Epic fic will be epic!

Rebuild All Your Ruins

Rated: PG-13

Genre: Drama/Action/Romance/maybe some humor

Warnings: Some mild violence and milder profanity. Snotlout's pick-up lines probably deserve a warning of their own.

Spoilers: All of the movie.

Disclaimer: We do not own HTTYD and will not profit off this in the slightest beyond our own enjoyment. HTTYD belongs to Cressida Cowell and Dreamworks. Wow, it's been a long time since I had to write a disclaimer.

Extra disclaimer: We have never read any of the HTTYD books and this fic is based solely off the movie.

In a word....: An alternate HTTYD universe in which Hiccup did leave Berk after his confrontation with Astrid, rather than picking her up to explain things and then going with her to the Nest. Takes place some five years later, as things in Berk have deteriorated and Astrid goes to try to find Hiccup to get his help. It's a little darker than the movie was, partly because we're KnK and we love angst, and also because the characters have grown up some and things are more complicated than they used to be.

This fic is somewhat a co-authoring experiment; we are doing it entirely as back-and-forth rather than sitting down and writing together, so if the style is somewhat different, that's why.




The village didn't look much like Astrid had expected. She had grown accustomed to Berk being a dour, unfriendly place, the constant coating of soot that darkened most of the buildings. This village was bright and happy in a way that Berk had never been, even back before the dragon-taming had started.

It was also much larger than Berk. She could see the way it must have appealed to Hiccup. While Berk had four or five hundred people at most, this village had at least twice that. There would have been room for a second blacksmith, but not so much work that he couldn't concentrate on his inventions as well. And it would be easy to get lost, to hide in such a place.

Walking along the main street, she got some curious looks and a few friendly hellos, so they were clearly used to travelers coming and going. Children were playing in the streets. She found herself relaxing slightly, and stopped a young woman on the street to ask where she could find the blacksmith, then headed in the direction she was pointed in.

After several minutes, she stood outside a shop, studying the smoke from the forge that rose from the chimney. For the first time, she was nervous. She hadn't had any qualms when she had left Berk, but she had no idea how Hiccup was going to react to her presence. She could only hope that he hadn't changed too much from the teenager that he had once been. With a deep breath, she pushed the door open and went inside.

The interior of the shop was quiet. She looked around, waited, and then called out, "Hello?"

"Just a sec!" a voice called from the back. His voice. Astrid swallowed and hoped she hadn't done the wrong thing.

A few minutes later, a curtain was pushed aside and Hiccup came out into the shop. He looked much like she remembered him, only several inches taller and with a small beard edging his chin. Otherwise, he looked just as gangly and harmless as he always had, wiping his hands off on the apron and with soot smeared across one cheek. His mouth sagged open slightly when he saw her, and he appeared to be at a total loss for words, which, if Astrid recalled correctly, was something of a rarity.

Astrid wasn't at all sure what to say either. After six months, it was difficult to comprehend that she had found who she had been looking for. Without much thought at all, the first thing that came to mind fell out of her mouth. "You got taller. And I . . . didn't."

Hiccup's mouth worked soundlessly for several long moments before he asked, "How - how did you find me?"

"A lot of hard work and asking questions. It wasn't easy and took me two full seasons." She hadn't changed a lot, either. As she had said, she really hadn't added any height, though now her curves were a bit more prominent. She had also changed her armor quite a bit. Gone were the spiked shoulder guards and skirt. A woman didn't wear spikes when she had a child to hold close. Now she wore much more form-fitting chain mail which could be seen covering her upper arms before disappearing under the blue wool shirt Hiccup was used to, and then reappearing at the waist to hang to mid thigh. "You didn't make it easy, though I imagine that was your goal."

"Yeah, well . . . " Hiccup rubbed his hand over the back of his head in an embarrassed and familiar gesture. "Honestly I didn't figure anyone would waste their time looking for me. Which sort of makes me wonder why . . . " His voice trailed off, and then his eyes went wide slightly. "Is it my dad? Is he okay?"

