I'm not saying it finally happened but it finally happened - I wrote a chapter!! (*Oscar winner voice*) I would like to thank the academy and all the people who have been with me on every step of this long and incredible journey and thank my last 2 braincells putting this together. Thank you to everyone for being so incredibly patient with me and sticking with me and IJAS through thick and thin! You guys are seriously the best, thank you! (edit: I realised this probably made it sound like IJAS is over - fear not, people, you've got at least 6 more chapters coming your way!! We are far away from being done here, i haven't reached full sappiness-potential!)

"Hello? Hiccup?"

Hiccup felt his heart unclench at the sound of her voice on the other end of the line and exhaled, leaning against his locker.

"Hey," he mumbled, closing his eyes.

"Everything okay?"

He smirked, his other hand coming up to rub his face. "Yeah, everything's - depends how you look at it. I'm okay. It's, uh, it's about my cousin, Scott. He … his Dad found out he's bi and kicked him out - after beating him up."

He heard her gasp. "Oh, my God. That's horrible, I'm so sorry."

He sighed. "It's alright, he's been meaning to get out of there anyways. He's gonna stay with Gobber and my Dad for a few weeks until he's found something. But anyway, I was really just calling to tell you I won't be able to make it to come round, I'm really sorry. I've got to be here, for support. Also, he's technically on duty right now so I'm pulling a double shift to cover him."

There were a few moments of silence on the other side, but then Astrid asked, "Does he like tea?"

Hiccup stopped, taken aback. "What?"

He imagined her shrug. "Well, I mean - listen, I don't want to intrude. But if he likes tea, I've got this really nice loose leaf tea blend at home, and I could bring some over. If you'd like," she added and Hiccup's heart did a little jump, chasing a smile onto his face.

"He's more of a coffee guy," he said then, still grinning. "But I'd love a bit of some really nice loose leaf tea blend."

Astrid snorted lightly and replied, "Alright, so one coffee and three teas, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I'll see you in ten, then."

"Yeah," Hiccup repeated, feeling completely at peace for the first time since he'd set set foot into the department today. "Sounds perfect."

Memories of exchanged keys and a way too long work break flooded her mind as she spotted him, standing in the door.

Last time he'd been leaning against it, grinning at her with crossed arms.

Tonight, he was simply stood there. Upon stepping closer to the light, Astrid saw the expression on his face, her heart softening at the sight of him.

"Hey," she whispered into the darkness and gently laid her hands on his shoulders, pressing a light kiss onto his lips.

"Hey," he echoed, wrapping his arms around her just before she could pull away and hid his face in the crook of her neck. "Thanks for coming."

"Of course," She in turn hugged his middle, gently running her hand across his back. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he sighed out, hugging her tighter. "Now I am."

She smiled at that, hugging him a bit tighter as well.

"You wanna go in?" Her voice was quiet in the darkness, and yet echoed through the hallway. He nodded against her and slowly - reluctantly - let go of her. And so she half-led, half-followed him into the command room, blinking as her eyes accustomed themselves to the light flooding the room. Hiccup led her through a door on the left-hand side of it and Astrid couldn't help but get lost in the way he was running his thumb across the back of her hand as he did so, warmth blooming in her chest.

They ended up in a rather small room with a sofa, a table and a kitchen area at the opposite end of the sofa.

"I'll put the kettle on," Hiccup mumbled and strode over to the hob. Astrid watched him carefully as he filled the kettle with water and took four mugs out of the cabinet above him.

He was stood hunched over, hands clenching around the handle of one of the mugs as he filled it with water and spoke, "It's weird, you know – growing up, I knew they had problems at home. But I really thought it was getting better for him."

"When did he know? That he was bi, I mean?"

Hiccup shrugged. "I think he just kind of always knew. But I don't think he always wanted to let it on; not only to others but also to himself. A big portion was just being in denial, I guess. He used to be a bit … difficult. We had some rough patches. Lots of shoving around and stupid nicknames." He smirked. "More stupid than now."

Astrid smiled at that. "I like your nickname. It's cute."

He chuckled and handed her the mug. "Thanks."

His hand laid down on the back of her shoulders as he gently motioned her towards the sofa, Astrid's heart fluttering as they sat down, his arm coming up around her, one of her legs draped between his.

He was staring into his mug for a while, shadows dancing on his skin, almost mocking it. A light stubble grazed his jawline, she realised as she took a closer look in the dim light. He looked tired, distracted.

Finally, he spoke, his voice soft. "Sorry I'm bombarding you with this. It's just … strange, you know? I mean, on one hand I feel really sorry for him because I know how important his relationship with his Dad is to him, I mean … he's always wanted to make him proud and do right by him. And I know," he quickly added as he saw the look on her face. "He hasn't done anything wrong. But in his father's eyes he has. And that's the problem. But you know, on the other hand, I also have the feeling this is gonna be good for him. He's been wanting to move out for a long time, and I think being away from all the judgement is going to do him some good. Having his own space in a couple months."

"You said he's living with your Dad and Uncle for a while?"

"Yeah – but I mean, it's my Dad and Uncle," Hiccup smirked. Astrid frowned.

