Authors note: As stated in the previous chapter there is mentionings of mental struggles with depression so if this is a trigger please keep this in mind. I've had some mental struggles of my own, and Hiccup has too considering the bullying and the complete lifestyle flip he had to go through to get to this point.
...
To Hiccup's surprise, his father's hand outstretched to his mother, placing a hand on her forearms, giving it a gentle squeeze. Hiccup studied his father's face then. His father looked compassionate. His worry lines were showing around his eyes and on his forehead. Hiccup rarely saw them except while he worked. No, his father was concerned for Valka - Hiccup had seen the look when he was down for the count. He'd even seen them showing just an hour previously on the porch when he'd fallen.
Wait - the bus! Hiccup glanced at the clock and realized the bus was long gone. And - school was just about to start. He went to say something to his father - but hesitated. He couldn't ruin this. Outside of his mother's sobs, and her gasps in breath trying to hold them back, he'd never pictured a calm reunion - especially after the stress he'd seen his father going through the week prior.
Glancing back at his father, his father was glancing at the clock, too, a worried look on his face.
"Eh - Val - Hiccup should really be at school - "
Hiccup felt his heart sink. His father was right - he should have been. Hiccup had already been in trouble with the counselors and the principal already this year - not because he was a bad student, and not because he caused trouble at the school. It was mainly due to his attendance. There was a strict attendance policy at the school - and he had more than surpassed that. It had taken a lot of convincing for them to allow him to remain at the school just a few months prior.
"Uh - Dad," he breathed. "Don't I have an appointment that needs to be made?"
His father narrowed his eyes at him.
"Like - for my prosthetic? I am sure they are going to want to look at the leg."
"Hiccup - you are perfectly able to function without - "
"Dad - please." Hiccup found himself borderline begging.
His father's head flopped dramatically. "Very well. I'll go make the appointment, then." With that he rose. "And, I suppose call the school to let them know you will need to miss. Your principal will have my neck again."
Hiccup gave him a grin. "Right now - that's the least of my worries."
"My head?"
Hiccup caught a small chuckle coming from his mother as she reached for a tissue in her pocket and wiped away the tears on one side of her face.
...
Three had retreated to the porch after Mr. Vast called Hiccup's prosthetist. They had an availability at 12:30 so they were going to slip Hiccup in. Hiccup could feel his mother watching him closely as he made his way from one spot to another on his crutches.
"Did you - have any questions about it?" Hiccup asked her, startling her from staring.
"I'm sorry - I - "
"It's okay," he said to her. "Most people look at it. Trying to understand it. I've gotten used to it, especially at the school."
Valka's eyes flashed sadly as she took a seat on the stone wall of the porch as Hiccup settled on the porch swing. His father handed him his glass of juice he'd carried out for him.
"That couldn't have been easy."
Hiccup shrugged. "It wasn't. Truth is - without - " Hiccup paused. He wasn't ready to talk about Astrid with her. Their relationship felt - well. It was special. It wasn't something he was comfortable talking to most about. Katherine, yes. His father, yes. Her dad, yes. Her mom -ehhhh, not so much even still. He had a feeling his mother would enjoy hearing their story. But he wasn't sure he was ready to dive deep into it. He glanced to his father hoping for a change of subject.
"Val - eh, Hiccup had some struggles. There was a reason more than the fact that, yes he should really be in school - Hiccup's missed a lot of school as of late." The expression on his father's face changed as he stood leaning against the stone porch pillar some eight feet away. He hid it into his coffee cup for a minute. "I - I am sure your attorney provided you with how much school he's missed this year. And - your private investigator."
Hiccup felt his stomach lurch suddenly. "You've had someone watching us?"
Valka's face showed pure panic. "Like I said - the attorney enraged me. I've let them both go - you should know that."
"What all did this person tell you about me?" Hiccup asked. He felt more violated than he had when he found out his mother had gotten a hold of his medical records. He should have know that she had gotten a hold of his school records as well.
"Nothing - "
The cloud nine feeling was leaving Hiccup suddenly, replacing his awe with a heavy stone-like object into his abdoman.
"Hiccup - easy - " His father apparently recognized the look on Hiccup's face. Pure panic. This snapped Hiccup back a bit.
Valka sighed, and placed her coffee mug down beside her. "Boys - I know Hiccup struggled a bit over the last year, really. But - I also know of the good things. Like - NHS."
