Hello everyone! Here's a short, little story for you to enjoy! :D Cross-posted on Tumblr under (slavicviking.)(tumblr)

Disclaimer: I don't own How To Train Your Dragon – books, movies, nor TV series.

Huge thanks to residentmotherhen for proofreading this! :)

Cold

How did she get here again?

Astrid looks around and her eyes catch a tall girl in a short, white dress, hanging over the arm of the school's biggest "hottie." Right, she's playing Ruffnut's wingwoman… again. It's for the greater good, she keeps telling herself. Ruff can have a nice evening spent with Eret and she… she can help out her friend.

"Are you coming or what?" Astrid snaps her head to the left, narrowing her eyes at John, Eret's best friend and her prom "date." She straightens her blue dress, not liking the way she feels exposed in it. John, though, is enjoying her outfit far too much for her liking, not making her any more comfortable. Eret and Ruffnut are already waiting in the car, the girl staring dreamily at her date as he tells her about the yesterday's football match.

"Sure," Astrid answers half-heartedly, taking the front seat of the car. John turns on the engine and leaves the Hofferson driveway. Eret and his friend talk the whole ride with subtle interjections from Ruff from time to time. John is… not a bad guy, at all. They share a few classes and she has talked to him a couple of times. Astrid knows he likes her, he's made that pretty obvious, but she has told him that they were going to prom as friends, just friends.

They reach their high school, a huge red-brick building, and she tries to loosen up. It's her senior prom; she is supposed to have the night of her life. John's blue eyes are huge and full of hope as he holds out his arm. She lets out a small smile and interlocks their arms, not thinking much of it. They're friends, it's a friendly gesture, right? Astrid locks her eyes with Ruffnut.

"Thank you," the other girl mouths to her, smiling childishly. Astrid returns her smile, glad to see her friend so happy. It's weird to see the normally laid-back Ruff like this, swooning over a guy.

"You're here! Finally!" Snotlout, an athletic but short, black-haired teen shouts out and a few couples snap their heads to glare at him. The jock chuckles nervously in response.

"What took you so long?" Ruffnut's twin, Tuffnut Thorston, whines and Astrid rolls her eyes with a smile, full-well knowing what's coming.

"Excuse me for trying to avoid your ugly face for as long as I could." This, this right here, is the good ol' Ruff she knows. Eret glances at his date in amusement and the female twin blushes, embarrassed.

They finally enter the school's gym hall, covered in glitter and balloons, with the music blasting from every corner of the room. Astrid is not a big fan of parties but she finds herself enjoying the prom with John (because God only knows where Ruff disappeared to). She bumps into Heather and Fishlegs and they share a few laughs while John is in the bathroom. It's good, great actually. That is, until the song for the slow dance comes.

"May I?" John shoots her his best smile and holds out a hand, leaning in. Astrid eyes him warily.

"I, uh… sure. Why not?" His smile drops at her response but it doesn't take long for him to regain his composure. He takes her hand and leads her to the center of the hall. Love-struck couples all around her and the slow, romantic music make her feel all the more uncomfortable and she almost rips her hands from John's. He insists, though.

"You look beautiful."

"Thanks. You… look nice." John's face forms into a grimace for a short moment. He tries to bring her closer but she distances herself from him subtly, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. And then… he leans in.

"Whoa, whoa… what are you doing?" She takes a step back, freeing herself from the awkward embrace. John is standing there, half-leaned in and red in the face.

"Kissing you?" She's not sure whether he is more angry or embarrassed and she doesn't know how she feels about this either.

"Why would you think I wanted to kiss you?" she snaps before she can think about what words to use. "This isn't even a date." John barks a humorless laugh, shaking his head in what, Astrid takes a wild guess is, disbelief.

"You really are cold," he mutters to her and Astrid feels as if someone punched her in the gut.

"I'm not… I'm not cold." She crosses her arms over her chest defensively, narrowing her eyes at the blond boy before her.

"You treat people as if they were beneath you. You think you're all high and mighty?" He sneers under his breath, though loud enough for her to hear. Astrid presses her lips into a thin line. He's just saying that because he's angry, she tries telling herself but the words still hurt.

"I-I do not.." She is at loss of words, for the first time in a very long time, not sure how to respond.

