I'd just like to point out, it's on time :D *does happy dance*
Meatlug drove back to the apartment at such a rapid speed that Hiccup was actually surprised they didn't get pulled over and given a speeding ticket. As the back of the van had no windows Hiccup couldn't really tell what speed they were going, but he definitely felt it as he was tossed around while taking the corners and curves. He had never wished for a seatbelt so much in his life. He was almost embarrassed when he noticed he was the only one being thrown around like a rag doll; the others must have been used to this style of driving.
When they finally came to a full stop and were let out of the back of the van, Hiccup was confused to notice they were not at the condo, but at Toothless' safe house. Hiccup climbed out of the van and took the time to look around at the exotic cars that surrounded him once more. He actually hadn't been to the safe house in a long time, and it was kind of nice to see some of the lesser used cars again. He was running his fingers softly over the hood of the Pagani Zonda, recalling his first memory of it from when he had gone on his first date with Toothless all those years ago, when he was interrupted from his thoughts by Toothless calling his name.
When Hiccup looked over, Toothless was pointing towards another van that appeared ready to go. It was the exact same model as the one they had just been in, except it was an eggshell white as opposed to the midnight black of the previous and it had a different license plate. It was now that Hiccup finally understood why they had stopped here, and he quickly ran over and into the back of the van. As he sat down Barf and Belch slammed the rear doors closed and seated themselves as they took off once more, presumably towards Manhattan.
The van was silent for only a moment before Toothless decided he should try to explain his plan. Hiccup was fortunately starting to get the hang of staying balanced while Meatlug drove and could put a decent amount of attention into the plan as opposed to having to focus on staying upright.
"Alright Hiccup, we'll be using the condo's service entrance. We have set up a wireless device in our condo that, on command, will wipe out a couple security cameras at a time. They will be in different parts of the building so they can't be entirely sure where we are. We will follow the back hallway to the service elevator, which is programmed to only stop on our floor. Inside we will get you into the safe room and you'll have to stay there for a while, or at least until the police come looking for you. I think it would be best…"
"Wait wait wait," Hiccup interrupted, "Safe room?" He didn't know what Toothless was talking about, or at least he didn't think he did. He thought back to all of the rooms in the condo, all of the places a secret door could be hidden, but he came up with nothing.
"Yeah, the safe room remember?" Toothless asked, confused. He was sure he had told Hiccup about this. "The one in the linen closet upstairs?"
Hiccup racked his brain for just a moment, but he was definitely sure that he didn't know what Toothless was talking about. He simply shook his head in confusion.
"Oh, I can't believe I never told you about that! I guess since we never needed to use it and because I was always the one to make sure it remained in a habitable condition at all times, it never came up. But you know how the linen closet on the second floor is deeper than your average linen closet?" When Hiccup nodded in confirmation, Toothless continued. "Well on the left side there is a small hole near the bottom, and there is a key hidden in the back of the bottom shelf. When you insert the key the panel slides over and reveals a small hallway that leads into a room over the living room. It's about 400 square feet, and it's why the living room isn't two stories tall in the one corner."
That last statement made Hiccup think about the layout of the condo for the first time in three years. How had he never noticed that? The master bedroom didn't cover the entire half of the condo it was on, so theoretically the living room should have been two stories. He partially reprimanded himself for not questioning that fact earlier, but then again that wasn't really something that would have made any significant difference in the past anyways.
"But anyways," Toothless continued after the momentary pause, "From when we push the button to deactivate the cameras to when we close the condo door behind us, we only have sixty seconds. So we need to make this quick. Understood?"
Everyone nodded in agreement, then nearly toppled on top of each other when Meatlug took an exceptionally hard turn. Everyone had tried to brace themselves, but Hiccup went sprawling on the floor. Belch found himself on the floor of the van too, however judging by Barf's chuckling, it had more to do with him than Meatlug's driving.
Hiccup had fully expected a classic Barf and Belch argument to break out, however Meatlug coming to an abrupt stop halted them both. When Stormfly called forward to ask what was going on, she was answered by a muffled call of, "We're here, what else?"
Hiccup was baffled that Meatlug managed to pull off the drive from the warehouse in 10 minutes, but he decided not to complain; he just wanted to get home.
"Alright everyone," Toothless said loud enough for Meatlug and Hookfang upfront to hear as he pulled out a small remote from his breast pocket, "Three, two, one, NOW!" As he yelled, he pushed the button and Barf and Belch flung the back doors open.
Hiccup moved as quickly as he could, making sure he kept up with the others and hoping the cameras he saw in the room immediately after he got out of the van really were disabled. He didn't see the small red lights on them blinking, so that was a good sign.
