Adrianna felt rather cheerful that afternoon when she made her way to the Thorstons'. She waved to Tuffnut, who was heading to work for a few extra hours. Ordinarily he wouldn't be working so hard but the reason for that was lying on the couch, smiling at the Haddock girl as she walked in.

Svala Thorston was pretty with long brown hair that curled in all the right places, brown eyes, and a graceful demeanor that offered quite a contrast to her husband's rather, well, tough one. But today, like every day in the recent months, she was slightly deterred by a large, round belly- an indicator of her fourth and, so far, most successful pregnancy.

"At last!" she exclaimed by way of a greeting. "A new face!"

Adrianna grinned. "Getting tired of Tuffnut?"

"Wouldn't you if he was the only person to talk to for days?" Svala patted the chair next to the couch. "Stay a while, why don't you?"

"Sure!" Adrianna exclaimed cheerfully. She was always up to chatting with a new friend and, with very little to do in the past few weeks, Svala was rapidly becoming a good friend indeed. "I got you the books you asked for. Matilda insisted that I added this one about raising toddlers but I don't think that's a concern at the moment."

"Not yet, anyway." Svala agreed, putting the books beside the couch. "So how have you been doing? Getting to know your gentleman friend?"

"It's not like that!" Adrianna protested through a blush. "I mean, we've been writing but we haven't been together in person all that long."

"Is that so?" Svala shifted her seat to get a better look at the teenager. "I seem to remember you flying off to see him every other weekend for the last year."

"Well..." Adrianna said sheepishly. "That's different. He never came here. Never had the time. And this is Berk, I mean we've got fishing and hunting and a charming view of the ocean." she looked out the window at her brother strutting around the village square like he owned the place. "And the only problems are the pests." she turned back to Svala, who looked amused by that statement. "But beyond all that, I don't see anything that stands out or sets us apart."

"Lowest number of missing limbs in the archipelago after your dad became chief." Svala said quite seriously.

"Well that's not hard since he kind of abolished dragon fighting and everyone has had plenty of time to get used to the culture shift." Adrianna shook her head with a small smile. "I mean, how many other ways are there to lose a limb?"

"You could chop it off yourself." Svala suggested. "That would be pretty effective."

Adrianna laughed. "And stupid."

"We're Vikings. It's in the job description." Svala quipped. "But seriously, it is an accomplishment to be proud of."

"Fair enough. So now we're the safest island in the archipelago. That's an exciting distinction." Adrianna rolled her eyes. "My point is that, I guess, Brandyn's going to have to make a lot of changes to assimilate to our culture and I don't know if he'll want to."

"Maybe it's the fact that I've been cooped up here for a long time," Svala said rather knowingly, "but I think you're worth that."

"Maybe." Adrianna said dismissively. "How are you feeling?"

"Bored and ready to drop this kid." Svala patted her belly. "Tell me what I'm having, will you?"

"It'd ruin the surprise." Adrianna protested.

"But Lily's never wrong and I want to know what I'm going to painfully give birth to." she rubbed her belly and Adrianna saw a tiny movement under her tunic.

"Maybe Lily doesn't know." Adrianna said mischievously. "Maybe I'm just a really good guesser."

"Then guess." Svala grabbed Adrianna's hand and placed it on her belly. "What's it feel like?"

"Like a bag with an irate Terrible Terror in it." Adrianna joked. Svala laughed just as her baby wiggled enough for Adrianna to feel something. "Come on, you're due next week. Can't you wait?"

"I could," Svala said, her face twisting into a pout, "but I want to know before Tuffnut."

"You've asked at least a dozen times and has my answer ever changed?"

"No." Svala sighed deeply. "But I was hoping it would when you see how boring it is here and how little I have to do and, oh, come on! I just want to know which pronoun to use!"

Adrianna looked her over for a moment. Svala's eyes were wide, her expression pleading. The Haddock girl felt another kick under her hand and finally decided to give in.

