Head On

by NFS LOVER

Two weeks after the battle with Drago, Berk is going through a time of rebuilding. However, with all the responsibilities Hiccup faces nowadays, he has begun to lose sight of who he is and what his loved ones mean to him; all because of pain and suffering he keeps to himself. Astrid decides she's going to find out what's wrong with him ... but what will the outcome be?

A/N: Hey guys. Remember, don't read this if you haven't see the Second Movie, contains minor spoilers!

I can't stress it enough. Watch the movie, then read this!

Also, this is officially the longest chapter I've ever written on Fanfiction. It was, at some point, going to be a two-shot, but I began to write too far ahead, so now it's over 15,000 words ... definitely a record I'm never going to beat again.

Two weeks ...

It has been two weeks since Drago and his Bewilderbeast attacked Berk; two weeks since Hiccup had taken up the chiefdom, two weeks since Berk started another chapter in its life, two weeks since he found his mother ... and two weeks since his father, Stoick the Vast, died saving his son; pushing him out of the way of the possessed Night Fury, taking the hit right in his chest.

The night he witnessed his wife, Valka, be carried away forever, so he thought, was the night he made a vow that as long as he lived, he would not let anything harm his son. He knew he wouldn't survive the blast ... he knew he wouldn't be able to spend the time he lost with his wife, finding her after twenty years, he knew he would not see his son marry Astrid, he knew he would not be there to see his first grand child, and hopefully many more ... and he knew that he would never see his son become the Chief of Berk.

But he knew Hiccup would live ... live to fight another day, live to protect Berk, live to marry his love, live to see his children grow up and most importantly, live to reconnect with his mother. He admitted he had his time with his son and he enjoyed every second of it, especially the last five years when Hiccup sacrificed so much for his village. He prepared him the best way he could to take up the chiefdom, and he would most undoubtedly be proud of seeing his son accept the title of Chief and already rebuilding Berk in his vision for the future. He knew Berk would be in safe hands the day he would depart from this world and into Valhalla; granted that day came a lot sooner than he was hoping.

That's what Hiccup kept telling himself as he drew over new designs for buildings in his little workshop in the forge. It was one of the few buildings that was least damaged in the attack. The hearth was completely destroyed, but apart from that section, everything else was relatively unscathed.

Even two weeks after his father's death, he was still grieving ... and who could blame him?

He did.

He blamed himself for his father's death.

'If only I just...' he threw the pencil at the far end of his room, covering his ears so he couldn't hear himself sob. 'If only I just listened to him ... and stayed in Berk' he thought, fresh tears running down his cheeks. It always ended up like this every night for the past two weeks; with him in the forge or in his house, crying himself to sleep, whatever sleep he got, after he realized it was his fault.

His house ... their house. Oh how he imagined him, his father and mother living together in that house once he saw their dance, how happy they were to see each other again ... he had never seen his father so happy in all his life and he put his life in reckless danger and his father paid the price for it.

He heard a soft, worried croon. He didn't even bother to look when Toothless nudged his rider's arm, trying to comfort him. The dragon knew what his rider was crying about.

He turned to look at his best friend ... the dragon that killed his father.

'No' he thought, shaking his head. "None of those thoughts" he repeated, looking down at Toothless, who looked down in shame. He knew from that look, that his dragon feels a tremendous amount of guilt and shame ... that can never be taken away. "It wasn't your fault bud" he comforted, placing his hand under Toothless' chin and lifting it up so he could meet his dragons eyes ... the eyes of a killer.

"No!" he yelled, pulling back. "I forgave him ... you didn't mean it bud. They made you do it ... you had no control" he kept repeating. He fell off his chair and pressed his knees against his chest, burying his face into them as he let the tears flow freely once again.

Toothless hated seeing his rider in this much pain, and he knew he was behind all of it. He rested his head by Hiccup's feet, silently crying with him. He was glad that Hiccup made no move to shift away from him, but it pained him to see that Hiccup didn't take comfort in his presence.

"I just ... I just want you back Dad" the young Chief mumbled through his sobs.

000

"Are you sure, Astrid?" her mother asked. Her family, thankfully, survived the attack by Drago and his Bewilderbeast. Her house was near the Great Hall, therefore up on the hill and away from the ice spikes that jutted out of almost every building.

"Yes, I'm sure mom" she replied, packing the final dishes in a basket. She was going over to the Haddock household to give Hiccup his dinner that her mother gladly made. It was his favourite, smoked salmon with the right amount of herbs, some homemade bread and a serving of vegetables. She was going to give him dinner today because his mother had left to check up on the dragons in her Sanctuary. She had said her goodbyes to everyone on the morning and gave Hiccup a long, tight hug before hopping on Cloudjumper and flying off. She said she'd back the next day once she was certain all the dragons were alright since their Alpha was killed defending their home.

"Bye mom" Astrid called, sliding her left arm under the handles, lifting it up and heading to the door.

"Will you be staying over there for the night?" Ingrid asked.

Her hand fell short of the door handle. She wasn't at all sure what would take place that night.

Even though they won their greatest battle, even though Hiccup reunited with his mother, even though Valka announced that she'd be staying, even though Hiccup seemed happy, since he kissed her in front of everyone ... she could remember the look in his eyes in that brief second after the kiss before the Elder Gothi tapped him on the shoulder; the look they shared - they didn't need to say 'I love you' ... that message, and so much more, was said through their stare of love and longing.

Apart from even the dragon race that took place two days after, she knew Hiccup was not alright. The only reason he joined was because she flew by him, her smile urging him to join this one time. Otherwise he had been preoccupied with rebuilding that house. But she knew he was hurting deeply on the inside. Since that day, he hadn't spoken to her or any of the other Riders. The only form of contact she had from him was when Gobber delivered the tasks that each of them had to do. Their jobs were mostly concerned with getting the Dragon Academy cleaned up and refurbished; but other than that, not one word from him.

The other riders were getting concerned as well. Snotlout even tried talking to his cousin, trying to get him talk, but he didn't get far ... only in Hiccup ordering him to get back to work with a tone he never heard before. She remembered running up to him when he returned, asking if he made any progress with Hiccup, but with a shake of his head and gloom look, he said Hiccup doesn't want to see any of them. They had then worked the entire day without uttering a word; each one of them coming to terms with what Hiccup, their friend and Chief, was going through.

It was especially hard for her ... being locked away from him.

Just a few nights ago, at around this time when the moon was high and people were in the Great Hall, or the undamaged houses and not a soul on the streets, she saw him walking alone to the base of the statue of their late Chief. She saw him slump to his knees and watched his shoulders sag down, twitching as well which only meant he was crying. She was about to break into a run to him but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. When she turned her gaze, she found his mother, shaking her head, telling her not to go to him.

"He told me he doesn't want you to see him like this" she said quietly, before walking to her son to comfort him. She watched him fling his arms around his mother and cried into her chest, and she swore she saw a couple of tears flow down Valka's cheek, even in the dim light of the night. She so desperately wanted to be by his side, but as Astrid Hofferson, she respected his mother's decision, and turned around, even though each sob she heard him make was like someone reaching into her chest, grabbing a hold of her heart and slowly suffocating it.

But not tonight.

Tonight, she would see Hiccup one way or another.

"I don't know ... " she answered her mother's question, before opening the door and closing it behind her. Ingrid sighed, not in annoyance from her daughter's answer, but at the sadness of the whole situation. She'd seen how Hiccup was holding up. She went up to him every single day, checking up on him and easing some of the burden he faced of being Chief by taking over some of the construction crews and designs of the new buildings. And as a mother, she saw the pain he was hiding inside, but she never brought it up with him since it wasn't the time or place. He had a right to mourn and could for as long as he feel need to. But he was pushing people close to him away, her daughter being the main victim of his sudden isolation.

Both of them were going through emotions; Hiccup with the grief and pain from losing his father, and Astrid with the fear of losing Hiccup to grief and pain. And since her daughter was a spitting image of her, she knew Astrid wouldn't let up until Hiccup tells her everything.

She was worried that with the hurricane of emotions they were going through, there would either be a huge fight and both of them would cry themselves to sleep this night ... or something else might happen in that house.

