It's been a long week, to be sure! Again, thank you to the new followers and favourites, and to those kind enough to review (sometimes as each chapter uploads; you know who you are). Here is a nice long chapter to pick us back up where we left off.

Chapter Six: Two Crowns

The horn blew and the pair looked at each other. Their shoulders sank and their lips quivered. He kissed her again as if it would stop them from hearing and they held onto each other. Hiccup buried his face in her shoulder and she smashed her face into his chest, clutching at him desperately.

"This isn't fair," Astrid whimpered into his riding suit. "I hate this."

Hiccup took a deep breath and lifted her chin. "Me too… but I have to. I tried everything, Astrid, and I can't…"

"Even… reopening your wounds…" Astrid quoted shakily. Hiccup stiffened as if he never meant to say that. She looked up at him and nodded, sniffing loudly. "Wow…"

She saw it in his eyes, the memory, the pain of hurting himself once more, maybe twice to buy some more time, and it sickened her. She nodded and stepped away. She wiped the tears from her face and readjusted her hair. She looked up at him and found it hard to keep eye contact. "You look awful."

Hiccup squinted. "You do, too. Sorry."

She shrugged and ran her hand up her arm sheepishly. "You know… maybe you'll like her. Or maybe we can come here sometimes to beat the crap out of each other if you don't."

Hiccup winced and forced a chuckle. "I don't think that will be possible… if I'm married, I'm married. If we're fighting, chances are we won't be after we feel better."

She nodded and held back her tears. She took a deep breath and moved away. But he cupped her elbow and turned her towards him. He had a pained smile on his face, a bruise forming over his cheek bone, and he hoisted her over his shoulder.

"Gah! Hiccup, let me GO!" she cried out as she kicked. Hiccup held onto her and readjusted her weight over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He laughed and walked her to the water. He winced as he did so, but Astrid noticed how easy it was for him to carry her. He had carried her like that before years ago for fun and they both fell on their faces. But today, it was little to no issue. She even noticed his back muscles moving under his riding suit. She blushed.

"I didn't ask you to meet me here to talk about marriage," Hiccup grunted. "I wanted to show you something."

"If this is another ridiculous invention that could potentially take off my head, I swear to the gods that I will beat you with your own leg!" Astrid yelled. Hiccup shrugged, forcing the air out of her lungs. He dropped her right into Toothless' saddle, who had been silently waiting for them. Astrid glared at Hiccup as he grinned up at her. He handed her a helmet of sorts. He looked at it without touching it. She wrinkled her nose.

"What is that?" she asked sourly. "It looks like a bucket."

"I guess you could see it as that. It's a bucket for your face."

Hiccup forced it onto her head and Astrid looked at him with the most unamused glare she could muster. "Why?" she sneered horrendously.

"To protect you from the wind. Like my suit."

"Which looks bizarre in itself," she muttered. Hiccup laughed again.

"This baby protects me from everything! I mean, I made yours too, can't you tell that you're more comfortable flying?"

"Not against the freezing sea, apparently," she scowled. "And not made for a woman, initially."

Hiccup looked away, eyebrows raised in embarrassment. "Aaaand we'll leave that conversation there."

Astrid laughed this time as Hiccup put his own helmet on to cover his face. He tightened some straps on his suit, rubbed his side for good measure, and climbed in front of her. He buckled the harness to his suit, clipped his leg into the tail-pedal. He looked over his shoulders, his eyes the only thing visible. He looked to Stormfly and gave her the hand signal to go home. Astrid groaned and wrapped her arms around Hiccup.

"Should you be flying?" she asked. "You're still hurt."

"Yeah, but this will be worth it. I can't wait to hear your reaction."

"And that doesn't make me feel better at AHHHH!"

Toothless exploded into the air, soaring straight up. Her heart slammed into her spine and she clutched at Hiccup desperately. They kept flying up and up, Hiccup cheering and Astrid finding the same thrill. She laughed as she got used to it and Toothless entered the clouds. Astrid's thrill was soon replaced by concern. This was the highest she had ever gone.

