A/N - So I aimed for Saturday, but I didn't make it. This week was just really busy for me. It was my birthday, then Mother's Day, and I had a job interview, which stressed me out enough that I couldn't focus on anything. Speaking of, I got the job. So what that means for you all is that my priorities are rearranging. I will never ever just stop updating, all of my stories will be completed, however they may not get updated as often as they have been. But, I promise that I won't abandon you guys, Pinkie Promise.

X

Chapter 26: Nothing to Worry About

Hiccup leaned on the kitchen counter and rubbed the stump of his leg. The cold was not being kind today. He spied the thermometer on the windowsill. Eight degrees and dropping. Once the sun went down it would be below zero. Hiccup gave his leg a squeezed and resigned to the medicine cabinet above the microwave. He'd just popped three little blue pills into his mouth when his father came up from the basement.

"I've started a fire in the stove. That'll keep the house warm tonight,"

"It's supposed to be cold?"

"Aye, they were calling for ten below, maybe more,"

Hiccup cringed.

Stoick poured a cup of coffee and sat at the table.

"So, uh, what's the dinner plan?" Hiccup asked.

Stoick laughed, "Have you looked in the fridge? There's enough leftovers to feed us both and Gobber for a month."

Hiccup reached for the handle, pulled it open, and laughed. His father wasn't kidding. Wall to wall Tupperware.

"Oh, never mind," Hiccup shrugged, taking out the topmost container.

"Son?"

"Hm?"

"Where is Astrid?"

"Showering,"

"Ah, I see," Stoick shuffled his hands, "Son, I need to speak with you,"

Hiccup shut the refrigerator door slowly. He knew that tone. Stoick had that look on his face, like he'd done something wrong, or something bad was going to happen. He set the leftovers on the counter, "What?"

Stoick cleared his throat, "Son, I was speaking to Finn, and, well…how much do you know about that girl?"

Hiccup swallowed, "Well, she…likes coffee. She doesn't like to wear a lot of make-up because it feels like mud," Stoick's stare intensified, "a-and she's stubborn, but she's sweet on the inside,"

"Son,"

"What? I've only known her like four months. Am I just supposed to all of a sudden known everything there is to know about her?" Hiccup back into the counter. He spoke fast, his face reddened, and his heart was thudding in his chest.

"Son," Stoick said a bit louder, "Finn told me that she was a terrible child, and worse as she got older, fights, drugs, sex, always getting into trouble,"

"Dad," Hiccup put his hands up. Stoick drew in his breath, paused, and Hiccup jumped on the silence, "I don't care,"

"You should care," Stoick hammered, "You're a good kid, Son, and people like that don't change that much between then and now."

"What are you saying? That I should dumper her because she made mistakes?"

Stoick shook his head, "No, Son, that's not-"

"That's exactly what you're saying!" Hiccup grabbed the leftovers.

"Son, you just need to listen," Stoick stood up, "What makes you think she's not like that still? This is serious, I don't want you making a mistake,"

"What mistake?" Hiccup stomped toward the stairs, his leg cringing with every step, "I'm not a kid anymore, I can make my own decisions!"

Stoick said something else, but Hiccup wasn't listening. He was at the top of the stairs, leftovers in hand. He stomped into his room, closed the door, and slumped onto the bed. What the hell was that about? He knew it would be like this. If it wasn't Astrid, it would have been Toothless, if it wasn't Toothless, then it would have been his hair, or his job, or his jeans, or whatever else his dad could nitpick. Nothing was ever good enough.

Hiccup sat up and tucked an old laptop under his arm. It wasn't good for much, but the DVD drive still worked. He carried it and the leftovers from his room and into Astrid's, pushing the door closed him with his left foot. Astrid was still in the shower and Toothless was curled in a black ball at the foot of the bed. Upon Hiccup's entry his head popped up and two green eyes eased open.

"Hey, bud," Hiccup scratched his head.

He set the computer down and pulled the desk away from the wall and scooted it to the end of the bed. He set the computer and leftovers on it. A perfect dinner and a movie.

