The New Thing: What if, at the end of Shell Shocked Part 2, the Riders hadn't seen the Hiccstrid kiss? Each finds out separately and reacts in different ways, some better than others... Requested by Layla (Guest).

The New Thing

Fishlegs

Fishlegs wasn't trying to eavesdrop.

It was all a mistake, really... he had been walking inside of the Great Hall when he saw Hiccup and Astrid standing near the hearth, speaking quietly. He had first had a mind to make his presence known, but some instinct inside of him told him to stay silent and keep low. So he did, and sort of crouched down so he would be able to hear without being seen.

It had been a few weeks since the volcano on the Edge had exploded, and the Riders had to relocate their team back to Berk. The Edge could not be saved. Fishlegs couldn't help but feel horribly guilty. He had had two dragons that ate lava with him—he felt like he should've done more, despite the others' protests that it was not his fault.

Fishlegs tuned in to his friends' conversation, wondering what on Midgard they could be talking about...

"When are we going to tell them, Astrid?" Hiccup was saying, his brow creased with guilt and concern. "We can't keep this a secret forever..."

Astrid shifted on her feet, her arms crossed. "Soon," she said. "But I just feel that we should wait a bit longer... the team is still recovering from the loss of the Edge. They don't need this on their plates, too."

What else on our plates? thought Fishlegs, no longer feeling guilty about eavesdropping. Hiccup and Astrid had been keeping a secret... and he felt entitled to know what it was.

Hiccup nodded after a moment, the firelight casting dancing shadows over his face. "Yeah... I just can't help but feel guilty about not telling the other Riders everything... I'm so used to it.

"And, plus; you're a terrible liar," Astrid added.

Hiccup shot her a glare.

"What?" said Astrid. "It's true!"

Hiccup groaned, rubbing his forehead. "I am not a terrible liar," he said in a slight, unconvincing voice.

"Pfft. That just proves my point. Do you even hear your tone?"

Fishlegs thought that Hiccup was going to get mad, but he instead smirked playfully and said, "Can't keep anything from you, milady, can I?"

Astrid smiled, shaking her head. "Nope. And you never will."

Hiccup laughed. "Well, that's the truth..."

Fishlegs watched this exchange like he was watching a dragon race, eyes darting between the two with interest. What were they talking about...? An idea blazed in his mind, and he shifted excitedly. Oh… Could it be…?

Hiccup and Astrid's fingers twitched towards each other until they were holding hands. Fishlegs would've thought this was strange behavior for them... except when he saw the tender look of love in his friends' eyes as they stared at each other, emerald gaze meeting bright blue eyes. Unable to keep it in, Fishlegs gasped and shot up from his crouching position.

Hiccup and Astrid pulled away from each other so fast they near tripped. Eyes wide with alarm, they began to mumble a few excuses and counter-questions.

Fishlegs ignored all of this, advancing closer with a suspicious expression. "Are you two... are you guys… together?"

Hiccup and Astrid's eyes flashed at each other, burning with a silent conversation only the two of them could understand.

Fishlegs' face transitioned to a joyful grin. "You are!" he said in triumph.

Astrid face-palmed and Hiccup groaned a bit. "Well," Hiccup began. "Okay, yes, we're together." To prove his point, he wrapped an arm around Astrid's shoulders. She removed her hand from her face, and after a moment, smiled over at Hiccup.

Fishlegs let out a sound that sounded suspiciously like a squeal. "Haha, at last!"

Astrid gave a surprised look. "Wait, what?"

"At last!" Fishlegs repeated. "I mean—it's about time you guys got together! I only noticed a few months ago about your guys' behavior, and gods, it's been so hard not to intervene." He beamed.

"So," Astrid said awkwardly. "Hiccup. We have... a... a shipper." She said distastefully. Fishlegs resisted the urge to call them 'Hiccstrid.'

Hiccup slapped his forehead. "It appears so." He sighed, then glanced back at Fishlegs, who was watching the exchange with a smile. "Anyways, yeah, we're together... and we don't plan on being apart anytime soon." He squeezed Astrid's shoulder, and she patted his hand back.

Fishlegs grinned at the scene. "That's great, Hiccup. I'm happy for you."

