The Edge
Pairing; Toothless X Hiccup
Setting; Modern AU
Rating; M for Mature
Disclaimer; I do not own the HTTYD or any of the music that is used. Everything belongs to its original creator/artist!
5: Amazing Year
"Can any of you believe this is the first time we've ever been in Harvey's place since he got it back in September?" Seth said grabbing everyone's attention after five minutes of silence. Harvey was currently in the shower, but Ashley knew that he did that after every shift no matter how late it was. It was true, Harvey hadn't let anyone over his apartment since he obtained it from his boss, Andrew, at the end of September because Harvey said he wanted to renovate it before he let people come over.
"I know, right. It's exciting," Roslyn clapped her hands a few times as all of them looked around at the layout of the apartment. From the main entrance, there were two walls on either side of the person, with one table on the right where a lamp went with Harvey's keys and some magazines. The hall led straight ahead to the living room where there was a section L-shaped couch, one recliner chair, and then three end tables along with a rectangular center one. On the far wall across the couches was the TV on a long table. Across the living room was the open kitchen, which had a U-shaped kitchen with both upper and lower cabinets. Of course, there was a fridge, stove, microwave, dishwasher, and single sink too. Between the living room and kitchen was a dining table the could spread out to hold twelve total, but if not pulled out; it was a four-seater.
Going back to the living room; there was a smaller hallway off of the entry way one. Down this hall was three door. The left led into the bathroom; which had a single sink with some drawers and cabinets, then a toilet, and tub/shower combination. The center door had a washer and dryer behind it, and then the right door opened to Harvey's room, which is where Ashley was staying right now while Harvey remained on the couch, rather the pull out bed. Ashley was amazed at how much work went into the apartment as Harvey had shown her what it was before with pictures he took. Moreover, Ashley was shocked that Harvey did all the work himself!
"So Ash, can you maybe tell me more about how you ended up staying here with Harvey?" Heather wondered.
"Well, it started that night I went on a date with Zack," Ashley sighed as she began to tell them the story about what happened, leaving out the fact Zack tried to have sex with her in the parking lot of the University. "And since then, I've been here," she finished the story just as Harvey came out of the bathroom wearing a black pair of sweatpants, socks, and a thin sweatshirt.
"That was very nice of you, Harvey, to let Ashley stay here," Victoria smiled.
"Eh, I would do it for any of my friends who came to me saying they needed a place to crash," Harvey shrugged as he moved to his recliner chair and sat down with his eyes closed.
"Your apartment is nice, Harvey," Ford mentioned.
"Not bad for $500 a month, right? I don't even think I spent a lot on the remodel," Harvey smiled looking around at his place. Gods, he loved living on his own; he had so much freedom to do whatever he wanted. Of course, right now, he wanted to sleep, but that wasn't going to happen since he had company over who wanted to celebrate Christmas with him. Harvey did have a six-foot tree set up in the corner of the room decorated with lights and some silver garlin that he added himself, and there was a star on top too. Ashley and Harvey put it up when they realized they'd be spending Christmas together.
"Harvey showed me pictures of what it looked like before he started, man what an improvement," Ashley smiled.
"Well, I'm glad you're doing well here, Harvey," Sullivan told him. "Your mother and I are so proud of you for finding a full-time job, getting an apartment, moving out, and doing good on your own," he added.
"Thanks, Dad," Harvey smiled contently. "I still call it luck. I didn't ask Andy for the job, he offered it to me, and when I told him I might have to decline to stay a full-time employee because of the drive, he offered me this place. Sheer friggin luck," he stated.
"Well, no matter how it happened, this place looks great," Heather smiled. "Ashley showed us around, except the bathroom and your room," she mentioned.
"You can go look; it's fine," Harvey replied to them. Curiosity winning them over, the group got up to check out the bathroom and Harvey's bedroom, which is where Ashley was staying for the time being.
"And you did all the work on it?" Travis asked.
"It honestly didn't need a lot. Small fixes, replacements, a fresh coat of paint, etc." Harvey informed before getting up and getting a drink out of the refrigerator and opening it. "So, you all came to the bar tonight just to see me for Christmas?"
"Well, your mother and I were already in the city, so was Garrett for the annual Christmas party at City Hall," Sullivan stated.
"Heather and I just got back from Berserker around 3:30 pm, unpacked then I decided to come see one of my friends who works here," Daniel spoke next.
