"Modern myth".
How to train your dragon, Toothcup.
By: Sinattea.
.
.
Disclaimer: Cressida Cowell owns the book series, Dreamworks owns the movie. I own nothing but this AU.
Note: First of all, well, sorrysorrysorry for the late update! ! Last week utterly sucked because friday was the birthday of a girl cousin which I hate (she's racist and oh-so-empty...), so I had like no time at all. And this week I've been having troubles with my electricity service, so I think the next update will be in two weeks... I'll try to update next week, on time, but my internet is so lame lately...
Ah, whatever. This chapter is exactly what it says: a glimpse at the past (and future) of our lovely boys. Huge OC coming into scene.
Psycho-Pacgirl, get ready for your answers! ! ;-)
.
Chapter 15: Backgrounds.
.
.
Even with the smell of Hiccup's hair softly lulling all of his senses, Toothless could immediately notice something was going utterly wrong.
Two persons were discussing in the first floor, possibly at the laundry room, both females, judging by their voices. One of them was Mrs. Evans, but the other one…
Hiccup whined when Toothless' arm moved beneath his head, his eyelids opening lazily, and the first thing his eyes met was Toothless' distressed expression. He was completely altered by something, it couldn't be more obvious. Hiccup asked him why, but Toothless ignored his question, he was busier focusing his dragon hearing on the argue moving from the laundry room to the stairs and up.
- He rents the room in the attic, right? – the foreigner female voice asked, noticeably upset, as its owner walked upstairs.
- Yes, but please, let him be! – interfered Mrs. Evans, clearly trying to stop the other woman -. You'll wake my other tenants. Can't you wait at least until he wakes up?
- Oh, I've waited long enough already. He's listening to me right now!
- No, please, please stop! – insisted Mrs. Evans.
The foreigner woman was now meters apart from Toothless' closed door, and still he couldn't identify her voice. He'd heard it before, he knew it, but where? How long ago?
Now Hiccup could hear her as well. The woman came to a stop before the door and groaned in frustration when she found it locked.
- Dean, open the door.
Toothless' heart stopped beating, his tanned face turned white as paper. Evelyn!
He jumped out of the bed and started getting dressed as fast as he could, asking Hiccup to do the same. The Haddock boy picked his sweater from the floor and put it on; three seconds later he remembered he was supposed to be wearing a shirt underneath.
Evelyn raised her voice.
- Oh, come on, Dean. I know you're in there! You knew I was coming sooner or later – when she received no response she turned to the landlady -. Give me the key.
- Beg pardon?
- You must have a copy of the key. Give it to me – she ordered -. You know what we're risking here: we can't afford wasting more time.
Finding no argument to contradict the other woman, Mrs. Evans did as she was told. Evelyn opened the door in a second and stormed into the room.
- Don't you dare pretending to be surprised, Dean, because you- - -
Her voice trailed off gradually as her eyes registered the scene before her: Dean, standing in the middle of the room, dealing with his belt and wearing no shirt, and on his bed some random brown-haired guy with naked feet and an inside-out sweater.
And only to make it worse, Mrs. Evans saluted Hiccup and apologized copiously to him because had she known he'd slept over she would've never given the key to Evelyn and she was oh-so-mortified. Both guys went red and face-palmed in unison.
Evelyn let out an incredulous and irritated sigh; then focused her olive-green eyes on Toothless with a unique mixture of anger and embarrassment shining on them.
- Meet me in the kitchen in five minutes.
Toothless and Hiccup exchanged astonished looks, the dragon boy begging for a fast and merciful death with his.
.
.
Oh, she needed coffee; strong, black coffee. Maybe even a bit of strong, black, Irish coffee. She picked a random cup from the shelves, filled it and put it into the microwave; then searched thoroughly until she found the instant coffee. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose: she'd decide the "Irish" part depending of whatever explanation Dean would tell her. Excuse, more likely, considering the scandalous scene in his bedroom.
