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Autum was finally in full swing.
Hiccup always loved the autumn colors, bright orange leaves contrast against the blue sky. Squirrels were absolutely everywhere, as per usual on a collage campus, and flocks of birds flew in formation to the south.
Hiccup was no photography major, but if he was, fall landscapes would be his focus. There was nothing more beautiful in the world to him than autumn.
Well, except his girlfriend.
Astrid. Astrid Hofferson , It took him days after their first date to learn her last name though. (don’t ask)
Now she was a sight to behold, and so much more.
In fact, he was currently making his way to the library to see her, as he did every Wednesday after his classes were out. This Wednesday, however, he was running a little late as he elected to make a quick swing by his apartment to pick up a surprise for Astrid.
With a backpack over his shoulders he tried to keep up a good pace, to not delay his Astrid-time any longer.
A buzz from his jacket pocket went off as he strode past the business building and started up concrete steps. He smiled down at his phone.
A: where r u??? did class run long?
Hiccup slowed down to focus as he typed out his response.
H: Im almost there
H: yeah something like that ;)
He smirked to himself at his own addition of a winking face, then broke into a full laugh as Astrid sent a picture of her exaggerated face of displeasure.
Little did she know how soon she’d forgive Hiccup’s tardiness when she saw what surprise he brought today.
Hiccup loved little surprises, especially this one. He was sure Astrid would be pleased.
The library was just a few paces away from the top of the steps and so Hiccup quickened his pace just a bit to catch the rotation of the spinning door of the entrance. And slipped into the library.
He paused, readjusted his bag on his shoulders gently and approached the front desk where he saw the profile of his beautifully bored girlfriend.
She obviously hadn’t yet noticed him, either that or she was doing a great job at pretending to not notice him, as she sat leaning in the desk, eyes half lidded, and head resting on her hand. As he approached from the side, Hiccup could see Astrid’s empty hand absentmindedly playing with the wire of her earbuds. Her blonde bangs and hair fell loosely around her face with the majority of the length pulled back in a single loose braid down her back.
Hiccup was so lucky.
He cleared his throat when he reached within 10 feet of the desk and watched with pure joy as Astrid came out of her daze and her eyes lit up brighter blue than the sky.
“Hiccup!” She pulled the earbuds out by the wires and sat up straighter, looking up at him.
“Afternoon m’lady” He fully approached the desk and placed both hands on the table near hers.
Once the plain joy subsided from her expression Astrid rolled her eyes with a playful scoff, “Where have you been?” She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, giving him an expectant look.
Hiccup bounced a little with his knees and breathed in through his teeth, “I know. I sincerely apologize for the delay,” he said putting his hand over his heart and offering the most insincere expression possible, “But I think you’ll find the reason for my tardiness acceptable.”
Astrid raised an eyebrow and smiled skeptically, “ok I’ll bite, what is your reason? And it better be good, or I won’t talk to you for 15 minutes because that’s how late you are.”
“Won’t that be more of a punishment for you? You’re one stuck here, I could just leave-”
“Oh, shut up and tell me Haddock.”
Hiccup smiled at her exasperation, Astrid tried (and failed) to hide her matching grin.
So, Hiccup composed himself and continued, “Right, well. I had to switch my backpack.”
The young couple stared at each other stone-faced for a moment. Astrid broke first with a look of total bewilderment.
“What?”
Hiccup made no effort to acknowledge her obvious confusion and spoke plainly, “yeah toothless doesn’t fit in the other one.” As he was speaking, he gently removed his bag from his shoulders and spun it to face Astrid revealing a hardshell green bag with a clear bubble like a cartoon space rocket. And most importantly, a black cat with a pair of green eyes stared out of the clear window like the little astronaut he was.
Hiccup was pretty sure he saw Astrid’s pupils visibly dilate as a big smile broke her face.
“OHMYGOSH-TOOTHLESS!” She immediately stood to bring her face closer to the clear window of the bag as she cooed and waved little fingers at the cat in the backpack.
