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.

59)

=Normal POV=
(8/8/2019-7:30 pm)
(Archipelago; Isle of Berk)
(Hooligan Village; Great Hall)

Hiccup was just about ready to get the music going for the others to enjoy themselves; he would watch and probably smile, but not take part. Despite what was said about not being afraid; he was. He knew he couldn't actually kick back and relax here; he was picking up the judgmental stares from when it came out he was bisexual. Hiccup did it for a reason; he wanted to see what their reactions would be and it was exactly what he expected it to be, and he also cracked a couple jokes and acted laid back for a little bit; it showed him all he needed that he couldn't let loose fully. His father would never hear the end of it, which meant he'd never hear the end of it. More talks about needing to grow up and be the Chief these people need, needing to step into what he was born to become. So Hiccup would let the others be themselves, and he'd just watch and enjoy the illusion for a night that everything was like it was in Norway when all of them got together and just killed it with fun.

"Think he'd let us?" Eirik wondered.

"Worth asking, if nothing else." Natalie stated.

"What are you whispering about?" Toothless questioned.

"Wondering if Hiccup would let us watch Descendants 3." Lys replied.

"Don't see why not, but ask him first." Toothless advised.

The group nodded. "Hey, Hiccup?" Signy began as Hiccup looked over at her. "You think we can watch D3 before we get into the music?"

"How do you propose we watch? Football huddle around the itty-bitty laptop?" Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"I got a projector on the boat." Cuyler put his finger up quickly.

"And the screen!" added one of his workers.

"Of course you do. Fine. Get it, and make sure you get the HDMI cord too." Hiccup nodded.

A few of Cuyler's shipmates hurried off to get what Hiccup said to. Not more than twenty minutes later, it was all set up and powered by the generator. Hiccup pulled up the movie file, and got it started. He then dimmed the center fire by shifting the logs apart. No one really understood what was going on, but decided to just watch and see what would happen. The movie was interesting, the Vikings picked up that it was made for entertainment, and had it explained that the people scene were actors; humans who would play a character, everything was rehearsed, like a pageant. When told like that, they understood and then with modern technology, it was recorded to be seen later by anyone.

A little into the movie, it was seen that one of the good people had felt betrayed and decided to go evil. "Called it from the first movie that Audrey would become a villain." Toothless chuckled.

"Same." Hiccup nodded. "Nice song tribute to it."

Later on, it turned to previous villains from the second movie helping the heroes, which was explained by the dragon riders who watched it when Hiccup was sick that second time, so everyone kind of understood the first two movies because of that. "Didn't see that coming from a mile away." Toothless laughed a little.

"Saw it coming since the second movie." Hiccup informed. "Love the music in this movie so far."

"Think you can do it for Descendants night at work, laddie?" Henrik inquired.

"Ehhh…It's a long shot, boss. The Night Falls song is gonna push the limit, if it's not already at or above it. That's a very high pitch." Hiccup stated. "I'll try it, but no promises."

"What are they talking about, Stoick?" Madguts asked calmly. They all knew to behave and curious or Hiccup, worse, Toothless could figure out something is up.

Stoick cleared his throat a little. "In Norway, Hiccup works for Henrik as his head cook and main source of entertainment for their…Customers who go to the food place and eat there."

"Entertainment?" Alvin and Gunnar both questioned.

"Hiccup sings, keeps the diners busy while waiting on food to cook and be served." Toothless informed.

"Not following." UG remarked.

"Okay…You know how everyone eats in the Great Hall?" Hiccup sighed as they nodded. "Well, my job is working in a big building like the hall. People come, they pick from a list of food they want to eat that night. Me and my cooks make said food chosen and send it out to the people who ordered it. While waiting on their food to cook; I get on a small stage and sing whatever songs play or are requested to keep them smiling, happy, and not bored while they wait." He explained. "Henrik is my boss; he owns the building and I work for him. He pays me to cook and sing for people. That make sense?"

"Oh! Yes, very much. Thank you for explaining, Hiccup." Mogadon smiled. "So Stoick, Mala, Heather, and Dagur have all witnessed this firsthand?"

"Yep. Me too!" Gobber beamed. "He's very good at it."

"I do my best." Hiccup shrugged.

"May we…See you perform one of these…Songs?" Camicazi asked as Hiccup turned his head and looked at her fully, having not expected to be asked that question.

"Maybe. But not one of these from the movie because I don't know if I can do them yet." Hiccup replied. It seemed most of the Heirs or Heiresses were interested, perhaps even some of the leaders too.

