Hiccup watched as the car Astrid had climbed into drove off. He felt something cold settle in his stomach as he turned away and went back into the coffee shop to grab his phone, which he had left at their table when he had followed Astrid.

He stuffed his phone into his pocket and grabbed his foam cup, which he dropped into the trashcan next to the door. He turned the corner and started the short walk back to his apartment. His car was in the shop, so he figured that he had better get used to walking everywhere he went. His motorcycle wasn't in the best shape either, now that he thought about it. He would take a look at it the next time he was at his parents' (he kept it parked in their second garage; they had never needed the space since his dad traveled so he had transformed into some sort of workshop) house.

It had been drizzling lightly when he had walked into the coffee shop, but now cold rain poured down from the sky in torrents. He walked faster, unable to run because of his prosthetic. His clothes were dripping and hung off his form by the time he reached his apartment building.

Hiccup shook water from his hair as he jogged up the stairs and pushed it out of his face. His shoe squeaked with every step down the hall to his door. When he unlocked it and walked in, he was glad that his roommate and best friend since first grade, Frankie "Fishlegs" Ingerman, had turned the heat up. He bent down to take his shoe off and sighed.

Fishlegs looked up from the couch where he was reading one of his new comics. "Hi. What happened to your mysterious blonde friend? Did it turn out that she didn't like science puns after all?"

Hiccup grabbed a towel from the bathroom and used it to dry his hair as he went into his bedroom. "No," he called. "I don't know. She left with someone else."

Fishlegs sat up and set his comic on the table. "What? Why would she do that?"

"I don't know, Fish. She just… something weird was going on with her," Hiccup said as he pulled his coffee-stained wet t-shirt over his head and grabbed a dry shirt. He pushed his jeans down and threw them in the growing pile of clothes, then pulled a pair of old sweats.

"Maybe she didn't feel well," Fishlegs said.

Hiccup picked up his wet clothes and dropped them in the laundry hamper. "Yeah, maybe. After she spilled coffee everywhere, she did run to the bathroom."

"Did you go after her?" Fishlegs asked. His blond eyebrows knit together over his eyes.

"Yeah, but she was puking when I found her. She told me that she wanted to be alone and I left."

"Was she crying?"

"Why does this matter so much to you, Fishlegs? If she doesn't like me, I can't force her to. I'll get over it," Hiccup said as he leaned against the wall.

"I think I might now why she was so upset, but I'm not quite sure yet. I need more information. Was she crying or experiencing mood swings?" Fishlegs continued.

"She was crying, but I don't know if she was having mood swings. That's not really any of my business. Why?"

"What did she drink when you were there? Was her appetite larger than usual?" Fishlegs' face scrunched up as he thought.

Hiccup blinked at him. "I don't know! She had a mocha, but as soon as she tried to drink it she ran to the bathroom. There was a new girl working there today, so maybe she added something wrong."

Fishlegs shook his head slowly. "Or maybe…"

"Or maybe what?"

"Hiccup, I-I need to ask you something really personal," Fishlegs said.

Hiccup frowned at his friend's strange behavior. "Okay, shoot."

"D-Did you, uh, did you use protection when you, err, you know…spent the night with her?"

Hiccup's face went red. "W-what?! Frankie! That's not something you just ask someone!"

"Do you want my help or not, Hiccup? I didn't want to ask either, but I need to know before I can tell you my theory," Fishlegs said.

Hiccup stammered for a minute. "O-of course I…" His face suddenly went blank. He ran a hand through his hair, his eyes widening. "No. I-I don't think I even h-had one with me. I didn't...what I am going to do, Fish? What if she's-"

"You can't force her to go through this alone. She's probably scared too, Hiccup. Heck, I'm scared for you. But I'll be here to help if you need it," Fishlegs said softly.

Hiccup gave him a small, wavering smile. "Thanks, Fish."

"But you should call her and make sure she's okay. If she is…pregnant with your baby, she would probably tell you."

