Guest - you have exactly zero idea whether or not the fic will or will not address the Hiccup and Stoick thing... but I like that you read all the chapters first, just to be sure you didn't like it. If you think the fic is garbage, awesome, piss off and don't read it. It's fictional. Nobody is actually getting hurt or abandoned cus they aren't real.

-HTTYD-

Eret stared up at the ceiling, somewhat comforted by the homely feel of a reindeers pelt as he ran his fingers over it, but still hyperaware of his alone-ness in the room. He'd grown used to being able to look out to the heart of the mountains depths, to see the Bewilderbeast slumber below them. He'd grown used to dragons sleeping all around them, to peering up and seeing Tripfire's colourful scales and to looking around to see Valka lost peacefully in dreams.

In his newly acquired room, he was quite alone. He'd been the one to move, and the one to insist Tripfire continue sleeping near Cloudjumper if it would make her happy - which she had, now - and so his loneliness was his own fault entirely, really.

But it was certainly preferable, he thought, to watching that great chasm of distance between he and Valka grow ever larger with the awkwardness around each other. He should talk to her, he knew, but Eret wasn't really sure what he was meant to say. And Valka didn't initiate the conversation either, so Eret figured they needed time before they could be around each other again and it not be so damned awkward.

It was all his fault things were awkward though. Maybe he should be the one to break the silence... once he knew what to say.

The fire was almost burned out, just enough left in it for him to catch sight of the painting he had hung on the wall - the one Valka had done of he and Tripfire, only days before but it seemed like much longer.

Their days seemed longer now too; Eret still made meals, Valka still ate them, but there wasn't much conversation and so their time was back to empty silence save for dragons. Eret spent most of his time in the nursery now - the first lots of Yuletide hatchlings were up and about, and Eret had great fun spending time watching them learn to walk as he learned what sort of diet each baby was in need of. Valka could probably have told him... but they'd have to talk for that to work.

Eret was still struggling to be around her sometimes, phantom warmth on his skin and hazy, pleasant memories of the way she'd kissed him haunting him. He'd get past that, he knew, but the strain on living with her was evident, and Valka made sure to keep a certain amount of distance between them at all times. Eret hoped she wasn't worried he'd push her, force her. That wasn't how he was raised, and he'd never understand men that thought that way. Sex was infinitely better with a willing partner who enjoyed themselves, and Eret had thrown men off of his ships for bragging they'd hurt a woman.

Sailing with his cousins had been easier; they'd been raised as he had, with respect for all. Except dragons, unfortunately.

Eret missed them still, though he knew he could never go back to trapping. A couple of baby Nadders tugged a fish between them, their mother pulling it away and both falling onto their rumps before jumping up, indignant and hungry. The fish was torn in two and tossed back, which pleased the babies no end.

Tripfire began to shuffle in annoyance - she was not quite as enamoured with baby dragons as he was, and given that she'd gone and fetched her saddle while Eret wasn't looking, he got the feeling she wanted to go flying. Carefully removing a sleeping baby Scuttleclaw from his lap, Eret stood and stretched the stiffness from his legs before heading over to his now-much-happier Stormcutter friend.

"Alright girl, we can go flying."

He strapped the saddle on and hopped up on her back, Tripfire immediately heading upwards to one of the gaps in the rock that led straight to outside rather than navigate the tunnels more slowly. The fresh air hit him wonderfully, blowing away stress and anxiety as they climbed the sky until there was nothing around them but clouds and the odd passing dragon.

"Thanks Tripfire, I needed this."

She gave a happy spin, then took off at high speed, darting through clouds and diving so sharply Eret was almost unseated for a second before she rose again, levelling out with a gleeful roar. Clearly someone needed to get some energy out of their system.

"Six months ago I'd have lost my breakfast to a stunt like that!"

Tripfire laughed, continuing on with her twirls and dips, exuberant mood clear in the way they flew and her joy completely infectious. Eret grinned as she went, glad he was much better adjusted to aerial acrobatics and his saddle tweaked to essentially perfection, the handles of his saddle just right to hold on to as Tripfire barrel-rolled.

"Have I been neglecting you, or are you just really excited about Cloudjumper?"

Something had her bouncing with energy, and it was either cabin fever or Cloudjumper-fever in Eret's mind. They'd been flying enough, he supposed, but not as much as before the... incident, because they hadn't been flying with Valka and Cloudjumper. Well, Tripfire might have flown with Cloudjumper. Eret wasn't sure.

They went pretty far out, pushing the limits of safe to venture when Eret was unarmed and not wearing his armour - there was a distance at which they began to worry about bumping into ships. Nudging Tripfire to slow down, Eret pointed that out to her and his dragon nodded, spinning around and beginning a similarly energetic trip back toward their home. His back and thighs were a little stiff from the long trip when they got back, but it was nothing a hot bath and a rest wouldn't fix.

