It had been a week since the Haddocks arrived at the Hidden World. Everyone was having a great time in their own way. Zephyr and Nuffink would spend the day playing with Night Lights and other baby dragons. Astrid doing battle exercises with Stormfly. Hiccup and Toothless would go exploring a different area every day. At night after everyone ate their dinner, they would all go on a nightly flight.
Hiccup seemed to be the happiest out of all of them. He had the best of both worlds in the palm of his hand. Nothing could ruin his mood.
After the nightly flight was over and his family had gone to sleep, Hiccup would take out one of his many notebooks and sketch out everything he remembered seeing throughout the day. All the dragons, the realms they lived in. He would draw his kids playing with the babies. He drew Toothless sleeping, playing, flying, climbing, etc.
As he finished up his last drawing, a thought came to mind. What if he extended their vacation a bit? It would take much longer than a month to even make a dent in their exploration. Hiccup shook his head. Astrid would never go for that. Frequent trips back and forth, maybe. He could also take solo trips out here if they didn't want to come. He looked over at his sleeping wife as she cuddled their children and smiled. "Eh, I'll talk to her about it in the morning."
Over the next few weeks, Johann slowly regained his strength and managed to start building a small boat capable of getting him off the island. As he worked, more of his memory returned. He remembered searching for the King of Dragons and finding it. Only his plan of domination was ruined when that one-legged boy, Hiccup, ruined it. Oh, how he loathed that sorry excuse for a Viking. He couldn't wait to wrap his hands around that scrawny neck.
First things first though, Johann had to find some Hunters and get his fleet rebuilt. Maybe Krogan's employer would help him out. Both would benefit if he promised that boy's head on a spike.
Johann laughed at the thought of ripping Hiccup apart and forcing that pesky dragon of his to watch. Oh how sweet his revenge will taste.
Two months later:
Hiccup woke up to the smell of fresh bread baking and the most tantalizing cuts of boar meat cooking over an open fire. He swung his legs over the cot and sat up, stretching, before reaching for his prosthetic. "Smell good, milady. What's the occasion?"
Astrid looked over at her husband and gave him a small smile. "I figured this would be the best way to ask if you think it was time to head home?"
Hiccup stood up, walked over to his wife, and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Feeling homesick?"
Astrid shrugged. "A bit. The kids miss their friends. And we left Gobber and Spitelout in charge."
"So Berk is probably burned to the ground by now," Hiccup figured. "Might as well stay here."
Astrid pulled herself away from Hiccup, turning to face him. "Hiccup, enough jokes. It's time to go home. You can't honestly expect us to live the rest of our lives here. Do you?"
Hiccup shook his head. "No, I don't expect us to live here forever, but you must admit there's so much to explore and learn about here. Uncovering every stone and naming every dragon species would take several lifetimes. I want to be selfish and stay here with you by my side, but I won't do that."
The blonde warrior stared at her husband quizzically. "What are you planning?"
"I've been toying with the idea of going back and forth between here and Berk," Hiccup answered. "Dragons have been my calling since we were kids. The gods gave me the gift to train and understand them. Would I love to have you and the kids stay here, yes. But I can't have the best parts of my life together. It just won't work out that way."
"You would leave your family, your tribe, to live in a cave, studying dragons, just like your mother?" Astrid wondered.
"No," Hiccup stated. "I would never do that. But you have to understand that my heart and soul feel like they are being torn apart. I love you. I love Zephyr and Nuffink. You three made my life complete. I can't ignore my calling though. I'm trying to figure out how to have both without tearing myself in two"
"So if we left today, right now, would you get on that boat and come home with us?" Astrid questioned.
"Yes," Hiccup replied.
"Would you make plans to return and continue studying dragons?" Astrid asked.
"I wouldn't come back right away," Hiccup said. "I would consider, coming back at the end of every year after Snoggletog and spend a few months here before returning home. You and the kids would always be welcome to join."
Astrid pondered over Hiccup's words. Deep down in her heart, she knew she couldn't ignore his gift forever. He spent ten years fighting against his calling. She knew that he was trying to find a way to stay with his family and fulfill the duties the gods had bestowed upon him. She didn't like it and it broke her heart, but this was probably going to become their new normal.
"Well if we're going to have a winter home here, we need to find a place to build one," Astrid finally answered with a small, but pained smile. She watched as a sense of relief came over Hiccup as his shoulders relaxed and he smiled back at her.
"I know the perfect realm to build a home," Hiccup said. "We'll all go take a look after breakfast."
Author's Note: Thanks to anyone that is reading. This is my first story in some years. Family and job life put me on pause for a bit, but I'm finally able to balance enough to start writing again. Please if you read leave a review letting me know what you think. Thanks again.