"What does that mean?" Ryker Grimborn of the Dragon Hunter tribe asked. He was Viggo Grimborn's older brother, but a game of Maces and Talons decided that Viggo became the Chief after their father retired.

"I'll explain after. Now ssh." Hiccup said. Everyone continued to snack on available food and still watching the film playing. Finally, the movie ended with the happy ending of the barrier around the Isle of the Lost being taken down, allowing all the people to the kingdom or Auradon. Most understood how the movie's plot went and what it meant. Hiccup closed the media player down and brought up music again, not caring that everything was showing on the projector screen. His desktop, when people could see it, was a shot of him and Toothless in front of their house holding up the keys; the day they bought it together. It was easy to see how happy Hiccup looked in Norway, just from the one picture. "And to answer your question, Ryker, and anyone else wondering…You heard that some of the music has different levels of voice used. So me wondering if I can do it means if I can hit those different notes. Low and mediums aren't overly difficult…But those really high ones pose a challenge. Singing out of your available range can damage your voice completely, so I haven't tested out if I can reach them."

"Can you do it now?" Thuggory hoped.

"What, test if I can? I…Suppose. But since I don't know those yet, I'll have to use music from the first or second films because I know the words already." Hiccup informed.

"Why not shoot for first movie, Hiccup. Do 'If Only', that's pretty up there for Mal's voice and a solo singer." Britta suggested.

Hiccup shook his head. "No…I can't do a song that only has one character's voice in it. If I hit that one, doesn't mean I can hit another character's range. Uma is pretty up there too, so is Evie. I had this debate with myself the day I was sick. I gotta find something that hits the highest note possible."

"That's risky, Hiccup. You could screw up your voice for good, and we're not exactly able to get you to a hospital to surgically fix it…" Toothless stated.

"Overdoing it one time won't mess it up enough to need surgery, Toothless…And I know how to fix my vocal chords if I strain them." Hiccup reminded.

"Well, if you're going for highest note…You're gonna be doing female artists, bro." Brenna said now. "Highest ones are Celine Dion, Arianna Grande, Whitney Houston, and I think…Christina Aguilera. Could be others, but those are the some of the highest and longest pitched singers in the world and very few artists besides themselves can hit those notes, which makes them so good."

"Whitney's out. I can do those…And Arianna. But the other two…Yeah, I don't think I've ever tried them. Celine would be the one, with either All By Myself or To Love You More." Hiccup thought about it now. "But she's got that ridiculously long note in the second song idea, and some of the Descendants music is lengthy…Might be the best one." He continued considering his options.

"You sure about that choice?" Lilly looked at him nervously.

"There are only a very small handful of people that can pull that off, Hiccup. And all of them are girls…I don't think it's been attempted by a guy…Or at least no one successful." Henrik remarked.

"First for everything." Hiccup shrugged and located the song, setting the laptop back on its stand.

"Hiccup, I swear to Odin…You best not lose your voice." Toothless warned, but only out of concern.

"Toothless, I'll be fine. Aren't I always?" Hiccup responded.

"Yeah…Because I'm saving your sorry ass." Toothless rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You are not always saving me! You can't use that every time!" Hiccup huffed, copying his fiance's stance. "I've saved you plenty of times too! Drowning, Whispering Death…"

"Hookfang, Red Death, Cliffs, Alvin, Dagur, Screaming Death, Whispering Death, Speedstinger, Armorwing, Smothering Smokebreaths…Need I go on?" Toothless said with a cocky smirk.

"Ugh, you're infuriating sometimes…Okay, so I'm danger prone…Sue me. Least I didn't bite your limbs off…" Hiccup mumbled.

"That was to SAVE YOUR LIFE!" Toothless reminded again. "You shot me out of the sky for no reason, took off my tail fin, and wanted to cut out my heart to take it to your dad and prove you were a real Viking!"

"You can't use that! I let you go and made you a new tail! And then an automatic one you destroyed during our first Snoggletog, and then another one four years ago!" Hiccup countered.

"And I let you go when I could have blasted you to oblivion." Toothless chuckled. "You can't win this, Hiccup." Hiccup huffed again, turning his head from him. "Come on, don't pout. Doesn't suit the soon to be Chief."

"Oh, fuck you…" Hiccup flipped him off.

"When and where, baby?" Toothless grinned.

Thank the Gods it was dim lighting in the hall because Hiccup's cheeks pinked at the invitation. "And they say I'm the pervert…" Hiccup sighed, keeping himself composed.

