Living in Berk meant that the cold was always biting at your fingers. And your ears. And your toes. And basically your entire body. Being cold was a sign of being alive.

There had only been one other time when she had been so warm. And judging by the throbbing heartbeat in her ear, she hoped it was for the same reason. Astrid kept her eyes shut, lest she wake up and spoil the dream. She focused on the sensations she was feeling. The wind howling through crevasses to tickle at her neck, the musky scent of smoke and salty air, and the warm feeling of skin upon her own. She soon came to realize that her clothes had been removed. Furs wrapped around her waist, most likely to keep her from getting scratched on his sharp fins. She could feel his ribs moving under her fingertips.

She should have been embarrassed. She should have jumped away from him and demanded for her clothes back. But she didn't. The warm pleasure of flesh against flesh was enough to stifle any obtrusive thoughts. She had seen Heather and Cami and they didn't wear clothing. This was normal to Hiccup. There was no need to fight it.

She was home.

Carefully, she opened her eyes and looked up to her forgotten friend. The year had done well for him. His plump nose no longer looked comedic as the rest of his face had filled out and turned to sharp angles. His jaw was strong and sporting scruffy hairs. His cheeks were still dusted with freckles. Under his proud brow, his long eyelashes were closed to sleep, but she longed to see the divinely green orbs that hid behind.

Gently, she reached out and cupped his face, rubbing her thumb along his cheek bones. His eyes blinked open and slid over to her.

"Hello." He whispered, his voice hadn't changed.

"Hi." She squeaked back.

He grinned widely, and she felt his fingers spidering up and down her back. "I missed you."

She felt her lips pulling into a matching smile. "I missed you too."

Her haze was suddenly lifted as she pushed herself up on her elbows. "What happened? How did I get here?"

His brows furrowed, "I should be asking you the same thing. I just got back from a trip to Serica with Cami, where I was for the last month. One minute I'm climbing into bed to take a nap, and the next, Toothless emerges from the water, you in his mouth."

The blonde glanced down to below the hammock where the reptile was slumbering.

"So what did happen?"

She had to rewind the events in her head. What had started the whole mess?

She was standing on the cliff face, then Snotlout came and started talking to her. Then she stepped off the cliff.

Holy shit, she stepped off a cliff!

"Snotlout proposed to me." She blurted.

Hiccup pushed up on his arm as well, bringing his chest back into contact with her. "What?"

She shook her head, "yeah, I was out on the cliff side, just looking out on the water, and then Snotlout proposed to me."

"What did you say?"

"I think I said no…but I don't think I gave him a proper answer."

"Oh. Okay."

Astrid was vaguely aware of his hand sliding lower on her back. "Anyway…" She whispered. After all, he was so close to her. She readjusted her stance and sat up on her knees, straddling his tail. "I heard a voice and I followed it...right off the edge."

His eyes widened. "A mermaid's? Didn't you wear your ring?"

"Yes. But…" She dared to look him in the eye. "It was a man's voice."

Hiccup's lips parted to speak, but he was silent. He blinked a few times and then became startled. "What did he say?"

"He was calling my name."

Hiccup's eyes slammed shut. "Oh gods…"

"What?"

"It was me…" He shook his head.

"Yeah…?"

"I wasn't even thinking…I was…I came back, and I was thinking about you and your name just…" He pressed himself to her. "I'm so sorry Astrid…I didn't mean to hurt you."

"But how did it happen? I mean, I wore my ring, isn't that supposed to block it out?"

"Not if I'm singing directly to you." He shook his head. "Gods Astrid, I'm so so sorry…"

Astrid wrapped her arms around him tightly, sure and strong. She just wanted to be in his arms. "It's okay. At least I got to see you again."

He simpered. "Sorry…"

"Stoick explained it to me. He said you didn't feel like you belonged on Berk."

He held her at arms length. "I don't—…"

"But you do! You must have seen how everyone reacted to you! We love you!"

Hiccup glanced away. "Regardless…is that all that Stoick said?"

"Well, yes. Mostly."

He nodded. "Good."

"He also said that he promised you that he'd let me marry for love."

Hiccup smiled. "And that's why Snotlout proposed?"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "I'm so done with talk of marriage!" She slid passed him and flopped down on the hammock. She pulled the furs up around her, now feeling a bit embarrassed with her state of dress.

Hiccup laid beside her. "Oh no please, I'm curious. What brought this on?"

She grunted. "Snotlout has always thought we'd get married."

"I know. He told me."

"He told you?! Of course he did." She rolled her eyes. "I'll be seventeen in december, so all these marriage proposals from different tribes have been rolling in. But, thanks to you, I've been allowed to turn them all down. So thanks for that."

He grinned.

"I think that Stoick assumed that I might actually accept Snotlout's request. I mean, I might have…if things were different."

"What things?"

She glanced at his neck before meeting his eyes. "If I hadn't met you."

