Work Text:
Astrid Hofferson stormed into her apartment, face red and teeth gnashing, the sound startling Tuffnut and Ruffnut from their staring contest currently taking place.
“Ha! I win!” whooped Ruffnut, hands raised in victory after Tuffnut had fallen from his chair in fright.
“Did not,” cried the twin as he pulled himself up. “I had my eyes open the entire time,”
“Like, nuh-huh,”
“Like, uh-huh,”
“Nah-huh.”
“Ya-huh,”
“Not-hu-”
“Hey, what’s the big deal?!”
The two sparring siblings turned their attention back to the blonde girl fuming at them. They had forgotten about her, which was not surprising since they had other priorities to sort about now.
Astrid growled. Maybe those priorities could take a backseat for now, lest they want to end up dead meat at the hands of Astrid who by the looks of it was furious. More than furious, seething. Her hands were balled into fists which shook uncontrollably while the veins on top of her forehead indicated that she was one her last fuse. Any little misstep and Kabloom!
“Uhh, Tuff?”
“Yeah?”
“What are you doing?” asked his sister with a confused look.
Tuffnut blinked, realizing that in the moment of silence after they relinquished their argument for the sake of Astrid he had enacted the explosion with his hands.
“Nuthing!” he quickly stuffing his hands underneath his buttocks.
Astrid rolled her eyes at the two sibling’s usual antics, already too exhausted from being angry to make a comment. She let out a unlady-like grunt when she slumped into the nearest open couch, legs tucked in. Tuffnut and Ruffnut looked at her their faces twisted in a slight puzzlement and mild irritation. Astrid did not seem to take the hint they wanted an explanation why they had stopped mid-challenge just for her. It took a brief moment for Astrid to realize why the twins had been staring at her with bulging eyes to begin.
“Hiccup stood me up.” She announced.
A gasp of mockery and a gasp of sincerity were heard simultaneously as the Thorston twins clasped their hands over their mouths dramatically. Frankly Astrid had a hard time figuring out who had been facetious and who had not. She let it slide in favor of allowing her pent up anger free even if that mean opening up to the two least favorable people.
“I am shocked!” Tuffnut looked to his sister. “Can you believe it Ruff? Hiccup standing our precious Astrid, the fairest shield-maiden of them all. Oh what crime!”
Astrid could feel her eye twitch. “Glad to know you care about me,” she spoke aloud though Ruffnut disregarded the sarcastic comment.
“What kind of person would do such a thing?! Ugh, that’s so typical of men. It’s why I hate them.” Ruffnut growled loudly while she grappled the nearest pillow and punched it hard enough to let some of the stuffing plop out.
“I know. I hate them so much.”
Feeling less like understood and more humiliated, Astrid finally straightened up from where she sat. With a glare she pointed out the most obvious, “Tuff, you’re a boy.”
Tuffnut shrugged it off, pulling a braid of hair to use as a moustache. Astrid heard him say something akin to “Details.” By the time she was staring flatly at Ruffnut. “And you, you’re into men.” Astrid spoke behind grinding teeth.
Classically Ruffnut denied the accusation with an appalled expression on her face. “You take that back! How could you possibly know I’m heterosexual.”
“Because everyone you’ve dated are men.” Astrid rebutted as she held up her hand to begin counting the facts. “You are disgusted by women, especially yourself, for – and I quote: ‘Having periods, yuck!’ Everytime we go outside you try to make yourself look pretty for nearly every boy you see and even right now you are trying to kiss the picture of your ex-boyfriend on your phone.”
Ruffnut looked up from her device only an inch away, lips puckered. She quickly threw her phone away into the corner of the room where it landed with a loud clatter on the floor. “That’s an invasion of privacy.”
“Doubtful,” scoffed Astrid. “Some good friends you are.”
It had been a mistake on her behalf to allow her emotions get the better of her, leading her astray from the more logical option of talking to Heather instead for the poorest candidates available. Not to say she would not pick Tuffnut or Ruffnut if she needed to confide to anyone about her feelings. Just that they were the last resort if at all.
