This takes place Post HTTYD 2. Always a happy ending.

I have fallen face first into fanfiction inspiration. (And I want to do canon-verse stuff while I work on my Modern AU)

—

Holy crap.

His head hurt.

Hiccup awoke in Gothi's hut. That much he knew by the scent of herbs and medicine. He blinked his eyes with a groan.

"Hiccup! You're alright!"

Turning his head to the side, he saw Gothi, obviously, Gobber and…Astrid? Couldn't be. But he'd know those unearthly blue eyes and that sunshine gold hair anywhere. She just…looked different.

Gothi scratched into the sand on the floor while Gobber translated. "He will be disoriented for a while, with headaches, nausea, and memory loss, but it's temporary."

"How do you feel?" Astrid asked.

"A-Astrid! Hi! Uh…I feel fine, a little woozy. But it's not that bad." He rubbed a hand over his face and pushed himself up on his arms. "What happened?"

Gobber answered, coming closer and wagging his hook in his face. "You fell off that dragon of yours trying to do something stupid!"

Hiccup shrugged, with a laugh. "Sounds like me. Well, I'm fine now and I better get back to work."

"Oh, no you don't!" Astrid stated, resting a hand on his shoulder, "you are taking the day off. You hit your head really hard."

"I must have for you to be worried about me." He said it quietly, almost under his breath, but she heard it.

Astrid looked put off, but she always did when she looked at him. Why was this any different? "Hiccup, I always worry about you."

He laughed awkwardly. "Okay, sure. I get it. But I promise I'm fine. I've felt a lot worse."

"You need to rest," She emphasized.

He rolled his eyes, "okay, whatever, I'll just rest at home." He swung his legs over the side of the bed and heard a distinct 'thunk'. He investigated the noise and found his left leg was replaced by some sort of contraption. It looked like a hook. "…oh gods…"

"What's wrong?" Astrid asked.

"Oh nothing!" He threw his arms in the air, "except my leg is gone! Did someone want to mention that? Or-or just wait to let me figure it out?"

Astrid held his hands, patiently. "It's been gone for a long time, Hiccup."

The boy pulled his hands away, shaking his head. "No…I-I must be dead. That Nightfury must have killed me after all."

"Hiccup, you are very much alive," she assured. "You're just confused."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Right, because I fell off a dragon when I was trying to kill it. I get it."

Astrid took a step back, horrified, "no, you fell off when you were riding him." She looked to Gothi, hoping for an explanation.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Gobber asked, after translation.

Hiccup shook his head, "it doesn't matter, you wouldn't believe me anyway."

Astrid grabbed him again, "you need to be honest, what was the last thing that happened?"

He looked to the assembled crowd with confusion and skepticism. Then he stood on wobbly legs, "I shot down a Nightfury early this morning. After no one believed me, I went into the woods to kill it myself, but…"

Astrid, Gobber, and even Gothi looked at him in surprise.

"See! I knew it! You don't believe me! No one ever believes me!" He grit out in frustration. "Not this time. I'm going to hunt it down and kill that dragon. Even if it takes me the rest of my life." He made his way to the door, shouldering past Gobber. He only dwelled on the sudden height difference for a split moment.

"Hiccup, wait!" Astrid called, but he ignored her.

He opened to door to Gothi's hunt, only to slam it shut again. The Nightfury was right outside waiting for him. His heart pounded in his chest as his knees trembled.

"It's right outside…" he whispered. "It's here! He came after me first."

Astrid rolled her eyes, "It's just Toothless, calm down."

"Astrid, I know you can kick my ass into next week, and I know you think I'm a screw up and a liar, but I'm telling you, that dragon out there is a bona fide Nightfury, and rest assured, he. has. teeth."

She huffed again, looking as him with pity…and something else he wasn't sure of. But there was definitely pity. "You've lost a lot of memory Hiccup. Trust me, that dragon out there is very friendly, and he loves you."

