Disclaimer: Dreamworks reserves rights to characters from their film "How To Train Your Dragon", on which this fanfiction is based. No copyright infringement intended.
This is a multi-chapter fic, ship of Toothcup IN WHICH TOOTHLESS IS HUMAN god you perverts (I'm talking to you Brent). It therefore contains SLASH, which means boys will be loving each other in all manners. If this doesn't sound like your cup of tea, then please click the "Back" arrow on your browser and continue perusing the many other menus of fanfiction offered by the internets. Thank you and enjoy!
Day 1
The small island of Berk had for the afternoon, been host to a traveling sorceress. The eldest of elders could recall only once in their memory a similar situation. And of course back then, everything in the island had been very different. Upon arrival the sorceress had at first been surprised at the novel symbiotic relationship between humans and dragons. The sorceress had been amused, thinking out loud that the dragons were now enslaved to be human playthings. Needless to say, the stronger bonded human-dragon teams had been quick to defend their mutualist relationships.
Once it had been clear that the sorceress had not visited Berk just to poke fun or cause any damage to their little island (amazingly, it had been an entire year without any of the houses needing replacement), she announced quite expressively that there was to be a contest, and to the victor she would grant one wish. Competitors were excluded to dragon-human teams only. None of the eligible older Vikings participated (they were wary of this random sorceress), and reprimanded their offspring, who of course all chose to participate.
"The team with the strongest bond has the greatest chance of winning!" announced the sorceress with flourish.
"We'll obviously win," said Astrid to her dragon, turning steel eyes to Hiccup and Toothless. She reached up to pet her nadder's cheek. "It's okay girl, we'll squash 'em flat,"
Toothless shot a small growl at the Nadder, who shifted restlessly. Hiccup gave a nervous laugh. "Hey if you win-"
"You mean when I win, yeah,"
"Sure, uh – what are you going to wish for?"
Fishlegs burst into the scene, his gronckle in tow. "No Astrid, don't answer! You can't tell a wish! If you do it won't come true!"
The twins rolled their eyes. "What a buncha sissies. I'm gonna win for sure," proclaimed Ruffnut, smirking and sticking out her chest.
Tuffnut scoffed. "You mean we're gonna win. We're on the same dragon, yah idiot."
"If anyone's gonna win, it's gonna be me!" Snotlout yelled, drowning them all out.
"I've been training with my gronckle, I totally have plus ten speed now-" Fishlegs cut himself off under the glares of his teammates.
All of the contestants were determined to win to get their wish and curious as to what the contest would consist of. Mostly though, they were curious about who the hell the sorceress was, where the hell she was from, and why the hell she had nothing better to do than get her kicks by playing with the small population of Berk.
For the benefit of the worried parents (who, in Hiccup's opinion, weren't nearly worried as they should have been… but then, they had volunteered for this. Well, Hiccup had been volun-told by Toothless. So if they didn't win the bastard wasn't getting any Icelandic cod for a month. Okay, maybe a week), the make-shift arena was set up in an empty field just east of the village. There was nothing special about the location, no obvious set up for anything contestable, and in mutual doubt the six teams wondered if the sorceress simple enjoyed wasting time.
"Gather round, young contestants!" the sorceress exclaimed with a barking laugh. "Oh look at you all, so determined to win! To get one wish!" She scanned the teams, her eyes lingering for a second longer on the dragons than on the humans. "Step closer, come on!"
The young Vikings all looked at each other, getting every minute more suspicious of the witch's intentions. But nobody wanted to be rude and –
"Hey what's the deal! I thought this was supposed to be a contest!" cried Snotlout. He yelped and stepped back behind Fishlegs when the sorceress stared at him.
She hiccupped out a laugh. "Yes, and you've all done admirably! But my dears, it really was no contest as soon as I saw all of you with your dragons here."
Silence from the parents, and in the arena. Incoherent grumbling mixed in with explosive sighs followed, as the parents were surely realizing that yes, this Sorceress was indeed bored and had come only to stir up some drama among their teenaged offspring. Well, they could all admit, that, without periodical dragon attacks, life on the Isle of Berk had been getting slightly boring as of late. Still, they all would have preferred well-deserved boredom than the inevitable incessant whining and headaches of the losers of this predicament.
