Last chapter! Just kidding. This chapter turned out longer than I thought. But that's how it goes lol
Thanks for the support, guys, I really appreciate it.
X
Chapter 18: Homecoming
Boom. Crackle.
Hiccup was snapped awake at the storm. Water lapped at the ship's hull and rocked the ship with more vigor than he would have liked. It made it harder to sleep. He'd had a dream that he'd been flying. The clouds were white and gold, swirling in endless pillars, all around him.
Down in the hull he was being battered by the rough motion, up and down, back and forth. It wasn't nauseating but it was certainly uncomfortable.
Astrid groaned in her sleep. She was sleeping beside him like there was no storm at all. He wished he would sleep as soundly. She curled into his side and clutched the blanket, holding it under her chine, and would inhale a little sharper as the ship was pulled down with the waves.
Hiccup sighed as the ship was brought back up. Rain splattered the upper deck. Thunder rolled and banged on the night sky. Sleep seemed too far away but there wasn't anything else he could do.
Hiccup and Astrid had taken passage with an unfamiliar trader, his name sounded like 'Jeral' but every time the said it he would wrinkle his nose. Astrid still mispronounced his name, a little bit on purpose, but Hiccup had forgone the formality. Jeral had agreed, although apprehensively, to take the two of them as far north as he could. His trade route didn't go as far as Berk but he could certainly get them closer than they were now.
They had set off from the island three days ago. It had been the cheeriest send-off Hiccup had ever seen and a part of him missed it. But now, the island was long gone, replaced by iron waters on all sides. He'd never enjoyed boats. The ride was long and confined. Hiccup had blurry memories of the journey with Johan. He had spoken to him on several accounts but couldn't recall anything that they'd said.
Of course, it hadn't really been him doing the talking.
It was more than strange to think that he'd been in his own body but hadn't been in control. He could remember the battle that had sent him and Toothless into the water. He had climbed onto the desk of the Berserker fleet. That was when Richard, using Dagur as his meat puppet, had jumped him.
He had been sure he was going to die. Dagur's body had gone rigid, like he was being shocked by lightning, and then he fell to a limp heap on the deck. He saw only a short glimpse of the white mist that vaporized in front of him before it surrounded him. His entire body felt like it had been dipped in freezing waters. His limbs were fighting against the possession but Richard had won.
After that, everything felt like a dream, more vision than reality. He barely remembered embracing Astrid on Johan's deck. He had been in pain, at least one of his ribs had been broken, but it must have been Richard's spiritual presence that healed it significantly faster.
Truthfully, it took him a while to understand what was happening. When he realized that it was Richard in control, he was terrified. There was nothing he could do. Astrid had been in danger but he had been stuck in silence. He hadn't been able to do anything at all. Even when…
Astrid let out a soft moan and rolled onto her other side. Her breath warmed his skin and he slid his arm underneath her pillow. She woke, briefly, with sleep still clinging to her half-closed blue eyes. She looked at him, fluttered her eyes closed, and curled tightly against him. Hiccup brushed a hair away from her face and laid his hand on her shoulder.
He was going to be a father.
A baby.
He was going to be a father.
How was he going inform his father that he is going to be a grandfather. How was he going to take care of a child? He could barely take care of himself. But…he'd known the risks. Astrid had known, too. They both knew. They talked about it. It was a risk they had knowingly taken. They were engaged, in secret, but engaged nonetheless, and they would be married sooner or later.
He was still nervous. Astrid seemed so much more confident about a baby than he did. Was it because she had known for a while? Was it because she was a mother? Was it some kind of magical mother ability? Or was it just Astrid? She never shrunk at a challenge. She met things head on.
A baby. The thought still rung with disbelief and wonder.
"Are you awake?" Astrid's soft whisper was moist against his neck.
"Yeah,"
"Why?"
"I can't sleep. You?"
"Because I'm not sleeping."
Hiccup smiled against her head.
"What are you thinking about?"
Hiccup sighed, "What if it's a hiccup?"
