It had taken three hours exactly to set it all up, not counting time at the forge. Hiccup and Toothless surveyed their handiwork proudly. Punched into the side of a mountain was the cave in which they stood. In that cave was a pedestal; and on that pedestal was the finest work of art Hiccup had ever forged. It was an axe. For Astrid, of course, but not meant for war. It had a finely sculpted leather handle moulded just for Astrid's hands. Gold streaked all the way up the shaft until it reached the blades, where the gold strands interwove into intricate patterns. In the pommel was a single, sparkling sapphire that Hiccup had chiseled and glazed until it matched the colour of Astrid's eyes. But more important was the writing etched into the shaft of the axe. A love letter, of sorts. Secret words for Astrid to carry in her heart until all the world had crumbled to dust.

Hiccup had finely tuned a script to follow for how this was going to go, but now that it came to it he realised how silly it was. How silly of him. All plans went out the window when it came to Astrid anyway. His brain was always so absorbed with appreciating everything about her that it had no resources to allocate to anything else.

It was late afternoon . The golden sun shone directly into this little cave and threw the axe into sparkling splendour. It was almost blinding to look at.

Just like Astrid, Hiccup mused.

As if on cue, he heard Stormfly's screech. Both he and Toothless turned to the cave opening. Hiccup's pulse quickened and his mouth went dry. What was he supposed to say? How was this supposed to go?

He would find out soon enough. Stormfly swooped into the cave opening and landed lightly, shaking the soreness from her muscles. Astrid slid off her back and landed just as lightly.

As Stormfly squawked and greeted Toothless, Astrid strode up to Hiccup. She smiled. "Hey, Hiccu- "

It was then she noticed the axe at the back of the cave. "What…what is that?" Astrid said, agape at the brilliance of whatever it was that lay ahead of her.

Hiccup gave her a knowing smile. "Why don't you take a look?"

Slowly, she stepped up to the pedestal, occasionally shielding her eyes from the reflected light.

Hiccup swallowed. The time was soon. He wiped his sweaty palms off on his flight suit.

Astrid gently lifted the axe up and eyed it. Unabashed awe was all over her face. "Hiccup, what is this?" She turned around and proffered the axe. "What is this?"

Oh, Gods. Here we go. No turning back now. "An engagement present," said Hiccup. His smile was strained now, despite his attempts to hide his nerves.

Astrid blinked. "What?" she said dumbly.

"You know." Hiccup sauntered forwards, gesturing with his hands. "I…"

"You…?" Astrid trailed.

"I want to marry you," Hiccup said, letting out a big breath after he did so.

Astrid blinked again. She took a small step backwards. "I, " she cleared her throat, "I don't know what to say."

"You could say yes," Hiccup replied, his smile more relaxed and earnest now.

Astrid took another step back, looking between the axe and its maker. "This is too beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you." Hiccup still smiled at her, but he felt the truth in his heart. She looked like a cornered dragon looking for a way out. He subtly stepped to the side. If she wanted to do a runner, he wasn't going to stop her.

But Astrid didn't run. She simply stood there, axe in hand. Hiccup hadn't even seen her read what he'd written on it for her. Tears welled in her eyes. "Hiccup…"

He didn't respond. He felt a cold coil of pain twist through his heart, strangling it. Suffocating it. He tried to draw breath. To his surprise his lungs still drew in their full capacity. He let the air out in a shaky breath. "In any case, it's still a present," he said.

"I can't accept this," Astrid said softly. A tear fell from her left eye. It traced the gentle contour of her face all the way down to her jaw where it hung for the barest moment, before falling to the floor.

"It's a gift. Keep it, or I'll melt it down for metal." Hiccup's voice was stronger than he expected. He turned away before she could see the tears forming in his own eyes too. "Toothless, we're going."

The two dragons had stopped chittering with each other when they had noticed the shift. They had felt the cold gust that swept in on a windless day, and each had been keenly waiting for a sign of trouble. They were friends. It wouldn't be nice if their riders weren't.

Hiccup mounted Toothless.

The night fury looked over his shoulder and crooned at Astrid and Stormfly.

"Let's go, bud."

Toothless warbled at him. He didn't want them to leave it like this. He just couldn't.

"I said, let's go, bud."

Toothless snorted and shook Hiccup off his back, who yelped and tumbled onto the rocky floor.

"Ow." Hiccup rubbed the back of his head. He looked for a moment like his normal self with that sheepish expression on his face. And then it was gone, like a candle in rain.

Astrid let out a little chuckle at his clumsiness before she, too, remembered the situation. "Hiccup, I love you," she blurted. She hoped to pour everything she felt into those words. They were true, after all.

He refused to meet her eye. "I know."

Astrid snorted. "'I know'? What, are you trying to be a badass?" She tried to pull her mouth into a playful grin.

Hiccup threw her a dark look, and without another word he stood and stalked to the cave entrance.

Astrid rushed forward. "Come on, Hiccup. It was just a joke, I was- " She stopped just short of him. "I'm not- " She thumbed the axe handle idly. Absently she noted how right it felt in her hands.

And then he was gone. Toothless yowled after him, not having forgotten his tail fin's current settings. He still needed Hiccup to fly. And for more besides.

" -ready," Astrid finished lamely. To thin air as well. She watched him in his flight suit glide off in the distance. Then, something in her broke, and all the tears she had saved up came pouring out without shame or relent. She cursed her lack of eloquence. And Hiccup's timing. Gods damn it all. Loki couldn't have set it up better if he tried.