Long time no post. Sorry, school. School. I'll finish responding to those last chapter reviews soon!
00000
Something about the end of the month always makes it a horrible time to fly. Congressman Haddock didn't even choose to fly home on March thirtieth until the day before, but it's definitely a decision not to be repeated. He stomps inside, dropping his briefcase on the ground and hanging his coat from a hook next to the door, leaning down and patting Spike's head as she comes running down the hallway to greet him. Toothless follows, wagging enthusiastically and briefly licking at the man's fingers before whirling to trot back down the hallway, loathe as always to be separated from Henry for too long.
"Henry?" Gerard calls out, but there's no answer. The boy's probably got his headphones on again, and the man wonders just how long this current computer marathon has been going on.
Henry will come out when he feels like it, Gerard reasons, too glad to be home as he walks into the kitchen, grabbing a beer out of the fridge and a bottle opener from the drawer. He pops the cap off and takes a sip of the cold brew, sighing contentedly and looking around. Somehow, the jar of Astrid's protein powder on the counter makes the room feel more like a home and he picks up the large plastic container, reading the ingredients.
So she's trying pea protein. He's heard good things, but will always be a whey man himself.
Something catches his eye on the counter, almost blending in with the slate gray counter top, and he takes another hearty swig of beer, stepping over to the peculiarly plain black, square box and opening the lid. In three neat rows, sit nine chocolates, and he frowns briefly before setting the lid on the counter.
Why would there be chocolates on the counter?
They don't look to be special or anything…he dabbles for a moment before popping one into his mouth. It's been a long day, and the beer is going down so smoothly that he has a couple more. At this point, he's relatively sure that they must be for him, because last time he checked, Hiccup has never been interested in dark chocolate, and these must be at least 80% cacao.
Five of the six remaining go down with the rest of his beer and he rests against the counter for a moment, feeling sufficiently revitalized. His elbow bumps the box a few inches to the right and reveals a folded white sheet of paper underneath it. He pulls out the paper, fully expecting a misplaced shopping list or something and unfolds it, smoothing the crease with massive thumbs as his heart drops through his stomach.
Astrid,
I love you, come see me when you get home. I'm out in the garage.
Oh.
Oh.
Gerard coughs awkwardly, fumbling indecisively with the lid to the box. Should he just cover it and walk away? Or throw the box away? No—does he have time to go buy a new box? Just as he's walking too quickly towards the kitchen doorway, pulling his car keys out of his pockets, he hears Spike and Toothless scrambling across the entryway, whimpering excitedly as Astrid greets them in a high voice he's absolutely sure she doesn't mean him to hear.
"Hey, how was Washington?" She greets, hugging him with a slightly uncomfortable single arm as she edges around him into the kitchen, opening that jar of protein powder and pulling milk out of the fridge to mix it with. "I thought you weren't supposed to be home until tomorrow?"
"Ah, I decided to come home a bit early," he shrugs, staring at that still open box on the opposite counter. Astrid stirs her protein shake and takes a gulp, grimacing at that gritty surface layer.
"Let me guess…Oregon driving you crazy this time? Or California?" She asks with a grin, and the truth flows out of the red-faced man's mouth in a flustered rush.
"I ate these," he bumbles, picking up the box and holding it in her direction. He's never looked as much like Hiccup as he does now and Astrid blushes. "I didn't realize it was for you and it was on the counter and the box was so manly—"
"At least he gave up with the pink," Astrid laughs, stepping forward and taking the mostly empty box, almost eating the final one before frowning and offering it to Hiccup's dad. "Do you want the last one? I have a meet on Friday."
"Astrid I couldn't take your—the rest of your umm…"
"It's fine, third time in two weeks. The last time it was a cake and that sent me back a pound. I have league in a week and a half," she shrugs, urging him towards the chocolate. "Come on, isn't it like some foster parental duty to save me or something?" She laughs and it's too comfortable somehow, it seems like no one should ever be this at ease with their boyfriend's father. "I mean, if you don't eat it, I'm not going to eat it, and then your son is going to be butt-hurt."
