Tears, Kisses, And... A Flying Sheep?:

Astrid was only a step away from her bedroom door when the guilt over what she'd said to her father froze her feet.

I don't hate him.

I could never hate him.

Roll my eyes right out of my head exasperated with him? Yes. He is a Viking male after all and suffers from idiotitis, just like all the other Viking males. But I'll never hate my father.

I love him. He's a good dad. He provides for the family. Is one of the best warriors on the island. Is really good to Mom to the point of embarrassing situations. And best of all, he takes care of me but doesn't coddle me. He lets me be the warrior I was destined to be, small female or not.

Astrid swiped at the tears leaking from her eyes with a frustrated hand. Gods, what a mess. She was still beyond angry with her father for forbidding her to see Hiccup anymore, but she also couldn't leave him thinking that she hated him for real; her dad looked like he'd taken enough of a beating tonight as is.

She spun back around and was a quarter of the way down the stairs when her parents' conversation floated up to her and she froze again, her hand going to her mouth to stifle a gasp.

"...didn't mean it, but Stoick implied that the reason that Astrid is so popular with the boys is because she was being loose with her favours."

"He did WHAT?!" Astrid would have seconded her mother's screech if she wasn't in such shock. Why would Stoick say such a thing?!

Oh. Right. Dad insulted Hiccup first. And Vikings are firm believers in the 'eye for an eye' mentality.

That didn't excuse it by any stretch of the imagination, but she could see how a somewhat drunk Stoick could have blurted out such a stupid thing.

Her father's next words almost sent Astrid into her own Viking rage.

"That's not the worst part," he said gravely.

"It's not? How could it not?"

"Elof, that dunderheaded son of Odin, jumped up and confirmed it, saying that he and his buddies had all had her."

There was a few seconds of stunned silence as Astrid felt herself heat with a rage like she'd never felt before. And then her mother expressed the same rage, her voice deadly. "I'll kill him. I'll kill them both. Berk is going to need a new chief and that overgrown baby is going to regret ever saying such a thing about Astrid if it's the last thing I do."

Mom's going to have to get in line, because Elof's last minutes on this earth are numbered!

She spun back around on the stairs and ran to her room and geared up for war. Her battleaxe went in the sheath across her back and she slipped the leather cross strap that held her set of matching throwing daggers over her head. And for good measure, even though it wasn't her preferred weapon anymore, she belted on her old sword.

When she stomped her way back into the living area, she found her father holding her mother back from leaving with a hand gripped around her wrist. Her mother still looked murderous and she had her axe in hand.

"Let me go!"

"I can't let you do it, sweetness. You have to see that. Stoick may be an idiot, but he's our chief, so that's out. And you can't murder that little misbegotten pile of yak dung, no matter how much I'd love to let you. His father promised to deal with him. And Stoick said he'd beat to a pulp anyone who dared to proposition Astrid and then kick them off the island."

Her mother sighed, some of the fire leaving her as she slumped slightly. "Fine, but they better watch it, or I will find a way to make sure a dragon eats them the next time there's an attack."

Hector laughed as he pulled her away from the front door and back to the chair so he could sink back into it gratefully. "I might even help you."

At this point, Alga's awareness of her surroundings returned and she realized that Astrid was standing at the bottom of the stairs, wearing every weapon she owned as far as she could tell. "Oh dear."

Hector turned his head as well, and he sighed. "You heard?"

Astrid nodded once. "I did."

"I can't let you go out and kill them either."

Astrid huffed, blowing her bangs up before they settled back over her left eye. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine," she muttered petulantly.

"I'm sorry, baby," Hector said softly.

Astrid shot him a look as she walked across the living space towards the front door. You better be sorry, she wanted to yell at him. This was all your fault after all. But she kept that inside, not wanting to get into a screaming match with her father right now. Instead, she managed to keep it to a slightly more civilized: "I'm sure you are. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm still royally pissed off at you."

Hector narrowed his eyes at her tone, but decided to let it slide. Astrid had had enough for one night. "Where do you think you're going?" he said, stiffly rising back to his feet.

Astrid paused with her hand on the door. "Target practice."

"In the dark? With a storm on the horizon?"

"The moon's out above Berk still." Sort of.

Hector growled, but conceded she needed an outlet to vent on. "Fine. But no Hiccup. And don't go seeking out Elof either. You can use him for target practice tomorrow if he gives you any more trouble."

