A short but sweet one.
Hiccup decides to take up a new hobby... and meets someone there.
You can figure out the rest.
-HTTYD-
"Hiccup, this is insane!"
"How is it? There's instructors and parachutes and trained professionals!"
His mother shook her head as Hiccup held up the skydiving brochure. He didn't really want to do skydiving per se, but to be able to go base-jumping he needed to be an experienced skydiver. The sooner he started, the better.
Many a potential girlfriend had been put off by his adrenaline-junkie hobbies - Hiccup had done bungee jumps, ventured to almost every 'super' roller coaster on the planet and spent more time than most doing things like white-water rafting and cliff jumping, rock climbing and biking mountain trails.
Hiccup's latest thrill-seeking had included hang-gliding, but it just wasn't free enough for him. Next on his list? Skydiving, with the intention of leading to base jumping. Legally, he couldn't do the latter without the former.
According to his mother, Hiccup wanted to make her grey prematurely.
Since he had gotten the adrenaline bug from her, Hiccup felt that was a bit untrue.
"You could come with me."
Valka hesitated, but then smiled.
"Perhaps I will."
His dad wasn't really around, it had always been just Hiccup and his mom. And a farm full of animals. Hiccup's favourite was Toothless the sheepdog, but he loved all the animals they lived with and he'd grown up active, not afraid to get his hands dirty with the mad woman he called his mother. And then she'd been the one to introduce him to 'scary rides' at the fairgrounds, then kayaking... it had gone from there.
When Hiccup got to booking his first skydiving lesson, his mother came right along with. Leaving Sven and the others in charge of the farm for the day, they hopped in the big white pick-up truck and trundled off to the right place.
Hiccup chuckled to himself as several guys shorter than her all blinked in shock at Valka towering over them. They were measured and weighed to check they met the requirements, given booklets and led into a room where they and a dozen others were all shown safety videos and given special talks. After a video of someone skydiving ended, the head of the training asked.
"Ok! Anyone want to back out? No shame, better here than up there."
Two of the people in the room left, but Hiccup was thrumming with excitement.
"Alright then! Go get suited up and we'll order you, then get you matched with your instructors."
Only one of the instructors was tall enough for Valka, which amused Hiccup greatly and earned him a swat from his mother. Casting a glance after putting on the unflattering but practical suit and harness, Hiccup spied one of the instructors he suddenly really hoped to be paired with. Slim and blonde with huge blue eyes and a playful smirk, she had an air of confidence that seemed to intimidate the other novice jumpers.
"Anyone feeling brave about the height they jump from?"
Hiccup raised his hand immediately, which meant his mother rolled her eyes and followed suit. Nobody else did, but the boss guy looked excited.
"Hofferson! Grimborn! You're with the twin set over there."
Well used to being told they looked alike, Hiccup and Valka knew that meant them. Grimborn was the super tall one with a big head and bigger shoulders who came over to Valka, and Hofferson was the girl Hiccup had checked out. She was about two inches shorter than him, but it didn't matter apparently.
"I'm Astrid."
"I'm Ryker."
"Hiccup. This is my mom Valka."
"Interesting name."
That playful smile continued to play across her lips, and Hiccups heart pounded a little before they had even gotten up in the sky.
"It's a nickname. I hiccuped alot as a kid."
"Ah. You sure about starting from top height?"
"Absolutely! Take us up!"
They were led to the little aircraft things and Hiccup felt jumpy with the impending thrill. The hot girl was helping there. Hiccuo wasn't sure if it was her or the jump making his palms sweat.
A hot girl who liked adrenaline rush hobbies going by her choice in career. Hiccup was fairly certain he was about to be strapped to his dream girl and hurled from a little tin can in the sky.
So a pretty good day.
As they went up, the instructors initiated conversation.
"Just plain old thrill seekers?"
"Mom is. I'm looking to meet the requisite number of jumps to be allowed to base jump."
"Base jumping is the flight suit one right?"
"Yeah. I tried hang gliding but it just wasn't..."
"Dangerous enough?"
