Hiccup's birthday was on the twenty-eighth of February, which I only found out a week before, when Javier asked me at dinner if I would be coming to the celebration.

The question surprised me so much that I choked on a potato. My father patted me on the back as I coughed. Javier looked at me wide-eyed, as if she'd just sentenced me to death with that question. "Your birthday is next week?" I said indignantly to Hiccup after I stopped choking.

His cheeks turned slightly red. "Uh, yes. Did I forget to mention that?" I stared at him angrily, which answered his question, causing Gobber to chuckle.

Javier couldn't hide her grin. "I'll include you in the plans."

"That would be very kind of you, thank you," I said to her, throwing Hiccup one last look, which only made his cheeks flush even more.

One week, how was I supposed to find a suitable gift in that time? Should I get him a book? But I wasn't really sure what his favorite genre was or which ones interested him. What was his favorite book? Maybe I could find something related to that. Or maybe a framed photo of us? No, that would be lame, what would he even do with it? Ugh, this was going to give me a headache, but I'd figure something out.

"Oh, that reminds me," said Javier, smiling at me. "You'll get to meet the family then. We celebrate at Babushka's every year."

Finding a gift and preparing to meet Hiccup's family? That was going to be a tough week, especially with school still going on.

"She'll be happy," Hiccup said, looking at me. "They've been talking about nothing else for ages."

"Because you've been talking about no one else for ages," mumbled Gobber, stuffing a piece of steak into his mouth. I giggled softly, while Hiccup rolled his eyes, though he couldn't suppress a smile. My dad gave me a wink and a grin.

The rest of the meal, they told me stories about Hiccup's family, how extroverted his cousin June was with everyone, how his cousin Viktor tried to drown him in the pool when they were seven, and how Viktor's brother Aleksander saved him. Hiccup told me Aleksander was the one he liked the most out of the three, he was similar to him in that he liked reading and photography. They warned me about his aunt, who would probably smother me in kisses at the door.

"June gets her extroversion from her," Hiccup said to me with a grin.

"Why does she have such a typical English name and the others don't?" I asked, hoping it didn't sound rude. It had just stood out to me while they were talking.

Hiccup just laughed quietly. "Oh, that. June is the firstborn and my aunt really wanted her to fit in here and not get bullied for having a foreign name. With the boys, she then picked names that are traditionally Russian but still often used in the West, because she didn't want them to forget their Russian roots. That's why Aleksander and Viktor are spelled with a k."

I nodded. "Why did she change her mind about the names?"

He shrugged and looked to Javier and Gobber to see if they knew. Javier seemed to have an answer. "She saw that June wasn't really bullied because of her background, so she went with the more traditional names because she just liked them better." I nodded again and finished my glass of water.

Once everyone was done, Javier and Gobber cleared the plates and returned from the kitchen with dessert. Strawberry quark, I absolutely adored Javier for that, which I also told her. She gave me a wide smile in return.

Since the day of Brandon's arrest, we'd had dinner together more often, and I noticed how good it was for my dad to not just be with me all the time. He liked Javier and Gobber from the start, never said a bad word about them, and even told me he thought it was wonderful how they took Hiccup in and raised him.

"All that talking about a child needing a mother and a father is just nonsense," he had said when we drove home after our first dinner with them. "With Hiccup, you can clearly see that a man and a nonbinary person can raise a child just as well. He's a good young man, they did everything right."

Every time he showed that he not only accepted Hiccup but genuinely liked him, I couldn't help but beam. I couldn't put into words how much that meant to me. Especially because Hiccup was the first of my boyfriends that he fully accepted. And the fact that he liked his family just as much only made it better.

❁

Within that one week, I managed to find a gift that I hoped he would like. It was wrapped in wrapping paper, placed in a bag at my feet, as we drove to Hiccup's grandparents' house. Saying I was nervous would have been an understatement. Hiccup, Gobber, and Javier kept reassuring me that everything would go well, but what if they didn't like me? What if they thought I was too ugly for Hiccup? What if they preferred someone with Russian ancestry?

"Stop freaking out," Hiccup told me, clearly sensing my inner turmoil. He took my hand and squeezed it once. "They'll love you, just as you are. You really have nothing to worry about." He gave me his beautiful smile, and I calmed down a bit. I did not let go of his hand for the rest of the trip.

About twenty minutes later, we arrived at his grandparents' house. They had a lovely big, typically American home with white wooden siding and a wraparound porch. Gobber parked in the wide driveway beside a red Range Rover. Just as we were closing the car doors behind us, Hiccup's aunt, the one I had been warned about, ran toward us. She threw her arms around Hiccup, planted big kisses on his cheeks, and said something to him in Russian. Hiccup laughed and hugged her back.

