Note : Yes, I posted this first story before as a stand alone one-shot, but I took it down because I decided to just do this one big Hiccstrid One-Shot Collection, and this story will be the opening for it.

Summary: Hiccup is agitated with his father's constant bickering. Astrid comes around to comfort him | [ Pre HTTYD 2 ]

"Son, remember, there's more to life than riding a dragon every day, you have to-

"Find time for other things such as growing up and working." Hiccup interrupted, finishing the sentence for his father, "Yeah dad, I know, you literally tell me that every single day." he added.

He and his father, Stoick - current Chief of Berk, were in the forge, fixing saddles and making new ones, all the while Stoick was lecturing him about growing up, maturity and responsibilities. They were in there for almost an hour and yet Hiccup felt like he'd been in there longer. Most probably because all his dad ever did was talk instead of work on the task at hand.

Hiccup is intelligent, everyone knows that! Surely, he's smart enough to understand something that is said once, and yet, his father always tells him the same thing over and over again: he has to spend less time flying around with Toothless and he has to find time to do something that will actually benefit the village. It's like he doesn't trust his own son at all!- even after Hiccup brought harmony to Berk by bringing peace between the Vikings and the dragons.

Hiccup wanted to say something, but every time he tries to- Stoick will say something else, completely interrupting Hiccup before he can even speak. That, and he's scared that he might tick his dad off, and Thor knows how an angry Stoick can be! Not only will he affect the person who pissed him off, but everyone else around him. So you can imagine how all of Hiccup's irritation over the subject is suppressed in his muscular chest.

Stoick was sewing a strap on a newly made saddle Hiccup designed when the two Haddocks heard footsteps arriving. The two men looked up and saw a girl, around 19, walking towards them. A smile immediately formed on Hiccup's face. Astrid.

"Hey" she greeted, waving a hand at the two. Stoick gave Astrid a quick nod while Hiccup rushed to her, his peg-leg producing a 'clang' on the stoned ground. "Afternoon, milady" he smiled at her and held her hand, intertwining their fingers together.

Since the fight with the Queen of Dragons, which was four years ago, Hiccup and Astrid became inseparable. They spend every second of everyday with each other, excluding the times when Hiccup had discussions with his father. They don't like branding themselves 'boyfriend and girlfriend' since they both found it so informal and too typical, but that's basically what's going on between the two of them. Though everyone knew of their special treatment towards each other, they still preferred having privacy and doing sweet stuff when no one's around, or when no one's looking. Astrid would also like to keep her tough-girl stature in public, opposite to how she really is with Hiccup; sweet and vulnerable. It's amazing how four years ago, the idea of the two dating is impossible and now, they are Berk's most famous couple.

Astrid smiled at Hiccup and tightened her grip on his hand. She faced Stoick's direction, "Chief, Gobber's looking for you" Astrid said politely.

"Is he now?" Stoick looked up at Astrid. "What seems to be the trouble?" he asked.

"He said something about the food storage"

"Oh." his voice sounded alarmed. He immediately stopped sewing and stood up from his chair. He marched out of the forge without bidding the teenagers a proper goodbye. Must be something troublesome that he expected, Hiccup thought.

When the coast was clear, Hiccup instantly pulled Astrid by her waist, closing the distance between them, and kissed her lips. Astrid blushed, her hands rested on both of his shoulders. Hiccup pulled away and smiled down at her. "I missed you" he admitted.

"Hiccup, we've only been apart for 30 minutes" she giggled.

"Really?! Because it felt like days with him around!" Hiccup whined. He suddenly nuzzled her cheek, making her smile widely and blush. "Thank gods you got him out of my hair!" he exclaimed.

"Oh no, what happened now?" Astrid asked, concerned.

"Same old, same old" Hiccup remarked bluntly.

"Ohh...that again" Astrid sighed. Obviously, she already knows what is annoying Hiccup nowadays, and that's Stoick's repetitive lecturing.

Hiccup pulled away from her. "Son, get your head out of the clouds and help Gobber make weapons!" Hiccup stood up proudly and imitated his father's accent. "Son, you will be chief soon! We have to practice! Let's start with taking people's requests!" Hiccup mimicked the way his father talks further. Astrid giggled at his impersonations but tries to suppress it because she knows Hiccup isn't trying to be funny.

Hiccup groaned and brought himself back to normal. "I can't take it anymore, Astrid!" he gripped his hair and balled his fists. He distanced himself from her and walked to the bench.

"Oh Hiccup. You'll get over it"

He sighed and slumped on the bench, "I know that I'm getting older and that I should take things more seriously, I get that! But the way he does it, it's like he's more worried than concerned" he gave his hair a swift brush.

"He is worried for you, otherwise he wouldn't keep reminding you of these things"

"No" Hiccup shook his head, "By 'worried for me', I meant that he's worried I might screw up in the future! And he doesn't trust me with what I'm doing and my decisions" he made his point by emphasizing keywords.

Astrid frowned and sat beside him. "Stoick is concerned for you, Hiccup. He just...has a different way of approaching you that's all."

"Remember when I was still young, he treats me like the runt of the family because I was small and...a weakling?" Astrid felt bad all of a sudden, she remembered how she treated him that way in the past. She regretted is so much, but it was never her intention to hurt him or make him feel bad- that's just how she is, naturally. Astrid nodded at his question. "Well, he still does that now, but he just does it less" Hiccup continued.

