Part 2: Sneak Attack

Previously:

"I like you Hiccup, because you're Hiccup." She finished, glad it was done. You better believe you are making this up to me later Hiccup, she thought menacingly.

"You… But-… I'm.." He tried to start various times, his voice high, strained even. Now, she thought, frontal attack: success. Time for the sneak attack.

…

"And that's why I need to know what's with you." Astrid said. "Why are you looking at me like… you expect me to stab you in the back!" She made her voice demanding, and… a tad hurt. She was exaggerating, he wasn't looking at her like that, but she needed to keep him off balance. Hiccup sputtered.

"Woah, woah, woah! I don't think you're going to stab me in the back! I mean punch me, pound me into the ground, or cleave me in two with that ax of yours, sure! But stab me in the back, no way!" Astrid stared at him.

Well, she was a punch first ask questions later kind of girl.

"Then what's with those looks you've been giving me?"

"I don't think you'll sta-"

"If that's not it then what is it?" She said her voice menacing. "You want to…" she searched for words but could only think of: "break up?"

"What? No! I'd never- … Wait, we're together?" Hiccup's tone took a strange tone, one that gave Astrid a tingly sensation near her stomach and the urge to punch him. Could nothing be simple?

"Well we have something! I thought that was obvious. Why do you think I kissed you in front of half the village."

"I wasn't sure! And then you I thought you only liked me because of the whole defeat the big bad dragon thing like everyone else seems to." Hiccup said hurriedly, trying desperately to appease her as if he knew she felt like punching him again. "And I was sure you'd expect all these Viking-like things from me like everybody else." Aha! She thought, this was exactly the right opening, she could feel it. "I mean, sure I know some dragon stuff," Astrid snorted, he has no idea, does he? " but I've told everybody else what I know about them and they're still coming to me like I'm the chief or something!

"And it's not just dragon stuff anymore either. They're asking me for all sorts of things now and I know I'm going to fail and it's going to be back to Hiccup the Useless before too much longer because I'm just not very Viking-like. And that sort of bothers me but really I've lived with it all my life so whatever, you know. "Hiccup shrugged, again resigned. Astrid was really starting to hate this attitude of his.

"But then I realized that there might be something between us, since you kissed me and we were sort of hanging out and I panicked cause I just knew you'd expect me to be a better Viking, and I'd have to be a better Viking if I expected you to… you know… want to… keep hanging out or whatever." He was blushing and stammering as he said this and Astrid couldn't help but grin. Yes he what he was saying was stupid but making Hiccup act the way he sometimes made her feel was exactly what her pride and ego wanted.

"And I've been sort of trying," that made the grin drop. Oh. No. She thought, angry again. "But I'm not really a Vi-"

"Finish that sentence and I'll do worse than cleave you in two with my ax." Her voice was harsh, cold, and full of rage. Hiccup gulped. "Toothless, down." She directed. "And you," she continued, poking Hiccup in the middle of his back with enough force to make him squirm. "Shut up and think about what you just said and what I told you, because you are going to listen to me and listen well this time, or Gods help me I'll…" she left the threat hanging, unsure just yet what she'd do to him but knowing it would be horrible.

Toothless landed in the cove soon afterwards, he'd already been turning back when she'd told him to land she realized. Getting down immediately she waited, as patiently as she could for Hiccup to get down. But either his new leg, or his own unwillingness to face her wrath was making him incredibly slow. Finally though, he was down, and unsure what to do he turned towards her, his face to the ground.

"Look up." She said shortly. "What I've got to say you'll hear looking me in the eyes." He did, nervously, and after taking a couple of deep breaths but he managed to look her in the eyes.

