A/N: Sorry once again for the delay, it's been a really busy week. But here's the chapter, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 14

Despite the lack of practice over the past months, Hiccup and Toothless managed to stay in the lead all the way to Raven's Point, then over the sea stacks and Gothi's hut and back towards the Great Hall. Only then did Astrid and Stormfly catch up, veering them to the left and away from the crowded village centre. Hiccup met Astrid's gaze and gave her a curious look, but she only shrugged and led the way to his father's hut. They both landed outside the vacant house and Astrid jumped off Stormfly and walked towards the door without hesitance.

"We're not going back to the party?" Hiccup asked, slowly dismounting Toothless, unsure of what she intended. Astrid looked back at him as she opened the door.

"Oh, we will eventually. But I'm sure they'll manage a bit longer without us," she said. She waited a bit longer for Hiccup to approach, then pecked a kiss on his cheek. "It's not every day my boyfriend comes back from the dead." With that, she slipped in through the door, leaving it open for him to follow. He smiled to himself. She was most definitely teasing him.

He followed her inside and closed the door behind them. Sunlight streamed in through the skylight upstairs, lighting the whole house. He looked around the inside of his father's unchanged hut. He noted that his bed was still in its usual spot next to Toothless' rock slab. He wondered if Toothless had still slept there after his disappearance. But questions like that could wait.

He looked back at Astrid, who sat on his father's desk on the other side of the room, looking at him. Once again, her expression was unreadable. She looked… uneasy. The teasing, Hiccup realised, had just been a façade to get him here alone.

For a few moments longer, neither of them said anything. Astrid continued to stare at him as if she still couldn't quite believe he was standing before her. Eventually, she sighed.

"How did you do it?" she asked quietly.

"Do what?"

"Come back from the dead."

"Oh…" Hiccup mumbled, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "Well.. that's a long story, a-are you sure you want to hear it now?"

"It's been months, Hiccup. We searched the entire archipelago for you and found nothing!" Astrid exclaimed, sounding exasperated and confused.

"So I heard," Hiccup said quietly. Astrid furrowed her forehead.

"Heard? From who?" she asked in bewilderment. Viggo. The answer was ready on his tongue but Hiccup stopped it before it could slip. That name out of context would only lead to overhasty assumptions. He sighed, walking around the fire pit to stand in front of her.

"Do you want me to tell you everything?" he asked. He was ready to tell her if she wanted, though Astrid looked hesitant.

"I don't know… You don't have to now, I… I just want to know where you were," she asked finally.

"On one of Johann's ships," Hiccup answered. He watched as Astrid scowled, her fists clenching.

"That bastard," she hissed through gritted teeth and Hiccup could tell it was taking everything in her not to wield her axe and destroy everything in sight. He saw the muscles all up her arm clench as she sucked in a deep breath. Then another. Then another. She had clearly gotten better at managing her anger. Maybe that was what his disappearance had forced her to learn. He glanced down at the floor, waiting patiently. When Astrid finally looked back up at him, there was still fury in her eyes. "That's where you were for three months?" Hiccup considered what to reply.

"Well… most of that time, yeah," he said.

"When did you escape?"

"… A few weeks ago." At those words, Astrid sat up straighter.

"And you waited until now to come back? Where were you in those weeks?" she asked, raising her voice in exasperation.

"I thought you were dead!" Hiccup exclaimed. He felt frustrated, though he didn't know at what. At Astrid? At himself? At Johann for putting him in this situation in the first place? Or was he just defensive? "I thought Berk had burnt to the ground!" Astrid blinked.

"But then… how did you know to come back?" she asked, quieter this time. Hiccup sucked in a breath.

"Viggo told me." There was a tense silence.

"Wait…" There was another pause. "VIGGO?!" Astrid was shouting again now and Hiccup hurriedly reached forward and took her hand.

"Astrid, please. I know this is a lot, but can you just… let me explain it from the start?" he asked, knowing there would only be more confusion otherwise. Astrid glanced at her hand enclosed in his, then back up at his face. Finally, she sighed.

"Fine," she muttered, retracting her hand.

"May I?" he asked, gesturing to the spot next to her on the edge of the table. She nodded, he sat. And then he told her everything: his capture, the torture, Johann's manipulation, escaping, finding Viggo, fighting off bounty hunters and finally Viggo telling him about the outcome of the war. Astrid sat silently through it all.

When he had finished, she leaned towards him. Hiccup looked down at her as she rested her head on his shoulder. Slowly, he wrapped his arm around her, his hand settling on her waist.

