Hiccup quickly fed the arena dragons after Astrid dashed off to greet her father. His mind bounced tirelessly as thought after thought joined in the chaos that was flaring up in his head. He'd grown comfortable without his father's presence on Berk. He'd been careful and cautious working through all the plans that were on the horizon, but in a way, he'd let his guard slip just a little. He felt confident in taking more risks without the prying eyes of his father and so many other Viking men that trudged about with their heavy fists awaiting a battle at any given moment.

Stoick the Vast, Chief of Berk, had returned and that had suddenly and unexpectedly thrown an axe in Hiccup's plans.

Hiccup couldn't stay. He couldn't handle facing his father. Not right now. Not when his nerves were vibrating uncontrollably throughout his body. Not when he could stutter and act like the fool his father gave disapproving looks to. He needed to go. Just go. At least for a while.

Hiccup fled the arena and left Berk behind. Toothless greeted him with unconditional enthusiasm as he always did. The face lick and tail swish eased Hiccup's nerves, even if only for a moment. They flew away, leaving the island and not thinking twice about how matters would be when he returned to find Astrid's features contorted in anger for the second day in a row. He didn't even leave a note behind this time.

He loved his wife. gods, did he love her! But, he was Hiccup – the boy that was notorious for disappearing. He hadn't lived as that boy for a while now. He'd become a responsible member of the tribe. Kept a good, sturdy wife. Kept a home of his own. Excelled in dragon training. He'd gone from the dirt to the sky in a matter of a few months. But, he was still Hiccup and he was still excellent at running away. That's just what he did.

"I knew dad was coming back." Hiccup paused his pacing on the stony ground, pondering over his thoughts. "At least, I hoped he would come back. But not right now! Not when we were just starting to get somewhere with bringing peace to Vikings and dragons!"

Toothless raised his head and warbled in concern. They'd flown from the time the sun was at the treetops until it hung high in the sky. Toothless had voiced his need for lunch. Hiccup's stomach, though twisted up, growled for food as well. Scooping up a mouthful of fish, Toothless landed on the little rocky island where the Terrible Terrors gathered. Toothless slurped down several fish already, but Hiccup had yet to build a fire to cook his.

"The gang was about to start training to fly their dragons. I was going to tell them about it today!" Hiccup released a frustrated yell that echoed off the rocks and spooked the Terrors that were starting to gather. The little dragons hovered above the water, eyeing him, before slowly making their way back to the ground.

Hiccup plopped down against Toothless. Laying his head back on his dragon's warm scales, he closed his eyes and drew his knees up to his chest. His father would be the hardest egg to crack. Stoick hated dragons with an undeniable passion. Hiccup wondered if his father had hated dragons with such vigor before his mother was taken, or if the passion manifested after he'd witnessed her demise. It didn't matter, though. Stoick hated dragons. For the first time since Hiccup had begun his mission to bring peace, he was plagued by the realization that he wouldn't be able to convince his father of the goodness that dragons were.

There was scurrying and scratching of claws on rock around him. Hiccup lazily opened his eyes. A green Terror, one he recognized from several trips to the island, was in an epic battle with Toothless. The little guy had snatched a fish right from under Toothless's leg. Toothless snatched the fish back, gobbling it down and laughing in his own guttural dragonic tone at the little Terror. The Terror scratched at the ground, preparing to obliterate Toothless with his exaggeratedly imagined fire power. Before he could so much as fire a shot, Toothless fired his own shot into the Terror's mouth. The poor little guy puffed up and sizzled and smoke seeped out its mouth as the gases in his mouth ignited. He stumbled around, dizzy from the misfire.

"Toothless," Hiccup chided, "Play nice, bud." All Toothless did was laugh again. Hiccup threw the Terror a fish for his troubles. "There you go, little guy. Not so fireproof on the inside, are you?"

Hiccup froze as his mind suddenly kicked into full gear. "Not so fireproof on the inside," he repeated to himself. He patted Toothless' side as if to get his attention. "Toothless, I have another idea. One that could end the Red Death!"

Toothless cocked his head, curiously.

Hiccup's rising features drooped as the idea formed and then fell as he quickly weighted the risks. "It would be the biggest risk we'd ever have to take." He made eye contact with his dragon, Toothless' big green eyes watching him intently. "A risk that we most likely wouldn't come back from, and we're the only ones that could pull it off."

