Can anyone say "pain in the ass chapter to write"? Because PAIN IN THE ASS CHAPTER TO WRITE.

I think this was the longest wait you guys have ever had to endure with this fic. And for that, I am truly sorry. My only excuse this time around is that college is a pain that I'm still learning to adapt to, so please bear with me during this transition period. Though, admittedly, there is only one chapter left, so I guess that means no more waits after this last one?

SPEAKING OF WHICH.

Yeah, guys. So the next update is the last chapter. Wow. I hope you guys are ready for some closure, 'cause that's what you're gonna get.

Thank you all for the new followers and for writing me such sweet reviews. Every letter you guys type is deeply appreciated.

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If I were to say that I'm not nervous for this race against Lout, than I'd definitely be lying.

I thought maybe reconnecting with Jack yesterday would help calm my nerves, but it didn't. Okay, maybe a little, but not as much as I had hoped. Falling asleep last night required a lot of more willpower than I'd like to admit, and when I finally did, my dreams all had to do with me having to race Lout with only my good leg, which had me waking up in a cold sweat.

To make matters worse, when I told my dad during breakfast that I'd be out racing today, he decided to get all fatherly supportive about it, asking me if I needed anything or if I wanted him to be there. In the long run, I do appreciate it, but since I had just woken up from a tough night's sleep, I wasn't necessarily in the mood to be showered with attention. It is progress though.

Digging up my old racing gear from the depths of the garage was a pain, and Toothless wouldn't leave me alone as I filled up my water bottle and tied my shoes. If I were smart, I would've used all these obstacles as excuses for me not to race today. Then again, racing Lout I feel is inevitable, so why even bother with excuses.

Half an hour later, I'm sitting in Fish's still nacho-smelling car, my bike hitched up to the back as we pull to a halt, signaling that we've arrived at the racing grounds. Fish twists and takes his keys from the ignition, stepping out of the car without a word. I do the same, fiddling with my long-since-used helmet and other gear, all resting in my arms. Since my hands are full, Fish unhitches my bike for me, gently placing it on the dirt ground between us.

"You nervous?" he asks. I see him peer down at the royal red Night Fury I had spray painted on the top tube of my bike some time ago, allowing himself to grin at the sight of it.

"Yeah," I answer. "And a little tired too."

"Yeah, you look tired. Are you sure you wanna do this?"

"Do I have a choice?"

He shrugs his broad shoulders. "I guess that's up to you."

I look over towards the abandoned carnival grounds that I'm about to race in, the incomplete ferris wheel and roller coaster track sticking up over the horizon. Down there right now is Lout, probably putting on all his gear and determined to beat me into the ground, figuratively and probably literally as well.

Turning to face Fish, who's taken it upon himself to bend over to study the new addition to my bike, I say, "If I'm gonna die, at least I'll be doing what I love, right?"

He smiles back up at me, and then replies with, "Yeah, except you're not gonna die. You're a born racer, Hic. You're gonna cream Lout, that's what you're gonna do."

I sigh. "Gods, I sure hope you're right, Fish."

We make our way through the locked front gates, traveling down the main street to where I remember the starting line being. There's a good two dozen kids hanging around for the race to start, sitting in the shade of the carny stands and sipping out of their water bottles. I don't think I've ever seen this many people show up for a race before.

The first identifiable person I see is Lout. He's standing off near the starting line, that ridiculous ram helmet of his already on his head as both Ruff and Tuff accompany him. When they see me, Tuff actually sends me a nod, and Ruff a lopsided smile and a thumbs up. Lout notices this of course; how could he not when they're standing right beside him. He snaps at them, and though Tuff looks a little ashamed for being caught fraternizing with the enemy, Ruff merely sends him an annoyed glare that tells him to piss off.

Everyone's already waiting for us as we arrive. Cami, who had gotten here earlier with Jack and Tooth, comes bounding up when she sees me, a toothy grin plastered on her freckled face. She grabs my helmet from out of my hands, puts it on her head, and says, "You've got a big head, Burp. It's a wonder you're not smarter than you are with a head this big."

