Astrid followed Hiccup back into the house, not quite sure what to do or say in the boy's presence. They went up the stairs that led to the right and went up to the top floor.

Upon reaching the top, Astrid could see that she was on what must have been the landing of that floor. A dark brown carpet covered the floor, while two armchairs stood with their backs to a large window, revealing the entire front garden. Like the ground floor, pictures and photos adorned the walls and several wooden shelves and floor lamps.

Looking at it all, Astrid realized that just as in the hall of the house, two corridors emerged from the landing, one on the right and one on the left.

"Astrid." She could hear Hiccup was calling her. When she focused her eyes on him, she decided to take a closer look. On her way through the kitchen, Hiccup had taken the opportunity to wipe his face with a cloth, cleaning most of the stains that the boy had after having done gods know what. If Astrid thought before that he was handsome, standing closer to him now she could confirm it. The dirt stains on his face did not hide his freckles and his green eyes seemed endless. Being this close, she could see that, despite being thin, Hiccup had strong, toned muscles, the kind that you get not only by exercising but by manual and outdoor work. Her mother had been working in the Berk wilderness for years and the same thing happened to her.

Any trace of childhood had long since disappeared from Hiccup's face, leading to sharp features. Yes, there was no doubt, Hiccup Haddock had become someone very attractive.

"There is our parents' room, as well as their bathroom, some closets and my father's office," he said, pointing to the hallway to his left. "Down the other corridor are the guest rooms, your bathroom and your room, if you follow me I'll show you around."

The first thing he showed her was her bathroom, with which Astrid fell in love. There was a bathtub on one side and a shower on the other, one of those in which it seemed that the water fell like rain. She already knew she was going to spend a lot of time there after training. The walls of the bathroom were covered with light-coloured ceramic tiles, while the decorations, window and door frames and other details were made of wood. Under the sink was a cabinet with several drawers and a wooden cupboard was next to the door. The next thing he showed her was a room in front of the bathroom. On either side of the door were boxes of tools and supplies, as well as cleaning supplies that had been recently used. Astrid supposed that this was going to be her room and she noted some nervousness in her stomach, especially when Hiccup put his hand on the doorknob and looked at her with a little childish mischief..

"Ready?" When she nodded, Hiccup turned the knob and the door slowly opened inward, revealing the entire room, and boy did he surprise Astrid.

The room was quite large, filled with natural light, courtesy of the large windows that took up the entire far wall, but the best part was that it had such huge cushioned sills. Upon entering it, she could see how the floor shone, probably because someone must have polished it earlier. Another wall looked like red, panelled wood, but the handles gave it away for bespoke, built-in wardrobes. The walls, painted in a cream color, gave a very cozy feeling, especially when the light hit them, bringing out the honey undertones. After a while of staring in wonder, Astrid felt someone tap her on the shoulder and when she turned, she saw Hiccup with a shy smile. The blonde couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, people didn't usually see her like that.

"Glad to see you like the room." Hiccup walked to the windows and motioned for Astrid to come closer. As he approached and looked outside, she could see that her room faced the front garden. She could see the front door and how her mother and Stoick were helping the movers unload the truck. Part of the sea was also in view, like the part of the forest that surrounded the house.

"Dad and I made an effort to get the house ready for your arrival." Astrid looked at Hiccup when he spoke. "We've lived alone for a long time, and although we have the house in order and well maintained, we had to fix some things for when you came, some parts of the house have not been used for a long time."

Hiccup went to one end of the room and pointed to a plug. Astrid believed it was a normal plug until she saw that there was also a USB plug next to it. "We have these plugs for most of the house but not here, so I had to put a few in each stop, then when we upload your electronics, I will help you assemble it safely." Then he pointed to the part of the ceiling in the room that was near the window, where Astrid could see a hook. "Your mother told us that you train a lot and in different ways. There is a lot of training here, but for the days that you can't do it outside, I made some hooks for you so you can hang punching bags or things like that."

Astrid didn't know what to say. The blonde knew that she and her mother were going to be welcome at the Haddock house, but it seemed that both Stoick and Hiccup had gone to great lengths to leave the perfect house for them. And Astrid realized at that moment of one thing, she did not know Hiccup. Not at all.

It was true that they had known each other since they were little. There were quite a few photos from when they used to play together and it wasn't strange that people of the same age knew each other in a place like Berk. But as hard as she tried to remember, she didn't know much about Hiccup after freshman year of high school.

From that first year what she remembered was how the other students messed with him. Being the mayor's son and a nerd put a bullseye on his back, especially for bullies. But after that she remembered little else about him, and Astrid was not one of those people who liked mystery.

"Thanks Hiccup," she said with a small smile. "I think I'm going to feel very comfortable here."

Astrid saw the boy's cheeks redden a little. It was funny to see how a simple comment like that made the boy react like that.

"It was nothing—Dad and I know how much you loved your house and we wanted the house to be ready and prepared for you." Astrid had almost forgotten they'd left Hofferson House behind, and thinking about it caused a sad prick in her chest. Although it would be hard for her to admit at first, Astrid knew as much as her mother that the situation in her old house was reaching the limit. She had many years on her and a lot of repairs pending. But on the other hand, it had been her home and her mother's forever; she had grown up there and had hoped not to have to leave until she went to college. But as always happens with life, sometimes you don't get what you want, but it was nice to feel so welcome. She noticed how a cozy feeling increased within her as she got to know what would be her home during that year.

"Look, they're taking the last things out of the truck. Let's go down and as we get things up you tell us where you want to put everything." Hiccup's words brought her out of her thoughts and they both retraced their steps.