Hiccup took off towards the elevators along with Barf, Belch, Toothless, Stormfly, and Hookfang, while Meatlug threw the van into reverse and drove away, back onto the early morning streets of Manhattan.
They ran down the hallway towards the elevators, Hiccup hoping every camera they passed was off and that no one would suddenly come out of the unmarked doors on either side of the hall. It took ten seconds for them to make it to the elevators, where the service elevator was waiting for them. Pressing the button for the 19th floor and the door close buttons, the group could now do nothing but wait. As they rode the elevator, the only movement (or sound) was Toothless pulling out the door key for when the elevator doors opened.
Hiccup was getting nervous with how slow the elevator was going. Toothless had said they would had sixty seconds, and if his counting was accurate, they had already hit fourty five. When the elevator doors finally opened, he was at fifty. Toothless and Hiccup were the first out, and Toothless had the key in the lock before they even stopped moving. The group rushed in, and just as they slammed the door after Stormfly their estimated sixty seconds ended. Toothless turned on the lights and immediately led Hiccup upstairs. Barf immediately started closing curtains, Belch stood guard by the door, and Stormfly and Hookfang immediately went over to the computers set up in the living room to shut them down.
When they reached the top of the stairs and approached the linen closet, Toothless immediately started tossing out the towels on the bottom shelf and Hiccup checked out the left wall. Sure enough, with a little searching, there was the hole. It looked like it was just a hole in the drywall, and it blended in quite nicely, but since he knew what he was looking for it was easier to find.
It took Toothless ten seconds to get the key, and he immediately opened the door into the safe room. When the wall slid to the side, the lights flickered on revealing a narrow hallway after a sharp curve. Toothless gestured for Hiccup to enter, and then followed him in.
Hiccup wasn't sure what to expect when he entered, but he had to say, he was pleasantly surprised. The space felt like it was decently sized for a bachelor apartment, and it contained a queen sized bed, a desk with a computer on it, a loveseat, a dresser, and a small curtained off bathroom space with a toilet, small sink, and shower. Hiccup also spotted a small bar fridge and a hot plate in the corner, and two televisions hanging on the walls above them.
"I still can't believe that I never knew this was here," Hiccup muttered.
"Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't mean to keep it a secret, it just never came up I guess." Toothless replied as he put an arm around Hiccup, clearly having overheard Hiccup's statement. "So the others are just dismantling the equipment, then taking it down to Meatlug and the van. Then they'll be out of here. I expect the cops to be here to search the joint within twenty four hours, so I think it would be best if you just waited in here for a while. I'm going to move the key to the safe since I don't expect an emergency situation where I'll have to get in here quickly, and they probably won't bother to search the safe. The fridge is freshly stocked, and the TVs actually have an option to show the feed from the cameras embedded in the window frame downstairs, so you can look into the apartment or out and see the view. I've also put some of your clothes in the dresser. When the cops arrive, make sure you don't make any noise. Got it?"
"Got it," Hiccup confirmed after he let all of the information sink in. He could live in this space for a day or so, especially if he could watch TV. And with that, Toothless turned back towards the exit to the small hideaway, smiling at Hiccup and sparing a quick, "I love you," before the door sealed behind him.
Hiccup just stood there for a minute, but after he snapped out of his momentary trance he knew exactly what the first thing he wanted to do was. Almost immediately he belly flopped onto the bed and sprawled out on the comfortable mattress. He was actually excited to get to sleep on it, considering he may as well have been sleeping on rocks for almost a week. He got up to get changed, but before he did he flipped on one of the televisions and set it to show the camera facing the living room downstairs.
The image took a moment to appear, but when it did he was greeted with an image of Toothless closing the door to the condo. The living room had no equipment in it that was out of the ordinary, so Hiccup assumed that the others had just left. He switched to the camera facing outside and looked over the vastness of the night-time skyline. He had to admit, it was an amazing view looking over central park. Hiccup continued to get changed and immediately crawled into bed after brushing his teeth and flipping off the television. He was so happy to finally be on something that felt like a bed. It only took him a matter of seconds before he was out like a light.
Hiccup was rudely awoken several hours later by a pounding on the door. Still in his groggy state from the sudden outburst down below, it didn't register what was going on until he heard someone yell, "Police! Open up!"
Hiccup was wide awake when he heard that. He immediately froze, not moving a muscle while he continued to rest in the bed. He would have sworn he could feel his pulse in his brain. A part of him wanted to turn on the TV screen and look at what was going on downstairs, but he decided against it. He didn't want to see the men and women hunting for him.
