The plot sort of thickens! I know a lot of you weren't too happy with the previous chapter's ending. I won't make any comments about it. You'll just have to wait and see. There is a pretty hot lime at the end of this chapter but it's definitely not overstepping the boundaries of this T-rating.

Chapter Three: Home Sweet Home

Finn wasn't the only person who was sad to leave the Bog Burglars at the end of the week. With the treaty signed and the terms of the alliance discussed down to the last agonizingly boring detail, it was finally time for the Hooligans to fly home and hopefully surprise everyone by being home for Snoggletog. But it was clear that the Bog Burglars had rather liked having the Berkians around, if not just for their own entertainment. Camicazi in particular seemed most disappointed.

"You will be coming back, won't you?" she asked as they prepared their dragons for the long flight home (they'd be leaving the ships on the Bog Burglar island). "You're not so bad, you know. For men, of course."

"You're not so bad yours- hrumph!" Finn began before he was elbowed in the ribs by his sheepish looking father.

"Oh, I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other again." Hiccup said in a rather loud voice so his son wouldn't attempt to interrupt.

"But not too soon. You are bringing us single women to help us train, aren't you? Men don't usually last so long here. I mean the ones we have now will probably head for the hills any day now. They all do." Camicazi shrugged.

"I can't see why." Finn winked at the Bog Burglar chief and ducked before his father could smack him on the shoulder to shut him up. "This has been the best two weeks of my life!"

"Oh, you are too adorable!" Camicazi laughed. "But you..." she turned to Hiccup. "It's a good thing you're married because those green eyes are pulling me in!"

Those green eyes widened and became a sharp contrast to the bright red blush on their owner's face. Finn sighed heavily. He just had to inherit his mother's eyes instead of his father's.

"We should probably get a move on." said Snotlout as he secured his last items onto his dragon. "We're already going to be back really late tonight."

"Now you should stay. You're the best kind of entertainment!" Camicazi continued to chuckle long after a furiously blushing Snotlout turned back to his dragon. "It has been a pleasure working with you. And I don't usually say that. Especially to men, of all people."

She spat on her hand and extended it to Hiccup. The Hooligan chief made a face but did the same and shook her hand. He immediately wiped his hand off on his shirt as Finn rolled his eyes. What he wouldn't give for an opportunity like that...

"Well you should be on your way. Goodbye then!" Camicazi immediately jumped back and waved.

"Ah ah, are you forgetting something?" Hiccup narrowed his eyes and held out his other hand.

"I don't know what you're talking about." the Bog Burglar chief said unconvincingly.

"I think you do. Give it back." Hiccup wiggled his fingers impatiently. "That was going to be a gift for my daughter."

"Ohh... fine." Camicazi grabbed a small book out of her pocket and placed it in Hiccup's hand. "I can't imagine why she'd want this."

"Neither can I." Finn mumbled as he tied a few more things onto Thornado.

"She's a special girl." Hiccup said proudly, immediately pocketing the little book. "Perhaps you'll meet her one day."

"I hope so!" Camicazi exclaimed excitedly.

"You wouldn't like her." Finn said, turning back to face the female chief. "She's not your kind of Viking. No stealth. And couldn't steal a sweet from a baby if her life depended on it."

"Finn." Hiccup turned and glared at his son. The teenager turned back to his dragon.

"She is a bit different." piped up Erick, who hadn't been paying much attention until Adrianna had been brought up. "But she really is something else."

"So she takes after you, does she?" Camicazi patted her still spit covered hand on Hiccup's cheek, making him recoil slightly.

"Yes she does." Hiccup took several steps back and placed a hand on Toothless' snout. "And I should really be getting home to her and Astrid."

"Yes, yes, mustn't keep the Haddock women waiting." Camicazi said cheerfully.

Hiccup decided not to comment on the fact that the Bog Burglars seemed to thrive on making everyone wait but he held back. He smiled as he mounted the Night Fury (who hadn't taken a liking to Camicazi, for whatever reason).

"It's been great meeting you. Really." Hiccup hoped he didn't come off as sarcastic since this really was a lot better than some of his time on other foreign islands. "And I look forward to working with you in the future."

