Sorry it took so long to update! I don't own How To Train Your Dragon, I'm just a fan! :)


Hand on my Heart

Chapter 3: Finding Hiccup

Astrid woke up when the sun had just started to split the sky. She jumped out of bed, still fully clothed as she didn't want to waste time on that if she didn't have to. She grabbed the bag she had packed the night before and made her way down stairs. Her mother was waiting for her with some meat sandwiches wrapped in cloth for her to take with her. She smiled at her mother's thoughtfulness.

"Morning." Her mother smiled.

"Morning. Thanks for the sandwiches." Astrid beamed at her mother.

"Now be careful and try to get back as soon as you can. You know I'll worry." Her mother told her. Astrid didn't want to worry her mother, as she had enough of that over the years with her father. Her father had been on the same ship that the Chief's wife had been... the one that never returned to Berk. It had just been a routine visit to a neighbouring village that should not have taken more than a week and five years later, the ship still hadn't returned. The Vikings knew what that meant. Stoick had sent out several ships to go in different directions and they had not been found. Everyone on the ship had been presumed dead and Astrid had long ago stopped wishing for her father's return. She had expected her mother to marry someone else, but her mother always said that one day she would understand.

"What if he won't come back? He can out run me if he wants to." Astrid grimaced at the thought.

"If it's an adventure he wants, then go with him. Hiccup can't look after himself as well as you can, so help him. He is the chief's son after all. It's your duty to help him if you can." Her mother seemed to be trying to convince herself as much as she was her daughter. "Just be careful, Astrid. There are many villages that will not be as accepting of dragons as the Hooligans have been."

"Thanks." Astrid hugged her mother and took the sandwiches and put them in her bag. "I'll see you soon." She said as she went to get her dragon from the stables. Toothless was the only dragon that was allowed to stay indoors since nobody could really catch him and they gave up trying to catch him. Astrid smiled at the memory of all the fully grown Vikings that were thrown into the air while trying to tie him up. When they failed, Toothless looked at them and made a noise like he was laughing at them. They were not amused.

Once Astrid was at the stables, she found her dragon who she had named Bluefly. Bluefly was happy to see her and nuzzled her shoulder as she approached. Astrid scratched her scales then fitted her harness and the saddle that Gobber had made for her. Astrid told the dragon that they were going to find Toothless and Hiccup. The dragon knew the names and almost seemed to nod at Astrid. She jumped on once they were outside the stable and away they went.

They flew around Berk in ever growing circles looking for them. It was dark when Hiccup left and he would have been tired and sore so would most likely not have gone too far. Even Bluefly seemed to be scanning the ground for them. They flew for what seemed like hours when Bluefly made a noise. Astrid followed the direction her dragon was looking in and spotted Toothless curled up on a ledge that would be unreachable from anywhere but by air. Astrid studied the dragon for a moment to make sure it was the right night fury. Bluefly was heading in that direction and when they were closer, Astrid could see the red tailfin that was undoubtedly the one Gobber had fashioned for Hiccup. As they neared the ledge, Toothless stirred and watched their descent. Once they landed on the other side, Toothless jumped up to greet them and ran over to Astrid and licked her face. Astrid was too busy laughing to speak to Hiccup. As Toothless jumped up, Hiccup had rolled off him and landed right on his back with a thud and Astrid thought it was hilarious.

"Astrid?" Hiccup questioned. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, obviously. Idiot." She replied, while giving the dragons a fish each.

"I'm not going back to Berk! You can't make me!" He said a little too loudly. Astrid gave him a look of disbelief. Of course she could make him... he had the strength of a fruit fly.

"Well, I suppose you could make me but I would just leave again the moment we got there." He warned.

"I'm not here to make you go home." She replied, trying to ignore him and focus on the dragons.

"Then... why..." He began.

"I told you that you weren't leaving without me. But you didn't listen." She replied like it was painfully obvious.

"I didn't think you were serious." He replied, softening to her as he always did.

"Of course I am. Let's have an adventure!" She said with a grin.

"Sounds fun." He smiled back. "But you probably should go home. I'm not good company." He replied a little sadly.

"Nonsense." She retorted and walked over to him. She punched him on the shoulder, hard enough to be painful but not hard enough for him to fall over. "Now stop being stupid." She said and gave him a kiss. "So where are we going?" She asked as she watched his face grow redder than usual.

