=Normal POV=
[Sunday, 11/2/2014-9:00 am]
[Isle of Berk; Haddock Residence]

It had been a hard five months since Hiccup left without anything more than a letter left on his pillow. True to his word; he left no trace of himself, but then again; the family hadn't really looked because they learned from Astrid that an accident between her and Hiccup was likely the cause of Hiccup's sudden disappearance. Even if Astrid panicked and said the wrong thing; it took her two weeks to realize the mistake, and in that time; Hiccup dealt with the pain of being rejected, an assumed breakup, and then finally deciding to leave. A huge part of the problem is that Astrid admitted she knew she made a mistake right away, but took two weeks before coming to see Hiccup with the intention of talking about what happened. And in that time; Hiccup chose to leave, saying he needed to get away to deal with everything. Gobber was the one to remind Stoick and Valka that Hiccup was more than capable of taking care of himself; he had plenty of life skills and money saved up from work over the years.

It did set the Haddock parents at ease in the beginning, but after no contact at all for two months; the worry began to return. Every phone call that came through was filled with anxiousness and hope that it was Hiccup calling. The last five months of calls had been let downs because it was not Hiccup calling, and it was disheartening to Stoick and Valka; they just wanted to know if he was okay. Once a week, Snotlout would get updates from the Haddock parents, and he'd relay them to his friends. The house seemed empty and quiet without Hiccup there; Gobber, Stoick, and Valka could all agree on that. This morning was no different, waking up and knowing Hiccup wasn't in the house. The two parents and Gobber were sitting at the dining room table, eating breakfast when the phone rang. Valka sighed, getting up and moving to the phone that was on the edge of the counter.

Valka answered the call, setting it to her ear. "Hello. Haddock Residence," she greeted. There was a minor pause, and then suddenly tears began to well up in her eyes. "Hiccup! Oh, my baby!" she exclaimed. Stoick and Gobber were up instantly and on either side of her as she tapped the speakerphone button.

"Y-Yes, it's me, Mom," Hiccup said.

"Dad and Gobber are here with me too; you're on speaker," Valka sobbed.

"I-I figured. Hi, Dad. Hi, Uncle Gobber…" Hiccup greeted lightly.

"Oh, son…It's so good to hear from you," Stoick said, trying to stay unemotional.

"Hi, laddie," Gobber replied.

"Where are you? Are you okay?!" Valka demanded with concern in her tone.

"We can get to that later! Why did you leave without a single word!" Stoick cut in.

"I left a note…" Hiccup mumbled.

"It's no excuse, Hiccup…You left without a trace, and no contact for five months!" Stoick remarked.

"Dad, if you're just gonna yell at me; I'm hanging up…" Hiccup sighed. Valka and Gobber glared at Stoick to shut up and watch his temper.

"I'm sorry, son…We've just been worried," Stoick apologized.

"I know, and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to contact you. I was busy and didn't have access to a phone, and unfortunately, I have to make this quick because there is more work to be done preparing for the move," Hiccup stated.

"What move, lad?" Gobber inquired.

"Where are you, sweetie? We know why you left…When are you coming back?" Valka asked.

"Oh…Do you now?" Hiccup inquired.

"You and Astrid had a fight…" Stoick said. "I'm sure you two can work it out,"

Hiccup laughed a little coldly. "Pfft, is that what she told you? Of course, making it seem like not such a big deal…Typical Astrid…" Hiccup remarked. "Allow me to set the record straight then. I asked her to marry me and she said no, and then proceeded to run off to her room,"

"But son, you don't understand…" Valka tried.

"What is there to not understand, Mom?! We'd been friends forever; we dated for three years…And when I asked her to marry me, she said no and ran away. No explanations, no anything. Just a flat no and she got away from me as fast as she could. What more could I have done after pouring my heart out, and getting it crushed by rejection, except to accept it and leave?" Hiccup explained.

"Hiccup, please! Astrid didn't mean to-," Valka attempted again.

