Funtasticme - I got your review literally as I posted the chapter, so your timing was impeccable!
Guest - Well, I don't really sleep a whole lot so that probably helps. The character dynamics are just sort of happening, I swear this is writing itself!
BrawlerGamer - aw, leave them be! Young love! And yes, Hiccup's very naughty but he's also Hiccup!
DyingSunrise - thank you! I quite like writing for other people, gives me a challenge! And of course, with the wide array of pairings I've had requests for, it's been an interesting journey into the HTTYD fandom for me. As for this one? Thanks for the prompt that accidentally became a story! Haha
Guest - please try not to break your brain talking gibberish or you'll never finish the story!
Karate Koala - I laughed myself silly writing that line! In the early hours of the morning, so I had to cover my face with a pillow or I would wake my roommate next door cackling. And well... Astrid is pretty tightly wound!
-HTTYD-
Having spent most of his Sunday evening listening to his dad yell down the phone, Hiccup ended the call by saying that if his dad turned up at the college and lost Hiccup his job, he would jump on his bike and leave.
He was lying, but Stoick didn't need to know that.
Then Monday morning, he had to get to work early - easy with the shorter distance from his mom's house to work - and change all his address information over to his mothers.
"Didn't know you were moving Haddock."
"It was uh, a little sudden. Better hurry, I have a class to teach."
Sadly, their admin department was the most unorganised place in the world. And that included Gobber's office. So he was a little late, a little flustered and Astrid's hungry eyes were a little hotter than usual. Or maybe that was him, because she had opted for a black t-shirt with red detailing that he wanted both to see her in forever and to see on his bedroom-
Stop it! Looking is harmless, that was not.
Astrid rarely wore 'girly' things, while her best friend Heather wore a more cutesy style almost exclusively. He kind of liked it, she looked practical, ready to get buried in an engine somewhere or jump in at the Nature Centre, or for him to take on a motorcycle ride and get lost in the woods together somewhere.
Get a grip Haddock.
He could practically hear his mother tutting behind him as he started talking about engine lubricant, unable to miss Astrid's cheeks flushing before she hid behind her textbook.
"Alright, in to the work room. Anybody who forgot to dress appropriately today can say 'I' and I'll assign you homework, then you can do it next class."
More than half the class looked down in surprise - they had aprons and soap for removing oil and grease, but some people were protective of their clothes - before raising their hands. Out of a class of fifteen, Hiccup had five. Three of the boys who rode motorcycles, Justin Ingerman and... Astrid.
"Alright. Those of you who aren't coming, do pages 17 and 18. Anyone who forgets to bring a spare shirt for next class gets to miss out on the trip to the Moto Museum."
Only being a couple of years older than them, Hiccup was known as a pretty relaxed, laid back tutor. But he had to ensure they learnt safely and with consciousness of safety, so he didn't abide slackers. He had started with a class of twenty that year. Jorgensen was dangerously close to getting tossed if he didn't sort himself out.
"Alright then, you're dismissed. You five, with me. You'll do what they are doing when they do this next class."
"So... we skip out on homework?"
"Correct Tuffnut."
"Sweet!"
He paired the three motor junkies together, then Justin and Astrid. Justin was quiet and polite, plus he didn't make jokes that girls didn't belong in the class. Once everyone was changed, gloved and aproned, Hiccup pulled out the engine parts they were learning about twice over, sent them to opposite sides of the room and - to many childish giggles - asked them to separate which ones needed regular lubrication.
The look Astrid gave him almost made Hiccup shudder. He really, really needed to get laid if he was eyeing up students. He hadn't had time for a relationship between two jobs, volunteering and his parents. Assuming his dad kicked him off his job at the repair shop when Hiccup refused to move back in, he might have more free time.
He heard Astrid and Justin talking about not-work, but he left them to it since they were actually doing the task set. And he may have noticed Astrid's jeans fit very well when she leant over the worktop. The other three - Tuff, Jorgenson and Eret - were talking bikes but getting little done.
"Look alive boys, Hofferson and Ingerman are nearly done."
"No way are we gonna be beaten by a girl!"
They scrambled to finish the task, only a couple of minutes behind Ingerman and Astrid. Unfortunately - since they were all riders - they also got more wrong than Astrid and Justin.
"Not... great, but workable. This is the correct pile."
