Inspired (and by inspired, I mean stolen from) by a fill in the HTTYD kink meme (which is, as I gather, dead).

AU in which Hiccup dies in some way. Age is unknown, but I'd say definitely a few years after the movie.

()

Vikings took things in stride, no matter how dire the situation. In terms of death, it was frightening and to be heeded, but there was never any use in dwelling on people who no longer exist.

This, Astrid understood. However, understanding could never take away grief.

In that case, she had thought, maybe it would be best to console in someone that felt as devastated as she did.

"Come on, Toothless. We can't fly if you don't let me get on you!" Astrid said through gritted teeth, seething, finding herself in some strange dance-like struggle with her other life partner. It had already taken too long a time to track down the slippery beast. Toothless had disappeared after several attempts at climbing onto his back, and had made his way back to the ravine where he had met Hiccup.

Toothless watched her carefully, his vibrant green eyes following her every move. He was being playful, but every move he made was lifeless. He had lost his life partner in a much-unexpected time, just like she did. He keened, instead of purred like before, as he took a side step to mirror hers.

Astrid groaned. "Toothless, we've done this before. Sort of." She bit her bottom lip lightly, slowly approaching Toothless. "We can do this. We have to." She whispered as her voice descended in volume. She had to comfort him, somehow, even if it meant some unneeded baby talk.

Toothless snorted, taking one step back—but he wasn't putting great distance between him and her. It was progress.

Astrid nodded slowly, straightening her back as she finally stood face-to-face with Toothless. She raised a hand and settled it gently on his head, flattening out her palm and spreading her fingers across the smooth, black scales. She began to walk around him, keeping a hand on his body. Her hand slid along with his scale, against in some parts. She observed the grooves of places where scales overlapped, places where they felt almost as one, and places where they felt completely foreign to each other.

Finally, she reached the saddle. She had Hiccup's riding vest strapped tightly on her own body, and clearly remembered how to harness herself to the saddle. She took a deep breath, reaching up as far across the saddle as possible and grabbed the first thing her fingers could wrap around. She pulled herself, with all her might, onto Toothless's back.

"I did it. Finally." Astrid sighed, quickly harnessing herself to the saddle. It wasn't the first time she was able to physically sit on the saddle. The times she thought she had succeeded, Toothless had quickly shaken his body and had sent her flying to the dirt (sometimes, lake).

Toothless looked up at her, pupils large, eyes shimmering. He suddenly groaned and flopped onto the ground, wings close to his torso and walling in Astrid. It was almost as if he was trying to keep her as close as possible, now that he was finally adept to the idea of only having Astrid on his back.

Astrid knew she was being closed in, as if Toothless was trying to keep her away from all danger. He was scared, scared of losing her, and being alone. He couldn't fly without a human on his back—he would be down and dead without her. But that was just it, he can't live without flying—without her. "Come on, buddy." Astrid had bent down near where she assumed Toothless's ear would be and whispered. She stroked his head, trying to find that spot he loved so much. "You have to fly. I know that it's hard, that flying means Hiccup." She continued to whisper, the name causing her to choke. "But you have to fly."

Toothless keened again, shifting his ear away from her (or as far away as possible).

Astrid sat back straight and sighed. She blew a breath of air to the bangs in her eyes, and instead turned her attention to the pouch she had strapped to the vest. She pulled out a sheet of paper—notes she had taken of the diagrams and written observations Hiccup had left. She looked through them, hoping to find a way to somehow make Toothless fly.

She hadn't noticed, in her engrossed state, that Toothless was spreading his dark wings. She didn't notice him shifting the position of his legs, preparing himself for takeoff.

She did, however, notice that she was far off the ground when Toothless suddenly roared, jumped or flapped or whatever combination, and flew. Well, more like tumbling in a dangerously clumsy way than flying.

Astrid screamed, panic beginning to settle in; but she took a deep breath, remembering the cheat sheet. The falling made it hard to read the sheet, but she found the foot position to help with the takeoff, and followed accordingly.