Hiccup met her eyes again.
"And - making it to regionals in track and cross country. I also know he excels in English and Math. And that he was recently entered into a writing contest by Mr. Bryce."
She was making it too personal at this point. Hiccup felt another fit of rage and warmth wash over him. He took in a few breaths to calm himself. After-all, he'd asked for this. More time with her. He reminded himself that she'd placed a lot of cards and personal facts out on the table to him. The least he could do was extend some type of olive branch to her as well.
"You know Mr. Bryce?" Hiccup asked her, now hiding his emotions behind his OJ.
"Ehhhh - "His father cringed.
"Mr. Bryce and I were in high school together - same with your father. Same graduating class."
Hiccup nodded, and his father eased a bit. "He's my favorite teacher."
Valka smiled.
Silenced washed through them - but it wasn't a calming silence. It was very uncomfortable. Hiccup needed to extend another olive branch. He should have expected some uneasiness - more uneasiness - when he'd asked for more time from his father.
"Eh - " Outside of Astrid, what more could he have offered her to talk about? He didn't live a very exciting life. Outside of going to school, writing, drawing, and what was his running and track, and his hikes - what else could he offer her to talk about?
"What kind of music do you like?" his mother asked him.
Praise, Thor. She took the pressure off.
"I listen to a lot of piano and violin when I sketch."
"Ah," she said with a smile. "Do you like classics or do you like some of the newest songs? Like - I like to listen to John Legion 'All of Me' when I listen to just violin and piano."
Hiccup narrowed his eyes at her. She - understood. Outside of Astrid she understood - or at least seemed to understand what he listened to. Snotlout had caught him at lunch one day listening to a playlist. He'd taken it out of Hiccup's ear and made a snarky comment about assuming Hiccup was listening to something "uncool." It wasn't something Snotlout would have listened to.
"When I don't want to listen to words - that's what I listen to." She smiled. "Even some Disney movies with just the orchestra..." She trailed off a bit.
"Val - " his father took her to his attention. "Can I ask you something?" She nodded. "Did you have any more children?"
Wow - Hiccup felt his chest cave again.
She shook her head sadly. "No - wasn't trying. And, you know how hard it was for me to have Hiccup."
Mr. Vast nodded. "Are you - do you have anyone in your life?"
She sighed. "I did. But - it didn't work out." She shrugged. "It's been a while. Not really looking either."
Mr. Vast nodded.
She wasn't going to return the question. Hiccup assumed she knew of Katherine considering she admitted to having a private investigator. Perhaps asking if someone was in his father's life, again although she probably knew the answer, may have upset her hearing it directly from him. Or, perhaps she wasn't going to be nosey into that business.
All things considering, Hiccup reminded himself, again, that she had branched some personal things out there. Of course, she honestly couldn't really hide them. She knew what had caused the relationship to end - the relationship with her little family. Yet, here they were sitting on the porch drinking early morning drinks and talking. Admittedly, the atmosphere was continuing to get more uncomfortable.
Hiccup remembered Astrid again, and instinctively pulled his phone from his pocket. He hadn't thought to look at it for a while. But, he was sure Astrid was going to be wondering where he was. He hadn't talked to her at all. Sure enough, at seven-twenty-two, just an hour ago she'd text him.
7:22 AM - Where are you?
He instantly felt bad for not thinking of texting her sooner. Without replying, he pushed the phone back into his pocket and his eyes met his father's.
"Astrid wondering why you haven't turned up at the school?" Mr. Vast asked.
Hiccup gave a low nod. "Yeah."
Valka didn't push further for answers about Astrid.
"So, Hiccup," Valka said, breaking the silence. "I am curious. Can you explain to me how a prosthetic works? I mean - we've had a few dogs referred to a specialist at the clinic I work for. But, outside of bandaging their wounds and hearing the vet refer them over - I don't know much about the subject. I am rather curious if you wouldn't mind."
Hiccup felt his father's eyes wonder his way to make sure he was all right. Luckily, he felt okay to continue to explain. His father fetched both prosthetics, his oldest one and the new one that had just snapped. Hiccup explained each piece and what they did and how the attachment held to his body, creating a suction.
"...Since I sit a lot in class, I can keep it on longer most days. But, if I get out and about and do too much walking on it, I've got to give the leg a rest..."
