SPOILER ALERT: IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED SEASON 5 OF RTTE YET, PLEASE BE AWARE THE AUTHORS'S NOTES DO CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS! (MAINLY AT THE END OF THE SECOND PARAGRAPH) PLEASE TRY TO READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTES, THOUGH, AS I EXPLAIN A FEW THINGS FOR BOTH MY OLD AND NEW READERS. THANKS!

Ok, for anyone who reads 'Living with the Haddocks', I highly apologise for the influx of 'new chapters', but I have had a massive screw up in the process of putting Whats in A Name and Babysitting Nightmare as the first two chapters and changing the order of the chapters to the point I had to delete and repost THE LOT. I am so sorry for the spam!

Ok, before anyone asks, no, I'm not abandoning Living with the Haddocks! This is just a story I've been wanting to write for a while now and after all the Hiccstrid in the newest season of RTTE, I decided to start it and write it alongside Living with the Haddocks.

Ok, so this story takes place in the early days of Hiccup and Astrid's marriage in my Living with the Haddocks universe, so for anyone new reading my work, please be aware of this as some things may pop up that might be a little confusing. For any of my regular readers, welcome to my new story! This story will explain a lot about the early days of Hiccup and Astrid's relationship before Siri, Leif and Ingrid were born, and will mostly be just pure fluff. The chapters will also be relatively short (compared to LWTH anyway!) and will be written in between new chapters of that. This story will not take priority though, so updates may be few and far between at times. As of season 5 of RTTE, a lot of things (such as Hiccup and Astrid's betrothal and the whole 'Traiter' Johan thing) is now a little out of whack with my canon, so not everything will line up with the show.

Also, a quick note before you begin. Each chapter within this story is named after the length of time Hiccup and Astrid have been married, and not after the storyline. This is to make the story a bit less spoilery and interesting and it's also a fun way to write it. This chapter, though, is the only one that takes place before the wedding, and gets a little steamy, so be warned! (Well, as steamy as my stories get anyway!)

Ok, on with the chapter!

Chapter One – One Week Before

Darkness was all Astrid could see in front of her eyes as she fumbled up a steep incline. Unaware of where she was going, Astrid found herself having to rely on Hiccup, whose hands were carefully perched upon her shoulders as she gingerly made her way up the sloping hill, only to misstep and wobble as her feet met a rock upon the uneven ground.

"Whoa!" Hiccup exclaimed, as he quickly righted Astrid's position. "Careful there, Astrid!"

"Yeah, well, it's a little hard to be careful when I have this thing over my eyes," Astrid said irritably, as she gestured wildly to the blindfold that was tied over her eyes. "Why do I even need this anyway?" she asked him as she continued to make her way up the hill, her hands out in front of her in an effort to keep her balance. "What are you up to?"

Hiccup tightened the grip on Astrid's shoulders with a small smile. "Just be patient, milady," Hiccup said softly into her ear. "All will be revealed in a minute, I promise."

"Well, I hope so," Astrid said. "I mean, you are aware I have a wedding dress fitting in a few hours' time, aren't you?"

Hiccup chuckled lightly. "I'll get you there on time, don't worry," he said quietly. He squeezed her shoulders gently. "I wouldn't want you missing that."

Astrid smiled. "So where are we going that couldn't wait until tomorrow, then?"

"Hang on, we're almost there," Hiccup assured her.

Astrid frowned behind her blindfold. "Almost where?" she asked impatiently. "Hiccup, where are you-?" She jerked as Hiccup brought her to a sudden halt.

"Okay, take off your blindfold," Hiccup said softly.

Without wasting a moment, Astrid quickly reached up to unravel the tie around her eyes, before giving out a gasp of surprise as her eyes met the sight of the structure in front of her.

"Is… is this-?

"Our house?" Hiccup finished for her. He threw her a warm smile. "Sure is. Just finished it this morning and I wanted you to be the first to see it. Do you like it?" He turned to her with a nervous expression.

"Hiccup…. it's perfect," Astrid said gently, turning to him with a bright smile. "It's everything I imagined it would be."

Hiccup reached up to scratch the back of his neck bashfully. "Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet," he said, throwing her a small smile. "Just wait until you see the inside."