A Night Fury never misses.

Laying his back against Toothless once more, Hiccup sighed loudly. "If Plan A doesn't work – if we have to use this new plan—" He swallowed, his throat bobbing, and squeezing his eyes shut. "I can't tell Astrid."

Footsteps poked around on his legs, alerting Hiccup of a little visitor. He looked down to find the green Terror crawling onto his lap. The edges of his mouth curled up just slightly as he petted the little dragon. "You're always needing attention, huh, little guy? You'd make a good house dragon?" He scooped up the Terror and held it in front of his face. "Wanna come home with me?"

The Terror's forked tongue flicked out, licking his nose.

Hiccup laughed softly. "I'm taking that as a yes. You gotta behave if you're coming home with me, okay?"

The Terror chirped at him, licking its eyes.

Hiccup nodded. "As long as we have an agreement."

Hiccup ran through apologies in his head as he trekked back to the village. He'd let Astrid do whatever she needed to do – yell at him, punch him, give him the cold shoulder – if it made her feel better. He knew he deserved it. He'd tried a hundred times harder tomorrow to not let her down again.

The green Terrible Terror from the rocky island was safely stowed away in his satchel. It minded well for an untrained dragon. Hiccup would present it to Astrid as sort of a gift – a house pet they could train to come and go without being noticed. Terrors were small and sneaky, and Hiccup had no doubt he could work with it.

Firelight flickered through the window of his house. Astrid awaited him. Maybe she'd prepared supper. If she didn't, he probably deserved to eat stale bread and raw veggies that he'd have to settle on. Hiccup hesitated at the front door, hand on the knob. He drew in a deep breath, rehearsing his apology in a whispered tone one last time.

"You finally made it back."

Hiccup felt like invisible hands suddenly jerked him to a stop, his stomach sloshing at the force. Stoick the Vast – Chief of Berk, the one person he desperately wanted to avoid – at least for today – sat at his table. A mug of some kind of drink was held in his firm grip.

"Hiccup, your dad's here," Astrid's flat tone floated in front somewhere.

Hiccup shook off the shock as best he could. His eyes scanned to find Astrid standing by the firepit, arms crossed over her chest, looking none too happy.

"Daaaaaad!" Hiccup drug out in a sorry attempt to sound cheerful. His scratched the back of his head then threw his arm out in a grand gesture that was only Hiccup's. "You're back!"

Stoick nodded in agreement. "That I am, son. It seems you're finally back too. Where were you all day?"

The satchel slung over his shoulder shifted against his back. "Hold that thought." Hiccup rushed his legs over to Astrid. He unslung the satchel, blocking it from view with his narrow body. As close as he could get to Astrid without seeming weird, he tried to communicate with code. "Astrid, could you take my satchel upstairs. Keep it quiet and still. Don't want any of the contents to escape."

Astrid's features contorted in bewilderment. His code was lost to her for the moment, but she did what he asked. She knew how weird he could be. She threw him a wide-eyed expression over her shoulder as she departed, most likely feeling the little wiggles of the cargo inside.

Hiccup spun on his heel to face his father. He stepped over to the table where Stoick sat, trying his best to keep his father's attention on him. "Dad, how'd the campaign go?"

Stoick's deep-chested sigh said it all. He shook his head. "Not as I'd hoped. But, I'd rather not talk of such things. It is over and we move on." He shifted his seat toward Hiccup, leaning elbows on his knees. His brow cocked in a way that made Hiccup uncomfortable. "Let's talk about the dragons."

Hiccup seized up as if freezing water had been flung on him. His breath caught as his heart skipped a beat. "Dragons?" he managed to squeak out. His breath jumped from 0 to 60, pumping through his lungs in sharp thrusts. How did he know? Had Astrid informed his father? Was she that angry with him that she spilled their secret as revenge on him? "Da-dad, I'm sorry. I wish I could have come to you about this, but I didn't know how—"

A boisterous laugh bubbled up through Stoick's massive form, booming throughout the bottom floor of the house. "You had me going there, son! All these years thinking you were the worse Viking to ever walk Midgard!" The smile splitting Stoick's face made Hiccup more uncomfortable than when he thought his father was angry with him. "Just wait until you spill a Nadder's guts! Mount a Gronckle head on a spear! Memories you'll never forget."