"Yeah," Hiccup said, glancing at Astrid with a gentle look. "It's kind of the best thing that happened to me."

Snotlout

Snotlout... he was suspicious.

At first, he had believed that Hiccup and Astrid's weird behavior was just gambling issues—a perfect and reasonable explanation. The gamblers always started out like Hiccup... naive, and... and odd, desperately wanting to prove something. And Hiccup... well, he had a lot to prove, in Snotlout's opinion. Snotlout suspected that Astrid had been helping Hiccup work out his gambling problems, and was fine with that. No matter who it was, it was always sad to see one pulled into the betting world.

But after a few weeks on Berk, the two's behavior hadn't changed. In fact, it has grown stranger. They were spending more time together than ever and giving each other these... these looks that made Snotlout's eyes narrow with confusion and disgust. What was wrong with them?

And to make it worse, Fishface seemed to be in on something with Hiccup and Astrid. Snotlout caught him grinning at the pair every time they interacted or winking slyly at Hiccup. This weirded out Snotlout beyond belief. Ruffnut and Tuffnut, though, were thankfully the same mutton-heads they usually were. Snotlout prayed that that wouldn't change, but he had learned that anything was possible...

At last, one day he'd had enough of being kept in the dark. He couldn't stand not being up and important, especially if Fishlegs of all people knew something. He was determined to find out. So this afternoon, he stalked up to Hiccup, interrupting a side conversation with Astrid, and stared Hiccup straight in the eye. The group was dispersing after a long day of training, and Hiccup, Astrid, and Snotlout were the only ones left.

"Hiccup," Snotlout began, voice a growl. The other Rider looked surprised at the way Snotlout was acting but seemed to wave it off a moment later. Snotlout acting odd wasn't exactly new, after all. "Hiccup," Snotlout said again.

One of Hiccup's eyebrows quirked up. "Yes?"

Snotlout puffed out his chest, marveling about how manly he must've looked right then. "You aren't gambling—are you?"

Astrid let out a small laugh, and Hiccup smirked. "You caught me," said Hiccup. "Come on, Snotlout. I never was gambling—and I never will!"

Snotlout crossed his arms. "I knew it! Ha! All along, I knew..."

"Snotlout," Astrid said through gritted teeth, rolling her eyes. "You were the one who claimed that was the case in the first place."

Snotlout held up a disinterested hand. "Sorry, Astrid, was I talking to you? This is a man's talk... go run along and braid your dolly's hair." He believed he sounded very important right then… but when Astrid stepped up, famous death glare burning on her face and fists balled in preparation to attack, he inched back. "Not that girls aren't as tough as guys. 'Cause they are. Especially you, Astrid, you're the toughest."

Astrid still looked ready to sock him, but Hiccup placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay, Astrid, it's just Snotlout. He doesn't know what he's talking about." Astrid seemed to calm down at that, her expression relaxing to a more placid countenance.

Hiccup turned back to his cousin, his brow furrowed. "Snotlout, what's this is all about? You're acting sort of... weird."

"No!" Snotlout fired. "It's you guys who are the weird ones! All staring at each other with these dopey expressions—" the two blushed— "hanging out together all of the time, and acting all secretive. And I don't like it! Not one bit." By now, he felt like going on a rant. He was mad. He didn't want to be treated like an ignorant child.

Hiccup and Astrid exchanged anxious glances, and Snotlout barely refrained from rolling his eyes. "You're doing it again!" he snapped.

Eventually, Astrid nodded at Hiccup, and Hiccup sighed. "Okay, Snotlout, we'll tell you," said Hiccup, though he didn't seem too pleased about it.

Snotlout tapped a foot impatiently. "I'm waiting!"

Hiccup cast another exasperated look at Astrid, which she returned.

"Snotlout," Hiccup began. "Astrid and I... we're... we're courting." He said the last word gently. "We've been courting each other for a few months now... ever since the day that Astrid regained her sight back after being blinded. That's why we're spending a lot of time together, staring at each and—what was it?—acting 'all secretive.'"

Snotlout just stared at the two for a while, mouth gaping open and eyes wide. His gaze fluttered from Astrid to Hiccup in a slow way that suggested he was still taking this information in.