Deciding she could do a lot better she stood up with an exhausted huff and made her way to her side of the apartment. She thumbed her phone, hesitating on whether to check for any new text messages, perhaps a call even. Sadly, she told herself, the ringing on her device would have alerted her. Thus far, since the ride home she had heard not a squeak from the damnable thing, the silence grating her patience without end.
She would have never pegged Hiccup for a chicken – well, not the kind to leave a girl stood up on a date – in her entire time she knew him. Even from his looks anyone could tell Hiccup was a compassionate soul, often when he did something wrong then an apology would not be far behind. It made it all the more baffling to know that Hiccup, the most sassy but sweet soul in Astrid whole life had not bothered to leave her a single message.
Oh the nerve. She whispered in grinding teeth. Should she ever see him she swore to Odin she would punch the ever daylight out of him until the next morning.
With little more to say on the matter she came upon a door just opposite of her own bedroom where some light music could be heard playing in the background. Astrid bit her lip, knowing that the moment she stepped in she would be riddled with questions. She doubted Heather would be as judgmental as the twins but it still pained her to know she would be expected to have done more than just sit idly outside the restaurant for a whole hour.
However, as horrible the thought of coming home disappointed that nothing had happened it did not compare to the image of a humiliated Astrid. Already she had made the mistake thinking she could openly speak about it to the twins, no doubt they would spread the news to almost half the continent in a matter of days. If Heather was to find out it would be through Astrid alone, that was the only consolation out of all this.
Lips pursed, Astrid raised her hand up hesitantly over the door, taking a deep sigh. She knocked twice before a voice barely audible over the music invited her in.
“Astrid!” rang a cheerful voice from across the room, Heather swiveling her chair around to greet her while the music stopped. Already Astrid felt her stomach churn, a slight tinge of disgust in her mouth from knowing where this was conversation was starting from. “You’re back early. Did it all go to plan? Did you kiss?”
Astrid pursed her lips, unable to contain a blush that dusted her cheeks. No, she reprimanded herself, hating herself for thinking such soft thoughts now more than ever. She shook her head, a slight frown dawning over her.
“No, he didn’t.” Astrid replied with a less than enthusiastic voice.
Heather gaped. “What? Did- did he chicken out.”
“Oh he wussed out. Big time. He left me, stranded. Not even a call. I stood out there looking like a fool dressed for our date and not once did Hiccup have the audacity to call me.”
“He did what?”
“Yeah, you heard.”
Heather slumped into her chair. She might not have been crushing on Hiccup but the girl did play a part in Astrid’s date plan, not to mention she loved the two be awkward about their relationship. “Maybe he got scared or something. You know he was already apprehensive about this whole thing, you two dating.”
“But I am not trying to play tricks on him, you know it.” Astrid hissed, throwing her arm up in exasperation. “He should know by now.”
However, as the words came out of her mouth Astrid found herself less assertive than she had been a second ago. It was no secret that in the whole of Berk Hiccup the most pitiful thing to look at considering the entire heritage of the town traced back to the Vikings. All the men here were blunt, imbecilic, hardheaded and often crass about anyone’s feeling, preferring to let their punches do the talking. And the women, well they were in the same boat just with different body parts and often more saucer pans than actual fists. It was why Hiccup stood out from the lot the most.
Lacking muscles, an actually scary name and possibly some facial hair, Hiccup had quickly become the target of pranks, bullying and a whole array of attacks, many of which Astrid found despicable. Even from afar Astrid realized that Hiccup had grown somewhat hesitant of anyone, his trust waning with most of the people he met after nearly everyone made fun of him one way or another. It was then that Astrid felt her heart drop, thinking that Hiccup must have thought this date a prank and not gone at all to avoid shame. Clearly Heather was thinking the same when she spoke.
“Does he?” asked Heather, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“O-of course he knows. He asked me out, remember?”
“Because we forced him to.” Heather argued back, arms crossed. “Look, Astrid, I know you see Hiccup as the best thing in the world, Hel, in the universe even! But Hiccup isn’t like that, he is more cautious. You know he’s always been the first to be picked on.”