"Lead the way," Astrid beamed, as she reached out to take Hiccup's hand in her own, just as Hiccup grasped the door handle and opened it slowly, before tugging at Astrid's hand to lead her in.

"Oh… wow," Astrid said, her mouth dropping in amazement as soon as she stepped over the threshold. "This… this is amazing."

"I wanted it to be similar to the other houses on Berk," Hiccup explained as Astrid dropped hold of his hand in order to take a look around. "At least, the lower level is anyway. The upper level, though…" Hiccup chuckled as he gestured to the level above them. "… That's a different matter entirely."

Following her betrothed's line of sight, Astrid found herself giving out a soft gasp of surprise as she found herself glancing at not just a top level, but an entire balcony stretching across the back end of the side, then stretching slightly outwards towards the right side, with a staircase leading off it from the back of the room.

"When you said you were going to make it unlike any house I've ever seen, you weren't kidding," Astrid said, glancing at it in awe. "This is beyond anything I would have ever expected!" She turned to Hiccup with a large smile. "How in Thor's name did you come up with this design?"

Hiccup chuckled. "Well, the one thing I always wanted to change about these houses was the lack of privacy, so in doing that I sort of changed the plan entirely." He bit his lip uneasily. "Do you like it?" he asked.

"Hiccup, I… I love it," Astrid said happily, turning to him with a bright smile. "It's everything I expected and more. Will-" she glanced towards Hiccup shyly, "-will you show me around?"

"Well, that was the whole point of bringing you here," Hiccup grinned, holding out his hand for Astrid to take. "Right this way, milady."

Astrid snorted. "You are such a dork," she said, intertwining her hand with his.

"Oh, a dork, am I?" Hiccup grinned with a raise of his eyebrows. "Well, for that, maybe I should just leave you hanging until after you move in, then. How would you like tha-… ow!" Hiccup brought a hand up to his shoulder where Astrid's fist had just made contact.

"Does that answer your question?" Astrid asked with playful smile.

"I believe so," Hiccup chuckled. "Come on."

Tugging at her hand, Hiccup led Astrid through the lower level of the house where Astrid mentally took note of its arrangement. A wooden couch sat nestled beside the fire pit in the middle of the house, while beside it sat a bookcase, already filled with a number of books and paper work from Hiccup's own collection. On the other side of the house sat a small timber dining table within a tiny kitchen area, complete with a cabinet of different medicines, curtesy of Gothi, as well as a rock bed for Toothless over by the door. The design wasn't much different from any other house on Berk, but yet there was something very different to this house that made it stand out above the rest. And this was proven even further by the time Astrid reached the top level of the house.

"When you said you wanted more privacy you weren't kidding," Astrid said, taking note of all the doors. "And how many rooms do we need? There's-" Astrid counted the number of doors as she walked past them, "-five doors up here."

"Well, the furthest room is just my study," Hiccup explained, opening the door on the far end of the landing to reveal a small room with a lone study desk and a couple of bookcases and a bit of extra floor space. "I mean, I remember my dad always complaining he didn't have enough privacy to do all the paperwork he had, so I thought it might be better to have a room to do it all."

"True," Astrid agreed, with a slight nod of her head. "You keep saying that your mum tends to get in the way, even though she doesn't mean to. At least this way, I won't be able to."

Hiccup smiled. "You'd never get in the way, milady," he said softly, as he brought a hand up to Astrid's face where he gently caressed her flushed cheek, making her brighten even further upon contact.

"Sure, you say that now," Astrid said teasingly, in an effort to ignore her glowing face. "But just wait until we're under the same roof together. You'll soon change your mind."

"Always have to ruin the moment, don't you?" Hiccup said, throwing her a playful grin, which Astrid swiftly returned, before gesturing to the door beside the study.

"Urgh… that's… that's a spare room," Hiccup admitted nervously, as he opened the door to show what was inside. "You know… for anyone who comes along." He lowered his eyes from Astrid's face, which was glowing even brighter than usual, and not just from embarrassment.

"Well, I guess that did need to be considered," she replied, giving him a bright smile. "I mean, we do want kids." She threw him a pointed look.

