Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD

A/N: So I decided to dust off the old 'HBS Vignettes' and go back to Toothless-Hiccup's dreamworld. There was a whole shadowy mysterious cloud of Toothless' memories that I never really addressed, and no time like the present!

The memories for Toothless & Hiccup are shown from a third person perspective. Let's just assume that their minds are filling in the gaps, so to speak, with what they know/knew they looked like at the time of the memory.

Also, the next chapter of 'Crossroads' will be delayed, due to the fact that I'll be on holiday in southern Italy next week. But I'll still be writing there ;) Ciao!

Facing The Past

*Toothless? Can…can I ask you something?* Hiccup inquired tentatively. They were sleeping, technically; but they were also in their dream realm, having just lived through each other's memories of when his father was gravely injured and, in his fear, he'd claimed it wouldn't have happened if he and Toothless never met. Hiccup had apologised profusely for ever suggesting such a thing.

His other half reassured him; he'd been scared, stressed, and Toothless knew he hadn't meant what he said. He'd taken it back right afterwards…even if his apology hadn't quite come out right. The dragon had been more irritated by his friends wild stories, Astrid's in particular. *My tail-fin was torn off, not burned off. It was just as fireproof as the rest of me, thank you very much.*

Now, he looked at Hiccup's open, nervous expression and crooned reassuringly. *Of course. What's wrong?* Toothless encouraged, nuzzling him. Hiccup stroked him thoughtlessly and explained *You know that shadowy cloud…the one with your old memories in it, from before you met me?* The dragon stiffened, pupils slitting. *Can…can we go in there? Please?* asked Hiccup.

Toothless stared at him uncomprehendingly. *Why in Moon's name would you want to do that?* he questioned, pushing back on the urge to snarl in displeasure. He never wanted to take Hiccup anywhere near that part of his past, but of course his ever curious partner wanted to see it regardless.

*Because it's your memories; it's part of you. I want to understand it* Hiccup explained. *I'll let you see my memories of the time before we met* he offered. It almost felt like a different life now; there was Hiccup before Toothless came into his life, and Hiccup after. He much preferred being the latter. *There won't be as much, though. And it probably won't be as interesting* he added.

Toothless shook his head. *My memories won't be 'interesting', Hiccup. Not in the way you think. You made me a better dragon; there are parts of my past I don't…I can't…* He whined, struggling to explain it. *I don't want you to see that side of me* Toothless said at last, looking Hiccup straight in the eye and hoping that he'd understand. *I don't…I don't want you to think less of me.*

Hiccup reached out to caress and hold his great head. *I won't. Toothless, I promise, whatever's in your past, I won't think less of you. We all have things we regret. I mean, you know before I met you, I wanted to…you-know-what a dragon. You made me a better human* he smiled. Toothless still looked reluctant. *Okay; I don't have to see them. But will you tell me about them?*

Toothless closed his eyes and leaned into Hiccup's touch. He really wasn't sure about this, but… *Do you really want to know?* he asked, meeting Hiccup's gaze, eyes full of naked worry. Hiccup gently rested their foreheads together.

*It's part of you* he repeated, *and you're my other half, so it's part of me too. I want to know everything about you, bud; even your dark side. I want you to know everything about me* Hiccup revealed. *Even my dark side* he added.

*You don't have a dark side* Toothless denied immediately. *You're perfect.*

Hiccup countered, *So are you. To me, at least. We're both perfectly imperfect, how about that?* he suggested. Toothless warbled approvingly and nuzzled him. Then the dragon sighed, got to his feet, and motioned for Hiccup to climb onto his back. With a grateful smile and one more reassuring stroke, Hiccup climbed on and they took off, flying out of the cove and towards the dark cloud.

On the way, Hiccup rubbed Toothless' shoulders and his head comfortingly. *So…what is it in there you don't want me to see?* he wondered. *Just so I know what to expect.* He knew he was asking a lot from Toothless, and he didn't want to go in blindly, as it were. His other half was trusting him so much, and the last thing Hiccup wanted to do was get caught off guard and judge him.

