Astrid's mother konked out as soon as the plane was stable in the air. Astrid and Hiccup kept themselves busy by going through the planes movies. After a debate on what to watch, they finally settled on an action movie. Unfortunately for Astrid, her movie began a few seconds after Hiccup's. So every time a character died a gruesome death, she would hear "Dang!" or "Catastrophe!" when her movie had even shown the scene. A few minutes of this went on before Astrid just put her head on Hiccup's shoulder to watch his movie. Hiccup's smile of joy only increased when he felt her leaning against him.

Astrid lost interest in the movie shortly after that. When the movie finished Hiccup leaned his head on top of Astrid's. Astrid couldn't tell how long they stayed like that until Hiccup broke her out of her trance.

"Will you read some poetry?" Hiccup asked. Astrid's face fell for some reason when she realized she didn't have her book with her.

"I don't have my poetry book." She replied sadly.

"Do you have anything memorized?" Astrid shook her head. She decided to change the subject.

"Have you ever heard that Amsterdam is the city of sin?" Astrid asked. Hiccup's smile debilitated a little bit.

"Yes, I have heard that, but it's not true. Amsterdam is the city of freedom. The only problem is in freedom, most people find sin."

…..

Getting off the plane was nothing but a blur. She and Hiccup must have fallen asleep sometime after their conversation because the next thing she was aware of was Hiccup gently moving his should to wake her.

The jetlag had done it's job on Astrid, she couldn't even remember getting off the plane. She could vaguely recall getting into a taxi but after that she just collapsed on a bed in a hotel room. Her mother was saying she was going to go on a walk in the park and Astrid just nodded as her mother tucked her into bed like she always did, especially since she was thirteen…

….

Hours later, Astrid was beginning to stir from her coma like sleep. She lifted her head and saw her mother sitting in a chair.

"I thought you were going to the park." Astrid stated this more like an interrogation than a confused question.

"Oh I skipped it. But I read all about it in the guidebook." Her mother chirped. Astrid's fist clenched under the sheets.

"Mom, you didn't have to stay here." Astrid said barely keeping her teeth from clenching.

"I know but I wanted to." Her mother said and Astrid didn't reply.

"You and Hiccup have dinner reservations tonight. It was set up by Van Houten's assistant. According to the guidebook, it's very fancy, and romantic. Hiccup already got the directions. You should probably get dressed."

Astrid reached into her suitcase and pulled out a blue sundress. It was made on flimsy material and had faint floral printing on it and was the girliest item of clothing that she owned. And because she liked being shorter than Hiccup, who was 5 11", Astrid put on flats that kept her at 5 7".

There was a knock at the door. The door lacked a peep hole and Astrid wasn't taking any chances. She grabbed the thick guidebook that was sitting on the nightstand.

"Who is it?" Astrid asked creeping behind the door.

"It's me. Please don't hurt me." Hiccup replied. Astrid pulled the door open. Hiccup wore a black suit over a light blue dress shirt with a dark blue tie. His signature cigarette was hanging from the side of his mouth. "Astrid Skye, you look gorgeous. More than usual that is."

"I…" Astrid stuttered. She cursed herself for not knowing how to respond to his compliment. After flushing her face to a bright red, she managed out "You look good too."

"Thank you, milady." Hiccup said offering her his arm. "Shall we go explore the city of freedom and or sin?"

"We shall" Astrid answered taking his arm.

….

Tiny little seeds were blowing off elm trees along the canals. The seeds looked like little rose petals and they danced in the wind like confetti like a snowstorm in spring. It was everywhere. Pieces of it landed on Astrid's eyelashes and she batted her eyes to flick them off.

Hiccup opened the door for Astrid when they arrived at their designated restaurant, Oranje.

"After you," he said extending his hand inside. Astrid smiled and walked through the doorway, she took his hand giving it an affectionate squeeze. She held onto it and led him inside.

The hostess looked up and smiled brightly when she saw them hand in hand.

"Mr. and Mrs. Haddock?"

"I guess?" Astrid queried.

"Follow me, I'll show you your table." The restaurant was beautiful. The lighting was dim but not so much that you could barely see someone. There were live trees that were covered in lights that twinkled. There were large windows at the far wall so you could look out and see the canal and the seeds snowing down.

There was a white- tableclothed table for two set up by a window. Hiccup pulled a seat back for Astrid and helped her scooch back in before taking a seat himself.

"The champagne is our gift," the waitress smiled and walked away. Hiccup took his glass of champagne and raised it. Astrid took hers.