"What?" Astrid's eyelashes fluttered against him. Her pressure was gone from his shoulder. It was dark but he could see the shadowed outline of her as she sat up, looking at him, presumably.
"What if the baby is a hiccup?"
"Then we can name them Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the fourth."
"That's not funny."
"It wasn't supposed to be."
"I'm serious, Astrid."
"So am I." Astrid's voice shifted. "Why are you worried?"
"Because…"
"Hiccup, if it's like you then it's a good thing. You are amazing, whether you know it or not. You've changed the world, for the better, and who knows what you'll do when you're chief!" Astrid's voice was still a whisper, but she spoke with the same heart-filled enthusiasm that swelled in his chest.
"I guess,"
"Hiccup, listen to me," Astrid said with a sharp seriousness. "Whatever it is, girl, boy, hiccup, giant, or whatever, it doesn't matter. It's ours. And we'll love it no matter what."
"I know," Hiccup nodded. "I'm just…I don't know what to think. What if I'm not ready to be a dad?"
"I'm not ready to be a mom. But it's too late for that now. I am. You are."
"I love you," Hiccup said. It didn't matter what his worries were. Astrid would shoot them down with confidence strong enough to punch out the sun.
"I love you, too, Hiccup." Astrid's voice returned to a soft whisper. "Now, let's try and get some sleep."
X
When the first greenish blurs of land appeared on the horizon, Hiccup was overjoyed. He jumped to the bow and watched the land grow into an island. His heart was thumping. He was more than ready to get off this blasted boat. A small crowd began to form along the docks, waving to the trader, reminding him of Berk during one of Johan's anticipated visits.
Jeral lowered the gangplank and was warmly welcomed. Hiccup and Astrid followed but the villagers eyed them with curiosity and poking interest.
"And who are your companions?" a villager asked Jeral.
"I'm Hiccup," Hiccup said when Jeral stuttered. He glanced to Astrid and though quickly, "This is Astrid, my wife."
Astrid's eyes flickered to him but did not publicly argue. She nodded in agreement. Hiccup gave her a quick nod and hoped that she understood. There would be less questions if they village believed them married.
Nonetheless, they were welcomed into the village with less mirth than Jeral. An old woman who regularly housed visitors. She offered home to sleep and warm food and wouldn't let them decline. The trade peddled while the old woman half-drug them to her seaside house. Hiccup graciously accepted the warm food, his stomach was very forward in its hunger. Astrid sat across from him and ate like she hadn't seen food in weeks. He smiled, knowing he'd never mention it to her.
"Eat up, both of you could use to gain a few pounds." the old woman said. She nudged Hiccup," You could stand to eat a whole boar."
Hiccup half-laughed and felt his face redden. Astrid smiled but held her tongue.
"Tell me, are there dragons on this island?" Hiccup asked the old woman.
"Oh, surely. But we give them their space and they leave us alone." she nodded. "Why? Are you some dragon hunter?"
"Oh, no, I train them." Hiccup said, watching carefully for her reaction.
"You what?"
"Train them." Hiccup said.
The old woman raised a wrinkled brow at him. Hiccup put his hands up and retold the story of Berk and it's dragons. The old woman listened, intently, while Astrid eyed him cautiously. When he finished the old woman brought a hand to her chin.
"You want to find a dragon, train it, and fly it home?" she asked.
"Yes." Hiccup nodded.
"Well, Thor's Hammer." the old woman shook her head. "Young people these days are coming up with a whole range of weird ideas. Next thing you know, they'll be saying that there's no edge of the world."
Hiccup grinned. He looked at Astrid but she wasn't returning his enthusiasm as he'd hoped. His smiled faltered a little.
"There's a whole flock of Monstrous Nightmares in the woods to the west." she said, nodding to the back wall of her house to indicate the direction.
"Thank you," Hiccup nodded.
"You welcome, I think, but don't you go running off before you finished that. You need some meat on them bones." the old woman pointed at the half-eaten food in front of him.
Hiccup sighed and Astrid laughed.
"What?" He asked.
