Hiccup and Valkyrie continue to bond in this chapter, along with some more questions about Valkyrie. I had fun writing this chapter, and I hope you have fun reading it! :)


For the next few days Hiccup and Valkyrie bonded over the repairs. They told jokes, swapped stories, chatted about anything that came to mind, even played games sometimes. For Hiccup, it was good to finally make a friend that understood sarcasm, and liked to read. For Valkyrie, it was good to have a friend and not be alone all the time.

At the moment Hiccup was on the roof, balancing precariously on the new roof struts while he lay down the next layer of roof. Valkyrie would hand him each new piece, he would nail it in, and then they would repeat the process, all the while carrying on a conversation. Toothless watched, and helped Hiccup on and off the roof when he needed a hand, which was pretty much any time Hiccup needed to get on or off the roof.

"Next piece please. So what happened after they put out the fire?" Said Hiccup, extending his hand off the side of the roof for another piece of lumber.

"Here." Valkyrie grunted as she reached up to hand him the wood, she was just tall enough when she stretched to reach the top of the squat little hut. "They had their usual reaction, they told me I had to stay in the house during the dragon raids. 'For my safety', or at least that's what they said. I knew they meant to say 'for the village's safety.'" She was recounting the tale of when she was nine and accidentally caused half the village to burn down because she had accidentally led a dragon to the village.

Hiccup took the piece of wood and began nailing it to the nearest roof truss. "Thanks. Ya, my dad always had the same reaction. 'Stay inside son, it's for your own good.' Why don't they just say, 'your grounded?' We know that's what they mean."

"I don't know Hiccup, I don't speak parent." With that comment they both broke into peals of laughter. They laughed for several minutes before they recovered well enough to continue chatting.

"So, when do you think the roof will be done?" Valkyrie inquired as she resumed her place beside the fire. She didn't want to admit it, but she was worried that Hiccup would leave after the repairs were complete. She didn't have anything to offer him, and yet, he just kept coming back. She couldn't explain it.

"Oh I don't know." Hiccup guessed, "Maybe a few more days? It's coming together faster than I expected."

"Oh. Well, what then?"

Hiccup could tell Valkyrie was skirting around the topic that was bothering her; would he leave her alone again? He wouldn't do that to her, besides he still didn't know where he had seen her before, and until then he'd stick around. Actually, he realised, he'd stick around anyway, because she was the closest human friend he had, and the closest friend he had after Toothless.

"Well," he waved towards the walls beneath him, "the walls could probably use some repairs too."

Valkyrie grinned from ear to ear. "Really? I mean, of course, ya the walls could use some work too!" She smiled, and if she could reach him she would have given Hiccup a huge hug. She knew he was saying that to comfort her. She could read him like a book, following him for thirteen years made it easy.

"You know, this place is going to look as good as new when I'm done with it!" He added, with an assuring smile before returning to work on the roof.

"Good, because I don't want to go to sleep at night worrying about whether the place if going to come down on me or not."

"I don't blame you." Hiccup agreed, "I don't understand why you've stayed here so long, when you know Berk is so close."

Valkyrie stopped dead in her tracks. She turned to face Hiccup, gloved hands on her hips, eyes glaring. "What are you getting at Hiccup?"

Hiccup froze. Had he said something wrong? He could tell by her tone of voice that she didn't like something he'd said, but what exactly had he said that was so offensive? He proceeded cautiously, not wanting her to attack him like the day he found the hut.

"I was just wondering how come you never came to Berk, to stay. You're so close. Yet you choose to live way out here away from everyone and everything." His explanation came out slowly, each word carefully screened to not piss off the skeletal yet strong Viking standing several feet away.

Valkyrie gave Hiccup a meaningful look. Her voice was calm and level as she justified her reason for staying. "I can't stay in Berk. I'd be punished for stealing stuff. I try to avoid Berk and its occupants as much as possible for that very reason. The last thing I want is to be persecuted by another tribe."

