The Edge

Pairing; Toothless X Hiccup

Setting; Modern AU

Rating; M for Mature

Disclaimer; I do not own the HTTYD or any of the music that is used. Everything belongs to its original creator/artist!

10: The New Owner

=Trayden's POV=

I sat on the bar stool in Dragon's Cove next to Harvey and was beside myself at the news the staff just received from Andrew. The bar was closing down and would be sold? I didn't want that to happen! Gods, I loved this place entirely. For Odin's sake, it's where Harvey and I met! I knew the bar was having trouble, Harvey informed me about it shortly after I started working there, but had gotten the motel room for myself so I wasn't living with Harvey. I'm still not, Harvey and I hadn't actually discussed living arrangements even though we've been together for seven months now. The whole staff was shocked and scared about the update. Thor only knew what could happen from here. The bar would be sold, and the new owner had a choice to renovate the bar, then open it back up. However, there was another decision to keep the original staff or bring in a new one. If the second option got picked, everyone in the room right now would be without a job very soon.

I heard them all talking, trying to think of another way, but I just sat still and thought about everything since finding this place after getting disowned and kicked out by my parents. I had been on my own since I was sixteen-years-old, and for a while, I made it okay because I had allowance money saved up. However, that only lasted me about six months before I started to struggle hard to find places to sleep or ways to eat. I began standing with others looking for odd and end job by being outside of hardware stores and what not when putting applications failed. That was my life until the day I met Harvey in the back alley of Dragon's Cove. It was the best day of my life too, not just because he got those punks to leave me alone, but also stuck his neck out to get me a job at the bar by lying to his boss and saying we were old friends. To this day, I still don't feel like I'll ever be able to truly pay him back for that kindness.

Harvey and I became fantastic friends from that moment after Andrew hired me and made Harvey the person to train me for the job I'd be doing. Harvey showed me how to work the same way he did, and by the Gods, it paid off. I still couldn't believe that Harvey used to split his tips with me before I was allowed to take tables by myself. Harvey did so much for me when he didn't even know me. I was just some homeless kid getting beat up at his job, but he stepped in and helped out. Harvey got me a job, he gave me a place to live, bought me things I needed to take care of myself with. Harvey helped me through my depression, which I still had, but likely always would because of the past with my parents. Harvey didn't judge me, and he became my only friend until I got to know the rest of the staff at Dragon's Cove better.

I never imagined that I'd be dating my best friend. I developed a crush on Harvey when we went out for his twentieth birthday in February; that's the day I told him it was my birthday too. So that was a fun day for us, to go out and eat, just talk about life. From there, my crush just grew into something deeper. When we started going out as a couple, Harvey and I weren't saying I love you to one another. Honestly, we just started that a month ago when we hit half a year of being in a relationship. Harvey and I started dating on our twenty-first birthday, and I loved how we revealed our feelings. It was so casual, and there was no nervousness either. Harvey and I were relaxed, hanging out as we had done for so long as friends since meeting. Sure, there were a few drinks involved, but as I've heard; alcohol shows a person's true desires. I spent the night at his house after we got together, and every day since has been nothing short of amazing. I loved being in a relationship with Harvey, and to think it's my first one too, and by the Gods, I hoped it was my last. I loved Harvey, and I hoped things worked out for us so we could stay together.

Our relationship was near perfect; we were able to work the same job without it interfering with us being a couple. Andrew and the rest of the staff knew we were dating, they were happy for us too. I met Harvey's parents, Sullivan and Victoria about a month into the relationship; they were very accepting of things. Of course, Harvey didn't tell them about my past that night; we saved that for two months later when Harvey's parents started asking when they could meet my mom and dad. At that point, we had to tell them the truth about everything. However, much like Harvey, they were very understanding and didn't judge me based on all that. Victoria had said it was heartless to throw me out simply because I was bisexual. Harvey had told me in the past that he learned he was bisexual in the eighth grade, also that his parents hadn't minded at all.