Hiccup slowly placed the back on the table and began unzipping it, “Yeah, Toothless was saying how much he’d like to see you again and my class actually got out early. Plus, it’s so nice out, he could use the fresh air.” Soon the tripod feline was purring in Hiccup’s arms as Astrid scratched the cat’s head.
“This is incredible! I didn’t know you had a cat bag.” She looked up at him with sparkling blue eyes and the brightest smile.
Win.
“Oh yeah, only the best and most ridiculous for my best bud. Isn’t that right bud?”
Toothless made no indication he heard or cared about what Hiccup said, the only thing that mattered in the whole world was head scratches.
A few seconds of silent pets pass before Astrid looks up at Hiccup and tentatively whispered, “…Can I?” holding out her hands to take Toothless.
He didn’t hesitate, “Of course.” And passed the cat over the counter into waiting and welcoming arms. Astrid pet snuggled and even placed a few kisses on the cat all while the animals proved itself to be a purr box.
Honestly, Hiccup was starting to get jealous.
“ok, I’ll admit it. This is pretty cool” She pressed the purring cats face to her cheek, rocking back and forth as she added, “You are forgiven for being tardy.”
Hiccup laughed quietly looking at his girlfriend holding his cat and felt a blush rise on his face, “well thank goodness for that.”
The two smiled at each other fondly before Hiccup raised a mildly important question.
“Hey maybe I should’ve asked before, you know,” he motioned his hands in the general area of toothless in Astrid’s arms, “all this. But are cats allowed at the library?”
He stuck his hands in his pockets and Astrid froze mid-pet. She considered for a moment, eyes darting off to the side in thought. Then shrugged a little and continued to shower the cat with affection.
“I’ve seen people bring weirder stuff in. It’s probably fine.”
She gave the cat one last big kiss on the noggin before passing him back to Hiccup who put the cat back in the bag. (huh. usually it’s the other way around)
With the cat secure, Hiccup shouldered the bag. “Well, all the same, I should probably get going. Toothless doesn’t exactly love being in his spaceship for a long period of time. But I’ll see you after five, right?”
Astrid rocked on her heels slightly, “Yep. I’ll be back at my apartment then so you can come over and help me make sure I finish this stupid lab report I have.”
“Ew lab report.” Hiccup expressed his sympathy toward her plight and lightly linked his fingers together absentmindedly.
“I know,” She rolled her eyes, “But after that it’s your pick for movie night this week so be excited.” She bit the tip of her tongue and scrunched her nose in an adorable expression.
“Oh yes!” He said in genuine excitement. He had a great pick for them tonight, “I can’t wait!”
Astrid leaned in over the desk, “Me neither!” and grabbed the collar of his jacket with both hands and she pulled him down, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Corner of his mouth really.
Before he had any time to react, she was already back down in her seat and grabbing her earbuds, “I’ll see you tonight then Hiccup” and she had the audacity to turn back to her computer and put her headphones back in.
Hiccup stood in disbelief, mouth gaping in his attempt to for words. Hands hovering uselessly midair like some NPC.
Astrid seemed to notice his brain short circuiting and only chuckled at him. It was then Hiccup found his words, “Hey that’s not fair. What about our even exchanges? You get a kiss, I get a kiss!”
Astrid burst out into a full belly laugh that was contagious enough to elicit a breathy laugh out of the exasperated boy.
“Okaaaay well then you can pay me back tonight. How about that?” her bangs fell to the side with the tilt of her head in a way that was dangerous to Hiccup’s heart.
So, he conceded, “Alright fine. But you might have accumulated some interest by then, I don’t wanna-“
“OK ok get outta here already cat boy.” But there was no bite in her voice.
Hiccup only smiled and took a few steps backwards, admiring the blush on his girlfriend’s face, before turning around and heading out of the library and back to his apartment.
That was only their 5th or 6th kiss- still early enough that he was counting them- but he was caught off guard by the casual display of affection in the library, all of their other kisses had been on explicit dates. Visiting Astrid wasn’t a date, just a highlight of a Wednesday.
But Hiccup had a feeling, when he got to see her tonight and give her a proper kiss that would take the spot of ‘best part of his day.’