45. By the Hook

La Familia Madrigal’s day started just like any other.

One would think they didn’t just survive a battle with barbarians.

In the morning, Mirabel awakened her family as she always did. Though this time her routine included Hiccup, who’d stayed over the night before.

There was something so odd about her boyfriend being part of her morning duties. But it wasn’t a bad kind of odd.

He assisted her with setting the table, and took a seat next to her when breakfast time arrived. They made casual conversation with each other and the other Madrigals, discussing plans for the day or things that needed to be attended to.

“We have a lot to do today! We’ve got to make sure my baby’s wedding is…” Pepa’s comment petered off into a sullen silence.

She’d briefly forgotten that Dolores’ wedding wasn’t to be held today. She immediately dampened her own mood, a dark cloud hovering above her head, once she remembered.

Until the Berkians were gone, there wasn’t going to be a wedding.

And that brought the question to everyone’s minds.

What were they going to do with the Vikings?

Dolores heard parts of what they were saying this morning. She can’t make out everything happening with them, their camp was a bit out of her range. But she definitely heard that they weren’t leaving until they had Hiccup.

“Ugh, can’t these guys take a hint?” Isabela groaned.

Hiccup, despite how uncomfortable he was feeling, managed a wry smirk. “They’re Vikings. They have…stubbornness issues.”

They all pondered this quandary. They’d barely won yesterday’s fight, and the Vikings knew their tricks now. Risking another encounter like that wouldn’t be ideal.

If they wouldn’t leave on their own, and they couldn’t be forced to leave, how were they going to get rid of them?

Camilo seemed to have a plan. “What if we have Isabela wrap them all up, and put them on a boat. Then Luisa picks the boat up, and tosses it out to sea. And then, Tonito gets a pod of dolphins to swim in a circle and make a whirlpool, and then- “

“I’m gonna stop you right there.” Dolores interjected. “I can already tell this is stupid.”

In response, the shifter pouted. Crossing his arms with a glare.

But whether the scheme was inane or not, no one else could come up with any solid ideas.

As the conversation progressed, Dolores suddenly perked up. Everyone fell silent as they noticed her listening.

And then she groaned in disdain. “One of the Vikings is here…”

A wave of shock flowed through the table. “Which one?” Asked Luisa.

Dolores listened once more, trying to discern the intruder’s identity. “…The one with the hook hand.” She answered.

“Gobber!?” Hiccup asked with surprise.

Camilo snorted. “Pfft, what kinda name is Gobber?”

Felix shared in his son’s laughter. “After hearing these other names, Hiccup doesn’t sound too bad!”

Alma huffed, displeased at the news. She didn’t think they’d start trouble again so soon. “Luisa, you and I will- “

“I’ll go.” Hiccup declared. Earning him many stunned looks.

Isabela raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah, sure. Walk straight into your kidnapper’s arms. That makes sense…”

“Gobber is…well he’s crazy. But he’s one of the least crazy Vikings on Berk.” “Hiccup sighed, as memories came rushing in. “I was his apprentice. He was probably the only person who was nice to me…generally.”

“I still got insulted a lot, but he’d look after me. He’d stop the other kids from bullying me if he caught them.” A sad smile worked its way onto the boy’s face. “I’m pretty sure he cared about me more than my dad did.”

This information was quite strange to the Madrigals. Perhaps the Vikings weren’t all bad?

Hiccup looked to Alma, determined. “Gobber won’t start trouble, not like the others. Let me talk to him. I might even be able to convince him to leave, with the rest of the Vikings.”

The old woman took some time to think this over, but eventually agreed. “You know him better than we do, you may speak with him. But be careful! If you get into any trouble, just shout for Dolores. She will hear you.”

She then looked to her granddaughter. “Please, keep an ear out for the boy. And alert me if anything goes wrong.” The quiet girl nodded.

Hiccup now had his mission. And when breakfast concluded, he set out to accomplish it.

Toothless of course tried to follow.

“No, bud. We don’t want him trying to hurt you.” The dragon protested, but Hiccup wouldn’t relent. “I’m sorry, Toothless. But you can’t come!”

The Night Fury huffed his displeasure. Hiccup tried to reassure him. “I’ll be fine!…Probably.”

Toothless stared Hiccup down, before rolling his eyes and warbling. Probably muttering a swear. He then left to find Antonio.