“What about Fishlegs?”
Heather gave her a smirk. “He is not the subject of our discussion. Besides, he is nowhere near getting picked because he has me. Which brings me back to you.”
Astrid plopped her body, already tired from standing, against the doorframe and crossed her arms. “Oh great, what is it now?”
Heather chuckled. “Getting some of that Hiccup sass on you haven’t we?”
Astrid rolled her eyes. “Get on with it.”
“Okay, okay. Touchy much. Well, as I was saying, Hiccups is… Hiccup. There’s not much that will probably change him, not even bullies or a troll.” Heather continued as she looked back at Astrid dead pan. “Which is not a bad thing mind you, he is very sweet, caring, somewhat of a nerd. Hel, he might be a klutz, tripping even air but it just gives you more opportunities to look at his sweet butt.”
Astrid nearly fell over, catching herself by grabbing the door handle as she coughed loudly. She stared back at Heather, the girl shamelessly waggling her eyebrows at her, cheeks brightly lit red. Had she been that obvious?
Playing it as best as Astrid could she pulled together a growl that would have fooled anyone but Heather or Hiccup. “Have not!”
“Maybe, maybe not. But the problem remains, you like possibly the most undermined boy in existence.”
“Undermined?”
Heather shrugged. “Undermined, overlooked, underrated, shall I go on?”
“No,” Astrid groaned. “I think I got the point.”
“Good. Now, image this, if you were Hiccup and all of a sudden the coolest girl in school approached you, what would you do?”
“Probably think it’s a dream,” Astrid shrugged, mumbling the first thing that came to her head.
“Exactly. Or, more likely, think it’s all a prank.”
“But I’ve made it clear, I even kissed him on the cheek for Thor’s sake! I know he thinks this is all a ruse but I really do like him? What more does he want me to say?” Astrid groaned loudly into the ceiling of the bedroom before walking over to the bed and falling face-first into it.
She let out a unladylike scream of desperation. Her entire life hinged on this, on one single person. While there were more fish out in the sea, as her mother liked to put it, Astrid really did feel that she had found the one. Where else was she supposed to find the exact type of person she fell in love with? She had crunched up the number and it did not require having a high intellect to know that there were no other people like him; tall, lean, cute but still handsome, auburn hair, calloused fingers, the most beautiful pair of eyes… and the right amount of sass with that sweet ass.
No, this had been the one. And that one had to go screw things up by not showing. For Odin’s sake, Astrid had yet to still receive a message after all this time. She let out a string of words that no doubt would have made the Hofferson lineage turn in their graves if they ever heard a single word of it.
“Look, why don’t you call him?” Heather offered, “He’s clearly not going to take the first step, so why not do it yourself. If he answers then you got yourself a chance to ask him why he did not show?”
Astrid tilted her head up just enough for one eye to look past her ruffled hair over to the girl. “What if he doesn’t?”
“No worries, you’ll get to see him in class this Monday. He never fails to show up to Engineering class, so you can corner him the moment her arrives. Maybe punch him if he really has a horrible excuse, otherwise it’s up to you.”
Astrid grimaced. It was true, no matter what she chose she would eventually get her hands of Hiccup, one way or another. As of right now, there was also another lingering question in the back of her mind, one that had not registered until Heather made mention of cornering Hiccup.
She felt a tad of remorse, one that grew at least tenfold the moment she realized how big a mistake it had been not to even consider it. During her time storming through the city back to her shared apartment Astrid had completely ignored Hiccup’s safety. She might have considered it briefly but in her moment of rage she overlooked it instead for something far less critical.
Mentally slapping herself, Astrid pulled her phone up to her, finding the same phone background of Stormfly staring at her. Just as she feared, not a single text message, call or voice mail. Glancing over to Heather the girl inched closer with a hopeful smile on her, unaware of the blunder Astrid had made. With a press of the icon a list of contacts flooded her phone screen, atop of all them was Hiccup’s, whom Astrid made sure she would have that spot. Not a couple of days had gone past and Astrid felt her heart seize upon seeing the lanky teen awkwardly stare back at the camera from the moment Astrid took the picture.