I lift the helmet from off of her mess of blonde hair. "Thanks for your support, Cami. I knew inviting you would help with my self-esteem."

She then bounces off to go bother Fish, who still has my bike, allowing Tooth to approach me. She's carrying what I recognize as her first-aid kit from her car and is wearing a rather anxious look on her face.

"You look exhausted, Hiccup," she blatantly points out in this motherly way, more than likely referring to the light outlines of bags that have developed under my eyes as of this morning. "Are you sure you wanna do this? I mean, you don't have to."

"He's gonna do it," I hear Fish call out from over my shoulder.

"And he's gonna win!" Cami adds on.

Tooth looks worriedly up at me, awaiting my answer. My response is, "What they said."

"I just… I don't know if that's smart though," she tells me, looking even more bother about all of this than just a couple of seconds ago - if that's even possible. "I mean, I just saw what this Lout guy looks like, and I can easily say that I don't like the looks of him. Not to say that you're not a good racer, Hiccup, because I'm sure you are, but I just would feel more comfortable knowing that-"

"Tooth, take a breath."

Jack suddenly appears out of thin air, stepping up behind Tooth and lightly grabbing her shoulder with his white hand.

"I'll make sure he remembers to put on his helmet before the race starts, alright?" he tells her gently.

"But Jack-"

"He's gonna be fine. Believe me."

Tooth, not appearing to trust Jack's words completely, looks like she's about to start protesting some more. Astrid, who, like Jack, I hadn't even seen arrive, swoops in before she can though.

"You know, you look a little dehydrated, Tooth," the blonde points out matter-of-factly, mocking a concerned look. "We should go get you some water. It'd be a pity if you were to pass out while watchin' your first bike race."

Tooth looks a little jostled by Astrid's sudden presence. "Oh… well, I mean… I guess I feel a little-"

Astrid takes a hold of Tooth's arm before she can even finish her sentence, dragging the worry wart of a girl towards the water coolers while going into some ramble about how seventy-five percent of Americans are considered chronically dehydrated. I remind myself to thank Astrid after this whole race is over and done with.

Once the two girls are out of ear shot, Jack leans in and says, "Please don't get hurt. She'll never trust me again."

I shot him a look. "Hey, I didn't tell you to lie to her. If I get hurt, I get hurt. Her trust is one hundred percent your problem."

"Ahhh, you're no fun."

Since the last time I've seen him, Jack does look like he's improved a bit, at least physically. He still has bags matching mine under his eyes and his skin is still a couple of shades lighter than usual. There does seem to be more bounce in his hair and emotion in his eyes than yesterday though, so I take those as good signs.

"How ya doing?" I ask hesitantly.

The smile he had been wearing on his face fades as I say the words. I wish I could take them back.

"Uh… all… alright, I guess," he gets out as he looks at the ground, reaching up and running his hand through his disheveled hair. "I mean… not much has really changed since you last saw me, so…"

"You're here though," I point out. "That's different."

The smile from before reappears on his face, and though it's still weak, at least it's something. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess you're right."

Fish wanders up to us then, my bike wheeling smoothly beside him and an excited looking Cami trailing on his other side. He informs me all serious like that the race is about to begin, so I better get to the starting line.

The reality of the situation suddenly sets in. "W-what? Already?" I pull out my phone to see that it's only five minutes until noon. "But I haven't prepped my bike yet. I need time to-"

"Weeeee already did!" Cami tells me as she jumps up on to my bike's seat in one hop. "And let me just tell you that she's in tip-top shape! Ready to race!"

"He," I tell her shortly. "It's… it's a he."

"You're bikes a guy?" Cami asks, stifling out a laugh.

"Bikes have genders?" Jack asks, sounding puzzled.

"Just… just forget it. Forget it." I take my helmet from under my arm and place it on my head, clipping the woven straps under my chin and readjusting it so it doesn't bother my ears.

"You look like a dork," Cami tells me as I pull on my gloves.

"Thanks."