"You think that just because you're popular and pretty..." John trails off angrily, shaking his head. How is it possible for things to escalate so quickly? What happened to the shy boy that wanted to impress her? That was fine with them being just friends? It's like someone else took over.

"No wonder they call you the Ice Queen-"

She can't take it anymore, she just can't. A fist collides with John's nose before she fully realizes what she's doing.

"Bitch!" The blond clutches his nose angrily, glaring at her. She turns on her heel, fists clenched, and walks away as fast as she can, feeling the stares on her back.

"Astrid-" Heather calls behind her and moves to follow her.

"Don't." She feels ashamed. Not only because he insulted her in front of everyone but also because she let it get to her. Her throat feels clogged and she bites her lip to stop herself from doing something else without thinking. Reaching the school's bathroom, she slams the door and walks into the furthest stall, locking it. Astrid sits on the closed toilet, tucking her legs under her and closing her eyes, breathing heavily as she tries to calm herself down. She doesn't know how much time passes before she hears someone walk in, a weird "clacking" sound accompanying each step the person took. The girl takes the stall on her left side. Astrid's eyes snap open as she hears the person closing the toilet with a loud clang and other, odd, unexplainable noises. What the-

"Hey there." Astrid's heart stops at the voice.

"God, Hiccup?! What the hell?!" Hiccup Haddock, her older brother's best friend, is leaning over the stall's wall, crooked (and adorable) smile on his face. He puts his arms on the edge of the wall, making himself comfortable, as if standing on toilets in women's bathrooms in high schools is something he does every day. She hugs herself before turning her head sideways. "What are you doing here?"

"Heather told Snotlout that you had… a fight of sorts. With… James?"

"John." She spits out the name and Hiccup drums his fingers on the edge of the wall with a shrug.

"Same difference," he responds. "Aaaanyway, Snotlout couldn't find Ruffnut so he called Sven but he's in Chicago right now, so..."

"So he called you," Astrid concludes with a grimace. Of course Hiccup would be an obvious choice. If something wrong happened to her and her brother couldn't come for some reason, he would call his best friend.

"He did," Hiccup replies, softer this time. He observes her for a short moment. "How about we get out of here, hm?"

Astrid chews on her lip for a second before nodding. She feels stupid, so utterly stupid, for behaving like that – closing herself in a bathroom stall and feeling sorry for her self. And, what's worse, that Hiccup needed to come here to check on her as if she were still a child. This isn't like her, she never does that, but it seems that John's words struck a cord. Astrid exits the stall, her face reddening upon seeing her reflection – tousled blonde hair that escaped her braid and her now badly wrinkled dress doesn't exactly make her look attractive. She wouldn't care if it wasn't Hiccup, but...

"Hey, you okay?" She glares at him in response and he falters. "Right. Sorry."

Reaching the door, Hiccup pokes his head out to look around as if they were some wanted criminals on the run. It's such a ridiculous thought, and Astrid lets herself snort despite the sour mood she's in. Hiccup turns to her with a proud smile.

"Clear," he announces, satisfied. Astrid shakes her head at his antics, trying to stop the smile from slipping out. What is it about Hiccup Haddock that always makes her feel better, even if a just little bit?

By some miracle, no one she knows notices them when they leave the school building. And when she says miracle, she means despite the fact that Hiccup has managed to trip (and curse afterwards) quite loudly, almost knocking over a pedestal with some drinks. She doesn't even know how he was able to do that but she feels she doesn't want to.

Finally outside, Astrid feels a huge weight lifted from her shoulders and she relaxes, breathing in the scent of the rain's aftermath. They walk in silence for some time, simply enjoying the evening and each other's company. Her mind, despite herself, is once again going over the words her prom date has said. She reflects on herself and her interactions with other people, suddenly realizing that… he's right, she is cold. She tends to answer with either violence or harsh, sometimes insensitive, words, but… that's who she is, she has always been like that. Her friends have never had a problem with that and yet…

"What's on your mind?" Hiccup's nasally voice snaps her from her thoughts.

"Nothing." He stops to look at her skeptically, tilting his head sideways. His beautiful, bright green eyes shine in the darkness and she looks away, not feeling strong enough to face him in that exact moment. "It… it doesn't matter."

