A/N: And here it come, the last chapter for today to tie some of the loose ends here ;) Enjoy
Hiccup
Is was official, the Gods hated him. He would never be able to get rid of this image ever again!
When she'd left her bedroom the sight of her had been breathtaking. He had shrunk back immediately, hiding behind the doorframe and had finally settled to rest his head on the table instead, utterly shaken and defeated. How was he supposed to keep his composure and have a reasonably coherent conversation with her now?
She had changed, as he suspected but for all it was worth she could have kept the wet blouse on, it didn't make any difference, really.
She had changed into a tightly fitting top that, admittedly, wasn't transparent but clung to her frame even more closely and the clearly visible sports bra beneath only drew his eyes to places they shouldn't linger. She had changed into comfortable jogging pants as well and while they did a fairly good job in covering her legs they were low-cut at the waist and rather tight around her hips, emphasizing every movement thereof. He was just glad she hadn't turned for the sight of her behind in this pants would probably have been his undoing. And her hair… Gods… her still damp hair had hung loosely around her bare shoulders just like he had imagined earlier on the bus.
Hiccup was sure somewhere the Gods had a good laugh at his expense right now.
"Hiccup?" She called out, looking for him. So she hadn't noticed him staring at her, at least.
"I'm over here!" he called back, head still resting on the table. He would have preferred to let it stay there but knew that wasn't possible. He heard her entering the kitchen and knew his reprieve was over. "I'm sorry this took so long." She said apologetically and deep inside him some vicious part of him stirred.
By all means, babe, take your time as often as you like if the outcome is always worth it like this!
Hiccup groaned inwardly and tried to smother this fiendish part of him as best he could. He squinted up at her then, allowing his gaze to rest on her eyes, and her eyes only. "'tis alright." He mumbled almost incoherently and caught a glimpse of her somehow dissatisfied expression. Gods, he had to do better than this! He couldn't afford to let this awkwardness remain among them.
And then she turned, got on her toes and stretched up toward the cupboard and his eye came to enjoy the sight of her enticing behind after all. The Gods really hated him!
With much effort, he tore his gaze away from her again and just stared at the tabletop. Gods, what was up with him? He wasn't normally like that. But then, again, she wasn't some ordinary woman he met in a bar or at the park. She was Astrid Hofferson! And he was about to destroy every chance with her he might have had in the first place.
"What do you want to drink?" she asked and placed a glass in front of him, with much less force then he would have deserved. "I have water, coke, coke, and… coke." She added while opening various cupboards and doors.
"I'll have a coke then." He said with an attempt to grin and she grimaced. She seemed distressed somehow. Maybe due to her crying earlier? If there was one thing he could do for her, then is was probably making her laugh. He still didn't know why but her day hadn't been great, exactly, but maybe he could lighten her mood anyway. Or even find out what bothered her. He just needed to pull himself together.
She filled their glasses and rummaged through some other cupboards. After finally producing some cheese, bread and chips she sat down opposite of him. "So, Fishlegs is a friend of yours now?" She asked, starting just the right topic to distract him from more inappropriate thoughts. "What is he doing these days? I haven't heard from him in ages." He looked at her, bemused. Without knowing so, she had just given him the perfect opening to inconspicuously require after her day. He wouldn't miss this chance!
"Oh, he just started working at the dragon's lair a few weeks back." He said casually. He already knew of her involvement with Dragonite Engineering, was eager to know how she thought about it and suspected her encounter with his mother that morning might be the reason for her tears, partially at least. And apparently, he wasn't so far off.
Astrid's face dropped slightly at the mention of his mother's company and she started to play idly with her already half empty glass. "Well, then he was lucky, I guess." She replied and Hiccup was hard pressed to keep his lips from twitching into a victorious grin.
"Why?" he asked. "Would you like to work there as well?" Jackpot!
Astrid looked up at him then, her eyes glistening but whether due to upcoming tears or out of rapture he couldn't tell. "Oh yes, I'd like to very much!" She confessed. She frowned for a moment and then started talking.