It had been a wonderful moment, only overshadowed by painful feeling of Astrid’s disappointment which she hoped would soon be mended. Whatever fate had in stored for her she could only pray things would go well.
Flicking at his image bubble Astrid then hit the green call button highlighted at the bottom, hands clammy from insecurity. It rang, the damned digital sound appearing as though it took a decade to finally end. Then came the next ring, this time apparently louder but no less shrilly. Her hand began to shake, the third ringing suddenly growing closer still. As the fourth soon began Astrid suddenly realized it had echoed across the walls nearby.
“Hiccup?!” Astrid gasped, eyes widening in excitement.
Hand clutching the still ringing phone Astrid jumped from the bed in the blink of an eye, Heather looking puzzled by the sudden buzz of energy. They both then looked out the door, the sounds of a phone, that of a recognizable garbling reached their ears. Both of them knew that sound, nearly everyone in school knew it. Who in their right mind would take a recording from their purring cat and use it as a ringtone?
Well, that same person was currently in the hallways by the sounds of it, coming closer towards their room. Astrid felt her heart do a summersault when she saw a vague shadow being cast on the floor. It could only belong to one person, to –
“FIshlegs?” both girls cried in unison, their mouths hanging at the sight of a big pudgy teen with messy hair.
“Oh, hey you guys,” chuckled Fishlegs nervously, “Came by to drop off Hiccup’s phone. Is he here?”
Astrid stood still like a statue, her eyes darting from the phone clutched in left hand then to her own. As Astrid was fumbling to gather her thoughts Heather looked over to Fishlegs, blushing when she noticed the big teen yelp as he stumbled forward. “Hi Heather,”
“Hey you. Um, how are you?”
“Great! I mean- good, good. Well, better I guess. Huh, how about you?”
“Wonderful,” Heather replied but found it hard to see Fishlegs eye to eye without breaking into a deep blush, not that she wasn’t finding it hard already.
“Wait, hold up,” Astrid intervened with a growl in her voice. Letting out a squeak Fishlegs jumped at the anger in her voice. Phone now shut off, Astrid stormed right up to poor Fishlegs, snatching the device from his hand. “Why do you have Hiccups’ phone?”
“I- I said, didn’t I? He forgot it back in our apartment, I swear!” squeaked the larger blonde, hands up in surrender and at the mercy of a very angry and confused Astrid.
“Astrid, calm down, can’t you see you’re scaring Fishlegs?”
Astrid threw a glare at Heather who gestured back to the boy in an effort to lure her back to a more rational state. Taking a deep breath, she retreated a few feet allowing the boy to a moment of relief for his life.
“Now, explain.” She demanded haughtily.
Fishlegs held up a hand over his heart which was thumping at a heightened pace that even Astrid felt a tinge of remorse when she could hear his breathless panting. For several moments she remained quietly waiting while Fishlegs built the little courage he could to speak.
“He, um, he got ready for the date you guys were supposed to be having and ran out the door to make it to the place on time. Of course he forgot his phone on the way out, must have left it on the table when he was feeding Toothless. I figured you guys must have come back to your place since, you know, our apartment is approximately four kilometers farther and if you guys got along then might want to come back to a – heh heh- comfortable place.”
Astrid felt her face turn the color of a cherry and possibly the temperature of the sun, letting out a hacking cough that startled even her. Surely she could not have been that obvious about her intentions with Hiccup!
Heather chimed in with a curious tone, “And what time did Hiccup leave for the date?”
Fishlegs grimaced, looking up at the sky and tapping one finger on his chin briefly. “I didn’t really see. He usually feeds Toothless at 4:50 of the cat gets a bit grumpy. Plus, he did say that he wanted to be there early in case he missed the five a ‘clock bus to the pier. So if we take into account how long it takes to climb down from the fifth floor and any delays in the bus he should have left for the date at approximately 4:48 with 32 seconds.” Fishlegs summarized without looking down to the girls.