Getting the cup out of the microwave, Evelyn watched her rolex and did some mental calculus. Knowing him, Dean would join her after the exact five minutes. So he did, but Evelyn didn't hear one single step coming downstairs. She inwardly cursed his reptilian stealth.
- That was so not what it looked like – Toothless came in apologizing.
Evelyn bit her lips and added spoon after spoon of powder with rage into the hot water.
- I'd love to say that whatever you do with your body is none of my business. But guess what? You're half a dragon and anything you do with that half is my business.
- That was not what it looked like – Toothless repeated, this time indignant.
- Then what was it? Who is he to begin with? – she threw the spoon away - Is that why you've been this careless? You should've left this city two months ago, in the very first moment those Hunters found you. You've risked your life to flirt around with that guy?
Evelyn's voice high-pitched noticeably when pronouncing those last words referring to Hiccup. Toothless' pupils dilated and devoured his green irises; the dark gray jersey he was wearing increased his somber expression.
- He has a name, you know?
- No, I don't, because you'd never mentioned him – responded Evelyn in her defense. She rested her right hand on her hip and pinched the bridge of her nose again with the other, looking rather mortified and aggrieved. She felt left behind, and she couldn't stand that fact. Right now she was claiming Toothless not for being with another boy, or for getting distracted by him, but for not telling her that there was a boy -. For god's sake! I didn't even know you were into guys! This isn't working, Dean, you and I can't live apart anymore. You're coming back to London with me.
- Says who?
- Well, I do. Me, the woman who's taken care of you for a decade, the woman who's paid for your studies – she reminded him, an offended expression settling onto her face, drama filling her voice -; the woman who loses her sleep wondering if you are alive because she can't call you as often as she'd like to because it's too dangerous. I know we weren't in good terms before you came here, but you have to understand, Dean, you have to believe me when I say that I'm doing the best I can. I am not your mom, I never will, but you are the only family I've got left.
She meant it; everything she said, she meant it. Evelyn was always like that, that's why she wasn't fond of lying, no matter the circumstances (although she did believe in omitting important information when necessary). She could be paranoid and get really furious whenever things were related to the Night Fury, but she was still a marvelous person, and she had loved Toothless as only families do for years. She deserved at least the benefit of doubt; after all, Toothless had only two persons in the world he knew would never betray him: Hiccup and Evelyn.
He relaxed a lot after considering that, and for the first time was able to look at her in a neutral way. He hadn't seen her in a long time, and she still looked exactly as he remembered her, except for the travelling clothes and her tired expression. But her wavy auburn hair, her delicate nose and her fairy-like eyes were still the same.
Actually, Toothless had forgotten the color of her eyes, and now that he saw them again he couldn't help but consider it a weird coincidence that she and Hiccup both owned olive-green eyes.
- What are you thinking? – Evelyn wanted to know, feeling somewhat anxious for Toothless' prolonged silence.
- Nothing important – he said.
- Let me judge that. Tell me.
The boy ruffled his hand through his hair and shrugged his shoulders in a disdaining gesture.
- Just… How did you find out about the attack two weeks ago?
- Oh, Dean- - -
- Mrs. Evans told you, didn't she? That I didn't come home that night – he guessed. Well, it was more than a guess, it was pretty obvious based on the bits of information he'd gotten from dragon-eavesdropping the two women's previous discussion -. You know her. That's why you agreed when I chose Berk: she would keep you informed.
- She's my aunt, in law. She married my father's brother – Evelyn confessed.
Well, that was a lot more than what he suspected. So they were almost family too? Was that why Mrs. Evans was always so protective of him and assumed responsibilities that no landlady would ever take for a tenant? Toothless had always felt the old woman had some secret preference for him, and she'd done a lot of favors to him without being asked.
Now everything made sense; in a worrying, slightly creepy way.
- What else has she told you?
