A/N: I've seen other authors do this sometimes, so I thought I'd suggest a song to go with this chapter. "The Maze" by Manchester Orchestra. Do give it a listen if you're interested :)

Chapter 13: Weathering the Storm

"Ooh look, the lovebirds have graced us with their presence" Snotlout called out sarcastically when Hiccup and Astrid walked into the arena. "Astrid, stop babysitting the runt and see what a real man looks like"

Astrid fisted her hands and took a step forward but a gentle hand on her arm stopped her. "Don't bother, he just wants to provoke you" Hiccup assured her.

Astrid stopped reluctantly, but then a devious look came to her face. Looking Snotlout straight in the eye, she kissed Hiccup's cheek once before taking his hand and leading him away, relishing the bully's gobsmacked look.

It felt strangely good to be back in the arena after so long, and now she was finally in her own element- the battlefield. Marriage had been an unexpected development, but as much as she had gotten used to it, she also knew that all the pent up energy inside was just waiting to be let loose.

This is where I belong, she thought, as Gobber prepared to lift the gate. Protecting my village. Standing beside her, Hiccup caught her eye. Protecting my loved ones. It was strange that she had imagined her parents at that thought but had still glanced at him, but she didn't get time to dwell on it as the angry buzzing dragon burst from its cage.

Hiccup ducked under the Gronkle's fiery blast for the third time as it buzzed past him in a blur.

Dragon training was as fiery and chaotic as he'd remembered, but as same as everything was, it was all very different too.

He was aware of Astrid at his back, looking out for him and working as a team with him. "Go left!" she shouted, rolling to the right.

He went left, and as he came up beside a barrier, the Gronkle came from the other side, with its back towards Hiccup. He had a window of opportunity to strike, and the sword was in his hand, and Astrid shouted "do it!" and he- he hesitated.

The Gronkle whirled around and Hiccup was knocked to the ground by its stubby tail. "Hiccup!" He heard her irritated cry, and he shrugged in an apology that she knew by now can't be genuine.

It had been the story of the day's training, Astrid trying her hardest to get Hiccup to land a few blows on the dragons, while Hiccup, much to her irritation and confusion, was just trying to dodge as much as he could, and wasn't making use of the opportunities she was providing him.

Astrid was at her wits end with him. All throughout their sparring sessions, he'd made real progress, and she had thought that once they got back in the arena, he'd be better than ever. He was better than ever alright, but at avoiding the dragons and was trying to only defend himself, rather than going for the attack.

What was the use of dragon training if he wasn't gonna try to fight the dragons?!

What use was spending so much of her time and effort for the sole purpose of making him a better warrior if he was gonna cower and hide like the old Hiccup?

That wasn't even the final nail in the coffin though.

That came during the day's last session, when Astrid managed to weave between the maze of barriers, hide in the Nadder's rear blind spot, and had a rare shot in which her axe was raised high and ready to strike from behind towards its long tail-

"Ooff-" she was tackled to the side by something, the axe falling from her grip, the Nadder whipping around and scampering away- she lifted her head to see... Hiccup.

"Sorry I- uh... didn't see-" he started but she interrupted him with a punch to his face. She had pulled it at the last second so it didn't really hurt but it knocked him back all the same.

"Is this some kind of a joke to you?!" she glared at him.

"Astrid I told you, I didn't-"

"Shut it! If you're gonna sabotage me during battle then at least don't lie to my face about it!" There was a hint of shakiness in her voice, like her emotions were stretched thin. "I thought... I thought you'd changed. That you would actually be good in fighting now.. but I should have realised" she looked him straight in the eye- "You don't want to change. You're never gonna change. You're gonna stay the same, useless, Hiccup!"

Hiccup gasped involuntarily, the hurt like a fist squeezing his heart. Astrid's expression faltered for a second at what she'd said, before returning to the previous anger.

Shoving the twins out of her way, she stomped off , leaving everyone staring slack jawed behind her.

"Good luck with that" Tuffnut chuckled as Hiccup scrambled after her out the exit, already dreading the mess he'd gotten himself into.

As they walked together back to their home, he could almost hear her enraged breathing. Let alone holding hands like usual, Astrid wouldn't even look at him. He felt like he deserved her anger for the way he had tried to lie and deceive her, but what other choice did he have? He didn't want the dragons to suffer more than they already had.