000

"Come on Stormfly" said Astrid, as she walked over to her dragon, who had just woken up from her sleep at the sound of her name. She gave a squawk and a short nuzzle to her rider before she hopped on with the basket of food and took off. Normally she wouldn't use her dragon to fly to Hiccup's house but since most paths were cut off by those giant spikes of ice, it would have taken her ten times longer to reach his house.

As soon as she landed, she noticed there were no lights on. 'Hiccup must be out late ... again' she though as she got off Stormfly, careful with the basket and its contents. "Stay out here, girl" she said, patting Stormfly's snout. The Nadder gave a squawk of understanding, watching her rider walk up the steps to the House.

She pushed the door ajar and left it open to let whatever light was available to outline anything that looked like a candle. She immediately saw the furniture in the front, near the hearth and saw a few candles on the table. She placed her basket down and went to find a match. Luckily she had been to his house many times before to know where the matches were. She found them in a drawer in the kitchen and within a few minutes, the whole house was lit with candles. She even had a fire going to warm the place up. She kept three candles in the kitchen and three in Hiccup's room. She didn't light any candles in Stoick's room since it would be undoubtedly rude to go into his room when this wasn't even her house.

She took one long look of the nicely lit house, a small smile gracing her lips. She then turned her attention as to why she was here. She took the basket, closing the door which she had kept open, and went to the kitchen. She wouldn't serve the food now; she wanted it to retain its heat so she placed the basket on the table and went to sit by the hearth.

She didn't know how long she would have to wait, but she knew she'd stay until Hiccup showed up, even if it's at the crack of dawn.

000

The moon was nearly at its peak, signalling that it was nearly midnight. And it was only now that Hiccup Horrendous Haddock had blew out the candles in the forge and was taking the long way back home ... so he could have a chance to stop by the statue of his father. He took all his time in the world walking to that statue. He knew he'd get maybe only three hours of sleep again until he woke up at dawn to get a head start on the construction.

'Who am I kidding?' he thought. He wouldn't get any sleep, not with all the nightmares he's had. The same replay of his father jumping in the way, the same replay as he sees in agonizing slow motion when that plasma blast hits his father right over his heart ... and that's not all. Nightmares tend to cause you more pain by watching more of your loved ones die ... he's had different scenarios of his mother, friends ... Astrid, die in his dreams. Even the whole of Berk was destroyed and he could do nothing but watch; helpless to stop the war ... useless to do anything.

He finally reached the statue and gazed up to meet his father's stone face. Toothless was right behind him, not leaving his friend for even a second.

Hiccup couldn't help but smile at the magnitude of his father's statue, as if it was a incarnation of the very man it was built to represent; gazing on the whole of Berk and Hiccup couldn't help but feel safe that his father was watching over Berk. It was as if he never left.

"I'll never be ... as good as you, dad" he said, eyes welling up as a new batch of tears were ready to fall. "H-How can I ... measure up to someone ... like you? It's ... it's impossible" he said, shoulders shaking once again.

"Mom misses you ... I hear her cry at night ... but I'm too much of ... a weakling to go down ... and comfort her. I'm too busy crying myself to sleep" he said through gritted teeth. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He didn't want to stir any of the villagers .. because he didn't want them to come out and see him in this state. They didn't deserve to see their ... Chief ... in tears.

He glanced at the statue one more time before bidding it goodnight and walking back to his house.

Just as he was at the first steps that led up the hill to home he saw there were lights on. 'Mom said she wouldn't be back until tomorrow...' he thought, before hiking up the steps. However, halfway up, he saw a very familiar blue Nadder by the House, who had just poked her head up and ran towards them.

"Astrid's in there isn't she girl?" he asked the Nadder, who had nuzzled up to him, asking for attention. He rubbed her chin and neck before moving past her and up the final steps. He didn't bother to look back to see Stormfly and Toothless start playing with each other.

As he reached the door, he took a deep breath in. He wasn't expecting Astrid to be here and he explicitly told Snotlout that he didn't want to see any of them. He was not in the mood to see her and he definitely wasn't in the best physical shape either, not with the lack of sleep he's been suffering from.

Astrid turned her attention to the door as soon as she heard it creak and smiled when she saw Hiccup, ignoring the annoyed expression on his face.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. She could hear the tiredness in his voice, but also recognized the edge in it. He was not in a good mood.

"A girlfriend can't check up on her boyfriend after he's been purposefully avoiding her and his friends for nearly the past two weeks?" she retorted, closing the door behind and him and grabbing his arm, leading him to the table. He tried to pull his arm back as soon as she grabbed it, but she held him stronger to prevent him from escaping.

"When was the last time you ate?" she asked, seating him on a chair she had pulled back earlier.

"I'm not hungry" he said, getting up, but she was quick to respond and pushed him by his shoulders back down on his seat.

"Stay put!" she commanded, losing the friendliness in her voice. If he was going to act difficult, she would gladly counter it with pure bluntness and tough love. When she turned to look at him and make sure he wasn't going to stand again, she noticed his paleness; his armour looked a tad bigger as well. Clearly he hadn't eaten much since she last saw him. "Seriously Hiccup? Starving yourself?" she asked, pulling out the smoked salmon, which remarkably still retained a bit of heat, the bread and the vegetables. She went to the kitchen cupboard and took down two plates and began to serve his portion.

"My mother made that specially for you ... eat up" she said in a gentler tone, placing the plate of a whole smoked salmon, a slice of bread and vegetables in front of him, as well as a fork and a knife.

"I told you I'm not hungry ... I just want to sleep" he said pushing the plate away from him.

"You can sleep once you have a full stomach! I bet your stomach has been eating itself in the time you starved it" she said, giving him a glare that was only reserved for him when he became difficult.

"Astrid please..." he began, bringing his palm to his forehead. He wasn't in the mood for this.

"No Hiccup ... Sit. Down. And eat your meal ... you'll sleep better on a full stomach" she pressed on, setting her plate of food on the table and glaring at him. She became extremely irritated when he began to move away from the table. "I'll tie you down to that chair and shove all that food down your mouth if you won't comply" she warned him. He looked directly into her blue eyes; she wasn't joking, no amusement in her voice, which meant there was a hundred percent chance she'd follow through with her threat. With a heavy sigh, he sat back down and dug in.

She let out a breath of relief through her nose at seeing him eating the food, and unsurprisingly, he was gobbling it down as fast as he could. 'Not hungry my arse' she thought. She joined him as well, picking picking up her fork and knife and cutting away at the fish.

"How's chiefing?" she asked, breaking the awkward silence that fell upon them for the past three minutes.

"Tiring" was Hiccup's only reply, reaching for his mug of water, taking a swing of it, and then resuming his attack on his meal.

"Have you been getting enough sleep?" She was halfway done with her fish while he was done with his bread, half of his fish and three quarters of his vegetables.

"Yeah" he said, no emotion in his voice and not even looking at her. It was the same for his last reply as well. She stopped eating and let her hands float in the air, holding the fork and knife while leaning on the edge of the table with the middle of her forearms. Hiccup noticed that she had stopped moving out of the corner of his eye ... after a whole minute ... and looked up at her.

"What?" he asked.

"Seriously? What? Is that all you have?" she asked, her tone raising with every word.

"What do you want from me?"

"What do I want from you? I want to know where Hiccup is!? Because this sure as Hel ain't him!" she yelled, smacking the fork and knife down on the table. Hiccup wasn't fazed by her outburst one bit.

"You're asking what's wrong with me when you're the one yelling when I've done nothing?" he snapped back, placing his fork and knife down.

"Yes Hiccup! That is exactly why I'm yelling ... because you've done nothing" she yelled, standing up abruptly, her falling back on the floor.

"I've done nothing? I've done nothing?! Oh, that's a joke" he said, raising his voice as well. "All I've done is slave myself to the needs of my people for the past two weeks without eating and sleeping. Yes, I've done nothing for the past two weeks!" he yelled, nearly matching her tone.

"You've been ignoring everyone, Hiccup! You think I ... none of us ... your friends, would notice? We've seen how Gobber comes in to take requests from the villagers and report them to you while you barely made an effort to talk to the villagers yourselves. You've ignored your friends, Hiccup. Telling us not to disturb you, not to even try and talk to you!? What the fuck were you thinking when you said those things? Oh, and you had the pleasure of telling that to your cousin who came up to check on you because he was concerned!"