He showed them the 'here's one I did earlier' pile he had, correcting their work and then equipping them with some parts and some oil. Astrid tested his self control a little too much, and Hiccup found himself glad he was wearing an apron over his jeans.
Hiccup didn't know what it was, because up until now he had been fine just looking, just sharing the occasional wink or smile when he felt particularly cheeky. Yet ever since he saw Astrid hanging around talking to his mother that day, he was feeling a little out of sorts about her. Maybe it was the lack of college setting - it was far easier just to see a student. Not a person who made his mother smile and liked animals, someone who lit up under the sun.
Everyone tidied up their workspace, ditching protective gear and washing grease off. Hiccup loitered around, since he had to check everything was away properly and he had a free period next. He thought he might do some drawing, lose himself in a motorcycle design or something.
And maybe drop a text to Cami. Hiccup hated to be the type for a 'booty call', but if he was checking out Astrid... he could take up Cami's offer. He would feel far worse losing his job and taking advantage of a student with a crush.
Lost in his thoughts, Hiccup noticed he was alone with Astrid all of a sudden. She was stood at the sink, working on a particularly stubborn bit of oil on her hands.
"You're always the last to wash up."
"I got this thing about dirty nails... it's one of the reasons I keep mine so short."
Hiccup looked down at his own, noticing they were, as always, a bit messy. They were longer than Astrid's, always had grease or dust or dirt or animal dander under them.
"Does that work?"
"It definitely helps."
For a second, Hiccup started to doubt his certainty about Astrid's crush on him. She wasn't even looking at him.
"So... professor. Do you have a favourite lubricant?"
Oh. There she went. Attempting to find a shred of professionalism, Hiccup's witty answer was anything but.
"Well Miss Hofferson, that depends entirely on what it's for."
Astrid's mouth twisted up into a cheeky smirk on one side, leaning her hip casually on the sink as she dried her hands.
"Are you saying you're an expert?"
This wasn't even flirting. Astrid's eyes were so blatant she may as well have held up a sign. Not that he tended to assume women were interested, but Astrid was eyeing him like the last steak at a barbecue. Remembering there were security cameras in the room they were in to protect the equipment was all that jogged Hiccup back to teacher mode.
"No Miss Hofferson, but in my line of work it helps to know what's what."
She was surprised by his tone change, he could see in the way her face clouded slightly.
"I guess so."
"Shouldn't you be heading to your next class Miss Hofferson?"
"Free period. Are you volunteering at the Nature Centre today?"
What was the point in lying? She would be able to find out easily.
"That's the plan. Why?"
"I was gonna go, but... maybe not."
Out of nowhere, Hiccup caught her wrist in the doorway - hopefully out of cameraline.
"Astrid, wait."
He wasn't supposed to call her that. This girl had him all messed up.
"What?"
She looked down at the hand on her forearm, but made no move to shrug him off.
"You should come along. You ever thought of volunteering?"
"You think I could?"
"If you don't mind getting your hands dirty and the odd psychotic duck."
Astrid brightened and he felt a mix of terrible and brilliant. What was he doing? His mother was going to kill him. So was Dagur 'the Deranged'.
"No, I'll manage. So..."
"I can't take you myself, that would look very bad. Plus I don't have an extra helmet. I'll be heading there straight from work, so you should go home and get a change of clothes, then I'll meet you there?"
Astrid nodded, beaming and his stomach fluttered.
"It's a date."
Fuck.
"It's not a date. Nobody finds shovelling animal shit romantic. Not even you with your bloody obsessive crush."
Astrid glared at Heather as she dug through her wardrobe, finding something to wear. At least she had much more practical wear than Heather. Shoving the selected attire into her bag, Astrid was ready to go.
"You need a ride?"
"No, you'll follow me and embarrass me."
"True. Did Justin say anything about me?"
"For the fifteenth time, I told you. He said he had fun and Meatlug enjoyed the walk. I think he needs you to be a little more forward, but not scarily so."
"But I'm not subtle Astrid! It took everything I had not to kiss his stupid cute face off."
"That's innocent. It takes me a great deal of effort not to just mount that man like a motorcycle "
Heather started laughing, then Astrid kicked her out of the house and turned the other way to walk to the Nature Centre. She felt confused at first, since she couldn't see the distinctive black motorcycle in the car park. Maybe he parked it out of the way?
