xvi.
Snotlout comes back to Berk for a week at the beginning of July, and he shrieks when he walks into the shop to see Hiccup and Astrid firmly attached at the mouth.
"Oh my God!"
"Er, hey Snotlout," Hiccup says, rubbing the back of his neck and looking at Astrid from out of the corner of his eye after they extract themselves each other.
She feels the blush settling in her cheeks.
"I leave for a month and this happens? You seduce my replacement and the love of my life?"
"Do not say that again." Says Astrid.
"I didn't seduce her," Hiccup says defensively. "I fell in love with her."
She beams up at him as he wraps an arm around her waist. She doesn't think she'll ever get tired of him saying the words.
"Oh dear God," Snotlout mutters. "You're fucking her, aren't you?"
"Snotlout!" Hiccup gasp, and Hiccup's hold her tightens. "Not that it's any of your business, but yes, Finn and I recently became… intimate. It's not a defining factor in this relationship, however. It's simply a natural progression, because when two people share feelings and are attracted to one another, things tend to generally get-"
"Oh, please stop talking!" Snotlout groans, covering his ears. "I get it, okay, you found love in the workplace like Jim and Pam from 'The office' or something, but please, can we stop talking about it?"
"Alright," Hiccup laughs, dropping a kiss on the top of Astrid's head. "I have to get back to work, but I'll see you both later.
She tilts her face up towards his so he can peck her lips, and hears Snotlout make a gagging noise. She glares at him as Hiccup pulls away.
"Really?" she asks as Hiccup leaves, and Snotlout just shrugs.
"Excuse me for not wanting to see you and my cousin suck face. I don't remember that being in the job description."
"I don't remember you mentioning him at all, actually," Astrid points out, folding her arms over her chest.
Snotlout sighs. "Yes, well…. Would it have changed anything?"
Astrid thinks about it for a moment. "No," she answers finally. "I suppose not. I fully believe Hiccup and I would have found a way to each other anyways."
Snotlout raises a single, amused eyebrow. "I leave you for one month and you guys meet and fall in love? Doesn't that seen a little….implausible?"
"Maybe," Astrid allows, "to someone on the outside looking in. But for me and for Hiccup, it was just… natural, I guess. Like it was supposed to happen."
Snotlout's gaze softens a little bit.
"It's sounds stupid, but it's the truth," Astrid says.
"It's not…." Snotlout pauses, cleaning his throat. " It's not stupid at all."
Astrid gives him a small smile.
"Frankly," Snotlout continues, "Hiccup needs someone like you in his life. After the Heather thing… Well, let's just say he hasn't exactly been eager to get back in this swing of things, so I'm glad that clearly, something you did made him change his mind."
"I didn't really do anything," Astrid confesses, drumming her fingers on the wood of the desk.
"Oh, you did," Snotlout assures her. "You just didn't realize it. And I can only thank you for that."
He smiles at her, and she ducks her head, but she grins nonetheless.
"Mind if I stick around for a bit, at least until my uncle can get off for lunch?" Snotlout hovers by the chair in front of her desk.
"By all means," she replies. She pauses, and then she add, "I would certainly love the company."
"Ah and Astrid, Do not tell anyone what I said about my cousin. I have a reputation to watch over." Snotlout says with a serious tone, but a small smile forming in his face.
xvii.
She meets his mother that night at a homecoming dinner. Hiccup asks her if she'd like to accompany him as his girlfriend, whom his mother is dying to meet, he's sure to add. Her heart pounds in her chest at his phrasing, but she agrees, and that's how she finds herself sitting next to him, hand firmly within his own.
"I'm so glad you're here with us tonight, Astrid," Valka says pointedly. "I've heard so many good things from Hiccup and Stoick, so It's incredibly lovely to meet you."
"It's lovely to meet you as well," Astrid says.
Astrid smiles timidly back at her. Hiccup squeezes her hand. She knows he's happy that she and his mother get along. Adore each other us more like it. It makes her happy, too.
She really likes making him happy, because it make her happy in return, seeing him smile so wide and his eyes grow bright.
It might just be her favorite sight in the world.
xviii.
Stoick leaves early on the fourth of July to prepare for the cookout he and Valka are hosting later in the evening, and Hiccup and Astrid are the only ones left to man the shop. Naturally, they decide to close early, because who's going to get their car serviced on the fourth of July?
Astrid's gathering her things when she feels Hiccup come up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing his lips against her neck. He's already changed out of his jumpsuit, and he's patiently waiting for her to finish up. Or, at least, he was.
"Hiccup," she murmurs, her voice almost a whine. She knows what kisses like this mean, and this certainly can't happen here or now. "We can't"
"Why not?" he mutters against her skin. "No one else is here." He kisses the spot right below her ear. She sighs, reluctantly leaning her head farther back to give him better access. "No one will ever know."
