AN: I think this is my favourite one. (So far?)

AN2: I have made some tweaks to the original text. I had unintentionally given Hiccup more fuel than he deserved.

Disclaimer: I don't own How to Train Your Dragon or any of the associated characters or settings.

He was twenty and she was nineteen. Things were finally getting easier for Hiccup. The sun was shining, the tribe was happy, the dragons weren't damaging anything, Valka was finally comfortable in Berk, and Astrid was handily running the Dragon Academy. For once Hiccup felt as though things were going his way. For once he felt like he could have a little peace.

And with a little peace comes a little adventure – he finally had time to spend with Astrid again, finally had time to work on his map again, and finally had time to let Toothless really stretch his wings again. If the gods would allow it, he'd be able to do all three at once. If only he could find Astrid first.

Hiccup figured the best place to start would be the Academy. She was in charge, so it seemed like a logical first step. He rode Toothless to the arena where he found Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs, and Snotlout tending to their dragons. Astrid was notably absent.

"Hey guys," he said as he dismounted Toothless, "Have any of you seen Astrid?"

Ruffnut snorted. "Oh, we've seen her," she said.

Tuffnut laughed. "Yeah, we've seen her," he echoed. Confusion crossed over his features. "Wait. We have? Seen her do what?"

"Okay, thanks for nothing," Hiccup said.

He turned to Fishlegs. "Fishlegs?"

"Yes?" Fishlegs replied looking nervously to the side.

"Have you seen Astrid?"

"My name is Fishlegs. I live on the island of Berk. I don't know anything about Dragons or those who ride them," he said in monotone, refusing to look at Hiccup.

Hiccup glowered at him. He looked to his final option: Snotlout. He was leaning against Hookfang, studiously looking at his nails. Hiccup sighed.

"I don't suppose you know where Astrid is, do you, Snotlout?"

"I guess I have to be the one to tell you," he said, his mouth curled up on one side.

Hiccup knew Snotlout was taking great pleasure in whatever it was that he was going to tell him. Hiccup waited, his mouth locked in a tight line.

"Well, you know how women are. One minute they're all 'Yeah! You're the Viking!' and the next they're all 'Oooh, Hiccup has a Night Fury'. Before you know it, it's all 'Oooh, Eret has a tattoo beard'."

"What are you even talking about, Snotlout?" Hiccup sighed.

"She's been spending all her time with Eret!" Fishlegs said rapidly. He sighed. "Oh, that feels so much better to have it out."

"I'd spend all my time with Eret," Ruffnut sighed.

Hiccup followed her gaze upward where he could see Stormfly and Skullcrusher zipping through the clouds. He turned back to his friends.

"I told her to train him," he said.

"Oh, she's training him," Snotlout sneered.

Hiccup glared at him.

"What?" Snotlout spat.

Hiccup watched Stormfly and Skullcrusher hovering in the clouds. He could just make out Astrid's gesticulating to Eret. He had asked her to train Eret. Hiccup saw the value in having another rider on Berk. He saw the value that Eret could bring to the tribe. He'd never really stopped to think about what it would mean for Astrid to spend so much time with him. He never thought he'd have to think about that.

Astrid looked down and waved at Hiccup. He didn't respond, but watched stoically as Stormfly and Skullcrusher came hurtling out of the clouds toward the arena. Hiccup didn't flinch, even as their speed blew up the dust at his feet. Astrid and Eret landed their dragons, laughing.

"That was amazing! Thanks, Astrid," Eret said, grinning at her.

"You're a natural! We need to get up there and try out some evasive work. Hiding in cloud cover, avoiding dragonfire, avoiding obstacles…"

Hiccup grew annoyed with Astrid's excitement. It wasn't really that she was excited so much as she was completely and utterly ignoring him. To talk to another man. A man he had pushed her towards.

"The best was when we-" Eret started.

"With the-" Astrid continued excitedly.

"And then when we did that," Eret gestured his hand in a spiral.

"Barrel roll?" Hiccup asked flatly.

"Yeah! Exactly!" Astrid said excitedly.

Her face fell when she saw him standing there, leaning against Toothless. Hiccup had never been very good at hiding his emotions. He knew his face was hard, flat, and angry.

Astrid narrowed her eyes at him, just slightly. "Everything alright?"

Hiccup pushed himself up to standing and sauntered slowly from Toothless' side. He shrugged, "Sure. Of course," he said looking everywhere but at her face, "Why wouldn't it be? Everything's great."

Astrid frowned at him, studying his face with thinly veiled curiosity.

