I wrote this mostly for myself really, because the "What Flies Beneath" RoB episode was too freaking romantic to pass up. I cannot get over the absolutely beautiful love story between the boy and his dragon, and this episode just milks the relationship to no end!

Basically the dragon realizes in "When Lightening Strikes" that he's accidentally fallen in love with a human boy, and then in the following episode, "What Flies Beneath," he flips out about it and gets scared and has a complete emotional break down. Totally worth writing about!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Riders of Berk series or How to Train Your Dragon.


It was after the incident with the lightening that things began to change for Toothless.

Hiccup, the dragon's very very best friend, risked his own life in order to stop the humans from exiling Toothless from Berk. The boy almost died trying to save him. He had stood up on the mast in front of the entire village, letting the lightening strike him, and Toothless had watched the boy fall, unconscious, into the water…

And it was because of him. All because of him.

In the following days, Toothless couldn't help but feel guilty. His very presence here on Berk had put Hiccup in danger. The dragon struggled to sleep, continuously imagining the boy drowning, and dreaming about his fragile human flesh burning from the lightening strike. He hated himself for becoming so attached to the boy. If only he had never given in, had never allowed himself to be drawn to his irresistible, kind and gentle touch and his committed, undying love…

If Toothless had simply resisted the boy at the very beginning, Hiccup would never have lost his leg and he would never have had to continuously put himself into such perilous circumstances in order to save him.

And then it happened. The Whispering Death showed up on Berk, looking for a rematch with the Night Fury. That horrible dragon who wanted to avenge his loss from a year ago – he challenged him to another one-on-one. The feud had been going on for several years now. Toothless could not remember how it had started, but when he was younger he used to look forward to the rematch every year. Now though, Toothless was no longer the lonely lost soul he once was. He no longer wanted unnecessary fights every year. His arch-enemy's reappearance endangered not only Toothless, but the whole new life he had made for himself, and everyone he loved.

Toothless knew what he needed to do. The Whispering Death had come looking for him, and it was him who he was going to get. He needed to leave. Immediately. Before that dragon could come back to Berk and put Hiccup in any more danger. He needed to end the feud once and for all.

"I really wish you could just tell me what was going on out there today," Hiccup was saying, as he tended to the sore wound on Toothless' leg. The dragon loved how the boy cared for him so tenderly, and he wished he could just forget about the Whispering Death and stay here forever. But he couldn't. His past had come looking for him, and he needed to face it. Alone.

There was a loud bang, and Toothless instinctively wanted to leap in front of the boy to protect him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy bud," Hiccup said, placing a gentle hand on his forepaw to calm him. "It's just my dad."

"How's our wounded warrior?" Dad asked, coming up the stairs.

"He's still a little on edge," Hiccup said, giving the dragon a comforting rub on his neck.

"Don't worry, Toothless," Dad patted his head. "I think we showed that dragon a thing or two about uninvited guests on Berk. I don't think he'll be coming back any time soon," he assured him. "At least, I hope not," he added.

Oh, he won't, Chief, Toothless said. I will make sure of it.

Dad left the room, and Hiccup finished rubbing in the ointment onto the dragon's wound. "Okay, that should do it, bud. You just need to take it easy."

Toothless heated his bed and curled his tail around himself, pretending to be going to sleep. He heard Hiccup lay down in his own bed, and waited until the boy had drifted off. Then, the dragon quietly stood up and went over to where his Hiccup slept soundly under the moonlight.

Sleep well, my love, Toothless hummed. Do not fret. I promise, no more danger will come to you ever again.

He looked up to the small window above the bed, and the dragon leaped out of the house onto the grass. Toothless turned back to look at the cozy shelter, the place he had recently come to call home.

He didn't know if he would ever be back. But right now, it was too dangerous for him to stay. However this feud ended, it was ending today. Either the Whispering Death would die, or Toothless would.

In the long run, Hiccup was probably safer and better off without him, anyway.

