Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He doesn’t want to make Eret feel pressured. That’s the last thing Hiccup wants to do. He wasn’t even sure if he was fully confident in the idea of asking him. I mean, were they even at that point in their relationship? They had only been living together for about three and half months. Was this too much? Was he moving too fast? Sure they had been dating for around a year and a half, but this still felt like a big thing to ask of his boyfriend, putting up Hiccup’s middle of nowhere island hometown and his parents. Oh, Hel, his parents. You know the ones who were overprotective and whom he had barely even told about Eret, let alone ask if they were okay with Hiccup bringing him home for the holidays. Maybe he shouldn’t do it. But he wanted to; he wanted to spend the holidays with his boyfriend like all their other friends got to do. Besides, Hiccup hated the idea of letting Eret stay here by himself like last year. But maybe that’s what Eret wanted? Perhaps he wanted a break from Hiccup constantly being around and working on personal projects that cluttered up their shared apartment. Maybe he wanted some healthy space just for a bit. What if-?

“You know if you think any harder, your head’s going to crack open, darling,” Eret muttered, not tearing his eyes away from his laptop.

Darling, dear gods, it was such an old-timey romantic term of endearment. Hiccup loved it. It also never failed to snap him out of his line of thought.

The two were currently curled up on their couch, a shared blanket and Toothless laid across their laps. Eret’s arm around Hiccup’s shoulders, tucking him into his side. The taller man working on a paper, and Hiccup staring off into space for the past half an hour, mulling over his question.

“I’m not thinking too hard,” Hiccup protested, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yes, you are,” Eret said, almost immediately, “The lines on your forehead a quite telling.”

At that comment, Hiccup placed his hand across his forehead, ran a hand through his hair, and frowned—stupid boyfriend, knowing how to tell when something was on his mind.

“If something is on your mind and you want to talk about it, then it might make you feel better if you do.”

“Where did you get that stupid idea?”

“My boyfriend,” Eret answered, “He’s a brilliant guy. I recommend you listen to his advice.”

Hiccup shurgged, “Nah, I think he’s a moron.”

Eret shook his head and smiled, before he closed his computer, set it off to the side, and looked at Hiccup, giving the other man his full attention.

“What’s going on?” he asked, in a tone and look that told Hiccup he was listening and that they were going to talk about this whether he’d liked it or not.

Well, Hiccup thought to himself, might as well.

Running a hand through his hair again with a sigh, he said, “So, you know how I told you my family’s Norse Pagan?”

“Mmh,” Eret hummed.

“So, here’s the thing,” Hiccup began, “Back on Berk, we have this holiday that centuries ago got blended with Yule. We call it Snoggletog.”

Eret blinked before repeating, “Snoggletog?”

Hiccup nodded, “Yes, Snoggletog. The name is stupid. You can laugh.”

It took a moment, but that did get a good laugh out of his boyfriend, and the sound of that laugh had Hiccup swooning because he has about as bad a teenager in a high school rom-com.

“Right so, this Snoggletog thing?” Eret asked calming down, urging Hiccup to go on.

“It’s like Christmas, by which I mean there’s family time and gifts, and you know all that good stuff. Honestly, almost half the Christian stuff came from pagan things original, but that’s not the point right now. It’s one of my favorite holidays we have, and this year I was wondering if instead of me going alone and you staying here, if you would, maybe, wanna come with me? Only if you wanted.”

Hiccup could feel his heart beating in his throat. Why was he feeling nervous? It’s not like anything bad was going to happen. Right?

“Again, you can say no if you don’t wann-”

“I’d love to go.”

Hiccup stopped, blinked, and looked up at him, almost in disbelief, “You, you mean it?”

“Yeah,” Eret said, “It sounds like it would be nice. Plus, I’d finally get to see where you’re from.”

“Oh yes,” Hiccup said, nodding, “You’d get to see the unforgivable, undeveloped rock of which I hail from.

“Come on. It can’t be that bad.”

