I apologize for being late on this chapter. Between finals, graduating, and the flu these past two weeks have been kicking my butt. But I'm done with school and feeling better, so, yeah.

Onward!

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Chapter 10: We're the Vikings

A month. What was Hiccup supposed to do in a month that was going to convince his father that he's doing alright? Find a better job? What did his father think a better job was? And if his boss caught wind that Hiccup was even thinking about quitting, he'd be fired on the spot.

Hiccup was leaning against the shower wall, forehead pressed again the linoleum, hot water beading down his back. Steam rolled up and filled the tiny bathroom. His residual headache had started when his father arrived and hadn't subsided. He stretched his neck and looked face first into the shower head, closing his eyes against the downpour, running his hands through his soaked hair. He groaned and shook his head vigorously.

His father said, more often than not, that he had always known exactly what he'd wanted. He had set his goals and aimed for the best. He accepted nothing less of himself. He worked tirelessly to achieve those goals. Yes, it was a lecture that Hiccup knew well enough to zone out when it began to come back just as it ended, to stare at his father's expectant face. Then Hiccup would shrug, maybe murmur something about the future, all the while his father would shake his head in disappointment.

Just thinking about that lecture was making his head throb.

Hiccup stepped out of the shower and quickly dried himself. He wrapped the towel around his waist as he opened the bathroom door. Despite being mostly dry, his skin broke out in gooseflesh. He dug in through his closet to find clean underwear. He desperately needed to do laundry. Finally finding a pair, he dressed quickly, in dirty jeans and a hoodie.

He stuck a hand over the vent. He'd turned the heat up to eighty the night before but the air coming out of the vent sure as hell wasn't even warm. He towel-dried his hair and tossed it to the floor. He'd do laundry later, so it didn't matter. He hadn't bought a coat yet either. He groaned. His to-do list kept growing.

Hiccup pulled the hood over his head as he walked to the window. Why did November have to be so blasted cold? With his car still out of commission, probably forever, and his funds tight, it looked like he'd be walking. He stuff his shoes on and made sure to lock his door as he left.

Outside, he had forgotten out quiet it was without that deafening music. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and started his brisk trek to the library. The wind was low but would occasionally gust through his clothes like needles. He held his arms to his sides but it did hardly anything. By the time he was climbing the library's stairs he was shivering beyond control. His teeth were chattering, and his fingers, toes, and face were numb.

As soon as he walked through the doors the heat welcomed him. The harsh contrast stung his face and made him aware of just how cold his clothes were. He took a moment to take in the temperature. He looked around the lounge area and spotted Astrid's blonde hair almost immediately. She was sitting down by the window, book laid open on the coffee table, pencil flicking between her fingers, hair pulled back into a loose ponytail.

She glanced up from her studies as he approached and her tired face broke out into a wide smile.

"Hey," Astrid said, breathless although smiling.

"Afternoon," Hiccup returned the smile. He sat down across from her. There were shadows under her eyes. She wasn't wearing the usual thin eyeliner and her face looked almost naked. Her blue eyes weren't as bright today and reflected the same exhaustion as her voice. "Are you okay?"

"Me? Yeah. Just tired. Stayed up doing some homework." Astrid nodded. She reached for a reusable coffee mug and put it to her lips. It had the stylized logo of the university, a red and black wooden shield with Vikings in big broad letters, and a little cartoon horned helmet hanging from the letter 'V.'

"Vikings?" Hiccup nodded to the cup.

"Yeah, that's us." Astrid half-laughed. "You should see the mascot. It's this giant Viking head with this normal sized body, with a little axe and shield. At homecoming he fights a paper dragon."

"Sounds interesting."

"It's actually not bad." Astrid shrugged. She sighed, "I know I don't have coffee for you. I've been here a while. I thought I'd get some work in on this damn paper."

"I thought finals weren't for like a month?"

"Yeah, but I'd like to have this done by then so I don't have to worry about it. One less thing, you know?"

"Yeah." Hiccup nodded. "I'm going to get coffee, be right back."

Hiccup stood up. Astrid gave him a quick smile, a temporary goodbye, and began to organize her papers and books and put them away into a backpack. He returned a moment later with a disposable cup steaming with warm vapors that he eagerly inhaled. The last of the ice that had settled into his lungs was melting. He sunk back onto the couch and sipped it.

"Anything wrong?"

"Hmm?" Hiccup lowered the coffee from his lips and looked at her. She was leaning forward on her knees, narrowed and interested eyes pinned on him.

