Title: Once Alone

Requested by: AnaWinchester-Univers67

Summary: Hiccup tells Heather how life used to be for him before the Red Death.

Genres: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship

Rating: K

Time-Line: Race to the Edge

A/N: Hope you enjoy this! Oh, and a quick thing, this is not a Hiccup and Heather pairing! Not at all! This is just a little bit of friendship between the two, because as you all know, I ship Hiccstrid like crazy. XD

I didn't kill our father…

Heather sighed, and felt tears build up once again. Had she been wrong about Dagur? Had she been the reason why he died? Had she killed her… her brother?

She stifled a sob as she sat there on the edge of the stable landing pad on Dragon's Edge. She was happy she was there, with friends. But at that moment, she'd never felt more alone. Even Windshear wasn't there to comfort her this time, having gone off with the other dragons to find food. She was alone. Alone. Alone. Alone.

The word kept playing over and over in her head. She had no parents. She had not brother. She had no family.

She did have friends though.

She sighed and buried her head in her knees as she drew them closer to her, curling up into a small ball. She sobbed, praying silently that no one would see or hear her.

"Heather?" came a voice from behind her. She ceased her crying immediately, freezing in her spot, hoping that if she didn't move Hiccup would leave.

"A-Are you okay?"

Hiccup's voice was closer this time. Drat, he'd seen her crying. Or heard her, she didn't really know.

"Go away, Hiccup." She choked, hating herself for sounding so hoarse.

She didn't lift her head when she felt somebody sit down beside her. She scooted away, but somebody grabbed her arm, keeping her from moving.

"Do you need to talk about it?" Hiccup asked gently. He began to pry her arms from around her knees, so that he could see her face. She glanced over at him, noticing his worried gentle eyes. She smiled through her tears, hoping to reassure him somewhat that she was "fine".

Not that she was.

"Really, I'll be fine." Heather said while mopping up her tears with her sleeve. "Seriously…"

Hiccup didn't budge, in fact, he settled in even more, leaning back on his hands as he stared at the sunset. It had drizzled earlier that day, but now the sun had broken through the clouds to dry out the world before nightfall.

"I'm really sorry about today, Heather. Even if you won't say it, I know you and Dagur had a connection. You two are family, and nothing can change that fact." Hiccup said matter-of-factly, but caring all the same. She looked over at him, but he wasn't looking at her, instead his gaze fixed on the disappearing sun.

"You need to talk about it?" Hiccup asked softly. "I-I want to help Heather. You're my friend, and I hate seeing you like this."

"Sorry." Heather muttered, wincing at the harsh tone she used. She hadn't meant for it to come out that way, it just slipped out without her correcting it.

Hiccup fell silent, and again Heather glanced over at him from her head's place on her knees. He was still staring off at the sunset, but his eyes were bright with concern.

Heather sighed, then whispered quietly, "I-I just feel like… maybe it was my fault. And… and I feel alone. No brother, no family…" her voice trailed off, then she picked it up again, "I just feel like maybe, if I had listened, Dagur would be here. And- and I'd have a real family for once… again."

Hiccup listened silently, never once interrupting her short explanation. Several seconds passed, then he began talking in that same quiet tone.

"I know how you feel."

Heather jerked her head up and stared at him, startled. No he didn't! He didn't' have a clue! He had no idea what it's like to be alone. To have nobody in your life. To have no family. He DIDN'T know!

"No… you DON'T Hiccup." Heather replied firmly and a bit harsher then she'd originally inteneded. She didn't look at him, but if she had, she would've seen him stiffen, and his brow crease.

"No… not entirely. But… I have an idea."

"NO. YOU DON'T!" Heather said heatedly. Now she was getting annoyed. How dare he think he knew how she felt! She bet he'd never been alone before in his life! "You're a big deal! You're the "leader" of the dragon riders! You train dragons! Everyone likes you, everyone respects you, you could have the life of luxury if you so demanded! Because you are the dragon tamer! You have tons of friends who count you as family, you have a terrific and loyal dragon… YOU HAVE A FAMILY!"

She fell back, her face flushed in anger. She stared at Hiccup, her breath coming in short spurts as she tried to catch her breath. Hiccup's face was pale- well, paler, and his face was blank. It took a moment for her to calm down, and once she did, she realized what she said.

"oh… Hiccup… I…" she stuttered, her anger disappearing. He looked immensely hurt, and his expression tore at her heart. "I-I'm so sorry… I didn't mean…"

Yes, you did. Said a voice from inside her head. It was right. She had meant what she'd said. And what she said was right. He didn't understand. He couldn't. He had his Dad, he had a village who loved and cared for him, he had a someday-girlfriend (if Astrid and Hiccup just admitted that they loved each other already, geez) and he had a ton of friends who were even willing to follow him across the achipeligo and fight Dragon Hunters with him. He had an awesome dragon who she was sure would remain loyal to him until the end.

He had NO idea what it was like to be alone.

