Chapter 6 – No Place Like Home

We're heading back to Berk in this chapter. Woo!

Hope y'all enjoy!

Goodbyes. They never get easier no matter how many times you say the word. They still aren't easy knowing you'll see the person again. Texting and phones calls will never be the same as talking to them face-to-face and in person.

Hiccup always hated having to say goodbye, especially to this mother. He hated it more than he hated cold weather and movies that completely strayed far away from their books combined.

And the knock on the door told them that it was officially time to say those dreaded goodbye's. Valka liked to call them "see you laters" and Hiccup kept repeating that as he hugged his sweet and caring mother in the middle of their tiny living room.

The embrace was tight and long and full of so much love and meaning. That was easy to tell just from the way they held on for longer than usual and the way both mother and son closed their eyes.

"You'll call me when you get back and settled, right?" Valka asked her son when the two pulled away.

"We will," Hiccup confirmed.

"I love you." His mother smiled.

"Love you too, mom."

Hiccup stepped to the side, standing next to Fishlegs who was watching the tender moment while being surrounded by bags and suitcases that were being carried out by the team of security and the driver.

Valka walked up to her daughter-in-law, "Call me if you need anything, alright?"

And those words from the older woman who'd been nothing but helpful and supportive when she needed it most was all Astrid needed to hear to pull Valka in for a hug before her mother-in-law even had the chance. She wrapped her arms tightly around her and it took Valka a moment to return the embrace, shocked by the sudden contact.

"Thank you," Astrid spoke softly in her ear, "For everything."

Valka gently patted her on the back before the two pulled away and looked at one another with knowing glances in their eyes. Glances that only the two women would understand.

"Of course, dear." Valka nodded.

Astrid stepped back and took one more look around her. She looked at the life she never got to experience. The life that was filled with paper napkins and cluttered rooms but also so much comfort and love. A life that was foreign to her but not impossible to get used to.

Hiccup glanced around at the house once more as they walked to the car. The house that was filled with memories of his past. A past filled with childhood smiles and the pains of growing up. It was a hard life to leave but heading home to a future with what he knew would be filled with so much love made it much easier than the last time he'd left.

It was when the car had turned out of the driveway and was heading towards the freeway when Hiccup grabbed Astrid's hand resting on her knee, "You two seem to be getting along really well." He said, referring to her and his mother.

Astrid turned her head away from the window to look at her husband with the sweet gentle smile and a tearful look in his eyes, "We had a really...nice talk yesterday."

"I'm glad."

And Hiccup was glad because the two most important women in his life getting along and becoming used to being a family made this whole entire trip worth it and gave it the best ending he could've asked for.

Arriving back in the small country of Berk shouldn't have been stressful. It should've been easy.

But nothing was really easy when you were the Prince and Duchess of the country returning home together after being away schmoozing with other royal leaders.

And it definitely didn't help that a supposed rumor had spread overnight about there being "trouble" between the most talked about couple of the year. It started when photos of the Prince were snapped at the fair...and photos of just the Prince. There was no Duchess of Berk in sight and people started talking and gossiping and now the Berkian media was waiting to bombard them about it as soon as they got the chance.

"You both need to step off this plane holding hands, be all lovey-dovey, or just do something that couples in love do...anything to show that there is no trouble in this marriage," Gustav ordered, trying to sound authoritative and failing because the Duchess still made the boy nervous and his voice tremble.

"I don't understand why we have to enlighten them," Astrid argued with her arms crossed, "It's none of their business anyway."

"If you do they'll move onto something else and it'll all be over."

Astrid narrowed her eyes, "No, they'll just come up with something else so there's no point in giving them what they want."

Hiccup jumped in before things got heated because the fiery look in his wife's eyes was never a good sign and they'd made it the whole trip without her injuring the boy, "Astrid, he isn't asking us to give them our first born child so let's just go out there and do what we usually do, alright?"

She whipped her head around to glare at her husband, "What did you just say?"

He swallowed the sudden nervous lump in the back of his throat, "Let's go out and do what we usually do?"

"No, about our..." Astrid shook her head, "Nevermind." She walked away from the men and towards the opening door of the plane. Mala trailed after her with a brush and can of hairspray wanting to fix the flyaway hairs that came from sitting and napping on a plane all day.

Fishlegs stared at Hiccup with a quizzical look at the sudden outburst from his friend's wife.

"I don't know." Hiccup sighed. He walked over to Astrid then, who was standing still and letting Mala fix the collar on her navy blazer, "Hey, is everything alright?"

