"From now on, when we do stuff like this... I'm not Chef Hofferson the celebrity... and you're not Mr Haddock the accountant... you're Hiccup, and I'm Astrid... got it?"

12:05pm

When Hiccup got back into his apartment, he decided to spend the rest of the day trying to follow the ground rule that Astrid had established for him the night before. So he stood in his bedroom, positioning the mirror on his closet door so that he had someone to talk to.

"Okay... okay, here goes..." Hiccup took a deep breath and cleared his head as he thought about what to say. "So... hi Ch... damn! Ugh... okay... hey Astrid. You look nice this evening, Chef... FUCK! Aw, come on, man, get it together already! Be casual!"

13:15pm

Hiccup had been talking to his reflection for over an hour when he heard the PING! of his phone on the counter.

"Ugh... son of a bitch..." he groaned under his breath. Usually it was Ruffnut texting at this time, but now that he was working for them again he wasn't able to just ignore the texts like he had before. So he went to get the phone, saying "alright... what now, Ruff...?"

Inbox: 1 unread message... you have... 1... new message from... Astrid H.

"Oh..." Hiccup felt both surprised and relieved by this, exhaling lightly as he opened the message.

Hey, babe.
Filming next episode. Real slog right now. Almost makes me wanna 😫 🔫, LOL.
Thinking about you X can you meet me later?

The Hidden World, Berk Shopping Centre - 14:27pm

Hiccup sat on a small, wooden bench close to the exit of the mall, right where Astrid had told him to wait. He hadn't changed out of the suit he'd worn during the meeting with Viggo, but since Astrid was most likely coming from work as well, she probably wouldn't have minded. He waited there for about ten minutes, but there was no sign of her, and the time she'd told him to be there passed at least seven minutes ago. PING!

Inbox: 1 unread message... you have... 1... new message from... Astrid H.

With a great bundle of dread that she may have cancelled, he closed both his eyes as he got his phone out, peeking one eye open to look at the message.

OMG, Hiccup. I am so, so sorry I'm late. Got really held up.
Can you just go wait by that empty hallway right in front of the exit for me? I'm nearly there X.

"Hallway.. hallway... ah, there!" Hiccup put his phone in his pocket and went to the three revolving doors that made up the exit of the complex. The hallway mentioned in the text was placed next to the door furthest to the right, and since it was still undergoing renovation it was completely barren save for a single dull ceiling lamp at the end of it.

So he waited between the hallway and the doorway, glancing between both his phone and the door to see if he could spot her. He was just about to call her when...

"Hey!" he barely had time to react as a figure behind him suddenly grabbed his arm and yanked him into the hallway. This woman wore dark sunglasses and a long black trench coat, and had a large bundle of auburn hair that slightly covered the right side of her face.

"What the Hel are-whoa!" Hiccup was surprised when the woman grabbed him by his tie and pulled him into a kiss. He managed to free himself as he said "alright, look lady! I don't know who the fuck you even are, but I have..."

"Hey, hey! It's okay, it's okay... alright, just relax, Hiccup... ha ha... it's me..." the woman took off her sunglasses to reveal her piercing, beautifully familiar blue eyes. It took Hiccup a second to process who it was, but when a strand of blonde hair slipped out from under the auburn wig the woman was wearing, he suddenly blushed and went wide-eyed at the same time.

"Gods... Astrid?!"

"Uh-huh..." she pushed the strand of her own hair back under the wig. "What do you think? Not that bad being a master of cookery and disguise, huh?"

"Wait, wh... what's wig the with... ugh... I mean what's... ugh, why are you dressed like... like fucking Private Eye Elastigirl?!"

"I'm just going incognito..." she said mischievously as she put the sunglasses back on. "Look, it's for your sake... if the press saw us out in the middle of the day at a place like this, you'd never hear the end of it..."

"Hm... well, I guess that makes sense... wait, why didn't you do this last time, then?"

Astrid scoffed, putting her hands on her hips as if she were on an episode of Helheim's Kitchen as she said "how many paparazzi reporters do you think hang out in Hooligan Memorial Park past seven, Hiccup?"

"Uh... not many, I guess..."

"Exactly. And how many do you think hang out in busy shopping malls in the middle of the day like this?"

"I'm guessing it's a lot."

"Right again..." Astrid pecked him on the cheek, before adding "so... I figure this means you're definitely gonna have to call me just Astrid instead of Chef Hofferson now..."

"Ha ha... yeah, well, funny you should say that, because... I have been practising doing it... calling you Astrid that is..."

"Ooh, very impressive. Well, how about we just walk and talk then, as your final exam?"