Decided to see how much of the story I could get done since I have tons of ideas in my head right now! Thanks for reading and please, please leave reviews 3! Just assume they're eating as they talk lol :x.

Short straight-to-the-point summary of chapter 1:
Hiccup was feeling .. a bit moody and desolate about the events that took place. Valka was feeling anxious about family coming. Astrid was feeling lonely since Hiccup wasn't out and about as much. Snotlout was feeling the side effects of love. Toothless just wanted to fly already.

The trio, Valka, Hiccup, and Astrid, neared the festival taking place in the town square. Every Berkian was there and there were a few familiar, but not quite, faces in the crowd. Valka tensed up a bit as she recognized some of Stoick's family. His older sister, his older brother, and his two cousins. Along with them came their sons and daughters, some were Hiccup's age and the others were younger.

"Ayy, nice of you to show up ey?" Gobber said as he waved to them with his hook. "How 'bout you come and welcome your guests?" He said pointing to the stage. There was a long table and in the middle was a large chair, where Hiccup would be sitting, a medium-tall chair where his mother would be right to his left, and to his right medium-small chair where Astrid would be sitting. The rest of the chairs at the table would be filled with his family. Hiccup tensed up. Am I ready? Can I do this? No, no, no I can't.

Sensing the struggle going on in Hiccup's mind, Astrid squeezed his hand a little to let him know she was there and she gave him a peck on the cheek. "Do you need a punch on your arm too?" She teased, trying to ease him and his mind. Hiccup smiled at her as he led the way to the set up on stage. Gobber and Valka followed.

Valka and Astrid both took their assigned seats while Hiccup stood in front of the table closer to the edge of the stage near Gobber. "People of Berk .." Gobber began. Hiccup zoned out, he couldn't focus. He didn't want to. This was way too much. He squeezed his hand expecting Astrid to be there only to realize she was behind him sitting. She noticed his fidgeting and tried to think of a way to calm him without drawing attention.

After Gobber finished his little "speech," he allowed Hiccup to sit in his chair, as Hiccup had nothing to say after Gobber. At that, Hiccup's family came to sit. He looked for Astrid's hand and she put her's in his. He looked at her and gave her a smile and a squeeze and she squeezed back. Hiccup looked around for Snotlout, but Snotlout made his way towards Valka's side, sitting next to his father Spitelout.

"Hicccuupp!" boomed a bulky man who looked to be around Hiccup's age. He had a large build, much like Snotlout but he was about the same height as Fishlegs. "Oh c'mon how can you forgot your cousin Brandt!" he said to Hiccup, who just smiled and shrugged at him very awkwardly. "Oh, and who's this pretty missy right here?" as he looked to Astrid with a twinkle in his eye. "You're doing good for yourself Hiccup, surprisingly. I always remember hearing these stories of you causing mischief around and being the village mess up. Oh! Like that time my dad told me about how you kept making these useless inventions and all you did was get shut down." He started laughing at this and Astrid was starting to get mad, fast.

"Oh, well you know me." Hiccup said, awkwardly. He felt Astrid's grip get stronger and it was crushing his fingers. He rubbed his thumb on her hand and she eased up.

"Sorry" she whispered.

"But hey, you're doing good now right? I mean look now you're chief. Who would've thought?" said Brandt, oblivious to the fact that Astrid was glaring straight at him. She never felt anger like this before. She wished oh so much that she could have her axe, but technically, this was a family dinner.

"Haha, yeaah .. " Hiccup said as he thought back to his dad. Does he not have a heart? I get they haven't seen him or me or my mother at that in a very long time but .. Hiccup let it go. There was no use. "I did, uh .. " Hiccup trailed, and he had Brandt's attention. "I did, um, defeat the Red Death." Hiccup said, trying to look brave and confident, but it wasn't working.

"What's that?" Brandt said, unamused.

"It's this huge dragon, basically the queen, and she controlled all of the dragons and sent them to steal food and raid our village. It's the whole reason behind the raids, for 300 years. And Hiccup, he stopped it all by defeating her." Astrid chimed in, trying to show-off.

"Oh, nice." Brandt answered back, still not too entertained, killing the conversation.

Astrid looked over at Hiccup, giving him an "I'm sorry" look but he shook his head with a smile as to say, "Shake it off, it's fine." He knew she was only trying and if it weren't for her being his rock, he wouldn't know what he'd do.

