Why Did You Stay?

Astrid walked back towards her home through the growing darkness, paying little heed to her surroundings as her mind churned. Hiccup's words echoed in her ears.

'That's why I'm the worst Viking Berk has ever known.' Hiccup had seen a choice between being a Viking and being friends with a dragon. And he was going to choose the latter. HAD chosen really. He had been planning to turn his back on his people and run away. Where was the honor in that? Where was the bravery?

Other words began to echo in her mind as well. Words just a few days old. 'He's my best friend. My only friend.' Had Hiccup really been so alone? How alone would you have to be before your people's archenemies became a potential source of friendship? Before you looked to a dragon for kindness instead of your fellow Vikings?

'The first time I can remember him EVER saying he was proud of me.' Astrid's parents had always been supportive of her. In a typically Viking sort of way. After all, she had grown up to be a model Viking herself. What would it have been like to have NOT had that support? To always be a disappointment, no matter how hard she tried?

Who DID Hiccup have to support him anyway? Besides himself? It had always been just Hiccup. Hiccup and his bad luck and his strange, wordy, snarky sense of humor. Hiccup and his scrawny body, big ideas, and inevitable failures and screwups. Just Hiccup and his goofy smile and goofy behavior which always overshadowed the fact that it WAS just Hiccup. Not Hiccup and friends. Or Hiccup and family.

Looking at it that way, what was he really leaving behind? Her? She cringed at the memory of twisting Hiccup's frail wrist and knocking him to the ground. And then dropping her axe on him in a rather… sensitive area. No, she herself had hardly given him any reason to stay, had she?

And that thought brought up other, even less pleasant thoughts. Thoughts about how she'd treated the red headed boy. Thoughts about how beneath her she had once considered him. Thoughts of how angry he had made her when he began surpassing her.

No, she definitely hadn't given him reason to stay.

So who had?

Who WAS important to Hiccup? What mattered to him? Who did he turn to when he needed help or advice? What did he do for fun? Who did he admire? Who did he hate?

And Astrid found herself wondering: What, exactly, DO I know about Hiccup?

She knew he was clumsy. That he smiled a lot and tended to make sarcastic jokes about everyone and everything. She knew he was an apprentice to Gober the blacksmith, and was apparently pretty good at his job, even if he had a tendency to build weird contraptions now and then. He was scrawny and weak for his age and was horrible with most any weapon placed in his hands. But… EVERYONE knew those things. What else did she know?

Well, she knew he had befriended a dragon. She could take some pride in the fact that she had known that before most anyone else, but once again it was common knowledge. She knew that he had defeated the Red Death and lost his leg in the process.

But what do I know that isn't common knowledge? What do I know about him that's SPECIAL? She wondered to herself.

Astrid knew that Hiccup had a great many layers. If only because she kept finding new, unexpected ones. There was a surprising depth to him. Not that other Vikings were shallow. It's just that with most people on Berk, what you saw was what you got. Blunt and straightforward were the words of the day. But the more time she spent around Hiccup, the more she began to realize that what showed on his face was not always the same as what was going on in his head. Or his heart.

What else? She knew why Hiccup failed to kill Toothless in that first fateful meeting. He'd told her it was because Toothless had looked as frightened as he was. That he'd seen himself in the dragon. She also now knew that Hiccup had planned to leave the village, with no plans to return. Not exactly a point in his favor, but…

But it was something he had admitted to her. Something she doubted he'd ever told anyone else. And somehow that knowledge made her feel… special.

She knew he was kind of cute, in a scrawny kind of way. Not that she'd admit it out loud. She knew that…

Her steps slowed as past images, words, and actions flashed before her eyes.

"He's my best friend. My only friend."

There WAS something else she knew about Hiccup.

"Astrid, if something… goes wrong. Just make sure they don't find Toothless."

Something important about him.

"You want to keep it a SECRET? To protect your pet dragon? Are you SERIOUS?"

"Yes."

Something she didn't think many people had realized yet. Perhaps because they had never given Hiccup reason to demonstrate it.