Astrid supplemented.
"Exactly! And it's just gliding. Base jumping is all you and some wings."
They got closer to the height; the air got a little thinner and they put on helmets, checked harnesses and Astrid put on a parachute backpack thing before she was fastening herself to Hiccup's back.
"Just step with me and jump when I say. Unless you wanna back out?"
"Not a chance. Let's go!"
Ryker jumped with his mom first; despite her support Valka insisted she couldn't watch her son jump out of a plane. Astrid counted down, mostly to herself as the plane moved a half mile over - so they wouldn't land on the previous pair - and then they shuffled close. Thin, freezing cold air whipped past him, ruffling his suit and the hair escaping his helmet.
"Jump!"
Whether he wanted to or not, they were going.
Pitched out of the plane, Hiccup felt a rush like nothing else as the air whipped past them. He was pribably screaming but he didn't care, too busy enjoying the heart hammering, blood pounding, numb and alight all at once adrenaline rush coursing through every inch of his body.
Their speed suddenly slowed and Hiccup looked up to see their parachute amongst the clouds, then back down to see earth rapidly coming toward them at some still-major speeds. Astrid angled their bodies and guided their drop, and Hiccup eventually landed on solid ground with very shaky legs.
"Woohoo! That was incredible!"
Detached from his tandem jumping instructor, Hiccup stumbled forward grinning so wide his cheeks hurt. His mother appeared in his line of sight, looking as thrilled as he felt.
"Did you have fun mom?"
"Amazing! I am very glad you convinced me."
Hiccup hadn't put a great deal into convincing her, but he went along with the charade all the same. His knees were still disagreeing with their assigned task of keeping him upright, but as she pulled off her helmet and shook out the helmet hair, Hiccup wasn't sure if the butterflies accompanying his weak knees weren't down to Astrid's bright smile and wind-kissed cheeks.
"So, you alright? All parts intact?"
"Yep. Think I left the ability to stop smiling in the plane though."
Astrid laughed, high fiving Ryker as he appeared nearby to watch the newbies revel in the exhilaration.
"Does this mean you'll be jumping again?"
"One hundred percent. I would say lets go now but since I can't feel my legs I might need a break."
"Ah, you get used to it."
They headed back to the skydive centre where many of the others with their shorter jumps were back. Hiccup handed back his helmet and pulled off the suit, waiting for his mother to return from the girl changing room outside
Astrid approached him, looking a little less self-assured than usual.
"If you're planning on reaching base jumper status, you'll want to learn to jump solo right?"
"Yeah, I mean I need to find out how to do that but definitely the plan."
Trying to pay attention when he was lost in those blue eyes wasn't easy, but Hiccup managed it.
"Well... you have to complete a program with an instructor. And... I haven't trained anyone to solo jump since I qualified."
"Are you asking me if I would like to do this again?"
"Don't make it sound like a date."
Hiccup feigned upset, then smiled.
"Actually? I was kind of planning to ask if we could hang out not several thousand feet in the air. Aside from my mom I have no adrenaline junkie friends."
He blamed residual adrenaline for giving him the confidence to almost ask her out. Astrid surveyed him for a second, then pulled out a business card with her name and a parachute on. She scribbled a number on the back.
"One date. Then you have to earn subsequent dates by jumping out of planes, whether with me or not. You were trying to ask me out right?"
Struck a little dumb, Hiccup nodded and took the outstretched card in a slightly shaky hand.
"Yeah. Thanks."
She winked and left to continue with her job. Hiccup turned to find his mother watching, giving her a look that said she better not say a word.
Naturally, it didn't work. She continued giggling to herself as they headed out to their car.
"She must be special if even the gods-awful suits didn't put you off."
"How else would I meet a girl who jumps from eight thousand feet for a living? Plus, she wants to teach me to dive solo."
Hiccup looked down at the card in his hand, smiling to himself. Astrid could teach him whatever she liked.
-HTTYD-
I have no idea if Ryker is actually taller than Valka and to be frank it isn't important!
A completely non-smut one shot... I must be coming down with something.