"What do you want me to do!? I have no time for your stupid games when there's a whole village out there that needs to be rebuilt!" he said, emphasizing the point by pointing towards the door. "I am up before the crack of dawn to do a fly-over check of the village, check the construction status and draw up new designs and help with the construction for sixteen hours! And that has been my schedule for the past two weeks if you haven't noticed!"

"Oh I've noticed Hiccup ... but you clearly never noticed me" she said, almost sadly. "You've been consumed by grief and pain from the loss of your father. I understand you need some space, but that doesn't mean you should push the people who care for you away" she said, silently pleading to him through her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, annoyed by her vagueness.

"I came to your workshop, Hiccup ... you were right there in front of me, perfectly awake and working on your blueprints ... I called you five times, Hiccup ... five times ... and you never even acknowledged me. You just kept your gaze on the paper in front of you, not even glancing to the person by the entrance who cares deeply for you. I wanted to come in and tap your shoulder, just to see if you were truly ignoring me ... but I didn't want to risk it. I didn't want to see the man I love shunning me out completely" she said.

Hiccup scarcely remembered that day ... but he believed it was about five days ago when there was a major problem. Six of the newly constructed buildings had collapsed because of unstable ground underneath them. When he examined it closely, he found that some of the ice from the Bewilderbeast and damaged the earth underneath the houses. And he was forced back into his workshop to tackle this new problem since he had to check every single building for potential base structure damage.

"I'm sorry if I was so out of it" he began, except his tone didn't carry any guilt or sympathy. His voice just held that 'diplomatic' tone. "You don't know the responsibilities I have now, especially in a situation like this. I have to show them what kind of Chief I am; that I can live up to my dad's name and legacy. Do you know how much pressure that is? Taking the helm after a man like that ... I have no time for fun and games anymore, Astrid. Not when all those people are counting on me."

"You think what you're friends are doing ... what I'm doing, is just wasting time and fooling around?"

"I didn't mean it that way..."

"Oh yes you did!" she yelled, shutting him up. "You think we don't know what responsibilities you face now? We do, Hiccup ... we do! What we're worried about is that you're losing sight of who you are. Yes, I know you're trying to live up to your father's legacy, but ignoring the people who care about you is not the way to do it" she pleaded.

Both of them were becoming extremely frustrated, except it was more evident with Hiccup. He took a deep breath, running both hands through his auburn hair, clearly trying to stay calm.

"Stop pushing us away, Hiccup ... stop pushing me away. I don't want to sit on the sidelines and watch you go through this alone. You need someone there for you. I know you just met your mom, but I she doesn't know about this does she ... your behaviour towards us" his silence confirmed her answer.

"Please Hiccup" she begged. "I want to help you" she urged on. "You don't have to go through this alone. People won't look down upon you for mourning your father. They know what you're going through"

"NO THEY DON'T!" he yelled at her. She took a step back, out of shock and a bit of fear. He had never used that tone with her.

"No one knows what I'm going through! Not my friends! Not the village! And definitely NOT YOU! You never had a responsibility like this thrust upon you! You don't have to look out for the well being of every single person in this village and you most certainly don't get to not have fun whenever you want to!" he screamed. And all the while, Astrid stood there, listening to his hurtful comments.

"You don't have the pleasure of working your arse off every single day and coming home at one in the morning and waking up at five! You don't have the pleasure of suffering from nightmares for three hours! Oh, oh and you know what's the best?" he asked, looking like a madman right now.

"People keep asking me if I'm alright, if I need a break, for me to take the day off ... I don't need a fucking break! I don't need them breathing down my back! I am doing fine without them reminding me of his death and furthermore, I DON'T NEED YOU coming to check up on me ... I don't need you telling me I need to eat, I don't need you telling me I need sleep ... you know why? Because I don't need your fucking attention, just like the way you didn't need mine when your uncle died!" he yelled at her, finally stopping his rant.

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, cupping his face with his hands, rubbing away all the tension and anger he had.

Sniff

He stopped rubbing away the tiredness after hearing that, and let his hands fall slowly back down. He didn't make that sound ...

He turned slowly to see Astrid, clutching her sides with her arms and staring at him ... eyes brimming with tears. It was when he saw a single tear roll down her cheek, stop at the bottom of her jaw, as if dangling on for dear life, but just like how he lost his temper, the tear lost its grasp on her smooth, pearl like skin, and dropped onto the wooden table, creating a temporary stain. But that's not what he saw.

Only then, had he realized what he said ... and to whom he said it too. From the stain of the single tear on the table, did he realize the pain he caused her. She was only trying to help ... wanting to be by his side, his confidant, his support, his refuge in a time of mourning ... and he lashed out at her, holding nothing back ... and all she wanted to do was help him.

It stabbed him in his core seeing her beautiful, blue eyes brimming with tears and even more so knowing that he was the cause of it. He slowly reached out his hand..

"As-Astrid ... I'm ... I didn't"

"No ... of course you didn't mean it ... you were just tired" she said softly, shifting her gaze and task to placing her mother's dishes back in the basket, while he watched on.

"And you know what Hiccup? I'm also tired ... I'm tired of trying so hard to help you right now for it to just blow up in my face ... I'm tired of listening to you whine about your problems that you claim to carry alone ... that there's no one here to help you with them ... and you know what, you can fucking drown in your problems all on your own. I won't be bothering you. You can grieve in complete isolation and you won't see me coming to help you because you don't want my fucking attention" she said, pushing past him, basket in hand, making sure she shoved past him with her shoulder.

"Astrid!" he called out as she tore for the door. In those few brief seconds, he realized what he'd done. He had verbally berated, hurt and disowned one of the two people he grew up with who loved him unconditionally. Yes his mother came back and already showed him how much she loved him and was making an effort to be a part of his life now, but there was the person who was a huge part of his life, walking to the door in his house, never to come back to him if he let her walk out.

There was the person who stuck by him when times were tough, the person who always had his back, was the voice of blunt reason and encouragement in his life; the only one of his friends to rush to him when he was lying over his father, trying to comfort him as best as she could ... and now, she was only trying to find out what was wrong with him, trying to look after him when he was letting himself suffer ... and he had driven her away.

He couldn't lose the only other person in his life he loved.

"Astrid!" he called out again, making his way to the door.

"Stop Hiccup ... you want to be alone, don't worry ... I'm leaving!" she said as she reached for the door handle and pulled it open. She saw her dragon playing with Toothless down the stairs in the front. She stopped to look who was coming out of the house but both her's and her rider's sight of each other were cut off when Hiccup slammed the door with his left hand.

"Astrid ... I'm sorry!" he began, but she wasn't in the mood for his apologies. She didn't care if her mother would yell at her for the damage of the basket.

She turned clockwise and hit him in his side with the food basket, letting it drop as well, scattering all the leftovers over the floor. Hiccup fell back on to the floor, clutching his side. She had used a lot of strength and momentum to make sure it struck him hard.

"I don't want to hear your fucking apologies since you need time to grieve over the person you've become!" she yelled at him, watching him struggle to get to his feet. "I see you're done with your friends, done with being yourself ... done with me ... and you know what, I'm done with you as well!" she yelled, reaching for the door handle again and pulling it open.

No ... he really couldn't lose her.

He got to his feet again, ignoring the throbbing pain in his side and slammed the door shut with his left hand again, right in her face.

"Hiccup, I'm serious!" she yelled, following the same action she did as before, but this time with the intent of punching him in the face. She didn't want to be near him, not after what he said about her and everyone else who were trying to help him. To her surprise, Hiccup caught her left hand by the wrist and pinned it to the door behind her. She wasn't going to pinned so easily. Soon her right fist was coming to his face, but he caught that as well by the wrist and pinned it as well. So now, they were facing each other, Hiccup pinning Astrid to the door against her will.

"Don't make me kick you Hiccup" she warned, staring at him with pure anger. She was also struggling to break free from his grip. She was regretting the strength he had built up over the years because other than moving her hand a centimetre, there was no way she could escape.

