The Rift (part 2):

As he stared at his father's closed door, Hiccup's confusion slowly morphed into a fiery anger that lit him up like nothing had ever done before.

Being told things like, 'No, Hiccup, you can't come on the fishing trip, it's too dangerous,' or 'No, Hiccup, you can't help with the water brigade, it's too dangerous,' were good at inspiring frustration, but he was used to being held back.

But this... this outright banishing of Astrid from his house, and possibly his life? Now that just rubbed him every kind of the wrong way.

Hiccup clenched his hands into fists and he narrowed his eyes at the door he wished would magically disappear in an explosion of wooden splinters. How dare he evict the girl I love from our home! How DARE HE!

For the first time in his life, Hiccup felt like a real Viking as he whirled away from the door and literally STOMPED around the central fire place, fuming, his thoughts nearly incoherent. (Also for the first time in his life.) The only jumbled thought that even sort of made sense was the almost overwhelming desire to grab an axe, start hacking at his father's blasted door, and when he was through, start hacking away at his father's overly large and imbecilic head. (Not that he could reach that high. But that didn't compute in the moment.)

Hiccup had made about ten trips around the fireplace before he noticed that his right foot was starting to sting on the bottom from how hard he was pounding his feet into the stone floor with every step. Why in Hel does my foot hurt?

He glanced down in confusion and blinked at the wool stocking that covered his foot. A glance to the left showed a brown leather boot.

Hiccup pretty much deflated as the sheer absurdity of what he was doing struck him.

I'm stomping.

In.

One.

Bloody.

Boot.

"Gods help me," he muttered.

Sighing like his favourite pet sheep had just died (not that he'd ever had a pet sheep, but you get the idea…) , Hiccup shuffled over to the bench and sat, pulling on his boot. Then he let himself fall over backward so his back was on the hard stone and his feet dangled above the floor. Crossing his arms over his chest as if to hold in his thumping heart, Hiccup stared up at the beams of the curved ceiling high above him.

Why is life so fucking unfair?

What have I ever done to the Gods to offend them so?

Why am I so much smaller than everybody else my age?

Why is my father such a pigheaded, yak stubborn, VIKING?

Just...

Why?

Hiccup huffed out another sigh through pursed lips, making a 'pffffed' sound, and turned his head to the side. A flash of silver caught his eye from further down the bench, making him sit up abruptly. He lunged across the distance and snatched up the skull, cradling it gently in his hands as he settled back down on the bench with his knees drawn up to his chest and his back leaning against the wall.

Astrid.

Thor, Astrid is the best thing to ever happen to me.

Beautiful. Fierce. Smart. Caring. Courageous. Honourable.

Like no one else on the island.

And she loves me.

Me!

Only Odin knew why, but Hiccup wasn't going to ask him, just in case the fickle god decided to take even that away from him.

He still couldn't believe that she'd kissed him. And that he'd kissed her back.

That was the best moment of his life by far. She'd actually been in his arms, draped over his chest, all soft curves and lithe muscles and hard armour. She'd smelled amazing, like lilacs and female. Her soft lips had fit so perfectly to his and her mouth had tasted even better than she smelt, like honey drizzled over fresh bread and something else he had no name for but he wanted more of it.

Hiccup closed his eyes as he relived that perfect moment, a muffled groan escaping as a spike of arousal inspired a little twitch of excitement from the mindless appendage inside his trousers.

Thor, I want to go find Astrid and kiss her again.

Hiccup's eyes popped open. Hang on. There's nothing stopping me from doing just that. Dad's closed door certainly isn't going to do it.

Snickering, Hiccup rushed to his feet, pocketing the little skull. He was out the front door in five seconds flat, closing it quietly behind him, just in case his father was in a mood to forbid him from talking to Astrid too.

With the light of the rising moon as his guide as it peeked through the clouds threatening rain, plus the odd torch lighting the way, he jogged down the path to Astrid's house, anticipation swirling through him at the thought of holding her in his arms again.

He was about halfway there when he nearly ran into Gobber, who was coming up the path to get to his place. "Hey, Gobber," he said with a quick smile as he backpedalled and then moved to continue on.

Hiccup was pulled to a stop and nearly off of his feet as Gobber caught him by the back of his tunic. "Just a minute, there, Hiccup."

