Once the kiss ended with the interruption of two warbbling Furies, Hiccup's mind started again to work. The two young men walked towards the camp, holding hands, one talking softly to his dragon, the other thinking.
After this invigorating talk making him remember what he believed in and was ready to fight for, Hiccup made a decision. He was planing on making it official soon, surely during the evening banquet which the vikings seemed found of during the building of the village.
He had decided to make official the settlement of New Berk on this island, and give up on the Hidden World. However, he was also planning on imposing a restriction of using the dragons for work, establish new rules so the winged creatured would be more free, and most avoid to keep them all in the village with them. Vikings, like dragons, needed more space from each other. They had to get a lesson from the overbusy former-Berk.
Anyway, New Berk was only a tiny isle in the huge fortress island, there was way enough space for letting the dragons live their own life, and let the ones who wanted to stay, live within the village, and let the ones who wanted to get back to their roots leave for the Hidden World. Hiccup decided that, starting from this day, they were no more forcing a dragon to stay, nore to leave if they wanted to stay. Dragons deserved to choose their own way of life.
Conscious these changes were not going to be easily accepted, nore easy to annonce, he asked advices from Gobber, Elska, Astrid and Fishlegs. They helped him write a speech for the clan. The news of the exodus had not been welcomed because it had been rushed, improvised, so Hiccup wanted to do the things right, this time.
As the ground floor of the brand new chief hutt served as a reunion place for the five busy vikings, the first story was supposed to be a relaxing place but was actually theatre of the commotion of five too energic young dragons.
As the travel to the Hidden World had made him tired, Joke had already eaten and was going to bed early to get rest. No one blamed him for that, the pregnancy seemed to be an excuse everyone was giving him without questioning.
Astrid quickly left the reunion to visit her brother and help him with the dragons. She couldn't help but laugh as she entered the room, seeing him lying on the bed and surrounded by the Night Lights.
If Nightsky was perfectly calm in his arms, Daylight had climbed on the bed-head while Duskstorm and Moonshine were wrestling by the foot of the bed, threatening to get under it at any moment.
Toothless was sound asleep in a corner of the room, Midnight sprawled on his head in the same passed out state, and Lumiverse was sitting near the bed, like a guard here to protect Joke, eyeing her youngest baby with a reproval glare.
Joke seemed half asleep, his head feel forward as Astrid opened the door, the light stroking his face waking him up in a jolt. He smiled and greeted her, she smiled back and walked to him. She had to avoid the two fighters, then greeted Lumiverse, before eventually sitting at the edge of the bed.
''So ?'' She teased. ''How are you doing, mommy ?''
Joke gave her a half-amused, half-mischievous look, but didn't say anything about the pun. Instead, he adressed her a more sensitive subject.
''What do you think about the decree ?''
Astrid looked up at the striped white Night Light moving over the head of her brother, while thinking about the question.
''I think this is a good idea.''
''But... ?'' Joke hesitated.
''No buts. Actually, it's great to try and put some distance with the dragons. Keeping them with us at every moment, especially keeping so many of them, it's getting stifling, for us and for them.''
Joke didn't say anything about it, but actually he was kind of relieved she was agreeing to the idea.
''I'm just surprised.'' She added. ''This morning, Hiccup was still only thinking about finding the Hidden World, I just wonder what changed his mind.''
''We found it.''
Astrid froze with surprise and blinked a couple of times, trying to determine if this was really true. Her brother's smile convinced her.
''I wish you were here to see it, it was incredible, there were so many dragons there... We even saw Night and Light Furies.''
''Did you ? Then Toothless and Lumiverse aren't the last ones.''
She smiled brightly to the white dragon next to her, yet said dragon didn't see it as she was still glaring at Daylight. He didn't seem quite affected and was keeping his antics.
When he started to claw-sharpen on the wood, both vikings stopped their conversation and tried to stop him. Bothered by Nightsky, Joke gave her to his sister then proceeded in trying to get a hold on the troublemaker. He had troubles making him loose grip, then the hatchling showed his protest by wriggling as soon as the chilly hands held him.
