Hiccup pressed the green button and sent another load of people on their way down the track.
It had been a busy day today at the park, but he still hadn't gotten the inspiration he was looking for yet.
Some people might think that operating one of the biggest and fastest roller coasters in the country will be an exciting job, but you got used it it quite fast. It was a repetitive exercise, herding people in, sending them off, and repeat. But Hiccup still enjoyed it, it was almost relaxing in a way, despite all the activity and commotion.
But probably the main reason he was here was all the people. He was in a perfect vantage point to be exposed to a large amount of foot-traffic, and people of all countries, shapes and sizes passed through each day. He liked to pick one person that stood out to him during the shift, and draw them in the break.
He was studying art at university, but always found observation in the real world a more educational experience. He was almost at the end of his shift now, and still hadn't decided on a suitable candidate when someone in the crowd caught his eye.
It was a girl around his age, blonde hair in a messy braid, wearing a 'BU' Berk university jersey and blue jeans. He was at a good distance from her as she stood in the queue, but he could still make out her electric blue eyes.
She was pretty. Like seriously pretty. And Hiccup was used to seeing a ton of girls on a regular basis in this job, but he had no doubts in admitting that he'd never seen anyone like her yet. He wondered why he hadn't seen her at his college before. Maybe she was new? Or maybe it was just a co incidence. It was a huge campus after all.
Then Hiccup noticed the tall muscular guy with her, and felt a twinge of disappointment instantly. "Come on Hiccup" he chided himself mentally. "Ten seconds ago you didn't even know she existed and now you're sad she has a boyfriend?"
Averting his gaze, Hiccup busied himself with the control panel as the coaster returned from another round and people disembarked. He glanced up to see the blonde girl step into the seat beside her guy a bit hesitantly, and saw him mutter something to her with a frown.
The restraints came down around them, effectively trapping them in place. Hiccup saw her eyes widen, clearly distressed now. Hiccup finally understood what was going on. She was probably scared of the ride but had gotten in it because of the guy's insistence.
If there was one thing made crystal clear in the training manual, it was to always give the customers the utmost freedom to exit the ride if they felt uncomfortable. He had seen it on numerous occasions, people peer pressured by friends into going on the ride, under the guise of stuff like "don't be such a scaredy cat".
Hiccup was having none of it. Wasting no time, he pressed a switch on his console, releasing everyone's restraints. There was some confused looks from everyone seated in the coaster but that didn't perturb Hiccup, as he calmly walked out of his booth and down the platform till he reached the blonde girl's row.
"Excuse me miss, are you sure you are feeling comfortable going on the ride? It's perfectly fine if you want to exit" He said in his most professional reassuring voice.
She blinked at him in surprise, and her boyfriend answered "She's fine mister, can you please just start the-"
"I asked her" Hiccup said, giving him a hard look. Then he looked at her expectantly.
She hesitated, before replying "Yes thank you, I'd like to get off"
Hiccup offered her a hand which she took gratefully, and he helped her step out of the ride. He expected the guy to get out too, but he stayed in his seat, looking irritated.
"Follow me this way" he said and led her out through a winding path, opening some 'staff only' doors along the way. He saw the guy from the next shift had already entered the booth, and gave Hiccup a thumbs up, starting the ride. Hiccup grabbed his backpack from a hook on the wall.
Finally they reached outside the building and onto the Main Street of the park, filled with tourists and locals alike.
"Thank you" he heard and spun around, finding her looking at him with a grateful smile. "I really didn't want to go on the ride"
"No worries. It's my job to make sure the guests are safe and comfortable."
"You're not gonna go back?"
"Actually my shift just ended, so I'm heading off to find something to eat."
"Can you show me the way? I'm famished too"
"Oh sure!" He said a bit too quickly. Then glanced at the track high above them, excited cheers of the riders audible even from here. "But aren't you gonna wait for your boyfriend?"