- Not enough. She respects your privacy very much, don't get mad at her – Evelyn said in a very soft and calming way, understanding Toothless' anxiety better than she'd done in the last minutes. She finally took a sip from her coffee -. She never mentioned that guy, anyways.
- His name is Hiccup – Toothless snapped. Evelyn rolled her eyes.
- What a lovely name…
- His name is Jay, his nickname's Hiccup – the dragon boy specified, upset before Evelyn's sarcasm. She'd always hated nicknames for some mysterious and incomprehensible reason; and there it was again: her bad mood.
- Dean, you know you can't afford emotional links, least of all an affair.
- He's not an affair – Toothless raised his voice, his heartbeat fastening and color tainting his face. It was offensive to define what he felt for Hiccup as mere physical attraction -. I've never felt this way. I would do anything for him. I'd die for him!
Evelyn almost chokes on her coffee. Irish, definitely Irish. Where did Mrs. Evans put the bloody whiskey? She was getting a headache.
- Dean, what you're saying is something really serious…
- It's the truth, is what I feel: I'd die for him – he repeated, completely convinced.
- If you stay in Berk any longer that will become true – Evelyn reminded. Someone had to wake this boy up! -. Now go pack your things. We leave today.
- What? ? No! I'm not leaving Hiccup! ! – Toothless smashed his closed fists against the kitchen table and vehemently shook his head in negation.
- God's sake, Dean! ! – Evelyn shouted, spilling a bit of her coffee in the process. What had this guy done to Dean? - He will undoubtedly leave you if he ever- - -!
- He knows – Toothless interrupted, his breath uneasy and his face looking as if made of stone -. Everything. I've shown him.
- You what? ? ?
Evelyn's mood reset with that declaration. Her brain connected some dots at the speed of light, drawing a whole new perspective around that brown-haired boy. Now, either he really liked Dean and didn't care about his dual nature, or he was one of them and was just pretending so he could hand Dean over. It had already happened; of course no Hunters' ally had ever faked a romantic interest in Dean to obtain information.
However, Toothless didn't have to try hard to decipher Evelyn's new thoughts. Why did she have to be so paranoid? Well, it was a natural response due to his record, but still.
- He saved my life and it's thanks to him that I can fly – he continued.
- Fly, what do you mean "fly"?
- Apparently my wounds weren't as insignificant as I wanted to believe…
Evelyn's face distorted with horror as she finally heard the detailed story of how Dean had come to lose his tailfin. Ok, forget the Irish coffee, she'd take the whiskey alone. So this guy had actually helped Dean in his dragon form? Well, that annulled all of her suspicions about him working for the Hunters. Why wasting the perfect chance of capturing the only half human and half dragon of the world in the Vatican's name?
If everything Dean was saying was true (and he didn't really have any reasons to lie), then this Hiccup guy is way much more than meets the eye. But that didn't change anything, except perhaps the fact that now Evelyn wouldn't have to do one of her tricks to erase all evidence of Dean's presence in Berk.
- …I can fly again and it's thanks to Hiccup – Toothless finished his story -. He's my rider. We have a bond.
- Oh, Dean – Evelyn felt like such an awful person, but there was nothing to be done. Her decision was already made, and she wasn't going to change it -, you can't get more people involved. Do you realize you're endangering him with this secret? – she had to convince him, somehow. It was necessary - If you really care about him you have to get him out of this.
- So I have to leave him anyways? – Toothless understood Evelyn's intentions. He shook his head again - No. I want to stay in Berk. I have a home here!
Evelyn pulled herself together and managed to gain that authoritarian and intimidating aura that all those years had allowed her to keep Dean safe, even from himself. She didn't travel all the way from London to Berk at night to ask him. Dean was going with her, for his own welfare, even if he refused to understand the reasons. After all, he was still a teenager, and it was Evelyn's job to guide his way.
- Listen, apparently we were lucky, but barely – she said -. The Hunters think it was a Monstrous Nightmare, they captured one five days ago; that's why they haven't chased you. There are many dragons in these mountains, and if they find out they'll never leave.