Fish decides to head over to the sidelines then - there's only so many actual good spots to stand in where you can see the entire race track, and Fish is always one to try and nab it before it's gone. He wishes me luck, then adds after a beat that I don't need it, and gives me a pat on the back so hard, I nearly fall flat on my face.

Cami, looking like she's about to burst from the seams in excitement, runs up to me and gives me a quick, unexpected hug around my waist.

"You better win this thing, Burp," she tells me sternly, unraveling herself from her embrace. "Show that Lout guy he can't mess with the evil Dragon Knapper and her bestest ally, the dorky Dragon Trainer, alright?"

I ruffle her hair as I promise her I'll try my best. "No one can mess with us without gettin' a few burns, right?" I put up my hand for a high five, to which she enthusiastically returns spot on.

Tooth and Astrid both walk up then with water bottles in their hands. Tooth, not looking as worried as before, wishes me good luck, telling me that she knows I'll do great. Astrid punches me playfully in the shoulder, saying, "You better win this, Haddock," winking at me before turning away to follow the other girls.

"You need help with those?"

I turn to see that Jack is still standing beside me, not showing any desire to leave my side quite yet. His hands are reaching out towards the knee pads in my hands, so I reply by passing them his way.

"There isn't really anything I can say that you haven't already heard," I hear him tell me as he bends down and starts applying my left knee pad to its appropriate knee. "I mean… good luck? You'd better win? Uh… please don't die?"

"No one's told me not to die yet," I inform him as I strap on one of my elbow pads.

"Well, okay. Please don't die then."

"I'll try my best."

He straightens back up, and I say thanks, but he doesn't seem to be able to meet me halfway; he just mumbles out a barely coherent "you're welcome".

"Hey," I go, moving to where he has to look at me. "What's wrong? We were just jokin' around a second ago. Did I say something wrong?"

"No, no. I just… I…" He sighs, looking up and finally locking eyes with me. "Can… can I be honest about something real fast?"

"Uh… yeah, sure." I'm a little frightened of what he might say.

He doesn't start explaining himself right away; he has a look on his face that tells me his brain is reeling for the right words, so I let him think them over. Finally, after a moment, he says, "I… I was actually a little worried about this race, to be honest. I know that sounds stupid, since I've seen you race and have even raced against you, but it still… I was still bothered by it. Astrid's right when she says that Lout bikes dirty, and though I'd easily admit that you're faster and smarter on your bike than he is, that doesn't mean he has any less of a chance at beating you or… or worse.

"But it's weird. Now that I'm here... well… I'm not that worried anymore."

"Really?" I ask.

He sends me a weak smile and a nod as an answer.

I turn my gaze out to the gravel racing track in front of us. It's the first time I've laid eyes on it - my old middle school playground - in what feels like nearly forever. When was the last time I raced here? Two? Three years ago? Odin, I can't even remember. Looking at it though - every little obstacle that I know I'm about to face, all coming back into my memory - gives me some confidence that I thought I had lost. The bags under my eyes are suddenly not as heavy as they had felt this morning.

"I was worried too," I admit to him. "But now that I'm here, now that I have my gear on and I'm on my bike. I dunno. I think I can do this." Looking back towards my friend, I see that he's already smiling - and this time it's a real smile.

Dagur - the bizarre, tattooed looking senior that deals with and coordinates the races in Berk - announced that the race is about to begin, so each racer needs to receive their token of luck.

I see out of the corner of my eye Lout lean over towards an impatient looking Ruff, expecting a kiss on the helmet from her, I suppose. She - bless her - just swats his face away and heads over towards the sidelines. Tuff doesn't even try to hide his laughs from Lout as he follows suit.

"Man, was that a rejection or what," I hear Jack say with a laugh, having seen the same thing as me.

"Yeah. Looks like Lout's not racing with any luck today."

"And neither are you. Unless you want me to get Astrid."

"Don't go there, Jack."

"Well, if you're going to be that way, you're not going to get any luck either. I mean, I'm definitely not kissing you on the helmet."

"Good, 'cause I don't want you to."

"Good, 'cause I don't want to either."

