A/N: Originally written according to a hobbit tradition (but I'm like ten days late in posting this, so whatever).
Contains numerous references and quotes, including ones from Dan Howell, Girl Meets World and a Mode video, as well as cameos from almost two dozen characters from six movies (not counting HTTYD).

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot (and possibly the idea for the AU, but I'm not too sure about that).

Constructive criticism is higly appreciated; if you find any spelling or factual mistakes, please let me know, because basic knowledge can only get one so far and I've dwelled on stuff that I have no deep knowledge in. Also, if someone knows if the story should be in the crossover category, tell me. Besides all this, enjoy!

Of Ups and Downs (and sometimes In-betweens)

Abigail, Astrid for friends, had never paid much attention to the old house, and why would she? It was only the ruined, halfway-burnt-down, highly dangerous (if you entered, that is) building she passed by every day on her way to school or karate class or anywhere, really; no reason for attention whatsoever, right? Wrong, apparently – she'd supposedly seen someone enter and darn it, she was berating herself as she stood before the house's staircase, why do I have to be so unbearably curious?!

Eventually Astrid figured it was either forget it and go home which, yeah, no way in hell, or get a grip and check it out and she wasn't one to back down from a challenge. So she carefully chose her way between the cracks that spread on the marble of the steps and the ivy spilt all over the staircase and only momentarily hesitated before she pushed the old door open. (Weren't the hinges supposed to creak? Oh, well.) Once inside, the blonde girl found herself facing a room of charred and rotting wood, burn marks, luscious green bushes growing through the floor and golden light, that was pooling in through the none-existent ceiling. There was no time to admire or pity the view, however, for the few old floorboards on the second floor squeaked under someone's footfalls and tiny clouds of dust formed. Astrid shook her head. She'd come this far…

It wasn't hard to find a way up, but the rickety staircase in the corner was practically ancient and barely intact; she had to completely tune out her surroundings and pour every last ounce of care, caution and self-control in her being to ascend it in one piece. All of those went out of the window, however, when she got to the second floor, because what she saw had her scream out. "What the hell?!"

"GAH!"

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No kidding…" Bright green eyes stared dryly at her.

To be fair, Astrid's scream was undoubtedly warranted – she wasn't exactly used to seeing some strange boy balancing on a rope stretched from one side of the room to the other in place of the caved-in floor. But then again, said boy's accusing glare was, as well, spot on, since the blonde's loud entrance had nearly cost him a not-so-pleasant meeting with the ground four meters below; nearly being the key word – fortunately, he'd regained his balance and was now staring back at her. He didn't look much older than her – a lanky teen of about 18 with a shock of auburn hair, freckled cheeks and light clothes in pale green. (He was pretty cute actually, but that's besides the point.)

"… hello? Have I grown a second head or something?"

Oops, Astrid hadn't heard a word. "I'm sorry, what?"

He rolled his eyes. "I asked what you were doing here."

"Me?" she spluttered indignantly, "I should be asking you that! The house is dangerous, it's forbidden to enter!"

He opened his mouth to answer, then furrowed his eyebrows, then his eyes widened slightly. "Oh…"

"Oh indeed." She tried to sound serious, she really did, but she couldn't help smiling.

It seemed like he couldn't either – one corner of his lips quirked upwards as he spoke again. "Meh, I think I'll take the risk, it's kind of an occupational hazard."

She snorted. "What kind of an occupation would that be? A Viking?"

A little something devilish sparked in his eyes. "A tightrope-walker. And a tamer, from time to time."

Astrid had to physically gulp down the 'you're kidding' because he was balancing on a tightrope at the very moment they were talking. She only managed a "Huh?!", which made him chuckle.

"Haven't you heard there's a circus in town?"

"I have, yes, but in passing, never gave it much attention. Why?"

"Well, it happens to be my dad's-"

"You serious?!"

"Yep, so – as you can probably guess – risk-taking runs in the family. My choice of performance," he gestured to the rope, "is a bit odd, but still."

"Wait, so you're a part of the, what's its name…"

"The Berk Circus, yes. Harry Houdini Haddock, at your service."

"?!"

He rubbed his neck, reddening a little. "Yeah, mum's a funny person… And the surname is, in fact, my actual surname – apparently, dad's descended from Vikings…" He shrugged. "What's your name?"

"Astrid. Well, no, it's Abigail, but almost no one calls me that anymore."

He grinned. "Ah, the nickname's replaced the name. I'm also called by my stage name – not that I mind, I could've gotten a lot worse than Hiccup Horrendous Haddock, don't you think?"

She had to laugh there. "I thought your name was enough, but what do I know? And, sorry for asking, but worse? Worse how?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You mean to tell me you prefer Snotlout?" A grin bloomed on his face when she cackled. "Yeah, that's my cousin Simon. Weightlifter – he's the one that follows tradition. Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you – even if we kind of got off on the wrong foot…" He walked the few steps to the solid ground (or as solid as old floorboards can be) and offered her a hand to shake.