"Why exactly," he plucks the chocolate delicately from the box and Astrid sighs relieved, "is Henry giving you chocolate?"
"Why does he do anything?" Astrid gripes, her face splitting into a reluctant smile. "I don't know. But I can't convince him to stop."
"Are you sure that he didn't do anything?"
"No, we're never going to tell you what happened in Scotland," Astrid rolls her eyes. "We're fine, alright?"
"I should have been around more when you two weren't so happy—"
"Ugh, I'd rather not have you jump onto the list of people who've seen me cry, thanks."
"He made you cry?" Gerard asks, awkward and neutrally paternal.
"Ok," Astrid shakes her head. "This is…umm, how should I phrase this? Thanks for your concern, and we're fine. Your son is great."
"Have you thought about politics, Astrid?" He asks and she flushes.
"Not hard."
"Well you should," Gerard nods.
"Umm, thanks," Astrid pushes her bangs behind her ear and chugs the rest of her protein shake, setting the slightly gritty empty glass in the sink. "I'm assuming that a note came with this?" She asks, closing the empty box and tucking it under her arm.
"Um…yes," The man holds out the folded paper, again a blushing model of an older Hiccup. Astrid takes it, shoving it straight into her hoodie pocket. "He wanted you to go and see him."
"Great, that means there's more to this surprise," she rolls her eyes, trying to be any color but crimson as she remembers what happened after his last surprise. He can't just surprise her with ridiculous red silk boxers and expect her to behave normally.
And he's still making fun of her for her reaction. It's barely even worth it, if now he's going to laugh at her every night, suggesting that they're comfortable, and he should probably just sleep in them.
He looks stupid in them anyway. Completely idiotic.
Really, profoundly stupid.
She's not drooling right now, that's ridiculous.
It's just the smugness, honestly, not the way that they cling to the sides of that ass and—Ugh, he's winning every second she dwells on it.
God, he wore them to school yesterday and she could see them peeking out over the top of his jeans when he sat next to her in physics, and it was downright cruel. She doesn't even realize that she's zoned out until Gerard's voice breaks through a too thick haze.
"…just glad you guys are getting along. And I don't mean to be…I have to be prudent here, Astrid. I know you and Henry have been sleeping in the same—"
"I promise that we don't need this lecture," Astrid cuts him off, free hand raised in front of her face as she backs up a step.
"It's not a lecture," Gerard shrugs awkwardly, "I'm just making sure that you're both being responsible—"
"I'm on the pill," she cuts him off, stony eyed and serious. "Have been since I was like fifteen, sports physician said it would be a good move. I had anemia and…yeah."
"Oh, well," he flushes. "I'm glad to hear that you're thinking umm…"
"I'm going to go talk to him, alright?" Astrid exits the conversation decisively, stepping backwards away from him and fumbling the note in her pocket. "This says he's out in the garage…obviously. I'll get him to come say hi."
She hustles out of the room before the conversation can continue, the edge of the box digging conspicuously into her tricep as she pushes into the garage, knocking on the open door to alert Hiccup to her presence. He's mostly hidden under the four foot square base of his catapult, prosthetic scraping across the cement floor as he twists to peek out at her. She steps down the stairs, almost tripping over Toothless as he pushes past her, picking up an antler he must have left earlier and gnawing happily.
"I see you found it," he smiles and she flushes, walking across the floor and plopping to sit next to his feet.
"Actually your dad found it," she opens the now empty box and shows it to him. His jaw drops as his eyebrows hide behind the haphazard hair on his forehead.
"So he's home then?" Hiccup asks, rubbing the back of his neck. "And I guess he found the note and—"
"Well, it's probably best he found it," she puts on a serious face and sets the empty box on his bedside table. "Why do you keep getting me…what's with all the surprises?" She asks, hand drifting to his bad knee and stroking at his thigh.
"I love you—"
"Yeah, can I get the real reason?" she cuts him off. "Honestly, Hiccup, I have league next week, and a qualifying meet on Friday, and…" her voice drops to a harsh whisper, "and honestly, with all the candy and all the sitting around studying I've gained like three pounds."
