originally posted on my ao3!

also, if you have any suggestions for fics for me to write, please feel free to send them to me!

enjoy, and please review!

Astrid sighs and looks out at the ocean view in front of her. It's a view of the vast, dark blue water that she's not quite used to yet, but it somehow makes her feel comforted. It makes her feel at peace, knowing that, just for these few minutes, she's able to be alone and not have to worry about anything.

She'll always find a cliff to sit on and ponder the day, no matter where she is. When life gets too hectic, or when she needs to be by herself, that's where you'll always find her. She feels at peace here; able to simply breathe and not have to help deal with everything in the village for just a little bit.

She loves taking care of everything, yes, and she enjoys being a part of rebuilding Berk, but sometimes, she just needs a moment alone, to stop herself from stressing out and to keep her from forgetting to take time to be with herself.

Life has just been absolutely crazy for everyone in New Berk. It's been almost a month since the Hooligan Tribe moved to their new island and let go of their dragons. It has been a hard adjustment to basically rebuild their lives, but they're slowly getting used to everything that is brand-new and different.

Almost all the houses are built, and the Great Hall is in the finishing phases. Everyone is settling in, getting used to the new territory, and Hiccup has been sending the news to their allies in the archipelago about their move to new land.

Speaking of Hiccup, he's been busier than ever now with all of his chiefly duties. He's always been busy in the past year because of new his position in the village, but now, it's been amped up because of all the new changes. Astrid is surprised he's able to find time to breathe with all of the things he has to do now.

Hiccup and Astrid always somehow manage to find a little bit of time every day to be together, even if it's just for a few minutes in-between work or at meals. And, of course, Astrid always helps Hiccup with his jobs around the village.

It's a lot, and of course Astrid wishes that they had more time to be together, she knows once everything settles down and once they've finished rebuilding the village, there'll be not only Chief Haddock and General Hofferson, but also just Hiccup and Astrid.

Speaking of which, Astrid hears the sound of a familiar peg leg squeak from behind her. Astrid smiles to herself briefly before she turns around. She looks and sees Hiccup coming from the path that leads into the forest surrounding the village.

He has a slight limp, probably from being on his feet all day. And from seeing the bags under his eyes, Astrid knows he's probably extremely tired, but he doesn't show it when he gives a big grin to Astrid as they make eye contact.

"Evening, Milady," Hiccup greets. He gestures downward with his head. "Mind if I join you?"

"Please," Astrid replies, tapping the empty space beside her. Hiccup comes over, reaching down to grasp Astrid's shoulder to help him as he sits down. He places a hand on her knee after he settles beside her. "How'd you know I was here?"

"It's like a sixth sense," Hiccup responds, sticking his tongue out at Astrid. Her response is to hit him on the shoulder. "Hey! That was uncalled for!"

Astrid shakes her head and turns back to the view in front of her. "Shut up."

Hiccup laughs and reaches over to tuck some of Astrid's hair behind her ear. "Okay, fine, I saw you walk out here earlier, and I decided to come over when I finished helping Gobber in the forge." His hand lingers down from her hair to the back of her neck, where he gently massages with his thumb. "How has your day been?"

"Busy," Astrid replies. "I was with my mom earlier to help Phlegma tend her garden. And I had to watch Alva and Arvid's daughter for a bit this afternoon because they were going to help the Ingermans rebuild their house. And just general dealing with village stuff in-between all that."

Hiccup nods his head. "A-team doing fine patrolling the island?"

Astrid nods as well. "I have them on two-hour long shifts so they can help out around the village when they're not patrolling." Astrid pokes Hiccup's side. "You're welcome, Mr. Chief."

Hiccup laughs and kisses the side of Astrid's head. "Thank you for being an amazing help, Miss Hofferson."

"Of course; why wouldn't I?"

Hiccup shrugs. He wraps his arm around Astrid's shoulder, and Astrid leans over and rests her head on Hiccup's chest. She grabs his hand and intertwines their fingers together. "We need to find more times for this," Astrid says, snuggling close to him. "I miss this."

Hiccup laughs and nods his head. "We will," he responds. "I promise. Once the village is all built, everything will slow down."

"Yeah." She sighs. "It's just tough," Astrid admits. "Especially without the dragons."

"It is," Hiccup responds, his heart sinking a little at the mention of them. He doesn't know if it's every going to get easier to talk about them. There is still a lot of pain in remembering the tough decision Hiccup had to make for the sake of the dragons' livelihoods. "But we'll figure it all out."

"You always do," Astrid says, looking up at him.

Hiccup shakes his head. "We always do."

