Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: I just want to let you guys know that after giving it some thought, I've altered the final chapter of 'Skin and Bones' so that Harald is going to be imprisoned on Berserker Island with his men, but then kills himself out of spite.

One of Us

Restless, Toothless awoke. It was the second night back on Berk since they'd returned from Myrkr. For a moment he wondered if he should just go back to sleep; after all, there wasn't much he could do awake but watch Hiccup sleep - not that he did anything like that, of course.

He remembered then that he and Hiccup were heart bound now, his rider could understand him. Perhaps Hiccup would even be willing to come with him. The bubble of hope burst when he recalled that they were both grounded. Stoick's orders.

Toothless slumped on his slab, eyes hooded with exasperation. Hiccup was probably too tired anyway. He lay there and sulked, forgetting that Hiccup could sense his emotions now...It wasn't long before the young man stirred. "Ngh...Toothless?"

The dragon lifted the tail-fin that had been draped over his face and peered with luminous green eyes at his human. A pale, freckled face, half hidden in shadow, looked back at him with concern. "You okay, bud? You seem kind of stressed" Hiccup murmured.

Toothless cooed an apology. *Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up.* Hiccup merely shook his head and sat up in bed. "What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"

*No, it's not that* Toothless replied with an affectionate slow blink. *I just can't sleep.*

Hiccup hummed thoughtfully. Toothless had told him that the dragons would often leave their nests and stables to fly and play at night, away from humans. "Do you want to go out and play?" he asked, a bit of a teasing note in his voice. "Big baby boo?"

Toothless grumbled and rolled his eyes at the playful insult. "I don't mind if you do, y'know. Besides, you can fly on your own now."

*Don't want to. Come flying with me.*

"Oh, buddy, I wish I could."

*You can! Your dad forbade you from riding me. If I'm wearing this*, he flicked the auto-tail, *then I'd just be carrying you, so it's okay.*

Hiccup stifled a snigger. "Yeah...I don't think he'd see it that way."

*Since when do you ever do as you're told?* Toothless grumbled. *And he won't see anything, he's asleep.*

Hiccup fought the temptation. "I heard him go out on patrol earlier. It's not that I don't want to...but I've probably pushed my luck enough as it is. If my dad catches me flying with you, he'll probably tie me to a chair" he said jokingly. "...And not trust me on my own ever again."

Toothless sighed. *So we're still grounded. Wonderful.*

"You're not grounded."

*I don't want to fly without you* Toothless insisted. *Look, just go back to sleep. You're tired. Besides, we wouldn't be able to do anything if we did go out.* Then again, given Hiccup's uncanny ability to find and get into trouble even on the ground...he saw his human looking thoughtful and had to suppress a groan.

"We don't have to fly. We could just...I mean, I can understand you guys now. I'd like to, y'know, meet the others properly. Unless...do you guys have a 'no humans allowed' rule, or something?" asked Hiccup.

*No, not really. And you're pretty much an honorary dragon anyway...* Toothless was interrupted when a familiar Zippleback head poked in through the skylight. *Hurry up, Toothless!* hissed Barf. *Aren't you coming?*

"Yes, we are" Hiccup replied before Toothless could. Barf rolled down an eye to peer at him and chittered excitedly. *Hello Hiccup. Belch, say hello to Hiccup*. He withdrew, and the second head poked in the skylight. *Hello Hiccup* Belch said dutifully. Hiccup grinned. "Hi guys."

*Bring Hiccup with you* Belch told Toothless. Barf echoed him. *Yes! Bring Hiccup!*

*I said that!*

*We said that!*

Belch retreated from the skylight to snap and bicker with his twin-head. Toothless rolled his eyes. Hiccup just snickered. He began getting dressed, and Toothless resigned himself to his fate. He clearly wouldn't be able to talk Hiccup out of this. He climbed up and leapt out of the window onto the frosty grass below.

*Where is your saddle?* asked Barf.

