How To Love Your Dragon-Chapter 13

Broken-down catapults and trebuchets were bundled up and lowered from the cliffs. Below on the docks, Vikings loaded the heavy artillery into the hulls of awaiting ships. Children and the elderly gather to on the walkways to wave apprehensive farewells to the departing warriors. Lastly, Toothless was loaded aboard Stoick's ship, chained down to a palette, muzzled, and restrained with a weighty neck ring. The legendary Night Fury who was heralded to be the most dangerous, most intelligent and most elusive dragon now looked exhausted and miserable, weighed down by defeat and anguish, knowing that his legendary claim was no longer feared.

But at least after Hiccup's secret visit to his prison last night, he took comfort in knowing that if he would never return from this expedition or survive his ordeal, his legacy will continue to live on within his mate, and that his mate will be from harm's way soon as he had promised.

Stoick crossed to the bow as the ship pushed off and joined the amassed armada of ships adrift in the harbor. Stoick's brow was furrowed, all warmth drained away. He turned west and glared at the horizon with cold determination.

"Set sail! We head for Helheim's Gate."

He then noticed Hiccup watching from his familiar cliff-side perch beyond the village. Their eyes met, full of hurt and regret. He noticed Hiccup looked a little pale and drained, but did not think much of it. Hiccup slowly shook his head in warning, biting his lip and his arms around himself as if in a hugging motion. Stoick then heard Toothless snort and grunt, as if feeling Hiccup's presence without even needing to see him up there, and it made the Chief of Tribe's blood boil. It reminded Stoick of his son—his only son—betraying everything he stood for and giving himself to the enemy he and his generations before him had sworn to fight to the death. He broke the stare and turned to Toothless, fuming.

"Lead us home, Devil."

Toothless gave Stoick one final defiant glare before the ship started leaving the docks. Hiccup continued watching as the ships set sail. He was powerless to stop what was happening, but won't leave. He was not about to let Toothless go alone in this journey of no return, and if it was only their bond to let him know that he was seeing his mate off, it was the least he could do. He continued to stand there for goodness knows how long, even after the ships have long since cleared the horizon. Astrid, who came to see how Hiccup and his baby were doing, was standing behind him. She approached cautiously and stood beside him in silence.

"It's a mess," Astrid slowly broke the ice.

Hiccup didn't respond.

"You must feel horrible. You've lost everything. Your father, your tribe, your best friend and mate…"

"Thank you for summing that up," Hiccup retorted. After another momentary silence, he sighed. "Why couldn't I have killed that dragon when I found him in the woods? It would have been better for everyone."

"Yep. The rest of us would have done it," Astrid agreed, then turned to him. "So why didn't you?"

Hiccup just shook his head. He really didn't know how to answer that. Astrid's eyes glimmered, as if not satisfied with that response.

"Why didn't you?"

"I don't know. I couldn't."

"That's not an answer."

"Why is this so important to you all of a sudden?" Hiccup asked, irritated at her probing.

"Because I want to remember what you say right now," Astrid said indignantly.

"Oh for the love of…" Hiccup turned to her, exasperated. "I was a coward! I was weak. I wouldn't kill a dragon."

"You said 'couldn't' that time," Astrid pointed out.

"Whatever! I wouldn't! Three hundred years and I'm the first Viking who wouldn't kill a dragon! Guess I'm really cursed now, am I? You happy now?"

Hiccup looked away, trying to hold back tears. He didn't want Astrid to see him cry, and he really felt like crying right now, thinking about all the mistakes he had done, all the wretched choices he made, and now left with the overwhelming responsibility of carrying the offspring of lightning and death within him and faced with future dangers of being prosecuted, always on the run and not knowing what a dragon's pregnancy would do to him…

"First to ride one, though. And to be bonded to one."

Hiccup blinked. He never looked at it that way before.

"So…?" Astrid probed some more. Hiccup put a hand onto his middle, his mind going back to the first day he met Toothless and that fateful decision that changed his life forever.

"…I wouldn't kill him because he looked as frightened as I was," Hiccup said in realization, remembering the look Toothless gave him when he was about to kill him that seemed oddly familiar to him. "I looked at him…and I saw myself."