Hiccup smiled bashfully. "Yeah, I know we do," he said softly, squeezing the hand that was wrapped around his. "It's just we've never really talked about it before now. Not much anyway," he added quickly, seeing as Astrid was about to interject. She smiled.

"There'll be plenty of time for that soon," she noted, keeping her eyes low so as to hide the blush that was rising in her cheeks. She gestured to the other door in the middle of the hallway. "Is that another spare room?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah," he said, as he quickly opened the door to show her the room. "I wasn't going to add on another room, but mum pointed out too many rooms is better than not enough. I mean, we don't really know what's going to happen in the future, so I guess it's better to be prepared," Hiccup admitted.

Astrid chuckled. "You don't need to explain yourself to me, Hiccup," she said gently. "If you think it was a good idea, it was a good idea. Please don't tell methat's a third spare room, though," she added, with a quick gesture towards the next door on the landing.

Hiccup laughed. "No," he assured her with a shake of his head. "No, actually it's-" he opened the door for her, "-a washroom."

Raising her eyebrows in surprise, Astrid stepped forward to peer inside the tiny room to find a cosy little space that was filled up mostly by a bath in the centre of the room. There was also a small wash basin sitting comfortably beside the side of the doorway, and a cupboard on the other. A discreet privy also stood at the corner of the room; a sight not very often seen in the houses of Berk.

"I have to admit, that," she gestured to the privy, "is the best idea I've seen yet," she chuckled. "I mean, I don't know about you, but trudging out to the outhouse in the middle of winter isn't my idea of a fun time. Finally, I won't have to!"

Hiccup grinned. "I thought you'd like it."

"I like that you thought of it," Astrid giggled, before her eyes suddenly flickered to the final door.

"Is… is that-?"

"-Our room?" Hiccup finished for her. He smiled. "Yeah, it is."

"Our room," Astrid breathed, turning to him with a tender smile. "You have no idea how odd that sounds."

"I'm sure we'll get used to it," Hiccup said gently. "So… do you want to see it?" he asked tentatively.

Astrid nodded mutely.

"Okay."

Grasping the door handle, Hiccup slowly opened the door, and it swung open to reveal what seemed to be the largest room on the upper level. Astrid's line of sight immediately fell upon a large four poster bed sitting against the left wall, with two bedside tables sitting comfortably on either side. Above the bed, a window was nestled in the wooden planes of the house, letting in a great stream of sunshine that cast a golden hue across the spacious room. At the far end of the room, a cupboard and Hiccup's writing desk stood next to a beautiful fireplace that took up a good portion of the room in itself. And on the other side of the room, which Astrid couldn't help but chuckle at, sat Toothless's rock bed, giving him as much pride of place in the room as the bed did on the opposite side of the room.

Astrid was at a loss for words as she glanced around the room. Whatever she had been expecting, it certainly wasn't this. The room was beautiful. It was obvious Hiccup had had a major hand in designing it too, considering the detail that was in both the fireplace and the bed, which itself was something to behold.

Unlike other Viking beds, this piece of furniture wasn't just a wooden slab with a few pillows and blankets. It was unlike any other bed on Berk: The mattress sunk below the sides of the bed, being stuffed with goose down and featured a large black bear fur blanket draped across the majority it; four oak pillars stood at each corner of the bed, carved and inscribed with designs of the common dragons of Berk, each pillar topped with either a Night Fury or Nadder head. A line of red cord ran between the four columns from a brassy ring just below the dragon busts. Four pillows sat at the far end of the bed from the doorway, each looking as plush as the mattress itself. To put it simply, it was amazing.

Raising a trembling hand up to the smooth wood, Astrid brought a hand down one of the wooden posts, her heart beating wildly in her chest as she felt the carved wood beneath her fingertips. It was hard to believe that in less than one week's time this bed would be hers and Hiccup's together. The thought made her stomach drop nervously like she'd missed a step upon the staircase of the Great Hall.

"W… what do you think of it?" Hiccup stuttered, breaking the silence that had seemed to accumulate around them. "I mean, I know it's not what you're used to, but if you don't like it-"

"I love it," Astrid said quietly. Reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, Astrid turned to Hiccup with a shy smile. "Hiccup… it's beautiful. How... how did you even come up with the design?" she asked. "I mean, I've never seen anything like it."

