Hiccup knew time was short, as did Astrid. They had so much to say and no time to say it. He loved her, and she loved him, but he loved another even more than her. She knew, and felt no anger for it, only saying "For tonight, can you pretend you love me as much as you love him, Hiccup?"
With a wry smile, but with sadness in his eyes, Hiccup said "Yes." knowing Toothless would forgive him. And the two Dragon Riders made love, tender with each other as they pulled off articles of clothing and pieces of armor. Astrid was more gentle than anyone had ever seen (or, Hiccup thought, ever would.) as she unstrapped his metal prosthetic and he laid her down on the bed. As he entered her, he shoved all thoughts of Toothless from his mind and focused solely on the warrior woman in front of him, loving her like he loved his Dragon, if only for the night.

Toothless could smell the sex on his human- he reeked of it. The sickeningly salty scent made the dragon want to gag- especially since it was on HIS human, and he hadn't been the one to put it there! He growled, and hemmed and hawed, but in the end had forgiven Hiccup. They were leaving into the woods as a 'sacrifice' (whatever that was. He didn't really know), and it was assumed that they wouldn't be back. Some man named Loki that everyone was afraid of was who they were supposed to meet for this 'sacrifice', and Toothless could feel how apprehensive his human was.
"Don't worry, Hiccup. I'll keep you safe."
The dragon knew the human wouldn't understand his words (they never did, though he was fairly certain his Hiccup could come close, sometimes.), but they were more of a promise to himself than anything.

Hiccup was on Toothless's back as they walked through the forest towards what he was sure he would be his death. They could have flown, but Hiccup wanted to put it off as long as he could. He had so much he still wanted to do.
Of course he knew of the tradition of Sacrifice to Loki. Of course he knew. How many times had he been there for the Reading of the bones to find out who would make the sacrifice, and with what? He'd even offered up a chicken himself before, throwing it into a bog. But when it was foretold that he would be the sacrifice, he was unprepared. Willing, in the end, but highly terrified.

"Let's stop for a minute, bud." Hiccup said, patting the dragon on his neck. He dismounted, his false leg bouncing as he landed. Keeping a hand on Toothless's neck, they sat in the space between two roots of a tree, Toothless curled up around Hiccup, wing draped over him protectively.
Hiccup began to stroke along the ridge of his dragon's head, wishing they had more time. He knew Toothless would be broken without him. He knew his father was weeping right now in the privacy of his hut, only to dry his tears later that night and go out to lead the prayers that the sacrifice would be accepted, and that his son would be sent to Valhalla.

After a few minutes of Rest, Hiccup stood, moving in tandem with Toothless to stand up and remount him. As they walked, he began to speak.
"I love you, buddy. I know how weird that sounds, a Viking falling in love with a dragon. That sounds weird for anyone, not just a Viking. But here we are. I wish I'd said it sooner, because I'm going to die today, most likely. I'll never get the chance to show you how much I love you, and I'm sorry. I'm so freaking sorry…"

At this, Hiccup broke down and began to sob, the events of the last week finally piling down on him with their crushing weight. Toothless stopped, his black scales glinting as he reached back and pulled his rider out of the saddle and held him close, licking him, crooning and purring, singing a song of love and death and pain, the song a mate would sing when their lover needed comfort.

And in the midst of their closeness, neither noticed the falcon with the green, human like eyes looking upon them and flying off. He had time. He could wait a few more minutes. After all, he'd waited ten years already…