The dragon warbled uneasily. *There's…the time I was enslaved by Her* he answered at last. *I did…bad things. Selfish, cruel things* he admitted.

*But it wasn't your fault. She was controlling you, she made you do it.*

*Not all of it. She didn't control us as much as you think; our minds were crushed by her Will, but we were still aware. Or at least, I was* said Toothless.

*Is that why you never stole food?* Hiccup wondered, *because you could resist that command, somehow?* Maybe Swift-Wings were more immune.

Toothless shuddered. *I don't…I don't really know if that was me choosing not to steal food, or if she didn't command me to. I was the only Swift-Wing there for years, but there might have been others she caught before me. That monster knew what my kind could do, and she used me for it* he revealed.

Hiccup grimaced. He didn't know what was worse; the idea that the Red Death had been smart enough to use tactics when she forced the dragons to raid, or the idea that other Swift-Wings had been caught in her mind snare. If they weren't around anymore, then they must have been…he stroked Toothless' head, more to reassure himself. *I'm sorry that happened to you, bud.*

*It's okay* Toothless told him, but he could sense the dragon's anxiousness. Or perhaps that was the guilt twisting his stomach into knots. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea… *Toothless, wait* Hiccup exclaimed suddenly, *we don't have to do this. If you're not ready…* he sighed and admitted *I'm being selfish. It's your past, I should just mind my own business. We can go back to the cove.*

Toothless replied *You're right. I'm not ready…but will I ever be?* He crooned and projected feelings of security and courage. *Some of my old memories still haunt me. I never told you, but I had nightmares about them. I haven't faced my past in a long time…but with you here, maybe I'll be able to put it behind me.*

Overcome with emotion, Hiccup promised *I'm here. We'll face it together, okay? And no matter what we find in there, it won't change how I feel about you. It's me and you, always.* His other half warbled gratefully, the emotion thrumming through their bond. They both looked ahead again. The dark mass was approaching rapidly. With much trepidation, Toothless flew into it.

It was nothing like flying into a regular cloud, of course. There was no dampness, yet a subtle chill had the hairs on the back of Hiccup's neck stand up. There was a sense of foreboding, though he couldn't tell if it was his own or his dragons or just in the air around them. It was dark, yet he could see clearly, and then he realised everything was in black and white. They were flying over water.

Hiccup suddenly recognised where they were; he and Toothless had flown this very route several times. The one between Berk and Dragon Island…it was the middle of the night, a sliver of crescent moon glowing above them. Hiccup made out the sound of flapping wings up ahead, and soon forms appeared, resolving into dragons flying in a group. All of them had prey dangling from their claws.

A raid. Or the aftermath of one. It reminded Hiccup of when Toothless had first taken him and Astrid to the nest of the Red Death. Swallowing in trepidation, he hunched close to his dragons' shoulders. He knew it was just a memory, that the other dragons couldn't hurt him, but he was still nervous. Hiccup felt more than heard Toothless whimper, and realised it wasn't his own nerves he was feeling.

"I'm here" he whispered. Talking aloud, even quietly, seemed to help him anchor himself. "What's wrong, bud?" he asked. Peering at the dragons, Hiccup noticed that Toothless' familiar silhouette was not amongst them. Where is he?

*You said it yourself – I didn't steal food* Toothless reminded him. *Didn't you ever wonder how I gave enough tribute to survive?* he asked, voice somber.

Hiccup opened his mouth and closed it again. He'd never really thought about that. "I dunno. I guess I just thought you got fish, or something" he replied.

*I did, sometimes. But other times…I did things like this* Toothless said gravely. Before Hiccup could ask things like what, one of the dragons they were following dropped out of the sky. A large black mass had fallen on them, dived on them from above. Hiccup watched the Spike-Tail struggle to fend off Toothless – what other Fury could it be? – as the black dragon attacked her.

It wasn't the other dragon that past-Toothless was after; it was the dead sheep clutched in their claws. The carcass was dislodged, and past-Toothless dived after it, knocking his opponent aside with a small plasma blast. He snatched it just before it hit the water, and carried it into the fogs around the nest. Hiccup flinched when he realised they were at the accursed island already.