Hiccup's stomach clinched at the gruesome images his father provided. He suddenly found himself falling backwards from the 'light' smack of Stoick's back hand. He toppled onto the bench beside the firepit.

"I, uh, definitely wouldn't forget that." He wondered if Astrid had heard. Then it hit him. His father didn't know their secrets, and now it was stupid to even conceive that Astrid would betray him and their dragons.

"With you doing so well in dragon training, we finally have something to talk about." Stoick scooted his chair closer as Hiccup righted himself on the bench. His father beamed at him with a light in his eyes Hiccup had never witnessed shining upon him from the man.

Hiccup needed to look anywhere but his father. He couldn't handle the admiration. He didn't know how. The worse part, though, was it was all under false pretenses. A lie. A well-crafted ruse.

The seconds dragged on more like hours as he grew even more restless in his skin. A bump against the wall, as if something slammed into it, came from upstairs. Several footfalls followed it then suddenly stopped.

Hiccup chuckled nervously, hoping his wife could keep the Terror under control. "Astrid must be putting away the stuff I brought home."

Stoick's nod accepted the explanation. He cleared his throat.

"I brought you something." He pulled as object from his mantle. "A gift now that you're one of us. Or, well, soon you will be. When you kill your first dragon."

Hiccup reached out at the gift. His mouth gaped slightly in surprise. He carefully gripped the horns of the Viking helmet in awe. He'd never had use for a helmet, but to be gifted one, was a great honor in the tribe. Especially if the one giving it was the chief of your village.

"Thanks, dad."

"It's half of your mother's breastplate."

Hiccup's hand halted all movement on the headpiece at hearing the source of the metal. He withdrew his hand, wiggling his fingers as if to remove whatever gross feelings he got from the fact.

His father tapped his own helmet. "Matching set." Bumping his closed fist against his heart, he added, "Keeps her close, y'know. Wear it proudly. From all that I heard from Gobber, you deserve it."

Hiccup sucked in his bottom lip, trying to figure out how to get out of the most awkward visit in Viking history. He heard footsteps shuffling upstairs. He threw his arms out wide and yawned as if he hadn't slept for 100 years.

"It's getting late. I think me and Astrid need to grab some dinner and get some shut eye."

"Yes, uh, good talk. It has been a long day," Stoick agreed, pushing off the chair, its legs shrieking along the floor from his overwhelming weight. "Long journey home."

"Thanks for stopping by. Thanks, dad, for the uh—" Hiccup coughed into his fist, "breast hat," he added, not being able to stop his tongue before saying the awkward words.

"Yes, the hat." Stoick paused at the door. He cleared his throat. "Goodnight, son. Give Astrid my regards."

"I will." Hiccup mentally ushered his dad out the door, shutting it closed. He leaned his back against the door, blowing out a gust of relieved breath.

"What in Thor's name were you thinking!?"

Hiccup cringed. This was the moment he'd prepared himself for the entire walk home from the cove. He'd apologize. He'd take whatever frustrations Astrid dished out. She stomped down the stairs, carrying the Terror – who was oblivious to her foul mood.

"Astrid, I'm—"

"NO!" She shoved the Terror at him. "You don't get to speak, Hiccup! You don't get to explain why you vanished the entire day! Again! When you promised me just yesterday you wouldn't!"

Hiccup instinctively stepped back, the fury rolling off her so strongly he could feel it slamming him through the air. He expected her to be mad. He didn't expect her to morph into something akin to a flaming red Monstrous Nightmare ready to devour him. Just her sharp blue eyes alone scorched him.

"Enjoy cuddling up with your dragon by the fire tonight. If you so much as set foot on the stairs, I will split your hair in two with my axe!"

With that threat fastened firmly in place, Astrid spun around on her heel and stomped up the stairs. Her ire hung in the air all around Hiccup, making his skin crawl. He'd never seen her this angry - not even when he broke his promise about not using his dragon killing inventions a few months back. He shut his eyes, regret flowing through him and burning a hole in his gut.

Hiccup sighed heavy in his chest. The Terror licked his hand, bringing him back to that matter. He held the Terror out in front of him, frowning deeply.

"Guess it's just you and me tonight, little guy."