Closing his eyes in helplessness, he could still see the scars on the dragon's backs, earned from years of fighting classes of Vikings in the arena, each one a permanent reminder of the cruelty inflicted upon them in the name of 'learning'.

Astrid had been about to inflict one more on that poor Nadder, had he not intervened. How was he supposed to explain to her what he knew about dragons?

He had thought that maybe he could play it both ways, not have to out himself to Astrid and keep the dragons safe at the same time, but it was clear that it had been the wrong course of action.

A couple of drops fell around him, and he glanced up to see ominous dark clouds gathering overhead, seemingly matching the dark and aggravated mood of his wife.

A chilly breeze blew across the road, sending leaves flying. "Looks like it's gonna pour" he murmured, pausing in his strides.

Astrid spared him the briefest of sidelong glances before continuing on, seemingly unbothered as to if he was coming or not.

As they crested a small hill and their house came into view, the pattering of raindrops increased to a light drizzle.

Suddenly Hiccup remembered something that made him skid to a stop on the gravel road so abruptly that Astrid turned to see what was going on.

"Go inside and get the fireplace going, I'll be right back" he said quickly before running off in the opposite direction, ignoring her shout of "Hiccup!"

He ducked between two buildings once he was out of view of Astrid before making a ninety degree turn and heading straight into the forest, his feet light as he ran, the canopy above him reverberating the increasing sounds of raindrops.

The weather had been unexpectedly good for the last couple of months of summer, so much so that he'd gotten complacent, and had forgotten how intense Berkian storms could be.

With toothless unable to leave the cove without him, he wouldn't be able to find a proper shelter from the intense rain and wind.

He burst through the tree line into the cove, instantly spotting toothless backed up against one of the cliff walls, sheltering underneath a rocky outcrop that protected him from the worst of the rain.

"Hey bud!" he called, making toothless snap up and fix his gaze on him.

He quickly reached him and worked to remove the gearshift mechanism from his side to prevent it from rusting, and hid it behind a rock in a dry spot.

It was then that he noticed a slight shiver run from Toothless's head to the tail, and he realised that he needed more warmth in these conditions.

He dragged a medium sized log underneath the makeshift shelter, and gestured to Toothless who blasted it a couple of times until it had caught flames nicely. Toothless let out a happy sigh at the warmth and curled around the burning log, the flames so close to his skin that only a dragon could have avoided getting burnt.

A crack of thunder boomed overhead making Hiccup jump. "You're gonna be okay, right bud? I've gotta get home"

Toothless gave him a noise of approval, and after one last pat on his head, Hiccup started on the way back, using his hands to shield his eyes from the rain.

It was really starting to pour now, and Hiccup felt the freezing rain soak right through his clothes and chill him right down to the bone. It felt like the water was even colder than ice without freezing somehow, and he had no explanation for that particular mystery.

Everyone had already hunkered down in their homes, and the streets were deserted as he hopped over puddles on the way towards his house.

Another crack of lightning lit up the evening sky, and Hiccup hoped Thor wasn't about to strike him down right then and there. That would have been an unlucky way to go, even by his standards.

Reaching his front door and bursting in, he put his weight on it to close it against the gusting wind which managed to blow in a good amount of water in the few seconds it took before the door slammed shut.

Instantly, the storm outside quietened to a dull roar and he turned around to see Astrid tending to a small fire before turning to glare daggers at him.

"Where on earth were you?!" She hissed. "And where is the firewood?!"

Hiccup paused. "Firewood?"

"I told you this morning we were almost out of it. You said you'd bring some after training- I assumed you'd gone to get it"

Hiccup just couldn't catch a break today. In the rush to make sure toothless was warm, he'd forgotten about his own house.

"How much do we have?" He pressed, hoping she'd drop her question of where he'd been.

Astrid glared at him for a second more before replying, "Not enough to last us through the night. Definitely not enough to warm the whole house"

Hiccup deflated a little, panic creeping in. Then he remembered something. Something that made him snap back into awareness.

This was his house. Astrid was his wife. And right now, he had a responsibility to keep her safe and warm. How could he even dream of becoming a good husband to her if he was gonna wave the white flag at the first crisis?

Astrid's expression was still one of anger, but he could see something else creep in. Worry. She was worried about what they were gonna do. Frightened even.