Toothless leveled out and Hiccup unbuckled his harness. Astrid squeaked. He smiled and turned his body to face hers, straddling Toothless backwards. Astrid panicked.

"Nope, no, not cool, turn around, turn around right now!"

"Come here."

He grabbed her and pulled her close. He brought his legs up and crossed them so his entire body was on top of Toothless, and not around him. "Okay, put your foot in the pedal."

"No."

"Come on!" he whined. She gulped and inched her foot forward until it touched the pedal. She eased her foot into it and felt the clip wrap around her ankle. She looked up at Hiccup who readied himself.

"Okay, on three, grab on to the reins."

"But you're sitting on them!" she growled.

"One!"

"Hiccup, what are you doing?!"

"Two!"

"I swear, if you –"

"Three!"

Hiccup raised his arms and fell off Toothless, sliding over the edge into nothingness, falling into the clouds. Astrid screamed and Toothless reared his head. She wriggled her foot in the pedal, hyperventilating, wondering if she was supposed to catch him. Cranking her foot down, Toothless dove.

Suddenly, Hiccup emerged from the clouds wearing a wing suit. The stretch of leather between his arms and her ankles were taut with leather. Astrid wrenched up on Toothless, crying out, trying to avoid him as she watched him soar through the air, cheering and swooping.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"Flying! Catch me if you can!"

Astrid swore under her breath. She placed a hand on Toothless' head. "Go get him. I'll do what I can."

Toothless roared and began to glide after him, swooping underneath his rider as he flew above. Astrid tried to reach up to grab him but Hiccup pulled an arm in and banked to the side. Astrid glared, her competitiveness rising within her.

Astrid and Toothless tore after him, Toothless obviously letting his rider get away. But Astrid gently cranked the tail pedal to make Toothless go even faster. She wasn't used to his back or his saddle. Stormfly's shoulders were wider apart and she had a crown of spikes to hold onto and avoid if she threw herself off. They charged after Hiccup through the sea stacks and beacon pillars before Astrid lunged forward and grabbed him. She wrenched him back and pinned him down to the saddle, almost losing her balance.

She proceeded to hit him over and over. "Don't you ever do that again!"

He merely laughed.

The three of them soared high over the island and quieted when they saw the ships approaching the island, peppering the blue water. Astrid let Hiccup replace her in the saddle and she put her cheek on his back. "She's on one of those boats…"

"Don't remind me."

Astrid gave his body a squeeze. "You know when Toothless lands, that's it. We won't be able to do this anymore."

Hiccup was silent for a minute before he reached down towards his foot and cranked a lever back. Toothless' tail jammed open and Hiccup turned himself around. It was steady so high up in the air and Hiccup pulled off his helmet. His hair whipped about hilariously as he tossed it nonchalantly into the air.

"Your helmet!" she gasped. Hiccup shrugged and pulled hers off.

"Toothless can only glide for so long."

He dropped her helmet and pulled her close. He kissed her deeply, passionately, holding onto her freshly bruised and cut face, running a thumb over her cheekbone. Astrid's heart soared as she felt the power of Toothless beneath her and the air around her, the taste of Hiccup on her lips, as they flew through the clouds, knowing it was the last chance they'd get. She wrapped her legs around his waist simply to get closer to him – kissing while straddling a dragon was too much effort, and she wrapped her arm around his neck. She kissed him and tasted him and let herself go for once, forgetting for a tragic moment that someone else was waiting for him.

Stoick glared when Hiccup entered the house. "The horn blew an hour ago!"

Hiccup was pale, his eyes red. But Stoick knew it was because of the wind. It didn't explain the cuts on his face and the awkward angle to his nose. Hiccup didn't look up at first.

"Your face. What happened to it?" he asked, unamused. "It looks like someone beat the snot out of you."