"I bet he's really frightened now," Astrid said as she turned to face the open sea. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Probably something stupid," Hiccup replied, an idea already cooking in his mind.

"Good. But you've already done that."

"Then something crazy."

"That's more like it."

-:-

Hiccup raised the bolt on the Monstrous Nightmare's pen as the team gathered in the ring. They were all rudely awaken from their beds to rendezvous there and needless to say, none of them were too happy about it.

"If you're planning on getting you and your child eaten, I'd definitely go with the Gronckle," Fishlegs noted.

"You were wise to seek help from the world's most deadly weapon," Tuffnut stepped forward with a scowl, then seeing Hiccup's confused face, he clarified, "It's me."

"I love this plan," Snotlout, the ever brown-noser butted in.

"I didn't…" Hiccup wanted to say that he hadn't yet told them about the plan, but Ruffnut pushed past Snotlout.

"You're crazy," Ruffnut admonished, but then looked at him sultry. "I like that."

"So? What is the plan?" Astrid asked as she pulled Ruffnut's braid and shoved her out of the way, reminding the blonde that Hiccup was already spoken for.

Hiccup smiled, glowing in the support of his friends. He opened the door of the Nightmare's pen and stepped into the darkness. Approaching the Nightmare, he had his hands outstretched as he did during the finals, showing it that he was not a threat. The dragon sniffed about him for a moment, catching the scent of the child within Hiccup and snorted in surprise. Hiccup smiled and nodded before he laid a gentle hand on the dragon's muzzle, slowly backing away.

He soon stepped back from the door, drawing the Monstrous Nightmare out of its cave. It snorted, stepping into the ring, calmed by Hiccup's outstretched hand and focused on him and his little baby bump. The teens were bewildered, in awe at what they were witnessing. Snotlout was still a little apprehensive and nervously reached for a spear lying near his foot, but was stopped by Astrid with a smack on his shoulder. Hiccup slowed to a stop in front of the teens, with the Nightmare inches from his outstretched hand. He reached over and grabbed Snotlout's trembling hand.

"Wait! What are you…!" Snotlout was horrified at what Hiccup was trying to do.

"Relax," Hiccup assured him. "It's okay…it's okay."

Hiccup carefully replaced his outstretched hand with Snotlout's, putting him in control of the massive beast. The Nightmare snorted, but remained calm. Snotlout, by contrast, chuckles nervously—it was both terrifying and amazing as the others watched, spellbound at how docile the fearsome dragon arsonist was before them. Hiccup turned and walked away, leaving Snotlout with the Nightmare.
"Where are you going?" Snotlout asked, still plenty terrified at being alone with the dragon.

"You're going to need something to help you hold on," Hiccup said as he pulled a bundle of rope from a supply box.

As the teens eye each other apprehensively, all the dragons that Hiccup had unleashed before the Monstrous Nightmare were standing in the ring, facing the teens expectantly.

How To Love Your Dragon-Chapter 12

Hiccup slowly regained consciousness. His vision was slightly blurred but slowly cleared and found himself being stared down by Astrid and the rest of the team. Hiccup groaned as he slowly tried to sit up but Astrid gently pushed him back down in bed.

"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.

-:-

Toothless sat in his cell, tied and bound in chains that weighed him down to the ground, giving him very little moving—or breathing—space. He let out an occasional whine or two, wondering how Hiccup was doing. He hadn't seen him since he was knocked out and dragged into his cell, and he had expected that his mate may have been forbidden to see him after what had just happened. He could only hope that the man Hiccup stopped him from killing had not hurt him, or worse, killed him.

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.

How To Love Your Dragon-Chapter 11

The grounds had been transformed as the finals for Hiccup's road to Viking manhood had begun. Banners and flags flapped in the morning sun. Surrounding the ring, a festive crowd had gathered. All of Berk has turned out for the event. Before the tournament started, Stoick came up to the stand and made his speech aloud to the crowd.

"Well, I can show my face in public again!" Stoick announced as he laughed along with the villagers humorously. "If someone had told me that in a few short weeks, Hiccup would go from being, well…Hiccup, to placing first in dragon training, I would've tied him to a mast and shipped him off for fear he'd gone mad. Yes! And you know it! But here we are. And no one's more surprised or more proud than I am. Today, my boy becomes a Viking. Today, he becomes ONE OF US!"

