So, I am a big Mericup shipper, but I found the idea of a University/College AU interesting, and one of my friends asked me to write this for her. Therefore, this rather long Hiccstrid drabble was born. Check out my other story when you get the chance, The Old Norse Scroll. Promise you won't be disappointed if you like ROTBTD and Hogwarts! I hope you all enjoy this drabble!

I carried a very large, heavy box up a flight of stone steps leading to a majestic building. I took in the sweeping view of the University's courtyard, brimming to the edge with people. I took a deep breath and heaved the box up higher. I struggled to carry such a heavy load, but was determined not to drop it and spill it's rather fragile contents onto the ground.

Many students ran around tossing balls among themselves, or sat on the edge of the fountain talking to friends. First semester didn't start for another week, which should be plenty enough time to settle in. Dad had said that my current living establishments would be temporary, but to be honest, I didn't really care.

I entered the main living building, the one with the brown brick walls, and walked up to the elevator. It opened with a shudder and I stepped in, resting the box on the floor gently. I eyed the faded buttons, trying to discern a number 3 among the worn out spheres.

I pressed the third button from the top, hoping that this was correct and picked my single box up again. I stood idly for a few moments, tapping my foot against the ground. With a small 'ding' the elevator doors opened with a horrific shudder. I took a deep breath and stepped forward, only to collide with someone else waiting to get on the elevator.

"Sorry." I amended immediately.

"That's alright." A pretty blonde said. She had no boxes in her hands, and I assumed she had already moved in.

I looked around nervously, searching for room 12 B.

"Are you looking for something?" The blonde asked. Her hair was in a simple braid, she wore athletic clothing, looking like she was ready to go on a run.

"Uh, yes, actually." I shifted the box in my arms, the weight seeming to increase with every moment I spent holding it. "Do you know where uh room...12 B is?"

She nodded. "It's across from me. I'll show you."

"Thanks." I mumbled and trailed behind her.

We turned left around a corner and continued along the carpeted hallway until about midway, where she gestured to a beaten oak door.

"Apartment 12 B." She said unenthusiastically.

"Uh, thanks." I said. "I'm, uh, Hiccup by the way." I stuck my hand out for her to shake.

"Astrid Hofferson." The girl said. She shook my hand with a firm grip. "Athlete. What about you?"

"Engineer." I told her.

"Cool." She nodded. She looked over her shoulder, checking for something. "I've gotta go now."

"Uh, yeah. See you later." I told her weakly as she took off down the hallway.

I shook my head and fumbled through my pockets for the key Fishlegs had given me. Fishlegs and I had been...acquaintances in high school, and by acquaintances, I meant he didn't completely hate me or hadn't acknowledged my existence. Either way, this temporary arrangement worked for me.

With a flourish, I held the key up and jammed it into the rusty lock. I twisted it around until I heard a faint click, admitting me into the dorm room.

I closed the door behind me and set the box down carefully, immediately opening it up. I reached inside and lifted the cat carrier out of it. With a loud mewl, Toothless the cat stood up from inside. I set the carrier onto the floor and opened the small door.

"Sorry about that bud." I told the pure black feline. "We're not supposed to have pets in the building."

He purred affectionately and rubbed his head against my leg. I allowed myself a small smile and began touring the small living quarters.

There was a small living area to the right, with a slightly worn leather couch set in front of a medium-sized television. There were at least three different types of game consoles on a book shelf next to the television, as apposed to actual books. To the left was the kitchen, a small little area with a fridge and a double burner oven. It had a tiny island that wrapped around it, maybe large enough for two people to eat at. Maybe.

It looked like the bedrooms were located around the corner. One door was ajar, and bare. I assumed that this was my room and stepped inside. There was a simple nightstand beside a small bed, large enough for only one person. A plain, dark wood dresser sat in the far left corner, underneath a tiny window. Toothless immediately jumped up onto the nightstand, claiming it as his space as he lay down and fell asleep.