"Hey! Everyone! I have an announcement to make!" Snotlout yelled over everyone. They all quieted down and looked over to him. Hiccup watched as his family paid full attention to Snotlout, wanting to bask in his 'vikingness.' Of course ... They all listen to Snotlout and will probably be more impressed by what he has to say than anything I so or do. He's the 'favorite' or well really in this case, not seen as the screw up.

"Ruffnut, babe .. " Snotlout said, "Make your way to the center. Everyone please move out of the way for her." Ruffnut walked on over right in front of the stage, a little confused but following along.

"This will be great .. " Hiccup whispered to Astrid.

"Since when does he say please in that kind of manner?" scoffed Astrid.

"Ruffnut Thorston, we've been together now for ... " Snotlout stopped and counted on 4 on his fingers, "3 months and I, the handsome Snotlout Jorgenson would like to take your hand, in marriage. Will you accept?" He said with hopeful eyes and a smile of hopefulness to match.

Ruffnut looked a bit bewildered but after a few seconds she screamed, "Yes!" Everyone cheered, except for Astrid and Hiccup who were unamused.

"Did he count to 4 and say 3?" He asked Astrid quietly.

"I'm more concerned that it's been less than half a year." replied Astrid.

Hiccup snickered a little bit, "Are you sure you aren't concerned because it's Snotlout and Ruffnut?"

"Got me there." She replied through quiet giggles.

"Just remember, you gave him your blessing." And with that, they both smiled at each other. They leaned in for a small kiss while attention was directed away from them.

~~~[Valka's Point of View]~~~

Seated across from Valka was Stoick's sister, Iona and her husband, Vern. "Hello." Valka greeted them with a warm smile. She remembered Vern and Iona, but just a little.

"Hello Valka. How was it?" Iona commented.

"How was what?" Valka said through a small laugh. This was only going to get worst. If only Stoick were here ..

"You know, running through the forest with dragons while your family you left stayed and protected the village." Iona said with a straight face. She was not too pleased with Valka's actions.

"I .. uh .. " Valka's cheeks started turning red and she knew she wasn't in for a treat. She looked at Hiccup who seemed to be in his own world talking to his cousin and she looked to her other wise where she saw Spitelout, talking to his family again with his son. "I'm sorry." Was all Valka could muster.

"That doesn't change much .. " Vern replied, his tone just as hostile as his wife's.

"Oh .. " Valka felt guilty, ashamed. She felt like she betrayed her family. Stoick wasn't mad when he found her, in fact, he had been delighted she was still alive. But here? Without him? She felt like she wished she wasn't alive. Stoick's family was never like this to her. The day we were reunited was the day he died. She sighed at the thought, and she felt like crying. Her eyes started watering and she felt it getting hot, even though it's Berk and there was a light blanket of snow coating the ground. She closed her eyes, let two tears fall and she wiped them away. She knew Stoick would want her to be strong.

She ate the rest of her meal in silence. She figured this would've gone bad ..

~~~[After the little family dinner, it's time to PARTY]~~~

The dinner was finally over, which meant the trio that walked in together, could bolt out of there. Valka got up slowly and she started walking off stage towards the Haddock's home. "Mom? Are you okay?" she heard her son ask.

"Yes .. sweetie, I'm fine. I just need .. some time."

"Are you sure?" Hiccup asked back, not sounding too convinced.

"Yeah, I just want to be alone right now. You go, enjoy the night with Astrid." She turned around and smiled at him as she continued to walk off.

"Um .. alright." Hiccup replied feeling uneasy. I can't let my mom go home alone, but what else can I do? When she wants to be alone she's like me. When I want to be alone, I want to be alone. What more can I do?

"Hey, she'll be alright." Astrid comforted him while wrapping her arms around his neck. He did the same around her waist.

"What do you say we go for a night flight?" He said with a smile on his face.

