A/N: One-shot fic featuring how Fang and Vanille first met. Hope you enjoy! ;]

Title inspired by: 'How to Train Your Dragon' soundtrack. Track 8: Forbidden Friendship. (Pssst...you should hear it! Is boot-i-ful)

Disclaimer: I only claim this fic. Nuh-sing else.

Forbidden Friendship

Do Laugh

Babies…they're ugly creatures.

I never understood how the elders could look upon a child and smile, saying something along the lines of "how beautiful".

Just thinking of it made me blanch. They were red, splotchy and slimy. Not to mention they never stopped crying in their shrill voices. All in all, I always thought babies were just pains. They took away from a person's time to have fun because they were so dependent on others.

Needless to say, I never bothered with them. Or at least, I tried not to.

But every year the elder chose someone different to witness the birth of a child. I already knew what it was; I'd heard it from the other kids talking, though I never really engaged in much conversation with them. I wasn't very social. The kids my age…were just…never able to relate to me. The elder told me I was wise for my age and that it was a gift. But it only proved to isolate me from others; which, I guess, was alright. I didn't need to be around half-wits anyway.

Still, when I saw the elder walk through the door of the school, I knew he was coming to pick the next observer. In his old, glossy blue eyes, I saw him glance at me. Just briefly, but it was long enough for me to understand that I was the chosen witness.

He walked up to the teacher, Mrs. De-ha, and started to whisper in her ear.

I already knew what he was saying. He really didn't have to waste his time by telling her. I got up and walked to the front, knowing I would be called soon as it was. They both gave me that confused, yet somehow expected look. The elder just smiled at me and said "Come along. I have something I want you to see."

I nodded so as not to be rude. It was disrespectful to talk back or argue with the elder and while I liked him, I still wasn't fond of watching a repulsive creature come out of one of the mother's in our village.

As we exited the school building, I looked up at the elder who winked and smiled at me. It wasn't a creepy, unstable smile. No, it was one of those smiles you get from your grandfather when you sit in his lap and he recalls a story from when he was a boy. I loved our elder. He had a scruffy white beard that cut off at the middle of his neck and a mustache to match. His eyebrows were probably as furry as his mustache. He was tan, like me, but growing a little whiter every year. I never knew his name. Neither did the other children; they just called him 'elder'. I called him 'Da Pa' in a sort of tribute to let him know that I thought of him as my own grandfather.

"I don't want to see it." I said

"What this?"

I sighed, blowing the bangs out of my face in the process. The ends of them were getting red; it was strange to me, but not unwelcomed. "I don't want to see the thing being born. I've heard about it a lot already, can't I just say I've seen it?"

Da Pa gave a hearty laugh and patted my shoulder as he scooted my dragging feet along. "It isn't just a 'thing', my dear. It is a miracle in the making." He smiled "And I'll have you know you were once one of those 'things' with a child watching as you were born."

I stuck out my tongue and scrunched my nose, surely bugging one of my eyes out with it. He only continued to laugh. "I know I was, but do I really have to see it?"

"Yes. I believe you do. You see, this experience has the potential to change your mind, little one."

I shrugged. I didn't hold much faith to those words, namely because every kid I knew came back with the same thinking they had before they saw the birth. Either it was so gross it made them want to vomit, or babies were so beautiful that they couldn't wait to have them themselves. I didn't think either way.

I just thought they were ugly.

The house came in to view from whence you could hear the mother's gut-wrenching cries. They were terrible. It sounded as though the woman was being disemboweled by a monster. I gulped, squared my shoulders and willed myself to move forward. But as Da Pa and I reached the door, I lost my will.

Spinning on one foot, I turned myself around and started in the other direction. But before I could get away, Da Pa caught the move, hooking his arm around me so I couldn't escape.

He chuckled and spun me back around, setting his body as a blockade behind me. Curse Da Pa for being bigger than me. "It'll be alright, Fang. Please…just wait here. I'll only be a moment."

I nodded, but mostly out of terror. He was just going to leave me and trust me not to run after I had nearly done so two-seconds ago? Then again, he knew I had a soft-spot for him and I didn't want to upset Da Pa, so I did as he asked and stayed put outside of a house where screaming came from.

And that's when I thought: Well, if the woman is screaming in pain, what will happen to Da Pa? Will he get massacred by this little demon child too? I knew it was ridiculous, my mind (which was conjuring all these thoughts) even told me it was ridiculous. Still I started panicking, looking for anything within sight to grab and wield as a weapon.