She was falling through the air, her arms flailing ineffectually as the ground rushed up to meet her. Her life had just started flashing before her eyes when she saw a black blur diving towards her. Diving towards her right under the nose of the largest dragon Vikings had ever seen. Diving towards her practically through the monster's teeth in order to catch her. And then she heard his voice, filled with concern.

"Did you get her?"

Hiccup…

"I couldn't begrudge him my leg if he'd snapped it off on purpose himself".

Hiccup was…

Without a second's hesitation, Hiccup leapt off the back of the Deadly Nadder and onto the deck of the burning galley. Paying scarce heed to the flames licking at the ship all around him, he immediately started working on Toothless's bindings. But he took a moment to turn and yell back at her first.

"Go help the others!"

Hiccup was INCREDIBLY loyal to his friends.

She doubted Hiccup would ever heft an axe over his shoulder and charge into battle seeking honor and glory. Raising a sword in anger just didn't seem like him. And forget dropping a war hammer on the head's of his foes. He'd be more likely to drop it on his own foot. Hiccup would never fight for HIMSELF.

But for his friends… For his friends he would… HAD!… Charged into the face of death itself.

I really DON'T know much about Hiccup. Astrid stared at her house as her slow steps brought her home. But I know enough to know that he's loyal to a fault. She stared at the flickering light that escaped around the doorframe and window shutters, promising a warm cheery fire inside. Then she turned her head away from the house to stare into the night sky. Full darkness had fallen, and the moon was hiding behind a veil of clouds. She hadn't seen Toothless and Hiccup depart, but she had heard his wings flapping. And she knew they weren't heading in the direction of their home.

I know enough to know that he's special. I know enough to know that I want to know MORE about him.

She nodded her head in determination. Turning away from the door, she instead began to circle her house, heading for the rear of the building where a recently built lean-to housed her friend and partner.

"I just hope Axe is up to a late night flight…"

Hiccup sighed miserably as he leaned back against the scaly side of his best friend, staring up at the night sky. He lay on the ground beside Toothless in the small grotto where the two had first met. This was a special place for both of them. A place full of memories. Their first meeting. Their first fish. Their first flight. Meeting Astrid…

Best not to continue that thought. Hiccup sighed again, eyes sliding down to stare at the pond in the middle of the grotto as ripples slid slowly across its surface, distorting the reflection of the quarter moon and stars.

Beside him Toothless made a questioning purring sound and nudged his side with his nose, looking at him with big, soulful green eyes.

"Yeah buddy, I sure screwed that up." His hand slid downwards to absently scratch the dragon's neck. "I really should have just kept my mouth shut." Another sigh escaped his lips as his shoulders slumped a bit more.

"But Astrid is a smart girl. She would have figured it out on her own soon enough. It's probably better this way. It would hurt more later." He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths, trying not to cry. "Everyone will figure it out sooner or later. I just hope I can teach them enough first… Enough that they'll want to keep learning on their own. So Vikings and dragons can live together in peace."

Toothless growled mournfully and nudged his friend's side again. He didn't understand. He hadn't heard Hiccup and Astrid's conversation. He didn't know WHY his flightless friend was so upset. If only the problem were something physical, something he could fight with claws and teeth! He'd tear it to shreds for harming Hiccup! And then burn each shred into ash! But while he didn't fully understand what was hurting his human, his partner… he was certain it wasn't something he could fend off with talons and fire. He just wished he knew what to do.

He did know some things however. He knew that his human was unhappy. Oh, he saw Hiccup smiling as he walked around town, but he couldn't fool Toothless. Toothless could see his pain. And the dragon could also see that not all of his pain was from his leg. The only time Hiccup seemed truly happy was the few hours a day when they would go flying together.

Toothless loved those times the most. Not just because he got to feel the wind under his wings once again. Not just because he could return to his rightful place in the sky. No, he loved those times of day because however much joy he felt, he could feel just as much radiating off his passenger. Toothless has always been happiest in the air. But somehow sharing that feeling of happiness with the red headed boy made every flight infinitely better.

When they were soaring through the clouds, he could tell that Hiccup was really, truly happy. And Toothless was proud of the fact that as a Night Fury he could outrun and outfly ANYTHING. He could even outrun the pain in Hiccup's leg, leaving it far behind in slipstream they generated. In the air his friend barely seemed to notice his missing limb. Just as Toothless barely noticed his missing tailfin anymore when the two of them took to the sky.

