DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING AND SHALL CONTINUE TO OWN NOTHING

A/N: YAY YAY YAY REUNITING SCENE FINALLY.

I love this scene. I really really love this scene. I feel like I didn't do it justice.

One more chapter after this!

(Once again, this is not intended to be slash)


When Toothless returned to Berk, the village was eerily empty. All the houses were abandoned, and upon checking Hiccup's, he realized that his rider was missing too. He also made a few other startling observations-such as the smoldering remains of a few badly burnt buildings. Debris from the homes' interiors were dispersed everywhere, like something had burst forth from within the walls. Even the artificial tree had been thoroughly incinerated (though Toothless thought that was fitting, considering it wasn't a real tree in the first place). Most of the decorations that the Vikings had wasted time setting up were demolished and scorched. At the sight, he wondered what had caused such fiery destruction, especially with the other dragons still at the nesting grounds...

Whatever the case, he had more pressing matters. He needed to find Hiccup.

Toothless lifted his nose into the blackened sky, shifting the metal helmet clasped within his jaws, and ignored the redolent smoke to locate the Vikings. Their scent was coming from nearby, thus indicating that they were still somewhere on Berk. Though the heavy winter winds had somewhat obstructed his impeccable hearing, he could also identify that their usual hollerings were coming from a specific source-the Great Hall. For some reason, they were all gathered there again; but there weren't just Vikings. No, Toothless could smell dragons too...but how? His kin was still at the nesting grounds, weren't they? And yet...here they were. Perhaps their little vacation had been cut short.

He began sauntering toward the Great Hall, eager to return to his rider despite his aching body. He had been searching for that helmet for days, braving freezing water and hostile dragons as he did so. In his opinion, he had earned the right to be sore.

He only hoped that he had earned the right to fly with Hiccup again.

As he approached the Hall, walking over the frozen ground toward the center of the village, the din of the Vikings' merrymaking became almost deafening. The sounds of intermittent dragon roars certainly didn't help, either. He wondered why there was so much commotion.

Toothless nosed his way through the building's doors, peeking his head through the gap in the wooden slabs. Upon entering, he was immediately greeted by the sight of hundreds of dragons and Vikings, apparently celebrating with one another. The humans and his kin seemed very happy to reunited in the heavily decorated, warm environment of the Great Hall. Somehow, the sight of the two species acting so affectionate toward one another was still a bit disorienting-welcome, but disorienting. Everything about the scene, from the baby dragons to the warm lights, whispered "comfort." It was so peaceful that even Toothless was glad that the building's ridiculous decor had remained unscathed, unlike the wreckage outside.

He pushed further into the Hall, scrutinizing the crowd for Hiccup's thin form. The hundreds of intermingled smells prevented him from pinpointing the boy's location, and amid the multitude of moving bodies, his sight was unreliable. How was he supposed to find Hiccup in such a crowded place?

Finally, he spotted his rider. His back was turned to the doors, held tightly in Astrid's arms. Toothless made brief eye contact with her, but he did not move forward. What if Hiccup still didn't want to ride with him? Would he even welcome Toothless back? Was Toothless willing to find out the truth, no matter how painful?

His feet were not being cooperative, and they wouldn't proceed toward his rider. This was the moment where he could lose or gain back his entire world...was he ready for it?

After Astrid conversed with an apparently annoyed Hiccup, she suddenly pushed the boy toward him. The force spun Hiccup around, and they finally saw each other face to face.

"Toothless! Hey bud," Hiccup exclaimed with excitement, bounding over to the dragon. Toothless met him at the center of the hall, snorting with equal excitement and struggling to keep the helmet in his jaws with all the movement.

So Hiccup was relieved to see him- he was welcomed home, after all. Because that's what Berk was...what Hiccup was. To Toothless, they were home.

Dragon and rider skidded to a stop, inches in front of one another. They stared at each other for a moment, allowing their eyes to drink in the sight of their long-estranged and beloved companion. It was a few seconds before they did much else, and Toothless was especially reluctant to move before the boy did. Was Hiccup looking for the helmet, expectant of its return? Should he give him that first?

Then, Hiccup threw his arms around Toothless's neck, squeezing him tightly. The dragon stiffened with surprise-he had been petted by Hiccup before, and he had allowed him to ride on his back, but this? Something like this had never happened before. What did humans even call this? A "hug"?

Whatever the case, the embrace was warm, filled with relief and affection. Everything about Hiccup was soothing-everything from his smell to his small form. Toothless had seen humans make such a gesture before, between one another, and sometimes with their dragons, but despite the bond they had, Hiccup had never used it before. It was now one of the few, unique human mannerisms that Toothless enjoyed.

During the hug, Toothless realized that he had been wrong. Everything about the embrace betrayed extreme worry that had only been pacified by the dragon's return. Hiccup couldn't have been mad or punishing toward him-not if he was this overjoyed at Toothless's return.

Perhaps the new tail was not meant to separate them, but to increase their bond. Maybe Hiccup was had just been generous-giving him a gift to restore what had once been lost to him. And Toothless's pursuit of the helmet...it was practically the same thing. The friends had both gone to insane lengths to ensure the other's happiness. And Toothless had been incredibly stupid to misinterpret Hiccup's emotions so completely.

Gratitude burned at the pit of the dragon's stomach upon realizing that the new tail-the tail that allowed him to be independent and come and go as he pleased-was perhaps the greatest physical gift that he had ever received. Even though Hiccup hadn't realized that Toothless's greatest joy was flying with his human rider, the device's creation was impossibly touching all the same.

Hiccup released him, his voice chastising as he wagged his finger sternly. "Bad dragon, very bad dragon!" Toothless followed the movement of the finger with interest, never having been addressed in such a manner-except maybe by Stoick.

"You scared me to death! Don't ever stay away that long again, and...what is in your mouth?" Hiccup continued quickly, staring at his maw with confusion.

Remembering that he still had the helmet, Toothless understood why he probably appeared so strange. The horns of the helmet were protruding from between his gums, and he could only imagine what they looked like.

The burst of gratitude still fresh, Toothless couldn't wait any longer to return the favor. He dropped the helmet on his rider's head, hoping that Hiccup wouldn't mind the coating of saliva that quickly coated the boy's fair skin and auburn hair. He grew even more worried when the other Vikings made loud, disgusted noises and wrinkled their noses. But Toothless knew Hiccup to be a bit more easygoing than the others.

The boy wiped the spit out of his eyes, sounding a teeny bit grossed out, but not mad. "Yeah...you found my helmet," he groaned before the realization actually hit him, his eyes widening with surprised delight. "Hey! You found my helmet! That's where you've been?"

Toothless began nuzzling his rider affectionately, trying to express how happy he was to not only be home, but to make Hiccup so cheerful. The boy placed his hands under Toothless's chin to stop the constant prodding, which allowed him to look into the dragon's eyes.

"Buddy, thank you," Hiccup said. "You are amazing…"

Hiccup's arms were soon around him again, hugging him tightly, and Toothless purred with contentment. Several seconds passed before he was released, but that was fine with him. It was just good knowing that he was wanted again.

"Happy Snoggletog!" Toothless heard Astrid yell, and the crowd erupted into cheers before the festivities continued. But throughout it all, Toothless and Hiccup never left each other's sides. From now on, they would face everything together, even if the moment brought joy or loss.

Luckily, the current moments only brought the former.