Hiccup nodded and pushed away from the wall. "Yeah, you're right. I-I'll call her right now." He went into his room and closed the door behind him, his phone already in his hand. He scrolled through his contacts and clicked her name, then held the phone up to his ear. It rang once, then twice. Three times. Four.

"Hey, this is Astrid, I'm probably at a game right now so if you leave me a message I'll call you back as soon as I get the chance."

Hiccup sighed and ended the call. He looked down at his phone, his heart hammering against his ribs and his mind racing.

What if Astrid was pregnant? Would they even be able to handle a baby? He couldn't just drop his job at Gobber's garage. He had been lucky that Gobber was a family friend, or he never would have gotten that job in the first place. And then there was the fact that he still had two years left of college. He, having inherited his mother's stubbornness, had spent years saving up to go to Berk University, knowing that they had an excellent computer program.

But he couldn't go to school, pursue a career in computer engineering, and raise a baby. He couldn't force Astrid to raise it alone either. There was no right answer, no guiding light as he sat on his bed, his knees drawn to his chest, tears welling up in his eyes. As a kid he had never left his tiny hometown, so he had kept himself hopeful with the thought that someday, someday he would travel the world. But he couldn't expect Astrid to endure a sixteen hour flight when she was irritable and seven months pregnant.

And his parents…

How were they going to tell his parents? His dad would panic and probably find a way to guilt him into moving back home. His mother would cry and lock herself in a room (his old bedroom, knowing her) with all of their picture albums.

They would just have to find a way when the time came. Maybe he could work night shifts at the garage and take online classes once the baby was born. Then he would probably have to move in with Astrid, and her roommates, which would be hard. The apartments in their building were tiny, and definitely not meant to house four college students and a baby.

He unlocked his phone and opened the message app. He watched the blinking black line and thought, his mouth dry. He typed in a quick message with trembling fingers and sent it to Astrid.

Hey can we talk?

Hiccup was working on one of his dragon sketches when his phone chimed. He watched, frozen, as the pencil fell from his fingers and rolled off of his desk. After a few moments he lunged for the phone and unlocked it.

One unread text message from Astrid.

Oh God, she probably never wanted to see him again. She could be huge and in more pain than he could ever imagine because of him in a few months, so he wouldn't blame her.

Sorry about earlier. Whats up?

Hiccup's eyes flickered over the text slowly. Are you okay?

A few agonizing minutes had ticked by before she responded.

Yep.

That was it? Just yep? What the hell was that even supposed mean? His train of thought came to an abrupt crash when his phone chimed again.

Ruff wants to know if you're coming with everyone to the beach on Saturday.

Fishlegs had mentioned something about a picnic at the beach a few days ago over lunch. Hiccup wasn't really a fan of swimming; he could never catch up to anyone else and he hated being treated like he an invalid. But Fish had been adamant about it, so he told him that he would think about going. Which his friend had taken as a yes.

Yeah. What about you?

Maybe.

Why? Too cool for a day with friends?

Was it safe to think of himself as one of her friends, or was he still just a drunk hookup to her?

Maybe I just have other plans. You should be more concerned about your stupid nerd games than someone who is perfectly capable of taking care of herself.

Okay, ouch. That one had hurt.

Sorry.

Me too. Bad day.

Wanna come over and talk about it?

There was no immediate response from her like Hiccup had expected. He chewed his lip anxiously as he waited. Had he gone too far with the friend thing after all?

Thanks but no.

No. That meant she wasn't pregnant, right? Most girls would probably have wanted to talk about it. But then again, Astrid was unlike any other girl he had ever met.

He had so many questions, but no one to answer them.

Hiccup crouched in the saddle, his eyes narrowed at the ships ahead of him. He directed his dragon, Toothless (yes he was pathetic enough to have named his dragon after his cat), into a dive after them.

I attack him!

You're on the same team, Tuffnut. Attacking Hiccup will only reduce your chance of getting back to Berk before Dagur.

I attack him anyway!

Fine. Hiccup dodges and fires back at you. The left head of your Zippleback is hit and you are forced to land, leaving only Hiccup and Snotlout to defend Berk from Dagur and his armada.

Why did my character have to be named Snotlout?

