Astrid walked through the aisle, willing herself not to be embarrassed. People did this. It was a normal thing people did. so what if she wasn't actually buying them?

Flavors. Sizes. Oh, they were all one in the same. What did it matter? It wasn't like she was going to use them. She was going to buy exactly 20 and then she was going to go and prove to Ruffnut that she had some dignity left.

It was one dare. One dare was not going to kill her.

Oh, Thor strike her dead.

Condoms. Out of everything she could be forced to buy, it had to be condoms.

The dare had come from nowhere. The game had been fairly tame until then. Drink something disgusting. Or ding dong ditch someone.

Then out of nowhere Ruffnut had gotten a text and her eyes had gotten an evil gleam in them. This was followed by her smirking and leaning forward. And, of course, saying the cursed dare.

Whatever. At least it would be over soon. She could go back to her house and laugh because she did it, and put it behind her.

That was what she thought, at least, before she saw him.

Him.

Oh, fuck.

Astrid ducked back into the aisle, nearly dropping the twenty something condoms in her hand and letting out a stream of curses under her breath.

She tried balancing the condoms in her hand as she took out her phone with the other. There was a text from Ruff.

'your a coward and i helped u out. ;) now go ask him if he'll put them on.'

"I will do no such thing," Astrid hissed, glaring at the screen.

And she wasn't a coward. Sure, her and Hiccup were acquaintances, and sure, he was cute, and his eyes were striking, and he everything she wanted in a guy. And yes, she hadn't asked him out yet. But it wasn't because she was scared, it was because she never got around to it. She was busy, sue her.

But fuck - Ruff knew she would never back out of a dare, and now she had to just go and...do it.

Astrid took a deep breath, shoved her phone back in her pocket, and walked to the cash register.

Hiccup saw her and a grin spread across his face. "Astrid! Hey!"

Fuckin' Freya he was cute. Were his freckles always that apparent, or was she just hypersensitive right now?

Keep it cool, don't break.

"Hello," she said, without even a trace of a smile. "It is quite surprising to see you here."

"Yeah, it's a fairly new job." he said, seemingly not picking up on her tone. "I was actually expecting Ruff, she texted me asking when I'd be working."

"Did she now?" Astrid murmured, gritting her teeth.

Then she took a deep breath and placed the first condom on the counter.

Hiccup looked down at it - a dark blush spread across his cheeks (making the freckles pop out even more).

She placed the second one on the counter, determinedly not looking at him anymore. Then the third, then the fourth.

It was around the eighth she heard a snicker, and chanced a look at him.

He was still blushing, but he looked amused too, as he took each of them and placed them in a bag.

The silence continued. Now she was on the eleventh. Of course, she could just dump all of them on the counter, but she was going to be dignified and curt and get this done as smoothly as possible.

Fifteen.

Nineteen.

"So, you have a boyfriend?" Hiccup asked politely.

Astrid's head snapped up to look at him. He started laughing, and she couldn't help it - she did too. His laugh was contagious.

"It…" Astrid blushed, and tossed the final few on the counter crossly. "It was a dare!"

"Yeah, no kidding. They're all in different sizes." He was still laughing as he continued bagging the condoms for her. "Unless you're dating a mutant…"

"Oh, shut up." She blushed again, but was still laughing with him.

After the purchase was made, he handed the bag to her and then leaned forward, his arms resting on the counter. She wondered if he knew that he was really, really hot in that position.

Oh, no. She definitely shouldn't have been thinking about positions just then.

"So, you don't have a boyfriend?"

"No," Astrid said clearly, and was about to speak up when he spoke first.

"Then would you like to grab a smoothie with me after my shift? It'll be over in a few minutes."

Now the normal thing would have just been to say yes, but Astrid couldn't help it, and instead she blurted, "Which flavor?"

His eyes widened, and then it was her turn to laugh at him.

"I…" She tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "I'd love to. I'll wait outside in my car."

Hiccup grinned widely, and her thoughts immediately went to the end of the night, where, if he was willing, she was definitely going to plant one on those lips.

"Uh...I'll hurry."

Astrid grinned as something very happy blossomed in her chest, and, gripping the bag tightly, she left the store and called Ruffnut.

"Heyo, pretty lady. Did you make the purchase? Is Hiccup DTF?"

"Screw you, Ruffnut," she mumbled, but then looked back at the store, and smiled brightly. "And thanks."