"Oh all right but don't tell anyone I told you." she leaned in. "I'm making your baby a present, you know."

"What's that got to do with it?" Svala frowned.

"Everything." said Adrianna with a sly smile. "See I thought I'd make something simple. So I'm making her a little pink skirt and it's so c-"

Svala gasped loudly enough to cut her off. "It's a girl?"

Adrianna nodded, feeling very warm inside at how happy her friend looked. Svala smiled down at her protruding midsection and lovingly stroked it. She seemed more excited than ever.

"Oh, Tuffnut's going to be in for a treat!" Svala laughed. "He doesn't know anything about girls."

"Well he's about to have a very educational experience." Adrianna grinned at her.

They were silent for a moment, both feeling the baby's movements under Svala's skin. Adrianna found herself rather fascinated by the whole thing. The idea of carrying a life inside of her for nine months and then bringing it into the world both terrified and intrigued her. As she felt another movement, she finally voiced the pressing question on her mind.

"What's it feel like?"

"Well, it's probably a bit like you might imagine it." Svala explained. "At first it felt like little flutters but then they got stronger as she got bigger." she suddenly fixed her eyes on Adrianna. "But I expect you'll find out for yourself one day."

"I hope so." said Adrianna. "Maybe if I get married."

"If you get married?" Svala nearly rolled her eyes. "There is no if in that equation. It's going to happen. You've got a lovely personality-"

"I talk too much."

"And a beautiful face."

"Which is covered in acne."

"You've got qualities every man should be looking for."

"Yeah, every man wants a woman who almost never cleans up after herself."

"Come on, you're just making excuses." Svala placed her hand on top of Adrianna's. "You're a catch. I know I'm not exactly an authority on that since I'm obviously not male but there aren't many girls out there who have the creativity and intelligence that you have. Not to mention the compassion."

"If you say so."

"I do say so." Svala patted Adrianna's hand a few times before looking over at the small stack of books beside her. "So what else have you brought? Another spaceman book?"

Adrianna smiled at her friend before turning to her books, her mind mercifully turned away from herself. She knew Svala was just saying all of those things to make her feel better and she appreciated the gesture but there was no way she could believe it. There wasn't anything special about her at all. She was kind to others because she wanted to be accepted. She was decent at coming up with stories but Berk didn't have any jobs for people with that particular gift.

She shook her head to clear it and turned to the books. She had brought another spaceman book, after all, and any moment spent reading it was a moment well spent.

Xxx

Erick Larson used to enjoy family parties. There was something about the laughter and the food and the conversations that made him feel like he belonged to something truly special. His father would joke with him about his mother's constant rushing around, trying to make sure everything was perfect, and Gustav was always good for a laugh. The addition of two brothers and sisters-in law, four nephews, and a niece made these parties truly fun, exciting events.

But life changed in what seemed like a split second sometimes, bringing differences to everything in its wake. The family parties were no exception. Rather than being about fellowship and closeness, Erick's mother had decided they were about-

"Organization!" Lara Larson exclaimed cheerfully as she thrust Erick to a cabinet, the top of which was covered in all sorts of odds and ends. "Make it look nice!"

Erick, who thought anything covered in children's artwork and sculptures already looked nice, frowned. "How am I supposed to do that?"

"Put anything that doesn't look nice into the cabinet!" she called as she bustled over to Nikolas, Erick's older brother. "The floor looks perfect, what would I do without you?"

"Probably criticize me some more." Erick mumbled, picking up each piece of artwork and inspecting it.

"And Mel!" he heard Lara exclaim from across the room. "You're doing a good job but a bit less frosting. There you go, perfect."

Erick stared at the clay dragon he now held in his hand. A gray lump with indiscernible shapes sticking out from all over, the only reason he knew he was supposed to be a dragon was because he had made it himself when he was about five years old. He glanced at his mother, who was beaming at his sister-in-law as she frosted a very decadent cake, and put the lumpy dragon in the cabinet.

