Hiccup worked Toothless' tail fin without even needing to think about it, the two of them circling over their cove. Devastating Winter had passed, and Winter had passed right along with it, and the cove now looked almost exactly as Hiccup had first found it. The grass was green and bright in the sun, leaves had returned to the trees, and the lake shimmered in the morning light.

"Let's go down, bud," Hiccup said.

Toothless warbled in agreement, coming down for a gentle landing, and Hiccup vaulted off as soon as they were down. He landed hard, and pain flared in his stump. He stumbled and fell, his leg giving out, and Toothless darted in to stop his fall. With a gentle croon, the dragon raised Hiccup back up with his head, gazing at Hiccup with wide eyes all the while.

"Thanks, bud," Hiccup said quietly. "Always looking out for me, huh?"

He felt a lump in his throat which he immediately swallowed down.

He looked around the cove, and he smiled at the memories it brought him, even as a twinge of sadness built in his chest. He thought of long happy days whiled away in this place, free from everyone's expectations and judgements. He thought of that first real flight, of weaving through those sea stacks and then whooping in delight. He thought of holding out his hand, of turning away, of feeling the touch of warm scales on his skin.

Then he looked back to Toothless, letting his eyes wander over the dragon's false fin, and his smile immediately fell.

I must tell him, he thought. He needs to know.

For months, Hiccup had been putting this off. He'd tried telling himself that Toothless wouldn't understand his words. Then he'd tried telling himself that what was done was done, that it was better to let the past be the past. But none of it had rang true. Toothless, by now, clearly did understand much of what Hiccup said. And maimed as the dragon was, he surely deserved the truth.

Hiccup swallowed again. "Bud, I need to tell you something, okay? Something…important."

The dragon let out a questioning sound, his ear fins perking up.

"It's about…your tail," Hiccup said.

Already, Hiccup could feel a pit opening in his chest – a full-on yawning chasm, threatening to swallow him whole. Surely Toothless would hate him after this; surely Toothless would never forgive. The dragon approached him slowly, warbling and tilting his head.

"That night?" Hiccup said, his heart thumping. "That night, when you got shot down?"

Toothless' eyes widened. He closed their distance quickly, keeping his head down at Hiccup's level.

"That was…" Hiccup said. "I mean, I…I was the one who—"

Toothless licked his face.

"Euughh! Toothless!"

Hiccup recoiled instinctively, the stink of fish filling his nostrils. The dragon's tongue had been warm and slobbery, coating him in drool.

"Y-yeah, love you too bud. Believe me," Hiccup said. He wiped at his face with his sleeve, only realising then that he was smiling, while Toothless let out a loud dragon-laugh.

"Love you too," Hiccup repeated quietly, scratching the dragon's head.

Toothless responded with an affectionate croon, nosing against Hiccup's cheek.

Hiccup would miss this kind of closeness, once Toothless learned the truth. Perhaps, he thought to himself, he should have made another auto-tail first. Because surely Toothless would want that after this.

"Right," Hiccup said. He pulled back slightly, meeting Toothless' gaze. "You've got to let me finish this time. Okay bud?"

Toothless croaked, still right up at Hiccup's face, his gaze almost painfully loving.

"Okay," Hiccup said. He took a deep breath, holding Toothless' head in both of his hands. "Toothless?" he said. "It's my fault you—"

Toothless licked him again.

"Aagh!"

Hiccup spluttered and backed away, but Toothless pressed forward and kept on licking. The dragon went for Hiccup's face over and over, and Hiccup quickly lost his balance. He fell with a startled yelp, only for a forelimb to stop his fall. Toothless lowered Hiccup into a sitting position, warbling an apology with his ear-fins back.

"I'm okay bud," Hiccup said, wiping his face with his other sleeve. "It's fine."

Toothless perked up right away. He planted a paw atop Hiccup's good leg, keeping Hiccup firmly in place.

"Really, bud?" Hiccup deadpanned.

Toothless chuffed. Really, he seemed to say. He laid down in front of Hiccup, still looking him in the eye and holding his leg throughout.

"Okay, Hiccup said quietly. "Let's try this again…"

Toothless leaned in closer, his ear-fins twitching.

Hiccup looked down, taking a deep breath. "Okay. Now or never," he said to himself. He looked to his dragon, who remained utterly focussed on him. "Toothless? On that night you were shot down…I'mtheonewho—"

Toothless licked him, his wide eyes shining with mischief and amusement. Hiccup groaned and threw his arms up, a barrage of licks assailing his face. The dragon licked and licked some more, quickly pushing Hiccup down onto his back.

"Gross! Toothless!"