Dagur starts explaining the rules we all already know by heart, which is Jack's cue to head over towards the sidelines. He gives me a quick squeeze on the shoulder before he hurries off to the cluster of people waiting for the race to begin. Before turning completely away from me though, I do notice him mouth what I think is a "you've got this", which makes an extra shot of energy pulse through me.

"When I say go!" Dagur yells down at us. "Ready…"

I take a deep breath, not even bothering to look at Lout stationed a couple of yards away from me, since I know that would be stupid on my part. I close my eyes instead and focus all my new found energy into my legs and arms.

This is it. This is the moment that I've been working towards these last couple of years; years of having to stand on the sidelines as all the other kids raced - it all ends here. I am on this track now, and I am ready to show them how you're supposed to race a bike.

"Set…"

This is what I was meant to do.

"GO!"

I release my brakes, pushing my left leg forward as hard as I can, rolling over the starting line - all before Lout can even lift a finger. I don't dare look over my shoulder to see where he is behind me, but the sharp cheers of our tiny audience growing smaller and smaller behind me tells me that I'm in the lead so far.

As I swerve around the first corner, I can hear Lout's tires against the gravel making its way closer to me. In response, I push myself forward, leaning over my handlebars so that I'm out of his range.

I dodge left and right around corners, over the unfilled pipeline holes and under the rotting support beams of the food court. Lout's right behind me the entire time, sometimes getting a little too close to my back tire for my liking, but I try my best to ignore him. I pretend I'm just biking around the neighborhood, just me and the open road - only this road is not quite as smooth and curves a lot more. As the wind blows through my hair, I smile. I can't believe I waited this long to race again.

The race hasn't even been going on for two minutes when Lout decides to make his first move. It's partially my fault, considering I'm somewhat lost in my own world as he tries to side swipe me and misses, only causing me to wobble a bit on my tires. The distracting does give him enough time to get a lead on me though.

"Lout!" I yell after him, steading myself. His head whips back, allowing me to see his face from under his helmet, which I can see holds a smug smirk. Before I can yell anything else, he leans forward and advances even further ahead of me.

Alright. Time to get down to business.

I manage to gain on him - probably the doing of the gods, I'm sure - getting to the point where we're riding side by side at the same pace. He keeps glancing over at me as my front tire begins to get in the lead of his, a disgusted look in his eyes as we briefly make eye contact. He swerves to the side, barely nicking my back tire before I'm somehow able to swerve away, my hands firmly planted on my handlebars to keep steady.

"Why are you doing this, Lout?" I shout at him, feeling my face growing hot with not only frustration, but anger. I knew Lout biked dirty - he kind of always has - but not this dirty.

He doesn't even look over at me as I hear him say, "I have to win this race," through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, but do you have to do it by cheating?"

"You don't understand!"

This was definitely not the response I had been expecting from him, so I'm caught slightly off guard. "I… wait, what? What do you mean I don't-"

"Oh, don't play dumb, Haddock!" he yells at me, his eyes still on the track. We're both still biking, now at more the same pace as one another, but our speed has decreased to a steady roll. "You know exactly what I mean! Everyone knows that, before you got that stupid racing bike of yours back in the sixth grade, I was the best biker in Berk! Then you had to come along and steal all my glory!"

"I just wanted to bike with you guys," I try to explain. "I wasn't trying to-"

"Well, you did! As soon as you got on that bike, you were the best and everyone knew it! And everyone forgot about poor, old Lout Jorgenson, because stupid Hiccup Haddock was faster than him and could beat 'im in a race!"

"Lout, I didn't-"

"And then you had that bike accident that landed you that metal leg and no bike, which finally gave me my chance to be number one again! And everything was great for me for a while, but noooo. You just couldn't stay away, could you? You just had to come back and start impressin' people with your new, fancy bike and your new, fancy metal leg, didn't cha?"

I don't even remember telling my hand to do it, but I feel my fingers suddenly curl around my handle brake, causing me to pull to an abrupt stop. To my surprise, Lout does the same, only stopping a couple of yards ahead of me. I'm expecting him to jump off his bike and come charging, but he doesn't. He just turns himself back to face me, this shocked, yet still upset expression on his face as he stands there, bike underneath him.

