Prologue

The young riders of Berk sat around a newly built bonfire on the stony beach and stared at the dancing flames before them in silence as they waited for Hiccup to arrive.

Tuffnut glanced over at his peers and wondered how time had gone by so fast. They all looked so different.

Older.

It felt strange and uncertain.

He curiously peered at his twin sister's face. She looked unusually solemn which caused a sudden pang of sadness in his chest. As they had matured, it had become increasingly difficult for Tuffnut to be able to determine her thought process. She had closed herself off to him, far gone from the girl he had known since… well… forever. Growing up, he had often antagonized her but all the while always appreciated that she was his sister. Most people entered into this world alone but Ruffnut had occupied his personal space and annoyed him for as far back as he could remember and he would not have it any other way.

The tension around them thickened when he noticed a dark look cross his sister's face. Tuffnut discreetly turned his eyes towards the source of Ruffnut's annoyance.

Astrid.

The girl in question had her eyes lowered to the ground to avoid Ruffnut's heated gaze. It was hard to understand what could have transpired in what felt like mere moments to generate such a severe response from his sister.

Tuffnut stared blatantly at Astrid as he searched for signs of discomfort or regret. She was an enigma to him. They rarely interacted unless it involved violence which he had always been perfectly content about. It did however not prevent his nosy mind from scrutinizing her every move. Until recently, she used to be closed off and dismissive. Her face mostly remained the same throughout the years but her harsh eyes seemed to have gained more depth. He often found himself desiring to drown in those dark blue pools despite how icy they seemed from afar.

It took less than a moment before Tuffnut's eyes predictably wandered down to her chest, completely forgetting about his former musings. A lazy smile stretched across his face now and he appeared to be in some kind of a stupor.

Astrid sensing his ogling, immediately crossed her arms over her chest and frowned.

Tuffnut blinked, throwing a side-glance to Snotlout who seemed to be holding back a snicker and Fishlegs who was blushing. He also heard his sister release a humorous snort, her anger almost deflated.

Girls were weird.

Snotlout looked like he was about to speak up but was interrupted by a Night Fury shooting through the sky. The stillness in the air died down and was now replaced by chattering and laughs as they watched Hiccup land before them. Everyone looked noticeably happier. Including Snotlout much to Tuffnut's surprise. Times had really changed.

Hiccup made his way over to them with Toothless trailing on behind him. He was almost unrecognizable by the way he carried himself nowadays.

Toothless lowered to the ground next to the other dragons and let a yawn escape, which earned him a deep chuckle from Hiccup who was busy pulling out bottles of mead from the bag hanging next to his saddle.

"From Gobber," Hiccup muttered, sinking down beside Astrid and Fishlegs after passing the bottles on. "Sorry I'm late," he added with a tired smile.

"The chief never apologizes," Tuffnut replied, casually sipping on his bittersweet beverage.

Hiccup resisted an urge to roll his eyes. "Not chief yet," he mumbled, taking a huge gulp of his own.

"But you will be someday," Tuffnut insisted, causing Hiccup to groan in protest.

"Can we not talk about this right now?" Hiccup almost pleaded, looking at the others to help him divert this conversation. Fishlegs took pity and started quoting a section from the Book of Dragons.

"Boring!" Snotlout boomed, interrupting the younger boy. Fishlegs glared at him before turning his attention to Meatlug. Snotlout smirked at Ruffnut next to him. "What say you to a midnight stroll?" he suggested, wiggling his bushy eyebrows.

Tuffnut frowned, looking away. This was weird.

Ruffnut huffed and was about to respond but found herself distracted by something else that caught her eye.

Tuffnut followed her gaze and saw Astrid and Hiccup speaking to each other in a hushed manner, and then Hiccup reaching out to brush the bangs away from Astrid's face as she smiled up at him. Her eyes were looking warmer than usual.

His sister was now glaring at the ground while Snotlout kept firing obnoxious comments at her. Tuffnut stood up abruptly and attempted to throw the remaining contents in his bottle at Snotlout but ended up soaking his sister instead. Ops.

That earned Tuffnut a punch in the gut. Ruffnut looked furious and her cheeks burned as Hiccup glanced over at her curiously. She looked like she contemplated leaving but Astrid's voice froze her.

"Are you okay?" she asked with a slight nervous edge to her tone.

Ruffnut opened her mouth to retort something but as her eyes met Hiccup's, the words died in her throat. She settled with a lame, "I'm fine."

"No, you are not," Tuffnut snapped. His sister had been acting incredibly strange. She was far from fine and even he could see that.

"It's my fault," Astrid whispered, "I'm a bad friend," she said, fingering the metal band around her wrist.

Ruffnut shook her head.

"No. No, you are not..." Her voice trailed off.

"What did you do?" Tuffnut cut in, feeling himself becoming impatient.

Ruffnut ignored him. "Can we talk?" she asked in a weary tone. Tuffnut was not entirely sure exactly who she had been speaking to until Astrid stood up quietly and followed her away from the bonfire and into the shadows.

xx

Ruffnut's mood seemed to have improved greatly when they finally returned. It did however confuse Tuffnut when Ruffnut switched seats with Astrid and settled down next to the oblivious Hiccup. Tuffnut nervously bumped his shoulder on Astrid's and prepared himself for the pain that was about to come.

It never came.

Astrid merely poked him back with her finger, a half-smile lit on her face.

"You know, she is lucky to have a brother like you." She said, looking at him with a calm and serene expression. Her eyes had never seemed warmer.

Tuffnut scanned the group again. Fishlegs had long ago given up on any attempt on conversation and was tending to his dragon whilst she slept. Snotlout was drunk and Hiccup was listening to something Ruffnut was telling him but his eyes stayed glued to the girl that was now sitting next to Tuffnut.

The sun was soon going to rise but the teens stayed put.

Astrid stood up suddenly and lifted her bottle up in the air. "To friendship," she said looking over her drunken friends with a smile.

"To family," Ruffnut yelled back at Astrid, her voice sounding intoxicated and she was now leaning heavily on Hiccup who was starting to look slightly uncomfortable.

Ruffnut lifted her head off Hiccup's shoulder to look at Tuffnut from across the fire, the corners of her mouth turning up. He nodded back at her, lifting his empty bottle up and then pretending to take a sip. Ruffnut laughed, shaking her head in amusement.

As a comfortable silence started to settle down, Hiccup quietly added, almost as an afterthought, "..and for everything else."

Astrid bit back a smile.