*How will Hiccup ride you?* inquired Belch.

Toothless huffed, half frustrated, half resigned. *He can't. His sire forbade him from flying for a moon-turn to punish him for going to Myrkr alone* he explained. Barf&Belch looked at one another, and back at Toothless.

*And he still-*

*Wants to come?* they asked in tandem.

Before Toothless could answer, Hiccup beat him to it. "I sure do." He dropped from the skylight onto Toothless' back and asked, "So what now?"

*Now we go to the far side of the island. Are you sure we can't fly there? It'll be so much quicker, and nobody's around. I bet Stoick isn't even on patrol. You probably just mistook his snores for Skull Crusher taking off* said Toothless. Hiccup sniggered. Then he looked up at the sky...the perfectly clear, temptingly beautiful sky.

He bit his lip. "The other side of the island, did you say? I guess...it wouldn't hurt to make a quick hop...just to wherever we need to go" he relented...trying to make himself sound more reluctant than he actually felt. Toothless warbled happily. *I'm glad you see sense; hold on tight!*

Hiccup wrapped his arms around the dragons neck as Toothless leapt into the air. The ball of guilt in his stomach at disobeying his father again was left behind in that first exquisite downbeat. Toothless followed B&B as they winged towards the forests on the far side of the island, away from the village.

The two dragons - or was it three? - landed in a clearing in the forest, on the slopes of the mountain. The other dragons were there already, including Selena and Shadow. She perked up - literally - at the sight of them, and bounded over. *Toothless, Hiccup! I'm glad you're here, I didn't think you would come out.*

Shadow's eyes narrowed, suspicious. *You flew here? I thought you said Hiccup wasn't allowed to ride you?* he asked Toothless. On his back, Hiccup cringed sheepishly. Toothless snorted dismissively and replied, *He wasn't riding me. I carried him.*

*How is that different?*

*It just is, okay? Look, it's only bad if his sire finds out, and his sire doesn't need to know. It's not like any of us can tell him* Toothless said confidently.

*I'm surprised, Toothless* rumbled Hookfang, *I didn't think you'd bring Hiccup with you.*

*Why wouldn't I?*

*It's so dangerous out here!* the Fire-Scale whimpered mockingly. *He might get cold and sick and die! Or get a cut that gets diseased and die!*

"Oh come on, I'm not that weak" Hiccup protested, feeling a bit put out. Toothless shook his head. *No, no, he's making fun of me, not you. He's always mocking me for being protective of you; just because he wouldn't know compassion if it bit him in the rump.*

Hookfang hissed at him, clearly insulted. It didn't help that several other dragons laughed, clicking or chattering or hough-hough-hough-ing. *Just ignore him; he likes to pretend he's better than everyone else* Toothless added loftily, nose in the air. Hiccup didn't know whether to laugh or scold him for being arrogant.

Hookfang drew himself up, spreading his wings to look bigger and more imposing. *I am better. I'm a Fire-Scale; a proud, mighty-*

*Selfish git?*

Hookfang's head snapped down to glare right into Toothless' eyes, the two dragons baring their teeth and snarling at each other. *You think you're so special, don't you, Only-Night-Fury-On-Berk? Do you think you're better than me?*

*I kicked your tail when we first met and I can do it again. I know that I'm better than you* Toothless growled back. Hiccup had dismounted, for which he was glad, because his muscles burned with the urge to wrestle Hookfang and put the Fire-Scale in his place..

Hiccup stepped fearlessly between the two, placing a hand on each muzzle and pushing them away from each other. He could barely move them, but he caught them off guard. "You two need to calm down; and you need to stop antagonising him" he said warningly to Toothless. The black dragon growled, protesting. "I mean it, Toothless. Be the bigger dragon here.*

*I'm the bigger dragon.*

"It's a figure of speech." When Toothless and Hookfang had moved away from each other, Hiccup looked up at the Fire-Scale and asked, "Hookfang, are you...jealous, of Toothless?" He looked around at the clustered dragons and again, asked "Are any of you jealous?"

