It's not as date-y as I thought it would be, but oh well. And good job to those who knew it was a book reference!
Tuffnut stared at his phone for well over a minute after he had finished typing his message. It was short, simple, and to the point, but he was still doubting himself. If he sent it, would Hiccup think that he was second guessing this? What if Hiccup had changed his mind since yesterday? Throwing the fates to the wind, he sent the message. He read it to himself once more as it sat in the conversation, waiting to be responded to: 'Hey Hiccup, what's up?'
Tuffnut stared at the phone for a solid five minutes, waiting for Hiccup to respond. He knew that Hiccup could be busy and possibly wouldn't even respond for several hours, but that didn't stop him from blankly staring at his phone, wondering what was happening at the other end of the line.
Hiccup's response came in not too long later, and Tuffnut opened it instantly. He didn't read it right away, taking a moment to be nervous for what awaited him when he glanced down once more. He took a deep breath and looked down, reading the entire message quickly.
'Not much. Just fed my cat. You?'
Tuffnut breathed a sigh of relief, but the nerves caught up to him once more when he realized what he was going to send next. Before it could get to him though he pushed the send button on his message and waited for the response, all while rereading his own message as if looking for flaws: 'Not much. You busy tomorrow?' This time, the reply came quicker.
'Nope. What did you have in mind?'
'There's a party at Snotlout's house. Want to go?' As he sent that, Tuffnut realized that it was already getting easier to send Hiccup messages. Well, at least he was panicking less each time.
'Sure. What are you going as?'
'How did you know it was a costume party?'
'I know some things. So, what are you going as?'
'Not sure yet. You?'
'Not sure either.'
At this point there was a lull in the conversation, and Tuffnut started to freak out. Had Hiccup become bored? What was going on?
'I've got to go. Family thing. See you in class tomorrow.'
'Alright, see you.' Tuffnut replied. He put down his phone and walked over to the closet, looking though it to see what he could wear to the party. He didn't have the money to buy a new costume, so he'd have to make do with what he had. He found an old Viking hat from the discount store he bought when he was a kid, as well as a fur vest and grey tunic. He knew his sister had a set of fur boots, and after digging out a pair of grey skinny jeans he had his costume. Now he just needed to wait for tomorrow. In the meantime, he headed downstairs to fight his twin for the television.
Hiccup had said he had a family thing, but in reality, it was just dinner. He had panicked, not sure of what he could say to inform Tuffnut he couldn't respond for a while, and that was what came to mind. Plus he was already worried that he would say something stupid. Before he had texted Hiccup was scared Tuffnut had changed his mind. After all, he was Tuffnut, and Tuffnut was strong and popular while he was just Hiccup. So when Tuffnut had finally texted him he had needed nearly five minutes just to calm down and gather himself.
When dinner was over, however, he rushed back to his room to pick out something to wear. He wasn't expecting to go to the party at his cousin's house, so now he needed a costume on short notice.
He rifled through all the closets in the house, trying to piece something together. He found a fur vest in one closet, and a green tunic in another. He grabbed a pair of brown jeans out of the drawers in his room and miraculously found a pair of old fur boots in the front closet. Piecing them together he figured he could pull off a Viking costume.
He glanced at the clock in his room, and when he saw it was still only 8pm he sat down at his desk and pulled out his laptop. He wasn't in the mood to start tinkering in the garage and he was done his homework, so he started meddling with the schematics and design of his newest invention in AutoCAD. He was convinced this one would work.
Tuffnut caught sight of Hiccup in the hallways just before the first class of the day Friday morning, or at least he caught sight of his backpack. The thing was huge and clearly overstuffed. He had no idea how Hiccup could maneuver through the crowd without hitting anyone, but somehow he was doing it.
Tuffnut caught up to the boy as he was trying to shove the bag into his locker. It clearly wasn't going to fit, and Tuffnut could only smile at the boy's resilience. He was trying all different angles, different parts of the locker, but nothing had worked yet.
"Hey Hiccup," Tuffnut called with a smile as he approached. Hiccup took a momentary break from his shoving to spin around, and smiled when he saw Tuffnut approaching. Tuffnut didn't know what it was, but her really loved Hiccup's smile. Sure his teeth were a little crooked, but there was a certain sincerity behind it.
"Hey Tuff."
"So, what's in the bag?"