With that taken care of, Hiccup headed towards the courtyard.

Right when he reached the front door, he heard frantic footsteps coming his way.

“Mirabel?” He asked, as she caught her breath.

“What? Did you think I was gonna let you talk to one of those bullies alone?” She asked in turn.

Hiccup was ready to protest, but Gobber probably wasn’t going to be a threat to her.

He didn’t think she’d take no for an answer, anyway.

Now a duo, the two left Casita and went into town. Looking for a one-legged man.

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

They found him at the edge of the village. Where the woods lead to the cracked mountain, and Pedro’s river.

A group of three men were standing in his way, barring him from entry.

“Why should we let you in?” One asked. “You attacked the Madrigals!”

“You guys beat up a kid, and tried to kidnap him!” Spoke another.

“And your feet smell!” Shouted the third. This earned him funny looks from the first two.

The Viking had one hand up, and was waving a white flag affixed to his wrist. “I’m tellin ye, I come in peace.” He insisted.

Mirabel didn’t buy that for a second.

“You sure we can’t just leave him here?” She asked Hiccup, half joking and half serious.

Rolling his eyes, Hiccup stepped forwards. “We’ll take it from here, guys.”

He tried to ignore how astonished Gobber looked, as he informed the men of what he was here to do.

The men still looked uneasy. “Is Dona Alma alright with this?” Asked one of them.

But at Mirabel’s nod, they all agreed and left. Eyeing the Viking warily as they did so.

And that left Hiccup, Mirabel, and Gobber.

The silence was insurmountably awkward. The only sound that could be heard was the breeze blowing through the leaves.

Eventually, Gobber coughed into his hand. And tried a nervous smile. “Y-Ye got taller!”

“If you’re here to convince me to go to Berk, you should just give up now. It’s not gonna happen.” Hiccup spoke without missing a beat. His emotional exhaustion from the night before was already starting to return.

“N-Now hold on, lad…” Gobber spoke, a bit frantically. “That’s what I’m supposed to be doing, but that’s not why I’m here.

“Then why are you here?” Asked Mirabel, as she approached with a deep frown.

The one-handed man’s eyes lit up with recognition. “Hey! Ye were that lass I hooked yesterday, during the battle!”

Her glowering increased. “Yeah, I was. Thanks for ruining my shirt, by the way.”

“Oh, uh…sorry about that…” He rubbed the back oh his neck with his hand, before glancing back to Hiccup. “I just…I just wanted to see how ye were doing.”

That shocked both teens. Hiccup stood upright, no longer in a despondent slump. And Mirabel’s scowl was replaced with a look of surprise.

“You…wanna know how I’m doing?” The scrawny teen repeated, in disbelief.

“Well yeah, it has been a whole year since I’ve seen ye!” Gobber said, a bit indignant. “I’ve been worried sick about ye! I thought ye were out there somewhere, cold and starving and alone. I want to know what ye’ve been up to!”

The teens shared a flabbergasted glance. “That’s…surprisingly considerate.” Mirabel muttered.

So he just wanted to talk…

Hiccup could work with that.

He shrugged. “Alright, yeah we can…I-I know a place we can talk.”

Gobber looked shocked, as if he wasn’t expecting the boy to be receptive to the idea. But he soon grew a grateful smile.

“Oh!” Hiccup suddenly remembered something very important.

He gestured to the girl standing beside him. “This is Mirabel. She’s…she’s really something special!”

“Gobber the Belch, at your service!” The blacksmith greeted her with an extravagant bow. Holding out his one hand.

Despite herself, Mirabel released a small giggle at the man’s strange behavior. And shook his hand.

Something he said stuck out to her. “Wait, why do they call you the Belch?”

He responded with a prideful grin. “Well I’d show ye but…I don’t think the girl with the big ears would much appreciate it. I could give a Thunderdrum a run for its money!”

Mirabel was very confused.

“He’s not kidding. Dolores would have a heart attack.” Hiccup dryly stated.

Mirabel was now even more confused.

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

They had to walk through town, to get to their destination.

Many villagers gave Gobber dirty looks as they strolled by. Some even came to Mirabel and Hiccup’s defense, the teens would then have to clarify that they weren’t being kidnapped.

The day was bright and sunny, but not overly so. There were a significant amount of clouds. Pepa was still disheartened by the wedding hiatus, not to mention the Viking situation.