"Hiccup! Let me... Umpf" she was cut off when he locked her lips with his. He still hadn't let go of her wrists. She was still bore some tension in them and wouldn't let them go until she relaxed. However, she wasn't having any of it and kneed him in the stomach. He did release her lips as he curved himself, somewhat to take the impact in, but didn't let go of her wrists. And before she knew it, his lips were back on hers, and in a window of opportunity, he pushed his tongue into her mouth.

She wanted to escape; all she had to do was bite on his tongue and he'd pull back and she could kick him again, punch him maybe for good measure ... but she didn't. She had her eyes open while he closed his, and she could feel a fresh batch of tears touch her cheeks, and they were from him. Against her better judgement, she closed her eyes and settled into the kiss ...

And she could immediately tell he was begging her not to go; the fresh tears were an indication, his vice like grip on her wrists wasn't because he was angry at her, he didn't want her to go, and he was afraid if he let go, she would run away and never come back to him.

He realized his mistake. But she would want to hear why he lashed out at her.

So to settle his nerves she relaxed her arms, that the only thing holding them up were his hands, as she closed her eyes and deepened the kiss, moving her tongue in tandem with his. She soon felt his hands depart from her wrists as she let them fall to her sides, and he cupped her cheek in one hand while stroking the back of her neck with the other. She still didn't lean into him.

After a whole minute since the second attempt at locking lips, Hiccup finally pulled back and leaned their foreheads together.

"P-p-please... As-Astrid ... don't l-leave ... I-I'm s-sorry" he sobbed, tears freely flowing down his cheeks, and Astrid felt a pang of sympathy mix in with her anger at how he treated her.

"I-I didn't ... I didn't mean to l-lash o-out at y-you ... I j-just couldn't h-hold it i-in ... anymore" he suddenly wrapped his arms around and her, as if for dear life and broke down. Astrid slowly lowered themselves to the floor, all the while holding her Chief as he sobbed uncontrollably into her shoulder, staining her fur hood and a bit of her red shirt. As soon as they were kneeling, she wrapped her hands around his neck, rubbing circles on the top of his back, in an effort to comfort him.

"There are other ways of telling someone how you feel, you know?" she said quietly into his hair, most of her anger disappearing. There would be a later time for him to pay for that; for now he just needed his closest friend.

"I-I k-know ... I w-want to t-tell you ... everything" he said, taking short, sharp inhales of breath to regain his composure.

"Let's go upstairs ... if you're going to tell me everything, you might as well be comfortable" she said, pulling him up gently by the shoulders, wrapping an arm around him and leading him upstairs. This is what she was hoping for ... that he would open out to her and tell her what was bothering, although she wished it happened without her nearly walking out on him, which she was prepared to do. She pushed the door open, leading him in. He was surprised to see a few candles lit, but then he remembered that Astrid would have done that, and right now, he was glad she did. She sat him on the edge of the bed, taking his shoe off since it looked like he was too tired and broken to even do that menial task.

However, when she placed his boot aside, she rose to find him, struggling, to undo the straps of his leather armour. "Let me" she sighed sadly, making quick work of it, and placing it on the chest of clothes he had. She sat along side him, brushing a few stray, messy locks away from his face. She even rubbed away a few tears from his cheeks but he looked like a mess. Luckily he kept a basin of water in his room to wash his face, so she stood up and went to retrieve it, along with a cloth. She rolled the cloth up and submerged it in the cool water. She squeezed it tight, having all the water drain from it, leaving a nice, cold cloth with enough water to wash away small stains. She took the basin with her, and placed it on her lap as she sat back next to Hiccup and wiped his face, cleaning any evidence of tears that had fallen. She rubbed the cloth carefully underneath his eyes and along his cheeks, nose and mouth, before repeating the process a couple of more times.

Placing the basin and cloth on the floor by her feet, she looked back to him, waiting for him to start, and looking at him with a frown; she really hated seeing him like this.

"Where do I start?" he asked. She couldn't help the small smile graze her lips. He was trying to lighten the mood after what just transpired; first sign of her Hiccup returning. "I guess ... it was the night after that race we had. It had been a long day and I had come home at midnight ... I was beyond exhausted, and all I wanted to do was sleep. I didn't have anything to eat since that wasn't my main concern. My mom was home, she had been waiting by the fire, watching it with what looked like empty eyes. I could tell from her look that she had also been imagining a world where it was just me, her and ... dad. It's funny you know ... you find one parent, and you lose the other" his voice broke as he recollected on the cruel times of life.

"We both cried that night, hugging each other, wishing how he could be here with us" he took a sharp breath in and began coughing. Astrid, almost instantly, had her hand on his back, tapping it lightly. She figured it was just a reaction to prevent him from crying again because she saw a tear build up at the corner of his right eye.

"I still have doubts about myself, Astrid ... I-I don't think I can live up to ... a man like that. And how do you?" he asked, looking at her. She didn't know if he was expecting an answer or if it was a rhetorical question.

"And to hinder my Chiefing abilities even further, even if I had any to begin with, I haven't been able to sleep for the past two weeks; coming home at midnight or even two in the morning at earliest, I can't get a decent nap because every time I fall asleep, I'm plagued by nightmares of my dad dying ... over, and over again ... and that's not the worst of it. I-I've even had nightmares, o-of my friends, mother ... you dying and me watching helplessly while you all suffer, not being able to do anything ... and to top it all off, it was always Toothless who killed..." he stopped there, not bothering to hold the tears back as he hunched over and buried his face in his hands.

Astrid, meanwhile, sat there, helpless to provide any comfort. The best she could do was bring him closer to her and lay her head on his shoulder and hug him tight. Hiccup did find some comfort in her embrace; feeling her calm heartbeat, her smell of wildflowers and honey and feeling her warm, soft cheek touch his as he curled into, begging to be protected from the world around him.

"Be-Being helpless ... watching my b-best fr-friend k-ki-kill my dad, m-mom and ... y-you" he sobbed even harder, wrapping his arms around her torso and holding on tightly. She didn't at all once let her grip of him go, continuing to stroke his back and bury her face deeper with his.

"And that's j-just it ... I-I can't even ... l-look at Toothless the same ... I keep t-telling myself I-I forgave h-him! But I ... I just can't ... I just can't" he wept. Astrid stayed quiet, allowing him to let it all out. She was expecting an outburst such as this, after all, one can bottle up so much until it all comes crashing out. She held him, soothed him, even rocked a bit, to calm him down. He only showed signs of calming down five minutes.

"Hiccup" she said softly. He didn't respond, still looking down like he had nothing to live for. "Hiccup, look at me" she said. When he didn't, she placed tow fingers under his chin and gently tilted his head up until green forest eyes met ice blue.

"Who killed your father?" his eyes threatened to even spill more tears. Had she really just asked him that.

It struck her heart when she saw the reaction he had, but she knew this was the only way to help him; to face his demons head on. "Who killed your father?" she asked again, and her breathing quickened when she saw that he was nearly in tears again.

"W-Why are y-you a-asking me..."

"Tell me Hiccup, so I can tell you the truth" she cut him off. And when he looked into her eyes she was begging him to say it.

"T-Tooth-Toothless" he stuttered.

"No Hiccup ... you're wrong!" she said strongly, pulling his head up so he was eye level with her. "That Bewilderbeast killed your father ... Drago killed your father ... not Toothless. Do you hear me?" she asked, her own tears threatening to fall. She missed the old Chief as well, dearly, in fact but she knew if heard this, and if she embedded this in his head, he would be able to look at his best friend in the eye again without seeing a killer.

"Drago ordered that beast to take control of Toothless ... your best friend fought so hard to keep him out of his head. You know he could have killed you as soon as he took control don't you? He could have killed you in a second, but he didn't. He fought so hard to hold out his control. What if you had died Hiccup?" she asked, tears streaming down her face now.

"What if you died?" she asked, tightening her hold on him. Your father and mother would have been devastated ... your friends would have been devastated ... I would have been balling over you then and there, screaming to the Gods to bring you back ... I wouldn't have let go of your body even if my life depended on it" and now it was Hiccup's turn to hold her as she buried herself in his neck.

