#leffie

Thank you, @slavicviking, for this one :D (I think this was you, hehee)

“Astrid, it’ll be much faster if Toothless and I fly alone,” he explained, brows furrowed. “And it’s just a reconnaissance mission. I just want to see whether I can find Drago or his Bewilderbeast, and will return directly to get back-up in case I can locate them. I promise.”

But she didn’t buy his attempt at placating her. She knew him too well for that. “Right,” she scoffed. “Just like that one day when you were just looking for Viggo, and ended up almost getting killed when the Hunters shot Toothless down. Forget it! There’s no way I’ll let you go after yet another maniac who wants to see you dead all on your own. We’re doing this together, or not at all.” She was determined. She wouldn’t let him risk his life like that, not ever again.

Hiccup’s face softened, and he stepped toward her until he was able to lay his hand on her hips. “And I guess there’s nothing that would convince you to stay here? Not even…” he trailed off, and let one hand glide to her front to rest over her toned belly.

But he'd guessed right. Nothing would prevent her from making sure that Hiccup and his skinny self would make is safely back to Berk. Not even the possibility of her being pregnant. They weren’t even sure, yet. She was only two weeks late. “Together, or not at all!”

After another moment of hesitation, Hiccup nodded, and smiled defeatedly. “Okay,” he conceded, and gave her a light kiss. The familiar scraping of his stubble made her feel at ease, and it made staying angry at him impossible. “Then I suggest you get Stormfly and Toothless ready while I get our packs and tell Gobber that he needs to take over for a day or two” he said quietly, and then turned to look at Eret.

The ex-trapper was discreetly inspecting his shoes as not to intrude on their intimate moment, but looked up again when Hiccup addressed him directly. “Eret, can you go and get the others? We’re going to leave around noon. Make sure the dragons are all fed and rested, and everybody has their packs ready. We might as well turn this into a group excursion. You’ve practised enough to accompany us this time. Besides, I know Snot is dying to get some action again, and everything that keeps the twins occupied is always good.”

“Aye Chief,” Eret replied with a broad grin.

. o O o .

“So, where are you kids going?”

Valka approached Astrid as she was about to fasten the saddle on Stormfly’s back, a baby Nightmare in her arms and another one climbing over her back, as usual.

“There’s been another sighting of the Bewilderbeast,” she replied while testingly pulling at the belt around her dragon's belly. She refused to call it Drago’s. As if that madman had any claim over a majestic beast like this. And she didn't believe that he was still alive anyway, not really. So far, they’d never seen him when they’d encountered the giant to chase him off of some village or other.

“Oh…” Valka had sobered up directly, face averted as if distracted by the baby dragon in her arms. “Do you... need me to come along?”

Astrid wasn't good at reading people, and Valka who was more used to interacting with dragons than with Vikings was even harder to make sense of. “You can if you want, but you don't have to,” she finally said noncommittally. If it came to a fight every support would be useful, but Hiccup's mother had fought enough for an entire lifetime. Astrid didn't begrudge her the wish for peace and quiet.

“Mmh, I don't know,” Valka finally said as she scratched the small dragon's neck. “Flying out would be nice, but the babies need me. Where are you going again? How long would we be gone?”

A small smile tugged at Astrid's lips, and she quickly turned back to Stormfly to hide it. Apparently, peace and quiet could get boring, after all.“The sighting has been around a group of small islands to the South,” she explained. “Close to a dead volcano not far from Berserker Island. We might even have time to pick up Heather and Dagur on the way, in case Mala can spare him.”

“What?”

Valka's voice had sounded weird, disbelieving and even a little frightened. Astrid frowned and turned toward her again – to find the older woman frozen mid-movement, her ridiculously big eyes even wider than usual. And she looked pale as a ghost.

. o O o .

“You've got to be kidding me... Atali knew your mother all along?”