"Nothing," She smiled.
X
The village was interested, if not a bit intimidated, at the idea of training dragons. A few of the villagers followed Hiccup and Astrid into the woods.
"What are you doing?" Astrid whispered to him as they trekked into dragon territory.
"Spreading knowledge and peace," Hiccup smiled. "You know, it's what I do."
"I'm just leery about sharing that information with strangers."
"Why?" Hiccup asked, thinking briefly of Heather.
"I don't know, it's just…what if they're not good people?" Astrid said, a serious warning in her eye. He could see the resignation on her face. Trepidation softened her features and although he'd never admit it to her, she somehow looked more beautiful when she was uncertain.
"They seem nice enough to me." Hiccup said, glancing behind him. "Don't worry, Astrid. It's worth a try."
Astrid nodded. She was still cautious.
They came into a small clearing and Hiccup stopped short. He could have sworn that he'd seen something move behind those bushes. He held up a hand to silence the murmuring of the villagers.
"Okay, no one make any sudden movements." Hiccup said. "Dragons are sensitive creatures. They can pick up on your elated emotions and they'll respond to them. First, you need to be calm. They'll pick up on your fear or anger and return it."
Hiccup slowly stepped toward the bushes. There was a dragon in there. He could see the subtle texture change between the leaves and scales. The villagers were watching his every move. He felt as though he were back in the arena, learning how to train dragons with the others, treading lightly around wild dragons.
A pair of yellow-orange eyes were watching him. Hiccup made and kept eye contract and a light green Monstrous Nightmare slowly crept out from underneath the brushes. It wasn't a fully matured dragon and was several years from it. He heard the fearful interest of the villagers behind him.
"Yeah, that's it, we're friends." Hiccup told the dragon. The nightmare was interested and his suspicion was fading. He slowly inched toward Hiccup's outstretched hand. His snout gently came to rest in Hiccup's palm. He heard the disbelieving gasps but he ignored them as he moved around the dragon to stroke it's head.
"Wow, that's incredible," one of the young villagers said.
"Dragon are incredible." Hiccup nodded. "Once you've earned a dragon's trust, there isn't anything they won't do for you. They're the friends that we didn't know we needed."
They spent half a day in the woods getting used to the idea of being friendly with dragons. He was the light green of a spring leaf and the villagers named his Leaf. Leaf was energetic and very fond of the large amount of attention he was getting. He would nuzzle anyone that would let him. Hiccup spent a lot of time talking, explaining about dragons, their habits, working with them not against them, it was a express version of the book of dragons.
When they retreated back to the village, Leaf trailed behind them happily.
"Are you still worried this wasn't a good idea?" Hiccup asked.
"I'm still on the fence." Astrid shrugged, smiling back at him. They were trailing behind the excited villagers. Neither were looking at the ground. Astrid foot was grabbed by an tree root and she tumbled forward. Hiccup reached forward and caught her arm as her other foot recaptured her balance.
"Astrid, are you okay?" Hiccup asked, his eyes moving swiftly to her stomach and back to her face.
"It's fine, Hiccup," Astrid reprimanded him. "It's not like she's made of glass."
"She?" Hiccup asked. "How do you know it's a girl?"
"Because I know." Astrid shrugged. "Girls are better anyway."
"What if she's a Ruffnut?"
"Then I will throw myself off Raven Point and leave her with you." Astrid said, humorless, but after her pause she smiled. "Just kidding, Hiccup, don't look so worried. I like Ruffnut. She's exciting."
Hiccup did not feel any better about it.
"Besides, it could be worse. It could a Snotlout." Astrid smiled.
"Then we'd both be jumping off Raven Point." Hiccup smiled, unable to act serious.
Hiccup spent the evening bartering for leather and time at the local blacksmith's shop. The burly smith wasn't overly keen on the idea of Hiccup using his forge but he didn't refuse him. He didn't need a fancy saddle. They just needed one that would get them to Berk in mild comfort. Although the smith was grumpy about the intrusion, he was interested in the idea of dragon saddle making.
