It was calm in the coffee shop, it was empty aside from the young boy behind the counter. The air was nice and warm. Probably from the heat that the refrigerators and coffee machines gave off. Well, it saved them on energy bills. And they'd need that little bit of less expences with the amount of customers they'd gotten today. So far, one person had showed up, and it was already past lunchtime.
It wasn't a surprise that there was no one coming today. When Hiccup looked outside he instantly felt the cold on his spine. A feet of snow stood on the sidewalks. They had cleared a small part for the door to open and close normally. But if the snowfall continued like it had he'd soon need to go out again to do it over.
"Anyone yet?" His boss, Gobber, yelled from the back, walking over to him with a cardboard box with ground coffee beans.
"None so far." Hiccup said as he leaned on the counter. It didn't really matter, he got paid by the hour. But it did help when people came, it made the time pass quicker.
Gobber sighed heavily. "Damn snow." He muttered. "Might as well stay closed."
It was true, they had advised anyone who didn't necessarily need to go out to stay inside. The weather was horrible. Busses didn't drive anymore. Even the cities snowplowers had been snowed in.
It was the average winter in Berk.
At least Gobber was in too. Which wasn't a surprise. If no one came at all he might be able to play some cards with his boss / landlord, or listen to some of his stories. He had always been a close friend to Hiccup. And when he mentioned that he was starting a coffee shop in the empty space underneath his apartment building he immediately asked for the job.
It didn't pay that much, but it was fun enough. He got to have a chat with the average person in Berk, and it put some coin in his pocket. It also helped that it was literally two floors underneath his apartment, so it wasn't a long walk to get to work.
His thought were broken when a large cold gush of air blew into the ship, throwing napkins off the tables and rearranging the tablecloths. It quickly died as he heard the door pass the little bell for the second time. They had a customer.
In the doorway stood a young woman, probably around Hiccup's age. She wore sturdy boots, new jeans and a thick red coat. She had blond, snow filled hair, and wore a blue cap. She had some snow in her eyebrows and a red blush on her cheeks. But that was probably thanks to the weather.
She had slammed the door behind her with brute force, relieving herself of a heavy sigh. She was probably just looking for shelter from the weather. Something Hiccup couldn't really blame her for.
"Hey." She said as she saw him standing behind the counter. Her voice was calm and sweet, but also out of breath. She must have searched for a shelter for the last five minutes. Hiccup looked as she dusted herself off the snow that covered her.
"Hey." He said back absently. Great, a customer came and he was too shy to talk to her properly. What an amazing day it was.
The girl looked around, noticing the tables and the chairs. "This is a café right?" She asked as she removed her scarf and took her coat off. At least it was warm inside.
"Coffee shop." Hiccup corrected her, watching as the girl explored the small establishment with her blue eyes.
"Same thing." She said softly as she looked around. It was pretty strangely decorated for a coffee shop. On the wall hung old axes and crudely painted shields. And in the far back one of the light flickered softly. She suddenly turned to Hiccup, a thoughtful look on her face.
"Coffee shop." She repeated, tapping on her chin with her finger. "Do you have hot chocolate milk too?"
"We certainly do." Hiccup said, seeing a smile grow on the girls face. He turned around and heard how she quickly closed the distance to the counter. He pressed some buttons on the machine, placing a tankard underneath it and letting the hot chocolate pour into the tankard. "Whipped cream?" He asked as he worked the machine.
"Yes please." The girl said softly as she sat down on one of the stools at the counter.
"Marshmallows?" Hiccup asked as he placed the tankard with hot chocolate on the counter. But he didn't get a response, the girl was too busy watching the large tankard, steam coming from the top. She nodded weakly and Hiccup bend to grab some of the pre-chopped marshmallows to throw in the hot chocolate.
He emptied his hand in the tankard, the marshmallows slowly sinking in the whipped cream. She looked at it in awe, the tankard was large, and it looked like it was of actual wood and iron construction. It fitted nicely with the theme of the shields and axes. A Viking-like world.
"I figured you'd want to drink it here instead of out there." Hiccup said as he scratched the back of his neck. "It'll be three fifty."
Again, she looked at him shocked, grabbing her wallet and pulling out a crumpled bill of five dollar. She handed it to Hiccup, who walked over to the register to get her change. It was a simple and easy job, and soon enough he had one dollar fifty for her. He handed it back to her and she placed the wallet back in her coat.
"This is just three fifty?" She asked as she placed her hands around the wood, it was slowly heating, but not as fast as a cardboard cup or a glass would.
"Yea, Gobber tries to keep prices as low as possible." Hiccup said as he looked at the doorway that lead to the back. Gobber was probably in his office, or in his house, since it was just one floor up.
"Gobber?" The girl asked with a chuckle. "Interesting name."
"Comes with the job I guess." Hiccup said as he turned around to take a cup of tea himself. He might not get many customers that day, but at least he had one to talk to. "It's almost like it's a requirement."
"Really?" The girls asked with a raised eyebrow, taking some of the whipped cream of the top of her chocolate with a spoon. "What's yours?" She asked as she took a sip.
"Hiccup." Hiccup answered. Hearing the girl choke on the chocolate for a split second, before a warm and soft laugh could be heard. He turned around with a smile, putting his tea down on the counter.
