A/N: Hiccup lost his leg in a childhood accident in this AU.

The fireplace flickered and crackled, warming the room and its two occupants. A boy and a girl who were friends, or more accurately, lifelong acquaintances.

Hiccup carefully handled the grinding wheel, trying to psych himself up to open his mouth. His crush was standing across the counter, idly looking around the shop.

Taking a deep breath, he just went for it.

"Astrid… Will you marry me?"

"No!" Astrid said, rolling her eyes.

Some people might be more shocked after walking into a shop to get their axe sharpened and suddenly finding themselves being proposed to, but for Astrid, this was the second time this week.

Hiccup pouted adorably as he worked on her axe, and she had to bite her lip to keep herself from smirking.

Despite making it clear to him that she wasn't looking to get married anytime soon or even interested in having a boyfriend, Hiccup clearly thought his persistence could change her mind.

She wasn't gonna lie, she did find it all unreasonably flattering, but it hadn't done much to change her focus, which right now was training hard and becoming the top warrior of the village.

She'd been of course asked out plenty of times by various boys, but most of them seemed too arrogant or unsavoury and she had always refused them outright.

Hiccup- the one decent boy amongst the lot- had gone even further, confessing his love for her one ordinary evening they'd found themselves alone after training.

"I know you're not interested in a casual relationship or dating just for the heck of it…" Hiccup had said. "And I'm also sure of how I feel about you. I won't change my mind. That's why… I don't just want you to be my girlfriend…" he'd continued, red as a tomato but somehow soldiering on. "I want you to be my wife and I want to be with you and make you happy forever…"

It had been as sweet as a proposal could have been, and she'd had a tough time bringing herself to tell him no, saying that she wasn't ready for marriage yet.

She'd feared she'd broken his heart for good, but then he'd tried again the next week and Astrid had blinked in surprise.

What had followed was a new dance between them of proposals and refusals, with Hiccup not losing heart and instead trying to win her over even more, be it with flowers on her birthday, or helping her tidy up the arena when it was her turn to do it, or even giving her a discount on her regular weapons maintenance, much to Gobber's annoyance.

She had gotten used to smoothly turning him down with hardly a blush by now, but she realised this all meant she was finding herself spending more time with him now, and him talking to her more often without getting nervous. Now that his feelings were out in the open, he felt like a more confident guy than she'd ever realised.

He was much smarter than what her or anyone else had given him credit for, only focusing on his past and public mess-ups. His child-like curiosity about dragons was slowly weathering down her blunt and primal hatred… replacing it with a need for understanding… for seeing things how he saw them.

And all that brought her back to today, as she enjoyed another pleasant discount, just because her blacksmith happened to be in love with her.

She had been coming in here more often though, enough that the discount was cancelled out by her extra visits. But she paid that little fact no mind, walking home now with a smile on her face, twirling her newly sharpened axe.

Her parents had been dropping hints that they wanted her to find someone and settle down for a while now, but most of it had been in a teasing way, and she'd found it easy to brush off.

Over the last few weeks, that had changed though. Behind the teasing and knowing smiles, there was a genuine twinkle in their eyes and this knowing smirk that had annoyed her for days on end.

They weren't as subtle as they thought. She just knew they had a certain boy at the forefront of their minds whenever they suggested the idea of marriage to her these days.

Her mom was particularly bad. Astrid found herself more than once being sent to the smithy with some benign thing that her mom wanted fixed right that instant. It was all that idiot Hiccup's fault!

Making goo-goo eyes at her day and night, so much that even her parents had noticed! And worst of all, they were rooting for him!

She was beginning to think that she had seen the worst of it, but oh no.

Hiccup had apparently spent too much time 'talking' with Gothi, and had learnt that in her time, the boy used to ask the girl's dad for permission before courting/marrying her, and his word held a lot of value back then.

Technically it still did now, although those times were long gone. Nevertheless, Hiccup here was apparently still stuck in the 4th century!

Here he was one fine morning, bravely facing the imposing figure of her father, as he mustered up all his courage and nervously said, "Mr Hofferson. I'd like to request you to grant me permission to court your daughter- I promise to treat her with respect, and hopefully with her permission, one day marry her…"

Astrid had stared at him then with her mouth open, had seen her mother beaming with her hands over her mouth, had seen her father looking distinctly serious, before breaking out into a gentle smile and laughing.