When they flew together, they both felt whole once again. When they flew together Toothless felt like he could outrun the sun itself. Little things like the aches in Hiccup's body, or even the aches in his heart, had no chance of keeping pace with them. They were left behind in the dust. For a little while at least.

But that wasn't the case this evening. Whatever dark malaise was trailing his friend tonight had proven doggedly determined and persistent in tracking him. And there seemed to be little Toothless could do to dispel it.

A low worried moan from Toothless was enough to regain Hiccup's attention, and he smiled sadly at his friend, giving the black scaled dragon some more attention, hands running over his scales.

"I'm fine buddy." The lie slid off his tongue with practiced ease. "I'm just tired I guess. Tired of hiding things."

He closed his eyes and sighed again. He was good at hiding things. It was kind of ironic that he could be so bad at LYING and yet so skilled at hiding. Hiding the fact that he'd freed a Night Fury. Hiding the fact that he couldn't kill a dragon. Hiding the fact that he'd become FRIENDS with a dragon. Hiding his work on Toothless' prosthetic tailfin. Hiding where his sudden dragon fighting skills had come from. Hiding how much his ruined leg truly pained him. Hiding the fact that he was a coward who had planned to run away from his tribe.

And from when he was a child, hiding the pain from the taunts of his peers. Hiding the pain from his father's disappointment. Hiding everything behind a smile and a witty joke.

But deep down Hiccup feared that he really wasn't any better at hiding things than he was at lying. He feared that his secrets remained safe not because of his skill at hiding them but because… no one cared.

When Hiccup had been designing and building Toothless' tailfin he had left plans and parts and drawings lying around his workroom. Gober had only been able to build a replacement while he had been unconscious because he'd found the design drawings practically out in the open. Hiccup hadn't really bothered to hide them. He had hardly even considered it really. They were perfectly safe there on his workbench. After all, it wasn't as if anyone else had ever gone back there. It wasn't as if anyone had ever been interested in what he was doing.

It wasn't as if anyone had CARED.

But things had changed. Oh, how they'd changed! And they'd changed so very, very FAST! Now EVERYONE was interested in him. People wanted to know what he was doing! What he was thinking! What he was making and how he had made it! People were watching him! Staring at him! Pointing at him instead of ignoring him! He had people's attention!

And he felt certain that it wouldn't be long before all that attention stripped away his secrets. His failings. His weaknesses (the one's he'd kept hidden, not just the obvious ones that everyone knew and mocked). His mistakes. His cowardice. All the things he'd been sure he had well hidden, but were only truly hidden by the apathy of those around him.

Somehow… somehow he had achieved all he had ever dreamed of. He had respect. He had attention. He had his father's approval. He was cloaked in glory that would never fade. And he was certain, absolutely certain, that it would all come crumbling down around him in short order.

But that didn't mean he would let his new status go to waste! No matter how short lived it might be! No, he was determined to put his reputation to good use while he could! He filled his days with metal and leather, working in the smithy and trying to impart as much of his knowledge to Gober as he could. And when he wasn't working in the forge he was trying to help small groups of his fellow Vikings understand their dragons. Trying to help them form bonds with the creatures. Trying to help them become FRIENDS.

Trying to use the things Toothless had taught him to sew together Viking and dragon society in the short time he had while they still respected him.

The rest of his time was spent doing his best to avoid everyone else. Trying to stay out of the limelight. Trying to avoid the attention he was sure would strip away his defenses and leave his secrets bare to the world. The longer he could hide the truth, the more he could do to help the relationship between humans and dragons along. To create a safe future for his friends, both those covered in skin and those covered in scales.

That was why the happiest moments of his day were the times he spent on Toothless' back. In the sky there was no one to hide from. In the sky there was no one to see his weakness. In the sky it was just him and Toothless, whom he would trust with any secret. When they were in the air, he could feel the dragon's joy and happiness, and it warmed his heart to know that, in some small way, he was helping his friend experience those feelings again.

A nudge and a low whine roused Hiccup from his thoughts. Looking into those big green eyes, filled with care and concern, he couldn't help but smile at his black scaled friend. His first genuine smile since they'd left the smithy.