"May I?" his mother asked, sliding closer and outstretching a hand towards his leg. He'd just taken off the current prosthetic showing her how it worked. He handed it over to her so she could touch it and study it. Surprisingly, she sat down on the ground at his level. "Would you mind if - " She gestured to his leg. Hiccup debated for a moment, then agreed and allowed her to slide the leg into place, suction it on and study it. "Very interesting."
Mr. Vast gave a warm chuckle. "I ended up enrolling Hiccup into a welding class last summer - mainly to get him out of the house. He ended up reconstructing a leg for his final project."
Hiccup smiled. "It was a really, really good class. Kind of reinforced my interest in taking up engineering in college."
Valka smiled. "You want to go to college?"
Hiccup nodded in response. "Yes - at some point."
"What college would you like to go to?"
Hiccup shrugged. "Not sure, really. We won't start college visits until next school year."
"You haven't given it any thought at all?" she pushed.
Hiccup shook his head.
"Eh, Val. Hiccup's been more focused on therapy and his school studies since the accident," his father said. "We were hoping to get him back on the track team - But with his set-backs with the prosthetic - "
"I'll go," Hiccup said to them both. "I need to. And, I'm not ready to start a career after I graduate. I'll do something if that's what you are worried about."
Valka shook her head; her smile remained. "I was just curious if you'd thought about colleges. I'm actually surprised your father hasn't tried talking you into his own school."
Hiccup gave a low laugh. "I'm not gonna say Dad hasn't thrown it around a few times."
Mr. Vast chuckled. "I had a good time there. Even when we got pregnant with you, kid. I was in my peak at law school. They treated me well - can't complain. Especially on days I had to drag you to class with me."
Valka smiled. "I forgot about those days."
Hiccup was intrigued. "What do you mean?"
"There were a few times your mom couldn't get out of working at the supermarket after she had you. She was working to make ends meet while I was finishing up school. Our parents couldn't watch you - so I had to take you to a class here and there with me. You were so quiet. Usually you'd sit on my lap and draw or nap in my lap while I took notes."
"Strangely, I didn't know that."
Mr. Vast shrugged his shoulders. "It only happened a few times. But the professors were really nice when it did."
The weather was starting to get warm and Hiccup found himself growing hot. He shrugged off his jacket so that he could breathe better. When he did, he noticed his mother's eyes connecting with the red line down his arm. She looked horrified. Hiccup scrambled to cover it up from her but he knew it was no use. She'd seen it.
"I'm accident prone," he said with a shrug.
He heard his father sigh a bit. "That you are, kid."
"Looks fresh," his mother commented, only drawing a little close to see some of the staple marks surrounding the line."
"I did it just a few months back," he responded. "Gave dad a fright."
"Almost as bad as when you busted your leg up. Although, when you fell off the roof I never expected we'd be spending a lot more time at the hospital or in and out of doctors offices. I thought we'd take a small ambulance ride, they'd confirm you didn't give yourself a spinal injury and they'd shove you in a cast." His father's eyes became somewhat sad. "That - that was done when - " He paused.
Valka didn't press. She simply studied it a moment more, then sat back a bit, her legs drawn up to her like a toddler excited about story time.
"Couple months back - There was an accident in front of the house..." Hiccup began. "...When I had reached my arm into the broken window to get to Astrid, I cut myself. Didn't realize it for a little bit. I ended up at the hospital for a bit. Scar remains."
"This was the accident Astrid had with Snotlout?" Valka said.
Mr. Vast and Hiccup's eyes widened. Hiccup had left that part of the story out - that it had actually involved Snotlout.
"I know about the accident. Spitelout told me about it when I'd asked what happened to the truck in the driveway. He's still working on it here and there."
"So - then you know about Astrid?" Hiccup asked.
Valka gave him a small smile. "I do. She's a pretty thing, isn't she?"
Hiccup blushed a bit. "Yeah - I think she is."
"I heard she's pretty kind, too. From Snotlout. I'm sure she's just like Darcy - "
Hiccup gave a low snort. "Darcy - Mrs. Hofferson - let's just say she is not my biggest fan."
Valka's face became a little sad. "I know she's taking care of her mom as of late."
Hiccup nodded. "She's just not used to Astrid being with someone."
Valka nodded. "I get that. It's hard to fathom you used to be that little boy who loved to dig in the dirt, play with bugs, and played hide and go seek for hours in the backyard all those years ago. Now - you are a young man. It's almost like stepping into the twilight zone for me."