“Eret, we didn’t get internet on Berk until I was 15!” Hiccup cried, “Half the people there don’t have cell phones. My father, oh for the love of Thor, don’t get me started on how technologically incapable he is.”

“So it is that bad?”

“My dad owns a flip phone, Eret!” Hiccup said, “One with an antenna you have to pull up, and he’s had it for thirteen years! Watch, he and I will get into another argument about this year. Just you wait.”

“Speaking of which, I’m guessing we’d be staying with your parents?” Eret asked.

“Most likely,” Hiccup said, realizing that now he had to call his mom and dad and hope they were alright with him bringing somebody home. That was going to be fun.

“So I’m coming home for the holidays and meeting the parents,” Eret said, smirking a bit.

“Yeah, I guess,” Hiccup said, “If you feel like it’s too much all at once, I get it.”

“It’s not,” he said, “We’ve been dating for over a year. You’ve already met my dad. I’d like to meet your family too. Plus we get to be together for the holidays. Win, win.”

“Well then,” Hiccup said, looking down at Toothless, who was nuzzling his hand begging for pets, “I guessed it settled then.”

XXX

Later that evening, Hiccup got around to calling his mom. The phone rang twice before he got an answer and heard his mother’s voice on the other end.

“Hello?”

“Hey Mom, it’s me,” he said, before hushing Toothless, who barked hearing Valka’s voice over the phone, “What’s going on?”

“Oh, not much. I just got back from the sanctuary a little while ago, and you’re father’s due back from the office in an hour. I’m cooking dinner right now.”

“Don’t kill him,” Hiccup said, shuttering at the thought of the last meal his mother hand made by herself for him and his father. Gods, what did she do to make meat bubble?

“Don’t worry. I’m making frozen pizza and microwave mash potatoes.”

“Mom, I love you, but you’ve messed those up before too.”

Hiccup could practically see his mother smiling and rolling her eyes before asking, “Have you gotten your flight and other things sorted out yet for Snoggletog? Your father can’t wait for you to get here.”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Hiccup answered, looking back to his open laptop with airline tickets pulled up, “Um, speaking of coming home, you know how I told you guys about how I’ve been seeing someone?”

“Yes, Eret, wasn’t it?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Hiccup answered, “Well, his dad works during the winter, so he doesn’t go home for the holidays. So I was wondering if it is okay with you and Dad if he came and spent Snoggletog with us?”

There was a bit of a pause before he heard his mother say, “Oh, of course. If he wants to come, he’s more than welcome.”

“You mean it?” he asked.

“Why won’t I?” she asked, and in the background, Hiccup could hear the sound of the oven beeping, “It’s about time you brought someone home to visit from university. I’ll talk with your father, but I don’t see how there be an issue.”

“Okay, I just wanted to make sure you’d be alright with it.”

“Do you want me to get the guest room ready for him, or are you fine with sharing yours?” his mother asking moving on into her own need to plan and get ready.

“He can stay with me if that okay with you.”

“You’re an adult,” she said, “I don’t get to tell you what to do.”

“Your house,” Hiccup said, thinking back to the strict open-door policy his father had back when he was dating Astrid in high school.

“Aye, it is,” Valka said, “And I’m saying that you get to make your own choices.”

At that moment, Toothless barked as if he was demanding that he get a chance to talk to Valka himself. Hiccup laughed and said, “My dog wants to see you.”

His mom laughed, “Oh, yes, I have you on speaker, and Cloundjumper and Skullcrusher keep looking around for you. I think they miss you two just as much as we do.”

"Good to know I'm wanted."

They talked for a little longer about things like work, school, and things going on around Berk and the neighboring island. In their conversation, Hiccup remembered how badly he wanted to get home again. Be on Berk, see the tree and the forest, be at home listen to his parents talk, and Gobber tell one of his insane most likely fabricated stories, hang out with his friends again. He told himself just a few more days, and then they’d be home. And he’d get to bring Eret with him.