The boy caught his balance once again, then turned and gave the long moustachioed man who was essentially an uncle a curious look. "What's up?"

Gobber patted him a couple times on the shoulder as he looked down the hill at Astrid's house. "I wouldn't go there if I were you."

"What? Why?"

Gobber shook his head sadly. "I doubt you'll be very welcome at the moment. You... might want to give Hector a couple days to cool off before you go anywhere near Astrid again. And even then, it would probably be best if no one saw you talking to her."

Hiccup opened his mouth to ask what in Hel's blazes was going on, but Gobber gave him a look of such remorse that it had him snapping his teeth closed as a feeling of absolute dread took over.

"I know you two are all but joined at the hip and that there's really nothing that you wouldn't do for each other," Gobber said softly. "But if you value your friendship with Astrid at all, you're going to have to be really careful about things if you don't want to lose her completely."

"Gobber, what's going on?" Hiccup said through a throat tight with fear.

The big man sighed and shook his head again. "I think you better ask your father that one."

"What did he do?" This was forced out through gritted teeth. Hiccup's feeling of dread was quickly morphing back into something even less pleasant.

Gobber's head was swaying from side to side once again, a look of sympathy in his eyes that Hiccup was frankly terrified to see. "Honestly, Hiccup, you really don't want to know. It's up to Stoick if he tells you or not."

Hiccup's hands clenched into fists again as the earlier feeling of rage fully returned. He glared up the hill towards his house. "Oh, he's going to tell me or he won't like the consequences." His words were a vow.

"Ummmmm," Gobber said, his eyebrows climbing up his forehead at this new Hiccup. He watched with incredulous disbelief as the usually happy-go-lucky boy started up the path, stomping all the way, and muttering curse words that actually made him blink in shock as they floated on the air back to him. "Hunh. I guess there is some Stoick in there," Gobber muttered to the electrified air. "Who'd a thunk it?"

The clouds rumbled above as if to say, 'I did! And I approve!'

Gobber glanced up and smiled. "Well, If that's your opinion, who am I to argue? Watch over the boy, will you?"

A bolt of lightning flashed horizontally across the sky above the ocean, looking like a godly grin.

The blacksmith grinned back and then started hobbling up the path again. "Thank you, Thor."

Hiccup did his own impersonation of a pissed off polar bear (although more of a cub than a full grown male) as he slammed his way into his home. He was still muttering curse words as he grabbed an axe hanging on the wall just to the left of the door and then continued his stomp to his father's door.

And then he swung.

Stoick heaved a sigh when he heard the outside door crash open, assuming that Hiccup had left in a huff.

His eyes nearly popped out of his head when a recognizable sounding 'THWACK' hit the door just above his head, making the entire door shudder.

Stoick leapt to his feet and stared at the door with wide eyes, seriously unable to believe that someone was attacking his door with an axe. And with a respectable amount of force, no less. And that that someone may in fact be his miniscule son, Hiccup.

The following words bellowed through the wood confirmed his incredulous suspicion: "DAD! Get your massive arse out here this instant and tell me what in Odin's name you've done!" This was emphasized by another thwack on the door about halfway up. To Stoick's amazement, this actually caused the wood on his side to splinter a bit.

Holy crap on yak! My son is actually acting like a Viking! I don't know if I should be proud or alarmed.

Recovering from his shock, Stoick unlatched the door and swung it inwards, causing his son to hop after it as he'd had one foot on the door to brace against it as he tried to pull the axe out of the wood.

Stoick grabbed the axe near the head and yanked it out of the wood, lifting it up, teenage boy and all. He glared at his son, because, proud or not, he was still the chief and this wasn't exactly permissible behaviour towards one's chief. And he said my arse was massive. My arse isn't massive. It's everything above it that is.

Hiccup let go, dropping down to the floor.

"What is the meaning of this?" Stoick growled as he tossed the axe off to the side, uncaring that it crashed into his wardrobe.

Hiccup almost shrivelled up under the heavy weight of his father's furious gaze, but he was still on his own rage high and he wasn't quite ready to let it go. He stiffened his shoulders and glared right back, wishing he was twice as tall so he could look his father in the eye and have a proper nose to nose stare off. "What is the meaning of this, he asks?" Hiccup snarked in sheer exasperation, rolling his eyes towards the heavens. He focused on his father again. "What is the meaning of this? I'll tell you what this is. This is me at the end of my rope with you, Dad." He nearly spit the name. "This is me demanding answers."

