When morning came, Hiccup, Mirabel, Toothless, and Luna went on a morning flight. Though Hiccup was still groggy upon waking up, he didn't complain since he enjoys the wind in his face and being so high in the air. So free.

Apparently, Mirabel felt the same way as she and Luna zoomed passed them, "Wooooohoooooo! Yeah! HAHAHA!" She exclaimed her joy while doing barrel rolls and loops.

Hiccup grinned then glanced down at Toothless, "Can't let them outdo us."

Toothless looked up with a challenging smirk.

"Let's show 'em what we got." Hiccup switched gears on the prosthetic tail and urged Toothless to go faster.

Mirabel was caught by surprise when Hiccup and Toothless zipped from below them, doing their own fancy tricks and hollering out their excitement.

"Show off!" Mirabel shouted through the wind as the two males flew closer to them. The wind blew her tied back hair behind her as she held the reigns in a firm grip.

Hiccup laughed, "Says you."

The two Furies looked at each other rather playfully with challenges in their eyes.

As though reading Luna's mind, Mirabel offered, "Shall we have a race?"

"Oh, yeah?" Hiccup perked up.

Mirabel looked around then spotted one of the towering cliffs around the island. "First one to that cliff is the winner."

"You're on!" Hiccup nodded, accepting the challenge.

"Ready, set, go!" Mirabel said very fast before she and Luna bolted.

"Hey, no fair!" Hiccup and Toothless trailed after them, not wanting to be outdone.

With their destination in sight, and a look of determination on each of their faces, the two riders cut through the air to get to that rock. They dodged other salt stacks and ducked under arches until they were neck-in-neck.

With a final burst of speed, Hiccup and Toothless shot ahead, surprising the girls as they finished the race.

The moment the Night Fury touched down on the rock, Hiccup immediately dismounted, panting from the excitement as he rubbed Toothless' head. "Nice one there, Bud."

Toothless released a sound of elation.

Luna and Mirabel joined them, gracefully landing on the rock before the other rider dismounted. "Nice flying." She complimented Hiccup, not minding her loss in their race since she had fun.

"Thanks, you too."

"And you've only had months of practice?"

Hiccup shrugged, "It was trial and error...mostly error."

Luna trotted up to Toothless, slowly blinking at him as she gave him a flirtatious smile.

Toothless watched her with wide captivated eyes as he followed after her, leaving the riders alone.

Mirabel laughed at their interaction, "I could be wrong, but I think they like each other."

"You don't say?" Hiccup said as he observed how Toothless tripped over his feet. "He's like a love-sick puppy."

Mirabel laughed, "It's cute." She sat down on a rock that was low enough to rest her feet. "I think Luna likes him too."

"I totally agree." Hiccup said as he sat beside her but kept a respectful distance.

The two riders watched their dragons chase each other with a comfortable silence between them.

"Say, I've noticed this for quite a while, but what happened to his tail?" Mirabel asked as she stared at the prosthetic contraption attached to Toothless.

Hiccup's face immediately filled with guilt. "Oh, yeah, that would be my fault." He admitted while scratching the back of his head.

Mirabel blinked at him then narrowed her eyes, "What did you do?"

Hiccup flinched back at the low threatening tone in the usually soft and tender voice.

Hiccup swallowed his saliva, "I, uh, shot him down with a bola launcher."

"Why would you do that?" Mirabel questioned as she gave him a harsh look. Even though she just met the dragon, she considers him no different from Luna.

Hiccup looked down in shame, "It was expected of me."

Mirabel looked confused, which gave Hiccup the reason to continue.

"In my village, everyone is expected to kill a dragon. They consider it a rite of passage and a service to the community." Hiccup sighed as he thought about his former home, "I found him tied up in the forest. I was ready to kill him." He shook his head at the memory, "But when I looked into his eyes, I saw myself. He was just as scared as I was. I couldn't do it; I didn't have it in me to kill him. I cut him free, but he couldn't fly away. He was trapped in the cove. I did that to him."

Mirabel saw in his eyes genuine guilt over his actions and what they cost Toothless.

"I built him that tail because I wanted to help him, to do something right for once." A small smile came onto the boy's lips, "It was during our flight tests did we truly get to know each other. I learned so much about him, and about myself. After a while, we became best friends. We've been together for a few months now."

Mirabel was silent before she released a small laugh, "That's amazing. And in such a short amount of time." She said as she glanced back at Toothless and Luna.

"Yeah, honestly, I never really expected it. I don't regret meeting him." Hiccup said as he shared a smile.

Hiccup then asked, "What about you? You said you knew Luna for years."

