If there was one thing Fishlegs couldn't be accused of, it was being nosy. He'd always been curious and thirsty for knowledge, but he'd learned very early where to go hunting for his answers. You could ask any questions you wanted with books, but people weren't so open and willing to be read. Some topics were meant to be ignored.

In that same way, Fishlegs didn't consider himself very brave. Sure, he'd fight alongside his fellow Vikings and put out fires back in the days of dragon raids, but he didn't consider it such an act of bravery when everyone supported what you did. To use a suddenly very relevant example, it would be rare indeed for Fishlegs to fly in the face of centuries of warfare and try to pet a dragon in front of the assembled village.

Not that Fishlegs never defied the norm, but he didn't have a lot of the kind of bravery that, say, Hiccup had, and Fishlegs was okay with that. He liked life to be comfortable, he liked to feel loved and appreciated, and as a child who was slightly different from the average Viking, his choice was very clear. He could fight against the world, as Hiccup did, or he could learn to live within it. He'd chosen the latter, and that meant accepting his place in the hierarchy- not first, but certainly not least- and turning a blind eye to things outside of his chores or books.

He'd admit it was a more cowardly way of living, but unlike Hiccup, Fishlegs didn't have to wait fifteen years to be happy. From a survival standpoint, he had no regrets, but now that his parent's world was becoming his, Fishlegs did regret that he hadn't been a better friend.

But it was precisely because of his cowardice and willingness to avoid nosy questions that Fishlegs was having such a dilemma now. He'd woken up to a village alight with rumors, and it was getting harder with every minute to tune it out. "I saw it, I tell you! Those kids ran right past me, Hiccup was screaming like Fenrir himself was out there!"

Some commotion had gone down in the night, and apparently Fishlegs was the only one to sleep through it. "That Night Fury nearly burned the chief's house down just to rescue him!"

"Found some of their clothes out in the woods, no guesses what they were up to..." Fishlegs was content to let these comments go by. They were none of his business, but Hiccup still hadn't returned, and speculation was running rampant. "You don't think Astrid would...? I mean, Hiccup's such a thin, fragile thing..."

"Something scared him off, we all know that boy's not afraid of a dragon." Every time Fishlegs felt the urge to add his two cents, he remembered that his advice was usually unwanted and getting involved just made his life difficult.

But ignoring rumors was a lot harder now than when he was a kid. "Ah, Hiccup can take care o' himself! Bet Astrid started talking marriage and spooked him. She'll drag him back and make a man o' him before the day is out!"

"Right, who in their right mind turns away from a Valkyrie?"

"If you ask me, Hiccup's been givin' more attention to tha' dragon o' his than the lassies, if you get my meanin'..." Fishlegs wanted so badly to bury his head in the sand, but there was nowhere to hide from it. He wanted the village to decide to do something, or nothing, so he could follow orders and not feel so confused and torn.

But even the Dragon Riders were too divided for Fishlegs to conform to a side. "I'll kill her!" Ruffnut raged, strangely affected by the rumors of Hiccup's apparent misfortune. This protective side of Ruffnut was kind of endearing, if violent. "I'll pound her face in with her own dragon!" Tuffnut cheered his approval of mauling Astrid, while Snotlout staunchly defended their friend.

"Come on, babe-"

"Don't call me that!"

"Hiccup probably wanted it-"

"Are you serious?"

"I mean, Astrid's not that kind of jerk! He was probably screaming about something else!" Snotlout yelled back, red-faced at being misinterpreted. "There could be anything out there!"

"Like what?" There was a possibility that something dangerous lurked in the woods, and it made Fishlegs shiver to think of it. Maybe they'd run from some new species of dragon, or evil creature? No one had been able to talk to Astrid, as she'd spent most of the night searching for Hiccup with Stormfly, or cooped up in her house, refusing all visitors. The one time Fishlegs saw her face, she'd been closer to tears than he'd ever thought he'd see.

