Troodonitus - I feel like you guys misunderstand me when I try not to overrun my short stories. When I say I'm trying to adhere to a specific number of chapters, what I mean is "I won't overload my anxious self by making this a proper story when I have so much to do!"
-HTTYD-
Astrid tried not to overstay her welcome, especially when she woke the next morning to find out that Hiccup was already gone. One of the twins - Tuff, she was almost certain - gave Astrid a pot of peanut butter and told her to get crackers, as they both stayed relatively edible for a while and peanut butter filled one up.
" Be seeing ya Astrid. Stay safe out there!"
"Thanks. You too."
The 'beard hat' went back in her bag to save for if the wind chill picked up, one of the other 'residents' of the sleep spot pointing Astrid to the nearest public toilets and she thanked them quietly, set off to relieve her bladder and clean herself up with the brand-new-toothbrush-and-toothpaste she'd found in her bag with a scrap of paper tucked between them.
"I got these free and already have one! Keep smiling. H"
Odin, even clean teeth felt like a novelty for Astrid. She moved quickly, not wanting to be caught as she took advantage of warm water to clean her face a little, wiped off with a paper towel from the dispenser. Empty bladder and full water bottle, she had no cause to linger and so Astrid moved on.
Her eyes did glance over the tampon machine, grimacing. She'd luckily had a box in her bag when she was thrown out, but she would probably run out half-way through her next period. Gods only knew what she would do beyond stealing toilet paper from public restrooms and wadding her pants with them, but that was hardly reliable.
She walked for a couple of hours, then remembered that she had tokens for the laundrette and that Hiccup had said they let the homeless sit quietly in the warmth while their washing spun and dried so long as they were quiet and respectful. Taking Tuff's advice and using some of her miniscule money to buy a cheap pack of crackers, Astrid headed along to the laundrette with her little token clutched in her hand.
Sure enough, Astrid's token was exchanged for two - one wash, one dry. She emptied her pockets and bundled her coat and jumper into the machine, knowing they would be harder and more expensive to replace than her thin undershirt and so she opted to take care of her warm layers.
"Hey lass" the laundrette owner got her attention, jolting Astrid from watching her clothes spin around and around "c'mere."
Self-conscious of her dirty t-shirt, Astrid crossed her arms and shuffled over hoping she wasn't about to be asked to leave by the scary-looking lady.
"Yeah?"
"There's a bag o' old stuff in that cupboard I let your lot grab something from. That t-shirt won't keep ya warm."
"R-really?"
"Aye. One thing, mind. Although if ye find a pair o' bottoms that fit ya, ya can have them too."
Astrid's belt was on the tightest loop and even then her jeans were barely staying up. Thanking the woman profusely, hunting through the bag and finding a slightly baggy shirt that felt nice and thick, and even a pair of cotton jogging bottoms that were about the right size. Astrid showed them to the woman, who nodded and clicked her tongue as Astrid's wash finished. She transferred it to the dryer opposite, was in the process of folding the gifted wear tightly to try and squeeze it in her bag when the door jingled.
"Astrid! Hey! I see you met Bertha. Hey Bertha."
"You two again?"
She worried for a minute, but Astrid saw that 'Bertha' was actually sort of smiling as she swapped the twins tokens so they could wash their clothes too.
"Hey Astrid, you got something from Bertha's lucky dip! If you want you can put your t-shirt in with my stuff?"
Bertha told Astrid she could change quickly in the back, and as predicted the donated top was almost deliriously warm and clean-feeling compared to her t-shirt. Tuff let her drop it in with his stuff, then the twins perched next to her on the bench. The silence was awkward, but the laundrette was warm and she knew the twins were nice people. It could be far worse. Nobody spoke until Astrid's dryer beeped about thirty minutes later, which seemed to jerk Tuff out of a reverie.
"If you don't find something for the evening, there's a van that gives out free sandwiches with a cookie over by the big park tonight. They usually get there about eight."
"Oh. Thanks... Tuff, right?"
"Yeah. And that's my sister Ruff. She doesn't talk much except to me. Well, me and Chicken."
