{Hiccup's POV}
I couldn't friggen believe him. I honestly couldn't believe that after everything that had happened he really tried to pull the 'I'm your father' card. I wanted to go back to beat the hell out of him but that wouldn't change a thing. It wouldn't matter what I did, that man wasn't capable of change and I knew that for sure now. I wasn't staying there, I was taking my family and my tribe home. Back to Fury Isle where it could be normal again, well our kind of normal. After leaving Berk when the argument was over, I hadn't said a word while we flew towards Isle of Rose for the night. I realized it was late and the twins moreover were going to need to sleep. I checked ahead, I saw it coming into view. I knew the Isle of Rose was roughly 2-3 hours away from Berk, especially with the speed we were traveling. What irritated me more about what Stoick said, wasn't him calling himself my father. It was him talking bad about Thurmond.
I knew Stoick was my real father, I wished he wasn't sometimes but I knew full well he was. But over the last 7 years since I exiled myself from Berk, I learned that while Stoick was my father, Thurmond was my dad. Stoick was never there for me after mom was assumed dead. He didn't listen to me, protect me, teach me, guide, or love me. Even though I was his son, he doubted my ability to be chief when it came time that I take over. He was mean, and controlling. He didn't care. Thurmond though, bless his soul. Thurmond was the man I wish I was born too. I wasn't born to him but he treated me as if I had been. He treated me like like the son he lost, and didn't let the death of his wife change who he was. Thurmond was a godsend, and I was positive that he and I were destined to meet, that everything had been part of some big plan to change the world.
Thurmond took me in after I'd crashed on his island with Toothless, I was unconscious for two days. When I woke up he was so understanding, didn't push the questions about why I crashed there on a dragon, didn't ask anything other than if I was okay. He ended up answering all mine. He took me to Toothless, he let me get something to eat, and tell my whole story. He offered me a place on Fury Isle without a second thought, the whole tribe was welcoming to me. A complete outsider who rode the rarest of all dragons. And they didn't care, they embraced it. Still do in fact only now its with me as their chief. I tightened my grip on the handles of Toothless's saddle tightly growling a bit. "Hiccup?" I heard Sylvi say softly, I turned to face her slowly.
"Yes?" I replied as calmly as I could. I wasn't mad at them, I was mad at Stoick. I couldn't believe he did what he did. Calling Thurmond out? The man who raised me for a year. That year was the year that made me into the man I am today. A chief, a husband, a father. That one year of kindness, caring, hospitality, protection, teaching, and love has shaped me into the man I am today and I couldn't be more grateful to him. It was times like this that I wished he was still here, he never would of let Stoick talk to me that way he had tonight. Telling me that it my marriage wasn't legal? Really! It just infuriated me to no end.
"I know its a stupid question but...Are you okay?" Sylvi looked over worried at me.
"Would you prefer a lie or the truth?" I asked.
"The truth..." Sylvi insisted nervously. I sighed heavily looking at her fully now, my brows were furrowed but my eyes glazed over with slight sadness.
"I'm not okay." I replied simply and looked forward again.
"Hiccup...I know what Stoick said hurt you but...making us all leave so late at night?...Snotlout said we could stay..." Astrid interjected quietly.
"It's not late. Its not even 6 at night yet. We'll be landing by 7:30 for the night on the Isle of Rose. Sorry for rushing everyone off Berk but there is a damn good reason why I exiled myself 7 years ago and that man who thinks he's my father is that reasons. I refused to stay another moment in the same place as he is. Who the hell does he think he is trying to tell me he's my father when he hasn't given a damn about me since the day mom was taken...Now she's alive and he wants to care? No way. Unacceptable." I retorted coldly. No one said anything else for the next hour and a half while we flew to the Isle of Rose.
Upon landing, I was off first. "Orders sir?" Viggo asked with a slight bow.
"Audun, Ryker collect wood for the fire. Astrid, Fishlegs, you two set up the fire ring. Gunnar and Viggo...Set up the tents. Syl, you and your mom manage the kids. I'll handle the food..." I replied.
"Yes chief." They replied going off in their assigned pairs to do their jobs. After 20 minutes, everyone was back and myself last. The tents were up with bedrolls, pillows, and blankets already inside. The fire going and wood for the night and next morning staked up a little away from the fire ring. I returned with a bag full of fish and some fruit I scrounged up. I walked out of the forest with a torch Toothless and I made with the bag over my shoulder. Toothless yawned and laid down near Nightstar as I quietly began working on the fish but was stopped by Audun and Gunnar.
