It was a bright afternoon. The birds were singing and the leaves were rattling on the branches, being blown from the soft cool wind. Everything was a peace. Except for one particular part of one particular island.
"It's mine! Give it back! I got the it fair and square"
"HA! Fair and square! More like fair and steal. Do you even know where it was?" Ruffnut said, throwing her fist into her brothers stomach and taking the rock as he dropped to the ground.
"That was painful" Tuffnut groaned as he stood up again. "Do it again! This time try to knock me off my feet!
"You guys are complete idiots! Valentines Day isn't until tomorrow, and the rock wasn't even hidden, it was in the Great Hall as it always is, until the one day it is hidden, which is tomorrow!" Astrid said, approaching Ruffnut from behind and snatching the rock from her grasp.
"I know, wait? Do I?" Tuffnut fumbled with his thoughts as Astrid smacked her face from the stupidity of him, and walked back to the Great Hall.
"Twins trying to steal it again?" Asked Hiccup, sitting down on a large rock next to the entrance of the Hall.
"Yep. I really don't know what is wrong with them. Valentines Day is supposed to be a happy, peaceful day. Just a little hunt. But the whole week before it is just filled with punches and kicks from people trying to steal the rock.
"Yeah, because you aren't prone to violence." Hiccup said, grinning.
"Har, har. Very funny" She said, walking in to the Great Hall to return the rock.
Gobber passed her by and said, "Hey there Astrid, trying to steal the rock, eh? I wouldn't have pegged you to be one who'd take it, but all the same, hand it over." He said, reaching out his hand.
"I wasn't trying to take it Gobber, I just took it from the Twins, who actually were trying to take it. I'm just returning it."
"Very well, but remember. I've got my eye on you." Gobber said, clearly joking with a broad smile on his face.
Astrid brought the rock back towards the end of the Hall and put it in a bowl inside a small cupboard, partially set into the rock wall.
It was getting late. The sun was setting, and all of the younger vikings began to come into the Great Hall to listen to the traditional story, held in the Great Hall, every year, the night before Valentines Day.
"C'mon, gather round, gather round! It's time for some story telling! Stoick's voice boomed across the Great Hall, and the children began to gather around the large rectangular campfire.
It was then that Snotlout made a run for it. He couldn't take it anymore, year after year, being treated like an infant and forced to listen to the same story over and over again. He was going to stay, but he decided against it at the last moment.
He ran for the door and a few seconds later he made it outside, and he was free! "I am never listening to that story again, because next year I will be of age and I will have the choice whether or not to listen to such childish stories like that. And I..." Snotlout stopped thinking when suddenly he tripped over a large black tail and fell head over heels into a post.
"Ow.." Snotlout said, having ran his face himself into the post, chin on top of it and legs around it.
"Good job Bud, got him just in time. It would have been hard to catch him if he had made it to the trees." Looking at him again Hiccup said, "Well, maybe not that hard."
"C'mon Snotlout, this is the last time you have to do it. Unless you want to listen to it more. I am sure I can arrange with my Dad to have you come every time, even when you are of age."
"I'm coming, I'm coming, I was just… running to the, um, the bathroom. Snotlout said, cracking his neck and putting his helmet back on, running back to the Hall and yelling back. "How come you always think the worst of me Hiccup?
Hiccup shrugged and ran after him, back to the Hall, with Toothless on his heels..
"Finally! Everyone is here." Stoick said, reaching back and retrieving a small leatherbound book, and he began to read.
"As all of you know, even though this is a fun Holiday, you all must remember why we celebrate it. We celebrate it because of one particular person, who started it all, and the one named after the heart-shaped Valentines Stone. As you all know, Bork the Bold, once had a wife. She was the fairest of all of the ladies, her bright red hair seemed to roll like the ocean waves. Her name, Evalendi. She lived by herself for a long time, her parents and two younger siblings had died years back, and that, was when Bork came across her.
Bork was sitting against a rock near a fair stream, not to big and not too small, and he was drawing a picture of a small dragon farther upstream, sleeping on a warm sun soaked rock. That was when he saw her. She came dashing out of the woods, elegantly holding the handle of a large tin can to fill with the stream's water. She had not seen him, so she continued on with her job, and knelt on the grass near the stream and filled up her bucket. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Quickly, before she left, he drew a rough sketch of her, and decided he would finish it later, for he would never forget her beautiful face.
When she was done, she began to walk away, but slowly, because the bucket was far too heavy for her to carry. She suddenly slipped and the bucket spilled over her, rushing back to the stream, as if it didn't want to leave. She began to cry, for the large bucket had fallen on her foot, causing her to clutch it with her hands, and tears began to roll down her face. Bork immediately rushed over, and asked if she was all right. And when Evalendi saw him, she smiled, and it was love at first sight."
Snotlout groaned, "Oh, here we go again."
"Shut up Snotlout." Astrid said, punching him on the shoulder.
