Title: Ingerman Ink

Summary: A Tale as old as time, and true as it can be. Both a little scared, neither one prepared… You know where this is going. Beauty and the Beast with a twist. Toothless/Hiccup.

Warning: Eventual slash, mature themes, I guess.

Disclaimer: What part of FAN FICTION is hard to understand? I don't own Beauty and the Beast, and I don't own How to Train Your Dragon. They belong to whoever they do. I'm not here to make money; I'm just here to entertain.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third was tired of Burk. Every single day was exactly like the one before it, and if it wasn't, it made you wish it was. Burk was the kind of place where you were never dry, where it snowed nine months of the year, and hailed the other three. It was great if you liked looking at dramatic landscapes, but if you'd lived there all you life like Hiccup did, the place lost its drama pretty fast.

But it wasn't the landscape that Hiccup had trouble with. The landscape was just fine. He was used to it, after all, He'd been born here. No, what Hiccup really wanted to get away from were the people of Burk. Like, right now.

Every single day, since Hiccup could remember, he'd woken up at the crack of dawn to visit his best friend, Fishlegs, who minded the town bookshop while his parents were away, which was always. Thinking about it, Hiccup was surprised that Burk had a library, but since it occupied him, he guessed it didn't really matter.

So, since he went to the bookstore every day, you'd think the people of Burk would get used to that, but no. As he walked down the street, past that single bread-making Viking who made horrible bread (He could do better than that!) and made the same thing every day, he could still hear them whispering behind his back.

"…there goes that Hiccup.."

"…poor Stoick…"

"…I still can't believe it, he looks so normal…"

Hiccup hated being born in Burk. Everyone knew everyone, which meant anyone who was anyone knew his secret, his shame. He ducked his head as he passed a couple of young bucks eyeing him wearily.

"…freak…"

He felt his face heat up as he passed, and as he walked slipped into the Ingerman Bookstore.

'There's got to be more to life than more of this…'

"Good Morning, Fishlegs."

"Good Morning, Hiccup."

Meet Fishlegs Ingerman, Hiccup's best friend. Fishlegs was the only one in Burk who could give Hiccup a run for his money in the reading department. Fishlegs was tall, and he used to be thinner than Hiccup, but the years of immobility spent reading were catching up to him, apparently, because Hiccup would eat his own hat if Fishlegs could still touch his toes.

"Here's that book I borrowed."

Fishlegs held his hand up absentmindedly (and in the wrong direction) for the book. He pushed his glasses up with his other hand as he kept on reading.

"Took you long enough." Fishlegs said, without any real irritation in his voice. He looked at the number of the page he was on before getting up to return Hiccup's book to its rightful place. Books were about the only thing Fishlegs could keep in any kind of order. Hiccup had to gingerly hop between the loose odds and ends in the Ingerman Bookstore before he could get to the shelf he was aiming for.

"Hey, Fishlegs, I'm going to take The Dragon Manual, okay? I'll bring it back in a week." Hiccup called out, hopping to the door.

"A week!? How could you take a whole week to finish one book?!" Fishlegs wanted to know.

"I read it more than once, you blockhead." Hiccup laughed.

"More than once!?" Fishlegs was shocked. Well, he tried to act shocked, but Hiccup could hear the joking tone in his voice.

"Yeah, Fishlegs. Some people savor reading a book. We don't hork it all down the way you do."

"You're just jealous I can read faster than you can." Fishlegs said smugly.

Hiccup reached the door. 'Finally' he thought. 'Maybe I'll help Fishlegs (or rather, make him help me) clean the shop up a little when I get back.'

"I'll be back later," Hiccup called over his shoulder as he left. "I just need to run some errands for my dad."

"Tell him and Gobber I said Hi" Fishlegs replied.

"Will do!" and Hiccup was gone.

A/N: Here we have a glimpse of Burke, Hiccup, and Fishlegs. Be honest, are they too out of character? I'm trying to make it a mixture of the book series and the two movies, and I'm not sure I'm succeeding. Also, are the lyric shout-outs noticeable?

As always, feedback is appreciated!