The dragons looked sideways at each other and shifted on their paws and groomed themselves, suddenly very awkward. Finally, Stormfly spoke up. *It's not that we're jealous...it just gets a bit tiresome sometimes, hearing you humans talk about how incredible and unique Toothless is* she explained.

*Please don't be mad* Meatlug pleaded.

"Oh, I'm not mad" Hiccup assured her hastily. "I...I'm sorry. I - we didn't mean to make you guys feel like, well..." he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I guess we did lay it on a bit thick, huh?"

*You were sort of right* Stormfly said fairly, *Toothless was the only dragon like him you'd ever seen.*

*There are lots and lots of Spike-Tails and Rock-Tails and Fire-Scales and Twin-Heads here on this dragon-and-human island* said Barf.

*But there was only one Swift-Wing, until now* Belch finished, bobbing his head at Selena and Shadow.

*Hiccup's sire rides the only Charger on the island, and the two-pawed human rides the only Wing-Sleeper on the island* Barf said thought-fully.

*That's true* his brother-head agreed. *Maybe Hiccup's kin are just good at bonding with only-one dragons*. He paused. *What were we talking about?*

*We were talking about how Hookfang is a selfish git.*

*I am not!* Flames licked briefly across Hookfang's scales. *What makes you think I'm selfish?*

The dragons gave each other very clear 'is he kidding us?' looks. *You have to be talked into doing anything nice for anyone but yourself* Stormfly replied.

*You boast and make fun of the rest of us all the time* said Meatlug.

*You abandon your rider on a whim* added Toothless.

A thought occurred to Hiccup. "Hey, Hookfang?" The sulking Fire-Scale stared down at him. "Do you...not like being ridden?" he asked hesitantly.

Hookfang snorted in disdain. *If I didn't like it, I would have just flown off. I'm not as selfish as you think I am; I'm happy to let humans ride me. I don't know how you ground-walkers get anywhere on those sticks you call legs. Especially you. No offence.*

Hiccup's mouth twisted, half insulted and half amused. "None taken. Okay, it's good that you don't mind being ridden...but, um, why don't you listen to Snotlout much? Actually I might have just answered my own question. I know how Snotlout is, but he does care about you."

Hookfang's gaze softened a bit. *I know that...but Snotlout is a warrior, a survivor, like me. He doesn't need to be followed and watched over like a hatchling* he explained, with a pointed sidelong glance at Toothless. *And I don't abandon him; not when he's in trouble anyway. But I'm not going to do what he says just because he tells me to; especially when he's just showing off for a female.*

Hiccup considered how Snotlout usually instructed Hookfang, and grimaced sympathetically. "Yeah, okay, I see your point. So does that mean you'd listen to him more if he was polite?" he wondered.

*Good luck with that* Toothless snorted. Stormfly and Meatlug chittered and gurgled respectively in agreement. Snotlout's reputation clearly preceded him, and Hiccup had to stifle a laugh. He quickly lost that battle; there was nobody there but the dragons, and heck, Snotlout would waste no time in laughing at him if the situation was the other way around. He shouldn't feel too bad...right?

Toothless gave him an odd look as he giggled. *It wasn't that funny* the black dragon protested, bemused. The other dragons were unconcerned; typical crazy humans. Hiccup caught his breath and grinned apologetically. "Sorry. I shouldn't be...ahem. Err, y'know, maybe I could...talk to Snotlout for you? Get him to treat you with a bit more respect?" he suggested to Hookfang.

The Fire-Scale drew his head back with a snort of surprise. *Would you do that? You know he won't listen* he replied doubtfully. Hiccup shrugged. "I can be pretty persuasive. But look, you'd have to play your part too, okay? If I convince Snotlout to show you more respect, you need to listen to him when he does. Deal?"