Tuff held up the thing Astrid had noticed him holding, but not identified until now. It was a chicken teddy. Clearly, he was quite attached to it. Astrid grabbed her stuff out of the dryer, relieved to find it fully dry and she hastened to put her jumper on while it was still warm. She was about to leave when Tuff reminded her her t-shirt was in his wash load, so Astrid huddled up and hoped Bertha didn't think she was trying to loiter beyond the offered time.
Almost the second Tuff's stuff finished drying and Astrid had her t-shirt back, she started preparing to head off.
"Hiccup will probably be at the sandwich thing. I always give him my cookie, I don't like sweets."
"Oh. Right."
"Well I figured you would wanna know since you and he are buds now. Like us. Catch you later Astrid."
"Yeah. Bye. And thank you."
"No worries. We gotta look out for each other cus not many others will. Except Bertha. Bertha is awesome."
Bertha gruffed, now tending to actual customers as morning business started to pick up. Astrid slipped out of the clothes washing haven, feeling admittedly better after a warm nights sleep, enough to eat the day before and freshly laundered, warm layers on her top half even as the air chilled her cheeks and hands.
She found somewhere quiet to sit an hour later, settled her rumbling stomach with sparing use of her crackers and the peanut butter Tuff kindly gave her that morning. He was right - it did fill her up quite well. Enough that her mind wasn't consumed with the prospect of another day hungry. Tucking them away, she had a swallow of water and figured if she wanted to get more money, she would have to beg.
It wasn't that Astrid considered herself above begging, but she felt guilty that anything donated to her could have gone to someone else. To limit her guilt, Astrid only did it for the bare minimum she needed, stashing most of it away for when she needed to buy her sanitary products and using the rest to get a coffee from a polite vendor who let Astrid sit down nearby to drink it.
As evening started to fall, Astrid took herself off toward the promise of a sandwich from Tuffs directions, seeing a throng of people already waiting but a trio of burly men with several crates called out in booming voices that there was "plenty to go round!" and Astrid found herself seeking a mop of auburn hair.
It took a little over fifteen minutes for Astrid to get through the swarm and receive food, feeling some schoolyard nostalgia as she was given a package with a carton of juice, a sandwich, an apple and a cookie all bundled in.
"Don't litter that lass. Next!"
Astrid shuffled out of everyones way, extracting the apple from the pack and tucking the rest in her pocket. Fruit wouldn't keep like the rest. She bit into it, pleasantly surprised by the sweet taste and hummed happily at the simple pleasure of a juicy apple.
"Did Tuff let you know about this place?"
Whipping around, she found the mop of hair she'd been looking for and Astrid couldn't help but smile a little.
"Yeah. Thanks. I never knew strangers could be so... selfless and nice until I met you and your friends."
"Hiccup! Hey! Here's your cookie."
A Thorston twin appeared, quickly followed by the other and both were holding out cookies to Hiccup. He took them with thanks, traded Tuff his banana and Ruff his carton of Ribena.
"Thanks guys. I don't like blackcurrant much."
He added as explanation to Astrid, who nodded and bit her apple again.
"Want to come sit with us to eat? The stars look good from our usual spot."
She nodded silently, followed the three on a short jaunt up a nearby hill, where Hiccup used his foil blanket spread out for them to sit on rather than get their butts wet or muddy.
"See? Good view for the city huh?"
He pointed out along the city horizon, glittering lights in distant buildings and despite the light pollution, some shimmering stars visible too.
"Yeah."
Astrid couldn't fathom how happy Hiccup came across when he had obviously been homeless for a while, how he seemed high-spirited and friendly while Astrid felt lost, bleak. Adrift. They sat and ate and drank their food, keeping track of their rubbish rather than litter the open green space.
Not everyone was so polite with it, and after the crowd started to clear a half hour later, Hiccup and the twins actually got up and picked up some of the rubbish scattered about the fields.
"Why do you do that?"
"Respect. Those guys feed a hundred or so people each week, just here, out of the goodness of their hearts. They don't deserve lectures from the local council about littering because some people can't be bothered to use one of the dozen bins in and around this park."
"How do they afford to do that?"
Hiccup dumped the pile of rubbish he was holding into the bin, then pointed at the three guys packing up their table.