"Astrid does look really worried about him," Tuffnut offered his opinion. "Do heartless bastards usually worry about people?"

"They do when they know I'm going to break their face!"

Snotlout threw his hands in the air. "All you can think about is Astrid, when we should be out looking for Hiccup!"

"Oh, yeah, bring him back so Astrid can just drag him into the woods again!"

"We don't know that's what happened!"

Ruffnut whirled her fierce gaze on Fishlegs, and while the sight usually made his heart beat fast in a pleasant way, now he was terrified. "You haven't said anything yet. What do you think we should do?" Fishlegs didn't want to give an opinion. He didn't even want to have an opinion, just wanted to sit in the corner with his book and babble about dragons until people took their conflict elsewhere. That was how he'd always lived, he knew what people wanted from him and what they didn't, and what he didn't want to be a part of. This didn't affect him, it was none of his business...

But Ruffnut, his princess, wanted to go maim Astrid, while Snotlout, his friend, wanted to go find their other friend, Hiccup. Hiccup wasn't the spot that Berk used to sweep under rugs, now he was the guy Fishlegs kissed up to, and people cared that he was missing. To do nothing would be taking as much of a stand as picking a side.

"I, uh, I agree with Snotlout." Hiccup could clear up the whole mess if he were around, and if he was hurt, he needed a rescue. "Rescuing people is one of our jobs at the Dragon Academy, right?"

Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "We can have a rescue mission of breaking Astrid's arm!" Soon, the other three were back to yelling, and Fishlegs was starting to feel queasy in his stomach. The way this was going, he was sure to develop an ulcer.

He didn't actually think Astrid had done something to Hiccup. Fishlegs trusted her, and thought he knew her as well as his other friends. But the whole mystery was suspicious and unsolved, and it made him nervous and sick to think about it. So he left his bickering friends to walk down to the Dragon Academy. Meatlug would be there, she always made Fishlegs feel better, and then they could maybe fly around and look for Hiccup.

But when Fishlegs arrived, he was surprised at what he saw. "Hiccup?"

Hiccup and Toothless were in the center of the ring, along with a Deadly Nadder that Fishlegs didn't recognize. The other dragons were all out of their pens and everyone was either watching over or tending to this injured newcomer with seemingly no awareness of the uproar in the village.

"Not so loud, Fishlegs," Hiccup warned as the Nadder's tail spikes were up and on full alert. "He's still a little nervous. Don't worry, Thundercry, the big, furry guy's a friend," he then said to the dragon, who'd apparently been given a name already.

"Have you been here the whole time?" No one thought to check the Academy, not with eyewitness accounts of Hiccup leaving the island with Toothless.

"Huh? I've been here since the sun rose, I guess." Hiccup ground up a bunch of leaves with a mortar and pestle, still unconcerned by Fishlegs' bewilderment. But despite his casual tone and ignorance of the situation, there was a tension in Hiccup's frame that reminded Fishlegs of a captured dragon. "Toothless and I found this guy while flying last night. We brought him back here to treat his injuries."

"Injuries?" Fishlegs was happy to be side-tracked, and leaned over Thundercry's leg with curiosity. "That looks bad. What happened?"

"Not sure. It's pretty old." Hiccup finished grinding up the leaves and added a bit of water to make a paste. "There's a chunk of arrow stuck in there, so once the others show up, we're going to fill this guy up with Dragon Nip and Gothi's pain leaves and try to take it out." He smeared the paste over the dragon's wound, and while the beast let out a burst of flame, it soon quieted down. "Yeah, that feels better, doesn't it, bug guy?"

Fishlegs looked at the wound and frowned. "What if we can't get it out?" The shaft was buried so deep that it could barely be seen. Could they even reach it without damaging the rest of the leg?

Hiccup was nonchalant. "Then, I guess the leg has to go. He can't live with this much pain, it's killing him." The Deadly Nadder went stiff as a board. "Don't worry! Last resort, I promise!" Hiccup patted away the dragon's agitation. "You'll be flying again soon, everything's going to be fine."