He had said he would meet her there, so Astrid hung around outside for a little while. If he came by bike straight from the college, he absolutely should have beat her there.
After half an hour, she started to get bored of pacing. She knew where to look for him...
"Astrid! Fancy seeing you here."
Valka had this way of cheering her up, her smile easy and natural and completely contagious. Just like Hiccup's.
"Valka! How's Cloudjumper?"
"Recovering from a wing injury after he picked a fight with Drago. He'll be fine."
Astrid nodded, watching Valka stroke a rabbit from head to tail and it relaxed in her arms. She honestly looked like another animal in a way, just effortlessly blending in with the creatures and forgetting everything else.
"Is something the matter Astrid?"
"Uh. Is Hiccup here?"
"No. He's meant to be, but he could have gotten held up at the college."
"I doubt it. I saw him leave. He uh. He invited me is all."
That seemed to catch her attention; Valka put the rabbit down.
"Did he now?"
As much as Astrid wanted it to mean more, she hurried to clarify.
"To volunteer. He knows I like it here."
Valka surveyed her for a minute, then nodded.
"I'll call him, just a second."
Astrid hung around, watching Valka's strange yet graceful movements as she sort of swirled around the enclosure she was in, pulling a phone from her yellow smock and dialing one handed as she grabbed a nearby railing and hopped up without even seeming to notice. Astrid had never seen anyone make a phone call while lazily hanging off a fence.
"Son?"
Astrid heard a rapid, unintelligible burst of speech from Hiccup's end that sent an array of emotions across Valka's face. She nodded to herself as he spoke, occasionally looking up at Astrid but then away again.
"Alright. I'll see you at home son."
"Love you too."
Astrid just about melted at the idea Hiccup still said "love you" to his mother on the phone. Months of crushing and only now was she really getting to know the man behind the sex appeal.
"He's busy with his father, and sends sincere apologies for letting you down."
Unreasonably disappointed, Astrid shrugged and nodded awkwardly.
"Guess I'll get going."
"You can still help... if you're here for the animals that is."
"Really?"
"Head in to Sven, tell him I sent you. He'll show you where to change, give you gloves and such. You did bring extra shoes didn't you?"
"To walk where animals poop? Damn straight."
Valka smiled and pointed her to the information centre, where Sven was looking surprised to see her. After an awkward exchange of words, Astrid was shown to a changing room complete with lockers, then handed a pair of heavy duty gloves. She changed, put her things in the locker labelled "H. H" next to "V. H", then grabbed the gloves, shoved her phone in her pocket and headed back out to Valka.
Even if she was mostly hoping to see Hiccup, Astrid wasn't going to admit it nor was she going to skip out on the chance to play with all the animals. Plus... Valka wasn't terrible company.
"Ready."
"Hold on, come here."
Astrid headed over, perplexed by Valka turning her away from her and grabbing her hair.
"What are you doing?"
"Making sure your braid won't come out. Industrial hair control is my specialty."
Left feeling like her face had been pulled back a couple of inches, Astrid was amazed to find her reflection looked no different. At least her hair was safe - Valka had a braid that almost reached her butt, and the woman was over six foot tall. So she trusted the wild woman to know how to take care of Astrid's best feature.
"So, where do we start?"
By the time Astrid had spent four hours chasing rabbits, fighting owls, shovelling straw full of shit, filling what felt like a million food and water areas and laughing herself silly at Valka's antics, she was exhausted. But... she hadn't even thought about Hiccup letting her down for two or three hours.
"This was the best workout I've had in ages!"
"Well.. consider yourself welcome back anytime. So long as you don't have ulterior motives when it comes to my son."
They hadn't talked about Hiccup the entire time; Astrid was a little thrown.
"What's... what's that supposed to mean?"
"I know you have eyes for him, but... if you care about him? Remember that going after him could cost him his job."
Astrid couldn't find an answer; she hadn't been thinking about that earlier when trying to flirt with him. Valka watched her mental turmoil, then took mercy on her.
"Go get changed. If you're intending to come back, leave your shoes in the changing room."
She nodded, disappearing off and washing up in the sink before she put her clothes on. It was getting dark outside when she stumbled out of the centre, legs and feet pounding with pain and exertion as she made to walk home.
"Astrid?"