The dorm was gigantic by dorm room standards, and I was reminded more of an apartment. I guess having a dad that was the owner and CEO of the country's third largest company helped. I vaguely wondered where Fishlegs would be when my question answered itself.

I heard a creak from behind me and turned to see none other than Fishlegs himself walk through a battered door, similar to my own.

"Oh. Hi Hiccup. Welcome to the dorm." He said.

"Uh, yeah." I said. "Thanks, you know, for letting me stay and everything."

"It's no problem." He said. He frowned and looked over my shoulder. "You do know pets aren't allowed in the building, right?"

I shifted nervously. "Uh, yeah."

On cue, Toothless woke up from his short nap to butt his head against Fishlegs. He made his green eyes large and adorable, and I knew from experience that Fishlegs was not winning this one.

"Well...I guess if we keep him a secret..." Fishlegs said, bending down to scratch Toothless behind the ear.

"Thanks, Fishlegs." I said. "Do you know the girl here on a sports scholarship, Astrid Hofferson?" I asked him.

"Astrid Hofferson?" He asked, standing up to face me. "You met Astrid Hofferson?"

"Uh, yeah. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Right?" I asked, wondering what the big shock was.

"Hiccup, she's one of the most popular people at this University, and first term hasn't even started yet!"

"So?" I asked.

"So, you just met one of the most popular people here!" He explained. "This is huge."

"She just showed me where our dorm was-"

"You had a conversation with her?" Fishlegs asked. Why was he making such a big deal out of this. It was just a conversation, no big deal. Right?

"It wasn't exactly talking, just...look, Fishlegs, it was nothing. She probably doesn't even remember my name." I told him.

I walked back to the doorway, where I had left the door ajar. I scooped up my single box holding my belongings and made my way back to my room.

"I'm going to unpack now." I told him.

"Alright." Fishlegs said. "I'll see you later. I'm going down to the science field, see if I can find the twins."

"The twins?" I asked. Who were the twins?

"Ruff and Tuff." He explained. Seeing my confused expression, he continued explaining. "The Pyrotechnics?"

I shook my head.

"Really? They were the ones that blew up the chemistry lab last year."

"That was them?" I asked.

"Yeah. They nearly got expelled." He walked out of the room and waved before shutting the door behind him.

I sighed and sat on the edge of my bed. Toothless hopped up beside me and began purring.

"I guess I should start unpacking." I told him.

I pulled out a few piles of clothes, and tucked them away in the small dresser located in the corner of the room. I took a pile of sheets out as well and lay them on the bed. I finally took out my laptop (a new model, of course) and placed it on my bedside table.

"Well, done unpacking." I said to Toothless, who was already asleep on my bed. I sighed. "Might as well tour the campus."

I walked around one of the smaller courtyards of the enormous school, not really caring where I was going as long as I could find my way back to the dorm. I saw a small path leading to the back of a building and decided to follow it. As I continued walking along this dusty path, I heard the blow of a whistle. Curious, I continued onward.

I stepped out onto what looked like an athletic field, complete with Soccer nets and Football goalposts. The path I had been following was actually a running track, used for sprints and long distance running.

From behind me, I heard lots of shouting. I turned to investigate who the noise was coming from, only to be early trampled by a group of people racing towards me. Without knowing it, I had wandered directly into the path of a group of sprinters. I ended up tripping over my own feet in an attempt to leap aside.

One runner in particular came too close, and was unable to jump over me, so they tripped and fell, landing directly on my back. The air left my lungs with a huff, and I was left breathless on the ground while the runner, groaning, clambered off my back.

A large group of people rushed over, shooting me dirty looks while checking over the injured runner. I struggled to breathe in, my lungs becoming far too tight. I wheezed and propped myself up onto my elbows.

I fumbled around in my back pocket for my inhaler, only to be used in moments such as these. I took a puff and waited a moment before pushing myself to my feet slowly. I looked over to the group of people standing to my right and waited for the anger to arrive.

To my surprise, the runner that had fallen on top of me had been none other than Astrid Hofferson. She looked very angry, as did the other athletes surrounding her.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked. "You don't jump in front of a group of sprinters while they're running."