"Hi, Hiccup," Eret said jovially, stepping forward. "Astrid's a great teacher."

"I bet," Hiccup said, still looking solely at Astrid.

Her face darkened with his words, anger replacing her cautious interest. She spun around and suddenly became very interested in Stormfly's scales.

Eret looked from Astrid to Hiccup and back again. He started taking slow, even steps backward, away from them.

"Well, I'll be going. See you tomorrow, Astrid. Hiccup, good to see you." Eret's words were hastily strung together and his retreat from the arena was even hastier.

Hiccup watched Astrid in silence as she stroked Stormfly.

"This is about to get good," he heard Ruffnut whisper to Tuffnut.

"Do you think she'll hit him?" he asked excitedly.

Hiccup turned and glared at them. "A little privacy, guys?"

Ruffnut scoffed. "No fun."

Hiccup glared at the group until they had cleared the arena. The silence between Astrid and Hiccup was unbearable. He felt the inkling of betrayal somewhere in his gut, but he couldn't be sure if it was real or all in his head. He stared at the back of Astrid's head, white blonde hair ruffling in the growing wind. Dark clouds were rolling toward the shore from somewhere out over the ocean.

"You know, I was hoping we'd be able to fly out today and continue the map," he said, trying to keep his voice conversational.

"Oh yeah? Well, it looks like it's going to storm now, so…"

Astrid finally turned to face him. He searched her face for any indication of guilt. All he saw was the same beautiful, strong girl he had always known. Her eyes were as clear as the sky on a summer's day. Her skin was pink, rosy from the flight and exertion. Her expression was even and expectant, devoid of the anger that had only just been brewing moments ago.

"Maybe we can go tomorrow?" she suggested lightly.

"I thought you were meeting Eret tomorrow," Hiccup said. He hadn't meant for his voice to be so hard, so accusatory.

Astrid narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. "That can be rearranged."

"Can it?"

"Hiccup, what is this about?" she asked, exasperated.

Hiccup shrugged. "You tell me. I heard you've been spending a lot of time with him lately."

Astrid's face pinched with incredulity. "Training him."

Hiccup knew he should check his words. He knew there was a better way to deal with this, but he couldn't stop himself. "Private lessons?"

Astrid shook her head slowly. "You wanted him trained. Look, Hiccup, I don't know where you're going with this, but I think it's best we stop this conversation now."

She turned back to Stormfly. Hiccup knew better, he really did, but he also knew that Eret was everything Hiccup was not. Eret had more Viking in his baby finger than Hiccup did in his entire being. Would it really be so odd that Astrid would be looking for those qualities in a mate? Would it really be so hard for her to walk away from him?

"What if I don't want to?" he persisted.

"Too bad," she said, climbing onto Stormfly's back.

Hiccup put his hand on Stormfly's nose, subduing the dragon momentarily. "I'm your Chief."

Astrid's eyebrows rose to incredible heights on her forehead. "That's what you are? My Chief?"

She shook her head at him disgustedly and pulled up on Stormfly's saddle. "Stormfly, up!"

Hiccup glared at her. "Where are you going?" he shouted as she and Stormfly rose in the air.

"Away from you!" she shouted back.

"You can't run from me! I have a Night Fury!" he hollered at her.

He jumped on Toothless' back. "Come on, bud. Don't let her get away."

They rose in the air rapidly, the sudden change in pressure gave Hiccup a rush to his head, as it always did. They were hot on Stormfly's tail. Astrid looked over her shoulder then hunkered down in her saddle and urged Stormfly higher.

"Astrid!" Hiccup shouted at her.

She kept flying higher, but a Deadly Nadder was no match for a Night Fury in speed and Hiccup was next to her in seconds. Astrid hovered Stormfly and glowered at Hiccup.

"What do you want?" she shouted.

They were sitting in the middle of the storm clouds that had been threatening Berk. Hiccup felt the first drops of rain, cold against his face.

"I want to talk to you!"

"I have to nothing to say to you!"

"Astrid! What's going on with Eret?"

"I told you!" she screamed, her face red with rage, "I am training him!"

"Training him in what, exactly? When I asked you to teach him, I didn't expect you to fall for him!" Hiccup shouted.

"To fall for him?" Astrid shouted back, her eyes wide with disbelief, "Is that what you think is going on? Is that what you think of me?"

The storm was upon them now fully. Rain and hail pelted their faces. Lightning grew nearer, which made Toothless nervously change position. Hiccup patted his head.

