I was ready to do this chapter yesterday but some things came up. This part of the story I had originally thought to have up by the holidays but that didn't work out at all.

Also, the title's a Thanksgiving allusion. Ten points if you get it.

X

Chapter 19: She's My Little Honey Bun

Hiccup woke up in a great mood on Wednesday morning. If things had gone according to plan he would be waking up in Berk, in his old bed, by the thunderous sound of his father's six o'clock morning call. But, he wasn't. Instead he was enjoying sleeping in and basking in the quietness of the apartment.

He inhaled and slowly released it. The entire week was his. He didn't have to be here and this time or be there by whatever time. He didn't even have to change out of his pajamas. That was his idea of a holiday. Hell, he didn't even know what time it was and he was perfectly fine with that. He had the rest of the day to decided on what he wanted to do.

The bed was comfy and warm. He might roll over and see if he couldn't get another hour of sleep. He inhaled and rolled further into the pillow. He must have fallen asleep, because in the next moment he was woken up by the sound of a sudden gasp and a cough. He jumped as Astrid let out a groan.

"You okay?" Hiccup asked quickly.

"I'm fine," Astrid said.

"You don't sound fine."

Astrid groaned and rolled over onto her stomach.

"I told you to bundle up. See what happens when you don't listen to me? You get sick."

"I'm not sick." Astrid pouted. "I'll be fine. Give me an hour. Go make some coffee."

"Alright," Hiccup slid out of the bed. He adjusted his leg and walked into the kitchen. He retuned, forty-five minutes later, with a fresh cup of instant coffee hand. He walked around to Astrid's side of the bed and knelt down. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit." Astrid mumbled.

"Coffee?"

Astrid opened her eyes and considered it. Moaning, she sat up and took the cup. She held it between her hands and sipped it slowly.

"Do you want some medicine?" Hiccup asked. "I can go down the road to the gas station."

"No, I think I have some cold stuff," Astrid sighed. "It's in the mirror above the sink in the bathroom."

"In the mirror?" Hiccup asked.

"Mm-hm."

Hiccup went into the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror. In the mirror? He reached out to touch it and found that it gave in a little. He pushed, and he heard the releasing of a small mechanism. He pulled it open to reveal an entire cabinet that he hadn't know about. Inside were medicine bottles, weird tubes of oils, and an old little jug of plain powder.

He took the medicine and shut the mirror. With it in hand he went back into the bedroom. It was only when he had handed it to Astrid that he thought of a measuring cup.

"Do you want me to-" Hiccup's question was interrupted as Astrid took the top of the bottom and put it straight to her lips. "Okay, that works too."

He took the bottle from her and set it on the table beside the bed. He couldn't remember how much had been in it to begin with but she'd taken a sizeable dose.

"So gross," Astrid whined as she downed half the cup of coffee. She looked utterly miserable.

"Hey, do you want to watch a movie in bed?" Hiccup suggested. "I'll get my computer."

"Okay," Astrid mumbled as she leaned back into her pillow.

Hiccup returned shortly with his computer and set it on the foot of the bed. He climbed under the covers and tucked his arm around Astrid.

"What do you want to watch?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't care," Astrid gently shook her head.

"Is Bones okay?"

She nodded into his shoulder.

He reached down and started the next episode. Astrid curled into him as the settled in. Her head rested on his shoulder and he gently laid his cheek against her forehead. They hadn't made it ten minutes into the show when he heard soft snores. Astrid had fallen asleep, coffee tilting dangerously in her loosened grip. Hiccup carefully removed it and set it on the bedside table next to her bottle of medicine.

Astrid slept most of the day in fitful spells and Hiccup didn't want to leave her. He warmed her coffee several times in the microwave and checked on her poetically. He looked through the majors while she slept, paying more attention to those pertaining to computers, because he decided that Astrid had been right. He did enjoy tinkering with them. It was fun.

Astrid spent her waking time complaining. She coughed, more aggressively as the day progresses, and groaned and whined of being bored and tired. She didn't handle boredom well and she hated being confined to a bed. She'd turned into such a pitiful thing and Hiccup tried to keep her company. He had resigned to his sketchbook after his simple lunch.