"You don't know how it feels to be alone." She whispered, tears once again beginning to stream down her cheeks.

Hiccup looked away and sighed heavily. Heather again felt a wave of guiltiness wash over her, but she ignored it. No. He didn't know. She didn't need to apologize.

"I don't think I could ever forget…" Hiccup mumbled so quietly that Heather almost didn't hear him. But she did, and her mind filled with confusion.

"What?" She asked, curiosity getting the better of her. She looked at him, and he turned back to face her. "Forget what?"

Hiccup blinked, and said slowly, "Being alone."

Heather again felt rage fill her, but she bit it down. Fine. Let's here his explanation and get this over with.

"You? Alone?" Heather said, her voice steely. "Since when?"

"Since three years ago." Came the answer.

Heather stopped, her thoughts of rebuking him again screeching to a complete halt.

She'd never really thought about what life had been for Hiccup before she'd met him. When they'd first met, it had appeared that everyone adored him. Everyone liked him, he had friends, his Dad was protective and loved him. Hiccup had a big dragon for a pet, and everyone asked for his opinion and spoke of him with respect.

But that had been two years ago. She'd never been told what life had been for Hiccup before that.

"What… what do you mean?"

Hiccup looked over at her, his eyes revealing how hesitant he was. Heather for a moment lost herself to thought. Hiccup's eyes were so expressionful… she could almost read what he wanted to say just by looking at his eyes.

"Well… for the first fifteen y ears of my life, nobody really liked me."

Heather's mind halted once more, all thoughts vacating her brain. What did he just say? Nobody liked him? What happened to change that little fact?

"What- why?" Heather asked, totally bemused.

Hiccup sighed and looked down at himself as though ashamed of who he was. "I wasn't Viking materiel… still aren't." he replied. "I was scrawny- even scrawnier then I am now or what I was when we first met. I was small, weak, couldn't lift any weapon for the life of me, and I was… well worthless. Snotlout and the twins even started calling me "Hiccup the Useless". Not long after that that became my official nick-name."

Heather couldn't believe. Really, she couldn't. But she knew Hiccup was telling the truth, because he was a terrible liar. And he didn't lie about stuff like this in the first place. And he didn't stretch the truth either. She knew he wasn't lying, but it was still hard to believe.

"I-I disappointed Dad. I became nothing but a bother to him- heck, I couldn't do anything to make him proud of me." Hiccup continued.

Heather was having a hard time processing everything. Was all that true? Had Stoick really once-upon-a-time not liked Hiccup?

"He-He ignored me for the most part. Put me in the forge with Gobber so I wouldn't get into trouble or embarrass him more. I understand that now… I was an embarrassment to him, and I continually made it worse as I tried to prove to him that I wasn't useless."

Embarrassment? Trouble? Useless?

Was this seriously Hiccup he was talking about?

"No one liked me." Hiccup went on. "Snotlout, the twins- even Fishlegs- they ignored me or teased me for being weak. Astrid-" he paused, and chuckled softly. "I had a crush on her ever since I was eight. Got all googly eyed whenever she passed and would try to take after her- Gobber would grab me and tell me to focus."

Heather smiled besides herself. So, she'd been right. Hiccup did like Astrid. Not that she hadn't known that before. It was rather obvious although he seemed to think he did a good job of hiding it. Which- he did. From Astrid anyways.

"She was never actually mean to me like the others, but she did ignore me. And didn't try to stop the others. I don't blame her- not wanting to hang out with me. She was big and popular, a warrior. It would've ruined her name to hang out with me- useless."

Heather stared at him, not able to comprehend anything he was saying at all. This couldn't be the Hiccup she knew!

"Everything changed when I met Toothless." Hiccup went on. "We used to kill dragons, and I was bent on killing one- to prove to my Dad that I could be a true Viking even if I was weak. I built this catapult thingy that I dubbed "The Mangler". I snuck out of the forge one night during a dragon raid and used it to shoot down Toothless. Nobody believed me when I said I shot it down- honestly, I don't blame them. It is rather unbelievable that I- Hiccup the Useless- shot down a Night Fury, the offspring of lightning and death itself.

"Dad was mad. But I went off anyways to kill Toothless and bring back his heart to my Dad, to show him that I was a Viking. I found Toothless in the woods, wounded, and I just… couldn't bring myself to kill him. I looked at him, and I saw myself. Fear."

Heather listened carefully now, for she'd never gotten the full story of how Hiccup had trained Toothless. Even Astrid hadn't told her about the past, nothing like this. She'd mentioned a few things here and there, but nothing to this extent.

"I let him go, and Toothless flew off. I went back to the village, where my Dad put me into dragon training. I don't know why he suddenly changed his mind about me and dragon killing, but he did it, and he couldn't've done it at a worse time." Hiccup sighed and leaned forward, his forearms resting on his legs. "I went back the next day after dragon killing practice, and found Toothless in the cove. I discovered that he was missing his tailfin from when I shot him down with the Mangler, and I resolved to go back and help him get food and such, because he was trapped in the cove and couldn't get out to get any on his own."

