Astrid was deep in thought, though she was still half-asleep. Most of the villagers misunderstood her, she pondered, as rays of light poked through the holes in her curtain, illuminating the dust in the air; they pictured her as an outgoing and fearless young warrior. They were mistaken, her father had always wanted a son, so she had tried to be that son to the best of her abilities but she was never good enough for him and he always seemed so disappointed in her. This is why it had taken her years as well as a life changing experience just for her to muster up enough courage to peck Hiccup on the cheek. She rolled over and pushed her face into he pillow. And it had taken his almost dying and loss of a leg for Astrid to give him a real kiss. She had built a shell of anger and seriousness around herself over the years, but she was actually very shy, and now she felt vulnerable and slightly scared because she had exposed her feelings for Hiccup, and she didn't want to disappoint him the same way she had disappointed her father. She and Hiccup had been dating, unofficially, for just over a year, and they were finally settling into a rhythm, but today she was going to shake it up, after all, she was still strong and in control more than ever. Astrid decided it was time to get up and hiked up her leggings, pulled on her leather skirt, laced and tied her boots, and headed out feeling ready for whatever the day had to offer.

The small blacksmith's stall hadn't changed at all since the battle with the Green Death. It was still small, cluttered, hot, smoky, sharp, and pretty much run by Hiccup.

Hiccup pounded away over the red hot would-be sword, his sweat hissing and jumping as it dripped from his hair onto the molten Damascus steel. When it looked about done, he plunged the glowing metal into a bucket of water, which boiled and created a cloud of steam that filled the workshop. As the steam began to clear, he saw an unmistakably perfect hourglass silhouette in the doorway, which could only have been Astrid.

"Hey wassup Hiccup?" Astrid asked, seeming awfully giddy. Oh he's SO cute! She thought.

"Hi Astrid, I'm just making a sword, what are you doing?" Hiccup replied, trying to play it cool, though his heart was about ready to jump out of his chest. Her bangs are so HOT! He noted to himself.

"I'm off to feed the dragons" she said smartly. That was so STUPID why would you say that! She yelled at herself.

"Okay…so uhhhh… can I help you with something?" Hiccup replied; he still wasn't used to the thought of anyone wanting to talk to him. Her eyes are like freaking tidal pools!

"Well…um…you see…my dad just caught a bunch of fish…like a lot of fish just off the coast… and well…" Astrid stammered trying and failing to regain composure. Why are his eyes so captivating?

"You need me to help you gut 'em" Hiccup jumped in. Why would she want help gutting fish you idiot!

"Well, no actually… you see" Argghhhh, why doesn't this ever get easier! "I want you to come over for dinner!" Astrid blurted feeling relieved.

"Sure thing, we'll be there at dusk" Hiccup replied, still trying, to stay cool, but tripping over his own prosthetic leg, spilling the bucket of water.

"We?" Astrid asked, a little taken aback

"Well yeah, my dad is invited too, right?" Hiccup asked as he began cleaning up the mess.

"Oh yeah… of course" she mumbled, clearly disappointed but enjoying the view of Hiccup's cute butt as he worked on all fours.

"Okay then, I'll see you later!" Hiccup yelled as Astrid jogged off, her golden braids flowing behind her. Gods I love that hair

The Hofferson's house was a smelly mess, due to the massive piles of fish scattered throughout it, which made Astrid's stomach churn constantly. From, the outside, it looked like the other houses in Berk. It was mostly wood, with an arched roof and door, a dragon's head mounted at the roof's peak. But unlike the other houses, it was pretty old because of the large quantities of eel, that Mr. Hofferson had a knack for catching, though Astrid thought of it more as a curse. Because of the age, the Hoffersons were able to do many home improvement projects, such as an addition dug into the hillside behind it, which acted as a fish cellar as well as a smoker (hence the odor). Astrid's room was upstairs at the front of the house, overlooking the village; her parents were next door above the kitchen and fish cellar. Because of the size of the house, Astrid's room was the only one in the village that both her and her dragon, Stormfly could share, and she was proud of it, but still hated the constant smell of fish and smoke. She was just putting on a ton of her special deodorant, made from an assortment of berry and herb extracts mixed into beeswax, when she heard Hiccup arrive.

"No turning back" she whispered to herself and grabbed her surprise before heading downstairs.

"Wow! You weren't kidding when you said that your dad caught a lot of fish, this could feed all of the dragons for a week!" Hiccup exclaimed as his father, Stoick the Vast squeezed his way through the Hofferson's front door.

"It was all my small boat could handle" Olaf Hofferson replied, wiping his hands on his shirt, walking out of the underground cellar, "but I'm sure there is plenty more where this came from"

"Where did you catch all this" Stoick exclaimed, staring at the massive pile of cod overflowing into the kitchen.

"Just off the coast of the dragons nest" Olaf stated, "but I'm absolutely starved so I'll tell you the story over dinner, let's eat!"

Over the course of the meal,consisting mainly of grilled fish, Stoick and Mr. Hofferson decided that the whole tribe would set out in a fleet of ships to Olaf's newfound fishing hole and bring home the fish to store for impending winter.

The atmosphere between Hiccup and Astrid during dinner was unsettling, to say the least. Neither of them talked except for the occasional "yes" or "no" when asked a question. Hiccup scarfed down his food, while Astrid picked at it and pushed it around her plate.

Argggghhh! Why won't she just say something! Hiccup thought I mean, what am I supposed to say when she is giving me the cold shoulder like this. Oh no, is she breaking up with me! The tension and fear grew steadily in the pit of Hiccup's stomach throughout the meal.

Just before the dessert of sheep's –milk pudding, Astrid stood up, pulled out a box and got down on one knee in front of Hiccup. Her heart in her throat, she opened the box revealing two golden rings embedded with pieces of dragon scales,

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, will you marry me" Astrid asked, already knowing the answer

Hiccup's jaw went slack and he barely managed to say "uhhhhhhh…" as he stared down into her pleading, round eyes.

"C'mon Hiccup, I'm proposing to you here" Astrid poked.

"Yeah sure, o-of course!" he stuttered, beaming as Astrid stood up and put the ring on his finger.

He slowly picked up hers and placed it on her hand and she pulled him into a drawn out kiss. As they pulled away he looked around the room, everyone had a smile on their face.

"Did you guys know about this?" Hiccup asked, astounded.

"Only Gobber knew" Astrid replied, "I had him make the rings"

"Wow!" Hiccup exclaimed, "I can't believe we're getting married!" he brushed away her bangs and kissed Astrid again.

For the rest of the evening the room was a buzz talking about the wedding and everything that had just happened. Then Hiccup spoke up.

"Um… guy's, not to change the subject but who will take care of the dragons while the whole tribe is fishing?" Hiccup inquired.

"I guess you and Astrid could handle the empty village for a week or two" Stoick answered.

"It would be like a pre-wedding honeymoon" Helga Hofferson said ecstatically.

"Sounds good to me" Astrid replied enthusiastically.

"Me too" Hiccup added.

"Okay then, it's settled" Stoick said, "the whole tribe, with the exception of Astrid and Hiccup, will leave tomorrow afternoon. Now let's get back to planning the perfect wedding!"