You were the one who chose that name, Scott. It's a Viking name.

Yeah I knew that. I just wanted to make sure that you remembered, Fishface.

Hiccup could see the small island in the distance, along the with the ships quickly closing in on it. The soldiers on the ship were armed to the teeth with axes, swords and crossbows with poisoned arrows. His chances of survival would have been slim if not for the Monstrous Nightmare behind him and his own Night Fury. He was close enough now that Dagur should have been able to hear Toothless' wings flapping over the waves crashing against the sides of the ship. Luckily he didn't.

The plan was simple: distract Dagur and sink the flagship before he could order an attack on Hiccup and Snotlout. The other ships would turn back when they saw it go down a smothering wreak.

Then Scott opened his big mouth and their plans went down in a smoking wreck.

I order Hookfang to flame up and fire at the ship!

Are you sure you want to do that, Scott? If Hookfang flames up and Dagur sees you before you can fire-

Just do it, Fishface!

Hiccup watched as the sails burst into flames. The fire licked at the mast and the beam fell, almost knocking him out of the sky. He cried out and clutched at the saddle, his foot slipping from the pedal mechanism that controlled Toothless' tail. For a second they plummeted toward the deck and the alerted soldiers standing there, their weapons poised for attack. Then he hauled himself back into the saddle and opened the tail fin. They shot into the sky, dodging arrow after arrow.

Scott! What were you thinking?! He's going to get away now!

Shut up, Hiccup! You weren't going to do anything so someone else had to be a man and do it.

I was waiting for an opportunity to strike when he was distracted.

Well your stupid opportunity wasn't coming fast enough. So I took care of it myself. If you don't like it, then you go after him alone.

Fine. I will. At least I won't have to worry about your dragon lighting everything on fire!

Hey! At least my dragon can actually fly away and get help without me! Yours is as much of a useless cripple as you are!

And just like that the illusion was destroyed. Scott stood up and marched into his room. The door slammed behind him and they heard his stereo start blaring music.

"Whoa. Looks like it's someone's time of the month," Tuff called from where he leaned against the side of the couch.

"Guys, come on. Let's just finish the game." Fishlegs looked desperately between the two of them.

Hiccup shook his head and pushed himself to his feet. Cripple? That one was new. "No, I need to call my mom anyways and remind her that I'm picking Toothless up for his appointment tomorrow morning," he said.

Tuffnut threw an arm around Fishlegs' shoulders and grinned at him. Fishlegs gulped. "Looks like it's just you and me now, Fishy."

Hiccup went into the kitchen and leaned against the counter as he lifted his phone to his ear. He drummed his fingers on the counter as it rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mom. I just wanted to remind you that I'm coming by tomorrow morning to drop Toothless off," he said.

"Alright dear. And how are you doing?"

Hiccup felt his breath hitch in his throat. I'm doing great, Mom. I might have knocked up a stranger, who turned out to be my friend's sister's best friend and our next door neighbor, and now I'll never know because she won't answer my calls. Congratulations, grandma! But don't ask for baby pictures because Astrid will never let me come within ten feet of her again.

Hiccup shook his head and took a deep breath. "I…I'm doing great. School's good. I met a girl."

No, no, no, why had he said that?

"Oh that's wonderful, sweetheart! I'm sure she's absolutely lovely. Did you tell your father?" Valka chuckled.

"Oh she's something alright," Hiccup said under his breath. "No, I didn't tell Dad. She's not… it's complicated."

"How is it complicated? Love is a beautiful thing, Hiccup. Don't play with the girl's head," his mother said.

"I'm not-never mind. How is Dad doing?" Hiccup asked.

"He's doing well. He just received a promotion and-oh! Here he is! Stoick, honey, Hiccup is on the phone."

It was no wonder that Hiccup had a strange nickname looking at his father. Gerard Haddock had been known as Stoick for years because of his stony expression. Even after the accident that resulted in the amputation of his then fifteen year old son's left leg, Stoick had remained composed. A bit shaken, yes, but not nearly as terrified as Valka had been, seeing her baby lying under crisp white hospital sheets. She had held him and cried until a nurse had pulled her away at the end of visiting hours.