"Enough. I don't want to hear anything else about it, alright? I don't care what she didn't mean to do because she DID hurt me and in a way I didn't think she was ever capable of doing. Instead of fighting; I walked away on the assumption it was over. She didn't stop me from leaving her house; she didn't chase me as I drove away. There were no messages, no texts, no anything to make me think otherwise that she wanted to be with me still. I took a couple days to weigh my options on the matter, and decided that I was just gonna move on. And the easiest way was to leave, so that she and I don't have to talk or run into one another. Now, I called because I said I'd update you when I made contact, and as mentioned before…I don't have a lot of time to talk, so can you just leave the break up alone, please? I don't wanna talk to her, don't want to see her, I don't want to hear about her…I don't even want to hear her name because it still hurts. I just want to put it behind me, as intended when I decided to distance myself, and hope that one day…It won't bother me as much as it still does now," Hiccup informed.

Stoick, Valka, and Gobber weren't sure what to say, but it was clear that despite knowing the truth about Astrid not meaning to say no; Hiccup was hurt by the fact Astrid didn't stop him from leaving her house that night. Hiccup was hurt that Astrid didn't give him any explanation. Hiccup was hurt that she just ran away from him. And sadly, the three adults couldn't disagree. Anything would have been better than leaving it as it was and giving Hiccup notion that she did.

"We understand, son," Stoick broke the silence. "Take as much time as you need to heal from things, and when you're ready…Everything will be just as you left it for when you come home,"

Hiccup sighed. "That's…The reason I called…" he paused.

"Are you…Coming home now?" Gobber wondered.

"No…Complete opposite actually. I'm not going to be coming home for a long time," Hiccup said. Stoick, Valka, and Gobber were quiet again. "I got a job back in June right after everything happened; it's…Another reason I left. The job I took; it's main branch is on the mainland. And this job moves it's employees around to where they are needed, and we stay until we're told to move again," he continued.

"And…Where might you be going?" Valka questioned.

"Berserker Island until further notice," Hiccup replied. "I'll be staying with a friend I made and his sister in their apartment since they have an extra room, and it was a cheaper option than getting my own place. I called to tell you all that, and let you know that next Friday, the 7th at 10 am; a moving truck will be coming to the house to get my stuff out of my room. You don't have to pack it, just let them in and show them where it is. They will also be taking my car; everything is being transported to Berserker for me,"

"Hiccup…I think you've left out a crucial detail…"Stoick mentioned and paused. "What job did you take?"

"Are you sitting down? Because I don't want any of you losing your balance and falling after I tell you…" Hiccup said softly.

"Just tell us, lad," Gobber stated.

Hiccup took a deep breath. "I joined the army,"

The eyes of Gobber, Valka, and Stoick widened instantly. "You what?!" the three of them shouted in shock and disbelief.

. . .

=Hiccup's POV=
[Monday, 11/23/2014-11:30 am]
[Berserker Island; Bazirk Apartment]

I think if my parents and unofficial uncle had given me any other kind of response when I told them I joined the army; I might have been scared and asked what they'd done with my real parents and uncle. So, the reason I say unofficial uncle is because Gobber Forger is a good friend of my parents; he's my father's best friend, in fact. Despite my father and Gobber being five years apart in age; they are practically brothers. I guess the two of them met when Gobber ended up talking to my mom way back in the day. Anyway, Gobber is my Godfather and I've grown up knowing him as Uncle Gobber. My dad does have a brother, Spitelout Jorgenson, who is married to Freda Jorgenson, which is her maiden name. The two of them have two kids, Snotlout and Adelaide, who are my cousins. Dad also has five sisters; Brenda, Egginbreeza, Glugga, Burly, and Gladioli. Unfortunately, we never see or hear from them. Not sure why, but dad and Uncle Spitelout won't talk about it.

Also, fun fact; my parents are ten years apart in age. My dad just turned forty-nine on the 13th of this month, and my mom turned thirty-nine back in May on the 14th. I guess they met years ago when mom was sixteen and dad was twenty-six at some party one of my aunts was having and dad got stuck supervising. Mom and dad started taking and hit it off, so some time later; they started dating. When mom was nineteen; they married, and had me a year later when she was twenty. Here we are almost nineteen years later since my birthday is coming up at the end of February, which is three months away. Moving on…Yeah, so if my parents gave me any other kind of response; I might have panicked and wondered if they were okay. But no; they gave me exactly what I expected when I revealed the job I had.