Moments later he heard the call, and this time he heard the command that came with it. *COME. FEED ME.* They followed past-Toothless and the other dragons into the depths of the nest. The swirling cloud of frantic dragons dropped their prey into the pit and fled to the ledges around it, cowering submissively. Past-Toothless crouched on a high outcrop, slit-pupilled eyes fixated on the pit in which the monster that enslaved him was lurking.

A straggler flew in; the Nadder that past-Toothless had stolen prey from. She dropped a mouthful of fish into the pit and tried to flee, but - *STAY* the Red Death demanded. Instead of flying away as fast as she could, the Nadder hovered just a second too long. Hiccup couldn't tear his eyes away, but a black tail-fin came up and blocked his view before he could see the grisly scene.

Toothless suddenly fled, so fast that Hiccup thought the Red Death had sensed them and attacked. Yet she couldn't have; it was only a memory. Still, he could feel how shaken Toothless was. He was pretty unnerved himself. The Red Death had devoured a dragon after getting so much prey already, just for giving a smaller tribute. How could any creature be so selfish and greedy and cruel?

They landed on a sea stack, as far from Dragon Island as Toothless could get. He whimpered almost imperceptibly as Hiccup slid from his back and stepped away from him, staring at him in horror and dismay. *I'm sorry* he whimpered louder, lowering his head and crouching submission before his other half. He did not want Hiccup to fear him. *I'm so sorry. I'm a bad dragon* Toothless whined.

Hiccup gaped at him. Toothless' eyes – still green, the only colour in this black-and-white realm – were filled with guilt and shame, even fear. Those feelings pulsed through their bond and twisted in Toothless-Hiccup's stomachs like not-to-eat eels. "No" he gasped out, throwing himself forward to embrace his other half tightly. "No, bud, no. It's okay. You're not a bad dragon. It's not your fault."

Toothless whined confusion, even as he wrapped a paw over Hiccup's back to return the hug. *How can you say that? You just saw…what I did* he whimpered again. That dragon had died because of him. Worse still, he remembered the colours of her; she had Stormfly's colours. She had been Stormfly's dam. That was why he'd made these memories be black and white.

He would not burden Hiccup with the knowledge that he had gotten one of their friends mothers killed. There were some secrets Toothless bore alone.

Hiccup swallowed hard. *I know. But it's not your fault. She made you do it.*

*No, she didn't. That's the problem! The mad Queen didn't force me to attack dragons. For all I know, she would have spared me anyway. I was just scared…*

"Exactly! You were scared. She controlled you with fear. Look, I…I wish you hadn't done what you did" Hiccup admitted, "but you did it because you thought there was no other way. It's Her fault for putting you in that position. And I know you'd never do something like that now. I still trust you, Toothless."

The dragon whined softly. *Are you sure?* he asked, head ducked and pupils wide. He wasn't surprised that Hiccup forgave him, but he still didn't feel like he entirely deserved it. However, his other half nodded firmly and moved to embrace him again. Toothless thought about what Hiccup said. If the blame really did lie more with the mad Queen, perhaps he could forgive himself.

Toothless had never told Stormfly about what happened. *Hiccup?* he asked nervously, *do you think…if one of the dragons I got killed had family still alive…do you think they would forgive me?* Please don't ask me who I mean, please don't ask me who I mean he hoped desperately. Hiccup pulled away and gave him a considering look. Toothless' tail and ear-flaps twitched agitatedly.

"It's been a while" Hiccup said at last. "Maybe they already know, or maybe they don't. I guess…it depends on how well you know the dragons. If you think it wouldn't go over well, you should probably let the past lie. I won't tell you that you should definitely tell them or not; you just gotta use your better judgement" he explained. He caressed Toothless' jaw and said, "Let's go back."

Toothless warbled gratefully and let Hiccup climb onto his back. They returned to the cove and curled up together, soothing each other into a deeper sleep.

It wasn't long before Hiccup and Astrid went on another date. Whilst their humans were off talking and kissing, Toothless led Stormfly aside and confessed the terrible truth to her. He crouched submissively and apologised, begging her not to hurt him. The Spike-Tail rolled her eyes at him and revealed she already knew; other dragons had seen it happen and told her after she was freed.

