Astrid grabbed her keys and purse from the table next to the door. She caught sight of her reflection in the mirror by the foyer and she stopped to check her makeup and hair. When she realized what she was doing, she forced herself to stop and relax.

"It's just dinner," Astrid mumbled. "Dinner with his mother and father." She didn't know why she was freaking out so much. This was just a nice dinner that Hiccup had invited her to. She just needed to relax.

"Dinner with who?"

Astrid jumped and whipped around to face her mother. "I'm just going to dinner at a friend's house tonight. I knew him in high school."

"Oh really?" Alexa immediately picked up on Astrid's use of the word 'him.' "I guess that explains the baking that you were doing earlier today. And who is this boy you're having dinner with?"

Astrid sighed. Yes, it was true that she had baked some banana bread. She couldn't very well show up at the dinner empty-handed. And she was an excellent baker, so she decided to put her skills to good use.

"It's Hiccup Haddock, mom," Astrid explained.

"Oh!" Alexa grinned. "Hiccup Haddock is such a nice boy, princess. It will be good for you to spend some time with him."

"Mom, Hiccup is hardly a boy," Astrid said without thinking. She slung her purse over her shoulder and picked up the platter that had the banana bread on it. It wasn't until she saw the look on her mother's face that she realized what she had let slip.

"Well, I can see that you've certainly realized it," she muttered. When Astrid opened her mouth, Alexa held her hands out. "I'm glad that you're going out and having fun, sweetheart. Have a good night and tell that boy and his parents that I said hello."

"I'll make sure to do that, Mom." Astrid kissed her cheek before she left the house and went out to her car. Alexa watched her go with a small smile on his face. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone as she dialed the number for her husband's room.

"Guess what?" Alexa said as soon as Evan answered. "Our little girl has met a boy…"

Alexa had a feeling that his little girl's world was about to be turned upside down… in the best way possible.


When Hiccup answered the door, he was wearing a frilly apron.

Astrid burst into laughter and Hiccup's cheeks turned bright red. "What?" he demanded even though he knew exactly what she was laughing at. He crossed his arms over his chest and stood taller, as if that would take away from the feminine apron. While it was his fault that he forgot to bring his, it wasn't his fault that it had been the only apron his mother owned.

"I like the apron," Astrid said as she gestured to it. "It really brings your whole outfit together."

"Haha," Hiccup grumbled as he stepped aside to allow Astrid in. Even so, he couldn't help the happy feeling that spread in his chest at how easily he was able to go back and forth with Astrid. They had a repartee that was easy and natural.

She handed him the wrapped platter of sliced banana bread with a smile. "This is for you and your family," she said with a smile.

"Thanks, Astrid," Hiccup said as he took it from her. His fingers brushed against hers as she passed the platter off, and she felt her cheeks heat up. "You didn't have to do that."

"Of course I did. I didn't mind it."

Hiccup peeked under the tin foil to see it was and grinned when he caught a whiff of the freshly baked treat. "Banana bread?" Hiccup said. "I love this stuff!"

She smiled at his enthusiasm. "I consider myself an amateur baker. This banana bread is a recipe that my papa taught me." As soon as the words left Astrid's mouth, her chest tightened. She forced the smile to remain on her lips.

Hiccup immediately noticed her change in demeanor, and his brow furrowed in concern. Remembering how their conversation at the bar yesterday went, however, he didn't bring any attention to it.

"Well, it looks great." With a smile, Hiccup gently skimmed his hand on Astrid's lower back and guided her towards the kitchen. He hadn't even realized that he had done it, but she certainly had. A shiver ran up her spine at the light, gentle touch, and she bit her lip. What was Hiccup Haddock doing to her?

"Mom, Astrid is here!" Hiccup called. He heard something crash in the kitchen and he winced. When Astrid gave him a questioning look, he sighed. "My mom was really excited when she heard that I invited you over for dinner," he explained sheepishly.

Astrid cheeks turned pink again as they walked into the kitchen. Something smelled absolutely delicious and Astrid's stomach growled. Valka was checking something in the stove, and she stood and turned to greet Astrid with a big smile on her face.

"Astrid! Come in! We're so glad that you could join us for dinner," Valka said.

"Mom," Hiccup muttered under his breath. He noticed her checking the oven yet again. "I told you it was fine," he added.

"I know, Hic," Valka said. The childhood nickname caused Hiccup to groan and slap a hand over his face while Astrid giggled. "I just wanted to make sure that it was looking okay." Turning to Astrid, Valka explained, "He cooked dinner for us tonight.

Astrid turned to Hiccup and found him rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at the floor. "You cook?" she asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I learned when I first started working at McLaren's. I run the kitchen, too, so it seemed like a good idea to learn."

"Well, it smells amazing in here," she praised. She walked over to the stove to inspect the other pots and skillets. "What else did you make?"

"I just finished grilling some steaks in the back," He said. "But I also did some skillet macaroni and cheese and some spinach."

Valka shook her head as an amused smile formed on her lips. "Sometimes, I can't believe that he eats like this now. It used to be all Cheetos and extra-cheesy pizza."

"I like food," Hiccup grumbled. Even though McLaren's served mainly bar food, he had spent the past five or so years messing around with the menu and adding some new things to it. The bar did fairly well and often had people in it, and they responded well to Hiccup's dishes.

Trying to distract his mother for bragging (which was his code word for embarrassing him) about him some more, Hiccup slid the platter that Astrid had brought onto the counter. "Astrid brought some banana bread for us. It smells great."