The front door opened and shut behind Erick and he became acutely aware of little footfalls now echoing around the house. Gustav and Mikaela were here and with them came three of Erick's nephews, both so energetic that it sounded more like there was a yak stampede going through the room rather than the pounding footfalls of three little boys.

"We're not late, are we?" asked Mikaela tentatively. "I don't see anyone else here. Told you we weren't late, Gustav!"

"She said three!"

"Actually," Lara said with a small laugh, "I said three thirty. But it doesn't matter. I can always use a bit of help. A few of my helpers," she cast a withering gaze on her youngest son, "lack the energy."

Erick wanted to feel offended by these words but passive aggression was beginning to become a staple of his mother's behavior toward him. A year and a half without his father's interference in these exchanges had toughened Erick's resolve not to care that his mother didn't think much of him. He knew she never had but now she could be a bit more obvious about it.

The next thirty minutes dragged on until Erick was seriously considering running off and flying on Charger for a bit just to get out of the house. His demeanor changed, however, when his brother-in-law finally arrived.

Curt Brand, who had married Aud exactly two years ago, had thick auburn hair that fell a bit longer than Lara liked (though she never did any more than stare disapprovingly at it), large, rather round blue eyes, and always had a bit of scruff on his face. Erick liked the scruff; he thought it gave his brother-in-law a more rugged appearance and made him wonder if he could pull off the look himself but hadn't been brave enough to give it a try.

But Curt, though always quite friendly with the youngest Larson, wasn't the reason Erick's spirits lifted. Curt's younger sister Taryn followed him into the house, looking every bit as uncomfortable as she always did when in the same room as Lara. The moment she saw Erick, she hurried over.

"Oh thank gods you're here." she muttered to him so only he could hear her. "Stupid anniversary parties. Why does the whole family have to get together?"

"Torture." Erick said simply, causing her to smile. "It'll be over soon enough. Besides, I bet you don't have many awkward silences at home. This'll be a welcome change."

"There's never any silence at home." Taryn said exasperatedly, glancing at her 12-year-old brother Alton as he hung up his coat. "Not with that one around."

"Oh, I know." Erick laughed when Alton let out a shout of excitement and started tearing around the house with Gustav's oldest son. "But there's not a lot of noise here anymore so it's a good change every once and a while. ."

"I'll trade any day." Taryn said through her teeth.

"Me too." Erick agreed. "But looks like Magnus is here so we'd better go in and act like we're as excited as everyone else."

"But I am excited." Taryn nudged him with her arm. "I get to see you. That's a plus."

"Okay." Erick conceded with a grin. "When you put it that way, it doesn't sound like complete torture."

"Stop being a big baby." Taryn pushed him toward the large table in the center of the room. "It'll be fine."

Xxx

The dinner was devoured, the kids were already playing outside, and the adults were, as usual, still sitting around and talking. Both Taryn and Erick knew it was extremely rude to get up from the table early but from the looks they gave each other, they knew they were thinking the same thing.

"Our moms could go on forever if they didn't need to sleep eventually." Taryn mumbled to Erick, causing him to smile.

"Well that means we'll be here for a few more hours." Erick mumbled back with a cheeky grin. "Might as well make the best of it. Want to make out?"

Taryn let out a laugh that she instantly turned into a hacking cough. "A little forward, aren't you?"

"I don't know, they might kick us out." Erick chuckled. "Just wondering if that was a risk worth taking."

"I'd really rather have your mom like me than become 'that little hussy' to women over 50." Taryn quipped.

"Yes because kissing a boy is a doorway to such dastardly activities." Erick leaned on his fist. "But you're probably right. I don't need her looking down on me more than she already does."

"She doesn't look down on you." Taryn assured him.

There was a pause in which Lara's speech drifted over to them from across the table.

"-was so proud that my daughter found someone from such an outstanding family." she was saying to Curt. "I was sort of afraid she'd wind up with that boy, remember him, Aud? You kissed him on a dare when you were seven, don't know when I saw Olaf more flustered."