- You could stop the Hunters from finding out. They could! – Toothless argued.
Evelyn lost her voice for half a second; she didn't expect Dean to play that card.
- I can't use them as I please, you know that. I'm supposed to protect them, not use them to protect you. That's not their job!
- Neither is yours – replied Toothless, cold.
Evelyn breathed in, rage building inside of her, her chin lifting involuntarily. Now that was her signal; if she had to play foul and use Dean's emotions against him, she will.
The goal justifies the means. Always.
- After ten years I think it is. Didn't you listen? They captured a dragon. You could be the next one. What will you do if this boy is with you when that happens? And if he's your rider he definitely will. Do you think they'll let him go? No! They'll use him, and abuse him… – she could immediately read the subtle changes on Dean's facial and corporal expression, he was no longer defensive. It was time for her move -. Now I'll ask you one more time, Dean, and please think carefully about it: Are you coming with me to London?
It hurt Toothless to his very soul, but Evelyn was right: risking himself was one thing, but risking Hiccup's life was an entirely different matter. How could he be so selfish?
In the end, heartbroken the most, Toothless mumbled a "Yes".
Oh, thank god, she'd done it. She felt guilty for forcing him to leave the place that had finally become his home, but if he didn't remember the priority of his life he wouldn't have the chance to ever enjoy this home.
- We don't have to leave today – Evelyn tried to solace, but the tension was impossible to dissipate. Oh, damn it, she was the villain in this tale, but one day Dean would understand why it was necessary -. You can say goodbye, but you have until Christmas. We'll leave on the 26th's morning. Please, don't be so sad. If everything goes fine, maybe you can come back in a year.
That didn't do anything to cheer Toothless up, and since Evelyn could think of nothing more to say, she guessed it was the perfect time for her to go.
When Evelyn was about to leave the house, however, she met Hiccup face to face at the end of the stairs. He didn't say anything, but his eyes gave him away: he'd heard enough, he knew what Evelyn was there for, and he didn't agree. But it wasn't his penetrating and afflicted stare what moved her to the very core, no. She saw a ghost on his face, the same expression of someone she'd lost many, many years ago.
Who was this boy? Was he the incarnation of her mistakes? A presence meant to haunt her and drive her to the edge of guilt?
She couldn't hold Hiccup's gaze for too long. Her breath faltered, and she literally ran away from the place, hands resting on her chest, trying to confirm her heart still beat.
Looking back at the house she caught a glimpse of the scene in the kitchen: Hiccup walking in and Dean immediately going up to him and hugging him desperately.
She decided it in less than a second: she had to learn more about this Hiccup guy.
.
.
The first thing to do was investigating his real name. Easy, really: there was only one Jay on the phone guide. So Jay Haddock it was, but the simplicity of the mission didn't calm her stressed nerves at all, quite the opposite. Evelyn couldn't place why, but the Haddock name sounded somewhat familiar… Anyways, she grabbed her phone to call some favors in and only an hour later she walked into Stoick's gym looking for Hiccup's family to learn anything she could about him and his origins. It was necessary.
Her presence caused quite a stir in the gym, mainly because she was an extremely beautiful woman and many of the guys quit training to admire her physical assets. She huffed in irritation: men in general could be so annoying. If she wanted she could teach all of them a painful lesson, all she needed was her fencing equipment and she'd be ready to kick some butts (and maybe a bit of practice to clean the dust from her old technique). She rejoiced on the mental scenario of her victory over a handful of fighters armed with only a floret and her speed.
"Don't dawdle, there are some urgent matters to solve" she reprimanded herself.
Now, even Stoick had to quit training when the woman walked in. She obviously wasn't a mother: her heels were too high and her coat too fancy. And she obviously wasn't a fighter: her complexion was too delicate, though something in her movements gave her away as some sort of athlete. Whatever the case may be, Stoick needed to get her out of his gym, she was creating too much of a distraction.
