A/N: Just when we all thought I was done with this story…

While writing Hiccup the Useless, I got a request from razor95 for some Toothless-POV stuff, and while I liked the idea, it never really happened. Toothless was always present and made his feelings known in no uncertain terms, but I never got around to doing scenes from his perspective. I also got a request from The Whisperer of Death to retell Hiccup the Useless from Toothless' POV, and at first I didn't take to the idea, pretty much for the reason stated above. Toothless was present for most of the story, and his actions pretty much told the reader how he felt about the whole thing. I didn't feel I could really do anything new with it.

Then I watched the first movie again, and I got to the Romantic Flight scene. I heard Hiccup call Toothless a "useless reptile." And then this one-shot happened. So…enjoy!

Useless Reptile

My human once called me a useless reptile.

I suppose he had good reason to do so. After all, I was doing my very best to unseat the girl who was riding me behind him, the one who had hurt my friend and who would have killed me if given half the chance. Sure, I felt justified in my actions, but for some reason Hiccup really wanted me to calm down so that this girl – Astrid, he called her – would like us. Of course I ignored him and promptly went into a violent roll. "And now the spinning," I heard Hiccup say, sounding resigned, and then he'd added, "Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile."

It was such a simple phrase, made up of two equally simple words, and hearing him say them did not bother me in the slightest. I knew he didn't really see me as useless, that the words were born out of frustration and had no genuine backing to them. Besides, I'd finally calmed down after I'd heard the girl apologize, and I could tell Hiccup was pleased with me once I did. And after the whirlwind of events that followed – the discovery of the Dragon Queen's liar, the fight in the Kill Ring, the battle on Dragon Island that ended with the Queen's demise, and the integration of dragons on Berk – I could tell Hiccup didn't mean those words. I knew he cared about me, that I was his best friend, and he was mine. There was no need to forgive him over what some might consider hurtful words because I was not hurt by them. Our bond went much deeper than that. I knew he didn't see me as a useless reptile.

And for a while, I didn't either. As the months went on, he and I went on to do countless incredible feats: we worked together to ward off Outcast invasions, tamed and trained wild dragons that threatened the people of Berk, confronted the lunatic Dagur, even saved Hiccup's father Stoick from the Berserker chief's deranged clutches. I was by Hiccup's side through it all, his loyal friend and companion, partner in battle and playmate in times of peace. I would help him to his feet if he fell (he was still incredibly clumsy, I must say) and even let him ride on my back rather than walk up the hill to his house, a trip that always tired him (though the stubborn boy often refused my help in this regard…humans…). I was needed, wanted, and loved, certainly not a useless reptile.

But then everything changed, and even now I'm not sure what happened to bring about such a drastic shift. One day, about a year after the Dragon Queen's death, the people of Berk, people who had hailed my Hiccup as a hero among Vikings, people who seemed to have loved him as friends and family ought to love one another, suddenly turned on him for no apparent reason. And it wasn't just one or two of them. No, the whole village suddenly treated him like he was worthless. Each and every person on that island suddenly acted as though they hated him, and I had no idea why.

Neither did Hiccup, and I could tell that he was hurt by this sudden betrayal. I could hardly blame him: he'd gone from hero to screw-up overnight. It was enough to spin anyone's head, even mine. But instead of getting angry, he merely shrank into himself and tried to make himself as small as possible, meekly obeying every barked order and doing his best to make his suddenly-impossible-to-please father happy. I wanted to rage and scream at him, tell him to fight back, demand answers. Why had these people suddenly become so cold toward him? Why had Astrid, the girl I thought would someday be his mate, suddenly stopped spending time with him, intentionally avoiding him in the streets? Why had the big man with the hook hand who had always seemed to like Hiccup suddenly started saying that someone else – and Hiccup's idiot cousin of all people – had defeated the Dragon Queen? Why did the entire village look down at my human like he was a pile of dragon dung? It made no sense, and I wanted answers!

But apart from a few outbursts, Hiccup never got angry. He never snapped or yelled or raged or demanded explanations. He just…went along with it. And it broke my heart to see him so dispirited. I'd never seen him like this before, and I had absolutely no idea what I could do to help.

There was a word I kept hearing during that awful time. It kept popping up whenever people would talk to my human, and I could see that this single word caused him a great deal of pain:

"Out of the way, Useless!"

"Go somewhere you're wanted, Useless."

"What a show, Useless! It takes real talent to trip like that!"

"Did Useless make this?! Great Thor Almighty, it's terrible!"