Astrid rolls her eyes and hits his chest. "You're so cheesy!"

"That is my specialty, after all." He laughs. "That, and always finding where you are."

Astrid laughs quietly to herself before the two rest in silence for a few moments, looking out at the sunset view ahead of them. They both smile to themselves, the wind softly blowing through the air and the grass tickling their skin. It's summer, and the winter months are going to be rolling around rather quickly, which means work for building New Berk is going to need to get into high gear soon.

Which means…probably less time for these moments, as much as that sucks to think about. Especially after speaking to each other just a few moments ago about needing to always find times for each other throughout the day.

But there's a lot to do before winter hits. They absolutely need to make sure everyone's houses are up and stable, that the Great Hall is set up, Phlegma and all the fishermen have stored up plenty of food, and that winter clothing has been made for everybody. They also need to make sure they have reinforcements around the village, knowing that heavy snowfall is bound to happen because that's just the kind of luck the Hooligan Tribe has.

It's going to be a lot. Hiccup can already tell it's probably not going to be easy these next few weeks as they prepare for the dangerous season ahead. Unfortunately, finding time to be together isn't going to be as "easy" as it has been, even though, to be frank, it's quite difficult now already.

Hiccup feels awful, even though he has no control over it, really. He wishes there was something he could do to make it easier for Astrid, because he knows she hates it when times get like this. It's all for good reason, yes, and preparations for the village are so incredibly important, but they really need these times together to just take a break from work and be with each other.

There's not a day that goes by where Hiccup counts down the hours, minutes, and seconds until he can be with Astrid. He needs this time. He actually feels at peace and not like the whole world is relying on him to make the right decisions. When he's with Astrid, everything is okay.

He just wishes there was more time for that.

…

A thought enters Hiccup's mind.

…

Really? Is it…is now…?

…

…does he do it? Is now a good time?

…

Will he regret this decision? Is it even a good time? Right now, of all times?

…

Well, maybe it's a good time. They're alone, away from everybody else, and they have this beautiful view in front of them. Everything feels…right.

…

…better now than too late, he supposes.

His heartbeat accelerates as he glances down at this beautiful woman in his arms, realizing what it is that he's actually going to do.

He moves on pure adrenaline.

He clears his throat.

"Ast?" he asks, his voice shakier than he would've liked it to be.

"Yeah?" Astrid responds, looking up at Hiccup.

Hiccup smiles down at her, feeing the butterflies in his stomach as he looks into her sky blue eyes. "I love you," he says quietly.

They don't say those words out loud that often. They're the type of couple that prefers showing their feelings with their actions; sometimes the words don't fully express how much they love each other and how exactly they feel about each other. It just doesn't feel enough to say it sometimes.

Astrid grins, and her cheeks turn slightly pinker than normal. She leans up and presses a kiss to his lips. "I love you, too, you dork," she replies, hitting his shoulder afterwards. "What's got you so mushy?"

"When am I not?" Astrid hits him again, this time harder than the one before. "Ow! It's true! This violence is so uncalled for!"

Astrid laughs and shakes her head at him. "Seriously. What's up? You look like you're thinking a lot," she says, poking his head.

Hiccup clears his throat again. "I was…yeah, I was just thinking…um…about…us?" His voice is even shakier than it was before. He's so nervous, and he's so awkward with his words that he's internally cringing at himself right now.

Astrid furrows her eyebrows. "What about us?" she asks, almost sounding worried.

Thor dammit, Hiccup, why do you have to say things so weird?

"Um…" Hiccup shrugs. "Our future," he answers, though it almost sounds like a question rather than a statement. He reaches up and scratches the back of his neck, feeling it burning, which means his neck and face are probably both bright red right now.

"Um…it's nothing bad, I promise, so don't get worried or anything." He clears his throat for the millionth time, a habit he has for when he's nervous. "Um…yeah, it's actually…like…the opposite of bad. So…good, you know? Yeah…and…um…you know…I don't want to pressure you or anything, because…you know…literally a month ago, you said we weren't ready, and…I don't want to push you, but…um…I was just thinking…um…you know-"

"Yes."

Hiccup stops in his mental track, his brain basically short circuiting.

He stares at Astrid.

"…what?"

"Yes," Astrid repeats, looking at Hiccup dead in the eyes, a serious expression on her face.

Hiccup blinks. Again. And again. And again.

"Huh?" He cocks his head to the side, confused.

"Yes, I'll marry you," Astrid says with certainty, nodding her head for extra emphasis.

