AN: This was a request by Nicely Nicely's Little Sister, who wanted a story based around the scene in the episode "Cast Out, Part 1" where Snotlout's actions cause Astrid to fall off Stormfly and Hiccup tries to ground him as a result.

Because of complications with my schedule, it took me longer than I would've liked to complete this, and by the time I did, she had stopped taking PM's, so I wasn't able to forward this to her. I hope that it meets her expectations, and that she enjoys it nonetheless. (Please excuse any feelings of angst in the first part of this story, it gets better and more uplifting in the second half, I promise!)

And I hope you do too!

And I do take requests!

Just like the smallest of dragons can have the fiercest attacks, so too, can the most brief of moments have the biggest impacts. An alternate take of the scene from the episode "Cast Out, Part 1" where Astrid falls off of Stormfly. (Don't worry, it ends well!) Hicstrid.

Terror.

Throughout his life, Hiccup had experienced many forms of fear and apprehension.

He had been worried about failing his father.

He had been outright afraid of the taunts and harassment from the village bullies, and even his own peers.

He had felt doubt over his own abilities, and even his purpose in life.

He had felt despair over his unsuccessful attempts to make himself useful, and guilt and shame when those attempts had ended up damaging the village.

Embarrassment…well, that was obviously a given.

And sometimes, when he thought back to what little he knew of his mom, he felt lost.

Misery.

Anguish.

Frustration.

Despair.

Dread.

But it was only fairly recently in his life that Hiccup had encountered a new sensation; one which, oddly enough, he seemed to be experiencing more and more frequently even as the other eclectic array of anxieties were abating under the influence of his new-found friendships, sense of purpose, and status as village hero.

And that new feeling, was terror!

It was a sensation almost worse than all the others combined, even if it was just in short, infrequent bouts that were relatively minor compared to the once near-constant upwelling of apprehensions and simple fears he had become so familiar with in the not-so-distant past.

If he had to pinpoint it, he'd say that the first time he felt true terror was probably when Toothless had barged into the Ring to confront an uncontrollable Monstrous Nightmare, followed by a mob of even more uncontrollable Vikings.

Then, not long after, when he, Toothless, his father, and his new friends went up against the Red Death.

And every time since then, whenever he watched those same friends, and those he had come to see as his family, go up against every variety and type of opponent and calamity that the Gods could conceivably throw at them.

And most recently, just a few mere seconds ago, as he watched one of his closest friends and confidants fall out of the sky…

"ASTRID!"

"AHHHHHHHHhhhhhhh!"

"GAHHH!"

Astrid stood on shaky legs, both from having fallen out of the sky and surviving a near-death experience (in which Toothless was just barely able to catch her in time), and from having almost given out an equally near-death experience to Snotlout (only being prevented from doing so by Hiccup, who had held her back with his lean, but surprisingly firm, arms).

Snotlout didn't seem to care; about either Astrid's near-death or her having nearly dealt him his own.

In fact, he had just blatantly disregarded Hiccup's orders and flew away, seemingly unconcerned for the consequences of his actions.

Like Astrid, Hiccup's legs…err, leg, was shaking too. So were his hands…and his chest…in fact pretty much all of him was shaking, with the exception of his head, which was positively throbbing.

Most Vikings would assume that he was shaking in anger, holding back his underlying pure rage.

Astrid, however, was not like most Vikings, and, what's more, she knew for a fact that Hiccup was absolutely not like most Vikings.

No, this was something else.

"You didn't have to do that for me, Hiccup," Astrid said, walking up to him and wiping a strand of sweat-soaked hair out of her face.

"If we can't count on him during practice, how can we possibly count on him the next time we run Dagur? A-Anyway, I gotta go and, uh, make sure Gobber is alright. I'll check in on you later, okay?"

He seemed as confident as any Viking would, given the situation.

And Astrid wasn't buying it for a second.

Hiccup really had checked on Gobber, but as soon as the one-armed, one-legged blacksmith had affirmed that it took more than a "wee little spark from a equally wee little firefly" to keep him down, Hiccup had flown right off.

Luckily, Astrid had a pretty good guess as to where.