"Who were you looking for?" Harvey asked.
"Uh, Sean Wilde, usually a bartender?" Daniel answered.
"Oh, yeah. Good man. I work with him sometimes," Harvey replied.
"Ros and I wanted to get out for a while since our parents started fighting," Travis sighed.
"And then I messaged them because I was bored and didn't know Heather was back yet, so I grabbed them in the car my parent just got me for Christmas. We decided to come see you since it's been a while," Ford interjected.
"And I came because I always stop in after work," Garrett chuckled.
"And I've…Well, I've been here," Ashley smiled.
"I guess it has been a bit since we've all hung out," Harvey admitted while taking a drink of his soda and then flipping on the TV. After that, he changed the channel to the Holiday Music station for some ambiance and kept it low.
"It's the adult life," Roslyn chuckled. "We're all either going to school or working, plus we live in different places now," she reminded.
"Speaking of living in other places. Ash, you want to come back to the dorm with me tonight?" Heather asked.
Ashley glanced at Harvey as he gave her a look that said it was up to her because he didn't care either way. "Y-You know, I should stay here tonight. I've got all my stuff to pack up before I go back to the University," she smiled gently. Harvey couldn't help but chuckle to himself; he knew why she wanted to stay one more night and at the same time, that was totally fine with him.
"It's fine with me. I have tomorrow off so I can take you back," Harvey stated, agreeing with her idea.
"Thanks, Harv. I really appreciate you letting me stay with you," Ashley told him.
"It was no trouble, Ash. And hey, it was fun, I enjoyed the company," Harvey countered. "So, it's about 7:30 pm now, and we're all sitting around on Christmas. What does everyone wanna do?" he asked.
"Sullivan, give Harvey his gift from us," Victoria put her hand on Sullivan's knee now.
"Oh, right. I almost forgot about it," Sullivan said as he pulled it out his pocket and handed it over to Harvey.
"What's this? I'm a bit old for Christmas gifts, guys. And I didn't get anything for you, or any of you actually. I've been so tired and busy with work," Harvey said holding the small gift in his hand.
"Son, we don't need anything from you. This is something your father and I have had a while and decided that it's time you get it," Victora informed.
"And don't worry about us either, Harv. Having you as our friend is gift enough," Seth chuckled. "Go on, open it," he urged. Harvey smiled as he unwrapped the gift and pulled it from the wrapping paper; in his hand was what appeared to be a folder. Opening that next, he saw some documents and a debit card.
"A debit card?" Harvey inquired.
"To a bank account that we set up for you when you were born. Your father and I have been adding money to it every week since," Victoria beamed.
"The money you got for your birthday or making honor roll, anything you used to ask us to hold on to so you wouldn't spend it. And we added to it every week. Your mother and I wanted to make sure that no matter what you decided to do with your life, you would have the money to see it through. When you were younger, you talked about going to college, then it was owning a business," Sullivan informed.
"Buying a house, a new car, whatever it may be. Your father and I wanted to make sure that you would always have what you need financially to achieve whatever future you wanted," Victoria said as Sullivan and her linked hands.
"Wow, I-I don't have the words. Thank you, Mom and Dad," Harvey said, still in shock over the news that his parents set up an account when he was born and have been putting money in it every week, plus the extra money he used to earn.
"Well, we were going to give it to you as a graduation gift, but transferring everything into your name took a bit longer than expected, so now it's a Christmas/Birthday gift," Sullivan said. Harvey placed it beside him and then got up to hug both of his parents.
"I still don't know what I'll do with the rest of my life, but having this, I know there's no limit anymore," Harvey told them before he gathered the folder and all its contents then brought it to his room. After five minutes, he returned. Harvey was smiling, but still in shock over what his parents had given him as a gift. Harvey checked the papers while in his room, this account had roughly $150.000.00 in it, that meant his parent at one point, or another had to be making big deposits into it for eighteen, almost nineteen years later that it had so much money in it. Harvey placed the documents in his closet safe while he put the account number and bank card into his wallet. Harvey was considering to add the funds he had in his bank account into the one his parents had just given him.
