Author's Note: Heyo, heyo everyone and welcome back to another edition to "Sticks and Stones!" One reviewer (Randomlygenerated27) asked if this one-shot collection includes the book series, and the answer is nope. This is just the movies, tv shows, and everything in between that. =D

Anyway, this is completely unrelated to this one-shot collection, but I got my Coronavirus vaccine today! =D I'm feeling pretty good (actually, I feel completely normal XDD), and now I got some extra protection from those germs out there, so yay! =D I

*Claps hands* Okie doke! Here is the next one-shot for "Sticks and Stones" all you wonderful readers! *Points down below* It's right down there, and I hope you enjoy it! =D

Summary: There were many times where Hiccup thought he and Astrid were more than friends. (HTTYD, Pre RTTE, RTTE.)

More Than Friends

There were many times where Hiccup thought he and Astrid were more than friends.

Hiccup had had a crush on the young female viking for a long time, but he never found the courage to tell her. He had tried (and failed) multiple times, and he frankly didn't think that Astrid would show any form of affection toward him. Ever.

But all that changed when they had their first flight together on Toothless. Hiccup had dubbed it "The Romantic Flight," but he had no idea if Astrid felt "romantic" during the entire moment. Hiccup had, though, and there were moments where Hiccup felt as if Astrid were close to him. Like when she placed her hands on his shoulders (physical contact!) or when she wrapped her arms around him. And Hiccup knew that wasn't something that normal friends would do.

The first time Hiccup thought he and Astrid were more than friends was right after he woke up from his coma. The young viking had walked out of his house completely baffled at the sight of dragons roaming freely amongst the village. The vikings weren't harming them and nor were they shouting at them to fly away. Hiccup could tell that the dragons were comfortable, at peace even, with the vikings, as several of them were already perching on top of homes that housed families who Hiccup knew didn't like dragons before.

Seeing the dragons walking around the village made Hiccup feel happy at first, but he then remembered what happened with him and his father at the Great Hall. Hiccup slumped when he realized that he was going to be in so much trouble for this, but he was even more surprised when his father placed a hand on his shoulder and said that they needed a little more of…him. Hiccup smiled. He knew that his father hadn't directly apologized for what he had said earlier, but he knew that Stoick meant what he said. Hiccup could tell.

After being greeted by a couple of vikings, Astrid marched up from the crowd and punched Hiccup's shoulder. The blonde stated that the punch was for scaring her, and Hiccup felt his heart flutter. Astrid was scared for him? He had never thought of Astrid being scared. She seemed like she wasn't scared of anything. In fact, some people in the village had begun to call her Fearless Astrid Hofferson, just like her Uncle Finn.

Hiccup wasn't all too happy about the punch though. Astrid could have just said what she wanted to say without getting physical. The young viking protested immediately, asking if it was always going to be like this between them, but he was caught off guard when Astrid suddenly leaned in and kissed him. She kissed him…on the lips!

When Astrid pulled back, Hiccup was unaware of the "oohs" and "ahhs" from the surrounding vikings. He was still dazed, and as he stared at Astrid's face, he felt for a fleeting second that there was something between them. Something that went a little beyond friendship.

Knowing that Astrid was waiting for a response, Hiccup simply replied by saying that he could get used to it (the kissing, not the punching), and the two mounted their dragons to join their friends on a flight around the island. Hiccup had never felt so amazing. Astrid had kissed him, and the entire village of Berk was friends with dragons. But what Hiccup was most happy about was his new friendship with Astrid. Sure, he still had a crush on her, and he still hadn't admitted that just yet, but he felt happy that they were on good terms and were no longer distant.

Hiccup never forgot about that first kiss, and Astrid had given him several others, and the young viking felt that there indeed was something between him and Astrid that they just weren't ready to admit yet. Hiccup considered Astrid his best friend, but a part of him wondered if there was something…something more.

…

The second time Hiccup thought he and Astrid as more than friends was while they were racing each other. Not on dragonback, but on foot. Astrid insisted that Hiccup needed to stretch his legs after a long day of working in the forge, and the young viking went along with her, and the two started a race that went some distance beyond Raven Point. Astrid was in the lead, and Hiccup was pushing himself to catch up. The eighteen-year-old wasn't going to let her beat him. Just because he had a prosthetic leg, didn't mean that he couldn't be fast when he wanted to.

"How's the dust back there, Hiccup?" called Astrid from far ahead. She looked back and flashed him an impish grin. "You need to start catching up!"

"I'm trying!" shouted Hiccup as he willed his legs to go faster. The click of his prosthetic and the thud of his boot began to sound faster and faster as he gained speed. Hiccup smiled, as he was just an arm's length away from Astrid. He was about to start speeding up again when he felt his boot hook against something, and Hiccup found himself falling. He crashed into Astrid, who let out a surprised cry as the two of them began tumbling down a grassy hill. The two bounced and rolled over several stones and sharp sticks, and Hiccup knew that he was going to find a lot of bumps and bruises the next morning.

Finally, the ground smoothened out and became flat. Hiccup had his eyes shut to avoid getting any dirt and dust in them during the fall. He opened them only to be met with Astrid's enchanting blue eyes, and Hiccup blinked in surprise. It was then he realized that he was on top of Astrid, which was an extremely awkward position considering that they were close enough to kiss.