“Alright, I’m going to let you go,” Hiccup said, noticing the time, “I text what our travel plans are when I know them.”

“Alright, dear,” his mother said, “That boyfriend of yours understand how cold it gets here?”

“Yes, and he’s from northern Norway, Mom,” Hiccup answered, “He knows how to handle the tempetur.”

“Okay, I’ll have everything ready for when you boys get here; just get here safely, understand?”

“Yeah,” he said, nodding his head even though she wouldn’t see him, “I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too, dear.”

And with that, mother and son said their goodbyes and hung up. Then walking into his bedroom, Hiccup kicked his jeans off, changed into his pajamas, and removed his prosthetic before literally hopping into bed. Once he was settled, Toothless immediately jumped on the mattress and settled into his usual stop at the foot of the bed, but they both knew that when the morning came, the hound would have half his body spread across Hiccup’s body.

Just then, Hiccup saw his boyfriend emerge from the bathroom, just finishing up with a shower, towel wrapped around his waist hanging relatively lowly. Nice.

“Hey,” he said, looking over at Hiccup, “What’s up?”

“Not a lot,” Hiccup answered, looking down at his lap, not wanting to ogle too much as his boyfriend got dressed, “I talked to my mom. We’re good on you coming for Snoggletog.”

“Yeah?” Eret said.

“Yep,” Hiccup said, “Get ready for frostbite on your spleen and yak nog to be following.

“Can’t wait,” Eret said, turning around once he was dressed, “Is there anything else you think I need to know?”

“Well,” Hiccup said, moving over to let Eret lay in bed with him, “I guess just be ready for my friends to be crazy, my dad to be protective, and for Gobber to be, well, Gobber.”

Eret laughed, pulled Hiccup to his cheat, and said, “I think I can handle all that.”

Hiccup gave a weak laugh, “Ah, we’ll see.”

Eret smiled and shook his head before he leaned down and pressed his lips against Hiccup’s, which the shorter man was happy to return, resting his hand on Eret’s cheek.

When they pulled away, Hiccup smiled and said, “I’m really excited you’re coming.”

“I’m just happy you asked me to come.”

“I really hope this trip doesn’t scare you away from me.”

“Don’t worry, darling,” Eret said, “There’s no cashing me off now.”

Hiccup hummed, and he leaned over and switched the lights off before resting his head on Eret’s chest, “Wait till you see my dad’s battle ax collection.”

“His what?”

Chapter Text

Hiccup never liked boats all that much, which was funny since he spent a reasonable amount of time on them growing up, seeing they were the primary way of getting around to other islands near Berk. Whenever Stoick would drag him along on one of his fishing trips, Hiccup would always have to listen to his father go on about how their ancestors were some of, if not the greatest, sailors of the past. Every kid on Berk got to hear their parents go on at least once about how their people were able to navigate and build ships as well as they did, and how it was the Norse that was the first Europeans to make contact with the people and continent of North America (burn in hell Columbitch, you Spanish whore,). But despite being a descendant of some of the most famous maritime people of all history, Hiccup got seasick quickly and hated the icy cold water that would splash over the sides of a ship. So yeah, he wasn’t having a great time leaning over the ship rail trying to will himself not to vomit.

“Remind me never to invite you to come out on the water with my dad and me,” Eret said, hand resting on Hiccup’s shoulder, trying his best to be helpful.

“Yeah, maybe not the best idea,” Hiccup muttered, rubbing his face, “I can’t tell you how many times my dad would take me out for a guys-only fishing trip, and we’d be on land an hour later cause my stomach couldn’t handle it.”

Toothless gave a worried growl and nudged Hiccup’s leg with his head as if to tell him to sit down. In response, Hiccup just scratched behind his companion’s ear and said, “It’s okay, bud, we’re almost there, thank Thor.”

