So far they have been on 4 dates, are currently on their fifth one, have fantasized about each other, held hands (4 times), kissed on the cheek (5 times), on the forehead once, mutually agreed on being a couple and have had 5 near-kiss experiences. On today's episode: how much more can I get in before I lose my mind?

Chapter 10, Part 2: Stormy Seas

"Hiccup, maybe - maybe we should postpone this."

Astrid's voice was muffled against his chest, and contrary to her words, she only clung tighter to him when he tried to pull back, confused.

"What do you mean?"

She exhaled, her breath hot in the wool.

"I've been thinking, and it's … wrong holding you back, if it's such a big storm. I just think that maybe you should be at the department," this wasn't at all what she wanted, why did she tell him to? "in case something happens and they need you."

Hiccup froze at her words, coldly remembering that yes, he had a job and YES, she was right, he should be doing it.

'Shit.'

Yet, they were still holding each other and Hiccup couldn't help but think that maybe he could be selfish for once.

'I don't feel like being responsible right now,' he thought and sighed.

"I'll call Gobber," he said reluctantly instead, nuzzling her neck.

She pulled back and smiled at him, almost apologetically.

"Sorry."

"No, you're right. I should be on alert - that's my job after all."

Reluctantly, he unwrapped his arms around her and pulled his phone out of his pocket, Gobber's work number on speed-dial. While it was ringing, he started aimlessly wandering around in a feeble attempt to calm his furious heart.

His collegue's voice was oddly cheery when he picked up.

"We were just placing bets on when you'd call - I win by the way, Snot, hand me my 5 quid."

Hiccup stopped in his tracks through the door of the living room, confused.

"Why - why would you bet 5 quid on a phone call? And wh-"

"We're working in a network here, sonny, so you better get back to what you were doing before you remembered you have job."

"Gobber-"

"We know you have a date, Hiccup, and this storm is your chance to get a move on!" Snotlout shouted in the background, who apparently was having the time of his life.

By now, Hiccup's face was burning. He also knew now just why Gobber's voice had sounded so goddamn sprightly.

"Gobber," he repeated, pinching the bridge of his nose, well aware Astrid had followed him into the living room, watching him intently from her seat on the sofa next to Toothless. "Do you need me at work or not?"

The older man chuckled shortly, but sombered again. "No," he replied. "We've got it covered, boy, don't worry. Berk's seen many storms like this and the banks we set up will hold up fine."

He threw Astrid a quick glance, not to let on how relieved he actually was by Gobber's words.

"Okay, good," he paused for a second. "By the way, was Dad the one who …"

"Yes, he did. Which reminds me, actually - tomorrow's your day off."

"What day off?"

"Well," Gobber grinned audibly. "You have enough overtime for a whole day, so there you go. Consider it a late birthday present. Or just a really early one, depending from which perspective you view this."

Hiccup closed his eyes, wondering if he could become any redder. He wished Astrid would look somewhere else than his direction.

"This is probably illegal," he wheezed, flitting his eyes over to her. "But thanks."

She was gnawing at her lip, obviously trying to hold back her laughter.

"Then … I'll, uh, see you on Sunday."

He hung up, not before hearing Snotlout's whooping laughter in the background.

"So, I, uh," he started, broke off and cleared his throat, avoiding her gaze.

"I don't have to report back at work. And apparently I just got tomorrow off."

To his surprise, she didn't laugh. Instead, she furrowed her brow and asked, "Is he allowed to do that?"

He paused and plopped down on the sofa next to her. "Technically yes, but also, no. I do have some overtime, but it's definitely not enough for a whole day off."

Astrid dropped against him, her fringes tickling his neck. Almost by default, his arm went around her.

Her voice was muffled when she spoke, hiding her wide grin in his shoulder.

"That's some grade A wingman you got there."

Hiccup snorted, momentarily distracted by her arms around him and her face pressing into his side.

"Well … is it working?"

His voice was soft and light when he spoke, which made her lift her head to look at him again. She was met with a small, questioning smile and his warm, honest eyes.

"Maybe," she murmured back, a smile already blossiming on her lips. He grinned back, and

it was only then she became fully aware of the position they'd brought themselves in so casually, halfly holding each other on the sofa.

"It's getting dark already," she heard herself whisper then and felt him shift slightly underneath her.

"I didn't notice," he husked back, his eyes focused entirely on her.

