Hiccup was just resting in his bed, as he did every other day. He didn't exactly expect anything special, but he felt like there should have been. The castle was quiet, which was not the norm. Usually, there was a ruckus of sorts going on, with people either getting things done or causing some sort of noise.

When he finally started to wake up, he could smell the distinct scent of fish. He opened his eyes and there, right in front of him, was Toothless. The Night Fury was also starting to wake up and was now licking his face.

Toothless said, "Good morning!" as he was excited for his rider to see what they had planned.

"Hey, bud, what's gotten into you today?" Hiccup wondered what had gotten Toothless so excited.

"What do you mean? Can't I just be excited?" asked Toothless.

"Only when you're trying to hide something from me," Hiccup said as he then walked over and grabbed his clothes.

Then, as he made his way out of his room, he wondered why all of the halls were empty. Everything was clean, but there was no sign of anyone. He started looking for anyone, but the more he went down the hallways, the less he saw anyone around. Things were starting to get a little strange for him.

"Toothless," Hiccup said, noticing his Night Fury making its way toward the kitchen. "What's going on?"

Toothless chuckled as he made his way toward the kitchen doors. "You'll see."

When they opened the doors, there was still no sign of anyone. Hiccup was only getting more lost as he started to stroll down the stone path through the gardens. As he disappeared, Toothless tried his tail fins, opening and closing them, giving a signal.

As Hiccup circled the village quickly, he saw no one outside. As the sun began to rise in the sky, he figured he would find someone eventually. He was starting to get a little frustrated as he made his way back to the dining area of the palace.

"Okay, did Kumandra get evacuated and I didn't get the memo?" Hiccup muttered to himself as he approached the doors. He raised his hands to push them open, letting out a small grunt in the process. "It feels like-"

"Surprise!"

Hiccup's heart skipped a beat as sparkles suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He saw dragon heads peeking out of the windows, and people standing in the middle of the room. Hiccup looked at everyone around the room, people from Berk and some visitors from other islands like Fang, Talon, Tail, and Spine. The dragons included Pengu, Amba, Pranee, Jagan, Cutter, and Scorch; they were excited to celebrate his birthday with him. They approached him, clapping and cheering. He was touched.

Then there came Noi, who came over to Hiccup and hugged him, causing him to flinch when he saw it was her. "Noi?"

"Happy birthday, Hiccup!" Noi cheered as she clung to his leg.

"I can't believe it's you!" Hiccup exclaimed, not having seen Noi up close in a while, and being touched by her presence. "Look how big you've gotten."

"Happy Birthday, Hiccup," Raya said in her kind voice.

Hiccup turned his head and saw his love, dressed so beautifully, walking toward him, dressed in her best clothes; her father behind her.

"Wow, I can't believe you guys remembered!" Hiccup exclaimed.

He had to admit, nobody on Berk remembered his birthday; his own father rarely did. Gobber was the only one who at least put any effort into the idea of his birth, but his gifts were always just random tools from the forge. However, he still loved them all the same.

"You thought I would forget?" Raya asked, a little offended.

"Well..." Hiccup wasn't sure how to admit it. "Yeah, I kinda did a little."

"I would never," Raya said as she pecked his cheek.

"Aw!" Sisu cooed as she stood in the doorway, next to Toothless. "Isn't that cute?"

"I wake up to this every morning, I am considering getting my own room because of it." Toothless comments.

"Well, I don't," Sisu said as she then zipped across the room, wrapping herself around the couple, almost as if she was a snake. Raya and Hiccup let out a yip in surprise at Sisu's action as they were squeezed closer together. "Happy birthday, birthday boy!"

"Thanks, Sisu!" Hiccup laughed as he tried to breathe.

"Sisu, can we breathe?" Raya asks her.

Sisu then released them, allowing Hiccup to get a look around the room. He couldn't believe how many people were there, with Boun and his family, Noi, and her mother and Ongis, as well as Tong and his family. He smiled as a few strands of tears left his eyes.

