31. Jumbled emotions.

Storm was pacing around the cage. Hiccup followed her with his eyes, his face pinched with worry. He had already taken off his armor and was sitting between Toothless and Shadow, the dragons were also staring at Storm with worry. She was still in her wet armor, she didn't even take off her helmet, which really unnerved Hiccup, and he could clearly see that she was tense. He knew that he needed to let her calm down before talking to her, lest she had another outburst at him and feel worse.

She suddenly stopped and turned to Hiccup.

"Sorry, I-I'm sorry," Storm stuttered, her heartbreaking tone cutting deep. She once again ripped off her helmet, clutching it in her hands so hard that her knuckles turned white, tears were streaming down her face with no sign of stopping. "I fucked it up, I antagonized him. I'm sorry. We'll be lucky if he doesn't throw us of the island…"

"Storm – " he tried interrupting her.

"No!" she sobbed. "This is not about me – it was never about me, and I made it about ME! You're the one who had to sit in front of your father, who never really gave you attention, your uncle who is just a complete insecure asshole, and your mentor, the one who knows you the best in the world and you couldn't say anything to them! You couldn't… you couldn't tell them the truth."

"You did a pretty good job telling the truth for me," he softly said, standing up from the ground. Storm let out a sad laugh, followed by another sob.

"It wasn't your truth, it was mine. He-he knew you, to a degree. You said he never supported your creativity, but he never stopped you, he still believes that you are the same," she sniffled. "What I said was true, I hate him enough for both of us. When-when he called you quiet and weak I couldn't help but think of my own father. Stoick doesn't understand, he called your argument petty, but he loves you."

"Storm you can't control your emotion all of the time, you were doomed to break. Stoick isn't innocent, he shares qualities with the man that was your father, and me being quiet during the meeting didn't help."

"It wasn't supposed to help. It was a stressful situation for you and I made it worse! ...I'm sorry." She couldn't help but apologize again.

"Proud, rash, angry, always has to be right. A few qualities they share. I understand why you broke down and I don't think it was selfish, no matter what you think. And my father did make me leave the only place I knew as home," he calmly said. "And that hits way too close for you."

"They are not the same!" she yelped. "Despite everything your father cares about you, he doesn't understand, doesn't listen, thinks with his rage and not his brain, but he cares about you. Five years later he still believes you're alive. He was the final straw that made you leave, but he didn't chop off your leg and leave you in the middle of the woods to die!"

"The man that was your father was a piece of shit!" Hiccup couldn't help but yell, he didn't hate easily, but Storm's father was a different case.

"And he's dead! I couldn't be happier that he is dead!" her tears had stopped, but her emotions were still jumbled. She really did hate Stoick, but Hiccup still cared about the man, and she help Hiccup's opinion in the highest regard. "For a moment, during the meeting I saw my father staring back at me in place of Stoick… Your father isn't the same as mine, he just needs to see his faults. If he truly wants to reconnect with you, he will do that. My outburst… I don't think it helped…" She whispered.

"Maybe it didn't, but I don't care. It's a good way to see if Stoick has changed, and if he doesn't go to a rage induced rampage, I'll start thinking about telling him the truth, because honestly? The meeting wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Maybe I'm more ready then I thought." He said with a small smile.

Something tugged at her glove, it was Shadow. The dragon sadly looked up as he tugged her glove completely off. Storm got the message and started undressing down to her everyday clothes. She was exhausted. Hiccup got their blankets and gently nudged her towards Toothless who was already laying down. When Storm laid down the Night Fury licked her face, making her laugh. Hiccup laid down next to her, they fell asleep to the purring of both dragons.

Hiccup knew Storm was going to become more guarded, at least for a few days, she wasn't a fan of letting her emotions cloud her thoughts. He could only hope that Stoick had changed in the last five years, because hiding himself was getting old. Astrid had clearly not said anything, and he was thankful for that, but… Hiccup wanted to be known, Stoick reaction would tell if he could freely do that or if hiding was the best course of action.

All he knew, was that talking to Astrid was something he needed to do. Time will tell when that was going to happen.

Sitting in a badly lit corner of the hall Stoick was fuming. The 'demon' got to him, told him that she would keep his son away from him. She had no right! She knew nothing!

"I will never forget how you hurt your own son Stoick."

Those words were haunting him. Had he really hurt his Hiccup? All he wanted to do was make his son's world a safer place, sometimes that meant keeping him away from things he wanted to do. Stoick knew his son was different, training a dragon proved that, but different wasn't good in this world. At least it wasn't, now he didn't know. If he had nurtured his talents rather than trying to hide them form the tribe's view, would Hiccup had stayed. Probably. The answer hurt him more than he thought it would.

"You are a man that has chased away your own son."

He did. He had chased away his own son. Stoick wanted his son to get rid of his first true friend to make his tribe more comfortable, Stoick hadn't even tried after a few adverse reactions from his people. He could have done it, could have ordered them to try, but he didn't. Why? Why was he so weak, when he needed to be strong for his son, who had sacrificed a limb for the people who gave nothing in return?

He was scared. He was scared of change and hurting Hiccup was easier, because Hiccup always picked himself up, with no help from others. The fact itself proved that Stoick wasn't a good father. The chief has seen how other parents were with their children, when Astrid had run herself to the ground her mother was there to take care of her, her father was the one who helped her hone her axe skills; Fishlegs' parents never made him feel inferior when he didn't reach the expected viking standards; The twins parents never took away their fun completely, unless it would hurt someone; even Snotlout's father never stopped believing in the boy even when he screwed up.

Stoick pushed Hiccup away at a young age. He publicly chastised him when the boy only wanted to help. He tried to make a man out of his son, and missed the point when he became one. His son who never asked for help because he hadn't received any in his childhood, his son who ran around the woods in his free time because the tribe didn't like him all that much. By pushing his son to be the typical viking, Stoick had alienated him further than the boy's strange hobbies or uncharacteristic frame ever did.

Why would Hiccup want to come back to a place that held so little good for the boy? He wouldn't.

A lone tear escaped him. He could only hope that the pair would still be there in the morning. He was angry, furious at the girl, but they were the only chance to reach Hiccup. He would write a letter when he got back home, he would ask the 'demons' to take it with them and if they ever crossed paths with Hiccup again, to give it to him.

Maybe, when he had reigned in his emotions he would thank the girl for making his see the truth he had hid from himself. He was a shitty father, he just hoped it wasn't too late to be better.