Chương 12: Chapter 12: Mending the past

It's been three days since their tour around the island. The Dragons have gotten used to the presence of the gang and aren't as hostile to them as before. The gang have found hobbies for themselves too. Astrid occasionally trains in the arena. Fishlegs spends most of his time in the library, reading the books. Tuffnut and Ruffnut tried to cause Chaos a few times. One particular incident led up to many a group of Dragons running into the woods and burning down a portion of it. It took Hiccup almost a whole day to get the situation under control and three more days to put out the fire. Ever since then the twins are banned from interacting with Dragons. Hiccup had to assemble a team of Terrible terrors to watch over them always so that they don't cause any destruction. As for Snotlout, he had suddenly taken an interest in Ruffnut and has been continuously trying to woo her. As for Hiccup, he is busy most of the time, doing his work. He would talk with the gang sometimes but he wasn't that open with them. The only exception was Astrid, with whom he spent a lot of his free time.

Like every day Fishlegs was in the library, reading books. Today he found a new book on Dragons. He was fascinated with the information the book provided. He was so enclosed in the book that he didn't notice someone entering the library.

"I see you have found a new book." The sudden statement freaked out Fishlegs as he screamed as he looked up, only to find the person speaking was Hiccup.

"Oh, Hiccup. Please don't do that again. You scared the life out of me." Fishlegs said as he tried to catch his breath.

"Sorry Fish." Hiccup apologized.

"By the way, where did you get this book from?"

"You like this book?"

"Yeah. It is extremely informative and fascinating."

"Oh well, I wrote this book."

Fishlegs looked at Hiccup in shock as Hiccup finished his sentence.

"No way!" Fishlegs said in awe.

"Come on Fish. I spent five years living with Dragons and rescuing them. I have gathered enough knowledge to write thousands of books on them." Hiccup proudly said.

Fishlegs was in total awe and they spent some time talking about Dragons and sharing their opinions.

"You haven't changed that much Hiccup. You still have the same enthusiasm and curiosity for the unknown as before." Fishlegs suddenly said.

This made Hiccup go silent. He was quiet for a few moments and then said,"You know, we haven't had a conversation like this after that day."

Fishlegs looked down in sadness. He clearly remembered the day Hiccup was talking about. It was the day he ended his friendship with Hiccup. He and Hiccup used to be very good friends when they were young. But when Snotlout started bullying Hiccup, he got scared that he would receive the same treatment if he hung out with Hiccup. So he ended his friendship with Hiccup to hang out with the more popular kids. He still remembered the pained look on Hiccup's face when he told him that he doesn't want to hang out with her anymore. Fishlegs sighed. He felt ashamed for doing that.

"I am sorry Hiccup." Fishlegs suddenly said "I am really sorry. For what I had done with you. It was wrong for me to throw away your friendship like that."

Hiccup listened to him carefully. After years of living with Dragons, he could easily read someone's emotions and tell if the person is telling the truth or not. Hiccup listened to Fishlegs and realised that Fishlegs was truly sorry.

"It's okay Fish." Hiccup said as he put his hand on said man's shoulder. This shocked Fishlegs. He looked up to meet Hiccup's gaze as the Dragon rider continued "I was sad at first but I had realised your reasons. I never held a grudge against you." Hiccup finished with a smile.

Fishlegs felt a small spark of hope and gathered up his courage and spoke,"Hiccup,... I know it sounds crazy but,... can we be friends again?"

Fishlegs confidence slowly started to vanish when he saw Hiccup's stoic expression but what Hiccup said shocked him.

"I would love to." Hiccup said with a smile.

Fishlegs mouth hung open in joy and excitement.

"Really!?" Fishlegs excitedly asked.

"Yup. I believe in giving people a second chance if they deserve it." Hiccup told him.

Fishlegs got up from his chair and went over to Hiccup and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you Hiccup!"

"Fish… can't breathe…" Hiccup managed to gasp out.

Fishlegs let go of Hiccup and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Anyway, you keep reading. I have some work to attend to." Hiccup said and left the library.

(Four days later)

It's been four days since Hiccup's interaction with Fishlegs. Ever since then Fishlegs has been more joyous. He could be often found talking with Hiccup in the library. Hiccup had reduced the restrictions on the twins after they showed that they will be on their best behavior and will try not to cause any kind of mayhem that big. And surprisingly they didn't show any sign of planning something. Hiccup would often find them with Barf and Belch. It seems that the two headed Dragon and the twins have formed a bond. Hiccup was surprised to see how fast they had adapted to this new way of life. Snotlout was still being the arrogant prick he was and even managed to annoy some of the Dragons. Those Dragons would shoot small fire balls at him and burn his pants whenever Snotlout tried to approach them with that attitude.

The twins confronted Hiccup in the forge one day.

"Hey Hiccup! You got a moment to spare?" Tuffnut asked as he and his sister entered the forge.

Hiccup was working on some project at that moment. He put aside his equipment and went over to the twins.

"What happened?" He asked them.

"Well,... we wanted to ask you something." Ruffnut said.

"Okay,.. what do you want to ask?"

"Why are you treating us like this?" Tuffnut asked.

"Wha-What do you mean?" Hiccup asked, confused.

