A.N

Hi, this is my first Hiccstrid fanfic so sorry if it's dubious. I will try to update every few days but no promises! I will take suggestions for further short stories (only Hiccstrid) which may appear in this book. Nothing too silly, mature or inappropriate please. I don't own these characters. On with the story!

-Astrid's POV-

A thump outside my hut wakes me. What is it? Hunters? Rogue dragons? Yak dropped from the top of the cliff? Pulling out my axe, I tiptoe towards the doorway, ready to strike. There's a weird smell, like rotting fish. A kind of poison? The door swings open and I let out a battle cry.

"Woah!" Ruffnut screeches and I immediately feel ridiculous. She's clutching a handful of pink flowers and from the way she's holding it, Ruff was trying to block my axe strike with it. Tuffnut pops up behind her.

"Hey Astrid. Er- why the axe?! Do you sleep with that thing or what? "

"I- never mind. What are you doing in my hut and-" I gag, "What are THOSE?" I gesture to the flowers which are releasing their foul odour into my home.

"Well," she smirks, "It's Valentines day! I thought you might need some flowers for a special someone?" Ruffnut winks.

I redden.

"Who would I- wait. Don't answer that. Who are YOU giving them to?"
It's her turn to blush.

"Hiccup..." she mumbles. My stomach lurches at the thought. Her?! Give flowers to- HICCUP?! Wait, why do I care?! She's welcome to give flowers to anyone, even, I wince, Hiccup.

"What about, ummm, Snotlout? I thought you liked him?" I say quickly, too quickly.
Tuffnut wiggles his eyebrows.

"Jealous?" he grins.

"I- no! Not at all. Just wondering! Anyway, who's YOUR special one?"

"Mm, well Chicken's always my number one-" The fowl chirps and nibbles his ear, "-but I might take Hilda to the feast."
Feast? Oh. He means Freya's Feast, Berk's traditional Valentines Day celebration. Sadly, it's obligatory to attend but usually I escape it with the excuse of 'not realising it was today'. I don't think that's going to work today. Ruff looks ready to frogmarch me there herself!

"Anyway, meeting in the Clubhouse in 5 mins," the female twin rounds off before stomping off to rudely awaken another poor Rider. I slam the door.

Heather hops off her bed in the corner.

"Well, where were you through my interrogation?!" I complain.

"You were fine! So, Astrid. What're you gonna do about Ruffnut?"

"What do you mean? She's free to give flowers to anyone, even-" I gulp, "- Hiccup. " I may have already developed numerous plans to eliminate her but somehow, that might not help much. And there's no way I'd want to let Heather know that!

Heather smiles.

"Come on, it's obvious that you like him."

"Well just because you're going out with Fishlegs, who's liked you for ages and who you've liked for ages, doesn't mean that every one else has such an easy time of it!" I snap then feel bad,"Look, Heather. I don't mean that. It's just-" I sigh, "- difficult."

"That's ok. I get it. But still, you should tell Hiccup how you feel! Maybe he feels the same," she suggests.
I turn red (well, redder) and shake my head furiously.

"He wouldn't like me, then it would be awkward all the time and wreck his leadership. With the Dragon Hunters out there, we need to be a cohesive unit. I can't do that to him, to the team."
Before she can reply, I head off to the Clubhouse.

-Hiccup's POV-

As usual, I'm up before Chicken crows. (I know that usually roosters do that but she's weird like that. Don't tell Tuffnut I said that) Today I want to map the far north so I head over to my cartography shelf and pull out the map I've put together. It fills most of the floor space. Next, I collect the books we have on the area and start the laborious task of synchronising maps. Just as I match one with the area above Glacier Island, something prickly hits me in the face. The putrid scent of rotting fish makes me retch and the bush retracts from my face. A grinning visage replaces the revolting pink plant - Ruffnut.

"Ruffnut," I croak, "What are those and why are you in my hut?!"

She grins in a nauseating fashion then coos, "It's Valentines Day!"

I frown.

"Wow Ruff. I think you just won the world record for answering no questions at all in your answer."

She glares at me then replaces it with a sickly smile.

"They're flowers of course! Please show a bit more knowledge at the Feast tonight - hydrangeas are sooo fashionable right now and you'll embarrass me! And I'm here because I decided to ask you out before ASTRID did."

My heart skips a beat. Astrid was going to ask me out?! No way. This is just an - er - an excuse! Yes. No way would my childhood crush ask me out. She's too cool, too-

I'm jolted out of my thoughts by Ruffnut who tries to peck me on the cheek. I stumble backwards and trip over a chair. She walks over.

"You ARE coming to the Feast of Freya, aren't you?" Ruffnut says in an intimidating manner.

"Uhh-"

"Great! You can pick me up on Toothless later. Come on, meeting in the Clubhouse."

Slightly confused about what exactly just happened, I head for the Clubhouse after Ruffnut who is babbling about clothes and flowers. I THINK that I just got a date to Freya's Feast, only it's a date I don't actually want to go with - given the chance, I'd go with Ast- I mean, I'd rather not go at all.

As we round the corner and the Clubhouse comes into view, I make a noise similar to that of a cat with hairballs. For someone has, how shall I phrase this, redecorated. Meaning that the Clubhouse is now livid pink with lurid hearts covering the floor. Ruffnut turns to me with a maniacal smile.

"Whatcha think of it?"

"Ummm," I'm not sure what to say so I decide on, "It's very - pink."

"Yep! Come on, dear."
Dear?! This is out of hand now.
With a grimace, I stagger in. It's a bit like being in a giant mouth, not nice at all. Astrid is already there and seeing me, frowns. Tuffnut is cooing at his hen in the corner who is sporting a golden chain of hearts which I suspect came from my poultry obsessed friend.
Heather wanders in with Fishlegs looking happy - I bet he just asked her to the Feast. Snotlout is the last to arrive. He looks gobsmacked at the deco but heads over to stand next to Astrid and attempts to engage her in conversation.
Ruffnut clambers onto a chair and addresses the room.

"I see you've noticed the decorations! My brother and I spent all night making it pretty," Hmm. Pretty. I think not, "because it's Valentines Day! And you are ALL going to Freya's Feast tonight. No exceptions. You will meet promptly at 5:00 pm in formal attire to leave for Berk. Now, we need to sort out transport. In your romantic pairs, the male, if possible or if he exists, will take the female, should she exist, on his dragon. For example, Hiccup will be taking me on Toothless."
Astrid goes white, then red, then runs from the room.

A.N

Thanks for reading, as I said, suggestions are welcome and constructive comments are happily accepted!