Setting his jaw and looking at her with his bravest face, he walked over to her and said, "Don't worry, it'll be just fine. We'll just spend the night here by the fire and I'll get more wood first thing in the morning"

Astrid nodded uncertainly, before she noticed a shiver run through Hiccup and realised they had a much more pressing concern, seeing his sopping wet hair and clothes. "Oh gods, you're soaking! take off those wet clothes!"

Hiccup tried to open his mouth to protest but his teeth started chattering the moment he did, and he crossed his arms in an attempt to stop the shivering.

Astrid didn't waste any time, unbuttoning his vest and shrugging it off his shoulders, to find his tunic a dark green color, wet and sticking to his skin. "As-tr-id" he tried to speak through the shivers, and Astrid helped him hold his arms up while she took off his tunic, exposing his bony torso.

Dressed in only his pants, Hiccup didn't even have time to be embarrassed as his body was racked with even more shivers. Astrid looked at him in concern before dashing upstairs and returning with a blanket and a thick towel which she used to dry his hair before wrapping the blanket around his shoulders.

She stepped back to examine him, still shaking uncontrollably from the cold, and the small fire wasn't providing nearly enough warmth needed by his body.

Hiccup saw her hesitate for a moment, as if making up her mind to do something, and then suddenly she was stepping very close and wrapping his arms around him and- "O-Ow!" Hiccup stammered, looking down at her spiked skirt pressing against his legs.

"Oh! sorry I'll just.." she unclipped the skirt and stepped out of it without missing a beat, leaving her in just her long tunic and leggings and then she was wrapping him in a tight hug again, rubbing her hands across his back to help warm him up, her chin resting on his shoulder.

Too dazed by the cold and by her actions, he absently put his own cold arms around her in return. His shivers made them both shake as they tried to keep their balance, and her warmth felt heavenly as it slowly but surely made its way from her body into his.

He was vaguely aware of her murmuring reassurances into his ear as his shaking grew weaker and weaker until he could finally take some long deep breaths. "A-Astrid"

"It's ok, you're ok" she cooed, her breath hot on his ear. She continued holding him tightly as if he was her only anchor to the world, although as his mind grew more aware, he understood that she was only doing this to save his life.

She pulled her head back just enough to see him looking a little better, some color returning to his face. Convinced he wasn't about to die, she punched him on the shoulder, hard. "Ouch! what was that-"

"You're such an idiot!" was her only explanation before she wrapped him in a hug again. He wasn't sure if this one was for warmth or some other reason entirely.

"Don't think this means anything" she murmured against his shoulder, as if she'd heard his thoughts. "I would have happily let you freeze to death if not for the fact that you're my husband, and the village will have my hide for letting their idiot heir meet an untimely demise"

He couldn't help but let out a shaky laugh at that. "Glad to know I mean so much to you, milady"

The rain continued to hammer outside as they held each other, and Hiccup could feel Astrid's heart thumping against his own, her cheek soft against his.

Why is her heart racing? he wondered. Was she... worried for me?

After a long while, Astrid slowly extricated herself from the hug, and breathed a sigh of relief on seeing him no longer shivering.

"Astrid I... thank you" he said.

She furrowed her brows, remembering she was mad at him from earlier, before sighing deeply. His health was more important right now than her temporary frustrations with him.

"Sit there close to the fireplace" she instructed and pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders.

She got a half full pot from the kitchen and heated up the soup, before putting some in a bowl, then kneeling beside Hiccup and spooning it into his mouth. He tried to insist he could eat on his own but she just told him to keep his hands firmly inside the blanket to keep his fingers warm.

Instead of bothering with her own bowl, she just alternated feeding Hiccup and eating herself from the same bowl, much to Hiccup's surprise. It wasn't uncommon for married Viking couples to eat together like this, but Hiccup never expected Astrid to do it, least of all with him.

The dimming light outside slowly faded into complete darkness as rain and even some hail pounded the roof, making the wooden house creak and groan.

He could tell that the temperature was dropping even inside the house, noticing Astrid's breath send curls of steam into the air. She went and got more blankets and put them on the floor between the sofa and the fire, and Hiccup sat cross legged on the them with his back against the sofa.

They had counted their little pile of firewood and Hiccup estimated that if they kept the fire burning small and periodically added more wood, it could just about last them till dawn.