"Thanks for this, guys. This...this is just..." Hiccup couldn't even finish his sentence as he wiped the tears. "You guys have just...done so much for me, this is too much."

"Nonsense," Benja said as he approached Hiccup. "This is but a small part of what we should be giving you regardless." He gave the boy a warm smile. "This is your home, Hiccup. We want you to feel at home. And this is what it means to be home."

Hiccup smiled and even gave Benja a hug of gratitude. Benja smiled as he returned the hug, smiling at the boy. His old home had never appreciated him for being different from the rest of them, but here he was celebrated for being different. As Benja watched this, he couldn't help but feel proud of his newfound friend. That was when Benja saw the friends of the boy bringing forward wrapped gifts to him.

"For me?" Hiccup said, growing more grateful.

Well, they're certainly not for us," Boun joked.

Hiccup chuckled as he should have expected that. He then walked over to where Tong had left the box for him. When he opened the box, he was amazed to see there was a new version of the Inferno inside. He lifted it, expecting it to be heavy, but was shocked when he realized it was made from Gronckle Iron. He looked over the new design for the sword and was amazed.

"Whoa!" Hiccup said as he raised the sword up to give it a feel. "Thanks, Tong."

Tong nodded as he held his family close.

He opened the box and to his delight saw a set of jade robes. He lifted them out and saw how elegant they were, made of the finest material in the land. He saw the emblem of the Night Fury sewn on the back. "They're amazing," he said.

"It took the finest silk from Heart and Talon to make them," said Benja admirably with a proud smile on his face. "What do you think of trying them on?"

Hiccup did a quick change since he was wearing the quick-change clothes. He loved how he was practically accepted by everyone here, and had been given clothes made specifically for him to complete his transformation from an Outsider of Berk to an accepted member of Kuwanda.

"Now, let the celebration begin!" Benja said as music filled the room.

Everyone began to celebrate, and everyone began to dance around the room. Heather chuckled as she bumped Raya towards Hiccup; she could see what was going through her head. They began to dance around the room and have a great time. Meanwhile, someone flew in and landed right outside the building, staying in the shadows of the mountains. The Stormcutter landed and hid its rider in the darkness as she came out to get a look at the area.

"Hold, Cloudjumper," she said as she kept her mask on. "Let's watch for now."

Meanwhile, the people of Fang continued on with their daily lives as they normally would. Since they were primarily responsible for defending all of Kumandra, they worked diligently at creating weapons for the other lands. However, everything changed when they witnessed a monstrous Nightmare come crashing down and landing in the rubble of the castle. It was then that all of the residents were stunned to discover that the one riding the Nightmare was none other than their beloved Princess of Fang.

"It's the Princess."

"The Princess?"

"She has returned?"

Namara jumped off of the Nightmare and gave it a pat on the head for helping rescue her from the ship. "Yes. It is me," she said to the rest of the village. "I'm back, but I don't have any good news. I need to speak to Hiccup and Raya!"

"They're over at Heart." One of the residents said. "Celebrating Hiccup's birthday."

Nodding with a sigh, Namaari held Sharpshot in her hands. "I need someone to look after him."

One of the Dragon Medics from Fang accompanied the Terror and they made their way back to help him. Namaari jumped on top of the Nightmare once more and knew that she needed to travel to Heart and try and warn them of what was coming for them.

"I am sorry to tell you this, but war is approaching!" Namaari tells them all. "Be prepared for anything!"

"Who is coming?" One of them asks.

Namaari sighed and recalled what the Dragon Hunters had done to her home. "The Dragon Hunters and others are coming."

There were more murmurs throughout the village as Namaari made her way into the air and flew towards Heart. She needed to warn Hiccup before it was too late. He needed to know that Berk was coming to take everything away from them that they had built in her absence.

