I am so sorry this took so long! I kept thinking about posting it at times when I didn't have my laptop and then I'd forget about it again. I swear I need a new brain.

Enjoy!

"You," Captain Shakespeare said pointing a finger at Astrid. "Will be taking orders from him." He pointed to Henry who smirked in her direction. The Captain walked away and left the two of them standing alone. Astrid's face hardened.

"Let's get one thing straight, Haddock," she said. "I will not be taking orders from you."

"Well, Hofferson," he replied, the smirk gone and an almost fierce look on his face. "While you're on this ship you'll be working with me. So get down that hole before I make you."

It was in that moment that she noticed just how much he had changed. The boy who left was small, skinny, clumsy and weak. He cowered before people. But this man? He was about a head taller than her, about six foot. He had ditched his coat and had rolled up the sleeves of his green shirt to reveal the lithe muscles on his arms. The most noticeable difference was the confidence. She had never known him to be confident like this before.

But she would not let him win. She scowled and crossed her arms deciding that she would not move. He raised an eyebrow and took a step closer. His previous threat rang in her ears and she huffed before walking off towards the square hole in the deck. Looking down all she could see was black.

"Where's the ladder?" she asked looking back at him.

"What ladder?" he asked.

"How do you get down if there isn't a ladder?" she asked in reply giving him an incredulous look.

"You jump," he replied as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"I am not jumping down there," she stated, crossing her arms in defiance. He rolled his eyes and stepped up to the edge. He jumped down and she watched as he lit a lantern and placed it on the floor below the hole. She could see how far down it was now but she still refused to jump.

"I'll catch you, if that makes it easier," he replied with another roll of his eyes, holding out his arms. She shuffled closer to the edge and sat down with her legs dangling over the side. He stood at the bottom looking at her expectantly. She held her breath as she pushed herself over the edge and dropped down into his arms.

Henry caught her at the bottom, his strong arms wrapped around her. She felt her feet touch the ground and although she told herself that she should pull away quickly, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She had never noticed that his eyes were green before. Or that he had a musty smell that was oddly pleasant. And she could have sworn that his jaw wasn't so sharp when he left. And was that stubble?

"Told you I'd catch you," Henry smirked letting her go and stepping back. "Welcome to my little workspace."

Astrid was brought back to the present by his words and glanced around the space. The dim light from the lantern helped her see enough. There were a few crates dotted around and scraps of metal across the floor. But what caught her attention was the large machine in the middle of the room. She had never seen anything like it. She had no idea what it was even used for.

"What is that?" she asked, stepping forwards to get a closer look.

"It's a machine that catches lightning," Henry replied stepping beside her.

"Lightning?" she asked raising an eyebrow. "Really?"

"That's our trade," he replied. "We sell lightning."

"You really expect me to believe that?" she asked.

"Believe it or not," he shrugged. "My job is to maintain that piece of machinery and while you're on board, you'll be helping me." He pushed a rag into her hands. "You can start by cleaning my tools."

"Do you always work in the dark?" she asked with crossed arms, feeling the need to be defiant again. He rolled his eyes with a slight huff.

"Toothless," he called. Suddenly lanterns dotted around the room were lit one by one, slowly lighting up the room. The little black creature that she had seen earlier flapped up onto Hiccup's shoulder again.

"So that is a dragon," she said in awe.

"This is Toothless," Henry nodded.

"I thought pirates were supposed to have parrots," Astrid muttered without thinking. Henry let out a snort.

"Sea faring pirates, sure," he replied. "This is an air ship that collects lightning. Toothless is a Night Fury. The nickname for his species is 'the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself'. He's practically harmless most of the time, but he does have an uncanny ability to find the best lightning storms." He reached up to scratch the dragon under the chin.

"So that's why we didn't set sail until he had returned," she said, more to herself than to him.

"Exactly," he said. "Now, get to work. We've already waisted enough time."

Henry moved over to the machine and started working on it. Astrid was a little taken back by the sharpness in his voice and sat down on a crate next to his tools, picking one up and getting to work cleaning it.

The rest of the day passed in silence. Henry would give her a task every now and then and she would watch him from wherever she was perched as he worked. He was focused on his work, although his hands seemed to move on their own as they repeated what must be practised motions, tweaking parts of the machine and oiling it's joints so that it ran smoothly.

By the end of the day she was tired and sore and just wanted warm food and a soft bed. Henry was thoughtful enough to stack crates in a way that made stairs so that she could climb back up onto the deck. He then ushered her over to a corner where her friends sat around and she was told to wait for their dinner. She watched as Henry went to join the rest of the crew who sat on the other side of the deck. He was greeted warmly, in a way he had never been greeted back home.

Her friends started talking between themselves of how their day had been. Scott was ever complaining about how the crew had deliberately been dropping and spilling things on the deck just to give him more work to do. He had tried to complain to the Captain but the Captain didn't care. He complained about how boring cleaning was and he wouldn't shut up which only gave Astrid more of a headache.

Frank appeared eventually talking animatedly to the man he had been working with throughout the day. The two of them passed food around the rest of the crew before he ventured over to them and sat down alongside his friends. Astrid started down at the bowl Frank had given her. It was filled with stew of bland meat and vegetables. She grumbled as she started to pick at it, but eventually her hungry stomach won her over and she finished the food off quickly. With that out of the way all that was left was to sleep in a nice warm bed.

She turned around to see Henry laughing with the rest of the crew. Whatever they were talking about, it wasn't loud enough for the gang to hear. She supposed that was the point. They were probably talking about them anyway. After what seemed like hours, the crew finally dispersed and Henry started walking over to their little group.

"Bed time," he said simply before walking off to the door that led to the brig. This time they were led down a staircase to the right and passed a makeshift kitchen until they were in a long room that stretched beneath the deck. Hammocks were strewn back and forth across the room. Some of the crew were already down there, some getting themselves comfy in their hammock, some grabbing blankets and one old man was wondering around in his underwear asking if anyone had seen his night clothes.

"Where are the beds?" Astrid asked looking around the room. Henry glanced around at the other crew members in the room and they all started laughing.

"The hammocks are the beds," he said as he grabbed a load of blankets, passing them between the five of them. "Wait for the rest of the crew to arrive before you make yourselves comfy. Some of the guys get cranky when someone else steals their bed."

It didn't take long before the rest of the crew were down and settling into their hammocks. When they were sure that the whole crew was present, minus the Captain who had his own quarters, they each picked a hammock and tried to get comfortable for the night.

Astrid lay awake staring at the wooden planks that made up the ceiling above her. The swaying of the ship was oddly relaxing and she soon managed to drift off to sleep. But her mind was filled with one image that wouldn't seem to leave her alone. A pair of forest green eyes.

So there it is. Henry's job, Toothless' story... What do you guys think?

CajunBear73: Glad you like it!

Amari45: The story is already written it, so just wait and see. Trust me, I am proud of the ending.

Tae's Corner: Thanks for noticing that! I figured that Astrid basically just tries to be perfect. In HTTYD she's the perfect Viking, but in this she's the perfect Victorian woman. And tiny Toothless is adorable and I want one too.

Thanks for the feedback! Reviews always make my day!