Hiccup was standing at the entrance to the ring, listening, looking burdened as cheers and roars echoed the ring. In fact he felt almost sick to the stomach thinking about what he was going to do and what would happen it either succeed or not. While he was lost in his thoughts, Astrid approached him.

"Be careful with that dragon," Astrid tried to offer her support.

"It's not the dragon I'm worried about," Hiccup said, trying to sound upbeat, but was not really convincing.

"You look a little pale. You alright there, Hiccup?"

"Yeah, well, if you count me waking up as if being spun around in a whirlpool and hurling my guts out before I got here, as well as losing all appetite for breakfast as alright, I'm perfectly fine."

"What are you going to do?" Astrid asked worriedly.

"Put an end to this," Hiccup noticed Astrid's dubious look and sighed, "I have to try. Astrid, it maybe just my nerves, but…if something goes wrong…just make sure they don't find Toothless."

"I will," Astrid replied grimly. "Just promise me it won't go wrong."

Hiccup couldn't. He couldn't even guarantee that he would survive this. Gobber soon approached, looking very excited for him.

"It's time, Hiccup. Knock him dead."

Hiccup nodded and put his helmet on before entering the ring. He could hear his fellow peers hooting and hollering from the stands, shouting their support and cheering for his success. Hiccup then locked eyes with Stoick. Stoick nodded with a smile and he returned a half-smile. Taking a deep breath, he hoisted a shield onto his forearm and selected his weapon from a rack of many, which was a small dagger. He then turned to face a bolted, heavy door and took another deep breath.

"I'm ready."

The door bolt was raised. The crowd grew quiet, waiting in anticipation. The doors then suddenly blasted open the next second with a stream of sticky fire, followed by a Monstrous Nightmare, coated in flames. It tore out of its cave like an irate bull as the crowd roared and jeered. It climbed the walls and chain enclosure like a bat, hissing at the provoking crowd and blasting fire, in which the crowd quickly moved out of the way.

It soon spotted Hiccup and descended, leering and licking the flaming drool from its lips. The crowd grew silent, bracing for the big fight. With the Monstrous Nightmare's eyes locked upon him, Hiccup deliberately dropped his shield and dagger, stepping away from them. The dragon paused, confused at what he was doing. The crowd and Stoick were equally confused, wondering what he was doing. The dragon pressed closer, snorting. Hiccup extended his open hand, eliciting a snarl from it.

"It's OK. It's OK…"

The dragon continued to pace, focused on Hiccup's helmet. Hiccup realized that, figuring out that dragons view this helmet as a symbol of their enemy. He slowly reached up and removed it. Taking a breath to acknowledge the point of no return, he tossed the helmet aside.

"I'm not one of them."

Gasps and murmurs raced through the crowd. All eyes turned to Stoick for questions, and it was clear that he was welling with upset. Hiccup avoided Stoick's glare and remained focused on the Nightmare, holding his hand out. It paced around him, calming down.

"Stop the fight," Stoick ordered.

"No. I need you all to see this," Hiccup said determinedly, knowing that the crowd was getting restless. "They're not what we think they are. We don't have to kill them."

The Monstrous Nightmare got even closer, to the point where its snout was really close to Hiccup's middle. It started sniffing about, as if picking up a scent, and its eyes seemed to show some form of surprise and curiosity as it continued sniffing him. Hiccup was about to lay his hand on its muzzle when the Nightmare leaned in and flickered its tongue onto Hiccup's middle, as if trying to lick him. To everyone's point of view, it was as if the Nightmare was trying to get a taste of him and Stoick, worried for his son's life, lost his cool.

"I SAID STOP THE FIGHT!"

Stoick whacked his hammer against the iron enclosure, rattling the arena with a terrible reverberating clatter. Spooked, the Nightmare snapped at Hiccup's outstretched hand. Hiccup yelped and sprang backwards. The spell was broken. The Nightmare reacted to Hiccup's sudden movements and blasted another stream of fire. Hiccup screamed and barely dived out of reach, scrambling around the ring for dear life. The Nightmare pursued, snapping and springing from ground to wall. Stoick pushed through the crowd, rushing to the doorway.