Then she turned to me, arms wide. "You must be Astrid! It's so wonderful to finally meet you." First, she hugged me, then she planted loud kisses on my cheeks. "Oh, look at you." She tucked two strands of hair behind my ears, then turned to Hiccup, who watched us, smiling. "She really is as pretty as you said." My cheeks began to burn. His aunt really didn't mince words.

"Did you think I was lying?" Hiccup teased her.

"No, but who knows what you find pretty," she replied with a grin, and he rolled his eyes. Laughing, she put her hand on my back. "Come, my dear, let's go inside where it's warm."

June, his cousin, was waiting by the door. She had styled her dark blond hair into a short bob but otherwise looked exactly like her mother. High cheekbones, light blue eyes, broad shoulders. There was no doubt they were related. Hiccup's aunt disappeared into the house while June congratulated Hiccup and then turned to me. Without warning, she hugged me. She was definitely her mother's daughter.

"I already like you for the simple fact that you didn't reject my mom," she said to me, lightly accenting "mom" with a Russian lilt, then smiled.

I smiled back. "I'm not that rude. Besides, what's wrong with a hug?" Her smile widened as she winked at her cousin and headed down the hallway.

Hiccup took my jacket from my shoulders and hung it in the hall closet. Then we followed the voices into the living room, which was decorated with balloons, garlands, and streamers. Hiccup's aunt took the gift bag from me and placed it on a table already filled with presents.

June appeared next to me again and a blond-haired boy, even lighter than mine, approached us. He patted Hiccup on the shoulder and said something to him in Russian. That must be one of his cousins. The other cousin, who had the same hair color as June and their mother, came up to me.

He held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Aleksander, Hiccup's youngest cousin," he introduced himself with a smile.

I shook his hand. "Astrid, but I think you already know."

He laughed, revealing a dimple. At sixteen, he was well-built, and his voice was mature for his age. "Yes," he said. "The rude blond over here is my brother Viktor, by the way"

Viktor placed a dramatic hand on his chest. "Rude, me? What did I do now?"

Aleksander looked at his brother in annoyance. "First you blatantly ignored Astrid, our guest, and then you spoke to Hiccup in Russian so she couldn't join the conversation, making her feel excluded. Really great first impression."

Viktor shrugged dismissively. "Hiccup probably already told her everything about us, why should I introduce myself?"

Aleksander turned fully to him and started arguing in Russian. June rolled her eyes and Hiccup sighed. He put a hand on my back and guided me away from the quarrel. "Don't take it personally, Viktor acts like that with everyone."

"Oh, believe me, I never take that kind of behavior personally." He grinned at me and I grinned back.

It faded, though, when we reached his grandparents. His grandmother inspected me from head to toe, while his grandfather wore a broad smile. "S Dnem rozhden'ya tebya!" he said. I assumed it meant Happy Birthday, because Hiccup smiled and hugged his grandfather. His grandmother repeated the phrase and hugged him tightly.

Hiccup placed his hand on my back again. "You two, this is Astrid. Astrid, my paternal grandparents."

Though I was intimidated by his grandmother, I managed a smile and extended my hand. "It's so lovely to meet you."

The grandfather took my hand in both of his and squeezed it. "The pleasure is ours, isn't it, dorogaya moya?" The last phrase, a nickname I presumed, was directed towards his wife.

She stared at me for a beat longer, then returned the smile, and I breathed again. "Of course, I haven't heard anything else from our vnuk for months. I guess his head is thinking about nothing else but you."

"Babushka," Hiccup interjected, but she simply chuckled.

"I understand why he's like that, though. Everything we've heard about you has been wonderful, and so far you're making a good impression."

"Oh, uh, thank you," I said sheepishly. This woman already held some sway over me, even though I'd only just met her a few minutes ago.

She chuckled again. "Don't let an old woman like me weigh on your mind. I like you and you seem good for Hiccup. As long as that doesn't change, you've got a place with us." She smiled at me and I beamed back. "Now come on, you two, we're getting the cakes out of the fridge and then we eat."

She led the way into the kitchen, her husband close behind. "I told you they'd like you," Hiccup whispered in my ear and gave me a sideways grin. I rolled my eyes and let him guide me to the dining table.

There were three cakes total, but only one had two candles forming an 18. June lit them with a lighter and they began singing Happy Birthday in Russian while I just clapped along. After Hiccup blew out the candles, everyone could take a slice. Just like my family had done with Hiccup at Christmas, I was now bombarded with questions. I told them about ice skating, my mother's illness and death, how my father and I got by during that time, and my perspective on how Hiccup and I met. I said nothing about Brandon or the blackmail, since Hiccup didn't want them to know, which I understood.