Useless. Over and over I heard it hurled at him like pebbles thrown by a spoiled child at an innocent animal. Hiccup would flinch every time he heard it, an almost imperceptible wince that only my keen dragon eyesight could pick up. Hiccup the Useless. It was his new name, his burden, his shame, the weight that dragged him down and threatened to crush him.

I did whatever I could to cheer him up, but I was at a total loss. I just didn't know what to do! More than anything I wanted to hurt the ones responsible for putting my human through such pain, but I managed to refrain. I knew this would only upset him further. I could tell that, despite everything, Hiccup still cared about his friends and family, and he'd be pretty upset if I blasted them to the other side of the Archipelago. Of course this didn't stop me from growling and snapping at people who made comments or even looked at him the wrong way. I think he appreciated my support, little though it actually helped.

And then even this small bit of help was snatched away from him. After quitting his job in the forge (which is what he called that hot little shack where he made things in the fire – a fascinating skill, if a dragon may have an opinion), Hiccup was forced to work in the forests each and every day from dawn till dusk. And I was not allowed to accompany him. "You have to stay, bud," he said to me, looking as though he wanted nothing more than to just drop dead on the spot. "I'll see you later." And then he left the house, closing the door between us. I let out a roar of despair, but it didn't change anything. How could I possibly help my poor rider if I couldn't be by his side?

I heard movement and looked around to face Hiccup's father, Stoick, as he stood from his chair and approached me warily. My eyes narrowed and I let loose a snarl that would have sent any intelligent being running for its life. Apparently this brute of a man was not of standard intelligence, for though he winced he did not retreat. "I know, Toothless," he murmured in a much softer voice than the one he'd been using toward Hiccup over the past several weeks. "I know he's hurting. But believe me, it's for the best. I know you don't understand, but I need you to trust me."

My eyes widened in disbelief. Trust him? Trust him? Trust him? Was he serious? Did he really expect me to trust him, the man who had done nothing but hurt his own son for a full month? He must have been delusional! I told him so with a loud roar, making sure he got a good look at my teeth so there was no possibility of a misunderstanding between us. I didn't trust him, couldn't trust him. How did he expect this treatment to work out for the best?

To my surprise, Stoick seemed saddened by my response, as though he'd figured I'd be difficult to persuade.

Then he reached into his pocket and withdrew a clump of green grass. I caught a whiff of it and understood at once: dragon nip.

Before I could do anything, before I could even begin to get away from him, he shoved the handful of grass into my face, forcing me to inhale the sweet, intoxicating aroma that always put dragons into a stupor. No! I silently cried, fighting against the fog that was already starting to cloud my brain. I can't succumb! I must rescue…must save…my…

And that was it. I remember nothing after that, nothing until much later that day, when Hiccup returned home from his day in the woods. And oh, he was so miserable! It was practically rolling off him in waves. I could all but see it, as if his sadness was a physical presence in the room with us.

I couldn't help myself: I jumped up and nearly tackled him to the ground with my exuberance. I'm sorry, I tried to tell him. I'm so sorry! I wanted to come with you! I tried to stay by your side! I didn't mean to abandon you! Please forgive me!

I don't think he understood me, but he smiled weakly and said, "I'm glad to see you too, bud."

I wanted to take him flying. I knew that a night flight around the island would cheer him up. Soaring through the skies always brought a smile to his face, and I saw no reason why now would be any different. But to my surprise, Hiccup refused, saying he was too tired. I could tell it wasn't a lie: he looked like he might just topple over at any second. So I stayed beside him as he headed upstairs to his room, not leaving his side for a moment even after he fell asleep.

The next day I didn't even bother trying to follow him. I knew Stoick would be ready with his handful of dragon nip if I tried anything. I considered firing a plasma blast at him and running for it, but I didn't. He was still Hiccup's father, and for reasons I couldn't begin to fathom, I knew my boy still loved the man, wanted to make him happy, would be furious and hurt and betrayed if I so much as nipped him with a tooth. So I merely stayed by the door, patiently waiting for my poor human to return and hating myself more with every passing moment.

Yes, I hated myself, perhaps just as much as I was growing to hate the Vikings on this godsforsaken island. I just wanted to make Hiccup feel better, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn't eliminate the problem without upsetting him, and I couldn't be there to offer him comfort when he needed it.

Hiccup wasn't the useless one. I was.

"Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile," he'd said that day so long ago. I remembered it vividly, replayed it in my head over and over again as the hours, days, and weeks dragged on. Only now his voice didn't sound so sarcastic anymore. No, in my imagination the words were harsh, cold, and filled with disgust. I could only imagine what Hiccup must have been feeling. Where was I? I was the only one who cared about him, the only one who loved him unconditionally, and yet I was doing nothing to help him. There was nothing I could do.

