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!
20: Won't Let You Fall
=Harvey's POV=
[December 24th, 2016-Harvey & Trayden's Apartment]
I didn't care if I essentially broke down the day I asked Trayden to talk to a psychiatrist; I needed him to understand how I felt, how scared I was because I knew his depression was still there, and bad at that. If Trayden hadn't agreed; I don't know what I would have done. Thankfully, it worked, and Trayden decided to seek professional help for my sake. After we ate dinner that night, we pulled out the laptop and began researching nearby offices and doctors. We found quite a few, and then used the next morning to start making phone calls; to see who would be best for Trayden to speak with about everything. Trayden had been through, and we needed someone who might be able to help him get passed it all so Trayden could work towards a future instead of living in his past with all the sadness.
After a few hours, Trayden picked Dr. Nicholas O'Conner, and we set up an appointment for Trayden to be seen as soon as possible, which ended up being two days later at 1:30 pm. I drove Trayden there because I could tell he was nervous to go. I filled out all of Trayden's information while he did a questionnaire about how he was feeling. When that was over, Trayden was in the office alone with Dr. O'Conner to go over the answers he'd given before. I saw in the waiting room through all that, and then when Trayden came out; I was relieved to see a smile on his face, and then Dr. O'Conner saying that there was a lot to work through, but he and Trayden were ready to work on it so Tray could heal. I breathed a sigh of relief and then thanked Dr. O'Conner. Trayden set his next appointments, and then he began to get seen twice a week as a start.
I could not believe the improvement after just a few short weeks of therapy. Trayden was smiling, eating, and sleeping for the most part. I would drop Trayden off, the pick him up when the session was over. At the end of each week, I would get brought in because Trayden asked if I could be part of the healing, and he wanted me to help him at home if he hit a tight spot. I was impressed and proud of him for making that choice. Trayden knew I helped him in the past, so he wanted me in on what was working in the appointments to use at the apartment. Trayden told me after the one month mark passed of him going to the sessions that he was wrong, and they do help, then he thanked me for convincing him to go. After that, Trayden and I made love for the first time in two months; he hadn't been into it before that. Things were finally turning around for him, he was starting to feel like himself again, and I was over the moon about it.
Through Thanksgiving, we had my parents, cousin, aunt, and uncle over for dinner. A meal cooked by Trayden and myself; there was turkey, hand-mashed potatoes, carrots, broccoli, corn, bread with butter, gravy too. For dessert, we had an assortment of treats and pies. My friends came over to enjoy some of that, and everyone admitted to me that it was great to see Trayden smiling, laughing, just like how it was before Drake started vandalizing The Edge to draw him away. I told Trayden we could pursue that matter, and have his father arrested, but to my surprise, Tray said not to worry because it didn't matter anymore. I was proud of him when he told me that; I kissed him deeply, and we had sex after cleaning up, and everyone went home. However, when December hit, Trayden had a few issues because they were getting into Trayden's old home life, about the abuse he suffered. At that point, Dr. O'Conner had suggested an anti-depressant because Tray's mood still fluctuated quite a bit.
In the last month, Trayden had tried two others, and we had to stop them because they were increasing suicidal thoughts. I was impressed when that happened because Trayden came to me about it, revealing how he felt. We called his doctor, and he said to stop the medication to see if things evened out, that's how we learned that Trayden wasn't responding to those pills well. Right now, he's on a newer one that seems to be working, and it helped him sleep at night too. Today is Christmas Eve, and it was going to be an interesting night because of two guests we had invited; Drake and Rebecca Nyght. Yes. We were inviting Trayden's parents over to celebrate Christmas with my family and friends too. When Trayden told me what he wanted to do, I thought he was nuts. However, after hearing him out, I couldn't say no, but I was very hesitant.
So here we are on Christmas Eve, waiting for the guests to arrive. Trayden and I cleaned everything yesterday; we told people to come around 4 pm, and then we'd eat at 5. Trayden was nervous, I could see it because he kept fiddling with his hands. Trayden happened to remember his mother's cell phone number, and he called her to invite them both to dinner with the enticing proposition of perhaps fixing the broken relationship between them. I got on the phone afterward to warn her that if either of them upset Trayden, it would be the last time they ever see him. Rebecca said they would be here, and now we just had to wait it out. A knock on the door made Trayden flinch with fear.