"Let us chief...You just take a load off for now." Gunnar said. I sighed moving back now as my brother and father in law began working on the fish to cook over the fire on sticks. Fishlegs and Ryker passed out the fruit to everyone as I just sat against Toothless quietly staring up at the star filled sky.
"Babe, come eat something..." Sylvi asked.
"I'm not hungry right now." I answered calmly. I heard some shifting as then I felt a hand on my shoulder, then offered in front of me was two fish on sticks and an apple.
"Yes you are. You just woke up not even 12 hours ago from being unconscious for two weeks, Hiccup. You didn't eat lunch because you worked on Toothless's tail and left before dinner. You need to eat or you're going to black out while we're flying. None of us know how to work Toothless's tail now that its equipped to your new leg...We need you healthy, and alive. Please...Eat something...I don't want anything to happen to you." Sylvi pleaded sadly. I faced her now and saw the tears brimming her eyes. I sighed and took the food from her as I led her back to the group and had her sit down, then I did as well.
"I just meant I wasn't hungry right now. I got to much on my mind...I would of eaten before I went to sleep." I mumbled.
"Well it will make me feel better if you eat now..." Sylvi replied.
"Fine..." I sighed and took a bite of the fish. "How are you feeling?" I asked her next after swallowing.
"Little tired, otherwise fine babe." Sylvi smiled kissing my cheek. After 15 minutes of silence, we all just sat around the fire. Selena and Solana were asleep against Nightstar, Thurmond asleep in Sylvi's arms as she and myself were leaning on Toothless comfortable. It was rare we slept in a tent, our dragons were more comfortable.
"So...What happens when we get back?" Astrid asked.
"Things return to normal finally. Your house should be ready by the time we get back, Fishlegs's is done already. You two will both start classes in the academy, well start back up. Life just returns to normal is all." I replied calmly.
"There's no...like initiation into the tribe or whatever?" Astrid questioned.
"As I said with Fishlegs. Accepting dragons into your life is initiation enough for me. I never got an initiation into the tribe. Thurmond said I was there to stay and stayed I have. I see no reason to change what already works." I chuckled now. God bless that man and his kindness. Just like with me, if you didn't hurt dragons and wanted peace then you were okay in the tribe.
"You're a really cool guy, ya know that?" Fishlegs smiled. "Its kind of weird to think you were always this way and we never noticed before now..."
"That's because you two like the rest of Berk believed I was nothing more than a destructive, trouble-making runt. Hence my name, Hiccup, meaning runt of the litter. None of you ever believed I was capable of all you see." I stood up now with my eyes closed, "Like the rest of Berk, you never gave me a chance...and you never believed in me." I began walking away now.
"Hiccup, where are you going?..." Sylvi asked.
"Going for a walk...I'll be back later. Get some sleep. Viggo, take the first watch." I stated.
"Yes chief Hiccup." Viggo nodded as I disappeared behind the tree line.
{Regular POV}
"Did I...say something to upset him?" Fishlegs asked frowning a bit.
"It wasn't you Fishlegs, Berk is just a touchy subject for him. He may seem calm and like he doesn't care but in truth it really does hurt him that the members of the Hooligan tribe that he was once a part of treated him so cruelly to the point he exiled himself to be free of the hate. When Stoick banned him from the forest, it meant he couldn't see Toothless anymore and that hurt him because Toothless was the only friend he had. Hiccup just had enough of it and that's why he went to such extreme measures to get away. And now with all this, Stoick saying what he did just makes Hiccup hate him more. Being on Berk isn't something he ever wanted to do again. Hiccup didn't exile himself to runaway. He did it to prove to everyone peace was possible and that he wasn't useless." Sylvi explained.
"So he didn't leave because Stoick banned him...He left to prove his worth, the he could be on his own and survive just fine? But wasn't that the same thing he had to do to get access to be a member of the Hooligans again?" Astrid questioned.
"The thing is that Hiccup didn't do it to prove his worth to the Hooligan tribe. He just did it to prove he wasn't useless like everyone believed. He wanted nothing to do with Berk, he still doesn't. But he's willing to put it aside to work with Snotlout towards a better future. To spread the peace, make the Archipelago a happier place with humans and dragons existing together. Its been Hiccup's dream since he crashed on Fury Isle 7 years ago. He and Thurmond shared it and when Thurmond died, he made Hiccup promise to keep it alive no matter what." Eydis sighed some.
"So when he left Berk, he never intended on returning?" Fishlegs asked.