So he went straight to her and asked her in the most polite way he could think of:
- Anythin' I can do for ya ma'am?
And then, when the woman turned around and faced him, he experienced the biggest shock of his life.
- Gerard? ? – she gasped, her eyes widening in recognition.
- Ev'lyn? ?
She chuckled hypocritically.
- Twenty years and you still can't pronounce the "e" in the middle, I see…
.
.
It took Stoick entire minutes to find his voice again. He felt as if he were talking to a ghost, though; he hadn't seen his sister-in-law for years. He didn't even know if she was still alive or not, he hadn't remembered to question himself about it. And there she was, two decades older but still the same, keeping all the physical similarities she once shared with her sister.
- Whut ya doin' here? – whatever conversation they might have in the next minutes had to start with that question, undoubtedly.
- What are you doing here? – she responded, indignant, brushing the fur on the neck of her coat in a slightly snobbish gesture - Yours is certainly the last face I expected to find in this city.
- I liv' here…
- In Berk? ? – Evelyn raised a thin eyebrow in skepticism. Stoick drew a puzzled expression.
- Born here, rais'd here. Spent ma whole life here. Don' ya remember? ?
- No. Not really – she replied as if it were a normal thing to erase so many things about a person from your memory. She knew it wasn't, though, and inwardly she was beginning to worry about her obliviousness.
- Well, wouldn' really expect ya t'remember me, but ya should remember where ya' sister spent fifteen years o' her life.
- I remember everything about Valery perfectly. Thank you very much – she snapped.
Stoick was seriously confused now. Why was she pretending not to know half the things about the life he and her sister had built together?
- Are ya here t'visit her grave? Since ya couldn' come t'tha funeral…
That seemed like the logic reason, but still was weird since six years had happened since Valhallarama's death, and it wasn't even the anniversary of her passing.
Evelyn shifted her weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other. She'd never thought of visiting her sister's grave; actually, there were days in which she forgot that Valery was dead and why. That was wrong.
"You have no time for this either. You're here for Dean, not for you". She cleaned her throat and straightened herself.
- I was looking for someone… – she informed, casually - Stoick Haddock?
Stoick's face went blank again.
- That'd be me.
- Haddock? ? – Evelyn whined. Gerard's surname was Haddock? Wasn't he called another name when he was a famous fighter? "Of course! He was called Stoick the Vast, how could I be so blind?"
- Ya a'right? Ya look confus'd… Wanna go for a drink? Looks like ya could use one.
That's how Evelyn ended up sitting at a table in Stoick's favorite pub, with a flask of whiskey finally in her right hand and the photograph of her sister that Stoick always kept in his wallet in the other.
- Haddock – she muttered -. To me she was always Valery Valhalla. No matter what.
- T'me she was always Valhallarama Haddock – Stoick recovered his photograph as gently as he could -. Why are ya here?
Evelyn emptied her glass. She wasn't in the mood for providing answers, right now she needed to get them.
- You… You didn't have any children, right?
Well, that was a sensitive subject to be discussing in a pub with a near-stranger. Stoick coughed awkwardly.
- Ehm… Well, Valhallarama was pregnan' when we marri'd, but tha' girl wasn' born. Miscarriage, ya know…
- So, you never…?
- We had a son. He's jus' like her. His name's Jay. I remember ya never liked nicknames, but we call 'im Hiccup.
- Oh, god… – the weight of the world settled on Evelyn's shoulders. She called the barman and asked for more whiskey. This boy certainly couldn't be the guy Dean was infatuated with, could he? - How old is he?
- Seventeen.
- Is he here? At the gym, I mean.
- No, he ain' tha sportive type – Stoick scratched his abundantly bearded chin -. Well, he's been givin' a try this las' week, but he ain' there. He spent tha night with a frien'. If ya wanna see him, ya'll have t'wait.
- And how… how is he? Do you have any pictures? – she said with expectation.