"You know, we bullied you back at Berk. Practically turned your life into a living Hellhiem. Even caused chaos in here And still you are treating us so nicely. Why?" Ruffnut asked.

Hiccup was silent for a few moments and then he spoke,"I just felt like it was the right thing to do. Just because you guys were horrible to me doesn't mean that I should treat you the same."

Tuffnut and Ruffnut were left stunned at that. The guilt of treating Hiccup badly worsened. They honestly didn't know why they bullied him in the first place. They just happened to join Snotlout thinking that it would be fun. The twins looked at eachother and after a few moments nodded.

"Hey, Hiccup." Ruffnut called him, gaining his attention.

"Can you please give us another chance? We would really like to make up for everything we had done to you." Tuffnut said.

Hiccup thought for a moment and then said,"I can give you a chance."

The twins looked at him in shock.

"Look guys, I don't hold grudges against people. And I prefer to give people a second chance if they deserve it." Hiccup told them.

The twins were overjoyed and they hugged him. They pull away from Hiccup.

"We won't let you down Hicc!" Tuffnut said with a grin.

"By the way, What is that?" Ruffnut asked, pointing at the project Hiccup was working on.

"Oh, that's a prototype device I had been working on for a while." Hiccup tells them as they all approach the device.

"It's a miniature version of me bola-launcher and is the size of a crossbow. There's a lot of work still lef- DON'T TOUCH IT!" Hiccup's explanation was cut short as he yelled at Ruffnut who was trying to touch the device.

But even with his warning Ruffnut decided to press a metal plate. The metal plate happens to be the only thing holding the launching mechanism and as it was moved, the launching mechanism activated and threw out the bola loaded in the device. The bola hit a rack containing multiple weapons and sacks filled with coal. The rack dropped on the floor, scattering the weapons on the ground as one of the coal sacks somehow dropped in the forge nearby. Which ends up causing a fiery mess which causes almost half of the forge to catch fire. Hiccup watched in horror as the fire consumed part of his forge, destroying many materials and his designs.

"Oooh. Should have made that thing stronger." Tuffnut commented.

Hiccup spun around to face them and glared at them. The twins hugged each other in fear.

"S-sorry Hicc." They tried to apologise.

"FROM NOW ON YOU TWO ARE BANNED FROM COMING HERE! NOW GET OUT OF THIS PLACE BEFORE I TURN BOTH IF YOU IN THROSTON ROAST!" Hiccup yelled at them.

Fearing for their lives the twins ran away as soon as possible. Hiccup activated the automatic fire extinguishing system which puts out most of the fire while he gathers some Dragons to help him extinguish the rest.

(One week later)

It's been a week since the incident in the forge. It was midday and Hiccup had to rescue Snotlout from Hookfang after Snotlout managed to annoy the Dragon enough for him to chase the Viking around the island. After the rescue and calming down Hookfang, Hiccup and Snotlout were resting in the living room of Hiccup's house. Both of them had a jug full of mead in their hands.

"Thanks for the save cuz. Although I didn't need it. I had everything under control." Snotlout said, taking a sip from his half empty jug.

"Sure you did." Hiccup sarcastically said back.

"Why did you save me? After what I did to you, it was a great chance for you to take revenge. I would have used to to full advantage." Snotlout suddenly asked him.

"You know Snotlout, I am not like that. I don't hold a grudge against any of you. Well, maybe except you. But I am willing to give you a chance. " Hiccup told him.

Snotlout looked at him as Hiccup continued "I prefer to give people a second chance if they deserve it. And I have noticed that you aren't as arrogant as you used to be. So I am willing to give you a chance. And maybe we can be friends again."

Hiccup's statement made Snotlout go completely silent.

"I will let you think about it." Hiccup said and finished his drink and proceeded to leave. When he was at the door Snotlout called for him. Hiccup looked back and Snotlout thanked him for the chance. Hiccup nodded his head and left.

(2 days later)

Hiccup and Astrid were sitting on the cliffside beside the sea. The same place where she found him the day she arrived here. They were watching the sunset. During the last few days Hiccup had bonded with the gang quite well. Something Astrid saw as a good sign. She and Hiccup had grown quite close during all these days. Astrid glanced at Hiccup. She watched him smiling as he looked at the horizon. Memories flooded her mind. Her face fell in sadness as she remembered about their childhood. She and Hiccup used to be best friends. But after the Flightmare incident she and him became distant. She even ended her friendship with him. Hiccup noticed her sad face and put his hand on her shoulder. Astrid looked up at him and saw his smiling face and a smile crept on her face. She then suddenly hugged him. Hiccup didn't know why she did it but hugged her back anyway to comfort her.

"Hiccup, can you forgive me?" Astrid suddenly asked.

"Forgive you for what?" Hiccup asked, shocked.

"For leaving you."

Hiccup pulled away from her and said "It's okay Astrid. I forgave you for that a long time ago. I just hope that we can start a new friendship."

Astrid smiled at him and said "I would love that."

They then noticed that it was getting dark.

"We should get back." Hiccup suggested and they got up. But before they left Astrid suddenly grabbed him by his arm and pulled him towards her and kissed him on his cheek.

"Let's go now." Astrid quickly said and left, leaving a dumbfounded Hiccup behind. He touched the place where she kissed him and saw her leaving in a blissful state.