Astrid looked over her shoulder at him as she opened the door. "Deal." She took one step out, eyes on the pathway in front of their house before she quietly said, "And I don't hate you," before she quickly closed the door behind her.

Hector and Alga stared at the closed door for a minute of silence before he sank back into the chair again, pulling his beautiful blonde wife into his lap and winding his arms around her. She dropped the axe on the floor and wrapped her arms around his back, snuggling her head into his shoulder. Resting his chin on her head, he huffed softly. "Do you think she's going to be okay?"

"I think Astrid is always going to be okay in the end. Our daughter is strong, Hector. Even stronger than people give her credit for."

Hector closed his eyes and absorbed the comfort his wife provided him with. "I hope you're right, because I have a feeling it's not going to be easy for her for the next little while until things settle down again. Gods, I want to chop off Elof's prick and feed it to him," he added under his breath.

Alga snorted out a giggle, looking up at him as she pushed one of his many braids behind his ear that had escaped the leather tie holding them all back, trailing her fingers gently over his battered face. "Did you ever stop to wonder what inspired Elof to slur Astrid so?"

Hector shook his head, raising a brow.

Alga smiled slyly. "I bet you anything Astrid already fed Elof his manhood and he didn't like how it tasted."

Hector barked out a laugh. "Thor's nose, you're probably right."

Her grin widened. "Theoretically speaking, of course, cause I'm sure he'd be a puddle of bawling baby if she actually had."

"There's always tomorrow," Hector said eagerly. I would even pay to see it.

Alga laughed, a hint of anger and determination making it a little bitter sounding. "Yes, there's always tomorrow."

Astrid ran up the path that wound through the village and up the hill, ignoring the thump of her sword against her leg with every step. If she couldn't go murder someone, she wanted to get as far away from everyone as she could get so she didn't give in to the temptation of turning right back around and aiming for Elof's house. She had every intention of calling him out, but she'd wait until tomorrow. Better to do it when the whole village can see me hand him his head on a platter anyway.

She paused in her flight as she passed Hiccup's house, wishing with everything she had that she could talk to him. She could really use some comfort right now and he was the only one she wanted giving it to her.

As she stared at the door in longing, "WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME?!" was bellowed from within in Stoick's very angry sounding voice, practically making the shingles bounce on the roof.

Astrid nearly jumped out of her skin. Holy Thor, what is going on in there? Is Hiccup actually fighting with his dad? As far as she knew, Hiccup had never fought with his father. She was pretty sure Hiccup would have mentioned it if he had.

She waited for another half a minute, straining her ears to hear past the distant rumbles of thunder and the wind that played with the loose strands of her hair. She was tempted to go press her ear against the door, but refrained even though she hadn't heard anything else from where she stood. Dying of curiosity, but knowing that interfering would be a very bad idea, Astrid sighed and continued on past the last house at the top of the hill. She'd ask Hiccup the next time she saw him about what had happened.

Assuming I ever get to see Hiccup again, that is.

A gasping inhale and an unwanted tear emerged at the thought. She wiped it away and picked up her pace again into a fast jog, in the vain effort of outrunning her sorrow.

But with every step of her flight that had her running with ever swifter steps through the dark, the reality of her situation caught up to her even faster.

Thor help me, I might never see Hiccup again.

Dad might make me move off the island.

The whole town now thinks I'm a whore. (Probably not even a fraction of them, but she was losing the ability to think rationally at an exponential rate.)

Gods. They're probably gossiping about me right now.

Astrid's heart beat frantically as she gasped for air, screams bottling up in her throat as choking sobs took precedence.

She barely noticed that she had passed the yak pasture and was headed into the forest due to the blurring of her vision from the tears that were now streaming down her face. Instinct made her slow enough so she didn't bounce off a tree, but that was as far as it came towards paying attention to where she was going.

Astrid ran until she was shaking with the effort of trying to breathe through clogged sinuses, cry, and run at the same time. When she stumbled into a small grassy clearing, her legs gave out and she fell to her knees.

She lost track of how long she knelt there, having a very uncharacteristic pity cry, but she did notice when the pity slowly morphed into anger.

Still crying, because she couldn't seem to stop, as if fourteen years worth of held back tears had decided to all emerge at once, she rose back to her feet as she grabbed her axe off her back and threw it with all her might at the first tree she saw through her tears, screaming incoherently to the heavens as she did so.

It landed with a satisfying THUNK and Astrid imagined it was Elof's head that had just been split like a melon.

Thor, that felt good.