Mirabel smiled fondly, "Ten years since I turned five years old."

"Whoa, five years old?" Hiccup exclaimed in surprise, "How'd you manage that?"

Mirabel's smile became melancholy as she watched Luna bask in the sunlight, "I found her during a difficult moment in my life. It's a bit of a long story."

Hiccup leaned back on his hands, "Well, my schedules free. I'm not in a hurry."

Mirabel smiled at him before she stared off into the distant towards the sea.

With a sigh, she began her story, "In my family, we have a tradition, a rite of passage so to speak. When each child within our family reaches their fifth birthday, they are to be given a magical gift that would help our family and community thrive." She smiled sadly as she thought of her family, "My mother was given the gift of healing through cooking, my aunt controls the weather, my uncle sees the future, my older sisters have strength and can create beautiful flowers. My cousins have enhanced hearing, shapeshift, and most recently, can talk to animals." She laughed softly as she thought of her youngest cousin. "But me...I didn't get a gift."

Hiccup was silent as he watched Mirabel's facial expressions fall between melancholy and sadness.

"I remember the look of shock and disappointment everyone gave me. I ran into my room and cried." She sighed upon remembering that traumatizing day. "But I felt suffocated in that room, I didn't want to hear anyone talk to me. So, I ran into the forest, I just wanted to be alone. I don't remember how long I was running before I collapsed. I didn't stop crying. But then, all of a sudden, I meet this odd-looking lizard-cat smelling my hair." Mirabel laughed softly at the memory, "I didn't know what she was, but I wasn't scared. She was small like me. I forgot I was sad as I played with her under the moonlight. That's how she got the name 'Luna'. We've been best friends ever since."

"Wow, that's incredible. Ten years." Hiccup said in amazement at the companionship they created at such a young age.

"Yep, and still counting." Mirabel said with a smile that lit up her features.

Hiccup laughed light, "So, what did your family say when you met her?"

Mirabel's face fell almost immediately, "I... never told them about Luna. At all."

"Never?"

Mirabel shook her head, "Never. Our homeland has never seen a dragon. She's the only one living in the forest. I kept Luna a secret because she's the only one I consider my true friend. We grew up together."

Hiccup could see it in her eyes, the fear of losing someone she considers her family.

"Is that... why you're out here?" Hiccup asked as gently as possible.

Mirabel sighed and shook her head, "It's not just that. It was... everything." She swallowed the lump in her throat as she looked down at her hands, "Because I didn't receive a magical gift, no one believed I was special, that I was part of the family. Even though I didn't get super strength or make flowers bloom, I still try to help my family and the community as best and as hard as I can." She released a heavy sigh, "But people believed it was best for everyone that I step aside, to not be in anyone's way. I'll just never be good enough for them." She clenches her jaw as she remembered the cold and dismal words her grandmother and older sister said to her. Their last words. "On the night my youngest cousin got his gift, I left my homeland. No one needs me there."

She sniffled as her feelings towards her family bubbled to the surface, "I just couldn't...I couldn't take being there anymore. Being overlooked, brushed aside, or told to go away. It just made feel like I...I..." Her throat closed up, making it difficult to get the words out as she struggled not to cry.

"Like you don't belong."

Mirabel turned to Hiccup and was surprised to see tears swimming in his eyes as understanding and sympathy was shown on his face.

Hiccup looked forward towards the sea, "I know that feeling. All too well."

Mirabel's eyes widened behind her glasses, "You mean...you too?"

"Yeah." Hiccup nodded with a grim expression, "I told you before how it is expected of me to kill a dragon."

Mirabel nodded for him to continue.

"You may not realize this, but I'm a Viking." Hiccup informed her.

Mirabel raised an eyebrow and shook her head in disbelief, "Uh, uh."

Hiccup nodded, "No, it's true. The reason why I'm called Hiccup is because I'm the runt. My father, Stoick, is the leader of the tribe on the Island of Berk. So, imagine his disappointment when he got...this."

"You just gestured to all of you." Mirabel said in exasperation.

"Exactly. And being the son of the chief within a village that fights dragons whenever they come, everyone has high expectations for me to be like my father. Sadly, I don't fit within the mindset or physique of the Vikings. Also, I was the village screw up. I couldn't fight like them, the most I could do is work in the forge making weapons. I did try inventing things I thought would help the village against dragon raids, but most of them ended in disasters and damaged houses." He turned to Toothless who scratched his head with his hind legs. "I grew up on stories of how dragons were vicious and merciless monsters. But Toothless opened my eyes and made me realize I didn't have to be like my father or the villagers." He frowned as he thought of his village, how they thought of him before and after he met Toothless.

