Here is a little something I wrote after I saw 'The Flight Stuff' on Dragons: Defenders of Berk. Gustav is my favorite non-movie character. He needs more love. 3 I may or may not continue this depending on responses.
The day was overcast and the fog had finally rolled out to sea so it was just after midday when Hiccup and Toothless were able to take their first flight of the day. It wasn't going to be anything long or fancy, just enough for Toothless to stretch his wings and give Hiccup a quiet moment away from the forge. He knew he didn't have the time for flying right now. There was flight training and patrol duty, a new dragon race to get ready for and he was getting back logged on saddle orders. If he didn't keep up there would be some very unhappy people come Snoggletog.
The pair were just banking around Búri's Peak when a flash of purple and yellow caught Hiccup's eye. Evidently Toothless saw it too as he warbled questioningly.
"I don't know bud. Might have been a monstrous nightmare," Hiccup answered. "Let's go check it out."
The dragon and rider gently glided to the spot where they'd seen the nightmare and started to circle outward from that point looking for the wayward dragon. After a few rotations Hiccup was about to call Toothless off, having assumed the rouge dragon had simply moved on, when a burst of flame erupted from the trees.
"There Toothless," Hiccup said even as his friend turned toward it. "Looks like we've got ourselves a visitor. Let's go see if he's friendly." With so many bonded dragons on Berk now, a dragon without a rider was usually only found on the outlying islands. When one did show up, the dragons that called Berk home usually pushed it off their territory or Hiccup and/or his Riders would gently encourage it to move on. Rarely did they ever bring it back for training.
Toothless growled in agreement and they landed in a small clearing where the flames had shot from. But as soon as they touched down the sight that greeted them wasn't quite what Hiccup expected. Though in retrospect he shouldn't have been surprised.
"Gustav!" Hiccup shouted at the boy as he was about to lob another rock in the air for Fanghook to target. It looked like they visited this spot before as there were a number of scorch marks on the tress and ground that didn't look fresh. "Just what on Midgard is going on here?"
"Ah! Hiccup. Hi ah," Gustav Larson stammered. "Um, target practice…maybe?"
"Target practice?" Hiccup remonstrated, trying to sound as authoritative as his father. "I thought I told you to let Fanghook go. That you were too young to be a dragon rider."
"Well, you did," Gustav admitted and shifted closer to his dragon. He looked down at his feet as if they were new. "But, well…, you see…, I, he…"
"Yes?" Hiccup asked, gesturing for Gustav to continue.
The boy sighed. "You're right. You did say to release Fanghook. I… I just couldn't let him go. He's my friend and I just wanted to be one of you guys so badly so we've been practicing in secret."
It struck Hiccup at that moment just how much Gustav sounded like himself only a few years ago. When Hiccup had been desperate enough to try and shoot down a night fury to win his father's approval. Though Gustav was only twelve, he still had the same determined air that Hiccup had had. That no matter what anyone said he would keep trying. And it was in that moment that Hiccup knew what he had to do.
Bending down to look Gustav in the eye he said, "You really care about Fanghook don't you?"
Gustav looked up from examining the ground to meet Hiccups eyes. "Of course I do. He's my best friend," he said with determination.
"And you really want to become a dragon rider?" Hiccup asked.
"More than anything."
"Alright then,"
"Alright then, what?" Gustav said, perplexed.
"As head of the Berk Dragon Training Academy I'm officially upgrading your status from Junior-Apprentice-Auxiliary-Reserve-Back-Up-Replacement-Rider-in-Training-Fourth-Class," and here Hiccup paused. He could tell Gustav was holding his breath because the boy had sucked in both lips and his eyes had gone wide. Hiccup let the tension hold a moment more before finishing. "To Junior Dragon Rider. You and Fanghook start tomorrow."
"Really?!" Gustav exclaimed and whooped in excitement as he leapt to give Hiccup a tight hug, nearly knocking them both down. Just as quickly as his excited explosion had burst out, he leapt back embarrassed and said in an unconcerned voice, "I mean, that's cool."
Hiccup chuckled as he knocked on the boy's helmet and straightened up. "Now, this is a big commitment. Can I trust you to take it seriously?"
"Yes, of course, absolutely Hiccup, er sir," Gustav assured him. "Fanghook and me are so ready for this."
"Ok, why don't you two follow us back to the forge and I can see if there are any spare saddles that would fit you both and get you fitted up properly," Hiccup said eyeing the mishmash of ropes and leather tied around Fanghook's neck.
Hiccup turned back to Toothless and was just about to mount up when he heard Gustav say quietly to his dragon, "You hear that boy? We're going to be a great dragon riders, just like Hiccup and Toothless."
Using the act of mounting Toothless and adjusting his left leg to flight mode to cover his surprise, Hiccup couldn't help but be touched at Gustav's words. He'd always assumed that Gustav looked up to Snotlout, however misguided Hiccup thought that was. Now he just hopped he could live up to the boys expectations.