"Sorry. I was just-" I began.

"You could have seriously injured her." A tall brunette snapped.

"I really-"

"Hey, I know you. You're the engineer." Astrid said, pointing at me.

"Uh, yeah." I said. "That-that's me. The engineer. Look, I'm sorry, you know, about the whole running thing, but I uh, didn't actually know where I was going-"

"Well, don't do it again." Astrid said. "Watch where you're going."

Then, she turned and stalked away, her fellow athletes following behind her like a pack of angry bulldogs.

"Well, this year is off to a great start." I said to myself. I turned and walked off the track, staring dejectedly at the ground, my hands in my pockets fiddling with my inhaler.

"Are you sure he didn't hurt you, Astrid?" Camicazi asked me.

"I'm fine, Cam. Let's get back to practice." I huffed, breaking away from the suffocating group of track runners. They followed me around constantly during practice, and it could become very frustrating while trying to focus on your sprint.

"Alright." She said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Let's go."

I nodded. Camicazi took off towards the other runners. I cast a quick look at the retreating figure walking off the track. The engineer, I had called him. I knew his name, it was Hiccup. I thought it was an odd name for someone like him, and wondered if it was a nickname. He looked at the ground as he walked away, his hands stuck dejectedly into his pockets.

I felt a twinge of guilt run through me as I thought of the abrasive way I had addressed him earlier. Still, you don't walk into the middle of a running track while there was a sprinter's practice going on. It was idiotic, and someone could have gotten hurt. If I had been injured before school even began, I could kiss my scholarship goodbye, and with no scholarship, there was no way I could afford an education.

I took a deep breath and turned to the runners, all of them lined up and ready to race.

"Alright, let's get started." I told them.

I took my position on the inside right track, and waited for the sound of Camicazi's whistle. When the shrill sound of her blowing it reached my ears, I pushed off the starting platform and sprinted, pulling ahead of my fellow runners without exerting myself immediately.

Only a few seconds later, I passed the white line, indicating the end of the sprint. The other runners pulled up behind me barely a second later.

"That was a good run." I told them, only slightly winded. "Two laps, then take the rest of the day off, and tomorrow."

The runners smiled, happy to have the day off, and to be honest, I was looking forwards to it as well. I gestured for them to follow me and we ran the two laps around the track, each one of us huffing after so much running. I waved weakly at them and took off, heading back to the dorm room I shared with Ruffnut Thorston to shower and change.

I hefted my bag up onto my shoulder and walked away from the sports field hurriedly, hoping no one would decide to follow and strike up a conversation. I trudged along the stone sidewalk leading to the collection of buildings that held the student dorms. The University of Archipelago was one of the largest Universities in the country, and had some of the most advanced and prestigious classes.

I reached the short, brown brick building that served as my housing quadrant while at U of A. I avoided the elevator, knowing how unreliable it could be from stories of older track members. I took the stairs two at a time, despite the protest from my muscles, stiff from my earlier runs. I reached the third floor in no time and turned around the corner to my hallway.

I dug my hand deep into my bag, searching for the small silver key which served as my entrance to my dorm room. From behind me, I heard a muffled voice and a loud crash. What was gong on?

I turned and looked quizzically at the closed door. Wait, was that a...cat? I pounded on the door for room 12 B, about to ask whoever it was making so much noise what on earth they were doing.

The door swung open, and facing me was none other than the engineer, Hiccup.

"Oh-oh. Hey, uh Astrid." He said. He closed the door a little more and twisted his body in such a way that it gained incredulity from me.

"What on earth are you doing in there?" I asked, trying to look past him to see inside. "Is there a cat in your dorm?"

"What?" Hiccup asked. He shifted around again and I saw him push something away with his foot. "No. Why-why would I have a cat? Cats aren't-"

I put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him aside. He stumbled and reached forward to grab onto the back of a couch for balance. I walked in, searching the large dorm room for any tell tale signs of an animal.

From behind me, I heard the meow of a feline. I whipped around and came face to face with a black cat who had a small slender body and intense green eyes.

