So my Dad has this clock and he was asking me how to go about cleaning it (you don't understand its marble). And though my degree is in restoration, it's in painting restoration which is a whole other thing. Anyway, he then decided I needed to learn how to set the time on this thing (because Dads- amirite? "You'll need to know how to do this one day" were his exact words).

I decided to jot the conversation and then decided it had been awhile since I wrote anything for this AU... So have this short lil thing.


"Hey Dad, I'm heading off." Hiccup picked his keys up off the bench. They jangled together softly as he wandered through the house looking for his father. His bag was sitting by the door ready for Astrid to come pick him up so they could head back to college.

Hiccup had had a surprisingly good semester break at home. He'd built up his expectations for an argument that had never happened. Stoick had seemed happy just to see his son and had been absolutely ecstatic, when Astrid had shown up with him.

"Dad?" Hiccup turned in a circle in the kitchen. It wasn't a huge house, there weren't that many hiding places for a man as large as Stoick.

There was a thud from the study. It was right next to the kitchen, but Hiccup had walked straight past it because the door had been closed. He pushed it open now and saw his father leaning over a small clock sitting on the bookcase.

"How does one go about cleaning marble?" Stoick ran a thick finger across the top of the clock.

"Uh, I dunno. Look, Dad, Astrid will be here in a minute and-"

"Do I need a special cloth or-" Stoick trailed off, glancing up at his son.

"I honestly have no idea." Hiccup peered around his father's shoulder.

"But you're doing that-" Stoick waved his hands around. "You know… your degree."

Hiccup felt his mouth flop open. He shook his head in disbelief. "At no point has anyone taught me how to clean marble," he told his father. "What exactly do you think I'm studying?"

A horn sounded outside. There was a skittering of nails against the tiles as Toothless bolted out to meet Astrid at the front door. There was the tell-tale squeak of the driver's side door and then a voice high-pitched in excitement greeting the large dog.

Twisting to look back through the doorway, Hiccup called out to Astrid, letting her know he'd be out soon.

"Look at this."

Hiccup turned back to his dad. "Look at what?"

"It's a clock, son."

He resisted the urge to wack himself in the forehead. "Uh, I can see that dad… but-"

Stoick beamed down at the timepiece. "This clock has been in our family for generations."

The screen door at the front of the house clattered as Astrid let herself in.

"Uh, that's… um… cool I guess." Hiccup watched his father fiddle with the back casing of the clock. Stoick leant forward again, placing his ear against the cool stone.

"You can hear the pendulum swinging."

Hiccup rolled his eyes behind his father's back. "I bet you can."

A shadow fell across the door. Astrid watched the exchange in silence. Hiccup made a motion, one more minute and she nodded. Toothless rested his head on her knee, giving her big mournful eyes until Astrid gave in and scratched him under the chin.

"Dad, I really gotta go," Hiccup tried again. "We want to be back before it gets dark."

"Wait, I've gotta teach you how to start it." Stoick was turning the clock back around.

Hiccup took a step back, edging towards the kitchen. "Right now? Dad, Astrid's waiting and-"

"This is important Hiccup."

"It's a clock," the boy pointed out. He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. He'd been in Berk for a week and his father had chosen the very last minute to bring this up. "Go on then." Hiccup waved his hand at his dad to go ahead.

He watched as his dad pointed out the different features of the clock, gesturing to the tiny swinging pendulum and showing Hiccup how to set it moving.

"You know I'll be back at the end of next semester, right?" Hiccup asked his Dad. "This couldn't have waited until then?"

"I know son." Stoick straightened, clapping his son on the shoulder. He followed Hiccup out of the study. "Astrid. Hiccup, why didn't you say she was waiting? How are you lass?"

"I dunno Dad, I only mentioned it three times," Hiccup mumbled. He knelt down beside the table to give Toothless a good scratch behind the ears.

Stoick offered them both tea. Astrid declined much more gracefully then Hiccup would have. They needed to get on the road before it got too late.

"You ready?" She asked.

Hiccup had moved to sit with splayed legs, Toothless was on his back, tail wagging on the floor between them.

"Almost." He gathered the large dog up in his arms. "You think we could sneak him back onto campus?"


If anyone wants to send prompts for this universe, go right ahead. I can't promise I'll do them, but I do enjoy playing in this sandbox, so I'll try my best.