TEA AND PRIDE
The houses of no more than two stories, stained with peeling paint and the passage of time were moving away giving way to authentic mansions worthy of Bruce Wayne.
Astrid had never seen that part of Berk.
The part of the rich, as it was known around: "The Great Mead Hall", for the huge and always lit official assembly hall in the middle of the north part where the most important meetings of the city were carried out.
Or the neighborhood of the lucky rich, as Astrid called it.
She always joked about that part of the city with her friends or in her mind, since she practically lived on the opposite side of the city, but she had never been there.
That's why she felt how the last huge mansion on the edge of the forest that surrounded the small city threatened to absorb her.
The dim lights from the van helped her get a better view of the huge white painted wood house, giving it an oddly vintage and modern feel.
Entranced with the house getting closer and closer, she didn't notice the wheels stopping against the asphalt until the landscape stopped moving.
Astrid felt the gaze burning from the boy behind the wheel on her.
With sudden embarrassment she turned to him, trying to put her stone mask back on and closing her mouth that she didn't know when it had opened.
Hiccup glanced at her, half awkward half amused at the blonde's reaction who refused to look directly at him.
He looked away from her suddenly nervous, his wet hands shutting down the engine removing his cousin's keys and putting them in his pocket.
The sudden silence caused a cold blanket to fall over them.
The boy felt that he must have given some explanation for having "kidnapped" her there.
To his house
Oh thor
"Home sweet home..." he said in a tone loud enough for her to hear him almost bored. He glanced at her and nodded toward the house as he got out of the car.
It took a few seconds for Hiccup to hear the door opening and closing behind him. Hiccup blew out the air he didn't know he was holding.
He didn't turn to see the girl when he felt her next to him, neither did Astrid.
Hiccup shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, not knowing what to do with them. Should he go first and expect her to follow him? Give her a tour? Receive her with a speech about the history of the house dating back to Viking times that his father always gave to his uptight visits?
He trailed off a grunt.
"So you're a rich kid. I must have guessed."
Hiccup turned his head towards her so fast he almost heard it thunder.
He glanced at Astrid face, who was staring in front of her with a tired smile and calm posture.
Above all prognostic, instead of responding with a scathing defensive comment as he would have done a few hours ago, he simply let out a nasal laugh trying to push back his nervousness.
Determined once and for all, he started walking towards her house. "Come on Hofferson"
It smelled of forest and marble. It was the first thing that she noticed before all the minimalist and traditional decoration that charged the air of the huge living room the size of her house.
It made sense considering the huge forest that could be seen behind the windows at the back of the room.
"Wow" she couldn't contain it.
The ceiling was exaggeratedly high, decorated with lamps in surreal shapes that she had never seen before and illuminated the room that almost looked like it was nine in the morning.
She stood nailed in front of the door that had just closed behind her, feeling so out of place she thought she was going to scramble out of the freaking Wayne Manor at any moment.
Astrid suddenly heard again an amused laugh from the boy who was already in the middle of the room "as in his own house"
Meanwhile, the blonde felt that if she tried to step inside, the neat dark walnut floor would crack under her worn military boots.
Hiccup had already stripped off his jacket, tossing it onto the too-long, magazine-like white couch in the middle of the living room, and when he turned to the girl realizing that she was still pinned in front of the door from the beginning with the eyes of a deer in front of the headlights, and the posture so rigid, he thought that at some point she would start running.
Hiccup looked at her for a few seconds without her noticing and with an amused smile decided to take pity on her.
"You can come in, I'm not going to murder you"
He saw how the blonde jumped at his voice suddenly looking at him. He bit back a laugh.
Hiccup looked away from her figure as she was with calculated movements taking off her jacket, hanging it insecurely on the coat rack next to the empty door; giving her sidelong glances helplessly, as he walked towards the bar that connected the livin with the kitchen.
"Want some coffee?" he asked.
Hiccup heard the girl's muffled voice from the living room and her careful footsteps as she approached as if inspecting whether the ground was safe.
"Coffee?" he heard her repeat in a mocking tone "At 1 in the morning?" he raised her head from the upper cabinets when she felt her in front of him, her eyes denoting her usual teasering and her slightly more comfortable posture "I knew you were troublesome Haddock, but not that much"
Hiccup couldn't help but laugh. His voice bounced a bit in the large space practically the modern kitchen.
He looked at her again, their eyes connecting longer in everything that had been there. He raised his eyebrows as if asking again.