She just about leapt out of her skin, twisting around to find Hiccup Haddock clad head to toe in his biker gear, helmet tucked under his arm. Valka's warning ringing in her ears, Astrid tried to quash the giddy excitement she got from seeing him.
"Professor."
"I uh... I'm sorry about earlier. My life is at a very complicated point right now, and I never meant to make you feel..."
"It's fine. I had fun without you."
If she had to hazard a guess, she would say Hiccup liked that fact as a shadow of a smile crossed his face.
"I actually came to offer you a ride home. Since you came out here because of me, and I know how hard my mom works her underlings."
Her heart was in her throat.
"A ride? On your motorcycle? Weren't you saying that was against the rules?"
His smile faded but he didn't seem distressed, tilting his head in agreement.
"That was at college. Here you're not just my student, you're my... colleague."
Her legs hurt, and he was offering her what amounted to a fantasy of hers.
"You got a spare helmet?"
"Here."
He held out his own, then led a slightly stunned Astrid to his bike that was down the bottom of the road. His helmet was still on it, clearly he wasn't concerned it would be stolen in the empty street. Mistaking her surprise for something else, Hiccup explained the bikes placement.
"Can't rev an engine that close to the animals. Helmet up."
Astrid placed the helmet on over her head, watching Hiccup do the same through the bulky visor and then going weak in the knees when he straddled the bike and gestured behind him. She could smell leather and some kind of fruity shampoo... was that his mothers or did Hiccup like smelling sweet? She didn't know, but Astrid felt certain Hiccup could feel her heart pounding against his back when she leant forward and grabbed hold of him as tight as she dared.
The bike roared to life between her legs, adding to a not-small amount of arousal for being this close to Hiccup in all his feral biking glory. Gods, Astrid hoped she didn't actually have an orgasm while on the bike with him. That would be utterly mortifying.
He didn't drive as fast as he normally would, probably because a relatively unprotected Astrid was clinging on for dear life behind him as he drove her home. Astrid had to assume he had her address from her college file, else he was stalking her.
She was heartbroken when the trip was over, dismounting the bike on rather shaky legs that Hiccup completely mistook for a bad journey on the bike, taking off his helmet and turning to her with a grin only to see she was in a state.
"Are you alright Astrid?"
"Fine. Just tired."
"Well, this is your street. I didn't think it prudent to be seen outside your house at this hour."
He was almost impossibly close to her and Astrid could smell leather and aftershave and fruity shampoo, and see his green eyes glittering with the street lights flickering on as the sky turned navy blue. She could count the freckles across his handsome face, see the stubble clouding that angular jaw. His thin but alluring lips were close enough they could be kissing in a heartbeat...
Then Astrid heard Valka warning her off in her head, practically a cold shower to the burgeoning arousal that had Astrid wanting to drag him to a dark alley and have her way with him.
"Well... goodnight Astrid."
"Goodnight Hiccup."
Something either gentlemanly or fuelled by a secret desire - Astrid had no idea - made Hiccup lean across to kiss her on the cheek. Her head took on a will of it's own and turned to meet him, feeling his stubble rasp across her cheek and chin as his mouth touched hers. Lightning bolts shot through her body the instant they touched, and when Hiccup didn't pull away immediately Astrid took her chance to bury her hands in his hair, feeling him push her back against the bike as he kissed her back.
His gloved hands grabbed at her hips, leather fingers moulding to her waist and he tipped his head for a better angle. Astrid was about ready to burn in his arms, the maddening autumn locks as soft and enticing as she hoped for, dreamt about
A car horn blared nearby, jolting the two apart and there was guilt writ clear across Hiccup's face. Needing not to see that, Astrid turned toward the horn sound and saw Dagur looking at them from his car, suspicioun obvious on his tattooed face even from several feet away.
"I... I should go. And we should never talk about this again."
Astrid had barely moved away from the revving bike before Hiccup had his helmet on, hers attached to some fixture on the front as he sped off. She wasn't sure how to feel, except frustrated at him leaving and disappointed in herself for not remembering he was her teacher. Her lusting could cost him his job. She ran past Dagur, who hadn't moved, into her house and thanked Odin her mother was asleep.
Falling onto her bed, Astrid needed a shower desperately to wash animal smell and exhaustion off her, but... She didn't want to wash that tingle off her lips just yet.
-HTTYD-
Oh no I'm so bad to them!