The three of them had been up since 4:45 AM. In that time, they drove to the airport, went through security reasonably quickly thanks to Hiccup handicap, waited for what felt like forever, got on the plane that took them to Outcast Island, where they were supposed to get on another plane to take them to Berk. But, that flight got canceled, so it either wait until the next day or take the available three-hour boat ride.

So that’s where they were. But luckily, it wasn’t long until Hiccup noticed a tiny speck growing bigger and bigger in the distance. And just like that, it was as if his seasickness was gone, replaced by excitement.

“You see that dot?” Hiccup asked, pointing outward, a smile breaking across his face, “That’s it, that’s Berk.”

Eret looked to where he was pointing and asked, “You ready to be home?”

The shorter man nodded, “More than anything.”

They reached land about fifteen minutes later, and Toothless had begun jumping, barking all around, demanding the couple grab their bags faster. Hiccup held onto his leash tightly, keeping the dog from running around and getting people way too much. Hiccup also had to tell himself not to run, seeing as the docks were slick due to water, ice, and snow. However, his self-restraint was for not, because he took two steps on the dock before his metal leg decided that it wasn't feeling it with the ice. He most likely would have fallen straight on his face or possibly in the water had his boyfriend not reached out and grabbed him by the arm.

“Woah,” Eret said, helping Hiccup get his footing back, “Let’s not have my first conversation with your parents be me explain how you ended up in the hospital.”

“Good idea,” Hiccup said, nodding before Toothless began dragging him again and eventually breaking out of his hold and running towards a woman on the other end of the dock and began jumping on her and licking her face. But Hiccup felt no need to yell at Toothless once he realized who it was.

It was his mother, the same old sherpa work jacket and steel toe boots she had owned since he was born, the one she practically lived in—the ones Toothless was currently covering in slush and snow.

“Mom!” Hiccup called, waving his hand towards his mother, who noticed him and practically ran to meet him.

When they reached each other, Valka laughed and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace, “Oh, my boy,” she muttered, before pecking the side of his head, “You’re home.”

When they pulled apart a bit, his mother looked him up and down and smiled, “You look well. Have you been growing out your hair?”

“Yeah,” he said, nodding, “Or at least I’m trying to. It’s getting thicker, not necessarily longer.”

“It suits you,” she said before ruffling it playful, as she used to when he was a kid. Toothless barked, and Hiccup looked to Eret waiting behind him.

Oh, right, his boyfriend.

Hiccup reached out and grabbed Eret’s hand to bring him closer, “Mom, this is Eret. Eret, this is my mother, Valka.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Haddock,” he said, holding out his free hand for her to shake.

“You as well,” she said smiling, taking his hand, “And please, call me Valka.”

So far, so good. Hiccup wasn’t sure how his parents would react to actually meeting Eret. Chin tattoos and a five-year age gap would make some parents disapprove, but in all fairness, his own mom and dad were ten years apart, and Valka had met people who’d looked crazier than Eret through work.

“Good travels, I assume?” she asked, turning back to Toothless stroking his head as he wagged his tail.

“A setback here and there,” Eret said, squeezing Hiccup’s hand a bit, “But other than that, it was fine.”

“Good,” she said, picking Hiccup’s bag up from the docks and handing her son Toothless’ leash, “Well, let's get to the house and get you boys settled then, shall we?”

They followed Valka back to her truck, where a patient Cloudjumper was waiting for them in the truck bed. Toothless barked happily at the sight of his friend and eagerly jumped up to greet him once the tailgate was dropped.

“What is that?” Eret whispered, eyeing the Great Dane up and down.

“It’s a dog, sweetheart,” Hiccup said, looking at him.

Eret shook his head, “That’s not a dog. It’s a horse.”

Hiccup laughed and gave Cloudjumper and a few good pets before helping his boyfriend load their bags into the vehicle.

The back seat of Valka’s truck had long since been gutted to make room for equipment and transporting animals from facility to facility. So it could only hold three people in the front, and you had to be packed like sardine. Luckily, Hiccup had and would always be on the scrawny side, so it wasn’t as bad with him in the middle, his boyfriend in shotgun, and his mother driving.

