A/N: Ok, so this is the product of a bored HTTYD fan with nothing better to do but type some healthy angst. You like? :D I have no plans to continue, though. Good thing, too. I still need to rewrite the ending of 'Our Duty is To Protect'.

"YOU'RE NEVER SATISFIED!"

Silence.

Hiccup stood in front of the entire tribe, his fists clenched by his sides, glaring at his father.

"You're never satisfied! So I'm not strong, so I'm not your perfect Viking boy who chucks axes at people's heads and picks fights with every dragon he meets! I'm not PERFECT! When will you accept that?"

"Hiccup," Stoick began, "I understand you're upset. We all are—

"No!" Hiccup said angrily. "No, Dad, this isn't about me being 'upset' about Mom! She died over a year ago, and you can't chalk this up to grief for her! I. Am. DONE trying to make you happy! Whenever I try to please you, it always ends badly! It always ends with you yelling at me or telling me I'll never be good enough! All it takes—

And here tears began streaming down Hiccup's freckled face, but he swiped at them, still angry. "—All it takes is for you to say the words, to disown me, Dad, and then we're done. It's over. Are you gonna do it today, or wait until we don't consider each other family anymore?"

There was silence.

"Hiccup," Stoick said hesitantly, "come inside and we'll—we'll talk this over—

"No!" Hiccup interrupted angrily. "It's too late to 'talk it over' Dad! We had months – years really, to talk everything over, and you…you RUINED it, you ruined EVERYTHING! But oh, it's ok, it's perfectly fine, because you're the CHIEF, and I'm just a stupid little KID, the SCREW-UP of Berk!"

"Hiccup—

"I'm done." Hiccup went back inside his house, and came out with a strange vest, his sketchpad and charcoal stick, and a small bottle of squid ink.

He shoved the bottle, sketchpad and stick inside his vest, leaving his hands free to carry the other vest, which he went towards Raven's Point Forest with.

"Where are you going?" Stoick called.

"I'm going to the only person who cares about Hiccup the Useless!" Hiccup called back cuttingly, not even looking over his shoulder.

"Hiccup—Stoick huffed and puffed and ran after him, but Hiccup soon disappeared between two close boulders and Stoick couldn't fit his broad shoulders through.

He watched, however, as Hiccup called, "Toothless!" He stripped off his regular vest and buckled on the weird one, and, to Stoick's astonishment, a jet black Night Fury came tromping towards Hiccup.

Stoick wanted to tell him to run, but Hiccup did.

But he ran towards the dragon.

Toothless licked his rider's cheek affectionately and Hiccup smiled sadly. "We're leaving Berk, Toothless."

The playful mood of the dragon disappeared.

"Call me weak, but I can't take it," Hiccup said, discouraged. "They only like me because I'm a stupid dragon trainer! They think I kill them, hurt them, but all I do is subdue them gently! When will anyone get that, Toothless?" Hiccup's brow was knitted, his deep green eyes an endless sea of hurt and confusion.

"It just upsets me," he confessed. Then he reached over and swung one leg over the dragon's back. "Come on, Toothless. Let's get out of here."

"Hiccup!" Stoick forced himself away, back to the village, watching as Hiccup flew away on a Night Fury.

Several Vikings loaded their bows and took aim, but Stoick called them off.

"Don't shoot! That's my son!"

Hiccup looked down as the cry echoed, "THAT'S MY SON!"

Had his father really just told them not to shoot?

Hiccup's eyes filled with tears. Before he could rethink it, he whispered, "Go back, Toothless. Maybe…maybe this can be sorted out."