"I don't think drinking coffee is the clever thing to do now" she commented, finally taking a seat on one of the black stools in front of the bar.
"Sure your majesty, would you prefer some tea?" the auburn joked, reaching for two equally mugs from a high shelf. He slammed it shut as he looked at her with a sly smile. "Maybe a glass of milk? Whiskey? I think my father keeps a '46 bottle of wine in the back closet."
Hiccup heard Astrid's heartfelt laugh as he turned back to the shelves where the spices were kept.
"A tea will do"
He smiled when he was right, already holding a packet of black tea bags.
They spent a few seconds of silence with just the microwave noise heating the mugs of water in the background.
Hiccup had never been home alone with a girl without the two of them being full dressed for so long.
The sudden thought made him uncomfortable, pushing it back.
This was not the time to think about that.
Besides, there wasn't a girl in his house, it was Hofferson. He smiled amused at himself without being able to help it.
Astrid saw him smile but decided to ignore him as the ding from the microwave filled the air, lifting the layer of discomfort.
She watched Hiccup reach for the two steaming cups and dip the two tea bags with two teaspoons.
"Wait" he indicated placing hers in front of her on the marble bar.
"I think I know how to drink tea rich boy" the blonde said as she took the cup, thanking the heat passing into her frozen hands.
"You're going to be reminding me of that all the time right?"
"Whenever I can," she stated with a mocking smile and a nod.
Hiccup gave a resigned nasal laugh, forgetting his cup and turned back to the wooden cabinets. Astrid looked at him curiously blowing her mug, the steam warming her face and pink cheeks, but it wasn't that Hiccup had noticed.
Before she could ask him, the boy walked back to the bar, flopping onto an equal stool in front of her. He gently tugged a white cloth that finished in front of her before she could even open her mouth.
Astrid stared at what looked like crushed ice wrapped in a white cloth almost open-mouthed.
"It's ice"
Astrid blinked at him "I know."
"Just clarifying it" he made a gesture with his hands as if asking for peace, having fun like never before "From your reaction it seemed that I just gave you a bag of cocaine"
Astrid looked at him with a childish grin, suppressing a smile before raising the ice to her cheek. She had to hold in a sigh of relief as her damn burning cheek began to cool down. Hiccup smiled when he saw her, starting to blow his cup cup.
"Thanks" she mumbled not looking at him"You know? I didn't expect this" the blonde said suddenly.
The boy looked at her curiously. He raised an eyebrow urging her to explain.
"You know. Beverly Hills luxury magazine mansion, you know how to make tea..." Hiccup smiled "Oh, and the Winnie the Pooh mug" she pointed with her head towards the mug in the boy's hands with a laugh in her voice "I sure didn't expect that"
Hiccup glanced at his mug with a jerky movement, noticing the ironically childish drawing. He felt his ears heat up as he tried to piece together his usual carefree demeanor.
He cleared his throat "I caught it without noticing"
Astrid looked at him, nodding her head slowly and a funny smile painted on her lips. "Sure"
"Also, I think heating water in a microwave can be done by even a six-year-old"
"Good example to compare yourself to" she said making a gesture toasting with her cup.
"Ha ha" he laughed slowly, looked into her eyes and then her lips, curved into a sincere smile that made he fix his eyes tightly on his hands.
Hiccup cleared his throat again: "And the mansion of Beverly Hills, consequence of the Chief of Berk's army being your father"
Astrid looked at him trying not to show surprise. The auburn looked at her confused.
"Your father" she repeated aloud to herself. Hiccup glanced at her with a gesture of what can I do about it?
"The Chief of Berk's army"
"Uh-uh" he blurted out taking a sip of the tea without taking his eyes off Astrid's incredulous eyes.
"Stoick Haddock..." she whispered before tapping the counter startling the auburn
"Well of course, how I didn't notice?" she raised her voice already looking at Hiccup who was smiling at her with amusement.
"Have someone ever told you that you have the quality of a detective?"
"Your father is the Stoick the Vast?" she emphasized each word, looking him up and down. Hiccup stiffened.
"I swear to you"
"Wow. Okay. I wouldn't have guessed it in a thousand years"
"Me neither" he shrugged sincerely.
He saw Astrid gaze into and around the room with a new nervous fascination, until she turned to glare at him. "Oh shit, I'm at the Chief of Berk's army house"
Hiccup laughed in amusement at her reaction. "Calm down Hoff" he said "I had that same reaction when I was little" he joked lightly.
"But-"
"It's okay miss perfect, he's not even here"
The silence that fell on them engulfed him.