The witch laughed wickedly. "I did say that the strongest team would win! And I do believe we have a winner!" She raised both arms towards Hiccup and Toothless in a welcoming gesture.
Astrid scoffed and gave a cry of frustration. "Why is it always you! Why do you have to steal every victory from me! Damnit!" In anger she picked up a large nearby boulder and threw it over the edge the island. Hiccup flinched and moved away, fearing for his safety. She hopped on her dragon and rode away in a huff, ever the sore loser.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut were pulling at each other's hair, yelling up a storm. "It's your fault! You made our bond imbalanced! This thing only has two heads, not two bodies! Raaagh, die!" Hiccup couldn't even tell who was talking. The zippleback's two pairs of eyes darted back and forth between the twins, then rolled. The dragon flew back to the main hub.
Snotlout gaped at Hiccup, and then at the Sorceress. "What! But that's not fair! They've been together longer! And – who do you think you are anyways!"
Hiccup drowned them all out and walked up to the Sorceress. "Come on, buddy," he said, leading Toothless. The dragon practically bounced on its feet, light with an easy victory and the promise of bragging rights over all the other dragons.
Hiccup stood two feet away from the Sorceress, who didn't seem nearly as tall up close. In her thick brown furs and wild brown hair, Hiccup thought she looked a bit – well, ridiculous. But then he remembered to be polite because he was about to be granted a wish from a (powerful?) sorceress.
"Sorry about them," he said, nodding back to the mess of his friends.
The sorceress bubbled with laughter. "That is quite alright dear! It is to be expected. This is all rather fun!"
Hiccup bit his lip and scratched his ear. "Er, I haven't thought of a wish yet…"
The sorceress appeared surprised. "Oh! But, you didn't think I was granting you a wish, did you? When I promised one wish to the victor, of course I meant your dragon here!"
That calmed the pile of chaotic Vikings behind him. Tuffnut barked out laughter and yelled "Yes! Righteousness!" Followed by "Oh man, look at his face!" from Snotlout.
Hiccup swallowed his surprise. He smiled at Toothless and clapped him on the shoulder. "There ya go, buddy! What are you going to wish for?" For a second Hiccup worried that Toothless wouldn't understand what was going on, but then his big green eyes lit up as if in revelation. The dragon took a step forward and nudged the Sorceress.
She laughed again and placed the palm of her hand on the night fury's forehead. "Oh, I see! Interesting! Well if that is truly what you want, my dear..."
Toothless nodded his head vigorously. Hiccup raised his eyebrows, curiousity positively eating him alive. What would a dragon wish for? All the fish in the ocean?
With a sinking feeling, Hiccup then realized what Toothless's wish would be. A healed tail. Hiccup felt sweaty, his heart suddenly beating in his throat, choking him. What if, with a healed tail, Toothless left? He wouldn't need Hiccup to fly anymore, Hiccup would lose his best friend, maybe for eternity, he would never make any more friends ever (because right now no one else counted) no no noo –
"Your wish is my command," the sorceress said. She placed both hands on the dragon's head and whispered a few words.
"No!" Hiccup gasped, fear stealing his voice. Hiccup gasped again and flew his arms up to cover his eyes from being blinded.
The entire field, and all the nearby spectators, were bathed in a flash of bright green light (the same shade as Toothless's eyes, in fact). The illumination lasted for four seconds, and then dissipated.
When the crowd's cries of surprise finally became too much to bear without satisfying his curiousity, Hiccup lowered his arms and blinked his eyes open.
Standing in front of him was a boy, exactly his height, with unmistakable bright green eyes. To this day Hiccup was impressed that he hadn't blurted out "Where's Toothless?" The whole population of Berk ran down from their respective spots to gaze and blink in wonder, some having no trouble immediately believing that a dragon had just transformed into a human boy.
"T… Toothless?" whispered Hiccup in a daze. He blinked again. It was impossible – was this possible? He glanced back up at the Sorceress, bug-eyed and mouth hanging open in shock.
