One Week Later

This is my first HTTYD2 drabble... and my second ever pure HTTYD story! Funny enough, I write a lot of HTTYD fiction, but it is all Dsplash stuff, so a bunch of other characters find their way in. I'm happy with my Dsplash story (ugh, most of the time), but sometimes I just wish I was creative enough to write something good that stuck with the HTTYD universe.

Anyway, I decided to write this story soon after seeing the film. I wanted to explore Hiccup's emotions a week after the events of the second movie... especially towards Toothless. The cool thing about this story is that I wrote the first four paragraphs on J.R.R. Tolkien's DESK! This is the same desk that he wrote the entire Hobbit on and part of the Lord Of The Rings! At the end of the story, I'll post some pictures someone took of me while I was writing those first parts. I thought that was such a neat idea... to write a story of my own on the same desk that Tolkien crafted his masterpieces. Maybe some of his brilliance is stuck in the desk some how. Although... to be fair, I don't know if this story is any good. My little brother liked it, he actually said he loved it! That made me so happy...

Ok, so here is the story.

One Week Later

an HTTYD drabble by Usertoothless

     Cold grey rain showered onto the village of Berk. The early morning bite of cold held the day in its firm grasp. The village seemed completely lifeless and abandoned, for even Vikings don’t particularly like to wake up to a rainy day. The feeling of lifelessness was significantly enhanced by the fact that Berk was still covered in fragments of ice and splinters of wood, an eery reminder of the attack of the Bewilderbeast just one week prior. 

     Hiccup woke up to the soft sound of the drizzling on the roof. Toothless was awake, curled up on the floor on the opposite side of the room. He had been awake for at least an hour, quietly breathing and watching Hiccup with deep, patient eyes. Hiccup stretched and swiveled, placing his foot and prosthetic on the floor. He knew he should say it, but he didn’t want to... but then he hated himself for the feeling. Hiccup forced it, “Morning, Toothless.” The dragon hummed quietly in response. Hiccup knew why this was happening. He hoped Toothless could not feel what he was feeling. Hiccup was remembering what had happened... what had happened with Stoick and the power of the Alpha. He was remembering that it was this very dragon sleeping in his room that had taken the life of his father. It hadn’t been Toothless’s fault, and Hiccup knew he had forgiven him completely, but still his emotions were raw... and he couldn’t help but feel hurt every time he looked into those green eyes. They had been so cruel, completely emotionless when he was under the influence of the Alpha.

     Hiccup shuddered. He hoped Toothless would assume it was from the cold. Toothless got to his feet and paced over to him, his claws making warm creaking sounds against the wood. Hiccup tried to smile, but Toothless could see the choked sadness in his eyes. The dragon hummed and stroked his nose gently against Hiccup’s cheek. Hiccup sighed, almost able to feel happy again. “Thanks, Bud.” The dragon blinked wetly. “Let’s get downstairs to breakfast... we’ve got another busy day on our hands.” 

     At the mention of breakfast, Toothless perked his ears up happily and quickly stomped down the stairs, nearly knocking a shield off the wall in the process. He had been getting more left-overs fed to him than he used to, so every meal with Hiccup was now a much more exciting ordeal.

     Hiccup sighed and walked down after Toothless. Valka was already up. Hiccup looked over at her, feeling strange. She felt as if she didn’t fit, like she was trying to fill Stoick’s shoes as his parent, but she was completely incapable. It was hard on both of them living together. Valka hadn’t had any human company for twenty years, and for Hiccup having Valka sleep in Stoick’s old room felt almost wrong, as if after losing his father a stranger had come to live in his place. Hiccup pushed these thoughts out of his mind and sat at the table. He could feel it in the air and in the glistening of Valka’s eyes, she was struggling with the same discomforts as him. She turned and walked up to the table slowly, then with an awkward jerk put down a platter. “I tried again.” She said quickly and then sat down opposite of Hiccup.

     Hiccup looked down at the food in between them. It’s ingredients, as usual for his mother’s cooking, were mostly fish. He pulled his lips tight and raised his brows, hoping he could say something positive to his mom for all of her effort. She was trying hard to care for him and to fit back into Berk, and it wasn’t her fault that things were so tense and uncomfortable in the Haddock house. Hiccup picked up one of the pastries. “Thanks, Mom, I appreciate it.”

     “Don’t tease. We both know it’ll be awful.” Valka said, smirking a little but still looking down at her hands.

     “No, I mean it.” Hiccup said firmly. Valka looked up and smiled warmly at Hiccup. She knew he really was having a hard time being in his father’s place. All the responsibilities of being both chief and man of the Haddock house were a constant strain on his shoulders. She was so proud of him, and he had noticed that every time he spoke to her kindly, she reacted in the happiest, humblest ways. It was as if she still felt deeply guilty for missing the first twenty years of his life, and because of that she expected him to treat her harshly. But Stoick had never let that thought cross his mind, and now Hiccup was determined to never let it cross his own. 

     Valka looked back down at her hands. She was ringing them slowly, and Hiccup took a bite of the pastry. It was unspeakably awful. Hiccup had swallowed fish that had come straight out of Toothless’s gut, but this was unbearable. Hiccup coughed and held his hand over his mouth. Valka looked up, and Hiccup forced a smile and nodded. She began to frown, knowing what he was doing. Then, to Hiccup’s vast relief, there was a knock at the door. “I’ll get it!” He spat with his mouth still full. Hiccup rushed to the door, intentionally letting the pastry fall off his plate onto the floor where the waiting Toothless greedily swallowed it up. Hiccup pulled the door open to find Gobber standing before him. “One second!” Hiccup mumbled as he put a hand on Gobber’s shoulder to move him aside. Hiccup spat the mouthful of pastry onto the grass and then breathed deeply and shook his head around in disgust. “Whew! Ah... sorry about that.” Hiccup looked at Gobber who was smirking snidely at him. 

