Chapter 10: Time of the Season

Berk, December 2004

"Hiccup! Where did you put the strollers?" Astrid shouted towards the second storey of the apartment.

"They should be in the closet!" Was shouted back.

"Well they aren't! I only see one," Astrid retorted. "You had it last when you took Zephyr to the park yesterday!"

"Ah crap! It might still be in my car then," Hiccup responded as he appeared from his room. He was walking with a cane as he came down the stairs somewhat slowly.

"You know how fussy she gets when she has to walk that much," Astrid sighed.

"I know, I know babe. I can just pick her up once we exit the elevator." Hiccup stated while looking rather apologetic. The toddler in question waddled over to Astrid and poked her in the leg several times.

"Zephyr don't poke your mother like that," Hiccup admonished.

"BOO!" The toddler exclaimed while trying to pout, though it came off more as a chubby huff instead.

"Yes yes, I'm very afraid," Astrid just chuckled as she rocked the baby in her arms. "Though are you sure Hiccup? Your leg's been acting up now that the weather has gotten colder." she worried.

"I'll be fine milady. I am a very strong toothpick!" He proclaimed and struck a bodybuilding pose that had Astrid laughing.

"Dada pick!" Zephyr squealed happily while clapping her chubby hands together.

The foursome left the penthouse in a jovial mood and then set off towards their destination which seemed to be halfway across town.

By the time they reached their destination however Astrid was anything but a happy camper. Her baby was happily gurgling in the baby seat while Zephyr, in a car seat of her own, insisted on playing mother goose on her Leapfrog again and again... and again.

"ASTRID!!!" Was yelled as Alexi, slammed her front door open and happily made her way towards her sister. Which resulted in Astrid getting caught in a bearhug before she was even fully out of the car.

"Sis... need to breathe!" She uttered while patting Alexi's back. Hiccup just chuckled but soon it was his turn to be strangled as well. Once Astrid, Hiccup and the kids were inside Alexi's home they all 'wowed'.

"You like?" Alexi smirked while spreading her hands to show off her new place.

"This house is amazing sis!" Astrid remarked. "You said housewarming party, not manor warming!"

"It's hardly a manor, though I got it on a steal from the realtor. Apparently no one wanted to buy it because it was supposedly haunted," she said while making air quotations with her hands. "As a fixer-upper after working on it for around eight months I think it turned out quite well."

"Does this house have a lot of history?" Hiccup asked as they were led further into the surprisingly spacious interior. Nuffink was becoming a bit fussy so Hiccup took him out of the stroller and rocked him.

"Oh you bet!" Alexi was quite excited. "I'll tell you both in detail once we have lunch. I'm still waiting on Russel to arrive,"

"Russel?" Astrid questioned.

Alexi just gave a mischievous grin as the doorbell rang not so long after. "That must be him right now!" she said excitingly.

Alexi practically skipped back towards the front door. On the other side was a clean-shaven young man holding a bouquet of white roses. Astrid and Hiccup watched Alexi's eyes light up as she embraced the man.

"Guys, this is Russel," she introduced after the embrace. "Russel this is my sister Astrid and her partner Hiccup. And those cuties are my adorable niece and nephew,"

"It's a pleasure," Russel said as he gave each one a handshake. "Alexi told me a lot about you and I just couldn't wait to meet the illustrious sister,"

"Everyone get cozy! We have a lot to talk about," Alexi grinned. "I also need to get my ham out of the oven soon,"

Lunch was a fun affair as Hiccup found out that the sisters definitely shared the same cooking skill. He and Russel shared a look while trying to swallow a piece of ham and came to an understanding silently. Meanwhile Astrid and Alexi were laughing as Alexi tried to feed Zephyr some corn while making choo choo noises. Nuffink was oblivious to all of this as the baby was fast asleep for its mid-day nap.

"So you were saying about the house," Hiccup asked, coughing after he swallowed. "My curiosity is peaked."

"Right, so..." Alexi excitingly said as she relayed the history of the place. "The house actually was never lived in since it was built. And now you're probably wondering why people said it was haunted." Both Hiccup and Astrid nodded.