A noise from outside caught Fishlegs' attention, like a person running up the path, and he realized he'd been distracted from the issue at hand. Not that he was so eager to return to it, though. "Hiccup, we've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Why? We always meet here for Dragon Training."

"No, I mean the whole village is looking, your dad's worried sick!" Hiccup frowned and seemed calm, but began inching closer to Thundercry, almost as if trying to hide behind a security blanket. There was nervousness in his eyes, and Toothless was quickly at Hiccup's elbow in a show of support.

"Why is everyone so worried?" he asked suspiciously, but the sound of running footsteps grew louder, and suddenly Astrid burst into the arena.

"Stormfly? Stormfly, we- Hiccup?!" Hiccup shot up with wild eyes, tense limbs and absolutely no blood left in his face. Astrid ran to Hiccup and actually gave Fishlegs a light shove out of the way, her face a strange combination of fear and relief. "Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Hiccup didn't answer. For awhile, it didn't appear that he could. He just opened and closed his mouth like a fish while his eyes grew larger and larger. Finally, he choked out, "Gods, Astrid, I'm so sorry! Sorry about last night, I'm so sorry..."

"Hey, hey, calm down! It's fine!" Astrid fussed and took Hiccup's hand, and Fishlegs decided to go pet the Deadly Nadder because he was starting to feel like an intruder.

Astrid succeeded in calming Hiccup and she brushed his hair out of his eyes. "I'm not worried about that, I'm worried about you. Are you okay?"

Hiccup's reply came after a long pause. "I don't think I was ever okay..." The conversation continued, and Fishlegs just focused on the Dragon Nip in his hands. His mother called him a sensitive soul, and maybe Fishlegs was, but there were so many things he didn't feel. Too many things he couldn't allow himself to feel. He couldn't afford to feel bad or get bouts of righteous fury for someone else, because as strong as Fishlegs was, he couldn't really win a fight against some of his peers. He recognized the hypocrisy in kissing up to Hiccup the Great Dragon Trainer after a lifetime of laughing at Hiccup the Useless with Snotlout and the twins, but that was how everyone on Berk was. Fishlegs was just being smart, and intelligence was more appreciated than sentiment, more useful.

Until Hiccup changed the criteria for 'normal' Vikings, Fishlegs buried his poetic inclinations and love of beauty, but that was nothing compared to the feelings he still squelched. After all, how could he live in this world if he got all emotional every time an adult brought up how awesome the other kids were compared to him? If he got affected every time people talked about Hiccup and Stoick, he'd be the one sticking out, and what was he going to do, tell everyone they were wrong?

Stuff happened, stuff that wasn't his business, and Fishlegs couldn't feel too bad about it because feelings led to questions and actions, neither of which he had the bravery for. Don't be too nosy, that was the motto that had gotten him where he was. Pick and choose your battles, mind your own business and let people deal with their own problems. Hiccup was the kind of person who changed the world, and Fishlegs was the kind of person who could thrive in any world.

But he saw and heard what was going on, anyway. There were some things no one could ignore. "I'm sorry, Hiccup, I put all this pressure on you-"

"No, you didn't. It's not your fault, I should have been more honest about what was really going on..."

There was a pause before Astrid asked her next question. "So, what was going on?" Meatlug waddled over to Fishlegs and accepted a belly rub while Hiccup mumbled out his reply. "Can we not do this in front of Fishlegs?" Suddenly, both sets of eyes were on him and he felt like an eavesdropper.

But it didn't last long, as Ruffnut and Tuffnut soon descended upon the scene. "There she is! Get her, Tuff!" Tuffnut actually ran up and body-checked Astrid, though he regretted it immediately. "Bad idea, ow! She's covered in spikes, terrible idea!"

But with Astrid out of the way, Ruffnut ran to Hiccup. "Why didn't you call me for help?" she cried, almost betrayed.

Hiccup just blinked. "Help? Ruff, I'm fine."

