AN: Here's a quick update! There's actually gonna be three parts to this long-shot. I want to get this stuff out faster than what I'm used to, so I'm sort of challenging myself by making a jam-sesh out of it. This is all for fun, so I should simply do my best without spending too much time on it, right? To be transparent, I also want the extra chapter to provide more traffic. I think people would like it if they found it, hopefully. Anyway, this is just a mostly lighthearted, fluffy pillow of a second chapter. Also, I don't watch the cartoon network shows, so I'm not gonna comment on exactly what show it's set during. It wasn't even considered while writing, so just let your imagination fill the blanks. It's funner that way anyway.


Into the Red

The Viking and Night Fury made their way back to camp without incident. The night soaked into the land until it grew colder and the moon flared at the crest of the sky. They chit-chatted in good tenor about nothing, really, but still had much to say to one another, about things like Fishlegs' new ridiculous helmet he was sporting, why Toothless' butt seemed to itch so much today, and why Hiccup's mentor never liked to shower. They ranted off and on, laughing heartily at each other about random things, shamelessly, like good friends could. The minutes glided by like warm tea down a sore throat.

Hiccup cherished these small moments for the way it filled his chest with a feeling akin to sunshine on his skin on a perfect summer morning, and Toothless felt pretty identical too. Hiccup had never had anyone he could talk to like this before he met his dragon, and Toothless hadn't had anyone close to him in a very long time until Hiccup. Things like this lifted them above the clouds, literally, and couldn't have a value put to it.

This mutual connection couldn't be left unsaid. Everyone on Berk could sense this. Even Hiccup's father, who would admit that neither could reach one like the other could, yet they brought out the best of them into the world for each to see. Stoick cherished this as well. The duo were individual puzzles of peoples that seemed to mismatch the pieces together, filling in spaces in the other that were neglected otherwise. The effect continued throughout the years and the two became resolute in themselves; the bond growing stronger by days and moons. They would both come to be great leaders one day. Stoick determined this in his quiet, proud manner, also unsaid.

So the two talked and teased on the previously uncharted archipelago, and eventually the conversation would slowly wisp out into the crackle of the campfire. Although, no kind of tension settled in the air. They were just as content in the simple company, and Toothless noted again how glad he was that it was just the two of them this trip (the last trip with Astrid and Stormfly was fun, but Toothless couldn't understand how they never wanted a moment of silence when they all left to get away). He watched Hiccup finish dressing the turkey and began to roast it, the excitement reflecting brightly with the fire in his eyes as he turned it intently over the flames. Toothless smirked to himself at the sight, satisfied to bring the simple pleasure. He was being goofy and oblivious like he would when he was drunk. This would bug him sometimes: he was letting his guard down, and the constant concern for the boy only grew in his chest when he made himself so vulnerable. But he knew the boy was just enjoying himself, and he was glad to see him so relaxed after the last few days.

Hiccup knew he shouldn't have anything to worry about, so he drank them away. Toothless knew this too. So, he didn't judge, and quietly decided to turn and make for the small clearing a little ways down the hill, just a few paces through the trees, leaving the boy to his food.

He was always attentive where the human was relative to him. If something were to go awry, he'd be at his side like a flash of lightning. A few trees would do nothing to deter him. Hiccup knew that.

He'd been wanting a moment to reflect on himself for a while. Bundled up in the stresses of being a depended member of the Hooligan tribe- teaching alliance classes alongside the other teens and his fellow dragons, along with routine surveillance around Berk, among many other responsibilities- he was never able to avoid anyone for more than a few hours. He could only retreat to the cove for so long before something would bring him back. It wore the Night Fury thin. Grating, when it got really bad, and then it showed.

When Toothless had aggressively snapped at Ruffnut and Tuffnut during class for something inconsequential (he couldn't even remember what it was about now. It was their stupid nature for ceaseless antics), he immediately approached Hiccup about wanting for fresh air. He couldn't teach well in this state.

He was a solitary creature by nature, being molded mostly by isolation. Despite coming a long way from his former obsidian shell, he still needed for it eventually. It had been a few months of constant responsibility at Berk before this trip.

Hiccup and Toothless worked so well together because the human understood this in him. The night Toothless confided in Hiccup, he assured him they would take a break.