Hiccup breathed deeply and responded quietly. "Rough landing. I'm fine."

Stoick straightened his shoulders and he smacked a hand on Hiccup's back. Hiccup groaned and held his side as his father broke out into joyous laughter.

"My boy, you have no idea how proud I am of this day. For years, I have waited and waited to read your mother's scroll, to see who she picked for you eighteen years ago! You were a wee lad then, but now… The next month will bring much celebration! Sword fights, dances, dragon tournaments, everything!"

Hiccup stepped away and raised an eyebrow. "A month?"

"I know you want to marry right away but these things take time, my boy."

"Dad, stop," Hiccup sighed. He rubbed his eyes. "Please, stop."

Stoick stepped back and furrowed his eyebrows. "Why? Aren't you happy? We have three clans here with beautiful daughters, all of whom ready to see you wed!"

"I don't want to marry someone from another clan," Hiccup said sternly.

"You're getting cold feet, I get it, it's normal!" Stoick sighed, throwing his hands to his sides. "The other clans aren't bad, Hiccup."

"Dad! I don't want to go up on some stage and proclaim my love to someone who I don't even know!"

Stoick frowned. "Son… when I found out I was to wed your mother, I felt the same way. But I didn't think I could fall in love and when I read her name out, it was the most wonderful feeling an old brute like me could feel. Don't you want the same feeling?"

Hiccup wanted to say he already felt it. He didn't need a piece of paper to help him with that. "I wanted it to be my choice."

"Ah." Stoick put his fists on his hips and looked about the house for a moment. "You're going to be chief one day, son. And that means things are not necessarily going to turn out the way you want them to. You're going to open that scroll and honour your mother's wishes. Understood?"

All he got was a scoff and a wide stare. "Seriously? That's what you're going to say?"

"Understood?" Stoick growled. Hiccup threw his hands up in the air and groaned in defeat.

"Fine. Whatever."

Stoick leaned back and smiled again. "Well then. Clean yourself up. The clans are meeting in the Great Hall and I want you looking your best, mingle with them, find out who's who."

He moved to leave, but stopped himself. He reached out and cracked Hiccup's nose back to it's original position. Hiccup gasped and held his face as a gush of blood spilled from one of his nostrils. "You'll find some clothes I had the seamstresses make for today. Prepare for rain tonight."

His father gave him a smile and a nod and left the house. When the door opened, Hiccup could hear the villagers taking loudly, as if there were hundreds of people outside. There probably were. Hiccup wiped the new stream of blood from his nostril and stormed upstairs, where Toothless peaked his head in to see him. He saw his rider upset and tried to cheer him up by grinning a huge toothless grin at him. Hiccup for once couldn't return the favour and found the clothes on his bed. He looked away from them and inadvertently looked at the chest laying on his shelf. He squeezed his eyes shut and dug his palms into his face.

He didn't want to think about it. But Astrid tore off Toothless as soon as he touched the ground and ran into her house. No other words, nothing. They eventually pulled from each other so they could land and it hurt. Hiccup put a hand over his heart and blinked for a few moments, feeling. He hadn't really felt the flutter before, but now it was there, he felt it was the most unfair thing he could have felt.

The clothes were soon on and his face was washed. He looked down at himself and felt ridiculous. The clothing was normal, maybe even fancy: a new cotton shirt that was tight around the wrists and loose everywhere else, with a collar that hung open over his chest save for a few undone laces for protection. The shirt was white with red embellishments, and he wore black trousers with it. A huge belt with a dragon crest wrapped around his hips and he had his chiefdom crown that he only wore on the most important occasions. This meant he had never worn it before, save for Astrid's memorial to her parents and all those lost to the river poison and the Outcast raid.

He placed it on his head. It was simple, a gold band that circled his head and did nothing but show he was the chief's son. It made him look different. He didn't like it. He ran his hand over his chin and wrinkled his face to the sight of stubble coming in and the bruises becoming very noticeable. Astrid certainly had a mean fist. And she was good with rocks. And kissing.

