Hiccup Haddock was not a light sleeper. Once, he had managed to fall asleep with an anthology held aloft over his head, and woke hours later with aching arms and a book that crash-landed on his nose. He walked around with a swollen, bruised face for a week after that fiasco. Snotlout must have said that Hiccup "had his nose in a book" a thousand times. Hiccup must have rolled his eyes twice as much.

No, Hiccup slept soundly. Despite the hours it may take him to fall asleep, once he was out he remained out until awoken by a tap or a noise.

Today, it was both.

"Hiccup?"

He grumbled, moving his hand in the direction of the noise and nudge.

"Toothless, stop. It's too early."

His fingers brushed against something soft and warm: fabric.

Realization caused his eyes to open: Toothless did not wear clothes. Toothless did not speak.

Toothless was not…

"Gobber?"

The blacksmith stood beside Hiccup's cot, his good hand pressed against the young chief's shoulder. For a fleeting moment, Hiccup felt hope boil through his body: The dragons! They came back! But Gobber's shaggy eyebrows were downturned. Streaks broke through the soot that normally coated his cheeks. His light eyes were glassy, and his voice was raspier than normal.

"What happened?" Hiccup sat up, reaching for his spare prosthetic, choking down a gulp as he realized that, for the first time in years, his metal leg was not covered in dragon slobber. "Warlords?"

"No sign of 'em all night."

"Okay," Hiccup exhaled, pushing himself off of his cot. He had to stoop down slightly in his tent: the fabric had begun to cave in on itself. He supposed he had to fix that at some point, after he made himself a new leg. "What's up?"

"It's…Astrid."

The heat drained from Hiccup's body, congregating into Hiccup's boot.

"Where is she?"

Gobber shifted his shoulders, parting his lips to speak but failing to form the words. Hiccup knew then, he knew exactly where she was. It was the same place where, hours earlier, she had to tear him away.

New Berk was humming in the early morning hours. Not the typical buzz that greeted Hiccup each morning, but more like a hive emerging from hibernating. It was reassuring to see that life was able to move on despite the hardships of unimaginable loss. On the far side of the makeshift village, he spotted Eret gathering some scouts to set out on patrol. The man's back was to him, but Hiccup made a mental note to thank him later on: he saved him from doling out that one task. Gobber had started back towards his blacksmith stand, a single table in a small clearing. Hiccup supposed that there were more important buildings to construct: a great hall, houses, a shipyard…but he needed the blacksmith shop built and operating as soon as possible. It would be his one, rare reprieve, now that he was grounded.

Up the hills he trekked. New Berk, or he supposed just Berk now, was a rockier landscape than their last home. Larger too. A year ago he would have been up at the crack of dawn to run off to explore and map his new surroundings. Now he had to entrust that job to others.

Mom would be good, he thought with a frustrated sigh. His backup prosthetic snagged on a divot that his other one would have easily stepped over. I'll ask her later.

Finally, he could see the flat span of meadowland that seemed to float right out into the ocean. The early morning sunlight made the dew sparkle like gemstones. The tall grass caressed his legs like encouraging hands as he walked out towards Astrid.

She sat still, straight, and silent: a warrior's position. Her blonde hair swayed gently in the sea breeze. Her braid had come undone, leaving a column of curls right down the center of her skull. Hiccup blushed slightly at the sight of her unbound hair. Over the past year she had become more daring, pushing the limits of what was socially acceptable. His heart had nearly burst when he first saw her with her hair halfway down. Gobber had had some choice words that day: "Yer not getting a move on so she's hoping to snare a more sensible Viking."

No, it turns out having her hair down was easier with her new helmet.

But now, seeing it completely free, Hiccup felt as if he was invading her privacy. Unbounded hair was a sight reserved for family and, well, husbands. Hiccup was neither. Despite his every aching wish he was still neither.

He almost turned around, back to the village, until a glimmer of startling blue caught his eye. Astrid had spotted him. She glanced over her shoulder with an expression that seemed almost, shy.

"You need to grease that leg," she said with the faintest of smiles. "I could hear you coming over the sound of the waves."

Hiccup chuckled sheepishly, limping over besides her. He waited for her to motion to sit, but her eyes turned to fixate on the horizon. He knelt down next to her, a respectful different.

It was then he noticed that her lips were tinged with blue, and her skin was frightfully pale. She wasn't shivering, but it looked as though her warmth had vaporized into the early morning air. Though the island itself felt warmer, the sea remained just as bitter and hostile.

"Astrid-"

"I couldn't sleep," she whispered, tucking her chin into her knees. "I thought I heard her calling me. I thought maybe…maybe she decided to stay."

