind her ear. "Gods, you're beautiful."

Quick as a flash, her eyes snapped open, one hand clamping around his wrist, the other grabbing the knife tucked in her leggings and pressing it to his throat.

For a few moments, neither of them moved.

"I thought you were asleep," Hiccup said weakly, his hands hovering in the air.

"Hiccup!" Astrid stammered, finally coming to her senses, her knife arm dropping from his throat, "sorry. Natural reaction. Didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay," Hiccup said, scratching the back of his head and grinning sheepishly. He joined her on the floor, sinking down beside her, his back against the bench. "Guess I shouldn't sneak up on someone who sleeps with knives, huh?"

Astrid smiled. "Guess not," she said. She yawned once, stretching her arms up into the air and blinking sleep out of her eyes, joining the land of the living once more. "Did you just, uh, call me beautiful?"

Hiccup's eyes bugged out. "Ah, I was hoping you didn't hear that," he muttered, his hand at the back of his head again, his eyes hopping around the room, determined to look anywhere but at her. "Can we just pretend I didn't say that?"

A glimmer flashed across Astrid's eyes. "Am I not beautiful?" she said, the corner of her lips curling upwards.

"Well, I mean, obviously you're beautiful, you're Astrid, you're gorgeous," Hiccup said before realising what he'd just said. "I mean," he stammered, "I'm not – I don't – oh Gods, feel free to stop me at any time."

Astrid giggled. "You can stop."

"Thanks," Hiccup mumbled, shifting awkwardly back into his seat, still not looking at her.

"For the record," Astrid said, darting forward and pressing a swift kiss to his cheek. "You're not so bad yourself."

She hopped up onto her feet, slicker than possible for someone who'd only just woken up. "I'm going back to bed. Wake me up when you need me."

Just like that she was gone, and Hiccup was left sitting alone in the room, his fingers hovering over the spot where Astrid's lips had been.