"Is… is that why you're always so mean to me?" I ask, finally finding my voice. "Because… because I'm a better biker than you?"

"Well, yeah!" he goes, turning more in my direction, the shock from me stopping mid-race still printed on his face. "Biking means everything here in Berk - you know that. And being beaten by a scrawny little hiccup like you is embarrassing."

"I can imagine," I say under my breath. "But, Lout. Gods, if you had just told me-"

"Told you what? That I was jealous of you? HA!"

"No, not… well… yes, maybe. I just… I just assumed all these years you just hated me to hate me, not because of the fact that I was better at biking than you. I mean… geez, if I had known that, I may have even offered to give you a few pointers."

At this point, Lout's no longer standing over his bike like when we had stopped, but is resting on his bike's seat. He doesn't appear to give off any sign of wanting to finish this race though; he just looks more confused than anything.

"Wait. R-really?" he asks.

"Well, yeah. I mean… Lout, we're cousins. We're the same blood, whether we wanna be or not. And though we get on each other's nerves-"

"Yeah, you have no idea."

"And though we get on each other's nerves, that doesn't mean I wouldn't have helped you. I mean, the fact that we both happen to love biking is super cool in itself, but instead of trying to work together and stuff, we've just-"

"Become enemies," he finishes for me.

"Well, I wouldn't go as far as to say enemies, since it isn't really normal for people to have enemies to begin with, but, um… yeah. That's the basic idea."

He doesn't say anything to that; at least not right away. I can tell he's thinking over my words, looking down at the ground, his brow furrowed. He then suddenly looks up at me and says, "I… I've never really thought about it that way before."

I smile, and for the first time, I don't feel a knot form in my chest from the mere sight of him. For the first time, I see him exactly as he is: just a kid, like me, that likes to ride his bike.

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"Guys, where'd they go?"

Cami is the first to note that Hiccup and Lout have disappeared, since she's seated well above everyone else on my shoulders. As soon as she points this out, everyone around us, including myself, cranes their necks to get a better view of the track.

"What's wrong?" I hear Tooth ask beside me. She's holding her first-aid kid firmly to her chest, the antsiness that she had been trying so desperately to hide from Hiccup reappearing on her face. "Is Hiccup… did Lout…""

"I don't know," is all I can say. The words taste sour in my mouth.

"Dude, Lout's probably beaten Hiccup into the ground by now," I hear someone say with a laugh behind me.

"Yeah, and it wouldn't take much, seein' as the kid's literally a stick, right?" another person adds on jokingly.

I snap. Looking over my shoulder, I hiss, "Shut the hell up." I don't dwell on the two jerks long enough though to catch their reactions, since worry is beginning to grow inside of me at an alarming rate.

I feel Cami pat me on the head. When I peer up at her, she smiles down at me and says, "Good one."

"They were supposed to have come around that corner by now," I hear Fish explain, pointing at the corner of the broken down bumper cars tent. The hitch in his voice tells me he's trying to hardest to contain his worry for his friend. "It shouldn't be taking this long. They should've rounded that corner by now."

"Do you think…?" Tooth begins to ask, then trails off, not wanting to finish her sentence.

I look down to notice Astrid, who surprisingly hasn't said a word yet, and the look on her face scares me as soon as I see it. Her wide, blue eyes are darting around the track as she lifts herself up on her toes to see over everyone, holding this uncertain look in them as she searches for that auburn hair on that black bike. They land up on me when they're unable to find what they're looking for, and I've never seen her look at anyone like she's looking at me right now. There's fear in her eyes, a pure, horrifying fear that tells me that we're thinking the exact same thing.

I take Cami down from my shoulders, her protesting against it, but me ignore her. Astrid doesn't even wait for me to have the small girl planted securely on the ground, for by the time I've straightened back up, all I can see is her blonde braid flying behind her as she darts out of the crowd and towards the bumper cars.

