Learning to Fall

"Astrid wants to learn how to roller skate & skater boy Hiccup gives her her first lesson."

Rated K

2,569 Words

Hiccstrid

Astrid, Hiccup

Modern AU

July 30th, 2020

The first thing you should know before starting something is how to stop.

The last thing you want is to be rolling halfway down the street, straight for a pedestrian or a wall, and then realizing you don't know how to stop. Brake. This applies to driving, biking, and, especially right now, to skating.

Astrid 'the Fearless' Hofferson—as several kids had dubbed her for her courageous nature—is just that: fearless… except for the times she isn't. Astrid admittedly has some fears like the dark, losing a loved one, dying, and falling. She actually loves heights when she isn't afraid of falling, but those two are often a package deal.

Astrid 'the Fearless' Hofferson is often dubbed 'fearless' because she's a bit of an adrenaline junkie. She loves horror movies and haunted houses and jumping into pools and flipping on trampolines and et cetera. The newest interest of hers: skating.

Astrid likes speed and wheels make you faster. Astrid's too young for cars and too wild for a boring old bike. When she told her family that she wanted to start skating, she really meant skateboarding. They surprised her with roller skates and she went with it.

So, here's Astrid's problem: none of her family knows how to skate nor have they been very helpful with her attempts. Her solution? The skater boy that lives down the street. Time to roll.

Astrid approached the auburn-hair boy on an early Saturday morning. The sun was still rising. She didn't know why he was up this early, but that just meant more time for her to practice.

"Hey." Astrid tapped the boy on his shoulder but he was lost in thought. "Hey? Hiccup, right?" He still wasn't responding, staring at the sunrise. Astrid rolled her eyes.

She'd seen him before at the bus stop and knew he wasn't deaf, but it was like he couldn't hear her. Maybe she needed to get even closer.

Astrid squatted so that her mouth was mere centimeters away from the boy's ear and, in a louder voice than she tried before, she yelled, "Hey? Can you hear me?"

The boy fell back off his skateboard, pushing it down the sidewalk. Astrid jumped up and chased after, stopping it with her foot. The boy was staring at her from where he fell, but he didn't move.

"Well?" she asked, kicking the skateboard up the slanted sidewalk until he grabbed it. "Please don't tell me that you're deaf." She muttered the last part so that he wouldn't hear, assuming he wasn't deaf.

"I'm not." The boy pushed himself up and Astrid realized that they were about the same height. They were the same age too. She was sure she had a class with him in pre-school or something, not that she'd remember it that well. "I was just trying to enjoy the sunrise."

"Sorry." Astrid shrugged, then pointed at his skateboard. "You skate, right?"

Now it was the boy's turn to roll his eyes. "No. I just carry around this skateboard because I think it looks cool."

Astrid threw her hands up, open in defense. "No shame." She smiled at the boy's sarcastic comment. He may be annoyed by her, but that's just her type of humor. "It does look cool."

"Thanks, but I actually do skate." As if he thought his words weren't enough, he put the skateboard down, stepped onto it, and glided down the sidewalk. Astrid had to run to catch up to him before he stopped at the intersection; her roller skates were in her hands.

"Hiccup," Astrid panted and the boy nodded. So Hiccup was his name. "I know that these aren't really your thing-," Astrid waved around the blue and orange roller skates her family had gifted her, -"but I was wondering if you could help me learn how to use these things."

Hiccup raised his eyebrow at her as if to ask why she thought he could teach her how to roller skate. Truth be told, she could probably figure this out on her own. It would just take a little longer and probably involve a lot more falling, but Astrid was a girl of speed and success. Hiccup would help with that.

"Look," Astrid's tone became very monotonous and matter-of-factly, "I suck at using these things and you've got to have some idea of how to use them. They aren't too different from skateboards…" She realized that her logic wasn't the strongest, but she wasn't gonna stop now. "They both have wheels and they don't have brakes."

"I don't think that makes them the same." Hiccup's attention had begun drifting from Astrid back to the sunrise. She could tell because he wasn't looking at her. "But it's not like I have anything better to do."

"Really?" Astrid smiled and she knew it was a goofy smile because of the way Hiccup blushed and began awkwardly scratching her neck. "Now?" she asked, already sitting down to put on the skates.