Gulping down his anxiety, Hiccup started for the bathroom door. He placed a hand on the knob, inhaled, and opened it. The steam hit him, an instant layer of humidity on his skin, but he pushed through it.

"Hello?" Astrid said quickly.

"It's just me," Hiccup said as he closed the door.

"Oh,"

Hiccup sat down on the toilet and brought his face to his hands.

"Um…did you have to do that in here?"

Hiccup laughed, "I'm not doing anything,"

"Oh. Are you okay?"

He sighed. No, not really. My dad think you're trouble. Or he doesn't want me to be happy. Or both.

"Hiccup?"

Hiccup wanted to tell her what his dad had said, about what Finn had said, about the picture he found, about the box that won't open, about how Eret had threatened to kill him and throw his body in the river, but when he opened his mouth, no words came out.

"Hiccup?" Astrid slid the door a few inches and poked her head out, yellow hair flattened against her head, water beading down her face, "What's the matter?"

Hiccup sighed, tried to speak, but there was nothing. His throat was closed. She was looking at him, one eye closed as water dripped down.

"Hiccup?" She wiped her face and opened the door further, like she was preparing to step out, "Hiccup? Babe, what's the matter?"

"Nothing," Hiccup said, shaking his head, "It's just…my dad, the family, they're so…nosy."

Astrid blinked at him, her lips parted, "Oh, I'm sorry,"

"You don't have to apologize," Hiccup ran his hands through his hair. Sweat was tickling his scalp, "I-I just wanted to talk to you."

She smiled, "Okay. You know you can talk to me about whatever, right?"

"Yeah," Hiccup nodded, "They just think that my business is somehow everyone else's business, too."

"You're tense, maybe you just need to relax," Astrid smiled, "You know what helps me relax?"

"Hm?"

"A hot shower,"

"That shower is tiny," Hiccup almost laughed.

"It's not that big, but we can squeeze,"

He tilted his head to look at her. She was leaning on the shower wall, hand on the door, and there was no way he could walk away when she looked at him like that. He gave in and piled his clothes with hers.

He'd been right about the shower. There wasn't much room for anything but showering. She stood close to him, her wet skin on his, as she ran her fingers through his hair. She scrubbed shampoo into it while his hands rested on her waist. Her lips came close to his and her hands worked the tension away. How did she even do that? He kissed her more than once, the hot water dripping down their faces, soap leaving white trails as it washed away.

"I love you," the words slipped out of his mouth, off his tongue, as easily the water dripped down his shoulders. They were out there, in the hot air, and as soon as they hit his ears his limbs stiffened, the air thickened, his heart pounded.

Her hands froze and gently drew away from his scalp. He pulled away to see her face, blank, eyes wide and unblinking, mouth parted, her tongue still.

Had he done it wrong? He hadn't meant to say it, but he had, so now what? What did he do? Should he add something else to it? Was that it? What the hell did he do now? She was just standing there, starting at him.

"Hiccup," Astrid's mouth was moving, but the words were barely audible over the water.

He was truly terrified. Her hands dropped to his shoulders. Had he messed up? She blinked and he wasn't sure if it was the water or if her eyes were watering.

"Astrid, I-I,"

She tightened her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tight, her faces tucked into his neck, "I love you, too,"

Was she crying? He made her cry?

"Are you okay?"

"Hm-hm," she hummed into his shoulder.

"Are you sure?"

She laughed, a beautiful sound against the water.

"I'm sure," she pulled away from him, but kept her arms around him, and kissed his cheek. He was sure that her eyes were glistening as she washed his shoulders.

Once they were both clean and rinsed, towel dried, and dressed, Hiccup pulled her toward the bed where the movie had been set up. He pulled the leftovers off, and laughed.

"Air-warmed,"

Astrid laughed.

They shared the food and watched a movie together, curled against each other underneath the quilt. The window was dark and soon Hiccup was pushing yawns back down his throat. Astrid nestled onto his shoulder, so peaceful, so natural, like this was supposed to be.