"No, it isn't Stoick." At least not entirely. "He's . . ." He wasn't fine. And many, many things weren't okay. "He's healthy."

"All right." Hiccup relaxed slightly. He stood in awkward silence for a few minutes before saying, "Uh, this isn't really the place for this. Let me, uh, let me close up shop and we can go back to my place."

Astrid nodded and stepped back to a place she hoped was out of his way, content to wait. After all this time, a few more minutes wouldn't hurt. She leaned a shoulder against the wall, looked around the shop, and watched him move. She shook her head a little, thinking of all the things Berk had lost when Hiccup had left. Not just his seemingly magic touch with dragons, but a brilliant mind and a skilled craftsman. His business was obviously healthy and he was only twenty. Most craftsmen were only getting on their own feet at his age. They hadn't lost a warrior, true, but Berk had a lot of those and look where that had gotten all of them.

It took some time for Hiccup to shut down the forge, but finally, he hung up the apron and then gestured for Astrid to follow him, which she did. They went down a narrow lane to a house not far away, considerably bigger than most men living on their own would want. Hiccup stopped just outside with his hand on the doorknob, hesitating. "Uh . . . " he said, and trailed off, not sure what to say.

Astrid shrugged. She was a Viking. She didn't stand on social niceties. "You're inviting me in, not to marry you, right?" she said, meaning he shouldn't worry about it.

Seeing that she had no clue why he had paused, Hiccup shrugged, pushed the door open, and went inside. Astrid followed him in and was further surprised by the living space. Not only was it much larger than one would anticipate, but it wasn't divided up into rooms at all. It was simply one open area with a bed and a bureau shoved into one corner, and a fireplace set into a wall.

Then there was the dragon who dropped from the rafters with an excited bounce and wiggle. He nudged Hiccup in the face before bounding away, banking off a wall and making his way back, gurgling happily the entire time. It was always so boring when he was left home, when Hiccup was away and the children were busy and it was the wrong season for river fishing. Hiccup was lucky he hadn't rearranged the furniture for fun again or . . . hey, was that someone new with Hiccup?

A female someone new. He sidled up to them and peered around Hiccup to check her out, nose working, and then the playful demeanor disappeared like a flame being quenched with a bucket of water. His teeth made themselves known and his ears lay back as he pushed Hiccup behind him.

Hiccup sighed and made no effort to resist Toothless' protective impulses. "Toothless, you remember Astrid. Astrid, Toothless. Let's try this without the axe this time."

Astrid did have her axe with her, but it was currently firmly strapped to her back. She held her hands away from her sides, obviously empty. "He, uh, has a good memory." Now that she was looking the dragon in the face, she was suddenly remembering just how devastating a Night Fury's attack could be and how eerie and frightening his cry was.

Toothless, for his part, remembered her quite clearly. She had put Hiccup on the ground and then upset him. The dragon wasn't about to forget that. He just couldn't figure out why Hiccup had let her into the den.

"Yes, he does," Hiccup said. He gave Toothless an affectionate rub behind the ears. "Come on, bud. Play nice. She's just here to talk. She absolutely promises that she won't put an axe handle in my stomach, right, Astrid?"

She nodded. "Absolutely."

Toothless subsided and started to turn away, but then his head swung back suddenly and he fixed her with one large eye. The message was clear. He would do as Hiccup had asked, but she had better watch her step. He turned and walked toward the large stack of blankets on the floor, his wings settling and his tail swishing back and forth on the floor.

Astrid watched in a sort of awe at how tame and comfortable a dragon was inside a human dwelling with a human in close proximity, and of how genuinely happy the dragon was to see Hiccup. Then, as she watched him move, she was suddenly struck by how unbalanced his tail was. "What happened to his tail?" she asked, knowing that the injury would mean he couldn't fly any more.

After a moment of startled silence, Hiccup said, "I did. Remember? I killed a Night Fury?"

Boy, did she ever. She was the one that had told everyone that Hiccup really had downed the Fury and set this entire disaster in motion. "But . . . it wasn't like that back in the cove when I found you."