"Whatever happens, we'll take care of each other, right buddy?" He grinned as Toothless nodded his head with great certainly. He grinned even wider when he began to scratch the dragon's scales in earnest, and Toothless plopped his head bonelessly onto the boy's lap in response.

The night was growing cold, but the dragon's scales were warm and comfortable as he leaned back against Toothless' body, his head on his lap. It had been a long day. An endless series of long days in truth. And Toothless' warmth and low purr of pleasure was having a relaxing, lethargic effect on him.

Which was why he didn't immediately recognize the whooshing sound of a dragon cutting through the night sky. Or even the sound of boots on the soft ground. He didn't notice much of anything until Toothless lifted his head from his lap.

Axe has seemed a bit peeved when Astrid had awoken her a few minutes after arriving home. But the dragon seemed to pick up on her mood after a few moments. And when she had asked Axe if she was up for a midnight flight, the dragon had just nodded determinedly.

Convincing Axe to go for a ride proved to be the easier part of the journey. For starters, there was the fact that she didn't actually know where she was going. She was determined to find Hiccup and talk to him. But the truth was, she had no idea where he might be. She honestly didn't know where he went on his flights with Toothless. She didn't know where he might go when he was sad or confused.

Another thing about him I don't know. She thought to herself in disgust. She really only knew of one place in that direction which might hold any meaning to Hiccup. On the plus side, that reduced the amount of searching she had to do. If he wasn't there, she had no clue where he might be. On the minus side, she had only been there once. In the daylight. On the ground. And she knew from experience that things looked far different from the air.

Still, she was determined to try. So she spoke softly to Axe and explained what she wanted. She described the bowl shaped grotto she was looking for, and gave directions as best she could from memory. And when she finished she mentally crossed her fingers, hoping that her dragon would understand her.

And her hopes were realized when, after a few moments consideration, Axe nodded her head and lowered herself to the ground with a cooing noise to give Astrid easier access to her saddle.

And then they were in the air. And suddenly Astrid found herself questioning the wisdom of her decision to follow Toothless and Hiccup into the night. Sure, she had flown with Axe dozens of times by now. But she'd never flown upon her back at night before.

In fact, the only time she'd even flown at night was that first time with Hiccup on Toothless. And even then, it had been a clear night with a full moon, providing some semblance of illumination. On THIS evening, the moon was little more than a crescent, and the sky was overcast. At the whim of the wind and clouds the entire world would be plunged into almost total darkness.

Of course, her partner seemed to have little difficulty seeing through the shadows. Astrid expected no less. It was well known that dragons had excellent night vision. If they didn't, they would hardly have been able to attack Berk at night after all. But knowing something and experiencing it are two different things. And Astrid really hadn't considered just how much trust she was putting into her dragon.

Astrid was practically blind as they flew through the night sky. When the clouds passed before the moon, she was lucky if she could tell if they were over land or water. She was forced to trust her partner. Trust that Axe knew where she was going. Trust that she could SEE where she was going. Trust in her dragon not to run them both in a mountain. Or the ocean. Or a stand of trees. Or just leave her stranded somewhere far from the village, or on one of the small islets that surrounded Berk proper.

She was not just at the dragon's mercy. That was more or less true every time they flew. Now she was also dependent on Axe for everything. Even sight. She had to trust her dragon, her partner, completely.

After a few minutes, her death grip on the reigns loosened. A few minutes after that and she was no longer squinting her eyes, desperately and hopelessly trying to make out what was more than a few feet in front of her nose. And eventually she found herself relaxing, absently scratching Axe's neck as she stared up into the cloudy night sky, occasionally catching glimpses of the stars from far closer than she'd have even dreamed possible mere weeks ago.

It was almost a surprise when Axe began descending. Astrid squinted her eyes into the darkness, trying to see if they were in the right place. And more importantly, if Hiccup and Toothless were there. At first she couldn't even tell what lay below her, it was so dark. But then the Gods seemed to smile upon her, and the clouds parted. The quarter moon cast it's feeble illumination across the Earth, revealing the terrain below her.