Hiccup is wise enough to restrain his laughter.
"I'll start getting you broccoli," he jokes and she snorts. "I—I guess, things have been really great since spring break, and I still feel bad about how—before spring break when I called you a—and you know, when there was um…nudity before we talked and—" he sighs, and rests his hand on top of hers. She bites her lip and avoids eye contact. "Wow, I actually do suck at this."
"You don't suck, Hiccup," she corrects him, too angry. "I mean, thank you." Her head lands on his shin that's peeking out from under the catapult before the thought is fully processed and he smiles. "And you've been forgiven for a while."
"I know, I just want to restrain your rage," he laughs lightly and she hits him too gently in the knee. "And my last surprise went over so well—"
"So help me if you got more of those ridiculous boxers. I don't understand why it's so funny—"
"It's pretty funny because you jumped me like I was trying to get away—"
"I was making sure that no one saw through the window. You looked ridiculous," she flushes, sitting up and glaring at him. He smiles wider, utterly nonplussed.
"Right, all those neighbors that we don't have spying. I'll let you pretend you can resist all this raw—" He puffs up and she cuts him off laughing, setting the empty box on the ground and slithering under the wood construction beside him. He scoots over to make room and their shoulders brush as she tries to get comfortable on the mat he's using to shield his shoulders and head from the cold cement floor. "So, anyway, my dad found this?"
"Yeah, and he's noticed we're sleeping in the same room," she laughs, trying to make sense of the complicated construction hanging above her head, partially supported by a hunk of four by four propped on the ground.
"I bet that was all sorts of fun to talk about," he laughs, reaching back up and wiggling a flathead screwdriver against a something she doesn't recognize, arm muscles clenching as he bites his lip in concentration. "Can you help me out really quick?"
"Sure," she offers, suddenly acutely aware of just how out of her depth she is. Her hands feel dull and useless at the ends of her arms and she looks to him for further direction.
"Yeah, can you put your hand right here?" He points to a rounded corner of wood and she reaches up, grabbing it and trying to keep her arm out of his line of sight. "Hold that up…a little to the left," he grunts and smiles as something breaks loose under the blade of his screwdriver. "Thank you…just needed three hands for a second."
"Can I let go?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry. You're good now," he fiddles with the mechanism, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. "So I'm assuming my dad wants me to come inside and say hi?" He asks, and it's impossible not to be distracted by his furrowed brow and the way his eyes are glowing even in the shadow. "And probably get my lecture?"
"He can wait," she scoots over, pressing the side of her leg against his and relaxing back into the floor.
00000
"No, you three go," Astrid waves a nervous Hiccup towards his father. "I've got homework and pizza, go have your guys' night." Hiccup's eyes flick to the freshly delivered pizza box and the phone in his dad's hand, before turning back to Astrid and widening urgently.
"I don't know, dad, the pizza just got here," he rubs his palms together exaggeratedly eagerly. "I mean, just smell those eleven herbs and spices."
"That's KFC," Astrid corrects him, pulling her hair into a quick ponytail and opening the box.
"And Gobber wants to see you," Gerard pats his son on the back with a meaty palm. "You've been so busy with Astrid, and without the shelter," the man clears his throat and glances down at Spike, rightfully ashamed. "And now that you're not managing track…anyway, I'm sure you two have a lot to catch up on."
Hiccup looks crossly at Astrid for assistance. She rolls her eyes and takes a massive bite out of her steaming slice of pizza, looking down at the cheese appreciatively.
"But I haven't seen him since spring break," Hiccup reminds her through gritted teeth, 'save me' eyes downright pathetic.
"Oh yeah, we ran into him in my hotel," she shrugs and shoots him a glare. She's getting a little tired of him avoiding Gobber and frankly the world at large. Yes. They had sex. Whoop-di-doo. For a teenaged guy, he's frankly a little too embarrassed for being caught in her hotel room.
Gobber knocked, she answered, he was watching a movie. Whatever, no story to it.
Maybe men have some invisible virginity detector, and he thought he'd be suspicious. But even then it's not like Gobber is her parent or anything.