He wagged so much Joke almost dropped him, but he kept him next to his chest and stroked his back while hushing him, hoping it would calm him down. Astrid held back her laughter. If the three elder Night Lights had the bad tendency to ignore their father's scold, they used to always listen to their mother. Nightsky was wiser as she used to listen both parents. However, Daylight seemed to be the perfect rebel since even Lumiverse's growls couldn't make him docile.
Astrid tried to picture what would the house look like when, added to the five hatchlings, the baby would be here too. Both young men would certainly pray the gods so they could sleep at night.
''This is gonna be craziness here in a few months.'' She chuckled.
Joke rolled his eyes despite the fact he was still holding the wrestling dragon as best as he could.
''I don't want to think about it.'' He sighed. ''I just hope I can count on you for help.''
''We'll see-''
She wanted to tease him but got cut as Daylight suddenly squeaked so loud it woke up the three sleeping dragons. Toothless jumped on his paws as if he was under attack, Midnight panicked and quickly hid under his wing and Nightsky started too in Astrid's arms.
Lumiverse snarled at the noisy baby but still he refused to calm down. He was now wrestling with such strength Joke couldn't afford to let him go without risking the hatchling to smash into the ceiling.
However, everything ended with a tail hit. Nobody saw it coming, still Nightsky express her bad mood with a quick and accurate move, hitting her younger brother on the nose, which caught him by surprise. The little one froze on spot while his sister snuggled into Astrid's arms to fall back asleep.
Both vikings stared at her in surprise and amusement. Lumiverse blew from her nostril with satisfaction, then she nuzzled her rider's cheek. She cooed at him, then purred again in front of his belly before skirting the bed to get to Toothless and Midnight, the three of them settling for the night.
The Light Fury called out the two wrestling under the bed, calling it a day for them too. It was a bit early for them too, but since she was very wary of Joke, she wanted her human friend to get some rest.
Understanding everyone was going to bed, Astrid decided to let them alone. She put the two youngest dragons in the paws of their mother and tucked in her little brother. He teased her, returning her own pun against her as he called her mommy, she laughed and kissed his forehead while saying 'good night'.
''Tell me how the meeting went on, okay ?'' He asked.
''Sorry, I'm not going to the banquet tonight, I've got a date.''
''Oh, really ?''
He rose his eyebrows and gave her a knowing look.
''Look who's keeping secrets.''
Astrid chuckled and put her fists on her hips.
''Hey, I've got my own life, too. But, if it can reassure you, of course I was going to tell you... Later, when it won't be 'new' anymore.''
He only smiled in reply. Of course he knew she would have told him, he was just teasing her. He had to find a payback for all the gaga she was making him bare for the last weeks.
''Can I have a name, at least ?''
''You know him, that's all I can tell you.''
''Everyone knows everyone here.''
The young woman smirked at him. Joke knew her all too well to know he would not make her spil it.
''Nevermind, I'll find out sooner or later.'' He said with a false-menacing-tone.
Actually, he already had supcisions. He knew her acquaintances, with whom she was spending most of her time, and he had noticed this thing between Eret and her.
They had to admit the former-trapper had got quite a cold welcoming three years prior, and Astrid had been the one who had defended him the most, even more than Hiccup.
Joke kept his thoughts to himself and smiled to his sister, who left the room. He waited a bit longer before blowing out the candle resting on the table near the bed. In the darkness, lulled by the sound of seven dragons breathing next to him, Joke started to think.
Things were beginning to get settled in New Berk, Hiccup had found back hope and self-confidence, Kosmozis and his men were still far from finding out their location, and the shape of their island assured them a natural protection against any invaders.