"Oh, um," Hiccup started, unsure of how to continue. "Well, it's my costume. I was hoping, since you live closer to Snotlout than I do, that maybe I could come to your place after school to change?"
Tuffnut lit up at this. Hiccup wanted to come over to his place? This was great! He just wished he could've known about this in advance; he could have made so many more preparations.
"Of course! Meet me by my car after school?"
"You drive?" Hiccup asked, a little surprised and impressed.
"Yeah, meet me by the car with the plate AUOL 500 after school." Tuffnut would be lying if he said he wasn't gloating a little, but there was no harm in showing off a little right? Especially since now he didn't have to worry about Hiccup not being interested in him.
Hiccup went over the license plate number in his head once more, committing it to memory. Nodding his head he returned to attempting to shove his bag back into his locker, giving Tuffnut a quick, "Got it."
Tuffnut couldn't stand to watch Hiccup try to be logical anymore, so he asked, "Hiccup, is there anything breakable or of value in that bag?"
"No, why?"
"Stand aside," Tuffnut said as he gently touched Hiccup's arm. When Hiccup was out of the way, Tuffnut lifted up his leg and kicked the bag, stuffing it into the locker. Hiccup simply shrugged; he got what he wanted after all.
They bade their farewells as the warning bell rang, indicating they only had five more minutes to get to their classes. Hiccup pulled his books out and started walking to class, but even as he walked away he knew Tuffnut was still watching him.
Hiccup started walking through the rows of student parking, searching for the plate, when he heard a girl call his name. Looking around he saw a tall blonde girl waving towards him from a few rows over. He recognized Ruffnut instantly, waving back and heading over to her.
"Hey Ruffnut," Hiccup said as he walked up to her. She was standing next to a beat up grey Civic with a license plate that matched the one that Tuffnut had told him earlier.
"Hey Hic. I think Tuff is still inside looking for you. I'll text him you're here," she said as she pulled out her phone. She was only halfway through typing it when Tuffnut walked up to them.
"Hey, you're here! Let's go," Tuffnut smiled as he unlocked the car. Ruffnut got into the front seat, and Hiccup climbed into the back. They pulled out of the parking lot and gunned it along the main street.
"So, Hic, you have a costume for the party?" Ruffnut asked, turning her head around.
"Of course. Are you going too?" Hiccup inquired.
"Yeah, of course! Astrid too."
"Where has Astrid been these last few days? I haven't seen her in forever."
"She's been constantly practicing these last few days; I've only seen her in the gym. She's getting ready for playoffs."
"Talk about dedication."
"Whoa whoa whoa," Tuffnut interjected, "Did she just call you Hic?"
"Uh, yeah?" Ruffnut and Hiccup replied at the same time, both a little confused by the question.
"Everyone calls me Hic," Hiccup clarified. "Have you never heard that before?" As Hiccup asked that a smile started to tug at the side of his mouth.
"Maybe," Tuffnut defended, glad that they were just pulling up to the driveway of their house. As Hiccup climbed out of the car with his bag, he took a moment to look over the house.
It was a decent sized semi-detached with a downward slanted shared driveway leading to separate garage doors. There were approximately seven steps up to a small front porch, and on the porch were a few different potted plants. When they walked inside it was a small tiled foyer with plain white walls and a small front closet. The stairs were right in front of them, with a living room to the right and a kitchen to the left. They all moved upstairs to where there were three bedrooms and a basic bathroom that were all painted the standard white that was present throughout the home.
"Is there going to be food at this thing?" Ruffnut asked as she walked up to the door to her room. She tossed her bag inside before closing the door and looking back to the boys.
"I think there is supposed to be pizza, but we're not even supposed to be there till 7," Tuffnut responded. "And I'm already kind of hungry."
"Yeah, me too," Ruffnut added.
"I could eat," Hiccup supplied when the twins looked over at him.
"Great, it's settled then!" Tuffnut said as he shed his bag and grabbed Hiccup's, throwing them both into his room. "We'll order Chinese! And in the meantime, I'm thinking video games."
"Oh, you're so on!" Ruffnut cackled as she flew down the stairs. Tuffnut took off after her, right on her heels, and Hiccup smiled and shook his head as he walked down after them.
Apparently right after school was a popular time for people to order Chinese take-out, and it took until five o'clock for the food to arrive. By that time, Hiccup had lost every round of every game they had played, and Ruffnut and Tuffnut were still trying to finish each other's last life off in a round of Super Smash Bros.
