Hey!

Thanks for coming back! I'm sorry it's taken so long to get this up. But as this is based on a real life experience, it is written as my own problem unfolds. I don't imagine it will have more than one or two more chapters, but I have been wrong before.

Dear haters: Behold! The field in which I grow my fucks. Look! And see that it is barren.

And with that out of the way, please enjoy!

Astrid stared at the ceiling of her hut, desperately trying to grasp what she was truly feeling. She tried to sleep, but everytime she closed her eyes, a certain Razorwhip rider was all she could see. It made her feel every emotion on the spectrum from excitement to guilt, mixing together into a pool of dread in her stomach. She felt sick. Hoffersons were supposed to be fearless, they were to laugh in the face of danger.

They most certainly were not supposed to turn into jelly because of some crush.

Oh Thor.

How on Midgard would her family react? Would they try to understand? Disown her? Tell Stoick? Would he banish her? Astrid swallowed painfully, feeling terribly alone. Hiccup will probably hate me. And he has a right to. I'm betraying him.

No. She refused to accept such a fate. It might work for the Bog Burglars, but not for her. Astrid Hofferson was strong. She could fight this. She had to.

Not even Ruff and Tuff's humorous stupidity could lift her spirits at breakfast the next morning. She felt completely and utterly hollow. Fishlegs had shot her several concerned glances from across the table, and she fixed her attention on her barely touched plate in response. In some ways, she regretted telling him. The situation seemed harder to control with someone else in the picture. Knowing him, he would never be completely uninvolved. His obsession for the unknown would make sure of that.

She let out a sigh. At least she could trust him with her secret. Fishlegs might not have the tightest lips in the archipelago, but he wasn't one to betray trust. As long as no one was to aggressively question him on the matter, it would stay between them.

"Trouble sleeping again?" Dread washed over her at the sound of his voice.

"Y-yeah. I guess."
Hiccup sat beside her. She felt his worried stare burn through the side of her head, but she refused to look at him. "Night Terror again?" He spoke softly, trying to avoid catching the other's attention. He needn't have worried, they were well wound up in some bet Tuffnut made with Snotlout. Astrid nodded, but they both knew she was lying. "Do you… uh… need anything?" His voice was small. It hurt him to see her so upset. She shook her head. "You could sleep with me tonight, i-if you wanted to of course."
She shot him a curious look, and he flushed red as a Monstrous Nightmare. "I didn't mean it like that! I swear! N-nothing would happen, Toothless would be there too. J-just there aren't any Terrors around and you might get a better sleep, and you wouldn't have to be alone-" Astrid's quiet chuckle cut him off. He felt like an idiot, but at least he made her laugh. She smiled at him, but the happiness quickly drained from her eyes. "Thanks, Hiccup. But I...I don't think that's the best thing for me right now. "
He tried to hide his disappointment, he had desperately wanted to help her. "That's fine. I understand." He smiled at her, and she returned it. Slowly she rose, and left the hut, to everyone's surprise, Fishlegs followed her.

Alright, Fishlegs. Fishlegs told himself as he caught up to the blonde warrior in the dragon stables. You can do this. Just be subtle.

"You uh," his voice cracked and he prayed Astrid hadn't noticed. "You okay?"

No answer. She continued to silently groom Stormfly.

Perhaps she hadn't heard him, but the warning glance the blue Deadly Nadder gave him said otherwise. He wondered if it was wise to try again, shifting his weight awkwardly as he debated.

"Please go away, Fish."

It wasn't like him to ignore a direct order from Astrid, but she obviously needed him, even if she denied it.

"I think you should tell her," Well, he certainly hadn't meant for that to come out. Several images of brutal murder flashed through his mind. He dearly hoped she was in a forgiving mood.

Astrid's hand stilled on her dragon but she didn't turn around. A few thousand apologies tried to jump out of his mouth at once. "S-sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to...uh...you know. I just wanted to check on you… make sure you were ok and all. You certainly don't have to tell anyone! It's entirely up to you." He squinted his eyes shut and waited for the eminent punch to the face.

"Why should I tell her?" Her voice was even, no emotion leaked out.

Well, he most definitely did not expect that answer. He regained his composure. "It might make you feel better, ya know? Get it out in the air."

She sighed. "Thanks, Fish. I'll be sure to come to you next time I need advice on how to ruin a friendship beyond repair."

He rolled his eyes. She was more like Hiccup than she let on. "It's not that strange of a concept! I'm sure she won't care too much."

"You don't even know who 'she' is."

Fishlegs swallowed. Of course he did, he wasn't stupid. Everything made so much sense after Astrid confessed.

He braced himself. "It's Heather, isn't it?"

She laughed bitterly. "That obvious, huh?"