"Stop it!" Hiccup growled at himself. He smacked himself over the head and grabbed the chest. He clutched it as if opening it would ruin his life, and he'd be damned if that wasn't the truth.

The walk to the Great Hall was a short one. It had been hours since Stoick went ahead without him, and he couldn't stall anymore. He wanted to see her again, but it would make things worse. He really wanted to take his drawing book and fly to a sea stack to create a new invention, maybe something to add to his shield or his leg. Or maybe a new sketch of the Skrill, now that he'd been acquainted with one a lot better (his side seized at the thought) or maybe he'd draw a person… he'd drawn a few people in the past, and it wasn't exactly the same as drawing blueprints.

He pulled open the Great Hall door, the sounds of loud kinsmen booming and echoing through the thick wood, and stepped inside.

"Ah, there he is!" a girl shrieked. Hiccup jumped at the sound and almost walked out before Toothless came up behind him and nudged him forward. Many people cheered and bowed, but a girl and her posse of ladies surrounded him. The head of the group of ladies grabbed onto his wrist and hauled him into her group.

"I have been waiting my whole life to meet you," she began shrilly. "I've sorted everything!"

Hiccup could only stammer and stare at her. She was a pompous sort of girl, slightly shorter then he but wearing the most outlandish and unreasonable clothing he had ever seen. She was wearing a dress, but it was poofed and raised and pinched in ways that made her look like a honey bee. It was bright red and her hair had been braided in ways that made Hiccup dizzy. And she wore paint on her face. She looked terrifying.

"I've sized rings, I've made arrangements to have a second saddle made for your fierce dragon, I've lined up your wardrobe, everything!"

Hiccup swallowed. "And your name is?"

"Aw, sugarplum, my name is Barb, were you so quick to forget your wife's name?"

Hiccup wavered and Toothless, great at picking up Hiccup's cues, caught the simple hand gesture he made and did what he was commanded. He hissed at Barb, shining his teeth at her and sending her flailing back.

Hiccup made his escape and struggled to get through the crowd, who all wanted to shake his hand or sell their daughter to him. Someone barred his way and Hiccup stumbled back. A huge woman in leather armour glared down at him. Her hair was wet and unruly, her brown eyes bearing into him fiercely. She had a hand on the hilt of a great sword and she looked at Toothless with hatred gleaming in her eyes.

"Ah. You let that thing inside," she spat. Hiccup glared.

"That thing is Toothless, and he's my dragon."

"Oh, I have no doubt," the woman admitted, "but it's inside. It should be hanging on a wall."

Hiccup was usually gentle, even ignorant to certain things. Insulting or threatening Toothless was not one of them. He shoved her back and she stumbled. She smiled harshly.

"Ah. Nice to see the potential father of my children isn't a total guppy."

Hiccup and a group of villagers surrounding him stepped away, looking to her and to him over and over. He wanted to hurl, not because she was ugly, but the thought of sleeping with her made his whole body hurt.

He staggered and stumbled to the front of the Great Hall, already regretting not running away. But he also noticed that Astrid wasn't there. She was nowhere to be found. That struck a nerve within him, but at least Toothless kept everyone away. He was good at that, especially when Hiccup was having an exceptionally hard time around people. But it had never been this bad; hundreds of people he didn't recognize stared at him with skeptical gazes harsh enough to bore a hole through his chest. His side hurt and his nose ached and by the time he limped up the stairs, his body was shaking and his vision blurred around the edges.

"Are you alright?" a gentle voice asked. A soft hand steadied him. He didn't even know he was falling over before the unfamiliar girl righted him. He looked up and saw a kind face with a soft smile, lovely green eyes like his own and cheeks rosy from the heat of the fire and people around them. Her black hair weaved around a braid of leather and her dress was practical to the point of looking normal. She was also young. Maybe thirteen or fourteen. She pulled her hands back.