"Something happened." Mirabel surmised when she caught the conflicted look in his eyes.

"I improved a lot in my dragon fight training academy thanks to Toothless. Everyone stopped hating, even my dad when he returned from his search for the dragons' nest. He even looked at me with so much pride. Something I've never seen since...well, never." Hiccup shrugged then sighed, "I wanted to tell him the truth. But I just felt so awkward, and I knew he wouldn't listen. He never did, not ever." He paused as he remembered the moment that sealed his fate, "When I was picked to kill a dragon before the entire village, I realized I couldn't stay anymore. I could not keep living a lie forever or pretend to be the son my father wants me to be. I ran away like a coward. I left everything behind."

Hiccup didn't feel the arms wrapping around his shoulders from the side until he registered the warmth pressed against him.

"You're not a coward Hiccup." Mirabel stated as she pulled her head back to look at him, loosening her arms slightly, but not letting go. "How many people walk up to a Night Fury and live to tell the tale?"

"Hard to say, he's the only Night Fury I met."

"My point is Hiccup, you did what your people didn't want to do, understand another species. In spite of how dangerous it was, you were brave enough to cross that line and touch the sky." Mirabel and Hiccup turned to their dragons who seemed to be in deep conversation with each other.

"You could've gone along with everything they do, but you didn't, you chose something better." Mirabel released him, but kept her hand on his shoulder, "Even if your father or your village can't acknowledge you as a Viking, you have proven yourself to be a better man. Even Toothless knows that."

Hiccup felt touched. More than that, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders. After years of disdain, disappointment, and mocking words, he experienced genuine words of praise from another human being. One who understands him just as he understands her. He never believed he would find another who shared his kind of misery and isolation. Until now.

Hiccup slowly smiled as new tears shimmered in his eyes. "Do you... really believe that?"

Mirabel smiled and squeezed his shoulder, "I don't believe, I know it. I just wish you'd see that too."

Hiccup smiled and nodded, "I'll try."

Mirabel glanced at Toothless before asking another question, "So, where are you guys going anyway?"

Hiccup hesitated with an answer, "Honestly, we have no idea. When we left Berk, the only thing we cared about was getting far away from there. We're just a couple of outcasts trying to find a place to belong."

Mirabel was silent then nudged his shoulder with hers, "Then why not stay with me and Luna?"

"Say what?"

"C'mon, it's a good plan. You're not gonna find another dragon rider who shares your enthusiasm for flying and adventure. Plus, and this is the most important thing to consider," Mirabel gestured with her eyes towards the dragons, "Toothless would be very sad if he's separated from Luna."

Hiccup watched as Toothless and Luna cuddle into each other making purring and warbling noises. He couldn't deny how cute and wholesome it felt seeing them like that.

"Well, can't really argue with that. But are you sure you're okay with me living in your cave?" Hiccup never really slept in the same room with a girl before last night. It still felt awkward to him.

Mirabel shrugged with an easy grin, "I don't mind having another roommate. Besides, misfits of a feather must stay together."

Hiccup released a laugh, "You just made that up, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did." Mirabel launched herself off the rock and took Hiccup's hand, pulling him along. "C'mon, let's get some food, I'm starving."

"Alright, I'm coming." Hiccup had no complaints as he smiled while they approached their dragons.

Toothless bounded up to his human and received affectionate scratches from him.

"Hey Bud, guess what, we'll be rooming with Mirabel and Luna for a while. What do you think?" Hiccup informed the Night Fury, which proved to be a mistake.

Hiccup found himself on his back with a very heavy puppy-dog for a dragon slobbering all over him as he licked his face in profuse gratitude.

"Oh, now come on! That stuff doesn't wash out!" Hiccup yelled as he was drowned in dragon kisses.

Mirabel laughed as the sight with Luna who stood just behind and laid her head on the girl's shoulder.

"Looks like we got you a boyfriend." Mirabel whispered as she scratched behind Luna's ear.

Luna gave a sound that resembled a cat meowing before she licked the side of Mirabel's face.

They watched in amusement as Hiccup tried and failed to escape his slobbery fate.


Personally, I didn't expect to make another update this quick. But yeah, I'm quite satisfied with them learning about each other's pasts. Next chapter will feature La Familia Madrigal after Mirabel's departure. I originally wanted to spend more time on Hiccup and Mirabel before we return to Encanto. But since everyone's been bugging me to show their reactions, I already have scenarios in mind.

As always, leave a comment below.

Merry Christmas.