{Hiccup's POV}

[The Cove]

I adored that Toothless and I could talk! It was incredible, and something I never expected to happen, but we could, and I loved it. Of course, we had to be careful that nobody caught on started asking questions. I'm still training Viggo and Ryker the ways of being dragon riders; they are both doing well with Yin and Yang. The brothers work great together when it comes to flying formations and attacks. The other riders don't like that I'm teaching them, but I don't care. I'm the lead dragon trainer and head of the Berk Dragon Training Academy, so I make those kind of decisions. Although, I'm now faced with Chieftain Training under my father when I decide to come back to the village. Viggo has been able to tell me some things about being Chief, but he admitted that only my dad can teach me how to rule the Hooligan Tribe and Viggo said he would assist as much as he could at my request. I figured I could come back to the village whenever; I was over how they all treated me, but I suppose I'm holding back because I don't want anyone seeing how much the torture I went through bothers me. Viggo and Ryker see it at night when I'm dealing with nightmares of everything, but there isn't much they can do for me. Toothless ends up getting off his slab of rock and curling around me, and that brings an odd sense of comfort.

Honestly, it's one more thing I'm trying to figure out. Ever since Toothless and I have been able to talk that night of my birthday, which was three weeks ago, I feel differently around him. I'm not sure what to call the feeling either. Because I can hear Toothless now, when I fall into nightmares, Toothless whispers soothing words to remind me where I am, and bring me out of my slumber. I mean; Toothless is always here for me, but I feel like we're on a deeper level of the bond we share. Toothless never used to hold me before all this, and he trusts me with the connection to talk to one another, so I'm at a complete loss of how to handle everything. Oh, and I have to worry about when Drago will show up because I know he will; I just don't know when. My gut tells me he's planning something big, and I don't like that as I'm severely unprepared to deal with a big situation. At the same time, I can't risk going to the fortress and getting captured again, and I couldn't put the others in that kind of danger either. So that's more to the list of me having no idea what to do, and this includes the Chieftain thing! Ugh, I can't catch a break and it's taking a toll on me.

Everything I do has Krogan, Johann, and Drago in my head telling me that I'll never escape, and everyone is judging me because of what I went through. I heard their voices saying I'll always be useless, that nobody believes in, cares, or loves me. Gods, I hate it. And no matter what I do; it doesn't stop. I just want to feel like me again, but I think that Drago actually broke me. Months later from after everything, and I can't get past what happened to me. I suffered a year of agonizing torture, and then one day with hours of rape. I figured I'd be okay once getting home, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Currently, it's about to be sunrise, but everyone is still sleeping. I got up and exited the cave since I was awake anyway; I used the bathroom first, then got a fire going as it was pretty cold this morning. I sat in front of it, watching the flames dance, spark, and crack a bit. Instantly, I saw flashes of when Drago put me against the dragons to make me train then as an attempt to survive. I moved away from the fire quickly and panted as I paced back and forth holding my head.

Hiccup? Toothless asked, then I hit my knees. Toothless came right to my said and put his wings over me protectively. Hiccup, ssh; it's okay. Just relax, you're safe. I'm here, and so are you. We're home, and you're okay; I promise. Toothless consoled me. And like every time before, the pain and flashed seemed to fade as a sense of comfort surrounded me when Toothless was near. I slowly caught my breath and stopped shaking. Are you alright? Toothless inquired while nudging my face with his.

"I-I am. Thank you, bud," I said softly.

Nightmares still getting to you? Toothless questioned.

"No, the fire made me remember when I got put against the dragons," I admitted. "Would it have been easier if I just trained them for Drago? It's not like the dragons would have listened to anyone except their trainer, which would have been me," I muttered.

Hiccup, don't think like that. Whatever that madman promised you if you trained the dragons; he wouldn't have honored. Drago knew they would only listen to you, so you wouldn't have been released. Toothless replied.

"It just…Bothers me so much, Toothless. I barely sleep, or eat. Odin knows I can't forget any of it. I'm useless as a Chief because nobody is ever going to love or want me knowing what I've been through, and that I'm broken," I looked down. Without warning, Toothless pinned me to the ground and glared at me. I'd never seen him so angry before, not even against Red Death.

Idiot! Toothless scolded as my eyes widened a bit. You're not useless! You're smart, brave, courageous, strong. You're kind, compassionate, and caring…You're not broken, but you're letting yourself believe it because of what you endured! You're going to make a fantastic Chief, Hiccup. And you'll have Gobber beside you, and me! Hell, even Viggo and Ryker too. Stop believing what those people told you because it's not true. And don't you ever say that nobody will love you because I do!