"Courting?" he said after a few moments, still in shock.

Hiccup and Astrid nodded together. Hiccup took Astrid's hand in emphasis and squeezed it. Astrid rolled her eyes, but it was with an affection that could now be explained.

"Oh," said Snotlout flatly. "Oh... Well... I suppose you're asking for my blessing, then."

The couple did a double-take.

"Your what?" Astrid shouted in disbelief.

Snotlout acted irritated like she should have known this. "My blessing. After all, I am the son of the brother of the chief of Berk. Really, you should be honored. Oh, quick question—I am going to be the best man at the union ceremony, aren't I?"

Hiccup's cheeks flamed up, both in embarrassment and anger at Snotlout. "U-union ceremony? Snotlout—aren't you kind of getting ahead of yourself?"

Snotlout was not amused, continuing talking like Hiccup hadn't spoken. "And of course, I'll be the godfather of your first kid... Try for a boy, alright? Girls, well... though I'm sure they'd love Uncle Snotty, I want to be the model warrior for the guys."

Hiccup burned a darker shade of red, but Astrid just laughed.

"Oh, and yes, you two lucky people have my blessing," Snotlout said, with a formal nod and a regal look.

Hiccup face-palmed. "Snotlout, we—"

"—are grateful," said Astrid, interrupting Hiccup. "Thank you. Hey, Snotlout… how about you go plan for the ceremony now?"

Nodding slyly, Snotlout smirked, then walked away, muttering about 'the Haddock kids', young love, and union ceremonies. Hiccup gave Astrid a strange look. "Why'd you say that?" he wondered.

"He was getting annoying." Astrid waved her hand dismissively. "That was the only way to get him to go away."

Hiccup chuckled. "That was not... what I was expecting."

"It's Snotlout," Astrid said, unfazed. "What did you expect?"

"Hehe... I guess so." He reached forward and tucked a strand of Astrid's hair behind her ear, making her smile. "Thanks, milady."

Astrid cocked her head but didn't protest. "For what?"

Hiccup grinned, then kissed her cheek softly. "Everything," he said. "You're the one for me."

"And you're the one for me," she agreed. "Now, let's see who knows about us. Fishlegs, and now Snotlout... so that only leaves Ruff and Tuff. When will we tell them?"

"Soon," Hiccup promised. "Very soon. I don't like keeping secrets. It's hard enough keeping us from my father... you know how he'd react..."

"Oh, yes," laughed Astrid. "I do. And, good."

Hiccup tucked an arm around Astrid's back, and Astrid did the same. Both smiling, Hiccup began to walk his lady home.

Ruffnut

Ruffnut wasn't stupid.

Sure, she had perhaps nearly destroyed Berk at least five times before. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to light Snotlout's hut on fire. And maybe—just maybe—it wasn't smart to listen to every suggestion for destruction that her brother proposed.

But that still didn't mean she was stupid.

And she also was a girl, no matter how indifferent she acted about it. She wasn't as girly as Astrid or Heather, and she didn't have their outer beauty or feminine curves. And she had definitely never kissed a guy in her life. After all, she was Ruffnut Thorston—twin of Tuffnut. Always known as the twin of Tuffnut. So she never really expected to get married.

However, that didn't mean she didn't pay attention to the things that regular girls did. She noticed Astrid's liking for Hiccup from the start. Caught right on to Heather and Fishlegs. She could pick up on these kinds of things without even thinking about it.

So, of course, she noticed this change in Hiccup and Astrid. Or Hiccstrid, as Snotlout had jokingly dubbed the couple, however ignorant of the actual situation. Though at first, she had played along with Tuffnut's game that one of the two was dying, deep down, she knew the truth: Hiccup and Astrid were courting.

It had been around a month now since the team had lost the Edge. The Riders were now eating supper in the Great Hall. Well, not exactly eating. More like shoveling food down their mouths to fill their empty stomachs. It had been a long, tiring day, and the Riders had been forced to skip lunch and track down a nearby dragon that was terrorizing one of Berk's neighboring islands. With only a small bite of breakfast in each of their stomachs, they were practically faint with hunger.