He held his hand out. Hookfang peered at it in bemusement, prompting Hiccup to glance down and realise... "I'm trying to shake hands with a dragon. I have officially lost my mind" he deadpanned. He turned his hand so his palm was facing Hookfang's snout, and smiled encouragingly.

*You mean you want me to behave?* Hookfang demanded, hissing incredulously.

*It's only fair* Stormfly insisted, *The rest of us listen to our humans.*

*Sometimes we don't.*

*That's because our humans can't agree on what to tell us to do.*

*Oh, right.*

Hiccup's arm was starting to get tired. "C'mon, Hookfang. You've gotta meet me halfway here - literally. Do we have a deal?" he asked again. He knew dragons understood the idea of 'fair is fair'; paying the deeds done to oneself in kind. A mutual show of respect wasn't too much to ask.

At last Hookfang relented, and pressed his rough muzzle with surprising care against Hiccup's palm. *Alright, little human. Deal. But I'm not going to be a good little kitty cat like Toothless, and if you don't get Snotlout to show me the respect that I, a mighty Fire-Scale, deserve, I'll eat you* he informed Hiccup, baring his fangs.

"Fair enough" Hiccup deadpanned. He knew - or at least he hoped - that Hookfang was only joking. He looked around at the dragons - who had accepted him and his new bond with Toothless so quickly- and smiled. "You guys are amazing. You really are."

*We know* Stormfly chirped, preening. Everyone laughed.

*So what should we do now?* Selena asked eagerly, *What do you guys do for fun around here?*

*Oh, all sorts of things* Stormfly tossed her head, *Play at hunting, race each other, play fire games out on the sea stacks. All the usual stuff.*

*Or we play pranks on the humans* Barf cackled.

*Yeah! Like when we took a bite out of all those boots that horrid old human left piled up in the arena* Belch added...both he and his brother-head froze when they glanced at the human in their midst. Hiccup leaned back against Toothless and raised an eyebrow, smirking at them. They looked at one another and in unison declared *Whoops.*

*What do you want to do, Hiccup?* asked Selena.

He thought about it; he wanted to do something fun, but that wouldn't get him into too much trouble (relatively speaking) if his father came across them. The perfect idea came to him, and he grinned around at the clearing full of dragons, all looking at him curiously. "Anybody up for snow-surfing?"

*This is demeaning* Shadow complained, as they stood on the ledge overlooking the highest slope of Berk's mountain. Beside him, Selena swatted him with her tail and protested *Lighten up, Shadow! This looks like fun!*

He resisted the urge to snort dismissively at her; she was of a higher rank, even if she didn't entirely act like it. *This is a game for hatchlings!* he protested, waving his tail at the dragons lining up to slide on their bellies across the pristine snow covered slope.

Hiccup looked back up at the rock that Shadow was perched on and said "You don't have to play if you don't want to. Everyone else ready?" he asked the dragons on either side of them, Stormfly and Meatlug on their right, Hookfang and B&B on their left.

*First one to the bottom of the slope wins* said Toothless.

*So not Hookfang then, cos he'll set himself on fire and sink into the

snow again* Barf snickered.

*Hey! That only happened once!* Hookfang protested.

Hiccup laughed. "On three, yeah? One...two...three!"

Five laughing dragons bounded forwards and slid on their stomachs down the slope. Toothless, Selena and Stormfly got the lead, small and streamlined as they were; then Meatlug pulled ahead. Even from the ledge, they could hear the howls of indignation that using her wings to propel herself was cheating.

Shadow shook his head, snorting disdain...only to yelp in surprise as Selena pounced on him from behind and pushed him off the rock. He hit the compacted snow and ice, skidding down the steep slope and flailing for balance, wings and tail askew. Selena skidded past him, wings tucked in, roaring excitedly. *Can't catch me!*

His yelp of surprise turned into a growl - that sounded like a challenge!

