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.

61)

=Normal POV=
(8/30/2019-10:00 am)
(Archipelago; Isle of Berk)
(Hooligan Village; Great Hall)

Three weeks passed since that fun night in the hall when Stoick allowed the modern group to throw a party in hopes of it loosening Hiccup up to have a good time because he was utterly miserable since the barrier closed after a day of it being open when more had come through in search of their boss and friend, Cuyler. The night ended with Hiccup and Toothless making love after deciding that they were going to move from Stoick's house and stay on their boat because it while it was small, it had everything they needed until they had the change to get back to Norway. Hiccup was still pretty blah for a mood during the day, but at nights; they all engaged in having music going with some light drinking. Hiccup didn't drink all the time; he knew it wouldn't be smart for his stomach to try and handle that every day. Stoick, Madguts, UG, and Gunnar decided to put their plan into action to trick Hiccup into getting married and becoming Chief. Alvin pulled out of it, realizing how wrong it was and a lot of that might have had something to do with the fact he learned he was a father to not one, but two people. Alvin tried to take Stoick aside and get him to reconsider, but to no avail. Stoick was more hellbent on the idea once he learned Hiccup and Toothless took refuge to moving to their boat.

Stoick had to decide how to convince Hiccup to go along with the idea of a fake marriage and Chieftain ceremony. If Hiccup realized he'd gotten married first before becoming Chief; he'd refuse to do the second ceremony. But if Stoick made Hiccup the Chief first, he wouldn't think anything of doing a mock wedding to show one of the other Heiresses how things go. The problem would be making the marriage legal by consummation, it was going to involve getting Hiccup ridiculously drunk so he couldn't stop it, and they needed to find a way to keep Toothless busy so he couldn't stop anything. Stoick settled on sending Toothless on a mission with the riders, but it wouldn't be easy to convince the dragon to leave Hiccup's side for the day, never mind all night. Regardless, it needed to happen. Stoick wasn't waiting around on Hiccup to decide what he wanted to do. It was his birthright to take over Berk, and he would.

This morning, Hiccup was actually dealing with a pretty bad headache and decided to forego getting up early to join everyone in the hall. Hiccup did send Toothless off to enjoy breakfast while he tried to make his headache didn't become a migraine. He didn't need or want that and when he and Toothless finally got back to Norway, in hopefully, one more week; Hiccup was going to see a doctor about it because these were coming on too frequently to be considered random anymore. Toothless and some of their modern friends had a theory that it could be due to his emotional state and all the stress Hiccup was under. Regardless, Hiccup had spent all morning lying in bed, trying to get comfortable; he'd blocked out the cabin of the boat, only drinking water, and taken medication earlier around 6 am.

"How's he feeling, lad?" Gobber inquired from the modern table, which was moved to be closer to the Chieftains because some of that group were Heirs and Heiresses to the leaders, but they wanted to sit with their friends too.

"Don't know. I can't exactly text him here, but I assume he's probably sleeping." Toothless shrugged. "We woke up about 5:30 am, and I left at 7:45 am to get here at his insistence that I don't miss eating over him."

"Just a bad headache?" Henrik asked.

"Bad enough to keep him down. No appetite and he looked tired, so told him to rest more and we'll pray it doesn't turn into a migraine." Toothless replied. No sooner than the words left his mouth, the hall doors opened to reveal Hiccup standing there and then walking in; he was wearing his Viking stuff, but Toothless knew it's because they needed to do laundry and said they'd do it before the day was over. "Speak of the devil." He chuckled as he got up to meet Hiccup when he neared them. "Morning."

"Hi…" Hiccup mumbled.

"Doesn't sound happy, assuming the headache is still going?" Toothless asked, leading Hiccup over to the spot for them to sit.

"Yeah, but couldn't get comfortable and you have the bottle of meds; you took it with you when you left this morning. First dose is gonna wear off in the next half hour or so…" Hiccup said.

"No migraine, though, right?" Cuyler hoped.

"Not yet, and praying it stays that way." Hiccup responded, grabbing a few pieces of bread and fruit to attempt to eat.

"We're all praying it stays that way, and that you feel better completely." Brynjar told him.

"Thanks. So…Have I missed much?" Hiccup wondered.

"Not really. The weather isn't awesome, so your dad wants us hanging in here today to avoid a lockdown later and having to move in the heat of things." Toothless informed.

"What do your senses say about it?" Hiccup questioned, popping a berry into his mouth.

"Dark clouds, cold chill…Picking up the scent of rain or snow, could be both. I'm not feeling great about it, if we're being honest. Your…Dad actually asked me if I could feel it would be big or not, which prompted the decision to stay in the hall for now. Very few outside, just to monitor things." Toothless explained, looking around more, specifically towards the door. Hiccup could see that he seemed on edge and trying to focus on something.

"Are you okay?" Hiccup asked him.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Toothless nodded.

"Then why do you look like you're scoping something out?" Hiccup questioned.