Stoick wasn't pleased with the temper tantrum, but there was a little part of him was still amazed and a more than a little proud that his son was actually standing up to him. "Answers for what? I told you I don't have to explain myself."

"Seriously?" Hiccup cried. "You're seriously just going to ignore the fact that you tossed my INTENDED OUT OF OUR HOUSE?! You're seriously going to ignore the fact that you've done only Thor knows what so that I'm not welcome in the Hofferson house either? What the fucking hell did you DO, you oversized Neanderthal?!" Hiccup actually stomped his foot and poked his father in the chest, he was so livid.

Stoick's eyes nearly bulged out of his head once again as his son said a vulgar word he didn't even know that Hiccup knew. And what the fuck is a Neanderthal? His son had never had a temper before. Hardly ever cursed. And he most certainly didn't glare down his father like he was possessed by Tyr.

Stoick's pride in his son grew, but it still wasn't to be born.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME?!" Stoick bellowed.

Uh oh! Hiccup gulped, sense finally returning to him. "Nothing?" he hedged, backing up a couple of steps.

Stoick grabbed a handful of Hiccup's tunic before he could get away, lifting him up by it so they were eye to eye. Gods, he's so light still. I swear my axe still weighs more. He narrowed his eyes at his now cringing son. The wincing fear made Stoick hate himself in that moment. Shit. It's not like I'm actually going to beat him, he knows that.

Doesn't he?

"It didn't sound like nothing to me, but I'm going to pretend it was," he said with a snarl, then dropped the boy and turned away, like he couldn't bear to look at him anymore. "And only because I owe you."

Hiccup sucked in a huge gulp of air, certain that his dad had been about to wallop him halfway across the house. He was quite relieved that he didn't. "You're not going to tell me what you did, are you?" Hiccup said softly to his father's expansive back.

Stoick scrubbed a hand over his face and huffed out an exasperated breath; the desolate tone in Hiccup's voice was killing him. He looked at the painting of Valka that was hanging over his bed with sorrowful eyes, wishing she was here with every ounce of his being. Her eyes seemed to look back at him accusingly, but somehow understandingly as well.

Without turning around, he said, "I got in a fight with Hector and some unintentional words were said. Just stay away from Astrid for the time being until I can fix this. That's all you need to know."

Hiccup stared at his father's slumped shoulders as his clever mind read between the lines and came up with a logical deduction. "You said something bad about Astrid because Hector said something derogatory about me, didn't you?"

Stoick slumped just a little bit more. "Maybe."

"Tell me."

"You don't want to know."

That's what Hiccup was afraid of. And simply by that, he had a good idea of just how bad this was. There was only one thing you can truly hurt a girl's reputation with and that was her chastity or lack thereof. Gods, I might actually hate him for this. "I can't believe you," he whispered, chest literally clamping around his lungs as he realized just how much his father had ruined tonight. "I'll be lucky if Hector doesn't move his family to a different tribe from a slur like that."

Fuck. My son is too smart for his own good sometimes. Stoick turned around slowly, like his feet were weighed down by boulders. "I'm sorry, Hiccup."

Hiccup scoffed. "You're sorry? You're SORRY?! Thor, Dad! I finally work up the courage to tell Astrid I love her and ask her to marry me and you're sorry? Are you that determined to ruin my life completely? She was the only good thing I had. The ONLY thing!"

The biting words nearly broke Stoick's heart. Trying to defend himself, and maybe wanting Hiccup to share his pain, Stoick said, "Hector wasn't going to let you marry her anyway."

Hiccup gasped. In five seconds flat, he was on the verge of exploding again. "AND WHOSE FAULT IS THAT?! For fu... Frigg's sake, Dad. You're the one who wouldn't let me train like all the other kids. You're the one who doesn't take me on fishing trips. You're the one who has me hide like a coward every time a dragon so much as flies past the island." Hiccup gave his father his best death glare and said very softly and very clearly. "All of this is your fault and I don't think I'll ever forgive you for it."

Stoick literally sagged in his boots as Hiccup spun on his heel and climbed up the stairs to his room. He followed, watching his son's retreating form with stinging eyes. "Hiccup..."