They worked so well because they related. Hiccup had become accustomed to be alone as well, growing up being a town freak. For better and worse, in his experience. In his absence among his society, he was able to practice his talents and learn not to take everything by face value. At a young age, he learned to deduce his own opinions that separated him further from his people, which in turn became the best thing to happen to everyone. And he was happy to provide this to his unique friend, nonetheless. It was necessary for Toothless to function, and Hiccup by extension. Anyway, the human had a bottomless interest in expanding his map, so he found the time to get them off the island regularly. It was about time.

Toothless padded into the clear plain and settled in his usual compression in the knee-high weeds, which had become one of his favorite places in recent memory. Toothless wasn't a spiritual person. He just liked to think in peace. Yet, this place had a strange divine effect on him, he realized.

It was a pocket outside of life.

With his superior sight, he could see every star in the sky- the only thing he shared with everyone else happening to be staring at the same studded backdrop- and the yellow blades beyond the calm stream in front of him waved welcomingly in the soft, formless breeze to him, inviting the only individual that appreciated its leisure. The ambient sounds of the wild pooled from all angles, allowing a lone dragon to suspend any thought he desired in the spring air to pick through. Toothless wasn't a creative type, but very vivid memories orbited the clearing, coming clear if given any focus. Growing nearly overstimulated from the borderline supernatural environment this place had turn into every night, Toothless had to dunk his head in the clear stream for a quick second, like he always did.

His ears flickered. His pupils contracted. Like they always did. There was immediate absolvement. With a deep breathe, he closed his eyes. He entered his impromptu temple.

Colors flashed and streamed and danced behind his lids. These spectrum of shades reminded him of very specific moments in his long life. There were so many he became dazed. Each color could represent a multitude of experiences he loved and hated, and built the individual he was today. He couldn't comprehend the profound phenomenon that overtook his perception like nothing had ever had before. He could compare this to recreation that humans partook in, but he didn't care to linger on the entity of this feeling. It was benevolent, he could sense it. And cathartic. Besides, it was all in his head.

This had been happening every night when he'd dunk his head into this stream. He hadn't told Hiccup about it. He wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't a spiritual person.

He mentally reached out, blindly, catching a shade of beige. He clutched it hard, and it seemed to melt into him.

He suddenly had the sensation that the giant silk blanket Stoick had gotten him as a gift so many moons ago, the one he slept on back home to this day. He pondered this. He couldn't be sure why it brought such a specific image into his head, yet he could trace it back with such comfort now. A flurry of new feelings tingled throughout. It was so strange to him, still. These new feelings he experienced day to day, tangled with these tangible things he could say were his and his own. Growing up as a dragonkin, objects were nothing more than what they were.

Hiccup was almost jealous of this gift when his dad returned from Johann's with it, he remembered, but knew that the dragon would enjoy it more than anybody, regardless of the thick hide. And he did. Although Hiccup got to enjoy it plenty of times too, anyway. On sleepless nights, thanks to phantom pains and the like, it would help Hiccup to curl up on his rock.

Objects were sentimental to humans, and this idea of communion slowly soaked into him. It was because of beautiful intent behind these human gifts. Toothless never put such thought into such inanimate things before he met Hiccup, and it made him feel like he was never truly grateful for anything before that point.

Toothless pondered the concept of this truth and the many other memories that constructed his unbelievable ubiety among dragons and humans that was his existence now, flipping through them with warm diligence, staring into the moon now.

He felt so human, now. Did that even make sense? Should he be ashamed for the thought alone?

It all began with death. The Red Death, to be specific. And such fear, like nothing he had ever felt and hoped to die before he could feel again. This was a time of loss and nothing else. An existence so porous and meaningless that it defiled the laws of nature. Under her control, time and self were consumed under the wretched gaze, and Toothless couldn't actually be certain how long he was lost to her. He knew it was years, at least. There were so many faces in his head belonging to nobody, now, and they were so blurry. They were all gone. Forgotten. So many images of blood, and ruin, and fire. His fire.

He could already sense a tremble coming into being. He didn't want to think about this. Too many memories were rapid-firing in and out of his mind.

Instead, he focused, and simply thought about the day the curse was whipped out of him. And how as he was plummeting out of the sky, he awoke to finally be himself again. Wrapped in rope and nose diving into the trees, he thought he was going to die. In a morose way, he reflected, remembering being so relieved to see it coming- the ground speeding towards him- because he would feel it, not her. He would get to experience this, and die as himself, as so many others didn't get even that dignity. It was a beautiful tragedy. This shouldn't have been a comforting memory, but it was.

