Hiccup raced to mount Toothless, the heat of a battle roaring all around him. He had always been there to catch Astrid, and he wasn't about to drop her. As soon as his foot his the pedal, the two were rocketing towards the terrified blonde. They had quite a distance before she made contact with the ground, but she was so far away. Hiccup cursed into the wind, raging at the invaders lining the shores of Berk. He couldn't tell through the fog and the smoke who they were, as they'd been a sneak attack, but it didn't mean he couldn't hate them.

Finally the duo were approaching Astrid. Hiccup looked to the side and saw a frantic Stormfly hovering, unsure of what to do to help. Instantly the Haddock boy hatched a plan to get down quicker. Locking Toothless' tail with a lever he'd put in only a few days before, he jumped and snatched the blonde from the air.

Her fear was replaced by shock. "Hiccup?!" He didn't even bother acknowledging her cry, keeping his eye on his target: Stormfly's back. The two landed with a heavy force, grunting and clinging the leathery saddle to stay on. Hiccup shook his hair out of his eyes, and made a mental note to make a helmet for cases like this where the wind would be intense. He saluted his awed girlfriend before slipping from the saddle, where Toothless was waiting before in a wobbly glide.

Once he was safely positioned and the automatic tailfin had been dislodged, he called to his riders. "Get to the docks! We need to create a barrier with our blasts. Ruff, Tuff! I need you two to get us started using Barf's gas!"

The other five did as he asked, with no questions whatsoever. He may consider himself to be a peacekeeper above all else, but when it came down to it he was great at leading them into battle. Within only a few minutes, they had created a barricade of smoke and fire to successfully keep more enemy ships from attempting to dock. Two had already gotten through, allowing the soldiers to get into the town and fight on the ground where they were more powerful.

"Hiccup! I need you kids to take out that smaller ship out in front; the catapults are making it hard to get to the main battle ship! Think you can handle it?" Stoick called out from below them, standing on the wooden planks of the dock.

"We're on it! C'mon, Toothless!" They flew off, the others not far behind. He then called,once again, to his friends. "If we come in close to the sides, we won't be in their range. We have to hurry, though, or they'll be able to take the shot!"

The dragons did as told and flew in right next to the hull of the ship. Unfortunately, the attackers had a trick up their sleeves. A few of the warriors on deck pulled out small silver containers. They threw a few into the air, which exploded with such a force that it seemed to rattle the riders' brains. After the warning shot, they aimed at the closest dragon, which happened to be Astrid. Pushing Toothless to speed up and warn her, Hiccup smirked; usually he was the one who attracted trouble, but it seemed like today the tables had turned.

He tried calling over the sounds of explosions and shouting, but to no avail. He held his breath, fearing that he wouldn't make it in time to warn her that she was being used for target practice. But then he saw his chance. Reaching down once more to lock Toothless' tail, he began standing up surfer-style.

"Ready for round two, bud?" The Night Fury snorted, hoping his rider would be careful, yet knowing it wasn't quite in his vocabulary. "Make sure Astrid's okay before you come to catch me, okay?"

With that, he jumped towards the blonde yet again. Time slowed down; one of the men had released their little explosives, and it was whirring towards the now wide-eyed girl. Hiccup had hoped that she at least would have been oblivious if she were going to be hit; it would have been a little less painful to watch. But then, he made a decision. She wasn't going to be hit; he was. He extended himself as much as he could, arching his body slightly to come into contact with the bomb as opposed to the girl herself.

Pain. That's the first thing he registered. Then Astrid yelling; no, screaming. There was no anger in her voice, only sadness. Then he felt cold. The cold started to weigh down his clothes and fill his mouth. Ah, he knew what this was. He'd fallen into the ocean. Next to him, he could hear something large scrambling around. Hiccup opened his eyes painfully, to see what was approaching him. It was Toothless, trying to help his rider out of the water. The boy smiled, though it stung to do so, at the dedication of the Night Fury. He allowed himself to be rescued, taking off into the smoggy sky to finish the fight.

"Snotlout, Fishlegs! Set those things off while they're still on deck; Ruff, Tuff, go for the sails. Astrid...come with me." His voice was slurring, and it was obvious he was in pain. She nodded, almost spastically, and followed him down to land on Berk. Once they had dismounted, Hiccup shuffled over to the girl, limping about as though everything hurt. And honestly, it did.

"Hiccup are you-" she never got to finish. He hugged her with full force, catching her off-guard. She returned the hug, using as much energy as she could muster.

"Astrid, promise me you'll be safe."

"I will, but why-"

"Ok. You know I love you right?"

"Oh, wow. I- I Uh, love you too, I guess. But why-"

Once again, she was cut off. With courage she should've guessed he'd had, given his display in battle, he lunged in for a kiss. It was short and sweet, and full of some unknown meaning meaning. Only after he fell into her arms, with a soft moan, did she realize what was happening; she began to tear up, despite her being recognized as one of the most fearsome Vikings out of the teens. She frantically felt for a pulse, finding nothing of the sort. Only then did she understand what his words had meant. Only then did she understand what his kiss had meant. He knew he couldn't have simply come out and said what he was thinking: "Goodbye."