"It's alright, Love. Deep breaths," I told him as I moved to the door while drying my hands, then opening it to see Seth, Jamie, Samuel, and my parents. I guess they carpooled here because it was easier. "Hey, glad you could come,"
"Hi, cuz," Seth greeted as I let them inside. Not long after they arrived, everyone else did too. Now, we were just waiting for the arrival of Drake and Rebecca. I already told my family and friends about the situation, and they said that no matter what, they were here to offer comfort and support. I saw that cheered Trayden up a bit. At 4:38 pm, there was another set of knocks.
"Tray, it's okay. I'm gonna let them in, are you ready?" I asked him. Trayden nervously nodded before he got up and stood next to me. I opened the door seeing the two parents there; here we go. "Welcome, and thank you for accepting the invitation to join us for dinner," I smiled as Trayden held my hand tightly.
"Thank you for inviting us," Rebecca replied. "Hello, son,"
"Hi, Mom, Dad," Trayden responded quietly. Drake had yet to say anything, and Trayden didn't want to look in his eyes. I could see that now.
"Please, come inside. We'll be having supper shortly," I said to let them in. Gods, I hated the feeling that I had to let these people in my house, but if this would help Tray, then I was willing to do it. After they stepped in, I closed the door and brought them into the living room where everyone else sat. "Everyone, this is Drake and Rebecca Nyght, Trayden's parents," I introduced.
"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Victoria Haddock, and this is my husband, Sullivan. Harvey is our son," my mother smiled.
"We're Harvey's aunt and uncle. I'm Samuel Jorgenson, this is my wife, Jamie," Samuel said.
"And this is our son, Seth," Jamie added in.
"Garrett Smithy; Harvey's Godfather," Garrett stated.
"It's so good to meet all of you," Rebecca said.
"We're his best friends. I'm Ashley Hofferson, and this is my boyfriend, Zackary Holt," Ashley stated.
"Ford Ingerman, and my wife, Heather. Our son's name is Kyle," Ford informed.
"Roslyn and Travis Thorston," Roslyn went next.
"Daniel Lanvik, older brother to Heather. This is my daughter, Melanie, and my wife, Stephanie," Daniel introduced last.
"Good to meet you," Drake finally spoke, though, it sounded anything but genuine interest. I guessed that Rebecca forced him to come, and made him promise to behave after my warning not to hurt Trayden. There was another knock as I smiled.
"Wait, who else did you invite?" Trayden asked.
"Few other friends who had nothing better to do tonight. Come on in guys," I replied. A second later; Andrew, Eli, Calista, Sean, Winter, Morgan, Brett, Brady, Storm, Hank, Vinny, and Robert walked in. "Eli, Cali, come here a moment would you?" the two walked over. "Roslyn, I'd like to formally introduce to you Eli Trapp, server, and drummer for The Edge. And Seth, this is Calista Bog," Roslyn was blushing, and Seth was shocked. "I promised to do formal introductions back in June, I apologize that it's taken so long," I reminded.
"I think we should kick tonight off with a song," Andrew grinned looking at me.
"Oh come on! I'm off the clock right now," I groaned. "And I'm your boss!"
Andrew laughed as he patted my shoulder. "I'm just teasing you, boss," Andy winked.
"Who are the rest of them?" Drake wondered curiously.
"Sean Wilde, Winter Spears, Morgan Flinter, Storm Avia, Brett and Brady Pyros, Hank Burnall, Vinny and Robert Grimborn. The staff of The Edge," Trayden answered calmly. I smiled; having everyone around was making Trayden feel safer and more comfortable, which is precisely why I had them come over. "Should we turn the music on, baby?" he asked me. I grabbed my phone and docked it on my iHome, then turned it on after selecting the Random Mix.
"Come on, let check on dinner," I told Trayden as he took my offered hand, and then we moved into the kitchen. Fifteen minutes after that, a very familiar song started playing. I heard the old Dragon's Cove staff start getting hyped up over it too. I decided to humor them a bit and start singing along.
"Ah, good times," Morgan chuckled a bit while Trayden and I were setting the table; me still singing.
"What do you mean?" Rebecca wondered.
"Harvey started working as a server for me back in 2010 when Dragon's Cove was still open. Two weeks after he started, there was a riot in the bar, and this nutjob got on stage and started singing along to this song. Not only did it stop the fighting, but its how he got started on singing a couple songs every night to keep the crowd calmed down," Andrew explained.
"And you still don't have the right look, and you don't have the right friends. Nothing changes but the faces, the names, and the trends…High School never ends," I sang.
"And now every night down in the club, Harvey opens it up at 8 pm with a song that the customers vote for. Trayden and the house band perform every hour after that," Winter added on to Andrew's explanation.