"The bearded bald guy is John and he runs a fruit stand, keeps anything not sold at the end of the day for a couple days. Frank is the redhead, he runs a cafe and refrigerates leftover sandwiches and bread. Then the bearded not bald blond is Malcolm, and he runs a bakery. Bakes the biscuits. The juice cartons are donations. Frank used to be homeless, John and Malcolm are a couple. Any of the packs they don't hand out get donated to shelters."
Surpised, Astrid turned wide eyes to Hiccup.
"How do you know all this?"
"I chatted with them one night, when they noticed I had Tuff's cookie but no pack of my own. Gave me one, so I helped them pack up in return. We got to talking. If it's a slow night I hang out to chat to them again. Lovely guys."
There he went again, with his kind heart and happy smile.
"We're gonna go find camp for the night Hiccup, catch you in a few days I guess."
"Yeah. See you soon guys."
Ruff and Tuff left Hiccup and Astrid alone, and she felt a bit awkward in general but Hiccup was rather easy company.
"I'm gonna go find myself a spot for the night. You making your own way? Oh, before I forget" Hiccup reached into his coat, pulled out a business card of sorts "this is a walk-in clinic. They uh... they give homeless girls stuff for that time of the month. Just give them that."
Astrid flipped it, saw a bizarre doodle of a cute dragon on the back.
"What?"
"That's so they know I sent you. I get first aid supplies there, they think I'm sweet for patching street folk up."
"That... that is sweet."
He beamed.
"Thank you. So... like I said. Bed time. Are you off to your own special place?"
Astrid wanted to stay with him and absorb Hiccup's knowledge, his goodness and his hope. But he had already done way too much for her, when she had nothing to offer him.
"Yeah. Thanks for this though."
"You are quite welcome. Goodnight Astrid."
"Night Hiccup."
He gave her another smile, then turned and began to head off with long strides from his long legs. Astrid contemplated following him, then decided she had better go find somewhere to crash. Slowly, shyly and expecting to be rejected, Astrid ended up back at the spot Hiccup had showed her to. Neither Thorston twin nor Hiccup were there, but the spot they'd inhabited was empty and nobody seemed to be paying her much attention.
She bundled herself up into her sleep wrappings, warm and comfortable with a full stomach again. Things that had scarcely happened before Hiccup and his friends gave her advice. Not to mention his novelty hat did wonders for hiding her face so less creeps tried to lure her to a gruesome death.
Astrid spent the better part of a month slowly learning her way around life on the streets. Found out about the swimming baths she could shower at, finally washing her filthy hair. Attended another charity day, and though she was disappointed not to see Hiccup there, she did bump into him now and then on the streets. Whenever they crossed paths, Hiccup helped her in some way.
The first time, he told her about the library that had books for the homeless. The second, he patched up a cut on her arm where Astrid had fended off a particularly persistent "come with me darling I'll help you" leering Neanderthal. His fingers were toughened by street life, but his touch was gentle and technique efficient.
The next time Astrid ran into the twins, they chased off another creep by Tuff running full-pelt at him, screaming maniacally.
"Thorston Battle Frenzy!"
It had certainly been effective, even if Astrid had to find new places to sleep after that. She thanked the twins, who camped down with her for the night before everyone moved on again.
The third time she saw Hiccup, he bought her a coffee and shared his bag of beef jerky with her. The fourth, he told her about the soup kitchen he volunteered at and apologised for not telling her beforehand.
"You volunteer?"
"I like to work for my food. I get to clean up, eat and help ensure other people get a meal too. It's a win win win. Win."
"Win?"
"Exactly. I'm on my way to volunteer now if you want somewhere to grab lunch."
Astrid watched him from where she sat eating her meal. Hiccup had shaved again, chin and cheeks clouded with stubble but no more patchy scruff. Electric shaving, she mused. He was effortlessly polite, handing out scoops of mashed potato or vegetables from his station, poured endless squash into plastic cups that, according to a young woman sat near her, the soup kitchen recycled.
A little over a month after the first one, Astrid found herself at the same community centre for another of the homeless charity days. Just like last time, Hiccup was around the doorway and positively lit up when he saw her.
"Astrid! You made it!"
"Yeah. You're looking bright about something."
