28. Mountaintop Talk

Hiccup awoke that morning.

He stopped for a moment, searching his feelings…

…

Yup.

He still had a crush on Mirabel.

This presented a problem.

He lied awake in bed, bare bedroom growing lighter as the sun rose, as he pondered his predicament.

No matter how strong his desires were. His desire to hold her, to caress her, to gaze deeply into her eyes and just know it was all going to be okay…

He couldn’t risk it.

He couldn’t risk losing her friendship.

Hiccup knew for certain that there was no way she felt the same way about him, not a chance.

“If I confessed to her, she’d let me down gently. But things would be weird between us after that, and eventually she’d start distancing herself, and next thing you know I’ve lost one of the most important people in my life!” He frantically thought.

As much as he wanted them to become something more, he couldn’t handle losing her. She was the first person to ever call him a friend. Him, Hiccup the Useless. Who’d be the most help if he stayed out of the way. She embraced him as a friend. She chose him.

He couldn’t ruin that.

His brows furrowed with determination. He knew what he had to do.

To protect their friendship, he would keep his crush a secret. He would bury it, deep down into the darkest recesses of his soul. Never to surface again.

Yes, it would be tough. It’d be hard to suppress his infatuation, especially when she’d grab his hand or hug him or flash him that wonderful smile…

But he had to. It was the only way to keep his friend.

He and Toothless were going to meet with her today. First, they’d go for a fly. Then they’d have lunch in this amazing new spot Hiccup had found. And finally they’d go for a walk around town.

This would be a trial of will. A test to see if Hiccup could act casual around her, and not reveal his true feelings. Thus keeping their friendship safe.

He would prevail!

…How hard could it be?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was gonna be hard. It was gonna be very, very hard to keep his feelings a secret.

As Hiccup was flying atop Toothless towards Mirabel’s home, the rushing wind blowing his hair wildly, he repeated his new mantra in his mind.

“Don’t screw it up. Don’t screw it up. Don’t screw it up. Don’t screw it up...”

That was all he asked. If for once, Hiccup could not be Hiccup and refrain from destroying something. He’d gladly ruin everything else, if he could keep his friendship with Mirabel.

He and Toothless landed on the lush hill in front of Casita, waiting for the girl. He took a deep breath, to calm himself down. “It’s no big deal, you’re just meeting up with a friend! Forget about the crush, forget about-”

Immediately upon seeing Mirabel, the very moment she walked through those doors, his heart was beating out of his chest. The sweating started soon after, not to mention the blushing.

She was just so…beautiful!

She made the simple act of walking look like dancing. Her eager grin seemed to light up the entire world around her. When she waved to the duo, it took every ounce of energy Hiccup had to break out of his trance and wave back.

They've barely interacted, and already he was looking like a lovesick fool. Get it together, Hiccup!

“Hi Hiccup!” She brightly greeted, before bending down and scratching the dragon’s chin. “And hello to you, Toothless!” She cooed, as the Night Fury bellowed with pleasure.

“H-Hi, hello, Mira-Mirabel!” He leaned on Toothless’ side, trying to appear casual. “F-Fancy meeting you here!”

Mirabel’s grin gained a twinge of confusion. “This is…my house.”

Hiccup’s pupils darted back and forth as he searched for an answer, an answer that couldn’t be found. “…So it is.” He lamely responded.

Mirabel’s confusion seemed to increase, but she giggled shortly after. Hiccup could be so goofy sometimes…

She clambered up onto Toothless’ back, and patted the empty spot in front of her. “You coming?” She asked, readily.

With a slightly forced grin, he took his spot on the dragon’s back. He started to perform his usual routine, checking the saddle’s calibration, adjusting the tail’s position…

He froze when Mirabel held onto his midsection.

He didn’t remember her being this close…

He shook his head, rapidly repeating his mantra to himself. “Don’t screw it up! Don’t screw it up! Don’t screw it up!”