She laughed. "It is! So are you training?"

"Yep, actually. I know dad's planning on staying around here till about the end of summer so that the new performers step up their game, and to be honest I don't really fancy having to train where everyone can see…"

She quirked an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

"Oh, well, I'm simply too good, I'd embarrass the others," he joked.

She laughed. "Obviously…"

"Obviously. Hey, do you happen to have the time?"

"'Course, just a sec." She rummaged in her sack for a bit until she found her phone and switched it on. "It's… a bit past seven thirty."

Hiccup's face paled. "Crap, I'll miss the show!" He scrambled to retrieve the rope, which involved some complex acrobatic moves that Astrid didn't see very well, all the while muttering how someone was going to kill him. Once he'd done that, he turned to her. "You wanna come with?"

She shrugged. "I don't remember ever going to a circus, isn't that something for small kids?"

Hiccup's jaw dropped. "I am personally offended. Now you have to come so I can prove you wrong."

She laughed. "Okay, sure, let me just call mum and we're good."

Ten minutes later they were walking through the riverside park. Evening was steadily falling, biding its time, and only the Evenstar shone alongside the thin golden crescent of the moon; the trails of two airplanes scarred the sky which was lavender-rose-caramel-honey-silver-blue by now. Feathery mist gracefully hung around the already lit lampposts and the tiniest bats wandered through the warm air. Astrid had rarely been in the park at dusk, but Hiccup walked with purpose so she figured she had nothing to worry about. And indeed she hadn't, for the lit up tent of the circus and the caravans and wagons beside it were already in sight.

The two rushed by the ticket booth with a shouted "Hi, Gothi!" from Hiccup (the old lady handing out the tickets didn't acknowledge them at all) and sunk in the performers' camp.

"Should I be here?" the blonde wondered aloud. Her companion shrugged.

"Can't see why not, I'm treating you to this show, after all. And also you're my guest so you get a guided tour and to meet my friends-slash-family." His gaze strayed to the side. "Speaking of…"

"Hey, Hiccup, you're late!"

The brunet grinned to the shorter, much stockier guy with darker hair who'd emerged from a caravan. "Hi, 'Lout, how're the weights going?"

His cousin smirked. "Up?" Hiccup laughed.

"Yeah, okay, good one. Gotta run though, see you later!" He didn't even wait for an answer, he simply dragged Astrid forward. As he led her to God-knows-where, he pointed out various friends of his, explaining in passing what they did. "Over there you can see dad – that's the buff man with the red beard; his actual name is Steven Haddock, but Stoick is both more impressive and more accurate, so… Anyway, he does weightlifting and sword-swallowing with Nick – you can just about see him from here – whose stage name is North. Honestly, he's the grandpa I never had! Now, over there… those two blond people, you see them? That's Sammy and Elsa, the magicians of our circus. Very, very impressive, if I do say so myself, but you'll see them later. Moving on… Oh, over here," he dragged her to a small clearing between the wagons, "you have Dracula, Mavis and Denisovitch, a.k.a. the Vampires – they do aerial acrobatics."

Astrid looked up and was simultaneously horrified and entranced at seeing a boy of no more than 5 being thrown in the air and caught again by a man hanging upside down on a swinging trapeze. "How does his mother allow that?!"

"Why wouldn't I?

She turned around to see a young woman of about 25, short and slender with happy blue eyes. She offered the blonde a hand. "Nice to meet you! I'm Maya, Dennis' mother and Dean's daughter."

"So you're a family of acrobats? That's pretty cool," Astrid said as she returned the greeting. "My name's Astrid, by the way."

"Unique, I like that," Maya complimented, then her eyes moved to Hiccup. "Aren't you supposed to be dressing up?"

"On it," he quipped with a grin, "C'mon Astrid!" And he dragged her off again, resuming his explanations. "They really are amazing, The Vampires, and Dennis was born and raised here – a bit like myself… Oh, speaking of them," he pointed to a group of brightly-dressed people, "those are the Gingerbread clowns, the funniest lot ever. You have Johnny, that's who Mavis is wed to, Anna – Elsa's sister that only joined last year – and, of course, the triplets – Hamish, Hubert and Harris. Those three travel with us every summer with their sister, who- oh, there she is! Oi, Mer!"

A girl with wild red curls dressed like a pirate looked up and grinned. "What up, Horrendous? Ye made a new friend?"

"I think so, yes," he replied laughing. "Astrid, meet Mary, or Merida – brilliant knife thrower and archer extraordinaire. She's my cousin, like, twice or trice removed."

"Nice ta meet ye, lass," the ginger saluted her, "ye look like ye work out! No, donnae tell meh, ah'll guess. Ay yo, Aster!"

At her call another pirate-like person came out – a tall guy with dyed silver hair, tattoos and a knife in his hand. "Waddup, Red? Oh, hello, name's Alex." He greeted the blonde with a nod, then turned back to Merida. "What is it?"