"Oh yeah, Hallvard." Aud laughed at the memory. "Well I did think he was cute."

"You were cute too. Absolutely adorable. I remember telling Olaf, I said 'she's going to give you some trouble, this one, because she'll be the heartbreaker. She'll be snatched up as soon as she's of age and then we'll have an empty nest.' Of course," Lara added with a frown, "that was when we thought she'd be the youngest."

Erick rolled his eyes and gave the tiniest glare. "Okay, I think I'll go off and be invisible somewhere." He said rather loudly as he got up and stomped out of the room.

Before any of the adults could say a word, Taryn quickly got up to follow.

"You don't have to be so..."

"Abrasive?" Erick grumbled as he threw open the front door and stepped outside.

"Well... yeah." the Brand girl said, her brows furrowed.

"It'd be fine if my mom didn't like bringing up how much she'd wanted only four kids every other day." Erick shoved his hands in his pockets and kept walking. His head hung downward so that he didn't have to meet Taryn's eyes. "Not a big deal, really."

"It's not every other day." Taryn hurried her pace to keep up with him. "Don't let her get to you."

"I don't."

"Doesn't seem like it."

"Just... can you not?" Erick snapped. At Taryn's frown, he stopped and turned to look at her. "I'm not trying to... look, I just... can we not talk about this today?"

"Okay." Taryn said, holding up her hands. "Okay. Got it."

They walked in silence for a while. Taryn, feeling slightly awkward, began to absentmindedly twirl a strand of auburn hair around her finger. She let it fall back in place for a moment, before grabbing the tendril of hair nervously once again and continuing her fidgeting.

They got to a bridge high above the ocean and leaned on its edge, enjoying the vast expanse of the dark blue sea beyond them. What a beautiful sight. Taryn took a deep breath and turned to look at her friend. He seemed far away, like his mind had left this earth and had settled in the clouds somewhere high above.

"I think you're all right." Taryn nudged him with her foot, making him jump slightly and grip the railing of the bridge.

"Where did that come from?" he asked.

"Wasn't sure what you were thinking about." She replied thoughtfully. "But I do think you're worried about nothing."

"Who says I'm worried?" he blinked and furrowed his brows.

"Well," Taryn turned to face him, "it's written all over your face. Don't know why but come on, Erick. Sometimes I think you want to be permanently miserable."

"No one would ever want that." He looked away from her and stared at the ocean, trying to find a peaceful thought again.

"I know."

"So why'd you say it?"

"You don't need to jump down my throat!"

"Sorry." Erick sighed, wiping his face with his hands. "Sorry, I'm not... ugh. I don't want to be miserable. But... gods, you know, it's been hard." He took a deep breath and sighed a little.

"It's been a year and a half." Taryn placed her hand on his arm. "I know it'll probably never stop hurting completely. But... you're still here."

"Taryn... please..."

"And I think he'd want you to stop focusing on what might have been." she continued as if he hadn't spoken.

"I know." Erick rubbed his eyes. "I know all that. And I'm trying."

"You've been doing better." Taryn assured him. "I'm really proud of you." she shot a smile at him.

Erick kindly smiled at her in reply. "You always know how to make me feel better."

"I know! I really do excel at it. Must be one of my many talents." she grinned and flipped her long hair over her shoulder, intentionally hitting Erick in the face.

"Oh yes, it is quite a talent. You should start traveling around the archipelago with Trader Johann and setting up little booths." he rolled his eyes, shooting an impish smile at her.

She punched him on the shoulder, making him laugh. "That's a brilliant idea. Pack your things, I'm going to parade you around as an example of just how good I am!"

"Oh please, you don't need a model!" he grinned and stepped away from her before she could poke him.

"But I had your outfit all picked out! And I was going to braid your hair too!" she pouted in a realistic fashion but the mischievous twinkle in her eye gave her away in an instant.