He didn't die. With his tail then gone, he accepted he was knocking on death's door, however. There was no hope on this small island he didn't know. Still, it was familiar- the land, the sky, the trees, like he saw it in a dream, when he was a hatchling or something. He learned later that he had been terrorizing an entire village there for months. Under her possession, these memories were foggy.

In his lowest moment, Toothless wanted to his ultimatum to come quicker than it was. He had given up, and he couldn't be aware the true freedom that awaited him. Him and one of another species, who thought he had made a terrible mistake. They couldn't have even comprehended it at the time of the first stare they exchanged. There was only pain on both ends, mirroring into a green gaze that became the turning point of a lifetime. Toothless would reflect and wonder why he left this human alive, aware that he was the one that shot him down. He just didn't care, in the end, because it was the single best thing that had happened to him since he last saw his mother's face. It was a knee-jerk decision, and it felt wrong to regret it. It didn't matter at the time.

Waiting for death in the cove, life would grow stronger than it had ever been in him. He was to become something even greater after this inconsequential choice. They would be given purpose. They would become the catalyst.

And he pondered on this now, on all his favorite memories that followed, before and after, cradled in the night. The stream flowed seamlessly and carried wonderful scents with it. The sky sparkled down at him proudly. Silence made way for the profound. This all became one with Toothless as he sunk deep into thought.

He had no reason to regret.

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Hiccup picked the last shred of meat off the thigh and let out a contented burp. He spent close to an hour in the same spot, eating and drinking more intently than he did most things, heedlessly picking up more passion as he felt more of the alcohol hitting his system. He was now full and very content. The turkey was very delicious, and he couldn't have asked for anything better to eat tonight. It really hit the spot, he thought bubbly, and he continued picking at his teeth with one hand as he slinged the bone over his shoulder with the other. It landed in the pile of scraps, next to his already empty canteen, and the tome he didn't seem to notice anymore.

His gut finally settled after the long day with the mixture of turkey and mead. He was so comfortable sitting against his rock facing the fire that before he knew it, he was dozing off. He was jerked back awake by his heavy head falling back against the rock. It knocked against it only lightly, and he rubbed it, looking around in slight embarrassment.

Toothless was still gone, he remembered. He was doing his nightly routine, out in the field. Meditation, Hiccup chalked it up to, but wasn't sure if Toothless wouldn't understand the word if he asked him. It was just one of his things, and it only needed to be as simple as that.

Hiccup stood up drowsily and stumbled over to his hammock. He dragged his blanket from inside it and wrapped it about himself, about to climb inside and let sleep take him. But, Hiccup realized he couldn't quite yet. Suddenly, he felt the need to thank his dragon for the great catch he got for him. He knew Toothless was aware of his love for turkey, and was touched for the effort. Also, if he was honest with himself, he had a underlying need he wouldn't admit to to wanting to just see him more time before he would go to sleep.

Hiccup still wasn't totally comfortable sleeping in new, wild places like this by himself. The darkness was a canvas for nightmares in his vivid imagination, and he was a bit ungrounded from the liquor. He felt the strange want for security. Feeling stupid and bothersome, he decided he would have a quick exchange with his friend, before he would leave him alone for the night like he probably wanted, and stalk back up to his retreat to rest. With a heavy heart, he knew he needed to be in shape for the flight back to Berk tomorrow. To be asleep sooner, the better. Maybe drink some water, too.

Hiccup walked past the dying fire clutching his blanket tightly around his shoulders. Critical thinking was abandoned. The dam that held any thoughts had broken from drunkenness and exhaustion he felt.

It was slightly chilly now, yet not getting any colder than it was. It was totally bearable. He chugged some lukewarm water from the kettle, then stumbled a bit through the trees. He did better than he expected in his state at this.

Hiccup could barely make out the black form in the grass, wholly camouflaged. He could see him though, laying still like a cut-out of the night sky itself. A wave of happiness flowed through him at the sight.

"Bud?" Hiccup called out, a little too excited for his taste.

"Yes?" He looked back over his shoulder, the green eyes piercing the night distinctly.

Hiccup lost his train of thought, hot sheepishness replacing the glee. He stammered, "Uh… um- thank you for the food! It was really good, and I just wanted to thank you!"

Hiccup could immediately not make eye contact, feeling lame. He could hear Toothless chuckle quietly, though.

"Sure. You're okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine. I'm great."

There was a stretching of silence. A knowing silence.

"You're drunk." Toothless seemed to correct him with mirth.

Hiccup grinned, glancing up at him. "...A little. The drink went well with it. It made the dirty work more bearable."