"Of course it does," he replies with furrowed brows. Hiccup takes a step closer and holds out his hand only to retract it seconds later. They are stuck in an awkward silence, so much different than the familiar, comfortable ones she is used to. Finally words tumble out of her mouth before she can stop herself.

"I'm… cold. And insensitive. And I don't treat people with the respect they deserve-"

"Hold on. Who told you that?" Realization strikes him and he looks at her wide-eyed. "You… don't believe that, do you?" He's met with silence and he suddenly feels the urge to go back there and have a serious "talk" with this James or whatever his name is.

"That's… that's ridiculous!" he exclaims probably too loudly but he doesn't care. A couple that is walking by sends him a weird look that he whole-heartedly ignores. "You're not cold." He uses his hand to lift her head by her chin. "You're not, Astrid."

Hiccup pulls back his hand, suddenly feeling that they are too close. Astrid hugs herself again.

"How long have we known each other?" he finally asks and she lifts her head just slightly.

"Hiccup…" she starts but stops herself almost immediately. Hiccup, seeing it as an occasion to brighten her mood, jumps in.

"Your creativity in saying my name is well appreciated but I'm afraid that it's not a number." He can almost feel her eye-roll.

"I hate you sometimes," she tells him, but it's clear she doesn't mean that and he bets his second leg that he saw her biting back a smile. She can deny it till the end of the world but he knows she loves his jokes. Hiccup brings a hand on his chest in an overly-dramatic fashion.

"You hear that? That's my heart breaking into thousands of pieces- ow." Astrid slugs him in the arm but it doesn't have the same power as it usually does. Seeing her sullen expression return, Hiccup sobers up. "Fifteen years, Astrid. I think that we know each other pretty well, don't you think?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" she grumbles back.

"Because, I know that behind this 'I'm tough' façade, you're one of the most compassionate, caring people I know." He bumps his shoulder into hers, not daring to do much else. "That if… if I ever have a problem I can count on you and you won't laugh at me." He swallows, remembering the time when he was recovering from the amputation.

"Maybe you're not the most trusting or open person in the world. So what? The people you do care about, the ones you have let in – they know you have their back." Astrid glances at him briefly before turning her head away. "Why did he tell you that, anyway?"

"He wanted to kiss me." Astrid shrugs half-heartedly. "And I backed away. I may have snapped at him too." Hiccup can't help but frown at her words. Something about the fact that some random boy wanted to kiss her doesn't sit well with him. He doesn't know why - or at least convinces himself that way.

"Then he was just speaking out of anger." Hiccup concludes drily. "He has just been rejected by a-" he stops himself from saying "hot." It's not okay to call your best friend's younger sister "hot," is it? "a-a pretty girl."

"I think I broke his nose." To be fair, Hiccup is normally all about talking conflicts out but this time… he doesn't really feel bad for the guy.

"He kind of asked for it," he shrugs, sending her a small smile. He elbows her in the side in a friendly manner and she finally looks at him, her face softening. "Don't let his words get to you, okay? You are the way you are and, personally, I wouldn't want you to be any different."

He's pretty sure he's in some alternative universe because he swears Astrid is blushing. Hiccup can count the times Astrid has blushed on one hand. And then suddenly a pair of slim yet ridiculously strong arms are wrapped around his middle, crushing his internal organs in a hug.

"You really mean that?" Astrid's voice is awfully quiet and abnormally shy for her and Hiccup slips his arms around her, red coloring his cheeks and ears. He's used to Astrid hugging him because, as hard as it is to believe, she is a hugger, squishing the insides of her close friends and family more often that one would think. But this time it's different somehow, longer, closer. He can smell her hair, roses it seems, and hear her heart beating against his own chest. Some part of him feels it's wrong, that he shouldn't be standing in the middle of the street, hugging Astrid Hofferson so… so intimately. But, at the same time, it feels right as well, like it's something he could get used to.

"Of course." His voice comes out higher than he expects. Even after knowing Astrid for such a long time it feels strange to see her so sheepish and quiet. Hesitantly, he sets his chin on her head and she responds with leaning in closer.

"You're the best." He snorts at that.

"You ever doubted that?" Astrid chuckles into his chest and he grins. She pulls away a little, her hands somehow landing on his chest, and looks at him with a small, shy small. Hiccup suddenly realizes how close they are. Astrid is Sven's little sister – he shouldn't be doing that. He steps back, breaking the embrace.