"Oh, yeah right! Nobody believes that!" she yelled, while Snotlout sauntered up more casually. "Even Snot doesn't. The whole village knows what happened!"

If possible, Hiccup's face got even paler. "What do you mean, the village knows?" He shot a terrified look at Astrid, who could only look away.

"I guess all the, uh, shouting last night got people's attention..."

"And now everyone thinks Astrid offended your maiden virtue," Tuffnut added helpfully from the ground. Hiccup looked ready to dig a hole and bury himself alive.

"No, no, no..." he moaned, hands digging into his hair in his usual, comical way, but then he took on a bitter laugh. "No, offended my ego, maybe, but that virtue's just fine..." He deflated and stood up with a helpless face. "I'm so sorry, Astrid."

"Don't worry, it's not important right now."

"Hey, dont' apologize to her spikiness!" Ruffnut jumped in front of Hiccup and cracked her knuckles. "I got this, Hiccup, I'll avenge your honor!"

"Woah, Ruff! Get a grip! We didn't do any-I mean, uh- my honor doesn't need to be avenged, really!"

Snotlout, who had been following the whole conversation in a sort of dumbfounded stupor now had a grin creeping across his face. "So... Hiccup's still a virgin?"

Hiccup froze for a second, before throwing up his arms in exasperated futility. "Surprise!"

Astrid walked over and kicked Snotlout to end his giggling. "Oh, like you all aren't."

That revealed, the twins looked back and forth between Hiccup and Astrid, identically confused. "So, if Astrid didn't attack Hiccup, then what happened?" Finally, Fishlegs couldn't help but think, though he had to remind himself to stay out of it. Still, it was a relief to know Astrid wasn't the bad guy, and whatever weirdness had gone down last night, Hiccup seemed mostly all right.

Except he wasn't. Hiccup hadn't been exactly 'all right' for a long time, but that was none of Fishlegs' business. Fixing it would mean confronting Hiccup and a bunch of other people, and if he didn't want to talk about it, Fishlegs wouldn't pry. "Yeah, why'd you fly off, then?"

"Nothing I want to discuss with you guys," Hiccup huffed. "Meanwhile, has anyone but Fishlegs noticed the big, injured dragon?" Fishlegs winced, now the center of focus, and he stroked Thundercry's nose to calm it down, the dragon not caring for all these heavily armored Vikings and their loud voices. The fighting was making it nervous.

"Guys, you need to stop yelling," Fishlegs offered timidly, and Hiccup looked grateful. It wasn't just the dragons who were getting uneasy.

"Yes, thank you, Fishlegs. You guys are scaring Thundercry, and he's been through enough already." The topic shifted to the Deadly Nadder's plight and how Hiccup planned to treat it, but Hiccup never quite moved out of the spotlight.

The teens set to work, but the previous conversation continued as they hovered around the dragon. "We need to talk, Hiccup."

"I know, but not now," Hiccup muttered back at Astrid, trying to be under his breath but everyone heard anyway. "Let's help Thundercry first."

"You should at least tell your dad you're back." This time it was Snotlout, whispering to keep up the charade. "He's been really worried."

"It can wait till after this." Hiccup went to get more Dragon Nip and everyone followed him around like little ducks. "Guys, the dragon?"

Fishlegs immediately jumped back to rubbing paste into the wound after the rebuke, but the others just crowded around Hiccup. "You look tired, Hiccup. Maybe you should take a rest."

"Yeah, we can take care of Thundercry."

"I don't need a rest, I'm fine," Hiccup whined, but no one seemed to listen.

"Why'd you freak out in the first place? You and Toothless woke up most of the village."

"If you won't talk to me, you should at least talk to your dad."

"I don't need a rest, I don't need to talk to my dad, could you all quit bugging me and just worry about the dragon?"

There was a pause while everyone looked at each other, but then soon shuffled back to their assigned tasks. "Sure," Astrid said with a small bit of bite. "Sorry we tried to worry about you. That was dumb of us."

