So, this is a really really short drabble idea I got...I'm not so sure where it came from. I was taking a shower, and then all of a sudden, "OH, yeah, I'll write a fanfiction!" and then did this. So, I hope you like it. Enjoy! :D

The Great, Fearless, Astrid Hofferson was supposed to fend for herself. In other words, I wasn't supposed to need help doing things. And in truth, I didn't. I was independent, laughed in the face of danger, loved crazy plans, insane ideas, and fiendish plots.

Then why was it, when Hiccup went missing, I felt anything but?

I shouldn't have cared about him, honestly. I was a Hofferson. I was supposed to be strong and courageous without someone there to boost me on. I was supposed to be a warrior, only caring for myself and what was best for me.

However, for some reason, I found that I couldn't.

What was wrong with me?

Hiccup wasn't strong; he couldn't wield a weapon without nearly decapitating himself, but he was my friend regardless, and so when I paced back and forth in front of Vikings who had been frozen by Speed Stinger dragons, I couldn't help but let my mind wander.

The Speed Stingers had attacked shortly after Hiccup left to find Trader Johann, wherever he was. The fast-as-lightning, flightless dragons came, stole most our resources, and forced us all to take refuge in the cove.

And so, I waited for Hiccup to return.

I didn't exactly know why I felt so implied to make sure he was safe. Before he killed the Red Death and did the impossible by training and befriending a dragon, I couldn't have cared less about what happened to him. So why then? What changed?

I guessed that it started when he took me on that flight, the first time I ever saw Toothless. That was when I really saw who he truly was. That was when I decided that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't the "Hiccup the Useless" all the village made him out to be. Maybe he was more than that.

He proved it, too, when he killed the Red Death.

I didn't understand Hiccup; really, I tried, and I failed. He had a strange personality; sarcastic yet serious, laid back yet right on, kind yet willing to fight if he had to, willing to save a village who had deserted him.

That was the biggest thing for me. We Berkians had deserted Hiccup. We treated him as if he didn't exist, and when we finally noticed him, we noticed him as a mistake; the runt of Berk, so to speak.

So why, then, had he saved us all from the Red Death?

I didn't understand Hiccup. We should have listened to him when he tried to tell us not to go after the nest, but we didn't, and when we didn't, Hiccup came after us to save us, not to watch us burn. The fact that he was willing to risk his life to save people who would have thrown a party if he died was enough, but then he forgave us for the way we treated him in the past. He lost his leg trying to fix our mistakes.

And then there was the incident with the lightning.

Hiccup had got himself deliberately struck by lighting that one night a few months back to prove Toothless' innocence. That was a crazy night, to be sure. He scared me half to death…

Wait a minute. I was Fearless Astrid Hofferson. I wasn't supposed to be "scared half to death." But then again, I wasn't supposed to actually care about someone else besides myself, either.

Stupid Hiccup. How dare he scare me half to death? How dare he make me care about him?

No, I most assuredly understand Hiccup, and I didn't think I ever really would. He endured pain to make sure others did not. He faced certain death numerous times to make sure no one else was killed. He fought Outcasts, Dagur the Deranged, and everyone in between.

And now, he risked his life again to go find Trader Johann. I didn't know when he would be back, or if he would be back at all, and it terrified me. Yeah, you heard me, and I said it. The Great, Fearless, Astrid Hofferson wasn't so Fearless in reality now, was she?

I was broken out of my thoughts when I turned around to see Gobber and...Hiccup. They were talking, Hiccup looking confused as ever, and Gobber looking simply like...well...Gobber.

And so, as soon as I saw Hiccup, I ran. I shouted his name, and he turned in my direction, just as I slammed into him with a hug. He hugged me back rather awkwardly, and I found myself wondering:

What was I doing?

"Hey, Astrid," Hiccup said, and I pulled away. "How are the others?" he asked.

And so, I was The Great, Fearless, Astrid Hofferson. I didn't need help doing things, fended for myself, was independent, laughed in the face of danger, loved crazy plans, insane ideas, and fiendish plots. I cared about no one.

No one, except, maybe, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third.

Author's Notes:

So, yeah, Astrid does care about Hiccup, but she doesn't want to admit it. Of course, that much is obvious since she's never actually openly admitted it, so I wrote this drabble of her thoughts towards Hiccup, set during the episode "Frozen" (although that much is obvious too).

I really couldn't help but notice how frantic Astrid seemed when she saw Hiccup during that one part in "Frozen." The way she ran straight up to him and just hugged him. Normally, it would have been followed by a punch on the shoulder, or something like that, but it wasn't. And so, that must have meant something. :)

I hope you all really liked this drabble. I know, it's short, but I kind of like it that way. Short, simple, and straight to the point. :)

-BeyondTheClouds777