He heard Toothless' voice follow just seconds later, meaning he must have already been downstairs. Hiccup allowed himself just enough to turn his head and see the hands on the clock pointing to 7:30. When he turned his attention back to the voices downstairs, he realized they must have started talking at a regular volume since he could no longer make out the words being exchanged. What he heard loud and clear, however, was the sound of people coming up the stairs practically right under him. If he was making sure he didn't make a sound before, he was definitely making sure now. He didn't even wipe the nervous sweat from his clammy hands in fear that they might hear him.
The police searched the condo for a good fifteen minutes, and Hiccup was pretty sure he held his breath the whole time. He didn't even realize he had been holding a breath until he heard the footsteps return downstairs once more and he allowed himself to exhale. He heard more muffled voices downstairs, then he tensed again when he heard more footsteps returning upstairs.
Hiccup was internally freaking out at this point. What if they had found the entrance? What would happen to Toothless? To him? It didn't make the situation any better when he realized that one of the voices, now just outside the linen closet door, was his father's. Stoick must have been doing one last sweep of the house because he didn't stay in the area that Hiccup could hear clearly from for long, just long enough for Hiccup to hear him say, "I can't believe he would do this to me," and, "Such a disappointment. He had a chance…"
Hiccup had to admit that the words stung a little, but he wouldn't let them hurt him since he knew he had heard them significantly out of context. He was pretty sure he could guess what they were about, but he didn't want to think about it. Fortunately he didn't have to think about it long as the door to the condo sealed again about a minute later, and another minute later the door to the safe room opened, allowing Toothless entry.
No words were exchanged as Toothless, still in his own pajamas, laid down next to Hiccup, wrapped his arm around him, and they both fell back to sleep.
It was just past noon when Hiccup stirred once more, waking both himself and Toothless. Hiccup stretched his arms out above his head and turned to face Toothless, smile gracing his face.
"Hey," was all Hiccup said at first. He couldn't express how happy he was to be waking up next to Toothless instead of in a cell, even if he was in a technically windowless room hiding out from the cops.
"Hey," Toothless responded, smiling as well. He may not have said it, but he too was extremely happy to have Hiccup in his arms once more. They laid there for a few minutes, Toothless gently stroking Hiccup's cheek, before Hiccup spoke once more.
"So, what happens now?" Hiccup pondered aloud.
"Well, we'll have to lay low for the next little while. Probably stay in the condo, but I think you can leave the safe room. I don't think the cops will be back seeing as they've already searched the joint. Maybe just keep the key on you at all times just in case. The condo is stocked for a week I believe."
"We have to stay here?" Hiccup complained. He had just been let out of a prison, but if he was going to be stuck in the condo for a week he felt like he was just exchanging one cell for another. Granted this one was most definitely an upgrade, but still. He missed the open city streets, walking in the park, even riding the subway.
"It's better to be safe than sorry," Toothless cautioned, concerned Hiccup may be spotted if he went out in public too soon. "Besides, I'll be staying in with you."
Hiccup couldn't help but smile at that. He planted a soft kiss on Toothless' lips, silently agreeing to stay in the condo, for now. He pulled himself out of bed, immediately heading to the living room. If he was going to be stuck inside for a while, he was at least going to look out of a real window.
Hiccup was counting down the days of the week, and he was distraught it was only the third day. It felt like it had been so much longer. He remembered that Toothless had said that the condo was stocked about a week, so sooner or later they would have to go out and restock at least, but he really was hoping to get out sooner. Hiccup, not having much to do over the last couple of days, had taken to naps and going to sleep early so he seemed to be waking up earlier and earlier. His adrenaline had woken him up at 5:30am, and since he wasn't able to get back to sleep, he decided to start preparing a breakfast with the last of the ingredients in the fridge.
He rose from the bed slowly and carefully, assuring he wouldn't rouse Toothless in the process. Creeping down the stairs (and making sure to avoid that squeaky step), Hiccup walked into the kitchen and cracked the fridge. Knowing Toothless he would probably wake up if the fan started to whir, so Hiccup made quick work of gathering the refrigerated ingredients.
Hiccup only took five seconds to get out the milk, eggs, and butter out of the fridge. After he pulled out the dry ingredients he started mixing them in a bowl, carefully making sure the whisk didn't hit the side of the bowl more than absolutely necessary. When he finished making the batter, he realized it was still only 6:00. He put the bowl in the refrigerator and walked over to the window, looking down on the Manhattan streets below. The streets and sidewalks were already starting to get busier with the morning rush, and he couldn't wait to get out there and join them.