- No' really. We… we didn' have tha bes' relationship till some weeks ago…
- You don't have a picture of your own son? – she reproached as the barman brought her refill - What kind of father are you? ?
- Says tha woman who didn' talk t'her sister in fifteen years – Stoick crossed his beefy arms, offended the most. It wasn't easy to be a father, and surely Evelyn had no idea of what parenting meant -. Hiccup doesn' know anythin' 'bout ya, Valhallarama never told him… Now, be serious, Ev'lyn, whut are ya doin' here?
She wasn't going to explain anything related to Dean to anyone. Maybe it was best to pretend that she was there for herself and not for him, only this time.
- I want to get to know my nephew, is that wrong? – she said.
- Odd. Why now?
It was actually a very bad pretext, since Evelyn didn't even know she had a nephew until ten minutes ago, but Stoick, very kindly, ignored all the notorious blanks in her story and let her be. He actually played along, and invited her to join him and Hiccup for Christmas dinner so they could finally know each other. She doubted, and only accepted after Stoick informed that it'd be just them, that his cousin Spitelout and his nephew Snotlout would be gone for the holidays.
- Fine. See you for dinner, then, I must go to solve a tiny issue about job… – she explained as she stood up to leave -. Oh, just one last thing. Is it alright if I bring someone with me?
- Sure, if ya wan' – Stoick agreed.
.
.
White. Everything in that bloody place was white, or a lousy shade of blue. And the smell… He hated that stupid place. He hated the stupid bed he laid on. But above all, he hated the stupid bastard that put him there. Toothless…
- How are you feeling son?
Great, just what he needed: his stupid father on another of his weekly visits. No, wait, they were daily visits ever since he'd been fired. Green Death stared at his father with his eyes injected with rage. If he could he'd stand up and punch him right on the face, only to show the world that he was still the beast everybody knew him to be…
But with broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and a delicate spinal column healing he couldn't do any of that. He'd already tried, and it just got him lying back on that stupid bed.
So, how was he feeling? That was an easy one: filled with hate, filled with anger, and filled by a gigantic desire of vengeance.
"But I can wait – he thought -. Revenge tastes way better as a cold dish".
He pretended to pay attention to his father's speech, informing him that a new fancy doctor was coming to the hospital, transferred from London, and that she might support the idea of taking the rehab in another hospital. She'd mentioned somewhere in Italy or France when asked, and Mr. Sanders couldn't agree more. They were leaving Berk, anyways; as soon as Green Death was allowed to stand up from that bed, they'd go south.
They'd leave the city that had witnessed the humiliation of the Sanders family, and maybe once they were far from it Green Death would finally feel like revealing who (or what) had injured him so.
Little did he know that Green Death wouldn't say a word, because his vengeance was his and his alone.
And he would get it.
.
.
.
.
Another note: Despite the lack of Toothcup love in this chapter, I have to say/write this: chan, chan cháaaaaaaan~! ! (-that's supposed to be suspenseful music, you know)
.
Squirrel sends his regards.
.
And I'll never be capable of showing you the real depth of my gratitude, but I can try. People, you really have no idea how much I love you all! Thanks from my very soul to:
YoshisSupport, Hi Mr Whale, Mousettezz, No No 22,
AlexJohnD, Anonna, Let my dragons roar, Valadix, AliceCullen3,
Ilmazzobro, Tech who, Splendidguy44, moonlitcat,
Ancientathens, Hotaru-chan, YaoiLoversFans, Loti-Miko.
.
IRT Splendidguy44: He changed into human. Thanks for pointing that out, maybe I need to do a little editing to make that clear. ^^
IRT Ilmazzobro: May I tell you that you are rapidly becoming my favorite online person with your absolutely fantabulous reviews? Your words are just wonderful and make me smile! You are the awesome one!
IRT Ancientathens: You know I love you, and if you don't know it, well, learn that I do love you! ! ^^
.
You've already spent at least five minutes reading this chapter...
Go on, you can use five extra seconds for a review. ^^