Taming Hearts

Chapter Twelve: I'm Here

Hiccup limped up to his wife and children, trying his best not to wince when his stump seared in pain with each step. Finn and Adrianna's eyes had been on him almost nonstop since the duel. He couldn't show weakness in front of them. The Outcasts didn't matter in the slightest but the last thing he wanted to do was give his children any reason to doubt that he was capable of protecting his family.

Cori and Rosabella, the girls Snotlout and Hiccup had bet on a few days previously, had tied in the games so far. Cori won all the strength based games but Rosabella was much more talented with her dragon. The final part of the competition included both kinds of games so it was a fairly even match. There was no telling who would win. When Hiccup signaled for them to start, the Vikings in the stands tensely watched both girls as they got themselves through each section.

"I don't know why you're bothering to watch." Snotlout said from behind the Hooligan chief just as he sat down. "Cori's already ahead."

"Sure but it's like I said, Rosabella is going to catch up. You just watch. I've never seen anyone so stealthy in my life, and that's including the Terrible Terror Astrid trained all those years ago." Hiccup said, a smirk on his face.

"I can't believe you remember that far back." Astrid muttered to him, causing him to chuckle.

"I always remember your achievements." Hiccup winked at her and kissed her on the cheek.

"Ew!" Finn crinkled his nose in disgust. "How are you so cool and so gross at the same time?"

"It's not gross! It's romantic!" Adrianna retorted irritably. "Now hush and watch the game."

"You're not my mom!" Finn protested.

"No but she's right. Don't ruin the game for everyone. Cheer on Rosabella if you want to make noise." Hiccup patted his son's shoulder.

"Oh great, brainwash your kid into cheering for the person you want to win." Snotlout crossed his arms.

"And why not? You afraid she'll win if enough people cheer for her?" Hiccup laughed at his friend's scowl. "A little less sure of yourself, aren't you?"

"I'm perfectly sure of myself!" Snotlout grumbled. "Tell him, Inga." he nudged the young girl at his side. Her dark hair spun around in an instant as she turned up to face him. "Tell him Cori's going to win."

Inga, who hadn't been paying any attention whatsoever to her father's argument, gave him a blank stare. "Cori's... the bigger one, right?"

"Yes, Cori's the bigger one! I thought you knew this!" Snotlout rounded on her. "Are you not paying attention?"

"Sorry, daddy. It's more fun to play than to watch." Inga shrugged. "Why are you suddenly being so cranky? You weren't like this when we were playing with our dolls."

"Your dolls!" Snotlout exclaimed, his face reddening.

"But I thought you liked Barbie-"

"I... we'll talk about this later." Snotlout said over Hiccup's guffaws. "And I'm not being cranky!" he huffed. "I just thought you liked Thawfest as much as me. As much as all the Jorgensons."

"I just like to win." Inga said amiably before leaning forward and engaging Finn in conversation.

"Well it's nice to know she inherited that aspect of the Jorgenson spirit." Snotlout mumbled.

"You get what you get. Your kids were never going to be little versions of you. Thor help us all if they were." Hiccup chortled.

"It'd be a bigger disaster if your kids were both exactly like you." Snotlout glanced at Adrianna, who had apparently decided that the game wasn't exciting enough to keep her attention and had her nose in the spaceman book. "Well... more like you than they already are."