"I just want to go home."

She wanted to go home because she was tired of new things filled with uncertainty and wanted something to be familiar again. Berk and the palace could give her that.

As fun and exciting and adventurous as traveling was, there really was no place like home.

"Me too." Hiccup agreed and grabbed her hand hanging down by her side, intertwining their fingers.

They stepped out of the plane then, stopping at the top of the steps to wave at the people in the distance who were cheering for their return and taking photos of the two standing close and walking down the steep steps, hand-in-hand.

Eret met them at the bottom, "Welcome home." He announced, holding an umbrella out to them to shield the two from the misty rain, and led them to the car parked on the tarmac with Fishlegs and Gustav in tow.

"I doubt that was enough to squash those rumors but maybe it was a good start," Gustav spoke as the door shut behind them and Eret began driving out of the airport, passing by the people of Berk lined up waving and greeting their return home.

"It doesn't matter anyway," Astrid muttered.

It didn't matter because she knew that it wouldn't be too much longer until their attention and interests would be all about every moment of her pregnancy and the "royal baby" that would one day be the next leader of their great country.

The guards dressed in formal red and black jackets opened the gates to the palace. As Eret drove up the long driveway to the front, Hiccup thought about how the sight of the grand building no longer took his breath away.

He no longer looked upon the sand-colored stone and large windows with his mouth open in complete awe at the detail that went into such a magnificent place. This was home. This was becoming normal.

Many things still felt foreign - no longer being able to do simple tasks on his own and no privacy was only a few things on that list - but the grandness that went with certain aspects of this life were becoming routine.

The car doors opened followed by the wooden doors that led into the front room in the palace and out of them came Gobber and the twins with Chicken tucked underneath Tuffnut's arms like a sack of flour and squawking like she was also happy to see them.

The group scurried down the front steps and Hiccup and Astrid had barely stepped out of the backseat of the car before they were enveloped in a tight bear-like hug from Gobber that almost lifted them off the ground until his back protested.

"We missed you too, Gobber," Hiccup coughed, trying to get back the breath he lost during the tight squeeze from his father's right-hand man.

It was refreshing having someone within the palace that didn't always pay attention to formalities like bowing or treating them like they weren't just normal people.

"It was so boring without you guys here." Ruffnut groaned from the spot beside her brother.

"And why is that?" Astrid asked.

"Because Hiccup's usual clumsy self and clueless attitude keep things interesting. Without him, there's just a bunch of lame old people who do nothing but sit around."

"Thanks for that fabulous description of my personality." Hiccup deadpanned.

"You're welcome!"

Astrid snickered at just how genuine Ruffnut's reply to Hiccup's sarcasm was. The maid - who had also become a friend over the year - did have a point. Things were actually lifeless and boring around here until Hiccup showed up. He brought a certain spirit and life to the palace and to Berk that they all needed without realizing it. Not until he showed up a year ago.

"Anyway...I'm going upstairs to change and then to see my horse." Hiccup pushed past his friends.

"I'm right behind you," Astrid announced, walking beside her husband up to the entrance of the palace.

Suddenly remembering that he was supposed to inform the two about their evening plans, Gobber whipped around quickly, "The King wants you two to meet him for dinner in two hours. Don't be late!" He called after the couple.

Hiccup replied with a simple "okay" over his shoulder and the two disappeared through the doors.

He looked around him and noticed that nothing had changed. The statues and the plants and the guards all still stood in their usual spots. The large paintings still hung on the walls and their eyes still followed you as you walked past them. The crystal chandeliers still sparkled in the same way as they lit the way down the spacious hall and into Hiccup and Astrid's living quarters.

The familiarity was comforting after being away for so long. It helped ease the stress of the busy schedules that started back up first thing tomorrow morning.

That's why the two changed out of their photo-worthy blazers and pants and into their jeans and shirts still covered in stains from hours and hours of riding through the fields and forest. They were in a hurry to hop on the back of their beloved horses. They missed not only them but the freedom that came with being on their backs and riding through the grass and trees.

They wasted no time heading towards the stables, hugging their long necks, and repeating apologies for being gone for so long over and over before hopping on their back and riding out into the rain.

And for once Hiccup wasn't thinking about the stressful renovation or the back-to-back meetings and public appearances he had to attend over the next few weeks.

Astrid wasn't thinking about their future as parents or how she'd tell Hiccup. She wasn't thinking about all the attention that would hit their growing family here soon.