"Trust you?" He accused, his voice still a whisper. Then a look of realization came over his face. "This is a plot isn't it. I bet everyone is in on it. Trick the Chief's worthless son into befriending a dragon. I either fail and die, or I am successful and get exiled from the archipelago. Either way, everybody wins, right?"

"Oh Hiccup no…no no…" She shook her head, trying to dissuade his fears.

"Everyone thinks I'm so stupid because I mess things up, but I'm not! I'm not falling for this!" He held out his hand towards her with a scowl. "Give me a knife."

"No."

"Astrid, please, I need to do this. You don't understand."

"I'm not giving you anything! You need to just calm down and listen to me! Listen to us!" She gestured to the other two in the room.

He turned his face towards Gobber and scowled, a look of betrayal marching across his face. Then he patted his body and found a dagger in his suit. Then, without a word, he slowly opened the door.

The Nightfury sat on the deck, tail wagging and eyes wide.

Hiccup stepped out slowly, eyeing the beast with menace. "Okay dragon…this is what's going to happen. You're going to sit still, and I'm going to finish what I started in the woods…" He brought the knife out and started bringing it closer to Toothless. Confused, the dragon only sat a little taller, but didn't move.

Astrid saw that Hiccup wasn't stopping and tackled him to the ground. "Run Toothless! Get out of here!"

Toothless watched the scene with confliction. Hiccup would never hurt him.

Would he?

Astrid kept Hiccup pinned to the floor. "Are you out of your mind!?"

"ARE YOU?!" He shouted back, looking between her and the dragon who was fleeing down the mountain. "You had the chance to kill him too! To end his terror on our town! Why did you tackle me instead?!"

"Because!" She shouted, getting right into his face, "the war between Berk and the dragons is over! You are the one who ended it!"

Hurt passed over his face, as he looked her in the eye. "Astrid, what kind of fool do you take me for?"

Frustrated and a bit angry, Astrid clambered off of him and pulled him to his feet. "I don't think you're stupid." Then, she smiled slightly. "In fact, you're the smartest person I know."

He blushed hotly from the compliment, despite his anger. "I'm going to find my dad, at least he won't lie to me. He's always been brutally honest. Even when no one else had the guts to be." He tore away from her.

"Hiccup, your dad's not here." She spoke softly.

He stopped, and then replied, "right. They went to look for the nest." He sighed. "Okay fine. You think I should rest? I'll rest. That way I can't get in the way, right?"

"That's not what I meant."

He ignored her and kept walking down back into town. Astrid quietly followed along, watching him, worried.

In town, things got a whole lot stranger, as Hiccup surveyed everything he thought he knew. There were new buildings everywhere and strange contraptions he swore he saw in his dreams. It was a bit awe inspiring, to say the least.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Astrid spoke from behind him.

He jumped, but looked at her.

"You designed all of this, you know. This is all you."

He was speechless as he continued to his house. "I must be dreaming then."

She held his hand, "It's not a dream. This is all real. We have changed so much and you…you just can't remember it right now."

"It's so hard to believe." He admitted. "Everything I know…I've been the butt end of jokes. I've been called everything from a waste of space to a disappointment. How—how could I ever do something as great as all of this?"

She tugged on his hand, stopping him. "You'll remember, in due time. Gothi said it was only temporary. I could just tell you what's happened, but I think it's better if you remember on your own."

He looked at their intertwined hands and blushed. "Um…" He began.

She didn't let go, only smiled at him. Actually smiled, with actual joy and pleasantry. "Hmm?"

"What are we?"

"What do you think?"

He swallowed. "I…I hope this doesn't ruin anything, but I know I had a huge crush on you."

Her grin got wider. "You're getting closer."

He took in her pretty face, and realized what the difference was. She was older. "I don't think I've stood this close to you before. I could have sworn you were taller then me."

"For a while, I was." She chuckled. "Then you outgrew everybody. And you actually have stood this close to me, a lot closer, too." She stated, suggestively.