"Yeah, it was. You just didn't notice because he had his gear on." Hiccup went over to a peg near the back door - Astrid noticed it was at least twice as wide as most doors would be - and tapped what was hanging on it. Belatedly, she saw the saddle and leather tail and recognized it as what Toothless had been wearing the day she had met him. Hiccup shifted uncomfortably again. "You want something to drink? Some tea or anything?"

Was that part of how Hiccup did it? The dragon needed Hiccup to fly? But that couldn't be it, because he could have just taken off as soon as he had the replacement tail. It took a second for Hiccup's question to register. "Tea?"

"Oh, yeah, you guys don't have tea on Berk. Uh, well, I'll make some. You'll like it. I hope." Hiccup was clearly stalling, but that didn't stop him from going into a cupboard that was secured to the wall and taking out a kettle. "Well's out back, just a second," he said, and ducked through the back door.

Astrid realized, discomfited, that he had left her alone with the dragon.

Toothless' head immediately came up from where it had rested on his paws and he eyed her curiously. She eyed him back with far more nervousness. He tilted his head and then stood. After a moment he slunk towards her in a sidling fashion, stalking. Not so much like she was prey, but more like she was a new toy.

Astrid stifled her gasp and the urge to call for Hiccup, or to hold her hands out and say things like 'nice dragon, don't eat me.' She was a Viking, by Thor, and a warrior despite what some said. She had her pride and wasn't about call out for help.

Toothless took this as permission, or maybe he found amusement in her concealed expression of fear. He started to circle, nudge, and sniff at her almost like he was deciding as to how she would taste.

"Toothless!" Hiccup sounded irritated, not frightened for himself or Astrid. "You won't get any tea if you don't behave."

The dragon pulled away from Astrid immediately upon hearing Hiccup's voice and gave him the most innocent expression to ever grace a reptile's face. He looked from Hiccup to Astrid and back again, ears whipping and flopping. He didn't know what Hiccup meant at all. He was just getting to know the new person.

Astrid took a step back.

Hiccup had to bite back a grin, but managed to maintain a stern voice as he said, "You can't fool me, bud. Now play nice or we'll have eel for dinner." With that threat made, he put the kettle over the fire.

Toothless reared back with a horrid grimace making a hacking, whining noise.

"Uh." Astrid reached a hand out and then let it drop, unsure if she should be worried or afraid by that sound.

"You're such a drama queen," Hiccup said, giving the dragon an affectionate nudge with one shoulder. "Uh, sorry I don't have any chairs. I don't usually have company, and . . . furniture is really more trouble than it's worth when you have a dragon, so . . ." He sat down Indian-style on the floor and finished, "I just make do."

". . . sure." She followed suit. "He's not dying, right? Because when a baby makes that noise, you assume it's choking."

Toothless grumbled at the comparison, but quickly settled half-curled around Hiccup, glad that no one was mentioning the fate of that last chair. Hiccup, for his part, was looking at Astrid, clearly unimpressed. "Don't you think that if he was dying, I would be showing a little bit of concern or something?"

"How am I supposed to know?" She was a little grumpy. "Fine, I guess you would, but it's still a little odd."

Toothless rested his head on his paws and watched her with a sleepy eye.

Hiccup sighed, steeled his nerves, and decided to ask bluntly. "What do you want, Astrid?"

Blunt she could handle. It was what she was good at. "That." She waved a hand to encompass both him and the dragon. "After you left, things got bad. Really bad. And it's getting worse. I want help." There was a pause as she registered how that sounded like a demand. "I came to ask for help."

"From me?" Hiccup stared at her in utter bewilderment for several long moments, then did the last thing Astrid had expected - he started laughing. He leaned back against Toothless, his back pressed against the dragon's side, and laughed for several long minutes. Finally, when the kettle began to whistle, he sat back up and took it off the fire. He went to another cupboard and drew out some items, still chuckling to himself. Then he came back and set down two mugs and a shallow bowl, pouring some water into each. "You can't be serious."

