Life As We Know It
Rated; M for Mature
Pairing; Hiccup & Toothless(Tallon)
Disclaimer; I do not own anything HTTYD-related. Everything belongs to its original creator.
55)
=Normal POV=
(7/25/2019-9:00 am)
(Archipelago; Isle of Berk)
(Hooligan Village; Docks)
The idea Stoick had been given rip Hiccup's freedom from him, and also take him from Toothless was kept quiet between the people who gave him the suggestion; Madguts, Alvin, and UG. Unfortunately, the four couldn't discuss anything as Hiccup and Toothless did not go on their night flight to make sure everything was ready for the return sail to Norway. The Andersen's and Grayson's were packed up, all of their things on the boat. Hiccup and Toothless were set too; they planned to leave right after breakfast was over, and hopefully reach Norway before the night ended. Stoick didn't like the idea of Hiccup leaving again; he worried his son would take the chance to not come back at all under the pressure of knowing their talk needed to happen about training to become Chief. Stoick knew if he forced it on Hiccup; his son would never forgive him and he'd have to deal with whatever Toothless was promising to deliver if Hiccup was hurt again. However, Stoick felt that the other Chieftains offered a better idea; force Hiccup into things without him knowing, and then he wouldn't be able to just get out of it. Those traveling to Norway went to bed by 10:00 pm, wanting to be well rested for the journey.
The others wanted to go too, but Hiccup was firm on his stance and no one wanted to test him as Hiccup never finished his threat. Hiccup just left things at I'll leave it up to your imagination of what I'll do. So this time, they'd have to sit back and just pray that once Toothless and Hiccup got things taken care of in Norway; they'd return to Berk soon. This prayer also went out to hoping the barrier didn't seal shut once they crossed through with the boat again or else it meant Hiccup and Toothless wouldn't be back, at the earliest, for a month. That seemed to be the general timeframe based on the last three times, including this one. With breakfast over now, Hiccup and Toothless along with the two families from beyond the Archipelago were on the docks and making sure one final time that everything was ready.
"That covers that." Henrik nodded.
"We're set." Cuyler smiled. "Ready, lads?"
"So ready." Hiccup and Toothless beamed, Stoick quickly picking up how excited and relieved Hiccup and Toothless were about getting to go back to Norway.
"We'll…See you soon, right, laddie?" Gobber asked gently, approaching Hiccup and Toothless now.
"Yeah." Hiccup nodded. "There's…Just a lot to do there after being gone so long."
"I understand." Gobber replied and hugged Hiccup tightly now. Hiccup brought his arms around and returned the gesture. "I know you don't want to be Chief, Hiccup. Despite the change in things that Toothless can be human in either place now; you don't want to rule the tribe, or live here anymore…" Hiccup tensed a moment, feeling a bit guilty.
"We haven't decided what we're going to do yet, Gobber…" Hiccup said lightly.
"I only want your happiness, Hiccup. Nothing else matters to me than knowing you're safe and happy. So whatever choice you make; I'm on your side with full acceptance, love, and support. And…If you decide to remain there…Just make sure I get to see you one more time, okay?" Gobber pulled from the hug now, keeping his hands on Hiccup's shoulders. "Promise me that?"
"You have my word, Gobber." Hiccup responded lightly.
"Mine too." Toothless assured with a single nod.
"Then I wish you safe travels, boys." Gobber smiled now, stepping back after shaking Toothless's hand.
"Thanks, Gobber." Hiccup nodded to him.
"On your way then?" Stoick questioned.
"Best if we do so we're not arriving too late or early tomorrow morning." Toothless said.
"Take Sharpshot with you? And let us know when you're…On your way back?" Stoick hoped.
"Alright, will do…" Hiccup replied as Toothless let out a whistle and the green Terrible Terror zipped forward onto Toothless's shoulder, giving a bow of his head. "Thanks." Hiccup told Toothless. "Let's get going. We're burning daylight and good seas!" Hiccup called out as the Andersen's and Grayson's boarded Cuyler's boat. Hiccup and Toothless got into the speedboat, doing a quick check of it and giving each other a thumbs up for the things checked over. "We're set over here."
"Onward South then?" Cuyler inquired calmly. Toothless gave a nod to him as Hiccup got the boat started up, giving it a few moments to run. Toothless went to slip the rope off the edge of the dock post and the roll up the line, setting it down. "Uh, Hiccup….?"
"What's up?" Hiccup asked.
"You…Didn't tell anyone else about the barrier aside from us, did you?" Henrik wondered.
"No. Only your two families know the whole story…Why do you ask?" Hiccup arched a brow at the odd question. Why would he have told others about this? It was hard enough to believe as it was unless you saw it with your own eyes.
"Take a look for yourself, big brother." Brenna stated tossing him a pair of binoculars, which didn't quite make it as far as Hiccup could reach from his spot, so he moved to get catch them by the strap and nearly going overboard but Toothless caught his wrist before he hit, then pulled him back carefully.
"Thanks…" Hiccup smiled at him.
"Always saving you…" Toothless rolled his eyes, chuckling a little.