From her usual place on Stormfly’s back, behind and slightly to Hiccup’s left, Astrid saw how he nodded at Snotlout's incredulous question. They were flying in the tight formation they’d used frequently back during their years at Dragon’s Edge, allowing for sensible travelling speed while still flying close enough to be able to talk. Skullcrusher and Cloudjumper were a bit off to the sides as they were not used to flying so close to other dragons, but still using their wake to keep up.

“Yeah, it looks like it,” Hiccup called back, turning slightly so that everyone could hear him as he told them what Astrid had told him earlier. There hadn’t been time for that before. After Valka’s revelation, they’d gotten going immediately. They hadn’t even gotten around to change out of their comfortable day-to-day clothes and into more practical things, for Odin’s sake. Hiccup still wore the Chief’s fur cloak, and she herself hadn’t had time to put on her fur-lined hood or her warmer arm bracers. She could feel the chill in the early spring air, but tried to ignore it and instead concentrated on Hiccup’s explanation.

“It looks like that ‘someone’ Atali knew who would be able to take care of the king-of-dragons-egg was my mum. And the king of dragons would be the Bewilderbeast. I can’t believe that I haven’t seen that before.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty embarrassing,” Snot agreed, just as Tuff threw in, “You didn’t? H, how could you’ve overlooked that? It’s so obvious.”

“Don’t tell me you of all people made that connection already,” Fishlegs snorted.

“Well, no, I haven’t. But then, it’s not my job to make these connections. Don’t blame me if you’re not-”

“Guys, guys, it’s okay. Tuff is right,” Hiccup interrupted them. “I should have seen it sooner. I should have asked Atali to whom she gave the egg. Or I should have asked my mum if she knew anything about the king of dragons. But I didn’t. Frankly, I didn’t even think about that egg at all anymore, with everything that happened back then. But what’s done is done, we can’t change it anymore. Now, we have to concentrate on finding the egg and it’s mother before Drago does. We can’t risk him getting his hands on another Bewilderbeast, one that  might overpower Toothless in her urge to protect her baby. My mum said she lured the mother into the cavern system beneath these islands and then gave the egg back to her. So let’s hope Drago hasn’t found her yet and we can set a trap to finally capture him.”

Astrid listened quietly through the entire conversation. She didn’t like this development. So far, capturing Drago had been nothing but a vague idea, some far-off goal for Hiccup to think about whenever he’d needed a break from the daily struggles of being Chief. As his wife and general, she’d supported, even encouraged this search. Because she knew Hiccup, knew that he always needed something bigger to occasionally occupy his mind. But deep in her heart, she hadn’t expected that anything would ever come of it.

But now, it had become even worse. Not just that they’d found the trail of the Bewilderbeast again, it being near to where a second one would be only made it more likely that Drago was still alive and controlling it. Sure, it could be that the gigantic dragon was only looking for a mate, but somehow Astrid doubted that. Because it wasn’t simply a female Bewilderbeast. No, it had to be a mother.

Almost against her will, her hand fluttered down to her stomach. She was only beginning to understand what it would mean to be a mother, to be responsible for such a tiny helpless creature. But she understood enough to know that this dragon mother would do anything to protect her baby.

. o O o .

When they reached their goal, one thing became immediately clear.

They were too late.

“Oh, shit,” came Snotlout’s very accurate remark when they broke through the clouds and the islands they’d been looking for lay directly in front of them. They were surrounded by chaos, and in a way Astrid felt like she’d had a horrible déjà vu.

There were two gigantic Bewilderbeasts, one black and one white, fighting against each other. The islands and the sides of the big volcano in the middle were covered in the same sharp ice shards that had destroyed Berk over a year ago. And there were dragons everywhere, fighting against one another without even knowing why.

There also were differences, but they didn’t serve to make her feel hopeful. This white Bewilderbeast was noticeably smaller than the one at Valka’s Sanctuary, and she was bleeding from a mean cut at her leg already.