"I'm sorry. My name is Rose."

Hiccup smiled gratefully. Rose stepped back and looked around timidly. "Rose? What does that mean?"

"I'm told it's a lovely flower. Red or white or maybe other colours. And the stem has thorns. But I've never seen one, so I'm not sure if I do the name justice."

"It's nice to meet you, Rose. Who did you come with?"

Rose hesitated before sheepishly looking outward. "I was sent as a representative to one of the clans who couldn't make it. I have been waiting very long to meet you. You look like him, you know. Your father."

Hiccup motioned to the box. "So your name. It could be here."

"I certainly hope not," she said very quickly. Hiccup raised an eyebrow.

"You're the first one to say that."

Rose bit her lip. "It's just… I have someone else. At home. They're waiting for me to come back. I was to come when the marriage was announced and return to them. If it is written, then… that will be an awkward thing to explain."

Hiccup smiled and bowed his head. "Then I hope for your sake that your name isn't on this piece of paper. But I don't understand… you sailed here alone?"

"I sailed with trader Johann from my island. It was a long trip but I feel it'll be worth it."

Hiccup nodded. Rose looked at him and smiled again, but she was also wary. She cocked her head to the side and grinned. "Ah. It seems you didn't want to see my name on the scroll either."

Hiccup stared at her through his eyelashes. "What gave it away?"

"I can see you thinking of another face. My mother does it all the time when she thinks of my father. She stares off and you can see his face behind her eyes. You have the same ghost in your face."

Hiccup blinked at little Rose, who looked straight into his eyes. He looked away and looked at the scroll. Rose smiled and rested her hands on the chest.

"Have you read it, yet?" she asked quietly.

Hiccup looked up, confused. "No."

Rose looked up and beamed. "I can't wait to hear what she says. I hope she's beautiful."

"Hiccup?" a voice murmured behind him. Hiccup tensed everywhere and Rose looked over his shoulder.

"Astrid?" Hiccup breathed. Rose raised her eyebrows and smiled, spinning away and leaving Hiccup alone on the platform. He didn't know how to turn, but when he did, he saw Astrid. And she looked stunning.

Her face was about as bruised as his, and one of her cheeks was swollen, but the redness made her icy blue eyes leap out at him. She was wearing peaceful clothes instead of her riding suit, or her armour. Her dress was a pale yellow… maybe it was white at some point… and her hair was braided over one of her shoulders, but not intricately. Her hair was long, he realized, when she didn't braid it extensively into itself, like she usually did behind her neck to keep it out of the way. She wore her circlet around her head, silver, and Hiccup had only seen it at once other occasion.

"Nice crown," she said quietly.

They had only worn their crowns at her parents' wake.

"You, too."

Astrid nodded to Rose, who peeked at the two of them and quickly spiraled away. "She's pretty."

"She's young."

"Out of all the girl's I've seen drooling over you, I like her the most."

"She doesn't want me."

"'Want' doesn't matter tonight, as you probably gathered."

Hiccup frowned. "Why are you doing this to yourself?"

Astrid didn't expect that question. She smoothed the fabric of her dress and caught her breath.

"I don't know, maybe to support you?"

Hiccup bit his lip and looked over the guests of the Great Hall. "I'm about to read another woman's name and you're going to pretend like it's not going to hurt?"

"That's exactly what I'm going to do," she replied. She forced a smile on her lips and shrugged playfully. "Besides, since this is a big deal, Berk is putting on some events. Dragon races, duels, everything. And I'm going to win them all."

He could tell this was her way of protecting herself so he played along. It almost tore his heart out to laugh with her when they had been passionately kissing that morning. Toothless knocked Hiccup aside and nuzzled her skirt, begging fpr a scratch behind the fins. Astrid obliged and Stoick clasped Hiccup's back.

"Everyone, gather around! It's time! Clansmen and daughters, let us rejoice! For it is time that my boy, my son and future chief to this island, the man who brought peace between men and dragons, will finally find out who his bride is!"