Swiping at her tears with the back of an arm so she could see a little better, she then threw her daggers at another tree, one after the other, as hard as she could, a mental image of Elof's sneering face inspiring extra force.

When they were all gone, including the one from her boot and the new one from Hiccup that had been in her arm wrap, Astrid unsheathed her sword and swung at a nearby bush, hacking at it until it was little more than twigs and fallen leaves.

Chest heaving with effort, and those stupid tears that wouldn't stop still messing with her vision, Astrid dropped her sword and stumbled over to the tree full of daggers and yanked them out, holding as many in her left hand as she could before she was forced to sheath at least half of them. Then she spun and found another tree to target and let loose with the first dagger.

She was on round three of dagger impaling of what was now Stoick's imaginary head when she heard her name called out in a barely audible tone behind her. Astrid spun, saw Hiccup, dropped the dagger from suddenly nerveless fingers, and literally bolted at him.

Hiccup dropped his bedding and opened his arms just in time to catch the Astrid shaped missile as she ran into him. He staggered back and ended up sitting on the ground, but he didn't let go of her as she buried her face in his chest, held him tighter than was comfortable, and proceeded to cry her heart out into his tunic. The occasional, "Hiccup, Hiccup," that she managed to mumble out between sobs made him feel like the only male on the planet as he shared her sorrow and basked in the fact that he was the one she chose to be comforted by.

He put his cheek on top of her head and whispered soothing nonsense to her as he stroked a hand down her hair in a repetitive motion meant to calm. Her tears were breaking his heart because he'd never seen her cry before. Ever. Not even when she'd dislocated her shoulder in a wrestling match or split her forehead open after falling out of a tree. (She still had the scar from that one, hidden under her headband.)

He had seen her sad a few times, to be sure, like when her mother had a miscarriage at three months pregnant when they were ten, or when her grandmother died, but this was a whole other level of sorrow that Hiccup could barely comprehend.

When she was still crying five minutes later, Hiccup was starting to get scared.

Needing her to stop and be the strong Astrid that he knew once again, he tried talking to her for real. "Astrid. Sweetheart. Please stop crying. It's going to be okay. We'll get through this. I'll figure something out. I won't let those idiots separate us, even if I have to follow you to whatever tribe you end up with and hide nearby. Please, Astrid. Please stop crying. I love you. You're my everything and it's killing me to see you so sad."

Astrid didn't know what was wrong with her. There shouldn't be any water left in her body to expel through her eyes. But the tears just kept coming. She felt like she was being drained from the inside out.

She tried to get control, she really did, but it wasn't until he said he'd follow her anywhere and that he loved her that the tap in her eyes finally slowed down. Her sobs turned to hiccups and then to quiet panting breaths that eventually steadied into normal breathing.

Hiccup sighed in relief when her sobbing stopped and her arms relaxed their vice grip on him, kissing the top of her head gratefully. "There now. It's okay, sweetheart. It's okay."

Astrid echoed his sigh and moved her cheek to a dry section of tunic, which ended up putting her ear over his heart. She listened to the steady thump thump, thinking the sound was incredibly comfortingly. Tingling in her legs made her aware that she was crumpled up nearly painfully on the ground and she shifted into a more comfortable half kneel, sort of lying on her hip. But she didn't move her head. She liked where it was. But she did take a quick swipe at her face to clean off the snot and tears before wrapping her arm around his back again.

They sat in silence for a while before Astrid worked up the courage to tilt her head up and look at him. "I'm sorry. I just cried an ocean on you."

Hiccup smiled softly, brushing her sweaty bangs off to the side so he could see both of her beautiful eyes that looked midnight blue in the moonlight that had chosen to stick around. The thunder rumbles had faded away as well, he realized belatedly. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure this tunic needed washing anyway. You just gave it its first rinse, is all," he joked.

Astrid smiled as she sat up and punched him in the shoulder lightly.

Hiccup heaved a long suffering sigh, hiding a grin at her standard display of affection as he jokingly rubbed the spot like it ached. "What was that one for?"

"For being you." She leaned closer and kissed him quickly, blushing lightly. "And that's for being you, too."

"Hmmmmm," he said smirking, burying his face in the crook of her neck and pressing a kiss to her soft skin, happily breathing in her somewhat salty female scent. "I think I like being me right now."

"You should," Astrid said on a giggle as his lips travelled up her neck, tickling her lightly and sending tiny shivers through her. She sobered and pulled away again slightly, her eyes looking mournful once more. "I'm not so sure I like being myself at the moment, though."