"Oh…we're not…we're not dating, are we?"

"Oh it's much worse then that." She cupped the side of his face and planted a kiss on his lips. He stood rim rod straight and burned from head to toe. She pulled away. "I'm your wife."

"W-w-w-wife?!" He barked out.

"Yeah, pretty cool huh?"

He only blushed harder as he whispered, "we had sex?"

She snickered. "Isn't that what married couples do?"

Then pouted heavily, "I actually got to have sex with Astrid, and I don't remember any of it. That's just my luck."

Astrid pulled him closer and hugged him. "There will be more nightly trysts in the future, don't you worry you're cute little butt."

Hiccup's embarrassment and shyness only grew. "You saw my butt!"

Astrid only laughed.

"Hey, uh…is leisurely walking considered resting?"

"Why?"

"Maybe walking around the village will jog my memory."

She released him from her hug and held his hand, "we can certainly try." She worried that things might get overwhelming, if he didn't remember he was chief or about his mom. But above all, she worried about how he would react when he couldn't find his dad. She knew that back then, Hiccup and Stoick had a bad relationship. Who knew how the old Hiccup would have reacted back then?

As they walked through town, Astrid was quiet, only waving to people as they passed by. Folks yelled out, "good to see you're okay, chief!" "Really gave us another scare there, Chief Hiccup!" and "a bit early in your rule to bow out now!"

"So, I'm chief then." Hiccup confirmed to Astrid.

"Yeah, for about a year now."

"Did dad go into early retirement?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Her answer was vague, but he didn't push it.

Suddenly, a group of young adults came running over and patted him on the back and arms. "You're okay!" "That fall was nasty, man!" "I totally saw it coming."

Hiccup stood shell shocked as he realized a few things. A) He really was taller then all of them, even Snotlout and Fishlegs, B) They were looking at him with adoration and respect, and C) he had yet to be punched. It was weird.

"Ah, yeah…" He rubbed the back of his head. It was still tender from his tumble, and he winced in pain. "I'm okay."

"He has some memory loss, though," Astrid provided. "So, he might say some funny things."

"Hiccup always says funny things." Tuffnut added.

Snotlout scoffed, "well, what did you expect? He leapt from Toothless to an unstable roof 50 feet in the air. I'm surprised he isn't dead!"

"And I'm sure you'd just love that, wouldn't you?" Hiccup snapped back.

Snotlout shrunk. "No, I wouldn't. We're friends Hiccup…aren't we?"

"Since when?" The chief challenged. "Since when have any of us been friends?"

The group looked at each other and then to Astrid.

"I told you, memory loss."

He wasn't quite sure where he got the courage to speak up. Maybe it came from the new title of 'Chief,' but he felt a burning rage in his chest from just hearing Snotlout's voice and spoke, "You know, memory loss or no, I still find it really shitty how you guys treat me. Or treated me. I'm just supposed to pretend none of those insults or pranks ever happened?"

Everyone turned away, too ashamed to look him in the eye. Hiccup had never brought this up, and they assumed that all was forgiven. But, they hadn't forgotten what happened back during the war. And it wasn't fair to Hiccup to try to blow it over, since it was so recent to him.

"You guys make my life hell, and have no idea how hard it is to just exist in this stupid, viking, survival-of-the-fittest world. I wake up every morning with dread, because I know my dad is going to yell at me. I hate just leaving the house, because of the scornful glances I get from the village. No matter how hard I try, I am never good enough. I just want—wanted to be accepted. I didn't need fame, or the whole village to sing my praises…I just wanted someone to talk to. Because no one ever listens to a scrawny little fishbone!" Tears had started to come to his eyes, despite his damnedest not to show weakness. "But now you're going to listen to me, whether you like it or not. I hate you. I hate you all. You will never know how much agony you put me through. How many sleepless nights, how many—" he choked on a sob, "how many wounds you caused! All because I was different from you!"

