Guess this story is next on my updating rotation. Ah…yeah, nothing to say, so I'll just move it along to this next oneshot in the love lives of Hiccup and Astrid.

Oh, actually, I do have one thing. The canon of this story is going to differ a little from that of the movies and TV show. It's not all that much. Just a bit. Enjoy!

Review Reply (only one this time…):

lorde (anonymous): Yes! Everyone needs more Hiccstrid in their lives! I know that I do.

It Was Always You
The Second Realization

Hiccup had never known Astrid to be the jealous type. Well, actually, he probably should have guessed that she would be. Back when they were both in dragon training, when he had unintentionally found his way to the top of their class, she had been so angry with him. He knew now that her anger stemmed from jealously and envy…and perhaps desperation as well. Were those the emotions she was feeling now?

A few days ago, Snotlout had found a girl who had become shipwrecked on one of Berk's few beaches. Anytime something new comes to the island, Berkians automatically become intrigued by it…even if it was not all that interesting. Hiccup usually did not concern himself with new things, but girl was different. Scared at first, she finally opened up to Hiccup enough to tell him and the rest of his friends that her name was Heather and that she had been attacked by pirates, leaving her shipwrecked and stranded. Always the kind person, Hiccup had offered her a place to stay with reassurance that the villagers were friendly and that his father, Berk's Chief, would help her out with whatever she needed. At the time, Hiccup had never expected that his kindness would create a rift in his blossoming relationship with Astrid.

Astrid had always been skeptical of new situations; it was just part of her nature. Hiccup knew that too. He remembered how stiff she had felt sitting behind them when they first flew on Toothless together. As the ride continued, though, she had relaxed when she realized that Hiccup's beloved Night Fury was not the threat she had originally thought him to be.

Hiccup saw much of the same behavior from before in Astrid's actions and words as Heather joined them at the Academy. The girl had told Hiccup one night that dragons were not friendly on her home island and the head dragon trainer/rider had offered to teach her some of his techniques for her to use when she returned home. Apparently, Astrid had felt threatened by Heather's inclusion because the Berk shieldmaiden pulled him aside one afternoon after the conclusion of dragon training. That was the day when everything really fell apart between the two young lovers.

"Hiccup, we don't even know who Heather is. She could be working for the Outcasts for all we know. We should not be telling her everything that we've learned about dragons until we know for certain that she is who she says that she is and that we can trust her."

"Astrid, it's fine," Hiccup replied. "Heather's been pretty open about herself since she arrived on Berk. I trust her. She is definitely not working for the Outcasts."

Still Astrid was skeptical. "How can you be so sure? Something's not right here. Think about it. When was the last time someone crashed onto Berk shores?" Hiccup hesitated and that was enough proof for Astrid. "Exactly. You can't even remember. There's more to all of this, something that Heather's not telling us."

"Astrid, you're being unreasonable. Just give Heather a chance…" Hiccup began but Astrid cut him off before he could continue.

"I did give her a chance. She's been acting suspiciously since we found her!"

"Astrid…"

"No, Hiccup."

Hiccup knew that his girlfriend did not want to hear his words. He sighed, giving in. "Fine. This conversation is over."

"Oh that's not the only thing that's over," Astrid told him before brushing past him to walk out of the arena.

Before Astrid could walk much further away, Hiccup stopped her by gripping his left hand onto her right shoulder armor. "What do you mean by that?"

Turning back to face the boy, Astrid replied, "I think you know exactly what it means, Hiccup." Her voice was strict, but lacked emotion. It was clear that Astrid really did not want to say these words to the head dragon trainer, but she continued regardless. "A courtship is based on love and trust. There's plenty of love, but I'm not feeling the trust…not anymore."

Hiccup was stunned that Astrid could feel this way. His hand slipped from her shoulder and he made no further move to stop her; he just watched her walk away from him. From them.