"D'ye think she's inta martial arts?"

He quirked an eyebrow. "Hard to say. Personally, I'm debating between taekwondo and kickbox."

"I do karate, actually," Astrid put in with an amused smile. Aster waved her off.

"Close enough."

"'Kay, catch you guys later!" And thus Astrid was dragged off once more. "So yeah, Mer and the boys' parents let them travel with us every summer, which is awesome… Other than these, you have Eugene, or Flynn Rider for the audience, who does acrobatics atop a horse's back and has his first show tonight. Hey Eugene, how're you holding up?"

"I'm scared as diddly heck!"

"Just breathe and think positively, you'll be fine! Then here," he pushed aside the 'door' of a tent, revealing three people, "is mom teaching the newest additions to our family some basics. Hey Rapunzel, Jack, hi mom!"

Hiccup's mom – a beautiful woman with long brown braided hair – walked over and warmly hugged the blonde. "Hello, I'm Valya, but people know me as the Valkyrie, hence Valka. I hope you like the circus so far?"

"Definitely, it's like nothing I've ever seen," she grinned, trying to ignore Hiccup's smug smile. "My name's Astrid, it's a pleasure! Are you an acrobat as well?"

Valka laughed. "Because I'm teaching them?" She gestured to the boy and girl – both with chopped shaggy brown hair – who waved wordlessly. ""Everyone's an acrobat in a circus, but what I'm best at is taming."

"Speaking of, I can show her Toothless, right?"

The woman ruffled her son's hair. "Of course. But hurry or you'll be late – we should be beginning soon."

Hiccup nodded and led Astrid to the menagerie wagons. "Promise you won't freak out, okay? He's very well trained." She hesitantly nodded. It took her all of her self-control not to scream when he let a great black panther out of its cage. "This is Toothless, my pride and also my best friend. Toothless, meet Astrid."

Thirty seconds later the girl was in awe. "He's like an overgrown kitty!" Hiccup laughed.

"Yeah, he is. He isn't ready for a show just yet, but I'd love to perform with him." He was probably about to say more, but fate decided he was late enough.

"Harry, where, by the heavens, were you?" A short, slightly panicked girl with multicoloured hair stomped towards them. "I've been looking for you for ages! Gobber's about to announce the beginning, we're third and you haven't dressed!"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry about that, I lost track of time and then I showed Astrid around…"

The girl smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not that mad, just watch it next time." She then turned to the blonde. "Hi, Astrid! I'm Thalia, or Tooth, Harry's partner. Great to meet you!"

The blonde grinned. "Indeed! So, Hiccup and Tooth, huh? Nice match, it has a nice ring to it." Te other two laughed; she turned to Hiccup. "I'll head to the arena now, you'd better go get ready. Meet you after that outside?"

A quick agreement later they split up, just as a voice in the distance boomed: "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Berk Circus! In tonight's show you'll have the chance to witness our outstanding magical duo, the Sandman and the Ice Queen…"

"So, did I manage to change your view on the circus?" Hiccup asked slyly.

The two were sitting on a bench at the end of the park, each with a ginger beer courtesy of Gothie (non-alcoholic, of course, the old woman would never allow two eighteen-year-olds anything alcoholic).

"You did, actually, the whole show was truly incredible." He might've blushed, she couldn't be sure in the darkness. They were quiet for a bit, then she took a sip and spoke again: "You know, the lot of you are very talkative."

He laughed. "Ah, yeah… North says 'All travellers are jolly', must be so… And, believe me, you haven't seen the half of it."

"Well, then I'll have to come again, won't I?"

He genuinely smiled at that.

"You know," Astrid began as she got herself comfortable on the squeaky floorboards of the abandoned house, "we've known each other for – what? A month now? – but you've never told me the story of how you came to the circus."

It was the middle of May, poplars were in bloom and tiny bits of fluff were getting caught in Hiccup's hair as he laughed, effortlessly balancing on one leg on the rope. "Haven't I? It's not an exciting one…"

Astrid shrugged. "Doesn't matter, I still want to hear it. And for God's sake, put both of your feet on the rope – or better yet, on solid ground!"

The brunet laughed again, but did as she asked. "I wouldn't have fallen! What's with you anyway, are you afraid of heights?"

"I am." She shifted uncomfortably, switching her attention to her feet. "Heights terrify me, always have. I feel like I'm gonna fall and it's inevitable, you know? Unstoppable, and there's nothing I could do to keep my balance."

"You know, I used to be afraid of heights too."

"Yeah, sure." She deadpanned; he chuckled.

"No, I was - I'd be petrified whenever I so much as thought about it. But circus is all about facing your fears, pushing your limits, proving firstly to yourself and then to everyone else that nothing is impossible." He was quiet for a bit, gaze locked on the clear spring sky. "And sometimes you learn that there are emotions far stronger, far more valuable and precious than fear – like the sense of self-respect, for example. Or happiness. Or freedom." He smiled unknowingly, closing his eyes for a moment and breathing out.