"So," he starts too loudly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, "it's getting late... Isn't it like your bedtime soon?" He tries to look anywhere but at her and fails miserably.

"I'm only two years younger, Hiccup," Astrid deadpans but a small smile still lingers on her lips.

"Fine, whatever." He rolls his eyes at her with a smile of his own, glad for the sense of familiarity coming from Astrid, and checks his watch. "It is quite late, though. I'd better get you home before your father rips my head off."

"Please." She crosses her arms, sending him a look. "He adores you. You're practically his second son."

"Hey, you never know." She laughs at that and he can't help but feel proud of himself for making her feel better. She doesn't need a- a James of some sort to make her smile and laugh. They take a walk back to the Hofferson household, talking and laughing all the way there. Even though he and Sven live close enough, Hiccup can't help but feel disappointed when the familiar white house comes into view. For the umpteenth time this evening, an awkward silence passes between them and he shoves his hands into his jacket's pockets, looking around the garden.

"I really meant it, you know," Astrid says unexpectedly, gaining his attention. "You are the best."

Hiccup turns to her fully, the two of them locking eyes. It strikes him how beautiful Astrid looks. They move closer without even realizing, some unknown force bringing them together. He doesn't know who leans in first - all he is aware of are Astrid's lips on his own. It's wrong but it's right. He feels her arms sneaking around his neck and he places his hands on her waist gently, bringing her even closer if that's possible.

They break away the kiss, still locked in an embrace and Hiccup feels extremely light looking down at the blonde. They share a small smile, knowing that there's an understanding between them. Astrid looks at him sheepishly, shrugging.

"I've wanted to do that for a while but I didn't know if…" He kisses her before he can think of how dangerous it can be and how horribly it can end if something were to go wrong. Some part of him knows that he wanted to do that as well.

"Sven will kill me when he finds out." Hiccup mutters against her lips. They both know the risks and how it could ruin the friendship they've had for years but somehow, in the midst of everything that happened today, they can't bring themselves to care that much.

"I don't think so." Astrid props her chin on his chest to look at him, a smile forming on her face. "But if he tries, I'll protect you."

Hiccup rolls his eyes at her, grinning nonetheless.

"My knight in shining armor," he exclaims, sarcasm heavily dripping from his voice. Astrid pulls back to slap him on the chest playfully. She crosses her arms, face turning serious.

"So… what now? What do we do with… you know?" She gestures to both of them with her hand.

"Something stupid?" Hiccup offers, knowing that she won't feel offended at that. They both know it could ruin them as much as make them stronger.

"I think we've already done that." She raises one of her eyebrows, looking at him intently. Astrid can still feel her lips tingling, remembering the pressure of Hiccup's own lips.

"How about something crazy, then?" Astrid feels her pulse quickening under his intensive stare. She looks at him questioningly, not knowing what he has in mind. His face goes red as he clears his throat.

"Will... will y-you go out with me?" He looks like a child, eyes wide and hopeful, a shy smile on his face as he holds out a hand and waits for an answer. Astrid stands on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his lips, their third one this evening.

"Does that answer it for you?" she smirks.

"I don't know. You might have to repeat yourself." Needless to say, she does. And then again, just to be sure.

"Saturday at five?" Hiccup pulls back to ask. Astrid nods quickly in response.

"Saturday at five," she confirms and glances at her house warily. "I'd better go. I think I may have seen my mom in the window there for a second." They both blush at the prospect of the older woman seeing them like that and Astrid clears her throat. "You can come too if you-"

"No, no, it's fine." Astrid rolls her eyes at him, knowing that, if they have been seen, he would have to face her father.

"Right." She moves her bangs out of her eye and leaves a quick kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, for coming to get me, and… everything else."

"Sure." He smiles at her and observes as she trots up the path to her home. Astrid glances at him one last time before she opens the door and disappears inside the house.

It turns out that Mrs. Hofferson had seen them but, as surprising as it is, that is not the most embarrassing thing Astrid encounters when she comes back home. Apparently bets had been set on when Hiccup would finally ask her out - her father won.

A/N:

I hope you enjoyed this mindless fluff! Thank you for reading. :)

As this is only a oneshot, I won't be able to answer guest reviews but I want you to know that I really appreciate each and one of them!

Till next time!

~InsertACreativeNameHere