"Well…Save me all you want, just leave my other leg intact, would you?" Hiccup joked as he steadied himself on the boat and lifted the binoculars to look out to whatever the others had seen coming their way.
"You don't want me to have to catch you from falling into an explosion with my mouth; then don't face plant gargantuan-sized dragons into islands and make them explode!" Toothless grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Toothless…I was kidding…You know I'm grateful that you saved my life." Hiccup quickly hugged him. "Love you, bud." Hiccup hinted because he knew no one would suspect anything with him using one of Toothless's nicknames.
"I guess I love you too." Toothless stated, hugging back as Hiccup went to look forward again. "So, what's coming our way?"
"Looks like another boat. Modern, though." Hiccup reported.
"If it's modern…Then it's from beyond the barrier, Hiccup…" Toothless reminded as Hiccup pulled the binoculars away and looked at him; sharing a look of concern and having the same thought. What if the barrier closed again because of people crossing. Hiccup DID NOT want to be stuck in the Archipelago longer; he was already to rage out the next time someone questioned him about being Chief. And he just wanted some alone time with Toothless, where they didn't have to hide their relationship in Norway. But Hiccup was honestly hitting a point where he was going to flip out and reveal things to the tribe because he was sick of this.
Hiccup brought the binoculars back up to look again, trying to focus and zoom in a bit more to see if he recognized anyone. It would have to be someone they knew to end up this far out from Norway and past the barrier. Finally, Hiccup got a clear shot of someone's face and he'd been right; he knew the person. Rather the people sailing towards them. "I swear…The Gods or someone is testing my patience…Or sanity." Hiccup sighed.
"What's wrong?" Toothless asked softly.
"Oh nothing…Just some of our friends happen to be on that boat…Along with members of Cuyler's normal workers…" Hiccup mumbled as he handed Toothless the binoculars, and sighed. "Scardian!" Hiccup called out as there was some squawking and beating wings before the Nadder landed on the dock. Hiccup got a boost up from Toothless onto Scardian's back. "I'm just gonna see what they're doing here…" Toothless nodded as Scardian bolted out fast to reach the boat. It didn't take long to reach the destination as Scardian hovered over the ship and Hiccup looked down. "What are you doing out here?"
"Hiccup! Oh, thank God!" Natalie smiled.
"Finally, a familiar face." Brynjar sighed.
"What are you doing here?" Hiccup asked again.
"The boss's boat tracker disappeared a month ago; we thought something might have happened and you guys were in trouble, so we sailed past that marker from last time when you sent your friends home. Of course, we didn't cross right away, because it wouldn't let us…But we were in the area this morning and saw you and Tallon near the marker. We followed and Johann found us in crossing as we asked if he'd seen you all, and mentioned to keep sailing North until we reached Berk. I assume that's the island ahead of us…?" The man driving the boat informed curiously.
"You'd be correct, and I suppose that makes sense…But what about you eight?" Hiccup looked to his modern friends.
"We were enjoying a surprise day off from Henrik's brother. Something happened with the delivery not showing up on time, or at all…" Sigvard stated.
"And it was said that without the stuff we need; we couldn't open. However, out on the water…We hit a storm and ended up in the water; Cuyler's guys passed us not more than fifteen minutes later on their way here to make sure things were okay. We jumped ship and figured we could lend a hand…" Oivind mentioned next. Hiccup wanted to facepalm, but Scardian brought his attention to the darkening skies. A storm was coming in.
"Well…This storm is gonna delay the trip back…Ugh, I have no choice. Follow me to the island." Hiccup remarked as he turned Scardian around and headed back for Berk with them staying right behind him on the Deadly Nadder. Another explanation Hiccup didn't want to have to give. Right about now; he wanted to disappear with Toothless because this was just too much for him. Hiccup was stressed again, and actually just wanted to cry because nothing was going the way he wanted it to. Hiccup was dangerously close to saying screw everything; to reveal he didn't want to be Chief, that he loved Toothless, and didn't want to live on Berk anymore. If it got him cast out, so be it. It would suck, and it would hurt…But at least he'd be able to go back to Norway, take the time to heal, and let things get back to normal. Scardian landed on the dock as Hiccup directed the captain of the ship where to park it.
"More visitors?" Blinked Stoick.
"Unintentional, Dad…And uninvited." Hiccup mumbled. Toothless already picked up his betrothed's mood and somehow felt that they were going to need to get away and talk tonight in private to make sure Hiccup was alright, and if he wasn't; Toothless wanted to be able to comfort him. "Long story short…You know the people I work with, but the ones handling the ship are part of Cuyler's fishing crew. They saw the location signal for Cuyler's boat disappeared last month and they've been out looking for us to make sure we're okay…And then just last night; they rescued my coworkers and friends from the water when their boat capsized in a storm…I brought them in because there's a storm blowing in now. It puts the trip back to Norway off until things clear…So I guess…As unwilling as it is…We're staying longer…"
Yeah, Toothless caught that tone. Hiccup was definitely not happy about this sudden change in plans. "Hey, Tal." Sigvard waves as the group was coming over to them now.
