Chapter 11
Even with all the "fury", Toothless was not fast enough to catch Astrid. When the two had caught up to her she was standing breathlessly in front of Stoick, who looked ready to rip the entire village down the middle. Hiccup's heart sank even deeper when he saw the small brunette behind his father.
This was all wrong.
A single pair of bright green eyes turned to face him. They were wide- afraid and unsure. The girl who belonged to the gaze was small and visibly shaken. Her eyes… she knew. No one was supposed to find out. Her lip quivered, and Hiccup saw her hold herself tighter. He was unsure if it was from the chill of Berk, or if she was cold. But as Astrid continued to speak, her eyes went from frightened and unsure to angry. This was supposed to be his precious secret. This was supposed to end differently.
"Dad!" Hiccup called, dismounting Toothless and running- to the best of his ability- to face his father. He couldn't stop them from knowing, but he could attempt collateral damage control.
"Hiccup. Where is Flynn?"
The girl looked directly at Hiccup at the mention of Flynn's name. Her eyes softened just the slightest bit.
"He's-"
"I'll go get him Stoick." Astrid said, swinging up onto Stormfly and flying away before Hiccup of Stoick could say otherwise. Hiccup was left facing his father, the anger completely visible and tangible as it radiated from his skin.
"So… dad-"
"Keeping secrets again Hiccup?"
Short and to the point. Stoick's response was a slap to the face, even though Hiccup had been expecting it. He was not expecting the lack of shouting though.
"Dad, I need to… ugh… this all so messed up."
"Did you forget that nothing happens on this island without me finding out about it?"
"Dad…"
"You know what you have done, haven't you boy?"
Hiccup sighed and dropped his gaze. Stoick was not going to listen. It had taken a Red Death and Hiccup nearly dying for him to realize that dragons were not what he had thought they were. Why would he understand in words what Hiccup was thinking or doing? In Stoick's eyes, Hiccup had endangered all of Berk. Again. Just like when he was fifteen.
"This girl is his fiancé. We will be taking them both back to their home. You have been grounded. Toothless is being put in a cage until we get back. And so are you. Hopefully I can clean up your mess this time."
Stoick turned away and walked up the hill toward the chief's house. The brunette stood in silence in front of Hiccup, her wide eyes sad as she took in his pitiful form. Tears were threatening to bristle into existence from his eyes. Hiccup looked down at the ground and sniffed as quietly as he could.
He would go back to being lonely. Toothless his only company. It couldn't be that bad- going back to that. They could travel the world again. He could go back to searching for something to fill the hole in his heart.
"It's true then?"
The whisper came from the brunette in front of him. She had not moved, as Hiccup had hoped. He risked a glance up and felt a single tear float down his face. Her eyes widened and she began to reach out to him.
"I'm sorry…" was all Hiccup could choke out as he stepped away from her.
"It's alright."
Hiccup froze.
The girl smiled slightly and let out a heavy breath. She took another step toward him and this time Hiccup did not move. She walked right to him and placed her tiny hands around his arm. For someone so small, Hiccup was surprised to find out she was so strong. He looked down and noticed her head buried in his arm. Her shoulders were shaking silently.
"I'm just glad he is alright."
"Hey…"
Hiccup placed his free hand on her head and brushed her smooth brown hair back from her face. He realized how Flynn could have fallen in love with her. She was beautiful. And kind. Everything that Flynn had told him had been true.
"Rapunzel."
At the mention of her name, Rapunzel raised her head and looked into Hiccup's eyes.
"What?" she sighed, trying to hide her tears.
"I…"
"He's easy to love, isn't he?" She stepped away from him and wiped the tears from her face. "He was a common thief when I met him. The woman who raised me had said that all men were monsters with pointy teeth. Eugene had climbed into my tower and I hit him with my frying pan."
"Ouch."
Rapunzel giggled. "I made a deal with him-"
"To take you to see the lanterns."
Rapunzel looked at Hiccup in surprise. Hiccup shrugged his shoulders and smiled sheepishly.
"He told me the story."
"Well, his side anyway." She smiled and sat on a nearby rock. "Now I'm telling you mine. About halfway through our journey, I realized I was falling in love with him. He let me in, and I had never had any human friends."
She laughed quietly and looked up to the sky. It was pitch black, but every star could be seen.
"He's had a rough life, but even so, he is so kind. Down-to-earth. He is easy to love."
"I need to be honest- I had intended to bring him back."
"Sometimes what we want to do and what happens are very different." Rapunzel sighed and set her gaze back to Hiccup. "I only intended to see the lanterns. I ended up falling in love and finding my real home. I ended up losing my magic hair."