"Okay," he said.

"Okay," Astrid said and they clinked their glasses. Astrid felt the sweet, crisp, delicious bubbles dance on her tongue for the first time. Astrid held back a laugh when she saw Hiccup's astonished expression.

"That's amazing." He said. A waiter arrived with a pen and notebook to take their orders.

"Do you know," he said in an authentic accent "what Dom Perignon said when he invented champagne?" Astrid and Hiccup shook their heads. "'Come quickly, I am tasting the stars!'"

"Something tells me, we're gonna need a little more of this," Hiccup said smiling.

"We have bottled all the stars this evening for you, my young friends."

….

"Dragon carrot risotto," the waitress said setting two plates in front of Astrid and Hiccup. Astrid had never had any kind of risotto before, but she wasn't about to turn down any food anywhere in Europe. Astrid chewed her first bite and closed her eyes and sighed in silence pleasure.

"I want this dragon carrot risotto to become a person, so I can take it to Vegas and marry it." Hiccup declared. Astrid laughed. After a moment she spoke.

"Thank you for letting me hijack your wish."

"Thank you for wearing that dress which is just, it's- I mean-like…woah," He stuttered out. Astrid shook her head thinking about being a grenade again but pushed the thought away. Hiccup knew cancer, he knew what he was doing…right?

"Thank you, I like your suit. Is it your…"

"Funeral suit? No, it's not. That one isn't nearly as nice as this one. When I first found out I was sick, I was told that I had an 85% chance of cure. Pretty goods odds, but I couldn't stop thinking about that 15%. I knew the next six months were going to be hell and I was going to lose my leg and there was still that small 15% chance that it couldn't work."

Astrid nodded. She couldn't understand that part of his situation. Her condition was always terminal, her treatment was about extending her life, not curing her for good. The final chapter of her story was written upon diagnosis. But Hiccup lived with uncertainty.

"Anyway, I wanted to be ready for that 15%. I walked to the cemetery, picked out a spot with my dad, and had everything planned out for a funeral. Then right before the surgery I asked my parents if I could by a really nice suit, just in case. As you can see, I didn't need it, I've never really had an occasion to wear it until tonight."

"So it's your death suit," Astrid concluded.

"That is correct, don't you have a death outfit?"

"I do but I don't wear it on dates,"

"So this is a date then?" Hiccup smiled crookedly and raised his eyebrows up and down.

"Don't push it, Haddock" Astrid warned pointing at him.

"Whatever you say, Mrs. Haddock." Hiccup laughed. He was lucky he was at the other side of the table, or Astrid would have pounded him.

….

The sun was still out even though it was past eight thirty. Even though they both were beyond full, the dessert was too good to not eat.

"Do you believe in afterlife?" Hiccup questioned.

"That was an unprecedented question…no." Astrid answered but revised a moment later. "Well, maybe I don't want to go as far as saying no. What about you?"

"Absolutely," Hiccup responded firmly without hesitation. "I don't think it is a place where houses are made of clouds and you can eat them with spoons or ride unicorns all day. Although being able to ride a dragon would be nice. But yes, I believe there is something waiting."

"Really?" Astrid didn't hide the surprise in her voice. Honestly, she'd considered belief in heaven an intellectual disengagement. But Hiccup was smart.

"I don't really believe in becoming ghost to haunt the living or comfort them either, I think something becomes of us."

"But you still fear oblivion."

"I fear earthly oblivion. I'm not trying to sound like my parents, but I think humans have souls. The oblivion I fear is the kind that I won't be able to give anything in exchange for my life. Like I won't get to live a life in service of the greater good or die a death in service of the greater good. I'm afraid of not getting a life or death that mean anything."

"Not all lives…" Astrid whispered. "Need to be extraordinary to be remembered."

Hiccup's eyes widened at some form of enlightenment or realization. He stayed like this for the longest time, just looking into her blue eyes. Then he broke the silence.

"I'm in love with you." Hiccup declared with more certainty she had heard him speak with ever since she met him.

"Hiccup…" Astrid said but couldn't finish.

"You heard me, I am in love with you. I'm am not fond of the business of denying myself simple pleasures such as saying true things. And I know that love is just a shout into the void. And that oblivion is inevitable, and we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been reduced to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you."

"Hiccup…" Astrid said again, she couldn't think of anything else to say. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes as some kind of painful joy was burning inside her. Astrid looked up to the ceiling to wipe away her tears.

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders and tossed his hands into the air. "Not sorry,' and Astrid knew he meant it.