Their heads were clear and they both finally took a big deep and calming breath as their horse's hooves pounded underneath them.

That was until they had to head into the forest to get underneath the cover of trees that helped shield them from the rain that suddenly came pouring down in the middle of their ride.

But the thoughts only came back because Astrid was watching the way Hiccup interacted with Toothless. He'd scratch the side of his neck and tell him how much he'd missed getting trapped in the rain with him.

The way horse and rider interacted was always sweet to witness. Hiccup's love and care for the people and things around him was one of his best qualities.

It was also one of the many things Astrid loved about him. It was one of the first things that made her fall for him.

It was one of the things that made him a great leader, a great friend, and an even better husband. And it was going to make him a fantastic father.

And she hadn't realized she was staring until Hiccup called her out on it.

"Like what you see?" He asked mischievously with that humorous smirk spread across his rain stained face.

"Oh, I do."

Hiccup sat up straighter, looking proud, "I knew-"

"I just forgot how handsome Toothless was." She joked.

"Picked second after my own horse," Hiccup scoffed, "Typical."

Astrid rolled her eyes at her husband's dorkiness.

She wasn't off the hook, however, "No, really...you've been staring at me for the last five minutes. Do I really just look that good wet and covered in mud?" He gestured down at his current soaked and dirty look.

He did look good...his dark green cotton shirt was sticking to his stomach and outlining his chest in a way that almost made Astrid wish they weren't sitting on top of their horses in the middle of the forest behind the palace.

"I was just thinking." She answered.

"About?" He prodded.

"You...us," she started, "And how crazy it is that in two weeks we'll have been married for a year."

Hiccup's mouth curved into a wide grin that was so bright it lit up the gloomy and foggy forest around them, "It's been a good year."

"It has." She agreed, returning the smile, but then suddenly her mind drifted to just how different their lives would be this time next year. It wouldn't be just them anymore. It wouldn't be just them...ever again.

Astrid figured she'd better enjoy these quiet and private moments she got with her husband while she still could and while they were still pretty easy to get.

Hiccup was staring at his wife now and thinking about how this felt like it was meant to be. Not just this particular moment but spending the rest of his life with the girl looking at him like she was thinking the same thing.

"We should do something to celebrate. Take the day off and go somewhere, just the two of us." Hiccup spoke, bringing Astrid back to the conversation that she started.

"Where would we go?"

"We could talk about it." He paused, "If that's something you'd want to do?"

"Of course it is, Hiccup," she looked up at the sky and noticed that the rain had slacked off enough, "But right now we should head back or we'll be late for dinner." Astrid grabbed the reins resting in front of her.

"How mad do you think my dad would be if we showed up to dinner looking like this?" Hiccup asked, nudging Toothless to start trekking back towards the field.

Astrid snorted, "Let's not test that theory this evening."

She followed him out of the forest while thinking that she better tell her eager husband the news before he started making too many more future plans because the future she knew that he saw had changed.

"There they are!" Stoick announced, standing up from his seat at the head of the long dining room table already piled up with food that was a lot more than just three people could eat.

The couple took their seats at the table - Hiccup next to his father and Astrid next to him.

"Tell me, how was your trip? I only ever got the opportunity to read about it in the papers." The King asked after they'd sat down and folded the cloth napkins neatly in their laps.

"It was exhausting." Hiccup started and then began to recount some of their favorite memories from their time traveling around Europe.

The footman who always served their meals began walking around the table to pour each of them a glass of red wine.

"No wine," Astrid told him quietly, placing her hand over the top of the glass, and silently praying no one would notice her turning down the drink.

"Yes ma'am." the grey-haired gentleman bowed his head.

Stoick witnessed the interaction, however, and interrupted Hiccup's conversation about their time in Berlin, "Come on! Drink! This is a celebratory occasion."

"What are we celebrating, exactly?" He asked his father curiously.

"Your homecoming, of course," Stoick spoke like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "and I wanted to make a toast." He held up his glass already filled up with the dark red liquid.

"I'm still not feeling well so I'll just toast with water," Astrid explained as she picked up the water glass in front of her.

A puzzled look crossed the King's face and he furrowed his bushy red brows.

"Yeah, Astrid got sick at the end of the trip," Hiccup added on.

Stoick nodded, "I see. Sorry to hear that." He paused. "Pick up your glass, son."

Hiccup did as he was told and held it halfway in the air.

Astrid released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in and sighed in relief at neither man not prodding at her reason for turning it down any further.