He blushed and looked away.

Astrid sighed wistfully. "I wish I could stay here. Here, where I have talked face to face with what I delight in. An original, with vigorous and expanded mind. I'd grieve to be separated from this haven once again. I don't want to return to gray skies and cold hearts. I want to stay here with you."

Hiccup's voice was even. "A cave is no place for a lady."

She snorted. "I'm not a lady. I'm a shield maiden. I can handle it." Then she sat up again, stretching.

Hiccup's eyes traced the outline of her figure then regarded her. "Does that bother you?"

"What?"

He tripped on his wording. "Well, you—you're unclothed. I took them off because they were wet, but I know you said that human's only bare themselves to spouses and parents?"

"Yes, that's true."

"Then…?"

"Do you mind it?"

"No, not at all. I don't really understand the purpose of clothing except for warmth."

"That's what I thought." She glanced downward.

"Ah, about that…I don't know what goes on down there…I didn't think I should study you without permission."

She smiled and adjusted the furs on her lap. "Thank you." Delicately, she pulled the leather cord from her hair and shook out her gold, damp locks.

He gaped in awe. "You look like a mermaid like that."

She smirked at him, coyly, then continued to pick at the tangles in her hair. "If you're curious, I'll save you the trouble." She suddenly blushed, realizing what she was talking about. "Oh gods this is awkward."

"Astrid, I am a full grown man...sort of. I can handle it."

She shook her head. "Well, between the legs is where babies comes from."

"You mean eggs?" He asked.

"Uh, Sort of? I mean, the eggs are inside the womb, and the vagina is sort of like the opening?"

"Oh, that's right, humans have their young grow inside them." He nodded.

Her brows furrowed in curiosity. "Then what about mermaids?"

"They lay eggs, like fish."

"Oh…" She nodded. "So, the eggs are already fertilized when they lay them?"

"Yeah, that happens in the process of…the drowning." He gave a helpless shrug. "Then she lays them in a safe place."

"How many?"

"It varies. Maybe ten to twenty. Only around five will hatch. And she'll be lucky if they make it to childhood."

"So mermaids are sort of endangered..." She sighed sadly.

"Yeah, well, their mating habits aren't the most practical."

"I suppose not." She huffed. Then, she cleared her throat. "Um, anyways, since we're on the subject...how did you end up being the only merman? Rare egg?"

He grew solemn and moved his gaze away.

"I know you don't like talking about it..." She offered.

"No, it's fine. I've prolonged this conversation long enough. I owe you an explanation."

She gazed at him patiently.

"I wasn't..." He sighed. "I wasn't born a merman. I was born a human."

Her brows furrowed and eyes narrowed. "...what?"

"You know how Stoick let me stay because I reminded him of his son?"

"No, you're not saying..."

"I am Hiccup. The Hiccup that the village talks about in hushed tones. I was thrown into the sea when I was only five. Yes, I remember it and Stoick...my father, is the only other one who knows."

"The mermaids?"

"Never knew my origins, though I'm sure they guessed."

Astrid bit her lip, trying with all her might to understand. "How? How did this happen to you?"

He thought back, tried to recall all that happened and discern what was skewed by nightmares. "I had a dream, after I fell. I dreamt of a woman, maybe a phantom...and she told me that I wasn't done yet. When I woke up, I had...scales and fins." He shrugged. At her confused face, he laughed weakly. "I know, it's weird."

"A little unbelievable..."

"Well, after aimlessly swimming around, a mermaid named Bertha, who had lost all of her pups, found me and took me to the school. They sort of protected me, but when I was old enough, they let me out on my own. I think since I'm a man, it made it hard for them to relate to me." He shrugged and shifted his gaze to her awestruck face. "So, yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think you'd believe me...and right before I left is when I found out Stoick knew. He had his hunches, but that was when he was sure of it."

"I just..." She shook her head. "This changes things..."

"I know. Look, I'm sorry, but I knew you needed the truth. I care a lot about you, and I didn't want to keep hiding this from you."

"So...you're Berk's heir!"

"Yeah."

"You could claim it! Do you know how cool that would be?"

"Astrid, I can't."

"I mean, it's super easy, and I could help you with it! A few words from Stoick and there'd be no doubt!"

"Astrid, I can't." He urged.

She stopped her tirade and evaluated him. "If...if Stoick knew about you...then why did you leave? Why did he even let you leave?"

"There were a lot of reasons. But this was the main one." He looked to his tail and flicked his fins. "I love Berk. I grieved I leave it. But I just couldn't fit in. No matter how hard I tried, or wanted to. Regardless if I was human in the past. I'm not human now." Absently, he smoothed a hand over his scales. "As much as the villagers regarded me with kindness, there was still a point in time where they wanted me dead. I can't just forget about that."

Astrid gazed down to her lap. Gently, she raised her hand and grazed his scales with her finger tips. "What were the other reasons for leaving?" She whispered. "Did I do something?"

