Touch My Heart

Chapter 40

The next morning was quiet as Hiccup awoke and saw the sunlight glimmering through his curtains. It was almost like it was signalling the end of the weekend. But it was also still morning, so why was he awake now?

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

That was why. Someone was at his door. Hiccup rolled over and looked at his alarm clock. He rubbed his eyes and cleared his vision to read the blurry numbers blaring on the clock's screen.

"9:30?" Hiccup groaned as he hauled himself out of bed and checked himself in the mirror. He only had a pair of sweatpants on and decided it probably might not be a good idea to open the door half-naked, but their persistent knocking didn't help the situation. He quickly grabbed a shirt from the floor and headed downstairs quickly. "I sure hope they have a reasonable explanation for waking me up this early in the morning." Hiccup sighed as he finally reached the door, the shirt still in his hands as he opened the door and pulled on the shirt.

"Hi..." A familiar voice called out as Hiccup threw on his shirt and when his head emerged, he looked upon a blushing Astrid stood on his doorstep. "Do you always open the door naked?" She laughed quietly as she avoided his gaze. The image of his abs was now etched into her memory forever, burning over the first time she saw them when she was drunk. Now she had seen them in the daylight.

"I don't normally get woken up this early on a Sunday." Hiccup replied with a smirk. He looked at her blushing cheeks and her avoiding gaze and worked out that she was flustered by his shirtless figure. He would be lying if he said he wasn't flattered. "You wanna come in?" Astrid nodded and followed Hiccup inside his home.

"Thank you..." Astrid said quietly as she closed the door and wandered into the kitchen where Hiccup was making himself a cup of coffee. He turned around and leaned against the counter, crossing his arms as he watched Astrid stand in the doorway awkwardly.

"You know you can take a seat right?" Hiccup smiled as Astrid finally looked up from the floor and chuckled at her own awkwardness.

"Right.." She mumbled as she made her way over to the kitchen table and took a seat facing Hiccup who was watching her every move like a hawk.

"You okay? I mean, from what happened yesterday." Hiccup asked. He'd been wanting to ask her since yesterday, but when he went into her house to comfort her, he lost his nerve and decided to give her some space. She could come to him when she was ready.

"Surprisingly... No. But that's only because the one person I wanted to see in that moment wasn't there..." Astrid replied, fiddling with her fingers nervously.

"And who would the lucky person Miss Astrid was waiting for be?" Hiccup asked curiously. He smiled as he turned around and poured himself a mug of coffee. His mind momentarily blanked as he mixed his coffee and didn't notice Astrid shift in her seat uncomfortably.

"To be honest... I don't know. I just wanted someone to be there... I guess I would've known if they appeared." Astrid sighed. Hiccup sat in the seat across from her and wrapped his hands around his mug, careful not to scold himself.

"Well... Would it have helped if I was there?" Hiccup asked nervously. He didn't even know what answer he wanted from her, but he wanted to stop regretting running away yesterday.

"I don't know..." Hiccup sighed at Astrid's reply. He smiled as their eyes met. "Thank you." Hiccup furrowed his brow at her sudden thanks.

"What do you mean?"

"The phone call... It was you who sent the police, wasn't it?" Hiccup lifted the mug to his lips to cover his face as he replied.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Astrid smiled as Hiccup hid behind his mug cheekily. Hiccup chuckled as he placed it back onto the table. "You're welcome..." Hiccup replied quietly. Astrid met his eyes and smiled beautifully, making Hiccup's heart flutter slightly at the sight. He swore it must've skipped a beat.