The training arena was quiet, early morning shine painting the stone walls in an orangey glow. Astrid smiled, putting down her bags and forcing the last of the sleepy, cotton-like fuzz from her mind as she pulled the crisp air into her lungs. Shivering, she pulled her axe from the top bag and pulled the cloth cover away from the blade, tilting it so it gleamed. Little swirls and etchings decorated the surface, so much more beautiful than her childhood axe. Hiccup truly was a master blacksmith. She ventured over to the small supply alcove, hoping the A Team hadn't made a complete mess of the place. Pulling the leather curtain aside, she shrugged in satisfaction. Everything was spick-and-span, almost exactly the way they'd left it. Gustav hid the paint. Smart. Or maybe Stoick hid it. Yeah, that sounds more likely. Astrid rolled several barrels painted with bullseyes towards the center of the arena, then sat down to stretch. Minutes later, she stood, lithe muscles still sore from the night before; better now. She hefted her axe, took

aim —

Tack-thump. Tack-thump. Tack-thump. Astrid smirked, feeling the warmth of the room shift. She flung her axe, relishing the feel of the sanded and polished hardwood spinning in her grasp. THWACK!

"Bullseye." Warm arms wrapped around her stomach and she relaxed into his hold, smiling as sharp green eyes stared down at her. Wrapping her hands along his arms, free of their leather armor for once, she said, "Hey, Hiccup."

"M'lady." Hiccup let out a little mewl, settling his nose and chin deep into her loose braid. "You smell nice."

Astrid let out a little laugh, stepping away after her axe. Hiccup followed her, the familiar sound of his prosthetic hitting the stone echoing behind them. She pressed her palm against the rough painted wood, pulling the weapon smoothly out of the barrel. Hiccup placed a hand on her bare shoulder and she twisted, setting her axe to the side as his arms looped around her again. She chuckled, tilting her neck so his hair wouldn't ticke her nose so much. "Someone's clingy today."

"Mph." Hiccup pressed his chin farther against her shoulder, pressing his eyes closed. His hands splayed against her back, legs pressed against hers.

'You're favoring your leg, Hiccup." Astrid noticed, instinctively pulling him a little closer. What's wrong with him?

"Which one…?" Came the sleepy response.

"Your prosthetic, idiot. What's wrong with you?"

Hiccup grunted. "N'thin'..."

"Hiccup…"

"Mm?"

"What is wrong?"

"Hmph."

"Hiccup…"

"Noooooooo…"

Astrid turned and gripped his shoulders, noticing once again how they were somehow above her chin. He stumbled along in front of her, mumbling something in snarky confusion. "Just come."

Once they were in the shadowed alcove, once a dragon pen, Astrid led her tired betrothed to the nearest stone bench. Covered with old hay as it was, Astrid sat down, holding out a hand to invite Hiccup — who stubbornly shifted onto his good leg and back, almost bouncing on his heel. "What're you doing?"

"Uhhh…"

"Hiccup, you're acting weird. What's up?" When he didn't reply right away, she sighed. "You stayed up late last night after I left, didn't you."

"Mayyyb- ow!"

Astrid smirked, shaking out her hand and pulling him toward her again. "Wuss. Now sit. It won't kill you."

Hiccup took his time, moseying over and hovering over the seat until Astrid yanked him down next to her, a small crooked grin lighting up his face the whole time. "But it might make me fall asleep." He said, sounding almost petulant even as he buried his face into the back of her shirt.

"And why is that such a bad thing?" Astrid gently shifted so his weight was against her shoulder, absentmindedly playing with strands of his hair. "You obviously need sleep."

"Mph." Hiccup groaned, pushing himself away so that the half-braided strands came untangled. He shook his head hard. "No. Sleep is for inferior organics."

"What?" Now it was Astrid's turn to be confused. "Since when is sleep a bad thing?"

"Says the girl who gets up at like three in the Thor-forsaken morning… psycopath." Hiccup dodged another blow, swaying just a little.

"I do not!" Astrid laughed, reaching forward and jerking him back down. "I get up at dawn, whenever that is. Sonna seems to enjoy messing with us."

"How dare thee speak ill of the gods…" Hiccup rubbed at his eyes, clearly not all there. "I hafta go t'he forge, but I r'ly don't want to."

"Why do you have to go to the forge?"

"Fix Toothless' tail. I lost the st'pid blueprints and stayed up late looking for th'm, and now I have to remake it —"

"You pulled an all nighter, didn't you." Not a question in the slightest. When Hiccup cast her a sheepish glance and shrug, Astrid groaned. "You absolute muttonhead. You know you have to sleep to be sane!"

"I'll be fine!" Hiccup shot back. "As soon as the twins come in and try to blow something up I'll get my second wind. You know this, Astrid!"

"And dealing with a grumpy Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third as soon as the sun goes down is not something I want to deal with, so get back here."

"I can't! I have stuff to do! And I have to be at the Great Hall for a council meeting by noon!"

"Seriously?" Astrid pushed Hiccup to his feet. "Our first full day back and your dad is already saddling you with stuff?"

Hiccup's expression hardened. "I'll be fine. I need to get used to being busy; I'm gonna be chief someday. He just wants to make sure I'm prepared."

"OK. Go to the forge then."

"Thank you!" Hiccup turned on one heel and stalked out from under the grated iron bars, muttering to himself. Astrid sighed, picking at her fingernails as if she hadn't just had a borderline-argument with her betrothed. It was almost as if she knew something he didn't.

And she was right. Footsteps sounded in her direction and she glanced up to see Hiccup leaning heavily against the wall of the little alcove, stormy expression on his face. She laughed.

"Don't give me that face." Hiccup sounded so mad, so sulky, that it was almost impossible to keep a straight face. But she pulled her facial muscles into submission and gestured to him. "I could say the same to you, o Great Sulking Chief of the Hooligan Tribe. Get over here."

Hiccup's face practically lit up as he trotted over to settle in close to his betrothed. She slung one arm around his shoulders and the other around his chest, pressing a kiss to his forehead when he let it hit her shoulder. "Take a break, muttonhead."

" 'M fine…"

"Imagine your dad's face when he sees you falling asleep in the middle of your first real meeting."

Hiccup snorted, pressing his legs up against hers. She felt so nice… "True."

They felt into a sort of comfortable silence, Hiccup's breathing growing steadily shallower as she braided little strands of his thick auburn hair and thought. Part of her itched to get back to her training, but as she glanced down at the now slack, freckled face, so different and yet still so like the scrawny little kid she'd once run around town with…

This was worth it.

Even if her arm fell asleep.

And when, almost an hour later by her best guess, Stoick came in and saw them, he only gave them a knowing smile and continued his set-up. Astrid smiled, the one finger that had been pressed against her lips going to grace patterns on Hiccup's arm. Some strange emotion pulled out of her stomach. "I love you, dragon boy."

He didn't respond, but as she settled him so his chest and head were across her lap, she could've sworn a hint of a smile crossed his face.

A/N: I had no idea how to end that, but I hope it worked :) Completely random, I know, but we love clingy exhausted heroes and heroines, don't we? Yes. Yes we do. R + R, please! Also, I am incredibly sorry for the amount of time it took me to upload this. I'll post two chapters tomorrow to make up (on different stories).

God Bless!