Astrid looked at Heather whom she found looking back at her with a very smug I-told-you-so smirk, not to mention the slight pink on her cheeks. Clearly smarts wooed her better than actual flirting. Feeling embarrassed and confused, Astrid was having it difficult to be angry at Hiccup. It sounded so much like him, down to the habitual caring for his pet or the haste of his actions without consequence. It sounded so sincere, so full of mishaps, quirks and… so much like Hiccup.
But if Hiccup had left early, by an hour no less, then surely he would have been able to arrive at the Pierre just on time. By now the vague thought of something happening to Hiccup was becoming a likely possibility, something that horrified Astrid to no end.
Everyone knew Hiccup was destined to attract misadventure, Astrid herself fully aware of how supernatural it seemed for someone so fragile be subject to dozens of frightful accidents almost every week. Even on days that seemed everything was going well things happened, no logical explanation at all.
Snoutlout, Hiccup’s cousin and a continuous prickle on Astrid’s back, had warned her that if he choose Hiccup she was bound to the same fate of his useless cousin. Of course Astrid punched him, threatened him and berated the sobbing teen. She was not blind to it nor was she oblivious and there were some legitimate concerns regarding her dating Hiccup. Yet for all those uneasy questions there was no doubt that regardless of his magnetic personality for blondes and trouble, Astrid very much wanted to be at his side no matter what.
It was for this reason she had ignored her own parents nearly begging her not to go to this date, thinking she might be hit by a truck, snatched by a dragon or catch a foreign disease that would make her worthless. It angered her, as most people often did, hearing all those things being said about Hiccup. She wanted to punch things to relieve some of that pent up emotion she had carried with her since then, only able to talk to Heather and some of her other college friends about the whole ordeal. It left her with a desperate need to prove everyone wrong about the misconceptions, an urge to ensured everyone knew who Hiccup really was without the rumors to mask him.
Unfortunately with Hiccup out somewhere with no phone to call to Astrid was left worried more about his safety that she was about her own wishes no matter how well-wished they were. Out there in the break of sunset was an awkward Hiccup shuffling about with his prosthesis, likely carrying some one-sided conversation with himself. All that Astrid could hope was he was alright.
But she couldn’t, the fear of not knowing did not make Astrid any more comfortable. Not until she had seen things through.
“Fishlegs, did Hiccup mention anything, something about our date?” Astrid pleaded to the bigger blonde.
“I don’t remember, he kept talking so fast I could barely listen most of the time. He kept going on about how beautiful the pier was at night and that he hoped you might like the Ferris wheel. I think he-“
“Wait, hold up.” Heather interrupted just as Astrid was about to. “You said the pier? As in, P-I-E-R?”
“Well, yeah.” Fishlegs shrugged. “What other pier do we have here in Berg?”
Astrid let out a massive groan of exasperation while Heather followed suit with the loudest sigh.
“What? Did I miss something?”
“Do you know what this means Astrid?”
“Of course I do! But why would he think we would go to the pier? I specifically told him Pierre’s! There only one of those anywhere near and it would have been cheaper. How could he mess that up.”
Pacing the room Astrid let out more murmured curses, questions and whatnots as to the confusion. She had been completely clear on the matter, so far as to text Hiccup on their meet up point at Pierre’s at the exact time to avoid confusion. Unless Hiccup had been thinking about taking her to the pier as a continuation of their date then it only complicated matters. It would also explain why Hiccup was nowhere to be seen in the quaint neighborhood.
“I don’t think he misread,” Fishlegs finally joined back in.
“Oh?”
“Here,” he gestured to Hiccup’s phone yet in her hands.
Astrid raised an eyebrow at him, making the large male grow smaller at the glare but otherwise remain in his spot. When he did nothing but nod towards the little screen she took the advice, hesitantly, and tapped the screen.