Tripfire spotted Cloudjumper before Eret spotted Valka, and when the male Stormcutter approached Tripfire let him, even gave him a soft warble of greeting. The mating season of most dragons was over, nesting and hatching their main concern now. Eret chuckled to himself at the idea Tripfire had intentionally kept Cloudjumper at arm- ah, wings length until the season was over, as though ensuring she would not be one of those raising a small nest of dragons herself that year. Somehow, it seemed exactly the sort of thing she would do.

As his eyes slid down from the dragons, Eret found wide green eyes watching he and the Stormcutters. Valka looked away after a minute, and Eret did too, throwing a smile at the dragons before he headed to his room for bathing supplies.

Part of him was niggling with a fear... if their dragons weren't bonding, would Valka have asked him to leave?

"Eret!"

He practically leapt out of his skin, staring at Valka in surprise. She ignored that he was probably rightly surprised, that she hadn't really addressed him directly in over a week.

"W-what is it?"

"Get your things, we're needed."

That was all it took to get him moving, and Valka left him to assemble his armour and fit Tripfire with her saddle while she took one last look over the injured bay, then rallied up some dragons for just in case they needed the backup.

Tripfire appeared, a saddled and armoured Eret on her back, dragon visibly raring to go as Cloudjumper peered around at Valka, asking if they were leaving. Valka nodded, grabbing her staff and hopping up on Cloudjumper's back, pulling her helmet on just in time for them to take off. Eret hadn't even asked where or what. He just prepared, proving to her again that his desire to protect dragons came before whatever it was going on between the humans.

Silent flights were uncomfortable now, so used to talking to him as they went, seeing that still-novel love for the air he had as a fairly new flier. But they weren't flying for fun; there were dragons to save.

They entered into a firefight, a couple of particularly defiant wild dragons attempting to free the caged and neither side was quite winning at that moment, though Valka knew the wild dragons would tire or run out of shots before too long.

"Dragon riders!"

The cry went out as they were spotted, and it took no time at all for multiple projectiles to start flying their way. Eret and Tripfire peeled off to the right, drawing much of their fire and leaving Cloudjumper to swoop in and set fire to the ship, scattering those aboard. They couldn't get to the cages right away, but at least dragons were pretty fire-proof.

It was their first real mission since... that, the Snoggletog and mistletoe debacle. And Valka realised early on that they ought to have dealt with it already. They couldn't work together efficiently if they couldn't even talk to each other, and it showed.

They were clumsy at best compared to what had been a rather more streamlined pair, neither quite sure where the other would be. Valka sighed as they lost time to fighting off the trappers, though Eret managed to down two of them before getting to the cages at last. Valka slammed her staff around the back of ones head, satisfied when he crumpled to the floor with a loud thud! as two adolescent Snaptrappers soared overhead, Eret already on to opening another cage while Tripfire ensured he wasn't interrupted.

About to go, Valka heard the yell of a stuck dragon, saw chains around the leg of a barely-adult Thunderclaw. She ducked down, looking for the locking mechanism to free them from the weighty metal. The chain came loose at last, Valka yanking it away. The Thunderclaw spread its wings, forcing her to duck lower to avoid her helmet being knocked off - it was lucky, really, as a full-sized human went flying just above her head, an inch from knocking her over completely. Cloudjumper roared as the Thunderclaw took flight, letting her know they were done.

Back in the air, boats merrily burning away below, they began the task of leading the rescues who chose to follow them back. Some had flown for freedom of their own accord, but the Snaptrappers Eret sprung were close behind him, all eight heads of the two dragons keenly observing him sat on Tripfire's back. Eret looked around, checking they weren't being followed, then raised his hands and removed his helmet.

Valka hesitated, but eventually copied him.

"Look... I should have said this before. I'm sorry about the tavern thing. I was drunk and... it was stupid, I didn't mean to..." Eret kept trailing off, sighing and stopping to think "it can't interfere with us saving the dragons. They deserve better than that. I won't try anything like that again, I swear."

Valka ignored a pulse of disappointment, that ridiculous part of her mind that wished he would, and gave him a tight nod. He was right. They couldn't put the dragons at risk again, not because of too much mead and mistletoe and human loneliness.

"Alright."

His face cleared.

"Alright? So... are we good?"

Valka nodded.

"We're good."

Eret smiled, looking as though a weight had been lifted. Valka cursed her pounding heart, wished her stomach wouldn't flutter so readily at the sight. She put her helmet on before Eret wondered if the redness warming her cheeks was from wind-chill or him, and he did the same as they flew on.

Things weren't like they were before.

Valka wondered if they were both haunted by that night, by those brief seconds where bodies overrode minds, when losing themselves in each other had been so close she could feel it in her bones.

But they were better again. Eret cracked terrible jokes. He didn't avoid her for every minute between meals. They worked the sick and injured together again, and the dragons benefited for it.

And he smiled at her again.

-HTTYD-

So, after next chapter... I'm probably gonna up the rating. Not saying that anything will happen immediately after, but I'm offering advance warning that something will happen, of the sexy variety. I really did set out with intent to keep it t-rated, but I've had their first time written out since like chapter seven...

If there's folx who wanna keep reading but avert ye innocent eyes from grown up time, let me know and I'll content warn for sexy times in chapters.