Astrid glared at him. "Do I look like I'm joking? Like I used half a year of my life, just for a joke?"

Toothless didn't much like her tone, but looked to Hiccup for a cue as to how to handle it. Hiccup was still too surprised to even notice her tone. "No, it's just that last time I checked, nobody at Berk thought I could do anything right - including you. I can't imagine a single situation in which you guys could possibly want my help for anything."

"You're living in peace with a dragon. We can't manage that, and that horrid Viking pride and stubborn streak won't let anyone admit defeat either. It has to end. You're the only one that knows how to do this."

Hiccup let out a snort and blew across the top of his tea to cool it. "As if they'll listen to anything I have to say."

"Some of us will. I will." She held the mug but didn't drink.

Hiccup stared at her. Then, quietly, "Why? Why now? Why after five years, are you suddenly showing up here to disturb the first real life I've ever had?"

"Because before I had hope. That your father would start being a good chief again. That someone would listen when we said they were doing things wrong. That if nothing else, we could leave." She shook her head. "But none of those things happened and we can't go anywhere. So here I am."

"You've got a lot of guts to even ask me," Hiccup said, anger in his voice for the first time.

"Yeah, well, despite what a lot of people wanted I'm still a warrior." Astrid wasn't sure what she had expected, and she didn't even think that Hiccup was out of line, but her own temper and hold on her tongue was starting to slip. "I made a mistake telling everyone that dragons could be ridden. I get that. But I was just a kid and I was stupid. I thought people would listen, but they didn't. And Stoick is too busy mourning your loss and being angry at everything that even looks like a dragon to take care of his village. Berk has turned into a nightmare and we can't even escape anymore." Despite her intent and the black dragon staring at her, her voice began to rise. "And that is not how I am raising my daughter!" She slammed the mug down, afraid she would throw it otherwise.

Hiccup stared at her in honest shock, his jaw hanging slightly open. After several long moments, he stammered, "D-Daughter?"

"What?" Astrid snarled. "Did you think these were for show?" she asked, pointing to her own breasts.

"No, I just - I - uh - " Hiccup admitted defeat and said, "Just tell me she isn't Snotlout's."

"I wish she were." Astrid slumped a little.

Toothless stayed quiet, because Hiccup was so on his own with this topic. Hiccup's mouth worked soundlessly for a few minutes before he said, "Maybe you had better start at the beginning."

She grit her teeth until they creaked. "Do you know what happens to girls that don't shut their mouths now that your father isn't running things?" It was a rhetorical question but she clearly expected some sort of response anyway.

"No?" Hiccup ventured, suddenly having flashbacks to when Astrid had nearly broken his fingers.

"It's back to the kitchen. Because a woman who's pregnant can't swing an axe, and any woman who can't swing an axe isn't one you have to listen to."

"But why did you . . . " Hiccup was clearly confused. "I mean, you were a warrior. You were the best in our class. Why would they do that to you?"

Astrid picked her mug back up and turned it slowly in her hands. "I told them about what I had seen. About you and Toothless?" She clearly wasn't sure about the name. "About how a dragon could be tamed. Could be ridden. Because you had done it. With a Night Fury no less." She shook her head a little. "And they heard me. About the part where they could be ridden, at least. So a lot of the warriors caught dragons and tried to ride them. And of course the dragons fought. So they were chained down. And people had whips and shackles and . . . nothing worked." Astrid paused there and took a blind swallow of her drink, then hacked a little because it was more dry than anticipated. Then she continued, not giving Hiccup room to interrupt. "I told them they were doing it wrong. All of us kids did, and even Gobber. Because, because we may have been awful to you but we all knew that you would never be cruel to an animal like that. So I told them. Over and over again. I don't know what you did, but it wasn't what we were doing."