Hiccup stares, the only noise coming out of his mouth being a squeak. He shakes his head, trying to get his brain to start functioning again. "H…h…how did you-"

"I've been thinking about it too, Hiccup," Astrid responds, smiling softly at Hiccup. She raises a hand and places it on his burning cheek. "I know I said I wasn't ready…or that we weren't ready, but…honestly, I was just scared."

Hiccup blinks.

Astrid shakes her head. "I mean, you're the chief of Berk. You're the one who's saved the village countless times. You're the one who brought Vikings and dragons together." She laughs. "Like, I had no idea how I was going to be able to live up to being your wife and the chieftess of Berk."

Hiccup stares at her.

Astrid shrugs and smiles at him. "I was scared, Hiccup. And I still kind of am, if I'm being honest. I wanted – and still want to, of course – get married to you, but I was worried about what everyone else was going to say about it. I'm not, like, chieftess material. I'm not the daughter of a tribe leader. I'm not what people would picture as being the wife of a chief. But…"

She sighs and looks down at the ground. "…after seeing you almost get killed during the fight with Grimmel…I…I realized that I can't let that stop me from being with you for the rest of my life." She shakes her head and looks back up at Hiccup, a smile on her face. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter at all. The only thing that matters is you and me. I love you, Hiccup, and yes, I will marry you."

Hiccup blinks, taking a few moments to try and process everything that Astrid just said to him.

"…really?" he questions, surprised.

Astrid punches his shoulder, the force making Hiccup fall back onto the grass. "Ow! I am an innocent human!" he exclaims dramatically, holding onto his arm. "That was also completely uncalled for!"

Astrid looms over him, her arms on either side of him. "'Really'?! I pull my whole heart and soul out to you, and that's all you can say?!" she exclaims, laughing, so Hiccup knows she's not actually angry.

"I'm not good with words! You know that!" Hiccup responds, poking her nose with his finger. Astrid scrunches up her nose at him, before she leans down and kisses him tenderly, holding onto his cheek. Hiccup places a hand on her waist, the other hand going to rest on her arm, running it up and down.

The kiss lasts a while, before Astrid finally pulls away, leaning down to rest her forehead on his.

"You absolute dork," Astrid mutters, shaking her head at the goofball underneath her.

Hiccup grins. He reaches up and tucks her bangs behind her ear again. "So…we're getting married, then?" Hiccup asks.

Astrid grins. "Yes, doofus." She smiles at him and then proceeds to lay down beside him, draping her arm across his chest. Hiccup holds onto her hand with one arm, the other one draping around her shoulders. "Of course I'll marry you."

"Good, because I don't know what I would've done if you had said no."

Astrid rolls her eyes. "Like I would say no."

"Hey! You could change your mind at any moment."

Astrid shakes her head in disbelief. "Idiot," she says, looking up at him. "No way."

"Good."

Astrid grins. "I mean, you'll have to talk to my parents about us if you haven't already."

"Of course," Hiccup responds, closing his eyes, feeling Astrid's hand draw circles on his chest. "Can't wait for your father to give me a lecture."

Astrid rolls her eyes. "You'll survive. You did the first time," she replies, referring to the conversation Hiccup had to have with Astrid's father – one of the toughest Vikings in the whole archipelago – when he and Astrid first started dating three years ago.

"Just barely," Hiccup jokes. "Still have the scars from it."

"Hey, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it."

Hiccup laughs at that.

Astrid hums. "And you'll have to get the dowry sorted out."

"Mmm-hmm."

"We'll have to make the wedding plans, too, of course. Like when we want to have the wedding, the ceremony, our outfits…"

"Of course."

"Get the house sorted out."

"Already have plans for it."

"Why am I not surprised?" Astrid smiles. She looks up at him. Hiccup senses it, and he opens his eyes and looks at her.

"What?" he asks, laughing softly.

Astrid shakes her head. "This wasn't how you planned your proposal going, was it?"

Hiccup chuckles. "I didn't even know I was going to do it until I sat here," he responds honestly.

"The moment had to be perfect?" Astrid asks, using the same language Hiccup used when they first got together back at the Edge.

Hiccup smiles. "Always," he responds. He presses a short kiss to her lips. "But, every moment is perfect with you."

That earns another punch on the shoulder from Astrid.

"UNCALLED FOR!" Hiccup shouts, holding onto his shoulder, nearly knocking Astrid away from him. "ABSOLUTELY UNCALLED FOR!"

Astrid laughs and presses a kiss to Hiccup's lips. "I can't wait to get married to you."

Hiccup smiles and kisses her back. "And I can't wait to get married to you."