"Jack!" I hear Tooth call after me as I take off. I want to turn back around and explain myself, but I know that just those couple of seconds it would take to do so could be what determines Hiccup's wellbeing.

I hope he's alright.

The run to the bumper cars feels like it takes a lifetime. Every step I take feels like someone's delivering a bat to my stomach head on, and I can feel hot tears forming at the rims of my eyes. I try not to assume the worse - beg with every bone in my body that everything's okay - but images of Hiccup's lifeless body from my earlier dreams haunt me as I draw closer and closer to the tent. I try not to think of Emma, but it's hard not to.

I can't lose him. I've already lost her, and I just can't stand the thought of losing another person, especially if it's him.

My question is answered when I finally arrive to the corner of the tent. Firstly, there isn't any blood, unlike during my race, so that's a relief in itself. Secondly, both Hiccup and Lout are both healthily standing, their bikes both in one piece beside them.

"Hiccup, what's going on?" Astrid demands, moving away from my side and towards the two, an urgent sense in her step.

Hiccup and Lout turn at the sound of her sudden voice, both clearly surprised to see her there. Her original target had been towards Hiccup, but she quickly changes her route before she can get to him. Instead, she decides to focus all of her attention towards Lout, her stance suddenly becoming more hostile.

"What did you do?" she hisses at him. "I swear, Lout, if you hurt him, I'll-"

"Astrid, wait!" Hiccup reaches out and grabs her arm as she passes him.

"What are you-"

"He didn't do anything, okay? We were just talking."

"What? Why?"

I decide to finally speak up, since my heartbeats gone back to a steady pace and I don't feel like there's a knot caught in my throat anymore. "Hiccup, what's going on?" I ask.

All three of them stop and look over towards me, but it's Hiccup that holds my stare. He looks awestruck to see me, which is a bit confusing, since I know he knew I was here watching the race. His shock though then turns into a firm nod, like he's telling me he's happy to see I'm here for support. I nearly melt in my place, since I'm honestly just happy to see he's okay.

"We're not gonna finish the race," Hiccup tells the two of us with this authoritative tone.

"Not gonna… you mean you're calling a draw?" Astrid asks, sounding stunned at this turn out.

"Yes. We're calling a draw."

"What's a draw?" I ask.

Lout looks baffled at what must be an elementary question, and Hiccup appears like he's about to explain, but Astrid cuts him off before he can. "But no one's called a draw since, like… well, I honestly can't remember the last time someone called a draw." She sends him a weary look, her earlier aggression disappearing completely from her eyes. "Are you sure you wanna-"

"He said it's a draw, alright?" Lout speaks up, sounding annoyed.

"Yeah, I heard, thanks," Astrid throws back, sending him an equally annoyed glare.

"But… how are you going to know who's the better racer if you guys are calling a, uh… a draw?" I ask. "I mean, that's what this whole race was about, right? To see who's better."

He sends me this smile I can't read. "No, not exactly."

Astrid gives him a suspicious look. "What do you mean 'not exactly'?"

"Does it matter?" Lout asks, his round face beginning to turn a deep, crimson red; I can't tell if it's the kind of red that come along with animosity or embarrassment though. "We're callin' a draw and that's that. You should be happy, since that means I'm not gonna have to slaughter your little boyfriend here in order to win."

The aggression from before suddenly reenters Astrid eyes as she turn towards the larger boy. "Lout, you may not've hurt Hiccup, but I swear, if you push me, I will not hesitate to punch your teeth in."

"How is everything going over there?" a voice I instantly recognize as Fish calls out, breaking through the tension. "Is everyone alright? Do we needa call 911 or somethin'?"

I'm the one that heads back to where I can see where everyone else is still standing around, waiting to hear what exactly is going on with the two racers. I raise my hand into the air to get Fish's attention and call out, "No, everyone's fine! We'll be right there!"

"Is everyone still up there?" Lout asks me as I make my way back over towards them.

I nod.

A cast of discomfort comes over his face as I say this. He turns urgently towards Hiccup and asks, in a hushed voice, like he doesn't want Astrid and me to hear, "What are we gonna tell 'em?"