That laugh should've been her cue to run.

"All right, Hiccup… Yer a good lad. You have my permission."

Hiccup's eyes widened. "Really?"

The glee in his voice made her blush. Though majority of her was shocked at how her parents were nodding and giggling like mischievous kids and she was just-

She was raising her fists and ready to fight for her freedom, when the boy finally looked at her and gave her a nervous smile.

"I'd like to take you on a date this evening… please meet me by the cove after your training"

Here he was, the most cowardly boy on Berk, asking the scariest girl out and in front of her parents no less.

And then he was leaving with a happy wave before giving her time to gather her wits.

She'd refused his proposals many times before, but that had been for marriage. All this courtship and date business was too confusing for her to keep her feelings straight.

As much as she hated to admit it, she did enjoy all the banter with him during her visits to the forge, and a traitorous part of her couldn't help but wonder if a 'date' with him would be much the same.

She swore she wouldn't go on the date loudly, and her parents looked at each other, wondering if they'd gotten carried away in their excitement.

I guess they've finally come to their senses, she thought with relief.

But that relief wasn't to be, as just a few hours later, she returned from training to find her front door locked! She knocked and knocked but they wouldn't let her in!

"At least go and see him once! That sweet boy is out there waiting for you!" Her mom called from the inside.

Her face felt hot and she tried to sputter out a reply. This was ridiculous!

It was all Hiccup's fault! Who had told him to be so forward? She figured the best course of action now would be to go to the place where she knew he'd be, and scare him into ending this courtship charade.

What she wasn't expecting though, was to be greeted with a big smile and an even bigger bunch of yellow flowers.

"For you" he grinned, pushing them into her hands.

How on earth was she supposed to be mad at him now?

"I-I never agreed to a date" she mumbled, taking the gift and crossing her arms. "I came here to tell you that"

"Thats okay, it doesn't have to be a date if you don't want to…" he replied, grabbing her hand. "Come on"

His boldness had reached a new peak and as strong as she was, Astrid couldn't bring herself to break her hand free from his grasp for some reason.

He led her to the lake by the cove, where he had prepared a picnic of sorts on the sand. He stole glances at her while they ate, and Astrid tried to avert her gaze, sure that he was making those goo goo eyes again.

Her heart thumped a couple of times, realising she was all alone with him without anyone for miles around. Was this how it used to be in Gothi's day?

He was so… so straightforward and honest with his feelings. No deceit or trickery or subtlety involved. Maybe this was how it used to be back in the day, she wondered.

She was uncharacteristically quiet while he walked her back to her house, and when he tacked on a soft and rare 'I love you' to the end of his goodbye, she didn't even threaten violence to him like usual, preferring to vanish inside the house before he could notice her flushed face.

Ignoring her parent's curious gazes, she went up to her room and sank into her bed. It had been such a strange day.

Unsurprisingly, her dreams that night featured the brown haired boy and his toothy smile.

The autumn feast happened to be just a week after their first 'date'.

The great hall was abuzz with music and enticing aromas, and Astrid realised she probably looked out of place, pouting like a child as she'd been forced by her mom to wear this ridiculous frilly dress.

The other teens had already moved onto the dance floor but she was definitely not eager to join them, and draw more attention to herself. But she wasn't alone here either.

Astrid looked across the table at Hiccup, who was still watching the dance with a small smile.

She'd stayed true to her vow of not participating in the festivities, and had even refused Hiccup's request for a dance. A few other boys had also asked her but had quickly moved on to other, more agreeable prospects. Hiccup hadn't though.

He wasn't even trying to guilt-trip her, and that was the problem. If he'd gotten all sad and mopey in an attempt to make her cave-in, she probably wouldn't have even considered heeding his request.

But the fact that he was seemingly content in rejection made her respect his obvious feelings for her even more. Not even bothering to find someone else, he was just happy sitting here with her and watching others dance.

"Aren't you gonna dance with anyone?" she finally asked, making him look at her.

"The girl I wanted to dance with said no" he replied simply, without the slightest ill-will in his words.