The next few hours were spent going up and down stairs, and ironing out any potential problems. No matter how much the Hofferson women would change their minds, the Haddock men were always delighted to put it all the way they wanted it. Astrid took a long time deciding how she wanted her things to be arranged and after having everything in place, she admired the work that she and the others had done.

The bed had been placed at the far left of the room. right in front of the closet, leaving a big hole in the center, perfect for when she did her physical exercises. Next to her bed was a desk, a beautiful antique dark wood desk that had long belonged to her family, and shelves with all her things and books had been placed in various parts of the room. A mahogany colored mat had been placed in the center, one of those fluffy piles that you could fall asleep on top of.

Hiccup had proven to be a handyman, had helped her set up and install her computer, all the equipment, and even hung small speakers in different parts of the room. The only thing missing was to put her things on the shelves and her clothes in the closet, but that would be the next day.

When they all went down to the kitchen, night had already taken over the sky. The night breeze was refreshing, it was almost cold, but very pleasant after going up and down things all afternoon.

When Astrid entered the kitchen she could see that Stoick and her mother were talking to someone, whom in a few seconds she recognized as one of the best friends of the mayor, the mechanic and blacksmith of the town, Gobber.

Gobber owned the garage and gas station off Berk's main exit, which was south of the city. Besides that he also had a smithy that had belonged to his family for generations, and it still worked. Astrid remembered an excursion the school had organized, to learn a little about the history of her ancestors and how they worked.

Gobber was slightly shorter than Stoick and her mother, but years of work in the shop and the smithy had given him a more muscular build. His hair and mustache were both scorched in various places and he was already missing a few teeth. Gobber cut off the conversation when he saw them in the kitchen.

"Hiccup, Astrid." He walked over and caught the two teenagers in a big bear hug. "It's great to see you guys, well now you're all under the same roof, easier for lunchtime. Come on, come on I've brought all this from Gothi's restaurant

"Hello, Gobber," the blonde replied. Between the smell of the food that was on the table and that she had not eaten in hours, she hadn't realized how hungry she was.

"Hey, Gobber," Hiccup replied. I'm going to get Toothless to give him his dinner before we have ours."

Hiccup walked to one end of the kitchen, which Astrid found strange, since there didn't seem to be anything there, other than what looked like a metal stopper. But when he reached the wall, Hiccup turned the stopper and suddenly a door opened. Astrid realized that it must have been one of those doors decorated like the wall, and the metal stop must be the handle to open it. Given where the door was, Astrid concluded that it should connect with the old building that she saw when she arrived, the one that was next to the house. Also, who was Toothless?

"Mr Haddock?" Stoick lifted one of the food bags.

"Astrid, please call me Stoick." Stoick approached her with a smile. "Can you tell me what's through there?"

"What's in the old building next door?" Stoick passed her what he took from the bag of food to put on plates.

"That used to be the garage, but for several years now it has been Hiccup's room and workshop." Astrid looked at her mother's boyfriend in surprise.

"Hiccup has a workshop?" Astrid began to wonder what else she was going to discover about Hiccup as the months go on.

"Yes, the truth is that Hiccup has always been very good with things like mechanics, science, engineering and that kind of thing." Astrid noticed that as he said that, his eyes showed a hint of sadness. "Besides, Hiccup was Gobber's apprentice since he was little." Astrid made a mental note of another piece of information about young Haddock that she didn't know.

"So a few years ago, we did the works for what is now the garage, the newer buildings you saw when you arrived, and the old one we transformed into my son's workshop and bedroom."

Astrid recognized that part of her was curious to know a little more about Hiccup. Mainly she attributed it to the fact that they were going to live together for the next year, so it was normal to want to know more about him. But that sad look that for a few seconds she had seen in Stoick made the blonde begin to think why it was. The mayor tapped her on the shoulder, snapping her out of her thoughts, and pointed to some dishes on a counter.

And as she grabbed the plates and followed Stoick to the table, he with part of the dinner and she with the plates, she couldn't help but ask another question. "And who is Toothless?"

"He's Hiccup's pet." Stoick smiled as he said this. "You will see." They put all the dinner items on the table, and by the time they sat down, Astrid saw the door open again and the next thing she saw was Hiccup walking into the kitchen followed by the biggest cat she had ever seen.

It was the size of a medium dog and its fur was completely black, reminding her a lot of the mountain cats she had seen with her mother on excursions. She noticed that part of his tail was missing and that he had green eyes, but above all, that he did not leave Hiccup's side at any time.

"There is the most beautiful cat in all Berk," Helga said. She approached him and began to pamper him a lot, something that the cat accepted without problems, which for Astrid meant that she already knew him. Hiccup watched Astrid look at his friend.

"He's mixed breed." Astrid turned to Hiccup.

"Sorry?"

"Toothles is a mixture of a stray cat with a wildcat," Hiccup explained to her as he handed her a plate of food. "A few years ago, I was in the woods and I found him in one of those illegal traps that unlicensed hunters sometimes set. That's why part of the tail is missing. It wasn't easy to get him out. Your mother helped me and we took him to a shelter. And well, I don't know why I started going to see him at the shelter day in and day out, until finally we we made friends. Soon after I adopted him."

Astrid was a bit surprised to hear that story, it seemed like the kind that you only found in the movies. But she also noticed that there was more to that story than what Hiccup was telling her. But her thoughts were cut off when she noticed something brushing against her legs. Looking down, she saw that the cat had come to stand next to her and was looking at her with great curiosity.

Carefully, Astrid reached out and began to stroke and scratch him behind the ears, which made the animal begin to purr. She was like this for a while until the blonde noticed that the others were looking at her with a smile.

"He likes you," Hiccup told her.