You Are Never Alone

Chapter 2: With Family

It wasn't long till the day of the Jorgenson family reunion arrived, much to Snotlout's annoyance. He never had a close relationship with most of his relatives, and the only cousin he grew up with being Hiccup. Stoick had been adopted as a baby when Spitelout was three years of age, and the two remained inseparable ever since. Even though they barely see eye to eye, nothing could ever sever the bond they have.

The only son of Spitelout drove himself and Hookfang down to his parents' place on the outskirts on Friday evening, spending the night before the event. He enjoyed being in the home he spent his entire youth in, the only issue he had was abiding by his father's endless list of rules.

"Snotlout! You'll be driving yourself if you don't get down in five minutes!" The high-pitch voice of his dad screeched up the stairway. The young man grumbled, glancing back at his reflection in the mirror as he straightened his tie before giving Hookfang a pat on the head as he left.

The venue was rather peaceful, particularly the outdoors of the restaurant, however the presence of that many Jorgensons ruined the serenity. Instead, it was replaced by loud voices overlapping one another as if it were a garden filled with hard-of-hearing folk. Snotlout grinned sheepishly as uncles gave him pats on the back and aunts pinching his cheeks, until he finally escaped he crowd to find the man he was closest to.

Hiccup was sitting on a bench by a small artificial pond, his eyes watching the fish dart about in the soft blue lighting. Not seeming to notice his cousin's presence, Snotlout seized the opportunity to snatch him up in a chokehold, ruffling the mop of untameable auburn hair. "Gotcha!"

In shock, Hiccup jumped up, instinctively grabbing the beefy arms of the most annoying person he knew. "Snotlout, don't make me pass out again!"

Snotlout laughed obnoxiously before releasing Hiccup, who gasped and choked a little. Nevertheless, he couldn't hold back a grin at the sight of his childhood best friend, finally reunited after two years apart. The two men hugged once Hiccup fully recovered, with Snotlout patting his back. "So you're finally settling in the city huh?"

"Yeah, it's great, I've got a stable job that I enjoy really much," Hiccup replied. "I get to meet many different people, and it's so rewarding to give them guidance where possible."

Snotlout scoffed. "Wow, four years studying overseas really made you all humble and responsible huh?"

Hiccup just rolled his eyes in return. "What're you saying, I've always been humble and responsible, especially compared to you." He stretched his arms above his head as he spoke, laying back comfortably on the bench. "What about you? Heard you even met a girl."

"Ah Minden, she's the best," Snotlout bragged with a grin. "Cooks great, same sense of humour, really smart and hardworking, and a huge animal lover. She's gonna become a veterinarian."

Hiccup chuckled. "Sounds like an extremely lovable person, wish you could've brought her here today."

"Hah, with these old goons? Even if there wasn't such stupid rule, they'd just bore her to death or scare her away," Snotlout answered as he shook his head. "She's amazing, really. Even Astrid loves her."

The name 'Astrid' had Hiccup confused. All the news he had ever heard about Snotlout from his parents were him excelling in his studies and his happiness with Minden. "She's your friend?"

"Oh yeah, Astrid's been my best friend since day one. Really bubbly and exciting if you get to know her better, which rarely ever happens." He sighed as he popped a grape into his mouth from a dish of fruits on a table close by. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about her."

Hiccup cocked his head to the side as he indulged on the fruits as well. "Oh? How so?"

"Well, you see, apparently she's been struggling with severe anxiety ever since middle school, and her parents never really did anything to help. It took almost a year for her to finally be comfortable around me. I'm just worried about her future in such a state, and she too agrees that she needs some form of help. I actually recommended you to her, and she's interested in meeting with you."

"Are you sure you didn't use the 'Snotlout force' on her to get her to meet a therapist?" Hiccup replied with scepticism. "You're definitely not a person who can make a convincing pitch without threats."

Snotlout just groaned. "Maybe I shouldn't be doing business with you. But for real though, she did agree to it herself. I really don't want to let her down, Hiccup. She's been the greatest, most trustworthy friend ever to me, and I want to see her live a happy healthy life."

Hiccup remained silent with his train of thought. It would just be a regular client he would be getting, what's the big deal? He had clients with a vast range of issues, and anxiety wasn't a unique one. "Of course I'll be more than happy to help her. Thanks for being such a caring person for once. I'm glad she's changed you."

His cousin just puffed up his chest in pride. "See? I am capable of having a heart."

"Hey, do you think it's possible for us to call her for a while? It would be great for both of us to familiarise each other before a session," Hiccup suggested, however, Snotlout hushed him down.

"What if grand pop pop sees us on the phone? He'll pull out that shotgun for all I know," he whispered in a rushed tone.

Hiccup just shook his head as he whispered back. "Few minutes won't hurt. Besides, grand pop pop can barely see. If he were to catch us he'd have to be standing right here."

Snotlout just leaned back with a blank expression on his face. Hiccup had a point. He shrugged before pulling out his phone, scrolling for Minden's number since it was his more recent call compared to Astrid's. On FaceTime, the two men sat in patience as the line trilled, when suddenly a huge face of a girl with dark brown hair appeared.

"Snotlout? I thought you were at a dinner?" Minden piped up, confusion pouring from her voice.

"Hey hun, this is Hiccup, my cousin the therapist in town I told you about. Hiccup, that's Minden. In a way I did bring her here," Snotlout remarked in a snarky tone as Hiccup waved at the phone with a polite smile.

"Oh hi there! It's nice to meet you finally even though it's not the way I imagined," the girl greeted with a chuckle.

Hiccup laughed, nodding in agreement. "Wish you could've come here, Minden."

"Is Astrid with you?" Snotlout asked in urgency, observing his surroundings for their grandpa.

"Yea of course, we just had some pizza and made some ice cream. Hang on a sec... Astrid! Snotlout called!"

Not long after, a beautiful girl with blonde hair appeared, catching Hiccup's attention. However, she seemed to appear uncomfortable when she noticed the unfamiliar face.

"Ah Astrid, I know it's kinda unplanned, I'm so sorry but this is my cousin, Hiccup. He wanted to speak to you a bit before you guys start planning the first appointment," Snotlout explained as Hiccup waved once again.

"Hey uh Astrid, I'm Hiccup," the man spoke in a gentle tone. "It's nice to meet you, and I'm so glad you're ready and comfortable with talking to someone. Are you sure it's not Snotlout forcing you to?"

Beside him, Snotlout scowled, while on the screen Astrid just stared, stunned. She slowly opened her mouth for words to expel, her what came out was merely a whisper. "I-I'm ready. It was my choice."

Noticing her stress, Hiccup decided to shorten his message as much as possible. "Just so you know, Snotlout will give you my number so you can text me whenever you want to start your first session. I really don't want it to seem like a stranger got hold of it. I'm looking forward to meeting you. Take care!"

Astrid nodded in reply, before passing the phone back to Minden. "Alright we're about to binge a few episodes of The Good Doctor. No calls will be accepted then, guys."

Hiccup chuckled. "Again, it's nice meeting you, Minden. Thanks for your time!"

"No worries! Bye Snot."

"I'll text ya when I get back home," Snotlout replied before hanging up. As he kept his phone, he glanced at Hiccup. "So what d'you think?"

"Minden is a great person. Astrid is also brilliant, but she'll be needing much time to work on getting on her feet again."

As soon as Hiccup finished his sentence, their grandpa hobbled over, pulling the two men up. "Dinner is served, you kids better have not been on your phones!"