There it was again, this look. Astrid felt her heart flutter at the intensity of it.

He was leaning down, just a bit.

She inhaled his warm, soapy scent and leaned further against him.

It was inch by inch, or maybe it happened in the blink of an eye, but suddenly there was barely any space left between their faces and-

A piercing, sharp sound tore through the raging sky, making them jump apart, away from each other, as if embarassed at being caught by the weather.

For a moment, they looked at each other in silence, their legs still touching, her hand clutching the material of his jumper. Laughter bubbled up between them, until they inched closer again.

From his spot near the window, Toothless was watching the humans clumsily return to their previous position, their faces turned away from each other again. He jumped down from the window sill to assume his new favourite spot on the sofa.

So he settled on Astrid's lap, closed his eyes and let her gently comb her fingers through his fur.

"Chin-scratch," Hiccup commented lowly at her minitrastrions. "He loves that one."

They sat in comfortable silence, his arm around her again, her legs curled up, head against his shoulder, Toothless on her lap.

"I must say, I'm impressed," he murmured after a while. "You already got him to purr."

She smiled and closed her eyes. "Maybe I'm just a natural. But it's sort of my job."

Hiccup chuckled lowly. "What, to make my cat happy?"

"Maybe. Maybe I should quit the shop too in two weeks and you just hire me as your cat-sitter."

"Being my girlfriend doesn't include that?"

Astrid grinned, her heart singing at his words, shooting him a quick, coy smile.

"No, that's extra."

"Shame," he commented, mockingly serious, his other arm coming around her to fully hold her, his head dropping on her shoulder. "Here I was, thinking it was an all-inclusive deal."

"Sorry to disappoint."

"Eh, I'll get over it," he teased back, his grip around her tightening in contrast to his words. He was feeling light, if not a bit dizzy, her scent surrounding him, and he knew every bit of reason he had had left about half an hour ago.

They fell into comfortable silence until he piped up, "Yesterday when I called you, you were talking to a collegue in the bar and, uh … Stellar?"

Astrid laughed brightly. "You heard that, huh? That was Heather, she's been in for a couple months. Basically what happened was was her saying she can't call me Ass-strid at work, so she tried Asteroid, didn't like that either and went with Stellar to keep the space-theme."

She laughed again and Hiccup felt warmth spread all over his body at that sound, revelling in it.

"She makes work suck a bit less, you know," she added, smiling lightly. Astrid sat up and leaned back into the sofa, resting her head on her bent arm, watching him intently.

He felt heat rush into his cheeks at her concentrated gaze on him. They were still sitting way too close and at the same time not close enough. Astrid found herself contemplating to lean back into him, just for the sake of proximity.

When she spoke again, her voice was soft.

"You've been doing night shifts ever since we met."

Hiccup thought back to how he'd always been flustered when talking to other people. Distracted, like he was searching for something else.

With Astrid, his attention was entirely focused on her.

"I focus better at night," he started, without really knowing where they were coming from. "When I'm working, at least."

'Right now, I'm paying more attention to your eyes than to my words.'

"That's why I'm always writing my reports at night and take so many night shifts. Technically we're limited to three per week, but, uh. Well. We can alternate between shifts, which … do you remember the day I brought you the lasagna?"

Astrid nodded, smiling slightly at the memory.

"I was on maintenance duty that morning, so I had time to drop by because I wasn't scheduled for calls. A usual shift's 9-12 hours, except for Gobber, who's our senior and Company Officer," he grinned. "But don't think that's stopping him. Sometimes he'll be in longer than me. He loves this job."

Astrid was smiling and tilted her head slightly. "Tell me about him?"

Hiccup let out a small chuckle. "I've known him since I could think. Grew up with him. He's my Dad's best friend, my godfather … co-parent after we lost Mum. He's also the, uh, Sometimes Drunk Uncle …"

Astrid laughed at that, making his heart speed up and his skin tingle.

"Whenever I'd have a fight with Dad, I'd just … pack a couple things and crash on Gobber's couch for a few days. After I moved out, Gobber moved in, all while training me. I started pretty early, I think … three years ago? Four? More or less."

He let out a small chuckle and watched her curl her legs under her so they rested against him, shifting closer. Her eyes were sparkling in the low light of the living room.