"I knew it." I told him. "You do have a cat."

"Uh, yes I do, but I can explain." Hiccup said. He shifted awkwardly and shut the door.

The cat walked up closer to me and made the largest eyes possible, letting out the cutest little mewl ever.

"Astrid, meet Toothless. Toothless, meet...Astrid." Hiccup explained.

"You aren't supposed to have any animals in the dorm rooms." I told him, crossing my arms.

"Yeah, uh..." Hiccup mumbled, scratching the back of his neck. I thought of it as an old habit maybe, something he did hen he was nervous, which he was quite a lot.

The cat walked closer to me, and I crouched down, placing my bag on the floor, hesitantly reaching a hand out for Toothless to sniff. The cat looked at it reluctantly before pressing his forehead against it, purring. Despite myself, I smiled.

"You're not so bad." I murmured to the cat.

"Yeah, uh, about the no animals thing..." Hiccup began.

"I won't tell anyone" I told him. "But only if I can come back to see him again."

Hiccup sighed and ran a hand through his mop of messy auburn hair.

"Yeah! Yeah, uh, I mean thanks, Astrid." He said nervously. "So, uh, what-"

I stood slowly and shook the cat hair off of my sleeves.

"I should probably get going." I said, already halfway to he door.

"Oh. Right." Hiccup said. He looked slightly disappointed, and I couldn't help but feel a little guilty about leaving so soon.

"Look, uh, about earlier, the whole sprinting thing. Yeah, sorry about that. I was just...exploring I guess, and I didn't see you running-"

"It's fine." I cut in, before his rambling continued on forever. "Just watch where you're going next time."

"Right. Thanks, again." He said, opening the door for me. He gestured to it and shifted a bit.

I exited the room and he closed the door behind me, not bothering to lock it behind me. I held the key to my dorm in my right hand, and stuck it into the rusty lock barely screwed into our door. I swung the door open and tossed my bag onto the ground.

"You're late." Ruffnut told me as I entered the room.

"I know." I shut the door forcefully behind me.

"Why? Run into some hot jock at practice?" She asked, a creepy smirk on her face.

I frowned at her. "No. Someone crashed into me during a sprint."

"You hurt?" She asked, seeming suddenly much more interested in this conversation.

"No." I told her. "I think it hurt him more than me."

Ruffnut looked crestfallen.

"By the way, the guy that ran into me lives across the hall, and he's got a cat, but don't tell anyone." I told her.

"Really? I thought we weren't allowed animals. Do you think I could have a snake?"

"No." I told her immediately. "Besides, the cat's adorable. Not so much a snake."

"Snakes are cool, they strangle their victims to death and then eat them whole." She grinned maliciously.

"Charming." I made a face.

"I know, right?" She rolled off her bed and stood, walking over to the kitchen to grab something out of the fridge. "So, how do you know the idiot has a cat?"

"I heard him through the door." I stripped my feet of their sweaty socks and slipped my feet into a pair of comfortable flip flops.

"Him?'' Rufnut asked through a mouthful of apple.

"The cat. His name is Toothless."

"I wanna see the cat. Mom and Dad never let me and Tuff have a pet." She whined. She took another noisy bite out of her apple.

"Well, you have fun with that. I'm going to take a shower."

"Alright." She said. She shrugged and took out her phone. "Tuff and I are going to check out the lab later, see what cool explosives they have."

"Odin help us." I said dramatically. Ruffnut just grinned like a maniac and continued gnawing away at her apple.

If the twins were to get their hands on a set of explosives on campus...who knew what would happen. Well, we all knew what would happen.

They'd blow something up.

I slowly limped over to the small bathroom in our dorm, my sore muscles crying out for relief that the warm water would bring. I sighed as I turned the shower head on, waiting for the water to turn hot and steamy.

This year was off to a great start.

I heard the door creak open, signalling that Fishlegs had returned from whatever endeavor he had left to do for the day. I looked up from my laptop, startling Toothless from his nap on my lap.