After Ruffnut had eaten all she could stuff down, she swiped her mouth unceremoniously on her sleeve and turned to stare at—Hiccstrid.

They were sitting at a separate table, which wouldn't have seemed strange... to anyone who wasn't looking for something, of course. Chatting quietly, they had tiny but warm smiles on their faces, and Hiccup's hand was inching closer to Astrid's every time he set it down again from animated stories. Ruffnut rolled her eyes. The mutton-head. He really needed to make a move... A thought sprang up in her head and she narrowed her eyes. Or had he already? He was certainly acting bolder than usual… maybe he had kissed Astrid or something.

Ruffnut scooted back from the bench she was sitting on and stood, making Tuffnut grumble. He had been sitting next to her and with a sudden jerk, he had spilled some of his dinner (yak chops) into his lap. Ruffnut ignored her brother and kept walking... right over to Hiccup and Astrid's table.

Astrid spotted her first, and she smiled when Ruffnut neared. The two had grown closer in the past few months, as they had become the only two girls on the Edge since Heather had left with Dagur. Though Ruffnut hadn't changed to outright girly, she had become more aware of some things a girl should know and changed a few small things about her to feel more comfortable. Not that anyone noticed. Well, at least Astrid showed her more respect and attention than she did before Ruffnut was kidnapped by the Dragon Hunters when they attacked the Edge. And that was something, at least.

"Hey, Ruff," Astrid greeted as her friend came up.

Ruffnut nodded in reply as Hiccup turned to look at her. "So," she said, cracking her knuckles with her slender fingers in preparation for an interrogation. "What's going on here? Huh?"

Astrid and Hiccup glanced at each other, expressions slightly concerned.

"Uh—eating dinner," said Hiccup, gesturing to his yak chops. "Talking... Nothing special."

Ruffnut suddenly leaned forward and stared him in the eye. He flinched back, surprised. "Oh, really? Tsk tsk, Hiccup..." She pulled away, shaking her head. "So naive. So innocent. Hmm... Maybe I was wrong about you..."

"Wrong about what?" Astrid asked, her brow tight and furrowed.

Ruffnut crossed her arms. "You too, Astrid? I really thought you'd be smarter than this..."

"Ruff." Hiccup's voice was low and strained. "What's this all about?"

That's when Ruffnut exploded. "You really don't know?" she fired. "Fine. Well, here it is: you and Astrid need to stop staring at each other like brain-dead mutton-heads and make a move. It's as plain as day that you two like each other, but the both of you are too embarrassed and scared to say something! It's getting really frustrating watching you guys. And so I thought that now that you're sitting at a table together, Hiccup trying to hold hands—yes, I saw that, don't move your hand away—that something might've happened—but clearly, I was wrong." She turned to stalk away, but Astrid's hand grabbed her forearm.

"Wait—Ruffnut!" Astrid called, holding her so she wouldn't be able to leave.

Gritting her teeth, Ruffnut pivoted around and growled, "What?"

Astrid glanced at Hiccup, who nodded as if agreeing to something. Astrid blew out a breath, then looked back at Ruffnut. "Ruff," she said, slightly deflating. "You're right. You were wrong."

Ruffnut pulled away from Astrid's grip, just longing for a night ride with Barf. And Belch, of course. And, she guessed, she'd have to drag along that mutton-head of a brother of hers. "No need to rub it in."

"No!" said Astrid hastily. "I mean... I mean..." She sighed. "Yes. Hiccup and I are courting each other right now. At first, we wanted to keep it a secret, but with the chaos on the Edge, we figured you guys didn't need anything else on your plates, so we continued to keep our relationship hidden. Fishlegs and Snotlout... they found out on their own a little while ago. We were going to tell you and Tuff about us pretty soon—in the next week."

Ruffnut nodded after a moment. She was a bit bothered about not being told—she had honestly believed that Astrid was one of her best friends and would tell her everything. Given her a special privilege. But apparently not. "Understandable," she said in a stiff voice a minute later.

Astrid grinned in relief. "Thanks, Ruff... sorry for, you know, keeping you in the dark... we thought it was for the best." Hiccup smiled over at Astrid, making her smirk again. Ruffnut watched the interaction, whatever annoyance she had first had fading.

