This is a little depressing just to warn you all

At sunset, Astrid walked through the village trying to find her boyfriend. It's been just a few months since the battle with Drago and all the damage that it cause was almost done being cleaned up. Astrid walked to the forge but Hiccup wasn't there. She had checked his house, the stables, the arena, all of the sea stacks he goes to, and the forge. The one place she hadn't checked was the Great Hall so she walked towards it. She pushed opened the door and saw a bunch of drunk vikings including her boyfriend who was sitting on a table singing while Gobber and Snotlout  laughed. 

"I've got my ax and I've got my mace..."  He sang quietly.  Astrid shook her head and walked towards them. 

"Hey, Astrid! Want a cup?" Tuffnut asked. She declined and walked in front of Hiccup. 

"Hiccup, what are you doing here? You're the Chief! You can't be sitting around getting drunk! You need to be a good example and this isn't being one!" She scolded. Hiccup just stared at her lovingly.  "Are you even listening? Hiccup! There was a fight between two dragons and no one could stop it! Hiccup-" 

"You're pretty when you're mad. You know that?" He slurred. Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Ugh, get down from there." She said sternly. Snotlout started laughing followed by other vikings.

"Looked like someone drank too much and is in trouble!" He shouted and burst into laughter. 

"Shut up Snotlout," She glared, "You're drunk too." Hiccup tried to walk away but Astrid grabbed his arm. 

"Hiccup, who can't be like this when people need you. You're the Chief, you need to keep yourself together, for the people, for your friend, for me." She said as gently as she could but Hiccup looked at her angrily. "We're all dealing with the loss of Stoick but we need to deal with it the right way." Hiccup glared. 

"Is that what you want?" Hiccup roared and raised his hand in the air. Astrid jerked back away from him "You want me to be just fine for everyone?" He glared and looked around the Great Hall. "You all get to mourn and cry. But me? No! I have to be chief. I have to act like a chief. I'm busy all day and I never get a break! I'm up all night and all day! I have to keep it together! You all think you know how I feel?"

"Hiccup..." Astrid said but he ignored her. 

"You're not dealing with what I am! NONE OF YOU!" Everyone looked down or at him sadly. He lowered his hands. "YOU LOST A CHIEF!" His body broke out of his fighting trance and his eyes filled with tears as he dropped his cup. His body physically calmed down as tears started trickling down his cheeks. "I... lost... I lost my dad." He let out a sob then covered his mouth with his hand and threw up into a bucket and knelt in front of it. Astrid knelt next to him and wrapped an arm around his waist and put his arm around her shoulder, holding it there. Astrid stood, while supporting Hiccup, and walked out of the Great Hall. 

"Let's get you home." She said. She opened the door to his house and walked him upstairs to his room. She set him on the floor, he was leaning against the bed, and she knelt in between his legs and looked at him worriedly. 

"Hiccup? Look at me." She said quietly. He looked at her and wrapped his arms around her and cried into her shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him, right hand on his back, and left stroking the back of his head. "Have you ever sat and cried about it?" He shook his head, lifted it, and wiped his eyes and leaned back against the bed.

"No." He mumbled. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. You should mourn once in a while. And I may not have been as close but I do know what it's like to lose a family member. I never told any of my friends." Astrid said. (You won't understand unless you've read New Villagers.)

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked.

"I was two, dragon raids were still happening. My brother was 12, old enough to fight. He was killed by a dragon and I had watched because I loved my brother and admired him." I said.

"What happened?" 

"It was a big dragon and," A tear slipped down her cheek an Hiccup wiped it away, "clawed at him and he... bled to death." 

"I'm sorry for yelling at you..." Hiccup said and looked down. "All of you." Astrid placed her hand on his cheek.

"You had every right to." Astrid whispered. "At least you didn't hit me." Hiccup's head snapped up.

"I tried to hit you?!" 

"Calm down. I hit you plenty of times as kids." She said and rubbed her thumb across his cheek. He laughed, leaned into her hand, nodded, and closed his eyes.

"I love you." Hiccup said.

"I love you too."

THE END