"Hey, Hiccup." Fishlegs said.

"Hey, Fishlegs." I replied. I looked back down to my laptop, my fingers flying across the keys as I finished off the last of the document.

"Did you stay here the whole time?" He asked me.

I sighed and snapped my laptop closed, placing it on the small coffee table in front of the couch.

"Yeah. I'm helping an old friend out with some paperwork for his factory."

"Oh. Cool."

I stood slowly from the worn leather couch, Toothless protesting. He shot me a disgruntled look before taking off towards the bedrooms. Fishlegs remained silent, as did I. The awkward silence filled the room.

"I'm just gonna..." I pointed to the door, taking slow steps towards it. "Explore the campus, you know-"

"Oh, yeah. Have fun." Fishlegs said, before turning and heading towards his room. We both knew it was a poor excuse to escape the awkward encounter, but we took it anyways.

I let out a heavy breath and leaned against the door frame, staying silent. Classes didn't start for another day, the incident with the runners having been a week ago. What would I do until then? I didn't have any friends on the campus, family certainly wasn't an option. Gobber maybe? But that was a three hour drive away from here, if there was no traffic leaving the city. I'd make it to the factory, spend a few hours there and have to drive another three hours to get back.

I stepped outside, hearing a door slam further down the hallway. I took only a few steps down the hall, racking my mind for possible things I could do for fun, when I heard someone talking.

"Hey." I heard a deep voice say behind me. I turned, thinking the voice was speaking to me, but instead found a lean man, with dark, straw-like hair standing in the doorway of someones dorm.

"What do you want, Snotlout?" I heard a familiar female voice answer, obviously not enjoying the presence of this brutish man. I realized it was Astrid, who wore a simple t-shirt and jeans.

Who I assumed was Snotlout, leaned forwards in the doorway and rested his weight on one leg.

"You wanna do something tonight, babe?" He asked her.

"No. Definitely not with you." Astrid sneered.

"Oh, come on. Don't be like that. Everyone wants the Snotman." Snotlout said, standing up straight, flexing his arms.

I nearly gagged. This was low, even for a guy so obviously full of himself like Snotlout.

"Go away, Snotlout." Astrid growled, this time threateningly.

I wondered if standing here, in the middle of an argument like this, was a good choice at the moment.

"Come on, Astrid. Why don't I just come in and we can-"

Astrid proceeded to close the door in his face, but Snotlout stuck his hand out, stopping her halfway.

"Get out of my room, Snotlout, before I decide punch your face in." Astrid threatened.

Snotlout gave a greasy smile, and I stepped forwards without knowing it.

"Hey." I called.

Snotlout froze, his smile dropping from his face, instead turning into a sneer.

"Hey, uh, Astrid. It's time to get going to...uh, you know that thing we were supposed to go to. Now." I said, offering her a chance to escape.

Astrid caught on immediately. "Yeah. You're right." She straightened up and looked at Snotlout. "Goodbye, Snotlout."

Snotlout glared at me, ignoring the obviously seething blonde standing next to him.

"Who are you?" He asked.

I swallowed. The way he had asked seemed like a threat.

"H-Hiccup." I muttered.

Snotlout laughed.

"Hiccup? What kind of name is that?" He asked.

"It's better than Snotlout." I defended.

Snotlout scowled at me.

Astrid stepped between us, separating Snotlout and I. I was grateful for this, as it looked like Snotlout was about to take a swing at me, or break my pathetically thin neck.

"Leave. Now." Astrid said again, this time with so much force even Snotlout looked terrified, if only for a second.

"Fine. I'll see you tomorrow." I couldn't decide who exactly he'd be seeing tomorrow, and the thought terrified me.

When he finally turned the corner, Astrid and I both let out a breath.

"That could have gone a lot better." I mumbled.

Astrid nodded. "Thanks for that." She said.

"Oh, uh it was no problem, really." I scratched the back of my neck. "Just thought, you know, you could use some help."

Astrid let out a frustrated sigh. "He's such an idiot."