"That's fantastic!" Valka exclaimed. She not-so-discreetly nudged Hiccup, and he had to stop himself from face-palming again. "And it looks delicious. Now, I'm going to find Stoick and tell him that dinner's almost ready. He must be in the back, watching the game." Valka patted Hiccup's shoulder before she left the kitchen.

Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck again before he moved towards the stove. He picked up a wooden spoon and stirred up the skillet macaroni, just to make sure that it was setting well. A small, satisfied smile formed on his lips and he turned back to face Astrid.

"Sorry about my mom," he said. "She's a little over the top sometimes."

She smiled. "She seems wonderful." She had two meddling fathers, so she could relate. At the thought of her dad, and how he wouldn't be around to meddle in her life much longer, Astrid's shoulders slumped as her features clouded over.

Hiccup watched her as he once again wondered if he should say something. He had always been attuned to people's emotions, and, being a bartender, he was also pretty good at reading people.

"Astrid?" Hiccup asked gently. She looked up at him, her eyes widening slightly at it. He took a step closer to her. "Are you okay?"

She looked into his warm, comforting green eyes. Her whole situation almost spilled from her lips, but she held it back at the last moment. Instead, she just sighed and closed her eyes for a brief moment. When she opened them again, she forced a smile onto her lips.

"I'm fine," she said softly.

Hicup stared into her eyes. He knew that she wasn't telling the truth, but the last thing he wanted to do was press her for information that she wasn't willing to share. He didn't really know Astrid Hofferson, but he found that he really wanted to. Somehow, he knew that she was going to change things for him.

"Okay," he said. He dipped the wooden spoon into the skillet pasta again and held it out, blowing on it lightly to cool it off. "Would you like to taste it?"

Finally, Astrid cracked a genuine smile. "Sure, I would love to try some."

Hiccup moved towards her, the spoon held aloft in his hand. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to go about this. It wasn't like he knew her well enough to feed it to her, but Astrid wasn't moving to take the spoon from him either. He slowly lifted it towards her, and Astrid brought her small hand up to cover his on the utensil as she ate the sample.

Astrid 's eyes drifted shut as she chewed. "Mmm, Hiccup," she muttered. She opened her eyes again and beamed at him. "That's amazing!"

"Really?" He asked. He knew that he was a good cook, but he didn't think he had ever seen someone enjoy his food so thoroughly before.

Astrid nodded her head vigorously. "The taste and consistency is perfect. I had no idea that macaroni and cheese could be so flavorful! You have to tell me what you did to it."

"Ah." Hiccup tossed a dish rag over his shoulder as he peeked in the oven to check on the casserole. Satisfied that it was done, he pulled it out and set it on a cooling rack. "I can't tell you all of my secrets, My Lady. I don't want to give all the good stuff away."

"Sure, Hiccup," Astrid teased. She watched him move confidently and easily around the kitchen before she said, "Do you need any help?"

"It's okay, Astrid," He said. "I don't expect you to help—"

"Hey," She interrupted. "Let me help."

He smiled at her before he relented. "If you really want to, I guess you can get the plates and set the table up."

"I'm glad to help," Astrid said. Following Hiccup's directions, she found the placemats, place, and utensils. She proceeded to set it, and she finished up just as Valka entered the dining room with her husband.

"Astrid, I'd like you to meet Stoick ," Valka said. She stepped aside and allowed Hiccup to place all of the dishes on the table. She looked so proud of her son as he finished setting everything down and she smiled when Hiccup pulled Astrid's chair out for her.

"We've met before," Stoick said. He smiled in greeting at Astrid, and she returned it. "You know my nephew Snotlout, don't you? You graduated in the same year?"

Astrid opened her mouth to respond, but she stopped when she noticed the look on Hiccup's face. He glared darkly down at his plate, and his jaw was clenched so hard that a vein was popping. Astrid gave him a worried look, but Hiccup was still staring down at his plate.

"We talked a few times during high school," Astrid answered hesitantly. "But we didn't know each other too well." Despite the fact that Astrid and Snotlout generally ran in the same circle during high school, they hadn't really been friends. It wasn't until their senior year that they had started to talk, and by then it had been too late. They graduated, and she went off to New York.

Valka quickly changed the subject, turning to ask Astrid about her life in New York and what her career was like on TV. As she talked, Astrid watched Hiccup. She noticed how he slowly relaxed and became genuinely interested in what she was saying.

After dinner (which was absolutely delicious—Astrid was very impressed with Hiccup's cooking abilities), she found herself with him in the kitchen as they cleaned the dishes. The silence was comfortable and easy between them. Hiccup would wash the dishes and hand them to Astrid so that she could dry them.

Even though Astrid had a feeling that she shouldn't ask, she was too curious not to. She had to know why Hiccup had been so angry at the mention of Snotlout. The question slipped out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

"Are you alright?" Astrid do the same for him.

Hiccup glanced at her in surprise before he smiled. "I'm fine, Astrid. Why do you ask?"

"You just seemed a little… tense at dinner. When we first starting eating, really." As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Hiccup's knuckles turn white, he was gripping the plate he had been washing so hard. "I'm sorry," she quickly said. "Maybe I shouldn't have asked—"

"It's fine," Hiccup said quietly. "Don't worry about it."

The subject was dropped then, and Astrid let it go. If he wasn't going to push her, than she wasn't going to push him. Astrid reached over and squeezed Hiccup's forearm lightly. He relaxed fully under her touch and smiled at her again. She returned his smile and tried to ignore the fluttering in her stomach.