"Sorry." The girl apologized during short laughs. "I wasn't expecting that."
"Well, at least it cheers people up." Hiccup said as he sat down on a stool on his side of the counter.
"Mine's Astrid." The girl introduced, taking another sip of her hot chocolate. "I study here, in Berk."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Hiccup said politely as he blew softly over his tea. It might be cold outside, but that was no excuse to burn your tongue. "I study here too."
"Really?" Astrid asked surprised, she hadn't seen him before, and Berk wasn't exactly big. But then again, she didn't do much socializing next to her study, since it kept her rather busy.
"Yea." Hiccup said as he took a sip of his tea. It was still rather hot, but it didn't matter to him. "Why were you out in the snow?"
Astrid chuckled softly. "Well I had to get some dog food." She admitted. "I figured it wouldn't be too bad out there."
"And? How did that turn out?" Hiccup asked with a curious look, he had a pretty good idea what the answer would be.
"The pet store was closed." Astrid said as she wrapped her hands around the tankard again. "I got kind of lost on the way back and then saw the light coming from inside here."
"Well, good thing Gobber insisted on me coming in today." Hiccup said with a smile. "Otherwise we'd be closed too."
"Yea." Astrid said as she took a drink from her hot chocolate. A bit of whipped cream forming a foamy moustache on her upper lip.
There was silence between them, until Hiccup spoke again. "So, you have a dog?" He asked, feeling a bit dumb, why else would she need dog food?
"No, the food is for me. It makes my hair shine." Astrid said with a serious face. Hiccup looked at her confused. But soon enough her façade fell and she laughed softly. "I have a golden retriever." She said with a smile. "Stormfly."
"Aah," Hiccup said. "I got a black lab myself." He said with a smile. "Toothless."
"Toothless?" Astrid asked with a cocked eyebrow. "Is there a story behind that?"
"Kinda." Hiccup admitted. "My father never wanted me to have a dog because he was afraid that he'd bite me." Hiccup explained. "So he can't if he was Toothless."
"Your dog doesn't have teeth?" Astrid asked shocked.
"No, no, he does." Hiccup said quickly. "It's just the name, so I can say he's Toothless, but he isn't."
"Ooh." Astrid said as she understood what he said. "You had me worried there."
"Yea, it's always a fun one to explain." Hiccup said. "You should've heard the call with the vet the first time I told her my dog was Toothless."
Astrid chuckled, imagining the alarmed veterinary. She took another large swig from her hot chocolate. Wiping the cream from her lip with her hand. "This is good." She said with a smile. Taking another smaller swig. "Really, it is."
"Own recipe." Hicccup admitted. "Another one of the reasons Gobber hired me." He said with a smile. "We managed to get it into the machine."
"Hmm." Astrid hummed as she took another sip. "You'll have to teach me this sometime." She said. Each sip or swig she took was both amazing and saddening, since it meant that she had less left.
"Well, we must keep some professional secrets." Hiccup said with a smug grin as he looked at Astrid. Her shoulder slumped and she pouted at her drink.
"Perhaps sometime." He said as he took another drink from his tea, enjoying the warmth.
Astrid immediately looked up, a smile on her face. She scanned the counter, grabbing a napkin. She leaned over the counter and grabbed a pen that Hiccup had in his pocket on his chest. Writing a number down, and an address.
"Here." She said as she placed the napkin and the pen back in his pocket. "For possible cooking lessons."
Hiccup chuckled as he pulled the napkin out and read the address. "That's quite a walk." He said as he looked at it. The address was only two streets from the shop, but that wasn't nothing in this weather. "Wouldn't want to be in your shoes."
"Yep." Astrid said as she looked outside. She turned back to Hiccup. "Where do you live?"
"There." Hiccup answered calmly as he pointed upward. "Two floors above here."
"Wow." Astrid said. "Not having to go out of the building to go to work." She concluded. "I envy that."
"Yea, boss and landlord is the same guy too, and a good friend of me." Hiccup said. "Which helps a lot."
"I can believe that." Astrid said as she took another swig of her hot chocolate. Feeling sad as she saw the bottom appearing as she swallowed last of it. She looked at the empty tankard with disappointment. She had hoped for more. Not necessarily more hot chocolate. But more a reason to stay longer, then she wouldn't have to go out, and the company wasn't bad here.
She shoved the tankard over the counter, Hiccup taking it calmly and placing it in the basin, letting it fill with water so it would be easier to clean later.
"You know." He said nervously as he looked at the clock on the wall. "My shift ends in half an hour." He turned his gaze to her. "I think I still have quite a stock on dog food in my room." He scratched the back of his neck again, awkwardly. "Otherwise you went out for nothing."
Astrid looked up, a soft smile on her lips. She had already gotten more then she'd expected from going out today. But she felt like it wasn't the dog food that was attracting her to the mentioned apartment. Her roommate could care for Stormfly for the day.
"Sounds good." She said with a smile, noticing how Hiccup visually relaxed. "But I expect homemade chocolate milk."
"Of course." He said with a smile. Perhaps the day wouldn't be so bad after all.
AN:
Well, I should have written other things, but I promised Hiccupsgreeneyes a drabble on Tumblr so here it is. Pretty fun to write this. Might try drabbling a bit more. If anyone has requests or ideas for drabbles PM me. I'm always open for ideas.