She lets out a low moan, and that seems to be all the permission he needs, spinning her around so he's kissing her hard on the mouth. Her hands fly up to knot in his hair, and she's breathing heavily as he lifts her up, setting her ass on the desk, his mouth once more moving down her neck, nipping and sucking as he goes.
"Hiccup," she moans, and he growls; she feels the vibration against her skin.
"I love it when you say my name," he whispers, his fingers slipping under her shirt. "Especially when you're like this." His hands traces the outline of the bra covering her breasts. He nips at her skin, his tongue darting out to soothe the bite. "All hot and bothered."
She gulps, bringing his face up to hers so she can kiss him fiercely, her tongue sliding into his mouth and her own hands slipping under his t-shirt, tracing the muscles on his back. A bit of grease on his nose left over from earlier in the day rubs onto her cheek, but she doesn't mind.
He pulls away so she can yank his shirt over his head, and she tosses it over onto the floor before attacking his mouth with hers once more, her hands gripping his shoulders, his muscles smooth and firm underneath her fingers.
Before she knows it, her shirt joins his on the floor and he's reaching around to unsnap her bra, his hands immediately taking the place of the material after slide it down her shoulders. She groans into his mouth as he gently squeezes, thumb gliding over her nipple. She focus on breathing in through her nose as he lowers his mouth to one breast, his tongue circling the bud, but she arches into his warm, wet mouth anyway, wanting him to somehow everywhere at once.
"Hiccup," she breathes, her fingers tangling in his hair as he hooks his fingers into the waistband of her skirt. He pulls away to smile up at her, kissing his way down the flat plane of her stomach. He pulls her skirt down, his fingers brushing her through her underwear, and she can't help but groan.
He grins wickedly at her, pressing a kiss to the inside of her thigh. She gives an unintentional shiver as he slowly, tantalizingly slides down her panties, gasping as one of his long, talented fingers swiftly slides inside her.
She bites her lip to keep from moaning as she rocks against his hand, but he just smiles, and before knows what's happening, his tongue is replacing his fingers.
"Oh, Hiccup," she gasps out, her hand gripping the edge of the desk as his tongue begins curling inside her. She feels the fire growing inside her as he grips her hips to keep her from squirming, nipping and sucking at her clit. She knows she's close; she can feel it building inside her, and then his tongue is hitting it just right, and oh.
Her cries echo around the empty shop as she comes, her hand gripping the back of Hiccup's head tightly against her. He kisses her stomach as she pants, trying to catch her breath.
"I Love you," she manages to get out, bringing his face to hers so she can kiss him, tasting herself on his tongue.
"I love you," he murmurs, pressing his lips against her collarbone.
She grins, dipping her hand into his pants, her fingers grazing his hardness through his boxers. He groans against her neck, and she continues moving her hand up and down over the fabric.
"Astrid," he moans his voice a throaty whisper. "Please."
She grins against his shoulder as she pulls his pants down his leg. His hand joins hers as she attempts to get rid of his boxers next, but somehow they manage to get rid of them, and then Hiccup is pulling out the prosthesis, opening a condom package, and rolling it into his length.
He settles between her legs, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear as he looks into her eyes. "I love you," he reminds her.
She brings his hand to her lips, kissing his palm. "I know."
He smiles, kissing her as he pushes into her. He swallows her cry that escapes as he begins to move, intertwining their hands together. She squeezes his fingers as the pace quickens, and It's never been quite like this before: laced with desperation and urgency, the feeling that they could be caught at any moment.
She moans a bit, and she feels herself getting close to the edge once more. His thrusts are becoming more erratic, and she knows he's close as well. His hand untangles from hers and moves down to press against her sensitive bundle of nerves.
"Astrid," he murmurs huskily. "I – I'm gonna-"
He spills into the condom then, and he applies just enough pressure to her clit that she's right behind him, her walls fluttering around him and her muscles contracting as she meets her sweet release.
He kisses her cheeks, her eyelids, her nose as she slowly regains control of her body.
"Hi," he whispers, and his smile is so wide, she can't help but smile back.
"Hi," she replies. She blinks, looking around, and then she immediately sits up, pushing him off her a bit. "Oh my God, I can't believe we did that!"
Hiccup laughs, hugging her to him. "that was hot," he tells her, kissing her hair.
"But unprofessional!" she squeaks.
"No one else was her, and no one will know," he promises.
She sighs, allowing herself to sink into him a bit. "Okay," she whispers. She glances up at the clock, It's a little after six.
"We should get going if we want to make the barbeque and the fireworks show," she points out.
He sighs, glancing at the time as well. "I guess you're right."
They go about the task of gathering up theirs clothes and putting them back on, and Astrid can't help but smirk as she back at the desk as she waits for Hiccup to finish getting dressed.
She feels so wrong but so right at the same time.