He heard his father grumble something, then his mother folded a hand over the phone. Their voices were muffled, but Hiccup could tell by his mother's pleading tone that they were arguing. Again. The reason for why he had chosen to move out a week after he had graduated.

"I'll call him later, Val. I'm meeting Gobber in a few minutes," he heard his father say.

"Stoick. He is your only son. Just talk to him for a few minutes. That is all I ask of you," his mother sighed.

"I do talk to him!" his father argued.

"When? When was the last time you talked to him? When we helped him move boxes into his new apartment, which he rented to get away from us?"

"There is nothing for us to talk about, Val."

"And why is that, Stoick? He is our only son and you never speak to him. I don't want him to think that you don't love him because I know you do-"

"We are different people. I have my job and you. He has… he has crazy ideas that only result in trouble. I always told you that we should have never let him stay with your father. The man is insane," his father said.

"Don't you dare bring my father into this, Gerard! This is about you and how much you avoid your son! He loves you and you push him away. All for some stupid job. What will you do if something happens to him? How will you feel?" his mother asked, her voice cracking.

"Well maybe you should go stay with him instead if you are so worried that he's unloved! My life would certainly be easier if you did!" his father yelled.

Silence. Hiccup heard his mother choke out a sob, the hand covering the speaker falling. He hung up, a lump forming in his own throat. He dropped his phone on his bed and ran a hand over his face.

He put his phone in the back pocket of his jeans and stood up. He walked back into the living room where Fishlegs and Tuff were still arguing over whether or not Tuff could attack someone on his own side in the game and retook his spot on the floor. Scott's music was still blaring from across the hallway. Hiccup could hear the faint clink of metal on metal over the stereo and guessed that he was bench pressing. Typical.

"Really, Tuff, you aren't seeing my point. If you attack someone on your side, then they fight back and your own strength is weakened, meaning that it is easier for the enemy to defeat you," Fishlegs said.

Tuff gave him a blank look. "But if they fight back doesn't that make them an enemy too?"

Fishlegs groaned. "No, it does not. The same people are always on your side."

"So no explosions?"

Fishlegs smiled and folded his hands in his lap. "No explosions."

"This is lame. I'm gonna go find the she-beast," Tuff announced as he stood up. He crossed the kitchen and left the apartment, the door slamming behind him.

Fishlegs sighed and started to put everything away. He noticed Hiccup and stopped, someone's character sheet held in his hand.

"Are you alright, Hiccup?" the blond boy asked softly.

Hiccup nodded and drew his knees to his chest. He rested his chin on them, his gaze burning into the far wall. Fishlegs watched him sadly, unsure of what to say.

"Did you ever get an answer from Astrid?" he asked after a long stretch of heavy silence.

"No."

"Oh. Did you try texting her?" Fishlegs asked.

"She said she doesn't want to talk about it," Hiccup said.

"Did she say why not?"

"No, she just said that I should be more concerned about my stupid nerd games," Hiccup grumbled.

Fishlegs nodded and stood up with the Dungeons & Dragons box in his arms. Three character sheets were held under his arm. Looking down at them, he suddenly had an idea. "You should invite her to our next Dungeons & Dragons night!"

Hiccup stared up at him like he had grown a second head, his green eyes wide. "Are you insane, Frankie?! She would laugh in my face!"

"Maybe not." Fishlegs shrugged. "Just think about it. You could ask her at the beach on Saturday. If she has fun, then it will be a great way you two to get to know each other. I mean, you might be raising a child together, so you don't really have a choice anyway-"

"Fish."

"Sorry. If she doesn't like it, then at least you can say you tried. You won't know until you ask her, Hiccup. She might surprise you."

Hiccup watched his friend disappear into his bedroom to put everything back into his closet. While he was gone, he thought about what it would be like to have someone other than Fishlegs, Scott, and Tuff in their apartment. Other than Ruffnut and Scott's girlfriends, they had never had a girl in the apartment. And never one invited by Hiccup. But there was no harm in asking, right?