Stoick cleared his throat. "Ahhem, as I was saying, it was love at first sight.
"He said it again."
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Astrid said, punching him three times.
Stoick glared at Snotlout and continued. "There never was a better couple. They both enjoyed drawing, traveling, writing and shared many interests. Evalendi even wrote some in the Book of Dragons. But, this joy was not to last. On their first anniversary of them finding each other, they were living in a village, not too far from where they had first met. Bork wanted to grant her with a present. He was very skilled at building, so he built her a sturdy house for them to live in, he handcrafted the chairs, the tables, everything inside. He built is next the to stream where he had found her. But he still thought it wasn't enough for his beautiful wife. So he decided to get her a stone, not just any stone, but a stone shaped like a heart. He searched and searched in the stream where he had first seen her, but he could not find a heart shaped stone. He searched in mountains, caves and mighty hills, but there was not heart shaped stone to be found. He finally decided, he would make one. So he found a fair rock in the stream, and crafted it to perfection, just for her. It had a shine to it, like no other stone. He put it in the center of the polished oak table, and went to get her. He brought her from their home and showed her the home he had crafted, and she hugged him and smiled. She laughed and pointed at the beautiful works of art in the house, before she found the stone. She picked it up, and said it was the most beautiful thing she ever saw. That was when she told him that she was pregnant with their baby, Valentine. Bork exclaimed and hugged her and kissed her, and towards night time he went out to hunt for some food. He found a great turkey and shot it down with his bow. Coming back to the house he heard screams and yells from the house and he could smell smoke. He dropped the bird and ran over. The house was burning, the roof came down just as he got there, and the screams were quenched. Dragons from the East had come, hunting, and set fire to the house. Bork screamed and tried to run into the burning house, but all ways were blocked. He shed many tears, and never loved another again, for it was too painful. By the time he put the fire out, the house was gone, and his love was gone. The only thing left, was the heart shaped stone, dyed with light red and orange from the fire. Bork named it after his Daughter, Valentine. He kept it with him until the day he died. That was also the day he stopped studying dragons, and developed a hatred for them, that seemed to have been passed down all the way to us.
"Sniff, such a tear-jerker." Gobber said, blowing his nose.
"It's so stupid, I mean really, she dropped a can on her foot, therefore Valentines Stone?!" Snotlout said.
"Thanks Dad, you're always the best at telling that story." Hiccup said, looking at the ground and walking out of the Hall.
They all went to bed after that, with the story in their minds as they fell asleep. Toothless whined at Hiccup when they got in their house, asking what was wrong.
"It alright Toothless, just a sad story. You would think so too if you could understand it."
Toothless whined again before laying down on his rock, but kept his eyes open, staring at Hiccup.
Hiccup was looking through a sketchbook of his, looking at his drawings of Astrid, long into the night. Toothless eventually fell asleep, knowing that it was only his Rider's affection for the other human that was worrying him.
When they awoke, Hiccup explained the rules of their ritual game, held every year, to Toothless.
"Alright Bud, if we can prove that we are the cleverest, the bravest and smartest, I'll tell her, tonight. But we need to find the Stone. My Dad and Gobber hid it somewhere on the Island, and all we need to do is find it. Okay? This is really important to me, so we need to find it, and not let Astrid find it, like she always does."
Toothless really thought the whole idea was ridiculous, finding a rock, and that makes you great or something. But he knew it was important to Hiccup, so he warbled his response, saying yes.
"Great! Now let's go find that Stone!" He said, strapping on Toothless saddle with practiced fingers, and they leapt out the window.
The sun was just coming up, but everyone was up already, searching for the stone.
"Hey, look I found it! I'm the winner!" Tuffnut yelled, holding a stone high in the air. Hiccup looked over to him and saw that it was just a normal rock. "We're looking for the Valentine Rock, not just a rock Tuff!"
"What! That is not what Ruffnut said! The little liar!"
Tuffnut continued to yell, but Hiccup and Toothless were already gone, coasting over the trees and houses, searching for it.
They finally landed near the ocean, and not even Toothless keen eyes had found it, all through the Village.
Hiccup sat on Toothless's saddle, with his hand on his chin, talking to Toothless and himself, "Now where would it be? In past years, Dad hid it in the trees, the village, the mountain. I don't think he would hide it in the same place, so I guess the best place to look would be that way. By Raven's Peak." Hiccup pointed "He's never hid it over there. What do you say bud? Up for some more flying?"
Toothless shook his head and took off, speeding off towards the east end of Berk. They looked for many hours, until sunset, but they didn't find it.
"I guess this isn't the year Toothless, no stone for us."
Toothless warbled sadly, landing in their cove.
Hiccup hopped off his saddle and looked at the lake, seeing the reflection of the last bit of the sun disappearing off the surface of the water. "I really thought I had it this year Toothless, I thought we could get it, and she would've been so impressed. I guess I'm still not that great as most stuff. Can't even find a stupid rock." Hiccup sat down and crossed his legs, and stared at the ground.