Astrid’s heart sank at that sight. Taking in the whole situation of a battlefield and deciding what to do and how to react was one of her specialities. But this one didn’t look good.

“Hiccup,” she called out to get his attention.

He turned, and she saw his devastated expression, the same that had to be on her face, too. He gave Toothless a subtle sign and was flying close by her side a moment later. “I know. But I have to do something.” He gave her an apologetic look and she nodded shortly, mouthing a quiet Be safe! before he flew off without another word.

“Okay, guys, we need to distract the dragons. The sooner we draw the attention of the Alphas the better,” she said all business-like.

“And that’s good… why?” asked Eret, clinging somewhat funnily to Skullcrusher’s saddle.

“If they stop focusing on each other and on Toothless instead, he might be able to chase the big one off. That’s what we did the last times, at least,” she explained shortly. Then she turned her attention to Hiccup’s mother, knowing that she wouldn’t like to be involved in fighting dragons, no matter how indirect. “Valka? You go and look for the egg. Make sure it’s safe.” The older woman nodded, and directly flew off to one of the smaller islands farther west.

Grimly, Astrid turned her attention back to the chaos of fighting dragons. “You know what to do. Go!” she commanded, and was about to dive into the melee when Eret’s voice held her back.

“And what if I don’t know?”

Sighing, she rolled her eyes, but held back as Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the Twins flew past her. “Just keep the dragons from fighting each other. Distract them. Fly between them, divert their attacks, whatever you can come up with. If they stop doing what the Alpha wants them to do, it’s going to draw his attention sooner or later.”

Eret gave her a look as if he thought her insane, but nodded hesitantly. Not wasting any more time, Astrid gave Stormfly a sign to follow the others into the chaos.

. o O o .

There seemed to be no end. No matter how often Stormfly dove in to separate two fighting dragons, or how often she chased away two opponents with her Spineshots, there always seemed to be more. More dragons fighting, more dragons getting injured. More dragons falling…

Astrid had lost sight of her friends. They had to be around here, too, but she had no idea where. She didn’t know whether Valka had found the egg, whether it was safe. She didn’t know how Toothless was doing, only that he, obviously, hadn’t succeeded yet. And she also didn’t know whether Hiccup had found Drago.

That hadn’t been part of the official plan, but she knew that Hiccup would look for him. Even if she had tried to talk him out of that, or even to forbid it, he would have done so anyway. All she could hope was that her gut would tell her if he was in any danger. So far, it had never erred.

And it didn’t today, either.

She flinched slightly as she suddenly felt someone behind her, but could immediately tell that it was Hiccup. His arms slid around her waist – not only to have something to hold on to – and he pressed a quick peck into her hair in greeting.

“Afternoon, Milady. Do you have space for a passenger?” he asked cheerfully which served to somewhat ease her worries.

“Sure, but hold on tight. I see a Thunderdrum about to attack that Timberjack over there.” He did as told, squeezing her tightly as Stormfly flew between the two dragons to divert their attacks and attention. “How's it going?” she asked once they had a moment to breathe.

“Fairly well, I'd say. The two big ones are close to focus their attention on Toothless, and he dropped me here before I can get between them. But these here are the last fighting dragons. It should be over soon.”

“And what then? Have you found Drago? If you're right and he's still controlling the black one, then it won't be over until he's dealt with.” Oh, please, she prayed inwardly. Please, let it be over…

But she wasn’t that lucky.

“No, I didn’t find him,” Hiccup said despondently. “I can’t shake off the feeling that he’s somehow behind all this, but there’s no clue where he could be. Maybe his Bewilderbeast only came here for the female, after all.”

Astrid nodded mutely. That had always been a possibility. She was about to ask whether they should fly and look for their friends when it happened.

Somewhere to the left of them, a big explosion separated another group of fighting dragons. Astrid turned her head in that direction just in time to see three Nadders bolting in their direction, but not to give Stormfly a sign to dodge them. The talons of the closest one missed her only by an inch, maybe less. She’d even felt it brushing her hair.