"Hiccup-

"All these years, I've always done something to impress him...but I guess he doesn't appreciate it." Hiccup sighed. "I don't know, Astrid. Sometimes I think he just doesn't accept me for who I really am, hence he tries to turn me into someone else." Hiccup looked down, disappointed.

"I accept you." she said. "If you think that way then just know, there's one person who accepts you for who you really are" she placed an assuring hand on his shoulder.

Heat crept up Hiccup's cheeks, his bad mood subsided almost instantly. He turned to Astrid, "Really?" Astrid nodded. "And...'for who I really am', that is?"

"Resourceful, kind, good with words, skilled and loving" Astrid answered, smiling. "You may not be the biggest Viking, but you are the most intelligent one here" she added.

"You're forgetting something..." Hiccup sang and turned his gaze to something else, teasing Astrid to say what he wanted to hear out loud.

Astrid rolled her eyes, "Alright. Handsome" she sighed, almost breathlessly.

Hiccup looked at her again and raised an eyebrow at her. "Say it like you mean it" he smirked.

Astrid inhaled, then exhaled out loud. "You're good looking, Hiccup. Very handsome" she said in the best sweet voice she can pull off. "Happy?"

A chuckle escaped from him. He held her face and gave her a quick kiss. "Ecstatic" he said as he pulled away.

Astrid's smile vanish, "I'm sorry Hiccup"

Hiccup stared at her questionably. "Why? For what?" he began rubbing her temple with his slightly calloused thumb.

"Well, when were younger I wasn't exactly the kindest girl in the world. I always kick you around and make you feel like a wimp. And I'm sorry, that's just how I really am." she explained. "I never intend to loosen your confidence in any way!"

Hiccup just smiled at her genuinely. "Don't feel bad for all of that" he kissed her cheek. "That's one of the things I love about you- you're tough and fearless" he admitted.

Astrid smirked, "And..?" her cheeks turned pink.

"Really?! You're going to do what I just did?" Hiccup snickered. Astrid giggled in the cutest way. He rolled his eyes, "Okay, anything for you milady" he smiled. "You're smart, thoughtful, competitive, brave, funny, and most of all...you're beautiful" Hiccup accentuated the last two words a little louder than he planned. "You're like a goddess on Earth" Hiccup confessed.

Hiccup expressing how beautiful Astrid is in front of her seldom happens. Mostly because he never got the chance to express that because Astrid might find him cheesy, though she loves the cheesy lines she hears from him. Now that it's out in the open- Hiccup felt relief wash over him because now she knows how he really finds her beautiful.

Astrid blushed. "Oh I so totally love you, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III" she grabbed him and let him in a really tight, secure hug. Hiccup let out an 'oof' at her sudden gesture, but nevertheless, he hugged her back tightly as well. "And I LOVE YOU, milady Astrid Hofferson"

They hugged for a longer time while telling stories to one another. Astrid told Hiccup what happened to her while he and Stoick were making saddles; she said she had to break up yet another pointless argument between the twins, not that there's anything unusual with that! While Hiccup just proceeded to telling her about what his father said to him, again, nothing new there!

It wasn't too long after and Hiccup went back to work, with Astrid helping him of course, before Stoick comes back and catches him procrastinating which can lead to trouble for both him and Astrid. Indeed when Astrid's around, Hiccup felt more determined to finish work faster. The amount of saddles he finished while working with Astrid is inexplicably higher than when he's with his dad.

About fifteen minutes later, Stoick came back to the forge. He smiled at the sight of the two working together, "Ah, well done Hiccup! You're finally working on your own, well...with Astrid" he said impressively. "That's a start! We should start on preparing you to be chief!" he chuckled

"Dad!" Hiccup groaned.

"Aaaand, that's my cue to leave" Astrid said and began walking out. But before she can take two more steps, Hiccup pulled her, turning her around to face him, and gave her a long, delicate kiss on her lips. When Stoick saw, a smirk formed on his face. Hiccup pulled away and mouthed her an 'I love you' which Astrid returned. They stared at each other for a few more moments and they finally broke away when Stoick cleared his throat.

Astrid blushed while Hiccup scratched the back of his neck. "Son, as much as I love seeing you all lovey-dovey with your girlfriend, we need to get these saddles ready"

Astrid frowned at the word 'girlfriend'. "Umm, Dad...Astrid doesn't like being called my 'girlfriend', it's informal." Hiccup said before Astrid becomes berserk.

"Oh! Okay then, how does...'wife' sound, eh?" Stoick chuckled. "You always dreamed of marrying her someday, right son?!" Stoick laughed and nudged Hiccup. "You were always daydreaming about her walking to you in a wedding dress!"

"DAD!" Hiccup blushed madly in embarrassment. He really had to say that in front of Astrid?! He turned to Astrid, only to see her smirking at him. "Uh, I-umm...uh-" Hiccup stuttered.

"That's okay Hiccup" Astrid smiled. "Wife sounds okay to me. I mean, that's what you will call me in the future anyway, right?" she raised her eyebrow and kissed his cheek before walking away from the forge and the two men. The redness on Hiccup's cheek didn't dissolved one bit, he watched her as she went. "You're amazing!" she yelled before her figure fades out of Hiccup's sight. Yep, and you'll call me your husband.

Stoick placed his right hand on one of Hiccup's shoulders. "Son, why don't we discuss the marriage negotiation with Astrid, hmm?" he suggested and went back to the chair be was sitting down on earlier,

Then, in that moment, Hiccup is no longer agitated with his father. In fact, he might be talking to him more eagerly now.