"Thought I sensed something…Familiar. But it's vanished, so not overly worried." Toothless smiled. Hiccup nodded to him, continuing to eat slow. When he'd finished, his father beckoned him over beside him.

"Dad is summoning me…" Hiccup sighed. "Be right back." He stood and moved over to his dad. "Yes?"

"So son, I had a bit of a favor to ask. Well, I have one and then Chief Gunnar has one too." Stoick started.

"Oh boy…" Hiccup sighed, closing his eyes and taking a breath before sitting down. "Alright, let's hear it…" He invited his father to continue.

"A few of the next in line's will be taking the jump into Chiefdom when they get back to their islands. If this weather holds, they'll be leaving through the next week, starting tomorrow. All pending winds and what not before they travel. I mentioned that…You'll likely become Chief once you wrap things up in Norway." Stoick paused.

"Uh-huh…Get to the favor, Dad." Hiccup crossed his arms over his chest.

"I know I've explained the process to you, but some are still confused with just a worded explanation…So I was wondering if you'd be willing to do a fake ceremony, show them how it goes to become the next leader?" Stoick inquired, very hopeful his son would agree.

"I…Suppose I can do to that. Can we do it later tonight or something, so I can kill his headache first?" Hiccup said.

"That's fine! That's perfectly fine, son. Thank you. Now, uh, Gunnar…You wanted to ask a favor as well?" Stoick smiled.

"Ah, yes. Hiccup, I was wondering if you'd consider being a stand in groom for a mock wedding?" Gunnar asked.

"Beg your pardon?" Hiccup arched a brow.

"My eldest, Ragna," Gunnar motioned to her beside him. "is getting married when we return to Lava-Lout, but is a bit nervous and unsure of how things go. So I'd hoped you'd be willing to stand in as a fake groom, so I can show her it's an easy, short ceremony? Like…A rehearsal?"

"Uh…Alright, I guess that makes sense…But why me?" Hiccup wondered.

"Seemed fitting as you're the Heir here, and soon to be Chief. So…Will you do it?" Gunnar questioned. "A-And there will be a big party later too; your father's idea to celebrate us all becoming allied. You know that originally some of us were not. We were inspired by your words some weeks ago about not wanting another war and you'd be willing to fight to the end to protect everyone involved. None of us want a fight with the dragon master." He laughed some, so did the others. "Hoping you'll lead the party with your music?"

"It's dragon trainer, and alright. Fine. But let's just do it all tonight. The mock wedding can follow the fake Chieftain ceremony, then a party. The barrier should be open already, and I'm checking it tomorrow, so I want all of this out of the way before Toothless and I go back to Norway." Hiccup agreed.

"Excellent! Thank you, Hiccup!" Gunnar beamed. "See, Ragna? Now you'll get to see everything as it's supposed to be."

"How lucky I am…" The female with bright strawberry-blond hair and ice blue eyes remarked. Hiccup instantly picked up that she was a sarcastic thing like him. Hiccup was going to return to the other table when he felt Toothless behind him, hands on his shoulders.

"Hey you. What's up?" Hiccup asked, looking up at his lover with a smile.

"One, you walked off without getting the pills," Toothless set the bottle down in front of him. "And two. I've gotta take Scardian out to Dragon Island for a bit…"

"What? Why?" Hiccup asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about, Hiccup. I'll take care of it, promise. And be back in time for dinner." Toothless smiled.

"Oh, okay. You sure you don't want me to come?" Hiccup inquired.

"No, you stay here and rest. Don't want you getting a migraine, and I feel the flying would just make what you already have into that. See you tonight." Toothless replied gently.

"Be safe." Hiccup told him. Toothless bent down, hugging him tightly and kissed his cheek, making Hiccup blush intently and not even bother to hide it. "Wh-What was that for?"

"Well, I didn't find it'd be appropriate in this form to lick your cheek like I usually do. So I settled on a kiss instead." Toothless winked as Hiccup could only manage a nod. Toothless shook his head before releasing Hiccup and then leaving the hall; he jumped on Scardian's back and the two shot off heading West. Hiccup opened the bottle, taking two pills with his cup of water and then getting up.

"I'm gonna go lay down, Dad. See you later." Hiccup headed off after recapping the bottle and slipping them into his pocket.

"Rest well, son." Stoick told him. Hiccup nodded as he soon left the hall to get back to the docks where the boat was. "I really expected him not to agree."

"He's tired, clearly not feeling well." Alvin said. "You shouldn't have asked to do these things in that state, Stoick. Toothless is gonna be mad as hell."

"He won't know because he took off somewhere. We'll do it before dinner, so Toothless misses it." Madguts remarked. "It works out, we were gonna send him off anyway; it looks less suspicious something is going on that he left on his own."

"This isn't going to work, Stoick. You're gonna do exactly what Gobber, and Toothless are worried about you doing. Hurting Hiccup, again. And when this backfires, I'm gonna sit back and watch what happens to you and anyone else involved." Alvin scoffed.