There was no answer.

"Please, Hiccup. I'll train you. Teach you to fight. We'll change Hector's mind."

There was still no answer from above, but Stoick could hear the sound of movement up there. He watched the stairs with worried eyes and waited.

Hiccup couldn't believe what he'd heard, and a little part of him rejoiced at finally getting his father to admit that he was wrong. But it wasn't enough to change how very betrayed he felt. He continued packing his bag, throwing in his drawings and sketching supplies and his extra clothes. Then he scooped up his pillow and fur blanket and marched down the stairs.

Stoick's already fractured heart broke even further when he saw everything his son was carrying. "Where are you going?" he choked out quietly.

Hiccup met his father's eyes steadily from the last step. "I don't know yet. Maybe the woods. Maybe Gobber's shop. I'm ashamed to call you my father right now and I can't bear to stay in this house with you. If you were serious about allowing me to train, then I'll ask Gobber to teach me." (He wasn't going to get Astrid in trouble by admitting that she'd been helping him train for years.) "I don't want anything else to do with you right now."

"Hiccup... Please..."

"No. I'm done, Dad. Just done."

Stoick couldn't meet those accusing green eyes that were so much like own anymore. "I am sorry, Hiccup. I was wrong. About... Everything."

Hiccup almost changed his mind when he saw how defeated his father looked, but the loss of Astrid was enough to drive him on. He walked all the way to the door before he said over his shoulder, "Yes. You were."

Then he left.

Stoick collapsed onto the bottom step, buried his face in his hands, and for the first time since the memorial for his beloved wife, he cried.

Hiccup trudged further up the hill, away from the village. He wasn't kidding when he thought he might stay in the woods. If the storm came any closer, it would probably chase him back to Gobber's shop, but for now, all he wanted was to be alone.

Going into the village was just asking to be made fun of and bullied and he honestly couldn't stomach the idea of it anymore.

He correctly assumed that his father's fight with Hector had taken place in the tavern, which meant that the entire village would know what had happened by now. Aside from Astrid, Alga, Gobber, and maybe Fishlegs, Hiccup doubted there was one other person down there who would be able to resist taunting him with his undesirableness as a son-in-law.

He honestly thought that if he knew how to sail, he'd probably go jump in a boat and find a new island to live on. I might do it anyway, if Astrid leaves for good. At that point, he wouldn't care if the perils of the ocean prevailed.

With every heavy step into the dark landscape, Hiccup turned off his emotions until he was just numb. He didn't want to rage. He didn't want to cry. He most certainly didn't want to feel the guilt that was starting to eat at him for some of the things he'd said to his father. Numb felt good. Numb he could deal with.

He walked and walked until he was past the livestock pastures and then walked some more, aiming for the far side of the island, wanting to get as far away from his problems as he could. The dark didn't bother him, having lived in a land that was cursed with no sun at all for two weeks of the year for his entire life, he was used to it. And the rumbles of thunder and lightning from over the ocean seemed like a fitting background tribute to his mood. There was just enough hints of moonlight filtering through the thinner clouds above Berk and through the thick tree tops to see the darker shadows that were the tree trunks and various other obstacles such as rocks, so he didn't run into them.

Eventually, a soft, repetitive, thunking sound registered between the rumbles of thunder, making Hiccup pay more attention to where he was going. Curious, he walked towards the noise. When it paused for a minute he did too, needing the sounds to follow. They picked up again and Hiccup walked faster. As he grew closer to the familiar thunking noise, a new sound became audible.

It sounded like the sniffles and gasps of someone crying really hard even though they didn't want to.

Who would be out here, crying and assaulting the trees?

Ohhhhh.

Astrid!

Picking up a jog, Hiccup soon broke into a small clearing filled with moonlight as the clouds suddenly decided to part. And in the clearing, he saw the back of a blond goddess poised to throw a dagger at a tree that already had a dozen sharp blades in it, buried to the hilt. His heart practically leapt out of his thin chest with joy and relief before it clenched with sympathy as another choked sob was wrenched from her.

"Astrid," he breathed. Thank you, Thor, for bringing us back together. "I'm here."

A/N: Tyr is the Norse god of war. Frigg is the goddess of marriage and Odin's wife.