Astrid wrapped her coat tighter around herself, crunching leaf after leaf beneath her as she walked, shivering. She had woken up late, so there was no time to go to the bakery before she had to meet up with Hiccup in the park.
Despite the cold, she was feeling quite cozy. It was just another one of those days - nice and comfortable. Her and Hiccup would sit and talk a bit about everything, from his latest appointment to which Avenger would most likely die in the final movie.
And this wasn't as a cop and victim. They were good friends, and as more time pulled Hiccup apart from his past girlfriend, he slowly but surely began to heal. The scared man Astrid had met almost three years before was now able to carry easy conversations, initiate some physical contact, and was an extremely fun person to be with.
He was sarcastic, witty, and a very easy going person in general. Okay, so maybe a few months back she had realized that she started liking him, but there was absolutely no way she would be telling him that. It was unlikely that he would want a relationship with her, or a relationship at all. And Astrid would not jeopardize his healing just because she had developed feelings. She wasn't a child, she had perfect self control.
"Hey, Ast!" Hiccup was already there, like he usually was, and he had a cup - probably coffee - in his hand. His grin upon seeing her turned into a frown. "Where're your hot chocolate? You never come without it."
Astrid yawned, stretching her arms. "I was working overtime yesterday, so I overslept today. I didn't want to be late to see you, babe."
"You didn't have to -" Hiccup began.
"But if I kept you waiting, we'd have less time to discuss why it's totally Tony and not Steve who's gonna kick the bucket." She smirked as Hiccup's eyes lighted up with amusement.
"He's Captain America!"
"Exactly! Too symbolic. Meanwhile, Tony, fan favorite, definitely impactful, death would be a big deal."
They started walking, keeping up the conversation, although they drifted to other topics. Hiccup offered her his coffee, and she took a sip and declared that she could never be a coffee person in her life.
"Astrid? I, uh, actually, wanted to ask you something." There was a light blush on his cheeks as he leaned against a tree. "It was...important. Can I?"
She hummed and stood in front of him, with her hands in her pockets. "Of course. You can ask me anything, Hiccup, go on."
There was hesitancy written all over his face and Hiccup swallowed, looking away for a second before taking a deep breath. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out - instead, his face just burned red. Astrid took pity, but she had no idea what could get him this worked up, and so couldn't help him through it. "Can you write it down? Would that make it easier."
"N-no." He groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I knew it wasn't a good idea, I knew it IknewitIknewitIknewit -"
"Hey, whoa!" Hiccup hadn't doubted himself on this level of intensity for a while, and she had no idea what the problem was. So she took his hands like she always did when he was upset, pulling them away from his face and rubbing her thumbs along the back of them. "Hey, babe. It's alright. Whatever it is, you can tell me."
He swallowed, looked down, and said very quietly, "I like you."
Astrid fell silent, her brain whirring and her heart beating a little faster. She didn't ask him to repeat himself, she simply stared at him, gaping lightly.
She wasn't an idiot in a romcom. She knew what he meant.
"You're - you - wow." Astrid found herself blushing as well, but still, she reached out and tilted his chin up. It always brought a smile to her face when he looked happy at being able to look her in the eye. "You're serious."
Hiccup frowned immediately, and he squeezed her hands, probably subconsciously. "I - I know that you must be completely grossed out and - and I get it, it's okay, but the therapist said I should just get it out there…"
He was rambling, so Astrid leaned in close and let their foreheads touch. While finding it romantic in movies, she wasn't a fan of just swooping in and pressing a kiss to his lips, not when he had such a bad history with force like that. Alternatively (and much more romantic, in her opinion), she fluttered her lashes and asked, "Hiccup? Would you kiss me?"
All the words stopped pouring out of his mouth and his bright green eyes widened as he swallowed nervously. "Are you sure?"
"Maybe I'll believe your Dumbledore is still alive theory if you do," she mumbled, a small smile playing on her lips as she remembered another debate they had.
Hiccup was still hesitant, but he did lean forward and touched her lips softly, leaving her hands in favor of slowly wrapping his arms around her waist, something she was grateful for, because she was cold to the touch and Hiccup was warm.
It wasn't anything sensual or arousing or intense, but it added on perfectly to Astrid's cozy autumn mood. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled against his mouth as she got a taste of him.
Okay, maybe it was a little more than having feelings for him. She was melting a bit.
Soft and gentle and cozy and perfect. Astrid pulled back and found that her bright smile was mirrored by his own.
"Y-you promise you meant that?" Hiccup asked, gazing into her eyes. "Not a pity kiss?"
Astrid laughed at that, cupping his face briefly to kiss his cheek. "Pity kiss? Please, babe, if I wanted to pity kiss someone I'd kiss Peralta. He's been pining over Santiago for ages now, he needs a pity kiss. But I guess I can't be too hard on him, because I've been pining over you too."
"You're joking."
"I restate, Peralta is the one I'd go through the trouble of pity kissing. Of course, that's off the table if I'm kissing you."
Hiccup's eyes widened in something close to wonder. "You're amazing."
"Touché, babe." Her smile was growing wider. Hiccup hugged her tightly, hiding his eyes and his smile in the crook of her neck. Astrid laughed again, kissing his cheek. "Touché."
Okay, so I got reviews for this really quickly, and since I have been in a writing mood, I obliged and wrote a second part, a happy ending. A few quick things to say.
Hiccup is clearly OOC, he was in an abusive relationship, although he's certainly no macho man in canon.
I don't think Astrid is an abusive girlfriend in canon.
And yes, I am well aware that things do not end up so well for victims, but I don't generally do sad endings (probably four or five times since I've started writing fics) and so I usually end on a positive note. I am not a psychologist, I am not a therapist, I am not a doctor, I am a fanfiction writer.
Please review!