Hiccup bit the inside of his lip.
"Hiccup - that is my fault. That is something I have to live with the rest of my life," Valka said quietly. "I did this to our family. Not you, not your dad." The words seem to have been dying to spill out when she said them finally. Silenced passed between them again.
"Val, maybe it's time we take a break, get some distance to process?" Mr. Vast said to break the silence. "At least - give Hiccup a break - "
"I'm okay," Hiccup said. He honestly could use a break to deal with what was in front of him. Time to talk to Astrid, time to ponder. Time to talk to his dad.
Just then, Hiccup glanced towards the street and became suddenly alarmed when he saw Katherine's orange Subaru pulling up behind where his father's car was parked. Seriously! Not a good time.
"Uh - " Hiccup made eye contact with his dad, then nudged his head towards the street. His father nearly spit out the coffee in his mouth. Panic showed.
"Val - excuse me for a moment - " Mr. Vast then retreated towards the street, rushing to the passenger side of Katherine's car.
"Katherine - " Valka said quietly.
Hiccup wasn't surprised to hear her say Katherine's name. After all, with the private investigator out there she should have known a lot about what was going on with their family - especially since her attorney had been so crafty with trying to get one of his father's employees to spill some beans onto him.
"I should go," Valka said, starting to get to her feet.
"No, wait!" Hiccup said. He didn't want her standing. He didn't want Katherine to see her there with them. He was sure his father was explaining the situation to her, but the thought of his mother being on the porch - he wondered if Katherine would be hurt or upset.
"Hiccup - I should really be going. I've over-stayed. And - your dad is right. You probably do need a break. I know I do." Hiccup saw some sadness flow through her for a moment, but then she smiled. "I didn't think I would get the chance to talk to you at all. I'd lost all hope. I am glad I had this opportunity." She pulled from her purse a pen and ripped off a piece of paper from a small notepad in her purse. She wrote on it, then extended it over to Hiccup, clicking her pen back as she did so. "Just in case - you want to reach out to me. If you don't, I understand."
Hiccup reached for the piece of paper, but before his mother could turn to leave, he grabbed her wrist, stopping her from going. Their eyes met, and he saw the tears wondering their way back to the corners of her eyes. She was fighting them again.
"You aren't - you aren't leaving town for real, are you?" he asked.
She looked at him, her heart sinking slightly. She pulled his hand from her arm, and squeezed it with her own. "I should go. I should head home and get back to my life - stop watching you and messing with your's -"
"Mom, stop!" Hiccup said loudly before she could pull away more. The first word shocked him just as much as it shocked his mother. The word "mom" had rolled smoothly from his mouth. "I - I want you to stay in town, if you can. Just a few days longer, please. I - I know it is a lot to ask. And, Dad's right. I think we all need some time to process everything." He paused. "A couple months of therapy on my own has taught me that." Valka seemed surprised he'd admitted it. "After my accident, I really, really needed help myself."
"So - you understand the struggle in some form that I had?"
"Yes," he breathed. "But, please. Don't leave town just yet. I'm not ready to say goodbye yet."
She gave his hand a little squeeze. "Okay. I'll go - get a hotel, then. And, when you are ready to sit down and talk again I'll be here. I've got a few days."
"Promise?" His voice was pleading.
"I promise, sweetheart."
...
I struggled a little bit with this chapter.
So - I hinted a while back about writing this and relaying some feelings of the characters to a past experience I had. I was vague and not exactly ready to talk about that just yet. Long story short - I have two siblings that I did not grow up with. We were "reunited" about ten years ago after connecting with one sibling on Myspace. We as siblings spent a few months getting to know each other - and our meetings were a lot, and I mean a LOT like this. Especially with some awkwardness around my father since that is the parent we share. Sadly - since we had grown up without each other we didn't stick together like glue like I would have liked - but the warmness in those months of talking, emailing and getting to know them still sticks. The feelings Hiccup is feeling - those were the feelings I felt meeting my siblings and talking to them. Every situation is different - not one realistic story is the same so I want to point that out there.
For those of you who have been reading this and sticking through this the past few months - thank you. During times of stress and insomnia, writing helps me. A few years ago it took a lot for me to open up and let someone read what I write - even with Fanfiction. My husband doesn't really even know what I write about - he just knows I write. So, thank you again for sticking with me and reading.