"No. He never wanted to go back, or see anyone from the Hooligan tribe again except Gobber. But I think Hiccup always knew that the Hooligans and him would cross paths again because according to Hiccup, he told Gobber they would meet again when the winds and tides changed. Sure enough a heavy storm blew you to shipwreck and saved by Eret and his men when one of the guards informed me there were survivors in the water. Hiccup was sick that day and Syl had him resting but when Stoick told me where you were from, I knew I had to get him to handle things..." Gunner added.
"So Hiccup didn't exile himself to prove to the tribe belonged there. He exiled himself to prove he didn't need the Hooligans to constantly protect him, and to prove he could take care of himself, that he wasn't useless..." Astrid frowned a bit.
"What hurts him the most is that his own father, Stoick never believed in him and even after Stoick has seen all Hiccup has done since leaving...Stoick still tries to put Hiccup down. It hurts him to know Stoick still doesn't care and is trying to control his life." Sylvi looked to where Hiccup had disappeared behind the trees.
"So when Stoick spouted off all those hurtful things to Hiccup about Thurmond...It hurt him more, because Stoick still chooses not to believe all that's happened or that Hiccup really doesn't see him as a father at all." Fishlegs stated.
"Thurmond took Hiccup in, not just to our tribe but his home and adopted him. Taught him how to be a chief, raised him. In Hiccup's eyes, Thurmond did more for him in a year than Stoick did in 13 years. Thurmond is a very...touchy subject for Hiccup. Just like with me and the children, he won't stand for someone talking badly about us. He's just gone off to clear his head, he'll be back soon." Sylvi offered a smile to the two newest additions of the Dreki Riddari tribe. The others nodded and stared into the fire, hoping Hiccup was okay. He'd been through so much already, they were all surprised he hadn't snapped yet. And when he finally did, who would blame him?
(Berk)
"I cannot believe what you said to him Stoick!" Valka huffed at her husband.
"Valka, the boy is living in a fantasy!" Stoick replied roughly.
"A fantasy! Him ending the war between humans and dragons is a fantasy? Stoick you are impossible!" Snotlout groaned now.
"I'm his father, he needs to get that!" Stoick said.
"Stoick, he knows you're his father. He just doesn't care because you didn't act like a father to him! What father makes his only 14 year old son so miserable that he exiles himself from the tribe and leaves on the back of a Night Fury that no one believed he shot down!?" Gobber grumbled angrily now.
"He chose to leave." Stoick crossed his arms over his chest.
"BECAUSE OF YOU!" Valka, Snotlout, Gobber, and even the twins yelled at him loudly. Stoick winced a bit having all of them yell at him.
"And now its not once but three times you've made him leave Berk because of your inability to change! First time was him exiling himself at 14. Second was when you captured Nightstar after promising you'd never do it again. And the final time was tonight. Talking badly about his father." Snotlout said.
"I AM HIS FATHER!" Stoick boomed. Valka huffed as she brought her hand up and slapped her husband hard, and then silence.
"No husband of mine or father of my children would ever allow our 14 year old son to get so miserable that he exiled himself." Valka said sternly.
"You're his father by blood, but not in the way where it matters or counts. You were never there for the lad, Stoick! He was always stuck in the house or in the forge with me. He's right, you didn't train him, protect him, any of it. You controlled him so he'd be like you. He'll never be like you. He'll never be any of us...Hiccup is his own man, he's different and you need to accept that." Gobber hissed out.
"I'm honestly livid that you spoke about Thurmond the way you did. He didn't have to take Hiccup in, he could of killed him, sent him off on his own again. Hiccup might be dead if not for that man so don't you ever speak ill of him. Hiccup was unconscious for two days after crashing, and Thurmond was there for him. Thurmond did everything for Hiccup. He succeeded where you failed, he did more for our son in a year than you did in 13." Valka stated.
"What do you want me to do, Val. He left again, you heard him...He'll never forgive me." Stoick sighed now.
"Because you haven't given him a reason to forgive you. He sees nothing worth forgiving...Because you keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Stop trying to control his life, he's a man, Stoick. He is 21 years old, married with not one but three children...And he's chief of his own tribe. Admit that he's far exceeded your expectations...He's done more than you could of ever imagined he'd do. Stop being sour over the fact he sees another man as a father when you weren't a father to him." Gobber added.
"We were lucky he didn't break the alliance a second time because of you...Valka, myself, Ruff, Tuff, my dad, Astrid's parents, Fishlegs's parents, and Gobber are allowed on Fury Isle...But you aren't. Because he doesn't trust you. If you want his forgiveness...You'd have to do something big and honestly, I don't even know what would be big enough for him to see that you've actually changed but after tonight...I really don't think you have at all." Snotlout said. Tuffnut and Ruffnut nodded in agreement.