"You know you love me." Toothless scooted closer and hugged him from behind. Hiccup ended up smiling a little and leaning into it. "Come on…Tell me you love me."

Hiccup gave in, shifting to turn around and hug Toothless back tightly. "Love you."

"Love you too." Toothless replied. "Alright, now go on and sing."

"Kay!" Hiccup went to start things as Toothless took his seat again and watched with a smile. No one seemed to think anything of Hiccup and Toothless's words, but that might because everyone knew Hiccup loved Toothless like a brother and very good friend, so Toothless likely felt the same for Hiccup. That, or no one picked up on what fucking meant in the context that it was used in. Either way, there weren't any questions, so Hiccup and Toothless didn't really care.

. . .

(9:30 pm)

Hiccup didn't end up singing because he started feeling nauseous and with a headache. It was determined the cause was probably alcohol and noise, so Toothless took him home for a bit and left their modern friends to provide entertainment to the Vikings as Toothless was worried the headache would turn into a migraine if they didn't get it taken care of right away. It seemed like everyone was enjoying it because Toothless hadn't picked up any complaints when he returned after leaving Hiccup at Stoick's house to rest up with a quick nap.

"So…Is this how he spends his night when he's in a bad mood or doesn't want to do something?" Camicazi inquired as Toothless looked at her.

"Hm? You mean Hiccup?" He asked as Camicazi nodded. "No, just when he's not feeling well."

"He seemed like he was okay earlier." Thuggory mentioned.

"Drinking too much at one time, plus loud noise equals headache, and if it's bad enough and continuing to stay in the environment that caused it created a bigger headache known as a migraine. If Hiccup ends up with one; his ass isn't moving until tomorrow, or maybe a couple days." Toothless shrugged.

"What's a migraine?" Mogadon questioned.

"A migraine can cause severe throbbing pain or pulsing sensation, usually on one side of the head. It can also cause neck discomfort. It's accompanied, often, by nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light, sound, or both. Migraine attacks can last hours to days with the pain being so severe that it gets in the way of doing normal things. Basically…It means that if Hiccup ends up with a migraine; he won't be doing anything because he will be unable to." Cuyler explained, as everyone was just sitting wherever now. "If you catch a headache going to a migraine fast enough, you can stop it from hitting and be alright."

"When Hiccup mentioned feeling nauseated with a headache, I sent him to lay down away from noise and light, to control the headache so it doesn't turn into a migraine." Toothless informed. No sooner than he said it, the doors to the hall opened and revealed Hiccup walking in again.

"Uncle Hiccup!" Keldan and Emma charged at him. Hiccup stopped and bent a little, scooping both children into his arms. Hiccup smiled and stood up straight, continuing to walk towards where Toothless was with the others. It seemed most had moved to be closer to the semi-stage to see and hear everything better.

"What have we told you kids about charging your uncle that way!" Brenna and Signy scolded as the kids hid against his shoulders.

Hiccup laughed a little. "It's fine. They're not heavy, girls. How can I say no to my niece and nephew?"

"Can you say no to anything. You're too gentle and good a heart." Toothless remarked.

"Shut up you other one." Hiccup grumbled, shooting his fiance' a glare as Toothless laughed.

"Any kids you have are so going to be daddy's kids." Toothless snickered.

"Well, enjoy your cuddles with your uncle, for now. It's almost bedtime," Signy stated.

"B-But…Mommy! Everyone else stays up." Emma protested.

"You're still only six-years-old, young lady. And Keldan is three…" Brynjar chuckled.

"It's only 9:30, guys. Besides, both of them had naps right up to dinner, and a little bit into it. It's okay. Viking kids stays up until they knock out." Hiccup informed.

"Please, mommy?" Keldan asked.

"Yeah, please, mom and dad?" Emma tried. Both were keeping their best puppy-dog eyes up with pouts and high hopes.

"Please, Mom?" Hiccup chuckled, playing along with the kids.

Signy, Brynjar, and Brenna sighed heavily, but nodded in agreement. "YAY!" The kids cheered. "Besides, we don't go to bed til Uncle sings a song to us." They added together.

"He doesn't sing you to sleep every night." Brenna closed her eyes.

"No, just when we're with him." Emma giggled. "So…Can you sing for us, Uncle Hiccup?"

"I suppose so." Hiccup nodded as they cheered again. "What song tonight?"

"Is it too much to ask for something from Descendants?" Emma wondered.

"Cuz we wanna hear Once Upon A Time…Or…If Only." Keldan smiled wide.

