Whatever cold may have been outside was incapable of penetrating the wall of heat the stemmed from the radiating firepit that was smoldering next to us. It had kept the house comfortably warm. With the door shut and covered and the windows sealed, the heat didn't escape, and the cold didn't enter. This made us asleep in each other's arms more comfortable. I stirred slightly and felt her laying partially on top of me still, her soft breath the only sound I hear beyond the cracks in the fire pit. There is a deathly still silence outside whereas most mornings, the sounds of the early risers getting to work could be heard.

As vikings, we all had our trades and our expertise, we had the things we did each day to help the village succeed. From tending to farm animals, hunting or gathering, blacksmithing our weapons or leatherworking our cloths, our herbalists, fishing or diluting honey and water to create our mead. We had grown to a point that when traders arrived, they brought things we couldn't do ourselves due to Berks' own climate. There were certain spices we had stockpiled for the freeze, certain medicines we couldn't create. Then, of course, were those that manned the ships or the new wave of dragon riders. Berk had grown from its former place as another nameless clan to a true power within the archipelago, and most of it was due to my father's willingness to adapt.

It's something else that now I was able to come to terms and think happily and celebrate my father rather than be pained by his passing. Mala had said it was a matter of perspective when the Eruptadon passed, that they celebrated it instead of mourning. Indeed, that's what most did, we celebrated my father; I even put on a smile for that celebration, even if it was fake. It had taken months but here I was, and I think he'd be proud.

"Hiccup?" I hear Astrid's soft voice whisper as her breath pauses. I feel her hand that had been resting on my chest move slightly as I feel her nails lightly trace my chest. I run my hand slowly down her back and rest it on her hip as I smile, my gaze opening and staring at the ceiling.

"Good morning." I whisper back and I feel her let out a breath as her hand rests again and she reaches with her other hand. Tugging the blanket that we were laying on, she throws it overtop of us both, so it's wrapped around her back and hugging her shoulders. I feel her nestle in a little more as she tightens her leg to lock with mine. Responding in kind, I inch her closer to me with my arm and pull the blanket the rest of the way; it was a rather large, comfortable blanket.

"Not yet." She whispers, her hand still tracing my chest. She didn't want to wake just yet, and I agree. Neither of us were too keen on the dawn flight we were going to take around Berk to check on the snow, check for anyone in our waters and such.

"We don't need to leave yet. I can go alone, if you want?" I offer quietly as I caress her back. I feel her lips lightly kiss my chest as she shakes her head.

"No, we're going together. I just don't want to go yet. I want to stay like this just a little longer." She answers softly, her voice barely enough to be considered a whisper as I could tell her eyes had closed again. She wasn't going back to sleep, at least, I don't think she was. She was like me, she wanted to just lay and enjoy just being together.

This time, there was nothing but each other. There was no sex, there was no time limit, there was no expectations or goals. This was one of those moments we could just be. It was these moments that truly defined who we were together, more than the passion, more than the fighting side by side. This was just us, laying side by side, together. I also could live in these moments, every time we had our moments of pillow talk after or before sex. Every moment we spent in each other's arms before the fire under a blanket just sitting, those mattered as much, if not more, to me than anything else. From her reaction just now, I could sense she felt the same though I honestly had no doubt.

We lay there in relative silence for the next half an hour. I knew she was awake as I felt her breath change as it filtered across my chest and her fingers would randomly trace my chestline, though I know her eyes were shut. My own were filtering between partially opened to closed as I continued to softly caress her back, letting my hand linger every so often. The only real sounds being made are from the cracks of embers in the fire pit as it lay smoldering.

"I love you." Her voice breaks the relative silence, prompting my eyes to open and glance down at her. I can see her eyes had opened and she was looking up to me with a soft smile.

"I love you." I answer softly with a warm smile and she crawls up and kisses me. I let my eyes close as I drink in the feeling of her lips against mine, her scent and very presence was potent and made me happy. As she pulled her lips back and rested her head back on my upper chest and hooking her arm with my shoulder, I lay there smiling. "What was that for?" I ask and I feel her shrug.