888

As it had turned out, Astrid had been right again; that was usually the case. Hiccup should've suspected that Heather would turn on them. His mistake placed Berk and the Riders in danger from the Outcasts. Luckily, Hiccup and his Riders resolved the problem, reuniting Heather with her captured parents and sending them on their way home with well wishes of safe travels. At the docks, Hiccup and Astrid stood side-by-side. She made sure to deliver a swift punch to his arm. Though Hiccup knew he should be upset by this, he wasn't. Maybe things were returning back to normal.

When the boat carrying Heather and her parents back to their home had disappeared from sight, Hiccup chanced to talk with Astrid. He wanted to apologize and regain the friendship and love that he had lost. "Astrid, I…" Turning to see that she had already walked away, Hiccup stopped and hung his head. How stupid of him to think this would be easy! Astrid was one of the most stubborn Vikings he had ever known. This would be harder than he'd originally thought.

Walking home in silence, Hiccup quietly entered his house and retreated immediately upstairs to take a seat at his desk. Toothless, who had followed just as silently (having sensed that his Rider was upset and did not want to talk about it), immediately took a place on his rock-slab bed, warming it before lying down. Pulling a pencil from a canister on his desk, Hiccup lay his head down and rolled the pencil around on the top of the desk. He always seemed to do this when he was upset. The boy did not even know why. It was just another one of his strange habits…and he definitely had many.

"It was always you…" he spoke, out-loud, softly to himself. "You always were the leader of this short relationship we had together, Astrid." Raising his head from the desk, Hiccup let the pencil roll to a stop. "You initiated every kiss. I was too hesitant. You gave me everything, your trust and your support and I gave nothing in return. I don't deserve someone as amazing as you, Astrid," he continued, saying the words as if she was actually in the room.

A sound from the stairs startled Hiccup and he slipped from his chair, which he had pushed back when he had stopped rolling his pencil across his desk. "Ow…" he moaned in pain. Looking up, Hiccup saw who had made the sound. "Astrid…"

The Viking girl walked the rest of the way up the stairs and toward Hiccup. She offered her hand to help him up and he gratefully accepted. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to startle you." Astrid spoke softly as if hesitant.

"Yeah," Hiccup answered, flexing his back to help get back some feeling. "I'll be fine. So…what're you….doing here?" he asked, curious. Recent events between them had caused him to revert back to his nervous stuttering when speaking with Astrid.

Astrid sighed and Hiccup could see that her words were very hard for her to speak. "I never should have acted out that way, Hiccup. I was frustrated and I just thought that you of all Vikings would see reason. Since that day…I keep replaying that conversation. I miss talking with you…and hanging out with you. I miss having you as my best friend…as my boyfriend. I miss you, Hiccup. I'm …sorry," she finished, speaking out the last word off her tongue as if it was foreign.

Looking down, Hiccup sighed and replied, "No, I should be apologizing to you. I should've acknowledged what you said. You had every right to be suspicious of Heather and it turned out to be right. I mean…everything worked out in the end, but it could've turned out much worse for Berk…and the blame would've been on me for not questioning Heather's motives."

Stepping closer, Astrid smirked and told Hiccup, "Why don't we just say that we were both wrong…to an extent and leave it at that?"

"Sounds alright to me, Milady," Hiccup answered, returning Astrid's smirk. "So…friends?"

"Of course," Astrid told him, her smirk never leaving her face.

"What about…? Are we still…?" Hiccup began, unsure how to phrase his thoughts.

As always, though, Astrid seemed to know what the boy was thinking as she closed the space between them and softly placed a kiss to Hiccup's lips. "Yes," was her simple answer, earning her a small smile, in reply, from Hiccup.

I was going to end this chapter with Hiccup saying that he was unworthy of dating Astrid and add the rest as an extra, but I found that to defeat the purpose of the story idea. These are one-shot stories, meaning that they are complete at the end of the chapter and that ending felt so unfinished. Hope that everyone enjoyed!

Coming Up Next: "The Third Realization"—"It Was Always You…My Beloved"

Posted: July 21, 2014