"How dare you insinuate that I, a strong, manly Viking man, would ever stoop so low as to wear braids!" Erick flexed his muscles and shot a ridiculous smile at her, making her laugh harder. "Besides, I don't think my hair is long enough."

Taryn eyed his short blond hair critically. "Bet you anything I could braid it."

"You could pay me all the money on Berk and I still wouldn't let you braid it."

"You just watch, Mr. Larson!" she poked his chest with her pointer finger. "I will tackle you and force your hair into a braid when you least expect it!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"And I'd put in little pink ribbons so you look even more ridiculous." Taryn crossed her arms and smirked at him.

"You'll have to catch me first!" Erick took off in the opposite direction, running as fast as he could.

"Oh no you don't!" Taryn bolted after him and chased him across the bridge and through a sunny field. She finally grabbed him and the two of them tumbled into the grass. "Just one braid? Please? Pretty, pretty please?"

"No." he shook his head, trying to untangle himself from her. They stood up and dusted themselves off, laughing uproariously. Erick glanced at the sky and noticed, with a pang of disappointment, that it was beginning to dim. "We should go back." he said, resigining himself to what was waiting for him at home. "Don't want them to have to go out looking for us."

Taryn sighed deeply, her smile ,melting off her face. "You're probably right."

Despite their previous statements, neither of them moved a muscle. Erick looked over at Taryn, who was staring into the sky. She was so beautiful when she was contemplative. It made him want to know what was going on in that clever brain of hers.

"Well..." he said through an exhale. "Maybe one braid. But no bows."

"You're so generous." Taryn giggled.

Erick shrugged. "I wouldn't be a very good boyfriend if I weren't, would I?"

He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek before hurrying off toward his house. His girlfriend watched him go, her smile still brightening her face. And then she turned and walked in the direction of her own house, glad that she'd succeeded in making him laugh.

Xxx

"All right Horst, let me know if you need any more help."

"Thanks, Hiccup."

The door to the leather shop swinging shut behind him, the Hooligan chief sauntered out into the busy square. People milled to and fro as usual, a few pausing to give him a cordial nod or pat on the arm. He paused to take a deep breath of new summer air and gaze longingly at the clear blue sky. How he longed for the days when his dragon would drag him out of bed at the crack of dawn and they'd fly for hours until only the call of nature could bring him down. Astrid had always insisted that food could be included as one of those important things to land for, but why would one take the time to sit at a table and eat when they literally had the world at their fingertips?

But alas, more important things had taken a hold over his life, which wasn't altogether a bad thing. He loved his job, his family, his people. He wouldn't trade those treasured things for the world—but that didn't mean he didn't sometimes wish for a little free flight time. Odin knew he was only getting older and there was going to come a day he wouldn't be physically able to do those crazy stunts anymore. Hiccup shook out of his stupor at that depressing thought. He hoped that would still be a few decades away. Maybe half a century. That wasn't too much to ask was it?

Tittering to himself, Hiccup stepped further into the crowded street. He glanced around for a moment to locate his dragon, who was hopping from one roof to another as he followed his human. "Toothless, you're going to bust a hole in someone's roof." Toothless growled indignantly and Hiccup snorted, "Fatty."

Unfortunately the roof wasn't quite tall enough for Hiccup's head to be out of range for Toothless' tail. Half scales, half prosthetic slapped the chief upside the head, making him topple to the side and crash into a barrel.

"Ow! What was that for?" Toothless jumped to the ground and made a series of grunting and croaking noises in Hiccup's face, making his hair blow backwards. "Ew, would you stop that, Fish Breath? Gah!" Hiccup soon found himself on his back, gazing up at the sky. He vaguely registered a few laughs nearby. The chief huffed as he tried to sit up, "Well what do you want me to call you? You don't exactly eat roses- OWWW! TOOTH- GET! OFF!"

Only his head stuck out from one side of Toothless' rear, and his one leg and prosthetic stuck out from the other side. He squirmed and kicked, only making the occasional indent into the dirt. More laughter erupted and Hiccup desperately prayed the gods would send someone to intercede for him. Being squished into a Haddock pancake in the center square under his dragon's big butt wasn't exactly on his repertoire. He could almost hear the story passing from tribe to tribe. He'd never live this down.