"So you like freedom then?" Astrid asked quietly. He made a face.

"I… don't think so, no - it's more of a craving, personally… I don't think I'd be physically able to live without feeling free." He looked at her, a grin on his lips. "Speaking of, if I happen to die young, don't burry me, okay? Wouldn't handle that either."

She had to laugh at his obvious attempt to lighten the mood. "Yeah? What shall I do then?"

"Burn me," he said with a gleeful gleam in his eyes, "and throw my ashes in the wind."

"Okay, sure, I will…"

He grinned at her, then pretended to lose balance. She shrieked, then threw profanities his way and punched his shoulder as soon as he was safely on the old floorboards.

As June drew closer Astrid finally got a break from all her exams, so she invited Hiccup over one Saturday to celebrate. It was a lunch under the vines in front of the Hendersons' house, filled with warmth and laughter and colourful plates and homemade meals and brilliantly red cherries, fresh from the tree in the backyard; then an afternoon in her room, full of golden sunlight and horrendous karaoke and a constantly interrupted movie that left them exhausted from mirth. Astrid had suggested that she went downstairs and made them each a coffee; upon her return, though, Hiccup was nowhere to be found. She was spared from her momentary confusion when a rustling of the leaves led her to the open window. There, obscuring half the view, spread the cherry tree's branches and perched on one was the brunet.

The two locked eyes and stayed silent for a bit, then he offered her a handful of cherries. "You want some?"

She, however, saw right past his façade and immediately called him on it. "What's the matter?"

A sigh. "You've gotten too good at reading me." He spat out a cherry stone and thoughtfully watched it fall near the rose bush. "I never got around to actually telling you the circus' origin story, did I?" She shook her head.

"No, you didn't."

Another sigh, another small silence, another spat out stone. "Would you mind joining me? I know it's a bit high, but I thought you'd be fine over there." He gestured to the roof of a shed glued to the house's side that was within a foot's distance of Astrid's window. "Don't worry," he added, "I'd never let you fall."

The sincerity, the almost-sadness in his eyes, the outstretched hand made the choice for her; before she knew it, she was standing on the warm tiles of the roof.

"There." Hiccup smiled slightly as he moved to a lower branch to be in reaching vicinity of her. "One step closer to defeating your fear. Today you were a bit less scared and a bit braver." He sat with his profile to her, his hands fiddling with a leaf. "It's… kinda funny, you know? At the circus, we're all stupidly brave, when in reality it's… We're just a bunch of misfits, really.

"Like, my parents and I, we've never had a real home, a garden, a-a cherry tree in the backyard…" He laughed humourlessly. "I've been living on the road, in a caravan, for as long as I remember, and it's almost the same with them… Before I came, they said, they'd been working in another circus where they'd met. Then they had me and most of the performers retired, and the circus fell apart by the time I turned three; that's when dad apparently decided to form one of his own. With him came mum and I, and his best friend Gobber, who was the conferencier even back then… And North and Gothie, and also Dracula with the young Mavis, whose mother just passed and she had nowhere else to go. So dad and his friends began performing at fairs and festivals while mom looked after us two. It's… I suppose it's part of the reason why we get along so well, we practically grew up as siblings… Anyway, eventually we gathered enough to buy a tent and a few exotic animals and it was then that Sammy, that's the Sandman, came aboard with Johnny.

"I was five at the time we started touring. We were such a small company that they got us kids to perform as well." A tiny smile lifted one corner of his mouth. "We were clowns. They'd announce us as the Three Musketeers, said we were the funniest…" He chuckled. "What a sight it must've been – a gangly fifteen-year-old Johnny, a twelve-year-old Mavis who looked like a boy, and an itsy-bitsy five-year-old clumsy me…

"It took years to find our niche. Meanwhile, more pieces joined our patchwork of a group, of a family. When I was nine, Aster's dad practically left him to us in Perth. He was only twelve, insecure and always faking bravery, up until the very moment he wasn't scared anymore. Then a year later came Snotout, who craved to be anything but the lumberjack he'd surely have become, had he stayed with his family. The next year we came across this boy, Kristoff, in Sweden and took him in as well. He never wanted to perform but he loved caring for the animals, still does, and he's come out of his shell too… Mavis and Johnny married each other, the circus became more popular… By that time I was already a regular performer but when Tooth came two years later things finally started looking up performance-wise. Elsa too joined in, Dennis was born… Mer and her brothers began coming in the summers, even if at first it was to escape from their mother…

"Mom and dad got me Toothless for my fifteenth birthday and I view that as a… something of a turning point, I-I don't know how to explain it – something within just… clicked and… I changed. Became both more confident and more unsure, if you can believe that…" He forced a laugh. "Last year Anna joined in, and Eugene who'd been kicked out of the orphanage because he'd become of age… He said he probably would've become a thief if we hadn't taken him in. Then last Christmas, when we were in Missouri, I…" He curled in on himself, his fingers tearing the leaf apart. "I found Jack in a lake. He was so cold and it was dark, and I was scared – I'd never been more terrified in my entire life, he was barely alive… And he never remembered anything from before the frozen water… And not a month later Rapunzel came and asked to join. She'd run away, from what she told us…" He sighed, shaking his head. "I guess… My point is… I guess I'm a bit jealous of this… perfect home, perfect life you have. And I know that I've been given some amazing experiences as well, and I wouldn't change them for the world, but… It still hurts, a little bit. Sorry."