But it did nothing to sully the beauty of the village, which Gobber saw fit to comment on. “It really is lovely here!” He said to Hiccup.

The boy grew a genuine smile as he looked around his home. “There’s no other place like it! The food is great, the weather’s great…” His smile fell a bit. “…The people are nice to me.”

Among the trio, the mood fell. Gobber quickly worked to amend that. “Ye call this weather great? I’m melting in here!” He began tugging at his collar, while fanning himself. “Give me Berk weather, any day!”

“Hiccup told me Berk weather was colder than death.” Mirabel stated.

“Exactly!” Exclaimed the blacksmith. “There’s nothing more comforting than going to bed in the winter, not knowing if you’ll freeze to death in your sleep!”

His joke garnered laughter from both teenagers.

Hiccup had forgotten how funny Gobber could be.

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

Eventually, they arrived at Hiccup’s chosen location. The café.

They entered the cozy shop, taking their seats around a table. A waitress arrived to take their orders, and froze when she saw the Viking.

Grinning, he pointed to Hiccup with his hook. “I’ll have what he’s having.”

The orders placed, Gobber scratched his chin as he looked around the comfy space.

“Don’t think we’ve got anything like this on Berk…” He looked to Mirabel. “But I could say that for a lot of the things here. You’re pretty technologically advanced in this…uh…what’d ye call it again?”

“The Encanto.” She replied, making sure to pronounce it slowly.

He nodded. “Right, In-Cane-Tow. Got it!”

He didn’t get it.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, how did ye make this village in the first place? I can’t imagine ye just wandered into this place, especially with all those mountains…” As soon as he asked that, Hiccup looked over at his girlfriend.

A grin was starting to form on her face, as she knew she was about to do one of her favorite things.

Hiccup couldn’t help but grin himself. “I suggest you make yourself comfortable!”

Just as the drinks arrived, Mirabel launched into her tale.

“Fifty years ago, in hour darkest moment…”

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

“So…they’re not witches?”

Hiccup sighed, as he’d had to reiterate this point at least three times during Mirabel’s story. “No! They’re not witches!”

Gobber wasn’t convinced. “I dunno, lad. They seemed awfully witchy to me…”

Hiccup’s frustration was immense.

He heard snickering from his side, and gave the bespectacled girl a befuddled look. “What?”

“As if you weren’t saying the same things when you first got here!” She snorted.

“Speaking of which…” Gobber spoke after taking a sip of his coffee. “How did ye get here? This place seems pretty far from Berk.” He wasn’t entirely sure on that point, though. Before he’d left town, he’d definitely try and get a map.

Hiccup shrugged. “I dunno. I was flying with Toothless- “

“Who?” Gobber interjected.

“The Night Fury.” The boy elaborated.

“…Oh, right…” The blacksmith had temporarily forgotten that Hiccup had allied himself with the most dangerous of dragons. “What’s up with that? The dragon thing?”

“He’s one of my best friends.” The boy replied, simply. Mirabel nodded her agreement.

“What the-Best friend!?” The man sputtered. “Hiccup, it’s a dragon! They’re monsters!” Gobber stressed.

“Dragons are not inherently evil. They’re just like any other animal. They can be understood, and they can be trained.” He insisted, with a glare.

“Then why do they attack us constantly?” Gobber asked, annoyed. “We don’t get boars and seagulls stealing our food and destroying our homes every week!”

Hiccup sighed, because he didn’t have all the answers. “I dunno. I wish I did, but I don’t…But what I do know, is that I’ve met several dragons who were kind, intelligent creatures. The entire species can’t be evil, they just can’t.”

“You know…” Mirabel started. “Toothless has been here for an entire year, and he’s never started any trouble.” She conveniently left out a certain misunderstanding on their first day. “The kids love him!”

Gobber, to his credit, really seemed to be considering their words. The Night Fury seemed very defensive of Hiccup, and the Deadly Nadder they had with them never moved to attack. Not once. And it seemed very close to Astrid.

Perhaps there was some truth to what they were saying. He decided to let the topic drop, for now.

Hiccup finally continued. “I was flying with Toothless, and we got stuck in this crazy…golden storm! Next thing I know, we’re here.”

“Is that so…?” That description sounded eerily familiar, but the one-legged man decided to save that conversation for another time.

“And what have ye been doing? A year’s a long time, and knowing ye, surely ye’ve gotten into trouble?” He asked with a teasing glint in his eyes.

