This is Berk.

Families are the cornerstone of our little village. Without love for each other, the island and, indeed, the world would be a bleak place to live. Everyone who lives here is included and loved unconditionally, blood relatives or not.

But love is about a lot more than warm and fuzzy feelings. It's easy to love someone through the good times and when they're easy to get along with. The challenge to us all is loving someone even when the going gets tough.

Of course, the hardest part of it is knowing who is worth the effort and who you have to let go. It can be tough to make the distinction. But while making the wrong choice can give you devastating consequences, making the right one will give you life's greatest blessings.

Fearless Finn Haddock didn't usually tiptoe. He was known for stomping and speaking at an elevated volume without realizing he was doing it. But now he knew he had to be as quiet as possible lest the operation fail. His target was close, the mop of curly brown hair visible from the Haddock boy's vantage point. Finn ducked his head and sneaked into the crowd, his eyes set on his target. A bit closer and the mission would be complete. It was all he could do to stop himself from snickering at his own brilliance. Finally, he was close enough to commit the misdeed he had planned that morning. He readied his projectile and pitched it directly at that curly brown hair.

SPLASH!

"GAAAH FINN!"

Cliff Smedley leaped from his seat, his hair sopping wet and dripping onto his clothes. Finn had only a second to laugh triumphantly before the other boy pursued him. He attempted to push over a table to stop Cliff from catching up but the boy had been expecting such drastic actions and managed to leap over it with ease.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT, FEARLESS FINN!" Cliff bellowed.

"Oh I bet!" Finn called back, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief.

People jumped out of their way, some laughing at the teenagers and others clicking their teeth in disapproval. Finn threw open the large double doors of the Great Hall and nearly fell down the stairs in his haste. Cliff pursued him with ease, finally catching up to him. Finn had no time to react before he was tackled to the ground by the other boy. Quick as a flash, what had once been Cliff's undeniable triumph had turned into an intense wrestling match.

"Boys!" came a voice over their heads.

Cliff and Finn looked up into the blue eyes of the second most powerful person on Berk. Astrid Hofferson Haddock towered over them, looking slightly amused at the violence.

"He started it!" Cliff informed him. "Threw a water skin right at my head!"

"Finn..." Astrid narrowed her eyes. "Did I not say to pitch those things at each other outside?"

"Well yeah but he'd be expecting it then." Finn informed her.

"As much sense as that makes, your dad doesn't like your shenanigans messing up the Great Hall. Safety issues, not giving the cleaning crew extra work, blah blah blah." Astrid rolled her eyes. "Anyway, you're just lucky he isn't here telling you this himself."

"Yeah because he doesn't get up at the crack of dawn like all the cool kids do." Finn climbed off Cliff and helped him up. At the sight of Astrid's frown, he grinned. "Chillax, mom. I won't make you wash these grass stains off."

"Too right you wouldn't." Astrid playfully punched him on the shoulder. "Because I'd tell you to stuff if if you did."

"And you'd be very effective at making me stuff it too." Finn put an arm around his mother as they walked back to the Great Hall together, Cliff tagging along behind. "Have I told you that you look beautiful today?"

"My my, Finn, buttering me up this early in the morning?" Astrid shook her head. "You must really want something. And gee, I wonder what that could be..." she stroked her chin in mock thought. "Could you perhaps be hoping to leave your devastated parents and twin sister to live with goofballs like this one?" she pointed to Cliff, who stuck his tongue out at Finn.

"I'm almost seventeen!" Finn half whined. "I've got to set out on my own!"

"More like you've got to break your mother's heart." Astrid ruffled his hair playfully. "Whatever will I do without my sweet wittle baby boy?"

"Blech." Finn made a face. "All this just makes me want to get out sooner."

"Well your father and I want to keep you around until you're actually an adult." Astrid kissed his cheek and moved toward the breakfast line.

"And yet you somehow already consider him an adult?" Finn pointed to Cliff, who shrugged.

"Hey now, I didn't choose to be born first." Cliff patted his head. "It just happened. Now you're the sweet wittle baby of our group."

"You will never let me live that down, will you?"

"Not on your life." Cliff chirped. "Now I'm going to finish my breakfast in peace. Feel free to join me, little buddy!"

"You'll be eating your breakfast in pieces if you don't knock that off!" Finn yelled after him.