He was sitting in the bed beside her, doodling, while Bones played with turned-down volume. He wasn't paying much attention when he felt the stare. He assumed that the silence meant she was sleeping, however when he glanced at her she wasn't. She was awake and sitting much closer to him than she had been. Her eyes had been looking down at the sketchbook.

"What?" she asked.

"I didn't know you were awake."

"I'm sorry," she shook her head and scooted away. "I didn't mean to pry. I like watching you draw."

"You do?" Hiccup smiled. "My dad always said that it was a waste of time. He'd yell at me every time he'd see me."

"That's not cool. You shouldn't squash your children's hobbies. Unless they're bad, like…killing animals or something. But drawing is art. It's good for society." Astrid spoke slower, slurred, her hands waving with her words in sloppy motions.

"How much of that cold syrup have you taken?" Hiccup laughed.

Astrid mumbled something unintelligible and rolled over in the blankets. Hiccup poked her with the end of his pencil. She reemerged with a sluggish and undeniable impish smile.

"What?" Hiccup asked.

"You know what we could do?"

"What?" Hiccup asked in a tone of cautious. Did he really want to know?

"We could reenact that scene from Titanic."

"What?"

Astrid's grin faded. "Titanic. You know? Come on, you've never seen Titanic?"

"No." Hiccup shook his head. "I'm really not a romantic movie guy."

"It was so much more than a romance movie. It was fantastic. We have to watch it. I think I own a copy. Go look. It the living room under the TV." Astrid pointed.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Fine." Hiccup set down his sketchbook and meandered into the living room. He took his time looking through her movies. He found the doomed couple on the cover and sighed when he pulled it out. He was not looking forward to it. But, it was for Astrid. He'd watch it for her. He came back into the room, looking down at the cover, and stopped short at the sound of a pencil being dropped onto paper.

"What're you doing?" Hiccup said quickly, seeing Astrid sitting with her hands laced together in her lap. The sketchbook has been moved and the pencil was still rolling.

"Nothing."

Hiccup raised a brow and handed her the movie. She took it and leaned forward to pop it into the computer. He picked up his sketchbook and had to hold in his laughter. She'd drawn some kind of humanoid face and body. According to the description it was supposed to be him.

"Is it that bad?" Astrid asked as the movie began to play.

"No," Hiccup smiled. "I love it."

Astrid laughed and padded the bed beside her. Hiccup set the book on the bedside table and scooted in close to her. She curled into his side and rested her head on his shoulder. He was counting on her falling asleep sometime within the first part. He could read a synopsis on the internet and pretend that he watched the whole thing.

He laughed to himself. Knowing her she'd quiz him on it.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Astrid had found a second wind.

X

Hiccup was resting his cheek on Astrid's head as the screen darkened and the credits began to roll. He stifled a sniffle.

"Are you crying?" Astrid asked immediately.

"No,"

"It's okay. I bawled the first time I saw it. I was so upset." Astrid smiled into his shoulder.

"I'm not crying. It's the dust. You need to dust more." Hiccup wiped his eye as she laughed and playfully punched in him the chest. She collapsed back into the pillows and he scooted from the bed. He reached for the laptop, shut it, and carried it to the dresser.

"What are you doing?" Astrid asked, rolling onto her stomach, elbows propping up her chin. "You can pick the next movie. I won't complain."

Hiccup swallowed hard. He retrieved his sketchbook from the table and kept his eyes on it as he asked, "I thought you wanted me to draw you naked?" He tried his best to keep his face serious as he lifted his sketchbook in her direction. "Or do you not want to anymore?"

Astrid looked up at him, considering, her smiled faded ever so slightly. It retuned, however, and white teeth flashed, "Hell yeah, let's do it."

"Eager?" Hiccup laughed.

"I've never been a nude model before!" Astrid said excitedly as she pushed up from the bed and sat up. She reached for the hem of her t-shirt and without a hesitation pulled it over her head.