"How do you mean?"

He shrugged. "Well, my Dad's pretty chill about most things and Gobber gay. So this is kind of the best environment for Scott to be in right now. Having someone around who celebrates him for who he is."

Astrid hummed. "Alright. Well, to be honest, all of this doesn't really sound that bad – I mean, don't get me wrong, being kicked out is fucking horrible," she added with a slight sarcastic smile on her face. "But you get used to it. And you then have the freedom of being yourself. You can create yourself new, become who you've always wanted to become and stay true to yourself above anyone else."

The look on Hiccup's face was taking her by surprise. She'd expected anything from confusion to pity, but instead she was met by pure tenderness.

The mug was set down onto the table. He reached out and gently took her hand.

"You've never told me that," he said, softly, his eyes dancing over her face, settling on her own. "Thank you."

Astrid could only stare back at him, completely flabbergasted. She couldn't get the 'You're welcome' over her lips. Instead, she mumbled, "I don't think I've ever said that to anyone. I don't usually speak about this. But I – with you it's okay. Ish. I guess."

He cracked a small grin at her. "Okay-ish? Good enough for me."

She laughed at that, realising how stupid she must have sounded. "Sorry, I didn't mean – you're great. And I like telling you things."

Hiccup hummed, gently resting his hand on her thigh, his face inching closer to hers. "I like telling you things, too."

And with that, he closed the distance between them, their lips meeting in a soft collision, and Astrid closed her eyes, the sound of his heartbeat in her ears.

Hiccup suddenly pulled back, his hand still on her thigh, and Astrid frowned, looking at him with a searching expression. He was looking almost sheepish.

"Speaking of telling you things," he started, quickly reaching out to take a sip of his tea. "I realised something."

"Oh, God," she dead-panned. "Is this the part where you tell me that you don't actually like tea? I don't think our relationship would survive that," she quipped, nudging him lightly. She could see the nervousness written blankly on his face. It seemed more than that – Hiccup looked absolutely terrified. "Should I be worried?" she asked softly then, reaching for his hand. He shot her a small smile.

"I … don't know," he admitted then and ran the other hand through his hair. "I mean – it's just." He stopped, closed his eyes, breathed out and then inhaled deeply. "Do you remember that time I was on emergency response and got a call at like 3 in the morning-"

"You mean literally this morning?" Astrid's voice was as light as she could keep it, and she squeezed his hand, smiling up at him.

Hiccup grimaced. "Right, that was today. Huh. Well – yes. This morning. Well, I realised something. My job is dangerous – like, actually dangerous. Like 'I could die any given day' dangerous. And I just – I don't know, I feel like it's a risk. Being with me. I feel like there's so much at stake, for me being on the job, and for you being in a relationship with me. And I don't know whether you want to take that risk."

She was looking at him, her hand still in his and he couldn't make out the emotions behind her expressions.

"I-" she started, broke off and stopped. Her gaze fell onto their intertwined hands, and suddenly the words were stumbling over her lips. "I get that your job is dangerous, but I – I'd never not be with you just because you've got a dangerous job."

She looked him straight in the eye, blue waves crashing against the shore. "You're worth every risk."

I love you, Hiccup thought and said, "I've never written that message to anyone outside of work before. When I wrote you that I made it out okay."

They looked at each other for a few moments, and before Hiccup could ask her if she really was sure, Astrid whispered, "I didn't go home before I got that text," she looked up at him again, a small smile playing on her lips. "So good job on getting out of there, otherwise I would've made camp here and annoyed Gobber all day."

Hiccup chuckled, feeling all the weight he had felt before falling off his shoulders, and gave her a soft kiss on the top of her head.

"Is that gonna be our routine, then? You pulling all-nighters until you know I didn't get fried?" he smirked.

"Honestly? I'd probably get a lot more work done that way."

He laughed at that and pulled her close again, his free arm coming around her, closing his eyes as Astrid rested her head on his shoulder. "Alright. I'll check in with you about that in a week or so."

"Is that a challenge?"

He laughed at her sudden enthusiasm. "Maybe," he shrugged, grinning impishly. She lightly nudged him in the stomach.

"No, but really though," she continued, her tone getting serious again. "I meant it when I said you're worth the risk. I'm not going to let that stop me from – you know. I'm all in on this."

"One hundred percent?"

"One hundred percent."

Here's a snippet from my writer's block which is simultaneously the height of my comedic abilities honestly truly if I'm being honest:

' "Hey, I'm gonna be gone for an hour to so, is that alright?"

Gobber looked up at the sound of Hiccup's voice, not very surprised to find him already rid of his working clothes. The older man squinted.

"What, dressed like this?"

"You know what, Gobber? Fuck you and your fashion opinions."

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah," Hiccup fumed. "You heard me you old ball-sack. I'm sick of you constantly telling me I'm dressing weird!"

"That's because you ARE Hiccup and it's not my fault for noticing how shit your fashion sense is," Snotlout commented from his spot on the sofa in the corner.

And then Hiccup died because he didn't know what to say.

The end. '

Look no further. I have peaked.