"You are a Viking." She saw the denial in his eyes before he even opened his mouth "Shut up. You are tough. You took the entire village's scorn, pity, frustration, and even your own father's disownment, and you came out on top. You are a Viking. You are just as stubborn as anyone else in this village. You are brave. You confronted a Nightfury by yourself. And who defied everyone by trying to befriend a dragon during the final exam of dragon training? In front of the entire village and your own father the chief. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. You are a Viking. So what if you can't fight? So what if you invent things? So what if you tend to live in your dreams. Those are the Hiccup things that helped you through everything that's happened so far. Without your ideas we'd never have the village we have now. There'd be no peace between dragons and Vikings and that's why the whole village is after you now. They're starting to realize that they need you, we all do." Slowly, his eyes widened, his head shook side to side slightly unable to believe her words. Growling she punched him.

"Ow!"

"You're being a moron Hiccup Haddock!" She yelled at him. Odin why wasn't he listening to her? OK, calm down Astrid, battles aren't won by losing your head. "What is going through your head to make you think you have to act more like the other guys?"

"Uhh…." Hiccup said, still rubbing his arm.

"Odin help me, Hiccup you have to help me understand. I can't be the thinker in this… agreement-relationship-thing we have."

"Huh? The thinker?"

"Yes! You're the one that figures things out. You invent, you look at what's there and figure how it works and fix it and make it better. I fight, I do my job, I take training seriously, as well as the other responsibilities given to me by the village and my elders. You can't expect me to be able to do your thing when I'm only just starting to figure out what I feel much less what you're going through without a bit of help."

"There's noth- wait, agreement-relationship-thing? Is that what we have?" his tone took that light sarcastic tone, and he smirked as he raised an eyebrow.

Astrid took one of his hands and pushed in the right spot.

"Ow ow ow! Why do you do that!"

"You're smart, you figure it out." Astrid said then let him go. "And you know what else? You're not leaving this place until you tell me what is wrong. Right Toohtless?"

Toothless snorted, nodding his head as he did so from his perch on one of the big boulders near the edge of the pond. He had been watching them intently since their landing.

"Traitor" Hiccup hissed at him. Toothless only response was to smile… with his teeth out.

"Wow… does he do that often?" Astrid asked, her eyes wide, but otherwise her face remaining neutral.

"That would be the first time, and I hope the last. There is just something very wrong about that image." Hiccup answered. He looked disturbed and somewhat scared. Toothless huffed, then retracted his teeth and smiled.

Astrid shook her head then turned and headed towards the campfire spot. She needed to get a fire going if they were going to spend the evening here. It was going to get cold really fast and she knew that Hiccup was going to make this difficult. Movement caught the corner of her eye and the soft but still there squeak of the metal leg made her turn. "Don't even try it." A sigh, Hiccup huffed, then went to sit under the boulder where Toothless had curled up.

Astrid got busy building a fire. She needed to try and think about this and figure it out. What could possibly make Hiccup act like this. She thought he'd gotten over the whole acting like a Viking after the village had started to respect him. She thought she'd been pretty clear about her own feelings. So what was making Hiccup worry so much? And why was he still giving her that look. It was… less resigned, but… it was still there. Astrid wanted to punch something, or throw her battle axe into some trees, anything to help get the frustration out.

The sun sunk lower in the sky, the cove was covered in shadows, most of the light was tinted a dark green as it filtered through the forest, and the pond took a dark murky look. The only real light came from the fire Astrid sat in front of, a pile of wood on her right, the fallen log at her back. Astrid looked at the sky, searching for nothing in particular. Then movement caught her eye. Thought so… She smiled, but stayed where she was and stared resolutely at the campfire; now if Hiccup would just hurry up and talk to her.

As the last of the light died, Hiccup neared the campfire. He sat opposite Astrid, on the other side of the fire, Toothless at his back. Astrid sighed, but continued to just sit quietly. She had already tried to reach out to him, this time it was his turn. She just wished it wasn't so nerve racking.

Night fell on the cove slowly. The moon rose, light filtering softly through the cloudy sky. Stars peaked through patches of clear sky, shining brightly. A cold breeze from the ocean rustled the trees and brought the already cold temperatures plummeting. Astrid wrapped her arms around herself. Normally she wouldn't feel this cold, but she hadn't been sleeping well since she started to worry about Hiccup, and being tired always made her get cold faster. She tried not to show it though. She tried to stay relaxed and not shiver. Shivering was not acceptable, and she had a nice big fire in front of her anyways, she really shouldn't feel this cold.