"Toothless!" A familiar, particularly angelic voice sounded nearby. Hiccup stopped flailing for nearly a minute, panting. He looked up from under Toothless' back leg to see his quite beautiful wife gazing down at him with a mixed look between humor and concern. "Hiccup, why-"

"Long story. Can you just get him off of me?"

"He's your dragon, can't you just control him?"

"Control- You know how bad he is! He's like a child! He's- gah... considerably worse than a child!"

"And you've raised two of those successfully. What's your point?"

Hiccup groaned in annoyance and crossed his arms. Or at least he would have if he could move them.

Astrid snickered and stooped down to kiss his forehead. "All right big boy, let him up. I actually need him for something."

Toothless instantly complied, his human gasping for air and quickly sitting up on his hands and knees. Hiccup glowered at Toothless just in time for his massive wet tongue to swipe up his face. "Ugh, thanks. I wanted to drown from dragon drool today. Or get squished under big dragon butt. What a friend," he coughed, finally standing and scrubbing his face off with a handkerchief. It was effectively sopping when he was finished, making Toothless chortle further. "Ohhh go find Stormfly and pester her. I have stuff to do."

Astrid snickered as Toothless trotted away with his head held high. "Don't be so moody."

"I'm not!"

"He's just playing. I think he finds it entertaining that even after all these years you're still the same clumsy doofus boy we both fell in love with." Astrid kissed his cheek gently then recoiled with dragon spit on her lips. "Ugh..."

"Gee, thanks. How... comforting."

Astrid rolled her eyes and steered him down the nearest ally between homes. "Anyway, I came looking for you because I wanted to ask you something."

"Mhm?"

She sighed and took a few moments to collect her thoughts. "Have you noticed just how much of a bully Finn is? To the younger kids?"

"Yes," Hiccup frowned. "I've talked to him about it already a few times, but it doesn't seem to do much good. The kids are afraid of him."

"He stepped on an 8-year-old's hand the other day."

"What?"

Astrid nodded, raising her hands to create quotations. "He claimed that 'she didn't move fast enough', but the child's mother said there's no excuse. Frankly I agree with her. I know I'd be mad if some beefy teenager stomped on my little kid's hand."

Hiccup rubbed his eyes and sighed. "So they were playing in the dirt I'm guessing, and he just barreled through?"

"Sounds like it."

Hiccup pulled his hand down his face and finally let it drop. "All right, I'll talk to him. He's getting increasingly..." He shook his head, unsure which word was the wisest.

"I know. He's at the forge so I'd go there quickly." Astrid finished. "I'm going to head home and start dinner. What time should we expect you?"

"Ah... hopefully seven?" At Astrid's frown, he back-pedaled, "Six forty-five?"

"Six."

"Six thirty."

"Six fifteen and we'll go for a late night flight."

"Deal." Hiccup kissed her chastely on the lips. "You're amazing. I'll see you in a bit."

"Okay."

Hiccup stepped back into the sun, blinking quickly to let his eyes readjust. Thankfully the forge wasn't a long walk, but he honestly wished it was further simply to give himself for more time to think about what to say. If he was honest, he was running out of things to say to his contentious son. He felt like he was trying to pull down a 7-foot wall of solid rock with his bare hands. He just wasn't getting anywhere and was only wearing himself out.

He heard the clanging from inside the forge before he got close. Luckily he knew what to expect from being an apprentice at one time himself, so he steeled himself before walking inside. He wanted to laugh at his mental pun, but the sight of his son killed the humor instantly.

Gobber noticed him walk in and gave him a small smile, then continued to stoke the fire. Finn continued pounding a sword blade on the anvil with quick fluid movements as if he was born for this job. Hiccup leaned against the counter-top and watched his son intently, wishing he could have all the answers he needed.