I didn't say anything, as it had been exactly what I had been thinking.

"How'd he get in?" I asked her. "To the school, I mean."

"Football." Was her answer.

I paled. "Great. The football team." As if I hadn't had enough problems with them during high school, now the curse of the jock had followed me into University.

"You alright?" Astrid asked casually, seeing the look on my face. I shook my head and looked away.

"Uh, yeah. He just...reminded me of someone." I lied feebly.

We stayed silent for a few minutes, and I grew a little nervous. Why was she so quiet all of a sudden?

"Well, uh, got to go to that...thing." I said lamely, assuming she wouldn't want to be around me.

"Wouldn't want to be late. We should get going then." Astrid looked at me. It took me a moment to realize what she had said.

"W-We?" I stammered.

Astrid shrugged. "I have nothing else to do. Why not?"

I nodded. "Al-alright. Uh, we should go then, now, I guess."

Astrid nodded and locked her door.

"Let's go."

"So, where exactly is this thing?" I asked Hiccup. He looked nervous, and I found it slightly amusing, as well as refreshing. Normally guys would become stuck up and arrogant while around me, too busy trying to impress me that they acted like complete fools. It was almost...cute that Hiccup became so worried around me.

He scratched the back of his head, and looked around the lobby of the building.

"Uh, I don't know." He took a quick glance at me. "Where is the...thing?"

I smiled, despite myself. "I think it's in town, across the street from that place."

Hiccup looked a little confused. "Right."

I shook my head slightly. What was I doing? Why was I playing this game with him? I could have just gone back to my dorm, left him in the hallway. He had helped, I had thanked him, end of story, right?

We walked in silence for a moment before we came across the smooth, paved road leading out onto to the street.

"So, uh, what now, exactly?" He asked me, his eyes searching my face, though for what exactly I wasn't sure.

"Tell me about yourself." I said without thinking. I wanted to know more about him for some reason. He was interesting, not like anyone I'd ever been with before.

Wait, no, no, no. Not been with. This was not a date, I wasn't with him. Was I? Would it be such a bad thing if I was? Ugh. I shook my head. This was all too confusing. Sure, Hiccup may be sweet, and awkward, and I guess he was pretty good looking...but that did not mean this was anything. We were just two people enjoying each others presence on a pleasant stroll through-

Who was I kidding?This was practically a date, and I couldn't decide whether I was excited, or worried by the fact.

"Tell you...about me?" He asked like it was the first time anyone had ever asked him that question.

I nodded silently. We started walking away from campus, towards the city.

"Well, uh, I own an illegal cat." He flashed a cheeky grin.

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help but smile.

"You're bad at this." I told him. "Alright, you ask me a question, I ask you one."

"Uh...okay. How about...I dunno." He sighed. "Alright, how many siblings?"

"I have two younger brothers and a sister." I told him. "What about you?"

"Only child." He answered.

I nodded silently.

"Alright, uh...how about your parents?" He asked me, breaking the awkward silence.

"My parents?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He flushed red and looked away.

"Uh, yeah. Parents." He said.

I frowned. "Well, my dad works in the city. He's a sales associate for the Warrior division at Berk Industries. My mom stays at home, takes care of all us kids."

"Oh. Uh, cool." Hiccup said, suddenly avoiding my gaze.

"What about your parents?" I asked him.

Hiccup kind of looked away, like it were something he didn't want to talk about.

"My mom...I never really knew her." He said wistfully. "She was-she was killed by a dragon...just after I was born."

"Oh." I said weakly. The dragons were a notorious organized crime group and lived all over the Archipelago, a large group of cities combined under one name. They terrorized cities and stole from innocent shop owners, murdering hundreds of people every year.

"I'm sorry." I said offering my condolences.

Hiccup shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"I never really knew her. She was just...you know..."

I nodded as though I understood. I looked up ahead. We were nearing the small town just outside of the University.

"What about your dad?" I asked, hoping to take his mind off of his mother.

Apparently, that didn't help, as his face darkened even more at the mention of his father.

