Author's note:

First things first, I wanted to thank you if you're still reading this story. My life has been a mess for the past 24 years and I'm barely learning how to navigate things without feeling like everything's gone to shit every single time I capsize. Also, I've deleted my tumblr, but I'm okay. It was just too much to deal with. If you'd like to stay in touch let me know and we can figure something out!

This chapter is a little bit on the shorter side, but so will they be the next few chapters! We're almost at the end of the story, and (this is without checking) I believe we have about 2 or so more chapters to go before the 2 epilogues!

I hope you enjoy chapter 28, and if you do please don't hesitate to tell me why with a review or a comment below!

Guest reviews:

Fantasma Pasado chapter 27 . Feb 11

Hey, it's been a while, just checked in to see if I had missed any updates. I hope your passion for writing is still burning strong, and I hope you are doing well... ...
This story really is beautiful, and I am excited to get the chance to watch their song and dance.

- Incredible piece of work; great pacing.

Hola! I'm sorry it took me so long, thank you for being so patient with me! The song and the dance were one of the moments I really wanted to write since I started planning the story: it didn't quite came out the way I wanted it to, but it's really good either way! Thank you so much. I hope you enjoy chapter 28!

Kate chapter 1 . Feb 7

So good, loved it

Thank you so much!

Chapter 28 - Better Together by Tom Speight

Two lovers sat by the side of the street

Set the frame and the shutter speed

All the light is a memory

The still hope in front of me

Traveling back in time was anticlimactic, thought Astrid as she looked around her, mindful not to trip on the bridge going from the ferry to land.

Berk.

The last time she'd stood in the stone port she'd been burdened by the weight of a life of expectations.

Now, she felt precariously lightweight- like balancing on a tightrope.

The weather was colder, but Astrid would survive with the jumper she had on, at least until she made it to Hiccup's.

She walked along the cobblestone plaza, ignoring the pang of pain at the realization that she didn't know how to get there by bus; she'd never needed to.

Taking a deep breath, she shouldered her duffle bag so the strap rested firmly on her shoulder, and walked along.

Except for the people who looked around, gaze fixed on who walked by them, before losing interest and turning away.

In Berk, she was no more than Sigrid's niece, if anyone. Hiccup's girlfriend, if things went well.

In four months, she had gone from being terrified of anonymity to craving it.

Rearranging the strap of her bag securely on her shoulder, Astrid marched on.

..

Getting punched in the face as soon as he opened the door was something Snotlout had only had to endure 3 more times before.

That didn't make it any better when Astrid used her knuckles to greet his cheek, however.

Cursing in Berkian, he jumped away from the door.

"Where is Hiccup?" demanded Astrid, her blue gaze on fire.

Cradling his cheek, Snotlout glared at her. "Why do you want to know? So you can punch him too?"

Astrid crossed her arms, "you leaked my pictures online. You totally deserved that. Where is he?"

Snotlout looked up at her, "you tried calling him yet?"

Her grimace softened for a moment, before her face scrunched up again and she pulled her fist back, ready to strike again.

He didn't move from the door; instead, he kept glaring at her.

Astrid scowled, then crossed her arms again. "Will you tell me or not?"

"You know? I don't feel like telling you, Sir Hits-a-lot."

Now feeling herself on the edge of desperation, Astrid's face fell. "Come on. We both know you deserved that. Please tell me where Hiccup is?"

Snotlout only looked at her.

"Please?"

His arms tightened. "Fine. But you can't hit me," he pointed at her, "no more hitting."

Astrid sighed. "Fine. Now tell me where he is."

Faint traces of yellow splotches wiggled when Snotlout frowned. "He's not here."

Her mouth opened, then closed. "Not here?"

He shrugged, "he's off in the USA," he said, scratching his nose. "He had a job thing."

Snotlout sniffed, then really looked at her. "What? What else can I say? Did you try to call him before you brought your sweet ass over here? Ow!," he rubbed his arm. "You promised no more hitting me!"

Astrid's eyes were wild, "where in America?"

Sighing, Snotlout kept rubbing his arm. "Look-"

But Astrid was already walking away towards Sigrid's house, face looking down, and fiddling with something in her hands.

