Author's Note: Sorry for the cliffhanger! Some of you were not so happy with how I left things. Hope this makes up for it!

Chapter 7

Hiccup

Four pairs of eyes stared at Hiccup, and he found he was unable to move. A map, nearly split in two from Astrid's axe, fluttered to his feet. He stared at it, tracing the lines with his eyes, but he was unable to make any sense of it—even though he probably drew it.

He's mine.

The words bounced through his head, consuming every other thought.

He's mine. He's mine. He's mine.

"Well, can't say I'm surprised," Gobber said, finally breaking the silence. "Those Hofferson's have always been a tad bit possessive. That Hans Hofferson nearly took my other hand off when I borrowed his hammer without asking."

Hiccup's attention snapped upwards, and Astrid's words echoed a little less loudly in his mind. His father sighed, leaning heavily on the table.

"Son—" Stoick began.

"I'll take care of it," interjected Hiccup, heat flooding his face as he grasped what had just happened.

Before his father could say anything else, he bolted outside—no need to give his dad the opportunity to declare Astrid's banishment from the island in the heat of the moment.

Hiccup skidded to a stop outside his house, looking over the paths and rooftops splayed before him for any sign of Astrid or Stormfly.

A warbling and nudge to his side brought Hiccup's gaze downward.

"Hey, bud," he said, absentmindedly scratching Toothless under the chin. "Did you see where Astrid went?"

The dragon stretched his legs like a cat waking up from a nap and then crouched low to the ground. Hiccup hopped onto the saddle and patted Toothless on the neck.

"Lead the way," he said.

Toothless took off, soaring over the forest. After circling the northern part of the island for a bit, Hiccup spotted a flash of blue atop the sea stacks dotting the coastline.

Astrid sat with her legs dangling over the cliff edge, and she didn't move when the two landed.

"What the Hel was that?" Hiccup asked as he dismounted.

When Astrid only continued glaring at the horizon, he paced back and forth behind her. Toothless and Stormfly chirped happily at one another, oblivious to the heated emotions of their riders.

"You disrespected your chief," Hiccup said, ticking off his fingers, "A guest of the chief, the chief's house, the chief's table, the chief's map—"

Astrid sprang up and whirled around. "And what about the chief's son?"

"I suppose you could add me to the list, considering you completely ignored my justified plea not to do what you did."

"No," Astrid said, crossing her arms across her chest. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Hiccup asked, throwing his arms out, palms facing up.

"You said you didn't want to marry a stranger."

"And you said you owned me!" he blurted.

Astrid's face fell, and Hiccup realized his words had hurt her somehow.

"I didn't mean it like that," she whispered after a moment.

"What else could it mean?" asked Hiccup, burying his hands in his hair.

He heard Astrid sniff, and he glanced up to see her eyes swimming with tears, their blue turned an electrified shade under the glaze. Hiccup couldn't remember ever seeing her cry before, not when Tuffnut accidentally split open her calf with a sword, or when her mother had died—at least not publicly.

"You're always here," Astrid said after a moment, touching her hand to her temples, "In my head. I'm always remembering things you've said or smiles you've given me. Anything significant that happens to me, I can only think about telling you. When Snot or the twins are driving me crazy, I wish you were with me instead. When I'm out flying by myself, I think about how much better it would be with you. You're always there. I may as well belong to you, because you're always there. I thought maybe…"

Astrid looked up at the sky, her cheeks flushing, but she kept talking.

"You probably don't feel the same way. And now it will be awkward and weird between us—and after what I said to your dad I should probably leave. Forever."

She tried to circle around Hiccup to reach Stormfly, but he grabbed her arm.

"Astrid—" he began.

Shaking her head, she pushed him away.

"It's fine," she said, refusing to look at him. "I know you depend on me to hold the team together, but Fishlegs can do it if he toughens up on Ruff and Tuff."

"Astrid—"

"Once you sort that out, it'll be fine—like I was never here."

"Astrid! Would you look at me?"

At his sharp command, she finally met his gaze.

"Is that what you really think?" he asked, more quietly. "That I only need you to keep those idiots in line?"

This was his fault, he realized, his heart sinking. Astrid—the bravest, strongest, most incredible person he'd ever met—thought she was nothing more than a competent second in command to him.

"You'll be at a tactical disadvantage in the air without Stormfly or without my axe in hand-to-hand combat," she said, her tears drying as her brain calculated.

Hiccup searched her face, remembering the last time they'd gone into battle and he'd tried to memorize every freckle on her skin and the scar on her lip and the way her nose turned up a bit—because he knew if he somehow lost her, that it would be different than losing Snotlout or Ruffnut.

"I'm an idiot, aren't I?" mumbled Hiccup.

Astrid's eyes widened as his hands swept up to her shoulders. When he pulled her closer, she remained frozen.

"Hiccup, it—it wasn't an ultimatum," she sputtered. "You don't have to pretend so that I'll stay."

He paused.

"Are you threatening to leave if I kiss you?" he asked.

"What? No—"

Hiccup grinned before bending his head. When his lips brushed against hers, he felt the warmth of her mouth melting, giving in to him, and he wondered why he had waited so long.