"I kept visiting Toothless, and bringing him food and soon, we were friends- he was really my only friend and at the time I think I was his only friend too. I discovered different tricks about training dragons from him, like using Dragon Nip to calm them down or Stormfly's soft spot and how they're playful… and well just everything. I built a saddle and tailfin for Toothless, and we learned how to fly."

Heather listened attentively now, Hiccup having caught her full attention. Was he going to tell her about how he lost his leg? She'd never gotten the full story on that either. All she knew was that he lost it while Battling the Red Death.

"Astrid got really suspicious after I won the last test for Dragon Killing, and I was going to have to kill a dragon in the next round. She followed me out to the cove to visit Toothless- good thing she did too or else everything would've changed."

"I told her about Toothless and she realized what I had- that they weren't what we thought they were. Toothless took us to the Dragon's nest when we got caught up in a feeding frenzy, and that's when we learned the truth about the Red Death. It forced the dragons to hunt for it, or else it would eat them. That's why they raided us."

"Astrid told me to tell my Dad, but I didn't. Instead I tried training the dragon- Hoookfang- the next day in the killing arena. Everyone was gathered, and I almost had Hookfang completely trained until my Dad ordered the fight to be stopped. Toothless came and saved me just in time, but Dad locked him up. He yelled at me, and told me that I wasn't…" Hiccup's voice trailed off, and he gulped before finishing "He disowned me. Said he didn't want me as his son."

Heather gasped, wondering how she'd never heard about this before. Why had no one told her?

"Dad took Toothless and went to the Dragon's nest. Astrid- again- talked sense into me and we- the gang, me and Astrid- went after them. We arrived just as the Red Death was destroying the Viking ships and Vikings alike. But the gang did an awesome job of distracting it and getting it… well mad. I went and rescued Toothless- and my Dad… he apologized." Hiccup smiled distantly, almost as though he didn't realize he was talking to her anymore. "Me and Toothless got the Red Death to fly, and we were able to shoot it down. It crashed, but Toothless's tailfin was burnt… and it broke off… I couldn't control the tailfin anymore."

Heather held her breath, already knowing where this was heading. Hiccup's leg.

"We were trying to get out of the way- Toothless flying as fast as possible. The Red Death had crashed had first, and we were trying to escape the explosion of flames before they got us… the tailfin fell off and the tail came up and whacked me right of Toothless. That's really all I remember."

Heather released her breathe, gulping in air in her anticipation for him to finish he story. Well, she knew he ended up losing a leg but being fine… but how had people come to like him?

"I woke up with Toothless in the hut and without a leg. I didn't mind too much though- me and Toothless matched." Hiccup laughed quietly, then looked at her. "Sorry… I didn't mean to get so carried away, I-"

"No, go on." Heather prompted, scooting around so she could face him easier. Hiccup smiled quickly before looking back at the skyline, where the sun had long since disappeared and now only a orange haze remained.

"Berk had totally changed. Dragons were everywhere and the Vikings were riding them and- Dad came up and actually hugged me. He patted my back and said that I was needed. Wanted. Needed." Hiccup paused, "People actualy seemed happy to see me, and they all apologized for how they'd acted before. The gang became my best friends- obviously." He gestured to the huts around them "And Astrid-" he paused and cleared his throat with an awkward smile. "She kissed me. Nearly gave me a heart attack."

Heather chuckled lightly, glad to hear it. Hopefully they kissed again soon.

"That's about it." Hiccup finished with a shrug. "I became a the "Dragon Tamer" and still couldn't keep myself out of trouble. Klutzy, danger prone, lightening rod-"

"Lightening rod..?" Heather said in confusion. Hiccup continued on though, without offering an explanation.

"But Toothless was always there, no matter what. He helped me through whatever we came across."

Silence fell, and Heather began to think. Maybe she and Hiccup weren't as different as she thought. Dagur had called Hiccup "brother" although she still didn't know why. She knew that they were for sure not "brothers". But maybe it was some sort of link they had… and maybe she shared that link too.

She grabbed Hiccup's shoulder and turned him to face her, and she took a deep breath before saying. "I'm sorry, Hiccup. I-I didn't mean to hurt you when I yelled at you like that. Do you forgive me?"

Hiccup grinned. "Of course, I do. But only if you promise not to down yourself anymore- and that you know you're not alone. You've got all of us- we're your friends."

Heather nodded, then pulled him into a hug. "Thanks Hiccup."

Hiccup was rather stiff, and just patted her shoulder awkwardly.

She pulled away and looked at the stars that were beginning to appear and she pushed herself to her feet with a little sigh. "Guess, I'd better get home."

Hiccup also climbed to his feet. "See you tomorrow, Heather."

She nodded, then with a twinkle in her eye, "See ya… brother."

Hiccup grinned, then turned and headed towards his hut. "Same to you, sis."