With that resolve, the dragon turned to the forest and ran off into the night.


Toothless had been on the hunt for hours. It seemed like so long ago that he was on his own like this. He had already gotten used to his life with humans – their constant chittering, and their complicated plans. On his own, everything seemed too quiet and he felt very alone with his own thoughts.

He finally caught a scent of the Whispering Death, and he followed it, leading him to a long trench in the dirt. He was definitely close.

Then, he caught another scent in the wind; a human scent, one that he was quite certain he had intentionally left behind in the village.

Fear coursed through his body and Toothless broke into a sprint. Why was he here? He shouldn't be here! It was too dangerous to be here, why was Hiccup so stupid?!

He heard the screams and shouts of the young humans, and the Whispering Death came into view. Toothless' heart was pounding so fast he thought it would explode. The beast was flying full speed towards the humans, chasing the small boy, going for the attack –

No! Toothless cried, leaping onto the dragon's tail. He dug his claws into his enemy's flesh and yanked him away from his boy, tossing him out of the air. Stay away from him! Toothless roared, stomping his feet on the ground. It's me you want, its me!

The Whispering Death's eyes darted past the Night Fury, seeing the rest of the dragons behind him. Toothless roared at his enemy again and leaped forward. Come on! He screamed. Let's have at it!

The Whispering Death must have felt intimidated by the presence of all the other dragons and backed away. He let out a frustrated roar and dove back into the ground.

Toothless was so angry. Why did all his friends have to follow him? They didn't understand. This wasn't their fight! The Whispering Death wasn't going to fight him when they were all here. He wanted to settle this stupid feud once and for all!

He felt something behind him and whipped his body around, spitting. It was Hiccup.

"Hey bud," he said gently. "It's me."

You should have stayed where you were safe! Toothless growled. I left you home for a reason!

"I know what's going on with you and that other dragon," the boy said softly.

Toothless registered the worried tone in Hiccup's voice, and felt his anger subside. Hiccup knew that what he was doing was dangerous, but the boy came after him anyway. He was worried about him.

"Let me help you," he said, reaching out his loving hand.

Toothless felt the familiar urge to reach out to him as well, and immediately pulled his head away. No. No no he couldn't do that. That's what had gotten him in trouble to begin with! Hiccup was always reaching for him, wanting to face the danger with him, and Toothless kept making the mistake of letting him in. It's too dangerous, he hummed as he ran away. Too dangerous. It's not your fight. You have to stay away.

"Toothless, come back!"

He had to make him stay away. So he fired at him.

The shot was not anywhere close to hitting him, of course, but Toothless felt the instant pain and guilt stab him in the chest. He looked back at Hiccup's face. You hurt my heart, the boy's face said. I don't understand. You hurt my heart.

Toothless restrained a whimper. Please forgive me, he said with his eyes. I don't want you in this.

And the dragon kept running in the direction that the Whispering Death had gone.


He caught on the trail quickly, following the large holes in the ground. Come out! He roared. I'm ready for you! Come out!

He sniffed the air, trying to sense which direction the dragon had gone. He heard something behind him and turned around with a low growl.

It was his Hiccup again. But this time, the boy was approaching him tentatively, hand outstretched, like he was afraid of him. Toothless felt his heart break. Don't be afraid of me, love, he hummed. You never have to be afraid of me. I would never never never hurt you.

The guilt from before loomed over him again. He wanted to reassure the boy that he hadn't meant to scare him.

Hiccup was not really afraid of him though. His eyes were just as trusting and loving as ever. He placed his hand just above the dragon's head, asking a silent plea for him to reach back.

Toothless felt the boy's gentle love wash over him and before he could convince himself otherwise, his heart answered the plea. He could not fight it. The simple touch of his hand against his skin flushed away all the anger and confusion that he was feeling. One look into his green eyes and everything was right again.