So what if she was a rotten kid? He hadn't been a prize child either. None of that mattered. This what who he was, who she was, which mattered. This, with her curled alongside him, her body fitting so perfectly into his, was so comfortable. This was where he was meant to be, where she was.

X

Hiccup woke up with a pain in his leg. He tried to bring it up to his hand, but something was holding him down. A brief panic eased away as he realized it was Astrid, lying beside him with an arm draped over his torso. She was still sound asleep. Snow was pitter-pattering on the window and the sunlight was dampened by the snow-clouds.

Oh, that's right, it's Christmas Eve. Just a couple more days and they'd be out of Berk. Just a couple more days.

Astrid stirred, nuzzling closer to him, before her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey,"

"Good morning," Astrid yawned into his shoulder.

"Is your dad going to be mad that we slept in the same room?"

"It doesn't matter," Hiccup shook his head.

They eventually rose and while Astrid changed, he headed to the bathroom in his room, where his toothbrush was. He was halfway done and had just spit when he looked back up and saw Snotlout in the mirror.

"What?" Hiccup said.

Snotlout sneered, arms crossed, leaning in the bedroom doorway. He meandered in with his casual superiority, "So I guess you had fun last night?"

"What?" Hiccup repeated.

"I overhead your dad telling Gobber that you and your girlfriend slept in the same room last night," Snotlout's sneer widened, and Hiccup knew what he assumed, what his father assumed.

Hiccup shook his head and rinsed.

"So you're not denying it?" Snotlout looked almost excited.

"Would it matter?" Hiccup dropped the brush back into the cup, "No matter what I say you'll taunt me about it for the rest of the day."

"That's why I'm here,"

"Speaking of, why are you here?"

"Breakfast, of course,"

Hiccup groaned. Right, breakfast. For some unknown reason, breakfast become ten times more important during the winter holidays than any other time of year.

"Urg, you're here?" Astrid said from the bedroom doorway, scowl on her face as she saw Snotlout.

"Right where I need to be, babe,"

She curled her fist and Snotlout grew silent. He stomped back down stairs.

"What's with your dad and breakfast?"

Hiccup laughed, "I was just thinking the same thing."

The two of them meandered downstairs, but when they reached the bottom, the kitchen and living went eerily silent. Hiccup paused as all eyes were on him.

"Hello," Hiccup announced. God, they were probably all thinking the same thing. Whatever.

"That smells good," Astrid said behind him. She ignored the stares and walked into the kitchen to where Gobber was frying eggs.

"Ah, I'm glad you think so!" Gobber said warmly, "It's my grandmother's secret recipe."

"She had a secret recipe for eggs?"

"Aye, but between you and me, I've improved it," Gobber winked.

They sat down at the table and the small talk continued. Hiccup was afraid that someone would bring up Finn, which would lead how he and Astrid shared a last name, which would lead into that gray area that he didn't want to go into, and neither did Astrid. But, to his amazement and relief, the conversation stayed away from him and Astrid.

That afternoon the Christmas tree was put up and decorated while they sipped hot chocolate. Stoick told Astrid stories of Christmas when he was young and she eagerly listened and asked questions, much to his delight. In the evening the company returned, this time with gifts and food, of which they ate, while talking. A radio played in the background and carols and songs drifted through the house as gifs were passed and opened.

"It used to be a lot more exciting when the kids were little. Toys and paper everywhere!" Gobber laughed.

The evening wore on with a light snowfall and as Christmas Eve settled into night, the house grew quiet. Stoick kept a fire going and the house smelled like the smoke, warm and welcoming.

"Hey, are you okay?" Astrid asked Hiccup as they climbed the stairs for the night.

"Yeah, yeah, it's just…"

"Is it your leg?"

"Yeah,"

"Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm okay," Hiccup made it to the top, "I took some stuff a little while ago. It should start kicking in soon."

"Is it always like that?"