The fact that him of all people shouldn't be able to dance tonight was something that annoyed her even more than the thought of embarrassing herself trying to dance.

She glanced at him again. His eyes caught hers.

"Fine."

"Hmm?"

"I… don't know how to dance Hiccup. I'm warning you in advance."

The wide smile that bloomed on his face made her avert her gaze.

"No problem! I'd still love to-"

"One dance. That's it."

He nodded furiously.

Willing herself to not go back on her word, she got up and he did the same. Unsure of what to do now, she just watched as he came round the table and took her hand, pulling her to a corner of the main area, where the music was still audible but they were shielded from view for a lot of the audience.

As he stepped closer and started to sway with her, she realised he was trying to make her comfortable, probably having surmised she wasn't that comfortable dancing in public.

His hand that wasn't holding hers was resting against her waist, the slightest touch against the smooth fabric of her dress.

His left foot clacked softly with each step on the wooden floor, and he did look down at it thoughtfully once but she squeezed his hand, making him look back up. It's okay.

She was sure it was his first time dancing like this as well, but his fearless attitude covered up for his inexperience.

She was slowly starting to lose track of the song now, between all the swaying and twirling and the way his green eyes never left her field of view. Her hand was getting sweaty now, as she'd never held hands with him for this long, not even on their last 'date.'

It took a couple of minutes for her to realise another song had already started and she'd forgotten about her promise of just, 'One dance'.

"Dancing is fun, right?" he asked her then, finally breaking the heated silence.

The way he smirked as he twirled her again, made her realise he already knew what she was thinking, so there was no point lying.

"It really is… with you."

She enjoyed the way his suave expression turned surprised at that, and the song ended right then, making her laugh and break out of his grasp before he had time to regain his composure.

"Hey!" He complained, unsuccessfully trying to grasp at her hand, but even in this dress she was fast enough to elude him.

"You got two dances out of me Haddock. Don't you complain on me now"

Being all cheeky and in control was easy, now that his hands weren't around her waist diverting half of her brain power.

"I'll get you for three next time." He replied with a grin. And the strangest part was that she found herself welcoming the challenge, already eager for the next time.

A few days later, It was a hectic evening training session at the arena, and everyone was already tired to begin with, due to another raid last night.

Hiccup was annoyingly able to get away without even trying to fight the dragons somehow, like he'd been doing these past few weeks.

But for her, she wasn't just going to dodge everything and wait for the chaos to subside. She was here to win.

Some bad flirting from Snotlout had already soured her mood to begin with, and she wasn't doing as well today as she usually did.

While Gobber had been wrangling the Gronkle back into its cage and the twins had been cackling about some joke, Hiccup had approached her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay Astrid. We know you're the best. You don't have to prove it any more than you already have."

His words made her feel a bit would've smacked the hand of any boy ever daring to touch her like this, but Hiccup was the sole exception. With him, she didn't mind at all, and she gave him a small smile.

"You say that, but you're the one who's been walking out of here with the least amount of nicks and burns lately…"

"Oh well that's…" he blushed and turned away, dodging the question.

When it came time to face the Zippleback, she was determined to get that dragon, and as she rushed to climb over the wooden barrier to douse the left head before it ignited the gas, her foot slipped and she fell down hard, the bucket of water in her hands drenching her in the process.

The wind was knocked out of her and by the time she regained her bearings, Gobber was already locking up the cage and Hiccup was the first to her side, kneeling beside her and helping her up.

"I'm fine I'm fine-" she reassured him, touched by the deep worry in his eyes. She'd managed to break her fall and come out of it with little more than a few bruises, but her clothes were wet and dirty and her ego had taken the biggest hit of all.

In an attempt to win, she'd made a fool of herself in front of everyone and-

"It's okay" Hiccup said, looking her straight in the eyes. "It's easy to get hurt in this business. I'm glad you're okay."

He was standing way too close to her and it was making her forget her words, not to mention the way Ruffnut was eyeing the two of them skeptically.

She'd been on her case for days about what's been going on between her and Hiccup, and now Astrid had been somehow evading her questions while managing to go on all those 'not dates' with Hiccup, but now the way he was doting on her now would surely be hard to explain away.