Chuckling at the minor insult, Hiccup and Mirabel shared a look. “You don’t know the half of it!”

Together, they told of their last year’s shenanigans. Of the mission to save the magic, to rebuilding Casita, assisting the Madrigals with various problems, and so on.

Gobber was captivated by the stories. Laughing along with funny moments, or looking dreadfully tense at the perilous ones.

“Sheesh, that is a lot!” Gobber laughed. “Sounds like ye’ve had your hands full, lad!”

“Never a dull moment around here, that’s for sure.” He responded.

Mirabel jabbed him in the arm lightly. “You love it!”

The teens giggled with each other, but Hiccup’s giggles fell off when he noticed Gobber’s forlorn expression.

“Is um…is that true?” He asked. “Do ye love it here? Are ye happy?”

A bit shocked by the sudden change, Hiccup hesitantly nodded. “I’m happier than I’ve been since…I can’t remember when! The village likes me, and I like the village! My dragon can live freely, I’ve got friends, a family, I’ve…”

Tentatively, he reached down and took Mirabel’s hand in his own. They then brought them onto the table, for all to see. Gobber’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

“…I’ve even got a girlfriend, heh…” Hiccup nervously chuckled.

They shared another glance, eyes filled with nothing but adoration. Before they both turned back to Gobber.

Pine green eyes anxious, scared for how he’d react. Deep brown eyes full-on glaring, daring him to try anything funny.

Gobber looked upon his apprentice. At just how different he looked.

Not physically. He was a bit taller, and his hair was longer, but aside from that he was still recognizably Hiccup.

But there was something different in how he carried himself. He steps portrayed more confidence. His smiles were more joyous. He wasn’t constantly second-guessing himself anymore.

Clearly, this town and these people were having an affect on him. A positive one.

One Berk could never hope to replicate.

Gobber knew he wasn’t going to like what he was about to do.

Gobber knew Stoick would hate what he was about to do.

But he had to.

Because he loved this boy.

With a deep sigh, Gobber stood from his chair and hobbled over to Hiccup. With his hook, he motioned for the boy to stand. Mirabel watched on, intrigued.

Now that he was up, Gobber spoke. “Hiccup…I’ve wanted many things for ye.”

“I wanted ye to get bigger, burlier, so ye’d be given some respect. I wanted the other kids to stop bullying ye, and I wanted ye to start defending yourself. I wanted ye to stop making those crackpot inventions, but I also wanted ye to keep using that wonderful mind of yours…and I wanted ye to stop using my scrap metal without permission!” This got a laugh out of Hiccup.

“I wanted ye to get the recognition ye wanted, I wanted the village to stop treating ye so roughly, I wanted your father to ease up on ye…I wanted ye to not feel…useless…” He sighed again. “Clearly I failed…”

“But most of all…I wanted ye to be happy. No matter what, that was the number one thing.” He placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder, as the teen looked up to him with sparkling eyes. He gently smiled. “If this is where you’re happy…then this is where ye stay!”

Hiccup could hardly believe what he was hearing.

But then again…this was Gobber. If anyone from Berk was gonna support him, it would be this guy.

Hiccup couldn’t even find the words necessary, he just smiled as brightly as he could. Seeing this, Gobber’s own smile widened as well.

Mirabel was astounded. Here she thought the Vikings were nothing but a bunch of stubborn, violent, meatheads who were trying to kidnap her boyfriend.

But…perhaps not all Berkians are inherently awful.

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

“So the lad’s running around, with no pants on, while I’m chasing him with a diaper…”

“Suddenly, he stops. He turns around, stares me straight in the eyes…” Gobber paused, for dramatic effect.

“…And the boy starts pissing!”

Mirabel was wheezing with laughter.

“Thank you for sharing my most embarrassing of childhood memories. I appreciate it…” Groused Hiccup.

The trio were strolling back to the edge of the village, back to the cracked mountain. Making conversation as they did so.

But before he left, Hiccup had one more question. “…Is it true?”

“What was that, lad?” Gobber asked, glancing over to him.

“Is it true?” Hiccup repeated. “Has dad…really been looking for me?”

The blacksmith nodded. “Aye, he’s spent months searching for ye. He really is sorry for how ye were treated, as am I.”