Toothless made an amused grunt, shaking his head unperceptively.

"Anyway!" Hiccup sighed, "I'm also tired. I wanted to tell you that before I went to sleep. Goodnight, Toothless." He began back up the slope.

To Hiccup surprise, however, Toothless piped up a question.

"Would you like to sit with me?"

Hiccup was startled. That was totally unexpected for him, and he was at a loss for a response for a moment. "Nonono, bud, it's alright. You enjoy yourself." He took another step forward.

"I would enjoy myself," He riposted swiftly, "Are you sure?"

Hiccup stopped again, feeling gall. The breeze caressed his red cheeks.

Was Toothless aware of his hesitancy to be alone? That would be humiliating. He wasn't a needy person by nature. He unlearned that quickly as a child. Maybe it was just because he was decently buzzed and he was making it more obvious how he was anxious to his hyper-aware friend. Regardless, he shouldn't need to be so dependent anymore.

Still, he couldn't help but see the appeal in the nice offer. He couldn't imagine anything better right now, actually.

"Don't you value your time?" Hiccup asked.

"You might be taking me a little too seriously, Hiccup. Come sit."

Hiccup hesitated, then gave in without another word.

Toothless adjusted so the human could take up his place. In silence, Hiccup tramped over to him rather shyly, Toothless watching him the whole way. The boy could be so strange when he was under influence, he thought.

And an emotional whirlpool, they both thought, unaware of how in sync they were.

"You walk well on that leg inebriated." Toothless noticed.

"Good. I won't let it stop me anymore." He stated plainly, yawning.

Toothless was proud to hear that.

Hiccup huffed as he sat down next to the dragon and splayed his prosthetic leg out in front of him. It was beginning to get uncomfortable on him, typical after a few days long adventure. He really needed to rest it before the long flight tomorrow if he knew himself at all. It would be several hours in the hot seat and he could seize in cramps the entire way if he didn't take precaution. This part of life was lousy, but he knew how to manage it well enough after a few years of living with it.

Hiccup looked up at Toothless, who was gazing back at him.

"Do you mind if I take this off?"

Hiccup would always ask his friend first, as if he would say no. This puzzled Toothless every time. Toothless imagined he felt vulnerable without it, and therefore useless. To this extent he could understand, but he could sense something deeper, and possibly therefore, he felt like a burden to the Night Fury when he was crippled. Hiccup obviously was not a burden, and he wouldn't allow him feel that way when he had anything to say. They were both crippled together. He should know better. However, he wouldn't push this sentiment tonight. The boy wasn't really himself right now.

"Of course not."

Unclipping the many worn straps and buckles, they all flopped to the dirt, and he set it to the side. Always in arm's reach. Like death itself. That's how Hiccup would view it, on the gloomy nights.

Liberated, Hiccup naturally huddled up against Toothless' soft belly. He sighed again, a true decompression this time.

His scales were warm, smooth, and familiar. They were also much softer on his underside compared to Hiccup's customary post on his broad shoulders, which would chafe against his thighs without the saddle. When they first trialed-and-errored in the cove, Hiccup would return home with explainable bloody rashes all along his legs, and he promptly learned that gear would be mandatory to get anywhere with the forbidden alliance (the dragon did not approve at all, initially). The boy's wiry arms could take a knife to the ebony back and only make a small graze with all his effort put in, he came to learn. It was similar to literal stone. He was a powerful unit without many weaknesses, and Hiccup could feel the robust muscles shifting and coiling underneath him as they walked and flew during chores, even through the saddle. It amazed him most times. However, his belly was like a rocking pillow. It resounded each breathe and heartbeat in lulling rhythms.

Hiccup could never confirm considering he'd never seen another, but he was almost positive his Night Fury was getting a little pudgy, though. He was a bottomless pit for fish back home, with a not so secret bad habit of raiding the docks every so often, and his abdomen had began to hang so subtly that only Hiccup could notice. He attempted to hint at more self control a few times, but the glutton didn't seem to get the hint yet. Hiccup didn't feel the need to confront him until it was a real problem. Toothless was very prideful. No one had said a word to him about missing fish. Hiccup had simply seen him sleuth away himself a few times.

Hiccup couldn't resist pulling at the basic straps Toothless still had on around his middle. "A little tight?"

"No, I'll keep it on."

He just smiled and rested his head on the bulky shoulder, draping his blanket over himself and as much as Toothless was possible, which wasn't much.