With a blush that crept up to his ears, Hiccup smiled. "I may or not have asked around to find out if there was a different style of bed than just plain old wood."

"So who gave you the idea for this?" Astrid inquired with a raise of an eyebrow.

Hiccup chuckled. "Believe it or not, it was Dagur," he said, causing Astrid's to widen in surprise. "Apparently the trader that does business on Berserker Island has been to areas a lot further away than most people, and he said that most Vikings in the far North carve beds like this." He nodded to the bed beside them. "He sent me a sketch of one, and I just… followed what it showed I guess. It took a lot longer than I expected it to, though," he added.

"So that's what you've been working on the past few months!" Astrid exclaimed, her eyes twinkling in understanding. "I knew you'd been up to something other than work." She threw him a triumphant look.

"Well, I wasn't going to give it away now, was I?" Hiccup grinned. "And now I'm glad I did seeing how much you like it."

"It's amazing," Astrid said. "You're amazing. Heck, this whole place is amazing!" she exclaimed, with a gesture towards the rest of the room.

Hiccup grinned. "That's a lot of amazing's."

"Well it is," Astrid insisted, with a slight flush of embarrassment. "Hiccup… you've done more for me than any other Viking would do for their betrothed." Blinking furiously to keep the tears that were rapidly filling her eyes away, she reached up to cup his flushed cheek. "I love you."

Hiccup beamed. "I love you, too," he replied softly, reaching up to stroke the lines of her face, before leaning close to capture her lips with his in a gentle kiss, before gently pulling away to lean his forehead against hers. "So…" he continued nervously, "do… do you want to have a feel of it?" he asked.

"What?" Astrid asked startled as she pulled away from him.

"I… I just mean do you want to sit on it?" Hiccup stuttered, as the blush crept back into his cheekbones. He gestured to the bed. "Have a feel of what it's like. I mean, you don't have to, I was only-"

Astrid giggled. "I know what you mean, babe," she said, reaching up to place a finger over his stammering lips. "You don't have to explain yourself." And before Hiccup could say anymore, Astrid had stepped over towards the bed and gently lowered herself down, only to be met with the softness of the thick blanket underneath her.

"Oh, wow," Astrid breathed, as she gently lay herself down upon the bed with a soft sigh. "Well, I'm sold," she giggled, with a quick glance at Hiccup over the top of her eyebrows. "This is the most comfortable thing I've ever lay on."

"Well, that's good to know," Hiccup said as he heaved a sigh of relief. "I have to admit, I was a little worried about it."

Astrid sat up with a frown. "Haven't you tried it yet?"

"Well… no," Hiccup admitted, throwing her a sheepish grin. "I brought it here as soon as it was finished so I didn't really have the time too."

"Why don't you try it out now, then?" Astrid asked him gently, as she reached out a hand towards him.

Hiccup's eyes widened. "I… I don't think that would be very appropriate," the young man stammered, as he stepped away from the woman's outstretched hand. "I mean, w… we'll be married in a week. I'll wait until then."

"Seriously?" Astrid asked incredulously. "Hiccup, all I'm asking is for you sit on the bed. I'm not asking you to lie with me. Not in that way anyway," she added quickly with a grin in Hiccup's direction, who quickly returned it, despite his hesitations. 'Besides, it's not we haven't lain next to each before," she reminded him gently.

Hiccup smiled. "I know," he replied softly, as he reached out to take her hand in his. "But that was completely different. We always had the gang around us, but here-" He shook his head. "I just don't want to do anything that we might regret."

"Hiccup," Astrid said evenly, causing the young man to look at her softly. "We're going to be married in a week. I'm pretty sure if we've held out this long that we're not going to tempt fate by sitting on the same bed together."

"Yeah… I guess so…" Hiccup said slowly, as he eyed off the spot beside her, but still he made no move to join her.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Oh, for-" Whipping out her hand, she grabbed hold of Hiccup's vest, and before the young man could protest, dumped him in a heap beside her on the blanket.

"There," Astrid said triumphantly as Hiccup brushed a hand over the softness beneath him. "All good now?"

