It was the third night in a row he had slept over. Just being this close to her subdued most of his qualms.
Deep down, Hiccup knew Astrid deserved to know the truth, but the selfish part of him held back. Mostly out of fear of losing her but also because he wanted to forget the reality of his impending fate. The hourglass was emptying and soon there would be no grains left. He might not be afraid of death but that didn't necessarily mean he was looking forward to it either. Especially now as he had just started to feel alive and forget the pain he endured all his life.
Astrid blinked her eyes open, smiling shyly under his hot stare. Hiccup chuckled and leaned down to peck her on the lips, eliciting a girlish giggle from her.
There was a sudden knock on the door that pulled the lovebirds out of their secret moment. Hiccup flinched and hurriedly scurried into her walk-in closet, hiding away from view just as the door swung open.
"Your teacher called and said you have been skipping class," Daniel Hofferson spoke with disdain and narrowed eyes. "Is this true, Astrid?"
Astrid simply stared down at her bed, not meeting accusatory glare.
Her father sighed heavily, rubbing a frustrated hand over his rough features. "You will not get into medical school at this rate. You understand that, right?"
Astrid bit her lip, still avoiding eye-contact.
"I'm going to call your teacher tomorrow and we are going to arrange a-"
"No, I-"
"You don't get a say in this, Astrid," Daniel cut her off, his voice stern and decisive. "I'm not going to sit back and let you sabotage your own future."
Astrid shot up, throwing her hands in the air angrily. "It's my life!" she spat out uncharacteristically. "Medical school was your dream, not mine!"
"Astrid-"
"No! I'm tired of this! I'm tired of being locked up in the library all day! I'm tired of missing out on what is supposed to be the most exciting years of my life. All because I need to appease you all the time!"
Her father grabbed her by the arms, stilling her movement. "You are not some regular teenage girl, Astrid," he reminded her. "You are smart, ambitious and decisive. You are my daughter and I only want what's best for you."
Astrid let out a humorless laugh.. "No, you don't." She slipped out of his grip and grabbed her jacket.
Hiccup could hear Mr. Hofferson rushing after her. "Come back here this instance, young lady! We are not done here!" The door slammed close after them.
Hiccup waited for a moment before quietly making his own escape out the bedroom window.
-,-
He found Astrid sitting on their bench, looking crestfallen and defeated.
"I'm sorry you had to witness that," she sighed as he joined her. "Also.. for, you know, leaving you behind. I just had to get out of there."
"Don't worry about it," Hiccup assured her, bumping his shoulder against hers playfully. "I get it."
For a moment they just sat in silence, listening to the birds chirp.
"So.. medical school, huh?"
Astrid shrugged nonchalantly. "I want to help people.. I guess," she admitted. "Make an 'impact' on the world."
Hiccup snorted. "And you need an expensive degree to do that?"
She shook her head, leaning into him. "No.. but it would also secure my future. Well, according to my dad at least," she grumbled.
Hiccup chuckled to himself forcefully, a sudden feeling of melancholy overtaking him and stinging his heart.
Whatever Astrid future was going to be, at least one thing was for certain.. he was not going to be a part of it.
-,-
They laid awake all night staring at the starry night sky and galaxies far beyond their imagination.
"I wonder what Toothless looks like," Astrid found herself muttering. "He is a part of you so there must be some common traits."
Hiccup coughed back laughter and shifted awkwardly. "Such as?"
She turned over to face him, a teasing smile playing on her lips. "I don't know.. I imagine Toothless with big, wide, green eyes," she postulated while staring straight into forest green emeralds. "Wise, intimidating and intelligent eyes. Maybe the only part of him that doesn't blend in with the night?"
Hiccup didn't speak but instead stared at her with an unreadable expression, almost akin to longing.
When they kissed one another goodbye outside her house later that night, Hiccup allowed himself to wonder for the first time if there could be an underlying purpose behind this unlikely rendezvous.