Camicazi and the rest of the Bog Burglars waved as a dozen dragons ascended into the sky and soon disappeared.

Reading wasn't a favorite activity among most Vikings. Some considered it a waste of time. Others simply didn't want to put any effort into attempting to figure out the complexities of a story or the inner struggles of fictional characters. But the youngest members of Berk, those have yet to learn to read, enjoyed the experience of reading immensely because of Adrianna Haddock. The girl got a group of children together each week to read a story and then talk about it afterward. At first, only the youngest Ingerman children showed up to these meetings but word quickly spread about her funny voices and tendency to have some of the children act out the stories. These meetings now packed the library and filled the room with lots of laughter, some of it from Matilda, the librarian. It was on days like this that Adrianna felt like she had the most fun and important job in the world and even considered offering to watch some of the kids while their parents were out. Perhaps she could make a job out of it.

But once those sessions ended, Adrianna left her magical haven with her books under her arm and her head lowered, trying to not draw attention to herself as she walked home. The adults were quite friendly to her when they walked by, but it wasn't the adults she was avoiding. Her peers often hung around the village square and sometimes they liked to bother her as she left the library.

Adrianna longed for the days when most of her peers would simply leave her alone. But those were the good ol' days before former Outcast Dana Sanders moved to Berk and began to rule the eleven through fifteen year old group of girls. The Haddock teen wasn't sure why Dana was the leader of this growing gang. She wasn't the biggest or the oldest. Perhaps it was because she was the most outspoken of the girls. Growing up on Outcast Island tended to make a person to grow backbone and learn to easily overpower and subdue a crowd. Whatever the reason, there was one thing for certain: Dana did not like Adrianna. At all.

The Haddock girl came quite close to escaping from the girls' cruelty on that day. But it almost seemed like Dana had a strategy because she appeared to have waited until Adrianna's back was to them before speaking.

"You know, it's a good thing the chief isn't here." she began, her stentorian voice was loud enough to carry. "I think things run a lot more smoothly with him gone. Maybe he should just stay with the Bog Burglars. I hear Camicazi the Crazy is great company."

Adrianna gritted her teeth and ignored them as best she could.

"I bet Camicazi would be able to produce a strong daughter, someone like her. Then again, bad eggs can happen to anyone." Dana continued in a carrying whisper. "If Camicazi's daughter got captured by some psychopath, she'd get her back within the hour."

"Well she wouldn't just cry about it." said an older girl Adrianna didn't know well. "She'd get up and do something."

"At least I had somebody to cry over my absence. No tears will be shed for you." Adrianna said through gritted teeth, knowing full well that she would regret these words. "And my dad didn't just cry about it. He came for me. But no one will be there for you."

Dana approached the Haddock halfway. "There you go again. The whole world revolves around you."

"That's not true-"

"Nah, she's actually kinda right, Dana. Her dad's been ignoring her a lot more. He didn't take her on his trip this time." Morgan pointed out. "Actually a lot of stuff's gotten done the last few years."

This struck a chord with Adrianna. It wasn't that Hiccup was any less affectionate but he was, especially in the last few years, somewhat inattentive. She hadn't noticed it happening at first but it happened more and more now. And apparently, she wasn't being too sensitive.

"He's just got a lot of work to do." Adrianna turned around in the hopes that she could walk home uninterrupted again.

"Maybe he just doesn't like talking about a bunch of silly fantasies that'll never really happen!" Dana called as Adrianna began to walk away. The girl paid no heed to her comment. Sanders spun back to her possy. "This is way too easy." she said as she turned back to her friends. "She always reacts."

"Well I would too if my dad stopped paying attention to me." Taryn's brown eyes flitted toward the retreating back of the Haddock girl. "Maybe we should just leave her alone."

"Why?"

"Because we got what we wanted. The chief's stopped acting like she's the center of the universe." Taryn shook her head. "And clearly it's a sore spot."

"Good." said an older girl named Audra. "She needs to get used to it."

Taryn bit her lip as a feeling of intense guilt washed over her for a split second. But she didn't let it take control as she turned her back to Adrianna and participated in the eventual change in discussion topic.

