This is where I belong ||httyd fanfic||

61. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED..

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It was a solid blow to the face that left Hiccup gaping. Astrid could not have been more satisfied watching him choke and cough for air and words. But in the struggle, the shield-maiden swore she heard giggles. Clenching her fist, she snarled while he barely stayed upright.

"Y-You want, you want to challenge me to a Dragon Race!?" He sputtered.

"Do you have a problem with that, Mr. Dragon Whisperer?"

Hiccup's laughter withered to scoffs; she swore she'd punch him for real if she heard him do that again. The crowd atop the boat was far less amused. His Night Fury hissed at her in defense whether of its master or its pride she was unsure. The runaway's mother looked pleased somewhat. As for Hiccup's wife, she clutched the hull of the boat ready to snap the wood in her clutch, a stare of outrage on her face bolstering her spirits.

"I think you're the one who has a problem with that," he walked up to her speaking. "I've ridden on the fastest dragon in the Archipelago for years. You can't even get close to one unless you're looking to tear something out of its chest."

"If you can pull it off, there can't be that much to it."

"It's disturbing how much you sound like Snotlout right now."

"So what? You think you're some tough, dragon-taming hot shot, now's your chance to prove it!" She goaded. "Prove to everyone you're more than just talk!"

"Weren't you listening?" He fired back. "I'm done proving my worth to you people!"

"You're the one not listening! You're only chief of their island because you ran off like a coward instead of facing the responsibility you had here, to us!" She shoved him back, his weak armor a joke. "I'm not giving you the chance this time. You're going to face me, and you're going to lose... badly."

Hiccup slapped her hand away. True to his weak fashion, he yielded with a sigh. "There's no getting through to you, is there?"

"That just sounds like you're running scared." She said. The favor of virtue went to her this time, as she held her silence, crossing her arms. She dared him to make a move and expose his childish whim.

He dragged his hand over his face, a move his father made when he was at his wit's end. He couldn't see how much he resembled him even now. The growl beneath his hand made the resemblance uncanny.

"Fine..."

"WHAT!?" His wife shrieked from the boat.

"Smart move, Hiccup." Astrid stood in victory. "For once."

"Hiccup.. Honey, you do not have to agree to this!" His wife ran to the top of the gangplank. "We just wanted to give these people food, not play their stupid games. Let's leave now."

"If only it were that simple, Syn." Hiccup said. "Like I said, I know Berk, and they don't take no for an answer."

For once, he'd taste the humiliation and powerlessness of being left with no future where he could walk away with a wayward smile. Astrid and his party watched with mixed emotions as he rose up the gangplank onto the boat. His hand clenched the ship's hull, knuckles white with desperate disgrace. She savored it behind her emotionless face.