There was a moment, one glorious moment, where I thought all would get better. Hiccup came home early one night and decided to go for a flight. I was gentle with him, knowing he was too tired to handle my usual stunts, but I could tell from his posture atop my back that he was feeling better. Not happy, per se: he'd been through too much to feel any kind of happiness, even while flying. But there was a relief, a sense that he could let go of the worst of his pain, at least for the moment.

And then that moment was done, and everything came crashing down. I was taken away from him, forced out of his life entirely.

I was drugged with dragon nip and taken to the home of Hiccup's cousin, Snotlout. It was midday by the time I came around, and I was so enraged and crushed by what had happened that I let out the loudest roar I could force from my throat. It was so loud that it hurt my own ears, to say nothing of those of the humans standing guard over me. "Take it easy, Toothless!" Snotlout barked. "It's not permanent, for Thor's sake! There's no need to get all huffy!"

I growled and snarled at him in response, but I had been bound while in my dragon nip-induced slumber, so I couldn't attack him like I so desperately wanted to. I slumped in defeat as I realized I'd failed my Hiccup once again. He needed me, and I couldn't go to him. Why hadn't I taken him away from this place last night when I had the chance? He'd even been talking about leaving Berk. I should never have landed to allow him to pack, I should have just flown away with him on my back and never thought twice about it. And now…now it was too late. I was trapped, and there was nothing I could do about it. When I struggled against the straps and ropes that held me, Snotlout forced more dragon nip under my nose – I swore I would never take any pleasure from this stuff ever again after this – and I once again dropped off into a daze.

The effects of the dragon nip didn't wear off until later that night, when I heard Gobber the blacksmith running through the village yelling, "Gothi! Gothi, come quick! Hiccup's hurt and needs you right away! Hurry!"

Hiccup's hurt?!

I stood up and roared loudly, shaking my head in a vain attempt to rid myself of the straps holding me in place. My Hiccup was hurt! He needed me! Screw all these people who clearly didn't care about him! I needed to get to him! I screeched and snarled and raged, but whoever had bound me did their job well: I couldn't move more than a few inches in any direction. And all around me I could hear the sounds of the village descending into chaos. People were shouting and crying and swapping questions back and forth:

"Hiccup? Did someone say Hiccup?"

"What's wrong with him?"

"He tried to kill himself!"

"Oh no, the poor lad!"

"This is our fault. We pushed him too far."

"I knew that plan was going to fail!"

"Will he be okay?"

"Gothi's tending to him now. If anyone can help him, it's her."

Amid all this, no one heard my calls, or if they did, no one came to free me.

No one…except her.

I had just given up and flopped back onto the floor, lamenting the fact I couldn't be there for my poor boy, when the front door of the house opened. I looked up and immediately growled threateningly. It was her, the one who had once pretended to love Hiccup, who I'd thought would become his mate before she'd betrayed him like everyone else.

"Toothless," Astrid whispered, hurrying over to me, apparently unaware that I was quivering with rage. "Come on, boy. Hiccup needs you."

And to my utter surprise, she untied the ropes holding me down.

For a moment I simply stared at her, uncomprehending. What was going on? This girl, this human who had caused Hiccup so much pain, had broken his heart, was trying to help him? My understanding of Norse wasn't all that great, but the words "Hiccup needs you" meant something to me. Why did this girl care what Hiccup needed? She'd turned her back on him.

She seemed to understand what was going through my head, for she added quietly, "I'm so sorry. For everything."

I observed her in silence for a second or two longer before deciding she could wait. I had much more pressing matters to attend to than figuring out where this girl's heart really lay. I bounded past her and ran as fast as I could up to Hiccup's house, where I was surprised to see most of the villagers congregated. They filled almost every available space in the house, crowding around in the den and the staircase. I let out a short bark to get their attention, and they wisely got out of my way, granting me access to my boy's bedroom.

I froze on the threshold. Hiccup was lying on his bed, not moving a muscle. There was a thick cloth wrapped around his right wrist, and I could smell his blood in the air.

I had only seen Hiccup look like this once before: in the days following the battle with the Dragon Queen. He was pale and sickly looking, his eyes closed and his body motionless. He didn't even seem to be breathing. It was like looking at a corpse, and for one awful, terrible moment I thought he was really dead, that I'd lost the best friend I'd ever had. Oh how this village would pay for sucking the life out of this boy…!

But then I took a closer look and saw that he was indeed breathing. I lunged toward the bed, just barely stopping myself from jumping onto Hiccup's prone form. I wanted to nuzzle him and lick his face and tell him without words that I was sorry and would never leave his side again, but I refrained. He looked too fragile at the moment to handle such a greeting. So I settled down next to his bed and just watched him, waiting for him to wake.