"N-no! I mean, he's definitely not my boyfriend. He's just some guy from my college who talked me into a date, and I was dumb enough to go with him without realising how much of a jerk he is."
"Oh" Hiccup said, feeling he should say something more but unsure what exactly.
She smiled at him sheepishly. "Truth be told, I was just looking for an excuse to ditch him for hours. So let's get out of here before he returns from the ride"
A wry smile came to his face, matching her smirk. "Ooh, I like the way you think. Follow me"
He led her through the crowd until they got to an area of the theme park with a row of eateries lined up in a row.
"Here you are! All types of food. Though I'd recommend the pizza. It's what this place is known for"
"Pizza it is then" she said coolly, and they went to a table for two, in the outdoor seating area.
"I didn't catch your name" Hiccup said, trying to sound casual.
"I'm Astrid" she replied, an amused look on her face.
"My name is-" Hiccup started but she cut him off. "I already know who you are, Hiccup"
He looked at her in confusion, wondering if she might somehow know him from college, until she saw her glance down at the name tag he was still wearing. Whoops.
She chuckled and asked, "Hiccup?"
"It's a nickname. Long story"
"Oh I'm sure it is."
"I'll tell you some other time" he said before suddenly realising he was implying they would talk again. She must probably think he was so-
"I'm looking forward to it" she replied with a smile.
They ordered and while they ate, Hiccup pointed to her jersey, asking, "you go to Berk university?"
"Oh yeah, I'm a freshman. History"
"History? That's interesting. I'm an arts major"
"At BU?" she asked, face lighting up.
"Yeah. I haven't seen you there before though. I definitely would have remembered it"
"Am i that ugly?" She asked with a smirk.
"Quite the opposite" he replied without missing a beat, causing her cheeks to colour.
"So you operate terror mountain?" She asked between bites of pizza. "That must be fun"
"Ha, you'd be surprised. Honestly, I'm just in it for the free rides. I'm a bit of a thrill junkie"
She raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"
"I know I probably don't look like it, but last weekend me and my cousin rode it fifteen times straight, we could barely walk afterwards" He said, not able to suppress the goofy smile that appeared at the memory. Her grin matched his own.
"I'm quite the opposite. I hate any ride above the level of a ten year old."
As she talked, Hiccup spied a strand of hair which had come loose from her braid, and suddenly he was contemplating if it would be too forward to just reach out and tuck it behind her ear when her giggle snapped him out of his thoughts. "You're staring" she said simply, with blushing cheeks.
He opened his mouth to make up some excuse, but thought better of it, impulsively deciding to reach across the table and tuck away the strand, the briefest contact with her sending sparks down his fingers.
He retreated his arm and braved a glance at her, her wide eyes looking surprised.
"Sorry" he muttered, averting his gaze and rubbing the back of his neck. "Pretty girls don't usually talk to me"
"Well, it's their loss" she said with a smirk.
Hiccup took out his sketchbook from his bag, and gestured to her with a pencil, "May I?"
She blinked. "Hmm?"
"I like to draw interesting people I see at the park"
"I'd be honoured" she said with a small laugh.
Hiccup continued to scribble away, smiling to himself when she absently smoothed down her hair.
"Can I see it?" She asked after a while, drumming fingers on the table in impatience.
"One sec" he muttered, putting some finishing touches.
Finally, he turned it around and handed it to her, nervously watching her reaction. He breathed a sigh of relief at her awed expression, pink lips parted in an 'o' shape.
"This is.. you are... wow. You're an amazing artist"
Hiccup grinned and shuffled in his seat, always unsure how to respond to praise.
She turned the pages and took in the various other portraits he had drawn over the summer, remarking on the life like details in each.
After they were done with the food, Astrid fidgeted with her bag, and Hiccup dared to hope she was feeling as reluctant to part ways as he was. Mentally psyching himself up, he decided to take the initiative.