I've also met Harvey's Aunt Jamie and Uncle Samuel, I know I've met Seth before, but I don't see him too often. Oh, and Harvey's Godfather and unofficial Uncle Garrett is amazing. Harvey's life was amazing; I couldn't say the same about my own. I never graduated High School, but I did manage to get my GED when I turned eighteen. I thought it might help me get a job; turns out I was wrong. All that aside, Harvey and I made time for one another. I was still living in the motel but had changed rooms when the summer started. The layout of the place I stayed was the central office and then off that was the lower level going around in a horseshoe, then there was a staircase leading up to the second tier. I moved rooms because the end one across from the office was actually a one-bedroom apartment.

My apartment was simple and only cost me $400 a month, but it was paid as $200 every two weeks. The floor plan was average. Upon walking through the only door, you would be in the kitchen/living room combination. Along the left side was a refrigerator, a two burner stove/oven, microwave on the counter, then a single sink, more counter space before coming to a utility closet. On the right was a carpeted living room with a recliner chair and futon couch, small center table, and box TV with a DVD player in it on a stand with a bit of storage. The room after the closet in the kitchen was a small bathroom; toilet, sink, stand-up shower with tiny places for storage. Finally, the door across from the closet was the bedroom. It had a queen-sized bed, and then a four drawer dresser across from the bed. There were also two nightstands on either side of the bed and a minuscule closet on the wall where the bathroom would be.

As I said, not much but it got the job done. Harvey and I took turns spending the night at one another's places. On late nights from the bar, we stayed at his apartment since it was right upstairs and then on our off nights we stayed in my motel room. Harvey and I went on a date at least once a week, sometimes it was two either out to breakfast or lunch. We saved dinner dates for off nights, and we didn't always go out; either he or I would cook a home meal to enjoy. Harvey and I have made out, but never more than that. I admitted to him that I wasn't quite ready to engage in sexual activities. However, that's because my dad used to molest me on nights that mom had to work. I hadn't told Harvey about this; I knew it would tick him off enough to go find my dad beat the shit out of him.

The make-out sessions did get heated; I know that I used to get home and end up masturbating to wind down after leaving Harvey's. I know Harvey did the same thing, I caught him once when he forgot I was coming over after a doctor appointment. I told him it was okay after he apologized for me having to walk in and see him doing that. I admitted that I'd done it a few times too and after that is when I want to say we started taking things a bit farther. Just to test the waters, but most of the time we get home from work and were too tired to do anything except grab a shower and get some sleep. All that aside, the last seven months had been a blessing for us, and we loved that everyone accepted our relationship. I loved Harvey, and he loved me, but now we both feared to lose our jobs with Dragon's Cove and me personally, I didn't want to lose all the amazing friends I made here; this place was family to me. I'd already lost one of those, I didn't want to lose another.

Harvey looked at me, I knew he could see how scared I was to lose my job after everything since we had met. Harvey knew I was worried about ending up back where I started; job and homeless. "I'm sorry, Dragonites. I know you all want to save this place, but our level of customers are all college goers, and they don't want just an average bar. We did all we could, but, I don't know how to do more than we already have to keep the flow going," Andrew stated.

"We just have to appeal to what they would want," Sean said quickly.

"By doing what, Sean? I've thrown all I can into fixing this place up so it wouldn't be outdated," Andrew shrugged.

"They're college kids, they want the party scene," Morgan sighed looking down.

"And this bar is not that," Storm added in afterward.

All this time, Harvey hadn't said anything, but I knew the look on his face; he was in deep thought about something. "Harv?" I asked putting my hand on his arm. Me saying his name got the attention of the others as they got quiet and looked at Harvey too. "What's up?" I tried again.

=Normal POV=

The worst part about all this was that Harvey knew everyone was right. Dragon's Cove was a quiet, family owned bar with some hangout features. The place was not set up to be a full-on college-themed retreat where they could come to drink, party, and have fun. However, Harvey was thinking about something. Harvey was leaning against the bar with his eyes closed, head slightly down, and hand on his chin; a typical pondering something stance for him to take if an idea was forming.