"Well, first I gotta know what you can do." Hiccup sat down so that, once again, he and Astrid were kinda level. The incline of the sidewalk and the whole street they lived on wasn't helping. "Like, do you know how to fall?"

"Fall?" Astrid laughed, though it was more breathy this time and her glance flitted away from Hiccup. "Hiccup, these are skates. There's not much to fall from…"

Hiccup narrowed his eyes at Astrid and, for a second, she thought she had said something really wrong. She couldn't think of it quite yet, but she was sure it would come back to haunt her later. He grabbed the roller skate from her hand.

"Well, you use these little rubber stoppers to stop yourself while skating." He pointed to the cylinder under the toe of the skate. "Like you said, they don't have brakes." Hiccup handed Astrid her roller skate. "Brakes on a car are pretty self-explanatory. You press down on them and the car—eventually—stops."

Astrid was about to question his certainty, sounding like he had driven a car already, but he continued without pause. "Stopping on roller skates is a little bit trickier because of balance, among other things. If you're going too fast, the stoppers might not work in time because they'll glide over the surface before friction or whatever kicks in. If the surface is uneven or there's something under your skate you might not be able to put your weight into the stopper like you're supposed to. It also just takes a bit of getting used to."

Astrid stopped untying her shoelaces and was completely focused on Hiccup… Her focus on his words was questionable at best. "You have knee pads, right?"

"Yes." Astrid was wearing her knee and wrist and elbow pads and her helmet. He could see that, but he asked anyway.

"The best way to stop as a beginner when you're still trying to figure out your balance is by falling onto your knees. Your shoulder pads will keep them from scraping or getting hurt."

Astrid was impressed. "Wow, you sure know a lot about roller skates for a boy who carries around a skateboard to look cool."

Hiccup scoffed. "It's intuitive." Astrid frowned and shook her head. Maybe it was intuitive to him, but ask her family; it was not intuitive to them. "I'm kidding. My mom liked roller skating." Astrid had finally finished lacing up her skates and Hiccup helped her stand up, her arms wrapped around his for stability.

"I guess it's time to roll."

"Was that the best you got?" Astrid untangled one of her arms and swatted Hiccup on the head, causing him to remove his other arm to shield his head.

Astrid squealed—she doesn't scream—as she felt gravity work against her. Her breathing became heavy and she kept blinking against the wind, waving her arms around for something to grab onto.

The intersection. She was going really fast straight for the intersection and no, she never actually learned how to fall in skates. She more so crashed in them.

The car came really fast. It was definitely going over the speed limit, but that was to be expected in such a busy area. The sun was up but it was still early and it was a Saturday. Not too many people were up yet. Astrid didn't scream but she tried to jolt herself back; slamming onto her back would hurt but it would hurt a lot less than slamming into the car that couldn't see her through the houses.

Astrid fell back but what she slammed into was most certainly not concrete. It was kinda soft with some hard, jabby pieces.

It was Hiccup.

"I guess that's one way to stop," he groaned and Astrid immediately rolled off of him, not daring to stand up. "This is why we learn how to fall."

"Sorry." Astrid didn't look at him. She was still trying to catch her breath and calm down. Her face was very red. "I- You- Uh…" She paused to take one deep breath in and out. "You let go."

"Because you hit me." Hiccup stuck his tongue out. Oh boy. This was going to be one very long day.

"That doesn't mean you let go!" Astrid pushed her upper body up and readjusted herself so that she was sitting criss-cross applesauce.

"Hmph." Now Hiccup was squatting to be somewhat level with her, but he was still taller than her at the moment and she knew he was doing it on purpose. "Well, this sounds like a very one-sided relationship." Astrid gasped extravagantly, placing her hands on her chest. "I mean, I help you and you hit me. What do I get from any of this?"

If they weren't just kids who had only really met each other minutes ago—Astrid didn't count meeting in school as really meeting because they never talked to each other much—she would've thought he was flirting. But they were kids and they just met. He was teasing and taunting her. She wasn't afraid to bite his bait.

"What do you want?"

Hiccup laid down so that he was on his side. "I thought you'd never ask, m'lady." Astrid pursed her lips at his address. "It's a formality, I swear… and I think I'll call in my favor later."

"Whatever, skater boy." Hiccup stood up, dragging Astrid with him despite the worried look on her face.

"Don't worry." He grabbed her shoulder with one of his hands while the other was clasped around one of hers so it looked like they were about to dance. "I won't let go this time, Astrid."

