Welcome back! It's been forever, but I'm back and that's all that matters. So let's jump right into it, after a few quick announcements.

1. Hiccstrid on the Edge isn't "Back" But I'll try and update a little more often for sure. but there is a new chapter up now.

2. To those in the Stranger Things fandom reading Runaway's, I honestly am unsure at this point of what will become of the story.

3. If you follow my Supernatural fanfic, I have more stories on AO3 regarding that. To those struggling with the shit that just went down with Cas and Dean (I definitely did not cry for two hours after and read fluff fanfiction in complete denial) I am writing some fluff to fill the massive holes in our hearts… excuse me while I go scream at Dean for being a dumbass.

4. Sorry for the previous announcement to those who have no idea what's going on. Its 15 seasons to explain and I don't have time for that.

Anyway, that wraps my notes up! Enjoy and leave a review!

General P.O.V

Astrid stuffed her supplies unto her backpack, snatched her officer uniform -she luckily had spares at the PD- and threw on her vest. She did the same with Stormfly, who was giddy with excitement. She tugged her hair into a tighter braid and burst out the front of the house.

"Astrid! Wait! What's going on?" Astrid skidded to a stop, letting Stormfly hop into the car.

"I don't have time to explain." She called back, sliding into the front seat. Hiccup grabbed a hold of the car door and pulled it open, forcing Stormfly into the back and climbing in.

"Then I'm coming with." Astrid began to shake her head, but Hiccup had already put on his seat belt. "Drive," was all her said, and so Astrid stepped on the gas.

"So where are we going?"

"Tire factory out at Raven point." Hiccup made a face in confusion. "I gotta collect a sample, I know what it is."

"Whats, what?"

"The thing that killed my father… and burned down my apartment." Hiccup's eyes widened and turned to Astrid who was laser focused on her speedometer, watching the dial move to 80mph on the back country roads. She said nothing more, except for the occasional groan when she was forced to stop at a red light. And when it turned green, she would hit the gas sending Hiccup forward and causing Stormfly to snort.

When she did pull up to the factory sitting in its own filth and ruins, she slammed on the brakes, turned off the engine and dashed from the car. Stormfly, unbothered by the closed door of the car, jumped through the window and stormed after her owner. Hiccup, Slid on a sweatshirt and followed her inside.

Right away Stormfly seemed to know what she was looking for as she pressed her nose to the ground and swept her tail across the dusty floor in search of the familiar stench she had caught a whiff of, right before the apartment fire.

"Stormfly?" Astrid whispered at the dog worked, glancing back at her owner to make sure she was still following. Stormfly, pulled back her ears and snarled at the ground, then threw her head around, impatiently waiting for Astrid. "Good girl!" Astrid offered her dog a treat as a reward, but Stormfly refused it, far too immersed in her work. Using tweezers, Astrid scooped up the material and slipped into a ziplock bag, the flashlight in her mouth illuminating the substance. Hiccup out of breath, came up next to her, and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Astrid? Wh- what?" she turned to him, glancing at his hand on her shoulder and smiled softly.

"This. It's a drug, and it's called dragon nip. It got its name from the chemicals in the substance that are extremely flammable, and yet it passes for ash. But its potency couldn't escape Stormfly."

"But… but, why here? Why you? And the apartment." Astrid pursed her lips, thinking deeply, but then it hit her like a ton of bricks.

"This was the cold case that got my father into this mess. He got real close to a massive drug bust, came here and there was some shots were fired… then…" Astrid went silent, her gaze focused off into the distance, and even just for a second she could hear gunshots go off in her head. She shook her head, sealed the bag of Dragon nip and stood.

"Astrid?" Hiccup whispered in the dark. Astrid gulped again.

"This isn't the end." She said what they had both been thinking. Stormfly growled out into the sea of nothing, and stood her ground. Astrid grabbed her collar and whipped around, scanning the grounds of the factory with her flashlight. She patted Stormfly's side and grabbed Hiccup's hand.

"Come on."

"Where are we going?" Hiccup asked, his voice strained and shaky. Astrid shrugged and guided them out of the factory and back to the car.

"Let's just go home. We'll figure this out, but from the privacy of the house." Astrid whispered, her tone thick with worry. She tossed Hiccup the keys and hopped into the car. Pulling out the cold case file on her dad, she scanned the nearly empty pages and began to frantically write notes of her own. The car right home was relatively silent until they were only blocks from Hiccup's home.