“I believe you, but…” Hiccup groaned. “He still wants to kill Toothless. And he might try and hurt the Madrigals again.”

“Maybe ye could tell him what ye told me?” Gobber proposed.

The boy scoffed at that. “Are you kidding me? He never listens to me! He doesn’t listen to anyone!”

At the thought of his boar-headed friend, Gobber rolled his eyes. “He can be stubborn, yes. Ridiculously so. But he’s more willing to listen than ye may think. Maybe ye should- “

“It wouldn’t work.” Hiccup immediate shut the idea down. “He’ll never listen. Ever. It just won’t work.”

Mirabel seemed to be thinking about something, as Gobber huffed.

Son could be just as stubborn as the father.

“Well, here’s my stop.” They’d arrived at the edge of the village, it was time for Gobber to return. “Don’t worry, lad. I’ll tell Stoick you’re not going anywhere!”

Hiccup allowed himself a small smile. “I can’t thank you enough for this, Gobber.”

“If ye want to thank me, do something about that hair!” He cried. “Seriously, when’s the last time ye’ve had a trim?”

Hiccup laughed, as Mirabel stepped forward. “And, when you leave, could you please not tell anyone about this location? It really needs to stay a secret…” She asked, cautiously.

He brushed aside her concerns. “Lassie, we don’t even know where we are. We couldn’t rat ye out if we wanted to!”

The girl thanked him as well, and it seemed it was finally time for him to depart.

“It was…it was really nice seeing ye again, lad.” He spoke, looking at his apprentice for what may be the last time.

Hiccup tried to find the words necessary. “I…You really…I can’t…”

Screw it.

He launched forward, and wrapped his arms around Gobber as best he could. Silently thanking him for understanding, and for being the only person to stand up for him for years.

While initially surprised, the man eagerly returned the hug.

Mirabel honestly felt her heart growing warmer at the sight.

The hug came to an end, with Gobber giving the boy one last reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Take care of yourself…for your old mentor’s sake.”

He then looked to Mirabel, and pointed to the boy with his hook. “He’s your problem now, lass!” He joked.

The bespectacled girl chuckled. “I wouldn’t have it any other way!”

They both watched the man hobble off into the sunset. Before he was fully gone, he turned back and bellowed out to them.

“AND I BETTER BE INVITED TO THE WEDDING!”

With that, he was gone.

Mirabel blushed, as Hiccup sighed. “That’s Gobber for you…”

Regaining her composure, she faced the boy. “One out of seven.”

“…What?” He asked, perplexed.

She elaborated. “Out of seven Vikings, one is alright.”

“Eh, Fishlegs isn’t too bad.” He spoke, as they began walking back. “He’s definitely better than Snotlout.”

“Literally anything is better than Snotlout!” She smirked.

“No arguments there!” He replied.

They both laughed the entire way home.

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

Stoick was not pleased.

“We have to convince him to come with us, not stay here!” He raged.

“I just want the boy to be happy, and so should ye!” Gobber countered.

Stoick stomped around their campsite, red face illuminated by the setting sun. “I do want him to be happy! Back home, where he belongs!”

The one-legged man stood his ground. “This is his home now.”

“No, it’s not!” Stoick argued.

“Yes, it is! He’s well liked among the townsfolk, you saw the twelve people who were defending him, he’s definitely got friends!” He then grew a small smirk. “He’s even got a lady friend!”

Everyone at the camp stopped in their tracks.

“…Really?” Stoick asked in an unnaturally small voice.

“Aye, the girl with the glasses.” Gobber answered. “They’re actually kinda cute together…”

As everyone else processed this information, Astrid began to think from her log.

Tomorrow, she and Fishlegs were to go into town and speak with Hiccup.

And if that prissy, pampered, spoiled witch was his girlfriend, he clearly must care about her.

And if he cared about her, he wouldn’t want her to get hurt.

He’d probably do anything to ensure her safety.

…Like go with them to Berk.

The beginnings of a plot were already formulating in her mind.

As much as the girl annoyed Astrid, she didn’t really want to see her get seriously hurt. Astrid wasn’t a psycho. She’d probably scare her more than anything.

But it had to be convincing. Convincing enough that Hiccup would do whatever she said in order to save his girlfriend.

She had to do this, in order to save her people.

Stormfly stomped up next to her, and Astrid began to scratch under the dragon’s neck.

“We’ve got a big day tomorrow, girl…”