She took a deep breath. "When I wouldn't stop arguing and wouldn't help them capture any more dragons . . . a lot of the elders and adults just got sick of me. So they sent me back to the kitchens. Married me off to someone that could keep me in line and keep me quiet." She shrugged then, not wanting to elaborate any more on the topic. "And Stoick won't stop this because he just . . . doesn't want to see it. It reminds him of you. He believes that you're dead. That 'the dragon' must have killed you. But this is wrong. I'll kill a dragon on the field of battle, because it's kill or be killed, but I won't be cruel to them. It's wrong." She chugged more of her tea.

"But it's gotten so bad. Once my husband finally got himself killed, they couldn't keep me inside anymore. A lot of us wanted to leave, but there's nothing left but fishing boats, and no timber to make more long ships. So the dragons are the only way to leave. We talked . . . a few of us talked and I said I would sneak away and look for you. Because you can either make things better or help us get away."

There was a long silence while Hiccup turned all this over in his mind. It was so much to take in that he came back with possibly the least relevant question available. "Dad thinks I'm dead?"

Astrid blew out a frustrated sigh. "Yes. First he thought you were some sort of traitor and said you were dead to him . . . and then, I don't know, it all got twisted and he believes you're dead. Or at least says he does."

Hiccup had no idea what to say to that, and tried to get his thoughts together on the more pertinent matters at hand. "Okay . . . but I'm confused about something. From the sound of it, the villagers are just beating up a bunch of dragons, which, will I can understand that it upsets me, I'm not sure why it upsets you. Even if the attempts are only partially successful, I don't understand why the village is in trouble, or why the people who don't agree with it can't leave."

"There's no more wood. Not really. Timberjacks came through. They burned everything but the fishing boats and leveled the trees that were close enough to use."

Hiccup startled. "Timberjacks? I remember reading about those. But nobody has seen a Timberjack near Berk for decades, maybe even longer."

"Well, we have them now," Astrid said wearily. "My husband, unmourned as he is, was melted by a Changewing. We're seeing more than the normal ones we learned about as children."

There was a long silence while Hiccup mulled all that over, pondering what the sudden re-emergence of these deadlier breeds might mean. He had a feeling that he was missing some vital piece of information that might make it all make sense, but wasn't sure where to start . . . or whether or not he should start at all. For years, he had lived with the nagging guilt of having run away. Vikings didn't run away. But he was, after all, the worst Viking Berk had ever seen, according to his father. At the time, running had seemed like a great idea. And there was no guarantee that what had happened would have been any different if he had stayed. The other villagers still would have found out about Toothless, still would have tried to "tame" the dragons. If they hadn't listened to Astrid, they certainly wouldn't have listened to him.

He didn't think he owed the people of Berk anything. Not even Astrid, or her daughter.

Finally, quietly, he said, "Hey . . . what happened to the dragons that we did battle training with? Were they chained up, too?"

She nodded. "They're . . . quieter. They fight less." She wasn't sure she considered that a good thing.

Hiccup clearly didn't. He gave Astrid a slow, steady look, with fury burning in his gaze that made his earlier anger look mild. "And what, exactly, are you suggesting that I do about any of this?"

"I don't know! You were always the one who liked to think about things. Just . . . do something. It's horrible. It's horrible for the people and for the dragons."

After a long moment, Hiccup took a sip of his tea. He tested the liquid in the shallow bowl with his finger, found it cool, and shoved it over to Toothless. "Let me think about it," he said.

Astrid nodded. She wouldn't beg. At least, not yet. "Is there a place around here that I can stay?"

"Afraid to stay in a house with a dragon?" Hiccup asked.

Her eyes narrowed. How dare he call her a coward? "You two don't seem to like me much. I was trying to be polite."

Hiccup didn't quite look at her. "There's an inn on the main street. The owner knows me. He'll let you do some work chopping wood or something if you don't have any money."

She nodded and set the mug down carefully this time. "Thank you. For at least listening."

"Good night," Hiccup said, staring into the fire so he didn't have to look at her.

"Good night." Astrid stood and left without another word.