"I just wanted to. Hiccup, I couldn't be happier with you." She answers, pausing though before I can say anything, I feel her breath hitch. "You understand me, you've always respected me, never once expected anything from me and not ever underestimated me." She continues softly as I gaze down at her, her eyes were closed as she spoke into my shoulder. I take her hand that had been on my shoulder and intwine my fingers with hers as I feel her sigh. This is another side of Fearless Astrid Hofferson Haddock that was reserved only for me; and I didn't need to speak as she continued. "I appreciate you and everything you do. I just… I wanted to say that out loud…" She finishes softly as her grip in mine tightens.

"Hey." I whisper, bringing her hand up to mine as I kiss it softly. "I feel the very same." I begin as she smiles and rubs her thumb on the back of my hand in her grip.

"You don't need to say anything, Hiccup." She says softly and leans up again, kissing me amid a smile, laying her head besides mine as our lips part again.

"Maybe I want too." I playfully retort as she laughs lightly and rolls her eyes. "Then, let me just say that I couldn't be happier with you, and I truly appreciate you too." I finish as she smiles, closing her eyes and pressing her forehead into the side of my head. I couldn't really tell, but she seemed almost on the verge of tears. Not that it was a bad thing, or something to be ashamed of. She didn't seem upset and the look in her eyes, the smile on her face was nothing but genuine and heartfelt. Eyes cannot hide the love one feels for another and can often reveal what the mouth may be afraid to speak.

We laid like that for another while. I didn't prod, nor ask what brought that outpour out of her, for she was often the more reserved unless it was to help me work through something. This seemed like it was to help her, though maybe it was for me as well. Hearing those words from her lips made me happy for it helped to expunge any doubt or fear my subconscious may have had. Not that I feared for our relationship in the slightest, though I had wondered at times why Astrid had chosen me. I hadn't wondered such in a long while and now, as then, I had my answer. She was no trophy, no tool; she was not a servant nor fool. She was my ally, my friend, my peer, long before she was my lover. She would always be those things, and more, with me; never less.


Neither Hiccup nor I ever actually fell back asleep, and I was okay with that. Right now, I just wanted to lay with him, to be with him and to hold him. I didn't feel vulnerable, I wasn't afraid or worried. I was happy; I am happy. What I told him, it came from a place of contentedness, of inner peace. A peace that I rarely felt before, that was becoming more common the more open he and I were becoming with each other. With him, I could show sides of myself no one else would ever see. The tender side, the emotional side; the side a warrior hides or shields in the face of battle to reveal only to those they trust unto the death.

I trace his chestline and smile silently as I feel his hand trace my back. Neither of us say anything, we just lay there in each other's arms; quietly taking in each other's presence. It was something I couldn't get enough of. Just holding each other, it felt as though two hearts were beating as one, two minds thinking as one, two bodies moving as one. It was something I didn't believe possible when I was younger, and it was something I was glad to be wrong about.

When we finally rose the next time, we both knew what had to come next. The morning ride into the blizzard to check for any damage, any emergencies around the island. We had both opted to do it to allow the riders time to rest. We had been pushing them harder with our reignited war against the trappers, and they deserved a rest in a warm house against the winter storms.

This time, we actually both got up and I felt genuinely sore in certain areas that made me blush thinking about. I had to stretch my legs to loosen the muscles and walk semi-right. We moved together to the barrel of water and helped to scrub each other down in the warm water; the house's ambient temperature helping prevent the water from being freezing cold. We dress in our dragonscale flight suits which helped hold the ambient heat of our bodies in and blocked out all but the coldest and strongest of winds. It was then I walked up to the wall and placed my hand against it to feel the beating chill that radiated from it. The fire pit failing to stave off the cold on the walls.

As Hiccup readies Toothless, I tend to Stormfly and give her a piece of chicken to help rouse her from her nestled perch in the house. It was the same perch Toothless used those years ago to hide from Stoick when Stoick was first learning how to fly. I then felt a rush of bone chilling air as I glance up to the second level to see Hiccup had opened the sky door to peer outside. As expected, a small bit of snow fell inside the house but overall, the sky door was opened un-challenged. I climb up the steps as Hiccup is lifted up on Toothless to gaze out. When he comes back down, his face is riddled with a frown and as I take my hand to touch his cheek, is cold to the touch.