Before she knew it, they had left the ravine and were high above the trees. Toothless was flying higher and higher, and Astrid was becoming increasingly frightened. She knew that Toothless was becoming determined. In his first flight since Hiccup's death, he was giving it his all.

They flew past the mountains, past clouds, and she was so sure she would eventually be able to touch the sun.

That is, if it weren't for Toothless suddenly slowing down, tipping away from a proper flight position, and causing them both to fall.

She was jovial just moments ago, head raised high and enjoying the sharp tingling of the increasingly colder air on her cheeks. She was truly happy, for the first time in days, and was soon becoming disturbed.

They were falling, falling from such a high place. She never felt so afraid, and she had never been so calm before in her entire life.

"Toothless!" She cried out, finding that her harness had slipped out (something Hiccup hadn't been able to fix), and she was free falling right next to a spinning dragon. "Come on, Toothless, you can do it!" She cried out, reaching out to him, trying to grab anything; but she was greeted with a simple slap to the shoulder as Toothless's tail suddenly whipped about. She cursed, loudly and wildly, pain radiating on her shoulder. It was brief, the pain, and luckily not in any way serious. Their whole situation with the falling legions above the ground, however, was a different case.

Astrid thought briefly that it might be okay. That it might be okay to just fall to their deaths, because it meant being with Hiccup again. It meant no more grief, no more pain—it meant no more thoughts of living a life without him. And Toothless could be the same—he wouldn't have to live a life far past their own. He wouldn't have to wait until time took its toll. He could be free of all that.

It might be okay.

Toothless cried out, something like a roar but something much more desperate.

Astrid snapped out of her stupor, still free falling, though the spinning dragon was no longer spinning. She gritted her teeth and reached out, grabbing one of Toothless's legs, and pulled herself onto the saddle. She quickly harnessed herself as best as she could in the strange environment, and pulled back on the harness, acting acted purely on instinct.

They quickly glided above the forest, Toothless's belly barely touching the tips of the trees. They entered into a forest of stone pillars, and Astrid gasped—whatever color in her face drained away leaving a white sheet on her cheeks. She still had the cheat sheet in hand, crumpled, but still intact. She tried to look it over, but it was too difficult, and too much like a crutch.

She opened her hand and it was gone, just like that, days' worth of hard work in reading Hiccup's unruly handwriting, in deciphering his diagrams. She firmly gripped the saddle, pressing her chest down onto Toothless's back.

It came to her like instinct, her foot moving without much thought. They weaved between the pillars, dove into the waters, and rose high into the sky. She skimmed her hands through clouds again, as she raised her arms in triumph.

Astrid cried out in triumph as Toothless roared. "That's it, Toothless! We did it!" She choked, her chest heaving, and her stomach churning. "We did it!" She cried out between wails, tears tearing away from her eyes. Everything hurt so badly, but she raised her arms and cried out in triumph and sorrow. "We did it!" She screamed.

Toothless roared once more before slowly descending back to the ravine where they had first taken off. He gently landed by the pond, allowing Astrid to stumble off his back before he lay down on the dirt. He watched her, watched her as she stood quietly by herself for a moment before quickly turning on her heels and encircling her arms around his neck.

She sobbed, wailed, cried loudly against his neck. Again and again she choked, "We did it".

Toothless closed his eyes, purring, as he wrapped his wings around them.

"I miss him, so much, and I know you do, too. That's why I'm so proud."

Toothless purred again, gently rubbing his head against her cheek.

Astrid finally calmed down, wiping away stray tears from her eyes. She chuckled and scratched the spot he loved so much. Toothless collapsed onto the ground, remembering for a brief moment of the boy with dirt colored hair—the love they shared for each other. Then, he looked at the sunny colored hair girl, who was smiling and sniffling.

Astrid sat down next to Toothless.

Toothless shifted his body so he would crescent around her. His wings folded against his body; he didn't feel such a strong need to wall her in. He sighed, resting his head comfortably next to her legs as she placed a hand on his head.

Somehow, they both knew they would be okay. Hiccup was gone, grief was still there—but they would be okay, as long as they had each other.