"Out of my way!" Stoick shouted as he pushed his way through the crowd to get to the ring entrance.

"Hiccup!" Astrid exclaimed worriedly as she wedged her axe under the arena gate and squeezed through, trying to come to Hiccup's rescue.

A narrow stream of fire narrowly avoided Hiccup as he continues to dasedh around the ring, evading the Monstrous Nightmare. Desperate, he went to the weapon rack in an attempt to arm himself, but the Nightmare quickly destroyed the rack and closed in on him. Stoick wrenched the grated door to the arena and jumped through. The Monstrous Nightmare was only a few feet behind Hiccup. Astrid was soon in the ring, picking up a hammer and hurled it at the Monstrous Nightmare, hitting it in the head. It turned its attention to Astrid, and began chasing her. Stoick raised the arena gate, waving her toward it.

"This way!"

Astrid made it through, but the Nightmare blasted the doorway, cutting Hiccup off. It pounced on him and prepared to finish him off. Suddenly, a terrible roar pierced the din as Toothless appeared out of the blue. It seemed that Toothless had felt that Hiccup was in danger through their bond and managed to claw its way out of the cove to his rescue. It bounded over the crowd and blasted a hole through the chain enclosure. He flied through it and disappeared in the boiling smoke. The Vikings rushed to the railings in time to see a flurry of wings cutting through the dissipating smoke. Once the smoke cleared, everyone saw that it was the legendary Night Fury battling against the Monstrous Nightmare and were no less than shocked. Toothless and the Nightmare tumbled into the clear, locked in a toothy, vicious fight. Toothless kicked the Nightmare off and planted himself between Hiccup and it. The Nightmare snarled, circling them. Toothless lunged and roared, causing the Nightmare to relent and back away. Once the Nightmare was gone, Hiccup quickly got onto his feet and grabbed Toothless protectively.

"Alright, Toothless, go. Get out of here!"

He could feel Toothless' relief that his mate was alright wash over him, but he couldn't reciprocate as the crowd was growing livid at what they were witnessing. Hiccup tried to shoo Toothless away in vain as Vikings began pouring in, clambering through the enclosure and dropping into the ring.

"Go! GO! Please!" Hiccup begged but the bond told him that Toothless was not leaving without him.

"Night Fury!"

"Take it alive!"

Stoick grabbed an axe and charged into the arena in the midst of the commotion. Astrid called out to him, panicked, trying to stop him in vain.

"Dad! No! He won't hurt you!" Hiccup begged as the other Vikings surrounded and attack Toothless. His heart clenched as he watched Toothless tossing them aside like rag dolls, his eyes focused on Stoick, hell-bent on keeping this massive man away from hurting his mate. "No, don't! You're only making it worse!"

Stoick raised his axe as he charged for Toothless. Toothless ducked and pounced on him. They tumbled end over end until Toothless was on top of him, pinning him down.

"Toothless! STOP!"

Toothless inhaled, the familiar hiss of gas building as he got ready to burn Stoick into a crisp…

"NO!"

Toothless felt the urgency of that bond from Hiccup's command and swallowed back the blast. He turned to Hiccup, not understanding why he wouldn't let him kill the man that was going to hurt him, and that feeling of hurt and worry washed over Hiccup through their bond. Sadly, before Hiccup could explain his actions to his mate, the crowd rushed in, piling on, and taking Toothless down. Hiccup ran towards them to stop them but Astrid held Hiccup back, not wanting the situation to get any worse.

"No! Please…" Hiccup begged in desperation. "Just don't hurt him. Please don't hurt him."

Stoick got to his feet, fuming, shaken. A Viking presented Stoick with the axe he just dropped. He eyed Toothless a moment, then pushed the axe back into the Viking's hands.

"Put it with the others!"

His burning glare turned to Hiccup and Hiccup knew he had some serious explaining to do.

-:-

Hiccup was shoved into the dank, dimmed Great Hall. The massive doors rattled and echoed as Stoick slammed it shut. Stoick pushed past him. He paced against a backdrop of shadowy tapestries and carved pillars—a legacy of heroes, all peering down in angered judgment.

"I should have known. I should have seen the signs," Stoick muttered as he paced.

"Dad…" Hiccup started but was stopped short by Stoick's bellow.