Meanwhile, a lonely teenage girl was left wondering if her father really had stopped caring after all.

Toothless rumbled low in his throat, jerking Hiccup awake with a sharp beat of his wings. He gasped in shock, checking himself so he wouldn't fall out of his saddle. Then again, they were attached by his prosthetic so he wouldn't fall off… Gods, he was exhausted.

His back creaked awkwardly when he bent over Toothless' head. "What is it, Bud?" Toothless gestured his head forward. Hiccup's chapped lips broke into a smile at what he saw. "Oh… Home." The chief twisted in his saddle, his stiff limbs voicing their complaints in the process. Most of the council members were also half asleep. Finn and Erick were definitely out for the count. Only Olaf seemed to be wide awake, smiling up at the early morning stars winking down upon them.

"Pst!" Hiccup whispered, catching Olaf's attention. The Night Fury rider motioned his head toward Berk and the Larson patriach gave him a solid thumbs up in response. Olaf turned his Gronckle steadily toward Charger, carefully nudging his son awake. It wouldn't do to fall off a landing dragon.

Hiccup also made his way toward Finn, who was properly slumped over in his saddle. With a mild chuckle, he shook the teen awake. "We're landing soon, Buddy. Almost there."

Finn slowly sat up with a distinct whine, soon rubbing his gloved hands together to return some feeling to them. Hiccup copied his movements, rubbing his ungloved fingers together. His palms were covered in leather while the slots for his fingers were latched onto the back of his gloves. Had he remembered to unlatch the finger slots a few hours prior, then perhaps his fingers wouldn't be so numb now.

By the time Hiccup twisted in his saddle again, everyone was awake. Hiccup gave the silent order to land, asking Toothless to touch down as silently as he could. They didn't want to wake up all of Berk on the eve of Snoggletog. After all, nobody wanted to be grouchy for the day's celebrations!

As the group pulled out of their dives, they broke apart to fly to their various homes. Hiccup shot a quick salute to Olaf and Erick before he led Finn back to their house outside the village. Toothless and Thornado landed with growled sighs of exhaustion. Finn slid off of the blue Thunderdrum with a grunt, hopping up and down a bit to return some of the feeling in his toes. He began to pull the bags and saddle off his dragon's back when Hiccup slid off of Toothless and instantly yelped in pain, pulling his left leg off the ground.

"You okay?" Finn asked instantly, clearing his throat in annoyance at the sound of it cracking.

Hiccup set his leg back down with a quiet hiss between his teeth. "Yeah. Stump's just really cold."

Finn mentally sighed. Since the duel with Allie the Insincere, chieftess of the Outcasts almost three years ago, his father's leg had been more sensitive to things like the cold or bad weather. The redhead honestly wished he could help ease some of the pain, but like everyone had said before, there was nothing to be done except to rest.

Finn was proud to see the barn still in tip-top shape as he and his father walked inside. It wasn't massive but it had been a nice addition. That summer, Hiccup and Finn had built the barn as their own little man project, while the two women of the house got to expand the washroom for their "frilly" things (which Finn found to be absolutely ludicrous). The barn, however, now that was practically a necessity. It was nice for the dragons to sleep inside during the cold seasons and stormy weather at any rate.

Stormfly and Lily nearly bowled the four over when they walked in, giving all their boys kisses until the cold air from outside began to chap their skin.

"Okay, okay, okay!" Hiccup laughed, pushing against Stormfly's snout to calm her down. "Easy girl, you'll give us hypothermia with all that slobber."

Finn tossed his saddle onto his bench, eyes flitting to Hiccup's left leg as he limped over to his own workbench. "Do you want me to heat some water?" he asked rather hopeful that this time his father would say yes.

Hiccup glanced over at him in surprise before he caught on. "Oh… No, I'm okay Bud. I'm going to bed and it'll warm up soon. Thank you though."

"Mkay…" Finn looked away unsure.

Hiccup faced him with a loving smile. "Really, Buddy. I'm okay." Hiccup tousled his son's hair playfully and Finn pulled away with a half-annoyed look. Hiccup laughed and wrapped an arm around Finn's shoulders as they trudged back into the cold. The dragons, snug in their warm hay beds, fell fast asleep.