*You knew?* Toothless squeaked in surprise. *Why didn't you say anything?*

Stormfly clicked her tongue in exasperation. *What would be the point?* she asked, flicking her spines. Toothless flinched. *It happened a long time ago. If my dam hadn't been killed by Her, she might have been killed by the Vikings. Toothless, why are you only bringing this up now? It's been years* she pointed out, tipping her head to keep the black dragon out of her blind spot.

Toothless' shoulders slumped in relief. *Hiccup wanted to see my memories from before we met. That was the first one I showed him. I didn't tell him who the dragon really was, though* he explained. *I thought if I told you the truth…since we're friends, maybe you would forgive me. We are still friends, right?* he asked her, realising only now that he might have ruined that.

In answer, Stormfly tapped him with her tail and leapt away, cawing *Can't catch me!* With a gummy smile, Toothless gave chase, the two of them tearing up the landscape and narrowly avoiding trampling Hiccup and Astrid's picnic. Toothless roared joyfully as he felt the guilt lift from his shoulders. Hiccup forgave him, and Stormfly forgave him, so perhaps he could forgive himself.

A few nights later, Toothless-Hiccup were in their dreamworld again. Once more, Hiccup was the one to broach the uncomfortable subject, but this time he offered to show Toothless one of his 'pre-best thing that's ever happened to me' memories. "It's only fair that you get to see my past if you showed me yours" he insisted. Hiccup wouldn't be dissuaded, so into the lake they went.

The first memory they came across was of past-Hiccup sitting on the front step of his house, sketching something in a notebook. He was engrossed in it, and didn't look up until a pebble struck his temple. "Ow!" the boy cried, looking up and rubbing his head. The twins were standing nearby, smirking at him. Past-Hiccup snapped his notebook shut and hastily stuffed it in his waistcoat.

"Oops! Sorry" said past-Ruffnut, not sounding sorry at all. "We were just trying to get your attention. D'you wanna play with us?" she asked. Past-Hiccup stared warily at them. "Whatcha doing in that book, anyway?" past-Ruffnut inquired.

"Nothing" he replied immediately. "Um, what…what did you want to play?"

"It's a surprise; but it's fun! Promise. You gotta come with us into the woods." Toothless could tell that those two were up to no good; he couldn't believe his eyes when past-Hiccup got to his feet and began to follow them into the trees.

*What is he doing? How can he not see this is a trick?* the dragon questioned.

*He does – I mean, I did. Or at least I had a bad feeling about it. But I was desperate. You know how much I wanted to be one of them* Hiccup explained. The very air around them seemed to ripple, and soon the village gave way to a clearing in the woods. It wasn't empty, however. Past-Snotlout was pacing back and forth, tossing a small knife in his hands. Tuffnut waved. "Hail, Snotman!"

It broke Toothless' heart to see the fear bloom in past-Hiccup's eyes when he saw the larger, meaner boy. "Oh, uh, hey Snotlout" he said with forced casualness, leaning against a nearby tree. "Did the twins ask you to play too?"

The grin on past-Snotlout's face was predatory. "'Sup, Useless" he sneered, prowling closer, or so it seemed to Toothless. Past-Hiccup tensed, but stood his ground. "Nah, I asked them to play. I've been out here practicing my stealth skills, so if I ever see a dragon in these woods, I can sneak up on 'em and bam!" Snotlout yelled suddenly, lunging at Hiccup with the knife in his hand raised.

Past-Hiccup gave a small scream and staggered backwards, tripping over a tree root. The other three laughed at him, which made Toothless' blood boil. *He just leapt at you with a blade! He could have hurt you!* the dragon snarled indignantly, as his other half's younger self scrambled to their feet. The current version shrugged. *He wasn't really anywhere near me. He just scared me.*

Toothless couldn't believe Hiccup was making excuses for that horrible brat. His younger self gave a forced, nervous laugh of his own. "Ha, ha, yeah, you got me. So, what are we playing?" he wondered aloud, "Hide and seek? I can go first."

