Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Summer Kisses, Winter tears

Chapter 1  

“-appy hours, lonely years. But I guess I can't complain. For I still recall the Summer sun. Through all the Winter rain. The fire of love, the fir-” Astrid growled and quickly changed the channel of the small transistor radio she had next to her as she sat on her apartment fire escape smoking. The drag of tobacco did nothing to calm her nerves and the new radio station wasn’t helping either. “-ver did fit in too well with the folks you knew. When it's plain to see that the likes of me Don't fit with you. So you traded me for the gaiety of the well-to-do. An-” She growled and just turned off the radio. It seemed even the Golden Oldies were against her. 

The door to the apartment opened with a creek and her husband of four years, Hiccup, now stepped in looking like someone had overcooked his broccoli. “Bad day?” She asked while taking another drag of her cigarette.

“Yeah… and…” Hiccup stopped and frowned as he looked at his wife. “I thought you stopped smoking?”

Astrid extinguished the cigarette butt on the metal of the fire escape before climbing back inside, taking her radio with her. “Let’s just say, the situation called for it. I needed to unwind.”

“Did it help you unwind?’ Hiccup then asked as he put his messenger bag down on the sofa before hugging Astrid. 

“No… It just made me want to be more stabby,” Astrid grumbled though she returned the hug.

“What happened?” Hiccup then asked.

“My stepbrother tracked me down at work,” She grumbled. “Turns out him, his wife, and the parental units found out where I’m living and now are vacationing in Berk, demanding to see their grandchildren.”

Hiccup pulled back a bit and blinked incredulously. “Yeah I know,” Astrid gave a mirthless laugh. “If they think I’m going to bend over backwards for them….”

“It’s messed up is what it is.” Hiccup frowned. “Why now? Hasn’t it been almost a decade since you cut them out of your life?”

“I mean, what am I even going to tell the kids?!” Astrid asked worriedly. “They know my mother is alive but they’ve been asking why they never got to meet her. I’ve been putting off that talk for quite a while now,”

“Oh Thor, I knew this was coming,” Astrid sighed tiredly. “I just have no idea how the kids will take it. I’ll have to tell them tomorrow because Thor knows my mother is determined as hell. She’d find a way to see the kids even if she has to wait outside their school.”

“Want me there with you?” Hiccup asked in a reassuring manner and his wife nodded against his shoulder.

Luckily the following day was Saturday and both Astrid and Hiccup had a lie-in, or at least they tried to if not for their seven-year-old who cannonballed onto the bed. “Mommy! Mommy! Zeph won’t let me play with her lightsaber!”

Hiccup groaned and tried to hide his face but their son was persistent. Finally, he cracked open an eye and told the boy “Nuffink. It’s her toy. She doesn’t have to share.”

“But dad!!! She’s going around the room in a Darth Vader mask yelling execute Order 66!” Nuffink explained as if that was a valid reason. “What’s Order 66 dad?”

“It’s still a no Nuff,” Astrid now sat up. “Leave your sister’s stuff alone.” Just as they said that however Zephyr appeared in their open doorway, and shouted “Execute Order 66!” before she too divebombed onto the bed giggling.

“Vader never giggled,” Hiccup smirked as he grabbed their daughter and picked her up.

“Looks like we won’t be having that lie-in,” Astrid rubbed the sleep out of her eyes while Hiccup asked who wanted pancakes. 

Once in the kitchen, the kids went back to playing as Hiccup started making the batter while Astrid put on the coffee. “When’s your shift today?” Astrid asked as she got the coffee cups. 

“They asked me to come in at 4. Just in time for the dinner rush,” Hiccup told her. “I’ll probably be in late tonight.”

“You really need a vacation. Thank Thor the restaurant is closed on Sundays.” Astrid mumbled.

“So when will you tell them?” Hiccup brought up the elephant in the room.

Astrid sighed. “After breakfast. I don’t want to spoil that. Especially now since you’re making your banana pancakes,” she said as she reached to lick some of the batter only for Hiccup to smack her fingers playfully. Astrid just pouted.

