Astrid woke to Toothless' sniffing. He stood over her with a knowing look on his face. That was the moment she noticed several things at once. She was in Hiccup's hut - or to be more precise - in his bed. Her right hand and his left were tangled together and rested on top of his chest. Her head too lay on his chest and moved with the steady rhythm of his breathing.

A big part of her wanted to get up and flee. However, a larger part of her wanted to stay exactly where she was. Realising she was not going to get up, Toothless retreated to his rock and curled up grumpily, swishing his tail into position to hide his face.

Astrid relaxed and closed her eyes again, trying to commit every touch to memory. She knew the precise moment Hiccup woke up for his breath had hitched. They lay there for a while, unmoving, too afraid to speak. Then Astrid mustered up all of her courage and shifted so she could look at him. They stared.

"Erm ..." Hiccup began with a shy smile.

"Good morning, milady." Astrid blushed and returned the smile.

"I think Toothless wants to go for a flight. He's a little grumpy." Neither had let go of each other's hands yet.

"He can't complain, we've been flying all night. Haven't we bud?" Toothless made a noncommittal noise from behind his tail.

When Astrid looked back at Hiccup, he was still staring at Toothless, avoiding her eyes.

"Hiccup?" she asked him nervously. He sat up then, letting go of her hand.

"Where were you, Astrid? Fishlegs told me you were nowhere to be found and Toothless and I flew around the island all night, but when we returned, I found you asleep on my desk."

"I'm sorry, Hiccup. I needed to blow off some steam so I decided to go axe-throwing but on the way there I realised that what I really needed to do was talk to you. I went to your hut and on the way there I ran into Fishlegs. I think he tried to tell me that you were looking for me but I kind of cut him off and said that I needed to talk to you. You weren't here and Toothless was gone too so I thought you might be out flying or patrolling so I waited for you. I must have fallen asleep."

Hiccup was silent for a while. "Astrid, when I couldn't find you I thought dragon hunters might have gotten hold of you or that you were stuck somewhere or... or worse. Don't ever do that to me again."

"I know. I'm really sorry," Astrid absently thought she had never apologised so many times in such a short period of time. She wasn't used to having done something worth apologising for. "Hiccup, about the Heather ... situation. I hated lying to you. But there are some things you should know." Surprising her, he gently took hold of her hand again.

"Astrid, I've already forgiven you."

She blinked. "But why? Hiccup, I lied to you."

"Well, yes. But by Thor's hammer, how many times have I forgiven the Twins and Snotlout and - and even Fishlegs? The Twins wreak havoc wherever they go and Snotlout makes mistakes all the time. Besides, remember when my brain was under siege and I didn't believe you when you told me that Heather was working with the Outcasts? You forgave me so easily. I trust you, Astrid, and if you thought not telling me would benefit the plan, then I believe you." He finished his speech with a reassuring smile.

Words failing her, Astrid lunged forward and hugged him. He hugged her tightly back. Remembering there was still something he should know, she let go and looked at him seriously. "Hiccup, there is something I still haven't told you. Ryker is not the head of the dragon hunters. The real leader is someone named Viggo Grimborn. Heather hasn't met him yet but she is our best shot at drawing him out."

He rubbed his neck. "It sounds dangerous. It's not too late to pull Heather out." Astrid shook her head and put her other hand on his shoulder. "This is why Heather didn't want me to tell you. We both knew you would try to pull her out of there. Heather wants this, Hiccup. She isn't going anywhere unless she wants to."

After a moment's hesitation, he nodded. "We'll have to tell the gang."

"True. But how about we feed Toothless and Stormfly and go for a flight first?"

Hiccup looked amused. "Don't you mean patrol?"

Astrid shook her head and laughed. "No, l mean flight."

"You hear that bud? Looks like we're going for a flight." Toothless jumped to his feet and walked over to the door, waiting for them.

"You might want Toothless to wear his fastest tail," she said casually.

"Oh I see where this is going. Racing huh? Do you have any chicken for Stormfly?"

"No, I don't. You think Tuff will be okay with me frying his Chicken?"

"I wouldn't. He'll do anything for that Chicken. I don't think I'll be able to protect you from his Loki-inspired revenge."

"Fine," She punched him in the shoulder. "Ow! Wh-why-?"

"That's for putting me in your bed," Hiccup looked down guiltily.

Then she kissed him, not briefly like the ones they had shared so far, but lingering. "And that's for everything else."