Hiccup felt himself beginning to nod off at his desk by the dim candlelight, charcoal stick slowly slipping out from between his fingers, his vision blurring. He closed his eyes and set his head down, using a book to prop up his head in place of a soft, comfortable, fluffy pillow…
"Maybe just for a minute," he yawned, closing his eyes.
Toothless rolled his eyes, knowing his rider all too well.
Hiccup's head snapped up. "No!" He slapped himself silly in the face and shuddered.
Toothless cocked his head in confusion. Humans were the strangest creatures he had ever met.
"Must stay awake! Gotta get this done, gotta finish the new tail prototype, gotta get some sleep."
The Night Fury snorted. He waddled over and blew out the candle.
"Toothless, not now. I'm working," Hiccup growled, lighting a match.
He blew it out again.
"Not funny, Toothless," he said, pushing the dragon away. "I know what you're trying to do."
Toothless set his head down on Hiccup's lap and whimpered sadly.
"That's not working on me this time."
Time to use his secret weapon, Toothless thought grimly with an evil, devious smile spreading across his face. He blinked a couple times and got all teary and pressed his forehead against Hiccup's, using his cute nature to his advantage and gazed into Hiccup's emerald eyes with an innocent, wide-eyed expression.
Hiccup stared back, biting his lip.
He would not be weak. He would be strong.
He tried to look away, but Toothless' eyes drilled into his, unable to break the connection the two had. His expression softened, lips twitching into a lopsided smile, almost falling for it.
Almost.
He smirked and tousled the Night Fury's fins. "Nice try."
Darn it. The mighty dragon huffed and thumped his tail against the floor in defeat, unhappy with the rejection.
"You want to fly tomorrow, don't 'cha?"
Toothless perked up at the idea of flying.
"Well then, you gotta let me finish up this new design. It'll be your brand new tail and it'll be even better than before. Okay?"
The dragon nodded excitedly, bouncing up and down, feeling giddy at the thought. He lapped at Hiccup's face.
Hiccup laughed, shoving the dragon away. "Okay, okay, I get it!"
They both sat in silence for a while, the sound of Hiccup writing the only audible thing Toothless could hear, the tip of his pencil scratching against the parchment. Toothless let out a yawn and stretched, shifting his butt into a more comfortable position, shutting his eyes only for a moment while keeping an ear trained on Hiccup.
"I'm just gonna take a little nap," Hiccup slurred.
Toothless suddenly heard the sound of something being knocked over. He sat up and turned to find Hiccup slumped over in his seat, snoring softly. He screeched in terror and ran over, shaking the boy.
Oh Hiccup, are you alright?
"Lemme sleep a little, you big dumb dragon," his friend murmured in his sleep, "Why yes, Astrid, I'd love to kiss you again. Your turn..."
Toothless facepalmed and smacked Hiccup with his paw.
Wake up, you silly goose!
"Agh! What is it, Toothless?"
The dragon gestured angrily to his work.
"Oh yeah. I was just getting to that."
He gave Hiccup a stern glare and pointed at his eyes, then back at Hiccup's.
I'm watching you, mister.
Hiccup went back to work drawing up the tail schematic before his head hit the table. Toothless shuffled over and opened his mouth, careful to retract his fangs, and engulfed Hiccup's head. Hiccup found himself inside the depths of a gummy maw clamped over his entire head, the smell of fish filling his nostrils and saliva dampening his hair. He was unable to cry out, feeling around outside Toothless' head before he was spit out.
"What did you do that for?" he shrieked.
To wake you up. You fell asleep. Again.
Toothless lifted Hiccup up and sat him down in the chair.
"And where do you think you're going?"
Off. To find something to keep you awake.
Toothless searched through the kitchen, rummaging through drawers and shelves, trying to pick up a familiar scent that wafted to his snout. It was a strange aroma that he just couldn't quite put his claw on. It smelled sweet and alluring, yet tasted bitter when he bit into it when Hiccup gave him one. What was it? He remembered something about roasted beans being brewed to make some sort of beverage and that Hiccup's father especially enjoyed a cup of it in the morning. Merchants and traders often sailed by the island in great ships with crates to barter for goods.
Coffee!
There was still a pot filled with the drink sitting on the table next to a plate of pastries.
He carefully grabbed two cups – one for him and one for Hiccup – and in a great show of dexterity, managed to pour the liquid perfectly without spilling a single drop. Now came the hard part. He slowly grabbed one cup by the handle with his teeth, turning his head sideways, and made his way back to the office where Hiccup worked.
He came back to find the boy snoring. He set the cup down with a loud clatter, startling the boy.
"Huh? Oh. Hey Toothless. What's that you got there?" Hiccup took a sip of the coffee. "Mm. That's good. Thanks buddy."
Toothless accepted the praise modestly and watched as Hiccup's expression turned from lethargic into something else.
His eye twitched. His hands shook profusely and he stood up, kicking over the chair.
"Toothless, let's go!" he bellowed, grabbing the dragon by the scruff of his neck and his papers out to the blacksmith's forge.
What's going on?
"We're going to make the new tail!"
Now? But it's so late!
Hiccup began whirling around the stall, moving faster than Toothless had ever seen him move since they'd met, dodging sharp and pointy things flying over his head as Hiccup began digging through all the drawers.
"Are you kidding me? At this rate, we'll be finished by morning!"
Are you okay?
Hiccup turned around, facing the dragon with a wild expression, eye still twitching.
"I feel great! Never better," he stammered, tripping over his words and laughing gleefully, doing a little dance with his feet.
Now Toothless was worried. What was in that magical drink that suddenly gave his friend a burst of energy? He frowned, scouring his memories, trying to remember something that Hiccup's father had said to him one morning over breakfast.
While the dragon preferred his Icelandic cod, the Viking preferred having a cup of coffee with some toast.
"Seeing as yer watching over my boy nowadays, Night Fury," Stoick began.
Toothless looked up.
"There's something you should know."
He cocked his head.
Stoick took a sip and set the cup down, wiping his lips with the back of his hairy hand.
"As long as he's alive, never ever let the boy have coffee."
Toothless' eyes widened as Hiccup giggled maniacally, hammering away at the anvil.
OH NO!