Valka turned the key to the truck once, the nothing, then she did it two more times until it started up, though it sounded concerning like the truck was in its last days of life.

“I’ve had Gobber look at it twice,” she said, shaking her head, “And he can’t figure out what’s wrong with it.”

“Might be time for a new truck, Mom,” Hiccup said, remembering that this truck had once belonged to his grandfather long before his time on this earth.

Valka made a ‘hmph’ noise and shook her head, “It’s not that bad. The brakes and lights still work, at least.”

“I guess I have a project for tomorrow,” Hiccup muttered, knowing that his mother was better than most people on upgrading technologies and tools, but this truck was never going to be one of them.

As they drove through town, Hiccup pointed out places and businesses here and there.

“That’s Gobber’s shop,” he told his boyfriend as they drove past it, “It was where I spent all of middle school and the first half of high school.”

“I remember when you’re father, and I had you start working there,” Valka said, shaking her head laughing at the memory, “Once he figured out how to take a car apart and put it back again, no machine or device in our home was safe.”

“Yeah, that’s still the case now,” Eret said with a bit of a sigh.

“Did I, or did I not fix your laptop?” Hiccup asked, looking at him.

“You also broke my laptop, to begin with.”

“Yeah, because I knew I could fix it. Just like I was able to put the monitor Camicazi stole from McDonald’s back together. ”

Eret then turned to Valka and asked, “With all due respect, ma’am, did you or your husband ever consider getting him tested for ADHD?”

“Fuck you.”

“Are those shields?” Eret asked, causing Hiccup to see what his boyfriend was talking about. They were driving through the town center, where people were hard at work decorating for the Snoggletog celebrations. In the middle of it was the giant wooden Snoggletog tree with traditional decorations.

“Yeah,” Hiccup said, “They are, and those are real swords and axes as well.”

“Is that safe?” Eret asked, and it was evident in his voice that he didn’t want to offend, but was also clearly asking 'what the fuck?'.

“Pretty safe,” Hiccup said, “We’ve had 13,000 years to figure out how to hang them on the tree and not have people get sliced in half.”

Valka nodded, “Nobody's died from decorations in ages.”

Eret opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again thinking better.

Before long, they reached the Haddock home, and Hiccup could see Skullcrusher waiting for the front porch for them, barking and jumping to greet them.

“Home, sweet home,” Valka said, shutting the truck off and having them all file out. But before Eret could fully get out of the car, he was met with a bloodhound barking, trying to jump upon him.

“Easy big boy,” Eret said, stumbling back a bit, “Easy.”

At that, Skullcrusher nudged his leg and hand, asking the new person to pet him now, please. Eret did what he was asked, and the hound wagged his tail happily before taking off to the yard again.

“He likes ya’,” Valka said reassuringly, “You’re lucky. It usually takes him some time to warm up to people, just like Stoick, actually.”

“Speaking of which, is Dad at the Hall?” Hiccup asked, noting his father’s car was missing from the driveway.

“Aye,” Valka said, letting the dogs out of the back of the truck so they could join Skullcrusher and run around, “They’re all still planning for the Snoggletog Eve celebration. You packed good clothes for that, right?”

“Yes,” Hiccup said, nodding, “Eret even went out with me and got a new suit altogether.”

“The other one you had was stupid,” Eret said, hefting their bags out of the back of the truck.

“That was your opinion,” Hiccup said, crossing his arms.

“Yes, the correct one.”

Hiccup rolled his eyes, took his boyfriend’s suitcase, and followed his mother inside his childhood home. After leaving their shoes and jackets in the entryway, they made their way to the living room, where the aesthetic of the Haddock house was on full display.