The doorbell sounded and Hiccup wasn't even sure if the twins noticed, being too absorbed in their game. So, he walked to the door and forked out the cash to pay the deliveryman. Carrying four bags of take-out he walked to the kitchen table and set them down, calling to the twins that the food was here.
Ruffnut called out an uninterpretable acknowledgement as Hiccup grabbed a few plates and set out the containers of food. He pulled out the chopsticks from the bottom of the bag and as he found the garbage to dispose of the now empty bag in, the twins entered the room.
"I just remembered I have some stuff to do up in my room, so I'll see you two a little later," Ruffnut said as she grabbed a set of chopsticks and one of the containers of food. She left the room with a small wink to Tuffnut, which Hiccup couldn't help but notice.
"Well I guess it's finally just the two of us," Tuffnut said, taking the seat next to Hiccup and sliding the chair a little bit closer.
"You didn't have to ask Ruffnut to leave you know," Hiccup said as he opened a container of fried rice and chicken balls.
"What? No, she just had something to do. I didn't ask her to." Hiccup was pretty sure Tuffnut was lying, but he decided not to call him out on it. He wasn't complaining about a little alone time either.
He handed Tuffnut a container as well and split his chopsticks, ready to dig into the fried deliciousness in front of him, but he stopped himself when Tuffnut started to get up.
"Where are you going?"
"Fork," Tuffnut replied.
"Tuffnut, do you not know how to use chopsticks?" Hiccup asked, a small smile pulling at the sides of his mouth.
"Never found a reason to learn," was all Tuffnut said as a reply. Hiccup grabbed Tuffnut's shoulder and pulled him back into his seat. When Tuffnut gave him a confused look, he explained.
"Well, now I'm giving you a lesson whether you want it or not," Hiccup smiled. Tuffnut agreed, seeing no reason to decline being taught.
"Alright, so how do we begin?" Tuffnut asked. Wordlessly, Hiccup reached over and grabbed the other pair of chopsticks, breaking them apart.
"Ok, now hold this one like a pencil," Hiccup explained, showing how he was holding it in his own hand."
"Like this?"
"No, more like this," Hiccup said. He grabbed Tuffnut's hand to mould his fingers into the proper position, and it took a split second for both boys to realize that they were holding hands, sort of. There was a quick blush from the pair but before things could get too awkward Hiccup continued. "Perfect. Now slide this one underneath and rest it sort of on your thumb and ring finger. Just like that. Ok, now move the top one up and down."
Tuffnut messed up the first few times, but Hiccup was always there to correct him. Hiccup had to reposition the chopsticks a couple of times when they fell out of place, but after a few minutes Tuffnut had finally gotten the hang of it.
"Hey, this isn't too hard," Tuffnut said excitedly, beaming at his new ability.
"See? Aren't you glad you let me teach you?" Hiccup asked, turning to look Tuffnut in the eye once more. When he turned, however, their faces ended up merely an inch apart. The breathing between the two teens slowed as they glanced into each other's eyes for just a moment. Tuffnut was about to close the gap but Hiccup suddenly looked away and moved his face, returning his attention to his food. Tuffnut was a little disappointed but he turned to his food as well, attempting to pick something up for the first time.
Hiccup was lost in thought as he picked up some rice and put it in his mouth. They had almost kissed, but he had freaked out and blown it. Would Tuffnut be upset at Hiccup for doing that? And why was his heart racing so fast? Hiccup was snapped out of his thoughts by a grunt from Tuffnut.
Looking over, he discovered that Tuffnut was having some trouble picking up the chicken ball, and Hiccup chuckled a little. The chuckle caught Tuffnut's attention, and even he couldn't help but smile.
"You use these things a lot?" Tuffnut asked, trying once more to pick up the fried ball.
"Occasionally yeah, why?"
"Hm, I think I just discovered why you're a talking fishbone," Tuffnut joked, poking Hiccup's side with his free hand. By sheer luck he had found one of Hiccup's ticklish spots, and he couldn't stop the laugh and spasm that followed.
The smile that came to Tuffnut's face could only be described as malicious, and Hiccup immediately knew he was in trouble. Tuffnut dropped his chopsticks and immediately put both hands to work, searching for any more ticklish spots.
"Tu-Tuff, s-st-stop," Hiccup wheezed between laughs, futilely attempting to fight off Tuffnut's fingers. He only stopped several seconds letter when his stomach let out a massive growl, and they decided that they probably should try to eat something.
