Hiccup and Astrid lay on the couch in Stoick's living room; his father was out on his duties for the day.

Astrid ran her hand through Hiccup's messy, copper hair. "I love your hair, Hiccup."

Hiccup flushed. "Thanks." The beginnings of a smile lifted the corners of his mouth.

Astrid shifted, laying her golden-haired head on Hiccup's chest. "I love you."

Hiccup smiled wider, a little nervous. He loved Astrid, too, yes, but he felt so unsure of himself around her; dragon trainer or not, Hiccup's old insecurities still lurked, his heart ready to let them right back in if he let it.

"I love you, too," he whispered, kissing the top of her head gently.

She looked up at him. "Why?"

"Huh?" he asked, taken aback.

"Why do you love me?" she repeated. "I'm just curious."

Hiccup studied the couch pattern instead of her. "You're very brainy. That you proved in dragon training classes, the way you could work out a dragon's weaknesses. You're very sweet and brave. You're also completely unafraid of what other people think. That you proved when we were ten and Snotlout was bullying me and you stood up for me." He shot her a quick smile and she gave him one in return.

"You're very beautiful. And you caught my eye from the first. You're very driven and very ambitious. You don't like to be sidetracked. You prefer to keep your eyes on the prize."

Astrid smiled. "Really?"

Hiccup nodded, but didn't speak.

Astrid seemed pleased. Then she said, "You're very brainy, too."

Hiccup glanced up at her, surprised. He hadn't expected to get a compliment from anyone in his life, least of all Astrid. "Um…thanks?"

"That you proved in dragon training," Astrid said back to him with a smile. "You worked out the way to subdue dragons without killing them, just by studying Toothless."

At the mention of his dragon, a smile lifted the corners of his mouth.

She added, "And you also knew how to kill the Green Death."

"I didn't know for sure," Hiccup said modestly. "It was just a crazy idea."
Astrid smiled at him. "You're the sweetest boy I know."

Hiccup didn't respond for a second. "Thank you."

"And you're brave. That you proved when you didn't back down from the possibility of death at the dragon queen's hands. And…you're also brave because…"

Here Astrid hesitated for a moment and Hiccup shifted, turning his freckled face towards her. "Because…?"

"Because you never stopped trying. Even when the other teens would make fun of you or bully you, you never stopped trying. You never gave up on your dreams to be someone above and beyond the ordinary, you never gave up your dreams to change the world."

Hiccup chuckled, but his cheeks were pink. "Astrid, I never had any dreams to be above and beyond the ordinary. I just had dreams of chopping up a dragon…and being accepted."

Astrid smiled. "I know. But you did something better, didn't you?"

Hiccup offered her a quick smile in return. "I love you, Astrid Hofferson."