He wasn't sure how long he had been gazing down at the streets. It was oddly mesmerizing, watching the ant sized individuals scurrying every which way, oblivious to the fact that they were being watched from above. But Hiccup was only snapped out of his trance like state when he heard the creaking of the bedroom floor upstairs, and when the sun had risen noticeably higher into the sky.
Rushing back into the kitchen to make sure the first batch of pancakes was ready for when Toothless descended the stairs, Hiccup turned on the stove and placed a pan on top before pulling the pancake batter out of the fridge again. He tossed the plastic wrap he had placed on top of the bowl into the trash as he poured three imperfect circles of mix into the pan.
Hiccup watched them just momentarily before jumping into action once more, pulling out plates, cutlery, and some Canadian maple syrup before returning to the stove just in time to flip the flapjacks.
Hiccup's ears picked up the squeaky step on the stairs right as he was removing the first three pancakes from the pan and placing them on the plate he had next to him. He picked up the plate and turned in place, meeting a fully dressed Toothless half way at the kitchen island. Toothless pulled out a chair as Hiccup set down the plate and returned to the stove to put more batter in the pan.
"You know, with how much cooking you've been doing over the last few days someone might think you'd been away from the kitchen for years, not four days," Toothless cracked before taking a large bite out of one of the perfectly cooked pancakes.
"Well that doesn't mean I didn't miss cooking, and cooking for you. Plus there is only so much I can do cooped up around here. I mean I think we've binge watched every television show ever created," Hiccup replied without even turning around.
"Yeah, well, the life of an outlaw isn't always as glamorous as it seems I guess," Toothless said, right before Hiccup turned around to grab the pancake plate to take out the second batch. Right before he took it back, however, Toothless made sure to grab both of the remaining pancakes with a smile.
Hiccup just laughed, responding quickly by saying, "Have you seen this condo? It looks pretty glamorous to me." Hiccup returned the freshly stocked plate to the counter before putting the last batch of pancakes into the pan and sitting in his own seat.
Hiccup took his first bite of pancake as Toothless swallowed and added, "Well I can't help it if I'm an amazing interior decorator."
Hiccup almost choked when he started to laugh with his mouth full. But a few coughs later and some water from the sink, he managed to get out, "Yeah, OK, and how many interior designers did you pay to do this place?"
Feigning hurt, Toothless sarcastically whipped, "I assure you I have no idea what you were talking about!"
"So only three?"
"I'll have you know it was two," Toothless muttered, taking another bite of pancake in the process.
"Well at least that's better than the five you needed for the warehouse."
"That was a bigger space!" Toothless argued.
"Most of it is a garage," Hiccup pointed out, taking another bite. When Toothless stuttered and was unable to come up with a response, Hiccup smiled triumphantly. "Now, we need to talk about something." At this, Toothless' and Hiccup's expressions both became much more serious. "Look, it's been a few days. Things already need to be restocked, and…"
"I am aware," Toothless interrupted, "that we need a few things. So after breakfast I am going to head out and restock."
"And by I you mean we, right?" Hiccup asked expectantly. By this point the pancakes had been temporarily forgotten.
"Hiccup…" Toothless started, running a hand through his hair and exhaling heavily.
"Don't you Hiccup me," Hiccup fumed. "I have stayed with you in this condo for three straight days, plus I spent the four previous days locked up in a concrete box. I need to go outside; I need to interact with other people!"
"Don't you think I understand that?" Toothless asked simultaneously upset and angry, but not at Hiccup. "But don't you also think it would be dangerous for you to be outside with all those people? Have you not been watching the news Hiccup? You're still on the news; they are still looking for you."
"Don't you think I'll be careful? I'll be fine," Hiccup tried to argue, but his words fell on deaf ears.
"DAMN IT HICCUP I WON'T LOSE YOU AGAIN!" Toothless yelled before standing up abruptly, knocking the bar stool he was sitting on backwards. Hiccup could see the tears starting to form around Toothless' eyes, and he could feel the tears forming around his own.
Just then, Hiccup caught the scent of something burning and immediately remembered he had left the third batch of pancakes cooking on the stove. Immediately turning to turn off the heat, Hiccup sighed at the blackened batter and immediately brought it over to the trash can. By the time he turned around, however, all he saw was the front door swinging shut behind Toothless.
OK, big news! (sort of...) Basically, I know last time I said that this was the last chapter before the epilogue, but apparently I lied (not intentionally!) I just got so many new ideas when writing this chapter that I had to split it in two. So NEXT chapter is the last before the epilogue!
Next chapter: On or before July 4. See you then!
Why not help cool off some tempers with a review?