Once she was gone, Toothless curled up tighter around Hiccup and crooned softly. Hiccup sighed and leaned backwards, resting the back of his head against Toothless' flank. "What do you think, bud? Think we should go back?"

Toothless shrugged a little. No, he didn't think they should go back. Not at all. He knew what crouched, hidden in the fog and mist of the Nest. But he also knew Hiccup. They were going back; Hiccup just had to figure it out. If they didn't, Hiccup would feel guilty forever. He nudged his head under Hiccup's hand and gave a single nod.

Hiccup sighed again. "Thanks, Toothless. And thank you for not hissing at her any more than you did."

It was all for Hiccup. Toothless showed teeth for a second. He was still willing to eat her for him.

~ ~ ~

Astrid sat in the dining area of the inn, sipping at another mug of tea, which tasted completely different than the mug Hiccup had given her. On a plate in front of her were foods that she considered real treats, but most of the other travelers seemed to think were pretty common fare. Instead of bread, she had been given a thing that was bread-like, but fluffy and buttery tasting even though there was no butter to be seen on it, and it had been wrapped around pieces of fruit before baking so the fruits inside were soft and warm.

This was something she hardly ever expected to see at a wedding feast, and it had been given to her as payment for merely chopping some wood. No wonder Hiccup didn't want to leave this place. It was nothing like Berk. Here the average person wasn't a warrior first. Here, Hiccup could fit in. Here he was respected for what he could do instead of put down for what he couldn't.

So she sat and scowled into her mug, wondering if she should even bother going back to the smithy or if she should just assume he'd do the intelligent thing and stay here.

Fortunately for her, Hiccup had never been known for doing the intelligent thing.

The bell over the door jingled and she looked up as he came in, wrapped in a cloak against the morning chill. He glanced at her but didn’t approach her at first, instead going up to the bar and getting a plate of food. It was even more generous than hers, including some fresh fruit and some kind of meat that she had never seen before but smelled delicious. He sat down across from her, looked at her steadily, and said, “I have some conditions.”

Astrid tried very hard not to goggle. Or drool. It wasn’t like she was going to complain about the meal she’d been given. But the goggling wasn’t over the food. “You mean you’re agreeing to come back with me?” She knew she sounded incredulous.

“No,” Hiccup said. “I’m saying that I have certain conditions before I’ll agree to come back with you. You may not like them, so I may not go.”

“I’m not really in a position to be picky, but okay,” Astrid said. “Tell me your conditions and I’ll tell you if I don’t like them.” She couldn’t take staring at the fruit-bread thing any longer, picked it up, and took a bite.

Her expression upon swallowing was one of absolute bliss, and Hiccup’s lips twitched slightly. He took his own pastry, which had chocolate in it, and cut it in half. Without saying a word, he transferred one half to Astrid’s plate. “We’re going back on Toothless, so you’d better be willing to ride him. It’ll be much quicker than taking your boat.”

She thought about refusing when he put half of his bread thing on her plate, but sometimes her stomach took precedence over her pride. “Thank you,” she said, referring to the food. She put hers down so she would think about the topic at hand, not the pastry. “But he doesn’t even like me.”

“No, he doesn’t,” Hiccup agreed, “but he is pretty fond of me, so he does generally do what I ask him to, within reason, and if that means putting up with carrying you, he’ll do it.”

Astrid considered this. “Promise he won’t try to kill me if I haven’t done anything to deserve it.”

“I promise,” Hiccup said, clearly amused. “Though he may dunk both of us in the ocean a few times. That’s sort of to be expected, given his sense of humor.”

“How much of last night was just him messing with me?” She took a swallow of tea. “And why doesn’t this tea taste like your tea? It doesn’t make sense.”

The mundane quality of the question took Hiccup off guard. After a moment, he said, “Well, tea is kind of like a category. Like, salmon and cod are both fish, but they don’t taste anything alike, right? So last night we had one kind of tea, and this is a different kind. As for Toothless . . . it’s hard to tell. He likes to give even me a hard time. He doesn’t like you, that’s pretty obvious, but he just likes to make people nervous.”