“You know I tried recreating them one night,” Astrid mumbled. “It shouldn’t have been hard…. Well the recipe, not the pancakes.”

“Astrid, the kids used those ‘pancakes’ as frisbees! Even the ants didn’t want them,” Hiccup chuckled which earned him an elbow in his side.

“Those ants were just picky eaters,” Astrid said in a huff that caused Hiccup to laugh.

Predictably the kids scarfed down the pancakes with copious amounts of maple syrup and sugar. “Zephyr chew,” Astrid warned as the girl filled her mouth. Traces of powdered sugar were on her lips though she did slow down at her mother’s warning. Nuffink was a slower eater but only because he had to lick the syrup off his fingers every half a pancake. When Breakfast was done Astrid asked the kids if they would join her and Hiccup in the living room area. The kids took a seat on the two-seater couch while Hiccup sat opposite them on the one-seater. Meanwhile, Astrid was taking a deep breath before she addressed the situation.

“Now kids. You know I always explain big life decisions to you guys.” Astrid said as she crouched down to their eye level. Zephyr nodded while Nuffink just bit the ear of his owl plushie. “My mother, your grandmother, is visiting the city and she’s asked to meet you,” ‘More like demanded,’ but Astrid wasn’t going to say that. The kids brightened up at the news of finally seeing their grandmother but then Zephyr frowned and asked “But mommy, why is this a hard choice?”

“Mommy….,” Astrid hesitated. “Mommy has had some problems with her mommy years ago. We don’t get along well,”

“But you like grandpa!” Nuffink piped up.

“Yes… uhm… I want you two to hear the story first. Then you guys can decide if you want to see Grandma. Alright?”

“Alright,” The kids agreed.

Astrid began her tale about how at age nine her father had gone on a business trip to Seattle with a colleague. He ended up cheating on her mother but confessed to it promptly when he got back. Her parents hadn’t known that she was listening in on the argument, having been awoken by their yelling. Her father sounded contrite as his wife ripped into him. Astrid didn’t remember much about that night but she did hear divorce being mentioned.

“Wait, grandpa cheated on grandma?” Nuffink asked as he squished his plushie a bit.

“But we still see grandpa all the time!” Zephyr exclaimed.

“Yes, there is more to this story,” Astrid sighed while leaning against the couch her husband was seated on.

“My parents divorced and mom ended up keeping the house. Dad moved out and got an apartment close by because he wanted to still be in my life. He also more than willingly paid child support to my mom until I was 18.” Astrid explained.

“What’s child support?” Zephyr asked with a tilt of her head. A quirk she had gotten from her father.

“It’s when a mommy and daddy separate and the parent that takes care of the kids the most gets money from the other to help raise them. Like for food, school, clothing,” Hiccup explained.

“So grandpa is still a good guy because he helped pay?” Zephyr asked.

“I guess you can put it like that. Some people refuse to pay child support,” Hiccup pondered aloud.

“That’s mean!” Nuffink announced.

“Very mean,” Astrid agreed with a nod before going back to her story. “Two years later mom started dating again and she soon remarried to a guy that already had a son from a previous marriage.” As the kids looked at her wide-eyed Astrid muttered “So yes, you have a second grandfather and an uncle.”

“Adam, my stepbrother, was a year older than me and a right terror.” Astrid grimaced. “He used to play these mean pranks on me but mostly left me alone when he hit 15. That’s around the time he got his first girlfriend. Neither my mom nor my stepfather did anything when I complained about his behaviour. I just got told, boys will be boys.”

