Heart of a Dragon (A Hiccup x Astrid HTTYD AU Fanfic)

Chapter 2: An Old Friend

It's our hometown but I don't have much memory of the place. When we left, I was only 6 years old and now, I am 14 so I was away half of my life but I do remember some of the kids I used to play with; Fishlegs, it was because he runs so slow and he was the one I always play with, Snot... Snot-something, I don't remember his name but I remember his very annoying and punchable face, the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, they were all over the place, if one twin does something, the other twin must do something equal or greater, both of them always wreak havoc in our neighborhood. 

The last was A... I think her name starts with an A, she was fierce and doesn't run away from a fight, I remember her beating up Snot-something because he was teasing her until he cried home, he was twice as big as her. I can't wait to see them again but I wonder if they still remember me.

"Welcome to Berk. Home of the Berk Institute Chiefs and the Berk Institute Valkyries." the announcement stated as we went to the lobby of the airport, "Berk Institute. Isn't that where you and mom went to school?" I asked my dad as we waited for our luggage, "Yep. I was once the captain of the Berk Institute Chiefs, we never lost a game during my stint there." he replied, "Never lost a game... Just a reminder of how good of an athlete my dad was." I thought.

"Your mom was also the captain of the Berk Institute Valkyries. During our time, women's basketball was not really a celebrated sport but it all changed because of your mom. She was amazing on the court, she was fierce like the Monstrous Nightmare, deadly as a Deadly Nadder, and fearless as a Night fury." my dad told me and I could feel how much he misses mom through his voice, "I miss her too." I squeezed his hand and he smiled at me, "Here's our bags." he casually carried eight of our bags like it was nothing, "I can help too." I said, "This is nothing. Did we brought everything? Why are these so light?" he let out a heartly laugh.

When we were about to leave the airport, someone recognized him. I was wondering why no one approached us yet, a 6'8" and 300 pounds of a man is hard to unsee and add to that the my dad is world famous. I remembered that we couldn't even leave the house without someone taking a picture or asking for an autograph. 

"STOICK!" the guy exclaimed, he asked for a picture and autograph then the news that 'Stoick the Vast returned home to Berk' caught wind, people from different terminals started to swarm and it became hard to even take a single step forward.

The life of a celebrity, I guess. I moved away from the crowd and sat down on one of the benches, it finally dialed down when the security got involved. "Sorry about that, son." he said, "I'm used to it and it was funny seeing you almost cramped up from smiling so much." I told him, "Right. My jaw almost locked in place. You would have been stuck with a very smiley dad." he laughed which made me laugh too.

We finally got out of the airport, I took a deep breath in and exhaled. "It's different, right?" my dad asked, "Yeah. It's calming." I replied, "Should I call a cab?" I turned to my dad, "No need. I called a friend for a ride." he smiled as we waited for 'the friend' when I noticed a huge pick-up truck stopped in front of us, "Is this our ride?" I pointed at the huge truck and my dad nodded. "STOICK!' I heard a very loud deep, guttural scream and I saw someone walking towards us, I could hear the sound of wood hitting the concrete pavement. 

"UNCLE GOBBER!" I exclaimed in happiness as I realized who it was, I ran towards him and jumped in for a hug, "Hiccup? I almost didn't recognized you, lad." he said, "The last time I saw you were this high." he put his prosthetic hand by his knee, "Puberty helped. I replied, "Thanks for coming, Gobber." my dad said, "Anything for you, guys." they embraced as well, we started loading our bags and went our way.

Uncle Gobber is my dad's best friend and my godfather. They were teammates in high school but separated after graduation, my dad went to play professional football while Uncle Gobber went to the army but they kept in touch. That's where he lost one of his hands and one of his legs. He's a great mechanic despite of his disabilities, he thought me how to fix things and he was the reason why I love to tinker.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't able to go to the funeral." Uncle Gobber said, "It's okay." my dad replied, "So how are you two doing?" he asked, "We're doing fine. We decided to come back here since it's where me and Valka grew up." my dad answered, "I heard you're amazing in basketball, lad." I saw him looked at me from the rearview mirror, "Amazing is a bit much, I can hold my own." I said, "Quite a humble lad." he smiled. 

"He took after his mother." my dad joined, "That's another reason why we came back, I think Berk Institute is a good place for his talents in basketball to flourish." he added, "I don't know about that." Uncle Gobber declared, "What do you mean?" my dad asked as I leaned in from the backseat, curious of what Uncle Gobber meant.

"Berk Institute is one of the most prominent institutions in the nation; well-known for its football and basketball programs." Uncle Gobber said, "I know. That's why I'm enrolling Hiccup there." my dad replied, "You didn't let me finish. Its Women's basketball program. Berk Institute hasn't produce any notable male basketball player or won a single championship in the men's division. Our rank last year was 25th out of 25 teams in the nation." he explained, "Then it's about to change." I declared which caused the two adults look at each other before laughing in unison, "That's my boy!" my dad exclaimed, "You are really just like your parents, Lad." Uncle Gobber followed.

We arrived at our old house, it was a two-story very normal house, its far different from the different houses we had throughout the years; we had a mansion, we had a villa, and we even once lived in an old castle. As soon as I stepped out of the truck, a surge of familiarity hit me. I don't clearly remember anything about this house and this neighborhood but it felt like home right away. 

I stared at the house and I saw flashes of very old memories, I didn't know I have. I saw mom and I playing in the yard while dad was busy cooking some hotdogs and burgers, I didn't realize a tear flowing down my cheek. "How is it?" I heard my dad asked, "I already love it here. I just wished mom was here with us." I wiped the tear, "Me too, son. Me too." he patted my shoulder. "I kept the place as it was before you left." Uncle Gobber walked to my side, "Let's put our luggage inside." my dad instructed which he did all by himself. 

"I'm getting hungry, do you want to grab something to eat?" Uncle Gobber said as we heard his stomach grumble, "Same here. All that traveling made me hungry." I added, "Alright. Is the Cove still open?" my dad asked, "The Cove?" I thought, "Are you joking? Its the most famous restaurant in all of Berk." Uncle Gobber replied, "You are going to love it there son. They have this steaks...", "You have me on they have steaks. What are we waiting for?" I ran outside which made my dad laugh.

As I was waiting for them by the truck, I suddenly began hearing a soft rustle near a garbage bin. But before I could investigate any further, my dad and Uncle Gobber was calling for me so I hopped in and we went to the Cove.

The meal was amazing, it was far better from most of the restaurant we had eaten before. We got back home, Uncle Gobber dropped us off and he went home. My dad went in first while I was about to follow him I suddenly heard a rustling noise near the garbage bin again so I walked closer to check what it was when I saw a little black kitten laying inside a box, I was feeling bad for it so I took it inside with me.