After dinner it was time for gifts. They were brought to the table one by one, mine being the last. After he'd received a new Polaroid camera from Aleksander, an art pen set from June, and several books from the rest, I wanted to throw my gift out the window. He would hate it. I hated myself for not thinking of anything better.

Javier placed the bag in front of him on the table. "This one's from Astrid." She winked at me and stepped back beside Gobber. Hiccup pulled it from the bag and tore off the wrapping.

Please let me have a heart attack right here and now, let me die, I don't want to see disappointment in his eyes.

But Hiccup just smiled at the picture frame, and then at me. "The first photo of us together, at the Halloween party."

I nodded with flushed cheeks. "I wrote something on the bottom."

He looked again. "There are very few who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement. That's from Pride and Prejudice." He turned to me again, that gorgeous smile on his face.

I nodded. "You once told me it was your favorite classic, so I read it and marked passages I thought would make good quotes. That line spoke to me most." His eyes began to glisten and he pulled me into a hug. As he pulled away, he pressed a kiss to my cheek.

"Two pirates on the high seas," said June, grinning as she examined the photo. "The costumes match perfectly."

Hiccup and I looked at each other and burst out laughing, remembering how it came together. Then we of course had to tell the full story, which we did. He held my hand tightly the whole time. I was relieved his family seemed to like me. And that he loved my simple yet meaningful gift.

Because even though we never said it aloud, we both knew that the night of the Halloween party was when we realized we felt more than just friendship between us.

❁

Just before midnight, Hiccup and I were sitting together on his bed. He had placed the photo of us next to the one of his parents on his nightstand, which brought tears to my eyes. None of my boyfriends had ever kept a photo of me before, and the fact that he put it somewhere he would see it every morning and evening made my heart swell.

He had also tested out his new Polaroid camera during the party and the photos were still lying on his desk. He planned to turn them into a small collage and hang them up somewhere. He was clearly someone who wanted to hold on to memories. That came from having lost his family in a sudden moment, as he had once explained to me. I could completely understand that. You should cherish everything you can.

"What did your grandfather say to your grandmother earlier? Was that a nickname?" I asked him after I had texted my father that I'd be home tomorrow evening.

"Dorogaya moya? That means 'my love' or 'my darling,'" he explained with a smile. "Should I call you that too?"

I felt my cheeks flush a little. "You don't have to. I just thought about it before what you might call me if you ever used a nickname for me."

He seemed to think for a moment. "Kotik ... no, that doesn't fit. Some people use solntse, but that rather means sun. Zalatája majá would suit your hair."

I shook my head with a laugh. "I have no idea what any of that means."

He just grinned at me. "Kraßáwitza maja. How does that sound?"

"What does it mean?"

"Is that important?"

Was this his way of flirting? If so, it was working. "It is to me. For all I know, it could mean something like jerk or worse."

He laughed quietly and then leaned closer to me. At my lips, he whispered the translation before kissing me. "My beauty."

❁

When I woke up the next morning in Hiccup's bed, I immediately noticed that his side was empty. Only then did I register his quiet voice, he was talking to someone. Slowly, I opened my eyes and saw him standing by the window, looking out while holding his phone to his ear. A glance at the clock on his nightstand told me it was just after seven in the morning. Who would call him at this hour on a Sunday?

"Yes, I'm still here," he whispered into the quiet room. "I just don't know ... I ... it's ..." He shook his head. Something had happened, and I sat up to show him I was awake. His gaze flicked to me briefly, then returned to the window. "Yes, I will. Thank you for calling me. See you later." He ended the call and stared at his phone.

My heart was pounding in my chest. He was so calm, so silent, it scared me. Especially because for several minutes, he didn't tell me what the call had been about. When I couldn't take it anymore and realized he was completely lost in thought, I got up and walked over to him. My legs immediately broke out in goosebumps since I was only wearing his T-shirt and the window had been left slightly open overnight.

I took his hands, which were still clutching his phone, into mine. "What happened?"

He slowly lifted his head so I could see his face and the tears in his eyes. Please, no ...

But he didn't say what I had feared.

"My mother woke up."

———

Some infos about this chapter:
• The she/her pronouns were used for Javier here because Astrid thought they looked more feminine
• Kotik means Kitten
• Zalatája majá means My Golden One
Remember that I look these words up online and they could be wrong, so if you know better, please do correct me ☺️