"I'll risk it!" Cliff shouted over the crowd.

Finn openly laughed as he joined the line of Vikings waiting for their food. He relished the friendly smiles he received. Most people would take these sorts of things for granted but it had taken the Haddock boy over a year to stop the glares and sideways looks he had been receiving before. Now, about a year and a half since his enlightening trek across the archipelago, he felt optimistic. Life was getting better with each passing day. Even members of his old gang had become some of his closest friends. Better still, no one batted an eye when they sat together. His dragon, after some incredibly difficult training exercises, tended to remember his commands (though sometimes she pretended she forgot). He never thought in all his life that he would genuinely think this but he would be in a sad state indeed if he didn't have his friends and family.

When Finn had filled his plate with bacon and eggs, he made a beeline over to his usual table. Cliff rolled his eyes as soon as he sat down.

"One of these days, you will make yourself sick with all that food." he said with a half smile.

"One of these days, indeed." Finn said before taking a big bite of eggs. "But not today."

"Scoot over, Haddock." came a bossy sort of voice over his head.

Finn looked up into the ice blue eyes of Inga Jorgenson. He smirked. "You scoot over. Plenty of room here."

"You're in my spot." she insisted. "So budge up."

"No." Finn stuck his tongue out at her. "You'll have to pick a different seat."

"Well you've brought it on yourself then." Inga pushed Finn's tray aside with her own and sat down on his lap.

"Hey!" Finn yelped. "Get your bony butt off my thigh!"

"Scoot over!"

"Never!"

"Then you'll have to deal with it, Haddock. It's called compromise." the girl snarked. "Not that you'd know what that means."

"I know it means you scratch my back, I scratch yours." Finn tickled her sides, causing her to shriek with laughter.

"Okay, okay, your highness!" Inga squealed, trying to get out of his grasp.

"No, I'm not done yet!" Finn grabbed her waist in an attempt to keep her on his lap but she was too quick for him.

"Don't make me kick you where the sun don't shine." she wheezed.

"Yeah? Well don't make tickle you again."

"I didn't make you do anything!"

"You sat on me!"

"You had it coming!"

"Easy there, lovebirds!" Cliff butted in. "As entertaining as your domestic squabbles may be, I don't want you tearing into each other before you help me move!"

"Yeah yeah." Finn grumbled. "At least you can move."

"Too true." Cliff smiled in a satisfied manner. "Now Erick and I'll be real bruhs!"

"You weren't bruhs before?" Inga asked as she sat down next to him.

"Oh we were." Cliff clarified. "But now we'll be bruhs sharing our own bachelor pad. No girls allowed!"

"Well then, I guess I don't have to help you move." Inga snipped with a smirk.

"Nah." Cliff waved a hand. "You don't count."

"I don't count as a girl?" Inga asked in a warning tone that went completely unnoticed by the Smedley boy.

"I mean you're a girl but you're not like... a girl." Cliff drew the word out to emphasize it. "You're not going to make the place all pink and girly."

"My sister might." Finn reminded him. "Have you seen her room? Butterflies everywhere. It's nauseating."

"Okay, no girls except Anna-bear." Cliff stated, earning himself a punch on the arm from Inga. "Okay, Inga's a girl but she's allowed and I guess if we're splitting hairs, Taryn's welcome too."

"So why'd you say no girls allowed?" Inga asked.

"You're supposed to say that!"

"Since when?" Inga raised an eyebrow.

"Since... since... you know what, I read it somewhere, okay?" Cliff glared at Finn, who was snickering at the two of them.

"Soooo when's your dad going to get back?" Inga asked Finn, pointing a piece of bacon at him.

"Tonight." Finn replied. "And his letter yesterday made it sound like he was in a hostage situation. Then again, Allie the Insincere is insufferable at the best of times."

Everyone nodded emphatically at that statement. The last time Allie had visited, she had callously bragged that her island had a better method for dealing with rogue dragons once she had heard about the most recent raid and even chastised Hiccup for "letting those people die to prove a point." Taryn, whose brother had been killed in said raid, locked herself in her bedroom and cried her eyes out for the rest of the day. The thought of dealing with her nonsense for four days sounded like a nightmare to them all but it was that or risk her getting slapped in the face by Taryn's mother. The last thing Berk needed was a war.

