So, I thought of this story right after I finished Toothless. I thought, "Well, why don't I switch it up? Since Hiccup became toothless, Toothless should get the hiccups!"
Whelp, here it is! Hope you all enjoy! :)
It was the middle of the night, and Toothless and Hiccup were both fast asleep in their hut. Hiccup was dreaming peacefully about having a summer picnic with Astrid, all cozy in the sun, but Toothless… well, Toothless was having a nightmare.
In his dream, Hiccup had been captured by that Viggo man, and Viggo had just drawn his sword and pointed it at Hiccup, laughing. Toothless, alarmed, tried to race towards his rider, but he was held back by invisible bonds, being forced to watch. Toothless panicked, and whined with fear.
Viggo was just about to send his sword into Hiccup's gut, when suddenly Toothless was woken up by a gentle shake to his shoulders.
"Hey, bud," Hiccup's voice came, filling the blackness with a warm hope. "You okay? Did you have a nightmare?"
Toothless flickered opened his green eyes, and they narrowed into focus when he saw Hiccup standing over him in concern. Toothless felt relieved to know that his rider was all right, and he let out a snort of relief.
At least, he thought it was a snort.
It came out sounding like hiccup!, and Toothless stood up in surprise, very fearful. What-?
Hiccup!
There it was again. That strange sound coming from his mouth…
What was happening to him? Was he sick? Dying? This was all so terrifying… Toothless tried to back away into the corner, thinking that he could trick the noises into stopping. But then another one came.
Hiccup!
Toothless' back slammed into the wall, and he growled. How dare these noises try to control him! He was a Night Fury, the most powerful dragon in the archipelago! These little things couldn't defeat him. He was Toothless!
Hiccup!
Snapping, Toothless tried to bite down in his mouth, but he only succeeded in hurting his tongue.
Hiccup laughed. "Bud, I think you've got a case of the hiccups."
Toothless looked up, shocked. So his rider knew what they were! Maybe he knew how to get rid of them too. Toothless was becoming very annoyed with these 'hiccups'. He wanted them gone as soon as possible. Toothless started to pace, getting worried.
"Hey, hey, Toothless," Hiccup soothed, walking up to his dragon. "Haven't you had the hiccups before, bud? They're not that bad. They only last for a little while."
Toothless's eyes widened in fear. He would have to deal with these noises even longer than he previously thought!
Hiccup!
He growled, pawing the ground. No. He wasn't going to wait.
Toothless wanted the hiccups gone. Now.
"Hiccup?" Astrid called, landing Stormfly next to Hiccup's hut. "Are you up yet?" It was late morning, and Hiccup had never come to breakfast at the clubhouse, which was odd because he always did. Astrid had thought Hiccup was sleeping in, so she let him be for a few hours, but it was becoming worrying when he still didn't turn up anywhere.
Nothing came back from his hut, and Astrid felt concerned.
She hopped off of Stormfly, walking towards the door. "Hiccup? You in there?" When still no reply came back, she burst open the door to see-
Hiccup fast asleep in bed, with Toothless' giant form barely fitting in beside him.
Astrid paused, standing in the doorway. What? Why was Hiccup still sleeping? And why was Toothless on Hiccup's bed too? The dragon knew that he was too big to fit, which meant that he had to sleep on his own rock, so why…?
"Hiccup!" Astrid said loudly. "Wake up!"
Hiccup jolted, sitting upright and letting out a string of mumbled words. He rubbed his eyes, and looked over at Astrid sleepily. "Hmmm? Is it morning yet?" he slurred, sounding very tired. Astrid wondered just how late Hiccup had stayed up.
Toothless awoke from beside his rider, almost immediately looking miserable. The dragon hopped to the floor, yawning and stretching.
Hiccup!
Toothless growled, glaring at the floor. No! The sounds were back!
Astrid gave Hiccup a questioning look. "Hiccup, it's almost noon. You slept in. Very late. Why? And… why is Toothless being so clingy?"
Letting out a sigh, Hiccup rubbed his forehead. "Toothless got the hiccups for the first time ever last night, and I had to stay up with him for awhile until he fell asleep, which turned out to be hours later. And, of course, he wanted to sleep next to me, which was not the best idea." He yawned, turning to Toothless. "It was not a good night for either of us, was it, bud?"
Toothless chortled in reply, right before he hiccuped again.
Astrid chuckled. "So, Toothless is afraid of having the hiccups?"
In defiance, Toothless grumbled, giving her a pointed look. Hiccup answered for his friend, knowing that an angry Toothless was not a good Toothless. "No, no, he's not afraid of them. He's just feeling a little… wary of them. Right, Toothless?"
Toothless nodded in agreement.
Hiccup!
"Well, the reason I got you was because the other Riders want to take a break from training today, so they're all kind of waiting for us at the beach," Astrid explained, looking away from Hiccup sheepishly. She knew he didn't like it when they skipped training, but it was also true that he had softened up on the topic after a vacation experience with some nasty Grimoras.