"Hey! You're welcome!" Snotlout shouted after her, then closed the door, grumbling about princesses and spoiled kids.

Astrid's anxiety grew each time she attempted to turn on her phone, but failed.

Apparently, not charging her phone for over a week was not doing its battery any good.

Giving up on it ever working, but not on calling Hiccup, she shoved her phone in her duffle bag, marching even faster towards her aunt's house.

Wet grass made squelching noises under her boots until it turned into the crushing of the gravel beneath her. Then, the creaking of temperamental wood.

Finally, silence. The distant sound of a dog barking, and that of speeding wind as afternoon turned into evening.

Her knocking stuttered over the door.

What would she find inside?

Was Sigrid finally back from the hospital?

Would Finn even be home?

Had she knocked loud enough for them to hear?

Sniffing sounds at the bottom of the door made her jump back, her duffel bag thudding on the front deck.

Sigrid's voice filtered through the wood, chastising, but oh so familiar.

With her aunt finally opening the door, Astrid could make out what Sigrid was saying.

"Back, both of you!" Sigrid called, her face barely poking through the gap.

The surprise of seeing Astrid quickly wore off, delight and then shame replacing it in her face.

"Hello, Auntie." Astrid smiled. "Can I come in?"

"Oh! Yes," said Sigrid, stepping back.

Astrid entered the house, silently cleaning her boots on the welcome mat.

Once inside, the light yellow of the entrance lamp bathed Sigrid's uncertain face in a warm glow.

"Hey," Astrid greeted her again.

Sigrid opened her mouth, and closed it right away.

The dogs barked again. One of them was big, almost monstrous in size, and the other was relatively smaller, a grayish coat of fur on it.

Astrid smiled, then kneeled down, ready to be bowled over by the two dogs, who were trying to lick her face, whining and barking at her, as if saying "I miss you! Where were you?"

After much laughter, baby talk, and enough smooches and scratches from Astrid to leave them satisfied, content to show their happiness in tail wagging only, Astrid turned her attention back to her aunt, still kneeling, with her hand on top of the gray dog's back.

"You adopted her?"

Sigrid choked out a smile, "you loved her so much, I thought it would be good for us to keep her."

"I bet uncle Finn loved that."

"Oh, he hates Stormfly," assured Sigrid, "or so he says. But I caught them cuddling on the couch just yesterday."

They laughed, before falling into a content silence.

Standing up, Astrid hesitated, shouldering her duffle bag before hugging her aunt.

Sigrid clung desperately to Astrid's affection, almost as if it were a balm on her injured soul.

"Thank you," said Astrid, separating only enough so she could scan her aunt's face.

Sigrid smiled, her face painted with tears as she hugged Astrid once more.

They giggled as they separated, awkwardly making their way to the living room.

Once Astrid had sat, Stormfly didn't waste any time, jumping on Astrid's lap and burrowing her face in the girl's torso.

Astrid coughed as she struggled to breathe properly.

"I'm sorry," laughed Sigrid, "Stormfly, here."

Astrid started to protest, afraid the dog would listen, but Stormfly didn't move.

She wagged her tail at Sigrid, but didn't follow her orders.

"Well!"

Astrid only pet Stormfly, a comfortable silence filling the room.

"You don't seem happy," commented Sigrid, Toothless at her feet, too big to be on Sigrid's lap, and too smart not to try her.

Astrid's gaze was lost in Stormfly's fur, and Sigrid didn't think it was very interesting.

Instead of answering, Astrid dug into her bag, pulling out a charger. "Can I? My phone's dead."

Sigrid assured her it was no problem.

Astrid carefully shifted Stormfly off her lap and onto the couch, disappearing from Sigrid's direct sight. Her following sigh was deep.

Once Astrid was back to the couch Stormfly whined at Astrid until she was allowed on the girl's lap.

"No luck?" tried Sigrid.

"Not yet… I… My phone has been off for a long time, so it needs to charge a little before I can turn it back on."

"Oh!" said Sigrid, brightly, "we have the Wi-Fi in the house now! Although I don't know if that has the internet or not…"

Astrid smiled, "that's perfect."