Stormfly. Astrid's loyal, fearless Nadder. Every bit of a warrior as Astrid, two halves of one whole unstoppable force. They had parted so easily, with Astrid undoing Stormfly's saddle strap, nuzzling her with a final "my good girl." There had been no drawn out goodbyes, and hardly any tears on Astrid's part save for an added wetness to her eyes. She had even been smiling, laughing as the village headed back to the encampment.

That was not the Astrid Hofferson sitting next to him now.

Hiccup felt like the dumbest, greediest Viking in existence.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" He reached for her hand. It was colder than mountain air.

"I stopped by but you were asleep. I didn't think-" she paused. Hiccup understood.

"You didn't think I'd actually be sleeping."

"Something like that, yeah."

He covered her hand with his, hoping the heat from his palms would manage to defrost hers.

"Well…almost dying takes a lot out of you."

She glanced over at him, her lips parted in protest.

"You need to stop doing that."

"Stop doing what?"

"Almost dying."

He released her hand, "It's…kind of an occupational hazard."

With a sigh, she tugged on Hiccup's arm, pulling him all the way to the ground to sit beside her.

"The Red Death, Drago, the Bewilderbeest, Grimmel…all the other wild and reckless stunts and adventures…that damn flight suit…Gods Hiccup it's like you attract death."

"Thank you? I really don't try to…"

She shook her head. "I know you don't Hiccup, I know…" she could not turn her head quickly enough to hide the tears that had sprung free. Her body began to shake. "But, yesterday I had to say goodbye to my best friend and it was the hardest thing I've ever done. If the Light Fury hadn't…if she…"

"Hey…Astrid…hey…" he pulled her closer, close enough to inhale the sweet scent of her windblown hair. "I'm right here, okay? I'm not going anywhere."

She shivered, turning herself into his chest so that her cheek rested over his heart. He wrapped himself around her, willing the heat of his body to spread to her, to warm her instead of him.

"Thank you," she whispered when she finally stopped trembling.

"Of course. I'm not going to let you freeze to death."

Her cheek rustled against the leather of his jerkin.

"No, not that." Blue eyes bore into him. She looked so young, so ethereal…it was one of those moments that Hiccup swore he was still a lanky teenage boy staring outside of the forge window. "Thank you for showing me a different way, for getting me to change my mind about dragons, for giving me the best six years of my life."

Hiccup smiled into her hair, brushing the gentlest of kisses against her scalp.

"You're welcome," he stroked her back, willing his hands to stay down instead of waving around wildly. Though he wished his voice was louder, all he could manage was a whisper:

"I would like to give you more years…"

"I miss her," Astrid sighed, "I miss her so much. I didn't think I could miss someone like this."

A heady mix of relief and disappointment coursed through Hiccup's veins.

"I know."

Another sigh escaped her lips, "I shouldn't be complaining though…it's not like you and Tooth-"

"No, no, no," Hiccup stopped her, "This isn't about me and how I'm feeling. I didn't come out here in this freezing wind to talk about my issues—which I have many, by the way. You'd be here a week if I started throwing them out there."

Astrid giggled slightly, a welcomed sound.

"But Astrid, I'm serious, okay?" He held her hand to his heart, leaning his face close to hers. "If you need to talk, you talk. If you need to cry, you cry. If you need to punch someone…I'll go find Snotlout."

Giggles erupted into melodious laughter. Her arms wrapped tighter around his shoulders, and he pulled her closer until there was only air between them. He kissed her on her cheeks, on her nose, on her head. He counted the sparse freckles beneath her eyes. He watched as the sun rose fully into the sky, illuminating her hair like a crown. They stayed like that for until neither one could stand the chill anymore.

"We should head back," Astrid said as she helped Hiccup to his foot. "They'll be looking for you."

"Literally everyone in the village," Hiccup exhaled sharply righting himself, "Waiting and watching for me to tell them what to do…great."

"Hey," she cupped his jaw. Hiccup was suddenly tempted to plant a kiss into her palm. "You're not alone, remember? And dragon or no dragon, you're still the chief."

"Eh, only until I majorly screw up."

Astrid rolled her eyes, whacking him gently on the arm.

"You've already done that…plenty of times…so what else are you going to do Chief?"

Marry you, he thought longingly.

"I guess…we need to find a place for a new hall."

"Sounds like a plan," she beamed, giving his hand one final squeeze, "One thing at a time babe."

Hiccup smiled, leaning in to kiss her temple, only to find an empty space.

"Come on! I'll race you!"

She darted off before Hiccup could even shout out:

"Oh come on…THIS ISN'T EVEN MY GOOD LEG!"