The house was dark and quiet when they entered, only the simmering glow in the fire pit providing little light.

"Good night." Finn whispered before walking up the stairs as quietly as he could.

"Sleep well, Finn." Hiccup reciprocated as he took off his coat and gloves. He hung them up beside Astrid's jacket, the back of his fingers brushing against the soft fur. He smiled, happy to finally be home after being gone for two full weeks, especially glad that they were home in time for Snoggletog.

As quietly as a man with a peg leg could, he trekked up the wooden stairs. He paused, looking at his daughter's closed door for a moment before he decided he'd just see her in the morning. He didn't want to accidentally wake her up. Instead, he turned and silently crept into the master bedroom.

Clothed in darkness, Hiccup could barely make out a single thing in the room. He waited to let his eyes adjust before he moved. Gently, he slipped off his boot and changed into more comfortable clothes. He lifted his pant leg to feel his left leg and winced at the heat of his fingers against the chill of his stump. Maybe he should heat up some water… No, then he'd be wide awake and never sleep. And he'd have to go back downstairs and would probably end up making noise that would wake up the whole house. Nope; he'd just have to deal with it.

Hiccup turned toward the bed, smiling when he saw the outline of Astrid sleeping under a heavy mound of furs. Kneeling on the bed to quietly unbuckle and set down his prosthetic, Hiccup then crawled under the furs and slid beside his sleeping wife, careful not to wake her. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, reveling in the body heat trapped under the furs. Deeply inhaling, Hiccup pressed his lips to the back of her neck and closed his eyes.

"Your lips are cold." Astrid murmured.

Hiccup cracked his eyes open, smirking. He could just mumble an apology and go to sleep… but where was the fun in that? "Are you going to warm them up?"

She snorted, snuggling deeper into the furs. "And leave my sweet cocoon of warmth? I think not."

Propping his head on his elbow, Hiccup brushed his chilled fingertips across her collarbone. Astrid shivered against her will. "You'll be even warmer once I am. Two warm bodies are better than one."

His wife rolled onto her back to face him, a very unamused expression plastered onto her face. "No."

"Come on, you know you want to." Hiccup didn't wait for her response and buried his face into her exposed neck. Astrid yelped from the cold but relaxed when he sighed in contentment. He slid his hands under her back, spreading his fingers out so her body heat could thaw the frozen digits. Astrid tried to huff yet couldn't help but giggle. She pushed her fingers into his hair, her palms pressing over his ears. If she had any light, she knew they were probably about as red as cherries.

Mrs. Haddock reached down and pulled the furs over his long frame. Hiccup sighed comfortably as the warmth washed over him. "I missed you…" He mumbled from her neck.

She began to rub her palms up and down his back. His skin was just too cold. "I missed you too. I think you need a warmer coat."

"Perfect timing. Odin's on his way."

Astrid hummed, wishing she had thought of that as a gift idea before now. But she could always save some money and make him one by next winter. At that moment, Astrid felt an icy block by her right leg. She moved and realized what it was with horror. "Hiccup, your leg!"

"Mmmm no, don't get up…" Hiccup whined, but Astrid forced him to sit up and pull up his pant leg. His breath hitched when the heat of her hands connected with the icy chill of his stump.

"How long was the flight?" Astrid asked as she slowly began to rub heat back into the severed limb.

"About seven hours." Hiccup sighed. "We meant to leave around noon so we'd be home by nightfall, but… well, the Bogs aren't known for their timeliness. They don't care if they're supposed to be somewhere at a certain time. Or in this case, us. Wow, you're actually making some progress there."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "You should've warmed some water."

"Finn offered but-"

"You didn't want to take care of it, I know."

"Honestly I just wanted to go to bed and see you," Hiccup cocked his head to look her in the eye.

His wife glared up at him, not stopping her hands. "It won't matter if you end up lame for the rest of your life because you didn't-"

"I'd go lame for you." Hiccup interrupted with a shrug.

Astrid huffed. "I'd prefer you didn't."

"It's fine! I'll take it easy tomorrow. In fact, I won't even go to the Snoggletog party until later if that will make you feel better."

"Well, define 'later'. You're the chief. You can't be too late."