"It's okay," Ruffnut said, nodding in agreement. "So... how long have you been courting?"

Astrid looked surprised, as did Hiccup. "Ever since Astrid regained her sight from the blinding accident," Hiccup replied. "So, a few months."

Ruffnut grinned. "Well, it's about time, mutton-heads!"

"Huh..." Astrid's expression was slightly stunned. "Did you know this whole time?"

"Duh." Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "Of course. I'm not stupid, just because I act like it. Look, Astrid, I'm a girl, just like you. I notice these kinds of things. It's what we do."

Astrid nodded after a moment, understanding. "Well, of course, I know that... it's just a little... surprising that you knew about Hiccup and me before today." She seemed at loss for words, as did Hiccup. Ruffnut eventually had to step in. Again.

"Well, anyway," she said, crossing her arms again. "Behave yourselves, love birds. Now, there's a plate of yak chops with my name on it, so I'm going to go to them."

Ruffnut never did get those yak chops, but she was happy. She was in on some juicy news, and two of her friends knew what their future was going to look like. Yes. Everything was alright. Most of the Riders knew about Hiccstrid... But, Ruffnut was startled to realize, not everyone knew...

She glanced over at her brother, who was still pigging out at the table.

Tuffnut still didn't know. And he'd have to find out soon. Very soon, indeed...

Tuffnut

There was definitely something strange going on.

Normally, Tuffnut wouldn't have noticed—nor really even cared—but something was up with the rest of the Riders. Especially Hiccup and Astrid. Gooey looks, hand-holding, and bright smiles—what was up with them? And the other Riders—Snotlout, Fishlegs, and even his own sister—well, they just grinned along. Tuffnut confronted Ruffnut about this a couple of times, but she always managed to wiggle out of his questions and mutter something about how she needed to go somewhere. Tuffnut was confused. Ruffnut never muttered. When someone stopped yelling, he could tell things were about to go down.

It all started, he thought, after a long day and a nice dinner of yak chops. After that, Ruffnut had acted strangely. And that's when he noticed Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs and Snotlout's behavior was off, as well. The suspense was growing, and today, it was unbearable. It was early evening, and the Riders were all gathered at Hiccup's house and chatting. They had seen a few ships earlier—ships that looked like Dragon Hunter vessels. They needed to plan in case there was an attack.

But Tuffnut just cast a wary eye around at them. Each time he was asked something, he'd respond with a suspicious counter-question that made them back off. No one paid much mind to it, though. Tuffnut acted strange most of the time, anyways.

Tuffnut watched his friends chat around the room. He noticed when Hiccup's hand moved closer to Astrid's, or when Astrid gave a tender smile towards Hiccup, which would make him grin back. Fishlegs would smirk at the sight, Snotlout would roll his eyes, and Ruffnut would hide a smile. He was weirded out. What was going on?

Finally, he'd had enough of watching. He had to know what was going on. It was like everyone was in on a big secret… except for him. He hated that. He loved secrets! It was so fun to tell ones he'd been entrusted with to other people.

Tuffnut suddenly stood up during the middle of a conversation. The chatter died down as he glared down at them all.

"Tuff?" Hiccup asked, looking concerned. "What is it?"

Tuffnut crossed his arms. "Don't give the what is it act, Hiccup! I can see right through you!"

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances. "What do you mean, Tuffnut?" Astrid asked at last, and everyone else nodded in agreement to the question.

"You're all keeping a secret!" Tuffnut fired. "I can tell! You're all acting so weird—Ruff is barely shouting anymore, Snotlout isn't complaining as much, and Fishlegs is acting like he's got a girlfriend! Point is—everyone has been behaving very oddly lately, and I want to know why." With that, he glowered again, then sat back down in his seat.

"Woah, bro," said Ruffnut from beside him. "Take a chill pill. We're not acting that weird. You want me to yell? FINE!" She raised her voice to a shout. "SEE? I'M YELLING AGAIN! NOT WEIRD. NONE OF US ARE WEIRD!"