I froze at what Toothless said. D-Did he just say he loved me? "W-What…Did you just-,"

Don't seem so surprised, Hiccup. Come on now. Toothless remarked, cutting me off. Haven't you figured out by now that our bond is stronger than anybody else's? You protect me, I protect you. I save you, you save me. For Odin's sake; we're able to TALK, Hiccup, and nobody else can because they aren't able to. I told you; the only way this connection forms is when a Night Fury finds their human counterpart. We're inseparable, and that can be proven by the fact re-bonding with me brought your memories back. You mean more to me than you think, Hiccup. Yes, I love you and regardless of where things go from here now that you know; I won't go anywhere. This bond, Hiccup; it's for life.

I couldn't believe it. Toothless l-loved me, and I had no idea how to deal with this! Gods, I really couldn't catch a break. Did I hate Toothless for loving me? No; I could never hate him, and he was still my best friend who I trusted more than life itself. Toothless is always here for me no matter what. Is liking him more than a friend the feeling I've been getting lately? Where all I want to do is be around Toothless because I'm happy with him, and everything I went through seems to fade when Toothless is near? Even now; I'm shocked to hear the confession, but yet, I'm not entirely freaking out that my dragon loves me. Also, my heart is racing right now with Toothless over me, and holding my arms in place so I couldn't get away.

"Is this a regular thing for you two to wrestle so early in the morning?" Ryker questioned as I looked back to see him and Viggo walking out of the cave.

"Uh, yeah. Now and then we do," I got off of me and I got to my feet. "Um, morning. And sorry if we woke you,"

"No trouble. Ryker and I are typically up with the sun anyway, or at least I am as a Chief," Viggo replied. I nodded while looked back at Toothless.

Don't look at me like that. When you've settled on that information and want to talk; you let me know. Toothless licked my cheek before going over to eat breakfast that Viggo and Ryker were setting out for Yin and Yang as well. I had no idea what Toothless meant by that, but I needed to figure out my own feelings. Did I like men since I didn't feel anything towards women? Or was it just Toothless I felt something that I didn't understand for? I needed to talk to Gobber about this; he might be the only one who can relate and I can trust.

[The Forge]

=Normal POV=

Hiccup chose to walk to the village to give himself time to figure out how the heck he was going to explain all this to Gobber. It was insane, wasn't it? For a human and dragon to love one another? Hiccup just hoped Gobber wouldn't think he was crazy, although, Hiccup felt like with everything going on; he might actually be losing his mind. Reaching the forge, Hiccup found Gobber hard at work with repairing or sharpening weapons.

"Hi, Gobber," Hiccup greeted. Gobber immediately put down the sword from the wheel, then hurried over.

"Laddie! Oh, it's so good to see yew," Gobber hugged him tightly.

"Yeah, need air…to breathe!" Hiccup wheezed out as Gobber let go and stepped back, but continued to smile.

"What brings you by? Finally moving back to the village?" Gobber asked with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Uh, not quite yet. I'm still dealing with some stuff. I was wondering if maybe you could help me?" Hiccup tried.

"I'll do what I can, kiddo. Come on inside; we can talk in the back room," Gobber motioned. Hiccup smiled as he walked into the forge while Gobber closed the customer window and then walked with Hiccup to the side room where they couldn't be bothered or interrupted. "So, what's going on that ole Gobber can try to help with?"

"Alright, and Gods, this is probably one of the craziest things I'll ever say, but…Is it possible to love another species, in a romantic sense?" Hiccup asked as Gobber was silent for a moment, staring at him.

"Okay, I'll bite. Tell me everything," Gobber said.

"You can't…tell anyone. I mean it, Gobber," Hiccup started.

"Yer secret is safe with me, son," Gobber assured as Hiccup took a deep breath and began telling Gobber everything about the last few weeks, even that Toothless and he could communicate. Hiccup couldn't stress it enough that Gobber couldn't tell anyone about that fact. Afterward, Hiccup took a breath.

"And earlier this morning, Toothless pinned me down and told me that he loves me. I was shocked, but I didn't freak out and it got me wondering about all those feelings I mentioned before. I just…I don't know how to take it all, or what to do," Hiccup sighed.

"You're right; one of the craziest things you've ever said," Gobber admitted as Hiccup closed his eyes. "But it's not the strangest thing I've ever heard in my lifetime," Hiccup's head shot up and looked at Gobber now.