In the dim moonlight she could make out a large rounded grotto, surrounded by rocky walls and trees. She could see the light reflecting off a small pond in the center of the clearing. And, far more importantly, she could just make out a dark, black spot on the ground that seemed to soak up what little moonlight there was, reflecting none of it back.

And beside it, there was the faintest glint of metal, shining in the darkness.

"All right Axe, we've found them! Now bring us in nice and quiet." She whispered to her mount over the wind, patting the dragon's neck.

The Deadly Nadder just nodded its head in reply, and once again they were descending, gliding down into the grotto on outstretched wings.

Hiccup leaned back against Toothless' side, soaking up the warmth from his scales and staring blankly at the night sky. He wasn't paying much attention to the world around him. He didn't hear the whistle of the wind beneath a dragon's wings. Or the soft 'whump' of claws and then boots striking the earth.

But Toothless did.

Toothless noticed the Nadder coming in to land. And he heard the soft footsteps approaching himself and his friend. But more importantly, he recognized who it was that was coming to visit them. Which was why he held his peace, not reacting to Astrid's approach. Not giving his partner any hint that someone else was there.

Because Toothless knew that whatever was hurting Hiccup was something he couldn't fix by himself. How could he, when he didn't even fully understand it? But he had high hopes that whatever the problem was, it was something another Viking might understand. Something another Viking might be able to FIX.

And there was something else Toothless knew. He knew that while Hiccup usually greeted the world with a smile on his lips, it didn't always reach his eyes. Hiccup only smiled, really, truly smiled, for those he cared about. Toothless was proud of the fact that he could always draw out one of those true, honest smiles, even on the ground. And in the air Hiccup almost always wore one.

Other's could also occasionally earn one of those smiles. The red head's father. Gober the Belch. The other teenagers. Though none of them seemed observant enough to notice the difference between a smile that only graced the lips, and one that came from the heart.

Toothless was that observant though. He had to be, in order to try to understand the strange, flightless creature he had somehow become friends with. And he had long since noticed that besides himself there was only one other person who could almost always garner one of those honest, heartfelt smiles.

Which was why he was so pleased to sense the blonde haired Viking's approach.

Hiccup stared up at the night sky in a daze. It was relaxing, laying there. Toothless was making that low, rumbling purr of his, deep enough to lightly shake the Viking's bones as he leaned into it. Above that, he could hear the wind blowing through the grass and trees, and the sound of ripples spreading across the pond as fish disturbed it's surface. High above him, the clouds glided silently in front of the stars. It was… calming. Serene. Those were things he'd been lacking the last few weeks.

So Hiccup relaxed, letting his mind go blank. He didn't think about anything. Didn't pay attention to anything. He just… laid there. Right up until Toothless suddenly stopped purring and lifted his head. That was enough to draw Hiccup's attention back to the here and now. Enough to make him lower his head and focus on his surroundings.

And just like that, his calmness and serenity vanished.

"A.. .Astrid!" He leapt to his feet in shock as he caught a glimpse of the blonde.

"AAARGGHH!" And he collapsed right back onto the ground as his leg gave out beneath him, unwilling to take any more abuse. His entire side felt like it was on fire. Even the parts he knew for a fact were no longer there were in pain. As startled as he was, he failed to silence his short cry of pain as he slumped back against the Night Fury, sliding down further onto the ground. Just his head rested against Toothless' scales, his face once again turned towards the heavens. He could hear Toothless let out a worried growl, but paid it no heed.

After a brief moment of struggling to find the strength to try to stand again, Hiccup just closed his eyes and sighed, letting himself go limp on the ground.

'What's the point? She's already seen that I'm a coward.' He thought morbidly to himself. 'It hardly matters if she sees that I'm just as weak physically too.'

When he opened his eyes once more, he was hardly surprised to find Astrid standing above him, looking down at him. The clouds had parted once again, and the moonlight seemed to bathe her face and reflect off her blonde hair. Under other circumstances, he would have stared in wonder. But at the moment all he could manage was a blank look devoid of hope.

A detached portion of his mind found the situation strange. Astrid didn't look how he had expected her to. She didn't appear to be angry. Or worse, disappointed. She didn't seem sad, or even upset. Instead she merely looked… pensive. And when she spoke, Hiccup could only stare at her in confusion.