For as long as Hiccup could remember, their home had been decorated with shields, ancient and traditional weapons, and family photos, case in point the mantle above the fireplace. Most of the walls were painted various shades of brown or dark red. The throw-over blankets for the couches were made of knitted or weaved wool with intricate Norse designs of dragons and sea serpents on them. Most of the books that rested on the book sleeve or coffee table were about either historical events, myths, or animal biology and taxonomy. It was welcoming to those familiar and perhaps a tad bit intimidating to those who weren’t.

“Yeah,” Hiccup said to Eret, who was looking around, taking it all in, “We like reminding people we’re Vikings.”

“You know I won’t have guessed that.”

“I was waiting for you two to get here before I set anything up for Snoggletog,” Valka said, moving to add more wood in the fireplace, “You’re father and I were thinking we could go out and get a family tree tomorrow.”

“That sounds good,” he said before looking at Eret, “Unless you don’t wanna.”

The taller man shrugged, “Your holiday. Whatever you want to do, I’m along for the ride.”

“Well, then it’s settled then,” Valka said, standing back up and moving away from the building fire, “You know where your room is. I’ll let you boys unpack.”

Hiccup motioned for Eret to follow him up the stairs to his bedroom. The space was no different from the last time he saw it. His queen-size bed pushed up against the left wall, the same dark green quilt his grandmother made for him when he was seven. It has all his old posters and drawings hanging up on the wall. His bookshelf was overflowing even though he brought several books back to his and Eret’s apartment the last time he visited home. Tools, scattered paper, and half build projects and models were on his desk and work table. Other figures and knick-knacks were scattered around as well.

“Wow,” Eret said, looking around, “You have always been like this, haven’t you?”

“What does that mean?” Hiccup asked, but smiling anyway.

“Nerdy, chaotic, and messy, if that prototype for the fire sword is anything to go off of,” Eret said, setting his bag down on the floor by Hiccup’s bed.

“I am nothing but consistent,” he said, looking to his old Lord of the Rings poster and the Hobbit t-shirt he wore now.

Eret didn’t respond to that, instead taking a set a the foot of Hiccup’s bed, leaning back and looking up at him, he asked, “So what’s your plan for tonight, Chief?”

“Well, if I don’t say anything, everyone’s going to know I’m back by tomorrow morning if they don’t already,” Hiccup said, “I could text Astrid and the gang and introduce you to all of them. Or I could show you around town or take you to the sanctuary. The sun goes down in a few hours, though, so there is only so much to do.”

“We’re here for a couple of weeks. No need to rush and do everything,” Eret said gently, and Hiccup nodded. The taller man then held out his hand, which Hiccup took, and allowed himself to be pulled onto his boyfriend’s lap. Once there, he pressed his face into Eret’s neck and sighed.

“Tired, darling?”

“A little,” he admitted, pulling back to look his partner in the eye, “Half a day full of traveling will do that to you, though.”

“Maybe we just stay into tonight then?”

“Maybe,” Hiccup parroted, tangling his finger around the loose end of hair in Eret’s ponytail, “This is pretty much like our mattress back home, so we shouldn’t have trouble sleeping.”

“Yes,” Eret said, nodding, “Sleeping, right.”

“Eret,” Hiccup said in a warning tone, crossing his arms, “I thought I was very clear when I said no sex while we’re here.”

“Oh, come on now,” Eret said, slipping his hand under the back of Hiccup’s shirt, “Don’t be so cold.”

He leaned up and pressed their lips together. And because Hiccup was weak, he kissed back, letting his hand rest on Eret’s chest. It was innocent enough until Eret moved to press them more flushed together. That’s when Hiccup decided to cut it off.

“No, no, stop it,” Hiccup said, pulling back, trying to put his foot down, “We’re not having sex in my childhood bedroom when my parents sleep right down the hall. It’s not happening. We’re not being those people.”

“Alright, fine,” Eret sighed before pushing Hiccup off his lap and onto the other side of the bed dramatically.

“Hey! Just because I said, no sex doesn’t mean ya’ gotta be rude!” he cried, grabbing a pillow to wack his boyfriend in a playful, childish manner.