Shadow tucked his wings in and raced down the slope determinedly...a small part of him had to admit that this was actually sort of fun.

Hiccup laughed as they plunged down the mountainside, crouching low astride Toothless' back. Flecks of snow flung by the biting wind stung his face and got in his eyes, his ears thundered with the howl of the wind and the shrieks of racing dragons, his nose and fingers were numb with cold, and his thighs were getting sore.

"YEAH!" He could not have wiped the grin on his face even if he'd wanted to. The icy crust over the snow, combined with the smooth scales of Toothless' underside, meant that they were well in the lead (he had once jokingly asked why Night Furies weren't called 'Smooth-Scales', but they'd just said that most dragons had smooth undersides, so it wasn't really a defining trait).

Out of nowhere, spikes flashed across their path, forcing Toothless to jinx away and slow down. Stormfly slid past them like a large beaked sled, cackling. *Stormfly!* Toothless roared indignantly, angling his body back on course and trying to pull his wings in tighter, to go faster. That was the trouble with snow-surfing – he was at the mercy of the elements, and could not rely on his own impressive speed.

Hiccup tapped his head for attention; he glanced up and saw his rider was pointing at a snow covered rock jutting up of the ground ahead of him. Stormfly would pass it first, and closer. Then Hiccup gave the 'fire' signal. Purring in approval, Toothless charged a blast and aimed it at the rock. The bolt struck true, just as Stormfly was nearing the rock.

She squawked in surprise and jerked away from the sudden explosion, spikes twitching all along her tail. Toothless-Hiccup shot past the charred rock like a huge scaly arrow. They were going to win! But then, of course, it all went wrong.

*AVALANCHE!* roared Hookfang. The dragons scrambled to dig their claws into the snow and spread their wings to fly; Toothless did the same, only to find himself falling back to the ground. "What the-?" Hiccup looked at the tail-fin and realised that it had frozen shut. How had he missed that?

He quickly dismounted and tried to tug the tail-fin open. *There's no time!* Toothless hissed at him, *Let's just run!*

"No! I've almost got it…come on…" Hiccup grit his teeth in frustration, wrestling with the contraption.

*Hiccup!*

At Toothless' urgent roar, Hiccup looked up and saw what seemed lil a wall of white bearing down on them. It was rushing towards them much faster than he liked, and even if he and Toothless did run, there was no way they'd get out of the way in time. He only had moments to decide what to do, but then it was taken out of his hands, as large claws wrapped around him and lifted him bodily from the ground.

Gasping as the wind was knocked out of him, Hiccup could only look down helplessly as the avalanche swept beneath him and right over – "Toothless!" He searched frantically for a sign of his friend, for where he was buried –

*Yes?*

Shocked, Hiccup looked up, and sighed in relief at the welcome, if amusingly undignified, sight of Toothless clutched in Hookfang's claws. "Oh, thank Thor. You're okay! Are you okay?"

*I'm fine. Can you put me down, 'Fang?*

*Sure thing, gummy* Hookfang replied, rumbling amusement.

Toothless' eyes narrowed. *I will bite you.*

Hookfang and Stormfly dropped Toothless and Hiccup into the snow; the other dragons gathered around them. *You two are insane!* Shadow snarled at them, but the way his ears pinned back and his pupils didn't narrow showed he was worried more than angry. *You could have been killed!*

*Don't be so dramatic* Toothless rolled his eyes. *It was just snow. As if a little avalanche could hurt me* he boasted, raising his jaw proudly. No, he was not preening in front of Selena, he was just…stating the obvious. He wouldn't have been killed. Shadow was overreacting.

*It never got the chance* Hookfang said smugly, before adding *I'm waiting, you know.*

*Oh, right. Thank you, Hookfang. For helping me. I appreciate it.*

*You're welcome. It was a rather impressive feat, wasn't it, snatching you up in the nick of time* the Fire-Scale preened.

