After realizing their feelings for each other—losing his infatuation for Astrid in the process—and realizing that he had just become a dragon's mate, the situation before him was getting a whole lot more complicated. On one side, he had become the village's pride and joy for being a sort of dragon whisperer, defeating dragons left and right and acing the training without even trying, and was now a candidate next to Astrid for the upcoming trials next month to have his first kill. On the other side, he had become one with dragons, seeing them in a different light and ultimately become the legendary Night Fury's mate, a 'wife' of sorts, betraying his own kind by fraternizing with the enemy.
Not something you could achieve overnight.
While Hiccup tried to figure out how to get out of this situation, suddenly Stoick appears in the doorway of his workshop. Hiccup jumped and quickly covered up his desk.
"Dad! You're back!" Hiccup skirted the bench, blocking Stoick's view of Toothless, the prosthetic fin, and other drawings. He struck an awkwardly casual pose, trying to cover up as much as possible. "Gobber's not here, so…"
"I know," Stoick replied. "I came looking for you."
"You…You did?" Hiccup felt caught in between a rock and a tight place somehow.
"You've been keeping secrets," Stoick's voice was stern, causing Hiccup's legs to give out. He slid, dragging the table's contents with him.
"I…have?"
"Just how long did you think you could hide it from me?"
"I don't know what you're…"
"Nothing happens on this island without me hearing about it."
Hiccup really felt very cornered right now.
"So," Stoick said as he put his hands on his hips. "Let's talk about that dragon."
Blood drained from Hiccup's face. How did he find out about Toothless? Had someone seen him together with Toothless? Had someone been following him? Or worse, had someone been seeing him having sex with Toothless? Stoick was going to kill him for sure, him and Toothless. No doubt about it.
"Oh gods. Dad, I'm so sorry. I was going to tell you. I just didn't know how to—"
Stoick started laughing out of the blue. The big, booming kind of laugh that genuinely showed that his father was happy. Hiccup stared, baffled.
"You're not…upset?"
"What? I was hoping for this!"
"Uh…you were?" Hiccup felt a little hopeful that maybe having Toothless as a mate wasn't such a bad idea for him after all.
"And believe me, it only gets better! Just wait till you spill a Nadder's guts for the first time," Stoick exclaimed, causing Hiccup's elated expression to sink as he realized they weren't talking about the same thing; he was talking about him being the village's so-called dragon whisperer, but Stoick was too excited to notice his face. "And mount your first Gronckle head on a spear. What a feeling!" Stoick laughed and smacked Hiccup on the shoulder, sending him into the wall. "You really had me going there, son."
Hiccup got back up, grimacing in the irony of it all.
"All those years of the worst Viking Berk has ever seen! Odin, it was rough. I almost gave up on you! In fact, I was tempted to the moment you were born with the curse, I must admit. And all the while, you were holding out on me! Oh, Thor Almighty!" Stoick grabbed a stool and sat before Hiccup, his massive frame nearly filling the tiny room. "Ahhhhh~ With you doing so well in the ring, we finally have something to talk about."
There was a slight pregnant pause. Hiccup averted his eyes nervously while Stoick adjusts, staring at Hiccup with anticipation, hoping to hear something from Hiccup about his escapades or thoughts during training while he was gone. Hiccup couldn't say anything. There was nothing to say. They weren't even in the same page. Stoick was hoping to hear of his son's exploits in the ring. Hiccup was hoping to tell his father his experience with Toothless and break the news that he was officially getting a dragon for a son-in-law of sorts. There was nothing in common between their thoughts. In fact Hiccup was dangerously on unfamiliar grounds at this point. After a long, uncomfortable silence, Stoick broke the ice.
"Oh, I, uh, brought you something," Stoick presented a horned helmet. "To keep you safe in the ring."
"Wow. Thanks," Hiccup replied sincerely. He had never had a decent gift from his father; this was the first. Hiccup accepted the helmet, looking it over.
"Ah, your mother would've wanted you to have it," Stoick said with a heartfelt tone. "It's half of her breast plate."
Hiccup almost jerked his hand away from touching the top of the helmet, trying to contain his grimace. Stoick tapped his own helmet and smiled.
"Matching set. Keeps her close, y'know? Wear it proudly. You deserve it. You've held up your end of the deal."
Hiccup saw that Stoick was beaming with pride. Hiccup squirmed uncomfortably at the look, his heart overridden with guilt. He forced a yawn.
"I should really get to bed, you know. Big training tomorrow."
Stoick started and got up, the both of them talking over each other.
"Yes! Good! Okay. Good talk…"
"See you back at the house…"
"We should do this again. I'm glad I stopped by…"
"Great. Thanks for stopping by…"
"I hope you like the hat…"
"Yeah, And for the…the, uh, breast hat…"
"Well…uh…good night."
Stoick left the room awkwardly, leaving Hiccup looking more burdened than ever.
-:-
Stay out of my way!" Astrid warned. "I'm winning this thing."
"Please, by all means," Hiccup replied, actually meaning it, as he watched her darting off, closing fast on the dragon. The crowd above cheered her on.
It was the trials for the finals. Hiccup and Astrid were the best two so far throughout the training to excel and be in line to make their first kill as a proper Viking. As much as he didn't want to, Hiccup had to attend. He stood and looked around. Amidst the crowd of onlookers, Stoick watched keenly, beaming with pride. He locked eyes with Hiccup, giving him a nod of encouragement. Hiccup adjusted his new helmet and forced a half-hearted smile, hoping that he would somehow find a way to purposely fail in the trials so that Astrid can take the finals instead of him. Unbeknownst to Hiccup, the Gronckle spots him and makes a bee-line towards him.
He couldn't help himself. His fight-or-flight instincts kicked in and his hands automatically reached over to give the Gronckle the neck-scratch. Before he knew it, the Gronckle was already laid out, and Astrid was left with nothing to kill and nothing to show for. Hiccup shrugged, as unhappy with the situation as she was, and tried to step aside and let her come over to give the Gronckle the killing blow, but the trials was already over and Astrid ended up screaming in frustration and throwing tantrums.
"No! No! No! Son of a half-troll, rat-eating munge bucket…"
A loud clack rang out. From the crowd above, the village Elder stepped forward, tapping her staff. Everyone lit up excitedly, waiting for the Elder's decision.
"So, later," Hiccup attempted to leave but Gobber snagged him right back.
"Not so fast, boy."
"I'm kinda late for…"
"What?" Astrid shouted lividly as she aimed her axe at his throat again. "Late for what, exactly?"
"OK, quiet down. The elder has decided," Stoick said as he held out his hands to silence the jabbering crowd.
Thrilled, Gobber stands behind Hiccup and Astrid. He pointed to Astrid as the crowd waited in silent anticipation. The Elder shook her head 'no'. The crowd ooh-ed. Gobber then pointed to Hiccup. The elder nods an affirmative 'yes'. The crowd erupted in cheers. Astrid turned a seething, deadly glare on Hiccup.
"You've done it! You've done it, Hiccup!" Gobber exclaimed happily. "You get to kill the dragon!"
"Ha, ha! That's my boy!" Stoick beamed.
Hiccup was hoisted onto Fishlegs' shoulders and carried out to the cheering spectators.
"Heh, heh. Oh yeah! Yes! I can't wait," Hiccup cheered as well, masking his panic. "I am so…"
Leaving.
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