Frankly, it wasn't charming how mortified he was.
She's not stupid enough to think that he was embarrassed to have slept with her…but it wouldn't have been bad for her ego if he'd been a little more eager to share the news.
Not necessarily with her coach, but still.
He doesn't have to hide it so goddamn well.
"Come on Henry," Gerard urges his son with a hand on the boy's shoulder. Hiccup glares back at Astrid who shrugs and grins unsympathetically. "Plus, it'll be good for you two to have a few hours apart, can't lose track of your other interests."
Like his life? It's going to be so great having Astrid absent and also the most interesting thing that the three of them have in common. Hiccup thinks idly, following his dad out of the front door to the car still parked by the front walkway. Hiccup isn't exactly excited for unmitigated manly bonding, but he nods pleasantly, climbing into the car.
"Probably," he chews on his lip and looks around the car, tapping his metal foot on the floor with a plastic clicking. "Almost done with this year's catapult," he offers as conversations and his father nods amicably.
"Think you'll win again this year?"
"Oh, I didn't know you knew I won last year," Hiccup blurts before clamming up. He rubs suddenly clammy palms over his thighs to dry them. "Yeah, I'd say we have a good shot…initial tests had us firing far enough to break last year's record, but then the ballast mechanism failed…but…ok," he finishes in an oddly disjointed tone, clearing his throat.
His father glimpses sideways and Hiccup kicks himself as his latest magical attempt at father-son bonding punches him in the face. His phone buzzes in his pocket and he pulls it out, opening a text from Astrid.
'And be nice to your dad. Not everyone thinks you're as funny as I do.'
Great, now she can read his mind at a distance. That bodes so well for his future privacy.
"That's good to hear," Gerard responds mildly, and Hiccup hears sarcasm where there is none.
"Umm…sorry," he pauses, panicking slightly when his father doesn't immediately respond. "It's just last year we weren't exactly getting along and I honestly didn't realize that you paid any attention to…I managed to hide a wolf, dad."
"I'm still curious how long you carried that on," Gerard shakes his head, smiling slightly to himself.
"Oh you know…about a year," Hiccup relays with a sheepish shrug.
"A year?" That anger is almost back, as the man feels duped all over again.
"If you want to get technical about it, fifteen months."
"Fifteen months," Gerard shakes his head, stuck somewhere between ashamed and amazed. "And I've always prided myself on being observant."
"Exactly," Hiccup can't help but hate his father's down-trodden tone. "That's why I'm so sneaky, I had to learn to be stealthy."
"Right," Gerard laughs, smart enough to be grateful that after everything, his son still has that urge to comfort him.
"Yeah, and all those times I fell down the stairs," the boy nods smugly, like he's exposing government secrets to an eager crowd. "Just to throw you off the scent." They both laugh, and the stiff atmosphere lifts from their shoulders but hovers above like rain clouds no one wants to point out.
As much as it would defeat the purpose of a so called guys' night, Hiccup still wishes Astrid were here. She relates to his dad lie a keyboard to a computer, clicking into place and communicating without another thought. And then, most miraculously, she doesn't mind translating.
Earlier this year, the three of them watched the Superbowl together. It wasn't something Hiccup was looking forward to, given that Sundays had been stressful enough for the rest of the football season, sitting flinchingly next to Astrid while she yelled at the TV. Her favorite team won the league or something, and he'd sad through her prattling on about the quarterback for a week in an admiring way that reminded him too much of a puppy loyally following its mom.
About five minutes past kick-off in the big game, there was a rough patch when Hiccup asked a little too loudly which outfit he was supposed to be cheering for, and it turned out that Astrid and his dad were unknowingly opposing each other. But beyond their breakout barrage of insults, they both seemed to find mutual solace in complaining about the long-winded announcer. In the end, Hiccup sided with his dad, but Astrid's team thankfully won and saved him from most of her fury. Not to mention the beer his dad gave him while they stood in silence together, heads hung in mourning that Hiccup didn't quite understand.