"You've…heard of a human and a dragon loving each other?" Hiccup asked.

"I've heard of the two being together. Hundreds of years ago before the Red Death thing, mind you, but it's stuff that gets passed down among generations. Most all of the Tribes know it's possible, and they ignore it because it rarely happens," Gobber explained. "All the stories I've heard end with the human and the dragon leaving to have their own life; it would be a first for it to be a…Public thing as you can't leave; you're Stoick's Heir,"

"So everyone would be okay with things if anything happened between Toothless and me?" Hiccup inquired.

"It might take some adjusting, but yes; they would, Hiccup. Honestly, from all you've said; it's seems like you're meant to be with him," Gobber revealed.

"Where do you get the idea from?" Hiccup wondered.

"You don't spend as much time with ANYONE as you do Toothless, laddie. Toothless came in your life, and everything changed because you two are together as best friends, a team. Toothless needs you to fly, and though, you built him that automatic tail; he destroyed it because he wanted you to fly him. Toothless didn't want to carry you like the others dragons do for their riders. You rely on him, and he, on you," Gobber listed a few things off. Hiccup couldn't argue that; it was true. "You've been seeking comfort in him because he makes you feel safe, loved, wanted," And that was also the truth.

"So, I shouldn't fight this?" Hiccup looked at Gobber.

"No, you shouldn't ever fight your feelings son. If you love Toothless, then go for it. Nobody here is going to stop you. The one problem might be that you're an Heir to Berk, and when you become Chief; you'll have to leave a successor as well. Obviously, with Toothless, that's not going to be possible," Gobber reminded.

"How would I fix that then?" Hiccup questioned.

"Well, if you and Toothless ended up mating; which is the dragon's version of marriage; you might have to sleep with a woman to obtain an Heir," Gobber shrugged.

"By that you mean get a girl pregnant, and raise the child with Toothless, or as a single father and pass it off that the mother passed away, or left?" Hiccup muttered.

"Essentially. Contracts can be set up that way; an agreement that there is no marriage between the two, but the female agrees to bear your child, and hand it over then have nothing to do with it," Gobber mentioned. "I believe they do that on Bog-Burglar as you've been told before that there are hardly any men on that island. Example; Bertha is Chieftess, but Camicazi is Heir. Now, Cami can choose to take a husband and have a child, or just have a man get her pregnant and she'll raise the child. This situation would be no different,"

"I guess I understand, but I'd have to see if it's okay with Toothless; ya know, if we got that far," Hiccup nodded.

"I'm sure Toothless will understand, and won't mind as long as he gets you first," Gobber chuckled. "Listen, don't worry yourself with all this right now. Focus on healing, and letting yourself be happy. Take things slow with Toothless, but I'm sure they have they're own customs for mating and what not, so it might be a good idea to speak with him while you decide. The bottom line, son, is that you make these choices for you and don't worry about what anyone else will say or do. Gobber has yer back, and so will anyone else who truly accepts you for who you are,"

Hiccup smiled now. "Thanks, Gobber. I knew I could count on you to help me understand this better," Hiccup hugged him.

"Anytime, lad," Gobber returned the gesture, then the two split apart. "Go on and get outta here," Hiccup nodded as he left the room, then the forge while completely rushing by his father.

"What was Hiccup doing here?" Stoick asked.

"Hiccup just needed to ask something about forging is all; he's working on a new invention," Gobber lied.

"Ah, well, nice to see somethings haven't changed," Stoick chuckled.

"He'll return soon, Stoick. Hiccup is still working on a few things, and he wants it settled before coming back to take on the Chieftain training with a clear head," Gobber informed. Stoick nodded, understanding, then he walked away to continue his duties.

[The Cove]

Returning to The Cove, Hiccup felt a lot better about things, especially knowing that it wouldn't be unheard of for him to love his dragon, and be with Toothless. The only downside would that Heir situation; Hiccup would need to figure that out, but there was time. First, Hiccup required to take in all the information, then talk to Toothless. There would be a lot to discuss, and of course, Hiccup wanted to move slowly as it was new. Hiccup was sure that Toothless wouldn't mind since the Night Fury already told him to take his time, and then when he was ready; they would talk. That set Hiccup at ease, and now he could relax a bit while working through these feelings for Toothless. Although, Hiccup was sure he had already figured it out, but there was no harm in taking a bit longer to make sure. A lot would go into this, so he had to be positive about everything; including his feelings.