Hey, everyone. I'm back from my hiatus. I'm so sorry this took so long but college is one of my top priorities right now. And…I also apologize if this new addition will make you cry.

NOTE: I DO NOT OWN HTTYD, HTTYD 2 OR THE Dreamworks: DRAGONS FRANCHISE. ALL RIGHTS GO TO CRESSIDA COWELL, DEAN DEBLOIS, DREAMWORKS ANIMATION AND ALL ITS RESPECTIVE OWNERS

Never Leave Me Again

Stormfly squawked in alarm, getting Astrid and Eret's attention. "What is it, girl?" Astrid asked worriedly. Stormfly motioned her head down to the ground, where Hiccup and Zenna were currently backing away from Toothless and Stryka.

"What's going on?" Astrid wondered out loud. Eret then saw Drago and the Dark Bewilderbeast and his face paled. "Drago. His Bewilderbeast is controlling their Night Furies," he said gravely. Astrid looked at him, horrified, before turning back to Stormfly. "Land, girl! Now!" she shouted frantically, her Deadly Nadder following her lead.

"Stryka! No! Please, no!"

Zenna's terrified voice reached Eret's ears and, after that, his mind seemed to shut down. He didn't think as he quickly hopped off Stormfly's back the minute she touched down. He ignored Astrid's yell of, "Eret, wait! Where are you going?!" as he ran. He barely noticed Stoick, who was running the same direction he was going, as he rushed past him.

All Eret could focus on was Zenna as she was backed up into an icy wall with Hiccup, Toothless and Stryka about to unleash two deadly explosive plasma blasts, and his resolve.

And that was to save his love.

"ZENNA!"

Zenna and Hiccup barely had time to react before Eret shoved them out of the way, right at the moment Toothless and Stryka fired.

A loud scream echoed through the frozen landscape followed by Zenna's own scream of, "ERET!"

Recovering from the shock, Zenna got to her feet and ran over to Eret's still form. Her hands shaking, she pushed the chunks of ice covering Eret's body with Hiccup's help. A weak groan escaped Eret's lips as Zenna pulled him into her arms. His eyelids fluttered open and he saw Zenna's face hovering above his. "Z-zen…" Eret rasped, coughing up blood. "Don't speak…J-just ha-hang in there, Eret…E-e-everything's g-going to be okay…" Zenna spluttered out, trying and failing to hold back her tears. Eret tried to sit up but he let out a weak moan and clutched his chest. Zenna carefully pried his hands away from his chest.

Holy Shields, how she wished she hadn't.

Zenna felt bile rise up in her throat as she stared at the awful burn on Eret's chest. The smell of charred flesh assailed her nostrils and she put a hand to her mouth to keep herself from retching. "Y-yeah…I-it's…bad…" Eret murmured weakly, looking down at his chest almost lazily. Zenna could feel Eret's pulse weakening, fading, and her chest began to ache. "Holy Shields, Eret…You…Why…? Why did you do that, you idiot?!" she all but screamed in Eret's face. Eret looked at her guiltily, his brown eyes beginning to dim. "I…I want to…say…say…that…" he breathed out before coughing violently, his body shuddering violently. "Eret!" Zenna cried out, clinging onto the man's shuddering form fearfully, hoping against hope that it was going to be okay.

"I'm sorry…"

Zenna felt the tears come faster as Eret gazed at her with a remorseful gaze. "I pushed you away…I never wanted to do that…But I…just wanted to protect you…from Drago…" he said weakly, his face already white as a sheet and making the grayish-blue tattoos on his chin prominent against his skin. Zenna sobbed as she cradled Eret in her lap. "You didn't want me to get killed…like your father…I know, Eret…I know about what happened…And…and…I'm so sorry I didn't understand…Eret, I am so, so, so sorry…" she sobbed, her shoulders shaking. Eret had been listening to Zenna's words intently and, now, he just stared at Zenna with a blank expression on his face. For a minute, Zenna had feared the worst before Eret weakly squeezed her hand. "Th-thank you…" he gasped out. Zenna could feel Eret slipping away and she cried harder, not noticing that her friends were around her. Hiccup was the one closest to the couple and Eret managed to look at him.