Leaf was popular among the villagers. Children petted him and even the adults were tossing him fish. It was warming to see them so accepting of dragons. Hiccup worked on the saddle and watched Leaf and in a way it felt like home. By sundown the saddle was done and tomorrow they would test it out.
He returned to the old woman's house where she and Astrid had been making dinner. The food was set out and Hiccup graciously joined them at the table. The old woman was marveled at the tame dragon they'd brought back with them. He didn't seem terrifying or menacing.
"Most dragons aren't." Hiccup said.
"Right," the old woman smiled. "Well, it's late. Off to bed with you, right through that door, I've made up a bed. Good night, sweets, I'll see you tomorrow."
They retreated to the bedroom with their stomachs full. Astrid collapsed into the bed with a groan. Hiccup blew out the candle and let the room fall into nighttime darkness. He found his way to the bed and laid down next to her. He sighed as his head hit the pillow and let his tires body relax.
"It feels great to sleep in a bed that's not moving." Hiccup said.
"You don't like sleeping on a boat?"
"Not at all." Hiccup sighed. "Gods, I miss Berk. I haven't spent this much time away from Toothless since…we met."
"I believe that," Astrid said. "You two are inseparable."
Hiccup smiled, "You know that the whole village thinks we're doing stuff in here."
"So?" Astrid breathed, "We're married. We can have sex if we want."
"Right," Hiccup smiled, feeling his cheeks redden, "So how do you feel about right now?"
"Hiccup."
"What? I thought we were married."
"That's not what I meant." Her whisper was a hiss. "We're in someone else's house."
"Yeah, what about Johan's ship? Wasn't that someone else's house?" Hiccup said with a smirk, but instantly the air changed. He barely had time to sense it before a sharp impact on his cheek rang through the room and left a sharp sting on his cheek.
Astrid had sat up. Her breathing was heavy.
"Astrid, I'm sorry." He said desperately, sitting up beside her, but she shrugged away from his touch.
"I didn't think you remembered that." She spoke softly but her voices was still raw with anger.
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Because you weren't…you hadn't said anything about it. I just thought that…if you had remembered then you would have said something before now." Astrid said lowly.
"I'm sorry," Hiccup whispered.
"Why didn't you say something?"
"I didn't know how." Hiccup shrugged.
He remembered that night on Johan's ship, in the dark, amid the crashing of the ocean, he'd made love to with Astrid, or rather, his body had. His actions that night hadn't been his own. But he remembered it all. Richard had been in control and Hiccup hadn't wanted to admit it.
"I still love you, you know." Hiccup whispered to her back. He reached out and gently ran a hand down her spine.
"I love you, too." She said quietly.
"I suppose…that since it was still technically me, it doesn't count as cheating."
"Hiccup," Astrid said. She turned around and slapped him playfully with the back of her hand. "I don't care that it happened. It happened. There's nothing we can do about it now."
"You're right."
"And I don't ever want to talk about it again," Astrid whispered. "So if you have something that you would like to say about it, say it now."
"Yes, Ma'am." Hiccup nodded. "Is he better than me?"
"What?" Astrid snapped.
"Be honest, I can take it."
Astrid scoffed. "I'm serious."
"So am I."
"Hiccup,"
"Come on,"
"No."
"I won't be angry, Astrid."
"I said no."
"No?" Hiccup paused. "'No' as in…"
"No as in he wasn't." Astrid sighed. "He was pushy."
"Oh, right." Hiccup nodded. To be honest he felt a little inflated. But he wouldn't push the topic.
"Is that it?" Astrid asked.
"Yes."
"Then it has been sealed in silence."
"What has?"
"Exactly."
X
In case you're wondering, that night in Johan's ship happened, and I detailed it more in that "Hidden Scene" that is in my "Snow-Ridden" collection of mature-themed drabbles. I forget what chapter it is. Basically, Astrid and Hiccup do mature things.
So the next chapter should be the last chapter - should be. I thought this one would be the last but then it turned out not to be. So I'm sticking with "should be."