"What do you think the village would have felt when their only heir, their only future was killed ... we would have had no future without you, Hiccup. And your parents .. . what do you think they would have felt, seeing their only child lying motionless on the ground; no pulse, no breath, not even the slightest movement that would convey you were still with us ... I couldn't even imagine a world without you in it!" she wept as she let barriers fall. These were her own fears if Hiccup had died that day. But she also remembered something else ... how she had set everything in motion when she opened her mouth.

"But the main reason it's n-not your fault ... is because ... it's mine" she muttered, turning away, afraid to look her lover in his eyes. She heard the rustle of his shirt, assuming he had turned to look at her with shock and surprise, but was too speechless to speak.

"When you had run off, your father and Gobber told us to head back to Berk and prepare everyone, but when the next day arrived and we hadn't seen any sign of you, Gobber or your father ... I came up with a plan to kidnap Eret and have him lead us to Drago. We were ambushed soon after we landed near his armada" she said, still looking off into a candle on the far side of the room.

"Did they hurt you?" he asked instantly, reaching to hold her hand but she pulled away. Hiccup saw that it wasn't because she couldn't take care of herself, but he saw the look in her eyes; hollow and distant, losing all its colour and life. She felt that he shouldn't be touching a ... murderer ... like her.

"No. They tranquilized our dragons and it was then I learned that you weren't captured and they didn't know about Berk ... and that's when I opened my mouth. I threatened him that if he didn't let us go ... you, Stoick the Vast, and all of Berk would come after him if he even thought about hurting us. I told him you were the master of all dragons, I told him you rode a Night Fury and ... I told him all of Berk rides dragons and would come for us. I believe" sniff "that this prompted him to step up his schedule" she said, letting her tears flow freely.

Hiccup sat there, silent, unsure of what to say after hearing that. He wanted her to look at him but she didn't; she couldn't face her Chief of how everything that had transpired; his father's death, Berk's destruction, was all her fault.

"He was still preparing Hiccup! If I hadn't opened my fucking mouth, maybe your father would still be alive, maybe Berk wouldn't be in ruins and maybe, people wouldn't have died out there" she sobbed, clutching her sides, trying to find some comfort.

She did jolt when she felt his arms wrap around her, but had no strength or courage to move away; instead, she collapsed into his embrace, sobbing into his chest, while he ran his hand up and down her back in a soothing motion.

"If anyone here is to be blamed for your father's death ... it's me Hiccup" she wept. He never knew this. It appeared that she was carrying her own demons as well, and for her to admit to him, the being who has to put all of Berk and his own life back together, he saw it as courage; discarding any thought that she admitted to him out of guilt.

"If only I kept my mouth shut ... none of all this would have happened!"

"You don't know that" he comforted, and he meant it.

"How ... how could all this not be my fault?"

"Because ... as I look now, after what you've just told me, Drago would have come for the nest either way ... he would have found out about Berk as well and ... my father might have ended up sacrificing himself as well" he said softly.

"And how do you know that?" she asked, looking up to him from his chest.

"I don't ... it's just something I've learned after you told me that ... but it's still hard ... thinking that no matter which way you look at it, that my dad would still end up ..." he didn't bother finishing the sentence as he hung his head. He didn't want to think about that. Astrid stared up at him. There was no point now playing the blame game. They both blamed themselves for what happened, but that wouldn't change a thing now. What happened ... happened, and there was no going back. They had to look forward, and she knew that.

"I know you miss your father deeply, Hiccup ... I know. But you should be thinking that he did it so that you could live, so that Berk will have a future with you as their Chief. I bet that if someone showed him sacrificing himself for you, and that there was no way he could change it, he would still do it, Hiccup ... he would still sacrifice himself to save you because he loved you. Even if you, me, your mother or anyone else wished their was another way regardless, he still would have been prepared to give his life for you" she said, recovering from her show of vulnerability. But she didn't care ... since it was Hiccup, she would keep her barriers down for as long as he wanted her to.

She looked to him and saw that his tears were drying up and he was seeing the truth in her words, as well as the shock when she confessed how she would have felt if he died instead.

"And you know what else? You're right, you can never be the Chief your father was ... you can be so much better, Hiccup"

"No Astrid, I can't. How-How do I..."

"Your father wouldn't want you trying to live up to his legacy. If he was alive right now, he would be urging you to lead the village in your vision, not his ... this is your time Hiccup, a chance to create your legacy. You can live up to your father's legacy by creating your own, showing the whole Archipelago that Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, proud son of Stoick the Vast, is at the forefront of Berk and will protect his village and its people from anyone who threatens it" she said, holding both sides of his face, a small smile upon her face as she watches Hiccup's eyes lose the pain and suffering he kept within him and make way for the wonder and happiness that she knew in her Hiccup.

"None of us will forget your father ... he's too great a man to forget, and I bet he's watching you at this moment, from his spot next to Odin at the Table of Kings in Valhalla, silently urging you to quit this mourning and to move on with your life ... live your life to the fullest and that he is the proudest father in Valhalla" she said.

"I don't know if I can" he said softly, but there was no trace of tears forming, which was a good sign.

"Yes you can, Hiccup. Just be yourself, and you'll see the wonders you can do ... and we'll be here to help you ... your friends, your mother, Gobber ... me" she said, leaning their foreheads together.

"I'm sorry" he spoke softly.

"Hiccup..."

"No Astrid ... I shouldn't have lashed out at you. You were only trying to help me and I was being a stubborn arse about it ... I only realized what I was doing when you began to cry ... and I couldn't believe I did that to you" he said, looking into her eyes. "I nearly drove away the one person who puts up with me and all my faults ... I would have broken down completely if I let you walk through that door" he said quietly, glancing down to those pink lips of hers ... that were partly open.

"See, already signs of a Chief with balls; stood in the way of an angry Hofferson" she said, earning a chuckle out of him, but his face turned serious again.

"I'm serious Astrid ... I don't know what I'd do without you" he said, moving his hand to the back of her neck.

"Hey, when I started dating you ... I knew what I was getting myself into. I'd be dating a guy with the mind of a six year old, whose love for adventure, discovery and learning, was only matched by the love of his girlfriend" she said, looking down at his lips and she caught the few amounts of mist that exited his mouth. Another chilly night was upon Berk; but it seemed irrelevant to the young couple on the edge of the bed as they felt their own temperatures rising with every passing second.

They weren't exhaling through their noses anymore, as they began to feel the warmth around their faces that was created by their breaths. Hiccup took this chance to look over her. Her face had become more oval over the years but only gained in exquisite beauty; her old braid was transformed by her personally, into a thinner one that always hung over her left shoulder and her skin; the beautiful, soft texture he felt every time he laid his hand on it. His eyes wandered down her body, noticing time had even helped her body mold into the goddess like figure it is today. How her womanly traits became more apparent; her chest rising up and down with each, long breath she took.

His hands followed his eyes unknowingly, gracing over her goddess frame, along the sides, over the skirt, careful to avoid the spikes and stopping at her tight leggings, which only, like her shirt, outlined her gorgeous, thin legs.

She couldn't help shiver as he ran his hand along her side; his fingers leaving a trail of fire along the fabric, which only doubled when it stopped on top of her calf. His light touch, creating minute lightning strikes as it barely glided over the, right now, annoying legging. She wanted to feel his hand touch her skin. She wanted to feel the skin of his rough, veteran forge hand glide over her soft, pearl like skin. In fact, she wanted more.

But then as his hand glided back the way it came, she remembered that this was only supposed to be a visit; her mother, even her father, wouldn't want to hear that something's happened at the Haddock House involving her especially something of the scale that Hiccup, or rather the both of them, had in mind.

"I ... I have to go" she said, barely a whisper. Sadly, or fortunately (whichever way you cut it), her statement fell on deaf ears. It seemed she didn't even want to listen to her own words as her body made no resistance when he snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her closer and capturing her lips. The kiss wasn't short and hard, instead it was long, passionate and his tongue was begging entrance to her mouth, pressing against the her sweet, pink lips.

This was a shock to her. In their previous make-out sessions, she was the one who got things rolling, but now...