“Well, I like the way it tastes. Once I’m used to it.” It was clear that she liked the pastries even better. “What other conditions do you have?”

“I’m not promising to help. I’m going to go and look around and then decide what, if anything, I can do. It wouldn’t surprise me if I found out there was nothing I could do to help. If I do decide that I can help, that’s what I’ll do.” Hiccup met her gaze and said, “But I’ll warn you right now that my definition of ‘help’ and yours may not match exactly, and once I’ve decided what I’m going to do, I won’t let anyone stop me. Not even you.”

“Well,” Astrid said slowly, “things can’t get much worse.” There was a pause and then a look came over her face that would make even the bravest warrior think twice. “But if you endanger my daughter, I will kill you.”

Hiccup studied her, then nodded and said quietly, “I’ll do everything I can to protect her. None of this is *her* fault.”

Astrid supposed she deserved that dig. “Then I think we have ourselves an agreement.”

“One last thing,” Hiccup said. “I don’t want anyone knowing that I’m there, if I can avoid it. Not my father. Not Gobber. Not anybody. Depending on what I have to do, they may find out anyway . . . but I’ll decide that once I’m there. I’ll stay in the cove with Toothless. Don’t tell anybody about me . . . even after I’m gone.”

“Why?” Astrid wasn’t saying no, but she was curious. She took another bite of her first pastry while waiting for his answer.

“It would just . . . it wouldn’t help anybody,” Hiccup said, not looking at her.

She watched him quietly and intensely while she chewed. Over the last few years, she had gotten better at observing people. It had helped her survive her marriage. “It’s your choice, and I’ll go with what you want, but I don’t think it’s entirely true that it wouldn’t help anyone. I think you just don’t want to upset anyone.” Mostly himself.

“Come on,” Hiccup said. “If I do something to help and the villagers figure it out, they’ll all drop dead of shame from having been saved by Hiccup the Useless. And since my dad would clearly prefer to think I’m dead, let’s just keep my presence a secret.”

“I already agreed. And I think a little shame would do us some good.” She looked down at her plate and hurriedly took another bite of her breakfast.

Hiccup didn’t reply to that, other than to hastily change the subject. “I’ve got some things I need to finish before we can leave. Um, I promised the tanner I would shoe his horse for him, and one of the farmers broke his hoe on a rock and I told him I’d make him a new one, and one of my friends wants to give his wife a new set of cookware for her birthday, which is next week, so I . . . . you probably don’t care, do you.”

Actually she did. Not so much the specific things, but that Hiccup liked to keep his word. And she liked the fact that he still rambled a little awkwardly when nervous. She found it . . . endearing, now that she was older and less impatient with the world. "Why wouldn't I care? I'm asking you to help me. I don't like asking strangers for things so . . ." She shrugged and felt a little awkward herself. "I don't want you to be a stranger." She polished off her pastry as something to do and then eyed the half of one he had given her. "What's in it?" It looked odd to her. And maybe not that tasty. It was also a good subject changer.

“Uh, it’s called chocolate,” Hiccup said, seemingly stunned by what she had first said. “It’s sweet, and kind of rich. You’ll like it, I promise.”

Astrid picked it up and after giving Hiccup one last look, closed her eyes like she was bracing herself and carefully bit into it. There was a chew, a long pause, more chewing and then a moan. "Great Odin's ghost."

Hiccup tried not to stare at her too obviously. He had to admit – from a neutral perspective, of course – that Astrid had grown up to be very attractive. It didn’t change the fact that his feelings about her, about all of Berk in general, were too tangled and complicated to get labels. The fact remained that her sitting there, moaning at the breakfast table with her eyes closed, was very bad for his heart. “So, uh . . . meet me back at the smithy at dawn tomorrow. Explore the village a little if you want, they get a lot of travelers here so nobody will think it’s weird if you’re wandering around. I’ll just – uh – be in my – I’ll see you tomorrow.” He pushed back from the table and fairly fled.

~ ~ ~