The boy beamed at him, smiling with a full set of white teeth. "Hiccup," he said. Or at least tried to; his voice was gravelly and the rough word had been lost. He frowned and cleared his throat. "Hiccup!" he repeated in a clear, determined voice. Everyone around him gasped. His smile grew wider.
"He will remain like this for six moons," the Sorceress announced. "On the seventh morning he will return to his original form. Until then, have fun!" And with a puff of smoke, the weirdest guest in Berk's history had disappeared, leaving behind her a gaping crowd of amazed and puzzled Vikings, and one less dragon than there had been before.
Hiccup drowned out everything around him. He drowned out Fishlegs analyzing human Toothless ("I wonder how dragon stats transfer to human!"), the verbal mocking of the twins ("He's prettier than you!"), and the disappointed cries of Snotlout ("It's not fair!"). Astrid was missing all the excitement, probably somewhere sulking up a storm.
Instead, Hiccup just stared at Toothless. As a human he had windswept thick black hair, pushed back from his forehead as if he were in flight, the same bright green eyes with slightly slit pupils, and an oval face. His proportions were exactly the same as Hiccup's and – Hiccup gasped – his left leg was in the same condition as Hiccup's. Which only made sense, he thought. The absent left tail appendage had transferred to an absent left foot, replaced by a simple wooden prosthetic (Hiccup would have to make him a metal, spring-loaded replacement). The sorceress had dressed Toothless in typical Viking style clothing: a thick black fur vest that draped over his shoulders, a dark gray wool shirt tucked into a leather belt around the waist, thick wool pants and black fur boots. Hiccup was rather impressed.
And then, without any warning whatsoever, not even a change in facial expression, Toothless had snatched Hiccup into a bone-crushing hug. Toothless barked out a laugh and lifted Hiccup into the air.
"Ah, argh, Toothless!" Hiccup said, laughing and squirming. "Put me down! Argh, you're going to crack a rib! Geez, I think you still have your dragon strength!" he gasped, half choking for breath and struggling to escape.
Toothless lowered Hiccup to the ground and, holding his face, kissed him right on the lips.
Hiccup turned bright red and shoved Toothless away from him, spluttering.
"Eeeeeww!" Ruffnut.
"Oh my God! Astrid should have stayed! That was GREAT!" Tuffnut, with bonus fake retching noises added.
"He kissed him! THEY KISSED! ODIN that's gross!" Snotlout.
Stoick and Gobber exchanged worried glances, neither of them really sure if any of this was even real or not.
Toothless released Hiccup and frowned, stepping back.
"Toothless! You – you can't do that!"
Toothless cocked his head sideways, frown deepening. "Why not? I've seen the human female do it to you before. It makes you happy," he said. "And you always turn red when you like it, and you're red right now!"
Hiccup, if it was possible, became even redder. "Y-yeah but, Astrid's a girl! You're – you're not! You weren't even human a second ago! So you can't kiss me, got it?" Hiccup sighed explosively and turned to his 'friends'. "Will you guys shut up!"
The twins put their hands up. "Woah, calm down lover boy!" they said simultaneously.
"Yeah, we all knew you love dragons, but this is too much!" Snotlout said, laughing and pointing.
Fishlegs just appeared extremely uncomfortable with all of it and didn't seem to know where to look.
Toothless took a shaky step backward from Hiccup, eyebrows furrowed. His pupils tightened and, with pursed lips, he turned and ran (awkwardly) away from everyone. The reaction was completely predictable and familiar to Hiccup, and therefore only increased the surrealism of it all. Had Toothless really turned into a human?
Had Toothless really just kissed him?!
Or maybe they were all caught in some tricky illusory fantasy set upon them by the visiting sorceress?
Hiccup shook his head fiercely. No, because then that truth would mean Hiccup fantasized about Toothless kissing him. And, up until five minutes ago, Toothless had existed as a dragon. And that was just… No.
And Hiccup knew that Toothless would be stuck in a miserable, stubborn sulk until Hiccup went to him. Sighing and ignoring everyone around him (much easier lately, for some reason), Hiccup ran after Toothless (as best he could with his leg). The comforting part of it all was that Toothless was now grounded and couldn't escape off of the isle. Unless he wanted to die of hypothermia.