Not that there was anything to explain! She was not dating him, no matter what her parents thought.

But then she looked at herself again and the frustration from before erupted again, and she felt her eyes welling up. Astrid Hofferson did NOT cry, and especially not in front of people.

She was already wriggling out of their huddle and running off before anyone could see her. She heard footsteps after her and she already knew Hiccup was just too darn stubborn to let her cry in peace.

She couldn't lose him even after a solid ten minutes of weaving through the woods, and now her stamina was starting to give out. When she finally stopped, chest heaving, she wiped at her wet face and turned around to see an exhausted Hiccup bring himself over and collapse at her feet.

"You're way too-" he said, gasping for air. "way too fast."

She cracked a teary smile at that, seeing him lying comatose like this while he probably had been intending to console her. She sat down next to him on the forest floor.

After a few moments of heavy breathing, he managed to sit up and finally look at her. "Why do you cry?"

Astrid looked away. "I'm a human after all. Everyone cries at one point or another."

"That may be true, but it doesn't mean I ever want you to."

She was still looking away when she felt him lean closer and wrap his arms around her, pulling into a hug despite her weak protests.

His cheek felt warm and he squeezed her tight and Astrid finally gave in, leaning into his embrace and letting him hold her for a while.

"We never know how life is gonna turn out, Astrid. The things you deem important today might be an afterthought years from now…"

Astrid sniffled. "I want to be a warrior who fights dragons. That's not gonna change."

Hiccup hummed in response. "I hope some things will be different one day. If I have anything to say about it."

Astrid didn't quite understand what he meant, but she got as much that the peace-loving Hiccup didn't want her to fight anymore.

Truth was… they had to, right? That's how it had been for seven generations.

She did consider the thought though. Without fighting… what would she even do?

An image popped into her head then. Cooking dinner by a warm fire… a home of her own… maybe a little kid or two down the line as well… a feisty little girl she could teach axe throwing to… and when someone stepped in the door and she went to greet him with a smile, it was impossible to imagine any other face than his.

She finally calmed down and managed to wriggle out of his grasp, throwing him a grateful smile. It was nearly dark now and she offered for him to come and join her family for dinner.

She knew the Chief was off on an expedition and she didn't want him to go home and eat all by himself, not after he'd been there for her in such a heartfelt way.

She gave her best glare at her parents but it did nothing to diminish their gleeful smiles when they saw her walk in with Hiccup in tow.

She went to her room to change out of her muddy clothes, and when she returned, she saw that he was chatting with her parents with remarkable ease.

She couldn't help but marvel at the way he had opened up with them lately. It was hard to think of him as just another guy from the village now, not when she felt so at ease around him. It was almost like he was part of her family.

After the meal, her dad had gone upstairs and Hiccup was helping her mom wash the dishes. When it came time to see him out, she felt this irrational want for him to stay longer still.

He must've noticed her hesitation in saying goodbye, but instead of calling her out on it like she'd expected, he said the most unexpected thing.

"I don't want to be alone tonight either Astrid… since it's already late… why don't you… come sleep over at my house?"

Astrid blinked a few times. "W-What?"

"Sleepover." He repeated. "With me. I'm sure you must've had those right?"

Astrid fought the urge to fan her increasingly heating face. "With Ruffnut! Not with a… a boy!"

Hiccup smiled. "That doesn't matter. I saw how you felt today. I want to make you feel better, I don't want you to be sad again. Please?"

Astrid wasn't sure whether to slam the door in his face out of embarrassment or go to Gothi's and get her sanity checked for what she was about to say next…

"That's a ludicrous idea for even you Hiccup…"

Hiccup just replied with a dopey smile.

Astrid sighed. "And even if I were to agree to it -which I'm NOT- how do you suppose I sneak out without waking my parents?"

Hiccup thought about it for a moment. "Who said anything about sneaking out?"

He was already pushing past her and inside her house before she could even decipher his words.

"You're back, Hiccup?" came the sound of her mom.

"Yes Mrs. Hofferson- I wanted to ask you if you will allow Astrid to sleep over at my house tonight?"

Ingrid Hofferson raised her brows in surprise, looking between the two teens. "In the guest room I presume…?"