"Well I didn't meant to change the topic to possibly the most vile woman in the archipelago." Inga stuck her tongue out in disgust. "Not that we don't have some contenders here." she added as she spotted Dana Sanders sauntering into the Great Hall with Cale.

"I don't know, I think she did Morgan a favor." Cliff shrugged. "If Dana hadn't been messing around with Cale, Morgan would still be with that loser."

"True enough but that doesn't stop the two of them from being disgusting." Inga made a face.

"You know, we should invite her to sit with us." Cliff suggested with a faraway look. "Now that she's single and lonely."

"Ugh, you and Morgan?" Finn wrinkled his nose.

"Hey, go big or go home!" Cliff quipped. "It's been two weeks. Time for her to find somebody new. Someone who will treat her right."

"Oh yeah, definitely. But anyone willing to date a jerk like Cale for more than five minutes doesn't sound like a good choice for anyone with, you know, two brain cells." Inga rolled her eyes. "Besides, she's flirting with Edgar now."

"Edgar?" Cliff gaped. "But he's, like, way older than her!"

"Five years." Finn reminded him. "And you're not even the only guy pining for her. Evan's been making googly eyes at her for the last month."

"It's all right. I thrive on competition." Cliff rubbed his hands together. "One day, Morgan Sigmund, you will be mine!"

Inga mimed vomiting, causing Finn to snort with laughter. Cliff gave the two withering gazes, which only made them laugh harder.

"Just you wait, Finnga." Cliff pointed his fork between the two of them. "This time, I will be successful! This time, it's true love."

Finn had to grit his teeth to stop himself from reminding Cliff of his disastrous attempt to woo Helga several weeks before. Before Helga, Kaelan had been Cliff's "true love." Both Finn and Inga thought that either Cliff had a lot of soul mates out there or he had no idea how to tell the difference between a silly crush and true love.

"Well I'm just about done here so unless you want to wait for the next hour and a half for Morgan to show up, why don't we start packing up your things so you can settle into your amazing bachelor pad?" Finn suggested to his friend.

"These things take time. I can't just jump in and say hey to the love of my life. I have to be smooth." Cliff made a face that was apparently supposed to be seductive but instead rendered Finn speechless and desperately trying not to crack up.

"Yeah. Sure. Okay, Cliff, let's just go." Inga patted his back in a somewhat comforting manner before the trio got up and put away their trays.

As Cliff chattered about his elaborate plan to woo Morgan, Finn and Inga exchanged exasperated looks. They knew better than to stop him but they also mentally prepared themselves for whatever was going to happen. At least moving Cliff's things into his new house would keep his mind off of pretty, single girls. For now.

Xxx

Boxes. So many boxes.

He used to think only girls had too much stuff. But soon after he began packing, he realized that he had a lot of stuff. Carrying three boxes in his arms up a slight incline with only one and a half legs as support probably wasn't one of his wiser ideas, but it would be a while before his friends came to help. He'd be fine in the meantime.

Shoving his body against the door, he managed to jimmy the handle until the door opened a crack. He smacked the door open with his good leg and stepped inside, the steady step-thunk of his mismatched legs echoing throughout the empty interior.

Erick Larson set the boxes down on the floor with a resounding "whew!" and looked around. He'd have to decide with Cliff where to put their furniture. The house was small, with a kitchen, living room, and two even smaller bedrooms enough for two strapping young bachelors ready to take on the world.

The 18-year-old boy ran a hand through his shaggy, wavy blond hair. He moved toward the door to grab a few more boxes from when his prosthetic teetered precariously.

"Ugh, really?" Erick muttered, hopping up onto the counter. The straps easily became loose along the base, especially when he exerted himself too much. Not that he thought carrying three boxes was too much exertion, but apparently his prosthetic did.

Over a year of having one and a half legs and he was still getting used to it. He'd had many conversations with the chief and Gobber on the ups and downs of being an amputee. Growth spurts, harsh weather conditions, dragon riding, growth spurts, daily exercise, walks around the village, more growth spurts. In truth he hadn't grown to be very tall. He was still considered average height, unlike Finn or Cliff, who'd both shot up taller than their fathers by now. But every single quarter inch that he grew turned into sleepless nights and writhing pain for days on end that left him weak and disoriented.