"No, no. Not at all," he lied. "Just knew it couldn't be Ruffnut, and hey, there aren't that many candidates."

"I'll think about it."

"What?"

"I'll think about telling her." Astrid paused. "If she ever comes back, that is."

Fishlegs nodded, even though she couldn't see him. "Ok."

"How's that, bud?" Hiccup asked as he adjusted the tail fin. "Tight enough?"

His Night Fury companion wiggled his tail thoughtfully, then grunted his approval.

"Good. A loose fin mid flight is the last thing we need." he sighed. "Wish the rest of our problems could be fixed that easily." Toothless nudged his hand on top of his head, and Hiccup gave him a gentle scratch. "Astrid's still giving me the cold shoulder. It's been weeks, bud. I don't know what I did to upset her. I've never seen her this distant."

Toothless cooed comfortingly, and more scratches were bestowed.

"It's not just me though, she won't really talk to anyone, except Fishlegs. Which is strange enough, And it's not that I'm jealous or anything, 'cause I swear I'm not, I just… wish she'd talk to me about whatever's bothering her. W-we're a team!" He slumped against his dragon's side. "I don't know, Toothless. I guess we'll just have to see."

Tonight was the night. Everyone was asleep. She was going to do it. She was going to tell him. She was... going to puke.

She stood in front of his hut, nails digging in her palm hard enough to draw blood. Was this really worth it? She figured that if she was going to tell Heather the truth, Hiccup had a right to know first, as they were more...established. But as her hand refused to raise itself to the door and knock, she pondered simply not telling either and keeping it to herself for the rest of her life. But fate had other ideas however, and the daunting door before her swung open on its own account.

A groggy burnet stood in the doorway, rubbing his eyes and looking downright confused. But as his vision focused on her, his entire face lit up in a way that made Astrid's heart crack. She knew that by the end of her visit, she'll have taken that happiness away.

"Astrid! Hi! Toothless said there was someone outside," he looked over his shoulder at two floating green eyes in the darkness. "You were right, buddy. As always." He finally calmed down enough to really focus on her. The expression on her face was anything but happy. His brow furrowed in concern.
"What's wrong?"

"I-I need to talk to you." She looked down at her shaking hands. "It's important."
Wordlessly, he held the door opened and ushered her inside. They sat down on his bed. He glanced at her expectantly, and her well-rehearsed speech died in her throat. Hiccup touched her arm gently, though it was meant it in a friendly way, she flinched. While she normally liked his touch, right now it just felt...wrong. Seeing her distress, he swiftly retracted his arm. Astrid felt guilt instantly pool in her stomach. "Sorry." she croaked.

"It's fine, Astrid. But please, just tell me what's wrong."

Her mind was spinning and completely blank all at once. "It's about Ruffnut!" she found herself blurting out.

Well, he could honestly say he hadn't expected that. "Ruff? What about?"

Astrid very much wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Ruffnut? Where the hel had that come from?
"She uh, came to me with a problem."

"Is she alright?" he paused. "Wait, is that why you've been so upset lately?"

"I haven't been upset!" she barked back. But both of them knew she was a terrible liar. It was a miracle in itself he was buying the Ruffnut story.

Hiccup for one, was hugely weirded out, and decided she was not in a mood he wanted to take chances with. If he desired to keep his life and manhood in tact, it was probably best to just roll with whatever happened.
"Ok, so what's Ruffnut's problem?"

"Well, you know she's into Fishlegs, right?"

Wait what? Astrid wanted to talk about drama? Astrid Hofferson? Was this a very awkward dream?

"Um, I-I guess?"

"She was uh, talking to me a few weeks ago, and turns out she likes someone else too."

"She told you this weeks ago and you're just now telling me?" he thought for a moment. "Is it really any of my business?"

"Of course it is. She needs help deciding what to do."

Seriously, what did he eat before going to bed? "Ok...Who else does she like, Snotlout or me?"

The blonde swallowed. "She didn't say."

"Well, let's hope it's Snotlout for her sake, eh? You'd kill her otherwise." He winked at her jokingly, to which she responded with very pained eyes. And that was the moment he knew. The moment it clicked. This wasn't about Ruffnut, and and much as he wished otherwise, this wasn't a dream.

She heard him take a long breath, and she couldn't bare to look at him. It was coming, his heartbroken voice was about to tell her to leave. She'd ruined everything.

"I'd tell her to weigh her options well. See who she'd be more compatible with in the long run and who she feels better with."

Astrid froze, then glanced up at him. "What?"

He smiled sadly. "We want her to be happy, right? Even if it isn't with who she originally thought she wanted. You tell her she has my support."

Was she hearing him right? Did he actually understand?
She sighed, "You know...you know this isn't actually about Ruff, right?"

"Yeah. I do."