“The house dynamic was pretty weird after mom got remarried. It was only after moving out that I realized just how toxic the family actually was.” She muttered before rubbing her forehead. “Adam was clearly the golden child of the family. He played sports, was popular, and had girlfriends left and right. For his 16th birthday, he got a brand new car too. Meanwhile, I was…. I was in my goth phase alright.” Astrid pouted a bit which caused Hiccup to bite his fist to stop himself from laughing as he had seen Astrid’s goth photos. “For my 16th birthday, I got a $150 gift card for Target. Mom told me to… Pretty up,”

“When Adam turned 18 the parental units, so to speak, paid fully for his college.” Astrid now pulled a somewhat disgusted face. “I don’t know why I expected the same treatment still,” She then sighed. “I often wonder if it was because I looked so much like dad,” Hiccup pulled his wife onto his lap and gave her a hug.

“I’m fine Hiccup,” Astrid mumbled. “It was over a decade ago.” The kids were watching their mom with rapt attention by now.

“I had been working part-time for years now and had managed to save up for a beater of a car,” Astrid explained. “The rest of the money I got from the odd jobs went into a bank account dad helped me set up. But it still wasn’t enough to fully cover the University costs. So I went and asked mom if she’d be willing to chip in.” Here Astrid took a breath. “She just told me they had spent all their savings on sending Adam to college and I was on my own. Okay, no problem. I could still take a student loan and maybe dad could chip in a bit. What really got to me was her asking why I was even going to University. I responded by saying I wanted to major in Nursing and said the university had a great four-year program.” Astrid gritted her teeth as her hands fisted the couch armrest. “Mom laughed at me and told me point blank ‘Honey, you’re not smart enough to be a nurse,’”

The kids gasped and Zephyr exclaimed “But mom! You’re a great nurse!”

“Grandma was being super mean!” Nuffink uttered. “Big old meanie!” This caused Astrid to laugh a bit. 

“I was noticeably upset and drove to dad’s apartment. Over the years we mended our relationship quite a bit. Even though I hadn’t forgiven him for the cheating and splitting the family we did end up having quite a good relationship.” She confessed. “He was angry at his ex-wife’s response to my career aspirations and then he asked why I didn’t just use the college fund he had set up for me. You can imagine my utter confusion at this point because I didn’t know of any fund. He proceeded to explain that he put money aside in a bank account mom and I could access. This was aside from the child support and that his ex knew it was to be my college fund.”

“When dad realized I didn’t know, he gave me the account details and I went to check with the bank. They told me the account was emptied and closed a year ago and that’s when I realized that they used my college fund to send Adam to school. I was beyond angry and crying and I just couldn’t stay in that house anymore. So I packed up and moved out.”

“Grandma stole from you?!” Zephyr asked in shock. “Why?! I mean, you guys are family right?”

“Sometimes family members do mean things to each other Zephyr,” Hiccup sighed.

“But mom, you did become a nurse at the end,” Nuffink uttered. “Show’s grandma what she knows,”

Astrid nodded. “Yes, I still wanted to become a nurse so I saved up for two additional years after moving to Berk so that I could get my associate's degree in Nursing from a local college here. It’s actually how I met your father.” She then laughed while reminiscing about that part. “Your uncle Snotlout was my neighbour at the co-ed dorms.”

“Hey, Astrid you shouldn’t tell them that!” Hiccup quickly exclaimed only to have Astrid laugh. She gave her husband a wicked smirk before relaying to the kids how one drunken evening Hiccup was going to crash at uncle Snotlout’s place. It was way past the time the dorms would lock up so he had climbed up the fire escape, intending to go through Snotlout’s window. Only he ended up going through the wrong window and Astrid ended up hitting him over the head with her Anatomy course book.

“So here’s the deal kids,” Astrid stated. “Your grandmother, her husband, Adam, and his wife are in the city to visit. Do you want to meet them?” She then asked.

“I don’t wanna!” Nuffink proclaimed. “She sounds mean!” Zephyr however was putting much more thought into it. “Mom, why after all this time? Do you think she wants to apologize to you?”

Astrid just shrugged as she didn’t know. Now Nuffink was looking at his sister incredulously. “You can’t want to meet her!”

“I don’t know. What if she’s like…. Really really… really sorry?” Zephyr questioned. “Mom and grandpa are all buddy-buddy but gramps cheated remember?”