"You're impossible, do you know that?" Hiccup asked, throwing her a lopsided grin.

Astrid grinned. "And you love me for it," she said matter-of-factly, as she placed a kiss upon his burning cheek.

"Thor knows why," Hiccup replied affectionately, as he wrapped an arm around the woman's shoulders, where Astrid brought a hand up to his chest in response, before laying her head on his shoulder.

"So," Astrid said, without even glancing up. "What do you think of it?"

"I think you were right," Hiccup said contentedly. "This is the comfortable thing I've ever sat on. Why in Thor's name haven't we ever come up with this before? I mean, it beats sleeping on a wooden bed any day!"

"Because Vikings are stubborn," Astrid mumbled comfortably from Hiccup's chest. "Anything different is met with more resistance than a wild dragon on a chain."

Hiccup snorted. "Interesting analogy."

Astrid shrugged. "Couldn't think of anything else."

"It's not that you're not right, though," Hiccup admitted as he nuzzled his nose into Astrid's flaxen locks affectionately. "I mean, I bet that if I offered to help design one of these beds for everyone else on Berk, they'd all knock it back."

"I do too," Astrid replied. "They don't know what they're missing, though."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while as they sat there, Astrid contentedly wrapped in Hiccup's arms as he gently caressed his thumb over a part of her shoulder that wasn't covered in armour. It was hard to believe that in just one short week that the young couple would wed, and at long last, would be able to do this and more as often as they liked. The thought made a thrill of anticipation course through both of their stomach's.

So… I guess you better go soon, huh?" Hiccup said, breaking the silence. "Don't want to make you late for your fitting."

"Hmm?" Astrid mumbled, not making a move to stand up. "I guess so."

Hiccup chuckled lightly. "Doesn't look like you're going there, milady."

"Don't really want to," she muttered, as she raised her head to look into forest green eyes.

Hiccup reached out to trace the bones of her face lightly. "I wouldn't want you to mess your fitting, Astrid," he said softly. "Besides," he continued with a warm smile towards her, "in a week, we can do this all you want. You won't be able to get rid of me!"

Astrid grinned. "I'll hold you to that promise," she said, leaning close to gently brush her lips against Hiccup's, before bringing her hand up to the back of Hiccup's head where she tangled her fingers into the auburn locks. Stiffening in surprise, Hiccup hesitated for a moment, before he brought a tender hand up to Astrid's cheeks, and rubbing a gentle thumb over her cheek, kissed her back with more fervour than even of them were expecting.

All recollections of their earlier conversation vanished from the pair's mind as they deepened the kiss further. Clasping hold of Hiccup's vest, Astrid pulled him closer to her, all the while pushing themselves back onto the bed further without thinking, so engrossed in each other as they were. Brushing his hand down Astrid's cheek, Astrid found herself shivering involuntarily as Hiccup's hand made its way down her face and over the exposed skin of her neck making her eyes slip closed in the process. Reciprocating in kind, Astrid quickly let go of Hiccup's messy locks before wrapping her arms around Hiccup's neck, while all the while carefully manoeuvring him into a better position. Understanding where her mind was at, Hiccup carefully brought his legs up onto the bed, before leaning back into her touch with a sigh of contentment against her lips.

As the sound of this reached Astrid's ears, she suddenly found her confidence growing, and before she knew it, the young woman was gently coaxing Hiccup back onto the pillows, her mouth still hot and heavy on his own as the young man's back suddenly met with the blankets underneath him causing Astrid to wobble slightly above him. His eyes suddenly shot open.

"As… Astrid," he gasped, as he gently placed a hand upon her flushed cheek. "We… we can't."

"What, babe?" Astrid breathed, releasing his mouth in order to place a soft kiss to the exposed skin of his neck.

"I… I said we can't do this," Hiccup repeated, as he tried to pull back from her. "Not now. We… we can't go any further…"

There was silence for a moment as Astrid's brain processed the words, but within moments, her eyes suddenly widened in realisation as the impact of what was happening hit her like a Gronkle doing a free drop. Her face reddened.

"Oh Gods," she stuttered, as she quickly heaved herself off of him. "Oh, Hiccup, I'm sorry, I… I didn't know what I was thinking-"

Before Hiccup could respond, though, a sudden loud knock from downstairs startled them from their thoughts.