He leaned a little closer to her and covered her hand with his own. "I'm afraid you did."

"What?"

"Stoick said if I was staying, I wasn't allowed to see you. He said he didn't want you dreaming for something impossible to happen. But I told him it would be too hard to do that, so I left instead."

"Hiccup..."

"But...I think...it doesn't matter anymore."

Whatever Astrid was going to say was caught in her throat. Her breath hitched as she trembled. Her lips just barely grazed his own, just for a second.

His tongue flicked out and wetted his lips and that was all the sign that she needed. Astrid planted her hand on his chest and pushed him back to the hammock.

Before he could even blink, she had her hands tangled in his hair as she desperately kissed him. Her lips fumbled messily over his before he took the reigns and kissed her back. His lips were warm, and sweet, and wonderful, just as she had always imagined. His scent enveloped her in a familiar embrace as a syrupy feeling began to churn in her body. Blood fled to her cheeks, making her warm with passion and thrilled to the bone. His fingers dug into her skin, leaving little crescent shapes behind. Overcome with longing and desire, Astrid tilted her head to deepen the kiss. She wanted to be wholly and completely overwhelmed by him. Her hands snaked to around his neck, and then down his chest. She tasted his lips with her tongue, revealing in the salty flavor. He gasped slightly and granted her access to his smart mouth. He hummed and groaned as she did the same. Love was a great thing, Astrid decided, and she had made the right choice. Her lips skirted over his face, leaving affectionate kisses over his cheek and jaw.

Hiccup muttered her name in devotion as she gnawed at the sensitive skin of his neck. His head was a buzz with ecstasy.

Astrid returned to his lips and gave several delicate caresses, just enough to make him want more. Her nose nudged against his as she bored her eyes into his own impossibly green. Her breaths were labored as she panted. She whispered, ever so gently, "I love you."

The slight ministrations the merman was doing halted as his eyes opened fully. "What?"

Embarrassed, but not ashamed, the blonde nodded a bit with sincerity. "I love you."

The merman pulled away from her, staring all the while. He sat up, using his elbows as a prop. His eyes were wide with surprise and something else. Fear? Excitement? She couldn't tell, not with the pulse pounding in her ears.

"W-would you say something? You're making me nervous." She blushed. Subconsciously, she pulled the furs closer around her, to hide. But his hands had not left their place.

Before he could respond, his body seized frightfully as he groaned. His back arched and he slid out of the hammock and onto the wood floor.

"Hiccup!" Astrid cried fearfully. She leapt from the bed and knelt next to his writhing form. "Oh what do I do?! What's wrong!? What do you need?!"

Hiccup hissed and growled as his body twisted and contorted. He began to secrete a green slime from his pores.

"Is it water? Do you need water?" She grabbed his arm and pulled. The goo made him slip from her grip. It also made things sticky, and almost glued him to the floor.

"What's happening?!" She panicked.

Thankfully for Astrid, there was someone else in the room that was able to help. Toothless had been alerted at Hiccup's first grunt of pain, and once he saw the boy was having some sort of fit, he dove into the water.

Astrid could only sit and watch, desperate to do something to help him. She filled a bowl with water and dumped it on him, hoping that would ease his convulsions, but the liquid only beaded up and rolled off of him. Hiccup coughed and choked.

"I don't know what to do!" She cried.

"Wait!" A woman's voice called. In the midst of her hysteria, Astrid didn't hear the mystical beings surfacing. Camicazi and Heather had appeared along with another blonde woman, much larger then the other two. She had her long blonde hair braided and adorned with shells and bones. She was stout, but very beautiful. Her voice was shrill and gave Astrid goosebumps. No doubt, this woman was in authority.

Astrid evaluated the mermaid as Toothless climbed back up on the shelf and waited patiently nearby.

"What's wrong with him?" The girl finally whispered.

The older mermaid ignored her and looked back to Heather. "Is this the human you were talking about? The one he befriended?"

"Yeah," replied the brunette.

"She's the one who caught him." Camicazi added.

Astrid scooted back in fear. "It was an accident." She pleaded. "And this, whatever I did…I didn't mean it!"

The elder narrowed her eyes. "Oh you most certainly meant it. If you didn't, this wouldn't have happened." She placed her hands on the edge of the shelf and pulled herself up to sit. "I am Bertha, I cared for Hiccup when he was a pup." She provided.

"He's spoken of you." Astrid tried to be hospitable. "Is he going to be alright? What's going on?"

"What did you say to him? Right before this happened?"

"I-I-I—….I told him…that I loved him."

Bertha laughed humorlessly and looked around. "That would do it." She seemed to spot something and scooted over to get it.

"What? What did I do?!"

The mermaid took up a golden bladed knife and unsheathed it, admiring it's shine. "You began a bond with him." Her eyes locked onto Astrid. "Now we must finish it."