"Thank you, Hiccup…keep taking care of her for me…" Eret said faintly with a grateful smile on his face. Hiccup, tears in his eyes, choked out, "I will. I promise I will."

Nodding slightly, Eret returned his gaze on Zenna. "At least…I got to see you again…And…maybe…I'll see Mum and Da again…so I can…beg for forgiveness…" he gasped out, his breaths getting more shallow by the minute. "No! No, no, no, you won't beg for their forgiveness! You're going to be all right. We'll get out of this mess together. We're going to go back to Berk and…and…" Zenna said brokenly before whispering, "And we'll be together forever…You and me…Me and you…like we promised each other…"

Try as she might, Zenna knew that it was too late. No one could survive a Night Fury's plasma blast at close range, let alone two fired at the same time. She felt rage, burning rage, and wanted to shriek, scream, curse, and yell to the gods at their unfairness. She had just reunited with Eret, her childhood sweetheart and love of her life, had finally understood why he'd done what he had done, and he was going to be taken from her…

"Please…" Zenna begged as she gently ran her fingers through Eret's hair and pressing her forehead against Eret's, feeling his skin cool rapidly against hers. "Don't leave me, Eret…" she sobbed. Eret raised a trembling hand and gently brushed the tears away from her face. "Zenna…" he whispered, his eyes only showing nothing but love and happiness over seeing his beloved Zenna again. Then the one-eyed Dragon Doctor pressed her lips to his, silencing whatever else he had to say. And, then and there, he knew that he had been forgiven for everything he had done to Zenna, to everyone…and to himself as well.

So, when Zenna pulled her lips away from him, Eret managed to genuinely smile again. Now, he could die a happy man…

"Zenna…no matter what…always remember…that…I…love…you…forever…"

With those barely audible words, Eret closed his eyes and let out his last breath as he rested his head against Zenna's chest.

And his smile never left his face even as the Valkyries took him away.

Zenna felt like the whole world had crashed down on her. She'd been crying already as Eret slowly slipped away. Now, she was wailing as loudly as she could as she cradled Eret's lifeless body in her arms. Never again would she hear his warm voice, never again would she see those brown eyes the color of amber gaze upon her, never again…no, she would never have a chance to tell him what she was about to tell him as he lay there in her arms, a cold corpse.

"I love you forever, too."

And, with those words, Zenna threw her head back and wailed.

Zenna woke up with a sob, feeling the tears wetting her cheeks, and bolted upright in her bed. Stryka, having awoken from her sleep when she had heard Zenna crying in her sleep, warbled worriedly. Suddenly Zenna got out of bed, went to the window, and unfurled the folding ladder. Before Stryka could stop her, Zenna was climbing down the ladder and running away from the house wearing nothing but her fur-lined nightgown.

Eret was currently dozing in his new bedroom, not fully asleep, while Skullcrusher slept a few feet away from him. Then he heard someone knocking frantically knocking on his door. Yawning, Eret got out of bed. 'Whoever's knocking at this ungodly hour better have a good reason…' Eret thought, annoyed, as he shuffled to the door and opened it.

All thoughts of being annoyed vanished when he saw who was at the door.

"Zenna? What are you…?" Eret quickly rubbed the sleep from his eyes once he saw Zenna standing before him. The poor woman was shaking violently, her face illuminated by the moonlight and revealing tears flowing down her cheeks like rivers. Seeing Zenna in such a distressed state, Eret quickly grabbed her by the shoulders and gently led her into the den. "Zen, what is it? Tell me what's wrong," he said softly. In response, Zenna merely let out a loud sob and flung herself into his arms. Eret slightly staggered back in surprise while Zenna sobbed into his chest, her shoulders heaving.