"I mean I won't be there for the set up preparations. I'll go at the same time as you."

Astrid finally released his stump, rubbing her now chilly fingers together. She allowed him to take her hands and blow hot air from his mouth into them. "Actually that won't work. Adri and I are coming… a little late."

"Late? Why?"

"It's a surprise." Astrid winked.

"You know I have a love-hate relationship with surprises."

"It's Snoggletog. You know you're going to like it. But I know you're going to love it."

That caught Hiccup's interest. "Really? How so?"

His wife waggled her eyebrows at him flirtatiously. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Nah, I wouldn't. That's why I asked after all."

"Well good, because I'm not telling you." Astrid laughed at her husband's deadpan expression. "Anyway, how did it go?"

Hiccup brightened instantly, the grip on her hands tightening. "Perfect! They signed."

"Oh good!"

"Yes. We officially, finally, have the Bog Burglars as our allies. Even if nothing ever happens and we don't need them for help, we've expanded our way of life with dragons to one more village. After Snoggletog we'll be sending a couple women over to help train. Camicazi insisted on women. It's exciting. Cami's really happy with how things have turned out. But…"

She leaned closer at his unsure expression. "But?"

"Finn has a… a thing for Camicazi."

Astrid snorted loudly. "Honestly? I'm not all that surprised. Finn's a wild boy himself. It makes sense for him to fall for women who are just as wild as he is."

Hiccup shook his head firmly. "I don't care who he ends up with in the end, just please don't let it be someone as wild as Camicazi. She's- That'd be just… Eesh!"

She snickered, scooting closer to fix the braids behind his right ear. "So… Adri has changed while you were gone."

"Changed?" He stiffened. "Changed how?"

The Haddock matriarch smiled mysteriously. "Oh, she got her first visit from an old ladies' friend."

"Ladies' friend? What? Who?"

Astrid rolled her eyes. Apparently her husband hadn't listened to the entire sentence. "No, not a man, or a person for that matter."

Hiccup stared at her confused when she sat back, his braids finished. "But you said-"

"Ugh, it's a woman's way of saying her time of month has come! Honestly, Hiccup."

"Oh, well why didn't you-" Hiccup froze, eyes wide. "Wait… what?"

The mother of his children tenderly cradled his face in her hands and slowly repeated, "Adri's started her first- Where are you…" She wrapped her arms around his waist and pinned him to the bed. His left arm shuffled around the floor for his prosthetic. "Hiccup! What are you doing?"

"I have to go talk to her. Right now before this gets any worse." Hiccup finally managed to free himself from her grasp and find his prosthetic.

"You will do no such thing!"She hissed. "What exactly are you going to say to her?"

Her husband faced her with an incredulous look. "Uhh... don't have sex or you will get pregnant and you will die."

Astrid raised an eyebrow and tried to pull the prosthetic out of his hands. "No. No you're not."

"So you want me to just sit back and wait for her life to end in one foul swoop?"

"You're acting like she's pregnant already!"

"Don't jinx her!"

She huffed. "I'm not jinxing anyone! This is life! And more importantly, this is womanhood!"

Hiccup fell onto his back with his hands covering his face. "NO! She's NOT a woman!"

Astrid flicked his knee impatiently. "Well she's most certainly NOT a man!"

"Gee, thanks for that. I had no idea."

"Then stop being a wuss. She's growing up. They both are." Astrid leaned over to pull him back up into a sitting position. "And it's a good thing." She shook his arms effectually. "Just calm down. One day when she gets pregnant, feel free to panic, but not now."

Hiccup looked morose. "Don't say that. I'm so not ready for that."

"Neither is she." His wife replied softly. "She's only thirteen. She's uncomfortable, her insides feel like the heat of a forge. Trust me from experience: don't make this worse by approaching her about it. Don't treat her different either. She's changing, but she doesn't need you to treat her like a fragile tea cup."

Hiccup sighed heavily. "I know, I was just telling Finn about that the other day… but honestly? They were just babies… And now they both have the capability to… to have their own." He buried his face in his hands, roughly rubbing at his tired eyes. "Time goes so fast."

"Yeah, it does."

