Astrid rolled onto her side, letting out a groan. Gods, what a nightmare! How did she-

Oh.

She began to crack open her eyes when she felt a warmth in her left hand. She looked over and saw Hiccup sitting in a chair, head down. He looked like he had aged significantly since she last saw him. His charred armor, burn marks, and heavy bags under her eyes worried her. He hadn't gotten any sleep, had he? He had stayed right by her side for as long as he could.

Astrid wanted to be frustrated with him, but couldn't. Ugh! He was too sweet for his own good. Astrid didn't feel too good herself. Her body was covered in burn marks. She was lying with her stomach exposed, bandages wrapping most of her body.

She looked at him more closely. His eyes were swollen and his cheeks were stained with dried tears. It was strange; in all the years that had spent together, neither had ever seen the other cry. Perhaps they were fortunate. They usually got out of the messes before they escalated too far. Gods, how long had it been?..

She reached for Hiccup's face and stroked his cheek. Hiccup mumbled something incoherent, suddenly jolting to life when he realized Astrid was awake.

"Astrid! Oh, thank Thor, thank Thor…" Hiccup looked like was on the verge of tears.

"Hiccup, it's okay, it's okay, I'm fine." Astrid smiled weakly at her boyfriend's worry. Gods, he was so cute sometimes.

"How long was I out?"

"Oh, gee, I lose track, maybe a day and a half?"

"Oh…" Astrid paused and looked into Hiccup's eyes, struggling to speak.

"I thought I had lost you. I- I didn't know what I would do if…"

"Hey, hey, I'm okay now." Astrid interrupted. "Besides, why aren't you resting? You look exhausted." Astrid glanced at the noticeable gash on Hiccup's right arm, which was still holding her left hand. She squeezed his hand, looking up and smiling.

Hiccup opened his mouth to respond, and looked away, embarrassedly. "Fishlegs tried to get me to rest and bandaged up, but…I was too stubborn. I couldn't rest. Not knowing if you were going to be okay or not. You sure you're okay?"

Astrid gave a small smile, realizing how similar the two of them could be. She preferred to describe themselves as dedicated as opposed to stubborn, but simply sighed in relief that nothing more severe had happened to either of them. "Yes, I'm fine, Hiccup. You can stop worrying about me now."

Hiccup grinned. "Oh, I'll never stop worrying about you. That's just the way it is."

Astrid smiled. "Yeah, I guess that goes for me, too."

There was a brief silence. It seemed as though the world was letting out a sigh and calming down.

Astrid slowly sat up. "Well, first things first. You need to get some rest."

Hiccup smirked. "Oh, yeah, that's what I'm gonna do first." He leaned in and gently kissed Astrid. At first, Astrid was caught off guard, but sunk into the kiss, deepening it. The kiss lasted longer than was probably safe, and Hiccup pulled away, with a laugh. "Can't take away too much of your air!"

Astrid grinned, although she did feel a bit lightheaded after the kiss, her chest tightening in excitement. "If getting trapped in a forest fire earns me a kiss like that, maybe I should do that more often."

Hiccup exclaimed, exasperated, "No! Don't you ever do that to me again! I don't think I could take it…" His eyes began to water again.

Astrid leaned up and pecked his cheek. "It's gonna take a lot more than small fire to take me away."

"That was no small fire! Ugh! When I get my hands on the twins-"

"Don't worry about that right now, Hiccup! Now, promise me you'll bandage yourself up? It's not safe to leave burns unaddressed that long. Soon enough, I'll be the one worrying!"

Hiccup gave a little pout and leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I will. See you soon." He smiled, and walked away.

Astrid began to drift off. She was tired. But goodness, she wondered what she had ever done to deserve someone as caring as Hiccup…