"Your father is not here?"
Hiccup cleared his throat at the blonde's focused gaze on him. "Are you a fan of him or something?" he joked trying to take weight off the environment.
"Of course I am" Astrid answered quickly, startling the boy "He's a damn Berk's hero" she clarified with an obvious smile.
"What a surprise" he commented with a listless laugh in his voice. "He's out of town for a few days," he clarified, draining the last drink from the yellow cup.
Astrid looked at his hands, letting out a hum, both of them noticing the heavy awkward environment, the two of them now knowing they were alone.
"You have taken me here knowing that we were going to be alone?" she asked suddenly blunt as always, her voice faltering to her annoyance.
Hiccup felt suddenly suffocated, blush swirling around his neck.
He looked at her: "I'm not going to do anything to you Hofferson, believe me" he stressed the last word in a way that annoyed Astrid.
The girl raised a sarcastic eyebrow "Believe me, I know" she mimicked his tone with scabies.
"Although I have to admit, it is the first time I have a girl in my house like this" he suddenly commented.
Astrid looked at him warily.
"What do you mean by this?"
Hiccup had no fucking idea why he'd said that just to fill the silence, but he wanted to kick himself in the mouth.
"You know, drinking tea, talking" he nodded at the cups shrugging his shoulders "Dressed"
Astrid gritted her teeth in annoyance at an answer she already knew.
"Sure. You don't have to be used to using your mouth to actually speak"
The auburn looked at her narrowing his eyes, taking her tone as a challenge.
He chuckled inwardly maliciously "Honestly not. Waste of time"
"Of course, so what are you doing here drinking tea and talking to me?" Astrid inquired, beating herself internally for playing along.
What the actual fuck Astrid?
Hiccup licked his lips, staring at her with sudden intensity.
"There was no one available for tonight" he said nonchalantly with a mischievous smile.
"I'm sorry I ruined your two minute fuck with a stranger" she blurted out, leaning back on the seat of the stool.
Hiccup looked at her in a way that made her squirm in her seat.
"Who said they are strangers?" his tone was a lower tone and it startled her.
"You just referred to that in plural, it's just a guess" Astrid shrugged trying with all his might to appear indifferent.
"You're very good at guesses Hofferson" he pointed out sarcastically raising his eyebrows.
"What? Am I wrong? You don't go around sleeping with a different girl every night that you'll never see again?"
Neither of them noticed that they had both leaned over the bar, their eyes sparkling.
"So?" he asked with sudden force, the blood rushing through his veins heating him "I'd prefer to skip all the crap with tea, biscuits and chat about the weather"
"How weird" she said, moving away from the bar uncomfortable with the course of the conversation.
The boy tilted his head with a dark smile.
"Of course, it shouldn't be weird from a piece of shit like me, right?"
They both fell silent. The blonde frowned. Again the same topic.
"I didn't say that"
"But you were thinking it, weren't you, Astrid?" he said, rebuilding his indifferent mask.
Astrid held her breath in a staring battle neither of them wanted to back down.
"I can leave right now if you prefer to pass from tea with biscuits and talk" she commented suddenly making a pretense of getting up.
There was when Hiccup knew that perhaps he had taken it too far. They had.
"Wait, shit- Just because we hate each other doesn't mean I'm going to let you freeze to death in the streets" he blurted out the words getting to his feet, suddenly altered by the idea of the girl alone outside. Or in her house.
They glanced at each other behind the bar for a few seconds before Astrid took her seat again with cautious slowness.
Hiccup almost breathed a sigh of relief as he took a seat as well.
Hiccup stared at her, glaring at her empty mug and the ice already melting on the counter.
He pursed his lips in quick recall of the challenge-conversation.
He was a sarcastic and calm clever jerk, but he never got carried away by his emotions like that.
Less for a girl. Less for Astrid Hofferson
"I don't hate you"
The small, almost unsure murmur made him jump. He could have sworn those words weren't from Astrid if it weren't for the fact that he'd seen her lips move.
Astrid cleared her throat, blinking as she raised her head to him. Hiccup flinched suddenly shy.
Him
ShySeeing is believing...
"Hate is a bit of a strong word" she clarified in a more normal tone, gesturing with her head.
Hiccup gulped.
I don't hate you either
He saw Astrid smile wearily.
Wait.
Had he said that out loud?
Shit
Astrid gave a small laugh at the surprise on the boy's face.
Hiccup got up trying to convince himself that the blush he was feeling was on his head "We better go to sleep"