She parted her lips, her tongue meeting his inside her mouth, engaging in a slow, sensual dance of their own, oblivious on what happening outside. For the first time, it took her a whole minute to wrap her arms around his neck and deepen the kiss. She actually came to the stunning conclusion that she didn't know what to do. For that whole minute which felt like an eternity, Hiccup was calling the shots; he brought her body close to his, he started the kiss, he pushed his tongue into her mouth and he was showing signs of wanting her ... clearly evident by keeping her in close proximity.

But in the back of her mind, she began to understand his actions. How his tongue battled hers for dominance, how he was pressing their incredibly warm bodies together, his torturous hands sliding up and down her sides, even ghosting her legs; he wanted to take this to the bed ... he wanted her, right here and now.

Her body and heart were screaming in agreement to his erotic actions; screaming to her conscience that this was the right course of action, flinging off her clothes and letting him take her. But she knew that they were only in this position after confessing their deepest fears to each other, heck Hiccup confessed two weeks' worth of pain and suffering to her just five minutes ago. Her mind was desperately trying to convince her that this was just a heat of the moment thing, that only bad things could come if they did this.

But his actions spoke otherwise. He was in no rush to take her, even if he was hiding it. It was weird, but she could tell that he wasn't doing what he was just because the heat of the moment ... no, there was something behind it. She had no time to think more about it as she felt her trademark spiked skirt loosened, and only then felt Hiccup trying to pull it away from her. Against her better judgement, she lifted herself in the air for two seconds, enough time for her Chief to pull the skirt from under her and throw it on the floor. With the skirt out of the way, he pulled her onto his lap, not once stopping the tongue duel in her mouth, and proceeded to remove her fur hood. Her metal shoulder guards soon joined the skirt and fur hood on the floor, and his hands resumed their journey along her lithe body.

At this point, she couldn't help the moans escaping her, every time he wrapped his tongue round hers, or even tried sucking on it. Her hands, meanwhile, made their way to his luscious locks, pulling on them, raking her fingers through them causing remarkable, throaty moans to emanate from her lover ... moans she's never heard before. Soon it became a personal duel; who could leave the other more speechless. Astrid had moved her hands from his hair right down to his waist and had begun rubbing the growing length in his pants. This resulted in Hiccup exiting her mouth to hold in pleasured gasps, but only came out as harsh exhales. Hiccup's hand, meanwhile, found its way underneath her shirt and began feeling around on her toned stomach; the cold touch sending shivers along her body. If that didn't get her, his hand grasping her right breast, still covered by her bindings, did.

She decided that the clothes were a huge obstacle and stopped her massage of his length, much to his disappointment. She began by removing her arm bands, tossing them carelessly on the floor, then got her fingers underneath the hem of his shirt and began lifting it up. Hiccup reluctantly removed his hand from underneath her shirt and raised them up, allowing her to remove his shirt, leaving his tone abdomen, perfect chest, finely toned arms to bask in the candle light. As soon as she removed his shirt, he returned the favour, while she raised her hands almost immediately, waiting for him to. He then helped her undo her braids, allowing her hair to fall in one, huge tsunami of gold. He underestimated the length of hair. It reached all the way to the small of her back.

Hiccup took all her beauty in ... perched on his lap, right hand over his heart as she stared longingly into his eyes while he did the same. She was just a sight to behold, in her tight blue leggings, toned stomach, breast bindings and her toned arms as well and hair, untied and hanging freely behind her; she had to be a direct descendant of a Valkyrie. And with the small traces of sweat glistening in the faint candle light, their hunger to satisfy each other increased ten fold. He captured her lips again, laying her down on his bed, hands gliding along her sides, making her squirm underneath him while she ran her fingers up and down his perfect back. She could feel all the muscles tightening and loosening depending on his angle and where his arms were along her body and that unintentional action was just driving her insane. She felt his muscles moving; she wanted to feel that one muscle move inside her.

But as usual, her rational side made her slow down a bit.

"Hi-Hiccup" she moaned, pulling back from the kiss. Starved from her kisses, he replaced her lips with the vulnerable skin of her neck, gliding his lips along the sensitive skin, planting kisses, hickeys and letting his tongue leave its own path on it. "A- Huh ... A-are you ... su-sure ... Oh!" she moaned, helpless to fight back against the sexual pleasure it was creating for her.

"I've ... never been ... so ... sure ... Astrid" he moaned in between kisses.

"Bu-B-But" she moaned but stopped her sentence when she stared right into those forest green eyes, hovering directly over, his auburn locks blocking everything else from her vision. That was all Astrid needed to know.

Just like she couldn't imagine a world without him, he couldn't imagine a world without her. After growing as close as lovers could be over the past five years, she had become much more than a mere girlfriend to him; she became his most trusted friend, most earnest supporter, his confidant, his refuge, a person he could be himself around ... she kept him grounded to who he was and always made sure to remind him if he lost his way ... she was his everything and she had learned, just a few minutes ago, that he came so close to losing her that day. If it wasn't for Eret, they might be at the bottom of the North's frigid waters ... and she realized the tremendous amount of guilt that Hiccup would have taken upon himself if she died. She has only one lifetime in this world, as does everyone else and she's just realized how close she actually came to leaving this world.

Hiccup's gaze told her that he wanted to keep her safe, keep her close to him, never wanting to push her away again and him taking her, seemed like the only way to him. She could tell him that she's not going anywhere for a long time ... but she also wanted to do this, when she realized how close she came to losing him when the Bewilderbeast froze him and Toothless.

Fuck the rules ... fuck the traditions ... she wanted him to fuck her till his heart desired.

She wrapped her hands around his back and pulled herself up, not much distance to cover though, to place chaste kisses along his jaw, leading up to his ear and whispered two words that sent him over the edge.

"Take me"

That was all he needed. He pinned her to the bed, moving his hands underneath her body and moving them up her back, their target, her breast bindings. Knowing what he was going for, she arched her back upward, smacking their flat stomachs unintentionally but reveling in the shock waves created when their skin came in contact with each other. He found the the knot where her breast bindings were tied and made quick work of it, tossing it onto the floor where all clothing belonged. He pushed himself back up to gaze upon her.

He rested his hands on the sides of her hip as he stared at her chest. This was the first time he was seeing her like this and he wanted to take it all in. She on the other hand felt a bit uncomfortable, not at him straddling her, but as he stared intently at his chest. She wasn't sure if they were what he was expecting or if he was expecting more or if he didn't like them ... what if he didn't like them?

"D-do y-you like them?" she stuttered, and she asked it in such a meek tone that he glanced at her, with a shocked expression before reaching out and taking hold of her left breast. She gasped at the sudden cold and warmth his hand gave. They weren't that big; they just managed to be noticeable when she wore her bindings and shirt, but they weren't big.

He lowered his head and enveloped her nipple in his mouth, creating a loud moan from her. She could feel him flick it with his tongue time and time again, while sucking on the closed space. His other hand grabbed her other breast, massaging it, creating only more sensations that she could never dream of experiencing. Hiccup was enjoying this. He was making her create these sounds; sounds only he would hear from her and she was doing it willingly. He removed his mouth and proceeded to give her other breast the same attention, while his hands changed shifts as well. While his one hand held her breast, the other began gliding down her abdomen, to the hem of her leggings, quickly slipping below them and her underwear and right over her entrance.

She gasped as his hand came over her ... massaging the folds of her entrance while his mouth and hand worked on one of her breasts.

'How is he doing that?' was all her mind kept asking. To her dismay though, he stopped his assault on her breast, and came up to her face. "They're perfect, Astrid ... just perfect" he said, pulling back up and looking deep into her blue irises. She couldn't help but return the grin.

"I think it's time to lose the leggings, don't you?" he asked in an uncannily deep, raw voice. She could only widen her eyes and grin in anticipation at what this Hiccup was about to do to her. He got into a kneeling position, further down and began pulling her leggings towards him. She lifted her hip so it would slide down more easily and soon her leggings and underwear were on the floor with the rest of her clothes.

There she was, stark naked in front of him and all his. Hiccup couldn't help but feel this primordial instinct take hold of him as he watched his partner shoot him a seductive grin and angling her body very discreetly to entice him even more. But soon he laid his eyes on her perfect sex, just waiting for him to explore it. She followed his gaze and seeing where it went, she spread her legs wide open, allowing him to see the full package. Thankfully he had got a new, bigger bed, allowing him to lie down and place his head between her thighs, taking in the wonderful sight of her pink and already moist folds. He ran a finger along the entrance, testing to see what her reactions would be. To his delight, she squirmed to his touches, even pushing her hips towards him, urging to him to go further.

