Hiccup's POV

My mother stood outside the door of our house, arms crossed with a smile on her face as Toothless and I touched down.

I slid off the dragon, patting his neck as my mother took a step closer to the both of us.

"So, how was your trip?" She asked me, the small smile from before still plastered on her face.

"It was good, I got to hang out with my friends, visit our old base... yeah, it was good" I crossed my arms as Toothless waddled away towards Cloudjumper's stable.

"I'm happy to hear that" Her smile grew a little wider. "Hiccup, we need to talk"

I furrowed my brows at her. "Talk? Why? What is it? Did something happen?"

Mom shrugged, her gaze shifting to her feet as she rocked back and forth on her heels. "Yes and no?"

"Huh?" I asked in confusion, not understanding a word she was saying.

"Hiccup, I'm moving out!" Her smile stretched even further as her eyes lit up.

I blinked blankly at her, not being able to process the information I had just been handed. "W-What? You can't leave me! I need you, I need my mother!"

Her wide grin faltered, the small smile from before returning as she stroked my cheek. "Hiccup, son, you're 21 now, AND the Chief! It wouldn't have been long before you kicked me out anyway, seeing as your relationship with Astrid is only growing stronger and stronger with each passing day"

I felt blood rush to my cheeks at the thought of what my mother suggested. "You don't think it's too soon for that? We haven't been together that long..."

"You remind me so much of your father at your age. He was beyond terrified of the thought of getting married. Sure, he could definitely do with the benefits that come with, but he simply wasn't ready for that big of a commitment" She gave my shoulder a light squeeze.

"He was afraid of commitment?" I asked her, still processing all the new information my mother had given me.

"Yes, but after a while, he realized that there was nothing to be afraid of! He loved me, and I loved him and that was the only thing that mattered"

"Hm... thanks for telling me this mom" I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into a hug.

"No problem, son" We stood there in silence for a moment, before my mother suddenly pulled away.

"Oh, and before I forget..." She dug around in her pocket before pulling up a letter with a string neatly tied around it. "This came after you left"

My mother shot me one last smile before whistling for Cloudjumper and disappearing in between the clouds.

I glanced down at the letter in my hand before opening it.

"Oh my Thor"

***

I stood at my table, watching all the citizens of Berk rushing into the Meade Hall as they wondered what this so called 'emergency' of mine was.

As always, some of the last people to arrive were my friends and Astrid. By the looks of it, it seemed as if they had just returned from their excursion to Dragons Edge.

The gang walked over to Eret and my mother, all eagerly waiting to hear what I was going to say.

I glanced over at Toothless, who was sitting rather regally beside me, before turning my gaze towards my people.

"I'm terribly sorry to bring you here at this hour, but what I'm about to say is more crucial than Sven's sheep eating your apples"

Nobody made a sound as they all had their gazes locked onto me, eager to hear what I was going to say next.

"Today, I received a letter from Drago's general, Scauld The Skull Masher"

Small gasps erupted from all corners of the hall as low mumbling filled the room.

"I thought he said that he was all alone, that he did everything himself!" A Viking from the far end of the room yelled.

"Most people in power have a second in command, so I suppose that's what Scauld must be. But nonetheless, we can't just wait around for him to come destroy our village, we have to prepare ourselves for war! Or at least a raging battle"

The mumbling grew louder as a good amount of nods could be seen throughout the room.

"I shall begin my planning by contacting my friends from Chief training, I suggest you all go home for now. Thank you for coming"

The Hall emptied quickly as people rushed home to spend time with their loved ones. I took a deep breath as I sank down into my chair.

Toothless let out a sad coo as he watched me, as if he knew how much stress I was under. The dragon placed his head in my lap as I let my hand pet his polished, dark scales.

Great, now I only had about a hundred letters to write.

Astrid's POV

I glanced up at the Meade Hall, my mind recalling what Hiccup had said earlier.

I had never seen him leave the Meade Hall, so there was a possibility that he was still there, and in desperate need of some comfort.

I turned on my heel and marched back towards the Meade Hall, taking in the calm of the village before it would be replaced with the sounds of clashing blades and battle cries.

I was about to push open the doors to the Meade Hall when I noticed something laying at my feet.

It was a piece of parchment.

I furrowed my brows as I picked it up and unfolded it.

^^^
Hey Hiccup,

Thanks for the good time we had yesterday, I really enjoyed it!
Would love to do it again!

XXX
Your Bex
^^^

I felt my blood boiling in my veins.

I had so many questions, who was 'Bex'? What did they do yesterday? And why was it addressed to Hiccup?

I threw open the doors to the Meade Hall, expecting to see Hiccup there, in his chair, but he was nowhere to be found.

I could feel the heat radiating off my skin as I crunched the parchment in my fist and stomped down the stairs to Hiccup's house.

I pounded my fist on his door so hard I feared I would knock it straight of it's hinges, but fortunately for me, that didn't happen.

A few moments later, the door swung open to reveal a rather confused looking Hiccup.

"Astrid? Can I ask why you're pounding at my door?" He scanned the door, looking for any damages I may have made.

"Why I'm pounding at your door? WHY I'M POUNDING AT YOUR DOOR? Why don't you ask your lovely little 'Bex'!?" I roared at him, a little surprised at how angry I really was.

"Bex? Astrid, What are you talking about?" His brows drew so close together they almost united into one.

I could practically feel the steam shooting out my ears. "Wow, you're really going to act as if you're clueless to all of this, huh?"

"That's because I AM clueless! What is going on with you?" Hiccup reached out for my hand but I quickly yanked it away.

"Out of ALL THE PEOPLE I could've dated, I'd never imagine that you'd be the one to do something like this and so blatantly deny it!" I felt my eyes burning as I screamed at him.

"Astrid—"

"NO! I don't want to hear any of your excuses, Hiccup! And the fact that you've been lying to me this whole time..."

"What are you going on about? My gods, Astrid, this is ridiculous!" He said, raising his voice.

"Gods, I regret EVERYTHING! Every kiss, every touch, every conversation!" I took a deep breath as I placed one hand on my hip and the other on my forehead. "I really thought you were the one, I thought we would be together until the bitter end, but I was wrong, so wrong!"

"Astrid, What are you trying to—"

"Hiccup, I'm breaking up with you. Gods, I can't even look at you right now" I told him as tears formed along my waterline, rendering my vision blurry.

I turned on my heel and walked away. Oh Thor, how could he do this to me?

Ruffnut's POV

"Hiccup, I'm breaking up with you. Gods, I can't even look at you right now" Astrid said with an ice cold glare before she turned on her heel and marched away.

For a second, Hiccup just stood there, as if he was waiting for her to come running back, but as soon as he figured she wouldn't return, he fell to his knees, staring blankly ahead of himself.

A sad coo came from inside the house, but Hiccup didn't give any clue to if he had heard it or not.

The Night Fury came up beside his best friend, nudging him with his head but not gaining any response.

He let out another coo before forcing Hiccup inside, dragging him with by his shirt.

"I think we chose the right night to watch the stars from Hiccup's roof" Snotlout remarked as soon as the door to the Haddock house had been closed.

"Oh, shut up, Snotlout" I hissed at him as I smacked him hard on the arm.

I glanced over at my brother, who seemed completely unfazed by what had just happened. I shook my head.

I got up from my sitting position and climbed atop the neck of Barf. "Get up, Tuff, we're going to Astrid's"