“Yeah but…. Zeph, she stole,” Nuffink pointed out.

“But you take my toys all the time too and I forgive you,” Zephyr pointed out. “What if grandma really wants to... You know…” The girl waved her arms around as if that was supposed to clarify things.

“I don’t know….” Nuffink was still unsure.

“If grandma does something bad again mom can just chuck her out the window,” The girl then suggested. To which Nuffink nodded. Hiccup couldn’t take it anymore and laughed while Astrid looked at the kids with a raised brow.

Astrid, before noon, made her decision and decided to call the number Adam had left behind. She and Hiccup both agreed that it would be best to meet on their terms and thus invited her estranged family to their apartment for a late Sunday brunch as both Hiccup and Astrid had busy schedules throughout the weekday. This way Hiccup could be present as moral support or when an ambulance needed to be called. Thor knows how Astrid would react after all these years.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

The following day there was a knock on the apartment door just as Hiccup was putting the finishing touches on his Beef Bourguignon. The kids were roughhousing in the living room when Astrid walked to open it and greet their… ‘guests’. “Zeph, Nuff, best behaviour,” Astrid told the kids. She opened the door and greeted “Welcome…” Her greeting wasn’t as enthusiastic as she’d liked and even though the kids were of the opinion that her estranged family might want to make amends, she was still paranoid.

“Astrid! It’s so good to see you again,” Her mother said cheerfully as if she hadn’t been awful to her own daughter all those years ago. Astrid stepped aside and invited the group of four in.

Hiccup was drying his hands as he came to stand by Astrid’s side as introductions were made. “This is my husband Hiccup,” Astrid said before gesturing to the couch where the kids were watching the interaction with great interest. “And that’s Zephyr and Nuffink,” 

“It’s so nice to meet you all,” Astrid’s stepfather announced as he shook Astrid and Hiccup’s hands. His next comment was directed more at Hiccup. “You probably heard some things about Miriam already, but I’m Peter, my son Adam and his wife of five years Jessie.” Astrid warily shook Adam’s hand but since she knew nothing of Jessie she greeted her a bit more warmly.

“And how old are you two dearies?” Miriam asked while turning towards the kids.

“I’m nine,” Zephyr answered and Nuffink who was still a bit shy answered “Seven,” when elbowed by his sister.

“Aren’t you two just the cutest,” Miriam gushed which caused Astrid to raise a brow in shock. Her mother never… gushed… So to speak. She was usually all business and blunt. 

Hiccup offered everyone a seat in the living room and then asked “Sooo… I have to know. How did you track down Astrid?” While Hiccup could be a teddy bear he was also protective of his family. Now he was worried as the stepbrother had known which hospital Astrid worked in.

“Social media of course silly,” Miriam played it off. “It was actually Adam that found you in his friend's suggestions. I have to confess I was somewhat surprised to hear that you’ve married. On your social media profile, you kept your maiden name.”

“All my degrees and documentation are in my maiden name. It would have been a hassle to have it all changed,” Astrid just shrugged. “And Hiccup certainly didn’t mind.”

“Can I offer anyone tea? coffee? Alcohol?” Hiccup quickly asked as he noticed an edge in Astrid’s tone.

Both Peter and Miriam declined though Jessie said “Some tea would be nice, thank you,” Adam just nodded at his wife’s decision.

“Okay, am I in the twilight zone or something?” Astrid asked with a frown as she stared at Adam. “Where is the cocky guy that went off to college?”

“I guess I just matured,” Adam shrugged.

“Indeed he did,” Miriam boasted. “Your brother now works as a bank manager. He and Jessie just bought a house close to us,”

“I see,” Astrid said. She thought she was quite frankly looking at aliens when she stared at her estranged family. Her mother was bubbly, her stepfather wasn’t bossy and Adam was mellow. It felt like she’d been thrown into the deep end of a pool without any floaties.

“What’s your profession, Astrid?” Jessie asked with genuine curiosity.