Well, he didn't want to disappoint his Valkyrie, now did he?

He attacked her sex with his tongue, running it up, down and across her entrance; causing the woman in front of him to let out a full barrage of moans that were music to his ears. "H-Hiccup ... please!" she whined. Astrid Hofferson never whined. She wrapped her legs around his shoulders, bringing him in and commanding him to not hold back. Thank the Gods she felt that way because he was becoming more curious by the second to what she really tasted like, and so he took the plunge, burying his tongue deep inside her. Her hands shot towards his hair and clamped down on him, keeping him where he was so he couldn't pull his tongue out. She could feel the small muscle working its magic inside her; licking her folds, even trying to push deeper into her. Oh did she wish he could. Her moans and gasps of pleasure were pushing him on, each sound she made giving him more confidence.

"Ah!" she squealed, when she felt his teeth nibble on her skin just surrounding her sex. She looked up at him and she could tell he was grinning, even though his mouth hid away between her thighs. With effort, he pulled his head back, even though she tried so hard to keep his mouth there but rejoiced when she felt a another spasm when two fingers slipped their way into her, immediately settling into a thrusting motion; in and out in a tortuously slow fashion, while his thumb rubbed her sensitive skin in circles, just outside her entrance.

He loved seeing her squirm underneath him, and it brought such pleasure for him to know that only he could do that to her and she would only allow him. "H-Hiccup" she moaned, her hands roaming to her breasts, performing the same actions he did on her, just to arouse herself even more for what was to come. And the look she created, coupled with her graceful and seductive body movements due to his fingers, he understood what she wanted.

He pulled his fingers out of her, and began to undo the straps of his pants, while she moved backwards along the bed, to rest her head on the soft pillows. He got out of his pants and underwear in quick time, revealing his fully erect length. She could only gaze upon the body part that would soon be deep inside her ... it was bigger than she expected and boy was she glad she was wrong about the size of his cock. He crawled forward to her; she gladly spread her legs apart to make room for him and he lined himself with her as soon as he was within reach.

She was waiting to feel it plunge inside her, but he had the audacity to tease her even more by rubbing his length against her entrance.

"Hiccuup" she prolonged his name. "Stop ... teasing ... me!"

With a reluctant grin he pushed his length inside her, causing her eyes to widen and him to close his eyes and give off a throaty exhale. She, on the other hand, grimaced and whimpered a bit, trying to make herself more comfortable against the pillows and mattress. They were both virgins until this moment, but unfortunately for her, she had to bare the pain. She closed her eyes after her initial reaction and her mouth curved into a frown of slight pain; her cavern was being stretched by a ridiculous amount, but she'd be damned if she let a tear escape her.

The many stories she's heard about this moment; how it was painful and you had to suck it in and the let the man have his way with you; Hiccup stopped when his whole length wasn't still inside her, seeing the discomfort on her face. He placed his hands beside her head to support himself and brought his lips down to her neck, planting soft, chaste kisses.

"Do you ... want me ... to stop?" he breathed out. "We ... don't have to ... if it hurts you"

'Oh Hiccup ... always the gentleman.'

"No ... just ... get it over with" she said quickly. Hiccup gave one more look, and she nodded, encouraging him on. With one long, slow push, he was finally inside her and without question, he waited for her to adjust to this new sensation.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and snaked her arms around his neck, pulling him in closer to her, where his face, neck and shoulders would be easy access to her lips. No words were needed. Hiccup waited patiently for her to signal for him to start; despite the fact that being insider her, feeling the heat her body produced and how here walls gripped his length, it's amazing he had such self control. Pretty soon, her gasps gave way for short, deep breaths and her eyes gave him the signal to start. So, slowly, he pulled out, only until his tip was all that was in her and pushed back in.

The sensation was beyond magical as she felt her walls tighten around him again. 'Is this how it was going to be until he came?'

Her thoughts screeched to a halt when he pulled out and pushed right back in, creating a sensation that was twice the first one. 'Oh yes it is.' She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, pressing him against her and unknowingly, allowed for deeper penetration ... and she felt it.

Even though his cock might have pushed further in by a centimetre or less, it felt like he pushed in a whole inch, stretching her even further apart.

"Hiccup" she moaned, and her voice, even in itself had a dramatic effect on him.

The way she moaned his name, clawed his back and tightened her grip on him was oh so arousing for the man atop of her. He couldn't even begin to fathom that he was making her moan like that; that he would be the only one to have that effect on her.

He could feel each centimetre of her walls grip his length every time he pushed in and pulled out, as if refusing to let him move; and the friction it created between his length and her folds just made them want to repeat it again and again ... and again, no matter how long they lasted in this position. Without stopping his rhythm, he leaned down and captured her lips, moaning into them while her hands traced and raked along the muscles of his back. As a counter move, to prevent him escaping his lips, she wrapped an arm around his neck and let the other one explore his perfect chest; her fingers leaving trails of scorched skin in their wake.

"Don't ... huh ... stop ...oh Thor!" she moaned in a high pitched tone as he hit her G-spot for the first time, increasing her fluid production that lubricated his length by the second, allowing to press on deeper into unknown territories.

While his length explored her mysterious cavern, his hands made sure to familiarize themselves with every curve, every sensitive spot and every hot spot on her skin; running his hands along her thighs, her sides, hips, arms, shoulders, neck, although his lips had her neck fully memorized.

Astrid was doing her bit of exploring as well with her hands, lips and eyes; eyeing his chest and tone stomach with a predatory hunger, planting hungry kisses on his shoulder, chest and letting her fingers dance across his stomach; all in all while feeling his length carve deeper into her.

"You're so beautiful" he moaned into her neck, beginning to speed up his rhythm. He was getting close; he could feel it. It wouldn't be long until he had to release into her. He just hoped she reached her climax before his, allowing her to feel satisfied before completing the act.

"Yes ... fuck Hiccup ... I'm close" she moaned into his, already sweaty shoulder. This prompted him to double his speed; instead of quick, soft thrusts, he had doubled it to pure, unadulterated, rams, creating a slapping noise every time his pelvis met hers.

"Hiccup!" she screamed into the chilly air in his room, as she felt a shock wave of spasms hit her. If it wasn't for her grip on his neck, she would have collapsed right onto the mattress.

He could feel her fluids shower his length; combined with the constriction of her walls on him, he was sent over the edge. With one final push, he buried himself deep into her and with a throaty moan, that sounded more like a miniature version of a dragon roar, he came inside her.

She laid back against the soft furs, relishing in the warmth his seed gave her, as it flowed freely and deep into her, on its quest to her womb. As soon as he was done, he pulled out and collapsed beside her, promptly pulling up the furs to cover their naked bodies against the frigid air that they all of a sudden realized was present.

Astrid immediately cuddled right up to him, refusing to let the cold air ruin her mood, by taking safety in the warmth of the covers and her lover's body.

With one final kiss, they both fell asleep after what was their most tiring day in their lived; physically and emotionally.

000

Valka wasn't expecting to see her son asleep as she got back in the early hours of the morning, just as the sun broke over the horizon. She expected him to bury himself into another day's workload to take his mind off certain things.

She mourned for her husband as well ... just seeing him after twenty long years, his reaction to her discovery and the song they shared; oh she wished he was here, so they could live like a family again. But, knowing her husband, he wouldn't want her or Hiccup mourning him for days on end .. and she knew it. That is why she left for the night, to collect her thoughts together and say one final goodbye to her husband, and she needed to do that at the location he died. But her worries and fears were taken away when she saw an unusually bright star in the sky that night and she knew Stoick was looking down upon her.

However, she didn't expect to see such a disarray of items in the house when she came - a food basket on the floor with its contents littered about the place, an overturned chair on the ground. She did recognize that the basket wasn't hers, so someone must have come last night to see Hiccup with good intentions. The first person who came to her mind was the Hofferson girl, who her son seemed to like ... a lot ... or love for that matter if the kiss he shared with her in front of the whole village wasn't any indication.

