Watching How To Train Your Dragon 2 earlier, and the thought struck me, what if Toothless hadn't miss? An idea that has been written about by countless authors, but I wanted to give it a shot.

Enjoy!

Boom

The sound resonated off the frozen cliffs and Stoick's heart clenched at the noise. He had been busy defending Valka from the Bewilderbeast and failed to notice how the dragon had shifted its attention off of them.

And on to another.

"HICCUP!" Stoick ran to where a small body lay motionless. "SON!"

There was no response from the figure, no witty comeback accompanied with Hiccup standing shakily and brushing snow off of himself. No questioning gaze at his dragon.

There. Was. Nothing.

Stoick fell to his knees. "Oh, Son." He sobbed. "I did this."

A small part of him, yelling that Hiccup had chosen, several times, to pursue this path, was silenced as Stoick stared at the limp form of his boy.

Behind him, he could hear Astrid and the others land and could hear her gasp of shock. Aye, he wouldn't be the only one with a broken heart.

But his heart broke anew as Astrid flung herself to Hiccup's body, cradling his head in her lap. "No! No, don't go! You promised me! You promised!"

Stoick wasn't quite sure what Astrid was talking about but laid a hand on her shoulder. "Lass..." he began quietly.

Astrid shook her head. "HICCUP!" She nearly howled, despondent in her grief.

Stoick tried again. "Astrid, he's gone!" His voice cracked at the end, but Stoick didn't care. "It's over!"

Astrid buried her head in Hiccup's chest, sobbing wildly. Stoick turned to see Valka standing behind him, tears falling freely down her cheeks. Without thinking, Stoick wrapped her in a hug, crying along with her.

Dimly, Stoick was aware that Toothless was gone, but didn't have the capacity to care. The beast had killed his son! Let him fly away!

Through the haze of his grief, Stoick thought he saw Astrid press Hiccup's hand against her stomach but thought nothing of it. The two were inseparable, with Astrid acting as a balance for Hiccup's nature. Just the thought of Astrid having to navigate life without him brought a fresh wave of tears to his eyes.

Without really thinking, Stoick scooped up the body of his son and gestured to the water. "Viking funeral."

Stoick had to bow out of getting Hiccup into the ship. Just watching brought back a wave of memories.

You've thrown your lot in with them. You're not a Viking. You're not my son.

Son, I'm sorry. For-for everything.

I'm proud to call you my Son.

Finally, the small boat was drifting out to sea, and they all stood, bows in hand. Surprisingly, it was Astrid who started to speak.

"There do I see my father, my mother, and my brothers and my sisters. They bid me take my place among them in the halls of Valhalla..."

She nearly collapsed in tears, and Stoick finished.

"Where the brave shall live forever." Stoick fired an arrow, watching the Riders followed, then stepped forward.

"Son." Stoick sighed. "Odin knows I haven't always been fair to you. I wasn't the father you should have had, nor was I the example you deserved. I-" Only fierce willpower kept the Chief from breaking down, and he stepped back to observe the flames and mourn.

Eventually, the Riders dispersed to try and find a salvageable ship, and Stoick and Astrid alone remained. With tears lingering in his eyes, Stoick turned to the Valkeryie. "Stay. Talk. Remember."

The Chief left, leaving Astrid alone. The girl was silent for a moment, then sighed. "I-" She swallowed. "I love you, Hiccup. I know you would want me to marry someone else and be happy, but I don't think I can do that. Not without you." She sucked in a sob. "I know you did what you thought was right." Astrid was quiet for a moment. "It might take us weeks to salvage a ship to return to Berk. I know that, if you were here, you'd have some crazy plan to get us back there in just a few hours."

Astrid looked away. "But I'm not like you. I can't think on my feet the same way you can. I'm sure there's something that's right in front of me, but only you would be able to see it." She gave a sad chuckle. "Maybe I need some lessons in the Forge."

Astrid removed her betrothal necklace and looked at it. "My heart still belongs to you, Hiccup. You told me that you hoped I would always be a part of your family. And I am. Your Dad says that, since we were betrothed, I become the Heir. We can still continue the Haddock line!"

Trivial comforts, but it helped in thinking that Hiccup's sacrifice wasn't in vain. It would never bring back Hiccup, never ease the pain in her heart, but it was all there was in the way of comfort.

Astrid stared once more out to the burning ship. "I love you with all my heart, Hiccup." Her hand unconsciously went down to her stomach.

"We both do."

I firmly believe that, had Hiccup been the one killed, the Riders would have been stuck on the island. No-one would have thought of the baby dragons.

Personal favourite line, and really the first one I wrote, was Astrid saying 'I'm not like you.' Because Hiccup had said that earlier. Each had their own strengths and weaknesses but made a phenomenal team.

And of course, since I'm not heartless, I did give Astrid comfort in the form of a child. Of course, that child would grow up not knowing of the Pride of Berk, so there's that.

I'm gonna go hide under a rock now...