A/N: So here's chapter 2. I've been in a writing mood for the last little while and while it lasts I will be writing chapters faster than normal. Could last days or even weeks. Hope you all enjoy
Chapter 2
Astrid opens her eyes. It's Saturday, which meant she got to sleep in. Sleeping in always meant she was in a good mood, whereas on weekdays, people knew not to mess with her until at least 10:30am. She was not a morning person. She drags herself out of bed. Ruffnut wanted to go clothes shopping before her date tonight. Ugh. She was going on a date… with Eret of all people. Big headed, buffoon. A mouth with legs. Why had she let Ruffnut talk her in to this. She riffles through her drawers, looking for an outfit to wear. She settles on a red hoody and dark blue jeans that hugged her body in all the right ways. She grabs her black winter parka as she heads off to meet Ruff at the mall.
"What about this one?" Ruffnut holds up a skirt that is clearly too short.
Astrid displays her disapproval clearly on her face. "I'm not wearing that."
Ruffnut acts surprised, "why not?"
Astrid can't believe she needs to have this argument with her friend. "Look how short that is. My ass would be hanging out of it."
That causes Ruffnut to grin mischievously "Bet it would guarantee a second date though."
Astrid rolls her eyes at her friend. "Still not doing it."
Heather holds up a dark blue dress, asking "probably too cold for this eh?" Astrid looks at it. She loves the dress but Heather is right. It's not really the weather for a dress.
"I love it. I'll take it but I still need something for the date. Nothing too flashy. And definitely not something that leaves me half naked."
Ruffnut grumbles at that request, "you take all the fun out of everything."
Tuffnut comes barreling into the store. "Ruff! You gotta come see this! I dared Snotlout to climb up the lion statue in center of the mall and he's stuck on the tooth!"
Ruff shares her brother's sly grin "I gotta see this." Ruffnut takes off out of the store with her brother.
Astrid looks over at Heather. "Guess I'll just wear jeans on the date." Heather giggles at that comment as Astrid continues, "let's get out of here."
Hiccup is back in the shop. Gobber had given him a key to get in for when he wanted to work on Toothless on the weekends. He already sanded him down and gave him another light coat of primer and now he was sitting at a work bench, reupholstering the rear seat. Things weren't going as planned as he had already stabbed his hand with the leather working needle a couple of times. Frustrated he finally finishes and sets it aside. It's time for a break. He checks his phone. Text message from Fish that reads nothing more than "Halo?" Hiccup chuckles as he answers back, "yeah. Be there in a half hour." He removes his blue coveralls and hangs them on a hook before grabbing his backpack and heading for the boys locker room to take a shower.
Hiccup solidly knocks on the door of the Ingerman household and waits. It's not long before Eira Ingerman opens the door.
Eira, cheerfully "Hiccup. So nice to see you again."
Hiccup offers her a lopsided smile. "Hey Mrs. Ingerman. Is Fishlegs home?" He knew Fish was home but he still had to ask, all in the art of pleasantries.
Eira answers "Yes he is. He's right down stairs. He must be expecting you."
Eira lets him in the door, where he takes off his shoes and heads towards the basement, otherwise known as Fish's Fish bowl. He's still not sure how it got that nickname but there is probably a better name for the basement than a fish bowl. Hiccup stealthily and quickly moves down the stairs. Fishlegs hears him and has a controller already ready for him. Let the gaming begin.
Astrid is sitting on her couch waiting for Eret to pick her up. Her little sister Kari sits on the floor, cross legged, in front of her. Kari looks a lot like Astrid except she has intense brown eyes and her hair is a dirtier blonde. Kari is more of a girly girl.
Kari "Soooo. Where are you going?"
Astrid sighs. She really doesn't want to have this discussion with her sister; or any of her family for that matter. "I'm going on a date."
Kari prods some more. She'll take all the information she can get. "Who you going with?"
Astrid holds back her frustration with her sister. "His name is Eret."
Kari "Do you love him?"
Astrid "No. I don't love him Kari. He's a doofus that plays football."