At first Hiccup was unsuccessful in his search. Frustrated, he stopped. It was like trying to find a lost downed dragon again – Hiccup cried out in irritation, not believing his own stupidity. For the last few minutes he'd been trying to find a night fury, in his haste completely forgetting the novelty of the whole situation. Look for a morose teenage boy, you idiot, not a mopey night fury! And then with another epiphany Hiccup knew without a doubt where Toothless had run off to.
Hiccup made his way slowly to the cove (their cove), ignoring the increasing sense of déjà vu. If Toothless's human body was strong enough almost to crack Hiccup's rib (ignoring the fact that Hiccup is puny), then possibly Toothless's human body could also blast him with energy. Caution was always better than death (not that he'd ever really followed that advice before).
Hiccup thought it would be taking it too far to offer Toothless half a predigested raw fish. Hiccup would respect the fact that human bodies couldn't easily handle that kind of food.
Toothless was sitting by the tree, sulking.
Hiccup sighed quietly and approached him. It was no different than the countless times before when Hiccup had to comfort his temperamental dragon. Dragons really were sensitive, he'd quickly discovered.
"This is so weird," Hiccup said as he sat down beside Toothless. "I mean, look at you!"
Toothless glanced at Hiccup, grunted and turned towards the water.
Hiccup moved closer to him. "Look, Toothless, you – you can't. Hm," Hiccup didn't quite know how to explain to his former dragon that boys kissing boys wasn't really…
...but since when had Hiccup ever been normal?
"I was just showing my affection," Toothless snapped in a gruff voice. Quieter, he grumbled, "Isn't that why humans kiss?"
Hiccup felt his face flush. "Er, well, yeah for affection, but we also – when it's on the lips it's also to show that you want to, to um-" Hiccup's voice died in his throat. Toothless's piercing green eyes bore into his, open and confused. Hiccup's shoulders slumped forward. "To mate," he finished awkwardly, his voice cracking on the last word.
Toothless's eyes widened and then immediately narrowed. Hiccup didn't comment on his red stained cheeks. "I don't like that blonde female. She hits you too much."
Hiccup snorted. "Yeah, she can be pretty pushy." After a moment, Hiccup added, "Don't… don't dragons have anything like that? Kissing? I mean, you've licked me before, I would assume that's the reptilian equivalent..."
Toothless shrugged. "Night furies don't really court each other," he paused. "Well, I guess it involves dancing in the air with your shadows at midnight under the full moon. It's…" Toothless went thoughtfully silent.
The ritual sounded beautiful and Hiccup very much wanted to see it. "So you've never…"
"No. Not yet."
Hiccup watched Toothless's eyes dart after a fish underneath the water. He followed the movement of Toothless's tongue as it darted to wet his lips.
Hiccup cleared his throat. "Humans shouldn't really eat raw fish, you know. You need to cook it."
Toothless turned green eyes to Hiccup. "But then why did you eat my fish?"
Hiccup shrugged. Because you would have killed me if I hadn't? "Couldn't really say no, could I?"
"And did you get sick?"
Hiccup frowned. Now that he thought about it… "Actually, no."
Toothless looked very proud of himself. "My saliva prevents sickness."
"Oh," Hiccup said a bit awkwardly. "Thanks."
Another minute of silence passed. The sun was setting, turning the small pool of water into a watercolour painting of reds and yellows.
"So – so anyways, that's why you can't kiss me," Hiccup said, continuing their earlier conversation. "Because only girls can mate with boys. I mean, I can't produce offspring, and neither can you." Hiccup was dying. This was the most awkward conversation he had ever had, and would ever have, with anyone or anything. Actually no, that was a lie – having this conversation with Stoick would be at least twice as awkward. Definitely fatal.
"Wrong," Toothless said, shaking his head.
Hiccup frowned. "What? What do you mean wrong?"
"Male dragons can produce eggs when there aren't enough females to sustain the population," Toothless explained.
"Er, really? Okay, but, male humans can't – we can't give birth. We can't. Doesn't matter if there are no females around, it just doesn't work like that."
"Seems awfully inconvenient."
"Eh, Berk survives alright," Hiccup said with a shrug.