It was arguably the best father-son bonding experience that he's had since he was young enough to sit on the other man's shoulders, and it was entirely due to Astrid.
Even after he'd flipped to the dark side, rooting against her, she still leaned over to whisper in his ear that his team's fucking asshole running back gained thirty yards and he should probably cheer. She kept him talking, kept him interested with flirtatious gloating and animated insults that he could throw back for his dad's enjoyment.
She prevented awkward silences like the one currently brewing in the car. He checks his phone, hoping for another blurb of sage advice and coming back dry.
"So, have you heard back from the School of Mines?" Gerard asks, clearing his throat.
"Yeah," Hiccup nods, eager and so far from the nervous eighteen year old that his father used to be. "I'm in…but I haven't accepted yet."
"Well…why not?" Hiccup's father shrugs, looking over his shoulder at his son meaningfully. The young man's eyes widen as his foot stops tapping against the floor with punctuated silence.
"I haven't heard back from Harvard," Hiccup bites back something pointless and sarcastic with everything he has and the car is too silent.
"You don't want to go to Harvard, Henry." Shaking his head, Gerard radiates apology like days are running out. "That was…You want to go and make things. Just looking around anyone can tell that you're good at it."
"Umm…ok, so this is you letting me…you really think that I should?" He checks, feeling oddly exposed and accepted in a way previously only related to dogs and more recently Astrid.
"What? You didn't think you were going to leave Toothless for me to take care of, did you?" He asks, "Spike, sure, but that wolf still doesn't trust me."
"Thanks dad," Hiccup nods and the following silence isn't quite so awkward anymore.
00000
"So you actually think that a natural fiber rope would support the load?" Hiccup affirms, leaning over the table and eating a lonely bacon crumb from the edge of the empty appetizer plate.
"Aye," Gobber nods. "What did ye think Romans used? Polyester?"
"Jupiter's beard, obviously," Hiccup mumbles, running the design modifications through in his mind. "And if I loop it—Oh! I think that'll actually fix it."
"No problem, lad." Gobber grins, clinking his glass against Hiccup's. "S'pose I should be thankin' ye fer fixin' things wit Astrid. She's not quite as crazy."
"Must be saving it all for me, then," Hiccup jokes and both men laugh. "No, but she's been happier on this end too."
"And if ye don' mind me mentionin', she's been a bit looser in the hips too," that infernal toast raises again and Hiccup flushes a deeply unflattering startled crimson, wondering just how much the Scotsman had to drink before they arrived.
"I mind—" Hiccup starts, affronted.
"Gobber!" Gerard admonishes his friend, sputtering around a half-swallowed mouthful.
"What? It's better fer her anyway," the coach nods. "She was on the way te injurin' a hip flexor, being tha' wound tight all the time." Hiccup's dad stares astonished while Hiccup finds it hard not to be morbidly fascinated.
"You can tell that from the way she runs?" He asks, voice cracking.
"She shaved ten seconds off 'er mile time."
"Because she's been working her ass off!" Gerard defends Astrid and Hiccup immediately feels awkward for not jumping on that opportunity, "not because Henry's been loosening—Oh." He stops and rethinks his words. "Never mind."
"Someone has te congratulate Hiccup," Gobber shrugs, clunking Hiccup on the shoulder with a metal hand.
"No one needs to congratulate me," the younger man insists, dodging another enthusiastic steel pat.
"Congratulate him on what?"
"No congratulations necessary," Hiccup interjects, and Gobber ignores him.
"On the fact that he's a man now, or whatever cliché strikes yer fancy," Gobber winks and Gerard falters.
"That just happened? I thought for sure before your accident—"
"No!" Hiccup shakes his head, wishing that the floor would just open up and swallow him whole. "Nope, nope, nope."
"Really?" His father asks again, gossipy like a teenager left out of some loop.
"No dad, plus, Astrid was dating someone else," he reminds his father, utterly sure that he's told this story before.