"One of the volunteer social workers has found that Ruff and Tuff still have a living relative. And they're trying to track them down. Hopefully they'll have somewhere to go soon, and Ruff can stop... never mind. I'm happy for them. You wanna get some soup?"
They sat at the table with their soup and bread roll, and Astrid decided she owed him. Pushed her roll over.
"I can't take your food."
"Please? You and your friends probably saved my life."
Hiccup smiled, nudged it back.
"Then you're welcome, but please eat that. I have enough."
He was impossible, Astrid decided. As he sipped a coffee, he was looking around the venue with his usual keen stare. Hiccup seemed to find what he was looking for, gesturing to somebody. Astrid turned to see what he was doing, found one of the clipboard-holding-people looking at the two of them.
"Astrid Hofferson?"
"Y-yeah?"
A reeling shock and possibly a conversation later, Astrid was informed she had a place at one of the emergency housing hostels she'd been listed for. Hiccup looked practically beside himself with happiness - he was happy Astrid was getting off the streets even though he deserved it more, had been out far longer than her.
"But H-Hiccup, he should-"
"Nope. You. Better get going before she thinks you don't want it."
Astrid almost said no, wanting to insist on Hiccup taking it but given that he wouldn't even take her bread, she felt like it would be a losing argument, and she didn't want to seem ungrateful.
"Can't he stay with me?"
"Sorry, against the rules. One person rooms. And definitely no mixed gender rooms."
"I'll be fine Astrid. Come on, I'll walk you over."
The nice clipboard human gave Astrid the address and a sheet of paper full of information, and once Hiccup was done grabbing his sandwich-and-socks, they headed off. It was a bit of a walk, but Hiccup was jovial.
"Why were you looking around so much?"
He grinned, held his arms out dramatically.
"They know I tend to know everyone. So when your name came up, I said I'd find you."
"I don't deserve this, you should take the room."
"Astrid, just... please. I will sleep soundly tonight knowing you are somewhere safe. I wouldn't get a wink if I stole your room."
The room was small, sparse and beautiful. It had a bed, even a little bathroom! Astrid couldn't believe she'd spend her nights under a ceiling, within four walls and not worried she'd wake up with someone trying to steal her things, or worse.
"Will you at least take my sleeping bag, if you insist on being so difficult?"
Hiccup smiled, wisely sensing Astrid would not take no for an answer and agreeing. He strapped the bag to his backpack, waving at the hostel worker who was watching to make sure Astrid was moving in alone.
"Mind if I use the bathroom Helga? I promise not to hide under the sink."
Helga waved him off and Hiccup smiled, slid his coat and bag off to head into the bathroom. She checked her watch, tsked and turned to Astrid.
"Make sure he's out soon. I need to get back downstairs."
Hiccup poked his head out, politely asking Astrid if he could take a quick shower now the scary lady was gone.
"Definitely."
He pulled his towel out of his bag, thanking Astrid profusely as he slid into the bathroom promising to only be five minutes. As he left, something slipped out of his coat. Astrid leant down to pick it up, found it a plastic bag containing a photo. The picture had a younger Hiccup, smiling up at a woman who looked alot like him whilst two hefty looking men laughed in the background.
She knew Hiccup had nightmares, could only imagine how he lost these people who clearly adored him. Not wanting him to think Astrid was invading his privacy, she made to put it back. Then stopped, grabbing a bit of paper from her bag and an old pencil. Scrawled her name on it and the number for the hostel.
If he needed someone... Astrid would be there. She tucked the paper behind the photo, slid the plastic bag back in his coat and backed away, sitting on her very own bed and waiting. Hiccup exited the bathroom a couple of minutes later, redressed and cramming his towel back into his bag.
"I better go before she comes back. See you around Astrid, I'm really glad you got in here."
"Hiccup..." Astrid stretched up, kissed his cheek "thank you. For everything."
His scruffy cheeks flushed, broad smile stealing over his face. She didn't know what else she could give him.
"You are more than welcome Astrid."
Hiccup hauled his coat back on, tucked his damp hair into a hat and insisted he was off to launder his clothes anyway, would have time to dry off properly. And then he left, back to the streets while Astrid would sleep soundly in safety.
-HTTYD-
Wrote most of this last night. Hoping ch3 will be done tonight but we'll see.