"Hey." Toothless replied. "So, fun question…When you crossed the marker…Anything happen?" He had to ask. If the barrier closed; they'd be here longer than just a bad storm.
"Aside from it being a total dead zone to our nav systems?" The captain began. "There was this weird flash of lightning behind us. We…Tried to back up and came in contact with some…Invisible force or barricade. I…Assume it was that barrier thing Cuyler said was around yours and Hiccup's home waters."
All Toothless heard was Hiccup sigh heavily. The irritability was very clear to sense, so much that it wasn't just Toothless and the dragons who felt that Hiccup was annoyed and stressed out. All he'd wanted to be able to get to Norway and relax, figuring out how to tell his father that he didn't want to be Chief, and then pray to every God and Goddess listening that his father wouldn't ban him from Berk. Hiccup knew it was possible to happen, especially as all his father had wanted was to see Hiccup be Chief. And Hiccup initially considered it once Toothless stayed human in the Archipelago. But just seeing his father work this past month, and being under so much stress and unable to be himself…Having no freedom, made his choice that he didn't want to be stuck on Berk as the Chief for the rest of his life. Hiccup wanted the modern back, his job as a singing chef, the privacy with Toothless. Hiccup wanted the freedom to live the life he wanted, but still be able to come to Berk and visit everyone. Sadly; he didn't have high hopes for Stoick being calm when Hiccup told him.
"Perhaps, as the situation has changed and we have a storm coming; it might be best to get everyone off the docks and settled at home?" Gobber offered to Stoick.
"Aye, right." Stoick nodded to the suggestions. "Toothless, Hiccup…I assume you'll be handling your guests?"
Hiccup didn't reply. Toothless sighed a bit and looked to Stoick with a nod. "Yes, we will. Those from beyond the barrier will come with me and Hiccup, please?" Toothless called. With no arguments; those from Norway beyond the barrier headed off with their things needed to follow Toothless, who had to coax Hiccup into moving with them even though Hiccup never said a word.
. . .
(8/8/2019-6:00 pm)
(Hooligan Village; Great Hall)
It had been a very long nine days for Hiccup, and he hated to admit it to himself that he was shutting down and fully hating this situation. The month had passed, the barrier had been open, and just as they were about to leave so Hiccup could breathe a bit without his father on his back; things changed. Worried for their boss, some of Cuyler's crew came in search of them, suspecting that something bad had happened for Cuyler's ship to suddenly lose its tracking signal. And they knew of going beyond the barrier messing with navigation systems. And along the way; they happened to rescue some of Hiccup's friend/coworkers from the water after a storm had them in the sea. The worst part was knowing the barrier closed again once they had come through and now; it would likely take another three weeks for it to open again. Toothless had been amazing while Hiccup couldn't even process the awful luck; he took charge of getting all the Norwegian guests set up in the stay area, telling them the story to keep them in the loop, explaining dragons, and making sure they had everything they needed. Toothless also took care of the tour and let them know how things worked. Cuyler, Henrik, and their families were also helping in getting them accustomed to life as a Viking, for lack of a better way to put it.
Hiccup, though, wasn't into any of it. He couldn't even act like he was okay with this. And everyone had noticed how much Hiccup's mood had deteriorated since this situation happened. Hiccup barely said anything to anyone; Toothless was still the only person who could get him to talk or come out of his father's home. Hiccup holed himself up there most of the day, every day; only coming out to bathe or eat. Hiccup wouldn't eat with the tribe, he wouldn't talk to his father, or the other Chieftains who were on the island. It was assumed they were waiting on answers or more information. Hiccup was miserable and those who cared a lot about him were worried for his well-being. Especially Toothless, who did his very best to talk to Hiccup and comfort him, but it wasn't working. Hiccup only left things at; I just want to go home or I'm tired. And that was it. Toothless understood. When they were in Norway; it was their life, their way. Here on Berk; it wasn't their life. Not their home. None of it was theirs and that's what Hiccup wanted back. Control of his life, because he didn't have it on Berk.
Right now, it was another night that everyone was in the hall to eat dinner. Toothless had already taken the guests over, and wanted see if he couldn't get Hiccup to join as well. Even if it was just for a little bit, so he'd eat something. Toothless knew Hiccup was eating, but it wasn't very much. And Toothless already knew that Hiccup wasn't sleeping a lot; he was restless and always shifting around.
"You coming, Toothless?" Henrik inquired once they got to the Great Hall doors.
"Yeah, I'll be along in a sec. I'm…Gonna try to get Hiccup out of the house first." Toothless replied.
"Good luck!" The friends said as Toothless headed off to get to Stoick's house. Toothless walked inside and glanced around, already knowing that Hiccup was up in his room. Taking a deep breath, Toothless tried to consider what he could say this time that was any different and might work from the other times in the past week. Toothless wanted to get through to him because he was concerned that Hiccup was slipping fast; he didn't like seeing his fiancé never smiling anymore, or being out of the house. A couple of times; Toothless caught Hiccup just crying and all Toothless could do was hold Hiccup and try to console him. Toothless needed to breakthrough, and he was going to make it happen today, one way or another. Toothless would not lose Hiccup to anyone, anything, or even Hiccup himself.