"Well, everyone 'as been wonderin' about tha'," Gobber scratches his chin. "That was a quick turnover," Hiccup glares at the man who shrugs innocently. "It was all anyone could talk about in the teachers' lounge. One secon' she's breakin' yer arm, then ye two are jus' talkin', then she's dumpin' the quarterback and sayin' she loves ye. I'm not crazy te think there was some overlap there."
"There was no overlap," Hiccup insists.
Gerard is still stuck a few developments back.
"She was that upset over you, and you hadn't even…yet?" It's one of the few times that Hiccup feels his own father is genuinely impressed with him…but this particular moment isn't worth recreating. "I thought you'd been together for a bit by that point."
"No Jerry, she jus' broke up wit the football player on Friday, Hiccup got his leg busted on Sunday." Gobber corrects his friend and Gerard nods like someone's delivering a believable but fantastic pitch.
"That is a quick turnover."
Before anything about the situation can get any more tragically embarrassing, the waiter rounds the corner with their food, setting it on the table in front of them.
"Oh food!" Hiccup says too loudly, looking around and distracting from that horrible, horrible conversation. "Food is here. I'm hungry, who's hungry?" Gerard leans towards Gobber and whispers loudly enough for Hiccup to hear absolutely clearly.
"I'm still surprised he has a girlfriend."
" 'E traded a leg fer it," Gobber shrugs and Hiccup glares, deflating and eating a French fry with more vengeance that should really be possible. His phone buzzes in his pocket and he pulls it out to see another text from Astrid, more practical than wise.
'Is squiggly E the same thing as voltage?'
'Yes,' he shoots back decisively, setting his phone on his chair beside his leg in case she follows up.
"Kids and their phones," Gerard rolls his eyes amicably. "My intern, DU law student, top of his class, and I can't get him to put the damn thing down."
"Try getting' high schoolers to leave their phones in their lockers during practice," Gobber commiserates, "And we miss ye Hiccup, my new manager missed half the JV mile race last week because of some sugar crush game."
"It's a physics question, or I'd ignore it," he promises amicably. Gerard whispers something about realizing why Hiccup has a girlfriend and Gobber laughs.
Dinner conversation is pleasant for the most part, and both men are nursing a fresh beer as the waiter comes to take their plates away. They're talking about golf, and Hiccup is utterly bored, crunching on an ice cube and resisting the urge to check the time. His phone vibrates again and he glances at the screen, eyes furtive around the edge of the table.
'How soon do you think you'll be home?'
'No idea,' he responds, looking back across the table at the men who are now discussing college sports and some conference with ten people. Apparently someone is being snubbed, and Hiccup digs deep for a reason to care.
'Too bad, I'm heading to bed.'
'Ok goodnight.'
He's unnecessarily glum hitting send. He'll see her in the morning, probably even later tonight considering that going to bed means going to his bed. He'll be curled up around her sprawled sleeping self within a few hours, but that doesn't mean he won't miss talking to her.
Love is chronic and illogical.
Of course discussing college sports has somehow led back to coaching, and Astrid, and Hiccup perks up slightly, leaning towards the conversation.
"…CU has a shot against Stanford as a team this year. I mean, they've got two NCAA champs back from the Olympics, and now Astrid on an already good distance team."
"An' now, wit Astrid, they've got someone who can actually compete in the 3k and 5k, they've been dominating longer distances an' the 800, but they've had no one for the mid-distances."
"Do you really think she's going to translate well to college competition though?" Gerard asks, "I mean, can she come back from a loss reliably?"
Hiccup wants to scoff, but Gobber beats him to it.
"I thought tha' too, until Worlds. She came back from nationals wit some attitude."
Hiccup zones out a bit, wondering just how many times his father and Gobber have talked coaching over the years. How many times have they spent nights talking about Astrid's most recent race, or her potential? Did his dad have a concept of who Astrid used to be that day when he confessed who'd broken his wrist?
Had he heard of her as bitchy, or misunderstood, or wily and aggressive before he even met her? He wonders if Astrid usurped his dad's expectations as much as his.
His phone twitches.
Hiccup is a little too excited, because he honestly expected Astrid to go to sleep immediately and he pulls the device out a little too vigorously, almost banging it against the underside of the table before cradling it in his palm.