"There are still a few hours before closing time. Are you sure you don't want to see the rest of the park? There are plenty of attractions that will be right up your alley. I can show you"
She seemed to consider this. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose"
Hiccup gave her his most reassuring smile. "Seriously, it's no trouble at all. My shift is over for the day"
Finally, she said "Okay", matching his grin. "Lead the way, mister thrill seeker"
Hiccup laughed at that, as they left the restaurant. "Hey, did I tell you about the time I skydived into a volcano?"
Astrid rolled her eyes in annoyance but her smile gave her away. Hiccup was amazed at the ease they had together, despite never having met until today.
They walked down a fairly busy road, and a group of playful children breezed past them, and Astrid sidestepped at the last second to avoid getting run over, bumping into Hiccup's side, their hands brushing together. Hiccup felt the inexplicable urge to take her hand in his, but managed to resist for now
They eventually reached the place Hiccup was looking for.
"The jungle adventure?" She asked, smiling.
"It's kind of like a boat ride, with mostly animatronic animals. It's more fun than it sounds"
"Well then, what are we waiting for?"
It did end up being extremely fun. Astrid laughed herself to tears at the robotic lion and tiger appearing to sing a musical number. Hiccup couldn't resist laughing seeing her laugh so hard, and soon enough they were both struggling to breath in a chain reaction of giggles.
The next stop was the kiddie coaster. It was like a much smaller and slower version of terror mountain, and Hiccup was much amused to see Astrid getting nervous in the queue amongst middle schoolers who appeared to be having a blast.
This one had a single wide seat per row with two passengers, and Hiccup and Astrid were squeezed against each other at each sharp turn. Hiccup didn't miss the blush that had appeared on her cheeks by the time the ride ended. Probably because of the cold, right? it was the middle of summer, his logic was telling him. But yeah, probably cold.
As the sun descended over treetops, they eventually stumbled into the carnival-esque area, full of classic fairground attractions like Ferris wheels, merry-go-rounds, carnival games, etc.
"Woah, check out all those stuffed animals" Astrid squealed like a schoolgirl. "Let's go win some" she said, excitedly tugging on Hiccup's arm who was meanwhile busy trying to suppress the fuzzy feeling in his chest rising by looking at her child-like excitement.
"Most of them are rigged Astrid, trust me, I know all the trade secrets"
Astrid pouted adorably, and Hiccup had to bite the inside of his cheek to avoid kissing her right then and there. What on earth was happening to him?
"Don't be such a spoil sport. It can't be that bad"
Hiccup finally caved in. "You're gonna lose your money. But I can show you the ones which give you the best chance"
They reached the one where you had to know over the pyramid of stacked cans with a baseball. Hiccup knew that the sneaky part was that the bottom row had cans filled with sand to make them heavier, so only a strong throw right at the base had a chance of knocking all of them over. But it was still tricky to get the aim right.
He whispered this strategy in her ear, making her giggle like a mischievous kid. She got close but managed to have one or two cans still standing after each of her three throws, but luckily Hiccup managed to nail his last two throws perfectly, earning him a large blue stuffed dragon, which he turned and promptly handed it into Astrid's surprised arms.
"B-but you won it"
Hiccup just smiled and said, "I won it for you, m'lady"
Cheesy? Sure, but Hiccup still felt nothing but happiness at seeing her happily examining her new prize. And that happiness turned into pure elation when she reached up on her toes and pressed a brief kiss to his cheek.
"Thank you, Hiccup"
The sun had just set, making the whole world glow in a deep twilight blue, with some hints of orange on the western horizon.
The city looked like a sea of sparkling lights from up high, where Hiccup and Astrid were seated, in their little Ferris wheel basket.
As they reached the top of the circle, the chilly wind was starkly apparent, and with each loop, it seemed like they were shifting closer and closer to each other on the seat until Hiccup finally took the plunge and wrapped a loose arm around her waist.
Thankfully, she didn't shrug it off as Hiccup had feared, instead snuggling flush into his side with a satisfied sigh, making him hold her even tighter and give her a small kiss on the side of her head.