"You seemed distracted."

"Oh, no, no, I'm…not distracted." Hiccup shook his head.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"You don't sound sure."

"I'm sure."

"How sure?"

"I'm okay, Astrid, really."

"I'm a good listener, you know."

Hiccup groaned. She was so persistent. He rubbed his face with his free hand. He rested his chin on his palm and turned to look at her. Her face hadn't changed. Her stare was no accusatory or dismissive. There was a genuine want to listen, an ear open, and it made his heart do that thump-thump that he'd come to associate with Astrid. He sighed. She wasn't going to stop.

"It's my dad." Hiccup said. He told Astrid about how he'd freaked out and made an emergency flight down.

"He was worried about you. It's kind of sweet." Astrid said, after he'd paused. "And…that's bad?"

"Yes! No! I don't know." Hiccup took a sip of his coffee. "It's hard to explain."

"Try me," Astrid smiled. Raw encouragement.

"Me dad doesn't…understand. It's like everything that I do falls short of his expectations. It's like…he thinks that I should be exactly like he was, so that I can grow up to be just like him, or something." Hiccup shrugged. "We went to lunch when he was here and he went into his lecture about how he had his life all in order by the time he was my age, and how he knew exactly who he was, what he wanted, and where he wanted to go. He…expects me to be the same…and I just…can't."

"It's perfectly fine to not know what you want out of life." Astrid said.

"He always made me feel so…inadequate." Hiccup slumped, elbows to knees, coffee griped in his hands. He sipped it. Bitter.

Astrid paused. "We're not our parents. You're not your father. You can't be like him. He is him and you are you. He made his mistakes and you get to make yours. It's not just what we want to achieve, it's how we get there.

"That's retrospective." Hiccup turned to look at her.

"We spent a forty-five minute discussion talking about life, and how we become ourselves through a series of events that we may or may not control." Astrid shrugged. "I feel like I could be a psychologist after that class."

Hiccup smiled. "Thanks. But that doesn't help me know what to do. I just wish he would tell me what he wanted me to do. And I don't know what I'm going to discover it and do it with a month."

"Well, what do you want to do?"

"I don't know."

"Where do you see yourself in ten years?"

"Hell if I know." Hiccup groaned. "I wanted to get out of Berk and I did that."

"Why did you want to leave?"

"Because it was suffocating." Hiccup shrugged. "And now that I'm out I don't know what to do. It's all I wanted to do for so long that I hadn't thought of the after. I supposed I thought that if I got away…everything would just fall into place."

"Have you thought about school?" Astrid suggested. She motioned around her. "It's not the best university in the country but it's not bad. I kind of like it."

"School?" Hiccup shook his head. "I can't pay for that."

"Student loans?"

"I don't know." Hiccup shrugged. "What would be the point?"

"Enriching your education, broadening your horizons, stretching your social circle, gaining invaluable experience, and whatnot."

"While all that sounds fun and inviting, money is still the problem. I couldn't work enough to live on and go to school at the same time."

"They have classes at almost any time so finding ones that will work around a schedule is easier than you think. And, you could always move with me with and save on rent." Astrid said like it was the easiest thing in the world.

Hiccup was about to speak but his words were forgotten on the tip of his tongue. Move in together? What? He mental shook himself. She was doing it again, being so damn persistent. "They should hire you for advertisement."

Astrid smiled. The lightest of blushes warmed her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I just…I guess I don't want you to have to go back to Berk. I like having you here."

Hiccup felt a blush mirror hers on his own cheeks. Then he remembered her words again, her mild suggestion of moving in. "Don't you think it's a bit early to move in together?"

Astrid shrugged. "Maybe, but it would be more logical, money-wise. I mean, what do you pay in rent? Five hundred a month? That would be five hundred more in your pocket.

Hiccup cleared his throat and took a long sip from the cooling coffee. Astrid drank from her insulated mug. He could see his father's glare if he told him he was moving in with someone, let along a girl, and who knows that he would then tell to the rest of the family. Everyone in Berk would know by Christmas.

"So," Hiccup said, with great interest in changing the subject, "What's your paper on?"

"Oh, it's stupid. It's Frankenstein." Astrid shrugged. "I'm nailed down feminism, but after that I'm at a loss."

"What does that mean?"

"Feminism? It's just the theme of the paper. I'm supposed to be finding some kind of argument or whatever about the women in the book."

"You don't seem like a very good English nerd."

Astrid half-laughed and gave him a short glare, as humored as it was annoyed, and poked his side. "I know. I don't like this analyzing stuff. I don't care about what Frankenstein is trying to say about society."