"We had a deal!"

"I know we did, but that was before…" Hiccup was totally flustered as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Uughh, it's all so messed up."

"So everything in the ring. A trick? A lie?"

"I screwed up. I should have told you before now. Take this out on me, be mad at me, but please…just don't hurt Toothless."

"The dragon?" Stoick exclaimed in disbelief. "That's what you're worried about? Not the people you almost killed?"

"He was just protecting me! He's not dangerous!"

"Not dangerous? Did you see what he tried to do to me?"

"He thought you were a threat! He thought you were trying to hurt me! He's just doing what any dragon would do for their mate!" Hiccup couldn't stand it. He had to let it out somehow; the truth was eating him away.

"Mate? You mean…you and…and that dragon…?" Stoick looked at his son in disgust.

"Yes…Yes, I did," Hiccup said as he showed him the mark. "I am bonded with Toothless. I am his mate for life. I gave myself to him."

"You let a dragon, the worst enemy of all Vikings, in on our family secret? You let him defile you? Have you no shame?"

"This has nothing to do about shame! I love him, Dad! He understands me more than you ever did and he loves me for who I am, not what I am!"

"They've killed HUNDREDS OF US!"

"And we've killed THOUSANDS OF THEM! They defend themselves, that's all!" Hiccup begged in the midst of Stoick pacing around dismissively. "They raid us because they have to! If they don't bring enough food back, they'll be eaten themselves. There's…something else on their island, Dad…It's a dragon like…"

"Their island?" Stoick leaned in accusingly. "So you've been to the nest?"

"D-Did I say nest?" Hiccup went silent; he said too much.

"How did you find it?"

"No, I didn't. Toothless did. Only a dragon can find the island…"

Stoick glared. A moment passed, then an idea took form on his face, his eyes flared. Hiccup watched, realizing what his father had in mind. Stoick stomped toward the doorway.

"Oh no. No, Dad. No," Hiccup chased after him, panicked. "Dad, It's not what you think. You don't know what you're up against. It's like nothing you've ever seen! Dad, Please. I promise you that you can't win this one," he grabbed Stoick by the arm, tugging with all his might. "Dad, for once in your life, would you please just listen to me?"

Stoick threw Hiccup off of him, swatting him to the floor. There was an icy stillness in the air as Hiccup stared back, stunned at his father's reaction.

"You've thrown your lot in with them. You're a cursed child and you have cursed us all. You're not a Viking," Stoick turned to look at him, the same look he gave him when he was first told of the family secret and the cause of his mother's death.

"Dad…please…don't…"

"You're not my son."

Stoick pushed through the door, leaving Hiccup alone, devastated. Staggering on the steps, breaking inside, Stoick called out for all the Vikings to ready the ships, oblivious to Hiccup's cries as the boy suddenly doubled over, hugging his middle and started bleeding between his legs.

How To Love Your Dragon-Chapter 10

"Toothless, we're leaving. Let's pack up. Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation, forever."

Toothless was nowhere in sight. Hiccup set down his basket and opened it up, his head clouded with troubles. He knew he was running away from them but he had no other choice. If he stayed, he would have to go along with the finals and kill a dragon, which he didn't want to as it would be betraying Toothless and his kind. He had nothing against dragons anyway and there was no reason for him to kill them when he had just started to get to know them. As he checked his supplies, he suddenly heard the sound of a rock against a sword. He looked up to the sound and found Astrid, sitting on the rock right in front of him, sharpening her axe.

"Aggh! What the…" Hiccup was shocked at first, then tried to recompose himself. "What are you doing here?"

Astrid hopped off the rock and back him down, spinning her axe threateningly. Hiccup's eyes darted around nervously, searching for Toothless.

"I want to know what's going on," Astrid said as she walked up to Hiccup, as if cornering him. "No one just gets as good as you do. Especially you. Start talking! Are you training with someone?"

"Uh…training?" Hiccup pretended to be oblivious about this.

"It better not involve this," Astrid grabbed him by his odd-looking harness.

"I know this looks really bad, but you see…this is, uh…"

They heard a rustle coming from the other side of the cove. Astrid dropped Hiccup to the ground and set off to investigate. Hiccup panicked as he ran towards Astrid, trying to distract her.