"Yeah, thanks guys. You two were great – I mean, wow! I can't believe you pulled that off! I mean, I can. It happened. Obviously. But it was so close – if you had crashed into each other, all four of us would've been buried. Oh man, that would be such a good trick to use in battle or in the next dragon race…" Already his mind was whirling with possibilities.

*It was my idea to do it in the race* explained Stormfly. *We've been practicing together some nights.*

*Competing. She means we've been competing.*

Hiccup blinked, confused. "Wait…practicing with who? Or what?"

*With the sheep, of course* replied Hookfang, as if it were obvious.

*We put them back!* Stormfly added hastily, *We promise!*

Hiccup grinned, too happy to protest. Then Selena asked, *What are sheep? And what's the dragon race? Can we do it?*

*The sheep are those fluffy prey-beasts the humans keep and don't like dragons eating* explained Hookfang.

*And the dragon races are a game we play with our riders. All the humans watch us try to catch the sheep and drop them in a net, and whoever catches the black sheep wins* Stormfly described.

*Sounds fun* Selena crooned happily, *And so was the snow-surfing! At least until the avalanche. Even Shadow was doing it! After I gave him a little nudge, that is* she revealed, playfully batting the drake next to her with her wing.

All eyes turned to Shadow, who pawed at the ground awkwardly. *It was…okay, I admit, it was kind of fun. Not as good as flying, though.*

Selena looked up at the stars and purred loudly. *It's such a beautiful night. Oh! I can see my sire's star from here. Hi dad!* she warbled, shooting a small plasma blast straight up in the air.

Bewildered, Hiccup looked up at the bejewelled sky. "You can see your what?" he asked, confused.

*When a dragon dies, their soul goes beyond the sky. That's what the stars are; the heart-fires of dragons who have come before, and the brightest ones are those of heart bound pairs* Toothless told him. He scanned the sky, then raised his tail and tried to point with the tip of it. *See those two stars just there?*

"Those two?" Hiccup asked, pointing.

*No, that way.*

"…Those two?" he inquired more uncertainly.

*Yes.* Toothless crooned in a melancholy sort of way. *Those are the stars of our parents, mine and Shadows* he explained. First his brother, then he, solemnly fired plasma blasts up into the sky in a fiery acknowledgement. And perhaps it was only Hiccup's imagination, but he could have sworn that the pair of stars twinkled back in return.

"How…do you know which stars are who?" he asked quietly, craning his head back to take in the array of stars spread across the dome of the night sky.

*You just know. You feel it.*

"If the stars are heart-fires, what about the sun?"

*The sun is the heart-fire of the Great Dragon who made the world* revealed Stormfly. *He guards the world by day, and the moon watches over the world by night.*

"Wow…" Hiccup looked up at the stars, too many to count, and wondered… "Can humans be stars?"

Hookfang snorted. *Humans don't have heart-fires* he said.

*But they burn their dead* Meatlug pointed out, *So…maybe?*

"Do you think…my mom's a star up there?" he murmured, trying to find a star that he felt…knew…was her. There were so many of them, and he didn't feel any different. Toothless nuzzled him gently. *I'm sure wherever she is, she's proud of you* he told Hiccup, who smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks, bud. I'm sure your dam is proud of you, too."

Selena gave a happy, amused trill. *When I was a hatchling, I thought the stars were fireflies, that got stuck up there* she revealed. They all chuckled at that. Feeling more confident, Hiccup decided to share one of his own people's legends. "Us Vikings, our sagas say that the spirits of the sun, Sól, and the moon, Máni, are being chased across the sky every day and night by wolves called Hati and Skoll."

*Wolves can't fly* Shadow protested dubiously.

"Well, they could if they were magic wolves" Hiccup shrugged.

*What if we're all wrong?* Barf wondered out of nowhere.

*What if the stars are really huge, huge balls of burning gas?* suggested Belch.