"Astrid..."

"I guess it was a waste of time to stay up all night looking for you, too. I mean, thinking it was my fault and wanting to apologize? What was I thinking?"

"That's not what I meant, and it's not your fault," he sighed. "Just drop it for now. Please?"

"Guys, I think the leg's getting pretty numb," Fishlegs interrupted, feeling uncomfortable with the secondary drama. He poked Thundercry's leg a bit. "He isn't flinching."

"All right, let's give this a try..." Snotlout and Hiccup crept up with a knife and a pair of tongs, while Astrid joined Fishlegs in trying to keep the Nadder calm. "There's the arrow. We need to open up the wound just a little so we can get it out..." The whole arena fell into silence, human and dragon watching the process with interest and baited breath. For a few minutes, the only sounds were groans and whimpers from Thundercry.

"Hang in there, just a little longer," Fishlegs soothed, and Meatlug also offered some reassuring gurgles, while Hiccup and Snotlout continued their work.

"I've got a good grip, but I can't pull it out," Hiccup grunted, finally offering the tongs to Snotlout. "You're the stronger one, maybe you should try."

"You all heard that, right? He said I'm the stronger one!"

"And all along I had them fooled," Hiccup said sarcastically. "Ruff, Tuff, help me hold his leg still." The three piled on to restrain the dragon and everybody waited while Snotlout worked the tongs.

The moment of success was felt and heard, rather than seen. Thundercry gave an ear-piercing shriek that lived up to his name, and shook every last teen off as it leaped to it's feet, only for the wounded leg to buckle under his weight. Spines also shot through the air, and it was some time before they were able to calm the poor dragon down again. "It's okay, it's okay! I know it hurts, but we got it out, see?" Snotlout proudly held up the tongs and the chunk of broken arrow that was pulled. "It's only going to get better from here..."

They lured the Nadder to an empty pen and made it as comfortable as possible, and with some lulling and a hefty amount of Dragon Nip, Thundercry eventually went to sleep. "Once all the painkillers wear off, it's going to be agony," Hiccup commented, fussing through their first aid supply. "And we're going to need to clean the wound regularly so it doesn't get infected."

"Yeah, we'll do all that, don't worry." Astrid took Hiccup's hand and led him away. "We can take care of it. You should go home and tell your dad you're not dead."

There was a dread on Hiccup's face that caught Fishlegs' attention, but he tried to ignore it. None of his business. "And take a nap! You look like you're about to collapse!" It made sense that Hiccup would look tired, he'd been out all night rescuing the Deadly Nadder. And if he'd had some sort of personal argument with Astrid, then of course he'd be embarrassed and stressed. It all made sense.

But at the same time, it didn't. "Thanks, I think I'll just stay here with Thudnercry for a bit, though."

"Why? Think we can't handle it, or something?"

"You still haven't told us what happened last night!" Tuffnut broke in, though Hiccup just rolled his exhausted, bloodshot eyes.

"And why should I tell you about all my failed dates?"

"Hey, you were screaming bloody murder, the whole village heard you. Toothless busted up your house," Snotlout stepped up, and now the group of teens were nearly surrounding their friend. "If it's not 'cause of Astrid, then you need to tell us what's out there."

"And tell everyone that Astrid's not a psycho axe-murderer," Ruffnut agreed, back to being friendly now that Astrid had been more or less exonerated.

But Hiccup just shifted his feet and looked uncomfortable. "Guys, it's nothing you need to worry about, okay? There's no danger in the woods, it's nothing Astrid did, and it's nothing I want to talk about." He backed up a little, breathing more quickly. "Really, you can all calm down, it's fine."

"Take you own advice, dude," Snotlout commented, frowning at Hiccup's agitation. Fishlegs squirmed and finally decided to speak up.