Astrid nodded and, slowly, Hiccup began leading her back up the hill as he rambled on and on about different techniques and safety measures for skating. They had spent the whole day together and, at sunset, Astrid was waved back home. Before they parted, she grabbed Hiccup by the wrist and looked him in the eyes. It was hard to see with the dimming light.

"How did you know my name?" Astrid tilted her head, studying the boy's response. "I didn't tell you it."

"See you around, m'lady," was the only answer she got.

Skating wasn't the only thing Astrid started that day and, like skating, she didn't know how to stop.

Hiccup and Astrid began seeing each other every Saturday morning to practice skating for years until they went to different schools. Astrid had been accepted into a program for her athletics that required training 6 days a week, including Saturdays. Hiccup had been accepted into an engineering program that liked to spend students' Saturdays designing inventions and building them.

Astrid still didn't know how to stop, though. She craved her time with Hiccup. The two of them had such busy schedules that they could only meet at night when it was taboo. They still did it, though.

As friends.

Astrid and Hiccup spent their last three years of high school together. Then the next four years of college. Then a few more years until an engineering company pulled Hiccup from his home and an offer to join a team pulled Astrid away from hers. She didn't want to go.

"Please don't let go."

So they didn't.

It had been many years since Hiccup taught her how to roller skate.

The two of them had been inseparable lately, finally having settled and gotten rhythm to their lives. Of course, things in their lives don't stay settled for long.

Hiccup had asked to meet Astrid on the street they grew up on. It was sunset and she obliged—quite happily, truthfully. They walked to the intersection from the end of the street, Hiccup following just behind Astrid.

They reached the intersection and Astrid turned around to ask Hiccup what exactly they were doing here, but she had already gotten her answer. Now in front of her, Hiccup had knelt on one knee and, on the other knee, in his hand, was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. The ring itself was nearly black, dotted with orange and blue jewels.

"You know, I never called in that favor." Astrid was already on the brink of tears with her hand clasped over her mouth. "I think it's about time I do." She was nodding before he even asked the question. "Astrid Hofferson, would you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?"

She punched him in the arm. "Whatever, skater boy." Hiccup got up, a little concerned that she meant no. "Hey-," she grabbed his face and pulled it close to hers, -"that was a yes."

They kissed.

"Oh, gods," Astrid exclaimed as Hiccup sat outside her door. "I haven't worn these things in ages. I barely remember how to use them."

"Astrid," Hiccup whined. "You picked a really great time to be telling me this." His leg was bouncing up and down and his face was in his hands.

"Oh, like you've been on your skateboard recently."

"Well, I'm not the one who decided to skate away after our wedding ceremony." Astrid chuckled behind the door, only upsetting Hiccup more.

"It really is beautiful with the dress." At this statement, Hiccup's nerves started calming. His leg stopped bouncing and he looked up at the door. "Of course, you won't see the dress until I come down the aisle… and I'll put on the skates after we say 'I do.'" Astrid could hear Hiccup mutter, 'Thank Odin' under his breath.

The wedding wasn't even a month later. Astrid was waiting for her cue outside of the room about as terrified as she was when she was rolling down the hill towards that intersection. She took a deep breath in and out. "It's time to roll."

Astrid looked beautiful with her perfectly curled blonde hair down. She was in a white, flowy dress that made her look like an angel. Astrid Hofferson. Astrid Haddock.

The couple said their vows and their 'I do's' and all the other formalities. There was going to be a quick break between the wedding ceremony and the reception so that the wedding party could change into more comfortable clothes if they desired.

Astrid slipped on the skates quickly and effortlessly. Before she could even try to push herself up. Hiccup took both her arms. She didn't have to say the words as he whispered into her ear before they left:

"I won't let you go, Astrid."

I don't actually know anything about skating except that I want to learn how to roller skate and, when I looked up "how to roller skate", one of the first results that came up was "how to fall on skates". This was gonna be about learning how to ride a bike but dragons and flying to roller skates and falling was such a good connection. Sorry for any inaccuracies.

Also, I am an absolute Hiccstrid fan but I support other ships as well. They're my favorite but, like, Heather and Eret (not necessarily together) are really cool among other people. If you want to request, I'll consider other ships.

Lowkey, Hiccup's last line is really creepy in another context.

I wrote this at midnight and finished it at 2 A.M.