"The story goes that this house was actually built for an up-and-coming dancer but the guy was murdered on his first day moving in by an obsessive fan."

"Odin above," Astrid gasped.

"Indeed," Alexi nodded. "Apparently he used most of his savings to build this house and when he was murdered his parents were unwilling to part with the property. They just let it sit, unable to really want to do anything with it."

"The property was in such disrepair that Alexi here got it for a third of the original market price," Russel chimed in.

"Where does the haunted part come in though?" Astrid asked.

"We aren't really sure." Alexi just shrugged. "Though I think they were just rumors from the neighbourhood at the time,"

"There is one other thing we wanted to tell you guys," She added and took Russel's hand in hers. "We're together. Like together together," Alexi stated.

"Alexi, no offence but I think we figured that out when you introduced us. Honestly, this news seems like the most obvious elephant in the room I've ever seen." Astrid deadpanned which caused Alexi to laugh.

"Yeah, but I mean, this is it for me Astrid. Russel proposed and I've accepted." She announced which made Astrid's brows shoot up. "No more me changing boyfriends every few months or so sis. Russel and I have decided to start a family together."

"Are you two..." The question hung in the air as Astrid stared at her sister and Russel.

"No, we aren't." Alexi confessed. "It's also the reason why I haven't told mom yet. You know how she'd flip a gasket."

"She'd flip a bloody car Alexi," Astrid grumbled. "Did you forget how she acted when I told her I'd entered into a Common-Law marriage with Hiccup?" Alexi grimaced at that being brought up again.

"Yeah," Alexi frowned. "I haven't even told her about the whole... you know... my wild phase." She muttered while making a twirling hand motion.

"That's how Russel and I actually met," Alexi then explained. "At a rave!"

Astrid just nodded at her sisters explanation. Because of the kids being present she didn't want to say exactly what the raves her sister attended entailed though Hiccup seemed to have gotten the picture as he choked on his wine. She patted him on the back while raising her brow at Alexi.

"So you two were together this whole time?" Hiccup asked after he stopped coughing.

"Thor no," Russel laughed. "Alexi and I were... how do you say, on again off again." He explained. "We officially began dating a year ago after she dumped that violin player... what was his name again?"

"Dietrich," Alexi supplied. "He was a total ass. I don't even remember what I saw in him."

"We've been exclusive since then and well..." Alexi clapped her hands together. "This is where we are right now. Both of us want to start a family and neither of us wants to wait for our soulmates,"

"Alexi speaks so very highly of both of you and we were hoping if you both would be willing to be in the bridal party," Russel questioned. "It's not going to be some big wedding. Most of our savings went into restoring this house."

"Yes, we were wondering if you'd accompany us to the courthouse in a few months as Maid of Honor and Best Man and witness our marriage," Alexi added.

"We'd love to!" Astrid exclaimed. "But..." She then looked between Hiccup and Russel. "Russel are you sure about the Best Man pick? If you have any siblings or anyone else."

"No no, nothing if the sort. I'm a bit of an introvert." Russel admitted. "I also don't know my biological family." He added. "I aged out of the foster care system at 18 and never really knew who my parents were,"

"You know what we need! A selfie!" Alexi announced.

"That new trend that's been popping up?" Hiccup asked as Alexi whipped out her Nokia N-Gage.

"Yeah. Look we can even post it on this new thing called Facebook!" She excitingly exclaimed.

"Sounds fun," Astrid said as she took a seat next to Alexi while holding Nuffink. "Hiccup let Zephyr sit on your lap," She added as Hiccup scooted to sit next to her.

Russel had his arm around Alexi as she announced "Say Biscuits and gravy!"

"Biscuits and...," Astrid muttered as the shutter of the camera could be heard.

"Sis look at your face!!!" Alexi giggled.

"What the! Let me see!" Astrid exclaimed as she tried to reach for the phone which was kept out of her reach as Alexi giggled.

AN: Hey guys! I'm back! A lot of things happened in December that had me taking a short break. Most of it was unwanted and I needed to get my mojo back. But I'm back now and we are continuing with the stories!!! So sit back and enjoy!