I'd been trained in a few arts, mainly slingshot techniques, since the adults were too afraid to actually give kids weapons besides tiny daggers. I was lumped in with them, but Da Pa had given me tips on how to use a staff. So if I could just find…Ah!

My eyes found a pole sticking from the ground (used more commonly to hold laundry lines up) as my feet scurried to the spot and yanked the darn wood from the makeshift hole. I then promptly ran, a little wobbly though (the stick was much larger than, I, myself was) in to the house, barging through the door shouting my rescue mission for Da Pa.

But when I entered the room, all was silent. I was in the living area of the house, but no one was there. And the screaming, oddly enough, had ceased.

I looked here and there, this way and that, but nothing changed. Everything looked, well, normal; as it should be.

When I heard footfalls, I whipped toward the hall and readied my weapon.

It was Da Pa; all smiles and humor as usual. He put his finger to his mouth and signaled me to stay hushed, but when he caught sight of my 'weapon' he couldn't help stumbling a little the rest of the way over to me in attempts to not burst out in laughter.

I crossed my arms. "It's a practical weapon, Da Pa."

"Too practical, my dear Fang." He hunched over and touched my cheek "You are growing up entirely too quickly."

His wrinkled, withering hands grabbed the stick and set it against the door frame before taking my smaller, tanner hands in his and leading me to the bedroom doorway. He let go of me at the entrance and then walked in the rest of the way himself to stand beside the mother in the bed; who was smiling despite her ordeal. After all, she had a healthy baby who had gotten through birth with little to no complications. That was a rarity.

"Come on. Don't be afraid." Da Pa beckoned me, holding the lump of grub in his arms.

I took a hesitant step forward, but then as I thought of his words I puffed my cheeks and marched inside. I wasn't afraid. He was being ridiculous thinking I was scared.

But as I neared Da Pa, I slowed and realized: I was…kind of scared. What if I was too strong? What if I hurt it? What if it hurt me?

"M'lady…" Da Pa addressed the young woman lying in her bed "…may she hold her?"

The woman's grin only widened as she whispered "Of course."

My head recoiled at Da Pa. Had he grown two heads! He expected me to hold the thing now!

"Here, hold out your arms like this…" he showed me a cradled form and I realized: he was completely serious.

Instead of arguing and making my life more difficult, I decided to make the best of it and as soon as I was off the hook I would run out of here; quick and painless…right?

Da Pa smiled and dropped the weight in to my arms and while I was expecting much heavier, I was surprised that it wasn't. A towel was wrapped around the little munchkin, revealing only its face. I straightened myself and then leaned in to examine the thing further when it reached out with a squeal and planted its hand on my nose.

I cried, scared at the suddenness of the act, causing the child to cry even louder than myself in comparison.

"Uh…wait. D-don't cry. I didn't mean to scream." I started babbling, trying hard to comfort it "I was just surprised is all. I'm sorry."

Still my words did nothing to console the screaming bundle of fluffy whiteness. So I quickly reached in to my pocket and pulled out the beans I had from my mother. They were vanilla beans. "Here. They smell really good. You can have them. I don't really use them. Not that I…know what to use them for anyway, but…aw, you know. Or maybe not…"

Da Pa and the woman laughed at me. "Fang, 'it' is a girl." He corrected the thoughts in my mind, knowing me full too well.

The mother then followed with "And I believe I just found her name. Thanks to you, Fang."

My head shot up, eyes wide with surprise. I wasn't expecting any of this, but now I was really curious to hear the name.

"I believe you and Vanille will make wonderful friends."

I looked back to the baby who had stopped crying now and started giggling. Hunh. Her mood swung quickly enough. I supposed the parents wouldn't have too much of a problem making her happy when she was sad.

Then the thi—ah, Vanille reached her stubby little arm out for my approval again. This time I was prepared though. I put my finger in her hand. She squeezed it and giggled.

A smile started tugging at the corner of my mouth and I heard myself laugh.

Then Da Pa was beside me, his arm wrapping around my shoulder. He knew. He must have. That was my first laugh. And I'd never felt more free before that moment.

"Da Pa…"

His brow raised "Hm?"

"She's beautiful."

His smile widened and he nodded. "She is."