"You helped plan this." UG remarked.

"But I backed out because as a father now, I understand what it means to put my kids before myself and all I could ever want is for them to be safe, healthy, and happy." Alvin stared. "So you go on with what you're doing, and when this falls apart; I can't wait to see the trouble it will cause." He closed his eyes and moved to sit with the modern group and his son, Oivind.

. . .

(4:00 pm)

Unfortunately, Hiccup's headache did turn into a migraine, and that's why he'd left that morning. Hiccup took a hot bath, and managed to sleep all day. He woke up around 3:30 pm, thankfully with the migraine subsiding and left with just an annoying headache that he could deal with. Hiccup was hoping Toothless would be back by now, but evidently not. That killed his mood a bit, but it was before dinner too and Toothless promised to be back before then. Hiccup got himself dressed again and headed into the village; he went right to the Great Hall, knowing that he had been asked to do these two things and that is what would be happening before the meal took place. As Hiccup found upon exiting the boat cabin; someone dropped off the clothes he was supposed to play the part in. It was a white tunic and pants set, the tunic top was outlined in gold, and there was a brown fur cloak with metal shoulder guard pieces. There was a brown belt with the symbol for the Hooligan Tribe on the center clasp, and finally, Hiccup boots were brown.

Taking a breath, Hiccup walked through the doors and brought the room to silence. Everyone was there, which suddenly felt a little off to Hiccup because this was just supposed to be fore future leaders to see how it worked, and then a mock wedding to ease the nerves of a new bride or whatever. But, Hiccup pushed the uneasy feeling off and assumed that it was set up to be like a real ceremony with everyone around for the sake of ambiance or something. The room fell silent, except for some whispers about how handsome he looked, or how formal it was to see him dressed like this. Everyone seemed to be smiling, though, and that added to the off feeling Hiccup was trying to shove down his throat because the nervousness was actually making him nauseated and threatening to make him throw up. Hiccup withheld from puking as he made his way forward to the set up of Gothi beside his father, and on her other side was Spitelout; his father's second in command.

"Alright, I'm here…How does this work?" Hiccup sighed, clearly not wanting to be part of this even being he agreed to do it.

"For now, son…All you have to do is stand there, and then you'll repeat something that Spitelout says. I'll announce your name, and that you're Chief. Then it's done." Stoick informed with a bright smile. The nervousness that something was wrong with all this bubbled in his stomach. Still, Hiccup nodded to him and stood there with his hands at his sides while things started with Stoick addressing everyone.

"Welcome Hooligans and honored guests to this wonderous day you get to witness as my only son takes his place in the tribe and becomes the new leader of it." Stoick began. It went on about five minutes of him talking about how proud he was of Hiccup, and that this was the start to one of many new journeys he'd take in life. Hiccup could only stand there, feeling nervous and scared, really wanting Toothless to be here because he'd make him feel better or only prove that Hiccup was right to feel something wasn't right about this. Toothless was good at that being a dragon, but Hiccup was just a mere human and all he could feel was that this was off and he didn't know how to respond to it.

Finally, Spitelout stepped forward before Hiccup. "Repeat after me, Hiccup." Spitelout instructed. "And face the tribe." Hiccup managed a small nod to the man who was his uncle, and turned to face everyone. "I, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, solemnly swear to uphold my duties as leader of the Hairy Hooligan tribe to the Isle of Berk in the Barbaric Archipelago. I will always place the people first. I will always protect and provide for my tribe, even at the cost of my own life, if that is the price to be paid that they survive and thrive for years to come beyond my reign. This is my oath as your Chief." Spitelout said.

I took a deep breath, trying to play this part. I was supposed to be showing the other upcoming leaders how this was done, so they wouldn't be scared. It was terrifying, to take on the job of protecting and providing for everyone. It was their duty to make sure their tribe survived and thrived, just as it was said in the vow. I stayed firm, speaking in a clear voice as I repeated what Spitelout had said to me. I heard metal on metal behind me as my father stood with my sword and shield. "With this sword and shield, you will always fight for what's right and peace. You will defend your home and people." I took them from him, hooking both to my back; the shield first and then the sword inside the shield. Next, Gothi stepped in front of me, holding small bowl of ash. Dad didn't mention this as part of things. My nerves were screaming at me now; I couldn't fight back how wrong this felt.

Gothi motioned for me to drop to one knee before her, and I didn't want to refuse the tribe elder. The woman was practically my grandmother. Actually, I think she is from my mom's side. It was a question for another time. I tried to breathe through the unrelenting nausea as I knelt, keeping my left knee up and my hands on my kneecap. Gothi smiled as she smeared the ash on her fingers in a circular motion before using her thumb to draw on my forehead. I closed my eyes out of respect, but I knew the design she was tracing. It was a half bottom circle, with a small top half circle on it, then a line through both and to the middle of my eyebrows. It was the symbol for Chief. Every feeling in my body; heart, body, and mind screamed a single feeling that I didn't understand. Betrayal.