Hiccup looked up with wide eyes suddenly. "Addie's best friend is a boy!"

Openly laughing, Astrid pointed a finger vaguely toward the village, "Erick? Seriously? You're worried Erick is going to… Oh come on!"

"Everyone sees it! Don't act like you don't!"

"I see the beginnings of something potential. I don't see him getting her pregnant anytime soon. Erick would sooner chop off his own-"

"ASTRID!"

"Foot. I was going to say foot."

"Sure you were." Hiccup shivered at that particular train of thought.

Astrid snorted. "You're such a boy."

"Boy? Boy! I am a man! A big strong man!" Hiccup lifted his arms and flexed for emphasis. This only caused Astrid to laugh.

"Right! Because that's why I married you. For your strength."

"In a way, yes. You did." Hiccup smirked, his expression flirtatious. "Which reminds me, you have yet to welcome your husband home with a kiss."

Astrid set her hands on his knees, leaning forward. A smile tugged the corners of her lips as she brushed her nose along the edge of his, breath tickling his lips. The look of elation on Hiccup's face was priceless as his eyes fluttered to a close and he began to close the gap between them. Then she abruptly pulled away with a fake yawn before crawling back to her side of the bed.

"What?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"I'm tired. Goodnight." His wife shot him a cruel grin before she started to wrap herself up in furs and blankets.

Hiccup nearly growled, "Oh, I don't think so."

Astrid yelped when her husband grabbed her by the calf and dragged her down the bed towards him. She squirmed and tried to kick away, but his grip on her leg tightened. Hiccup began to press warm kisses up her leg, the stubble on his chin making her laugh and struggle more.

"Hold still, woman!" He hissed at her knee.

She shot him a daring glare. "Why don't you make me, Viking?"

Hiccup's eyes narrowed in a challenging sort of way. As he began to move closer, Astrid suddenly twisted around and tried to get off the bed. He barely managed to clamp his arm around her waist and pull her back into his lap. She used the momentum to shove him onto his back, ignoring his wheeze of surprise when she used her full weight to sit on his chest.

"I win!" She hissed triumphantly.

Hiccup's piercing gaze never left. "Did you?" His hands found her waist and dug into the flesh below her ribs. Astrid jerked and thrashed above him, trying her hardest not to scream with laughter and wake the kids down the hall. His wife scrambled away and Hiccup sat up again. He retracted his hands to grab her face and pull her in for a kiss.

Astrid didn't waste any time, biting his lip and nudging his mouth open with her tongue. Hiccup moaned in surprise when she practically plundered his mouth and firmly pressed her hands against his chest. He growled when she tried to shove him back down onto the furs. Pulling her back onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her waist, Hiccup pressed sloppy warm kisses down her neck and onto her collar bone. Astrid fisted her hands in his hair, pulling him impossibly closer. Her breath hitched when her husband sucked hard on the skin below her collarbone.

"Hiccup… That better not be… visible tomorrow."

He smiled roguishly at her. "Why would it be? It's not like you to wear scandalous clothes. Well," He grinned at her smugly. "Not out there at least."

"Shut up." Astrid kissed him again, shoving her hands up his shirt to feel the heat of his skin. Hiccup moaned, pushing her backwards until her back hit the pillows. He hovered over her long enough to pull his nightshirt off before meeting her lips again.

He always loved the feel of her hands roaming his back while he kissed her senseless. Goosebumps prickled up his skin when her fingernails scraped down his spine. Hiccup bit his lip to keep back the moan when she pressed hot kisses down the jagged scar on his neck. She carefully kissed the scar over his heart and then pulled herself back up to eye level. She met his eyes for a moment before she focused on his chin. He smiled when she gingerly kissed the scar there, then whispered, "Almost missed one." Hiccup pressed his forehead to hers, brushing his nose up against hers and feeling her breath mingling with his own.

He felt Astrid's left knee slide up against his hipbone before he heard and felt her whisper, "Kiss me."

Hiccup smiled at her lovingly as he slid down to her stomach. He lifted her nightshirt enough to reveal her thin waist. Holding her hips, he gently traced his thumbs across the faded stretch marks from her pregnancy. Even after all these years, they still held a strong sense of love and fascination to him. And every time he made love to her since their babies were born, he was sure to show her just how beautiful he thought she was, starting with those very marks.