Catching some hesitance in Astrid's gaze, Sigrid sighed. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to dearest. You're welcome to stay if you need a place?"

Astrid's mouth opened, then closed. Her eyes caught sight of Toothless, who wagged his tail when they made eye-contact.

"How come you're looking after Toothless?"

Sigrid hummed. "If that's what you're asking me first, then you know that Hiccup is not here?"

"Yeah," said Astrid, her cheeks a soft red.

"Well, he showed up in the evening, begging us to keep Toothless for two weeks. He didn't have much time to explain, he said. He called me when he arrived in America."

Astrid's blush deepened. "Did he say where exactly he would be?"

"Well…" Sigrid hesitated. "Well, I…" She pursed her lips.

"Please Auntie…"

"I… It's not that I don't want to tell you," Sigrid explained, "I'm just confused. He said he was in New York, and I assumed…"

"Assumed that he'd gone for me…" Astrid stood up as fast as she could without dislodging Stormfly.

Sigrid stood after her, calling for her, but Astrid was already where her phone was, a bright light coming from the device, and many sounds, like a thousand bells being rung one after another followed.

Astrid paid them no mind, her gaze feverishly on the device. The first call she made didn't go through, evidenced by her curse, but before she had a chance to do a second, her phone rang.

Sigrid watched as Astrid picked up the phone, her body still. She almost wanted to reach inside Astrid's chest and make her lungs draw breath.

She caught Astrid's gaze and nodded encouragingly.

Finally breathing, Astrid put the phone against her ear.

Sigrid enticed the dogs to follow her out of the room with the promise of treats.

Just as she closed the door behind them, she heard Astrid whisper.

"Hiccup?"

Five thousand kilometers away, Hiccup jumped, bumping his knee on the table at the café, overturning his one cup of coffee.

Cursing in Berkian, Hiccup grabbed a bunch of napkins, before calling a tentative "Astrid?"

There was silence.

Cursing under his breath again, Hiccup tried to call Astrid's name again.

This time, he got a soft "Hiccup?"

He pushed away the soaked ball of napkins, one of the servers already there with a rag.

Throwing the girl a quick apologetic look, he pressed the phone to his ear.

"Astrid... is that really you?"

There was a nervous chuckle. Her laughter was the first good thing that had happened to him since he'd woken up that day.

"Hey, Hiccup."

"Astrid!" His breath caught.

Get the girl to answer the phone? Check.

Get the girl back? How on earth-

"I hear you're not in Berk?"

"No! No, I'm actually in New York!" He closed his eyes, trying to imagine her, but he couldn't. "Where are you?"

She laughed again. "Not in New York."

His heart dropped. "Oh... I'd hoped..."

"-I'm in Berk," she interrupted him, "I came to look for you."

His heart un-dropped. "You did?"

"I did," she said, warmth seeping through the call. "Some dork decided to go to New York instead."

"I... Right. It's just, I had a job interview..."

There was silence on her side.

"And obviously, I wanted to speak to you. I was hoping to at least. It just... Both things happened to coincide, you know? And then I couldn't get through at all. I tried to call you almost every day but then I thought what if you thought I was creepy and... Yeah. Anyway..."

More silence.

"Astrid?"

"Hey..." her voice was shaky. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I..."

The server interrupted Hiccup to let him know they were closing. He apologized, picking his things up, and begging Astrid to wait.

Once outside, he took a deep breath of cold evening air.

"I'm sorry... It's just late and they're closing the place I was in."

"Where are you?"

Hiccup looked around, humming. Only then did he realize he didn't actually know. He told Astrid so.

"What? How...? Where are you staying?"

"I was actually going to start looking?"

"What? Hiccup!"

He broadly told Astrid what had happened with his mum in the morning.

Astrid sighed, but her voice was warm as she explained how to send her his live location, and told him she'd been sending someone to get him.

He thanked her. "And I'm sorry," he added.

"I'm sorry, too," Astrid comforted him. "I'll hurry back. Please wait for me."

Hiccup smiled, his gaze on the buildings, lighting up the city that never sleeps ablaze.

"I will."