"You're right! You're right. I'm through with the lies. I've been making…outfits. So you got me. It's time everyone knew. Drag me back. Go ahead. Here we go…"

Hiccup put her hand back on his harness, getting her to 'drag him back'. Astrid responded by bending Hiccup's hand backwards, driving him down.

"AAAAUUGGGHHH! Why would you do that?"

"That's for the lies," Astrid pounced the hilt of her axe off of Hiccup's laid-out body. "And that's for everything else."

Hiccup's yelp was answered with a growl, coming from the other side of the cove. Astrid looked up to see Toothless who was coming out of the shadows. Toothless pounced toward them, snarling. Hiccup groaned feebly as he knew their cover was blown. As all Vikings would behave when they see a dragon, she dove onto Hiccup.

"Get down! Run! Run!" Astrid pulled her axe, ready to take on Toothless.

"No!" Hiccup knocked Astrid's cocked axe to the ground, out of reach, then stopped Toothless short of crushing her. "No. It's okay! It's okay…"

Toothless pulled up short and landed hard, spraying Astrid with sand.

"She's a friend."

Toothless snorted in disagreement, and Hiccup could feel it in him. But he had to be the rational party here as he tried to convey his calming feelings to Toothless. Astrid was a bit frozen with shock as she tried to get on her feet. Toothless still wanted to have a go at her but Hiccup held him back.

"You just scared him," Hiccup said a bit accusingly to Astrid.

"I scared him?" Astrid exclaimed in disbelief. "Who is him?"

"Astrid, Toothless," Hiccup tried to introduce them both. "Toothless, Astrid."

Toothless growled at her, not too happy to be introduced to someone who wanted to kill him and got in between him and his mate. Hiccup could feel a hint of jealousy in Toothless' growl, and he knew Toothless knew he used to have a crush on Astrid at one point. Astrid backed away, eyeing Hiccup and Toothless together with pure disgust. She turned and ran for the village.

"Ta-tadah, we're dead."

Satisfied with Astrid's departure and demonstrated his supremacy, Toothless turned away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hiccup asked Toothless, demanding the dragon to come back.
Toothless grumbled as he stared at Hiccup in bemusement. He knew his mate wanted him to do something, he just didn't want to, but he also knew that there was nothing he could do to persuade Hiccup otherwise, as he could feel Hiccup's nagging, urging bond in his own heart.

"Well?"

Toothless rolled his eyes. He was going to regret this.

-:-

Astrid raced through the trees, determined to return to the village to tell everyone what she had just saw. A large shadow overtook her, and she was suddenly snatched into the air.

"Oh great Odin's ghost, this is it!" Astrid screamed in panic, groping at Toothless' claw that held her tight on the shoulder.

Hiccup and Toothless flew Astrid to the top of a towering pine. It bowed and creaked under their weight as Astrid dangled a hundred feet in the air.

"Hiccup! Get me down from here!" Astrid demanded as she tried to keep her hold on the branch she was dropped onto.

"You have to give me a chance to explain…" Hiccup tried to calm her down but Astrid would have none of it.

"I'm not listening to ANYTHING you have to say!"

"Then I won't speak. Just let me show you," Hiccup pleaded as he extended a hand. "Please, Astrid."

She eyed him and the dragon, then the ground far, far below. After a moment, she swatted Hiccup's outstretched hand away and reluctantly climbed over the pedal, lines, and harness. She settled behind Hiccup, avoiding as much contact as possible.

"Now get me down."

"Toothless? Down," Hiccup urged his mate as he patted softly at Toothless' neck. "Gently."

Toothless leered mischievously, which Hiccup barely just felt that but he brushed it away, thinking Toothless wouldn't do what he thought he was going to do. The dragon spread his wings slowly, in which they fill with the updraft. Toothless released the tree, tucks in his legs, and hovered in place.

"See? Nothing to be afraid of…"

Toothless, without warning, suddenly launched straight upward. Astrid screamed in horror. The acceleration was tremendous. Every downbeat bucked the saddle, heaving them into the sky, doubling their speed like a rocket. Astrid was thrown backward. She screamed and hugged Hiccup for dear life, squeezing the breath out of him.

