Second

by

Raiha Laf Qyaza

How To Train Your Dragon © DreamWorks Animation

Summary: Because in the end, Valka chose Stoick years ago, and it was a sacred unwritten rule to put the chief first and everyone else second.

/ In wich Gobber came face to face with his long lost love / Spoilers Alert /

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"Odin..." Gobber was lost for words as he blinked his eyes once more to confirm what he was seeing.

Could it be?

No, he had seen her being taken away by that damned Dragon twenty years ago. There was just no way. He thought the pathetic visions of her were already gone by now? Nah, it must be the drink the twins gave him last night before the race that was toying with his head. Yes, that must be it. Please let it be it.

"Gobber." The woman before him whispered breathlessly, sounding just as stunned as he was.

Nope, real enough. Damn. But how?

"Yer alive?" Gobber stepped forward with struggle. "After all this time, yer alive and well?"

There was just so many things he wanted to ask and do. It had been twenty years since he last saw the love of his life. Twenty years he kept his feelings to himself as he struggled to move on, if not for himself then at least for his best friend.

Gobber should have known it was never that easy. Just a glance of her and he felt a lot younger once again, back to those memories of when he was young and naive, a Viking with mixed feelings of loving this woman but not wanting to betray his best friend at the same time.

Valka stepped forward carefully, unaware of Gobber's breaking heart. "Is he—" Valka swallowed, emerald eyes glancing nervously over Gobber's shoulder. "Is Stoick here too?" she whispered.

And it wasn't hard to back off the moment he heard her voice mentioning the Chief's name. It woke him up easily from his delusion just like a strong punch he received from Stoick all those days ago. "Yeah, Stoick's 'ere," he said casually, coating every bit of pain in his voice.

Valka's eyes lit up in nerve and excitement, and maybe even love and adoration, who knows. Maybe Odin. And herself. Oh how it never fail to make his heart skip faster and yet break altogether to see her being so happy with his best friend.

And then he retreated back to where Stoick, Hiccup, and Toothless were with a burning throat and Viking helmet in hand.

Then, not too long after, the two long lost soul mate was reunited. If he knew he never had a chance since over twenty years ago, it was even more confirmed now. The adoration they held for each other, the longing look, and the overwhelmingly painful love radiating from the two were too strong to break and too intertwined to pull apart.

And so just like all those days, he sat behind and kept on watching them with promises to hurt anyone who dared to damage that pure relationship. Because in the end, Valka chose Stoick years ago, and it was a sacred unwritten rule to put the chief first and everyone else second.

And just like a good second-hand in command that he was, he sang along to their song and laughed at Hiccup's annoyance as he tried to make him shut the hel up.

Even if it wasn't his happy ending, it was all well and good.

He was, after all, the second-hand in command.

He had to put his chief first, and everything else second.

The End

Another one-shot of HTTYD2. I feel like I'm going to be scarred for life. The feels, people. The feels. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, good day to you!

Love,

Raiha