Hiccup whooped as he sped through the sky, leaving a black streak behind him. He looked back at his friend Astrid on her Deadly Nadder gaining on him with every second. "You can't beat me Astrid!" he chuckled. Looking back to smile at her a worried look crossed his face. She was gone. He started to panic. Had she fallen out of the sky? Had she insisted on doing that dive bomb he had already warned her not to do? He halted Toothless and went to turn around as a large blue mass rose into view, with Astrid atop it. "Astrid!" he yelled in a relieved voice. She smirked and flew past him, on the way gently kissing his lips. He smiled and felt a bit lightheaded. "Works every time." Astrid grinned as the boy shook himself a bit. "Hey!" he called out realizing what had happened. "That's not fair! Do you only kiss me to win a race?"

A sly smile crossed her lips as she circled him on her dragon, "Hm. Sometimes!" as she locked lips with him again, this time for what seemed like forever. When she broke the kiss, Hiccup looked a little bewildered. Astrid was acting different. She had never kissed him like that, not that he minded. All the kisses she had given him since she had met Toothless were quick and chaste, and were delivered after jab to his arm. It some times felt like she didn't actually like him, only pecked him on the lips once or twice because he was a hero. Then again, he had been nuts over the girl for as long as he could remember. Suddenly he started to get a dizzy feeling and he subconsciously let his metal attachment slip from the stirrup as he and a panicked Toothless fell out of the air.

Astrid's eyes widened as she quickly dove her dragon downwards. Right as she inched up close enough to grab the unconscious boy they crashed through the roof of a now demolished house. 'Oh gods.' Astrid whispered to herself and held Hiccup tight as to not let any broken fragments of wood fall on his limp frame as they made contact with the roof.

She peeked up to see several spectators gathered around murmuring about the incident. She got up to shake herself off, but paused as she was about to lift the now conscious boy off the ground. "Um, Hiccup," she whispered in a soft voice as he stood brushing dust off his head. "Huh?" he said, the effects of her kiss still making him a bit giddy. "Does that look like my Mom's collection of horns to you?" Hiccup blew strands of his brown hair from his eyes and peered over at the direction she was indicating. They froze as they heard a shriek from behind them.

"My house!" shrieked Astrid's mother, "Ooh. When I catch the rascals who did this I swear I'll," Hiccup and Astrid turned, a little shaken from the woman's voice. "Astrid Hofferson!" she bellowed. "You know how long your father worked on this house last week? A very long time while you've been up there playing games with your little boyfriend!" The two youths blushed furiously. "He's not my boyfriend." Astrid snapped. Hiccup felt as if a thousand knives had pierced his heart. He turned towards her. "I'm not?" Astrid winced at the pain in his voice. She hadn't meant to say that. Truth was, she really did like him, loved him, actually. It had pained her to say that, but it was a defensive.

"Well since he's not," her mother droned with sarcasm, "You could stay at his house for the week until we repair the house that YOU TWO DESTROYED!" Astrid huffed a bit and turned to leave hiccup on her tail, eagerly scooting away from the ranting woman and leaving Toothless and Astrid's Deadly Nadder behind.

They walked in silence for a few minutes as Astrid angrily kicked at the dirt. Hiccup gulped. Why did he always get so nervous when he and Astrid were alone? He silently cursed himself out as they continued their trek to his home.

He chanced nervous glances over to Astrid, wanting her to break the awkward silence that had settled between them. She stopped abruptly in front of his home and turned towards him. At once he realized she had been crying. He rushed over to her and swept his thumb across her cheek. He hadn't taken Astrid for the type of person who cried. She smiled at the warmth that spread from his hand onto her cheek. He was so adorably cute. The way his hair fell, down to the way he propped his weight on his good leg while he ran, he was just what Astrid found attractive. Not some brawny idiot, but a gentle soul with a big heart hat didn't hit on her because of her abilities, but for her personality. She was jarred from her thoughts by a very distraught Hiccup. "Astrid? Astrid are you ok?" his face was stern but kind, worried for her even. Before she could answer him though he had whisked her into his house.

Astrid chuckled as Hiccup hobbled around the large hall and led her into his room. The entrance was small, and she had to stoop to get in, but the sight before her was amazing. Designs, sketches, and blueprints littered the room with a desk in the far corner. A large bed was hidden away under a mess of papers. It reminded her of him. Always messy, but cute. He whipped around, trying his best to tidy the room and threw numerous items in a corner. He had Astrid sit on the bed. "I'll be right back." He promised and stumbled over a hidden anvil. Astrid giggled. "That's my Hiccup." She smiled. Her eyes glistened. "MY Hiccup, I like it."

She turned her attention to the papers strewn across the bed. Most of them were detailed sketches of Toothless and his new foot, but one scrap caught her attention. It was a beautifully detailed drawing of her. It even showed that one hair on her head that was a little longer than the others. She admired the picture with great pride to have the picture be so beautiful. She read the caption scrawled across the bottom of the page.

*REMINDERS- FEED TOOHTLESS, POLISH FOOT, TELL ASTRID HOW I FEEL ABOUT HER.

APRIL 12, 1010

She jerked her head up as Hiccup entered the room. He was carrying a tray with a small wooden bowl of what appeared to be some sort of sick attempt at stew. "Um," he said handing her the bowl and sitting down next to her he continued, "I guess you can sleep here. I'll just sleep over in that chair." His face shone in the light of the torch by the door. "Hiccup?" Astrid said with a curios tone. "Yes?" Hiccup sighed, his heart lifting at the fact she was talking to him. "What's the date?"

He seemed confused. "Um, the twelfth." Astrid's eyes grew wide. He was supposed to tell her how he felt today. She groaned. If she had felt bad before she felt wretched now. She had to let him know that she really did love him, a lot. She slowly placed the bowl on the floor and turned to face him. "Hiccup, what did you want to tell me today?" Hiccup froze. 'Oh Gods, she found the memo.' He cleared his throat.

"Um. Well, I, uh, you see." He couldn't continue. His mouth went totally dry. How could he tell her how much he loved her if she didn't even feel the same way? He turned away to cough, and turned back as his lips brushed Astrid's as she captured his mouth in a deeply passionate kiss, her fingers laced through his chestnut locks. Hiccup felt her tongue glide pleadingly across his lip, as if begging for entrance. He was so surprised that he gasped, answering her pleas. When they broke apart after what seemed like forever, Hiccup was completely dumbstruck.

"B-But I thought you didn't like me?" he managed to spit out after a few minutes of staring at her beautiful face. Astrid chuckled, "You misunderstood me, Hiccup." She cupped his cheek. "You're not just my boyfriend, you're the love of my life." Hiccup smiled as she kissed him sweetly.

"Uh, well. I guess I don't have to say what I wanted to say." Astrid shook her head. "No. You're not off the hook yet. Say it." He smiled and stated with a sense of confidence that made Astrid smile, "Astrid Hofferson, I love you. I have since I was a little boy of age five. That's twelve years that my love has kept growing and I can't believe I just said that!" She nuzzled close to him.

"You know, I wouldn't mind if you stayed here for a while, not at all."

She hugged him. "Gladly. But you're not sleeping in that chair." "No, no. not at all." He whispered. He gave her an uncertain kiss, as if he hadn't mastered the technique by then. "I really do love you Hiccup."

"I really love you too, Astrid, I really do."