'So…I'm naked in your bed.'
He blanches and coughs, fumbling his phone and dropping it onto the ground. His dad reaches down to pick it up and he almost falls out of his chair as he launches himself forward to grab it first. His right shin smacks against the center pole of the table and he winces, sitting up stony-faced and flushed.
"Everything alright?" His dad asks and he shrugs violently, smacking his knuckles against the edge of the table. His phone might as well be a brick of lead if feels so obvious sittin gin his lap.
"Psh, I'm fine. It's all fine," he nods vigorously, hoping it'll drain the blush from his cheeks. "Just physics. Astrid—" and he can picture how she lays on his bed in the early morning, half covered, swathes of warm golden skin peeking through the messy sheets. "Just Astrid asking about physics…I mean, she has questions…lots of questions…"
"Are you alright?" Gerard rephrases and Hiccup clears his throat.
"I'm fine…so, we were talking about Astrid and running?" He tries to shake off the fuzzy gurgling in his stomach. "I think she's going to be great. I think if she's suddenly on a team where she isn't given as the first seed, then she's going to do that psycho-Astrid thing and obsessively prove herself…and I'm not going to bet against her."
It would be a decent recovery if she weren't so…twitchy.
His phone buzzes again and he bites his lip, trying to ignore it.
"I'd agree," Gerard weighs the opinion and Hiccup anxiously bides his time until the men look back at each other. Please let the second text be explaining how the first one was entirely a mistake.
Or maybe a promise that she'll get naked later…except that's probably worse. He exhales slowly, trying to get his rampant heartbeat under control.
"I don't know, she's goin' te blow that knee o' hers tryin' to show off," Gobber shakes his head, more a worried parent than a coach.
Show off.
The phrase blazes in his mind like a firework, magnesium bright. He stands up before it's a cognizant decision, gripping his phone too tightly. Both men stare at him and he shrugs, gesturing towards the back of the restaurant.
"I'm going to go use the bathroom now, because…because…you can guess why, I guess. So I'm going…" he pushes out, tripping over his chair with his inorganic foot and striding back towards the men's room. He slips inside and locks the door on the largest stall, leaning against the wall and checking his phone.
'I'm starting without you.'
He exhales through his mouth and brings shaky thumbs to his phone, answering carefully.
'Do you just enjoy torturing me?'
'It's not quite as fun as you coming home,' she responds almost immediately, and he sighs.
'I'll be home soon, I'll try.'
'I'm still starting without you,' she insists, and the silence is dreadfully charged. He tries and fails not to imagine what's going on at the other end of the connection. 'And it feels good.'
'You can't wait an hour?'
'This feels good now,' she takes a second longer to follow up this time, and the extra time is murder. 'Not as good as you.'
'I'll try and be home soon.'
The longest wait yet.
'Astrid 1, Hiccup 0'
'What?'
'I have one point. If you wait too long, I don't know how you're going to catch up.' She challenges him coquettishly, and the reality of why he was waiting is suddenly too scalding in his chest.
Oh God.
And she has to do this tonight, she has to do this here.
'I'll be home soon.'
He charges out of the bathroom with a purpose, slowing down as he approaches the table, just how daunting this situation is dawning on him. Right, just walk up there and tell his dad that they need to leave now because there's a naked girl in his bed who needs some raw…Hiccup.
Because he hasn't been laughed at enough tonight.
"Everything alright, Henry?" Gerard asks again, and Hiccup shrugs.
"I'm good…" and he's back sitting at his spot before it's really a decision, denim cool against the fake leather cushion. He feels like he's running a fever, the image of what's going on in his bed, ridiculously and unfairly without him, running through his mind on a loop. "Completely…I have school tomorrow," he reminds them, raising a hand to his mouth and remembering to fake a yawn.
"It's nine thirty, live a little," Gobber takes his last gulp of beer and sets the empty glass on the table. "Bein' out a little late won' kill ye."
"I have a test…" he lies, automatically knowing he's too obvious. "I have a biology test. On the body systems…digestive, endocrine, reproductive…umm" he coughs, "muscular…integumentary…I still need to study."