Hiccup was afraid of where she was going with this, and her sudden change of attitude brought his hopes of another make out session crashing back to earth. He knew that was selfish though, and pushed his own desires off to the side for her. "Because of what my father said about you? I had a fight with him about that, by the way," he added quickly, so she knew he was on her side.

"Yes, sort of. And I think I heard a bit of that fight on my way by your house." Astrid huffed a sigh, pulling away completely and leaned back on her hands, looking up at the moon that was a good three quarters full in the now nearly cloudless black sky. The wind that whispered through the tree tops had chased them off quickly. "How much do you know?"

Hiccup grabbed his pillow and put it behind her and then folded up his blanket and made another pillow for himself. He talked as he worked. "Not much. I did get him to admit that he said something he shouldn't have about you and I guessed the rest." He shrugged off the bag of stuff that he'd been carrying and lay back on his folded blanket, looking up at the moon too. This was a delicate subject and neither had the courage to look at each while they talked about it, but both knew it needed to be said.

Astrid looked back at the feather stuffed pillow, shooting him a grateful look, before she reclined backwards as well. That lasted for all of five seconds before she abruptly sat back up and unbuckled her belts, tossed off the axe and dagger carriers that were crisscrossed over her chest and back, and then removed her spiked shoulder pauldrons. Then she lay back down, sighing in relief at how much more comfortable that was. She suddenly felt completely exhausted and just wanted to curl up and sleep for a week. Her left hand reached over and grabbed Hiccup's hand that was resting on his stomach, wanting to touch him and needing the human contact more than anything.

He squeezed her hand gently and laced their fingers together before resting their joined hands back on his stomach. Hiccup waited patiently for her to talk, sensing that she was working up the courage to do so.

Astrid turned her head slightly, watching Hiccup stare up at the sky from her peripheral vision. In the dark, his profile stood out palely, reminding her once again of how cute he was. His nose was a tiny bit too big for his face, but she had a feeling he'd grow into it. And his pointed jawline looked just as nibble worthy as ever.

Soon, she promised herself. I've been silent long enough. And he's been very patient. As always.

Taking in one final steadying breath, Astrid told what she knew. "My dad was all but carried home and he looks like he got in a fight with a Gronckle and lost. He admitted that he said something insulting about you after Stoick said you were going to marry me, which caused your dad to say something insulting about me in return." Note to self: Must remember to come back to the marriage thing. I have a bone to pick with him about that one.

"Oh, boy."

Astrid shot him a grateful look from under her bangs at his exasperated tone on her behalf. "Your dad apparently implied that because I was always surrounded by boys trying to impress me and win my hand in marriage, that I was being loose with my virtue."

He turned his head and looked at her with remorse all over his face. "I knew it! I knew Dad had blown it big time by how he acted. I'm so sorry, Astrid. So very very sorry." He raised their joined hands and kissed the top of hers.

Astrid melted at how sweet he was. His support made her feel a million times better, helping her realize that the rest of the village could hang themselves for all she cared. Hiccup's good opinion was all she needed.

Hiccup continued. "I wish I could beat him up for you. I did take an axe to his door, if that helps."

Astrid's eyes widened. "You didn't!"

"I did." Hiccup looked pretty proud of himself and Astrid thought it was rightly so.

Astrid smiled at him widely. "Look who's showing his Viking side. I'm impressed."

Hiccup felt his face heat at the praise, and was grateful it was dark out so she (probably) couldn't see. "Soooo. Ummmm. I hate to ask this, cause I know you, and I know that what you've said so far isn't enough to turn you into a watering pot. You'd just glare at or beat up anyone who tried to insult you to your face. Is there more that I don't know?"

He was right, of course. If that was all there was to it, Astrid wouldn't have broken down. "Yes. Unfortunately. The worst part was when my dad said I could never see you again, and if I did, he'd move us off the island."

Hiccup gasped. He'd sort of implied that the Hofferson's might move, but not because of him. "Thor, Astrid. How are we supposed to work with that?"

She shook her head on her pillow, eyes stinging once again as she stared blindly at the moon. "I don't know."

Hiccup's brow furrowed in frustration. "I'm sure we'll figure something out." He let the silence broken only by the sound of the wind and the night-time insects talking to each other sit heavily around them for a minute. "There's something else, isn't there?"

Astrid nodded slowly, still staring up at the sky, not knowing for sure if he was watching her to see the movement or not, but assuming he was. "After your dad's slur on my honour, Elof added his confirmation, saying that he and the other older boys had all had me. I guess he didn't like being turned down again at the point of his own dagger," she whispered with false humour.