This was going to be too complicated and difficult to hide for too long. She'd tell her husband this week. Not tonight. Not tomorrow. There were too many things on their agenda and he out of everyone didn't need something else to distract him from the one thing he's worked so hard on.

If she was to tell him tonight then tomorrow would be a complete disaster, and she wasn't about to be the reason everything falls apart on the first day of the renovation.

He was already worried enough and hiding it well from everyone else. But she knew the way he'd wring his hands, how he didn't sleep a wink on the plane, and the distant look in his eyes when he'd suddenly turn silent meant he was more stressed than he was letting on.

The King spoke the usual Berkian toast. It always began with the same line and ended with something to do with the occasion, "The past is history, the future is a mystery, but today is a gift because my son and daughter-in-law made it home safe and sound."

The three Haddocks in the room clinked their glasses together and took a sip.

Dinner started out lighthearted and easy. They discussed Hiccup's upcoming build at the orphanage and some of the roles Astrid would take while he was busy with that. She not only had to visit with the children at their temporary home once a week but also had to sit in on the meetings that her husband wouldn't be able to attend.

That was the deal they'd made when Hiccup argued he wasn't just going to hire someone to take the job that he was more than qualified to do. So, they'd come to the conclusion that at least one of them had to be around and be informed about the rest of Berk and there was luckily no objections when Astrid said she'd take that role.

But all-in-all, they were going to be busy.

"How's your mother?" Stoick asked his son after a moment of nothing but the sounds of scraping forks against the plates.

"She's doing fine." Hiccup told him, watching his father's reaction of trying not to look too interested in all the details of his ex-wife, "You could call her, you know. I don't think she'd mind." He added.

Stoick shook his head, "That's too complicated, Henry."

Hiccup shrugged and his father's eyes burned with his usual disapproving look at the impolite gesture.

"How's my father been?" Astrid asked, changing the subject before Stoick could comment on proper etiquette that would just end up leading into an argument.

Her father-in-law directed his attention to her with a slight frown, "Nothing ever seems to change with good ol' Ragnar. He did, however, ask me about you the other day."

"What did he ask?"

"Just wondering about when you were headed home." He answered, "You two still not speaking?"

"No, we're not," Astrid replied and hoped that would be the end of that conversation. She didn't appreciate the looks of pity Hiccup and his father were currently giving her. Even without looking them in the eyes she could feel their stares burning a hole in the top of her head.

Hiccup rested his hand over hers sitting on the table by the empty spot where her forks were at the beginning of the meal. She didn't quite need the support - or the pity - because she no longer shed tears or blew up at the talk of her father. He was who he was and his actions were his choice and all of that...well, it was on him.

"Families…" Stoick sighed, "None of them are perfect. Not even ours no matter how many people think so."

"Now that I can toast to." Hiccup said, his tone filled with a tad bit of sass and Astrid had to bite the inside of her gum to keep from smiling. He picked up his glass of water and held it in the air for a moment before taking a sip that was probably more dramatic than it should've been.

Stoick ignored his son's comment and leaned back in his chair, resting his hands on his stomach, "You two been thinking about starting a family of your own here anytime soon?"

Hiccup didn't have time to swallow the large sip he took and as soon as that question left his father's mouth, he spit it right out all over the table in front of him and drenched the red table cloth.

"Henry!" Stoick scolded.

Hiccup wiped his mouth with the back of his hand - causing even more glare from his father - and then proceeded to ramble and stutter as the blush continued to grow across his cheeks, "Oh...no. No. We haven't...we aren't...no, we are not ready to be parents."

"I was only curious." His father replied, completely unfazed by his son's rambling and unable to stop his mouth from twitching into a small amused smile.

"Well, you can just keep your 'World's Greatest Grandpa' mug in the cabinet a little while longer."

Hiccup shut his eyes and placed his fingers on the bridge of his nose so he missed the way Astrid looked over at him.

The way her face paled to the same color as the napkin she was squeezing so tight it'd probably have a permanent wrinkle from where her fingers gripped it to help try and take away the painful tightness in her chest.

His answer just confirmed what she was already worried about and what had kept her from telling him last night or on the plane or while they were alone in the forest - that they just weren't ready for this step yet.

Uh oh…poor Astrid. She probably needs a big ol' hug after hearing Hiccup's answer. That didn't help matters any, that's for sure.

Y'all were waiting for the angst to start...LOL well, welcome to angstville! XD jk jk…the dorks just need to learn to communicate a bit better. Hopefully, they'll learn that here soon.

Thanks for reading!