They didn't talk for almost the whole duration of the ride, perfectly content in enjoying each other's warmth. Their busy day to day life seemed oceans away, too far away to think about, as they felt like they were in a little world of their own, a perfect little warm bubble.
They stuck around long after most of the crowd had dispersed, and it was the announcement of the fast approaching closing time of the park that finally got them to reluctantly shuffle towards the direction of the exit, with hands intertwined the whole way, as they had been for a good part of the evening.
This had started as just Hiccup showing her around out of helpfulness, but it was definitely feeling a much more significant and beautiful day than Hiccup had expected in his wildest dreams. Was this an outing? A tour? A date?
Hiccup had stopped trying to fumble with labels hours back. He didn't care about anything or that sort, just about the wonderful time he was spending with this beautiful and amazing girl who seemed to -inexplicably- like him back.
His throat felt sore from all the talking and laughing, and cheeks ached from smiling way too much.
It was completely dark by the time they finally made it out of the exit, walking along the road lit with street lamps, in perfectly comfortable silence. All words that needed to be spoken today had been said already, and the rustling of the breeze and the distant murmurs of traffic was the only thing that tied them down to reality.
They reached Hiccup's car, and Hiccup was glad Astrid accepted his offer to ride her home without even the slightest hesitation. He found his fingertips drumming across the wheel as he drove, glancing at her leaning across her window with a visible smile, clutching the oversized dragon to her chest. It was almost hard to believe he'd met her that day, it seemed like everything was so different than it had been when he'd woken up that morning.
Hiccup wasn't usually the most in touch with this emotions, but as they drove that night listening to some song on the radio that seemed pleasantly familiar, trying to convince himself that he hadn't fallen in love was a losing battle. The truth was, he knew he was a goner, and he felt perfectly fine about that.
Even after driving at a leisurely pace, they arrived at Astrid's dorm building way too soon and suddenly they were standing on the curb, facing each other and Hiccup was wondering what was to be said now.
"I-I wanted to give you your drawing"Hiccup said, reaching for his bag. Her hand on his stopped him. "It's ok Hiccup" she said with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "I'll take it from you tomorrow when I visit you in the Art department"
Hiccup raised a curious eyebrow, surprised at how she wasn't even trying to be subtle now. He was glad for that.
"Well... bye then?" Hiccup said, fidgeting with his hands and unsure whether to do the thing his heart was telling him he desperately needed.
It took just one expectant look from her big blue eyes, and before he knew it, he was leaning in and so was she and they kissed for a long, long time, breaking apart with a gasping breath before leaning in yet again.
They finally parted after a blissful while, both hands holding each other's and their foreheads leaning together.
"Goodnight Hiccup" she said quietly, with coloured cheeks and and a ear to ear smile.
Hiccup couldn't help but peck her lips one last time, and with a promise of seeing her tomorrow, released her hands and let her go.
While he drove to his own house in the silent night, it occurred to him that he hadn't even told her his real name yet (Henry). Oh well, one more reason to see her tomorrow. And he couldn't wait.
—
The next day, Astrid's roommate Heather was perplexed at her friend's cheery mood that early in the morning.
"I take it your date with Brad went well?"
"Hmm?" Truth be told, Astrid had pretty much forgotten about that guy until Heather reminded her.
"Oh him. Nah, it was terrible. He turned out to be kind of a jerk. I ditched him around noon"
Heather blinked. "Huh? Then why aren't you acting grumpy like you should be? And why did you come home late last night?"
Astrid smiled through a spoonful of cereal at her roommate's baffled look. She'd tell her all about her incredible day yesterday soon enough, but it was kinda fun watching her puzzle over it. Besides, she had an appointment at the art building to receive her drawing very soon.
She figured if she'd get there early, she'd have time to receive a handful of kisses too. Yep, she thought with a grin.
Sounds like a plan.
—
My first attempt at a modern Hiccstrid AU. Hoped you enjoyed!
Please review, would love to hear your thoughts! :)