Heather watched from her chair, leaning closer only when she heard the little ticks of Astrid typing furiously into Hiccup’s phone. She wanted to speak when she saw Astrid frown, realizing her friend was scrolling up through Hiccup’s text history to find her own text message.
“Well?” she asked.
Astrid said nothing, pursing her lips, likely having found the evidence she needed.
“See?” Fishlegs said, pointing at the screen.
“Is that?”
“Yep,”
“What? What is it?” Heather asked again, standing up from her chair to approach the two.
Both ignored her for a brief moment before Astrid let out the single loudest scream in the world.
“Fuck Auto Correct!!!”
Hiccup stood leaning against the metal railing to the attraction behind him, around him the sounds of mechanical gears turning only outdone by the whining noise of carnival music playing overhead on loudspeakers. Screams of children casually here and there as whooshing sounds whipped past him, made by the roller coaster behind him speeding past in a blurry instant.
So there he was, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, infamous in Berk and invisible to all it seemed. It appeared this was his destiny, to live in the sidewalk as the world around him carried forward, oblivious to his presence save for when disaster struck. Not that he wanted the popularity, finding he did quite well to draw attention to himself by merely being awkward at times. Instead he remained there, silently watching the flow of people drift between the blinding rows of light from food stand and attractions.
He had hoped this had been different, perhaps a new direction in his life or a major catalyst for something else to come. It was disappointing but nothing he had not expected, in fat he somewhat predicted it. He found himself alone as he often did, thinking about what wrong choices he had made to be here tonight.
Well, for starters, he had been a fool. Perhaps that was a bit lenient. No, he had been a blinded fool, misguided by earnest hopes that the someone out there did not merely looked at him for his flaws but for something else. There was the crux of the issue it seemed; his naivety. Had anyone else seen it coming they would likely avoided the same mistakes he had. But Hiccup remained steadfast, thinking this entire time that Astrid, the most popular and smartest girl in the whole of Berk would like him back.
He had briefly imagined it being a scheme against him, his entire life seemed poised to play horrible pranks on him. Even after the thought had been mulled over Hiccup dismissed it, his own emotions screening what was likely the worst trick to pull on an already pitiful soul.
“Gods, how could I have been so stupid,” Hiccup breathed out to no one, throwing his head back.
As luck would have it, another coaster sped by, throwing so much dust and wind against him his face then looked as though it had been through a wind tunnel.
“Ha ha, funny. First you break my leg, then my heart and now my ears. Wonderful,” he dryly mocked. Ear ringing from the screeching wheel roaring past, he rubbed his palm against the flat of his ear. “And look, now I’m deaf.”
Letting out a defeated sigh he turned to the sky. “Care to add another insult while we’re recounting my misery?”
Thankfully, or perhaps out of pity, the fates did not reply in kind. Instead there was a lull, most in part to his deafened ears, while Hiccup looked around. He felt hollow inside as he looked around. Unable to hear and only see the world around him he watched as couples cheerfully waded through the exit of the roller coaster, happily pulling their partners into hugs or towards another ride in the distance.
Had things played differently, and he doubted they would have, Hiccup might have partaken in the same merry walk most of these people were engaged in. To think Hiccup might have had a chance with Astrid, waking her by the hand and walk with no real aim in sight other than to spend the time with her. Should things have taken a different course it was likely some of those screams of joy (maybe terror, but Hiccup could hardly tell from his ear drum popping) would have been Astrid’s and his.
And then there was the Ferris Wheel. Just in front of him, a couple dozen yards there it loomed, towering over the sea of splendid lights. The entire night would have built up to that moment when Hiccup would have the chance to ask Astrid on a romantic ride to the top. He was by no means a romantic craze like some of the girls he had overheard in school were but he did at least know what romance was. To him, this had been the pinnacle of the entire night.
Or it would have been had it not been a figment of his imagination. With the initial pain subsiding and sound retuning back, Hiccup grimaced. Maybe this served him right for being such a idiot to believe he ever had a remote chance with Astrid. He doubted even having his own phone would have made a difference. It likely would have added more salt to injury if he asked anyone about the date.