"Well, uh, he's a...manager...of sorts. In the-he works in the city too." He said.

I frowned at him. He wasn't telling me something.

"Just a manager?" I demanded. Why was he lying?

"Yup." He let out a nervous laugh. "Just a-just a normal manager. In the city."

I gave him a look. "You're lying."

"What? No, why would I lie to you-"

I cut him off with another glare.

He sighed, defeated. "My dad...uh, he owns a company."

"What one?" I asked, proud of my small victory.

Hiccup muttered something unintelligible under his breath.

I gave him another look. He was trying to evade the answer.

"Berk Industries." He said, just loud enough for me to hear.

My jaw dropped. "Berk Industries? Your dad owns Berk Industries?"

They practically owned half the country, and made almost everything used in the Archipelago. The owner and CEO of the company, Stoick Haddock, was said to be one of the best negotiators in the world. The company was family owned and was passed down from father to son for years. It was a successful family legacy, and if Hiccup was telling me the truth, someday it would be his.

Hiccup nodded and blushed ever so slightly.

"Your dad owns a trillion dollar company?" I asked him, completely awe-struck. "Why didn't you say so? That's...huge."

Hiccup winced. "I didn't want-I didn't really want anyone to...treat me differently, I guess. When people hear about my dad and his company, they kind of...treat me differently."

I closely examined the man standing in front of me. His father was a trillionnaire, heck, Hiccup himself was probably worth billions. The scrawny, awkward engineer walking beside me was worth fifty times as much as my entire family has ever made all at once, put together.

I cast an incredulous at him, and he flushed red again and looked up at the bustling city street in front of us. We neared a stop sign at the end of the street. We crossed the street and walked into town. The streets were bustling with people in the mid-afternoon sun.

"A-Astrid?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah." I said, still trying to wrap my mind around the the recent revelation. I was on a kind-of-sort-of date with a scrawny engineer who had a net worth higher than I could count.

"Could you...would you mind, you know, not telling anyone about my dad?" He stumbled upon his words and used fervent hand gestures to try and get them out.

"You want to keep this a secret?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah." He said. "It's just, you know...people act differently around me, once they find out about my dad. I like being treated as...Hiccup. Not as Berk Industries heir, or whatever."

I stared, once again confused, but a little awed by his behavior. If it were me, I'd be telling everyone. However, I could see the reasoning behind his plea.

"Fine." I told him, and he visibly sagged in relief. "But you're buying ice cream."

He gave a lopsided grin. "Deal."

"There." Astrid pointed to a small ice cream stand on the corner of Raven's Point.

I cast a small smile at her. This moment was...amazing. I was here in the city, with a gorgeous girl, confessing things to her I would never tell anyone in a million years. It could possibly be one of the best moments in my life.

"Bucket's Ice Cream?" I asked, reading the brightly painted sign hanging above the small cart.

Astrid nodded. "Best ice cream in the whole town."

"To be fair, Berk isn't exactly that big." I pointed out.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Just go."

She grabbed my wrist and pulled me across the street. I stumbled when we had to jump over a curb to get onto the sidewalk, and Astrid caught me. I blushed red.

"Sorry, sorry. Coordination isn't really my thing." I told her nervously.

Astrid shook her bangs out of he eyes, revealing those gorgeous blue orbs hidden underneath. She gave a small laugh and turned around, making her way to the small line in front of the ice cream stand.

"Luckily for you, it's mine."

We stood patiently, and a little nervously on my part, in line for the ice cream. I vaguely wondered as to why Astrid had even left the building with me. I wasn't the type of guy that girls like her usually hung out with. Then I thought back to Snotlout, and wondered if maybe that was a good thing.

"Hello there! What can I get for ya?" A tall man with a long, blonde beard asked.

I gestured to Astrid first, who gave a small smile and stepped forwards.

"Extra-large chocolate with a waffle cone, please." She said.

I cracked a smile. "Not holding back, are you?"

Astrid gave a short laugh. "I think you'll be able to afford it."