"They had this job advertisement, you know? Namely, they were looking for a personal assistant, which sounded like a boring secretary job in some bureau at first but from the description, it's probably more like being someone's guinea pig for this job would be more about testing all these cool gadgets and all." Her eyes were gleaming now. "They are working on this advanced wingsuit and I'd love to test it, and for free, nonetheless! It would have been the best thing ever if I had gotten this job!" She then added wistfully and Hiccup frowned slightly. Hadn't Heather called her yet? That wasn't like her at all!
"So, you didn't get it then?" he asked artlessly and her face dropped again.
"No… I was late for the interview and Mrs. Dragonite, the CEO, send me away directly. All because of this stupid guy who crushed his stupid car!" she grumbled and Hiccup was, again, hard pressed to keep himself from grinning. Stupid guy, indeed...
"But then it wasn't your fault, right?" He required innocently. "They should have given you a second chance. Didn't they call you or anything?"
Astrid scoffed. "Why would they? They have plenty of applicants for this job, I'm sure." She then frowned again and looked like she remembered something. "Actually… I wouldn't know if they called me. I had my phone muted the entire day. There were a bunch of calls from unknown numbers but…" She paused and took a ragged breath. "Well, I thought they came from my ex. " She admitted gloomily.
She had an ex! Hiccup rejoiced inwardly and upbraided himself directly. Of course, she would have an ex, probably more that one, in fact. But this one seemed to be a new ex.
Astrid
"Well, if they called me, then I missed my chance again. Great!" Astrid slumped down on her chair, disappointed and angry. "I can't exactly call them and ask whether, maybe, they tried to call me… perhaps…?" Even without being her boyfriend anymore Eret had been able to wreck her life, again! It was, however, a comfort to see Hiccup earnestly concerned about this. He had always been one of those few good men who honestly cared about others as well.
"No, that wouldn't do." He admitted thoughtfully. Astrid smiled then while she watched his brain kick into gear, trying to find a solution as it always did.
"Maybe I'm lucky and stumble into the dragon once again tomorrow." She joked but it sounded lame to her own ears. Hiccup, however, perked up his ears.
"You'll be at the lair tomorrow again?" he asked frowning and Astrid nodded.
"I forgot my jacket. So I thought about going there once again tomorrow and get it back. It's not like I have anything else to do…" She said gloomily.
"Mmh…" Hiccup mused, "How about… well, if you want to we could go there together, tomorrow. " He suggested hesitantly. "Erm… not to the lair, but… well, it's the same way I have to take to get to work, too, so we could take the bus together and… talk some more? " He asked almost hopefully.
Astrid smiled at this. So, he did enjoy her company. She hadn't been so sure about that occasionally today. "That's a great idea!" She agreed. Her chances for her dream job might be lost but at least she got Hiccup back into her life. That surely was worth something.
Hiccup
He had excused himself shortly after her agreeing on accompanying him in the morning, pretending to still have to do some things for work. But then, that wasn't a pretense exactly. There was one thing he still needed to do today.
After they'd bid their farewells for the night and he'd closed his door behind him he hastily scrambled for his phone. It was pretty late already but this was an emergency. Well, sort of…
He pushed the shortcut his mother had insisted upon and waited for his call to be answered. It had seemed ridiculous to him at that moment but now it actually came in handy.
"Mr. Haddock?" he then heard the voice, unusually cautious and formal somehow, but he didn't care. "What can I do for you?" He took a breath and hoped his request wouldn't sound too pathetic.
"Heather! I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you earlier. But I think I overheard you weren't able to reach Ms. Hofferson today, right?" he asked and kept on when she affirmed that. "Well, I did. Reach her, I mean. She'll be there tomorrow, can you plan her in somewhere?" Heather affirmed that, too, and Hiccup thanked her wholeheartedly before bidding her farewell.
If there was one thing he could do for her… Well, this he could do! Astrid wanted this job so badly and, indeed, she was perfect for it. It wouldn't be easy but then, how hard could it be to work with her, really?
Famous last words...
I hope you liked it again. More is coming soon.