"Toothless…"

I looked around and saw Stoick sitting opposite me. I blinked, momentarily surprised. I'd been so focused on Hiccup that I hadn't even noticed him. I narrowed my eyes at him and bared my teeth, hurling silent accusations at him. But he didn't react to my obvious rage. In fact, he actually looked happy to see me there.

I turned away from him and returned my gaze to my human. I would deal with the others later. Right now it was Hiccup that needed my attention.

Gobber and Stoick started to speak in low, hushed tones, saying how Hiccup was going to be all right, how he was strong and would pull through, how they were to blame for causing him so much pain. I didn't really pay attention to this: I was staring at Hiccup intently, waiting for some signal that I could use to determine whether he would be okay or not.

Then I got one: movement. It was very slight, so slight that I doubt human eyes could have picked up on it. But my keen dragon sight noticed it at once. His eyelids contracted slightly, and the faintest of frowns flitted across his face. I crooned softly in excitement and relief.

And then Hiccup opened his eyes.

"T-Toothless?" he said weakly.

I warbled as joy flooded every pore of my being. I couldn't contain myself any longer: I licked his face. You're alive! You're alive! I wanted to scream. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I wasn't there for me when you needed me! I wanted to stay with you, I swear I did! Please forgive me, Hiccup! You're my best friend in the whole world and I never meant to abandon you!

I'm not sure if he understood any of this. But he smiled up at me – gods how I'd missed seeing that smile! – and said, "Happy to see you too, bud."

But he didn't stay happy for long. Soon he remembered why he was injured, and he was sobbing uncontrollably. I looked down at him and rumbled. What could I do? How could I convince him that his life mattered, to me if not to anyone else? How did I let him know that I couldn't lose him, that if he died I would die with him? I silently cursed our language barrier, wishing more than anything that I could speak Norse, or that Hiccup could speak Dragonese.

Soon the whole story came out. Stoick told Hiccup that all the pain he'd been put through was all a ruse meant to protect him. I missed some of the details – like I said, my knowledge of Norse wasn't perfect – but that was the general gist of it. Everything he'd been through, every pain he'd suffered, every bit of heartbreak he'd endured, all of it was part of some harebrained scheme to keep him safe. It didn't make any sense to me, and it clearly didn't make any sense to Hiccup either, for soon he was yelling at his father, berating him for his stupidity and callousness. "Get out of my room!" he screamed, and even I was startled by the intensity of his voice. I'd never heard him so angry before. Not that I blamed him, of course. "Get out of here! Get out! I hate you! I hate all of you! Get out, godsdamn it! Get out, get out, GET OUT!"

That was the only cue I needed. I went into full defense mode, arching my back, baring my teeth, spreading my wings, snarling and ready to pounce on the first human who made a move in my direction.

Surprise, surprise: no one did. They all fled the room.

The moment the door was closed, I relaxed and turned back to Hiccup, who was crying once again as the full weight of what had happened came down upon him. I cringed inwardly. I hated seeing him so upset. I bent down so that he could wrap his arms around my neck, but I didn't feel like it was enough. Wasn't there anything I could do…?

Wait…yes…yes there was…

I stood on my hind feet and carried Hiccup out of his bed and onto the floor, catching him before he could fall. He curled up against my side, and I made sure he was comfortable by spreading my tail over him. I would keep him warm tonight, tonight and every night if I had to.

"I love you, Toothless," he murmured.

I felt my heart swell up. I love you too, Hiccup, I crooned back. I wasn't sure he heard me, though, for he was fast asleep in mere moments.

Of course, we weren't done with the battle yet. Indeed, as I was soon to discover, it was only just beginning. Hiccup would eventually forgive his friends and family, though the process took just as long as it had taken to bring him to this point in the first place. He would be plagued by nightmares that I would be powerless to save him from, try as I might to comfort him after he awoke. He would receive help from an outside source and learn what it really meant to forgive. He would do battle with a force he and I were totally unprepared to face and even come out the victor. And he would eventually come to terms with the past and put it behind him. And I would be by his side through it all, offering support where I could, providing ears to listen when he needed someone to talk to, a shoulder to cry on when he was overwhelmed. I was his friend, his best friend, and I would never ever leave him.

But all that could wait for right now. At this moment, he was sleeping soundly, as soundly as he'd slept in months, and I was here, protecting him, caring for him, loving him as only the best of friends could.

Maybe I wasn't such a useless reptile after all.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this! :) Thanks again for all the love and support you gave Hiccup the Useless, it really means so much to me!