"Toothless! What is wrong with you? Bad dragon!" Hiccup shouted, mortified at Toothless' stunt. He tried to reassure Astrid. "He's not usually like this. Oh no…"

Toothless rolled and plummeted toward the coastline far below. Astrid screamed for her life again as Toothless rocketed over the ocean waves, deliberately dipping them in the froth and soaking them, mostly Astrid as the dip was mostly the tail end.

"Toothless, what are you doing? We need her to like us!"

Toothless ignored Hiccup, rocketing skyward and began tumbling head over tail.

"And now the spinning," Hiccup groaned in sarcasm. "Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile."

"Okay! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Astrid clamped her hand over her eyes, begging. "Just get me off of this thing!"

Astrid was defeated, her aggressive energy gone. Satisfied, Toothless relented. They leveled off and headed up into the clouds. Astrid opened her eyes again, and looked out over a world she'd never dreamed of. She reached out and touched clouds, pierced columns ablaze in golden hues, and floated over a vast, alien sky-scape. Her terror was replaced by wonder. She grinned, despite herself.

They continued flying about until nightfall, impressing her with the high-altitude scenery around her. Toothless rose above a blanket of clouds and leveled off under a starry sky. They emerged from a blanket of clouds under the dancing Northern Lights, shimmering in ribbons across the vast sky. Below them, Berk's torches flickered in the inky darkness. The new perspective is breathtaking. Astrid tucked her arms around Hiccup's waist, resting her chin onto his shoulder. Hiccup smiled at that gesture. If he were still crushing over her back then, he would've been elated, head over heels over this, but now that he didn't really feel that much for her ever since he had Toothless, it felt pretty good to at least know that Astrid acknowledged him, even as a friend.

Toothless climbed past Berk's tallest peaks and headed out over open water, leaving the village lights behind them, and Astrid looked almost like she was reluctant to leave such beautiful scenery.

"Alright I admit it. This is pretty cool. It's…amazing," Astrid carefully reached down and patted Toothless' side. "He's amazing."

Toothless purred appreciatively.

"So what now?" Astrid asked, eliciting a groan from Hiccup. It's a problem without an answer. "Hiccup, your final exam is tomorrow. You know you're going to have to kill…" she lowered her voice so that Toothless wouldn't hear, "…kill a dragon."

"Don't remind me. I…"

Hiccup's words were cut short when a strange, unearthly din approached. Toothless' ear plates suddenly stand on end. Panicked, he abruptly dove, dipping into cloud cover.

"Toothless! What's happening? What is it?"

Toothless' fear and anxiety suddenly reflected in Hiccup's heart, as if trying to telling him to keep it down. Suddenly, out of the dense cloud, a Monstrous Nightmare emerged.

"Get down!" Hiccup hissed as they both ducked. The Nightmare called out. A Zippleback appeared to the other side of Toothless, boxing him in.

"What's going on?" Astrid asked worriedly.

"I don't know," Hiccup admitted. "Toothless. You've got to get us out of here, bud."

Toothless hissed for them to keep quiet. Other dragons, previously invisible in the thick clouds, appeared all around them. Hundreds of them, all carrying fish and game in their talons.

"It looks like they're hauling in their kill," Hiccup whispered as he flinched at the sight of a Zippleback eyeing them ravenously.

"What does that make us?" Astrid asked worriedly.

The dragons banked and dived in formation, plummeting through the thickening fog and weaving between towering, craggy sea stacks. They emerged at the base of a massive volcanic caldera, glowing with rivulets of lava. The flock of dragons fell into rank, funneling through a crack, and zipping through a winding tunnel. It gave way to a vast, steamy inner chamber, tiered with pocky shelves. Dragons of all breeds laid about, nested in hordes. The arriving dragons fly in, dropping the fish and game into a central pit, glowing red and shrouded in mist.

"What my dad wouldn't give to find this," Hiccup breathed in amazement at what he was witnessing.
Toothless peeled away from the procession, landing on a small shadowy shelf to keep a low-profile. Hiccup and Astrid peeked around, taking in the busy hive of sorts. They watched as the food continued to be dropped into the pit.

"Oh, well, it's satisfying to know that all of our food has been dumped down a hole," Hiccup noted sarcastically.

"They're not eating any of it," Astrid said, odd out about it.

