Yeah, he...he was. And with good reason, because back during the war, a dragon kidnapped mom. We presumed she'd died in the finish, but that only made dad more eager to find the nest and destroy it. I guess...looking back on it, I guess he was looking out for me because I reminded him so much of her. [He scratches the back of his neck.] We didn't get along well back then, because I was always messing things up trying to prove myself to the point that I actually cost us more livestock because one of my inventions would backfire and free the dragons we caught during the raids on our village. And I didn't listen to him.

[Wow, this was...embarrassing to talk about, but Dave deserved a little insight into who he used to be. Who he still was in some ways. At the very least, Jack still saw him as his Boy, but his husband had known him since he was small, so that didn't count much. North too, for that matter, since he met the older Guardian when he'd been a lad. Hiccup takes a sip of his own soda, letting the fizz slide down his suddenly dry throat. He hadn't thought about his father or mother in a long time.

He blinks a little when Dave mentions how long he's been working on the coils, pulling the can away from his mouth with an impressed look on his face before he shakes his head at the apology.]

Don't apologize, I ramble myself. [He smiles softly.] There is a bit of that 'what now?' feeling after you complete something, isn't there?