Hiccup blinked once before he was beset by conflicting emotions of rage and sympathy. He more or less growled in his chest, not even knowing he could make such a sound. "Oh, sweetheart." Using their joined hands, he tugged her over to him and wrapped his arm around her in a hug. "He's a yak's behind and I'm sure most people know it. You know I'd kill him for you if that's what you want." Not sure how I'll pull that off, but I'm sure I can come up with something diabolical and fitting to avenge my Astrid.

Astrid smiled as she snaked her free arm under Hiccup's shoulders and returned his hug. "Thank you, babe, but I can take care of the walking ass myself. Besides, you'd have to get in line behind my parents."

Hiccup chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Well, if you're sure?"

"I'm sure. Elof and I are going to have a lovely talk tomorrow in front of the whole tribe. I can guarentee he's not going to like it."

He snorted. "I'm sure he won't." He rubbed her back absently. "Are you okay now? I promise I won't let your father separate us entirely."

Astrid slid up a bit and kissed his jaw softly. "Yeah. I'm good now. I'm okay with us meeting out here whenever we can both sneak away at the same time, if you want?"

Hiccup was getting lost in the sensations of having her breasts pressed to his chest and her soft lips whispering against his skin as she talked, but he managed to keep enough of his brainpower to answer her. "Oh, I want. But I won't have to do much sneaking. I was kind of planning to live out here in the woods for awhile. I can't stand to be anywhere near my father right now."

"Hiccup," she whined softly. "You can't. Winter will show up anytime and you'll freeze."

He cupped her cheek with his warm hand. "I know. I'll sleep in the smithy when it gets too cold. Don't worry."

"That's all right, then," she breathed, getting lost in the dark depths of his eyes as he gazed at her longingly. Astrid realized their mouths were only a breath away from touching and she felt her own wave of longing sweep over her.

She closed that last minuscule amount of space and pressed her lips to his in a tentative kiss, the hand behind his shoulders moving up to bury in his soft hair. Their joined hands were still trapped between their chests and she tugged her fingers free so she could cup his cheek in return.

Hiccup's now free hand found its way to her back and he pressed her closer as their gentle kiss grew in confidence and passion. He licked her bottom lip, asking entrance again like earlier, and groaned happily when she opened slightly. But this time, instead of him seeking out her tongue, hers emerged and pushed his back into his mouth to duel playfully in his space.

Astrid writhed slightly, rubbing her suddenly sensitive torso against the hard surface of his chest. Kissing him seemed to just get better and better the more they did it and she never wanted it to end. But need for some quick gasps of air had her pulling back and running her lips and teeth over his jawline like she'd imagined doing earlier. Hiccup seemed to like that, because he moaned softly in her ear. "You have a very sexy jaw," she whispered boldly, moving closer to his ear.

"Uhhhhh," was all he could come up with. All of the blood in his brain had officially run south and Hiccup was close to babbling incoherently, ready to beg her to press her wonderful mouth all over him. Literally. "Please..."

"Baaaaaaaaaaaa!"

They broke apart, starting at each other in surprise. "What was that?" Astrid asked.

"BAAAAAAAAAAA!"

They looked up, since the sound seemed to be coming from above them. They shared blinking looks of shock as a bleating sheep appeared to by flying above the trees all by itself.

"What the...?" Hiccup said, sitting up quickly as soon as Astrid did.

"BAAAAAAAAA!"

And then the sheep crossed in front of the moon.

It effectively disappeared and an outline of a flying dragon neither of them had ever seen before was clear to see for two whole seconds before it vanished again and only the sheep was visible.

"Baaaaaaa."

And then even the sheep disappeared from sight as the trees blocked their view.

Astrid and Hiccup stared at each other with wide eyes for a full minute before Hiccup blurted out, "Did you see that?"

"I saw it. But I don't believe it." Astrid shook her head slowly.

"Was that a black dragon?" Hiccup said. "Or was I seeing it wrong?"

"No. You didn't see it wrong." Astrid looked up at the sky again, fruitlessly. "That was definitely a black dragon. And the only black dragon I know of is a..." she paused, not even sure if she should say it. The mythical dragon was said to be the deadliest dragon alive but no one in their tribe or any of the nearby tribes had seen one to confirm it.

Hiccup finished her sentence for her, awe in his tone and his eyes still wide with wonder at the somehow beautiful creature he'd seen. "A Night Fury."