Things were alright, and yet Joke couldn't help but worry. He couldn't really understand why, he couldn't put a finger on the reasons. He came out his thoughts as he felt a new vibration in his belly, along with a short pain on the right side, as if he had been hit from the inside. He put both his hands around the growing plump and felt the vibrations. Then he understood what was this worry.
Kosmozis was still out there, somewhere, his threat was still hovering over them. If it had been only for him, Joke could have cope, but he wasn't the only one threatened anymore. As long as Kosmozis didn't know Elska had survived too, she was safe. Hiccup was safe too, even if Joke knew he would be severely bruised if something were to happen to him. However, this child he was bearing, he was as in danger as him. He had to be careful for him. Or rather, for her.
Joke smiled as he kept on feeling her move. He didn't know exactly how, but he was sure it was a girl.
''Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you.'' He whispered.
If he could have done it, he would have kiss her. He felt a bit of jealousy as he thought Hiccup could press his ear on the belly and hear her, and could plant kisses the closest to her as possible. He thought about it for a moment, then dismissed the idea as stupid since Hiccup must be jealous too. Indeed, Joke could feel her move inside of him.
The young man filled his mind with a picture that kept on warming up his heart, the one of his husband bent over his belly, talking to their child. This image made him smile, a soft and warm smile he kept on his face until he finally fell asleep.
* * *
Two more weeks had elapsed and things were getting a turn on New Berk. Non only were there more houses than tents, but the decree had also been adopted. It was even starting to be turned into practice. The great majority of the dragons had been gone back to the wild, making the village look more like what he had been during the first years of peace. Vikings had established a 'free dragon week' which would be organized every two or three months, consisting in forbiding dragon working during this week.
If most of the vikings went along the decree, others had difficulties to do so and kept their dragons with them. Astrid and Eret were seen together more often, comforting Joke in his hypothesis about his sister's relationship. Hiccup and his husband had enjoyed two days without the Fury family in the house, allowing them to get the silence and privacy they needed to rest.
A few expeditions had been put in charge of mapping the huge island and identify the best places to settle the dragons. Fishlegs proposed to build some bases in several locations so they could keep an eye on the winged creatures and keep them accustomed to viking's presence so they won't go back to complete wild state, which would in the end cause some fights between the two peoples.
If dragons were getting more and more freedom outside of New Berk isle, some of them just couldn't leave, and some vikings couldn't let them leave either. It was the case of Snotlout and the Thorston twins, mostly, they used to keep their dragons with them all the time.
If this was the vikings holding back the dragons and the dragons staying by habits or because they wanted to, it was difficult to say. As it was now forbidden to force dragons to do anything – including leave or stay – this problem remained unsolved.
Jack was feeling the baby move so often it was starting to feel like it was never stopping. Now into his sixth month of pregnancy, the baby was starting to weight and his back was aching. Visits to Goathi's were increasing to make sure he was properly watched over, and the things he could do on his own were slowly dicreasing.
His pregnancy was now visible. The plump on his belly was growing, he was still hungry and now he was complaining about puffed ankles, hot flushes and his back. If, until then, hormones had not driven him crazy, the mixture of it and his family's constant mania of helping him managed to turn him irritable.
Plus, the fact he couldn't find anymore a comfortable position to sleep wasn't helping, he was bothered by the weight of his belly, and it was sure not getting better in the following months. Hiccup was starting to feel the lack of sleep, each night he was awoken by feeling his partner moving around in the bed. Thankfully, the dragons had decided to not live in the house anymore. If this was a way to flee from the young man's new personality or if Lumiverse had decided to leave so he could rest properly without the Night Lights commotion, no one knew.
Still, the Fury family had found a nice cove where they had settled, the shape was of a moon crescent and was close enough from the village so they could visit their viking friends everyday and be reachable if needed. They were part of the returned-to-the-wild dragons even if they were spending most of their time at the village. They were with their viking all day long and were only leaving for night time.
This had proven two important things to Hiccup. First, the friendship between vikings and dragons was not forbidding their freedom. Second, less closeness between them wasn't dimishing this friendship.