Hiccup, however, wasn’t that lucky.

She heard a dull thump as the frightened dragon hit his head and then his low grunt before his hold on her waist loosened. She felt him slit to the side and off Stormfly’s back, but it all happened too fast for her to grab him.

“No!” she screamed, uselessly reaching after him as Stormfly flew into the other direction, following the frightened Nadders. For an endless second, all she could do was stare after him as he plummeted toward the ocean. This was hardly the first time anyone of them fell off a dragon. Frequently, Hiccup even jumped off Toothless, just to use his crazy flight suit. But usually, Hiccup wasn’t unconscious when doing so.

Astrid only had this one second to decide.

Then she dove after him.

If he fell into the water, unconscious as he was, he would drown. Sure, if they hit the surface from this height, that might be both their fates, but she couldn’t think of that now. Now, she had to somehow reach him. She had to!

“Hiccup!” she yelled against the rushing air and the thunderous noise of the fights around them. “Hiccup, wake up! Thor-dammit, HICCUP!” He couldn’t hear her, it was impossible. It was too loud around them, and that Nadder had hit him hard.

And yet, he opened his eyes.

He blinked, clearly dazed and not comprehending what was happening. She saw how his eyes found her, saw his confusion as he stretched one arm to reach out for her.

“Your suit,” she cried. It was their only chance, the only thing that could save them. If he would use his flight suit to slow their fall…

Hiccup’s eyes cleared as realisation hit him. Frantically, he fumbled about with the loops at his legs – but they weren’t there.

Because there had been no time to change clothes.

“Shit!” he cursed, eyes searching frantically for something else, anything else that could save them, and Astrid felt something she hadn’t felt in a long time.

She felt fear.

She had almost reached him now, with her falling straight like a stick and his flapping cloak slowing him down, but what did it matter? Their hands were touching, but that wouldn’t slow them, wouldn’t soften the impact.

The last thing Astrid noticed was Hiccup’s protective arms around her as they tumbled toward the sea.

. o O o .

The next thing Astrid remembered was the cold. She was so cold.

Everything was dark and quiet. It even would have been peaceful, hadn’t it been so damn cold.

Then the world began to return to her, and with it came the pain. There was a horrible burning sensation in her throat and her whole body felt battered and bruised. She couldn’t even move, her body too heavy to react. And when a frantic voice was calling her name, it took her way too long to find back into consciousness.

“Astrid!” his urgent voice whispered into her thoughts. “Come on, Astrid, wake up!” There was a weird pressure on her chest, but she still couldn’t react. She wanted to reassure him that she was fine, but somehow couldn’t do so. “No, don’t do that to me. Astrid, please!” he sounded desperate now. She felt cool lips against her own, then that weird pressure again, but this time, it seemed to dislodge something inside her.

Pain shot through her as the water left her lungs, coughing and gagging, as she rolled to the side and tried to sit up.

“Oh, thank Thor! You’re alive,” echoed Hiccup’s voice into her dazed mind as if from afar. She felt his reassuring arms around her, holding her tight as she slowly regained her senses.

“Wha… happen’d,” she croaked, wincing at her aching throat. She coughed some more, groaning quietly while Hiccup explained hurriedly.

“We fell into the ocean. Stormfly fished us out, but… but it took her a while to find us, and you… you were unconscious, and…” he trailed off, squeezing her tightly against his chest. “I thought I lost you…”

Astrid laughed shakily and regretted it instantly as the laughter turned into more coughing. “You won’t get rid of me that easily.”

. o O o .

Some while later, she sat close to a burning campfire and was wrapped into Tuffnut’s warm blanket. The one from her own saddleback was drenched. She was still shivering, but already felt much better.

