Disclaimer : Dreamworks owns everything

Vellichor : the strange wistfulness of used bookstores, which are somehow infused with the passage of time — filled with thousands of old books you'll never have time to read, each of which is itself locked in its own era.

[Modern AU]

000

The door opened halfway, leading the chime to ring out with high pitched tones as a blonde teenage girl walked into the bookstore. The name, Wrinkly's Shop, must've been a warning, many of the books - and people - in this bookshop were wrinkly.

"Welcome to Wrinkly's, how can I help you?" A voice from her left jolted her out of her thoughts, and when she turned she saw a guy around her age with drooping auburn hair and green eyes behind glasses.

"Hi-uhm," She pulled a slip of paper from her back pocket, "I'm looking for a book called 'The Influence of Sea Power Upon History' by Alfred Mahan." She read out.

The auburn haired guy made a noise, close to a snort, but was more of a humored sniffle. "AP U.S. History?" She nodded, upset that she had to write a report on a hundred year old book. He was sitting at a desk, with a small cash register, a laptop, and a notepad laid out before him. "Lemme see if we have a copy." He opened the laptop, and with quick fingers he typed in his password. After moving the cursor to open an excel file, he searched through the author's list and found Mahan.

She looked around the shop, seeing a row of shelves in the middle of the room, with another row of shelves on the right wall. On the wall to her left, there were breaks in the shelves with wooden desks and cushioned chairs. There were lamps on each table, as well as signs that read 'Quiet please.'

She sighed quietly, then smelled the smell of ink and paper together that had fermented. In the end, it was a scent unlike any other, like the smell of the earth after it rains.

He had looked up after hearing her sigh, and caught her drifting off into a daydream. Her braid rested on her left shoulder, and she was wearing a blue and white flannel - perfect for the slightly cool autumn temperatures - with jeans and converse sneakers. With a faint smile, he said, "We have a copy in stock, would you like me to find it for you?"

She was torn from her daydream, her eyebrows shooting upwards as she turned around to face him again. "Sorry?"

He smiled, "Would you like me to find the book for you?" She didn't answer immediately, but nodded. When he stood up, she realized he was much taller than her, and was also wearing a nametag that read 'Henry Haddock' that dangled halfway to his waist.

His smile was contagious, and she found herself smiling back despite how school that day had gone. He was wearing a brown hoodie with blue jeans and converse. His mop of auburn hair shifting with each step as he stepped away from her into the rows of book shelves.

After a moment's contemplation, she followed him, her footsteps silent on the carpeted floor and she found herself reading a few of the titles of books she passed. At the end of the bookshelf, however, she saw that the scores of novels were arranged by decade first, then by the author's last name.

She peered into the middle of the isle, looking down the length of shelves, and she realized that there were centuries of books here… "Do you know how many books are in this shop…?" Her words slowed as she realized that he was no longer paying attention to her.

He was staring at the books, near achingly wanting to read each and every one of them. To just sit, and read. To learn. To feel. So many years' worth of works and words and-

"Henry?"

Henry snapped out of his trance. "Sorry… I'm not sure how many books there are." His cheeks reddened when she noticed he had focused on one book in particular.

"Something catch your eye?" She asked with a smile.

Henry stammered, then sighed, "Yeah, childhood favorite." He raised his hand and pulled it from the long row of novels on the shelf.

'How To Train Your Dragon.' She read, and exclaimed in whisper, "You've read that too?" Wide eyes he turned around, and nodded with an ecstatic, disbelieving smile.

"It's been awhile, but I think I read it like four times in a year as a kid." He said, and placed the book back on the shelf. "Shall we?"

The further they walked, the further back in time it seemed they went. She knew each of these books had lives of their own, being passed around and throughout history. He stopped, and kneeled. "I think this is what you're looking for," Henry said, and glanced up at her while pulling the book out of the space. He held the book up to her, and she read 'The Influence of Sea Power Upon History.'

She grinned and took the book from his hands, "Thank you!" They walk back to the front together, and he sat down in the chair again before opening a spreadsheet of the shop's inventory. She glanced at him, then looked back to the rows and columns of books. "How many of these have you read?"

He looked up from the screen, and squinted his eyes slightly before shrugging his shoulders. "Probably around…" He paused to count his fingers but stopped, "...I a-actually don't remember." He moved the mouse to a box under "Checked Out To" and clicked it before asking with a smile, "I don't believe I got your name…"

"Astrid," She tucked a loose hair behind her ear, "Astrid Hofferson."

He smiled, "Hiccup Haddock," and glanced down at his nametag, "But you probably already knew that."

"Nice to meet you, Hiccup, thank you." With a smile, she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and made her way out of the little bookstore. Hiccup leaned back in his chair, and smiled gently knowing that he'd see her again.