"You aren't the man I married, Stoick...You really have let yourself go and its...disappointing." Valka closed her eyes and walked towards the door. "I know I messed up by staying away for so long, and that is time I'll never get back. But in my defense, I didn't come back because I was afraid you'd hurt the dragons if you saw I had peace with them. And my fears have been confirmed now with all that happened. I'm leaving for a few days, I'm going to Fury Isle with Cloud Jumper...I'm going to make sure my son is okay." Valka was gone after that.
"I'm goin too. I lost the lad for 7 years, I won't lose 'im again..." Gobber followed Valka out.
"I'd go too but I have a village to run..." Snotlout said as he walked away with Ruffnut at his side, Tuffnut following. Stoick was now alone as he buried his face in his hands.
"What have I done...I'm such a fool." Stoick said sadly.
(Fury Isle; 3 Days Later)
After 3 long days, Hiccup and the others landed on Fury Isle with their dragons. The tribe formed a crowd quickly, all wanting to know what was going on and if their chief was okay. Hiccup raised his hands and they settled listening closely. "I must say, its good to be home and greeted by you all. I love returning and being welcomed with open arms. Much has happened but all you need to know right now is that we're back and not going anywhere for a good long while. I do have an alliance with the new chief of Berk, my cousin, Snotlout. He, his fiance', and soon to be brother in law are also all learning to be dragon riders." Hiccup announced.
"Do we have a new member?" Asked one person motioning to Astrid.
"Yes, this is Astrid Hofferson. She is now a member of the Dreki Riddari tribe, along with her bonded dragon whom you all know and love, Stormfly." Hiccup smiled, the tribe cheered.
"We got her house all ready chief. Finished last night before dark." Said Eret.
"I expected nothing less. Why don't you take and Stormfly to their new home, Eret. Make sure she has all she needs and gets settled alright." Hiccup said, Eret nodded and led Astrid away, Stormfly following. Fishlegs did the same after Meatlug practically tackled him down in a reunion. Hiccup chuckled a bit, already things were returning to normal. "I am also happy to announce that the dragons nest was located. The queen of that nest was controlling dragons to raid Viking villages for food for her. This battles resulted in her dying, and me losing my leg but obviously you can see that it doesn't keep me down. The war has ended and soon, peace will spread farther and farther."
"Woowoo!" They all clapped cheering.
"Now its quite late. We've been flying 3 days, stopping only at night to sleep. So finish up your work, have dinner at the hall and get to your homes. Tomorrow, everything is back to normal." Hiccup smiled.
"Yes chief!" Hiccup nodded as he turned to face Sylvi, and the kids.
"Lets go home." Hiccup said to her, she nodded as they moved towards their house tiredly, the two Night Furies following closely. Once inside, the kids got a bath while Hiccup made dinner just for them. They ate as a family, the girls and Thurmond went to bed early as in right after dinner. Hiccup and Sylvi sat on their couch together enjoying a little mead to settle down.
"Feels good to be home again..." Sylvi smiled leaning on him.
"Thank Thor too..." Hiccup closed his eyes relaxing. Toothless and Nightstar were laying beside one another on the house floor by the fire, the kids were peacefully asleep. "So what should we do? Just go to bed?" Hiccup asked her. Sylvi almost grinned putting her cup of mead down, then taking his and putting it down as well. Hiccup blinked a little, "Hey...I wasn't done with that yet...It was relaxing me."
"Don't worry...I'll relax you babe." Sylvi said as she kissed him softly.
"Really? You wanna do this now? We just got home...Aren't you tired?" Hiccup asked arching a brow now understanding what his wife wanted.
"Well, I must have my second wind because I'm not tired now...So...Why don't you tire me out. It will relax us both before we go to bed..." Sylvi said with a hopeful look in her eyes. Now how could Hiccup say no to that, he rolled his eyes smiling. Sylvi got up pulling him to his feet with a giggle, Hiccup wrapped his arm around her waist.
"Come here you." He kissed her deeply, Sylvi moaned into it as Hiccup lifted her up with ease and pressed her back against the wall. And for the next hour and a half, Hiccup made love to her. When they were done, finally up in their room. Sylvi was fast asleep as Hiccup laid there awake smiling at the ceiling. What could be better than this? No other feeling compared to what he felt right now holding his wife in his arms after they'd just finished making love. Everything was normal again. His kids were fast asleep, his tribe was safe, his island was secure. Oh yes, he was definitely happy to be home.