Hey guys! Here you have chapter 5.

Maybe it's a little short, hopefully chapter 6 will be longer :)

-Clary Chase

"Stoick!"

Gobber got off the ship with a loud tank! of his fake leg and went to hug his friend.

Astrid watched as Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf and Belch and Skullcrusher rushed toward their riders excitedly.

She watched her friends hold onto their necks with big smiles.

How she whished she could be happy like them.

The royals seemed intimidated by the dragons, probably due to their meeting with Stormfly and Toothless who had been anything but kind.

Hiccup stepped forward and hugged Gobber tightly "How are ya, Hic?" he asked.

Hiccup shrugged "Good, I guess"

Gobber gave him a sympathetic smile and turned around to find Astrid staring at them.

"Astrid" he called her in a fatherly tone.

She smiled slightly and accepted his awkward hug "Everything alright?"

She nodded.

"Your majesties" Stoick said "This is Gobber, my blacksmith and dearest friend"

Gobber shook everyone's hands politely "Hiccup worked with him til the age of fifteen"

"He worked?" Elinor asked with her lips pursed.

"He was kinda my apprentice" Gobber said "Well, sometimes I actually babysat him"

Merida chuckled and Hiccup smiled at her, biting his lip.

Astrid watched them confused. They had been really close all morning, as if the night before, when she had left them alone in the stables, something had clicked beetween them.

Maybe they had... kissed?

Was it possible?

No, of course not. Hiccup would have surely told her. Right?

She shook those insane thoughts away and focused on Skullcrusher who was nudging her side.

She narrowed her eyes. The dragon had always looked a little bit scary, no wonder he was Stoick's dragon, but she found him kind cute in his own way.

She petted him "Hey, buddy"

After five years of being with Hiccup, his father's dragon was somewhat part of her family.

Elinor, along with Stoick and Fergus went to show Gobber the castle and the guys were taken away by the triplets who wanted to show them some kind of game.

"Hiccup and I are going to take a walk" Merida said awkwardly "Do you want to join us?"

Even thought the question was being posed to both her and Ruffnut, the princess' gaze didn't leave Astrid.

She swallowed trying not to look at Hiccup "Oh, well, we wouldn't want to introduce, your highness"

Ruffnut narrowed her eyes "Yeah, she's right"

"No, really. It is no big deal. I would have never asked you otherwise"

"Yes, why don't you come?" there was hope in Hiccup's voice when he spoke up.

Astrid glared at him as if to say 'don't make this harder for me'

"Really, maybe another time" she said, even if she knew there would have never been another time "Ruff and I will be in the forest with our dragons if we're not back before dinner"

They both bowed and the seemingly disappointed princess.

"Your highness"

"Please, call me Merida"

Astrid was taken aback from the sentence. Merida's blue eyes bore into hers and she felt a weird urge to look away.

Unable to say anything else she nodded and called Stormfly with a whistle.

The dragon dropped the game she was playing with Toothless and rushed to her side.

"If my brother asks, Barf and Belch are with me, Hic" Ruff said before turning away.

"Sure", the disappointment in Hiccup's voice was udible and Astrid groaned, walking away with big steps.

"I just don't understand" Merida muttered looking down "I was trying to be nice. I wanted to make you two have some time together even if not alone. Why did she say no?"

Hiccup shrugged " Astrid isn't what you call... a simple girl. Everything is hard with her and most of the time you actually don't know what she's feeling or what she's thinking about. It must have been hard for her, she's not used to people being this polite and helpful to her, us Vikings are not know for our kindness, you know?"

She laughed and the sound brought a smile to his lips "But really, Merida. Don't take it personally. It must have been weird for her. Sha glared at me as if to tell me not to make it harder when I spoke up"

Merida's smile was full of fondness and also a little guilt "You know her really well"

It wasn't a question, and Hiccup fidgeted "You learn to know every gaze and gesture of a person after being with them for five years"

"Why did he have to look at me with those damn big eyes! I wanted to slap him so hard and make him forget his own name!" Astrid threw her axe in a tree and Ruff flinched.

She hadn't seen her that angry many times and an angry Astrid with an axe in her hands was even more terrifying than the Red Death.

She didn't say anything, just let the blonde keep on screaming and swinging her weapon with frustrated grunts.

Sooner or later she would have calmed down so that they could talk quietly.

Hopefully.

"And what did she think she were doing inviting us to have that damn walk with them? 'Call me Merida', what the heck?! Why would I call her with her first name? I'm sure she may be nice but still... she stole my man! Maybe unintentionally but... she did! You know what? I'm gonna move on!"

Ruffnut watched her fall on the grass with a grunt with an amused grin "Are you finished?"