Harvey was enjoying tonight. How could he not? A great night at work and now spending the rest of Christmas with his family and friends. However, there were other things on his mind. One being that Andy gathered the staff together on December 23rd for an important meeting regarding the bar. The situation was that Andrew's bar had been around since the time of his great-great-great grandfather, and though it's been taken care of all this time, the years on the place were beginning to show. The entire place needed repairs and while that normally wouldn't be a problem, it was because the bar was losing business as patrons were finding newer places to go. Andrew wasn't asking anyone to chip in money, but he was asking for ideas on how they could bring more customers in and start making repairs with the money from that.
Andrew admitted that if things continued the way that they were, he would have to sell the bar to someone with more money than he had to keep the place going. Of course, the staff refused to let this happen, so they were all wracking their brains for ideas on how to save Dragon's Cove. One suggestion had been to change business hours to the opening at 10 am closing at 1 am seven days a week with only shorter times for major holidays. Morgan Flinter, one of the first shift servers had suggested that they change up the menu as it had the same stuff on it since Andrew took over the bar eight years ago when his father retired, though the man did come in from time to time to see how things were going. Harvey suggested themed nights like how they had Saturdays for karaoke. All great ideas, but they would need to be sat down and talked about more as a group, and that was hard to do unless all the staff members came before the bar opened at 11 am. Andrew said they'd set some time aside after the New Year to continue the discussion.
"Harvey!" Garrett called as Harvey snapped out of his thoughts about how to help the bar.
"Hm?" Harvey looked at his Godfather with a smile.
"Have ya come back down to Earth, lad?" Garrett chuckled.
"Yeah, sorry about that. I guess I'm more tired than I thought," Harvey replied apologetically.
"We should go, guys. Harvey's had a long week," Seth suggested.
"No, it's okay. I'll just make some coffee," Harvey stated as he stood from his seat and moved to the kitchen.
"Harv, get some sleep," Ford chuckled.
"Guys, it's like 8 pm at night, and if I go to sleep now, I'll never sleep tonight," Harvey told them as he started preparing his Keurig to heat the water for brewing. Harvey put one of the mugs under the dispenser and pressed the start button. After the coffee finished brewing, Harvey removed the cup and added a little milk and sugar before blowing on the top and taking a sip. "I swear the Keurig is the best thing I ever invested in," he chuckled while sitting back down.
"A lot easier than making a whole pot," Ford said. "My parents have one," he smiled.
"Well, this one will make a full pot, but it's also got the single cup brewer too," Harvey replied taking another sip. "Ash, you want your tea?" he asked.
"No, thanks. I'm good right now. Right before bed I drink the Chamomille tea, or I get too tired," Ashley responded.
"Fair enough," Harvey shrugged. "If the rest of you would like some, help yourselves,"
"Much too late for coffee, son, but thank you," Victoria informed.
"So after this, it will be back to work five days a week again?" Heather wondered.
"Actually, I'm working six days a week from 4 pm to 1 am, sometimes later. It depends on how busy it gets. Mondays, Tuesdays, and occasionally Wednesdays are slower, so I'm out by 1:30 am. But the days beyond that are busier, and I get out closer to 2 am. Andrew is getting ready to change the hours we're open; something about wanted to try something new," Harvey stated. "We'll be open from 10 am to 1 am every day,"
"Harvey, don't over work yourself. You know what happens when you do," Ashley sighed.
"When did he overwork himself? And when did it happen?" Sullivan inquired.
"It was nothing, Dad," Harvey said. "Just got a bit light-headed and had to sit down for a few minutes on Thursday night because Andy thought I might pass out,"
"I was sitting downstairs, he looked like he was going to pass out and his boss made him sit down for ten minutes with water," Ashely corrected with a roll of her eyes.
"Seriously, I can handle it. I will still get Mondays or Wednesdays off; I switch with one of the other workers." Harvey informed calmly.
"Well, just be careful, son. I don't want to have to get a phone call that you're in the hospital because you over did it. I recall a time or two that you passed out working at Dreki Soul because you didn't take a break when you needed one," Victoria sighed heavily with her eyes closed.
"I'll be fine, Mom," Harvey finished his coffee and put the cup in the sink. The time now was 8:15 pm and the others could see that Harvey was exhausted from work and needed some rest.
"Well, I think this is a good time to head out," Ford remarked as he got up.
"Yeah, our parents should be done fighting by now," Travis chuckled as Roslyn got to her feet, then Travis right behind her.
"I'll drop you two off at home," Ford told them as they nodded. Ford kissed Heather's cheek and hugged her.
"Drive safely," Sullivan said.