Hiccup sat behind her, his arms pulling her against his chest to help keeping her warm. It was strange. He had been equally soaked by the ocean’s water, but somehow had warmed up much quicker than her. Maybe because he hadn’t swallowed what felt like gallons of the icy water…

Around them, their friends were talking, but she only listened with half an ear.

“What happened to the Bewilderbeasts?” someone asked. Eret maybe?

She felt Hiccup swallow. “They separated and are both gone. They’re both still alive, that’s something at least,” he said, voice bare of any emotions. “Have you found any signs of Drago?”

From the corner of her eye, Astrid saw how Eret shook his head. “No,” he said curtly. “Skullcrusher and I looked everywhere but found no sign of him. He must have gone with the Bewilderbeast, if he was even here.”

Hiccup seemed to accept that explanation without any further comment. She knew how much he’d hoped to once and for all get rid of Drago. But it seemed as if their search would go on.

Across from her she saw how Ruffnut treated a mean burn on Snot’s arm, but before she could start to worry for her friend, she got distracted by Valka. She kneeled down beside her and handed her a mug of some warm and acrid smelling liquid which she accepted grudgingly. The tea tasted even worse, but it helped to warm her up so she didn’t complain.

“Is the egg safe at least?” Hiccup asked quietly, and Valka nodded with a smile.

“I only found old shells,” she replied cheerily. “It must have hatched some while ago. I guess they were only still here to wait for the hatchling to grow a bit. But it looks like they’re gone now. The other one must have chased them off. They’ll be hiding deep down in the ocean now. The mother will know how to defend her child there. Besides, if Drago really is still with the dark one, then it can’t dive that deep. They’re safe.”

Hiccup nodded, then turned his head in another direction. “What about the other dragons?”

“Nothing too worse,” Fishlegs replied despondently. “At least considering the chaos in the beginning. Some... fell. But we were able to treat those who just got wounded. Nearly all of them are going to make it… I think. These islands provide enough food and shelter, and without someone influencing their minds, they should stay peaceful until they all can fly back to where they belong.”

Again, Hiccup nodded. “Okay. We’ll rest here for another two hours and then fly back.” Everyone grunted in agreement, and then went to care for their dragons, leaving them alone. When they were all gone, his arms around her tightened and he buried his face in the crook of her neck. “Never do that again!” he whispered in a desperate tone.

Despite the seriousness in his voice, Astrid laughed shakily. “What, saving your life?”

“Risking your own while doing so,” he corrected her. “Jumping off your dragon like that, that was careless.”

She snorted. “Please tell me you see the irony of what you just said,” she said flatly.

“Yeah, well, I have my armour with my flight suit on when I’m doing so,” came his agitated answer. “But you didn’t. You don’t even have one. Why did you just jump like that? You could have–” he broke off and swallowed. When he continued, his voice was nothing but a weak tremble. “You could have died. I can’t lose you, Astrid. Not like this, not ever. I can’t imagine a world without you, remember?” She did remember, and it made her own agitation melt away in an instant.

Instead of yelling at him, as she’d felt like only moments before, she awkwardly turned around to look at him. “And do you remember that it’s the same for me?” she asked softly. “You were falling into your death. And I can’t live without you, Hiccup. I can’t. Together, or not at all.”

Hiccup stared at her for a moment, then took a shaky breath and leaned his forehead against hers. “You scared me,” he whispered. He sounded so vulnerable.

“I’m sorry,” she breathed back. She reached up to place her hand on his cheek. “I promise to be more careful the next time, if you promise the same.”

Astrid saw how his lips twitched into an involuntary smile. “I promise.”

For a few minutes, they were quiet. Occasionally, their lips met in light reassuring kisses, but mostly, they simply basked in their closeness. It took a while until either of them had gathered enough courage to ask the question that occupied both their minds.

“Do you think…” Hiccup finally asked hesitantly, lightly caressing her belly. “Everything’s all right?”