"You know, it's been a weird morning, so maybe we could all take a break and-"

"Hiccup, you can't just freak out like that and pretend nothing's wrong!" Astrid cried, ignoring Fishlegs completely. Growling on the sidelines, Toothless seemed to agree with her, and the rest of the dragons were also watching the conversation with intensity. "Do you have any idea how scared we were? You've got to talk to somebody! At least tell the chief-"

"I can't tell my dad, are you crazy?" Hiccup squeaked, and he waved his arms wildly, "No, you guys are making way too big a deal of this! Everything's fine! Just leave me alone!" Hiccup finished his rant like one might finish running up a flight of stairs, and he pushed past the group to sit down on an empty crate, breathing heavily and sweating. "Just back off, okay?"

Fishlegs wanted to just take Hiccup's word and abandon the whole thing. A few years ago, he would have. But now, the other dragon riders were grabbing boxes and crates of their own to form a circle around Hiccup, and it was easier to confront someone as part of a crowd. Fishlegs joined his friends, and the dragons nestled in around them while Hiccup looked increasingly more uncomfortable.

He kept his focus on Toothless, scratching his scales while Tuffnut cleared his throat. "So, I know it's the village tradition to not talk about stuff and then gossip about it when they think no one hears them," he said with a bit of concern. "But you're, like, really not okay."

"I'm fine," Hiccup began, but Astrid cut him off.

"No, you're not." The boy was silent. "You have to tell someone what's going on. If not us, then your dad." Still, Hiccup said nothing. "Would you rather it was just you and me?"

"Why do you all care so much?" Hiccup finally snapped. "I'm sorry I screwed up, Astrid, but that's what I do! I mess stuff up, I'm useless, this isn't anything new!" He glared at each of them as his rant picked up more steam. "It wasn't so long ago that you guys made fun of me and shoved me around! No one in this town would have been worried about me, they'd be complaining to my dad that I'd disturbed their sleep, tell me to shut up because Astrid's beautiful and I'm just lucky they still feed me and save my sorry hide from dragon raids, what could I possibly have to cry about?"

Astrid's face went pink while everybody else just stared at Hiccup's opened rage. "Because Vikings don't cry, right? Real men aren't scared of anything, they don't have toothpicks for arms and they don't need a whole village to coddle them just because they got a little emotional! And I'm suddenly something special to you guys? I train dragons and I'm not useless, so now they all care? I'm supposed to tell you all my fears and personal stuff until I become Hiccup the Screw Up again and you all ditch me?"

"Hey, you've always been a screw up! I never stopped thinking that. You were always a mess," Snotlout grinned lazily, shocking Hiccup to a stop. Once the boy was quiet, the grin deepened. "Don't see us running away, do you?"

Fishlegs was about to chastise Snotlout, but Hiccup surprised them all by burying his head in his hands and laughing. It was painful laughter, but there was a hint of relief to it. "Oh, Gods, my life is so messed up!"

"Hey, we liked messed up things!" Ruffnut offered, and Tuffnut nodded beside her. "Don't worry, Hiccup, we're gonna fix you."

"Sweet Thor," the poor boy whined through his chuckles, while Astrid and Toothless slid on either side and wrapped an arm and a wing around him. "I don't know what's wrong with me, it's nothing, really. I should just let it go..."

"Let what go?" Fishlegs asked in spite of himself. "What's-" But he stopped when he heard voices approaching.

"I couldn't find any of the kids, but I'll bet my undies that dragon screeching came from the Academy."

"Great, one more disaster to worry about." Stoick and Gobber, not far from the gates and getting closer with every step.

Hiccup was a wreck. "No, no, no! I can't... I can't talk to him now!" He tried to get up and run away, but ended up just pacing in circles. "Please get him out of here, please!" Fishlegs could only stare at this frenzied, somewhat unbalanced version of Hiccup. What could he be so afraid of?

"Hiccup, it's your dad, maybe he can help-"

"I don't care!" Hiccup cried, looking like he would burst into tears any second. "I can't deal with him now, I- Urgh, I never should have come back!"