*And they only look tiny because they're so, so, so far away?*

The other dragons all clicked or grunted disdain, rolling their eyes. *You Twin-Heads think everything is about gas* Hookfang scoffed. *Now, I'm wondering, should we hide?*

"You want to play hide and seek?"

*No, it's just that Skull Crusher is flying this way and your sire is riding him* Hookfang explained casually, gesturing with his snout.

"What?!" Hiccup yelped. Sure enough, he saw Skull Crusher and his father silhouetted against the stars. "No, no, no! He must have seen – you guys have gotta distract them! Toothless and I have to get home before dad does!"

The tail-fin was still stuck, but perhaps that was for the best; the sight of three Night Furies in the sky would have made his father more than just a bit suspicious. Toothless' claws tore up dirt as he bounded home, Hiccup on his shoulders, black scales and his riders' dark clothes camouflaging them amongst the shadows.

They scrambled up to the roof and through the skylight into Hiccup's room. He dismounted and dove into bed, throwing the blanket over his head. Toothless curled up on his sleeping stone, not bothering to heat it back up. Their hearts were hammering like fast-beating wings.

After what felt like ages, they heard the door creak open, still feigning sleep. Stoick looked in on them, seeing Hiccup in his bed and Toothless on his slab. "Hmm. I guess it was just those other two Furies. Honestly, what dragon won't follow that boy home?" he shook his head as he closed the door behind him.

He didn't see Hiccup and Toothless peek at each other, their eyes glittering with suppressed mirth and the excitement that came with breaking rules and getting away with it.

Hiccup closed his eyes and tried to get to sleep. It wasn't long, though, before he heard a soft croon and a tentative *Hiccup? Are you still awake?* He opened his eyes and found Toothless' only inches from his own, muzzle resting on the edge of the bed.

"Can't you sleep?" he whispered.

*No. I mean, yes. I mean…* He huffed at himself and tried to explain. *Just before, when we were talking about the stars…it got me thinking.*

"About your parents?"

*Them, and…I'm really glad we're heart bound.*

Hiccup blinked, and then smiled. "I'm glad we're heart bound as well."

Toothless still looked uneasy. *You don't know why I'm glad.*

"Why?"

His other half's eyes were big and vulnerable, and Hiccup's heart ached. He reached out. "C'mon, hey. Talk to me."

Leaning into the touch, Toothless closed his eyes and said *I don't like what-ifs, and now that we're heart bound, the what-if I dread the most will never be an 'is'.* He opened his eyes and met Hiccup's eyes, who looked at him questioningly. *You dying before me.*

Hiccup's breath caught in his throat, but Toothless wasn't finished. *Every time* he whined, *Every time I almost lost you, I'd have nightmares. Whenever you were kidnapped. That time under the ocean. All the times I wasn't there, thinking what if I didn't reach you in time? What if I wasn't smart enough, or strong enough...* He was whimpering now, at the thought of it.

Petting him soothingly, Hiccup murmured, *Whenever you were taken away from me. The blue oleander, the dragon-root arrow. I had nightmares too. I know, bud. I know. But now…I'll always be with you. I'll fight tooth and nail to stay by your side."

*So will I* Toothless promised, before blinking. *Wait. Is 'tooth and nail' your human way of saying 'fang and claw'? That's adorable* he said, purring amusement.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah." He yawned. "Think you can get to sleep now?"

The dragon purred and licked his cheek. *Goodnight, Hiccup.*

"Night, Toothless. Sweet dreams…"

The next morning, when he woke up, Hiccup didn't feel so good. His head was throbbing, his throat felt dry, and his nose… "Ugh" he groaned, sitting up and sniffling. Toothless crooned concern from his slab and asked, *Are you alright?*

"I'm f-f-f" – a tickle in his nose had him sneezing a rather disgusting amount of snot onto his blanket. Eww. "…I might have a cold."

It finally occurred to him that maybe going out in the middle of the night to play in the snow hadn't been such a great idea after all.