Swelling, falling- the massive, measured breathing had the effect of a cradle and bubbled pleasant feelings he couldn't pinpoint to the surface. Something pure but blurry- innocence, was a word he could label it. The blanket trapped him in the body heat and personal aroma of the reptile, which always hit Hiccup alienly. Even so, Hiccup's existence was choked with disagreeable smells. It wasn't that Toothless smelt bad at all, aside from his breathe, just strange. It was rather intimate for him now. He'd spent many hours against him like this, and the way the dragon curled around him comforted Hiccup like the best, massive embrace. Countless times over their relationship, all of Hiccup's insecurities melted away in seconds in the gesture.

As a matter of fact, this was the position hatchlings would assume with their mother's when they needed solace or sleep, like Toothless would with his mother when he was a child himself. He never told Hiccup to not chip his pride. He admittedly didn't want it to end anytime soon either. There was assurance on both ends, and no shame. These moments stayed between them.

It would have been absolutely fine for Hiccup to just drift right off to sleep right there, like it was already threatening him behind the eyes. That was what Toothless expected, but they both stared into the stars for a few moments. Hiccup could sense something poignant in the air.

"I'm sorry we have to go back tomorrow." Hiccup said.

"Don't ever apologize for that. I have a great life." Toothless said softly, "...I'll admit I wish we could stay a bit longer, but I suppose I always will. I miss the quiet."

"It's very nice. Finding the satisfaction is also nice, but someone is probably missing us by now. We already stretched out this trip."

"After I tore down the rafter, that could be debatable."

"Family is family. Different shapes, different sizes. How do you think I feel, sometimes?"

"I wonder what my kin would think of you."

Toothless didn't talk much about his family, so he had Hiccup's attention.

"Well…" the puny human said, "I have yet to win anyone over with good looks and charm. They would be proud of what you did, no doubt, and I played a part in that. I'd promise not to sing, or anything."

Toothless glanced back at Hiccup whose eyes were closed, a small grin on his face. In the most subtle gesture, he curled his tail quietly around the both of them.

"You'd do fine if you just kept that promise, Hacspa."

"Gardi loof sastr shek."

Toothless was pleasantly surprised to hear mastery of those words. "Meatlug is teaching you much, isn't she?"

"Mm," he said before he yawned.

The alcohol was beginning to drown him in the sea of exhaustion now that he was truly comfortable. The rock had nothing on this.

Then Hiccup remembered.

"Wait. Didn't you say you found something interesting?" he peeked through one eye.

"You'll find some satisfaction after all I think. But, it's too dark. I'll show you tomorrow morning. Sound good?" Toothless said.

Toothless head was also resting, so he could only feel the nod.

In a matter of minutes, he was making the soft snores of sleep, forging whatever dream paradise he preferred tonight. The boy looked serene, so he let him sleep with him that night. He would have benefited from stretching his muscles hanging from the tree, but he would accommodate for his human. He might not be able to make the entire flight home tomorrow. He might coyly stretch the trip one more night, and feign soreness.

He could never get sick of this company.

After an entire day of scrutinizing a piece of the island once again, he was tired too, and excited to hopefully make something of it for Hiccup tomorrow. Toothless was happy to humor his friend when he needed it. This was his catharsis. However, he might have been on to something, once again. He couldn't be sure yet, but they'd leave the discovery for tomorrow, and he let sleep steadily pull him down as well. Nothing disturbed them that night.

There was a passage in the book that Hiccup mentioned to Toothless the morning they left Berk. Finally packed, he flicked through the pages and landed on the desired entry, reading it aloud.

"'Ku'lvet Rueth is a enigma to the philistine. Consider him non-existent to the dispensable. He must be reciprocated.'" He looked up to Toothless, "What do you think that means? I can't really make sense of it."

All the while, a golden scale drifted down the stream, right under their noses. It glittered beautifully. And unbeknownst to them, under the sediment deep beneath the water, many sterling jewels hid just out of sight.


AN: There's a fluffy pillow of content. A guilty pleasure of mine to write. I'd work it into anything I could, probably. But the next chapter will have more dense and interesting plot. I have a cool idea for a conclusion I hope to execute well enough. Hope this was a fun enough read even if nothing really happened. Leave a review!

Dragonese translations (I'm literally typing random sounds up and they mean nothing. Who has time to construct a ridiculous language for a fanfiction :) )-

Hacspa- Hiccup's name in Dragonese

Gardi loof sastr shek - something along the lines of "Not everyone is a Casanova like you."

2nd AN: Slightly edited both chapters to feel more satisfied with them.