Astrid found that, unlike most of the time, she actually had a very good reason to be mad.

She was pacing her bedroom, the elder woman's voice ringing through her head. Saying that it was okay, it was normal. They had an arranged marriage, after all, so what else could the poor dear expect but for her husband to slip into another woman's bed during his travels? What kind of fool would she be to think that they could grow to love each other? It wasn't realistic, apparently.

It wasn't like her and Hiccup were close. Whenever he came home, they would talk to each other in polite tones and spend time with the twins. Little Stoick and Finn knew their parents' dynamic well. While it wasn't ideal, Hiccup had never shown any signs of unhappiness. He was a committed person, both to her and the children. He always tried to make up for any missed time by helping around the house, while at the same time doing his duties to the village.

So it escaped her how anyone thought he could cheat.

But now that they had said it - now that it was out there…

He did have plenty of opportunities to. She didn't have anyone close enough to both of them that would tell her if her husband had been cheating on her.

Dysfunctional families were a thing, she had to remind herself, that's what her mother had always said. She was supposed to expect disloyalty. But that had been in the first year of marriage. The second, if one wanted to stretch.

Not after years and with two boys running around.

But even if Hiccup did sleep with someone else, why would it matter? They didn't care about each other, and her mother always said she'd be foolish to expect a man's attention on herself only. So why did her heart ache at the mere thought of him just considering it?

Maybe, somewhere along the way, Astrid had fallen in love with her husband, and now she had to pay the price.

And what a price it was.

They didn't talk more than they had to. They didn't sleep together. They didn't share sweet words or proclamations of love like she'd read about in books. No, vikings were too tough for love, apparently. Love, weakness, sadness - these were things you bottled away.

She heard the door shut, and hurriedly stood up. It took Hiccup coming into the room for her to realize there was a tear halfway down her cheek, and he noticed it before she furiously wiped it away.

"Something happen?" Hiccup stepped closer, his green eyes filled with genuine concern. Or she thought it was genuine. Who even knew.

"Have you slept with another woman since we got married?" The words tumbled out of her mouth before she got a chance to phrase it differently. It didn't sound all that accusatory, but it was blunt, as though she'd already decided the answer.

He stared at her blankly for two seconds before he furrowed his brows. "What?"

"Thorne...Thorne said that the last time she saw you leave the island, you were practically glowing." There were more angry hot tears building up, despite her wanting them to go away. "She said only one thing made someone as happy as that."

Hiccup opened his mouth and closed it again, making her feel a dull thud in her chest. She turned around, speaking quickly.

"Never mind. Whether you are or not doesn't matter." She took a shaky breath. "I have no control over your decisions, and if you've found someone who makes you happy, then I'm happy for you. If you were practically glowing, then I assume she must be very welcoming and friendly and beautiful -"

She was ranting, with no real idea of where she was going with the conversation. But she had to keep going, because now she was actually full blown crying, and she couldn't let him see. So she'd fallen in love with him. So what, so what, so what. Even if he wasn't having an affair, it wasn't like he was clambering over his feet to spend time with her.

"Astrid," Hiccup interrupted quietly, stepping right behind her and making her breath hitch. He must have seen her tears, or sensed them from her tone. "Thorne has been on this island long before I was born, and I've never once heard her say something without exaggerating it."

She swallowed, trying to steady her breathing. Hiccup's hands were slowly undoing her braid, and to her relief, the blonde locks helped to hide her face and tears.

She hadn't really stopped to think about how well he knew her.

"She said I was glowing? Then I probably had a smile on my face. Actually - I remember why I had was happy when I was leaving that day. It was because of you."

Astrid stilled, and somehow, her hand found his behind her and their fingers intertwined. "Because of me? Why?"

"You came to see me off." He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. "Granted, we didn't kiss or hug or anything, but you cared enough to thrust a container of fish stew in my hands and tell me good luck." She heard him laugh softly. "I acted like a dope the entire day after that."

Gods, her heart was beating faster with every word, and he wasn't even done.

"That one time you were half asleep and were braiding my hair, I didn't let them out until I had to bathe. Oh, and remember when I could barely get any words out at that council meeting a few months ago? I told you it was because I was sick, but it was actually because Ruffnut made you come all dressed up and you took my breath away."

"What are you trying to tell me?" Astrid managed to get out, still holding his hand. "That you've loved me since day one?"

Hiccup laughed again, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "Can I see you?"

Her tears were fairly dried up, so she nodded, letting him spin her around gently. Their eyes met.

"I didn't love you on day one. I loved you on day one hundred and sixty two, when you kept me from leaving the room so that you could pat my hair down first. You said it looked better wild, but that the council didn't think so." He leaned down until his lips were brushing over her's. "And you said it so matter of factly, and that was only the start of me losing my mind around you. Because you're you." He somehow managed to get even closer, and at some point while he was talking, she had slid her arms around his neck.

And yet, he still wasn't done. "But even before you made me fall pretty hard for you, I hadn't slept with any other woman. And now I can't even dream of it, because you're the only woman who comes into my dreams."

Astrid finally found her voice and choked out.

"You are such a sap, you know that?"

Their lips met after that, and both of them relaxed. His shoulders slumped, while she felt like she was walking on air. Husband and wife held each other close, and they both tumbled on the bed (and considering how the stress had been eating at her the whole day, she was pretty tired).

"Mmh, you owe me one thing, though."

"What's that?"

"You have to tell me when you fell in love with me," Hiccup whispered hoarsely, grinning at her.

Astrid closed her eyes for a second as she pressed a kiss to his jaw.

"Doesn't matter. I fell in love with you all over again just now."

I know my writing sucks, but I just wanted to write something. I'm sorry, I just have so much shit going on with school and home and clubs and work - and I was feeling particularly dejected today after yet another argument with mommy dearest, so here, have this trash.