Instead of the condemnations he had expected and fully deserved, she spoke only a single, puzzling word.

"Why?"

Astrid stared down at Hiccup, waiting for his response. He looked so small and… defeated laying there on the ground. The blank, hopeless look on his upturned face made her feel as if someone had a hand around her heart and was squeezing. At least the confused expression that her question elicited was an improvement.

"Why was I going to leave?"

Astrid shook her head at his hollow sounding reply.

"No." She said simply. "I think I understand that. Why did you STAY?"

Hiccup just gaped at her as Toothless stood stock still, head turned to watch the proceedings, but not daring to interrupt.

"You and Toothless could have left at any time. I could hardly have stopped you." She continued evenly.

"I couldn't just leave…."

"That's what you had planned to do though. Why didn't you?" Hiccup cringed at her words, but there was no accusation in her voice.

"Well, we had just found the dragon's nest…"

"And I could have told the village about it myself, after you two left. Why?"

Hiccup sighed, breaking eye contact with her and staring at the stars again.

"Because of you, I guess." He didn't see her tilt her head at him curiously, but he continued anyway after a moment. "When you found us… I couldn't just leave. I didn't want to leave with the village thinking badly of me." He sighed again, deciding to be a bit more honest. "With YOU thinking badly of me. Well, worse of me at any rate."

"And after that…" He lowered his head to look her in the eye again. "You're the best Viking in our generation. And… And you LISTENED to me. You believed me. I thought… I KNEW… that if I told anyone, they wouldn't listen. No one ever does. If I told anyone, they'd just kill Toothless…" He rubbed a hand along the Night Fury's side, as if reassuring himself that the dragon was still there.

"But then I thought that maybe… just maybe… if I managed to convince YOU… Maybe I could convince the rest of Berk. Maybe I could stop the fighting. And if there really WAS a chance I could do it, I had to at least try." He laughed hollowly. "And we all saw how well THAT worked out. Almost getting myself AND you killed by that Nightmare. Toothless in chains. Dad pretty much disowning me. Half of Berk almost being killed by the Red Death." He snorted, shaking his head.

The moonlight did an excellent job of hiding Astrid's blush. Hiccup was once again proving her wrong. Perhaps she HAD given him a reason to stay. But as he continued speaking her blush faded, replaced by an angry frown as his words grated on her nerves.

"And then you risked your life to save Toothless. To save EVERYONE. You taught the rest of us how to ride dragons. You fought and defeated the largest dragon ANYONE has EVER seen! And you showed all of Berk that dragons and Vikings CAN work together!" Astrid's voice rose as she found herself growing angrier and angrier at Hiccup's attitude. But Hiccup just sighed.

"Just because something good came from…" He began again, his face still turned towards the sky. But Astrid didn't allow him to finish.

"Stop that!" She growled, kneeling down in front of him. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third, you are bad at wielding an axe! You're bad at swinging a hammer! You're clumsy! You can barely throw a punch! And you're so scrawny a stiff breeze could blow you over!" Hiccup barely even cringed at each statement, or the poke to the chest Astrid used to emphasize each one. There was a dull, blank look in his eyes, but at least he was facing her now as she took a deep breath to continue.

"But you are NOT a BAD PERSON!" She practically shouted at him, voice so filled with conviction that Hiccup couldn't help but blink and stare at her in surprise. "You are NOT something bad! And if no one ever told you that before, it's our fault for not noticing it, not yours!" She nodded fiercely.

Hiccup just stared at her, dumbfounded for a moment, before smiling slightly and shaking his head.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm not a bad person. But I'm still a bad Viking."

"No. You're. NOT!" Astrid growled, poking him again. But Hiccup just gave her a crooked, wistful smile.

"Yes, I am. You just said it yourself." Astrid leaned back on her heels at his calm words. "I'm weak. I CAN'T swing an axe or a hammer. I can just barely avoid hurting myself with a sword. My punches could barely bowl over a rabbit. I'm useless in a fight." He took a deep breath and looked her in the eye, sliding himself upwards against Toothless into a proper seating position. "Astrid, all of that is what it MEANS to be a Viking."