They fell silent. Astrid stared a Hiccup as he let the confetti-like particles of the leaf fall to the ground, the setting sun lighting up his form. "You said once," she began, "that there were things that outweigh fear, and that probably counts for everything else, pain included. And I know you realise that because you just said it yourself…" She smiled at him. "That's why I'm offering a hug – cause you can't deal alone with some things, no matter how well you understand them."

A minute later he was snuggled in her arms.

Astrid entered the performers' camp without a blink – having been doing it for around two months now – and looked around. Hiccup ought to be there somewhere, at least that's what she figured – the early June day was swiftly turning from sunny to stormy and humid, and the wind was picking up; surely, he wouldn't be out in that weather… But then again, it was Hiccup…

"Hey Mer?" She quickly ran to the ginger who was experimenting with shooting with her feet, bent in the weirdest position. "Have you seen your cousin?"

"Nae, cannae say ah've," she replied, her focus on her target. "Maybe try Tooth." She let the arrow go; it hit the perfect centre. "Bullseye!"

Astrid chuckled at her and left in search of Tooth who she later found in front of her caravan, fixing one of her costumes.

"Hey. Have you seen Hiccup?"

The younger girl shook her head. "Sorry. Has he run off again?" Tooth sighed. "He has to work on his confidence, all this stress can't be good for his mental health…"

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Don't you know? He's painfully insecure, and for the weirdest things – his rope skills, most of all. It's why he always wanders the abandoned houses in every new city, to find a place where he can practice alone. Frankly, it's borderline miraculous that he lets you see him on the rope outside of the arena…"

Astrid was dumbstruck. "Why hasn't he told me?" The other girl shrugged.

"He can't be too fond of recounting his flaws, I guess. But there's also this – he's never opened up to anyone else that fast, you two just seem to have clicked… Maybe he feels at ease with you and that's why he never said anything."

The blonde opened her mouth to speak again, but suddenly a cry tore through the camp: "STOICK!" he terror in Valka's voice was unmistakable, raw and bone-chilling; the two girls threw each other a look and ran towards the Haddock caravan. They got there at the same time as the director of the circus himself did – he was pushing through the rest of the performers, who – much like the girls – had come immediately.

"Val? Val, what is it?" Stoick had finally gotten to his wife, who – skin pale and eyes wide – was pointing towards the small TV they had. Everyone turned their attention to the woman who was reporting live.

"... some of the wooden planks and one of the ropes of the bridge have evidently rotten and broken. As of now the two kids are still stranded in the middle with no way of escaping; however, as you just saw, this brave young man has promised to get them back to safety. We all hope he manages to keep both the kids' and his own lives. We'll remain on location to…"

Astrid's blood ran cold – for the 'brave young man' who was shown on the TV checking the ropes was Hiccup. Frigid silence fell over the group, no one wanting to believe what they'd just seen and heard. "My boy…" Valka whispered, a tremor in her voice.

That seemed to break the spell over Astrid. "I know where that bridge is," she blurted; all eyes flew to her.

"Lead us there," Stoick spoke tensely. Astrid nodded and ran off, the others following; and no one said anything as they took the ten-minute-way for three minutes.

When they reached the bridge a crowd was obscuring the view; despite that Stoick immediately pushed his way to the front, the rest – right behind. What they saw had fear grip their hearts, and not just for Hiccup.

Two kids were holding on to what was left of the hanging bridge and the small blonde girl was clutching onto her brown-haired elder brother. In the very front of the crowd a woman was weeping soundlessly, a grey hound by her side. And all eyes were on the brunet tightrope-walker who had almost reached the children.

"We need to help him," Jack almost pleaded.

Aster had gone white. "The rope won't hold, he's on his own…"

"But will he be able to-"

Tooth didn't let Elsa finish. "He will, he's carried me so many times, he has to…"

All fell silent, for Hiccup had reached the kids. They watched as he carefully manoeuvred the girl from the boy's to his own arms and began his way back. When he set her on firm ground he didn't even wait to see her mother dive towards her with a sobbed "Sophie!" but immediately turned around to get the boy as well – for the wind was rapidly picking up and the rope was wobbling more and more.