*I only offered to go first cos the last time they asked me to play hide and seek, I hid and they went back home. I waited in a hollow tree for ages like an idiot.*

Before the Fury could protest, the memory continued. "Pfft, nah, this is a way better game. We're gonna hunt a dragon" Snotlout revealed. Then Tuffnut, who had finally managed to get back to his feet, announced "And then we're gonna sacrifice the dragon to Loki, in exchange for more delightful chaos in the raids!"

This didn't make any sense, but then Toothless expected no less from the twins. Past-Hiccup straightened his narrow shoulders and declared, "I can do that. Pretend to hunt a dragon, I mean. I'll slay one for real, when I get bigger."

Past-Snotlout scoffed. "Don't you mean, 'if'?" he asked. "What's a runt like you gonna do against a dragon? I bet you couldn't even take down a Terror."

"I – yes, I could! I even have ideas for a trap to catch them" past-Hiccup insisted.

Looking unimpressed, Snotlout informed him "We're not gonna hunt Terrible Terrors. We're gonna hunt a really rare dragon. There's only one in the whole archipelago. Maybe even in the whole world; and I'm gonna be the one to slay it" he declared smugly. Toothless snorted. *You'll be waiting a really long time.*

Hiccup's eyes went wide. "Are…Are we gonna practise hunting the Night Fury?" he asked, "cos that dragon's dangerous. Not that I'm scared or anything…"

"Not the Night Fury, stupid. What's the point in pretending to kill a dragon nobody can catch?" Snotlout asked incredulously. *Shows what you know!*

"The Night Fury doesn't even exist" Tuffnut insisted, completely serious. Toothless just rolled his eyes. How had this human even survived to adulthood?

"Of course it exists, you moron. What do you think blows up the catapults?"

"Your mum's face – aaargh!" Tuffnut yelled as Snotlout leapt at him, dropping the knife in favour of punching the other boy in the face. As they wrestled, Ruffnut got a dreamy – well, dopey – smile on her face and remarked, "Man. If anyone took down the legendary Night Fury, they'd be the hero of Berk!"

Toothless gave Hiccup a side-eyed glance; the young man shrugged sheepishly.

Snotlout leapt back to his feet and announced "It's totally gonna be me. I just gotta get some training first." So much for 'no one can catch the Night Fury' Toothless thought with a roll of his eyes. Young Snotlout was such a braggart.

Right, so pretty much nothing has changed, then.

"But anyway, it's not the Night Fury we're hunting. It's about this high", Snotlout raised his hand up to the height of Hiccup's head. "And about this wide", he held his hands apart the width of Hiccup's slim frame. Toothless did not like where this was going. "And it's called…the Useless Runt. Oh, look, there's one now!" he cried, pointing straight at Hiccup, who turned pale.

Toothless growled. Past-Hiccup backed away as the three larger kids advanced on him. "Err, guys? That doesn't…this isn't funny. I don't wanna play anymore!"

With a sickeningly malicious grin, Snotlout began to chant. "Hunt the Runt. Hunt the Runt. Hunt the Runt!" He, Tuff and Ruff stalked towards Hiccup, hands outstretched. The little boy stumbled over that tree root again, managed to not fall over, turned and ran for his life. The memory followed him, the world moving around them as past-Hiccup dashed past trees as fast as he could go.

He ducked under branches and splashed through puddles and scrambled through bushes, trying desperately to shake off his pursuers. For chasing them they were, whooping battle cries. The terrified boy tumbled down a small ravine and dived behind a large boulder – the same boulder, incidentally, that Toothless had pinned him against all those years ago. He crouched down, breathing hard, covered in nicks from thorns, tears forming in his eyes.

Not being able to intervene was tearing at Toothless like a predator at his belly. If he could he'd sweep the child up, roar at Snotlout and the twins, and carry Hiccup away to safety. Instead he could only watch as past-Hiccup huddled behind the rock, listening intently for the cruel children searching for him. "Keep looking!" Snotlout cried, "The Useless Runt has gotta be here somewhere!"