"I didn't really have a plan. I was going to just fly around until I found somewhere interesting or something interesting to do." He replied.

"That could still be fun, but we are going to have to stop and gather some food somewhere." She told him.

"I have enough food for a month or more." He replied and she couldn't help but smile. He always thought of everything.

"Good, well get ready and we'll go." She said.

"I'm still kind of tired." He told her and she laughed.

"Well go to sleep for a while then and I'll do the same. If we are going to be on an adventure together, then I guess I should try and sleep as long as you or I'll end up really bored." She told him.

"I do sleep a lot." He laughed. "After a little more sleep I'll make some breakfast."

"Good, because I'm getting hungry." She replied.

Astrid pulled out the blankets she brought from her bag and wrapped herself up in one. She walked over to where Hiccup had snuggled into Toothless and lay down beside him. He watched her with curiosity since he wasn't expecting her to do that. Moments after she lay down, her dragon followed her, boxing her in next to Hiccup. He was starting to lose consciousness and she watched his face.

"Hiccup?"

"Hmm?" He asked with his eyes still closed.

"I love you too." She whispered and he fell asleep with a big goofy grin on his face

A couple of hours later, Astrid woke up to the smell of something delicious. She opened her eyes and saw that Hiccup and the dragons weren't beside her anymore. Hiccup had built a fire and was roasting fish over it while the dragons ate a mound of fish that was on the other side of the ledge.

"That smells great." She said and Hiccup looked up at her and he smiled.

"I was going to wake you up when they were done." He pointed at the two small fish that were roasting over the fire.

"Where did you get all of them?" Astrid asked looking at the mound of fish the dragons were sharing.

"Toothless and I went fishing." He smiled. "He's really good at it." Hiccup looked at Toothless proudly and Toothless made a loud purring noise back. It warmed Astrid's cold Viking heart to see how well attuned they were to each other.

"That's cool. Maybe you can teach Bluefly and I to fish together." Astrid commented.

"Bluefly? That's a nice name." Hiccup smiled at her. "She was fishing with us, but she only brought back a few. I guess she's not used to sharing yet." Hiccup laughed and Astrid joined in.

"Why did you leave?" Astrid asked after a few moments of watching Hiccup cook the fish.

"I was planning to leave from the day I won dragon training. I was leaving when you caught us." He told her sadly.

"That doesn't explain why." She said softly because she was hurt. He just wanted to leave and never look back.

"I don't belong in Berk. I am too... Different. I don't want to be a hero. I definitely don't want to be Chief. I just want to live my solitary life and make my inventions and learn more about dragons." He explained.

"What about me?" Astrid asked, choking back tears.

"I told you Astrid. I love you. And you deserve better than me. You're beautiful and strong. You're what a real Viking should be."

"There's only one problem with your explanation, Hiccup." Astrid told him.

"What?" He asked curiously.

"I love you back. How am I supposed to live my life in Berk without you?" She asked solemnly.

"You'll find someone better." He offered, but even the thought of her with someone else made his heart ache.

"I don't want anyone else." She answered him.

"Well, after a few days with me you might change your mind." He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

"Am I going to have to beat you up?" She asked, watching his reaction.

"I just want you to know that I'm not going back to Berk. So as much as I'm sure you would love an adventure, I know that you will want to go home." He explained. The thought of never going home again frightened her. But a life without Hiccup... that frightened her even more so.

"Well, then we won't go back to Berk." She said after thinking over her answer. His jaw fell open from shock. She was picking him over everyone at home. It didn't seem fair to do that to her, he thought. "I want to be with you, Hiccup. I want us to be together."

"I want that too." He said quietly, contemplating what this would mean.

"Good, so if we are together, we don't need Berk." She said softly and sadly. No doubt her mother would worry and be angry at Astrid's choice to never return.

"I don't want to live there. But maybe we can visit?" He asked and she nodded with a smile. That was a relief. She didn't have to live there to be happy. She just didn't want to never see her mother ever again. "In that case... Astrid... will... you..."

"Will I what?" She asked curiously after he stopped speaking.

"Will you marry me?" He asked her shyly and now it was her turn for the shocked expression.