"Baby Thor and a Thunderdrum…" she muttered. She had said it seriously, eyes vacant as she processed the information, but Hiccup couldn't resist laughing. Astrid pulled back to look at him. "What?"

"That's not quite the response I was expecting," he laughed.

"Then what were you expecting?" she asked him. He paused.

"I don't know…" He fled her gaze and stared at the fire pit. "It's not really one of those things you can predict very well." Astrid made a noise of acknowledgement, settled her head back on his shoulder, then sighed.

"I guess… I'm just really glad you're back," she said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Don't sound so surprised," Astrid said, laughter in her voice as she tilted her head up to face him. Hiccup looked down at her. From this angle, her lips looked ridiculously tempting. He noticed Astrid's gaze flicker down to his lips too and took that as his cue, leaning down until their mouths met for a slow, sweet kiss. He smiled into it. She tasted just like he remembered, better even. And when their lips parted and Astrid rested her forehead on his, an idea popped into his head. He slipped his hand into his pocket.

"Told you you'd get your kiss when we're alone," Astrid said teasingly.

"You certainly did, milady," Hiccup smiled. He now held the pendant fast in his hand. He might have told Astrid that Johann had manipulated him, but he hadn't said how… He paused. "Can I ask you something, Astrid?"

"Of course."

"Do you… do you still have my betrothal gift?" At his words, Astrid pulled back, no longer able to meet his gaze. She looked ashamed and Hiccup instantly felt cruel for asking, especially when he already knew she didn't. But he couldn't deny he was curious to find out what had happened.

"I..." she started, then sighed. "No, I… I wish I did, really. After you disappeared, I wore it every day. Even when fighting, under my shirt. You know what I said about doing little things to remember you, like with Toothless… Only… one day in a fight with Johann's men, it came out and was swinging all over the place and… a Hunter grabbed it, tried to use it to pull me towards him. Instead, the cord snapped. He was holding it in his hands and I threatened him to give it back but…" Only now did Astrid dare glance up at him. "He just laughed, put it in his pocket and attacked me. I managed to fight him off but the betrothal gift… I'm sorry."

Hiccup looked at her, gripped the pendant tighter in his hand and got down from the table. The look on Astrid's face was heartbreaking. She looked terrified of his reaction. But her expression started to change when he came to stand in front of her and then got down on one knee.

"Astrid…" he said, revealing the pendant in his hand. Astrid gasped at the sight, slipping off the table. "Will you be my betrothed again?" He looked up at her hopefully as she covered her face with her hands.

"How did you…?" she blurted, paused, then realised she had to answer the question and laughed breathlessly. "Yes, Hiccup, of course, oh my Thor!" she exclaimed. She grabbed his hand, pulled him to his feet and before Hiccup could tie the necklace around her neck or register what was going on, his back thumped against the wall and Astrid's lips were on his and kissing him like it was the last day she could. She easily pinned his hand to the wall, interlocking their fingers around the pendant. Hiccup was breathless but didn't care, placing his free hand along her jaw, relishing the feeling. They were both panting and Hiccup could hardly think until he faintly heard Toothless growling outside.

"Astrid," he gasped into the kiss. But Astrid only took this as encouragement and kissed harder, pressing her body against his. "Astrid!" he said again, turning his head to look at the door. Astrid's lips landed on his jaw and only then did she look at him in confusion. But she pulled back in understanding when they both heard voices.

"I told you they weren't at Gothi's! Toothless is right here!" a voice shouted, and Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief that it was only Snotlout.

"And Stormfly is here, don't you think that's a bit suspicious?" Tuffnut said.

"Very suspicious, indeed, brother. What would you guess they are doing in there?" Ruffnut said. Hiccup had to smile at the twins' usual theatrics. Boy, had he missed them.

"Probably snogging each other, I'm out," Snotlout said again and Hiccup heard the sound of loud retreating footsteps.

"Snotlout! All you have to do is knock," Fishlegs said. Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other, noting each others' bruised lips and heaving chests and laughed breathlessly. Astrid released Hiccup's hand from where she'd pinned it and Hiccup used the opportunity to put the necklace around her neck as Fishlegs knocked on the door.

"Coming!" Hiccup called, one hand lingering where the pendant hung on Astrid's neck and another on her waist so that he could free himself from between Astrid and the wall. He planted one more kiss on her lips, enjoying the blush that coloured her cheeks and then walked across the room. He opened the door to find the other Riders and their dragons crowded outside. "Hey guys," he said, smiling in slight confusion. "Everything alright?"