Benen's death a year and a half ago had taken Finn down a long, hard path. After nearly two and a half weeks of staring at walls and skipping meals and all social life, Finn had suddenly bounded back into a busy life of hard work and rowdy fun as if nothing had ever happened. It was a strange thing to see someone so depressed and in pain, yet fighting so hard to not let it show. Just as the teenager pounded the sword into the right shape, Hiccup had watched his son pound himself into the right shape he wanted to be so he couldn't be broken again.

He knew from experience that it was only a matter of time before he shattered.

Getting the job at the forge and working with Gobber really had been a good choice though. Hiccup believed that his son really did enjoy working here. But Finn needed more than hard work to fill his days. He hung out a lot with his friends, had a steady girlfriend. But Hiccup knew his son was missing something, and the boy was just too stubborn to see it and accept it.

Finn finally straightened and wiped his face with the back of his hand, scrutinizing the blade. He turned to plunge it into the barrel of water and his eyebrows furrowed at the sight of Hiccup watching behind him in silence. "What?"

Gobber winced at Finn's aggressive tone, but stayed silent. Hiccup kept his face neutral, yet shrugged. "Just watching."

Finn rolled his eyes and plunged his hand into a barrel of dented weapons, pulling out an axe to sharpen. "Well unless I'm mistaken, you already know the trade well enough. 'fraid you won't be serving much purpose in here."

Gobber turned toward the boy with a reprimand on his tongue, but Hiccup gave him a sharp glance. The elderly man clamped his mouth shut with a grunt, stiffly returning to his work. Hiccup forced his heart rate to slow. Finn was aggressive by nature, but that didn't mean he had to respond in likeness.

"Maybe not." Hiccup ducked under a hanging pot and slowly moseyed around the forge. Finn kept glancing up at him but didn't make any effort to speak. "About the little girl-"

"Gods, not this again! Mom already grilled me on this, I didn't step on her on purpose!" Finn nearly shouted.

"Finn, do you really expect me to buy that?" Hiccup turned to his son with crossed arms. "You've been pushing little kids around long enough. They haven't done anything to you; they're children. And one of these days some father is going to give you a nice big shiner in that proud face of yours and I'm not going to say a thing about it."

"I wouldn't expect you to." Finn muttered with a dangerous undertone.

Hiccup's heart gave a tug, which he swiftly ignored. Finn always had this implication that he didn't give two cents for Finn's well-being, which obviously wasn't true and didn't necessarily apply to this situation. But that's where every argument always headed. That he was a terrible father.

Hiccup caught Gobber's eye from over Finn's shoulder. Instead of voicing his thoughts, he asked, "What do you think about all the damage that's happened at Hoark's and Mulch and Bucket's homes?"

Finn stopped sharpening the axe for a moment. He seemed dumbfounded that he'd been asked. "Why are you asking me?"

Hiccup shrugged lightly. "Because I value your opinion. You seemed interested in the meeting."

Finn frowned. "I wouldn't say interested."

"You were following along. Unless you were just nodding off-"

"I don't know... I mean, what do you want me to say? You didn't exactly give out that much information to really form an opinion."

Hiccup leaned against a table, chewing his lip. "I don't believe it was a storm. Or dragons."

"Of course you wouldn't blame dragons, they're completely innocent-"

"Oy," Gobber finally spoke up sternly, ignoring Hiccup's glare. "Not what 'e meant."

"Okay, so what else could've done it?" Finn paused with sudden excited look, then he whirled on his father with an excited look. "Oh, I got it! It was trolls!"

Hiccup sighed, "Finn-"

"No seriously, hear me out on this, trolls went in to steal people's socks. Mulch and Bucket and Horst all overheard the commotion going on in their houses, and the trolls magically stole everyone's memories! So nobody remembers that it was actually trolls." Finn snorted, "Except me, of course. You should make me chief sooner-"

"Kids." Hiccup finally snapped. Finn's smile melted off his face and he stared incredulously.

