This is one that I've been meaning to do for a while. Not romance, particularly, and you could call it a slight AU, or deviation, from the movie, or whatever. I suspect if this happened, then Romantic Flight and Astrid Goes for a Spin wouldn't have. One more thing, Hiccup, in my eyes, isn't afraid to speak up. I don't think he stands up for himself too well, but he definitely didn't sit there and take it. Maybe I pushed it with this story, but who cares? Yeah. I know. You guys do.

ONWARDS!

Astrid was the one who trained her whole life, right? So it would only be fair that she would be the best dragon trainer.

But no.

Hiccup the screw-up screwed it up! And by doing what? Literally nothing! She couldn't be the only one who's noticed this, right? He hadn't spilled any blood, and no one seemed to notice that every one of the dragons were still alive!?

Was that not enough for them to realize he's not a dragon killer? That he's always going to be Hiccup the Useless?

All these thoughts were going through her head as she stormed through the woods. She suddenly stops. She did not have four feet. She whips her head around, seeing Hiccup mid-tiptoe, eyes wide and face pale.

It was confrontation time.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I- uh- was going… back home!" He finishes, swiftly turning around to the opposite direction.

Nuh-uh. He isn't getting away that easy. She's been waiting for this moment. She quickly stopped him with her axe, slightly smiling when he stopped in his tracks.

"Now where were you going?" She asks firmly again.

"Gods, does it matter where I'm going?" She could hear the annoyance and frustration creep into his voice. It made her mad. He had no right to be annoyed. He now had everything, and he took it from her!

"Who do you think you are? Why do you think you can talk to me that way? What? Now that you're popular who have every right to talk to everyone like they're below you?" She realizes after she had it that he had pretty much always talked that way whenever he opened his mouth, but she decided it would ruin her point and left it at that.

She wasn't scared of Hiccup. He was a little shrimp and she had an axe. She didn't regret anything she said, but when she that little glint of anger in his eyes, the anger you'd have to squint to see, she almost thought of him as… maybe a little bit scary.

But all that fear dwindled away when she heard him mumble. He mumbled. There he had her, Astrid Hofferson almost scared of someone and he mumbled. Ha!

"What's that?"

"I said," his voice suddenly grew louder, and it almost made her jump, "That everyone else talks to me like I'm below them. You talked to me that way! And now I do it, just a little bit and you think you have the right to call me out for it?"

Okay, so maybe now she can regret what she previously said. She really can't think of an excuse. She was starting to think confrontation was probably not the best of ideas. Definitely not.

She thought on the spot, which wasn't exactly her strong suit unless it involved weapons. She gave a bitter laugh to make him clear of her mood. It was a good foundation, she thinks. "I'll talk to you however I want! Do you know what you took from me? Everything! Now my parents won't even look at me because I let my guard down and you swooped in, did essentially nothing, and still took everything!"

He narrowed his eyes. She was starting to regret a few more things.

"You're kidding, right? You know who you're talking to, right? Hiccup the Useless, ring a bell?" Of course it rang bells, which is why her stomach isn't feeling so good. "I could say you took everything from me, but that wouldn't make any sense because I didn't have anything to begin with! My whole life, my dad looked past me, unless it was to say he was disappointed, and now that I have a chance to make him proud, you think you can come and tell me what rough time your parents are giving you?"

"You've been living with it your whole life! You'll be chief someday! Why couldn't you wait until then for your glory? Why'd you have to take everything now?" Not the best choice of words, she knows, but it was better than nothing.

"Take everything now? Are you even listening to the words that are coming out of your mouth? Don't you think I know what'll happen after training? I won't be the star of the show anymore, it'll be you because I didn't kill a single dragon! I'll be Hiccup the Useless, and you'll be happily fighting dragons because once again, all eyes are on you! In case you haven't noticed, the village doesn't ridicule you behind your back and right in front of your face!"

"Yeah… but all those stupid things you went out and did, jeopardizing everyone's safety? Have you ever stopped to think that maybe you deserved it?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt deep regret. She hadn't meant for it to come out that way! But what's done is done, because if there's one thing Astrid knows, it's that you can't take back words.

Hiccup shook his head, and headed towards the exit of the forest, the direction that was the opposite of where he was originally going. Leaving Astrid feeling really, really awful.

I wrote this and realized I had gotten Astrid all wrong. I mean Hiccup, my understanding of him is probably different than yours, so what he did made sense to me, but maybe it didn't for you. But Astrid. Thor's beard, what'd I do? What's done is done, I guess. I think I should've thought this out more. Like, a lot more.