The trips to the hospital were always tiring but he had needed to sign some paperwork and take a few shots upon his mother's insistence.
"Thank you for your stopping by Mr. Haddock. We will call you when the results of your blood work are clear," the nurse informed him. Hiccup acknowledged her with a silent nod.
While making their way towards the car in the parking house, his mother pulled him in for a sideways hug.
Coming here often left her more emotional than usual, especially after he had finalized his decision to not get any more treatments or procedures. The surgery last time had led him to be bedridden for months and it had all been in vain in the end.
Hiccup wrapped an arm around his mother to comfort her. "I'm fine, mom," he said with a genuine smile. It was the truth. He had been feeling more alive and energetic as of late.
Val simply closed her eyes, blinking back tears.
-,-
His face lingered in the back of her mind all day during class.
They had been standing so close one moment and then in the next, their lips were touching. She remembered having to crane her neck back because he was taller than her. He had stiffened at first but then relaxed, placing a hesitant hand on her waist.
Astrid was so absorbed in her reeling thoughts and reveries that she didn't pay notice to the bell ringing at first. Not until her classmates began rushing past her desk, and one of them accidentally spilling her notes down on the ground.
It was the husky boy Fred Ingerman.
"Sorry!" he squeaked out and bent down to pick up her belongings. Astrid shook her head and joined him down on the floor. She noted how his cheek had turned a light shade of pink. She placed a friendly hand on his arm, stopping his frantic movements. "Don't worry about it, Fred," she assured him with a smile.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I got it," she insisted, even managing a small chuckle. Fred looked unconvinced but decided to let her be.
Astrid took her full time on gathering her things together before exiting the school building. She deliberately took slower steps than usual on her way home. Her future was naught but a blurred mess right now and she didn't want her parents to confront her about it.
While she walked, someone on a motorcycle drove past her. She didn't pay this person any mind until she discovered her path had been blocked. Astrid looked up at what appeared to be a guy dressed in dark leather, his helmet successfully concealing his face. All except his familiar eyes.
"Hiccup?"
Astrid frowned at him.
She could hear him chuckling but he made no move to remove his helmet. Instead he gestured for her to get on the bike.
Astrid blinked before shaking her head.
"I can't. My parents are expecting me home before dinner and I..."
"Can't or won't?" he interrupted.
She shrugged, averting her eyes.
His shoulders slouched in disappointment.
"Suit yourself," he muttered in a curt tone and started leaning away from her to make his leave.
Astrid felt an uneasiness settle within her as he began driving off. All those fuzzy emotions from two nights ago suddenly being replaced with a bitterness. She needed to make her stance clear if she wanted this thing they had to advance any further.
"Wait!" she called out, throwing her bag over her shoulder and running up to him.
Fortunately he heard her and stopped.
Astrid was breathless by the time she settled down behind him, enveloping her arms around his lanky middle.
As he sped up on the highway, she rested her face against his leathered back, unintentionally breathing in his scent.
He smelled of leather and cigarettes.
But also of rebellion, change.. and freedom.
-,-
She laid down on the ground, the moist grasmat soaking the back of her shirt. They were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by fields and open landscape.
Next to her Hiccup pulled off his helmet, revealing a dark blue beanie underneath instead of the usual cap he wore.
"You know, you have a really questionable fashion sense," she teased, making an offhand comment. "Everything always looks so mismatched."
"Well, at least I have a fashion sense," he quipped back with a smirk, sinking down beside her and lighting up a cigarette.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she huffed, leaning on her elbow to address him.
She quickly glanced down at her plain white shirt and faded jeans. It was a perfectly reasonable, everyday outfit. What was he even on about.
He shrugged innocently.
"I mean, no offense, but you kinda dress like an old cat lady," he precised.
Astrid gaped at him in mock-horror.
Hiccup simply laughed at her, his gaze twinkling with an unusually playful glint. Astrid narrowed her eyes. "You are lucky I find you cute or else you would have been regretting those words right now."
He remained unaffected by her empty threat and instead leaned over her, effectively pinning her down on the grassy floor. Astrid held her breath as she watched him take a long swig and then part his lips above hers, blowing the smoke into her mouth.
She held back the strong urge cough, her eyes watering at the burning in her throat. Still, she didn't dare to move while he was this close to her.
He lifted away to stare at her for a moment while gently brushing the golden hair strands away from her face, before leaning down again to fully brush his lips against hers.
-,-
A/N: Hiccup is sorta leading a double life but his cover will eventually be blown.