"And for ya?" The man asked, directing the question at me. He had a thick accent, one that reminded me slightly of my fathers. I had never picked up his accent, and it astounded both him and Gobber, who also had the same Northern brogue.

"Uh, medium strawberry, please." I ordered.

The man nodded and smiled. "No problem. That'll be ten dollars for the both of ya."

I nodded and pulled out a ten dollar bill, handing it over to the still smiling man. He looked behind him and another man stepped out, holding two ice creams in one had.

"Thank ya, Mulch." The tall man said. He took the two cones from the stout man, who also had a long beard, though his was a dark brown, matching the colour of his hair.

He leaned forwards and handed me the two ice creams. I balanced them with one hand as I tried to tuck my wallet back into my back pocket.

"Have yourselves a good day." He called, then addressed the next people in line after we had moved away.

"Milady." I flourished the large ice ream cone at Astrid, handing it to her.

She smiled and took it, eating it happily as we walked down Raven Point. We neared the end of the road, and had just about finished eating our frozen treats. I finally tossed out the remnants of mine, not able to finish the ridiculously large 'medium' ice cream.

I was amazed to see Astrid finishing hers off. How could she stomach so much ice cream at once? Appetite of an athlete, I guess. Not that I'd know. Sports were definitely not my thing.

"So, that was a fun...thing." I said eventually.

Astrid nodded.

"Maybe next time at this thing we could do more stuff." She said, sneaking me a quick glance through her bangs.

Next time?

I couldn't help but feel a little excited that next time was a real, possible, tangible ting. Usually, there was no next time, because there was no first time.

"Oh, well, yeah. I mean, I guess...next time, we could." I managed to stammer out.

"Thanks for the ice cream, Hiccup." She said, looking sincere as she stopped walking, waiting for the crosswalk sign to turn green.

"No problem." I said. "I'm going to have to skip meals for a week though. That extra large was my paycheck for the month."

Astrid laughed lightly, and we crossed the street together, growing closer and closer to the University. Eventually, we reached the paved path leading up to the dorm rooms. We walked up it and entered the building. Astrid tried to keep the light mood going by recounting a sports story that apparently, was hilarious.

When I didn't laugh at thee end though, she asked me why.

"Honestly?" I asked.

She nodded.

"I didn't understand a single word you said." I said truthfully, shrugging, feeling my face go slightly red.

I couldn't even tell if she was talking about football or soccer. I'm pretty sure in Europe they were the same thing, anyways.

To my surprise, Astrid laughed again. Before I knew it, we had reached the elevator, and after a distrustful glance from Astrid, she entered it, standing next to me.

We were silent on the way up, letting the screeching and groaning of the old lift fill the silence. We heard the faint ding of a rusted bell, meaning we had reached our floor. Astrid stepped out first, and I followed behind her.

We stood in front of our respective dorm rooms, not really knowing what else to say.

"I had fun, tonight." Astrid said eventually.

"Yeah, uh, me too." I admitted, stuffing my hands into my pockets. "So I guess I'll see you tomorrow, I guess?"

"Yeah, I'll...see you tomorrow, Hiccup."

I flushed and turned to face my door, searching my pockets for my key. It had to be in one of these-

"Thanks again." Astrid said quietly.

"You know I was joking about the ice cream, and everything. You really-"

"I meant about telling me about your life." She said. "About your parents, and...you."

"Oh." Was all I managed to say.

Astrid bit her lip quickly and looked like she was debating something. Just as I was about to say goodbye, in a flash, she took a step closer to me. I felt warmth spread through me as she placed the smallest of kisses on my cheek.

"Goodnight, Hiccup. Maybe we can go on another thing later."

I'm not sure what I said next, because all my brain could produce were incoherent letters and words. I must have said something along the lines of a farewell, because Astrid disappeared behind her door.

I didn't know how long I stood there, letting the warmth to continue to rest inside of me, letting a crooked smile creep across my face. All I knew, was that eventually I entered my room, dumped my wallet and keys onto the couch, and passed out in my room.

That night, I dreamt of Astrid, and she dreamt of me.