I spent the rest of my thirty minutes that day telling them that I considered joining the military for a long time, but decided against it when things with Astrid were going so well. However, since all that blew up in my face; I decided to revisit the idea of becoming a soldier, and it took me all of two days to make that choice. On the 17th of June; I went to the recruiter office and started the process. After swearing in; I got my ship date for Reception and that happened to be the 30th of June where I took a taxi to the transportation center and then caught a plane at 4:45 in the morning to the mainland. I sort of left the story there due to lack of time; I reminded them before ending the call that I'd be on Berserker Island by the week of Thanksgiving, and that some people were coming to grab my stuff on the 7th of November at 10 am. I told them I didn't want Astrid knowing where I was or what I was doing. I promised Gobber and my folks that I'd get in contact again soon, likely once I got to Berserker Island and purchased a new phone; they offered to send the old one, but I declined.

We arrived on Berserker Island on Friday night around 5 pm; we had to stay on the base for a couple days to work out who was living off and on. Here we are on Monday morning as we just received the okay from Captain Bludvist that anyone living off base was free to go, and he'd see us again after thanksgiving was over on Monday the 1st of December to start working. It was going to be nice to have the week off; it would give me time to settle in at Dagur and Heather's, enjoy the holiday, and then a couple more days before reporting for duty. I was told by Viggo that my stuff had come in on Saturday, so when Dagur and I left base to get to his apartment; the moving truck with my stuff and car would follow.

"Here we are, Hiccup!" Dagur announced happily. I glanced out the window to see the apartment. "We're on the first floor and have neighbors on second and third floor," he added.

"Nice," I replied. We decided to take my car, since it was easier and already on the base.

"Just pull right in here," Dagur pointed to an extra open space in the middle. "The second floor doesn't have a car, so he never minds if we use his spot," I pulled in and parked. Heather saw us from the window and instantly rushed out to hug Dagur tightly.

"You're back!" Heather squealed as Dagur laughed and hugged her in return.

"I am," Dagur nodded as he put her down and she came over to hug me as I got out of the car.

"Hi, Heather," I greeted, hugging her back.

"I'm so glad you're both here!" Heather smiled wide. "Come in, come in! I'm just making lunch for us all," she informed.

"Easy, sis. We gotta unpack the truck so that these guys can take it back to base," Dagur chuckled some.

"Well, I can help with that! The soup is still cooking; it's got another hour yet," Heather said.

"We packed everything so that your big furniture would be first out," stated one of the truck drivers.

"Thanks; you get everything on the list?" I wondered.

"Absolutely, and even some stuff your parents said you'd likely want. They insisted we take it," replied another male who had been in the truck.

"Of course they did…" I sighed. "Oh well," I shrugged afterward.

"Well, let's get this going, Hic. Welcome to your new home!" Dagur hung his arm around my shoulders.

"I got him a key made, and took care of things with the landlords," Heather informed.

"Thanks a bunch, sis," Dagur responded.

"We'll start unloading stuff," said one of the soldiers who was at the back of the truck.

"I'll supervise. Heather, why don't you take Hiccup inside and give him a quick tour?" Dagur suggested.

"Okay!" Heather nodded as she grabbed my hand and yanked me inside of the apartment. "Alright, so this is main entrance through this door; that second door over there leads to the stairs for second and third floor, so you don't have to worry about it. Just over here and to the right is the kitchen; then you got the dining room next to that and the living room across from both. There's also a patio and small bit of yard. In here," Heather brought me into the kitchen to another door. "Is the laundry room. Uh…" she paused, pulling me past the living room and dining room revealing three doors at the back of the apartment. "The door to your right is to Dagur's room, the one on the left is to mine. And this one in the middle is the bathroom,"

"Awesome," I smiled. "What's this door?" I asked, pointing to one in the dining room.