The first few months of course had been worse. A combination of getting used to the pain and the winter season hitting full force, it was a miracle he'd survived. There were many nights when Erick seriously thought he was going to die. Unfortunately he got sick a lot easier than Hiccup ever had; the Hooligan chief was blessed with a quick healing process unlike anyone else. A year and a half since Erick's accident and even the slightest taps would send a crippling shock of pain through his system.

Erick blew his bangs out of his eyes, tightening a few screws as he thought. A slight tap on the door broke the silence and he looked up. His breath caught his throat, his teal eyes transfixed when she stepped inside.

"Hey," Adrianna Miracle Haddock smiled, turning in a circle to look at the empty room. "Looks so big when it's empty."

"Yeah..." Erick murmured, unable to stop staring. Her thick blonde hair was done up in a bun with a braid twisting behind her ear. A few skinny braids wove through the top, pinned into the messy bun. Adrianna's bangs rested just off her eyebrows, accenting her sparkling green eyes-

"Helloooooo, earth to Erick?"

Erick snapped out of his daze, looking back down at his prosthetic. His heart pounded in his ears as a blush rose to his face. "S-sorry."

"Are you okay?" Adrianna stepped forward, resting the back of her fingers on his forehead.

Erick leaned his head back, giving her a shy smile. "I'm fine."

He was, in fact, most definitely not fine. He couldn't even deny it anymore. No matter what he did or thought or tried to convince himself, Adrianna was breathtakingly beautiful. He wanted nothing more than to tell her, to finally be honest with both her and himself and say that he cared for her.

Unfortunately, the only thing standing between him and his beautiful best friend was her boyfriend, Brandyn Anderson.

Every time he saw them together—holding hands in the village or eating in the Great Hall or going on a flight—he wanted to puke. A pang of jealousy would overtake him so suddenly that he could hardly stand it. He never acted on such jealousy, of course. She was clearly happy. He'd never do anything to jeopardize that.

So here he was, watching from the sidelines. He'd be forever content as long as they were friends, able to hang out with their inner circle together. But it was during these small stolen moments that made him wish they could be more than what they were. He couldn't help but think back to a few Snoggletogs ago when he'd shunned her and ruined their relationship. How different would things be now if he hadn't acted on impulse and anger?

"-stare at the floor all day?"

Erick looked up at her in surprise. "What?"

Adrianna quirked an eyebrow. "I said are you going to talk to me or stare at the floor all day?"

The boy mentally face palmed. Here he was moaning in his head about not getting to spend time with her like he wanted and she was standing right in front of him waiting. Literally.

"Sorry, just distracted." Erick hopped off the counter, testing his leg out. "A lot on my mind, I guess."

"Not for much longer," Adrianna smiled, shoving his few boxes off to the side. "Give us a few hours and we'll have all of your junk moved over."

"Junk?" Erick pouted. "That junk is valuable, I'll have you know."

Adrianna snorted. "Really?" She reached into a box, ignoring his indignant cry of disapproval. "Oh yes," Adrianna held up a tattered old apron from the leather shop. "Because this old thing must be worth millions."

"It was my first apron!" Erick laughed sarcastically. "It has sentimental value, okay?"

"Ahhh yes," Adrianna wrinkled her nose. "All stained, holey aprons do."

"Give me that!" Erick lunged for the apron before she threw it in his face. "Okay, so maybe I threw whatever was in my dresser into the box without paying much attention."

"No kidding. There's nothing like bringing the least important things into your new house." Adrianna's eyes sparkled.

Erick opened his mouth to retort, but her laughing eyes made the thought die in his throat, rendering him speechless once again. He never could decide what he loved more: her hair or her eyes. Adrianna's eyes held the same amount of intellect and sarcastic, playful humor as that of her father.

He blinked and looked away, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "Yeah... something like that."

"Yeah..." Adrianna studied him curiously, the sparkle in her eyes gone. Erick hoped he wasn't too obvious.

Just then, the door lurched open and in strode a certain brunet that made Erick step away from Adrianna with fluid steps. Brandyn marched toward the corner and dumped three boxes on top.

"Load one," Brandyn said with a false sense of cheer. "Anything else you want me to grab?"

"Emphasizing load one must mean there's more to grab." Adrianna commented.

Brandyn gave her an exasperated look. "You know we had other plans today."

Adrianna shrugged. "I'm well aware that we had plans today, but I also had plans to help Erick and Cliff move. We'll go as soon as we're finished."