     “Breakfast as usual, I suppose.” 

     “Yes. Man, Toothless eats more of my food than I do now.” Hiccup wiped the crumbs off of the side of his face.

     “And that’s why I brought this. Just a little something.” Gobber quickly handed Hiccup a basket. Hiccup looked down, opened it, and saw it had three or four baked fish pies. Hiccup smiled, surprised at how happy he was at such a small act of kindness. “Oh, Gobber--” Hiccup looked up to thank him, but the old man had already hobbled a good distance away. He turned around, waving his prosthetic arm towards the house, and yelled, “You best hurry! It’s a busy day!” 

     Hiccup turned inside and sat the basket on the table. “What’s that?” Asked Valka.

     “Gobber brought us some pies. Really nice of him.”

     “Oh that man. He was such a good friend of... of ours.” Valka sat back down and picked up one of the pies. “I’ll go cut it. I know I can do at least that right.” Hiccup smiled at her as she left the room. He then looked over at Toothless. The feeling hit him again. Toothless was sitting there, curled so close to where his father used to sit. Hiccup’s stomach sank as he looked into the dragon’s eyes and silhouetted form. Toothless thankfully wasn’t looking at him, but all Hiccup could think of was the burning, emotionless purpose that had gripped those eyes so recently. It almost felt as though it couldn’t be real. Toothless? His dear Toothless turned against him? He knew it wasn’t Toothless’s fault, but seeing Stoick’s chair empty was too much for Hiccup. He looked away, feeling hurt and sad. His eyes lighted on the pastries his mother had made. He quickly grabbed two of them up. “Toothless,” Hiccup’s voice was cold and hollow, “come get these.” With two steps Hiccup was at the door. He opened it and tossed the food out. He had hoped that the dragon would bounce giddily after them as usual, but instead Toothless paced out of the door, his head hung low. Hiccup wanted to apologize immediately... Toothless knew what he was doing. But the young man couldn’t help himself. As soon as Toothless’s tail was out of the door Hiccup closed it and breathed a sigh of relief. 

     Hiccup walked over to his chair and slumped into it. He put his hand over his eyes and breathed out a stuttered breath. He knew Toothless’s didn’t deserve what he had just given him, he wanted to be able to show Toothless the love that he deserved, and the fact that he couldn’t made his conscience rip and tear inside his chest. He knew what was right, but his emotions were still just so raw and the event still hadn’t sunk in completely. He was living in the same house as the creature who killed his father, but that creature was his own best friend. How could he go on like this? How? Hiccup closed his eyes and pulled both his hands down slowly across his face. He breathed out hard, leaned forward, and the shoved himself into the back of his chair. He looked off at a blank bit of wall, trying to keep a tear from running down his cheek. 

     Valka walked in carrying two plates. She put them down yet again with a jerk and a clatter, and then paused as she looked at Hiccup. He looked away from her trying to avoid her gaze. Valka looked slowly around and saw Toothless was missing. “You put him out?”

     “Yes.”

     “It’s the third time.”

     Hiccup sighed and looked at his mother, his countenance almost hopeless. “It’s so much, Mom. It’s just too much. I can hardly cope with all that has happened, and seeing him... seeing him.” Hiccup looked away and choked back a sob. “I just want Dad back. I know it, it wasn’t his fault, but he still did it.”

     “I know.” Valka said quietly. There was a long, tense pause. “Hiccup, Toothless loved your father. He will feel worse about this than you do.” Hiccup raised his head and looked at Valka. She reached forward and put her hand on his shoulder. “The dragon will drown his own soul in grief and guilt if you let him. He’s such a complex creature, Hiccup... even I don’t know how deeply they can feel guilt.” Hiccup looked suddenly horrified at what he was doing. “You both need each other, you both love each other, you both proved that already. It will be hard...” Valka sighed and looked at Hiccup as tenderly as she could, “it is hard. Living with guilt. But you and Toothless must now live on what is true and not what you feel like. Toothless couldn’t help it. You know that, now live on it. It may take time at first, but I believe your feelings will eventually step into line... and so will his, but only if you work together.”

     Hiccup trembled slightly and then smiled, his eyes wet. “Thanks, Mom. I, we, we’ll try.” Hiccup got up and stepped over to the door. “He was proud of you for a reason, Son.” Valka called behind him. Hiccup glanced behind his shoulder and then walked out. He breathed quietly under his breath, “I hope so...”

     It wasn’t going to be easy. Hiccup knew he wasn’t ready to be chief, but for the sake of everything his father had believed in and died for, Hiccup was going to try. He dreaded the ever increasing pressures put upon him, dreaded his own inadequacy, but he knew he wasn’t alone. He and Toothless faced that day together, and the many days afterwards, living as they knew they needed to, and trying as hard as they could to be what they were. If Stoick had believed in them, then this scrawny, inexperienced young chief and this ridiculously small and unusual Alpha would do everything to their utmost to make his beliefs become realities. 

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And here are the images of me writing it! Hope you enjoyed it. It was fun to write... especially on the desk!