Hiccup fumbled with the pencil. He reached down and picked it off the floor with a lump in his throat. He hadn't expected her to be naked so quickly. But there she was, topless, bare white breasts exposed, sitting among the blankets. He could feel the heat burning through his face as she ran her hands through her hair and worked it up into a lovely mess. She then threw herself down into the blankets into an alluring pose.

"What are you doing?" Hiccup smiled.

"I'm posing." Astrid said as if it should have been obvious.

"Okay, but, how about you lay like you normally would. Like your relaxing." Hiccup said.

Astrid sat back up and scooted back into the blankets, breasts gently moving with the motion, and relaxed into a lazing position. She pushed the blankets down toward her hips and folded her arms comfortably without obstructing the view of her breasts.

"This good?"

"Yeah," Hiccup exhaled. She looked absolutely breathtaking even when she was sick. How on earth did this woman end up in his arms? Surely, there was some cosmic mistake that misguided their paths into meeting.

He took the image of her in, as much as he could, and turned to the blank page on his lap. The pencil hovered above the page and he exhaled as he began the first soft lines of her abdomen. Slowly, line after line, her form began to appear on the page. Her hair was a tangled but incredibly sexy mess. Her face was somber and peaceful. He took the time to add every detail, enjoying the time spent staring at her without punishment, lingering more than necessary on her chest. The curves of her breasts were gentle and smooth, like the rest of her.

"Hiccup?"

"Hmm?"

"What's your family like?"

What was he doing? Suddenly, he couldn't remember. The pencil stalled against the paper. His drawing stupor eased and he shook his head to look up at her. She was laying there, still as a painting, with her glazed eyes watching the opposite wall.

"What?" Hiccup swallowed. Maybe he'd heard her wrong.

"Tell me about your family."

"Uh…well, there's not much to tell. I mean, there's me, my dad, my uncle, my cousin, and my uncle that's not really my uncle. But Dad always acts like everyone on Berk is family, so to him it'd be a lot bigger. Like for Thanksgiving we'd have a different dinner to go to every day of the week, sometimes lunch too."

"Every night?"

"Yeah," Hiccup shrugged. He was lucky to get out of this year's. "He owns like half of Berk so everyone wants to be on his good side. And of course he has to make friend with everyone he meets."

"Your dad owns Berk?" her brow twitched.

"Kind of, I mean, real estate wise, yeah. Berk was built around fishing and he owns the company, and everything else branches from it." Hiccup sighed. He didn't miss the fish smell, either.

"Who's your uncle that's not your uncle?"

Hiccup smiled. "Gobber. He's one of my dad's best friends, like real friends, since they were kids. He's not really related to us but we call him family anyway."

"Gobber?"

"Yeah, his real name is some old complicated Norse name. He hates it so we call him Gobber."

"Why 'Gobber?'"

"I don't know. Don't ask me what his real name is because I honestly don't know." Hiccup shrugged. The begun-drawing was sleeping silently in his hands. All this talk of his family was pinging something that he'd rather have left alone. Was he really feeling homesick right now?

"Norse? Where is that? Like Norway?"

"I guess. Somewhere up in that area." Hiccup shrugged. "Dad is really proud of his heritage. He'll tell anyone that will listen about how he can trace his family line all the way back to the Vikings."

"Vikings?" Astrid smiled. "That's surprisingly appropriate."

"I guess," Hiccup shrugged. Right, the school's mascot is a Viking. He hadn't thought of that.

"Wait, so your dad is like the Chief of the Viking village?" Astrid was smiling.

"I guess."

"Then wouldn't that make you a Viking prince or something?"

"I don't know." Hiccup sighed. He'd long since tuned out his father's lectures of when his son would take over the family business. He didn't want to hear his future laid out in black and white. He didn't want to know where he'd be in ten years, twenty, forty. He didn't want to know where his burial plot would be.

"Does that mean if we got married that I'd be a Viking princess?" Astrid asked in a daydreaming smile.

Hiccup swallowed. "Sure, I guess."