Back in Heart, all the guests came into the dining room which had been decorated with dragon banners hanging everywhere. Sisu, Toothless, and her siblings sat at windows where they could still poke their heads in and be close to the table with the cake in the center.

Hiccup sat with Raya, Benja, and their close friends and their families. There were over fifty tables altogether and dragons sat patiently outside. Then to his amazement, a giant pot was rolled into the room, emitting an aroma that flew its way up his nostrils. "Smells so good," he wheezed, mouth-watering again.

Bowls were served. Everyone dug into the tasty stew that was Hiccup's favorite, a mixture of rare Kumandra sauces and vegetables. The bread was served as well along with a side of delicious chicken and vegetables. Dragons were served well-roasted fish with sauce. And the Boulder Class dragons were given special rocks found in Spine's mountains. Tuk-Tuk ate five large bowls before he was full up.

Hiccup quickly stood up and decided to give a bit of a speech to the people. The room went quiet when the boy stood and wondered what he had to say.

"I just wanted to say…thank you. Thank you all. Most of you here know my backstory, and know that I wasn't much liked in my home. I was an outcast. And when…the chief cast me out, I never found a home since. But when I landed here, it almost sounds like some sort of act of fate." Hiccup gave a speech as he looked to everyone. "I am thankful to everyone here and for all my friends here." Then he looked to the love of his life. "I am most thankful for you, Raya. I am glad you found me."

"When I punched you in the face?" Raya quipped back when Hiccup ruined their moment.

Hiccup and a few others laughed, as he then gave her a playful shove. "Well, you killed the mood."

"Learned from the best," Raya said as she stood and placed a kiss on his lips. "But I am glad that I saved you. You've been the one light in my life in those five years since I lost my ba. And it's only because of you that we managed to bring everyone back."

"It was a team effort," he said. "And I wouldn't want to take all the credit. I would like to thank you for making this one of the best birthdays I have had in a long time."

"Well, I have one more surprise for you," Raya said as she reached into her pocket for the ring.

"I actually also have my own surprise for you." Hiccup said and knew this wasn't the best place for it. "Care to join me for a quick walk, my lady?"

Raya smiled and knew it would be best to do this in private. "I would love to."

As Hiccup and Raya started to make their way to the gardens, Toothless flew up and landed on the roof to watch them leave. He sighed and lay down, needing a bit of a break from the crowded castle and noise. When he then lay down, he heard water splashing and looked to see Sisu making her way over.

"Hey." Sisu greeted him. "You up for some company?"

Toothless moved over to give her the space to lie down next to him. "Come to see the show?"

"I wanna see if they go through with it," Sisu confirmed she wanted to watch the proposal. "And not to mention the room is crowded when you're as big and long as me." She gestured at how far she goes when she is stretched out. "Needed to get some elbow room."

They watched Hiccup and Raya disappear into the gardens while holding each other's hands. Enjoying the sight, Sisu and Toothless slightly relaxed and didn't even notice when he placed his head on her paws. Sisu then placed her head on top of Toothless' and they just enjoyed the sight.

"Seeing those two makes me happy," Toothless said with a sigh. "It's nice to see Hiccup somewhere safe where he could be loved."

Sisu then began to wonder something, "You ever think that you could feel love?"

Toothless sighed upon hearing that idea. "It's different for dragons than it is for humans. It's almost more difficult to find a mate. I don't know what to really think of the idea. Loving someone like that. For as long as I can remember, it was always just me. I had no one in my life. Not since I lost my family... And then when Hiccup came along, he became the only family I had. And for a while, it was just us. Now, in recent years, we've thrived together here with everything and it just…it feels so different."

"I know," Sisu said as she lifted her head to get a look at his face. "When you've been on your own for nearly all your life...it takes more than a few years to be used to all these changes." She then nudged closer to him, placing a paw over his, much to his surprise. He turned to her. "It's just as overwhelming for Hiccup as it is for you. But nothing could ever change anything between you two."