Hiccup shook his head, and Astrid could scarcely believe her eyes.

"I was hoping to have her stay in my room with me. I promise we won't do anything improper. She was feeling down after training today and I just wanted to talk to her and comfort her a while longer."

Astrid wanted to hide her beet red face behind her hand that Hiccup was gripping firmly in his grasp. The strangest thing was the contemplative look on her mom's face, when she'd been fully expecting a rejection.

He might've been "courting" her and all but everyone knew that didn't mean anything. They weren't betrothed yet! Or even planning to be! And he was asking for something normally reserved for after marriage and-

"I trust that you'll be responsible with my daughter?" She asked Hiccup, and he nodded firmly, squeezing her hand.

Her mother's gazed passed between the two of them a couple times before she sighed. "I'm probably being a bad parent right now- but I trust you Hiccup" she said, making her daughter scoff, implying 'you don't trust me?!'

Hiccup beamed and thanked her, before tugging Astrid's hand. "Let's go"

Astrid blushed even redder somehow. She wasn't at all mentally prepared for this evening to go this way, and yet found a rebellious part of her wanting to go with this flow. "Let me get my things and a change of clothes first…"

He waited by the front door while Astrid came back with a small bag, and then he escorted her to his house like a proper gentleman, even though the whole situation oozed impropriety.

Astrid frowned. Who cares if it's not socially acceptable? He was clearly a kind young man that she trusted and she wanted to be closer to him, and she knew he wasn't lying to her mom when he said he wants to just sleep next to her.

She remembered how it had felt when he'd held her earlier that evening and you couldn't blame a girl for wanting more of that.

Deciding to follow his lead of simple honesty, she let her worries and uncertainty leave her mind.

He took this opportunity to show her around his home, making her realise that she hadn't even been in here since she was very little. Hiccup's room was expectedly messy but in a charming sort of way.

Being alone with him seemed so normal by now that she didn't even feel the nerves she'd been feeling earlier at her house.

She joined him in giggling like little kids after they'd changed into their night clothes and jumped under the covers.

Even though she'd been feeling dreary and tired earlier, now she couldn't stop herself from smiling. They stayed up talking late into the night, lying on their sides and facing each other, talking so close that the other's face filled their vision.

And when it finally came time to actually sleep, his pleasant warmth tugged at her heart and soon she found herself nestled into his side. It would probably be embarrassing in the morning but she wasn't gonna miss her chance to savor this unexpected opportunity to the fullest.

If you marry him, you could have this every night! An annoying voice piped up in her head.

She felt him kiss her hair once and she was ready to call him out for being too darn sweet right then and there, when she realised he was relaxing and already falling asleep on her.

Astrid was tired as well, but she managed to stay up and listen to his breathing for a while before the world of dreams took her as well.

Being woken up with tiny kisses on the cheek was definitely a new experience for her. She couldn't help but let out a small sigh at the pleasant sensations, and as if that reassured him, her bedmate moved his kisses along her jaw and then down to her quickly reddening neck.

She just stared at the ceiling and tried her best to not let him know how much he was affecting her, even though her poker face was quickly wavering.

He kept kissing her neck until she finally managed to push him away before she had a chance to die from embarrassment.

His smug look made it clear he knew she'd enjoyed it as well, which only made her blush all the harder.

"You didn't seem to be minding it all that much, milady…"

"S-Shut up! Good morning!"

Hiccup chuckled at the strong greeting, before speaking again, more seriously.

"I wanted to thank you for agreeing to sleep over here with me… in hindsight I can see how it might be perceived as a bit scandalous…"

Astrid laughed. "It was plenty scandalous last night too, you just didn't seem to notice in the middle of all your concern for me…"

"Ohh…"

"But I should be thanking you. For consoling me and always being there for me. You're a true friend Hiccup…"

Hiccup smirked. "I can't believe I got friendzoned in my own room. Milady, you're awful."

Astrid blushed, fighting the urge to quickly clarify her words. She was NOT gonna walk into his trap.

"Hiccup Haddock, do you think I lie in all my friends' beds and let them wake me up with kisses…?"