"I can't believe I never asked you about this," she blurted. This was such a big part of him and who he was, she felt herself being completely captivated by it. He laughed, running a hand through his hair, his hand brushing her thighs as it came down. After a short moment of hesitation, he rested it on her thigh, his gaze searching hers as if silently asking for permission. He smile widened and she nodded ever so slightly.

"It's okay," he mumbled. "Just a job, right?"

"You love it, though," she retorted, grinning teasingly.

He hummed, eyes back on her now. "You're right, maybe I do," he murmured and Astrid couldn't help but think he meant something else entirely.

Doing the dishes proved to be way more fun with another person around, Astrid found. She was leaning against the counter, back in the kitchen, drying piece after piece of cutlery and dish Hiccup handed her.

He was talking, voice low and soft, and in the dim light of his warm kitchen, it was all the easier wishing this could be a daily occurence.

"I think it's quite therapeutic," he murmured, turning the glass he was washing in his hands. "It's a mindless activity. Helps you keep both feet on the ground. You can sort out your thoughts."

She hummed. He paused, shooting her a quick smile.

"You don't think so?"

Astrid shrugged hesitantly. "Maybe I'm biased. Back at Puffin Point, I was the one to take care of everything, so everything involving the house became less of a chore, more of a burden. So I never really liked it that much," she confessed, feeling a bit silly telling him this while drying his dishes.

She paused for a second, her eyes on the plate she was holding, then she softly added, "But I guess I could get used to this."

He cracked a lopsided grin at that and leant against the sink.

"Well," he uttered, eyes fixed on her with an enigmatic expression. "I for one wouldn't want anyone else's dirty dishes in my sink."

The storm was getting even worse towards the evening. Toothless had retreated into Astrid's lap, his nervous energy wearing off after a few minutes of her combing her gentle fingers through his fur and murmuring softly, incoherent to Hiccup's ears.

He didn't mind at all. In fact, he could watch this all night. Leaning on the other end of the sofa, his prosthetic leg between her and the edge of the sofa, he was watching her comforting Toothless as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Despite the storm raging outside, the wind howling and rattling at the blinds, he was feeling the warmest and safest he had been in a while.

He could feel himself dozing off shortly and jolting awake, only to be lulled back to sleep again, Astrid's calm and quiet voice and Toothless' purrs surrounding him like a lullaby.

At some point, he awoke with a blanket around his shoulders. Confused, he raised his head and looked around.

Astrid was gone.

Toothless was sleeping in her spot, curled up next to him.

Hiccup sat up, suddenly wide awake. Had she left? She wouldn't have tried to go outside with a storm like that, would she?

'Of course not, she's smarter than that,' a part of him argued.

"Oh, did I wake you?"

He jumped, immediately shaken out of his stupor.

There she was, standing in the doorway of the living room, a steaming mug in her hand, an apologetic smile on her face as she stepped closer and set the mug down on the coffee table.

He just just couldn't help but get up and take her into his arms, maybe a bit tighter than would have been necessary.

Astrid chuckled into his shoulder, her breath hot in the wool.

"Did I miss something while I was in the kitchen?"

Hiccup breathed out a chuckle and shook his head. "No, don't worry. I just woke up and thought you left."

She pulled back to look at him, her bright eyes dancing over his face, looking genuinely baffled.

"Do you think I'm insane?"

He laughed, shaking his head and pulled her back against him.

"Sorry. I just imagined you were bored to death, said a big 'fuck you' to the storm and-"

He trailed off at the sound of her laugh. She was hiding her smile in his chest, her hands clinging to the material of his jumper.

By the time she pulled back again and looked at him, he had already forgotten about his prior worry.

Toothless had been watching the entire scene from his spot on the sofa since Hiccup's sudden jolt had woken him up yet again.

His green eyes flitted between the two humans.

Hiccup was still holding her, his hands now at her waist, grinning lopsidedly.

"So, would you," he said, hesitating for a second. "Would you like to stay the night?"

Toothless tapped closer. Yet again, he was at the end of his wits at his clumsy human. Fool, he meowed Only a night?

He meowed again and prowled around Astrid's legs in an attempt to catch her attention.

Would you like to stay forever?

Astrid laughed brightly and wrapped her arms around Hiccup's neck, her eyes sparkling with mirth.

"Thought you'd never ask."

Hiccup looked at her and for the first time in his life, he was glad Bucket's prediction had been right.

That feeling when your superior collegue is involved in a heavy network of gossip and will do anything for u to spend time with the woman of your dreams