"So you want to mate with that female then-"
"Astrid? Oh, er, I don't know, maybe? Someday?" Hiccup was red in the face again.
"I don't like her," Toothless mumbled again, frowning.
Hiccup sat up and stretched his back. "Yes, you've made that very clear from the day you and her met. Come on, let's go get dinner." He lowered a hand to help Toothless up, whose eyes were fixed hungrily on the fish in the pond. "Leave the fish. Come on," Hiccup pressed.
The mess hall was filled with people. Hungry, and curious people. All eyes were on Hiccup and Toothless when they walked in. Toothless's eyes darted around, just as curious – dragons weren't allowed in where the humans ate*.
"Hm, it's smaller than I'd imagined," Toothless mumbled into Hiccup's ear. Hiccup flinched at the close sound.
Astrid exploded from the crowd, stopping abruptly in front of them. Her wide eyes took in all of Toothless and she whistled. "I didn't believe them, but it's true!"
"What - er, what else did you hear?" Hiccup asked warily, glancing around Astrid to the rest of the young Vikings, who were all sniggering behind their hands.
Astrid crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Toothless. "That I've got some competition."
Hiccup blushed and observed the staring contest between Toothless and Astrid.
"To quote the sorceress," Toothless said, "it's not even a contest."
Astrid pursed her lips and stalked back to the eating table.
Hiccup face-palmed. "Toothless! Stop destroying my chances!"
Toothless smirked after the blonde. "If she can't take a joke, then it's really not a contest."
"You know her! She takes competition too seriously! And you – I told you I can't make – Ugh, we'll talk about this later," Hiccup growled and stalked after Astrid. Toothless followed, chuckling deeply to himself.
Dinner that night in Berk was a unique affair, to say the least. It was a nod to old times when no attention was paid to Hiccup. Toothless was in the spotlight as nearly every Viking from Berk peppered him with questions about everything from being a dragon, to tolerating spending so much time with Hiccup, to his novel human experience. The questions didn't deter even if Toothless ignored most of them to eat (Hiccup had to keep reminding Toothless he needed to chew his food, rather than swallow it whole). Some people were still mystified over the magical visitor, and if she would return again to grant another wish.
"I wish my gronckle was human! It'd be so cool to talk to him!" said Fishlegs, staring wistfully into space.
Ruffnut leaned in close to Toothless. "I like your hair. It's so… black," she whispered in a low, husky voice, tugging on a clump of his black hair.
Toothless flinched violently and growled at Ruffnut, baring his teeth.
Everyone in the immediate vicinity jumped, ready for action, conditioned for combat with a dragon. Toothless's growl had sounded exactly like it did in his normal form; low and rumbling from his chest.
Ruffnut let go of his hair, but was undeterred by Toothless's growl. "How 'bout a kiss?" She pursed her lips at Toothless, who growled even louder and snapped his teeth at the air in front of her nose.
"Uh, okay, Toothless, Ruffnut - stop it," Hiccup warned. He placed a palm on Toothless's left shoulder and the growling stopped instantly. Like a switch, Toothless reverted to his regular self. Hiccup had always had the power to instantly calm Toothless as a dragon, but when Toothless was a human, and Hiccup could read so easily every emotion on his face, it was a bit unnerving.
"Hah hah, you got rejected by a dragon-boy," Tuffnut taunted in a singsong voice, tugging on one of his sister's braids. She punched him in the face, knocking him to the floor.
Toothless rose from the bench. "I'm not hungry anymore," he announced. He grabbed two cooked fish and stalked out of the hall as best he could with a gimp leg.
Hiccup raised his eyebrow.
"Geez, why did he want to change into a human if he's so unhappy?" Snotlout grumbled. "He's more fun as a dragon."
"Ah, he's always like this," Hiccup shrugged. "It's just harder for you guys to see it." Hiccup got up from the bench and followed Toothless out of the hall.
Hiccup caught up to Toothless just outside the big double doors, able to move faster because of the better prosthetic.
He smiled at Toothless and grabbed his hand. "Come on, I'll make you a better one. Otherwise it'll be hard to walk around all week."
Toothless smiled. "Can I watch?"
