Under Pressure

Chapter Eighteen: Wonderful

Hiccup liked Brawn quite a bit but he was beginning to tire of it after several weeks. And even more annoying was the fact that most of his time was spent with the healer. But all things must come to an end and it was finally time to take off and fly home.

The children were delighted when he and Astrid told them that they would be allowed to fly home with them. Seeing as she had already ridden Toothless, Adrianna opted to travel home on Stormfly. This left Finn with Hiccup. The flight to Berk was invigorating for all of the Haddocks, Hiccup especially. Seeing as his last flight had ended with him nearly dying, it was about time he had a pleasant one. And with Finn laughing in delight in front of him, it was a good flight indeed.

As Berk became visible on the horizon, Hiccup realized he had been slightly tense ever since leaving. He relaxed his muscles and took a deep sigh. Home had never looked so wonderful.

The moment they touched down, a cheer rose from the crowd of Vikings waiting for them to arrive. Hiccup was given a hero's welcome and, considering how much he had gone through to get it, he wasn't complaining. He looked over at Astrid who, despite her wide smile, looked slightly annoyed. She never did like being in the center of an adoring crowd.

The twins, on the other hand, were thrilled. Finn was delighted to note that some of the bigger kids looked very jealous. He would have to regale them with stories about Brawn, including a description of a frog he'd found there that he'd never seen on Berk. Adrianna's eyes scanned the crowd and she finally spotted Erick, pushed aside by a lot of the adults and bigger kids but looking happy that his best friend was home. She leaped off of Stormfly and stumbled a bit before running toward him and throwing her arms around him. He very nearly fell backward with the force of the hug but he cheerfully returned it.

The moment he had touched down, Snotlout made a beeline for Heather and lifted his little daughter out of her arms before kissing her. Astrid looked over and watched the couple interact for a few minutes. She couldn't help but notice that Heather was positively glowing and she had a strong feeling that there was a very wonderful reason. She would have to wait and see.

Lotus announced that there would be a party in the Great Hall to celebrate Hiccup's return and the twins' and Astrid's birthdays. Astrid had almost forgotten about her own birthday and rolled her eyes as they were herded toward the Hall by a group of excitable Vikings and dragons.

It seemed like there was always a reason for celebration on Berk. Perhaps Stoick's recent death had made everyone more determined to enjoy life. Or, more likely, maybe the Hooligans liked a good party. Either way, this was an excellent reason to get out the mead and celebrate the return of the chief and his family.

As they finally got to the Great Hall, questions started pouring in. The Hooligans begged for details on the fight and Hiccup was elusive as he could with little ears listening. Thankfully, Finn was distracted by telling a jealous looking Edgar about his adventure on Brawn and Adrianna had managed to find some chocolate mint cookies on the other end of the Hall. She was pulling Erick toward them so fast, the boy had to jog to avoid losing an arm.

It took about two hours of constantly reiterating the details of the duel with Dagur but the mood in the Hall finally calmed enough to allow Hiccup time to relax a bit with some mead (he still wouldn't touch the wine that had once gotten him drunk enough to call his father a yak). Astrid put her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. The sun was just beginning to set and the numerous candles were starting to become a fire hazard as usual.

There was silence at the table containing the chief and his wife, Ruffnut, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Heather, and the newly married Tuffnut and Svala. Everyone looked slightly sheepish, all of them staring into their mead except Heather, who had abstained. Finally, Hiccup looked up and decided that now was as good as any to voice the idea that had been floating around in his brain for a few days.