Astrid hummed warmly when her husband pressed his lips against her belly and slowly dragged his mouth upwards. Hiccup traced his mouth over her ribs, carefully mapping every inch of skin it touched. He was startled when she sat up halfway but smiled when she pulled her nightshirt over her head altogether. He roguishly glanced down at her warm pajama pants in response but Astrid dragged his face back down to her torso instead of complying with his rather obvious request.

With a low whine, hiccup began to mouth the edge of her chest band, to which she throatily replied, "Wait. Just wait."

Hiccup continued to sloppily kiss his way up to her collarbone and neck, his hands traveling agonizingly slowly over her torso so that Astrid squirmed beneath him. "You... are... as beautiful... as the day... I married you." he whispered.

Astrid bit her lip, hooked her leg over his hip, and flipped them so she now covered him. "So are you." She cradled his face in her hands for a moment before whispering, "Your turn."

Hiccup sighed heavily as she took her sweet, sweet time in kissing down his neck and chest. It didn't matter that they'd been married for fifteen years, he was still reeling with every kiss she gave. She never got old and thus he never got old. They were still young kids learning about the other in ways they never could have as mere friends. He still felt like the young man who had married the most attractive, the most dangerous woman in all of Berk, all of the archipelago... heck, in all of the world!

Astrid Hofferson loved him. She became Astrid Haddock... and it was certainly a miracle that she still loved him.

"Astrid..." Hiccup hummed as she nipped at his jaw.

His hands clutched at her waist reflexively and she captured his mouth with hers again. It took all the strength in the world to be quiet and for a moment, Hiccup didn't want to be. For once in a long time, he wanted to shout her name to the rooftops and tell the world how much he loved her. His fingertips found the edge of her pants and she breathed a giggle into his ear.

"What?"

"I love you."

"What?"

"I love you."

Astrid stifled a laugh when he buried his face in her shoulder, panting hard. "One more time-"

"I love you! Iloveyu, Iloveyou, Iloveyou!"

Astrid giggled at his passion, a small part of her hoping his voice wasn't carrying. She pulled at the long strands of his hair and firmly pried his head back out of her shoulder.

She stared down at his face heatedly, fiercely enjoying how he panted, and then whispered, "Prove it."

Once again, since their first night together, Astrid was surprised at the strength and speed of which her husband could flip her onto her back with little to no resistance. Under most circumstances, she'd have been outraged... but this? Honestly, she couldn't wait until next time.

Well I had to throw in the story's Hiccstrid lime somewhere and this was the perfect place to put it!

Special thanks to my amazing co-author, EmmerzK, who managed to finish this in time! I was a bit worried but she pulled through and for that, I am deeply thankful.

Guys, tomorrow is my fanfiction birthday! One year ago tomorrow (which is in an hour my time), I made my fanfiction debut in a little disaster called Fight or Flight. I have since deleted it and used tiny pieces of it in these fics, as a matter of fact. Since then, my life was made so much better by all my readers and all the love and dedication I have received. This site introduced me to the best co-author and friend I could ask for and I am deeply, deeply thankful to her and all of you. I wish I could name everyone who has made me feel welcome and part of the fandom but the list would be too long. Honestly, you have been the best readers I could have ever asked for and I hope you'll still be reading next year too! On a related note, my actual birthday is September 9th and I think I'll give you all a little present that day as well.

Don't forget to review!

~KateMarie999

P.S. I've lost some artists but if any of you is willing to do some art for me, that would be amazing. You will definitely receive credit! I ask this mostly because I want a piece of art for my sister, whose birthday is 2 months from tomorrow, but I won't say what it is I want drawn until I'm talking to the artist in question (since there's a chance she'll get to this before her birthday). Actually I'd really love it if I could get several illustrations from more than one artist! And my fan artists also will be let in on some pretty big secrets before anyone else because they're doing covers and stuff. The plot of one of these fics has been changed since I posted those descriptions in Stowaway and I've decided to keep it a mystery but the artists get to know what it is ahead of time. Thanks a lot!