"No," Snotlout said from where he stood a few steps down. "You can't just sneak off like that, Hiccup!" he huffed as he stomped up to Hiccup, who stepped back only to have Snotlout's arms flung around him tightly. Hiccup's surprise and hesitation only lasted for a moment, however, and he felt a pang in his chest as his cousin sniffed loudly. "It's good to have you back," Snolout muttered, just loud enough for him to hear.

"Snotlout, are you crying?" Tuffnut asked and Snotlout defiantly pulled away, wiping his nose on the back of his hand.

"Shut up, I just missed my cousin, okay?" he snapped, but the twins looked sincere, not mocking. They glanced at each other.

"You know, we also missed you, Hiccup," Tuffnut said.

"A lot," added Ruffnut. Hiccup smiled.

"I missed you guys too, all of you," he said, before being enveloped in a hug from Fishlegs. "Including you, Fishlegs."

"Oh, I can't wait to tell you all about our discoveries, Hiccup!" Fishlegs gushed as he pulled back from the hug. "The Sentinels, the Titan Wing Dramilion, the Dragon Eye, the King of Dragons-"

"All in good time, Fishlegs," Astrid said, approaching from the other side of the room and placing a hand on Fishlegs' shoulder. "I don't think Hiccup can cope with hearing all of that right now."

"No, I know," Fishlegs replied. "I'm just glad to have my friend back." He smiled at Hiccup and tears welled up in his eyes that he quickly brushed away. Hiccup smiled back, then glanced between Astrid's pendant, Snotlout's belt buckle, the twins' necklaces and Fishlegs' helmet. All exactly where they should be. He guessed he would never know exactly how the Flyers had managed to get their hands on replicas of those things, but he realised he didn't have to. That was the past now. The illusion was over.

"How about we head back to the party?" Tuffnut piped in. "I've heard they're serving your favourite, Hiccup. Yak chops with gravy."

"I'm pretty sure that's your favourite, Tuff," Ruffnut protested.

"It will be Hiccup's too once he tries it again!" Tuffnut replied indignantly.

"We will go back to the party," Hiccup intervened, a thought occurring to him. "But before we go back, I have someone I'd like to introduce you to."

"Who?" Snotlout asked.

"How do you think I got here?" Hiccup asked, a smile on his face as he led the way outside to where the dragons were waiting.

"Is this a trick question?" Tuff asked, but Fishlegs interrupted, already excited.

"A dragon,"

"Yup," Hiccup nodded, mounting Toothless. "I'd like you guys to meet Freedom." He turned to Hookfang. "I think I've found you a new friend."

Hiccup led the Riders to the cove, where he introduced them to Freedom, who was overjoyed to see another dragon of the same species. Fishlegs marvelled at Freedom's colours, while the two Monstrous Nightmares became instant friends, just as Hiccup had predicted. And as soon as Hiccup was sure that Freedom felt welcome and comfortable, they headed back to the Great Hall, where Hiccup spent the rest of the day feasting, dancing with Astrid and the other Riders and trying not to let himself get too drunk on the elation of being home. He reunited with everyone else on Berk: Bucket, Mulch, Sven, Gothi, Spitelout, Gustav, even Mildew came by to welcome him home at one point.

Eventually, though, the day took its toll and before the sun had fully set, he was exhausted to the point where he was barely able to stand up. He had curled up against Astrid on a bench when Stoick had picked him up and carried him out of Great Hall, away from the crowd and led him home with watchful Toothless trailing behind him. It was clear just how out of it Hiccup was as he didn't protest once, not as Stoick carried him bridal style into the house and up the stairs, not as he placed him in bed and stroked his hair, not as he watched him for a few minutes until he had reassured himself that Hiccup was safe and that he could leave, knowing that Toothless wouldn't let his son out of his sight for a while.

And as Hiccup felt Toothless rest his head on his stomach, stirring him slightly, he was conscious enough to form just one final thought. One happy thought that sent him to sleep.

That the months he had lost in captivity were nothing compared to the years we would spend protecting those he loved. Here, where he belonged. Berk.

A/N: Yup, definitely not done being sentimental yet. We've still got a couple more chapters to go before the story is over though. Tomorrow is Saturday but since this chapter is so late I'll wait until Sunday to upload another one, then I'll upload the rest of the story in the coming week. In the meantime, feel free to leave a review! It really is a joy to read all of them (even if I haven't had much time recently to reply to them all), so thank you! And till next time!

~httydfangirl123