"Whoa, bud. It's okay."

He looked back up at Astrid. "We should land. It's not safe up here."

But Astrid's face told him that she had no intention of landing, despite the wind, rain, and booming thunder.

"I can stay up here all day, Hiccup. But you can't," she said, pointedly looking at his metal leg.

"Astrid."

She turned Stormfly into the clouds. Hiccup had no choice but to follow her. He'd never leave her alone up here. Lightning lit up the sky and Toothless' movements became more frightened and erratic. Still, Hiccup urged him onward. He could barely see Astrid ahead of him, but once they had a clear visual, Toothless was beside Stormfly.

"Turn back, Hiccup," Astrid yelled.

"I won't leave you here!"

"Don't worry about it! Maybe Eret will rescue me," she said. Even the howling winds couldn't hide her heavy sarcasm.

"I didn't think you were the in-need-of-rescuing kind," he yelled as he urged Toothless deeper into the storm.

The lightning came more frequently and closer than Hiccup would have liked. He knew this was a dangerous game. He knew that he ran the risk of killing both himself and Toothless. They were both marked with metal. They had both been hit before. But still, he urged Toothless on. Some things were worth dying for. Some people were.

The bolt came out of nowhere, but those that hit often do. It was Toothless' tail that took it and his replacement fin was burning up fast. Toothless was losing control over his flight. It had happened a thousand times before. Hiccup was so much better at hanging on now than he had been five years ago, but there's only so much turbulence a body can take before it's thrown from its saddle. Hiccup felt it when he detached from Toothless, the unexpected horror of weightlessness. Suddenly they were both free falling through the stormy sky. As always, Hiccup kept his head about him. If he activated his flight suit, he ran the risk of being taken too high, too far away from Toothless. The only chance they had was if he could somehow reach Toothless, but even then, what would happen? The tail fin was gone and they were too high up to land reasonably.

They came out of nowhere – Stormfly and Astrid. Astrid grabbed Hiccup's arm and yanked him onto Stormfly.

"Toothless!" he said.

She nodded once and Stormfly dove to retrieve the falling Night Fury. Toothless roared once when Stormfly's claws connected with him. The problem was a Deadly Nadder wasn't exactly made to carry two humans and an injured Night Fury in the middle of a lightning storm. They were spinning out of control fast.

Hiccup's hands closed around Astrid's waist tightly. "There!" he shouted, pointing to an outcrop of rock.

"Already on it," Astrid shouted back. "Stormfly, aim for that cliff!"

Stormfly dropped Toothless hard into the cliff they'd found before landing poorly herself. Hiccup was thrown off Stormfly's back, skidding hard against the rock face. His head hit the ground with a crack and the world went black.

The first thing Hiccup saw when he opened his eyes was Astrid's face. He could see a line of worry creasing her forehead, her eyes swimming with concern.

"Hiccup!" she cried, throwing herself into his chest.

"Ow," he muttered, reaching up to rub the back of his head. The storm seemed to let up just then, a long beam of sunlight penetrating the clouds.

Astrid sat up, her hands on either side of his face, studying his eyes. "Are you alright?" she asked frantically.

"I think so," he said as he tried to sit up. The world spun wildly. "On second thought," he said, laying back down, "Maybe not. Toothless?"

Astrid smiled and it was better than the sun breaking through the clouds. "He's fine. We're all fine. You, naturally, had to hit your head off a rock. I hope it's knocked some sense into you."

Hiccup remembered that he'd been upset with her about Eret. About what the others had said. He'd been worried that he was losing her. He'd been ridiculous. Astrid had saved his life yet again. How was it that he could trust her with his life, but not to be faithful to him? That, he had to admit, made no sense.

"I'm sorry, Astrid," he said softly, reaching up to touch her cheek.

"You should be."

"It's just…I'm…me and Eret is Eret. I could see why you'd want to spend more time with him. I guess I was afraid of losing you."

"You talk about him as though you're in love with him. Should I be concerned?"

Hiccup laughed and winced. Apparently laughing hurt. Astrid pressed her palms into either side of his face. They were warm against his cheeks and he leaned into them.

"I love you, you stubborn, pig-headed idiot."

Hiccup smiled, just a tiny bit. It had occurred to him that he had neglected certain duties expected of a Chief of a tribe. It occurred to him that although his brains were slightly addled at the moment, there was nothing clearer in his life than Astrid.

"Astrid," he said, his eyes locked on hers.

"Hiccup."

"Marry me?"

"I thought you'd never ask."