"But… But there's more to being a Viking than just that!" She sputtered in response.

"Well, yeah. There's bravely rushing off into battle. But I'd much rather avoid a fight. There's bragging about past victories, but I'm a bit short on those. And there's showing off mementos of past fights." He wiggled his prosthetic leg. "But I think Toothless and I could both pass on the reminders and mementos. I'm not strong. I'm not brave. I'm just… Hiccup." He shrugged helplessly, still giving her a weak, lopsided smile.

Astrid just stared back at him as if he were insane.

"Hiccup." She spoke very slowly, enunciating each word as if talking to a small child. Or a madman. "You picked a fight. With THE single largest dragon. Vikings. Have. EVER. Seen. And you won. Most people consider that to be pretty brave."

Hiccup waved his hand dismissively. "Toothless did all that. I was just along for the ride."

Astrid opened her mouth to respond, but Toothless beat her to it. Apparently he decided it was past time for him to enter the conversation. And he intended to make HIS opinion on Hiccup's role in their victory clear. He yowled angrily at Hiccup as he dismissed his own contributions, giving him a slit pupiled stare.

"What? It's true!" He exclaimed.

"Ouch!" And Toothless rebutted by glaring at him and swatting his face lightly with his tailfin. The flesh and blood side of course. The prosthetic would have left a mark.

Astrid just smirked at the sight, before continuing, sounding both amused at Toothless' antics and disbelieving at Hiccup's low opinion of himself.

"Oh, of course. So you had nothing to do with defeating the Red Death. Toothless figured out how to do it all on his own."

"Well, I thought up the plan, but all I did was almost get us BOTH kil… OUCH!" Toothless gave him another tail-swat as Astrid continued.

"And it's not like you, I don't know, leapt off a dragon in flight onto the deck of a burning ship to free him or anything."

"Well, I couldn't just LEAVE him there… there was nothing brave about i… OW!" Astrid just steamrolled over him as Toothless gave him another swat.

"And you'd never do something crazy, like try to face down a Monstrous Nightmare unarmed just to make a point to the whole village…"

"But I wasn't in any real danger from the… OUCH! That is, it was perfectly safe until dad set it off. It knew it wouldn't hurt m… OUCH! Okay, I was PRETTY sure it wouldn't… OW! Toothless! Fine! I was just HOPING it wouldn't try to eat me right off the bat! Happy now?"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Astrid had to fight down a giggle as the two males stared at each other with narrowed eyes, Toothless arching his neck around to stare at Hiccup as he leaned against the dragons side, rubbing his face where Toothless had slapped him. Repeatedly.

"Sure. You've NEVER done ANYTHING brave at ALL." Astrid rolled her eyes, still smirking.

"But I HAVEN… OUCH!" Hiccup rubbed the side of his head and shook his finger warningly at Toothless. But the dragon just smirked at him toothily, his smug grin disturbingly similar to the one gracing Astrid's face. Looking back and forth between the two, his eyebrow twitched.

"Enough already! It's not fair with the two of you double teaming me! I can barely handle one of you, let alone both at once!" He crossed his arms and practically pouted.

"BARELY handle one of us?" Astrid asked haughtily. "SOMEONE thinks too highly of themselves." Her smile grew as Toothless nodded vigorously in agreement with her. Hiccup just groaned and placed his face in his hands, eliciting a snicker from the Night Fury.

Eventually Hiccup lowered his hands , giving Astrid a more honest smile, even if it was still tinged with sadness. The tension between the three was, if not quite broken, at least battered.

"Thank you Astrid." Hiccup began quietly. "I appreciate what you're trying to do. But I really AM a horrible Viking." She opened her mouth to reply, but the young red head just raised his hand to forestall her.

"It's alright though. I'm okay with that." The look on his face made it clear that he WASN'T okay with it… but that he was trying to be. "I guess I always knew, deep down, that I'd never fit in. That'd I'd never really be a proper Viking. I kept trying but…" He shrugged, then turned to face Toothless, running a hand along his friend's side, scratching his scales.

"And then, when I met Toothless… When I couldn't kill him… That's when I truly realized I'd never be a Viking." Toothless whimpered and bumped his head against his partner's side, but Hiccup just smiled at him and scratched behind his earfins.