Toothless felt useless. Hiccup was sad, and there wasn't anything he could do about it. His only job was to find the stone, and he had failed.
He curled up next to Hiccup, staring into the water.
Toothless caught a glimpse of something in the water. "Could it be?" He thought. He wasn't usually one for going in the water, but looking at Hiccup, who was still staring at the ground with sad eyes, he knew he had to do it. To cheer up Hiccup.
Toothless looked back to the water, whined a bit and jumped in.
Hiccup saw Toothless tail disappear into the water and he jumped up "Toothless? What are you doing!?"
Toothless was a fairly good swimmer, and he reached the bottom of the lake in just a moment. He grabbed it with his mouth, teeth sheathed, and rocketed out of the water.
"Were you swimming Bud?" Hiccup said, completely lost at what Toothless just did.
Toothless shook himself, showering Hiccup with water and setting down his prize in front of him.
"Toothless! You found it! You found the Valentines Stone!" Hiccup exclaimed, picking up the wet rock.
Toothless was thoroughly soaked, and any other time he would have been very unhappy about this, but it seemed that he had cheered Hiccup back up to his former self. But he still stood uncomfortably, dripping, and not quite sure what to do with himself when he was so wet.
You're the best Toothless. Thank you." Hiccup reached out his hands hugged Toothless's neck.
Toothless stiffened at the sudden warm touch from Hiccup, but then embraced his hug by leaning into it and curling his head around Hiccups.
The duo flew back to Berk, and landed next to Astrid's house. "Stay here Bud, I'll go get her." Hiccup slowly opened the door and saw Astrid right in front of him, sitting at a table looking at a book. He shoved the thought that she was actually reading out of his mind and called to her.
"Astrid, come here, I wanna show you something" He motioned for her to come out, and she stood up surprised, tucking the book somewhere behind her back.
"Hiccup? What are you doing here?"
"Just come here, I've got a surprise for you."
She silently walked out of the house, where Hiccup was already waiting on Toothless's saddle. "C'mon" He held out his hand, she took it and they were off.
It was just a few minutes later that they landed in the cove and hopped off Toothless.
"What are we doing here Hiccup?"
"I wanted to show you something" Hiccup took the rock out of one of Toothless's small saddle bags and held it out to her.
"Hiccup! Hiccup you found it! But where was it? I searched all day." She said, still staring at the stone.
"It was in the lake. Toothless, actually found it, but… yeah."
Astrid smiled and looked at Hiccup. "This is your first time finding it, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Well, I guess you bested all of us this year. Good job. Can I go back to bed?"
"Um, well, sure I guess so..."
He stopped when he was pushed forward into Astrid, hitting her, making her lose her balance, falling to the ground.
They looked at Toothless who was innocently laying down nearby, watching them, but having a broad smile across his face.
"Oh, gosh, sorry, Astrid, I didn't mean to um."
Toothless growled at him and he finally understood what his dragon was trying to tell him. Tell her before it was too late.
"Astrid, what I wanted to say, was, I love you."
"Astrid looked at him and smiled. "I know. Same to you."
"Uh, well, great! That's really, really great. So we can call ourselves boyfriend and girlfriend now, or what? I mean we could really just…"
He was cut off when Astrid grabbed his shirt and kissed him.
They broke off the kiss and smiled at each other.
"That was, nice." Hiccup said, dumbfounded.
"Don't think for a minute that even though I don't show it, I don't love you Hiccup. In fact, I think I've always loved you, even before you became famous around the Island for something other than breaking things. "I'm sorry I didn't show it, long enough to make you do this."
"Well, thank you, for clarifying. I was getting mixed signals. But I was thinking about the Rock, and well, I thought maybe you would like to have it, since you find it every year, I don't want you to break your streak."
"Hiccup, but you found it, it should be yours."
"Well, actually I didn't find it, Toothless did, and I think he would be fine with letting you have it. So, here." He handed the rock to her and she smiled.
"Thank you Hiccup, you have no idea what this means to my reputation. I mean, if it was let out that you found the rock, and I didn't, that would be horrible." She lightly punched him on the shoulder, and ran back to Berk.
"Wow, no kidding about hiding it." Hiccup said, watching her disappear into the tree's.
Toothless was standing next to him, staring at him. Hiccup turned to him and pointed his finger at him, "Hey, don't think I don't know you weren't the one who pushed me over, you little liar. Acting all innocent while I was looking clumsy once again.
Toothless gave a rumbly laugh before Hiccup spoke again. "Hey bud, what do you say? Wanna take a midnight flight around the Island?" Already knowing the answer Hiccup jumped on Toothless's back, and they flew out of sight into the clouds.
The End.
Thank you for reading, this is my first one-shot, I'd like to see how it went, so review, favorite and follow away!