"No, it's just the cold,"

"Next time we take a vacation we should go somewhere warm,"

"We could go to your hometown," Hiccup said with a smile, but it was not welcomed with one. Astrid's face turned downward and she blinked. Hiccup gulped, "Or, you know, Florida…is also supposed to be warm,"

"It's fine, babe," Astrid nudged him in the side, "You want to stay with me?"

Astrid leaned into her room and Hiccup didn't hesitate. He limped into her room and collapsed onto the bed. Weren't the holidays supposed to be relaxing and fun? They were always so stressful and exhausting. Astrid curled up beside him and ran her hands down his spine. Her talented fingers worked at his muscles, pushing around tension that he didn't know he'd had, and spreading relaxation in it's place. It felt so good, he didn't want to move.

"Are you asleep?"

"Hmm," Hiccup hummed, it was all he could muster himself to say.

"You want to sleep?"

"Hmm,"

Astrid laughed, "Okay,"

She leaned down and kissed his cheek and crawled under the covers beside him, threw them over him, and curled into his side. He lifted on arm and draped it over her. It was cold outside, but it was warm inside, especially beside Astrid.

X

"Hey, wake up,"

Hiccup stirred. Astrid was sitting with her legs folded underneath her. Her hands were behind her.

"What?"

"Merry Christmas," she smiled.

"Oh, Merry Christmas,"

"I got you something, but I thought you might want to open this one first, up here," Astrid smiled, and she reached around and held a little box in front of him.

"Are you proposing?" Hiccup smiled, "I'm a size eight,"

"No," Astrid laughed.

Hiccup sat up and scooted toward her, taking the little box in his hands. It wasn't very heavy, "Is it another box of condoms?"

Astrid smiled wider, "No, just open it,"

Hiccup pulled the top off. Inside was a key laying on a cotton cushion.

"A key?"

"It's your key, to our apartment,"

"Really?" Hiccup gapped at her.

"Yeah, I mean, it's your place, too, you need a key,"

"Wow, thank you, Astrid," Hiccup reached for her hand and laced his fingers with hers, pulling her toward him for a kiss.

"I didn't really get you anything that my dad can't see," Hiccup shrugged.

"It's okay," Astrid kissed him again. "Hey, Hiccup?"

"Yeah?"

"Yesterday," Astrid paused and bit her lip, "When you said…"

"I meant it, and I mean it, I love you," Hiccup nodded. She squeezed his hand.

"I love you, too," Astrid leaned in, running her fingers along his jaw, and kissed him, but this one was different than the one before. It was tender and sweet, like a kiss shared with love, to someone loved, by someone loved.

From downstairs, they could hear Stoick humming carols, singing a few words here and there. Bacon was sizzling and wafting upstairs.

"We better go down there before he comes up here," Hiccup sighed, "Because he will."

Astrid laughed and slid off the bed and pulled him after her. They didn't make it to the bottom stair before Stoick boomed, "Merry Christmas! Coffee's on the stove and breakfast is on it's way!"

Gobber joined them, singing and ringing the string of bells around his neck, a small bag of gifts over his shoulder. He set it down beside the tree and breakfast was eaten as the sunlight broke through the snow-clouds. Suddenly, Berk was so bright that it was impossible to look out of the windows, surely from a distance the entire island looked like a sun.

Breakfast was followed by gifts. None were extravagant, but all were accepted graciously. Hiccup pushed one toward Astrid with trembling hands. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand before she opened it. Inside was a necklace, a braided leather strand with a penny-sized yellow pendent.

"I love it," Astrid smiled. She pulled it from the box. The leather wasn't harsh or rough, but soft, and it fit around her neck perfectly, "Did you pick this out yourself?"

"I did," Hiccup nodded. From the stairs, Toothless meowed. Hiccup laughed, "Well, Toothless did help."

"Thank you," Astrid smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

Hiccup blushed. He caught his father's stare, but it was retracted quickly. Gobber winked at him, causing his blush to deepen.

X