"Harvey," Andrew said making Harvey open his eyes. "You haven't said a word, and I know that look. What are you thinking?" he asked.

"I believe that Sean, Morgan, and Storm are right," Harvey stated. "Sean is right; our customer age group consists mostly of University students. However, this bar is not the scene they enjoy because it doesn't have the energy they look for. If we want to keep the bar open and our jobs, we don't need a bar; we need a nightclub," he looked at them while taking his hand down.

"Huh, wow. That's actually an excellent idea," Andrew blinked. "The only downfall to it, Harvey, is that I don't have that kind of money laying around. I can't just snap my fingers and boom, we have a nightclub,"

"What if we all chipped in?" Kevin shrugged.

"I still don't think it'd be enough," Andrew sighed. "This place needs a complete overhaul in renovations, but then to remodel it too?"

"Andy has a point gang. To renovate and rebuild this place would take not only serious amounts of money but a lot of time as well," Storm responded.

"It was a good idea, Harvey, and would probably work too. However, we just don't have what we need to make it happen. I'm sorry everyone. I wish I had more to put into this place, but I don't. It's time to face facts; without a miracle of some sort, this is the end of the line for Dragon's Cove," Andrew closed his eyes, and the others did too.

"Wait," Harvey said as they looked at him again. "Look, I love this place. It's the first full-time job I've ever had, and I don't want to lose that. Dragon's Cove isn't just a bar to me, we're a family here," he paused, then gave a serious look to Andrew. "We know that a nightclub could bring in all the customers we need and more to keep this place going, right? Are we all in agreement that would be enough to save it?"

"Yeah…" they replied slowly.

"Let me do the convert then," Harvey said.

"I appreciate the enthusiasm, Harvey, but we already said that we just don't have enough money to pull that kind of thing off," Andrew smiled a bit.

"Listen to me. When I was born, my parents set up an account that they've been pouring money into every week since. All my birthday and honor roll rewards money went into it, and I merged my bank account with it, so there's more in than before. Andrew, I have the money to turn this place into what we need to keep it going. Let me do this; I owe you for giving me this job, and that apartment upstairs. Now, let me finally repay you by not letting our Dragon's Cove family fall apart. Please?" Harvey asked.

"You'd spend all that money to keep the bar alive?" Andrew asked in shock.

"My parents left it for me to do what I wanted with it. I want to save this place, it's basically my home," Harvey replied. "Will you let me?"

"Harvey," Andrew sighed some, "Your offer is…more than I could ask for, but even with the conversion; I know nothing about running a nightclub. I'm thirty-five-years-old; this scene is all your age group, my friend. I don't know what the kids are into these days," he shrugged.

"Sex, partying, dancing, and drinking," Harvey informed.

"Still, I'm too old for something like this; I could take what I have left and retire pretty comfortably. It's better to sell it to someone who can run it," Andrew stated.

"Alright, if you want to sell; I'll buy it," Harvey told him as their eyes widened.

"What did you just say?" Andrew inquired quickly.

"I said, I'll buy the bar and do the reno and remodel," Harvey enlightened. "Andy, you said it yourself; this is my age group, who better than someone who knows what they're looking for. College kids want a fun place to dance, drink, and hang out with lights and blaring music. I can make that happen. Sell me the building and let me keep the family together,"

"Oh, Harvey, I don't know about this. There is a lot of work that goes into it all, you're only twenty-one. I don't want you giving up your life for it," Andrew sighed.

"Andrew, this is what I want to do. You said it would take a miracle to keep it going, well, let me be the miracle then. I can buy the building from you, do all the changes, keep the original staff, and give the customers what they are looking for. Come on, you know what will happen if you sell this place to someone else. We all end up jobless, me homeless because I live upstairs, and this place will lose its memory because they'll tear everything down. Let me do this, boss," Harvey asked again. "Let me save our spot,"

Andrew was quiet a minute, then he looked at Harvey. "Alright," he finally said as everyone's eyes widened. "but I want to see what your plan is for the renovation first, I don't want you sinking all your money into this, understand? You show me a rough draft of what your idea is, and get an estimate. Is that a fair deal?" he stated.