“Mommy’s the best nurse in Berk!” Zephyr proclaimed proudly just as Hiccup came back with a tray of tea. He poured some for Jessie and Adam. As Adam was adding some honey to his Astrid said “I’m a Staff nurse at Berk Regional Hospital right now. If all goes well I’ll be a Registered Nurse in a couple of months after my NCLEX exam.” here she looked pointedly at her mother. Miriam had the grace to not meet her eyes.

“And you Hiccup?” Miriam asked, trying to change the subject a bit.

“I’m a sous chef at A La Drake ,” Hiccup explained while pulling Nuffink onto his lap as the boy was poking him with his stuffed owl.

“I’ve heard of A La Drake,” Peter commented. “Isn’t that place just a tourist trap?”

“It’s no Michelin restaurant but I can assure you the quality of the food is good,” Hiccup responded. “In fact, I made one of my specialties today. I hope you’ll all enjoy it.”

“A man who can cook. I’m jealous Astrid,” Jessie stated. “Adam tried to cook an omelet once. My non-stick pan was never the same,”

Hiccup’s beef stew was the highlight of the brunch but he had also prepared a few side plates consisting of sourdough bread, long beans sauteed with onions and garlic, and some creamy mashed potatoes.

“This is delicious,” Adam announced while eagerly eating the stew. “Compliments to the chef,” This caused Hiccup to blush. Astrid laughed as Hiccup nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

“So Astrid,” Miriam spoke between bites. She dabbed her lips with the napkin as well. “So a decade of marriage, got anything special planned?” Her mom was clearly trying to make small talk.

Astrid actually laughed and said “A decade is rather far away still. Hiccup and I have only been married for four years,”

“Four years? But….” Miriam frowned. “Your children are nine and seven. Don’t tell me you’ve had them out of wedlock!”

Astrid just rolled her eyes at the dinner table and muttered “Of course mother. It really doesn’t matter.”

“Of course, it matters!” Miriam exclaimed. “How could you let your children be bastards?!”

“ENOUGH!” Hiccup slammed his fist down on the table startling everyone. “We were kind enough to invite you into our home. How dare you insult our children….. Your own grandchildren…. The same ones you were gushing about not even an hour ago.”

“I… I meant no disrespect…” Miriam backtracked.

“Clearly you did,” Astrid’s glare was piercing.

“Miriam, apologize.” Peter was the one that spoke next before he turned to Astrid and Hiccup. “I am terribly sorry for my wife’s attitude. She should be more accepting of other people’s lifestyles.”

Miriam was fuming and Astrid was glaring daggers. The whole atmosphere became awkward.

Miriam did end up apologizing but Hiccup and Astrid sent the kids to their rooms with their plates.

“Awww, but I wanted to know if grandma was gonna apologize,” Zephyr insisted while pouting.

“She said a very bad thing at the table and I really don’t want you two to be caught in the middle….” Hiccup started to explain but his daughter cut him off. “No daddy! Not that!” Zephyr insisted. “I wanna know if grandma is gonna say sorry for robbing mom!”

“Wait what?” Adam frowned.

“Why are you surprised?!” Nuffink then asked.

“Kids… go to your room now,” Astrid warned. Her tone was clipped so the kids skedaddled.

“To you, they listen,” Hiccup complained jokingly to which Astrid just gave him a smirk.

“What I want to know is what did they mean about robbing Astrid?” Adam asked with a frown as he looked at his dad and Miriam. Jessie too was feeling uneasy.

“You mean you don’t know?” Astrid frowned. “You were literally their golden child! How could you not have known?!”

“What my wife means to say is that she thought you knew that her mother used her college fund on you and let her sink with the sharks… so to speak.”

“It’s swim with the sharks honey,” Astrid corrected.

“No… it was more like sinking. You were working three jobs to keep an apartment and save up for that Associate’s degree.” Hiccup frowned. 

“Mom, you said that money was saved up from dad’s promotion!” Adam uttered shocked. “I might have had my head up my ass when I was in High school but I wouldn’t have wanted to use Astrid’s money!”

