It had been such a long time since she had had such a gratifying dinner. Except for the fact that Heather made sure her and Hiccup sat next to each other (honestly, why did she even care?), Astrid had an enjoyable dinner. Her mother's cooking was extraordinary, unlike hers.
She was on the roof, while everyone else was getting ready to sleep. Berk had a great view, but Aurvandil lit up at night, with the Northern lights, and it was an incredibly pretty thing to see.
A rustle from behind made her turn her head, and her cheeks colored when she saw Hiccup, who had not changed into his nightclothes, and was still wearing a T-shirt and pants. Astrid was in her nightgown.
But why was she blushi- well, she obviously liked him, but they were friends now, dammit, and she couldn't blush every time he was there!
So she determinedly avoided his gaze. "What are you doing here?"
"Ah, Heather told me to come up here? Said you asked for me?"
She would brutally kill her best friend. With a knife. Multiple times. And she wouldn't regret it either.
"No, I didn't. That was just her -"
"Trying her hand at matchmaking?" he asked, sitting down next to her. "Playing Cupid?"
"Yeah." Thankfully it was dark, because her cheeks - no, her entire face - was feeling too warm. And now their arms were brushing. Just perfect. "Stupid, right?"
"I suppose." His voice sounded oddly different, as though he was nervous. She glanced at him.
"So, having fun?"
"Oh, yeah. Definitely."
It hadn't been this awkward between them until earlier today. Usually they were laughing and teasing each other like they had known each other all their lives, but since Astrid still couldn't get the sight of him in nothing but boxes out of her head, there was definitely something wrong.
"I talked to my dad today."
Astrid faced him completely, very much noticing how his green eyes looked even more striking in the moonlight. "And?"
"He's not very happy with me."
"Does he know?"
"About what?" he asked, perplexed. She waved her hand around, gesturing to the house. "Oh, about all this? Nah, he doesn't. He thinks I'm still in Vegas."
Without really knowing what she was doing, she found his hand and squeezed it in a show of comfort. He grinned at her and heart skipped two beats.
"I'm sure you'll figure this whole thing out. Your parents will understand."
"Thanks, Astrid."
It was so sincere, and he was so sweet. Remembering back, Astrid snorted. "When we met, who would have thought this would happen?"
"I totally did."
She laughed and let her head fall on his shoulder. He leaned in to her touch, and the two stayed silent, looking up at the lights. Hiccup squeezed her hand again and they simultaneously looked at each other.
"Astrid?" he tried, gazing at her as though she was something special.
It would be so easy to kiss him. She wanted to kiss him. She could feel herself leaning in to kiss him. He looked so pretty in the moonlight, with his crystal green eyes boring into hers, and his hair being teased by the light wind.
"You're beautiful, you know that?" he continued. "You're really, really, beautiful."
A murmur of thanks passed through her mouth, but it was not enough. She wanted to thank him, really thank him, for all he had done for her with no reward, even though she acted like a complete and utter jerk to him. And now he was here, presenting her with sweet little compliments, saying she was beautiful, and she wanted to melt. He was so close.
"Astrid! Oh, there you are!"
Both of them almost leapt away from each other as Mrs. Hofferson came up, and by her surprised look, she had seen what they were doing. "Oh, I'm sorry, am I interr-"
"No," both of them said quickly and Astrid got up. Hiccup swallowed, and his Adam's apple bobbed ever so slightly. She tore her eyes away from him and walked to her mother. "I was just - we were just talking," she lied lamely, with no real reason. Her mother sent her a look as though she was apologizing, and this only increased Astrid's embarrassment.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Hiccup."
He nodded, looking extremely abashed, and she went down, not meeting anyone in the eye, not even when Heather eagerly asked her what happened.
Tomorrow. The wedding was tomorrow and then Hiccup would go back to Berk, while she stayed for a few more days. Nothing was going to happen between them.
Everything so far had been a mistake.