Between the conversations, the laughing, and the chopsticks, it took the pair almost two hours to finish eating and cleaning up. When they glanced at the clock they saw it was already almost seven, and they decided to start getting ready for the party.
"So, you cool to change in my room and I'll change in the bathroom?" Tuffnut asked as they walked up the stairs to get their costumes.
"Yeah, sounds fine," Hiccup replied. They walked into Tuffnut's room and Hiccup unzipped his bag while Tuffnut headed for the closet.
Hiccup looked around the room while he waited for Tuffnut to leave, and Hiccup was actually pretty surprised by what he saw. Granted he expected the band posters and the unmade bed, but the periodic table poster and small chemistry set sort of surprised him.
"You into chemistry?"
"Hm? Yeah, it's my favourite subject," Tuffnut commented, finally gathering all of the parts to his costume. "Alright, I'm out."
As soon as Tuffnut closed the door, Hiccup took out his own costume. He took off his shirt and undid the button on his pants, but just as he pulled them down the door suddenly flew open.
"Sorry, I forgot…" was all Tuffnut got to say before he was interrupted.
"Aaaah," Hiccup screamed as he tried to hide behind the bed. He stumbled over his pants and face planted on the floor, crawling quickly to get behind something. "Tuffnut get out!"
"Sorry," Tuffnut panicked, covering his eyes. "I just forgot this." Tuffnut grabbed whatever it was he forgot next to the door, Hiccup not seeing what it was, before the door was closed once more.
Hiccup took a moment to gather himself once more before quickly changing into his costume. The fur vest had survived without losing too much fur in his backpack, and Hiccup was glad to see that. He opened the door and walked out into the hallway, bag in hand and his old clothes within. Tuffnut was already standing in the hallway.
"Hey, I'm really sorry about that and oh my gods we're both Vikings," Tuffnut said in a single breath. Hiccup looked over Tuffnut's costume and then over his own, realizing he was right. Granted he didn't have the hat, but it was still clear as day.
"What are the odds," Hiccup muttered to himself. Before Tuffnut could respond, however, Ruffnut came out of her room in her own costume. She was wearing a black torn t-shirt and jeans, those boots that look like converse but went almost up to her knee, and had a fake guitar with her.
"Hey guys, you almost ready…" she started before she stopped and burst into laughter. "I can't believe you two match! This is priceless," she said between laughs.
"Yeah yeah it's not that funny," Tuffnut moaned, rolling his eyes. "Now are we going to go or what?"
"I'm waiting for you loser," was all Ruffnut said as she walked down the stairs, the boys in tow.
They pulled up to the party just past 7:15, and the place was already packed. Music could be heard blasting from the inside and people were all around the yard. It looked like Snotlout had invited the entire school, and everyone had shown up. Hiccup would be surprised if there weren't a couple of noise complaints by the end of the night.
They walked in the front door and the first person they saw was Snotlout, who just happened to be walking by at the time. When he saw the door open he looked over he went to greet them, but burst into laughter.
"Oh my gods, Tuff, you and Hiccup, that's hilarious!" Snotlout laughed. "Did you plan that? That's adorable, it's like you're going out or something." The two just looked at each other and blushed slightly, and just then Snotlout caught on to what was going on. He stopped laughing immediately and some of the colour drained from his face. "Oh, well, see you later!" Snotlout called, quickly excusing himself from the situation that Ruffnut found quite amusing.
"Hey guys!" came a female voice over the sound of the music and Ruffnut's cackling. Looking to the left they saw Astrid waving to them and beckoning them over. A closer glance and they realized she was part of a circle with about eight other people from school, and there was a bottle in the middle. "We're starting up an old classic, spin the bottle. We have room for three more."
"Sure," Ruffnut agreed instantly, but before Tuffnut agreed he looked to Hiccup.
Hiccup didn't particularly want to play, but he didn't want to stop Tuffnut from having fun. So, he agreed and decided to hope that no one would end up spinning the bottle onto him.
They joined the circle, and Ruffnut had the first spin. It landed on a senior boy, and they shared a quick peck before Astrid took the bottle. She spun the bottle quite hard and it took a moment before it even started to slow down, and when it stopped, it landed squarely on Hiccup.