"More than fair," Harvey nodded with a grin.

"Okay then. You come to me when you've got all that figured out, then we'll talk." Andy said as he headed into his office and returned five minutes later with a few large rolled up pieces of paper. "I don't know if these will be any help to you, but it's all the blueprints of the bar. Length, width, height, support posts; things you might need in your planning. You're too young to throw away everything on this place, so I'm only going to agree if you show me what you plan to do and that it won't make you go bankrupt," Andrew told him.

"Done deal," Harvey said taking the documents from him. After that, Andrew dismissed the meeting as Harvey went right upstairs to get to work. Trayden followed after him, and everyone else left or began to open the bar for another night of work. Harvey knew what he had to do to save Dragon's Cove, and he had the funds to do it too. Harvey would not let his family or home fall.

[Two Weeks Later]

Harvey spent all his free time working on the project for the bar, and Trayden helped out too when they didn't get lost in a make-out session, of course. Harvey used the blueprints from the most recent layout on his large-scale drawing of the idea he had. Harvey was an excellent artist, and he decided to save time and money by sketching it out himself, then adding color and details. Trayden was shocked to see it all come together, and by the Gods, if this worked, Harvey would own the hottest nightclub in the city. When Harvey finished his work on the plan, he had Andrew call another staff meeting so he could show everyone at the same time. The time was 9:15 am, most of the opening aspects had been done, and now they waited anxiously for Harvey to come down from his apartment to reveal his idea.

Harvey opened the door and walked over smiling with Trayden right behind him. "Sorry that I'm late, overslept a bit," Harvey admitted.

"It's alright, Harvey. So, what ya got there?" Morgan asked.

"The plan that will save this place. Dragonites, I present to you; The Edge Bar & Nightclub," Harvey announced as he had Trayden help him unroll the paper and rest it flat on the bar for everyone to see; their eyes widened.

"Holy-You did all this yourself?" Kevin exclaimed.

"Every bit of it," Harvey nodded. "It keeps everything we already have, just intensified and modernized. This place is huge, and we don't use all the space we have here. We can shrink the kitchen, move the alcohol and whatnot into the basement," he informed.

"I'll hand it to ya, Harvey; this is kind of cool," Andrew nodded his head. "And it won't kill your funds?" he asked.

"Not at all. Like I said, I can use everything we already have. I wouldn't be converting, just upgrading and adding. Our customers will come back when they see that we've improved according to the scene they crave," Harvey told him. "We can save this place, guys, and girls. Who is with me?" he asked.

"I'm down," Trayden put a hand on Harvey's shoulder.

"Us too!" Morgan and Storm cheered.

"Same," Sean mentioned, and there was a nod from Kevin. Soon all of them were agreeing with the plan as Harvey looked to Andrew now.

"Alright, Harvey. You've convinced me you got this; we'll make the arrangements tomorrow when I call the realtor. I'm trusting you," Andy said.

"I won't let you down," Harvey replied firmly as the two shook hands.

[October 2013]

This was the big day. Harvey and Andrew were in the office with a bank worker and realtor. Harvey paid a total of $50,000.00 for ownership of the building, signed over now from Andrew to Harvey. After speaking with a construction team, Harvey got his layout for the nightclub estimated at 97,000.00, and the overhaul would begin very soon. After two hours in the office; the door opened as everyone looked at Harvey and Andrew smiling.

"Dragonites! It's my esteemed pleasure and honor to announce that you're officially under the new management of Harvey Haddock!" Andrew announced. The staff cheered and jumped around; they weren't going to lose their jobs and get to work in an excellent club that Harvey designed himself! Trayden jumped at Harvey and kissed him deeply. Harvey looked around at how happy everyone was; this was actually happening. The Edge Bar and Nightclub would be opened within two to three months, and he was the new owner.