Eret laughed and tried to grab the pillow away from him but then was then distracted by something that was just out of Hiccup’s peripheral.

“What the hell is this?” he asked, grabbing something off of Hiccup nightstand, “And why would you not bring it to our home?”

The item in a question was a mug Hiccup used for pens, but it was made slanted and had the rainbow colors and the phrase “I can’t even drink straight” painted on it.

“Oh,” Hiccup said, taking the mug from his boyfriend’s hold, “Yeah, um this is just something my dad got me after I came out.”

“Ah, I see,” Eret said, “Kinda like the sweater my Áhkku made me.”

“Yeah, more or less,” Hiccup said, “He wasn’t sure how to react when I came out.”

Stoick was a good man and did everything in his power to be a good father, but it had not always been easy.

Hiccup can remember a period of time he now dubbed the ‘Dark Ages’ form age 11 to 14 where things with his dad and life overall were less than great. You could call it his emo phase. He had no friends besides his mom and Gobber and had no idea how to talk and be around his dad, and Stoick didn’t know how to be around him either. It’s not that they didn’t try. Hiccup really tried. He tried to make up for the fact that he was super athletic, never able to play hockey or football, by being good in school. He did his best to show that he loved and knew how to make traditional Norse weapons since it took him years even to be able to hold an ax properly, meaning his dad couldn’t show him how to sword fight. Doing his best to find other activities to enjoy with his father since he hated fishing so much. It also didn’t help that Hiccup was accident-prone still to this day, causing problems around town that his father really didn’t need to deal with. Hiccup was the biggest disappointment on Berk, and he couldn’t help but feel like no one believed that more than his father.

It got to a point where Hiccup and Stoick didn’t interact at all, and his father was completely unaware that Hiccup had been taking care of a stray Toothless for months on end. If it had not been for his mother getting fed up, they might have never talked. Valka had sat them down at the table as a family, and no one was allowed to leave until that matter was talked out. It wasn’t fun. There had been yelling, some crying, and it went on into the early hours of the next day, but it was what they needed. They had a lot to work on to build their relationship to be functioning and healthy, but the Haddocks were a stubborn clan. It also helped that this was when Hiccup started to get friends and find an interest in working at his mother’s wildlife sanctuary. Life was going good and in their minds could only get better.

Then the car crash happened.

Hiccup was knocked out for two weeks, his leg amputated, and his parents glued to his side. Weirdly the whole even brought them closer together. For his dad taking him to physical therapy appointments, to both of his parents nagging him to do his needed excursions, it forced them to spend time together. Which led to Hiccup and his Dad talking about what needed to be done around Berk, which led Hiccup at age 15, spearheading a lot of the work required to bring their tiny island into the 21st century. Hiccup believed and knew that his father was proud of him and who he was for the first time in his life. He was proud that Hiccup was different.

Then there was his coming out.

It had been around Snoggletog the first year he went to university. It was just him and his parents at the dinner table when he decided to tell them that he was bisexual. It had been awkward and uncomfortable. Hiccup remembered how his mom carried the conversation afterward, saying that they loved him, nothing was ever going to change that, and they didn’t care who he loved, just that he was loved and happy. His father hadn’t said anything, he just looked at him with an expression that Hiccup swore at the time was one of disappointment, but he now realized it was confusion on how to best act. Father and son resorted to their old ways of dancing around each other until Snoggletog when Hiccup got that mug from his dad. It was the stupidest thing, but it meant so much. It told him that his dad still cared. He was still proud. Yeah, Hiccup was different, but that was fine, he was Stoick’s son, and that’s all that mattered.

Speaking of the devil. From outside the house, he could hear the sound of a car pulling up, the dogs barking, door slamming, and someone with a familiar deep voice coming in to greet his mother. Hiccup smiled and grabbed Eret’s arm pulling him up and towards the door.

“Come on,” he said, “Sounds like Dad’s home.”