She reached the cove shortly after Hiccup did, giving him some time to cool down and collect his thoughts (the fact that her Nadder couldn't possibly keep up with the Night Fury having absolutely nothing to do with it, she would, unconvincingly, argue).

"Oh, ah, hey Astrid," he replied in his normally sheepish manner as he got up from leaning against Toothless. His face was crinkled and his eyes red. "So, um, are you doing alright? You know, after…?"

Yeah, she wasn't buying it.

"I'm fine, but you obviously aren't. Hiccup, what's going on? Is this about Snotlout? You did what you had to do; you know that, right? Nobody blames you. Well, maybe Snotlout does, but…"

Hiccup sighed, "You know, I remember my dad always used to tell me the same thing, whenever I screwed up; that he didn't like having to punish me, but that he was doing what he had to, for my safety and the safety of the village."

"Hiccup!" gasped Astrid. "This is not the same thing!"

"Oh, isn't it? I was always trying to make a mark for myself; to prove to everyone that I could be just as good as they were; always screwing up but still trying again and again anyway, no matter how much damage it caused."

Astrid wanted to object. In fact, she wanted to object rather heavily. The problem was, she didn't know rightfully how. She was barely aware of Hiccup's existence back then, and that was only from his status as the chief's son and his reputation as the village screw-up. It wasn't the first time she had regretted her single-mindedness, but in this situation, she was determined to use that focus to help Hiccup, instead of hurt him. And since she couldn't find the right words, she had to settle for actions instead.

She came up, and enveloped him in a hug. He was shocked for just a few seconds this time, before he returned it. It was starting to become their standard way of comforting and assuring each other.

He leaned against her. "All this time, I wanted so much to be more like my dad, and now I am, in some ways. I guess I just never stopped to think about what that really meant."

"Hiccup," said Astrid as they parted slightly, but she still lightly held onto him, "I can't really say that I understand how you feel about having to bear this responsibility all by yourself, but the thing you have to understand is that you aren't by yourself. You have me, and Toothless, and your dad, and Gobber, and the other riders to back you up! Well, again, maybe not so much Snotlout at the moment. But what I do understand is that when your whole body is trembling like it is…that it isn't because you're concerned about Snotlout running off."

And indeed, Hiccup looked down and was surprised to see his clothes shaking slightly as the scrawny muscles and upset nerves underneath refused to calm down, even after all this time. Even his hands were quivering, despite that they were touching Astrid. His mind had been so preoccupied, he hadn't even noticed.

He quickly backed away from her.

"I…uh…don't know what you're talking about, uh, Astrid?" he said, avoiding her gaze. Even to him, the denial sounded hollow.

"What, you don't think I know what it feels like to experience terror, Hiccup; to be afraid?!"

"I…I guess I hadn't really ever thought about it," Hiccup chuckled weakly. "You're always so… Astrid; you're so strong, and tough, and brave and, well, Viking. It's hard to think of you as feeling, you know, like…that. But I guess even the fiercest warriors can feel terrified when their life is at stake, huh?"

Astrid lifted his chin so that he was forced to stare directly into her beautiful, expressive, serious eyes.

"Who said that the life I was terrified of losing was my own?"

"Wha-what do you mean?"

"You think I don't tremble every time I see you fall off Toothless? You think my heart doesn't stop every time I see you put yourself in harm's way to protect someone else…to protect me?! Do you honestly think that you're the only one who feels absolutely horrified that someone they love might be about to leave them alone forever?"

"A-Astrid...I...did you say lov-umph!?"

He was cut off as Astrid suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her mouth on his, her gentle but firm lips soothing his worries, making his mind go blank, and his turning his body numb. The kiss only lasted a few seconds before she pulled away, but it felt like an eternity to him.

"The thing you need to remember, Hiccup," she said, panting slightly, "is that the reason you feel so terrified that you're going to lose somebody you…care for, is because you care for them. And that all the wonderful, amazing, positive feelings you have towards that person, more than make up for the fear and terror of possibly losing him…err, them. Okay?"

Hiccup nodded, though he was still in a bit of daze.

Astrid laughed, "There, you see?" she gestured to all of him. "No more shaking."

And indeed, Hiccup found that his whole body had finally relaxed.