A/N: Hey there! First HTTYD fic here. Obviously HiccupxAstrid. Inspired by a myth in my country. Enjoy and please, give it a shot.

It was the most ridiculous thing ever.

Astrid had hiccups.

Once in a while, her lungs would hop for a split second, not only surprising her but everyone else around her. Who would have thought that a strong and talented warrior such as herself would shy away with a 'hic' that escapes her throat? It was enough for her to put up with the discomfort in her chest but being under the gaze of the whole village wasn't exactly something she could ignore.

Especially when they all knew what hiccups meant.

"That's yer heart, lassie, leaping for joy." "So… who's the lucky guy?" "Honey, I'm so happy that you're finally happy."

"Finally not!" she grunted to herself. 'That myth couldn't be true, right?' was her thought. It didn't make any sense to her. Having hiccups doesn't mean you're finally happy. Or that you're finally in tender care. Sure, she developed a crush on the Chieftain's kid after he took her on a flight. Sure, she willingly stole kisses from him because it made her giddy inside. Sure, she spent a lot of time with him since. And sure, she felt her best when she was by his side. But she was a Viking, for crying out loud! She had an image to uphold. She can't afford softness to get to her. A timid hiccup can't take away years of ruthless Viking-ness in her. 'And if my current situation is doing that, then I'll have to get rid of it--- fast.'

"Hold it right there!" the blonde twin said, cutting Astrid off in the middle of her recapping. "Rewind to that part… again."

Astrid rolled her eyes. Yes, she was THAT desperate that she actually went to the all the other Viking trainees for help. Well, all except Hiccup. He was always missing in the late afternoons.

"Look, Ruff -hic- nut", Astrid leaned forward from her sitting position on Ruff's bed. "It was a quick –hic- kiss. An accidental kiss –hic-." Astrid wanted to stop there but she saw the other girl gesturing her to continue. "We were saying goodnight to –hic- everyone, even to each other. But –hic- it was more like a reflex. Then… we just stood there –hic- before we decided to leave. Heck, like I'm talk-hic-ing to him after that. I don't –hic- see what the big deal is!" She took another drink from her glass.

"The big deal, Astrid, is that you're in love!" Ruffnut answered rather bluntly. Reading the 'what-the' look on Astrid's face, she continued, putting her hands on her hips. "It can't just be the kiss 'cause everyone knows you two shared some of those before."

Before Astrid could protest, the other twin came bursting in to the room. "No way, sis! It's your turn to feed Heckle and Jekell over there." Obviously, he was referring to the Hideous Zippleback that they were taking care of since the last battle. (Not their real names of course, but Tuff's anger does that). He immediately shove a bucket of fish bits to his sister without even noticing Astrid in the room.

"You do it! I'm helping society by helping a poor girl in crisis" To this, Astrid snorted.

"Who? Astrid? She's head over heels over 'toothpick'. Everyone knows it but her" Tuffnut carelessly declared. Ruffnut's eyes shifted to the girl still sitting on her bed. She cocked a brow with a knowing smirk on her face.

"Hic!" That surely caught the male twin's attention. 'Wow, what a way to make your presence known' Astrid thought.

Turning quickly, Tuffnut clasped his hand over his mouth. "Oh! You're there! SorryyoudidnthavetohearanythingIjustsaid. IwasonlymindlesslyrantingIsweartoOdinPleasedontkillme…"

Astrid just took a deep breath before gulping down more water. She wasn't in the mood for bullying right now. She just shrugged.

Tuffnut exhaled in relief. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be head-standing? I told you that's the only way to stop your hiccups."

Astrid glared. "-hic- Yeah, you did but it did no-hic-thing but make me feel woozy."

Ruffnut huffed. "See idiot. You didn't help her at all. The cure is to drink a lot of water. At least I'm doing something. Go feed those ugly twins!"

"So, you want me to feed you?"

"You're my twin, stupid. Stop acting smart if you can't pull it off."

Astrid sighed as the two deliberately engaged into their daily wrestles. The young girl just got up from the bed and nonchalantly walked out. It was a huge waste of time for her being there.

She just walked on, determined to reach the forest and let out all frustrations there because seriously, no one has been much help to her lately. Everyone accused her of softening up and falling in love, which to Astrid, just seemed so impossible.

"GRAAH!!" Snoutlout jumped out of the bushes. The girl's expression was indifferent. "Oh come on. It did scare just a teeny bit, right?"

"No, Snout-hic-lout. The first was –hic- a good attempt, but after twelve rounds, it just becomes –hic- sad."

She continued to walk off while Snoutlout just watched her disappearing back. He called out "I'LL SHOW YA MY CHOPPED OFF TOE IF THAT WOULD SCARE YA!"

A distant voice replied "GROSS!"

'Oh come on!' she mumbled to herself. Again, she could feel her lungs hopping every now and then yet she couldn't do anything about it. If it were some creature making irking noises, she could just pick on it with her axe or (since they can't really fight innocent creatures anymore) scare it half to death just to make it shut up, but she can't. Because that creature, at this moment, was her… making irking noises. 'I'm starting to piss myself off' she huffed as she threw her axe at the closest tree.