Toothless was so angry he trembled with it. As if tricking Hiccup wasn't bad enough, these horrid brats couldn't just leave him alone. Past-Hiccup tried to sneak away, only to step on a fallen stick that snapped loudly. He winced and cringed, freezing in place. "I heard something over there!" Tuffnut's voice drifted through the trees. Hiccup gasped in alarm and fled once more.

He kept running until he heard voices and a rhythmic thudding, sawing noise up ahead. Hiccup veered towards it, dodging past trees and using his small size to his advantage, blundering through routes that would be harder for larger foes to get through. Seeing him so terrified, hunted, made Toothless howl. The black dragon bounded alongside him, wanting desperately to snatch Hiccup up safe.

Finally, Hiccup burst out of the trees, right into the path of his sire, who was wielding a large wood-chopping axe. Stoick cried out. "Aaargh!"

"Aaaaaah! Don't kill me!" Hiccup screamed, throwing his arms over his head.

Though caught off guard, Stoick set the axe aside and hurried over to his son. "Hiccup, what happened to you? Where are you going in such a rush? And why are you crying?" he demanded, taking Hiccup by his shoulders. "Look at me!"

Sniffling, panting, Hiccup rambled out "Snotlout, twins, hunt, sacrifice to Loki!"

"What? Slow down, for Thor's sake, I can't understand what you're saying."

Hiccup sucked in a deep breath and blurted out "Snotlout and the twins are hunting me so they can sacrifice me to Loki! Dad, they wanna kill me!"

Stoick just looked exasperated, which only increased Toothless' ire. "Son, don't be ridiculous" he scolded. "Those three are troublemakers, no doubt, but they wouldn't do anything to hurt you. Not for real. It must be a misunderstanding."

Toothless growled. *In his defence, saying they wanted to kill me was a pretty big over-exaggeration on my part* the current Hiccup remarked airily.

Just then, Snotlout and the twins emerged from the trees. Hiccup looked very much like he wanted to hide behind his father's bulk, but then thought better of it. Stoick eyed the three other children and demanded "What's all this about you chasing Hiccup through the woods? And some nonsense about sacrifices?"

Snotlout shrugged. "I have no idea what Hiccup is talking about, Chief, sir. We were just playing hide and seek. He must have gotten lost again" he remarked.

"I did not!" Hiccup protested. "You were hunting me! Dad, don't listen to him!"

"Your boy is being a wee bit overdramatic, don'tcha think, Stoick?" asked Spitelout, who was helping chop up the firewood. Toothless fired a plasma blast at him. It didn't do anything, of course, but it made the dragon feel a bit better.

"Okay, look. Clearly the kids' game got out of hand" Stoick decided. "You three stay near the village; don't go gallivanting off into the woods, there's traps and wild boars you could run into. Hiccup, come on. I'm taking you home" he said. When Stoick wasn't looking, Snotlout caught Hiccup's eye and pretended to rock a baby in his arms, made weeping faces. The twins noticed and sniggered.

Toothless fired a blast at them, too, but the memory was already moving on. Stoick walked Hiccup home, and had the gall to scold Hiccup for what had happened. "If you'd just stayed home where I left you then none of this would"-

"But dad, it's not my fault!" the little boy tried to protest. "Th-they said they wanted me to play with them. I thought…I know it was stupid to believe them…"

"Son, I'm sure they did want you to play, and this was all a misunderstanding. Those twins go on about Loki all the time, but they wouldn't sacrificea person to him. Did you ever think that maybe they were just joking around with you?"

*You snake-bellied excuse for a sire! They weren't joking, they bullied him!*

"Snotlout had a knife!" Hiccup tried to protest, "He lunged at me with it. They said I was a Useless Runt and sort of stalked towards me…so I ran for it."

Stoick shook his head in disapproval – but at Hiccup, not his peers. "A real Viking doesn't run, Hiccup. We stand our ground. You've got to stand up for yourself."

Hiccup sniffled, wiping his nose and eyes with the back of his hand. He mumbled something that Stoick didn't seem to hear, but Toothless did. "I'm trying to." The dragon snarled and began to gather fire in his jaws, but Hiccup – the older version – stepped in front of him, blocking his aim. *Toothless, stop. I don't want you firing a plasma blast at my father* he insisted, arms folded.

