Astrid stumbled out her hut slowly as she gazed to nowhere in particular, disoriented by a nightmare. Her insecurities came back to haunt her. They always did. Her first thought was to go to Hiccup's hut and seek a comfort and security she only ever found with him, however, she hesitated. She didn't want to wake Hiccup in the middle of the night for her seemingly selfish reasons.

By the time that train of though had ended, she was surprised to find herself standing right outisde his door. She subconsiously always wanted to be around Hiccup, so it was only natural. Fortunately, she need not risk waking him up. He was already awake and working on something, it seemed. She heard some pacing noises behind the door, followed by a lone thump as he presumably sat on a chair, and finally, ruffling of sheets of paper. It was getting colder out where she was standing, so she knocked twice on the door.

"Come in, Astrid.", he said in a confident tone. He must have seen her standing outside. apparently waiting for her to knock. She slowly opened the door, half expecting to find an unpleased Hiccup sitting at his table. To her surprise, however, she found him waiting for her with a genuine and reassuring smile on his face, as if he knew what was going on.

"Sorry for interrupting you this late in the night...", she muttered, still displeased with herself. "You know I am always here if you need me, Astrid. You need never hesitate!", he said happily as he stood up to approach the blonde warrior. Her pride was always too big to have her seek help from people, but Hiccup was different. He saw through her downplayment of trouble and was always there to assist and support. He always managed to squeeze the truth out of her with his charming words, that one-legged Viking.

"Come on, milady... What's the matter?", he said, guiding her to his bed, sitting next to her on the edge, his arm holding her to him by the shoulders. He could see the fear and stress on her face and feel the tension through her body. "It-It was a dream... I-I-I was be-being laughed at by the-the entire village fo-for being seen cr-crying after-" "Shhh. Astrid... You are the strongest person I know and I know that mockery and rude comments can never bring you down. You should stop being insecure, love. So what if you are crying? Everyone cries. I do- Even Snotlout with his huge ego cries. Don't let that be something that people point at and laugh. I know you are a warrior and want to uphold that image of yourself and all the Hoffersons, but putting up facades is taxing and painful. I am not saying you should just sit around sobbing in public, but when you feel sad or want to release some tension, just go find a quiet place or do some axe throwing. You can also always come to me. Just like now! Don't let emotions build up. You will eventually burst and your feelings will haunt you, even in your dreams and your passive thoughts..."

Astrid was sobbing throughout his quick talk, but then she heard him call her "love"... "Thanks, Hiccup. That really helped- But I have a question... Did you just call me 'love'?". The question surprised Hiccup. He couldn't recall... Oh... He really did call her that. "Yes, Astrid, I did. Why wouldn't I call you that?!" he said, smiling down at her, slightly blushing. "So you do love me, right?", the blonde viking questioned, surprised at what she was hearing. "Of course I do, Astrid, of course. I have loved you ever since I knew you as a friend and a fellow dragon rider." He replied giddily. "The more I interacted with you the more my feelings for you grew. Astrid, I cannot imagine a world without you in it. It would not be worth living in that world..."

Astrid's heart was fluttering. She could not believe what she was hearing. She fully knew she too returned the same feelings, however instead of saying it, she wanted to show him. The young lass straightened her posture slighty and then looked Hiccup lovingly in his eyes. An "I love you too" was whispered followed by a loving and passionate embrace. She had locked lips with him and moved even closer, practically sitting on his lap now. She ran her fingers through his hair and cupped his right cheek with her other hand. Hiccup had one had on her waist and one rubbing her back gently. They were both enjoying immensely and basking in each other's physical contact. Astrid forgot she ever had a nightmare or that she was ever cold. Any negativity was put aside and in came true love and care. Their lips were gently coming together and their tongues softly massaging the others' lips. Hiccup's left hand moved from her waist to her neck and then her jaw. He slowly pulled back and began moving down to kiss her neck and behind her ear, immediately being graced by satisfied moans coming from the beautiful blonde. His right hand was fiddling with her hair, slowly unbraiding it. He had never seen it unbraided and the thought intrigued him a great deal.

Once he was done he pulled back and took his time to take in the beauty of his girl and the gorgeous, wavy locks of golden hair. Astrid giggled at Hiccup, who was lost in what he saw, observing and noting every curve of her body, every freckle on her face and every pattern in her eyes.

"Well, I guess I have to go now before the others wake up. We would surely be in for some severe questioning if anyone saw us like this!", Astrid announced as she got up and reached for the door, winking at her still staring boyfriend. Yes, boyfriend. She could now think of him as that without being immediately repulsed. "Oh and stop staring, Romeo". His face turned beet red as he averted his eyes muttering a silent "sorry". "Well get going then", he teased.

"Goodnight, H".

"Goodnight, milady"

~The End