"Don't move," Astrid said as she tucked Hiccup in. "You need to lay down and rest."
"W…What…What happened…?"
"Well…" Astrid looked as if she wasn't sure what to answer. The rest of the team was also equally awkward as they twiddled their thumbs, trying to find the right words.
"You are with child."
Hiccup turned to the owner of the voice, who was the village midwife. The very same old midwife who had delivered him and the only other party at the time to know of Hiccup's family secret. Pushing aside Astrid as he sat up, he faced the midwife with an incredulous look.
"What are you talking about?" Hiccup demanded.
"When was your last blood cycle?" the midwife asked as she handed Hiccup a cup of warm drink.
"What does that have to do with…" Hiccup started before he stopped to think. Slowly his face went red as he remembered that the last time he had his period (since he was born with girl parts, he had all the biological cycles a girl would have) was a week before he shot down Toothless, and ever since that day Toothless first raped him and the subsequent 'punishment' that followed, he hadn't been keeping track of his period.
"I see you're getting the picture now," the midwife nodded knowingly. "Well, whoever you gave yourself to has hit the jackpot. You're now with child, and about fairly 1 or 2 months down the road, I might add. Probably the reason why you suddenly went crazy in the ring today."
Everyone except Astrid looked confused at what the midwife just told Hiccup, though Astrid did look a little worried as she knew who the father of the child was.
"Is…Is the baby OK?" Hiccup asked worriedly, his heart pounding in fear at a possible life lost inside him.
"It's surprisingly strong and resilient, but if your friends had not found you, it would've been too late. You need at least a night's bed rest before you can move about. I will go and inform your father about this."
"No!" Hiccup stopped her. "No…it's…it's OK. I'll…I'll let him know myself. Please don't tell him anything."
"Suit yourself," the midwife shrugged as she left the room. "Young people these days…"
A long awkward silence ensued as Hiccup stared at his drink quietly while everyone else was around him, waiting for an answer. Finally Tuffnut was the one who broke the ice.
"Can somebody tell me what in Thor's name is going on here?"
Hiccup sighed and finally told them the family secret and his relationship with Toothless. Everything that he had told Astrid was repeated to the group. The team listened with a whole lotta mixed emotions within them, trying to digest the information as Astrid did, but mostly they were filled with shock and disbelief.
"So you're like a half-girl or something?"
"You were boned by a Night Fury?"
"And you're a Night Fury's mate for life?"
"And you seriously gave a dragon a name?"
"And you're knocked up by a Night Fury? That's insane!"
Hiccup nodded to every single one of those questions.
"Does Toothless know?" Astrid asked, probably the only sane question out of all the others.
"I didn't even know, let alone him," Hiccup shook his head, then buried his head on his knees. "If he knew, he wouldn't have let me go for the finals, and we would…we would…"
Astrid put a comforting hand on his shoulder while the rest of the team watched on, feeling rather sorry for him, if not a little weird out.
"Your dad doesn't leave Berk for the nest until tomorrow morning. Do you want to tell Toothless the news first? Let Toothless know that he's now a father?"
Hiccup nodded, his head still buried on his knees.
"Then come. We don't have much time. Fishlegs, let Hiccup ride on your shoulder. He can't walk at his condition."
"Roger that," Fishleg said as he carried Hiccup up onto his shoulders.
"W…Why are you guys helping me…? I thought…" Hiccup was confused as the team helped ushered him out of the midwife's hut.
"Because Toothless deserves to know, simple as that," Astrid said as they made their way to the training ring.
-:-
His sensitive ears perked as he heard small whispers outside. He whipped his head around as much as he could, trying to see where did the sound come from. He may be able to see in the dark much better than any other dragon, but he was unable to pinpoint where the sound was coming from, and it terrified it a little.
"Shh…Toothless, it's me."
Toothless could barely contain his excitement as he recognized Hiccup's voice. As he focused his vision more, he could see Hiccup walking slowly towards him from a small, dark corner of the corridor outside his cell. He could make out a few other shadows behind him but they didn't seem like they were following him, more like standing there as if to keep watch.