Astrid closed her eyes and swallowed. She wished she could give him a more satisfying answer. “I don’t know,” she whispered weakly. “I… don’t feel any different. But nothing has changed, really. We’ll still have to wait to know for sure.” He nodded mutely, but she felt how he grew tense at the mere idea they could have lost the child they didn’t even were sure of.

Casting about for something to distract them both, she caught up on something he’d said earlier. It was something she’d contemplated before already, but now seemed a good opportunity to bring it up.

“But as for your armour,” she began, but Hiccup interrupted her directly.

“I’m not going to discard of it, if that’s where you’re going,” he said determinedly. “It saved me way too many times, the flight suit especially. I rather wish you’d let me make one for you, too. That would–”

“Actually,” she interrupted him with an amused smirk. “That’s where I was going.” Her smirk widened into an honest grin when she saw Hiccup’s confusion.

“Excuse me?”

“I want armour, like yours. Well, no, not exactly like yours, but… Well, as it seems, we’re going to have a lot more fighting to do in the near future. And I just feel like… I don’t know, like my normal battle outfit isn’t doing it anymore. The hood is warm, but the wind keeps catching in it, and it really gets cold sometimes. I don’t like the cold, have I ever mentioned that?”

“I think that might have come up that one time on Glacier Island,” he said teasingly, rubbing her bare arms to keep the cold at bay. He looked far more relaxed now, his eyes expectantly on her, so she continued.

“I want something more practical, more… more streamlined. Something that doesn’t get caught in the wind all the time. I’m not sure whether I really want a flight suit, but,” she trailed off when she remembered Snotlout’s burn from earlier. “Oh, and maybe even something fireproof. I mean, I’m not riding a Nightmare, but being around dragons all the time also means the occasional burn, especially in the heat of a fight.”

Hiccup’s expression had turned into a cheeky smirk by now. “Is that all?” he asked, eyebrows raised. “Practical, warm, fireproof. And I bet it’s supposed to also look splendidly? Reflect your personality and underline your badassness?”

“Well...” she made hesitantly. She surely wouldn’t say no to all that, but somehow, he seemed to be in a far too good mood all of a sudden. As if he wasn’t taking her seriously, was making fun of her. But before she could say any more, he burst out laughing.

“Oh, Astrid, I love you. Did I ever tell you that?” He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek and then nuzzled her neck until she giggled, too.

“Hiccup, what–”

He didn’t let her finish. Instead, he leaned down to kiss her, still occasionally laughing against her lips. When he retreated, he had that lopsided smile on his face that she loved so much. “Astrid, I was just waiting for you to agree to wear such an armour. I’ve been thinking about it, you know? Especially the fireproof-part. If we reinforce the leather with discarded dragon scales and in addition treat it with Eruptodon saliva, then it should be able to protect us from any burns, at least for a while. I already made plans for armour like this for you. Actually, not just for you, but for everyone else, too. You’re right, these fights are becoming more dangerous, and we need to be prepared for that. I–” he paused, his hand dropping to her belly once more, and a softer smile spread across his face. “We just need to find a way to make it fit for as long as you want or can fly, but that should be manageable.”

Astrid gaped at him, dumbfounded. But, of course, she shouldn’t be surprised. This was Hiccup, after all. With a small smile, she remembered what he’d said on that day all those years ago, the day she considered to be one of the most important of her life.

“You’re right, you’re right. I-I’m through with the lies. I-I’ve been making… outfits! So, you got me. It’s time everyone knew.”

Instead of an answer, which he clearly seemed to expect, she pulled him down into a deep kiss, fully intending on robbing him of his senses for the moment. When they parted again, gasping, he blinked a few times, dazed, and then threw her a bemused look. “And… what was that for?”

Astrid grinned, and replied, “That was for always staying who you are.”

 . o O o .

So, that was that :o) I want to point out that I had already planned for this story to end on a conversation about armour for Astrid when the pictures of HTTYD3 were released. So I freaked out a bit when I saw them all in dragon armour and simply had to implement the more detailed conversation here.