Hiccup chuckled. "I sure hope not. That would really tarnish the value of this special treatment that I'm getting here…"

She went silent and then Hiccup worried for a moment he was doomed to her axe, having pushed his luck too far.

But then she tilted her head the slightest bit away, allowing him better access to her neck, and Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief, before getting back to business.

All in all, it was an apt morning to cap off the best sleepover ever.

From that day onwards, Astrid didn't really refuse whenever Hiccup asked her out, even calling their dates 'dates', and she already knew she was hopelessly smitten with the idiot by the time he finally proposed to her again.

She couldn't even believe how much she'd longed to hear those words again, until he said them.

"Hey Astrid… will you marry me?"

She had already made up her mind in the days prior. She pretended to think about it for a moment just to enjoy the nervous yet hopeful look on his face, but even that couldn't compare to the way his face lit up like the sun when she replied.

"Yes Hiccup. I will."

The next thing she remembered was being enveloped in a crushing hug, with her of course hugging him right back.

She was glad they were at their spot in the woods this time, as she still wasn't comfortable with displays of affection with him in public, even though they hadn't really done anything yet beyond hugs and kisses on the cheek.

Wedding planning was a daunting proposition in itself but she decided to let her parents handle those worries for now, once again finding herself in Hiccup's room that night.

Sleepovers had been a frequent activity of theirs during these past two weeks, but this one felt way more special, especially given the betrothal necklace she wearing, even for bed.

Thanking the gods once again for letting her mom be liberal enough to allow this, she ran her fingers through her fiancé's shaggy hair.

"Did you ever think this would happen?" she asked, grasping her necklace with her other hand.

"I… I hoped it would… but I can't say I was certain by any means. I never seemed to know how you felt back then… about me. I was worried you didn't like me…"

Astrid shook her head. "You always held my interest more than anyone else, Hiccup… you're so smart, sweet, and kind… you're funny too and you always know how to make me laugh even in my worst of moods…"

Hiccup nodded seriously. "That is my superpower."

Astrid giggled and pecked his cheek, making him suddenly turn thoughtful.

Astrid raised an eyebrow. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Her betrothed seemed to grow strangely nervous before he asked in a small voice, "Am I allowed to kiss you now?"

"You've kissed me plenty of times" she replied with a smile.

Hiccup shook his head. "I mean… on the lips."

She had guessed what he meant before he'd even replied, and the mere thought of it made her feel all hot and light headed. "You can d-do that… after we're married…"

"You'll marry me but you won't kiss me?" Hiccup replied in an adorable pouty voice.

"It's embarrassing to do it all of a sudden!" Astrid cried.

"But at least we're alone here," he said, squeezing her around the waist. "Who knows how many people will be watching us at the ceremony. Isn't it a good idea to have some practice beforehand?"

When he said it like that…

"I know you just want a kiss out of me, even if you might be making a logical argument…"

Hiccup grinned. "And…?"

"Ok fine. One kiss. But I'll be the one to do it. You just stay there and close your eyes."

"Astrid, but-"

"No peeking!" She shushed.

"Okay okay fine!" he said in amusement, closing his eyes.

A good ten seconds went by with nothing happening and he was about to open them back up again to check, when he felt the shy press of her lips against his, gently keeping them there for a second and then she drew back.

Hiccup opened his eyes, looking into hers in the darkness. "Was that fine…?" she asked meekly, in the voice she always used when she was terribly embarrassed about something.

He nodded furiously to reassure her. "More than fine. It was great. Absolutely great."

She smiled. "There's your kiss that you wanted. Now no bothering me until the wedding." she said, yawning and snuggling back into his neck.

"I'm not sure if I can wait that long, but I'll try my best, milady."

She replied with a sleepy smile against his skin, already knowing that she was definitely gonna end up being talked into more kisses, sooner rather than later.

Because when it came to this boy she loved, she just couldn't seem to say no.

It's been a while since I've posted Hiccstrid, but it's never far from my mind. I was especially intrigued by the teaser for the live action movie. Hope it's good!

Anyways, hope you enjoyed this little cutesy fic! This might be the most tsundere Astrid I've ever written :p

Thanks for reading and do let me know your thoughts! :)

- Gravitybeam