Feeling warmer after getting some food in his system, Hiccup was strangely content with the night's events so far. Yes, he'd barely managed to avoid getting hypothermia, but his wife had been so gentle and caring yet again, and he had enjoyed being so close to her in a new way, even if it hadn't been under the most pleasant of circumstances.

Wrapping her own blanket around her shoulders, Astrid sat beside Hiccup as the night marched on, watching silently as Hiccup periodically tended to the fire with a metal rod to keep it burning more efficiently.

A yawn escaped her lips, making Hiccup say, "You've done more than enough, now get some rest. I'll keep an eye on the fire"

Astrid nodded, before settling against his side and resting her head on his shoulder. She could feel him tense at the initial contact before relaxing, even wrapping a loose arm around her waist.

The soothing crackle of the fire and the safe and comforting feeling of her husband's company made her eyes droop with the day's exhaustion, and she drifted off within minutes.

She stirred a few hours later from the cold, around midnight, to see Hiccup passed out and the fire almost extinguished. She sleepily added some more firewood and it blazed back to life, but in the meantime, the room had already gotten much colder and suddenly she was craving that wonderful warmth she had felt with her husband during their embrace earlier that evening.

Her sleep-hazed mind didn't find any objections when she impulsively climbed sideways onto his lap, putting her arms around his neck and tucking her head underneath his. She felt Hiccup's arms wrap around her automatically and she pulled the blanket around them, wrapping them both in a warm little cocoon, making her breathe a satisfied sigh against his collar bone as she slipped yet again into the world of dreams.

Hiccup awoke to the strangest thing.

His back and legs were cramping from sitting the same way too long, and he tried to shift about but a heavy weight in his arms stopped him from doing just that.

His eyes snapped open and he saw Astrid sleeping snuggly in his lap, seemingly unbothered by his shirtless state. Her hair soft against his cheek, his arms wrapped around her waist and a blanket around them both. He was half wondering if he was still asleep and having one of his fantasy dreams, when his wife shifted sleepily against him, as if trying to find the most comfortable spot to rest her head. She settled for the spot just above his heart, before relaxing again.

Still recovering from the shock of their intimate position, he looked around to see that it was still overcast outside so it was hard to judge the time, but at least the storm had dissipated and the rain had stopped.

The fire looked like it had burnt out a long while ago, but their little cocoon was so warm and cozy that apparently neither of them had noticed during the night.

He couldn't believe that the same Astrid who had been yelling at him yesterday was now curled up in his lap like it had never happened. Was it the cold that had made her do this or... did she really like him in that way?

He knew it was an optimistic notion, but it still made him giddy, and he couldn't help but run his fingers down her hair and gently caress her back. She sighed a little in her sleep and it melted his heart in an instant.

Gently kissing her hair once, he whispered, "I love you". He knew she wouldn't hear the words but just saying them to her made him overflow with joy.

She stayed asleep in his arms but her shifting and squirming increased over the next few minutes until he felt her remove her arms from around his neck and pull her head back to look at him with bleary eyes.

Hiccup smiled down sheepishly at her. "Good morning?" he whispered.

She didn't respond, but kept her gazing into his eyes like she was looking deep into his soul, and a soft smile appearing on her face suggested that she liked what she saw.

The silence stretched on and he found her invisible pull on him grow stronger by each passing second, finally making him tilt his head down towards her, just a bit. She stretched up to meet him the rest of the way, firmly pressing her mouth against his in a tender, yet passionate kiss.

Her hands went back around his neck and into his shaggy hair, holding him as if to make sure he didn't pull away prematurely. Hiccup had no such intentions, and he tightened his hold around his wife to pull her flush against him, kissing her soundly until he couldn't resist the urge to breath anymore and had to pull away.

They separated with a quiet gasp, both of them catching their breaths but still holding on to each other same as before. He could still feel her racing heart against his chest.

He searched her gorgeous blue eyes in an attempt to judge what she was feeling, if it was love, anger, or something else, but the only thing he could decipher was conviction. She might not been completely awake, but she had kissed him on her own volition, and it was something she didn't doubt or regret at all.

"Good morning" she finally replied with a shy smile, looking down at their position and blushing even redder.