"Don't feel bad buddy. The only thing I regret about it is hurting you in the first place." Toothless just gave him one of his patented toothless smiles before licking the young man's face to show that he held no hard feelings.

Astrid watched on, a surprisingly gentle smile on her face at the display of affection between the two. And at the way Hiccup tried to push his playful friend away and avoid his tongue, complaining that his breath smelled like fish.

Finally Hiccup managed to fend Toothless off. Or rather, Toothless decided he'd demonstrated his feelings sufficiently for the time being. The red headed Viking looked back at Astrid and took a deep breath to steady himself.

"Well, I guess we should be heading back now. Before people start worrying." Even in the moonlight, Astrid could tell that the grin he had plastered across his face was more of a grimace as Hiccup slowly returned to his feet. The spring in his prosthetic made a disturbing squeaking sound as it was compressed, the steel quivering under tension. Just as Hiccup himself was practically quivering at the strain of keeping a smile on his face.

"Hiccup…" Astrid eyed him suspiciously, recalling the way he'd collapsed when she first arrived. "Are you sure your leg is okay?"

"Of course Astrid. It's never been better…." He stood up straighter in response, trying to keep the pain out of his voice.

Toothless rolled his eyes and snorted at Hiccup's bravado, having had enough of his partner's behavior. His tail swished around again, the very tip brushing against the side of the Viking's artificial leg.

With a startled yelp of pain, Hiccup's leg gave out.

Of course, there was a black-scaled arm behind him to catch him before he could fall, and lower him gently to a sitting position. While Hiccup was distracted sucking air through his clenched teeth, Toothless turned his expressive eyes towards Astrid, giving her a despondent look, his ears drooping down against his neck. Then he glanced down at the gasping Viking leaning back against his side.

He might not have had a voice to speak the words, but it was perfectly clear what he was saying. 'Please, help my friend.'

It was a plea that Astrid could hardly ignore. She took a step forward and kneeled down besides him.

"Hiccup…"

"It's fine. Just caught me by surprise…" Hiccup warbled out, still struggling to smile reassuringly at her

"Hiccup, if a light tap like that is enough to bring you to your knees, them something is wrong. Let me take a look." She kept her voice low and conversational as she drew closer.

"Ah, that's not really such a good idea…" He swallowed nervously. "I mean, you don't want to see that…"

Astrid narrowed her eyes at him.

"Are you saying it's too much for me? That I'm too squeamish? That I won't be able to look at a battle wound? That I shouldn't see it because I'm a GIRL?" She growled menacingly at him.

"Wha…? N.. No! Of course not Astrid! Not at all! I'd never think that!" Hiccup's eyes went wide in fear at her tone of voice.

"Good." She nodded firmly, the air of menace surrounding her evaporating as if it never were. Suddenly she was all business once again, looking down at his prosthetic. "Now let's get this thing off and see how your leg is doing."

"Ah… Yes! I mean, no! I mean, this isn't a good idea because it's... It's too dark out to tend to it anyway, so we should just go home!" Hiccup offered hopefully. Somehow he felt more off-balance sitting on the ground than he did standing WITHOUT his false leg. Astrid's rapid shifts in attitude just had that effect on him.

"Hmmmmmm." Astrid paused, tapping her chin. "You know, you DO have a point there." Hiccup breathed a small sigh of relief. It didn't last long however.

"A nice little fire will give us plenty of light. And some more heat would be nice too." She smirked at him as his face fell, standing up to her full height. "I'll go collect some firewood. Don't go anywhere."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Hiccup replied faintly as the blonde haired girl stalked off into the darkness. He turned to look at Toothless, giving the dragon a puzzled look. The night fury just shrugged its shoulder in reply. If Hiccup couldn't understand human females, what made him think Toothless would have any insight?

I had originally intended to end this fic with three chapter. But the third chapter started growing longer and longer. And worse, I'm having trouble getting the ending to flow quite right. I fear my muse is starting to abandon me. So I decided to split this section into two chapter.

But fear not! The final chapter is mostly written. I'm just not quite happy with it yet. I should have this story wrapped up soon with a little work.