"But that could take all day!"

"Mr. Anderson, are you whining?" The blonde tittered.

Brandyn rolled his eyes. "Sorry if being roped into moving day wasn't exactly on my list of things to do."

Erick crossed his arms. "If you're going to make a stink about it then you can just go."

The Anderson boy gave him a smile. "What was that?"

Adrianna sighed. "Guys, come on-"

"No, I want to hear what Larson has to say."

Erick scowled. "This could be fun."

"Yeah, nothing more fun than moving boxes."

"It could be fun if everyone present put a little effort into being nice. If you don't want to help, I'm not asking you to stay, Brandyn." Erick said patiently. "But if you stick around, at least try to have a good attitude so the rest of us don't have to suffer."

A muscle stood out in Brandyn's jaw. Erick raised his chin defiantly, refusing to stand down. This was their relationship. They didn't argue much, but they had very different views and standards on things. Erick couldn't understand how Adrianna could stay with him (and not justbecause he cared about her himself).

Worst of all, Erick seemed to be the only one that wouldn't back down to Brandyn. Most other teens would let things go or avoid him completely. Even Finn would give up after a while. But Erick had just enough stubbornness in his blood that he refused to let Brandyn win any argument over him, no matter how petty or trivial. He would not be bullied into submission.

Adrianna stepped between them, glancing between them carefully. "O-kay, if you guys can't get along-"

"We'll get along once Erick stops being all high and mighty." Brandyn hissed.

Erick breathed a laugh. "Me, high and mighty? Who's the one griping about all of his precious time being wasted? Who's the one complaining about his plans being ruined for the day?"

Brandyn scowled. "Who's the one asking for help last minute from people who already have plans?"

"I didn't ask you." Erick shot back, then internally winced. Adrianna had invited him. Shaking his head to avoid her gaze, he opened a box. "Just whatever."

"So now it's Anna's fault?"

"Just do whatever you want, Brandyn. Don't let me hold you up."

"No, I think you owe her an apology!"

Adrianna huffed. "Oh my gods, would you both stop it!"

The door squeaked open to reveal Finn holding a couple boxes. He glanced between the boys and sighed. "Going at it again?"

Brandyn snorted. "Don't look at me."

Erick dropped his stuff back in the box and marched to the door. "Finn, I need help with something."

"Oooookay." Finn dumped the boxes and rushed after his blond friend.

"Yeah that's right," Brandyn called out the door. "Run away from conflict like you always do!"

Erick screeched to a halt in the street and whirled around, but Finn pushed him forward with a hand on his chest. "Nope, nope! Not even worth it."

The blond allowed himself to be steered back toward the street and toward his family's house. He muttered under his breath about stupid, self-righteous boyfriends as they walked. Finally, Finn sighed.

"You don't help matters by being snarky, you know."

"I can't help it!" Erick threw out his hands. "What do you expect me to do? Take his whining, complaining or insults lying down? I'm sick of hearing it all the time!"

"You're a patient guy, Erick. Maybe Brandyn needs a little more dash of patience."

"So says Fearless Finn."

"Touché," Finn teased. "But seriously. One day there might be something worth fighting over with him, but this kind of petty stuff is just that. Petty, stupid. Trust me from experience: save the fight for later. Surely if you both disagree on that many things then something will come up that's worth fighting over."

Erick shook his head. "I don't know how much more of this I can take. Especially if he plans on staying long term."

"He's been here long term, CK."

"No, I mean..." Erick paused momentarily. "Long long term."

"As opposed to the short long term?"

"Don't get fresh with me."

Finn snickered, pushing the Larson's front door open. "Trust me, right now, he's not even worth it. Besides, he can't really be all that bad if my sister has stayed with him this long. She has pretty good judgment."

Erick didn't reply as he tromped up the stairs to his bedroom. He had a few choice comments on that particular subject, but withheld them. It wasn't that he didn't trust Adrianna to make good decisions on who she dated. He hoped he didn't feel any ill will simply because of his jealousy. He really did hope that Brandyn had worthy qualities that Adrianna loved. Thor knew that everyone had personal issues that he or she needed to work through. While his might be the occasional bout of depression or deception, Brandyn's might be complaining and contempt. Who knew?

Point being: Adrianna had stayed with the guy for this long. He had to have some redeemable qualities.

He hoped.