Hiccup stood up. She pretended she didn't notice. If he made a break for it she'd show him. Next thing she knew he was sitting beside her, closer than he had ever sat before. Huh? He seemed to stare into the fire pretty intently, so she left him to it. She could be patient, really, she could. A good warrior did not attack until the opportune moment, she could- what the…?

Hiccup was putting an arm around her. That pretend stretch thing that all other stupid guys always tried to pull. She turned towards him. "What are you doing." She nearly growled a scowl on her face.

"Uh... you're cold." Astrid blinked. How had he… "what are you talking about."

"U-um, well, y-you um… well your ears and n-nose get red when you're cold, and you tap your foot when you're trying to pretend you can't feel it. Not to mention you fidget."

Astrid blinked. There was something really weird happening in her chest. There was this weird thing that felt kinda like a bubble but where her heart was supposed to go. And it felt like it was getting bigger. And it was warm, for some reason. And she felt like blushing. Why did she feel like blushing? Instantly Astrid glared. Anger was her go-to emotion.

"What are you talking about, I'm not cold." She hissed at him shoving her elbow into his side. He winced, and rubbed it with his right hand but didn't pull back his arm. He leaned back, laying a bit more on the tree and closed his eyes, his left arm extended towards her making a nice little spot she could snuggle in- what the… snuggle? She wanted to snuggle? With Hiccup? Well it was Hiccup, and she liked Hiccup, but still! Snuggle? Ok she wouldn't snuggle, Astrid didn't snuggle. But maybe she'd lay besides him and rest her head on his arm. Maybe, she wasn't sure yet. She stayed as she was pulling her legs up to wrap her arms around them. Why did this have to be so confusing?

"I lost my leg." He said it so softly she almost didn't hear him. As it was, she froze. There was something about his tone. The way he stated it, both like it was nothing and everything. "I was Hiccup the use-less before, but I was whole. I was me. I-" He faltered. "Gobber has been trying to talk to me about it. What it's like, what I can expect. But… For him it was just figuring out how to do the stuff he already knew he could do. He was never pitied or ignored. Not for the loss of his leg or hand." Hiccup's voice continued with the same tone, and the same volume. "He wasn't figuring out where his place was. I-" He stopped, and his face scrunched up. "I was the useless runt. And then next thing I know I'm hiding a Nightfury from the entire village; a village that thinks that I'm awesome because I finally figured out how to be a Viking, how to fight a dragon. Then I'm disowned by my own father, and unmasked in-front of everyone as a liar and a traitor for helping a dragon. I try to fix my mistake and somehow… everything is fine. Everything is perfect; except it isn't." Hiccup's voice took a scratchy tone. "I don't know what they want from me anymore." Astrid sighed and leaned back. She really couldn't help it. He sounded… lost. Like when he was just watching the ships depart with most of the village and his best friend caged to the leading ship, forcing the dragon to lead them to the nest. She didn't like it when he looked like that. It… pained her.

She rested her head on his arm, arranging herself so that she was facing him, though not really touching him other than her were her head rested on his arm. He sighed, and tensed slightly. Opening one eye slightly he looked at her and one corner of his mouth rose slightly. He closed his eye again and tried to continue.

"I… I keep waiting for it all to go wrong again. I never went so long with their entire approval, not for being me. Sure when I'd do something right they'd congratulate me, but it didn't last more than a day. At most. Now… it's surreal. I feel like I'm in a dream. And you." She raised her head slightly. "You never gave me the time of day. I… I like you, Astrid" His tone was so sincere she couldn't help but smile. "but I was so afraid you were just," he paused, searching for the word "hanging out with me because of what I'd done, because I defeated the big bad dragon."

