Things Do Get Better (HTTYD Modern AU)

Gone In An Instant

I've been teasing this moment from the very beginning of this story and you may have already figured it out. But I'll still tell you. The day that made my world come crumbling down, even more so than my leg incident. The day... I lost my dad, Stoick.

That day is still fresh in my mind. One because it only happened just a year ago, but the main reason is that I was there. I was there when the man who raised me. Who, despite our differences, was there for me every step of the way... died. It's... going to be hard to talk about this, but I promised you I would talk about both the good and bad in my life.

And this... definitely lands in the latter category.

- - - - - - - - - - -

After the holidays, my mum was eager to get the moving process going that I think the moment she returned home, she already started packing. When I would come to visit, there would be boxes lying all around the living room, with most of them being taped up and ready to go. I would help around and as we did, she would talk about all of the possible things we could do together, things to catch up with.

It made me smile how excited my mum was, especially compared how nervous she was about meeting my dad again. And speaking of my dad, he was, of course, excited too (which was a rare sight, trust me). He would call me up, getting my opinion on certain things to buy for my mum, where to put certain furniture in order to reorganise. To witness both of my parents this excited was something beyond my expectations, but was something I was glad to see. In about a month and a half's time, my mum was finished packing and was ready to move in with us.

My dad and I were driving to Dragon's Edge to meet up with my mum to pick her up, where the moving truck was there as well. I had come back to Berk to help my dad with a few things when we got the call. I don't think I remember my dad rushing me to get ready for something, so that we could meet her, and hearing the excitement in her voice, it honestly made me laugh.

He was driving, while I sat on the passenger seat. Toothless was there as well, sitting in the back. As much as my dad wanting to drive as fast as he could to get there quicker, he had to drive slowly because Berk and Dragon's Edge was experiencing heavy snow and the roads were already icy, so one wrong move would be disastrous.

"Out of all the days it had to snow like this." My dad complained under his breath, but I still heard him.

"You know it's normally like this during the winter time." I mentioned.

"I know, Hiccup. It's just that less icy roads would make the journey faster, that's all." he explained.

"You never complained about icy roads before." I chuckled. He chuckled as well, giving me a light punch on my arm (and by light, I mean it still hurt). I smiled at him before facing the window, watching other cars passing by, as well as the trees on the edges. As I did, I heard Toothless barking in the back, so I turned to see him playing with one of his toys.

"You're alright over there, bud?" I asked. Toothless gave me a bark in response. I smiled before turning back.

"Hopefully, he doesn't bark for the whole journey." I mumbled under my breath. But my dad heard since he started to chuckle at my statement before focusing back on the road.

The journey from Berk to Dragon's Edge was about 4-5 hours, so as the minutes went by, I began to feel sleepy and before I knew it, my eyes were closed and I lost awareness of my surroundings (university work and helping with packing for a month were probably the reasons).

Suddenly, my awareness returned briefly, enough for me to realise that the car had stopped. I wearily opened my eyes when I noticed my dad was not in the driver seat anymore. I looked about, seeing Toothless falling asleep as well. Eventually, I found him standing just outside the car, clearly talking to someone on the phone.