"Y-you were…you…you were de-dead…"

Eret blinked at Zenna in surprise once she locked eyes with him. "St-Stoick didn't reach me and Hiccup in time…Instead, it…it was you, Eret. You took the plasma blasts Toothless and Stryka fired at us when Drago controlled them. You were the one who died…I just…Oh, Eret!" Zenna blubbered as she sobbed harder, barely able to hold herself up anymore. Eret realized that Zenna had had a nightmare and immediately set her down on a chair, covering her bare shoulders with a wool blanket. Zenna hadn't stopped crying and, rather, more tears kept filling up her one violet eye and her voice was becoming hoarse from her sobbing. Eret knelt by her side and gently held her hands in his.

"I'm all right, Zenna…You don't have to be scared. I'm alive and I'm not going to die anytime soon…" he whispered soothingly. Zenna looked at him, her face streaked with tears, and whimpered. "Come here…" Eret gently pulled her out of the chair so he could take her into his arms. Zenna sniffled and stopped crying and allowed herself to melt into Eret's embrace. His heartbeat filled her ears, telling her that he was alive and well, and his warmth got rid of the goose bumps that had been prickling throughout her body ever since she had run out into the night. Zenna breathed in Eret's scent, a smell that always reminded her of the sea breeze, and calmed down.

"Never leave me again…" she breathed out, drowsiness taking its hold on her. "I won't. I won't ever leave you again, Zen. I promise," Eret whispered. Once Zenna had stopped crying, Eret helped her up and asked her if she would like him to bring her home. Zenna fearfully clung to him and shook her head. "Please let me stay with you…" she begged. Eret looked a bit worried and mumbled, "I, uh, don't think your parents would like to wake up in the morning and find out that you've been…" before looking at Zenna's pleading look.

Sighing, Eret carefully and gently carried her upstairs. Setting her down on his bed, Eret took a chair and sat next to her. But Zenna motioned to the bed and whispered, "Lie next to me…" her eyelid drooping. Hoping that the darkness was hiding the red flush creeping up his cheeks, Eret awkwardly climbed into bed and lied down next to her. Zenna whimpered and buried her face in his shoulder, making Eret turn on his side so he was facing her. "I won't leave you, Zenna. Not now, not ever," he swore. Zenna smiled sleepily at him. Then Eret closed the distance between them and gently kissed Zenna's lips, wrapping his arms around the one-eyed Dragon Doctor and holding her close. Zenna sighed against his lips and, once the kiss was over, snuggled against Eret's chest and fell asleep.

Eret stayed awake after that, gently running his fingers through Zenna's hair, watching her sleep. He still had a hard time comprehending that Zenna had had a nightmare about the horrifying ordeals of the battle with Drago. What was even harder to comprehend was that she had dreamt of him getting killed instead of Stoick. But…now that he thought about it…

'I'd do it. I would give myself up if it meant saving her…' Eret thought before Zenna slightly shifted against him, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him close to her. Smiling, Eret softly kissed her forehead.

'But, then again, it'll be worse for her. I'd sacrifice my life for her at the drop of a helmet…but I don't want to leave her, too…' Eret thought as he whispered in Zenna's ear, "I love you forever, Zenna Arrowhead Fiersome."

Zenna smiled in her sleep and Eret smiled as well, knowing that she wasn't going to have any nightmares again tonight, and closed his eyes.

The two lovers slept, together in each other's arms, happy that they were finally together and that nothing was ever going to tear them apart ever again.

I'm cruel, aren't I? You all thought I killed off Eret, didn't you? Sorry for making some of you guys cry, I just wanted to experiment in the realm of angst. And don't worry. Eret's alive and what happened was all just a nightmare Zenna had shortly after the battle with Drago. Stay awesome everybody ;)

-GuardianDragon98