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Can also be found on tumblr under slavicviking and ao3 under InsertACreativeNameHere_SlavicViking :) Huge thanks to residenmotherhen ^^
Prologue
Song of choice: "The Woods" by Hollow Coves
Gum, check.
Spare shirt, check.
A Kit Kat, check.
Hiccup grinned crookedly at the the name before throwing all the items from the desk into a backpack and zipping it up. Glancing over at the old watch wrapped around his wrist, he swung the bag over his shoulder.
"Gobber, I'm heading out," he called out. A crash came from inside of the tiny workshop and a middle-aged man came barreling into the patio.
"Oh no, ye don't!"
"But-"
"Unless ye want to go commando again," Gobber threw a gray piece of cloth his way. "then I suggest ye take those with ye."
He felt his face heat up at the pair of sweatpants in his hands.
"I ain't bailing ye out of jail again 'cause ye were trespassing or caught stealing from a clothesline," the man added with a side-glare. "Mildew's patchy shorts don't look good on ye," he paused. "Not that they look good on 'im either."
"Right," Hiccup deadpanned, pushing the pair of pants into one of the side pockets. He tilted his head. "Thanks."
Gobber passed him with a hearty pat on the back, sending him a sideway smile.
"You sure you can handle it alone?" Hiccup bit his lip, his eyes on the cars in the workshop.
"Don't ye trouble yer big head."
"My head isn't-"
"Proportionally seized?"
"It's the hair," Hiccup mumbled defeatedly. Gobber laughed.
"Go. Out with ye," he waved his hand dismissively.
Hiccup nodded slowly and hung up his apron by the doors, frowning at the oily smudges. Stepping into the woods, he paused, taking in the scene. He loved the end of summer and how it showed in nature. It was still relatively warm, for Berk. The woods remained full of life and color. The pines gave off a strong smell. The sun shone through the still thick tree crowns.
He took his time down his usual route, the quickest one to get back home. At one point the woods were cut through to make space for Berk's main bus station. He had dreaded that investment from its very first plans and signed petitions to prevent it from happening, but to no avail. So, every day, the peace and quiet of nature was interrupted by the bustle of people and tired car engines wheezing their way in and out of town.
The smell of exhaust fumes in the air made him gag.
His eyes caught a sight of a blonde mass of hair and its owner on their way straight into a pole. The girl seemed too absorbed in her phone to notice. Typical; Hiccup frowned with a roll of his eyes.
"Careful."
"I saw that," the girls snapped right back, halting right before the pole. She gripped her phone tighter, perfectly baby blue nails circling around the perfectly teal phone case. She turned on her heel and he braced himself for being told off.
"Hiccup?"
"Astrid?"
He knew she was coming back, his cousin had mentioned that to him, not without a nudge to the side, more times that he could count. But he hadn't anticipated to actually stumble into her, to see her, hear her voice. His stomach made a nervous flip.
"Hey," she said with an easy smile slipping onto her relaxed face. Her fingers played absently with a strap from her leather bag.
It hit him then. A smell. A scent he recognized. His nose scrunched up automatically. His eyes stayed glued to his childhood friend. He knew what it meant - but how could it possibly be…?
Oh.
Oh no.
A/N:
[insert out-of-tune version of the Avengers' theme after post-credit teasers here]
I'm back with a new story! If your interest was piqued, splendid! There's more to come :D
~InsertACreativeNicknameHere