"We're gonna tell 'em the truth," Hiccup plainly states without missing a beat. He then peels off his right hand's glove and reaches it out towards Lout, letting it hover there between them, waiting for something. I think I've seen someone do this before, but I can't remember what it's called or what it implies.

Lout looks down at Hiccup's hand hesitantly, licking his lips as he studies it. He then peels off his own right hand's glove and meets it with Hiccup's much smaller one, the two of them smacking together as they shake.

"Don't think this doesn't mean I'm not gonna mess with ya anymore though, alright, Haddock?" Lout laughs as the two release hands and he goes back to get his bike. "We may have this understandin' between us now, but that doesn't mean things are gonna change."

Hiccup lets out a sigh, though I do notice that there's a smile on his tired, freckled face. "I wouldn't expect any less from you, Lout."

We all make our ways back up the starting line, the murmur of the crowd growing louder and louder with each step we take. Lout doesn't seem phased by any of it as he wheels his bike beside him, but Hiccup definitely does. I don't say anything to comfort him, though I want to, since it appears that he's deep in thought.

Ruff is the first to speak up once we arrive back at the starting line. "Come on, guys! What gives?" she groans, a bunch of the other kids seeming to agree with her on the matter.

"Yeah, what gives?" I hear Cami repeat, making her way up to Hiccup's side. "Did you guys get inna fight or something? 'Cause, if you did, I'm gonna be really upset, since I really wanted to be there to help kick his butt with you."

Astrid stifles back a laugh as Tooth comes over and shushes the young girl. Lout just looks a little irritated as the twins don't even try to hide their amusement.

"No, there wasn't any fighting," Hiccup assures her with a laugh, reaching out his hand and ruffling her hair. "Everything's good here." He then goes into explaining to the curious crowd what had happened while they had been down on the track, unseen by any of our eyes. As soon as he says the word "draw", he seems to lose the attention of a couple of them, a few even going as far as to just wander off before he's even finished. None of it seems to bother Hiccup though.

Once he's done explaining, the crowd that had once been finally disburses, people either seeming upset at the outcome to the race or pretty indifferent. I'm honestly just glad it's all over.

"Well, I guess we should all head out then," Fish suggests with a satisfied grin on his round face as Lout and the twins head off to their own cars.

Cami sniffs Hiccup's hair and draws back, pretending to let out a horrid gag. "And you needa take a shower too. Gah! You smell like a wet dog, Burp."

Astrid laughs, which causes Hiccup to let out a sigh. "What would I ever do without you, Cami?"

"You'd probably be dead."

"True."

Tooth volunteers to take Hiccup's bike back to Fish's car to load it up, and Cami's set on being able to ride on the handlebars the entire way back. As they all start heading towards the gated exit, going on about where we should all go to "celebrate" Hiccup's victory, I notice that said Hiccup is missing. Looking back, I see that he's lagging behind everyone else, probably the exhaustion of everything that had just happened catching up to him.

"Hey," I go once I'm at his side.

He looks up at me, a tired grin on his face. "Hey."

Without thinking, I move forward and wrap his small frame into the biggest hug I can manage. I feel him tense up under my touch, but after a second, he eventually relaxes, even allowing his own arms to wrap around my back.

"I'm really glad you're okay," I tell him.

I can feel his smile through my shirt. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm glad I'm okay too. Though, admittedly, my leg does kinda hurt. So there's that."

I laugh, releasing him from the hug. "Do you need to go oil it or something?"

"Jack, you are aware that it cuts off below my knee, right?"

I pause and look down at his prosthetic leg. "Sooo… no oiling?"

"Nope. No oiling. But if there's anything I need right now, it's a chocolate milkshake from The Ring. What'd you say, buddy? Care to join me?"

I let out a laugh and a smile, and it feels slightly weird, but great at the same time. It's been so long since I've really genuinely smiled and laughed at something - since I've genuinely been happy - but here he is, Hiccup, alive and in one piece, right in front of me, asking me to get a milkshake with him while wearing that goofy, crooked toothed smile of his.

"Sure. And I'll buy this time."