Disclaimer: Of COURSE I own HTTYD and dear Hiccup… that's why Astrid wants to kill me.

Author's Note: Yeah, I haven't updated in a few days. Well, I have a life. Enjoy!

No one knew how strongly Astrid had wanted to kill that Night Fury.

But she didn't.

It was crazy. Since his invention had worked, maybe Hiccup had been right about something. When she stumbled across the beast, she only crouched behind a rock and racked her brains for what to do. In the heat of the moment, sheer terror had pinned her to the spot like a girl. She hated feeling like a girl. Maybe Hiccup was right…

Maybe it would be best to tell Stoick. After all, this was the dragon that the Vikings knew the least about. Letting the chief know would be the best thing to do. Maybe he'd let her kill it in front of everyone else as a reward for being the first Viking to catch one!

As she stood before Stoick, Astrid tried to keep her face void. She tried very hard not to punch Hiccup in the face as he babbled on, "See, dad! I told you! My invention really worked! Quick! Let's go out and kill it!" But for some reason, Hiccup hesitated to see what Stoick would say.

"Are you sure?" Stoick said after a while.

"I've never seen anything like it before," she said, "it's black and about half the size of a Deadly Nadder… and huge green eyes…" Astrid blinked for a moment and could almost still see them watching her. She shivered.

"You made a good choice to come to me instead of trying to kill it yourself." Stoick praised.

"Thank you," she said.

"Where is it?"

"It's just off Raven Point," interjected Hiccup, "I was there, dad. She did it with my invention."

Stoick only took in the first few words, then completely blocked out the rest. "Thank you for letting me know. I'm going to find Gobber and let him know and he'll bring him into the arena. The younger Vikings need more practice with Monstrous Nightmares anyway. The Night Fury can be the new ultimate prize. Look after Hiccup while I'm gone. And for Thor's sake, keep this quiet, will you?"

Without giving Astrid time to protest, Stoick was gone. The young Vikings stood in shock.

There was a long silence in the chief's house that Hiccup broke with a "There's no way in Valhalla we'll be able to keep this quiet!"

Astrid turned to face him. Her heart raced with fury and anger pulsed through her veins. "You knew," she spat, "you knew he wouldn't let me kill it if I told him!"

"No I didn't!" Hiccup protested.

"Of course you did! He wouldn't let me kill it, even if he was crazy enough to believe that your stupid thing brought it down-"

"HA!" squeaked the little inventor triumphantly, "You finally admitted that the mangler, of my creation, brought it down!"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Why else would Stoick ask us to keep it quiet? If people found out that your thinggummy brought down no less than a Night Fury, the Viking way would be lost! People would start looking up to you! You're not supposed to be the hero, Hiccup, and neither am I, but look at us! Two teens, managing to bring down a Night Fury! Imagine what people would say!" She moaned with longing at the thought of how highly she would be esteemed and shuddered at the thought of being connected with Hiccup. "Can you imagine how traumatic that would be for your father?"

"Doesn't he want what's best for us, though? Wouldn't it be good if people finally started thinking?" asked Hiccup.

"Have you ever noticed how often your father brushes you aside?" snapped Astrid, "Do you honestly think he cares about you? All he cares about is this stupid village full of idiots." She plopped down onto the floor with a sigh. For a moment, all Astrid could hear in the house were her steady breaths. It took every ounce of effort she possessed not to cry. That Night Fury was hers. She brought it down. She should have killed it.

The thought wrenched at her heartstrings and she had to hide her face that contorted into an odd expression. Don't cry, she urged herself, Vikings don't cry. But she wasn't a good enough Viking to kill a Night Fury on sight. Maybe I'm not a Viking at all…

"He cares about you though." said Hiccup.
That made Astrid look up. She didn't believe it but anything comforting would work right now. She stared at him. "You think so?"

Hiccup nodded. "He's using you to get me out of the house. He wants you to make me a proper man. Besides, there's no one better: you're a much better Viking than I'll ever be." He blushed. "Even if you do like the way I think…"

Astrid had forgotten about how much he had flattered her. She had proven him wrong: she had thought. Not only had she looked before she leapt, she did what he told her to: she had told Stoick instead of killing the dragon herself.

"It's things like this that make me question how much I hate you," she said in spite of herself.

Hiccup looked surprised. "I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you, Astrid Hofferson." He performed an awkward bow.

She stopped herself from saying 'you're welcome'. Don't encourage him.

There was another silence. Hiccup broke it again. "I didn't want to steal your glory. I just wanted people to realize what thinking can do."

"It can give younger Vikings more practice with the Monstrous Nightmares, anyway," Astrid whispered coldly.

Hiccup sat down on the floor beside her. He put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to catch her attention. "Listen, Astrid, about last night- I…" he made one of his strange Hiccup noises. "It was really ironic because it was I who didn't think. You made a good decision this morning. Now when we see a Night Fury, we'll know what we're up against."

Someone thought she had made the right choice even if she thought it was the wrong one. But it was Hiccup. For some strange reason, he was not as upset with her as she was with him.

"I'm surprised you're angry with me," said Astrid, scarcely minding that his hand was on her shoulder. She realized how rude she had been the night before. "I never thanked you properly for your compliments last night." She never thought she would be saying this. Her brain started attacking her. This was against everything she believed in! Why stop now because she hadn't thanked some twig? Why did it matter? Vikings didn't thank people! Astrid, what are you doing? She warned herself, Stop! "I forgive you. My apologies and thanks go to you, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third." Despite her mental reprimand, she nobly looked him straight in the face as she turned a delicate pink.

Hiccup's eyes widened in astonishment. He stammered, "You're-you're welcome, Astrid."

"Don't mention it," she said sternly, "I really should be going: my mom doesn't know I'm here. She doesn't even know about that dragon."

"Oh…yes," said Hiccup who seemed put out; "we wouldn't want to upset her now, would we?"

"Definitely not," Astrid said, getting to her feet, "Don't tell your father I left you on your own or he won't think so highly of me anymore. His opinion of you is bad enough."

And Hiccup gave a whole-hearted laugh. Laughing? That was something Astrid had never seen him do. "Yes, it is!" He said.

Astrid smiled at Hiccup and he grinned right back. "See you around."

"Goodbye, Astrid."

She stepped out of the house, turned the corner and came face-to-face with an astonished Ruffnut. "What in Valhalla was that about?" she demanded.

Astrid nervously asked, "What was what about?"

"Don't kid me. I know you too well." Ruffnut demanded.

"What was so fishy about me going to talk to Stoick? I have the right to talk to him, don't I?"

Ruffnut scoffed. "Stoick left a while ago. The only one who was there was useless Hiccup. You were talking to him weren't you?" She prodded.

Astrid sighed. "Mom's planned for the two of us to get married."

Her best friend pretended to throw up. "EWW! If this was your idea-"

"Of course it wasn't Ruff. What, are you blind? I hate that Hiccup. Stoick asked me to keep watch of him."

"Why?" Ruffnut asked, "Where was he off to in such a hurry?"

"It's a long story. My mom doesn't know I'm here. I have to get home." And she left her friend alone, staring suspiciously in her direction.