"Get a grip, okay? Hiccup!" Fishlegs wasn't a nosy person. If it weren't for the others interfering, he'd have been content to let Hiccup cover up his problems and never give them a thought. If they hadn't put Hiccup in charge of Dragon Training, he wouldn't even be friends with Hiccup now.

Fishlegs didn't think that made him a bad person, just a weak one, and he was okay with being a little weak. Berk had plenty of strong Vikings, and he was happy to meet the average requirement and be happy, have one or two people in his life he cared for and only one or two ambitions worth fighting for. He met everybody's expectations with very little effort and could enjoy the rest of his time studying and playing with Meatlug, laughing and flying with his friends.

That was what was expected. That kind of thing kept him out of trouble, and a lifetime of living in the same village as Hiccup taught Fishlegs he didn't want trouble.

But he wasn't a kid anymore. He broke away from the group and ran to the front of the Academy, shutting the gates just before Gobber and Stoick arrived. "Fishlegs? What's going on? We heard a dragon screaming-" The chief then saw past Fishlegs and his whole tone changed. "Hiccup? Mother of Thor, have you been here all this time?"

"Hiccup's fine, sir," Fishlegs tried not to squeak. He felt nervous, but strangely determined. Was this what it felt like to be brave? He locked the doors to the Academy from the inside. "We've been dealing with a sick Nadder, but it's going to be fine."

"Ah, is that what all the trouble's been? Just a rouge dragon!" Gobber said with obvious relief, while Stoick's tone lived up to his name.

"Why are you locking the doors, Fishlegs?" To be honest, Fishlegs wasn't sure. He just suddenly had a thought that he needed to keep everything else out for five seconds, because a lot of Hiccup's crazed tantrum actually made sense in a sick way and this was so much bigger than some lover's quarrel and all the things he'd learned living in his parent's world were useless to him now that he was trying to be a man.

"Hiccup's fine, sir," Fishlegs repeated and hoped the chief wouldn't try to force his way in. He was pretty sure Stoick could bust through solid iron if he felt like it. "We're all with him, and he'll come out when he's ready."

"What? Hiccup!" Stoick called, and Fishlegs didn't miss Hiccup's flinch or desperate looks. "What's this all about?"

"Everything's fine, just Dragon Academy stuff," Fishlegs said, only slightly lying. This affected all of them, now. "We'll come back when we're ready." He walked back to the group, ignoring Gobber and Stoick's questions, and especially ignoring the way the other Dragon Riders stared at him.

Eventually Stoick and Gobber left, and the teens and dragons were left to themselves. "Thank you, Fishlegs," Hiccup exhaled, grateful and calm. Fishlegs couldn't be sure if he'd done the smart thing, but Hiccup seemed appreciative.

So did Ruffnut. "Standing up to the chief, not bad, Fishlegs." Snotlout protested that it was hardly heroic, he hadn't defied a direct order, but Fishlegs felt justified all the same.

But now that he'd taken a decisive stand, everyone now looked to him. He sat back down and everyone followed suit, accepting Fishlegs as the leader of this new endeavor. "Um, so... it's just us, now." Awkward silence. "Anything you want to talk about?" Hiccup fumbled and fidgeted, but didn't speak a word, and everyone traded looks with each other. It wasn't like any of them really knew what to do. All they knew was that Hiccup needed them, needed their friendship, but no one was sure how to offer it. Something that should have come naturally was a mysterious skill, and Fishlegs found himself reaching out to Meatlug for comfort.

He could show affection to dragons; Hiccup taught him how. They'd learned how to be gentle, how to be humble, how to earn trust. The dragons taught them how to forgive, how to care about someone with no conditions, how to be loyal and affectionate. It was through the dragons that they'd learned to accept a friend who was a little different, and give love to someone without making them earn it.