That answer perplexes Kari but gives her numerous other questions to ask. "Then why are you going out with him?"
Astrid "You wouldn't understand."
Astrid is saved by the doorbell. Kari jumps up and answers it before Astrid can even get halfway there. Eret looks at Kari "Hello. Is Astrid here?"
Kari raises an eyebrow. "You must be the doofus."
That statement causes Eret to raise his eyebrows in surprise. Astrid can't believe her sister just did something so humiliating. She grabs Eret's arm and heads out the door. "See you later Kari."
Eret speaks as they walk towards his car. "I'm a doofus?"
Astrid keeps her eyesight pointed towards the car as she answers "don't take it personally. She calls every guy a doofus."
Eret nods a little before getting in to his car. It's a decently nice car. A 2006 Corvette. A gift from Eret's parents to him for never being around for him. Astrid is kind of impressed by the car if she was being entirely serious. Unfortunately the good impression was gone as soon as she sat inside the car and he opened his mouth and started to brag about it.
They pull up to a nice quaint sit down restaurant and head inside, getting a table for two. The dinner is going well. They had each enjoyed a meal and now were waiting for a big piece of cheesecake that they were to share. Astrid starts to get a little uncomfortable as Eret is practically staring at her her.
"One chocolate cheesecake." The waitress sets down a plate between them and hands Eret two forks. He thanks her and uses a fork to slice a piece of the cake off and holds it up towards Astrid for her to eat.
"I'm not letting you feed me." Astrid refuses to play his game.
Eret, playfully "Common babe. Just a bite."
Astrid keeps her face emotionless as she refuses to take a bite. Eret meanwhile tries to sway her by giving her his "puppy eyes". The second he starts, Astrid responds "Dear god. Fine. I'll take the bite, just never do that face again." She leans across the table and eats the cheesecake off the fork that Eret is holding. Eret smiles as he thinks that he has won her to him. They enjoy the rest of the cheesecake with small talk.
After the meal, Eret takes Astrid out for a drive around the town. She loves the car. And maybe he's not such a bad guy. He's certainly not the douchbag that he is at the school. One thing is curious though and she needs to get the question out. "Why do you drive your car in the winter?"
Eret raises an eyebrow at her. "What else would I drive? I don't have any other vehicles."
Astrid "It's just… most people don't drive their sports cars in the winter."
Eret shrugs "I'm not most people."
Astrid nods a little and keeps watching the scenery pass by.
The door to the Ingerman residence opens and Hiccup walks out. "See you later Fish." He waves to his friend as he heads off down the road. It's not a far walk, but it's getting fairly cold so he zips his coats up as high as it can go and he hunkers down for the walk. A few blocks down the road and he meets a corvette.
Eret's Corvette skids through a little bit of slush as he pulls up in front of Astrid's house. Astrid sits there a moment as she nervously looks at her hands. "I had a good time tonight." She says to him.
Eret smiles at her, "I hope you'll let me take you on another."
Astrid unbuckles and opens her car door. She asks something that takes her completely by surprise. "Walk me to my door?" Where did that come from, she wonders to herself.
Eret seems to like the idea as he quickly agrees, not wanting to give Astrid time to change her mind. He jumps out of the car and rushes around to walk beside her as they waltz up the sidewalk to her front door. Upon getting to the door they come to a stop and hesitate. Astrid doesn't go in right away.
She glances at Eret. "I guess this is goodnight." She reaches for the door and starts to twist.
Eret doesn't want her to leave just yet. "Astrid." She glances back up at him and is caught by surprise as he leans in and gives her a kiss. It's not passionate. In fact it was almost over as quickly as it began, leaving her in surprise at what had just happened. Eret finishes what he was saying "goodnight."
She opens the door and steps inside, quickly closing it behind her. She leans against the door and touches her lips gingerly. She had expected more fireworks from her first kiss. Maybe that was just her high expectations. Still though, it hadn't been a bad kiss. Eret really was different from what she gave him credit for. He always seemed like a smug asshole in school.