"I'd love to."

~~~[Night Flight]~~~

"I'm sorry you were put through all of that." Hiccup says as he breaks the silence in the night sky.

"It's okay. It's for you. You'd do the same for me."

At this, Hiccup looked over at her. He'd never seen her so beautiful before, but then again, that's all he ever saw her as. Her blonde hair on her left side was slightly twitching from the wind as they moved. Her face was so calm and peaceful and so serene. The way the moonlight hit her face was just perfect and how Arvin Dale's Fire and it's beautiful collection of colors reflected on her face. Hiccup took in all the details. He'd draw this later, he knew it. He had to.

"You know Astrid .." Hiccup began.

"Yeah?" She said looking at him.

"My life has never been perfect, not even close to being good. You remember how I used to be; the Klutzilla, Hiccup the Useless, The Screw up .. "

"Hiccup stop saying that about yourself. Don't let your cousin's boneheaded words get to you."

"No, that's not where I'm going. I'm just saying that, before, my life used to be like that. Then I met Toothless .. and then you came into my life and that's when it all started getting better."

Now it was Astrid's turn to admire Hiccup. She looked at the man he had grown into. Yeah, he was still a bit awkward and still a stick but who cares? He's the bravest guy and the most loyalest guy she'd ever meet. She witnessed him sacrifice himself for his best friend, and she knew that she'd never find a guy quite like him complete with his sarcasm and his smart-headed remarks. She couldn't believe that Hiccup used to be the shortest kid who everyone made fun of. Now look at him. He's the tallest kid out there now, and next to that, he's their chief.

"No, Hiccup. My life got better because of you. Did I ever tell you how I was never really planning on getting married, starting a family, and all that stuff?" Hiccup shook his head. "Well now you know. The last thing on my mind was finding a boyfriend, and getting married, and starting a family. I was this hard, strong, violent girl who kept feelings away and sheltered myself against everyone. But you see Hiccup, you're the only exception. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here today knowing what love feels like."

Now the couple were both smiling at each other. They inched their dragons as close they could and leaned towards each other. They got a quick kiss before they had to steady themselves again on their dragons. Sensing Hiccup's spirits being lifted Toothless gave a smile up at his owner. "Yeah, buddy don't worry about me." Hiccup said as the dragon made a gurgling noise in response. He scratched Toothless behind the ear and he gurgled in agreement.

"You want to land?" Hiccup asked Astrid as he realized this was the 5th time they circled the island.

"Hm .. No, actually not really. I like it up here." She responded, putting her hands through the sea of clouds above her like she did on her first trip in the air.

Hiccup chuckled as he saw it.

"What?" Astrid asked looking at him?

"I don't know. It's just that .. you looked exactly like you did nearly 5 years ago when I took you on your first flight."

"Oh yeah, where I almost died?" She responded jokingly.

"Okay, you did not almost die." Hiccup sharply responded, keeping the jokingly tone though

"You want to land now?" Astrid asked.

"Sure, let's head to the cove." He said and before Astrid could react, they were already heading there. She smiled to herself and watched them. "C'mon Stormfly, let's go girl!" She coaxed her dragon after the two.

~~~[In the Cove]~~~

Hiccup and Toothless were hiding behind a rock that was also guarded by thick foliage from the forest. He was trying so hard not to laugh or make a noise, but it was hard.

"Hiccup?" Astrid asked, partially terrified. She grabbed her axe that was with the rest of her stuff.

Hiccup saw her grab her axe and before he could react she ran into the forest. "Wait, Astrid!" He called back and ran after her. The dragons, sensing danger, followed.

"Astrid?" Hiccup called, trying to peer through the dense vegetation but it was no use. It was too dark.

Astrid heard Hiccup, and smiled. Perfect. She used her stealth skills and set her axe down behind a rock where he couldn't see it. She moved from tree-to-tree before she was as close as she could get. She jumped at him and brought him down.

"AHHH!" Was all you could hear and then a bunch of laughing from Astrid as Hiccup pushed what he thought was his assailant off of him. "Don't worry, it's just me." Astrid said through laughter.

"Wh- WHY?!" Hiccup yelled, although he couldn't hold back his laughter much since Astrid was laughing. "I-I could've hurt y-you." He said through breaths of laughter.

"You? Hurt me? C'mon Hiccup, I'm the one who had the axe and you were the one who hid first." She replied back.

"Come here you." Hiccup said as they both stood up and he put one arm around her wait and pulled her to him. They kissed each other for a long time, only stopping when they needed breaths. When they stopped, they touched foreheads, smiling at each other, eyes closed, and heavy breathing.

The couple walked back to the cove, Hiccup's hand in Astrid's hand.

Stay tuned for the next chapter and don't forget to leave a review!