"Astrid, you know that's out of the question," Hiccup said, standing up from bed. "Viggo's still out there. We need to-"
"Take a break," Astrid interrupted, her voice gentle. "Come on, admit it. A day at the beach sounds pretty good. There's so many places on Dragon's Edge that we haven't looked at yet…" At her friend's dubious look, she groaned. "Hiccup, I'm not taking no for an answer."
With a sigh, Hiccup nodded. "Fine. I guess we all do deserve some kind of break…"
Astrid smiled. "Good. I'll meet you at the beach on the eastern side of the island with the others. See you later!" She ran out, hopping up on Stormfly and taking off a moment later.
Hiccup turned to Toothless, scratching the back of his head. "Okay, bud. Are you ready to go to the beach for the day?" He expected to see Toothless get excited- it turned out, Toothless loved sunbathing-, but instead, the dragon humphed and sat down on the floor with a roll of his eyes. Hiccup raised his brow. "What's wrong, Toothless?"
Toothless grumbled.
Hiccup!
Hiding a laugh, Hiccup sat down on the edge of his bed so he was facing his dragon. "You don't want to go because you have the hiccups? Is that it? Do you not want the other dragons to see you like this?"
Hiccup! Toothless got infuriated, and batted at his snout with a low growl.
Hiccup couldn't help but laugh. Toothless was a one of a kind dragon, that was for sure. "It's not going to be that bad, bud," he drew on, standing up again. "Let's go. All the other Riders are waiting for us. Do you really want to be known as the dragon that slowed his rider down?"
Toothless looked away, glaring at the wall. He wasn't going to the beach with the other dragons like this. They would think he was weak. None of them had the hiccups, after all. Toothless feared he would be cast out.
"Well, if you're going to be that cranky about it, I'll get you some water," Hiccup said, starting to walk over the door. "It helps make the hiccups go away quicker. That, or getting scared." He chuckled. "My dad would always choose to scare me… so you're lucky I gave you a choice…"
But then Toothless jumped up, and raced over to the doorway, blocking Hiccup.
The boy crossed his arms. "Bud, don't you want the hiccups to go away faster? I can help, if you just let me by."
Toothless rumbled. No. He didn't need any help. He was a Night Fury, and-
Hiccup! Hiccup!
The dragon growled, both at his rider, Hiccup, and his own hiccups. No. Toothless was putting his foot- or paw- down. He didn't need help. He could do perfectly fine on his own. Night Furies were invincible.
Hiccup sighed. "Toothless, we don't have all day. Move!"
Toothless didn't budge.
"So, you don't want my help, hmm?"
Hiccup!
Toothless huffed, annoyed.
"All right then, bud," Hiccup drawled, walking slowly back over to his bed. "I guess you win. I'm no match for a Night Fury, am I?"
Toothless' chest puffed out in self splendor. Finally his rider understood. He didn't need any help. Toothless could take care of himself, with or without Hiccup's assistance.
Hiccup continued. "But, really… I'm sorry bud. You haven't left me with much of a choice, so…" Suddenly, Hiccup whipped back to Toothless and started to charge the dragon. Toothless, frightened with his rider's behavior, darted away, panting.
He waited for the hiccups to come back, but they didn't.
Toothless rumbled in satisfaction. Yes, yes! The little noises were gone- they most likely took off in fear at the Night Fury's rage. Toothless had known they would be frightened off eventually, and he felt proud with his work.
Hiccup laughed. "See, bud? I told you, there's two ways to get hiccups to go away: either scare them off or drown them in water." He frowned, his brow furrowing. "Though I hope my name doesn't pass the same idea of what everyone should do to me…"
Toothless felt disappointed. So, he wasn't the one who got the hiccups to go away? It had really been his rider that did? He snorted, somewhat upset. Hiccup stifled a chuckle at his dragon's grumpiness, and he patted Toothless on the head. "Don't worry, bud," he laughed. "I'm sure you could have done just as well if I had the hiccups."
Then Hiccup paused, feeling something tickle his throat.
Hiccup!
The boy groaned. "No, not now! Oh, the gods hate me… of course, I, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, get the hiccups. Typical."
Toothless chortled, laughing at his rider. He got into a pouncing position. Perhaps he could help Hiccup out with his hiccups by scaring them off like Hiccup had done with him! After all, only a minute ago had the boy told Toothless that he could have done just as good as job. Now Toothless could prove his worth.
Hiccup caught on to what Toothless was planning, and his eyes widened. "No, bud! I can just use water! Scaring is a last resort- last resort!"
Toothless smiled over at Hiccup mischievously.
Hiccup grimaced. "Oh, no, here it comes…" He started to back away, fearful of what his dragon was going to do. He closed his eyes.
Hiccup!
Toothless pounced, Hiccup yelped, opening up his eyes… and found that Toothless had never even lunged at him. He still remained several feet away, a twinkle gleaming in his eyes. Toothless' hard gaze almost seemed to say, Did it work? Did I scare away the hiccups?
Hiccup thought for a moment. "Yeah, bud. I think it-"
Hiccup!
Oh, great...
His eyes popped wide open as Toothless slowly slunk towards him again. "Bud, you don't need to- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! TOOTHLESS, GET OFF OF ME!"
And that is the story of how Hiccup never got the hiccups again.