"And I still don't have the right look, and I still have the same three friends. And I'm pretty much the same as I was back then! High School never ends!" I finished as Trayden giggled a bit and I kissed his cheek. "Food's up!" I announced. After that, we all moved to the extended table, and the extra folding one that Trayden and I brought out just for the occasion. Everyone got some food and sat down to enjoy it.
[5:45 pm]
"You definitely inherited your ability to cook from your father, Harvey," Garrett chuckled.
"I'll agree to that, my friend," Sullivan laughed a bit as Victoria glared at him.
"I think you just got yourself put in the doghouse with Thornado, Dad," I informed him.
"I am not that bad of a cook," Victoria huffed.
"Since I don't have to worry about getting grounded," I began with a smile. "Mom, you can't cook to save your life,"
"Harvey Haddock!" Victoria warned.
"You burnt BUTTER, Mom, and Dad hasn't let you cook since then. I was what, ten-years-old?" I reminded as she muttered under her breath. "All that aside, I believe the credit of tonight's meal goes to my husband," I added as Trayden blushed a little.
"Trayden? You did all this?" Drake asked, a little surprised. Trayden nodded to him once. "Huh, seems I might have misjudged you; you can do some things right," I watched Trayden's face fall a little.
"Hey, we all have our hidden talents," Heather decided to state.
"Yeah, none of us knew Harvey could sing until we saw him on stage a few years back," Roslyn added in.
"I suppose that's true," Drake said now. "Well done, Tray. The meal was perfect,"
"Um, thank you," Trayden replied, shocked at the compliment. I got up now and began to clear away the dishes, and Trayden started to help me out. While we were in the kitchen, I decided to make sure he was okay.
"You doing alright?" I asked.
"Yeah, it's just…different," Trayden replied.
"It's been a while since they've been in your life; I assume it's to be expected that having them here and it being civil takes some getting used to," I informed gently as I kissed his forehead.
"Is it bad that I have this…horrible gut feeling that something bad is going to happen?" Trayden inquired.
"You too, huh?" I arched a brow as Trayden nodded. "Well, we're not psychic's, Love. We'll just have to see how it goes," I kissed him, and he returned it. Soon after, we began making out a little while staying hidden from the sight of others.
=Normal POV=
"We…really should…stop," Trayden murmured against Harvey's lips, though, he couldn't seem to pull his body away.
"We should, but we don't have to because this is our place," Harvey replied.
"But we have guests, and we shouldn't be rude to them," Trayden said. Harvey sighed knowing his husband was right. Harvey broke the kiss and smiled.
"I love you," Harvey said.
"I love you too, and…maybe later you can show me how much?" Trayden asked with a hopeful look in his eyes.
"I would say that is much more than a maybe, baby," Harvey said as they kissed again before returning to the living room.
"What took you two so long?" Zack asked.
"Nothing you need be worried about," Harvey chuckled as he kept his arm around Trayden's waist.
"Ah, got ya," Seth smiled. After that, Harvey and Trayden finished cleaning up as everyone let their supper settle before desserts were brought out to indulge in. When that was over, everyone was sitting around the living room talking about life. The Edge staff had left, and all that remained were Harvey's friends and family plus the Nyght's. The time had reached 6:25 pm after all was said and done, now everyone could relax.
"So, I have to know since we missed it; when did you two get hitched?" Rebecca questioned.
"June 21st, 2014," Trayden said.
"Married two years then this past June. How nice," Drake said, although, Harvey heard the very obvious sarcasm. "I don't suppose you have any pictures we might be able to see?" he asked.
"We have a whole album full," Trayden replied as Harvey went to go get it from the bedroom, then he returned to let them look at it.
"It looks like it was a lovely ceremony, and party. Was it held downstairs?" Rebecca wondered.
"Yep. We got married at City Hall, and then threw the party at The Edge," Harvey informed.
"How long did you two date?" Drake asked.
"I'm sorry?" Trayden arched a brow.
"How long did you and Harvey date, before you two got hitched?" Drake questioned again.
"Eleven months," Tray responded.
"Doesn't seem like very long before deciding to bind your lives together," Drake remarked.
"Sometimes you don't need a lot of time to know who you want to spend the rest of your life with. Harvey…was the first real friend I had after what happened when I was sixteen, after being on my own for four years," Trayden said, quieter now as Harvey could sense his mood was changing.
"I can agree with that statement. Victoria and I fell in love at first sight," Sullivan smiled.
"And then had Harvey a year after getting married," Victoria beamed.
"Quite right. I fell for Heather when I met her, and we've been together since our Junior Prom," Ford informed next.