"That's just a storage closet," Heather informed. "Oh, your room! This way," she practically dragged me along with her. "It's right here, across from the kitchen. This door leads to your room," she mentioned. "And the best part is that this is the master bedroom, so extra space,"

"Oh, I don't want to take the master," I said quickly.

"Hiccup, don't worry about it. Like I said; Heather and I never used it. We don't like a lot of space," Dagur stated. "We were using it as a closet," he laughed. "Besides, it works for you being our roommate," he added. "You get the big closet, and your own bathroom. It's like having your own mini apartment inside of the main apartment,"

"A-Are you sure?" I asked.

"It's fine!" Dagur and Heather both yelled at me now and then laughed.

"Okay, okay," I put my hands up in defense.

"Good," Heather giggled. "Now, let's start moving your stuff in. Arrange it however you like," I nodded, unable to fight them on this. Besides, after seeing the layout of the room; I had some design ideas forming on how I wanted it. Dagur, Heather, and I went back outside and started bringing in the big stuff. Dagur and I mainly did that with help from those who drove the truck over. Heather brought in boxes and set them in places that wouldn't be in the way. Hopefully, this wouldn't take too long because I was hungry, needed a shower, and some sleep.

. . .

[9:00 pm]

Between Dagur, Heather, the four helpers from the military, and me; we spent an hour getting everything out of the moving truck and into my room. We took care of the big pieces first, like the bed, desk, and dresser and set them up according to wherever I wanted it. After that; we got the other things into the apartment and just set up around the room before having lunch. It was homemade creamy clam chowder. Heather had made enough for everyone, so we all enjoyed it. The military guys left after we did a final check to make sure we got everything and then I got started with the rest of my room. I noticed my parents did take it upon themselves to pack my clothes and electronics into boxes for me; I guess it was nice and made it easier to organize things.

With Dagur's help we got the bed and desk set up; Heather took it upon herself to put all the drawers in the dresser and two nightstands. Heather set up easy stuff, and moved boxes with things that went into a particular place. Hell, I was surprised that my parents sent my mini-fridge, Keurig, microwave, and snack bar. I guess when I said the movers were coming to collect my room, my parents made sure they took everything in my basement room. I told my parents that I likely wouldn't be back to Berk for a long time, and even when I did; it would be for visits, or if I stationed there; I'd get my own apartment or live on base. Either way; they told me they accepted and supported my decision, also that they loved me.

When all the big pieces in my new room were set up; I moved on to the smaller stuff and started with setting up my fridge, coffee maker, and microwave on the snack bar. Next I got all my clothes put away in the drawers; I hung the nice stuff in the closet, and all my jackets. I made sure to hang my military stuff too; there were a lot of different uniforms we had for various events. After that, I set up my TV and gaming systems. Heather was kind enough to make my bed for me. Once all that was taken care of; we decided to head out to the store to get more food in it, and I grabbed basic essentials for the bathroom and shower. I also finally got a new phone and activated it. Getting back to the apartment; we put all the groceries away and I got back to work on my bedroom. I started setting up pictures, chargers, and what not. Then I took care of my bathroom; a couple towels, soap, body wash, shampoo + conditioner, razor, brush, comb, toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant.

I got done with everything fully around 7 pm; then took a hot shower. I shaved, threw on a t-shirt and pajama pants before heading out of my room to join Heather and Dagur for dinner; we had spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread. After dinner, I helped clean up and then we all sat down to figure out the financial agreement of me living here with them. Basically; I was going to pay a portion for rent, food, and bills. I paid my own insurance, and phone bill. My portion of the rent was $300, my phone and car stuff equaled about, $110. Then for electricity and food; we agreed a fair, flat rate of $200. So, all together; I paid $610. I told them if they ever needed more, to let me know. I owed Heather and Dagur a lot for letting me live with them while we were stationed on Berserker Island. Once all that was settled; I decided to get to my room and have an early night. I laid in my bed, doing a bit more to set up my phone before setting it to charge and finally closing my eyes to get some sleep.