This story takes place a year after HTTYD 2 and before HTTYD3, so I can inevitably change some things.

This story is Hiccstrid focused with minimal underlying plot (unless I decide otherwise). Chapters are not oneshots they all happen in sequence, but the focus is completely on Hiccstrid's relationship.

I have no idea how long this is going to be, but be known that I'm not one to write 50 chapter stories.


This is Berk, isolated from most of the Archipelago by towering sea stacks but also a lot due to the native people's charming Viking demeanor. Frozen for the better part of the year and hailing all the rest, the island has never been a vacation destination on anyone's travel list. Outsiders say the people who live here are crazy and maybe they're right, but to them, it couldn't have been more perfect.

The sun hadn't even begun it's slow accent over the horizon and Berk was moving. It was the ending of the season, winter was close and every single creature on the island could feel it in their bones, it was coming fast. But this time, they were ready. With the accumulation of dragons there was no shortage of assistance in the preparations for winter. As the ice slowly yet surely set in, the dragons were a tremendous help as the final preparations took place. Which now mainly consisted of making sure that homes were sturdy enough to withstand the coming weather. Food had been gathered, supplies stocked, and now everyone was counting down the days to Snoggletog.

But not everyone was wrapped up in the hectic commotion. A certain warrior woman, with the days shorter and the weather even colder, was bundled up and enjoying the last few days she had left with a certain scaly dragon before she would inevitable leave to give birth, as all of the dragons migrated to do every year.

Stormfly was pregnant again this year, her fourth time in the six years they had been together. Certain warrior woman, Astrid Hofferson, was nothing short of amazed by this event every time. How could something this sacred and beautiful be so casual among dragons, she would never understand it. She had never once met Stormfly's babies, she would leave this year as she did the previous year and have her babies, and a few months later she would return, not a tiny dragon in tow. And this was normal.

A breeze passed through the furs she had draped over her shoulders before coming outside and she tugged them tighter blowing hot air into her cupped hands to warm her numbed fingers. Stormfly gave a soft caw from where she lay next to the Viking.

"I'm alright girl." Astrid rested her hand to her extended belly* gently and she eased, resting her giant head in the woman's lap as she leaned back comfortably against the stable wall.

With eyes closed Astrid heard the tell tale crunch of snow under boot and the clink of metal on ice, and a small smile spread across her face.

"If you've come to berate me, I'm in too good a mood to be bothered." She shot smugly.

"Me? Why never milady, what on earth would give you that impression." He returned just as smugly.

Astrid peeked open her eyes and squinted at Hiccup, not believing the young man in the slightest. He chuckled softly, moving to sit to her left, a small puff of smoke leaving the Nadders nose as he did so.

"How is she?" Hiccup asked softly his hand finding Astrid's beneath her furs and holding to her tightly.

"Nothing abnormal, I'm just going to miss her." She sighed resting her head to his shoulder.

Astrid couldn't believe it really, how much Hiccup had grown in the short time since Stoic... But an entire year was not hardly enough time to forget a tragedy such as that. Hiccup had fallen into his own turmoil and arose stronger from it. He was no longer Hiccup heir to the Chief of Berk, he was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III Chief of Berk for gods sake. And yet always Hiccup to her. She clung tighter to him, wondering why her mind drifted as it did in such moments and finding amusement in it.

"How are you?" She piped up, splitting the silence like and axe to a log.

"Nothing abnormal." He quoted with a sly grin, but it faltered quicker than she expected. "Just... missing him."

Astrid felt guilty then, and turned her head up to press a featherlight kiss to the hard edge of Hiccup's jaw.

"You've done amazing so far." She assured him and he gave her a curt half smile. "I mean it."

She reached out to grab his opposite cheek and force him to look at her, and when she had his attention she pressed a kiss to his tin chapped lips, just long enough to have him relaxing into it before she pulled away.

"Astrid I-"

"Chief!" Someone's distressed call came from somewhere a few yards away. "Has anyone seen the Chief?"

"And a Chiefs duty's are never done." Hiccup sighed head hitting the back of the stable with a light thunk. He turned his captivating green eyes on her an almost pleading look in his gaze. "Meet me later? Please?"

"Of course." She assured him with a calming smile one that broke through the tension in his shoulders.

And with that he heaved himself upright and took slow steps to find his balance again. He stopped just at the edge of the stable, turning back to give her a look.

"Please go inside soon, you're going to catch a cold." He warned in that way she had expected since he walked into her hiding space.