The room exploded with cheer and laughter. Hiccup was too terrified and nervous to smile. But Stoick laughed and waved a hand to silenced the crowd.

"When my boy was only three winters old, his mother asked to pick his future bride. So I gave her a scroll and let her be and I kept her scroll safe for eighteen more winters, praying to the gods he'd live to open it. Little more than a month has passed since Hiccup's latest feat. Fighting a Skrill to save a Dragonling, he was wounded to the point where I thought he'd be lost to us. So when he wasn't I decided it was time."

People cheered again and Astrid made her way to the back of the hall, smiling at that last comment. No matter how tonight would end, she would always be thankful for her sister's life.

Stoick looked down at Hiccup and smiled. "Go ahead, son. Open it. Speak loud, speak true."

Hiccup looked over all the faces. Barb and her gang of atrociously dressed fangirls, the large woman with the bloodlust issue when it came to Toothless, Rose with her encouraging smile… the twines faces suddenly appeared as they gawked up at him, Snotlout and his wife Wormha smiling, Fishlegs eating at the side with a grin over his face, and even Gobber, who was next to wasted but still enthusiastic.

Hiccup stared at them all and felt Toothless bonk his legs. He felt strong, but he felt sick. He gripped the clasp of the chest and opened it slowly. The entire hall went quiet as he reached inside and grabbed the scroll.

Astrid couldn't do it. She thought she could but when she saw the old paper in his hand, she had to slip out. It was pouring outside – it usually went from rain to shine and back again in a matter of minutes – and she let the rain pelt her as she ran from the doorway and away from the name on the scroll.

Without noticing her departure, Hiccup opened the scroll and the crowd was freakishly quiet. He cleared his throat and blinked at the scroll. Stoick watched him read. And he read and read and read. He didn't stop reading.

Dearest Hiccup, it said. It's your mother. And if you're reading this right now, it means you're in the Great Hall surrounded by hundreds of people. It also means I am no longer with you. It means I have left you here alone and for that, I am so sorry.

I'm lying in bed and your father is fixing our house. A Zippleback wrecked the chimney I fear, but it means I get to spend some alone time with you. You keep squirming on my lap. You want to go outside. You are adventurous and hilariously tiny for your age. But I wanted to take this time to write you one last letter in case I go on an adventure myself and never come back.

My son, I told your father that I would pick your bride for you. And it's true, I have picked a lady for you to wed. But I want you to know that I would have given anything to be there with you on that platform. Maybe I never need to give you this note and I watch you grow into a man. But it's something I have to accept, being a Viking when there are dragons and Outcasts circling our island.

Now, your bride. I told your father that I would pick someone from another clan. And I don't know if she is. All I know is he needed to know something so I could get my way with this. If I am not there anymore, it means I have one more gift to give you as your mother. The person I have chosen for you…

"Hiccup? What does it say?"

Hiccup raised a hand to shut his father up, the scroll saying something he did not expect. The crowd gasped at the gesture, but Hiccup kept reading, his heart pounding and a lump in his throat forming.

…is the girl who makes you feel bigger than a hiccup. Larger than a dragon. Softer than fresh cotton. She may be the fiercest dragon fighter, the gentlest bread maker, the smartest hunter. Maybe she slays dragons. Maybe she adores them. Maybe she wishes she could fly them. I know I want to.

She's the girl who will punch you across your face when you make her angry and kiss your cheek once she realizes you're sorry. She's the girl who laughs at the way you look and the way you speak not because she's making fun of you, but because she adores you. She's the one who looks radiant in anything because no matter what she does, she's always the same woman: the one who stole your heart.

I'm not saying to find a pretty face in a crowd. I am asking you to find the face you are looking for right now. When your father told you that I had picked for you, did you hope it was a specific girl? Did you think I would choose someone without knowing she had your heart? Since I am gone, I need you to find that girl, the one who you are aching for right now.