"We found a loose wall that we can get into from the back," Hiccup explained as he came near Toothless' cell. "Don't worry, nobody saw us. Just try to be quiet, OK?"
Toothless whined as he tried to crawl towards the bars that separated him and his mate. The chains gave him a little slack, but it was only enough for his muzzle to peek through the bars. Hiccup decided to come closer and cupped Toothless' cheeks.
"Hey, you OK? Did they hurt you?" Hiccup asked worriedly.
Toothless gave him a reassuring lick and asked him the same question through their bond, in which Hiccup felt it.
"I'm OK, don't worry," Hiccup smiled and kissed his muzzle. "In fact, I came here to tell you…that…"
Hiccup hesitated a little, feeling both sad and happy at the same time. This wasn't supposed to be the way for Toothless to find out about this, but there was no other way, not when he might never see him again. He decided to let the bond speak for itself as he straighten up, pressing Toothless' muzzle gently against his middle, using the bond to tell his mate more than words can explain. Toothless took in a scent and almost immediately his ears perked up, his head and eyes darted up and down at Hiccup then at his middle, a look of shock and disbelief littered his face, words like 'Is it true', 'Could it be' and 'Are you really' written all over it. Hiccup smiled sadly as he nodded. Toothless almost let out a squeal as he slobbered all over Hiccup's face and nuzzled his middle like no tomorrow, behaving like anyone would after finding out that he was going to be a father. Unfortunately, he could feel through the bond that Hiccup did not share his excitement, and he looked up questioningly at him, as if asking 'What's wrong'.
"I'm sorry…" Hiccup suddenly broke into tears, trying to hold back his sobs so as not to let the guards out front hear him. "I screwed up. I should've kept track of my blood cycle. I was careless…I should've…This…This is not how I want you to find out about our child…This is supposed to be a joyous occasion, but tomorrow you won't be here anymore…"
Toothless purred sadly at Hiccup and licked his tears, sending a small ripple of comfort to him through the bond, as if telling him it was going to be alright.
"What…What if something goes wrong…? What if something rubs off me the wrong way? You're a dragon and I'm human. We're not supposed to breed. What if our baby cannot survive? I'm born with my mother's curse, and she had lost so many children before she had me…I'm cursed…I might end up killing our child…"
Toothless growled a little, as if telling him not to think of such foolish things.
"I…I can't do this without you…"
Toothless purred again, then gestured him to come closer. As Hiccup did so, Toothless pressed his muzzle against his forehead and, using the bond, showed him images of his past. Hiccup saw tall mountains beyond grassy landscapes. He saw an island with sandy beaches and dense forests. He saw a huge expanse of green plains at the foot of a woodsy hill, littered with the ruins of centuries old. He saw a whole flock of Night Furies, probably about a dozen or so, flying about without the care in the world. It was their home, and they were at peace.
He then saw a pair of Night Fury, huddled together lovingly in a small cave just north of the foot of the hill. The female was closer to a nest of eggs, about roughly 3, 4 of them, watching it every moment or so, as if waiting anxiously for them to hatch. The male nuzzled noses with her, reassuring her that the eggs would be alright. The next image showed Hiccup the nest, and the eggs slowly hatching one by one. The excited parents gathered around their little hatchlings as they drew their first breath. One of them was of darker hide than its siblings, and Hiccup could tell that this odd one out was Toothless. The next few images showed Toothless growing up, his parents watching over him and educating him and his siblings everything a dragon needed to know in life, and Hiccup could feel Toothless' joy and excitement as he and his siblings first learned how to fly. It was a peaceful time for them, the perfect family, the perfect life.