"I'm not... some sort of… groupie, Hiccup." Astrid tried to say softly. She really wanted to yell at him when he was finally opening up. But what he was thinking… She really wanted to growl.

"It wasn't just that though," he said hurriedly. Turning his head to look at her he tried not to flinch when he met her eyes. "I… I was useless before I lost my leg Astrid. How bad am I going to be now? How difficult will it be for me now? And it's not fair to have you expect to be with me when … I don't know if I can be me." He frowned.

"Hiccup, you are not your leg." Astrid rolled her eyes. Trust Hiccup to come up with something weird like that. "Your leg was a part of you, something you used. But it didn't make you who you are. You're still Hiccup, you just have to learn to adapt to a new situation." Hiccup frowned more deeply, his brows coming down to his eyes, and scrunching up his nose a bit. "Honestly, yes it's hard. I've seen it, ok. Remember when the woodcutter lost his hand? He took a month to come out of his house. Or that one fisherman, the one that lost right foot? We all know that hands and feet can be lost at any time. Not just when you're fighting dragons. But Hiccup you almost died. All of us were seriously scared. Your dad was devastated. I heard some of the adult say they hadn't seen him that sad since your mother died." Astrid closed her eyes, and took a deep breath then opened them again. "We care about you Hiccup. It's not about how you defeated the big bad dragon. It's about the fact that we were afraid you weren't going to make it. We had to realize that without you things aren't the same. I had to realize that I couldn't hide behind the anger and pretend to hate you anymore. Your father had to realize that he couldn't continue to expect you to be someone you're not. And you have to realize that it was being you and doing those Hiccup things you do that brought you the respect of the village. It wasn't the fact that you acted the way the rest of the Viking boys did, it was the fact that you did the Hiccup thing."

Hiccup smiled crookedly, but something about the way he was looking at her told her he was starting to understand. He wasn't looking at her with that look anymore. In that moment, there was nothing there.

"Thank you, Astrid." Hiccup said softly. He turned to look up at the sky. "They're probably worried sick about us." Astrid shrugged.

"You were the stubborn one who wouldn't talk. But anyways, I saw Fishlegs on his Gronkle a while ago, so I'm pretty sure they know where we are."

"Mmm.. so they'll be coming for us soon."

"I'd say another ten minutes or so." Astrid yawned. Hmmm… ten minutes. Smiling Astrid opened her eyes a smirk forming on her lips. Maybe he could start making it up to me.

"A-astr- Ow!" Hiccup clutched his side lightly. "What was that for?"

"That was for being an idiot and making me talk about feelings." She told him, unrepentant. "And this is for being you." She kissed him lightly, so far the only kiss they'd had was the one she'd given him when he'd woken up from the deep sleep. It had been little more than a peck though. She had been wondering what it would be like to really kiss for a while now. He froze, but she was going to have none of that. She grabbed his tunic and pulled him closer trying to figure out how to deepen it. His hands landed on her back, one moved to her waist as he relaxed under her and responded. And suddenly she understood exactly what kissing was about and why the adults liked to do it. Kissing was amazing.

A/N: SORRY! I did have a little trouble writting this, I will admit, but the real problem for the posting was the fact that I have no internet at home... and it was winter break for me so no classes = no internet... unless I went to like McDonalds or Starbucks but the laptop I can take to the hot spots doesn't have a microsoft word or anything really. Had to wait till classes started. Which was today. That was fun... But anyways hope I lived up to the expectations. I got some really really nice reviews and a whole bunch of alerts. Trust me guys I felt horrible everytime I thought I had figured out a way to upload it or that the internet was going to get paid and it never happened. Anyways, hope everyone had a great time, [holidays, and New Years] and I hope this year is great for all of you. Hope you enjoy in this. :)

Oh, almost forgot... the Toothless smile thing... don't ask... he made me do it. I tried not to write it but it just... had to come out, and everytime I deleted it and tried to read it through without that part it didn't work for some reason. It just had to come back. Don't know why cause it seems very un-Toothless like but, *shrug*