"Astrid, are you in there?!" came her mother's inquiring voice. "You're going to be late for your fitting!"

"Oh, shoot!" Astrid exclaimed apprehensively, with a quick glance towards Hiccup. "I completely forgot." She turned towards the door. "Yeah, mum!" she bellowed. "I'll be right down!"

"Well, hurry up, dear!" came her mother's answering reply. "Everyone's waiting for you!"

"I… I better go," Astrid stuttered quickly as she turned her attention back to Hiccup. She reached up to touch her hair. "Does it look messy?"

Hiccup chuckled. "You look fine, Astrid," he assured her gently as he reached up to tuck one loose strand of hair behind her. "Not one hair out of place."

Astrid breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hiccup, I'm… I'm sorry…" she said quietly. 'I didn't mean to… well…"

"You don't have to apologise, Astrid," Hiccup assured her quietly, leaning forward to rest his forehead against hers "We just got carried away, that's all. But… er… to be on the safe side, maybe we should stay away from here until after the wedding." He chuckled awkwardly.

Astrid blushed. "Yeah… maybe we should," she admitted, throwing him a bashful grin. "I mean, like you said; surely we can wait one more week?"

Hiccup laughed.

"ASTRID! ARE YOU COMING OR NOT?!"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" she hollered back, before she quickly glanced back to Hiccup who was still sitting awkwardly on the bed. "I better go,' she said. "You know, before they send a search party in," she chuckled.

"Alright," Hiccup said softly. "I'll see you later." Standing up, he pressed a soft kiss to Astrid's forehead with a smile. "Love you."

Astrid beamed. "Love you, too," she replied gently, before she began to make her way towards the door.

"Good luck at the fitting," Hiccup said gently, making her stop in the doorway and turn back towards him. "I know you're going to look beautiful no matter what you wear."

Eyes burning with emotion, Astrid's lips turned up in a bright smile. "Thanks, babe," she whispered, before she rushed over to give her betrothed another swift kiss on the lips, before turning on her heel and quickly rushing out, leaving Hiccup in a daze behind her.

"Sorry I'm late, mum, Hiccup was giving me a tour of the house," Hiccup heard Astrid say as she shut the door behind her.

As soon as his fiancée was out of earshot, Hiccup quickly fell back onto the bed with a frustrated groan.

"Urgh…something tells me it's going to be a very long week!"

Yeah, this storyline has been in my head for quite a while, and it was nice to finally be able to write it.

Alright, so for anyone wondering, the bed Hiccup made in this chapter for him and Astrid is actually now a Viking bed was made of. Unlike in the show, Viking beds weren't just wooden like they are in the show. They did actually have mattresses and all, they were just a little different, and it was my mum (who watches the TV series 'Vikings') who actually explained to me what they were most likely made of. Besides, the last thing I wanted was to give them a rough old wooden bed. Ouch! Also, no, Hiccup didn't build the entire house himself like it sounded, he just designed it. He didn't have much of a hand in actually building it!

Ok, so I'm going to write the next two chapters of this story (which will be as short as this chapter) and get the ball rolling, then I'm going to be heading back to Living with the Haddocks. After that, it just depends on my schedule on when I will update this. Plus, if anyone has any requests, there are a few storylines I haven't worked out for this yet, so give me a shout out if you have an idea I might be able to use! I'd love to hear them. The next two chapters will take place one and two weeks into their marriage.

Ok, so, PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! As this is a new story, I'd like to know what you thought of it, so feel free to review, follow and favourite this story if you want. For anyone who isn't familiar with my stories, though, please be aware that I DO NOT TOLERATE FLAMES, AND ANY FLAMES I DO RECEIVE WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY DELETED. I do, though, accept KIND, constructive criticism. (I ask for kind because I have an anxiety disorder and if you come off as harsh, I take it badly and lose confidence that's all).

Thanks for reading! :D

PS: For anyone who reads Living with the Haddocks and hasn't yet voted on what Leif's dragon will be, I kindly ask for you to do so. At the present time, it's almost neck and neck and at this rate it's going to be a bit tricky to determine a winner unless we get more votes. Thanks!)