Hiccup, wincing, covered his ear. "Tuff… look… I…" He sighed, removing his hand from his ear when Ruffnut quieted. "You're right. We do have a secret… we were actually planning to tell you tomorrow, but I guess now is fine, too…"

Tuffnut raised an eyebrow. "Finally someone will tell me what's going on!"

Hiccup glanced at Astrid, who reached over and squeezed his shoulder. "Go on," she told him, inclining her head. The others nodded, as well.

"Okay." Hiccup took in a breath. "Tuffnut. Astrid and I… we're courting each other, and have been for several months. We didn't want to tell anyone, as we all have enough to worry about already, but Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Ruff found out on their own. You were the only one who didn't ask, didn't care, and didn't notice, so we didn't tell. We really did want to be honest, we did, but we thought it was for the best. Sorry, Tuff, we didn't mean to all be keeping a big secret from you. It just happened…"

Tuffnut was silent the whole time, his face impassive. But at the end, his blank face twitched into a smile, and he laughed.

"Oh!" he chuckled. "Ohhhh! Haha! Courting? Ha! I had this whole other idea in my head, where Hiccup was actually a vigilante, and Astrid was his sidekick, and you other guys made their costumes. Also, that Stoick was actually a soprano singing carrot and Gobber was a potato with ear problems—but this version makes a lot more sense!" He chortled again, slapping his knee. "Courting! Should've seen it in the first place!" He snorted. "And I suppose this means you're not dying?"

Hiccup face-palmed while Astrid laughed. "We never were!" Hiccup exclaimed. "Don't you think we would've told you guys if one of us was dying?"

"I don't know," said Tuffnut suspiciously. "You didn't tell us you were courting—did you?"

The whole team grinned at the outcome of this conversation, including Tuffnut. They sat there, laughing so hard that their sides hurt. This went on for a long, happy time, until Hiccup, caught up in the moment, turned to Astrid and kissed her. Cat-calls and wolf-whistles arose, though they weren't deriding—just teasing.

"Apparently, we can't keep secrets, can we?" Hiccup shouted to Astrid over the ruckus the others were making.

Smiling, Astrid shook her head. "Apparently not! But who cares? Let the whole world know!" The two grinned at each other for a stretched-out moment that seemed to last for eternity. A stillness beneath the chaos. Calm during the storm. Hiccup took Astrid's hand in his and turned back to the other Riders.

"So, now does everyone know?" Hiccup asked.

Tuffnut began to snigger. "Not your father!"

All of the Riders except Hiccup laughed, as he was too busy paling to find humor in this. "Oh gods," he finally said. "That… Gods help us… Maybe in another—"

He was interrupted as the door to his house opened, and Stoick himself entered. He cocked his head when he saw the Riders sitting in his living room, smirks across nearly all of their faces.

"What's going on?" he asked, confused. That made all of the group burst out laughing. At last, Hiccup and Astrid stood up, still hand in hand.

Hiccup met his father's eyes. "Dad," he said, glancing away to smile over at Astrid, "I need to tell you something… something I really couldn't be happier about."

Whew, that was a long one! Just over 4800 words—the longest chapter yet! But you patient and awesome people deserve only the best—especially because I haven't updated in so long!

Special thanks tooooo...

thepurplewriter333, FanWriter02, devufairy, Plasma-energy-virus, phieillydinyia, TheLastInspiritDragonRider, katurdi, annndddddddd DragonGirl310. You all are so sweet, and I couldn't ask for better reviews. Also, thank you guys for FIFTY FAVES! Thanks amazing! And we're nearing 60 followers, and ALMOST A HUNDRED REVIEWS! 6 more! :D :D :D LET'S TRY TO GET TO 100, OKAY? Instead of Race to the Edge... RACE TO 100 REVIEWS!

I'm doing better with life and stuff, though the summer is growing busier and busier...

Also: IMPORTANT! I have only ONE request left to do—so get busy requesting, guys, before I run out of prompts! Though I have tons of ideas of my own, I'm sure there's at least ONE thing you'd like to see in RttE! :-)

Sorry for the long A/N, heheh, SORRY... I hope you guys enjoyed! Until the next one! *tips hat, then goes back to furiously writing*