"Will do, Mayor Haddock," Ford replied.
"Oh, you can't go out the normal way we came in. The alarm is set for the bar doors and windows. You'll have to take the patio route," Harvey informed as he stood up and moved the curtains aside showing the small patio past the sliding glass doors. Ford and the twins left after nodding, next was Daniel and Heather because Daniel had work in the morning and Heather said she had some school work to finish up before the holiday break was over. Seth decided to leave next after checking the weather and seeing that it might snow within the next hour.
"We'll go too, don't want to be driving home in the snow. Have a good night, son." Sullivan hugged him.
"I will, Dad. Be safe driving home, okay?" Harvey said as he hugged his mother next. The two of them left as Harvey locked the glass doors and drew the shades closed. Harvey shut off the Keurig, and the kitchen light while Ashely was in the bathroom. Harvey made sure everything was locked and lights off except the hall one, and then he waited for Ashely to come out so he could use the restroom before they both went to sleep, which they wouldn't be doing. Harvey knew why Ashley wanted to stay another night; it was so they could have sex before she returned to the University again. Harvey was fine with this, he didn't mind because both of them were being safe about it and they were single, so what harm was there in getting off now and then? At least they weren't doing it with strangers and knew the other one was clean.
Ashley came out of the bathroom as Harvey went in, and then a minute later, he came back out and looked into his bedroom where Ashley was stripping down to get into her pajamas. Harvey snuck into the room and closed the door as he got behind Ashley and pressed his lower half against her backside. Ashley squealed a bit and took a deep breath.
"Odin almighty, Harvey. You scared the hell out of me," Ashley panted.
"Sorry. I couldn't help it when I saw how sexy you looked bent over like that," Harvey smiled. Ashley stood up, her rear grinding against clothed length. Harvey moaned a bit at the feeling as Ashley turned in his arms so that her chest was against his.
"You know, Harvey, you're overdressed for bed. I think we should fix that," Ashley teased with a finger tracing circles on his shirt before gripping the bottom and pulling it off of him. Ashley leaned in and kissed Harvey's lips before she placed her hands on the waist band of his pants and pulled them down, along with his boxers too. With the two of them nude, Harvey deepened the kiss and picked Ashley up with ease; he laid her on his bed as the two started to have sex.
[Two Hours Later]
Harvey and Ashley both came for the third time as Harvey pulled out and tossed the used condom in the garbage by his nightstand. Harvey and Ashley both cleaned up and pulled on their underwear, Ashley wore a long t-shirt as they laid down together and Ashley cuddled up to Harvey contently.
"I swear it gets better every time," Ashley said.
"Well, practice makes perfect," Harvey replied. "Hey, Ash? You don't think it's wrong of us to be doing this behind our friend's backs, do you?"
"Well, it feels weird that we're not telling them, but at the same time, what we choose to do is our business, Harv. None of them need to know we have a sexual benefits arrangement between us; Thor only knows how awkward it would be to explain to them. Plus, they'd never approve of it. Or, who knows. Roslyn could get jealous," Ashley chuckled.
"Doesn't she like Seth?" Harvey asked.
"Yeah, but too nervous to tell him. The point is that if they knew what we were doing, they'd never understand. So no, I don't feel that it's wrong," Ashley said.
"Yeah, true. Sorry, must be tired from how great that sex was. Get some sleep; you go back to the University tomorrow," Harvey reminded.
"Can we still, ya know, hook up for things like this?" Ashley asked.
"You know we can, Ash. We said we'd do this until we got into relationships or one of us wants to stop. I'm good with doing it, and I don't have feelings for anyone. You know my work schedule, and my days off. If you wanna hook up for a quick fuck or just get off, let me know. And don't you dare walk here again. From now on, take your wallet with you WHEREVER you go. Okay?" Harvey said.
"I will. And thanks again for this past week," Ashley yawned as she snuggled up to him and closed her eyes.
"You're welcome," Harvey responded as he closed his eyes. Harvey was sure one day that their friends would discover what they've been doing, and the day that happened, they would deal with it. For now, Harvey and Ashley were going to enjoy their arrangement as much as they were able within the limits of their rules, of course. Harvey had a great time tonight, not just with Ashley, but having his friends and family over to see him for Christmas. Overall, it had been an amazing year and holiday. Harvey couldn't wait to see what else the future had in store for him.