I don't need to tell you her name. I don't need to know it. She is strong. She is beautiful. She is perfect and maybe you're the only one who thinks so. She's the one you would die for, let a dragon kill you for, risk everything for. It's what I would do for you and if you're reading this now, it means I have done that. So look up and find her, Hiccup. Find her and kiss her and tell her you love her, that her name was on this scroll. A name won't mean anything to you unless it's hers, so let it be so. Life is too short to hesitate.

I love you, my sweet little Hiccup, and I will be there beside you. You may not see me, but I'll be there. Now go.

Hiccup's hand shook as he pulled the scroll away from his eyes. Everyone was waiting as Stoick furrowed his brows when he saw his son's face wet with tears He looked stunned. He looked to his father and reminded himself to breathe.

"So who is it?!" Barb shrieked from across the hall. "Just say it!"

Hiccup didn't look at her, he kept his eyes on his dad. He handed him the paper and smiled, tears in his eyes, joyous sobs escaping his lips.

"I love my mother," he choked. "I love her so much."

Stoick looked down and began to read while Hiccup tried to find her. But she wasn't there. So he leapt from the platform and forced his way to the door. Many people jumped out of the way with how fast he sprinted, Toothless roaring behind him in triumph. He wrenched open the door into the rain and ran so fast he slipped so many times. The rain soaked right through to his skin as he raced down the muddy hill, his side screaming in pain, his wound reopening slightly with every stumble and slip. But he was laughing. He was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe.

He saw a figure trudging through the rain. The yellow dress clung to her legs and her long braid sagged from all the water.

"Astrid!" Hiccup tried to yell, too exhausted to be heard. "ASTRID!"

Astrid turned and glared. "Leave me alone," she yelled over the storm. "I don't want to know her name, I don't want to hear anything."

Hiccup slowed and grabbed her arms. He couldn't breathe and he grabbed her face.

"I love you!" he wheezed.

Astrid's eyes went wide. Hair stuck to her face and she shivered in the pounding rain. "What?"

"I love you," he repeated with more air in his lungs. "I love you."

"Stop it, it's not funny," she said. Her chin quivered and she held onto his face. "We both know my name couldn't be on that scroll. It can't be. I'm not from another clan, I hurt my innocence, I-I-I can't, it can't be!"

"She's letting me choose," Hiccup cried. "She's letting me choose and I'm choosing you!"

Astrid looked at his eyes frantically. "But why me?! What could I give you?"

"You don't have to give me anything but your hand. Marry me, promise me you'll marry me before the clans catch up and make me choose someone else."

Astrid couldn't form words, her body cold and on fire all at once. Her heart was beating so fast she wavered in his arms. Hiccup kissed her, hard. He pulled away and pressed his forehead to hers.

"Please, Astrid. When we heard that it could be someone else, we were devastated. Now we have a chance to be together. We don't have to touch, we don't have to agree on everything, we don't have to do anything. But I don't want anyone else and I am praying that you feel the same."

Time stopped. The rain suspended in midair and Hiccup stared into Astrid's eyes as she closed them, breathed, and pulled away.

"I get to pick what I wear, then," she said.

Hiccup cried out in joy and scooped her up in his arms, kissing her face over and over. She laughed too, the pair of them crying in the rain. They kissed and kissed and held onto each other while Stoick read the rest of the note, tears in his eyes. He left the Great Hall and looked to the raining sky. A storm cloud parted and he saw the stars beyond. He touched his fingers to his lips, kissed them, and waved to the clouds, whispering an 'I love you' to the sky. He knew his wife heard it, and he looked down the hill to see a tiny Hiccup carrying a figure in soft yellow, spinning her around and around.

There were hundreds of people crammed into that building. Hundreds from the island and the other clans. But the happiest two were out in the freezing rain away from the fires, because they had finally gotten what they had wanted the most in the world: each other.