*It's not going to hurt him! He won't even feel it. This is just a memory.*

*I know, but it's a matter of principle. Besides, I think I know why we found this memory first. Look* Hiccup insisted, gesturing. Toothless looked. They were inside Hiccup's room, and his younger self was sitting on the bed, hugging his knees to his chest. The urge to nuzzle and comfort him was overwhelming, and Toothless rubbed his head against the current Hiccup in near desperation.

Then past-Hiccup looked up with a determined expression on his young face, scrambled off his bed and went over to the desk. He pulled out his notebook and rifled through it to an empty page, picked up a charcoal pencil. "Whoever takes down the Night Fury would be a hero, huh?" he muttered to himself as he scribbled. "There's no way they'd pick on me, if I can just…kill a dragon…"

The space around them rippled again, and they found themselves in the cove. "See?" Hiccup asked, when Toothless stared at him in dismay. "If that stuff hadn't happened, I wouldn't have been as motivated to try and capture a dragon. Then I wouldn't have built the machine that shot you down and we'd never have met. So when you think about it, their prank was a good thing."

Toothless stared at Hiccup as if he'd grown a second head. *Am I supposed to be grateful?* he asked incredulously. *To be glad about how those pests and your own sire treated you? They humiliated and insulted you for years, and I can't believe you're making excuses for them!* he snarled. Hiccup flinched. The dragon's gaze instantly softened. *I'm sorry* he crooned apologetically.

Hiccup reached a hand out, and Toothless nestled his snout into the man's palm. *It hurts me to see you hurt. Even more to see you hurt yourself.* He gave a sorrowful moan and nuzzled closer. *You suffered so much before we met* Toothless realised, as Hiccup ran gentle hands over his head.

"I think 'suffered' is a bit of a strong word" Hiccup protested, "….but yeah, it wasn't fun" he admitted. Then he revealed "I didn't enjoy it at the time, but my life back then…it made me who I am. If I didn't know what it's like to be helpless…I might not have realised that we were the same" he said, gazing into Toothless' eyes, seeing love and longing reflected there. "I can't regret that."

*I understand* Toothless crooned, *and I suppose, if I hadn't been made to do what I did, I wouldn't want to save other dragons from the same fate.*

"Exactly. Besides, it wasn't all doom and gloom. If we do this again, what d'you say we show each other some happy memories? Like, uh…I know! Do you remember the first time you went flying?" Hiccup asked eagerly. Toothless' pupils narrowed, his eyes widened, and he suddenly became fascinated with the grass over there. *You know, I'm not sure I do. It was such a long time ago…*

A grin spread over Hiccup's face. "Oh, c'mon, you must remember! That's not the sort of thing you just forget. I know I won't" he remarked with a fond smile.

Toothless purred, then groaned when he realised Hiccup wasn't going to let this go. *Okay, fine. I remember my first flight. It's just…it was embarrassing* he whined. If he hoped for sympathy, however, he was disappointed. Hiccup's grin only got wider, and the Swift-Wing just wanted to bury his head in his paws.

"Now I really want to see it" Hiccup giggled, "I bet you were adorable back then. Pleeeease?" In a burst of inspiration, he adopted his dragon form and gave the best pleading look he could muster. Toothless just rolled his eyes, exasperated.

*Alright, but you have to show me one of your most embarrassing memories.*

*Deal!* Hiccup agreed straightaway. He dropped his hindquarters as if about to pounce. Toothless gave him a flat look and pounced first, bowling him over. The two of them shrieked and wrestled and snapped without teeth, tumbling over each other in the grass, wings and tails tangling. The play-fight chased away any lingering self-doubt, indignant anger replaced with indignant laughter.

Yes, they had done things, or had things done to them, they both regretted; but all that was in the past. They had faced it, and now they could look forward to the future, together. They had each other now, and that was all that mattered.

A/N: I'm gonna leave what made Toothless' first flight so embarrassing, and what Hiccup's most embarrassing memory was, up to your imaginations ;)