"I see. So Harvey, since you're our…son-in-law, we should get to know you a bit," Drake mentioned.
"What do you want to know?" Harvey replied. "I have good friends and family, fantastic job, loving husband. I graduated in 2010, and that's about it," he said.
"Never been with anyone else but Trayden?" Drake pushed.
"Dad, that…isn't any of your business," Trayden interrupted.
"It's okay, Love. I don't mind answering. And no, Mr. Nyght, no past lovers. Trayden was my first relationship; now and always, my only," Harvey said.
"Well, we should get going. It's a long drive back to Bashem. Oh, we're glad you're home safely, son," Drake mentioned.
"What…do you mean?" Trayden asked. Suddenly, Harvey felt like things were about to go wrong.
"Your mother and I heard about you having been missing for three days back in September. The cops were all over looking for you," Drake enlightened.
"And I'm supposed to believe you were worried about me when it's your fault I left because you wouldn't leave Harvey's club alone if I didn't?" Trayden scoffed.
"Drake, enough," Rebecca warned her husband.
"I wasn't worried; I was surprised. I didn't think you would run away; that you were so weak, you couldn't handle it. You know I have friends in the police department, and I know that you broke down while cutting yourself," Drake taunted. That time, Harvey got up.
"I believe you have overstayed your welcome, Mr. Nyght. It's time for you to leave," Harvey demanded.
"I never wanted to be here," Drake retorted.
"Then why did you come!" Trayden yelled while getting to his feet. "I knew this was a waste of time, and I knew you didn't care, so why bother coming at all?! To get a rise out of me? You think your words are enough to break me again? Well, too bad, Dad. You can't hurt me anymore,"
"I don't need to hurt you when you ran in fear. You didn't run away to protect anyone; you ran because you're scared of me," Drake smirked.
"No, I'm not," Trayden said as his hands clenched into fists.
"Don't lie to yourself or me. You've always been afraid," Drake said.
"Gee, I wonder why. Oh, that's right! Because you used to beat the shit out of me!" Trayden glared. "I don't care what you do; I'll never run away from those who actually care about me," Harvey was proud of his husband for standing up for himself. Drake raised his hand to hit Trayden, and he flinched in fear of being stuck. However, Trayden's eyes narrowed as he brought up his left arm to hold off Drake's strike. "I'm not afraid of you anymore," then Trayden grabbed his father's wrist before punching him with the right hand in the face. Drake stumbled onto his back, looking at Trayden in shock. "Get. Out," he ordered.
"Fine, but remember this. The scars on your arms are proof enough that I hurt you all I needed to. A constant reminder that you wanted to die to get away from me, and that will ALWAYS be with you," Drake said as he left the apartment.
"I-I had no part in this, Trayden. I do want to fix things with you, anyway that I can. And I'm going to start by leaving him; I understand the pain he put you through, and I am so sorry," Rebecca said softly.
"Has he been abusing you?" Sullivan asked. Rebecca nodded to him.
"Don't worry about me, I'll get away from him on my own," Rebecca informed. "Take care of my son, Harvey. I know he's safe with you,"
"You have my word," Harvey nodded. Rebecca smiled and then left the house. Trayden's head was down, he was looking at his cuts. "Tray?" Harvey asked as he lifted Trayden's head up and saw the tears in his eyes, then Trayden started shaking too. "No. No no, Tray. Hey, it's okay. Look at me, baby. It's alright; he's gone," Harvey cupped his husband's cheeks. "Listen to me," Trayden looked at him now. "Don't think about what he said; he only did it because he knows he was beaten,"
"Then why does it hurt so much?" Trayden asked.
"Because he gave you false hope that he cared, and that does hurt to know. However, there's something else I want you to know," Harvey said.
"What?" Trayden inquired.
"You faced your fears and refused to let him hurt you again, Tray. You stood up to him, baby. It takes a lot of courage to do what you did tonight," Harvey said as he lifted his husband's chin up, then smiled a little. "And I am very proud of you,"
"It still doesn't feel too good in here," Trayden put a hand on his heart.
"I don't imagine that it does, but think of how much you hurt his pride with what you did? And hey, don't let this get you down. If it does, remember that you always have me, Trayden," Harvey said.
"Us too," Ashley said standing up now, and then the other friends.
"We got your back," Seth smiled as the others nodded.
"You're not alone anymore, Love. And we'll never let you fall," Harvey said as Trayden almost cried. Harvey kissed him. "I love you,"
"I love you too. Thank you," Trayden said as Harvey hugged him tightly. Yes, Trayden knew for sure that his friends, in-laws, and husband would never let him fall.