July Break Bingo 2025
A Random Encounter
Summary: Set during Httyd 1, but make it Modern AU. Astrid catches Hiccup in the hardware store with armfuls of stuff.
Warnings: /
Rating: General
Words: 758
Prompt: Location: Hardware Store
Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon
Characters: Astrid, Hiccup
Pairing: Minor Hiccstrid
Author’s Notes: Someday, I'll rewrite the entirety of the first movie, but in a modern day setting.
Enjoy!
-XOXOX-
Due to Berk's recent dragon problems, the Hoffersons are in the middle of renovating their home, like most people on Berk are.
They're "only" harrassing people in the far north for the time being. Coming into villages and towns to steal cattle and raid supermarkets, any place that holds food. No one knows why and no one is interested in fixing it, because it's just small towns and villages on islands that they're harrassing and not big cities or anything "important."
They lie awake in fear at night to hear their wings and have their homes broken into. All the people of Berk know what to do now is to fix their homes and try to fashion some kind of way to fend them off. Their government isn't doing anything to fix it, no government is. They’re all waiting around until the dragons will inevitably go crazy in other parts in the world. Until then, they're basically on their own.
"How can they be out of wood?!" Her mother raises her voice as they walk through the aisles.
"You know, there's a lot of need for them, the store can't handle the demand," her father says as he pushes the rather sturdy-looking cart.
Carrying a second box of tools, Astrid follows after her parents as they argue. She’s angry. She hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in so long and school’s been closed for months now. She hasn’t just fallen behind on her studies by now, she fears her entire life might be set back by this. All because the dragons on their side of the world have gone crazy.
They pass aisle after empty aisle. The one hardware store on the entire island of Berk, a family owned business, has almost nothing left and who knows when the next shipment is due. People are panicking, she can hear them shouting at the owner on the other side of the store.
Astrid follows her parents, not thinking about much because she’s just too tired to.
Until she catches something in the corner of her eye and then she backs up to see who it is she swears she saw standing in that aisle.
Hiccup stares back at her, dressed in his usual green long-sleeved shirt and brown vest with the furred hoodie. His eyes are wide and his ams are full. He has a box of nails, taped together thin, but long, metal rods, a curtain hanger, leather that she’s certain came from a different store and a bunch of other stuff.
“Oh! Hi, Astrid!” He smiles at her and awkwardly greets her.
“What’re you doing?” She asks him and he spontaneously loses his grip on some of the stuff he was trying to carry by himself. It all clatters to the ground and the horrible noises echo. They both cringe.
“Argh! Sorry! I- I’m- I’m sorry! So sorry!” Hiccup apologizes as he gathers it all again. Only to lose his grip on some of the stuff again.
Rolling with her eyes, Astrid puts the toolbox down and decides to help him out. It’s been months since she has seen him. Well, that isn’t entirely the truth as she can see him run around town all the time, but this is the first time she has seen him so up close. He is still just as clumsy as she remembers him.
Cute, but clumsy.
“Thanks,” Hiccup thanks her softly, smiling sheepishly at her.
“What’re you doing with all this stuff?” She asks and suddenly Hiccup has that expression of surprise on his face again. Her brows furrow as she can’t decide whether he looks so taken off guard because he wasn’t expecting her to ask or because the answer is something he doesn’t want anyone to know about.
“… Renovations?” He asks rather than answer, which just makes her all the more suspicious.
“What?”
“Astrid? Honey?” The girl looks over when she hears her mother calling for her, they’ve been going on without her before inevitably noticing that they left her some aisles behind.
“Coming, mom! I’m just talking to a friend!” She calls back before looking at Hiccup again, only to find that he has somehow disappeared.
Now she’s the one standing there in surprise. He was having trouble just holding his armful of items, he dropped them twice. And now he’s gone? Just like that? Just where did he run off to and what was he planning to do?
When she runs past her parents to check at the cash registers, she doesn’t find him there either.