Hiccup spends Sunday working on Toothless. He's back in the paint booth spraying on a nice even coat of deep gloss black. Being the perfectionist that he is, Hiccup applies the paint perfectly. After finishing he stands back and admires his work. At least he wasn't a klutz at everything. Toothless was proof of that. Using the back of his hand he wipes the sweat away from his forehead. He hears a noise and listens more intensely. It sounds like a car horn but it's very faint. He walks over and opens the door to the parking lot.
There sits Fishlegs in his new SUV beeping the horn. A brown 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Hiccup starts laughing at seeing his friend. Fishlegs opens the door and gets out.
"So what do you think? What a beast eh?" Fishlegs shuts the door as he strolls towards Hiccup.
Hiccup is happy for his friend and starts to look it over. "It's quite the machine." He spots a small spot that is ever so slightly discolored. He knows that sign. It might turn in to a rust bubble within the next couple years. The winter tires have all kinds of rubber to them.
Fishlegs notices Hiccup checking out the tires and answers a question he knows is brewing in Hiccup's mind. "The owner gave me the summer tires as well. They have about half their tread on them."
Hiccup nods as he takes in Fishlegs statement. He crouches and checks underneath the vehicle. Surprisingly rust free. The previous owner really took care of it.
Fishlegs watches Hiccup check under his vehicle. He knows how his friend gets around vehicles. He is so meticulous. Seeing him do it with his vehicle was starting to make him feel uncomfortable. Like his car isn't up to par. He needs to break the silence. "I named her Meatlug."
That name catches Hiccup off guard and he glances up at Fishlegs with raised eyebrows before straightening up. "Why Meatlug?" He asks inquisitively.
Fishlegs shrugs. "Why not? You named your car Toothless. How is Meatlug any different from that?"
Hiccup can't argue with that logic. "Touché."
Fishlegs gets excited as he asks his next question. "You wanna come for a drive? Test him out."
Hiccup nods a little as he ponders the question quickly before giving his answer. "Sure. Just let me go get out of my coveralls and lock up."
Astrid sits in her room, chatting with Ruffnut. Ruffnut had said she needed to come over for help with homework and it just so conveniently happened to be the day after Astrid's date with Eret. She was always nosy when it came to peoples romantic lives. Even people she didn't know. She wanted every single detail. "So. How was the date?"
Astrid knew that it was only a matter of time before her friend had asked her. She had hoped that it wouldn't have been as soon as she got there. "Didn't you need help with math?"
Ruffnut chuckles "I just told you that so that you wouldn't stop me from coming over."
Astrid rolls her eyes, "of course you did."
Ruffnut continues her interrogation, "so spill the beans. How was it?"
"It was…." She pauses. It was surprisingly really good. But if she admitted that to her friend she'd never hear the end of it. "fine."
Ruffnut doesn't really know how to accept that answer. "Fine. That's it?"
Astrid shrugs, "yeah. It was fine."
Ruffnut keeps the pressure on. "Well spill it. What did ya's do? Details woman."
Astrid rolls her eyes at her friend. She knew she wasn't getting off that easily. "He took me out for supper and drove me home in his corvette. Walked me up to my door and gave me a kiss good night."
Ruffnut can't believe what she just heard. "You let him kiss you good night?! And you didn't punch him in the throat."
Astrid "No I didn't punch him in the throat. He's surprisingly a nice guy when he's not around his friends."
Ruffnut is still stuck on the kiss. "How was the kiss? Was he a good kisser? Did you use tongue?"
Astrid sighs as she knows Ruff won't let it go until she gets all the details she wants. "It was alright. Not what I was expecting. And no there was no tongue."
Ruffnut is confused at hearing that it wasn't what she thought it would be. "What do you mean, wasn't what you were expecting?"
Astrid "that's exactly what I mean. It wasn't what I was expecting. I expected there to be fireworks for my first kiss. Instead all it was was a quick peck that almost felt insignificant."
Ruffnut can't comprehend this at all but she was always more of a sexual person than Astrid. "You were kissing Eret. The most popular guy in school. Every girl would kill to be you and here you are complaining that there were no fireworks. I don't think any guy would set up fireworks just to kiss a girl."