"And there it is!" She teased with gentle laughter to which he grumbled and finally left.

She sat in her place beside Stormfly for another minute or so, just to spite him, before she felt the need to warm herself inside.


Later on in the day when all had begun to quiet and the sun was vanishing from sight for the next couple of long hours, Astrid walked leisurely alongside her heavily pregnant Nadder towards Hiccup's house.

She had been incredibly relieved for him when after the battle with Drago and his Bewilder-beast, it had left Stoics house in complete ruin and in need of total reconstruction. But, with her guidance, Hiccup had ultimately decided to tear it down and rebuild his house in a different location about 30 yards further from town than the original Chief hut had been.

She stopped at the stables and made sure Stormfly was settled in Toothless' double wide stable, before entering the house. As expected, no one was home. Hiccup was often the last to retire to his warm bed at the end of the day. Although sometimes when Astrid would visit Valka would be here, whether just nosing around or tidying up after her busy and not entirely organized son.

Today though, the house was definitely empty, and it seemed that Valka had been too busy to stop by in quite a while as Hiccups little messes where taking over. She took it upon herself to step in and make herself useful. It wasn't like much it was much anyways; some Chiefly looking papers here and there, a bowl or two, a half empty mug, a scattering of scales from toothless. She sat down on a small stool to clean the bowls and mug in the wash basin by the hearth.

She hadn't even been there long when the door opened and the familiar sound of step-clink filled the main room.

"Ah, Astrid you didn't have to do that." Was Hiccup's greeting, classic Hiccup.

"It wasn't much, and besides I don't mind helping you out every once in a while." She smiled softly glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, dedicated to the task at hand.

"Yeah but I don't like it, I don't even like when Valka does it. Makes me feel like some sort of irresponsible kid." Hiccup mussed his hair as he spoke, hostility lacing his words.

Astrid didn't comment, though she wanted to. Boo hoo, your mom missed out on the first 20 years of your life and wants to make up for it by taking care of you. But she didn't, not when he was still bordering on such a fragile state. Any other occasion and she would have, and Hiccup would have found her sarcasm funny, but she could see how visibly tense and exhausted beyond belief he was. But that's why he'd asked her to come.

"Where's Toothless?" She asked softly, wiping her hands on her leggings and standing from her seated position.

"Outside, keeping Stormfly company." He breathed out as he stretched his arms high above his head and yawned.

"Bed?" She was standing directly in front of him now, placing a hand on his waist rubbing her fingers soothingly over the leather of his flight suit.

"Yeah." He breathed once more before taking her lead up the stairs to his bedroom.

It wasn't the first time that they had done anything like this, but it had definitely been awhile, and was much needed on both parties. Hiccup visibly relaxed at the sight of his bed and Astrid could admit she felt similarly.

Hiccup shed his flight suit quickly and tugged off his white under tunic in a similar manner before collapsing onto the soft* pallet on his bed. Astrid took her time removing her fur and shoulder plates as well as her spiked skirt and boots. She also undid her braid, letting the mess of wavy hairs fall freely onto her shoulders.

"Hiccup." She nearly giggled at the sight of the man face up, laying sprawled out, chest naked pants still on, with a shoe half off and metal leg still on. "Your shoe." She pointed out and he half heartedly kicked it the rest of the way off.

Rolling her eyes at his theatrics she took it upon herself to remove the gadget that kept his leg in place, the injury of so many years ago finally no longer affecting her the way it had for so long.

Astrid climbed into bed beside him reveling in the warmth that always radiated off of him and sighing. She laid down fully, resting her head just above his shoulder so her face could nestle into his neck.

"Hiccup?" She asked but was left with no response, and by his soft intake of breath, he was already long asleep.

Astrid propped herself up once more to be certain, and found that he really was asleep. Not that she minded, he needed the sleep. She reached a hand out to smooth his furrowed brow before leaning in close, her nose bumping with his.

"I love you Hiccup Haddock." Astrid has only ever said this to him once before, always too scared for some completely irrational reason, but she made up for it in the passion in which she always spoke these words. And they were meant for him and him alone in these quiet moments, whether he was conscious of them or not.

With a single kiss peppered to his sleeping face she blew out the lamp and fell asleep in complete darkness, warmed by the proximity of her lover.


*Dragons incubate their eggs while in such temperatures and wait till they are in the much warmer nesting grounds before laying them

*They finally figured out how to make a sort of mattress from a mixture of down feathers and sheep's wool covered in a thick linen.