He looked up at Astrid, and he was glad that if someone had to get him that it was her. It was a quick peck and that was it, and Hiccup didn't feel too uncomfortable since he knew her extremely well. When he saw Tuffnut though he could see him looking away, as if he didn't want to see it. Was Tuffnut jealous?
The game moved along, and several of the other boys and girls kissed, some quick pecks and others a little more involved. Finally it came around to Tuffnut's turn. When he spun it landed on his sister, and everyone laughed. Tuffnut jumped over Hiccup and knocked his sister over, pretending to fight against her hand to go in for a kiss as she protested. They ended up settling for punching each other as everyone laughed, and he returned to his seat.
It wasn't until the bottle was passed to him that Hiccup realized he would have to spin it. He started to panic, and his heart rate rose significantly. But he couldn't just back out of this now. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad, maybe it would land on Astrid and everything would be fine. Then he could leave part way through the next round without looking suspicious. He took a deep breath as he spun the bottle, praying once more that it would land on Astrid.
As the bottle slowed, Hiccup's heart rate picked up once more. He repeated, 'Please land on Astrid,' over and over in his head like mantra, and when the bottle really slowed he closed his eyes. He cracked them open ever so slightly when he heard some giggles and gasps, and what he saw momentarily stopped his heart: the bottle had stopped pointing directly at Tuffnut.
The two looked at each other, then at the bottle, then back at each other. The snickers from their classmates around them continued, but the boys had trouble hearing them over the nervous ringing in their ears.
They snapped to attention when Ruffnut called, "Hurry up already!" and the others cheered them on. Hiccup looked down, clearly mildly embarrassed, and Tuffnut decided the best thing to do for Hiccup would to just do it and get it over with. So, he leaned over and pressed his lips to Hiccup's.
Hiccup's eyes widened with the sudden action, but he didn't pull away and they eventually slid closed. He kept his lips unmoving, as did Tuffnut, but they stayed pressed together for a little longer than either of them had realized.
"Alright, break it up you two,' Ruffnut laughed, taking the bottle for herself once more. They pulled apart slowly, Tuffnut looking at Hiccup and Hiccup looking down slightly. Ruffnut spun the bottle and landed on the same senior boy as last time, but neither Hiccup nor Tuffnut noticed as Tuffnut got up and started to walk away, dragging Hiccup with him.
"Tuff, where are we going?" Hiccup asked, but he was given no response as he was dragged up the stairs and around the corner. The entered the second door on the right, entering Snotlout's bedroom. When the door was shut Tuffnut sat on the bed, beckoning Hiccup to sit next to him. When he did, Tuffnut finally spoke.
"Hey, you ok?" A simple question, but at the present moment, very loaded. Hiccup knew that if he said yes Tuffnut would think he was lying and be upset, and if he said no he would think that Hiccup didn't enjoy the kiss. That part definitely wasn't true; the kiss had been so simple but it was absolutely amazing to Hiccup. To him it was even worth the mild embarrassment. Hiccup didn't realize just how long he had remained silent, and Tuffnut ended up continuing. "Look, I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, I realize I shouldn't have just..."
"No wait," Hiccup interrupted, silencing Tuffnut. "Don't be sorry, it's just, I was a little shell shocked at first. It was amazing." Hiccup smiled as he said this, and Tuffnut breathed a sigh of relief.
"So, want to head back downstairs?" Tuffnut asked as he stood up.
"Maybe in a second," Hiccup said, standing up and positioning himself right next to Tuffnut.
"Oh?" Tuffnut asked, moving his face a little closer to Hiccup's. When the boy just smiled, Tuffnut took that as his cue and closed the distance between them.
This time when their lips met, Tuffnut started to move his, and Hiccup mimicked his actions. The kiss deepened and Tuffnut wrapped his arms around Hiccup's waist, while Hiccup wrapped his around Tuffnut's neck. When Tuffnut brushed his tongue over Hiccup's lips he got surprised and stumbled, Tuffnut breaking the kiss to catch him and leaning on the bed to keep their balance. The pair laughed softly for just a second before their lips connected once more.
"In here?" came a muffled call as Snotlout opened the door, instantly groaning when he saw the sight in front of him. They broke their kiss instantly but Tuffnut kept hold of Hiccup as they both turned to look at Snotlout. "Come on guys, seriously?"
Tuffnut just laughed as he stood up, still holding Hiccup, and dragged him out the door. Hiccup couldn't help but laugh at Snotlout's shaking head and wonder just where Tuffnut was taking him now.
