Let's Give it a Year

Chapter 30

The walk down to Stoick's office always seemed longer than it actually was. Hiccup often counted the offices that he walked past as a way of counting down until he arrived in front of his father's office. He remembered the 25 offices from his office to his fathers. Although he didn't know every occupant, he remembered them and their interior as if he did.

Hiccup sighed quietly to himself as he counted the 25th office and turned the corner to face his father's office. The door looked in front of him as if it were his father, but Hiccup was more intimidated by the name stuck to the front of the door.

Stoick Haddock.

The name always filled Hiccup with dread. How was he expected to live up to a name like that? The thought terrified him beyond belief, but that was his reality.

Raising his hand hesitantly, Hiccup knocked on the office door loud enough that the echo continued in the hallway for a few seconds longer than in the office. Hiccup could barely hear his father's voice bellowing over the loud knock that Hiccup had sounded as his fist had connected with the door. His father's voice still reached his ears and Hiccup felt his heart drop and a sense of nervousness and anxiety flow through his body, crippling him.

Hesitantly, Hiccup turned the handle and opened the large door into Stoick's office, revealing the large, open and grand office that Stoick resided in. His desk sat facing the door, at the far end of the office and up a few steps to tower him above the others, insinuating his power over others. Soon, this large, decadent office would be Hiccup's, and that thought filled him with dread as he sauntered up to his father's desk.

"Father?" Hiccup asked, causing Stoick's head to raise up, a furrowed brow and annoyed expression still evident on his face as he tried to wipe it away with a smile.

"Son!" He announced, a broad, happy smile spreading across his face as he looked at his son standing before him in his office.

Hiccup rarely visited his father during work hours, and they only ever saw each other if Stoick needed his help or they were in a meeting together. They used to spend a lot of their working day together when Stoick was training Hiccup as an intern, to show him the ropes and the methods of the company. Hiccup hadn't enjoyed his time as Stoick's intern/protege, but he had put up with it. He needed to.

"Why did you call me here? I don't expect it's just because you missed me." Hiccup joked as he took a seat in front of Stoick's desk, facing his father who sat just on the other side.

Even though there was just a desk between them, Hiccup always felt very far away from his father when he was sat in front of Stoick's desk like this. Stoick's bold and intimidating aura as he sat behind the desk, always disturbed Hiccup. His father sat with a disappointed look on his face whenever Hiccup sat in front of him, looking at his son as though he would rather anyone sit there in his office.

However, as Hiccup sat there that day, he saw no evidence of that face on his father.

"No, although I would love it to be for that reason. It's not I'm afraid..." Stoick gave a long, exhausted sigh and lowered his gaze. He linked his fingers together and placed them upon the table, resting there whilst holding up his body as he relaxed his intimidating stature.

"What's it about?"

"You were right. I should have believed you more." Stoick admitted, shaking his head solemnly as he admitted his regret. Hiccup's brow furrowed slightly as his father's words confused him.

"What are you talking about?"

"The members of the board. They are losing faith in me, and my support on the board is dwindling. I think somebody is targeting me, trying to have me voted off the board and give up the company." Stoick sighed, the weight heavy on his shoulders as the bags under his eyes darkened underneath the bright light of his office.