Astrid exhales her frustration, "I didn't mean literal fireworks. I just meant that I wasn't excited by the kiss."
Ruffnut is still thinking about the fireworks. "maybe you just need to practice more? Are you going on a second date?"
Astrid "I think so. He suggested a second date."
Ruffnut "That's great! Although you're going to have to give him a little something something more than a kiss. If you know what I mean."
Astrid grimaces "I do know what you mean and I don't think that's happening on the second date."
Ruff shrugs "Suit yourself."
Hiccup sits in the passenger seat as him and Fish drive down the road. Fishlegs is super excited about his vehicle. He is rambling off statistics and specification numbers for the Grand Cherokee the whole drive. He also is showing off different switches and nobs and all sorts of things. Hiccup, being the good friend he is, listens patiently. He knows that most of those numbers and specs are simple numbers that the manufacturer came up with in "ideal" conditions and one does not find those conditions in the real world. Hiccup's stomach growls. He hasn't eaten since breakfast early that morning. He cuts Fish off, "hey Fish. Can we go to McDonald's or something? I'm starving."
Fish looks over at his friend. "Uh.. Yeah sure."
He keeps driving down the road and Hiccup points out a road. "Cut down this street. It's a short cut."
Fishlegs gives him a look that says he can't believe what Hiccup just suggested. "I'm not going down that street." He passes the road that Hiccup had suggested.
Hiccup is puzzled "Why not?"
Fishlegs explains "because that street is made out of an older type of asphalt. It has more gravel in it thus resulting in more loose gravel."
Hiccup can't believe that explanation "Are you serious Fish? This is an SUV. Sport Utility Vehicle. It also has all-wheel drive."
Fishlegs continues his explanation "Hiccup. Meatlug is a very delicate machine. I can't just take her down every single street. As her owner I need to look out for her well-being."
Hiccup "Alright, alright. If you say so."
Hiccup gets home at a decent hour that night. His father is sitting on the couch watching the news. Hiccup walks in and is just about to head up the stairs to his room when his father stops him. "Hiccup. kin we talk?"
Hiccup stops mid step and glances over to his dad. "Umm. Sure dad. What did you need?" He sits down on a sofa chair in the Haddock living room.
Stoick takes a deep breath before he starts speaking. He is clearly not comfortable with this subject. "Son. Ah know ye'v bin spending alot o' time workin' oan yer car…"
Hiccup's not really sure where his dad is going with this. "Yeah. I've been making a lot of progress on Toothless. You should see him dad."
Stoick dismisses it. That was clearly not what was making him nervous. "That's great son."
Hiccup can sense that there is more. "But….that's not what you want to talk about."
Stoick starts to dwindle his thumbs together and he stares at them as he does so. "Hiccup. Ah noticed yer lack o' female friends."
Hiccup scrunches his face up as he tries to figure out what exactly his dad is trying to get to. Stoick continues "So ah wis wondering if mibbie ye wur interested in men. Ah mean thir's nothing wrong if ye are."
Hiccup can't believe this. His father is asking him if he is attracted to men. "What? No dad. I like women. I just… don't have any luck with them."
Stoick looks at his son. He is kind of relieved after all he does want grandkids someday but he wouldn't have disowned his only son because of it. He would have accepted it as the way things were. "Right weel... Guid talk. Uh... Have a guid night."
Hiccup stands from the sofa chair and starts climbing the steps up to his room. He is mortified that his father just had that conversation with him, although he is surprised that his father would be so accepting if he had been interested in men. He would have assumed that someone big and burly like Stoick would want a son who was a womanizer. Guess the big man really was full of surprises. Hiccup flops down on his bed and exhales. He wants to draw. He reaches on the floor and grabs his leather sketchbook out of his backpack. He flips through his pages, looking for a blank page. Many of the pages are covered with various different character but most of them have a major similarity. Flowing blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He always needs to color in her eyes. They don't look right without the blue in them.