"I can't help you there." Hiccup shook his head.

"If you went to school what would you go into?" Astrid sighed.

"I have no idea."

"What are you into?"

Hiccup shrugged.

"You don't have any hobbies? You draw."

"Yeah, but I don't want to make a career out of drawing." Hiccup sighed.

"Teaching?"

"I don't know."

"Biology?"

"What would I do with that?"

"…be a biologist?"

"I'm serious," Hiccup laughed.

"So am I." Astrid returned his giggle. "There's chemistry, too."

"Bleh."

"There's a million options with computers. Engineering. Design."

"I don't know." Hiccup sighed. What did he like to do? "I don't know if school is what my dad had in mind. I wish he'd just tell me what he wanted from me. I guess… I just have this unsettling feeling that no matter what I do…he'll be disappointed."

"Maybe he doesn't know what he wants either." Astrid shrugged. "Have you gotten a coat yet?"

"No." Hiccup shrugged.

"You should get on that, Hiccup. It's only going to get colder. I hear there's snow predicated for this weekend."

"Great." Hiccup groaned. Snow made him think of Berk. It always snowed, from October to April, it seemed. "Yeah, I'll get on that."

"We can go. Make an afternoon of it." After suggested. "Shopping is more fun when we're in a team."

"Sure," Hiccup smiled.

Astrid stood up.

"Oh, right now?" Hiccup asked.

"Sure, what else have you got to do?" Astrid shrugged toward his half-drunk coffee.

"True." Hiccup nodded.

He finished his coffee while Astrid called a cab. She drained her mug and buttoned her peacoat. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and motioned for him to follow. The cab picked them up right outside and after taking her bag back to her apartment, they were on their way to the mall. They walked inside, talking, with Hiccup fighting back gooseflesh. It felt so comfortable and casual. Astrid made him feel that way and he would love to get used to it. Every time she would look at him and their eyes would meet, his blood would race.

Astrid gentle placed her hand on his upper arm to guide him along the right side of the mall. When they fell in step with each other she slid her arm through his, hooking elbows. Hiccup felt his heart thump and he couldn't choke down the smile that wormed onto his lips. They walked from store to store and within the hour Hiccup was wearing his new coat, a brown peacoat that Astrid had complimented.

It made him look sophisticated, she'd said. Sophisticated.

And it was warm, too.

They continued to walk the mall's length. To him, two people walking arm in arm meant that they were a couple. He and Astrid hung out together, made plans to see each other, already technically had sex, and spent a weekend in the same bed. What did that mean?

"Astrid," Hiccup asked, not sure of how to ask what he wanted.

"Yes?"

"I just…what is this?"

"What is what?"

"This, us, this thing that's going on."

"Oh."

Hiccup swallowed. Had he burst something? Revealed some obscure secret? Astrid took a small step away from him and he felt panic quake in his chest. She shifted her feet. She was being so quiet. It was making him nervous.

"Labeling relationships is always complicated." Astrid finally said. She was looking into the window of Things Remembered, at the shiny silver matching set of more things that most people could ever need, and hesitating. "What is this to you?"

"I don't know."

"That's not much of an answer."

"Then what's yours?"

Astrid came to a stop. They were standing near the doors where the sunlight was disappearing fast. She looked out at the parking lot then down at his shoes. "Hiccup, I like you. Really. And I don't want to scare you away." She looked up at him with wide eyes, exposed softness, a tender center brushed free of learned crust and roughness.

"That'd be hard for you to do." Hiccup said after a prolonged moment in which he had been speechless. Her words were genuine and had stabbed into him like hot knifes, leaving his insides on fire.

Astrid's face subsided into a grateful smile, a thin glisten on her bright blue eyes, and her hands reached up to hold onto the pockets of his coat. What compelled him, he didn't know, but he was reached his hands to her elbows and leaned down to kiss her. It wasn't the dramatic kiss he wished he had been, just a peck on the lips. He pulled away and the warmth on her face melted him.

She was the first girl he'd kissed. She was looking up at him and Hiccup wished the moment would last longer. She patted his chest.

"Come on, I've got homework to do and you've got work in the morning."

On the cab ride back through town, Hiccup imagined what it would feel like to get out at the same apartment, their apartment. That weekend that he'd spent with her had been amazing. If every day could be like that weekend he didn't know what he'd do.

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Thanks again for all the reviews - and for reading! I'm glad that you are all enjoying this story!