Toothless took off, soaring into the sky. Mirabel hollering with glee as they climbed through the clouds.

Their ascent turned into a glide, as they drifted on the breeze to their destination.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mirabel gazed at the open sky around her with wonder. This would never get old.

She leaned even closer to Hiccup, her head resting in the crook of his neck. She didn’t catch the boy’s stunned blushing. “So, where are we going?”

The scrawny teen fought to regain his composure. “U-Uh, It’s a surprise! If I told you, that’d defeat the purpose now wouldn’t it?” He chuckled, perhaps more awkwardly than intended.

She scanned the ground beneath them as they flew, looking for hints as to where they were going. As they approached one of the Encanto’s mighty mountains, her eyes sparkled as realization dawned on her.

They were having lunch on top of the mountain.

They touched down on the mountain, a green patch of grass swaying in the breeze. As Hiccup placed their blanket onto the ground, Mirabel slowly spun. Taking in her surroundings.

The view was incredible!

…And it was actually pretty cold…

Hiccup chuckled as he noticed Mirabel begin to shiver. “High altitude will do that to ya.” Growing up in a place far colder than this, Hiccup was unbothered. Though…he was a bit more bothered than he should’ve been. He supposed he was getting used to the tropical climate.

He removed his ruana, and put it on her. “This won’t help much, but…here.” Her shivering stilled, and she sent him a grateful smile.

The two sat, and Mirabel removed their food from the basket. There was even a fish, for Toothless. Another fat one. The dragon nuzzled Mirabel, purring his thanks.

Hiccup rolled his eyes at the sight. “You can’t keep feeding him like that. You’re gonna spoil him.”

“As if a precious baby like him doesn’t deserve to be spoiled!” Mirabel giggled, as Toothless ceased his nuzzling and began to enjoy his fish.

The two sat, and talked for a while. Giggling about this, or gossiping about that. After some time the conversation died down a bit, and Hiccup noticed that Mirabel looked a little anxious.

He tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to ignore the rush it gave him just to touch her. “You okay?” He asked, eyes filled with concern.

She placed her own hand on his, and nodded. “I’m fine! I just…” She hesitated. “No, it’s nothing. It’s silly.”

He placed another hand on her other shoulder, and turned her towards him. “Even if it’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard, if it’s bothering you, I want to hear it.”

She was a bit awestruck, gazing into those caring pine green eyes. As verdant as the mountains they were surrounded by.

She formed a wry grin. “Alright, but don’t say I didn’t warn you…”

“I’m just…worried…” She sighed, as Hiccup gestured for her to continue. “I’m worried this is all temporary…that after a while everything will go back to how it was. Everyone will be pushed too hard again, we’ll stop actually communicating again…” Her head sank into her knees as she whispered the last bit. “…I’ll be ignored again…”

Hiccup looked thoughtful for a moment. “…You’re right. That was silly.” He snickered as she grumbled, before his expression became more earnest.

“Seriously, that will never happen!” He lifted her chin up with his hand. “You saved the magic. You brought your family back together! There’s no way things will go back to the way they were, when you changed everything for the better!”

His own smile grew as he saw her smile return, and he gazed at her with adoration. “You’re amazing, never forget that!”

She released a content sigh, as deep brown eyes stared into pine green ones. “You call me amazing too much. I gotta start returning the favor…”

Hiccup’s smile fell. “Th-There’s really nothing amazing about me…”

She frowned, and crossed her arms. “Oh, yeah. First Viking to ever fly on a dragon, and you’re not amazing. Sure.”

He began to shift uncomfortably. “I…I’m a coward. A spineless coward. I just…abandoned my village- “

“Because they were gonna kill your best friend, and possibly you.” Mirabel interjected, glaring at him.

He sighed, turning away. “I feel like I could’ve done more…should’ve done more…” He felt her soft hand on his arm, and tried to calm his breathing.