"Hey bud," Hiccup smiled, running his hands under his chin and pressing his cheek against his head in a tender embrace. Toothless closed his eyes. Oh my love, he purred, cherishing the blissful, precious touch of his soft hands. Why must you be so irresistible?

"You had me so worried there for a while. You haven't been yourself lately," Hiccup rubbed his thumb against his cheek. "Its good to see you're still you."

Just as Toothless' heart began to calm, there was a crash from the ground in front of them. The Whispering Death soared threateningly into the air.

NIGHT FURY! The dragon roared. I CHALLENGE YOU!

Hiccup continued to speak soothing words, but Toothless was no longer listening. He had to take the challenge and end this on-going feud so that it would never bother him again.

He leaped towards the Whispering Death and took off into the air, firing plasma blasts at the beast. The Night Fury was off balance though. He glanced back at his tail. He had forgotten that he couldn't actually fly on his own. The Whispering Death smacked his spiny tail at him and Toothless tumbled to the ground. He managed to stay on his feet though.

He stubbornly tried again, flapping his wings into the air. His broken tail made it nearly impossible to fly straight or get very far off the ground. The Whispering Death fired on him, knocking him easily onto his back. Toothless struggled quickly to right himself on the ground.

Okay, so he had limitations. He leaped up a few more times, trying to maintain stature against his enemy. He wouldn't be able to do much in the air. As he readied himself on the ground to blast again, he felt the presence of his friends behind him.

I told you guys to stay out of it! He roared back at them. At least the dragons listened. But they're being here had served as a distraction and allowed the Whispering Death to take another shot at him. Toothless scrambled out of the way of the attack, but before he could make a comeback the dragon fired on him again, knocking him to the edge of the cliff leading into the canyon.

Toothless roared angrily. That blow had disoriented him. Then, the Whispering Death rammed himself into the rocks, and the ground crumbled around the Night Fury. Now he was trapped on only a small strip of rock that butted up from the canyon. He couldn't fly. He had nowhere to go.

His enemy soared above him and blasted at him again, forcing him to jump back. Toothless began to panic. The Whispering Death continued to fire over and over, and Toothless hopped around his small bit of land like a frantic bunny. He almost tripped over the edge. I can't fly! The Night Fury cried. I can't fly!

You can fly, he remembered. You can fly with him.

Toothless turned his head to look across the canyon to where his friends were. Hiccup stood on the edge of the cliff, watching the dragon with a strangely composed and determined expression on his face. Before Toothless could decipher it, the boy lifted his arms, and calmly stepped over the edge.

Toothless felt his heart come to a complete stop. Watching the boy fall was like watching his own life flash before his eyes. He forgot about the Whispering Death. He forgot about ending the feud. He forgot that he was missing a tail fin and couldn't fly. All he knew was that his boy was falling to his death. And if Hiccup was going to die, then Toothless would die too. Because they fell together. They always fell together.

The dragon leaped into the canyon and flapped his wings hard so that he could reach the boy in time. Hiccup! He cried out frantically. He had to save him. He had to save him.

He felt Hiccup's hands grip the saddle and his legs wrapped around his back. The dragon braced his wings and he felt his tail fin open, just as they were about to crash to the canyon floor. He caught the wind and they hovered over the ground for a moment. Toothless let out a relieved breath, so grateful that they were okay. That was very very scary.

"You save me, I save you," Hiccup said, rubbing his hand over the dragon's head. "That's the way it is."

Toothless soared up from the canyon, feeling so so very powerful. He had his boy with him now, and he was strong. When he had Hiccup he could do anything. When they flew together, they were one.

In all of his fear and paranoia, Toothless had forgotten how much he needed Hiccup in his life. He realized that by trying to push Hiccup away, he was only endangering himself more. He'd forgotten that love went both ways. They needed each other. They were safe as long as they were together.


Eh, cheesy ending I know. But it was fun to write! Let me know your thoughts in the reviews!