Hiccup was still in awe of the fact that she was surely aware of his arms on her waist by now but still wasn't pushing him away. "It- It stopped raining" he mumbled, finding it hard to form coherent thoughts in his head.

It was as if that reminded her of yesterday's events and how they'd gotten here, because her smile vanished instantly.

"What's wrong?" Hiccup inquired.

Instead of answering, she buried her face against his neck, holding him tighter.

"Hey..." Hiccup encouraged, pulling back and cupping her face in his hands, stroking her cheek with his thumb. "you can tell me"

"I'm... I'm so sorry for calling you useless." She murmured quietly, looking away. "I... got carried away in my anger. I didn't mean it at all. The truth is that when it comes to anything other than fighting dragons, you're much more useful than I'll ever be."

"Oh Astrid..." he breathed, pulling her up and into a hug. "My sweet wife. I think I'm the one who should be apologizing"

Astrid made a sound that he realised was a giggle. "For sneaking away to the woods everyday?"

Hiccup pulled away from her so quick she nearly fell out of his lap. "W-what are you talking about?"

Astrid found his attempt at feigning ignorance so adorable that she had to restrain herself from kissing him again.

"Don't get all clever with me" she said, face stern but amusement in her voice. "I'm not foolish you know. I know that you get off work around an hour before you reach home, and I've seen you coming from the direction of the woods a number of times"

Hiccup opened his mouth but then closed it again, shocked at this revelation and baffled by her lack of anger.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well, seeing that you are clearly hiding something from me, I assumed you didn't want me to know. Also, it was fun to see you come up with those half baked excuses each time" she finished with a smirk.

Hiccup blinked. "Ohh"

"So are you gonna tell me or what? Do you have a secret girlfriend or something that I need to worry about?"

Hiccup exclaimed, "Of course not!" Before picking up on her teasing tone.

Astrid knew he'd been lying to her but didn't seem mad about it, apparently trusting him enough to not be doing anything she'd need to worry about. He suddenly felt like an idiot for trying to hide toothless from her. If he'd learnt anything about her these last few weeks, it was that she wasn't like the rest of them. She could change.

"Okay, there is... one thing" he admitted meekly. Astrid just gave a knowing smile and looked at him expectantly.

"It's nothing bad I swear! It's just... not really something Vikings would approve of. So I thought... you wouldn't as well"

"And this is related to what happened at training yesterday?"

Hiccup nodded.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't tell you because... I was sure you'd react badly, and I was just... I was afraid to lose you. So I let my brain convince myself that you're incapable of change like the rest of the Vikings, that even trying is a futile exercise. I know I should've told you but I couldn't bear the thought of you leaving me because I..." he faltered.

"Because what?"

Because I love you.

"Because I can't even imagine being without you anymore Astrid. Nothing in this world makes me happier than waking up every morning and realising that you're my wife"

Astrid looked down, stifling a smile and face coloring.

"But I know now that I was wrong. If you can get over your prejudiced notion of who I am and my abilities, then why can't I do the same?

You are my wife, and if I can't trust you, then I can't trust my own self. So I'm gonna make some things right. Today evening, I'll take you with me and show you where I've been going"

Astrid raised an eyebrow. "You can't tell me right now?"

"Umm... I think it'll be better if I show you directly. Just... trust me? Please?"

Astrid held his gaze for a long moment before nodding. "Fine. Today evening"

There was silence for a long moment before Astrid realised Hiccup must be cold without a shirt. "Oh, you must be freezing! We should go get more firewood-" she started to stand up but Hiccup grasped her hand and pulled her back down.

"I'm completely fine Astrid, I think it wouldn't hurt to stay for a while longer. And besides," he added in a sly voice, "You kept me warmer than any fire would have."

"Hiccup!" She squealed, hiding her bright red face against his shoulder. "I did it to keep myself warm, thank you very much."

"I don't care why you did it" he said, gently kissing her forehead. "But I'm really glad you did."

She murmured her next words quietly into his skin, so quietly he almost missed them.

"I'm glad too."

Hope you liked the chapter! :D

There is a loosely similar scene in the episode 'animal house' in Riders of Berk where Hiccup and Astrid get trapped in a snowy trench and huddle together for warmth. I just found it too sweet :p

Thanks for the support as always and do let me know your thoughts! next chapter will see a long awaited meeting ;)