Hiccup found himself smiling, even as he tried in vain to shield his face. He looked away, spluttering and laughing, his dragon towering over him and licking him all the while.

Finally, it ceased. Toothless gave him one of those adorable gummy smiles and then stepped away, freeing him at last. Hiccup found himself just staring at the sky with his mouth slightly open, utterly lost for words. He was covered in drool by then, but he just couldn't bring himself to mind.

Hiccup sighed, pulling himself up into a sitting position. He found Toothless sat in front of him; the dragon had his tail curled around, leaving the prosthetic in easy sight.

"What's the matter, bud?" Hiccup asked quietly. "Why won't you let me say it?"

The dragon tilted his head, staring silently.

"Are you trying to tell me something?" Hiccup said. "Or are you…"

And then all at once, everything clicked in Hiccup's mind.

"You…already know, don't you?" Hiccup said.

Toothless crooned, stepping towards him.

"And…you forgave me, didn't you?"

Toothless crooned again, moving to Hiccup's side. He gave Hiccup a single gentle respectful lick, right on Hiccup's check.

Hiccup chuckled giddily. The chasm in his chest was gone, and his chest now felt light as a feather, even as his eyes became heavy with tears.

"You forgave me," Hiccup repeated. "You…oh, Toothless!" He clambered to his feet and pulled his dragon into a tight hug, burying his face in warm scales. Moments later, he both heard and felt the dragon begin to purr, a warm head nudging against his ear.

Of course Toothless had known. Toothless was smart, even more-so than most dragons, and there was no way he wouldn't have figured it out. Perhaps he'd smelled Hiccup's scent on the bolas and so known right away; perhaps he'd figured it out a little later, after realising that no-one besides Hiccup could have fired such a shot. It hardly mattered now.

And Toothless had forgiven much — so much. He'd forgiven Hiccup almost killing him with that knife. He'd forgiven Hiccup for leading him into danger in the arena, for failing to get him to safety. He'd forgiven Berk for chaining him, for muzzling him like a beast, for almost leaving him to drown in the cold dark depths.

Hiccup pulled back, sniffling and rubbing at his eyes. "Thank you, bud," he said. "Just…thank you. For everything."

Toothless chuffed. He looked away for several long seconds, as though deep in thought. Then he suddenly nosed at Hiccup's prosthetic with an apologetic keen, his ear-fins firmly back against his head.

"What the…that wasn't your fault, bud. That was the queen, and you saved me from her. You—"

Toothless growled sharply, stunning Hiccup into silence.

"T-Toothless?"

Toothless backed away from him, his body lowered almost right to the ground. He opened his mouth wide, revealing his toothless gums. And then, before Hiccup's eyes, his teeth shot out; he went to his side and curled himself tightly inwards, his wings forming a tight cocoon.

Hiccup's mouth opened wordlessly, and pain twinged in his stump. Then Toothless uncurled himself, looking up at Hiccup with an anxious warble.

"You…grabbed my leg to save me, didn't you?" Hiccup said.

Toothless warbled in confirmation, his eyes wide with guilt.

Hiccup's stump twinged harder, making him wince.

Hiccup had suspected this, in truth. His father had told him that he'd lost his leg in a great fire, as the Queen's body exploded on impact below him, but that had never made sense to him. How could that one leg have been so completely destroyed, with the rest of his body so completely free of burns? And why had Toothless so often looked so guilty and worried, whenever he looked down at that prosthetic limb?

Hiccup opened his mouth again, and for a moment he thought of asking what exactly had happened. But then he simply closed his mouth, saying nothing. It didn't matter how exactly his leg had been lost, he decided. What mattered was that Toothless had saved him, and that Toothless was now beating himself up for that — nothing more.

Hiccup got down onto his good knee and smiled gently, holding his palm out. Toothless accepted the gesture right away, nuzzling into it and closing his eyes, a deep rumble sounding from his throat.

"You don't need to feel bad about that," Hiccup said. He swallowed, blinked away some tears, and gently rubbed the dragon's head. "You saved me, bud. That's all that matters."

The dragon rumbled once more, his tense posture rapidly easing.

Eventually, Hiccup stood up, and Toothless stood up right along with him. The dragon chuffed and glanced back at the saddle, his unspoken question obvious.

"Yeah, bud. Let's fly," Hiccup said.

He jumped on and got his pegleg into its stirrup, flaring the prosthetic fin out. Toothless then leapt into the air, propelling them up on his powerful wings.

As they were rising, it suddenly struck Hiccup just how covered in drool he really was. Toothless' slobber had gotten all over his hands and face, and all over his clothes besides. A bath was in order, he decided, once they finally returned to the village. And as for his clothes…

"Well, bud," Hiccup said. "I hope this washes out…"