"I-"
"I don't blame you for anything. You have kept him safe. To be honest, I knew he was restless. Every day for the last month or so he would wake up with nightmares. He never would tell me about them though. I thought it might be the idea of becoming royalty- it's a lot to get in to, and for someone who grew up with all the freedom he wanted, well…"
"He had nightmares?"
Rapunzel nodded. "I asked him about it once, but he smiled and said it was nothing. He said 'Don't worry, it's nothing. I'll be alright.' And then he started rising early, leaving the castle for long walks." She sighed. "I probably should have pressured him for an answer."
"He's never had any nightmares here. At least not that I've noticed."
"That's good." Rapunzel whispered, looking back up to the sky.
It was silent and Hiccup shifted his weight uncomfortably. So far she was nothing like he had expected.
"I've never seen the stars so clearly before."
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yeah…"
Silence again. For some reason, not a dragon or Viking was anywhere near them, even though they were in the center of Berk. Astrid was taking her time bringing Flynn back too.
"So, dragons are real?" Rapunzel said, perking up unexpectedly.
"Uh… yeah. I was planning on giving one to Flynn… when I finally was going to bring him back. So he could visit."
Rapunzel giggled. "He decided to go by Flynn again, huh?"
"What do you mean?"
"His real name is Eugene. Flynn was his thief name. Flynn Rider. Most wanted thief in all of Corona." Rapunzel laughed. "He got the idea from a book when he was a kid."
"He never told me that."
"Did you ever ask?"
"No… I was too busy showing him around Berk and listening to stories about you."
Rapunzel stopped laughing and frowned slightly. "He told stories about me?"
Hiccup nodded. "About how you met, the lanterns, and how he cut your hair to save you from Gothel. Those are the ones he talks about the most, when he isn't talking about your eyes or smile."
Rapunzel smiled.
Hiccup was going to say more but was interrupted by a high pitched scream that started above him. Hiccup and Rapunzel looked up in unison to see a white blob falling rapidly toward him. Hiccup heard Stormfly's pleased gurgle. He knew what that falling blob was.
"Toothless!" Hiccup cried as he held out his hands to catch the falling man. Toothless reacted too fast, and he crashed into the rock beside Rapunzel. He stood up and shook his giant head to clear it and by the time he was turning around, Flynn was making contact with Hiccup's outstretched arms and body.
Hiccup felt the full force of Flynn's weight and felt his legs buckle beneath him. He was vaguely aware of the ground supporting his fall, but he was mostly aware of Flynn lying spread eagle on his own body, and the lack of breath in his lungs.
Toothless waddled up to the fallen boys and sniffed worriedly for a moment.
"Thank you for nothing… you useless… reptile." Hiccup sighed. Toothless warbled gently and took Flynn's shirt in his mouth, pulling the larger brunette up and off of Hiccup. Once Hiccup could breathe again, he sat up and looked at Flynn.
The man was frozen. His eyes were wide as he stared at Rapunzel. Rapunzel stared back, her eyes tearing up again.
"Rapunzel…I-"
Rapunzel leapt into Flynn's arms and wrapped him in a tight embrace, knocking the wind out of the boy and silencing his words.
"I'm so glad you're alright."
"Rapunzel…"
"Eugene. It's alright. You don't have to apologize. I'm just glad… I'm glad…"
Tears began to run freely down Rapunzel's face. Her shoulders shook and she covered her mouth with her hand. Flynn sat on the cold ground, his arms wrapped tightly around the girl.
Hiccup stood apart from the two, watching silently. Beside him, Toothless stood, his tail wrapped protectively around Hiccup's legs. He saw the tenderness in Flynn's hands as he brushed Rapunzel's hair from her face. The silent strength in his arms as he held her close to him. Hiccup shook his head lightly, forcing the tears that threatened to emerge back.
There were other problems facing him now. He would not get a chance to accompany them to Corona. He would not get to say good-bye. He wouldn't see them married, happily or not. And the dragon he had selected for Flynn would never be given to him.
But deep down in his heart, Hiccup knew it was okay. He had loved every moment with Flynn. He had loved hearing the boy's laugh, or his surprised shriek. He had fallen in love with his soft voice telling stories of a woman Hiccup had never seen. And then the realization hit him hard. There would be no happy life with Astrid. There would be only Toothless and Hiccup, because Hiccup had fallen in love. For all the right reasons.
Without a word Hiccup mounted Toothless and the two took to the air.
Rapunzel was right.
Flynn was easy to love.