“Well…” Peter looked uneasy here. “This is rather difficult to say but I lost my job at the docks that year and we were blowing through our savings while I was looking for a new job. You were so excited to go to that University and I hadn’t the heart to tell you that it might not be possible when Miriam told me she had some cash stashed away that we could use.” He took an uneasy breath here. “I’m sorry Astrid. It was only after you left the house that Miriam confessed that used your college fund. But she promised to pay it back over the years.”

“Well I still haven’t seen a cent of it,” Astrid announced, crossing her arms.

“That…. I realize that now.” Peter sighed. “Let me write you a check. 70 grand should be the amount I believe,”

“Peter what are you doing?! That’s our retirement fund!” Miriam shouted while sputtering.

“I’m finally doing what’s right,” Peter wrote the check, tore the piece of paper out of his checkbook, and slid it across the table towards Astrid. 

Astrid carefully picked up the check, looked at her stepfather, and then back at the check again. “Thank you,” she said not quite believing what had just happened.

“Miriam, if you weren’t trying to get in touch with your daughter to give her back her money then why were you so adamant about coming to Berk on vacation? Why did you even want to reach out?” Peter then asked while frowning.

“I was… I was….” Miriam looked nervous now that all eyes were on her. “I was just hoping she’d act as Jessie’s surrogate!” the woman finally blurted out.

“WHAT!” Both Adam and Jessie exclaimed while Peter just looked wide-eyed at his wife. Hiccup and Astrid were equally flabbergasted by that proclamation.

“Excuse me what?!” Astrid finally managed to utter, still in some shock.

“Jessie and Adam are having problems conceiving,” Miriam explains. “They started invitro but it’s eating up their funds. Then Adam showed me a family picture you posted on your site and I figured you could be their surrogate. You’ve already had kids so you already know how to be healthy and all that during pregnancy. Think of it as doing a favour for the family,”

“Mom! Have you gone mad?!” Adam asked as he had his spoon in a hard grip.

Jessie looked more disgusted than anything. “We don’t want to do surrogacy Mirriam. I thought we talked about this. Adam and I settled on trying IVF. If that doesn’t work then we’re probably going to adopt. Why would you assume Astrid would want to do this? Why would you assume we’d be willing either?!”

“Get out of my house,” Was growled. Astrid’s brows shot up as she watched her husband next to her. His eyes had narrowed and he was glaring at Miriam.

“Excuse me?!” Miriam uttered.

“I said. Get your entitled ass out of my home!” Hiccup said in a dangerously low voice as his fist banged on the table. Peter, Adam, and Jessie went to stand up, none of the three would even look at the sputtering Miriam right now when Hiccup spoke again. “Not you three.” This caused them all to look confused. “Just her,” He indicated towards Astrid’s mother.

“How dare you speak to me like that!” Miriam haughtily stated but Hiccup just stood up, grabbed Miriam’s very large leather handbag that she had placed on one of the couches, and walked with it to the door. “Hey! Where are you going with that?!” The woman jumped up, scraping the chair across the wooden floor. “Give that back!” She dashed towards Hiccup who was opening the front door. He chucked her handbag out into the hall. Miriam made a dash for it yelling that if he’d broken something in it he’d pay but Hiccup just shut the door on her behind and then calmly walked back to the table.

Miriam could be heard cursing and banging on the door but Hiccup just took his seat again. Surely one of the neighbours would call building security to have the crazy woman frog-marched out of the apartment complex. He turned to their still flabbergasted guests and asked “Anyone want seconds?”

Astrid couldn’t take it anymore and just burst out laughing before kissing Hiccup on the cheek while saying dramatically “MY HERO!”

The End

AN:

The two songs Astrid is listening to at the beginning of the story are:

Summer Kisses, Winter Tears by Elvis, and Chrystal Chandeliers by Charlie Pride. Give them a listen if you want.

This story was inspired by too much wine, Golden Oldies, and Nightstar Fury who got me addicted to Reddit.