"Ye'll do fine, I was talkin' te yer teacher the other day," Gobber rolls his eyes. "She said you and Astrid are downright ready te take yer AP."
"I'm starting to think that's because Astrid's independent," Gerard jokes as Hiccup's phone vibrates in his pocket. "And she can study a few hours by herself without getting…strange."
Hiccup glances at the text.
'I need you.'
Independent. Ha.
"Strange? Who gets strange?" Hiccup asks, scratching his thigh and repositioning his jeans as subtly as he can manage. "Oh, me? Come on dad, this is me we're talking about, this is practically normal for me."
Another buzz.
'2.'
"Maybe we should be getting home, Gobber," Gerard stands, so so slowly and Hiccup jumps to his feet, jittering. He'd thought getting everything sexual out in the open would be a loosening force, but it really just seems to have given her more leverage to coil him up.
"That sounds like a great idea," Hiccup waves too peppy at Gobber before glaring at his own hand and letting it fall listlessly to his side.
"Anyway, I'm sure we'll see you around soon—Henry," Gerard barks after his son as the young man starts walking towards the exit of the restaurant, purposeful but lingering. "Can you wait two seconds?"
He glances at his phone again.
'3.'
God, is she missing with him, or has she really…well, three times. Without him. Alone.
Naked in his bed.
"I'm waiting," Hiccup tells his dad, rocking back and forth slowly between his feet, staring at the goodbye going on in front of him. They will see each other soon, some expediency would be appreciated.
Now.
Or ten seconds ago.
Or before Astrid got naked. He doesn't understand why she almost always insists on doing that part. He likes helping her get undressed—
"Ok," Hiccup's father catches up to him and they walk out to the parking lot, climbing into the car and pulling out of the parking lot. "Are you and Astrid going to let me sleep tonight?" The man asks with a disturbingly understanding smile.
Hiccup gulps.
"She's already asleep. I just—I want to get home, it was a long day."
"I wish I'd had my own phone when I was dating your mother," Gerard shakes his head wistfully. "I couldn't say anything I didn't want my own mother to hear if she picked up the other end of the house line."
"Oh, the seventies. Another planet…" Hiccup mumbles.
"Henry—"
"Fine," Hiccup shakes his head, forcing his face calm as his phone vibrates again. "We will keep it down because we'll be sleeping, and that's a traditionally quiet activity."
"I'll hold you to that."
And sometimes that male concept of less is more, those feelings hidden under rugs and in closets is happier than any sort of heart to heart.
Hiccup says goodnight to his father in the entry-way fifteen minutes later, scratching both eager dogs on the head and leaving them with his dad, slipping into his room attempting to hide every vestige of eagerness and probably failing. It's dark and cool in his room with the door shut, but breezy, because Astrid can't sleep with the window closed and the room full of stuffy, humid air.
She's sprawled on his bed, definitely nude, with the covers pulled over her chest, one lean leg hanging over the side of the mattress. She's snoring.
He checks his phone, and it doesn't look like she ever quite made it to four, and she wasn't too pleased about it.
He strips down to his boxers, cracking the door for the dogs and perching on the edge of the bed to click off his leg, sliding into bed next to her and carefully scooting her closer to the wall. Even in her sleep she resents being put anywhere, and she feebly elbows behind her before sighing pleasantly and grabbing his arm, tugging it around her waist and holding onto it with sleep strong fingers. He fixes the comforter around her, face pushing into the loose hair across his pillow as he holds her close, skin on skin contact surprisingly chaste and comforting.
Toothless and Spike slip in, hallway light leaking through the barely open door as they curl up on the foot of the bed.
Hiccup should get up and shut the door…but well, his dad was so sure about their eventual activities, it's not like he'll be checking in.
There are some advantages to crippling embarrassment.
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So…happy fluffy embarrassment? I really like this chapter, even though it's sort of word vomit. I promise I edited, but it wasn't quite as planned as normal.
Then again, goofy is better off the cuff, I think.
Anyway, thank you for your continued responses!