He smiled. The smile that she was expressing with her jubilant eyes made his heart hammer. And then it was a little sudden as the two were beginning to lean in, both of them closing their eyes as they got closer. Before either knew what happened, Toothless licked (kissed) Sisu's head before she could realize what happened.

Sisu flinched and backed her head away a little in shock. "Uh..."

Toothless started t realize he might have just made a mistake and backed off a little. "I-I'm sorry if I misread what was going on here. But I-"

Sisu then leaned in and kissed the Night Fury herself to silence him. She leaned back and the two were left with an unaware idea of what to do now. But with no idea what to really know what to do, they just went in for another kiss and decided to just embrace whatever this could become.

Back with Hiccup and Raya, they made their way toward the gardens and took a seat. They were both nervous, for the same reasons and yet neither were aware of it. Neither of them was sure how to approach this question with the fear that built up. If they went through with this idea, things were going to change a lot for them and their lives.

"So, you said that there was a gift you had for me?" Hiccup decided to go with that as a distraction.

"Yeah, and...you said that you had a surprise for me." Raya reminded him.

Hiccup chuckled and blushed unaware that Raya was doing the same thing. They were alone, and yet they couldn't even get a word out to one another.

"Hiccup…" Raya finally spoke up, her hand reaching behind to grab the ring. "There's something I really need to give you. This is my birthday gift to you…"

"You've already given me everything I could ever want," Hiccup said as he cupped her cheeks, reaching back to grab his ring. "And besides, this day isn't going to be all about me. I have a little gift for you, too. Mind if I give it to you first?"

Raya then decided to hear him out as she placed her ring in her pocket. "Go ahead."

Hiccup said as he held up his ring. "Raya, when I met you, I never knew what it was like to be loved. I always had to fight for the affection from my own father and still failed to receive it. I couldn't be accepted, and they threw me out for being different. And I thought that I would be alone for the rest of my life. But when I met you, it became the best thing to ever happen to me. I learned to actually love someone and be loved by others. In both a friendly manner and much more."

"And you have done so much more for me than you could ever know," Raya said as she cupped his cheek. "That's why I love you."

"And that's why I love you, Raya," Hiccup said as he readied himself for the next step. "You are the light of my life. The woman who captured my heart. You are the most amazing, determined, and beautiful woman I have ever met in my life. And considering I have been to a dozen different lands, don't take that with a grain of salt." He then took out his box and knew it was time for the next step. "And that's why I believe I am ready to ask this." He then showed her the ring, causing Raya to gasp and almost break into tears. "Raya, Princess of Heart, will you marry me?"

Raya took a moment to get her bearings from the question. She almost chuckled out loud, but it came out almost like a scoff. Hiccup was almost offended and thought he wasn't right that they were ready for this moment. But that was when she started to laugh more clearly, and Hiccup was now more confused if anything.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Raya apologizes for her reaction. "It's..." She then wiped the tears and showed off that she had a ring for him. He was surprised that their designs were almost identical to each other's, which only made Hiccup laugh. "I was planning to ask you the same thing. I was asking you to become my partner in life, and the future chief of my people."

Hiccup laughed as he dragged Raya close and gave her a hug with how ridiculous the two of them are. "So...was that a yes?"

"Yes!" Raya said as she allowed Hiccup to place the ring on. "Yes, Hiccup! Like there was any doubt!"

"Then I guess that I have to say yes as well." Hiccup said as he took Raya's ring and placed it on his finger. He laughed and wrapped his hands around Raya, and she repeated the action. "I love you, Raya."

"I love you too, Hiccup," Raya said as she leaned and kissed him.

This was all they wanted. They have their happily ever after.

But for how long?

Darkness was coming. And none of them knew it.

(A/N: Quick note, there was a bit more planned for the ending here, but I felt it would be a better opening for the next chapter rather than the ending of this one. Give them a bit of happiness before the darkness comes...