"C'mon, little brother," Mavis muttered, clutching onto Johnny's hand, as Hiccup cautiously crouched to get the boy. When he turned around everybody saw him murmuring something to the kid, as well as the small watery smile he got in return. Light but careful steps moved the two closer and closer to safety; just a minute more of luck and all would've been well, but alas.

When they were almost at the shore a worried call made the people there notice the forest further down the river bending under the force of a sudden but strong gust of wind; a gust of wind that was fast approaching – and Hiccup saw that. He looked over the three or four meters that he wouldn't be able to walk, not fast enough at least, then at his cousin who was at the very front.

"'Lout, catch!" And he threw the boy. Simon lunged forward and caught him; no sooner had he done so than the burst of wind knocked Hiccup off his balance and he plummeted to the stones below.

What followed was a mess of panicked yells, frantic movement and a dozen people calling the ambulance at the same time. With a fierce cry of Hiccup's name Stoick and Jack started climbing down the cliff to get him; Merida, North and Kristoff followed almost immediately. Valka and Mavis had broken down in tears. Astrid was stunned speechless.

Later in the hospital they found out Hiccup's tibia had been shattered and the doctors had to amputate his left leg from the knee down. It was only then that the tough blonde started crying.

"So," Astrid asked with a smile, "you excited?" Hiccup shrugged, his eyes locked on Mavis who was practicing her routine on the trapeze. "Why not? You're getting your prosthetic today. Or am I mistaken, do you like being pushed around in a wheelchair?" He chuckled quietly, but didn't answer. "Seriously," she persisted, "I know it will be hard, but you're getting your life back. You can get back on the rope, isn't that amazing?"

Hiccup sighed. "I can relearn many things, yes, but not… not this." He looked up at her and smiled sadly. "I won't ever feel weightless again, I'm afraid. But that-that's alright, I mean," he chuckled humourlessly, "I'm one leg down, no tightrope for me. And I have accepted that, really, I have." He looked up at the acrobat wistfully and murmured more quietly, as if to himself: "I have."

Astrid couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Hiccup, have you… given up?" He shrugged again. "No," she fumed, "no, you can't do that! That is not the Hiccup I know, I want to know why and I want to know now!"

"Well, I can't very well do tightrope-walking with only one leg, this kind of requires two limbs!" Hiccup snapped. At seeing the blonde's surprise he dropped his head. "I'm sorry I yelled." The hand on his shoulder conveyed Astrid's silent 'I'll listen if you'll talk' so he sighed and spoke dejectedly: "I'm trying to get used to the idea, but it still hurts that I won't be able to do what I love anymore."

"Who says you can't?" She objected quietly.

"Well, it's kind of implied…" She smiled slightly at his sarcasm.

"Regardless of what anyone says, I still think you can get back to it. Didn't you say circus was all about proving that nothing's impossible?"

He looked up at her for the first time in a while. "Is your tone deceiving me or do you have something in mind? Cause if you do I'm ready to give up my other leg for the chance to perform again."

Her grin widened. "Don't say such things, you dork. But I do have an idea."

Over the summer Hiccup occupied himself with an intense training regime made and supervised by Astrid. "In karate," she had said, "we visualize what we want to achieve in order to do it; essentially, you gotta believe you can do it to remove the barrier in your mind that prevents you from doing it. And, combining that with what your mum said about everyone being an acrobat in a circus, I think I came up with a way that you can still perform on the rope; it's a little more acrobatic, but I think it'll do – plus, together with the physiotherapy it'll help you get back on your feet."

"Foot," Hiccup had chided with a grin, which had earned him a punch to the shoulder (but a light one, he was still having ghost pains in his leg).

In the end of August Astrid went on a week-long camp with her karate mates; upon her return she found that the leaves were slowly turning to gold and the circus had left without a trace.

She knew she couldn't be angry with Hiccup, he'd told her that they were true nomads – stayed and went wherever and whenever they felt like it; so she threw herself into karate. She trained more and harder than ever before to distract herself from her anger. Not at her friend, but at herself – she should have at least taken his phone number, his email, his anything! Now it was too late – even on the Net there was no contact with the circus, despite their fame.

(She later found out that Hiccup had visited her parents the day before the circus left. When he'd returned to the camp he'd immediately been whisked away to help with dismantling the tent and other jobs around, all of which had ended late into the night. When he'd woken the next morning they were already travelling; he'd had no chance to leave her any sort of message.)

Time passed; Astrid graduated and went to study in another, bigger town. She did a joint degree, majoring in physiotherapy and minoring in fitness training; she was a karate sensei already. She found her place again, made four awesome friends – Finn, who was studying marine biology and was as kind as it gets, named Fishlegs for all of his weird questions; Tom and Ronnie, who were fitness instructors in training, self-proclaimed adrenaline junkies and pyromaniacs, pranksters and proud owners of the nicknames Tuff and Ruff respectively; and Heather, who was Astrid's soul sister and the only person she hadn't nicknamed (that didn't already have a nickname, that is). She was happy; and the pangs of sadness over not managing to have kept in touch with Hiccup were becoming rarer and rarer.