"Well, if only would be easier because I already know it. But…The other one is more of a challenge and I like those. Gimme ten minutes to listen and learn it, okay?" Hiccup smiled.

"OKAY!" The two young children nodded quickly as Hiccup sent them off to play with the other kids while he dug through his bag for his phone and powered it on while untangling his headphone wire.

"Your head okay for this?" Henrik inquired.

"Yes, boss." Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Don't get an attitude with me. I'm your boss." Henrik chuckled.

"You ain't the boss of nothing if you don't have any business because I decide to stop performing in the kitchen and on stage." Hiccup countered with a grin. Henrik went to say something and realized Hiccup was right as he deflated with a heavy breath out and mumbled something about Hiccup being a smartass. "Rather be a smartass than a dumbass, my friend."

"Yeah, yeah…Go…Listen to the song or something." Henrik waved him off.

"Game, set, match." Hiccup stated as he plugged his headphones in and then set the buds into his ears. The tribe was actually curious and interested in all this. Most of the night; it was Hiccup's friends playing music and singing to some, but this time…It would be Hiccup singing. Toothless answered questions about what Hiccup was doing, as Hiccup's eyes were closed and he wasn't responding to them while moving his mouth to talk, but nothing come out. Toothless explained that Hiccup was listening to the song on his own to learn the words and other things and when he had it down; he'd put on just the music and sing the words on his own without the song lyrics actually playing. Toothless said it would be different than when the friends performed, because they sang along with the song itself, but that's not what Hiccup did so they'd get to hear just Hiccup singing. Ten minutes went by before Hiccup pulled the headphones out and smiled.

"Got it?" Toothless asked.

"Yeah, I think so. There's pitch and length to consider at the end, but I think I can manage it." Hiccup nodded before going over to his laptop and setting things up. "But we're gonna test it with another one of just Mal's songs first." He added after a moment. A second or two from that and a familiar tune began to play, as the Vikings already heard it once when it played. They learned then that this song was one Hiccup wasn't sure if he could sing because of how high the voice went. So, this would be nice and all the attention was on him. Hiccup grabbed the earpiece microphone and hooked it into place before taking a breath, moving ahead of all his stuff and then flipping on the device that amplified voice that everyone knew of because of the group of friends already singing.

"A million thoughts, in my head. Should I let my heart keep listening. Cause up til now, I've walked the line. Nothing lost, but something missing. I can't decide what's wrong, what's right. Which way should I go?" Hiccup started. It was definitely a difference in sound when only music played, but Hiccup sang. "If only I knew what my heart was telling me. Don't know what I'm feeling. Is this just a dream? Ah-oh, yeah. If only I could read the signs in front of me; I could find a way to who I'm meant to be. Ah-oh. If only. If only…"

There was a brief pause as Hiccup gave himself a minute. None of this was particularly hard to do, but getting his voice high enough proved interesting. The next part was holding it at that in other parts. "Every step. Every word. With every hour I'm falling in. To something new, something brave. To someone I, I have never been. I can't decide what's wrong, what's right. Which way should I go!?" He sang out. "If only I knew what my heart was telling me. Don't know what I'm feeling. Is this just a dream? Ah-oh, yeah. If only I could read the signs in front of me; I could find a way to who I'm meant to be. Ah-oh. If only. YEAH!"

Hiccup took a breath, Emma and Keldan were as close as they could be to the stage as Hiccup just stayed in one place. He hadn't been dancing, or smiling like the modern group knew he did. This was still a different environment where he didn't want to completely let go of himself. "Am I crazy? Maybe we could happen! Yeah. Will you still be with me when the magic's all runs out?..." the music lessened a little, staying soft for the moment. "If only I knew what my heart was telling me. Don't know what I'm feeling-" the music picked up again."Is this just a dream?! Ah-oooh!"

As soon as Hiccup high that high note and held it for few moments he did without wavering or cracking. The modern group threw their fists in the air, cheering, clapping, and smiling that he'd done. Hiccup ended up finally smiling and continued the rest of the song. "If only I could read the signs in front of me; I could find the way to who I'm meant to be. Ah-oh! If only…Yeah! If only…Yeah! If only…Yeah. If only! If only. If only…" The music finished as Hiccup flipped off the microphone and Toothless instantly took his chance to hug him tightly.

"You did it!" Toothless exclaimed. Hiccup blushed a little, trying to hide it and hopefully succeeded. Hiccup hugged Toothless back as other Vikings started to cheer and clap now. It was pretty impressive, but the next song would prove harder and none of them could wait to see if Hiccup could do it.