DISCLAIMER: Originally written before HTTYD3's release.

"Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth, and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth...Put out my hand, and touched the face of God."

-John Magee

He walked over the dirt, on the well-trodden path to a place he knew. Watching the sky with green eyes which had long lost their shine. Alone.

Generations had trod upon this road. The isle had risen and fallen and risen again, its legacy everlasting. Intertwined with it, that of his friend.

A cove. At its center, a lake. On the northeast side, a mound. A stone, rounded. Worn by years of rain, weather, decay.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III

Viking. Befriender of Dragons, A Great Chieftain, A True Friend.

He'd seen countless winters in his long life. Some he remembers, some he does not. Yet, his best friend lingers in his mind, his touch, his scent so familiar and yet so far away.

Hundreds of years are but barely a blink of a dragon's eye.

He was not ignorant nor naïve, far from it. He had known the moment he befriended the scrawny human, the moment he knew he would risk his life – and had – to save the boy who had made him whole again, that this would happen.

Yet, that did nothing to soften its never-ending blow on his heart, a deep suffering within him which would not leave him no matter what. The pain of grief, of loneliness. Of longing.

He remembered his last moment with his friend. The early hours of a winter morning so long ago, the first wisps of snow. The hitches of breath in his friend, the stutters of his heart. The last touch, the last gaze between the two brothers as he looked up on his deathbed for the final time, conveying a depth of companionship and love he would never feel again.

The feeling of part of himself, part of his heart drifting away as his friend breathed his last breath, his human heart pulsing for the final time in his paltry human lifespan.

He wouldn't have known what the funeral was like. He hadn't been there. Couldn't. He'd spent weeks, months, at the cliffs, staring at the sky, squinting, perhaps, if only for the sight of his friend dancing amongst the clouds of heaven, waiting eagerly for him. If only he could've joined him.

But over an eternity, that abject, all-consuming yearning for his friend – to go and be with him - had waned, replaced merely by what he felt now. A wish, a longing deep in his soul to be free of the curse of life, to reach his time, to meet his friend once more in a better place, to feel his weight upon his back as they soar into the heavens once more.

Laying down next to the weathered stone, he rested his tired bones on the cool ground. He felt the pain fading, the sadness receding. He felt lighter, freer. For the first time in an eternity, he felt at peace, without qualm nor worry. As the deepest thread within him unraveled, he let go. As the first wisps of a new winter's snow fell onto the hard ground, he closed his weary eyes.

And for one last time in his earthbound life, he remembered the times they had together.

The joy, the thrill of tossing, leaping, and turning about in those great blue skies.

Alright bud, let's take this nice and slow.

The laughter, the smiles, the tears, the times of happiness and joy and sadness and anger, punctuated by the love of a bond shared between the closest of brothers.

I won't leave you. I won't let you go.

A bond between minds, between souls. A bond formed by the touch of a hand.

You're my best friend, bud. My best friend.

A hand, bruised, worn, and calloused, yet a hand ever so gentle, with the lightness of an angel. A hand which now rested upon his snout.

He opened his eyes.

And there he was, kneeling right in front of him.

He recognized him instantly. He looked as he had in his youth - in their youth. An ethereal glow about him, the grey hair and beard he remembered him by in his later years replaced by a youthful crop of brown hair and a clean-shaven chin. That everlasting sparkle in his green eyes still there.

"Hey, bud."

For a split second, he hesitated, searching the other's eyes, searching his own soul, asking himself - is it really you? Was this the Hiccup with which he was of one mind, of one soul?

And yet, he knew the question had been answered the moment he'd opened his eyes.

"I've missed you."

Filled with sudden energy, sudden purpose, he rose, feeling lighter than he ever had, his body no longer heavy with age, his wings no longer burdened by grief and sorrow. No longer.

Leaping forward, he nuzzled his friend, his other half, with everything he had, licking his face, crooning and pressing his snout into his chest and face. His friend laughed that hearty laugh he knew so well, embracing him back, his own tears soaking into the great beast's scales as they held each other in the calm of the cove. The boy and the Night Fury, the brothers, the soulmates, together. Where they belonged.

After an eternity, they were finally one once more.

A/N: I actually accidentally deleted this just recently while trying to update a previous story. Thankfully, I had an earlier draft saved and made a few edits to it to restore this fic as closely as possible, the final published draft of this story, with a few revisions and improvements here and there (such as revising the ending just slightly). Hope you enjoyed it!