"Kids?"

"Yes, unruly kids. That's why I'm asking you-"

"What? I didn't-"

"No, I'm not accusing you of anything! You hang out with the teens all the time-"

"What a concept, dad. Because I'm a freaking teen!"

"I'm asking if you have heard anything." Hiccup pinched the bridge of his nose, hoping there wasn't steam coming out his ears.

"No, I haven't!" Finn shouted. "This has just come up in the last week and suddenly you're asking me to be your little spy and infiltrate all my friends' lives? Do you want me to go around to each of them and ask them where they were on the nights of the... crimes? Assuming that's what it is? No, I'm not doing that."

"I didn't ask you to." Hiccup bit out. "I simply asked if you'd heard anything. You said no, so you can drop it."

"Topic dropped. So why are you still here?"

Hiccup clenched his jaw. This was their relationship. Constantly fighting. He'd always go in with a calm demeanor until Finn grated his nerves so much where he had no choice but to get angry. He was tired of being disrespected and insulted. He was tired of walking out the door because he didn't want to say something he didn't intend to. He was tired of giving his nearly 15-year-old son the victory of winning yet another argument with his old man.

"You're mother's making dinner for 6:15."

Finn indifferently turned back to the sharpening wheel. "I have other plans."

"Not anymore," Hiccup brushed past him. "You can at least respect your mother by, for once, eating the food she made you. That alone would make her day."

He didn't wait for his son's snarky response as he stepped back outside. The sun was finally setting now, casting an orange glow against the horizon. Hiccup trudged through the square, the ire in his chest building with every step. Shadows enveloped him when he passed between houses, each filled with happy families. It was selfish of him to think that every family was eating gumdrops and sweet rolls for dinner every night and basking in the love of each other. It was selfish of him to honestly think that nobody else in the world could know what this felt like.

Without warning he turned and slammed his fist into a nearby barn. His knuckles ran into the structure so hard it sent an echo through its interior. He stewed in his anger for two more breaths before he forced himself to calm down.

A year and a half of next to no smiles from either of his kids, and if they smiled it wasn't because of him. He'd tried so hard, so many times to make them happy. But both Adrianna and Finn had locked their pains deep inside and built walls around themselves where it was hard to even approach their individual struggles anymore. Each of them needed love and attention desperately, but both continually shoved him away. They'd come to terms with Astrid over time at least, but he'd eventually succumbed to countless hours of working overtime because he couldn't stand the thought of becoming jealous that his children would talk to their mother and not him. He could only take so many slamming doors.

In an hour, he'd have to go home for dinner and hope Finn showed up. He probably wouldn't. Astrid sorely missed him spending time with them for meals. Adrianna would probably eat dinner with Brandyn, seeing as it was still his first week on the island. He wouldn't bother her. She'd ignore him most of the meal anyway. In that case it would probably be one more dinner with just Astrid. He really didn't want to complain—he loved having the quiet time with her. But it was becoming increasingly more frequent. They weren't supposed to feel like empty-nesters when their kids were only fiftteen and neither had moved out.

Hiccup jumped out of his reverie when Toothless jumped down from the roof of the barn. The Night Fury sniffed his left hand and warbled. "Yeah... punched another wall."

Toothless snorted at him as if to say, "You've really got to stop doing that." As if on cue, the dragon smacked Hiccup's thigh with his tail with finality.

Hiccup gave him a short smile and slapped his tail away. He rested his palm against his dragon's nose and scratched his scales. "They have to snap someday, bud. You can only pull a chain taught for so long." Toothless warbled in agreement and rubbed his nose against Hiccup's chest. Sighing heavily, Hiccup climbed into his saddle and strapped himself in. "Okay bud, let's see what we can get done in an hour."

Lifting off the ground vertically should have lifted his spirits. Feeling weightless in the air on his dragon's back should have been the remedy to his aching heart. But instead, the quiet of the skies only intensified the longing he had to be accepted by those he loved most. There weren't any distractions in the air.