Fishlegs started whimpering before bawling. "I'm so sorry Hiccup! We're the worst!"

Ruff shrugged, ashamed. "We were pretty terrible. Those pranks weren't really that funny."

"Except that one time you were bathing in the hot spring and we stole all your clothes except a sock, and you had to walk through town with it on your weiner. That was pretty funny."

Hiccup gave him a blank look. He had looked back at that and laughed with Tuff, but that was forgotten.

Snotlout didn't look apologetic. "You know, Hiccup. You should be thanking us for all of that. Because of that, you became stronger. Not such a wimp. But if it makes you feel better, I'll let you go ahead and punch me in the face." He slapped his cheek lightly.

Hiccup grit his teeth. "Oh, I want to. But I'm not falling for this again. My dad has enough to work about."

Then Snotlout looked sad. "No, I don't think he does."

His words struck a chord, and Hiccup finally figured it out. "My dad's not coming back, is he?"

"No," Astrid assured, "he's not."

"What happened?"

Awkward tension went through the group, as Snotlout was the first to answer, with the worst words. "It's kind of your fault."

Hiccup gasped in horror. "N-no…oh gods…I—…" He cupped a had over his mouth.

"It was not your fault!" Astrid corrected, pointedly. "It was an evil man named Drago. He…Stoick protected you."

"Protected me from what?" There was a glimmer of a memory, something significant in his mind. Stoick shouting 'Son!' with all his might. "Was it…a dragon?"

"Yes."

"What…what kind of dragon?" His eyes were closed, trying to imagine it. Black, like the night. A blue flame flickering…green eyes with slits. A killing machine. "A Nightfury." He stated, his eyes blowing wide. Then he was overtaken with anger. "That same damn Nightfury from the cove. It is my fault."

"Hiccup, now calm down…" Astrid placed a hand on his shoulder, but he retched away.

"War or no war, I'm killing that Nightfury!" And he took off running.

"No!" Astrid called after. But he was gone, disappeared between the buildings. "Everyone fan out. Toothless is somewhere in the village and Hiccup will find him eventually, we can't let them see each other!"

Hiccup ran to the forge, where he knew there was a weapon for every occasion. But when he arrived, he was startled and frustration to see hundreds of saddles instead. A fat dragon laid sleeping in the corner, and Hiccup was quiet not to announce his presence. Silently, he started searching, there had to be something.

He came face to face with a shield hanging on the back wall. It was plated in a shiny metal and bore a symbol of a Nigthfury on it. He sneered, but caught his reflection.

The person staring back was foreign. Scruff on the chin, thick brow, and a proud chin. It was a man. Surely a man with enough courage and strength to finally kill the dragon that plagued him.

"Hiccup?" A woman's voice spoke.

The boy turned slightly, and saw a woman unfamiliar to him. Then again, a lot of things were unfamiliar. She must have been new to Berk, and so he pretended. "Yes?"

She sighed in relief. "Gobber said you fell and hit your head. I'm glad you're alright."

"Oh, uh thanks."

She chuckled, "That's all you're going to say? 'Thanks?'"

He looked back at her, with a questioning glance, "…yeah?"

She came closer. "I know I can't tell you to be more careful, because it's in your soul to be free and wild, but really you have responsibilities, Hiccup." She reached her hand up into his hair. "This village can't lose another chief so soon."

He took a step back, uncomfortable with a stranger touching him. "And I'm going to do something about that right now."

A sword, a little rusty from disuse, laid on a shelf in the corner. He picked it up and examined it. It was dented, but it was sharp enough. It would have to do.

"What on earth is that for?" The woman asked.

"I have to go take care of something…" He said evasively.

"Like what?"

"A dragon problem, don't worry about it. Uh, ma'am." He spoke as he headed out of the forge.

The woman's eyes widened instantly. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock, you come back here right now!"