"Astrid?" Hiccup tapped the steering wheel impatiently. As much as he wanted to focus on the case and the problems at hand, his mind wandered to the kiss from earlier. AStrid had kissed him. And it was the best thing ever. But the more he thought about the worse he felt about not focusing on the matters at hand. So he redirected his thoughts to theories regarding the case. It wasn't until his stomach churned and he felt sick, did he wish he had just thought about the kiss.

"Hmm?" She responded, scratching possible suspects and witnesses into her notepad. Gods, she was so beautiful. With big blue eyes full of curiosity and her lips moving slightly as she scribbled. Hiccup found himself staring longer at her than at the road. Whoops.

"I've been thinking." About the kiss, no Hiccup! The case! What made your stomach churn? He cleared his throat. "That the fire… your father umm… all of it, seems too close in time to be a coincidence." For the first time that car ride, Astrid looked up. Hiccup couldn't tell if she looked mildly offended, angry, or confused.

"Are you implying that, my dad's… death, wasn't natural?"

"I… I don't know, but I-"

"Hiccup!" She ran her hands through her hair and came close to hyperventilating. "Shit!... what if- what if you're right?" She trailed off, her voice soft and shaky. Hiccup moved his hand from the steering wheel and rested it on her hand.

"We'll figure it out. Okay?" Hiccup pulled into the driveway and stopped the car, tugging off his seat belt and cupping Astrid's face. "We will figure it out. Nod please." She did and smiled softly at him.

"You're the best." He smiled back. Kiss her, gods dammit! Hiccup really wanted to kiss her. Those eyes, full of galaxies and with such fight in them. He had never been so captivated before. But he was so lost, that he barely comprehended when she leaned forward and kissed him. It was quick and innocent, but it left him in a complete daze. Fighting the fear boiling in his chest, he lurched forward and kissed her again. And the best part?

She kissed back.

That is, until Stormfly stuck her muzzle in between them, licking their cheeks and grunting impatiently at her lack of attention. Astrid laughed and pushed her dog away. She sent Hiccup a sheepish smile, grabbed her bag, and hopped out of the car.

…

At around 2:15 in the morning, it came. Hiccup, for the first time in weeks, went to bed happy. But of course they had to come and ruin his semi-peaceful slumber in explosions of pain. He bolted upright, drenched in sweat and screaming in pain. It had been bad before, like when he had raced Astrid down those stairs at Infinity tech, but never this bad. And he really did scream, loud enough in fact for Astrid to come bursting in, gun in her hand and dog snarling. She lowered the gun, upon seeing Hiccup alone in his bed.

"Hiccup?"

"Ast- I-I-I'm f-f-fine." She rested the gun on the dresser and came closer to him, head tilted in confusion.

"No, no you're not. What's wrong?" She sat on the edge of his bed and pressed her hand to his forehead, checking for any sign of illness.

"Phantom pains." He breathed out, grabbing his leg -well, what was left of it- and rubbed the area where the rest of his leg should have been. It felt as if someone was stabbing him repeatedly just below the knee.

"Okay, okay. It's okay." She repeated over and over, resting a hand over his. They stayed there over the course of a half an hour, Hiccup rubbing the stump and Astrid only leaving to retrieve medicine and a glass of water. They talked softly, their dogs snoozing together on the other side of the bed. By the time the clock flashed 3:20, they were far past exhausted. Astrid giggling at everything they said and Hiccup nodding off far too easy.

"You should sleep." Astrid said finally, trying to lift herself from the bed. She called for Stormfly but the stubborn dog only stretched out in response and yawned. "Stubborn dog." She chuckled lightly. Hiccup leaned back against his pillows and pulled back the blankets.

"You can stay… if you want." He was far too tired to realize what he had said before he had said it, but luckily Astrid was tired enough to nod and crawl in next to him - well on the other side of the Toothless who slept in between them. She pulled the blankets up to her waist and tossed an arm around Toothless. Hiccup did the same, dozing off to the feeling of Toothless's breathing and Astrid's thumb running across the back of his hand.

They'd be safe for now.

thanks for reading! Until next time,

-Daisy