Fishlegs couldn't help but feel these were lessons he should have learned from his parents first. "So, uh, when I was eight, we were all in the Great Hall celebrating Snoggletog..." All eyes turned to him, confused and bewildered. "I accidentally knocked over a few jugs and the crash scared me so bad I wet myself a little." Snotlout and the twins started snickering, and already Fishlegs regretting starting this tale. "Gobber was the only one who saw it was me, but I was so scared of him, I ran outside and hid in a snowdrift until the party was over. I was so embarrassed, I cried all night, but the next day, nobody even remembered the broken jugs."

"What's with the dumb story?" Snotlout laughed, while Ruffnut giggled away all that admiration Fishlegs had managed to win a few minutes earlier.

"It's just something you didn't know about me!" Fishlegs barked, but he tried to quell his irritation when he turned to Hiccup. Just like dragons, people needed to know they could trust you before you could get close. "Now tell us a story about you."

And this, it seemed, was the right approach. Hiccup bit his lip for a bit, squirmed a lot, but finally took a deep breath and said, "When I was six, my dad thought I'd stop being so puny if I just ate more. So he'd give me these heaping plates of food and if I finished one, he'd just replace it with another. I ate myself sick, but he looked so proud and determined that I could never tell him I was full. I couldn't even walk, I was so stuffed, and one day I finally threw up all over his shoe in front of a visiting tribe leader."

Snotlout and Hookfang both roared with laughter. "Aw, man, that's messed up!" he chortled, and Hiccup looked away.

"When I was twelve, everybody started to fill out, but I was still a twig," he continued, while Astrid gently slid her hand around his shoulders. "I thought eating more would help me bulk up, so I stuffed myself every night until I puked. I didn't mean to go overboard, but..." he sighed. "Dad just looked so happy to see me trying, and every time I threw up, I felt like I had to eat more to make up for it..." Astrid gripped his shoulder and all the laughter stopped. "I did gain a little weight, but one day I threw up blood and I couldn't look at food for days after that. Dad kept asking what was wrong with me, but I couldn't tell him that I'd messed one more thing up..." Everyone was quiet, with identical looks of awakening fear and confusion.

"He would have wanted to know what happened," Astrid tried, "I'm sure he didn't want you to push yourself that hard." Hiccup almost answered, but then stopped himself.

Tuffnut looked at his sister and kicked her a bit, probably meant as a comforting gesture. "Didn't somebody notice? What did the healer say when they saw you?"

"I didn't go to the healer," Hiccup admitted quietly. "There was no one around to see."

The sense of dread began to grow, and Fishlegs noticed that they'd unconsciously moved closer to each other, the dragons squishing in all the spaces to fill in the gaps. Suddenly, that locked door keeping the adults out felt so important, and the outside world seemed so threatening.

His mother once told him a story about boiling frogs. If you threw a frog into boiling water, it would just jump out. But if you left it in lukewarm water, and slowly turned up the heat, the frog would stay there until it died. Fishlegs had lived in Berk all his life and never felt anything was wrong. He didn't ask questions, he wasn't brave enough to challenge things.

But now that he was on the outside, he looked back and found the water too hot to handle. "That's not right," Fishlegs found himself saying. He was tired of ignoring all the rumors and opinions that went over his head, all the comments that someone should have rebutted but Fishlegs decided they were none of his business. Things were wrong, had been for a long time, but Hiccup was the brave one who challenged things and now Hiccup was broken. "Someone should have... well, you should have been able to tell us..." But they weren't friends back then. It was before they had dragons. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Hiccup said, then paused and looked up pointedly. "It's fine." His eyes were tentative and it was more of a question than a statement. "Because you thought I was useless back then... so that makes it all okay..." Fishlegs wanted to protest, he could see that every single one of them did, but one by one, they all closed their mouths and stared at Hiccup and each other with silent horror.

That was the wrongness eating at Fishlegs, the thing that made him queasy and want to go bury his nose in a book and quit asking questions, that this faulty, mangled Hiccup lived in Berk with them all their lives, being marginalized, ostracized and neglected...

...and it was okay.

"Guys," Snotlout whispered, "That's really messed up."

It was. And Fishlegs wasn't sure he could ignore it any more.