“Looks like it’ll be just me,” he wondered aloud while looking up. “Thankfully the stars are beautiful out tonight.”
“Yeah, they are.”
Two things popped right on Hiccups mind at that moment. First, he was hearing voices in his head right now. Second, those voices, or rather voice, sounded an awful lot like Astrid. Maybe standing by this close to the rollercoaster had been a bad idea.
“I must be losing my mind,” he murmured, closing his eyes before rubbing the bridge of his nose.
“I hope not,”
“No other explanation to describe me hearing Astrid,” he groaned to himself. “sounding angry too”
Twak
Hiccup snapped his eyes open as he winced at the sudden stab of pain on his arm. “Ow!”
“Angry? Oh, I’m more than angry, I’m furious!”
At once a flood of thoughts hit Hiccup simultaneously, leaving him petrified on the spot like a frozen deer, wide eyes and mouth open.
“A-Astrid?”
“Well, duh!”
“But- but- you, how? Why? I mean, where? When? What?”
“Great, you’ve broken.” Astrid harrumphed into the air. “Any more dumb questions?”
Hiccup had none, at least that was what he thought before his mouth spoke for his brain. “Is this a joke?”
“A joke?” screeched Astrid with a frown deepening on her lovely features. “You think you leaving me hanging for our date was a joke?”
“Me?! But I didn’t. I’ve been here this entire time since 5:10. But you, you-”
“Me what?”
“You didn’t show,” Hiccup finally said, eyes looking wildly around him to spot anyone else who was in on this terrible joke.
“Look down here dragon boy,” Astrid pulled Hiccup’s tie, the auburn-haired teen letting out a yelp. “I don’t think you know what is going so I’m going to make this loud and clear.”
“I don’t think I need that,”
“Oh but you do. But first,” she let go of Hiccup’s tie, nearly making the boy topple backwards were it not for the railing. Catching the cool metal Hiccup looked bewildered as Astrid came right up to him, those eyes filled with such an ardent will that Hiccup could only conjure enough courage to think of what his funeral would be like.
“This-” was the first word Hiccup heard before he felt another sharp sting erupt on his arm, the exact spot he had been hit just a moment before. “This is for not telling me that I had autocorrect on!”
Hiccup stopped. He blinked once, twice, maybe five times. Turning to look back at Astrid he stared at her with confusion so profound he had no words to speak with. And he didn’t need them, not when Astrid lessened the gap in that instant and kissed him on the cheek.
“And that’s for being here still.” Astrid mumbled after retreating a few steps back, looking away with the a blush so bright it dampened the effect of the pier’s lights.
Hiccup stood on the spot, one hand shakily coming up to touch the spot where Astrid’s lips had briefly met his cheek.
“I- I don’t get it,” he stuttered back in confusion.
Astrid let out a small scoff but with a growing smile hidden behind a mask of exasperation. “Look, I’ll tell you on the way, okay?”
Hiccup was still deciphering what this all meant, hoping he grasp what was happening at the same time. In the meantime Astrid reached out for his hand and held it palm-side up. “Here,” she said. Hiccup felt warm plastic fill the entire length of his hand, fingers twitching at the hardness of it. He then felt the familiar ridges of the backside, the very same he etched into it.
When Astrid let go of his hand he turned it over in his hands, finding the crude but exquisite etching of a black dragon he knew anywhere.
“Next time don’t forget your phone.” Astrid spoke quietly when she took his hand.
“Right, forgot I forgot my phone.” Hiccup tried to add humor back to the weird moment which still felt like a dream. “So, um,” he gently moved the hand Astrid was clutching. “What now?”
“Oh,” breathed Astrid, “Now? Now, lover boy, I am going to explain why you stood me up, why we are here and how you are going to make it up to me by taking me to that Ferris Wheel you’ve been talking to Fishlegs about.”
A sudden cough escaped Hiccup, face bleached in embarrassment. “He told you?”
“A bit, the rest I read on your phone.” Astrid smiled eagerly at him before tugging him to the roller coaster. “Now, how about we start out date.”