“Hiccup, you tried your best. You tried to show them. It’s not your fault they wouldn’t listen…” She grew a disheartened look on her face. “…You know, I really hate it when you talk about yourself like that…”

He paused, as he realized how this was upsetting her.

Despite their close friendship, he was still surprised to see just how much she worried about his mental wellbeing. So much so that it looked to be affecting her own.

For someone to care so deeply for him…she was really something special.

“…I don’t deserve her…” He thought to himself.

He had to change the topic, to pick her mood back up. He couldn’t bare to see her upset.

“Hey, so uh…” He started, awkwardly. “What’re the amazing Madrigals up to?”

She looked a bit off-put by the sudden change, but she didn’t mention it. She didn’t want to push him too hard.

“Everyone’s doing pretty good! Luisa’s taken up painting, she’s actually great at it! It’s my parents’ anniversary in a few days, we’re planning a nice evening for them…” She paused as a memory struck her. “This morning, everyone was huddled in the living room. Whispering about something. It was weird…”

Hiccup looked to her with intrigue, but unfortunately she didn’t have an answer. “I don’t know what they were talking about…”

“…But it kinda looked like they were planning something…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Madrigals were planning something.

With the knowledge that their dear Mirabel and the dorky-yet-loveable Hiccup had fallen for each other, they felt it was their duty to ensure the two would end up together. To make up for years of neglecting poor Mirabel.

Julieta, perhaps the Madrigal with the most sense, at first disagreed with meddling in her daughter’s affairs. But she was reassured that they wouldn’t be really meddling, just…gently nudging the teens in the right direction.

The plan was simple. The duo would be going for a walk through the village, and it was up to them to ensure their stroll went perfectly. The atmosphere would be so overwhelmingly romantic, they’d be inspired to reveal their true feelings to each other!

Pepa would get the weather just right, giving the teens a gentle, breezy sunset to spark their affections. With Felix at her side to inspire lovey-dovey thoughts.

Antonio would send a flock of beautiful hummingbirds to soar above them, framed by the setting sun. Such enchanting imagery was sure to get them making googly-eyes at each other.

Julieta would then “coincidentally” run into them, and ask them to help her with a new recipe she was trying out.

As Julieta led the pair to the agreed upon location, the others would be preparing. Isabela would set up a quaint little scene. A cute little table, and a couple of chairs. Reluctantly garnished with beautiful pink and purple flowers.

The two would arrive, and partake in Julieta’s experimental dish. Which just so happens to be chocolates, strawberries, and an array of other romantic foods.

Augustin would appear, piano carried by Luisa. He’d ask the teens if they’d like to listen to a new song he was working on, which just so happens to be an exceptionally romantic ditty.

As the evening progressed, Luisa would show up again. This time carrying a stage. Bruno and Camilo would ask if they could be the test audience for their original production, about two lovers from different worlds, brought together by their similar plights. The Griffon and the Moth.

Bruno would narrate, and Camilo would play the lead roles. Henry and Annabel. Dropping some subtle hints to the teens.

Soon enough, everything would fall into place. The scenery, the food, the music, the not-so-subtle play…everything would be perfect.

Overflowing with passion, they’d lose control of themselves and launch into a passionate embrace. Proclaiming their undying love for each other, and thanking the Madrigals profusely for helping them realize their true feelings. All while crying.

“Clearly…” Pepa gleefully stated as she finished her explanation. “The plan is foolproof!”

The Madrigals hurried to assume their roles. Lucky for them, they all had the day off. Meaning they had no duties to attend, and could spend the day getting far too involved in the burgeoning romance of a couple teenagers.

Dolores watched them as they left, refusing to participate in these shenanigans. She felt awful, knowing she’s the one who caused what was sure to be a major embarrassment to Mirabel. She wished she could put a stop to it.

But…she did know of someone who may be able to…

She hurried her way to Casita’s back door, and scrambled to find her Abuela.

If anyone could stop this, it was her.