They'd never been afraid to show their love for one another. Whether they went out with friends or alone, it was rare seeing them not holding hands or smiling at each other.

Some people always joked about them having to get a room when a kiss got ever so slightly heated. Others said it was cute because they'd made it for so long and still felt so much love.

Once they agreed on finally starting to travel the world at the age of 22, they had taken up a "tradition" to take a picture of them kissing in every country they went to. This had led to some fame after The New York Times, The Guardian and other international companies had made articles about them.

Often, the headlines read, "Traveling couple take picture in every destination," which, - after that - had led to people walking up to them in random cities and countries to ask if they were the real traveling couple and if they could take pictures with them.

More times than not, they agreed, enjoying that they could make people happy in that way.

"You ready?" Hiccup asked, fiddling with his Nikon camera to adjust the settings. "Always am," Astrid replied, her eyes scanning over his focused, half-squinting face in the bright sun.

He had a noticeable tan from all the exposure and his freckles had multiplied since they first started traveling almost a year ago.

"Ah, finally," Hiccup exclaimed with a small jump, happy to have finally adjusted the camera. Raising his hand, he held the camera in front of them before he looked at Astrid. "This is the last time before we go home," He said, his voice just above a whisper. "I know. Let's make this memorable," She said before kissing him properly.

They'd been to over 141 countries, - skipping every state in Africa to visit Cape Town and go for a boat ride - and has decided to visit the City Of Love last before heading home.

Taking a picture on Champ de Mars in front of Tour Eiffel was the last destination on their list and they wanted to make it memorable forever.

Astrid's 23rd birthday was coming up in less than a day and Hiccup wanted to make her feel like the special young woman she was for agreeing on going on this crazy adventure with him.

Pulling away, Hiccup smiled at her with his goofy, lopsided smile before pecking her cheek and flipping the camera to look at the pictures.

"These are perfect," He said and turned the camera to Astrid. She put her hand on her forehead to block out the sun and looked at the pictures. "Yeah. They really are."

They spent the rest of that day walking the streets of Paris, casually joining a street dance even though they didn't know the steps, walking into a cafeteria and eating croissants and then booking themselves into a hotel closer to the airport two days before departing.

Once Astrid's birthday came up, Hiccup made the restaurant cooks and waitresses come with dessert and sing to her to embarrass her. He had made sure to make this day as memorable as possible before they went home to their boring apartment in Delaware.

•••

"I need a break. There's just a lot going on right now and I need a break from reality," Hiccup said over the phone, his voice sounding tired and dull.

Astrid's heart skipped a beat before dropping.

A month or so after they had come home, Hiccup had went on a six hour drive to meet his parents for two days. When those two days had passed, Astrid had called him to ask when he'd get home and he had replied with that.

"Talk to me about it. I'm your girlfriend for many reasons, one of them being to listen to you when you need to talk," She replied, hoping she could make him talk about the things that were bothering him.

"Yeah," He replied before the call went silent for a while.

Astrid waited for a minute or two and just as she was about to speak up, Hiccup said, "I just need a break from everything. I'll get back to you in a few weeks. Love you," before the call ended.

Astrid was left there, looking at the screen. "Do you really?" She asked her phone.

Hiccup had never ever said just, "Love you," with such a monotone voice. He had always been a passionate and loving person, always saying, "I love you so much," or, "No matter how much you mother me around, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Her heart dropped further than she thought was possible and realized that after an 8 year relationship, maybe it was starting to come to an end.

God, she hoped not but what if?

•••

Curled up on the couch in front of the TV a rainy evening, laptop in lap, she scrolled through the internet when a picture caught her eyes.

Hiccup and her.

Clicking on it, she came to an article talking about them and calling them, "The Famous Traveling Couple." Reading though it, different scenes popped up in her head from the journeys while she read and she had to stop for a second when getting dizzy.

There was a video with only Hiccup in it and she wondered when he'd recorded that. Clicking on it with slight hesitation, she raised the volume on her laptop and watched it.

The video started with Hiccup sitting down on a chair in their Paris hotel room while he looked into the camera.

"To Astrid: You are the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me and I'm so glad we could goon their journey together. It's definitely been an amazing experience that I wouldn't want to share with any other other than you. You make my life hundred times brighter when you smile and I can't believe you agreed to be with a doofus like me. Happy eight year anniversary and happy twenty-third birthday, M'lady. I love you more than there are words in every book in the world."

A tear rolled down her cheek when the video finished and she wondered why she had never seen that anywhere, - they had a joined Instagram account after all.

Astrid read the last few sentences before she closed her laptop and looked at the TV, Grey's Anatomy running on it.

She looked down at her phone beside and reached over with a shaky hand, grabbing it. She held down the home button and asked Siri if she could call Hiccup.

A few signals went through the speaker before Hiccup picked it up.

"Yeah?" He asked, voice tired and dull just like the last time she had heard it.

Astrid didn't say anything for a few seconds, tears welling up in her eyes. She sobbed hard and threw her hand onto her mouth to choke it out, saying, "I'm sorry," and then ending the call.

Getting up from the couch, she put her phone on the coffee table in front of it and walked out of the living room.

She stopped when she heard her phone ring and decided it was best to let it be.

Hiccup probably didn't even want to talk to her. He had probably gotten over her a long time ago.

Astrid sighed and ran her hand through her hair as she walked out into the kitchen. Grabbing the ice cream box, she walked into the living room and sat down.

Turning off the still ringing phone, she wiped the tears off of her face and put on a new episode of Grey's Anatomy.

The clock must've been past 10 PM when she heard a knock on her door. Tearing her eyes away from the TV and looking towards the hallway, she hesitated but stood up.

Who would knock at this time? Was she about to get robbed or something?

Wrapping her robe around herself, Astrid made her way over to the door. Wiping her nose, she opened the door and her breath caught in her throat.

Before her stood Hiccup, looking worse than she felt. Without a second thought, she grabbed his arm and pulled him inside, wrapping her arms around him.

The door softly swung closed and Hiccup broke down in the hallway. His hands grabbed her robe on either side of her and he held her tightly, realizing how bad it had been for him to shut her out.

Astrid cried too, not yet knowing the reason for his sadness but crying from the realization of probably loosing him if she let him go.

Hiccup pulled his head back from her shoulder and looked at her, his nose half an inch away from hers. He gasped after air and softly spoke up. "I'm sorry for shutting you out."

Astrid shook her head, "You can tell me everything later. Now...just please stay," She whispered, close to crying again. "I am. I'm not going anywhere," He said released her with one of his hands.

Lifting it, he caressed her cheek before leaning in and kissing her softly. Astrid kisses back immediately, emotions overflowing her.

He pulled away and looked at her. "Come on. I'll tell you everything," He said and tugged her with him. Nodding, she followed him, hoping they could figure things out and go back to being a loving couple once again.

They did.