"It's every girls dream to be a princess, you know." Astrid said. "Even if they deny it."

"Oh," Hiccup nodded. This conversation had taken a sudden turn that he'd rather not explore. He sighed and tried to return to the drawing in his lap. He stretched his fingers and traced the soft lines until he was able to put the pencil back onto the paper. But he hadn't gotten but a few lines in when Astrid's soft voice broke the silence.

"Hiccup?"

"Yes?"

"How did you loose your leg?"

Sighing, he tilted his pencil back in his hand. He shifted his prosthetic.

"Is that a sensitive topic?" Astrid asked. Her voice was barely a whisper and her face was humorless.

"No, it's just…well, I guess it's a little sensitive. It's just not something that I talk about." Hiccup shrugged. "It happened when I was fifteen. Our house caught fire in the middle of the night. I passed out, smoke or something, and a beam fell on my leg and crushed it."

"That sounds really painful."

"I guess. I was unconscious so I can't really tell you."

"How did you get out?"

"My dad." Hiccup was unprepared for just how small his voice sounded.

"See? He loves you. Was everyone else okay?"

"Yeah, mine was the only injury. It was just me and Dad that night." Hiccup shrugged. He glanced at her still face. Her lips were parted and her eyes were focused like there was something else she wanted to say but didn't. But, from experience, he already knew what she was thinking. "My parents are divorced."

"Oh."

"I don't really know much about my mother other than she left when I was five. I kind of remember her, but not very well. I started school and I came home one day and she was gone. My dad was sitting at the table." Hiccup sighed. He could still see that image of him sitting there, face in his hands, tears running into his beard and glistening in the light from the window. "I've asked him about it but he never wants to talk about it."

"That's understandable."

"Why? I'm his son, and hers to, I should know what happened." Hiccup argued.

"His heart was broken, Hiccup. That's a very personal adventure. Maybe he never got over it." Astrid said.

Hiccup sighed. Maybe that was true. He didn't want to talk about this anymore. "What about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, you." Hiccup smiled. But he saw that look in her eye.

"All my limbs are real. You can check if you want."

Blushing, Hiccup added, "Thanks, but I believe you. I meant your family. What are they like?"

Astrid was staring at something over his shoulder. Her soft features were distant and her brain was spinning behind those eyes. After a moment of silence, he returned to his drawing. If she didn't want to answer, that was fine, even though he had just spilled his family and problems all over her. He wouldn't complain. Instead he added definition to her torso.

"They're nice."

"Hmm?" Hiccup looked up. She was still staring off. "Nice?"

She nodded. "My dad's a doctor. My mom is a photographer. They were both an only child so I don't have any cousins or aunts or uncles."

"Really?" Hiccup asked. Honestly, he hadn't expected her to answer. He thought back to the framed picture in the back of her armoire. That couple had looked nice. "Why didn't you go home for Thanksgiving?"

Sighing, she closed her eyes. "My family's not really into the 'holiday' thing. They never were. So it's better to just stay where I'm at."

"That makes sense," Hiccup shrugged. It did not make sense. What kind of an American family didn't celebrate Thanksgiving?

"How's it coming?" Astrid asked, shifting her eyes to the cover of the sketchbook.

"Decent, considering I've never used a live model before and we've been talking through most of it." Hiccup smiled. "More specifically, a topless model."

"What, you've never drawn boobs before?" Astrid laughed.

"Not real ones."

"Oh, you're more into the silicon look?"

"What?" Hiccup blushed. She was smirking. "No, that's not it…"

"I know, I know, plastic boobs are best," Astrid sighed. She abandoned her pose to reach down and grasp her own breasts, on in each hand, and examine them. "Maybe one day when they lose that youthful perk I'll consider getting new ones."

Hiccup swallowed hard at the sight of her clutching herself. Luckily, his legs were crossed and the sketchbook blocked his erection from her direct sight. Why did he not want her to see it? It was because of this mood she was in, resignation and humor, that he was cautious of it and her actions that might follow.