Astrid shifted, seeming completely unfazed in the current position they were in. Hiccup, on the other hand, felt rather embarrassed. He could already feel the heat of a blush crawling onto his cheeks, and he hoped Astrid didn't notice it, which was kind of silly to think of since they were in such close proximity with each other. Astrid could probably count how many hairs were on his head.

"Uh…we should…we should probably get up now," Hiccup said awkwardly

"Yeah," agreed Astrid. "Let's do that."

Hiccup quickly got to his feet and handed Astrid his hand, which she took without hesitation. Hiccup pulled the Hofferson girl up, and the two once again met face-to-face. Hiccup blinked and Astrid blinked as well.

And the awkwardness continues, thought Hiccup. He soon realized that he was still holding Astrid's hand, and he pulled away and proceeded to scratch out the blades of grass that had gotten tangled up in his hair. Astrid smoothed out her skirt and flicked off a few pieces of dirt that had found their way onto her shirt.

"You should be more careful," said Astrid. "You could've hurt yourself."

Hiccup laughed, somewhat embarrassed. "Y-yeah. I could've. I was just focused on catching up with you."

Astrid nodded and she tightened her braid. "Anyway, we should head back to Berk. It's getting late."

Before Hiccup could respond, Astrid was already making her way toward the hill. The young viking followed her, and he wondered if he saw a light blush on Astrid's face as she walked away.

…

The third time was more recent. Astrid had gone missing from the Edge and a storm was brewing. The blonde hadn't returned, and he was beginning to grow worried. The storm looked bad, and Hiccup knew that it wasn't safe to be flying when such weather was going on. Despite Fishlegs' attempts to reassure him that Astrid was fine, Hiccup called the Dragon Riders to start searching for Astrid before the storm hit.

Unfortunately, by the time they had gone out to search for her, it was raining buckets. Hiccup told the other Dragon Riders to split up so that they could cover more ground. The Rider complied and dispersed in different directions, calling out Astrid's name. Hiccup turned to Toothless and urged him to continue flying, and he kept an eye out for any sign of Astrid as they flew.

Hiccup had never felt so anxious for Astrid in his life. There were several times when he had been worried for her, like when she was being held captive by Alvin and was nearly dropped to her death, or when she was frozen by the Flightmare and was nearly attacked by it, but Hiccup felt something that went beyond worried. He was anxious, and possibly even scared for Astrid. He didn't want anything to happen to her.

Toothless continued to fight against the strong winds, and Hiccup had to constantly wipe his eyes with his sleeve to rub out the water that was getting into them. Hiccup wished that the storm would just let up, and that was when he spotted a familiar head of blonde hair bobbing in the water, barely holding on to a log, which was the only thing that was keeping her afloat. Astrid.

Hiccup shouted her name and watched in absolute horror when Astrid finally lost her grip and sunk into the churning ocean. At that moment, Hiccup felt something break inside of him, and a look of sheer determination crossed his face. He ordered Toothless to dive straight into the ocean, and the Night Fury obeyed, sensing Hiccup's worry for his friend. Before Toothless even hit the water, Hiccup leapt off his back and dived down toward Astrid. She was still, motionless, and unmoving, but Hiccup pushed aside those thoughts and focused on one thing: save Astrid.

Hiccup pushed himself against the water. He kicked and swam toward Astrid, his best friend and managed to grab her wrist and yank her up. Toothless then burst back through the water and flew into the air, flying toward the direction of Dragon's Edge at high speeds. Hiccup held Astrid in his arms. She was so cold, so pale, and she still hadn't moved a muscle they had flown out of the deep waters of the ocean. Unwanted thoughts began to invade Hiccup's mind. Was Astrid okay? Was he too late? Was she…

No, no, no, she can't be, thought Hiccup. She's okay. She has to be okay…!

"Astrid? ASTRID!" cried Hiccup. He was scared, more scared than ever. He couldn't lose Astrid, not when he hadn't told her how he felt yet…

A groan pulled Hiccup out of his thoughts, and the young viking felt nothing but pure, sweet relief when Astrid cracked her eyes open. They sparkled in the dark even though they reflected tiredness, and Hiccup could tell that it was taking all of her willpower to keep them open.

In a feeble, barely audible voice, the blonde-haired girl asked, "What took you so long…?"

The sound of her voice was like music to Hiccup's ears, and the Haddock responded by hugging Astrid close. He didn't want to let go, and he wasn't planning on doing so anytime soon. Astrid didn't seem to mind; Hiccup could feel her slowly wrap her arms around him and lean into the warm embrace. Toothless continued to fly toward the Edge, but all Hiccup could focus on was Astrid. She was okay. She was safe.

And, most importantly, she was alive.

"Thank you, Hiccup…" whispered Astrid. "I don't know—"

"Shh, just rest," said Hiccup. "We'll be back at Dragon's Edge soon, I promise."

Astrid didn't argue. She slumped against Hiccup and closed her eyes, falling asleep promptly. The young viking continued to keep her close as they flew back to the Edge. In that small moment, Hiccup found himself feeling as if he and Astrid were more than friends.

And he was starting to think that Astrid was beginning to see that too.

Author's Note: Hiccstrid, Hiccstrid, gotta love the Hiccstrid. =D

This is one of my favorite one-shots that I've written for this collection so far. I love the relationship that both Hiccup and Astrid share. It's so sweet and awesome and...*sighs* You just gotta love 'em. =)

I hope you guys enjoyed this one-shot! =D

Until the next chapter!

-BeyondTheMoon1203