The evening before her twentieth birthday Astrid hosted a sleepover with all four of her friends. The topics of their talk went from gossips through what-ifs through no-Fishlegs-cockroaches-will-outlive-any-bacteria-don't-argue-with-me until finally, a little before the stroke of midnight, they got to sharing secrets and past and present fears.

"… but the reason can hardly be that I pushed him in the pool, right?" Ruff cackled at the end of her tale, ignoring the glare of her brother.

Astrid giggled. "Don't you worry, Tuff, I had a pretty generic fear too."

"Arachnophobia?" Heather suggested. She shook her head.

"Heights."

"That's awful," Fishlegs exclaimed, "do they still terrify you?"

"No, not anymore."

"What happened?"

Astrid smiled at Heather's question. "Well, an acrobat by the name of Hiccup taught me how to tackle my fear bit by bit and now… it's gone."

"Is that the oh-so-elusive mysterious guy from your past that you won't talk about but still remember to this day?" Ruff butt in. The other blonde chuckled.

"That's the one."

"… Wait…" Tuff suddenly spoke, "Hiccup, you said? Not Hiccup Haddock?"

The clock rang, announcing it was midnight, at the same moment as Astrid's jaw dropped. "Tuff…"

He shrugged. "Is that the name? Cause this car was going around today announcing a circus show and I heard the same name."

"Now that you mention it," Fishlegs spoke, "I do remember hearing it too. The name was… Birk? Bork?-"

"Berk? Berk Circus?" She could barely hold herself together.

Tuff snapped his fingers. "That's it! And their first show is tomorrow evening – actually, tonight. Happy birthday, Astrid!"

Needless to say, the night couldn't come fast enough.

"I'm asking again, will you tell us what's the deal with that Hiccup guy?"

Astrid shushed Ruff, who rolled her eyes but left it at that (seeing as the other blonde was almost jumping in her seat and the conferencier was entering).

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Berk Circus!" Wild applause followed. The man grinned. "My name is Gobber and I'll be your guide through tonight's journey in the wondrous world of inhuman abilities and mesmerising talent. I can promise you mind-blowing sights that you'll remember long after this show's end." More applause; Gobber's grin grew wider. "And now, without further ado, I present you the act that has the honour of opening tonight's performance – one of our newest additions, Eep the Lady of the Prairie, and the famous Flynn Rider!"

That night's show was far more spectacular than Astrid had anticipated. Granted, she hadn't seen any of the performers in two years, but that had little to do with their extraordinary numbers. She watched stunned in almost numb amazement as Eugene and his new partner did wonders of strength, balance and agility atop a galloping horse's back. Then came North, Snotlout and Stoick himself, who lifted and juggled ungodly-heavy objects with ease and swallowed whole swords. Then the brightly-dressed Gingerbread clowns, whose every move brought smiles to the audience and whose complex acrobatic routine looked almost mockingly effortless; then ten minutes of literal magic as the Sandman and the Ice Queen led the spectators through a world of child-like belief and charming wonders. Held airborne by only a rope, Rapunzel mesmerised the watchers with her graceful dance up among the lights; the Vampires had them sitting on the edges of their seats for the entirety of their number. Then came the first surprise – Hiccup did not perform with Tooth on the rope; a new guy (named Guy, interestingly enough) partnered her instead. Their undisputable talent quickly made Astrid forget her questions though, as did the following numbers – Jack's remarkable acrobatics, Merida and Aster's inhuman precision, the incredible unity of Valka and her animals. By that point the audience was in almost hysterical applause.

"Our show is nearly at its end, ladies and gentlemen," Gobber announced, "and we only have one performance left. It is very special to us, and not only because we weren't allowed to see it either." A surprised murmur spread over the spectators as a feeling lodged itself in Astrid's heart. "This performer grew up under this very tent and is dear to all of us participants; I have no doubt you'll love him as well. I present you a number that, according to his promise, combines nearly all forms of art you saw uptil now, the pride of Berk Circus – the one and only, Hiccup Haddock!"

The audience must've cheered, Astrid didn't know; she was deaf to everything, for Hiccup had entered the arena and he was walking confidently even with the peg leg and he'd grown and oh God, he was beautiful as anything but his eyes, his eyes held the same gleeful gleam of freedom and she could see it all the way from her seat.