So, to make sure everything was alright, she quietly climbed the stairs up to his bedroom and slowly opened the door. At first she found some resistance but her eyes met the floor first and she saw a spiked skirt right behind the door, along with two tunics, a pair of leggings, pants and underwear strewn across the floor. The biggest shock, however, was when her eyes found the bed.

She had to cover her mouth to prevent herself from gasping too loudly.

There on her son's bed was him, under the furs, with his hands legs sticking out, but she noticed a feminine leg, thinner than his, sticking out from under the furs between his two legs and her head on his chest, right above his heart and Hiccup's left hand around her shoulders, keeping her close. They both looked so peaceful ... and furthermore, she's never seen Hiccup look this peaceful when he slept.

She couldn't help the smile that came to her lips, seeing her son in such a peaceful state and it was all because that young blonde lying with him. She had to get to know her if she was going to be her daughter-in-law; but there would be time for that later. She carefully closed the door, taking and made her way down the stairs silently to let the two have their deserved rest.

She would take the lead today in the ongoing reconstruction of the village. She was a close part of it for the past two weeks and knew what most people were doing. She just had one thing to do before leaving the house.

000

She closed the door behind her and looked to the stirring village. Men and women were leaving their temporary shelter, the Great Hall, and were already heading up to the forge to get instructions from Gobber or their Chief.

"Where is he!?" she heard a sudden voice yell and looked to see Arnbjorn Hofferson charging up the steps with Ingrid in close tow behind him. She didn't want her son or their daughter to wake up due to the commotion, so she rushed down the steps to meet him, with Cloudjumper following.

"Where is he!? He might be Chief but that doesn't excuse him for taking my daughter!" he said, as soon as Valka stopped him, placing both hands on his shoulders to calm him down.

"Arnbjorn, you don't even know if they consummated, did they?" Ingrid asked, catching up to her husband and glancing at Valka to back her up. However, she just looked away, and that told the Hofferson parents all they needed to know.

"They're in there, aren't they?" he asked, but didn't wait for a reply, trying to make his way around her. Cloudjumper, sensing her rider didn't want them to get past her got in front of Arnbjorn and blocked his path.

"Valka, what is the meaning of this?" he asked, still not calming down and eyeing the dragon, but Cloudjumper wouldn't be moved by a Viking; he was too proud to do that.

"Arnbjorn, please listen ... Astrid said she would be going to see him last night and when I asked if she would be back, she said she didn't know and I knew she was determined to find out what's wrong with Hiccup ... and by the looks of it, she did" his wife reasoned with him.

"So them lying in bed together after what they did last night tells she found out what was wrong?" he asked, turning to face her with a 'are you serious' expression.

"It did actually" and that caught him off-guard. "I knew her actions would either result in her coming home crying and not facing him again or that something else might happen ... and I guess the latter happened. Can't you be happy that the both of them have started talking again. You of all people should know the pain our daughter was going through when Hiccup refused to speak to her and the others."

Arnbjorn began to calm down a bit, and looked to the Chief's house that was visible in the gap between Valka and Cloudjumper.

"How did they look?" he asked.

"Like they were the only ones in this world ... without a care in the world, cuddled up for warmth" she replied, a smile gracing her lips. "We've all been through a lot this week, Arnbjorn ... me finding out about your daughter and my son, returning to Berk, rebuilding it and ... Stoick's death, but we have to keep moving and to do that, Hiccup needed to tell someone how he felt and your daughter wanted to be that person, and it's ended themselves in bed together ... don't tell me you weren't expecting it" she said. "I might have only been around for two weeks, but I've seen how your daughter looks worriedly over to Hiccup and even though he never showed it, he kept glancing at Astrid as well."

"I'll be honest here ... I'm surprised it took them this long to do it" he said, with a rue smile and getting a laugh out of the women as well.

"Let's just keep this on the downside for now ... just between us" said Valka, and the other two nodded their heads in agreement.

"I guess they'll be staying in there for awhile?" Ingrid asked.

"Let them take the day off ... we'll take over for them" Arnbjorn said, already making his way to tell everyone the plans for the day.

"Do you suspect grandchildren soon?" Ingrid whispered over to her friend.

"Maybe" was all Valka replied with and they followed Arnbjorn down the steps.

000

It was probably mid-morning when Hiccup began to stir, squinting his eyes to adjust to the bright, warm rays entering his room through the window on the roof. He blinked a couple of times, trying to get a better look of the room and noticed the clothes on the floor around his bed, and only then noticed he was keeping close to him a certain Valkyrie.

Her golden hair flowed messily in different directions behind her head, his arm around her waist, her head on his chest as well as her arm. He took in her sleeping form; sure her hair was a bit unruly, but how the sun's rays brightened her skin, making her glow in a way and that she was looked so comfortable in her current position, that the smile that graced his lips was inevitable.

"What's with you and staring?" she asked softly and suddenly, opening her eyes more clearly and looking straight into his green.

"How'd you tell I was awake?"

"When you pulled back to settle yourself a bit and when you moved your arm around me to bring me in closer" she said, rising up a bit to see him more clearly.

"Last night was amazing" he recalled.

"Tell me about" she said, pulling herself up the bed so her head was resting on his shoulder. "You were amazing last night."

She used her hand on his chest to reach over and play with the braids she had put in his hair, while he stroked her back; the whole situation seemed surreal. Had they really had sex last night? Did they really confess all their darkest demons that were bothering them?

Yes they did ... and they were glad they did.

It was then, when he was glancing about the room, he noticed a note on the bedside table. He picked up and silently read it, chuckling immediately once he was done.

"What is it?" asked Astrid, propping herself up one elbow and seeing him place the note back down on the table.

"My ... mother saw us when we were asleep" he said, struggling to hold back the grin he had. Fortunately for him, it seemed that she also found it funny and began laughing with him as well.

"What did it say?"

"She said that we need a day off ... and that she, your parents and Gobber will take charge for the day" he said, snuggling back into her and under the furs.

"Well ... I don't know about me, but you certainly did need a day off" she said, following his actions.

"Well I certainly do ... do you know how much effort it takes to do what I did last night?" he asked, enjoying the slight blush that appeared on her face.

"You did an amazing job in fact ... so amazing that I am ... a bit sore down there" she said, moving her legs to get into a better position with him.

"Sorry about that ... if it's any consolation, my hips are a bit sore as well" he said. The two grew quiet for a while, just listening to their sounds and the sounds that took placed outside, but she became interested as to what made Hiccup begin to laugh.

"What?"

"I'm just imagining what my dad would have done if he found us like this" he said, and this time, it was with a smile ... and she noticed that. The signs of grief and pain over his father's death nearly faded away.

"I think I can picture it, but please tell me what you think" she said, resting her head on his chest, right over his heart.

"He would called me out repeatedly: 'Son!' and then if I didn't come down, he would have come right up, and open the door, and he would be standing there, with an unreadable expression in seeing the both of us, naked, in bed, under the furs and the clothes strewn across the floor. Then he would close the door behind him, after some awkwardness, walk outside and scream: "Today ... my son has become a man!" he explained, doing perfect imitations of his father.

"That would be so like him" Astrid laughed. After the two had calmed down a bit, he stared down at her lovingly, waiting for her eyes to meet his.

"You know, that was the best sleep I've ever had" he said softly.

"Same here"

"And it's not just because I didn't have any nightmares ... it's also because, it's you ... Waking up to see you so peaceful on my chest, the sun's rays touching your perfect skin, and illuminating your golden hair" he said softly, stroking her cheek.

"It's the same here ... I would love to wake up to you every single day like today ... because, it's what I want to happen ... I want to spend every minute of my life with you" she said in the same tone, giving him a soft kiss on his lips.

"We're still not out of the storm yet ... there will be challenges, many of them to come our way" he said, rolling over so he was on top of her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, already knowing where this was going.

"Well then, we're just going to have to deal with them the only way we know how" she muttered, their lips closing the space between each other.

"Head on" was all Hiccup muttered before he captured her lips.

Neither of them wouldn't be seen by the village, until the next day ... and as soon as they saw their Chief and his new attitude, they knew things were definitely going to get better.