"Definitely," Hiccup said, smiling. Together they entered Gobber's workshop. Gobber was still drinking in the mess hall.
It took all night, the process punctuated by many questions from Toothless. Throughout the whole process Toothless tried to help, and Hiccup tried his best to accommodate an energetic and inquisitive Toothless, but –
"Hey, if we want to get this done by morning, you're just gonna have to sit tight, okay Toothless? Just… just relax. Over there."
Toothless glanced with a barely disguised pout to where Hiccup was pointing. With a huff he sat down on the large basket. "I always wondered how you made all those things you use to ride me with," Toothless said, his eyes following every movement Hiccup made. He truly was a master at his craft.
Hiccup blamed the fire for the sudden heat on his cheeks. "Yeah, it's pretty much the one thing I'm good at around here. Making contraptions," he said.
The replacement foot was finished just as dawn was creeping up on Berk. The design was similar to the original model Gobber had fashioned for Hiccup, with a few changes. The base of the foot was wider and longer to provide more support and balance. Hiccup's improved model also made the prosthetic easier to attach and detach, and clean. Hiccup knelt down at Toothless's feet, cradling the replacement limb. With a snort of laughter, Toothless moved his leg from side to side, keeping it just out of a reach of Hiccup every time he got near.
"Oh come on, don't do this again," Hiccup said, laughing at the surfacing memories.
"Where's my basket of fish this time?" asked Toothless in a laugh.
"Come on, I'm tired. Just let me put it on," said Hiccup. "It'll be a lot better, I promise."
Toothless caught his eyes. "I trust you," he said, his tone serious.
Hiccup held his gaze for a moment before tearing himself away. "Right. Uh, here we go."
He made quick work of the replacement. Hiccup offered Toothless a hand up, and could immediately tell from his posture that his replacement was much better than the limb provided by the sorceress. Possibly this one was even better than his own replacement foot.
Hiccup was torn away from analyzing the results of his craftsmanship by the sensation of Toothless's lips on his. Hiccup broke away, face in flames, lips tight, eyes wide open.
"Don't – don't do that! I thought I made it clear that human males can't mate!"
Toothless grinned and shrugged. "You said humans also kiss out of affection. That was my reward to you for this," Toothless said, gesturing towards his left foot. Eyes light with mischief, Toothless jumped on Hiccup and hugged him fiercely. "Is this better?"
Despite himself, Hiccup laughed. "Yeah, sure, just – why are you so touchy feely?"
Toothless nuzzled his face into Hiccup's neck. "I thought you were smart. I can't be like this with you as a dragon, I would accidently kill you either with my weight or my claws," he murmured, his voice ending in a somewhat sad cadence. "And I… I've never felt like this before. This form brings with it a lot of," he paused, searching for the right descriptive, "… urges."
Hiccup wondered if his face might burst into flames, and awkwardly brought his arms up Toothless to return the hug.
Gobber chose that moment to crash into the workshop, his eyes blurred with drink.
Hiccup sprang away from Toothless as if the other boy had poked him with hot iron. Toothless frowned at Hiccup, either not seeing or not caring about Gobber's entrance.
"Going to bed, night then," Gobber growled out.
"Gobber, it's already morning!" Hiccup said.
Gobber stopped and looked outside, his face scrunched up in confusion at the orangey-blue sky. "Is it? Now when did that happen?" He scratched his chest and shrugged. He paused and took in the sight of the workshop. "What've you two been up to, eh? Makin' a mess o' my shop?"
Hiccup tugged Toothless forward and gestured down to his leg. "I made him a replacement so it's not as much a pain for him to walk around."
Gobber nodded and looked down at this own Hiccup-ified replacement leg. "Right by that you were, too," He looked at Toothless and shook his head, eyes wide. "Sorcery. Huh! Can't say I'm not impressed by it. Weird, but impressive," he mumbled as he walked to his room. "Night!"
Hiccup shook his head and snorted. "Geez."
*The release of the Christmas Special "Gift of the Night Fury" does not affect this plot. If you've not seen it yet, near the end when all the Vikings are celebrating in the Great Hall and are accompanied by their dragons, Toothless included.
Thanks for reading!