"Bad?" I ask softly and he nods.

"Overnight, it looks to be at least six feet of snow if not more. Light is barely filtering through the clouds, and we're surrounded by them. We're probably going to be hit again mid day." Hiccup explains as I nod, taking his hand.

"Okay, it's okay. We prepared for this, everyone was prepared. Let's get out there and do what we need to do then get back here." I say with a smile as he nods, handing me my helmet.

"Wear your helmet, it'll be cold. Let's go. First, a fly around Berk. Checking our waters, looking for signal fires from any of the huts or anyone trapped. Then we'll check the docks, dragon pens and the Great Hall. If all checks out, we'll button back down." He explains and I nod, though I stop him from putting on his helmet and kiss him on the lips strongly, closing my eyes and smiling as we part.

"To help warm us up." I tease and he smiles, laughing lightly and nodding.

Together we take off on our dragons and he was right. The air was biting cold and I could see us surrounded by dark winter clouds. Ice plates had formed on the sea waters between sea stacks and such, though not enough to create a bridge for the Stingers like it had years before. We were fortunate on our initial fly of Berk, no signal fires, no signs of ship traffic or people stuck or in danger. The entire city was buried in snow and most doors weren't even visible. The peak of Berk had gotten a little more snow that stuck.

Darting down to the docks, we find all our ships anchored and closed off save the one Valka and Eret took. The ice plates would prevent any ship from entering or exiting the port until they melted, or we melted them. We quickly moved on to the dragon pens where we discovered a problem; the storm overnight had blown open one of the hatches that didn't get properly locked and the dragon pens were riddled with snow.

That said, the dragons were survivalist and there were pools of lava from the resident gronkles that helped stave off the cold. We landed inside and locked up the large dragon door, securing it from being opened again. Then, we walked the dragon pens and toss a couple fish to each dragon in the stables as we made our way through the pens. The pens surfaced in a couple places, being made from Whispering Death tunnels. We had closed off most avenues to the pens except the one that lead to the Academy, the market and just inside the Great Hall. Since the whole Krogan incident where they took over the edge, we had established a secondary shaft into the pens from the Hall to give that point of access. The pens were only accessible in those three spots, and the flight doors themselves.

When we entered the Great Hall, we saw several dozen Berkians asleep on anything from a bar bench to a hammock. It was also warm and well stocked. Not wanting to wake anyone, Hiccup left a small note next to a sleeping Sven before we retreated down the tunnels to the Pens. The note was a simple 'Hiccup was here, send out a distress fire if you need help. All seems well.'

Once back in the pens, we left through a secondary, smaller door that could be sealed from the outside from the flight doors and took back off. In the time it took us to traverse the pens and Great Hall to exiting the Pens again, it had started snowing lightly again. A preamble to the coming storm. It was reassuring to see the village so quiet in the face of a storm that now, all that needed to be done was us returning home and buttoning back down.

We wasted no time and made our way back to the house, closing the sky roof behind us and reigniting the fire pit to burn anew. We unsaddled our dragons and lost our flight suits and then made a small bit of food to eat.

"How long do you think this storm will last?" I ask Hiccup as he shrugs, taking a bite of his breakfast.

"Hopefully not more than a couple of days. I'd rather my mother not be stuck out there that long, and no Terrible Terror will fly through that to get here with news." Hiccup answers and there is a slight pang of worry in his voice as I nod, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"When the storm calms down long enough, we can go out and find them. I'll brave any storm with you to help you." I say confidently as he smiles, taking my hand and pulling me in for a lingering kiss.

"For now, let's stay here and see what the day brings. We'll be stuck here most of the day but…" He pauses and kisses me lightly on the lips again. "I'm sure we'll find ways to pass the time." He teases and I nod, biting my lip and smiling.

"I'm sure we will." I restate with a smile. Already my mind had switched gears to all the things we could do together in a naked position next to the fire pit. Another day of just Hiccup and I, and I couldn't be happier.