As she retrieved the weapon now stuck on the trunk, she could not help herself. "DAMN YOU HICCUP!" she said out loud.

"Okay then…" a voice faltered behind her.

Looking back, she saw Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Or, lovingly according to the town, was now dubbed culprit of her condition. She stood there in shock, not really knowing when he got there. His eyes looked a bit confused. He stood there, looking back at her, with a stupid half-smile half-disbelief look on his face (like someone just told him that trolls weren't real).

"Ugh… I should go then…" he said softly scratching the back of his head. He slowly turned to leave.

"Wait, no. –hic- didn't mean you" she called out while grabbing his wrist. He spun around with a confused look. "I was –hic- referring to…"

"Oh" he stated blankly. After a few seconds, the muse struck him. "Oooohhh~~ you mean---"

"Yeah." She admitted rather shyly before 'hic'-ing for the umpteenth time that day.

"Come here" he said.

"Seriously? A head-stand for an hour?" Hiccup chuckled while he rested his head on her lap. She stroked some of his hair as she smile peacefully. She lov--- liked that about him. How his gentle body beside her already makes her feel natural and calm. She also liked how he enjoys the simple things with her, like her graciously letting him lay on her lap. It was so clear that the two would be with each other than anything else, with Toothless as an exception to this because they just loved Hiccup's 'useless' reptile too much. However, they never really talked about their emotions to each other nor have they made it known to the other of how they feel. But even if they were not really official and have not admitted anything yet, they were the closest thing to soulmates.

They were back in Hiccup and Toothless' old hiding place where they first met. It was a nostalgic scene to Astrid but everything still felt so fresh to her. The pond was still so clear, the grass was soft and Toothless' distant snoring was calming. Memories from her first meeting with the dragon came back to her and how she smiled recalling to herself. Then, she remembered how Hiccup opened her eyes that time. A blush grew on her cheeks as she tried to recall the feeling of kissing him for the first time that night. She started hiccupping more wildly than before.

Hiccup looked up to her face from his position. "You sure you tried everything?" he asked with concern in his tone. She frowned at him amidst her hiccups. "Okay, yeah. You practically did. Let's see… water?"

"Ruffnut. –hic"

"Holding your breath?"

"Fish-hic-legs."

"Scare?"

"Snout-hic-lout. Although, he kind of got annoying after –hic- he just kept coming out of nowhere."

"Did he show you his chopped off toe? 'Cause that thing is pre--tty scary."

Again, Astrid frowned and just knocked on his forehead, giggling.

"Okay," Hiccup said, sitting up straight. "How about you jump of a cliff? Come on, just enough to scare you. Then, Toothless and I will come and get you before you fall."

"Hiccup, that's- hic- that's not scary. I won't be frightened at all."

"And why not?"

"-hic- Cause I'll be anticipating your arms around me instead!" Astrid caught herself too late. She gasped when she realized her slip of the tongue. She averted her eyes from his shocked stare and slowly inched away from him.

Save from Astrid's occasional hiccups, the two were silent. Suddenly, the atmosphere felt awkward to the girl. After a few more minutes of quiet (which felt like years to the two), Hiccup decided to speak up first.

"Astrid," he cleared his throat. Astrid hesitantly turned to face him again. "Have you… have you ever heard of the townsfolk's myth about hiccups?" He nervously looked deeply into her eyes.

"Yeah," she sighed, thinking of all the people who pointed this out to her that day. "I don't –hic- know if I should believe it, though."

Hiccup breathed deeply before mustering all courage to ask. "Well, are you?"

"Hm?" but she knew very well what he was asking her and where this was going.

"Astrid… are you in love?"

"I don't know" she replied honestly. Then, she returned his longing gaze and said softly, "but I want to." She found herself blushing after saying this, but she didn't bother hiding from him this time. She wanted to let everything all out at that point.

Hiccup slowly and unsurely leaned forward to her. When she felt his gently lips touch hers, she kissed back. Both teens felt their hearts thumping inside. Astrid noted that this was different from the other kisses they shared. This was gentle, pure, and cleared up her vague realization that she was indeed in love. To Hiccup.

Then, their kiss came to a stop and they slowly parted from each other, only to stare lovingly into each other's eyes. Her smile grew when she saw him break into a goofy grin that she found adorable.

Hiccup carefully embraced her tiny frame and rested his head on her shoulder. She heard his calm breathing and relaxed. She felt like a better person, being calm and truly happy inside. She was wrong. A timid Hiccup can definitely take away years of Viking-ness in her. She giggled when she thought of how she, a true warrior, would end up with a pure soul such as Hiccup. They were so different, but in their embrace in that moment, it felt like they were supposed to be with each other in the first place.

"You hear that?" he whispered.

"Hear what?"

"Your hiccups are gone."

She smiled as she looked at the boy in her arms. "Not exactly."

It was the most ridiculous thing ever.

Astrid had Hiccup.

A/N: now wasn't that simple? i had fun writing it, even if it is way past midnight here and i hope you guys had fun too.

The myth is that once you're in love, you'll get hiccups. that's one of the myths from my country and the idea just inspired me.

I was first thinking of keeping this a oneshot but if you guys read and review, i'll probably make it a twoshot.

it's all up to you guys. thanks! more power to HTTYD!