But the chief was too far gone. He slipped in between buildings and scanned the shadows. He watched the roofs and perches. "With my luck, he's probably all the way out by the Bogs by now."

But then suddenly, he spotted a black blob by the cliffside. It sat alone, and looked to be asleep. Hiccup couldn't believe it was still alive, that someone hadn't killed it by now. What had ended this war? Surrender? Were the vikings of this island now slaves to the dragons? It was the only explanation.

He knew how fights with dragons always went. The viking would scream, alerting the dragon of their presence, and then they'd dodge the shot limit of the dragon.

Hiccup decided to skip all that. He snuck closer, his leg squeaking with every step.

An earflap on the dragon twitched, and the Nightfury suddenly sat up.

"Shit." The chief whispered to himself.

The dragon crooned at him, cocking his head to the side.

"Don't play dumb with me," he spat. "This ends now." He gripped his sword tighter.

"Hiccup!" Astrid's voice called. The footfalls of many followed after.

"Oh for the love of—!"

The Nightfury stood and rolled it's shoulders. Every ounce of fear Hiccup felt suddenly tripled as the dragon locked eyes on him, the pupils narrowing into slits.

Astrid stopped when she saw Toothless was going to protect himself. "Hiccup! Drop the sword! You're going to get yourself killed!"

But Hiccup ignored her, as all he heard was his pulse in his ears. He held a hand up to the crowd, warning them to stay back. This was it.

He raised the blade and charged. A battle cry ripping from his throat.

The Nightfury easily caught the blade in his teeth and ripped it out of Hiccup's hands, tossing it away.

"No! Don't!" The woman from the forge tried to intervene, but Toothless rounded on her with a growl. A warning to stay back.

Hiccup took a step back and immediately tripped. He landed on his back as the Dragon nearly stepped on him.

His breaths were rapid, never getting enough oxygen. His heart thundered as tears pricked his eyes. He was foolish, and he was reckless. Everything he swore he wasn't, and now he was going to have the same fate as his father.

The dragon reared it's head back, inhaling. Hiccup prayed to every god he knew.

Then Toothless let go an earth shattering, ear piercing roar. Much like the one he gave on the first day they met. It blew back his hair and pinned him solidly to the ground. Once finished, he waited.

Hiccup laid on the ground, almost in a trance, as a flood of memories washed over him. Some were pleasant, like the time spend with Toothless in the cove. He saw his dad speaking to the crowd, telling them how proud he was of his only son. He saw Astrid, the affectionate glances and the absolutely beautiful bride she made. But then the horrors came, and he saw the Red Death and it's teeth closing in on him. He saw the faces of enemies and his father's disappointed gaze. Then finally, he saw his father running, a blue flame, and then his own reflection in a pair of green eyes.

"It wasn't your fault, bud."

Toothless eyes returned to their friendly, dilated disposition and he lowered his head to rest on Hiccup's stomach. A loud purr reigned over the silence of the crowd.

Still frozen to his spot on the ground, tears poured out of his wide eyes as six years worth of memories hit him over and over. He raised a hand and rested it on Toothless' snout.

Finally, he stood, his legs shaking and trying in vain to wipe his face. "Um…" he began, sniffling. "I'm sorry." The tears would not stop. "I'm…I'm really sorry. To all of you. I—I'm not the chief you deserve."

Then he gave into his emotions, his face hid behind fists as his body shook. Though he remembered all that had happened, the past was still prevalent in his mind. He was filled with doubt and regret.

Almost instantly, he was being squeezed into warmth and when he looked up, he found everyone in a group hug around him. Astrid kissed his cheeks as his mom rubbed his back. Then rest of the village cried out to him with encouragement. "You're the greatest chief we've ever had!" "We love you Hiccup!" "Because of you we don't have to fear for our lives!" "You've made us so happy!" "You're father is so proud!"

A fresh round of tears came up, these ones of happiness. And, you know? He didn't try to hide them.