Suddenly the images changed, engulfed in fire. He saw the huge dragon they saw in the dragons' island—who was not as huge as it was right now, but still big enough to overpower any dragon—covered the entire plains with raging fire. It was killing every single Night Fury in sight, committing genocide like as if its life depended on it. Hiccup watched in horror as every single one of those beautiful Night Furies were either burnt alive or ripped to shreds. Its sheer size was not enough for those pint-sized Furies to tackle, and one by one, they succumbed to the dragon's wrath.
He saw Toothless' mother forced into a corner as she tried to protect her young, shooting fireballs at the dragon, trying her best to ward him away, and when the dragon was about to come in for the kill, Toothless' father jumped in out of the blue to fight tooth and nail with the dragon. Sadly, neither of Toothless' parents was spared from the fight and they were both sacrificed and were eaten right in front of Toothless. Hiccup felt Toothless' helplessness as he was forced to watch as his siblings were picked up one by one from him and swallowed whole, and was given a long hard stare by the huge dragon before it decided to leave him for dead.
Flashes of images followed as it showed Toothless growing up afraid and alone, having to fend for himself and having to bear with the burden that he was the last of his kind. There was no sign of other Night Furies anywhere, no matter how much or how long he looked. He traveled far and wide, trying to search for that glimmer of hope that somewhere out there, there would be another Night Fury like him, but the dragon—which he learnt was called the Red Death—had already beat him to the punch. It had eradicated every last Night Fury in sight, leaving him only last living Night Fury who will die out with him. He, like all the other dragons, was forced into servitude for that wretched dragon. He did not understand why the Red Death decided to single his clan out and kill all but him, yet sparing the rest of the other dragon clans, but he refused to become his murderer's slave. He refused to steal any of the food from the places he and the dragons invaded, providing firepower for them only because they begged him to due to his marksmanship. He refused to give his murderer the satisfaction of knowing that he had stooped so low as to feed its sorry ass.
Gentler images of Toothless and Hiccup together washed through Hiccup's mind, showing him that for the first time, someone cared enough for him to spare his life, not out of malice, but out of the kindness of their heart. For the first time, someone did not fear him and befriended him without judgment. For the first time, someone broke through his hardened heart and tamed him, loving him without condition and went as far as they could go to make amends for what they have done. For the first time, someone was comfortable with him to share their deepest, darkest secrets and returned his feelings without prejudice.
That someone was Hiccup.
Hiccup opened his tear-soaked eyes as the images ended, looking straight at Toothless' green orbs. From that intimate bond, he knew that Toothless has given him his most precious memories. He knew that this was something that Toothless had to do, even though he had to do it via Hiccup's father. He had to exact his revenge and make the Red Death pay for what it did to his family and his clan. He knew that Toothless wanted him to have those memories so that he would not be alone, so that his child will know of his father. Toothless was no longer the last of his kind, and he knew Hiccup would make sure of it, no matter what it takes. Hiccup saw through Toothless' begging eyes, telling him to be safe, to run away and let no one hurt their child, and that he believed Hiccup will be able to do it without him, if it came to that.
"I…I promise…" Hiccup sniffled as he let Toothless licked the last of his tears away. "I promise, Toothless. I will run away…I won't let my Dad find out about this…I won't let him or anyone hurt our baby…I promise…"
Toothless purred, giving him that toothless smile that he had learnt from Hiccup, making Hiccup chuckle a little.
"I love you, Toothless…I love you so much…"
Toothless purred again and leaned in to give him his dragon kiss. Hiccup reached between the bars to hug Toothless' neck as he returned the kiss, doing the tongue dance they've learnt so well together.
"Psst! Hiccup!" Astrid's hiss echoed in the cell. "We gotta go. Now!"
"B…But…" Hiccup was reluctant to go. He needed a few more minutes, just a few more.
"The guard is coming in to check on the Night Fury," Tuffnut whispered. "We really have to go!"
The sound of the key turning at front forced Toothless to separate from Hiccup and the dragon nudged him, urging him to leave. As much as Hiccup didn't want to, he had to oblige, as he backed away from Toothless, disappearing into the darkness of the corridor and out the back where he came in from.
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