Hiccup had to admit that that was a good reason to avoid Berk, but her response raised more questions in his mind. "If you avoid people from Berk, why did you help me the day we met in the woods, and why on earth did you ask for a ride to Berk?"

"Damn it." Valkyrie cursed, caught for the first time in something she couldn't explain away. She would have to tell the whole truth, not just part of it. "I needed supplies from town, that's why I asked for a ride, but as for why I helped you, that is way more complicated."

"I'm in no hurry."

His comment caused more cursing on Valkyrie's part. This would be hard to explain. She shouldn't have made contact with Hiccup that day, but unfortunately she couldn't take it back now. Her muscles tensed and her face twitched as she summoned to courage to explain herself. "Hiccup, there is no easy way to tell you this." she confessed, "I have been watching over you for some time. Since you were a baby I've been like your guardian, watching over you from afar."

Hiccup's eyes were suddenly the size of saucers as he stared in absolute disbelief. "What? You mean you were stalking me?"

"It's not like that at all Hiccup! I've been protecting you!" Valkyrie desperately flailed her arms as she tried to explain away following him for over a decade, "You know when you would hunt for trolls?"

"Ya..."

"Well I was always there, making sure a dragon, or a bear, or another wild animal didn't attack you. I was just trying to keep you safe."

Hiccup rolled his eyes, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he replied, "So you're a protective stalker? That's comforting to know."

"Would you rather I left you to be eaten by a dragon?"

She had a point, and Hiccup knew it. Despite that, she still hadn't answered his original question. "You still haven't explained why you made contact with me that day we met."

"I don't know what came over me," Valkyrie said, letting her body relax as she sat down next to the fire, "I was sick of hiding from you. You were always wandering around the forest, sometimes you even came really close to finding my shack here, but you never did. I guess I just wanted to finally meet you, rather than just watch you. It's lonely out here, and helping you was the closest thing I had to human contact, besides picking pockets at the market."

"You pick pockets too?"

"Yes, but that's not the point right now."

"Right," Hiccup mumbled, "well I guess I can kind of understand not having anyone to talk to. I don't exactly have a lot of friends beside Toothless here."

"It's worse for me, I don't have a tribe, a family, friends, money, nothing..." her voice trailed off as she stared up into the sky, daydreaming of better times.

One more thing still puzzled Hiccup. "Can I ask one last question?"

"Sure." Said Valkyrie, still watching the clouds as she spoke, "It's not like things aren't already a little awkward."

Hiccup frowned in confusion. "I don't understand why you started watching over me in the first place. You explained why you continued, I was always nearby and could use the help, and you explained why you revealed yourself, but you never explained why you watched over me to begin with."

Valkyrie broke from her light reverie and twitched violently. She cringed, like she had just eaten a bug, then asked, "Do I have to answer that?"

"Hiccup nodded. "I think it's only fair, don't you?"

She bit her lip. What the hell was she supposed to tell him? The truth? Not a chance in Hel. She would have to make something up this time, or at least not tell him everything. "Well, um, I saved you from a dragon I saw that was about to attack you. From that day on I started watching you because, um, you were always in trouble. Helping you was my human contact, like I mentioned. Besides, who were never far, it wasn't like I had to look for you, you were always out here, looking for trolls, looking for dragons you'd thought you'd shot down, ectera. It was an accidental encounter the first time."

"Okay. I think I can live with that answer."

Valkyrie sighed a huge sigh of relief. He'd believed her. Thank Gods for that!

"Your explanation also explains where I thought I'd seen you before." Hiccup continued, "I probably saw you in the woods and thought you were someone from my village!"

Valkyrie nearly choked on the very air she'd been breathing. He recognised her when they met? Oh gods, this was bad, very, very bad. All he had to do is remember who she was and she would be dead, courtesy of his father. "You recognised me?" she questioned quietly.

He nodded again. "Ya," he confirmed, "When we met you looked familiar. Your eyes, I'd swear I've seen them before..."