"Maybe"

"You said something like this before we came here. You're not gonna move on"

Astrid glared at her "That's where you're wrong!" she exclaimed "I am gonna move on. I can't keep on thinking of Hiccup when I can't have him anymore making my whole life miserable. I'm a warrior, not a stupid lady who needs to be rescued by a prince in shining armor and I won't be whining about how horrible my life is in this moment"

Ruff bit her lip "Yeah well... maybe this change will happen in a little while, uh?"

"For once you're right"

She lied down and crossed her arms on her belly "I just... I thought my life was perfect. We were going to get married, everybody approved our relationship, Hiccup would have become a chief and the village would have loved him. It sounds so sugary and banal but for once I really wanted this life. A married life, raising a family, having kids..."

Ruff watched her blue eyes fill with little tears "He would have wanted two girls, you know? He always said they would both have blonde hair like me and his green eyes because, I quote 'you have to admit my eyes are stunnigly attractive!'"

Ruff laughed at her impersonation and Astrid joined her.

Before she knew it she was stroking her hair "It will be alriight. You know, you're both stubborn, I'm sure something weird will happen and you two will end together"

"Ruff, please-"

"No seriously! And if it doesn't, I will disguise my dragon and make him kidnap Hiccup. Then I would hide him from the rest of the world except from you and you two could live together in secret and have beautiful kids with blonde hair and green eyes"

"I knew it was a bad idea to tell you that"

"Astrid, I'm serious"

Astrid looked up at her "It pains me to see you two pretending everyhting is okay when it's not. It pains all of us. And believe me, the guys and I would do anything to make you two be together once again"

"Ruff, are you actually... being kind with me?"

"Don't tell anyone. Especially not my brother"

She heard Astrid laugh"Sure sure"

Just then they heard frantic steps and a guard appeared "My ladies, your presence is requested at the castle!"

"I will not let my friends go alone on this quest!" Hiccup shouted shaking his shoulders "If there's a dragon attacking villages we all have to be there. We're a team. We always do everyhting together!"

"You're not a team anymore. In a few weeks they'll go back home and you'll be staying her. It's time you realise you have to let them go, you won't work together anymore"

Merida flinched at her mother's cold words. Astrid was watching her with half-closed eyes that sparkled with anger under her blonde bangs.

Hiccup deliberatly ignored her and turned to his father "Dad, you know this could be dangerous. We work together as one, it won't be the same without Toothless and me. Please"

Stoick shook his head, disconsolate "I'm sorry, son" was all he said.

Hiccup groaned and stormed out.

"Maybe you should go after him, Mer" her father suggested.

Merida narrowed her eyes "I don't know how to handle an angry Hiccup, honestly. Maybe someone who knows him better should go. Astrid, maybe?"

Astrid looked at her like she had grown two heads, then she shook her head "It's better if we leave him alone for a while. He doesn't like people around when he's upset"

Elinor pursed her lips "How do you-"

"Go on, guys. Let's go get ready"

She turned on her heels and walked out of the room without another word, followed by her friends and with her head high, just like a real leader.

Hiccup tried hard not to yell at the queen and his father for not letting him go as he watched his friends adjust their weapons.

"They will be alright" Gobber said approaching him "I didn't train the six of you for nothing"

He sighed "I'm just not used to sit around while others are risking their lives. Especially not them. This is not how we do it back in Berk"

Gobber didn't say anything, he just patted his shoulder.

Hiccup took a deep breath and stepped forward.

He went to stand beside Astrid just as she hopped on Stormfly "Hey" he said.

"Hey" she gave him a light smile "Everything is gonna be fine, Hic"

He bit his lip and glanced at her axe worriedly "Is your axe gonna be enough of a weapon?"

She smiled "She has never betrayed me in battle, of course it is"

He bent down and took his fire sword from his suit "Take this"

Astrid widened her eyes "Hiccup, no. This is your weapon"

"And I'm giving it to you. I taught you how to use it"

She blushed, probably remembering the afternoon they had spent on the Itchy Armit using it.

"I can't. What if you need a weapon while I'm gone?"

"I'll use a normal sword. Please, Astrid"

She sighed and took it "Alright, you win. If this makes you feel better"

He smiled and laced his fingers with her slender ones and Astrid flushed red.

He didn't care that the queen and the king were watching him carefully, all he wanted to do was take her off the saddle and embrace her, kissing her senseless.

He brushed his lips against her hand "Be safe, milady" he whispered the nickname so that the royals wouldn't hear it.

Astrid squeezed his shoulder and Hiccup looked at his friends "Keep an eye on her. You know she's reckless"

They laughed and Astrid snorted, rolling her eyes "Let's go, guys!"

In a matter of seconds they were high up in the clouds.

Hiccup stood there watching the dragons disappear, his gaze particulary focused on the blue shadow that was leading them all.

Here you go! Hope you liked it.

As always, please review ;)

Let's see if we can reach at least 40 reviews before the next update... maybe even more!