"Thanks everyone – and thank you, Gobber, for an unnecessarily dramatic introduction!" Oh, how she'd missed that crooked smile! "I, uh…" He laughed. "I'm so happy to finally be on the arena again! I haven't been performing for the past two years – as you can probably see, my leg's been amputated-" Gasps elicited from the audience and he smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, that happened… I don't regret what I did back then, never have, but I'd given up my passion – understandably so, I mean, you can't very well do tightrope-walking without a leg, can you?" Everyone laughed with him, even Astrid whose eyes were getting a bit watery. "But then this… incredible girl helped me get 'round and trained me and… it's her who brought all this," he gestured to the arena and the audience, "back to me, so even if you're probably miles away from here, I dedicate my first performance to you, Astrid." Finn, Tom, Ronnie and Heather all turned to the blonde in surprise, but she wasn't looking at them – she had her eyes locked onto the brunet on the arena and was sobbing quietly, a smile on her face. "So again," he continued, "thank you all for coming and I hope we managed to make you smile. Now I'll finally get to my own performance."

More laughter ensued but died out quickly, for the lights had dimmed, leaving only two limelights – one on Hiccup, the other on the entrance of the arena. The brunet took a breath and suddenly roared – and with a loud beat of music a great black panther emerged into the spotlight. Then a soft bell-like melody began as the boy and the panther effortlessly climbed to the platforms where the tightrope was, then both stepped on it. Light steps moved them closer to each other and, despite having paws and a peg leg, neither wobbled or fell. When they met in the middle more layers were added to the music and suddenly Hiccup was standing on his hands atop the panther's back, then on a single hand, then back on two hands. As the melody switched to deeper tones the panther – Toothless, Astrid remembered – resumed walking, the acrobat still balancing on its back; he only got back on his feet once the majestic animal had reached the platform. He quickly unfastened the rope a little bit, smiled at the audience and nimbly ran to the middle again. There he froze for a second, then swayed a few times to make the tightrope swing in time with the butterfly-like music and he didn't fall, but swayed with it, as if unfazed. And suddenly he was walking on the still swinging rope like it was solid ground beneath his feet and, before anyone knew it, he was back at the platform and the rope was fastened and he was back there, jumping and turning and doing handstands and cartwheels and not falling. He lifted his hands as if to blow the audience a kiss and suddenly flutes were dominating the music and he breathed out fire, and there were twin swords in his hands, their blades ablaze, and he was swinging them around himself and they looked like dragon wings and-

The music had quietened to a single humming voice; the arena was dark, with a lone limelight on Hiccup. He was standing on the rope on his left foot only, a smile on his face; and slowly he put his other foot on it too and the melody ended.

(Stoick later said he hadn't seen a grander standing ovation in his life.)

"Astrid! Astrid, wait up!" Heather called, but the blonde didn't hear; she huffed and kept trying to catch up, the other three by her side. "What is up with her?"

Fishlegs shrugged. "Something about that Hiccup, I'd bet."

"Oh look," Tuff commented, "now we're entering the performers' camp." His sister shook her head.

"I'm so getting us the explanation for this…"

A turn around the corner later the five came across what must've been everyone in the circus who – judging by the exclamations they overheard – were surrounding and congratulating Hiccup. Tooth saw them first, gasped and latched onto Astrid, murmuring how she'd missed her and how happy Hiccup would be, then said: "You make your way to him, I'll make sure the meeting's memorable." And with a grin that was a bit devious she ran off.

A minute later the blonde finally caught sight of Hiccup - he was smiling at Rapunzel's heartfelt congratulations, thanking her in turn. Astrid was just about to call to him when someone beat her to it.

"Oi, Horrendous!" He immediately grinned.

"Mer! Did you- whoa, what are- no, no, no, OW!" She'd punched him in the shoulder.

"Ye were incredible! An' tha' speech, ah almost cried, ye know." He laughed.

"Thanks!"

"But," she continued, "lad, wouldnnae want ta be ye right now! Ah mean, everyone saw yer number except Astrid…"

He made a face. "Yeah, you know that's not… helping… at all…"

Merida wasn't even listening – with the widest grin she pushed him so he stumbled and turned to keep his balance and when he looked up he found himself face to face with-

"Astrid?" he whispered stunned, disbelieving. The blonde nodded, she didn't trust herself to speak. Hiccup took a tentative step forward, his eyes searching hers, and he seemed to have found what he'd been looking for because a moment later he was hugging her tightly and, despite being taller, hiding his face in her shoulder.

"I've missed you so much," Astrid whispered, holding onto him just as tightly.

"I've missed you too," he murmured back in a choked voice, "and I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I never left any contact-"

"I'm to blame as well," she interrupted before he could say more, then said more quietly: "I saw everything and I'm so incredibly proud of you, that number was…" He laughed, his voice still a bit thick, and she sighed happily. "I just- I'm so glad I found you at last…"

He hugged her tighter. "Me too, and I'd be darned if I lost you again."

"Don't you ever."

Eventually, the two pulled apart to do introductions (and explanations, on Astrid's part, since Ruff was the epitome of annoying); by the end of these a huge party had broken out which didn't end until the early hours. And no one saw as late into it lips found lips and two soulmates reunited; however, the rest, as they say, is history.

Fin

Song featured: Forbidden Friendship (from John Powell's original soundtrack for HTTYD).