'Time for some damage control.' Thought Valkyrie, I need to make him stop thinking about where he's seen me before. "It's possible," she lied, "maybe you caught a glimpse of me saving your life one time or another. I tried to be covert, but you never know."

Hiccup shrugged in agreement, seeming to accept her explanation. Crisis averted, for now. He returned to his work on the roof, finishing the second layer in silence. Valkyrie watched in stationary distress. Had she freaked out Hiccup enough to make him leave? Would he continue to visit? She was more worried now than she had been earlier that day.

"Hiccup? She whispered feebly, wanting desperately for him to say something, anything, to let her know what he was thinking.

"Yes?" he said while he continued nailing down the last piece of that part of the roof.

"Can you forgive me?"

Hiccup finished the portion of roof he'd been working on and crawled to the edge of the roof. With Toothless' aid, he stepped down and then Toothless walked him over to the fire. "I'd be a horrible jerk if I didn't." He said as he sat down beside her. "Just promise me you'll stop following me, that kinda creeped me out."

Valkyrie laughed and tossed another log in the fire. "Of course!" she said, "I don't want to freak out my new friend any more today."

Toothless whined and looked at Hiccup, then Valkyrie. Hiccup smiled, and turned to Valkyrie. "You're forgetting someone." He told her, gesturing toward his dragon. Toothless made doe eyes at Valkyrie, looking absolutely adorable in the process.

She reached over to give Toothless a rub behind the ear. "Don't worry pal, I didn't forget you. How could I forget a cute face like that?"

"So..." Hiccup started, turning back to Valkyrie, "I believe you mentioned picking pockets?"

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. "You're kidding right? You already knew I wasn't exactly a 'good girl'. I steal from the village and it's occupants to survive!"

"I'm not judging you," Hiccup said with a grin, "just trying to tease you, lightening the atmosphere a little."

"Oh." Valkyrie blushed, embarrassed for thinking she needed to be defensive. She needed to relax and stop being so edgy. That would be happening any time soon however, as her paranoia was a part of her personality.

Hiccup didn't notice the light pink tinge on her cheeks, he was too busy rifling through his bag. "I think I'm done working on the roof for today." He informed his friend, "I need a break before I go back into town for my shift at the shop."

"Does that mean it's time for lunch?"

Toothless jumped at the thought of food and nudged Hiccup, whining and pleading for food. Valkyrie just gave Hiccup a hopeful look.

"Are you two always hungry?" Hiccup asked incredulously, watching the girl and dragon on either side of him beg for food with their eyes.

"Yup." Valkyrie smiled, and gave Toothless a scratch on the chin, before returning to staring at Hiccup waiting for his answer.

"Ok, fine, it's lunchtime!" he said with a hint of a smile as he pulled several salmon out of his bag.

Toothless and Valkyrie exchanged gleeful looks and then tackled the boy sitting between them. They hugged him, or in Toothless' case tried to hug him. From the bottom of the pile Hiccup tried his hardest to get them off, pushing and yelling at them, "It's just salmon guys! Get off!" When they finally let go Hiccup looked like he'd just survived a stampede.

"Thank you," he sarcastically reprimanded them, "for crushing and nearly suffocating me."

"Don't thank us," Valkyrie retorted with an amused look, "it was a pleasure. Now, let's eat!" She tossed a couple more chunks of wood on the fire and handed Hiccup a stick to cook his fish.

Hiccup handed her a fish and gave Toothless a couple salmon as well. Toothless ate while their fish cooked. Watching Toothless eat jogged Hiccup's memory, causing him to remember something funny.

"Hey Valkyrie, did I ever tell you how me and Toothless first bonded?"

Valkyrie shook her head. "No Hiccup, you didn't. You told me how you met, but not about how you became friends."

"Well, it's a funny story. I visited the clearing that morning with a fish to lure Toothless out and..."


Lot of sarcasm in this chapter! I thought a good laugh would lighten the mood! Anyway the next chapter features Astrid. Just like in the movie she wants to know where Hiccup has been going. What will he say? You'll have to read to find out! :)