"Yours are perfect Astrid," Hiccup nodded, trying but failing to hide his shy smile. "But, try and stay still so I can finish this up."

"Yes, sir." Astrid plopped back down in the bed, not quite where she'd been, but close.

Hiccup found his focus and dissolved back into his stupor. The lines came easy and Astrid came to life on the page. Everything about the penciled woman was perfect. Everything about the woman lying in the bed was perfect. With the picture done to his satisfaction he pushed the pencil behind his ear and lifted the picture to show her, but she was sound asleep.

Smiling, Hiccup gently closed the book and set it on the bedside table. He tiptoed to her side and pulled the covers up to her shoulders.

X

Astrid woke up with a killer headache. The sun was too bright and stun her eyes. She pulled the covered over her head and tried to lull herself back into a painless sleep. Groaning in defeat, she glanced out from her blanket cocoon at the near empty bottle of cold syrup. Hadn't it been nearly full? That's probably not good.

She reached out and brought the last of it to her lips. She'll need to get some more. She hated to have to send Hiccup out in the cold but if he didn't then she would. She really wasn't feeling up to the weather. They could both go. It could be a mini-field trip. Maybe they could spring for some chocolate, too.

That sounded nice.

Her field-trip daydream was interrupted by a fluting tone fluttering in from the kitchen. Someone was whistling. Astrid rolled over and glanced at the bedroom door. Hiccup must have pulled it closed. Curious, she pushed her wobbly self out of bed. Her feet hadn't touched the floor when realization stuck. She wasn't wearing a shirt. She glanced down at her bare chest and quickly crossed her arms over them. How the hell did that happen?

She picked up a discard t-shirt from the floor and pulled it over her shivering skin. Dressed, she made her way to the kitchen for some answers. She yanked the bedroom door open and the bright light smacker her square in the brain.

"Hey," Hiccup greeted. "Are alright?"

"I'm fine," Astrid waved at him while shielding her eyes from the overhead light. She peeked at him from underneath it. He was standing at the stove and had been stirring a pot of something that smelled delicious.

"What is that?" Astrid asked.

"Soup." Hiccup said. "I thought you might want some soup instead of turkey and dressing."

"What?"

"It's Thanksgiving."

"No, Thanksgiving is on Thursday." Astrid padded toward the bathroom.

"Uh…yes it is. Today is Thursday."

She'd been in the process of closing the bathroom door. She yanked it back open to stare at him. He was looking at her, blankly, with out a trace of humor.

"What happened to Wednesday?" Astrid demanded. Today should be Wednesday.

"You were sick." Hiccup said. "You slept through most of it."

"Oh."

"Do you seriously not remember that?" Hiccup asked, furrow in his brow.

"No." Astrid shook her head. Honestly, she didn't. "You flight was cancelled on Monday."

"Tuesday. My flight was cancelled Tuesday."

"Okay, how about this. I'm going to pee, and then I'm coming back out here, and you're going to tell me what you think happened and we'll compare that to what really happened." Astrid pointed at him and walked back into the bathroom.

"Okay," Hiccup laughed as the door closed.

Astrid emptied her bladder of what felt like a week's worth of fluid. Finally finished, she burst back into the kitchen. She sat down at the island. "Okay, I was sick yesterday? Which was Wednesday?"

"Yes." Hiccup nodded. "You woke up sick and stayed in bed all day."

"Your flight was still canceled?"

"Yes."

"Why wasn't I wearing a shirt?"

"Because you wanted me to draw you naked."

"What?" Astrid blinked at him.

He immediately blushed, and stuttered, "You wanted me to draw you naked, and made a Titanic reference that I didn't get, and then you made me sit with you and watch it, then you wanted me to draw you naked."

"Did you?"

"Yes." Hiccup nodded, looking down at the pot on the stove.

Astrid stared at the back of his head. Why did she not remember that? It sounded like a really memorable moment.

"Was it a good picture?"

"I think so." Hiccup said. He turned around to face her, "You can go look at it as long as you promise me you won't throw it away."

"Of course, why would I do that?"

"Because you've kind of got a revenge look on your face right now." Hiccup said cautiously.

"No, I'll just make you pose naked so I can draw you later." Astrid said as she scooted off the stool.

Hiccup was smiling as she went back into the bedroom. She spotted the sketchbook sleeping innocently on the bedside table. She picked it up and flipped through the pages, many of which she'd already seen, until she came to one that she had not. She wasn't naked. She was asleep. When had he drawn that? Had he watched her sleep? Obviously, he had, by the look of it.

She turned several more until she came to the one she was after.

"Shit," Astrid exclaimed at the very provocative dawning of a woman in her bed. She was naked from the hips up and her body was smooth and slender. Despite the mess that her hair was in she still managed to be beautiful. Every detail had been made with care by delicate fingers.

"What's wrong?" Hiccup asked from the doorway. When she didn't answer he stepped inside. "Astrid?"

"Is this supposed to be me?"

"Yes. Is it bad?"

Astrid shook her head. Words were failing her.

"Astrid?"

"No, she's…beautiful. Absolutely amazing. But, this can't be me."

Hiccup came up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders. He leaned a kiss to her temple. "Of course it's you. You are beautiful, Astrid."

"I've seen myself, plenty, that's not me." Astrid shook her head and stared at his supposed doppelganger.

"I've also seen you. It is you. It's how I see you." Hiccup said into her hair.

She was still looking at the woman on the page when Hiccup reached around and pulled the book from her hands. He closed it and tossed it onto the bed. He enclosed his arms around her.

"You may not see how amazing you are, Astrid, but it do."

She reached for his arm that folded around her shoulders and latched onto it. He was standing so close to her. She wiggled, turning in his embrace, and buried her face in his shoulder. She slid her arms around his middle and clutched his shirt in her fists. How could someone so amazing have crossed paths with her? He was so sweet, honest, and tender. She wanted to hug him tight and never let him go. She didn't deserve a man like him. But there he was, in her arms, and hugged her back.

At the moment, she wanted to tell him that she thought she loved him. But the words were stuck in her throat.

"Hey, how about that soup?" Hiccup asked. "I've been working on it all day and I'm kind of proud of it."

"Yeah, I'm starving." Astrid smiled. She unwillingly broke their embrace.

Back in the kitchen Hiccup filled two bowls with soup and they sat together at the coffee table.

"Wait," Astrid said before Hiccup turned on the TV, "It's Thanksgiving."

"Yes, it is. Do we need to go over it again?"

Astrid smiled, "No. But isn't it customary to say what we are thankful for before we eat?"

"I guess?" Hiccup shrugged. "We never did that."

"Okay, new tradition." Astrid nodded. "What are you thankful for?"

"Uh…" Hiccup swallowed. "Well, I'm alive. That's always good. And…I'm going to school. That sounds like a good plan. I met you, which was great."

Astrid smiled. "I was going to say 'you' too."

"Really?"

She nodded and slid her hand into his. "I'm glad that I met you. I don't care what anyone else has ever told you. You are incredible, Hiccup. There isn't anyone else I'd rather be sitting with right now."

"Not even…Harrison Ford?"

"Not even him." Astrid shook her head, trying to keep her face straight.

"The Queen of England?"

"No, that's be way too formal for me." Astrid grinned. "And…I don't think she celebrates Thanksgiving."

Hiccup laughed.

"But, no, Hiccup, I'd rather be here with you." Astrid leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "I'd kiss you on the lips but I don't want to get you sick."

"Thank you," Hiccup nodded. "We'll make up for it when you're feeling better. Now, seriously, try the soup."

She gathered a spoonful and emptied it into her mouth. The noodles and veggies and herbs all blended together well. The veggies weren't overcooked or undercooked and the herbs weren't overwhelming. "It's good."

"Really?" Hiccup asked, a little deflated.

"Oh, was that too lackluster? I'll start over," Astrid cleared her throat, "OH MY GOD THIS FUCKING AMAZING."

"Stop it," Hiccup laughed.

"But seriously, it is really good." Astrid said.

X