Last to arrive was a dim-witted Gronckle. It hovered over the pit and regurgitates his paltry contribution, which was a pathetic little fish. As it fell into the steamy pit, a terrible roar rang out. The Gronckle tried to flee, but before it could even make a move, a gargantuan dragon head suddenly jutted from the steamy pit and snapped it out of the air, swallowing it back whole. Hiccup and Astrid recoiled, terrified as they resisted the urge to gasp or scream in shock.

"What…is that?" Astrid asked in horror.

The monstrous beast sniffed the air, seemingly aware of them. It neared the ledge where Toothless is hiding and roared out loud. Several dragons took flight in fear.

"Alright buddy, we gotta get out of here. Now!"

Toothless didn't need to be told twice as he hurriedly took flight, barely evading the monster's snapping jaws. The behemoth dragon lunged for them, snatching a Zippleback out of the air instead. Toothless quickly disappeared into the winged exodus as thousands of dragons fled the caldera in fear.

-:-

Toothless glided into the cove and touched down on the moonlit beach. It was a close call, and they were almost caught, but they managed to get out of the fray. Astrid was far from relieved. In fact, she was absolutely excited as she talked Hiccup's ear off, her mind reeling.

"No, no, it totally makes sense. It's like a giant beehive. They're the workers, and that's their queen. It controls them!" Astrid leapt off of Toothless and ran towards the village. "Let's find your dad."

"No, no!" Hiccup chased after Astrid. "Not yet. They'll…kill Toothless. Astrid, we have to think this through carefully."

Astrid eyed him, incredulous.

"Hiccup, we just discovered the dragons' nest! The thing we've been after since Vikings first sailed here! And you want to keep it a secret? To protect your pet dragon? Are you serious?"

"Not my pet. My mate," Hiccup stood firm, resolute. "And yes, I am serious."

"Y…Your mate?" Astrid blinked, looking like as if she just heard that Hiccup had just declared he was a dragon. "Wha…What are you talking about?"

Hiccup sighed and showed her the mark Toothless gave him and explained the situation, finally letting her in on the family secret. Astrid was taken aback at what she was listening to, and even more so when she learnt about Hiccup's curse as well as his bonding with Toothless. It took almost forever until she finally had everything processed in her head after listening to Hiccup's tale.

"So you see…I can't let them know about the nest, or Toothless," Hiccup said in a pleading tone. "They'll kill Toothless. They'll kill my mate. I can't let that happen to him. I can't…bear to lose him, not after knowing how much we love each other…"

"O…OK…" Astrid finally found her voice as she relented. "Then what do we do?"

"Just give me until tomorrow. I'll figure something out."

"OK," Astrid then punched Hiccup in the arm. "That's for kidnapping me."

Toothless' growl was heard in the background, but at least he was not charging towards her again. Astrid then grabbed Hiccup in an embrace, the kind that was supportive and grateful and understanding before she let him go quickly.

"That's for…everything else."

In the awkward wake of the moment, Astrid hurries off, leaving Hiccup smiling as he watched her leave. Toothless hobbled up, eyeing him, giving him a reprimanding look.

"What are you looking at?" Hiccup asked defensively. "Stop being so jealous. You still owe me for pulling that stunt."

Toothless let out a dragon-like laugh as he licked Hiccup and nuzzled him, making Hiccup giggle against his will. Trust the dragon to know how to make him unable to stay mad at him for long.

How To Love Your Dragon-Chapter 9

Hiccup was lost in thought, his head laid of a desk full of Toothless drawings, his mind burdened with the weight of the world. He and Toothless had been at it all afternoon and all evening, making love till they lost track of time. By the time Hiccup regained consciousness after sleeping off almost half a dozen afterglows later, the moon was high in the sky. He didn't want to leave Toothless, not when he had finally understood him, but he had to go back home before people started looking for him.

After realizing their feelings for each other—losing his infatuation for Astrid in the process—and realizing that he had just become a dragon's mate, the situation before him was getting a whole lot more complicated. On one side, he had become the village's pride and joy for being a sort of dragon whisperer, defeating dragons left and right and acing the training without even trying, and was now a candidate next to Astrid for the upcoming trials next month to have his first kill. On the other side, he had become one with dragons, seeing them in a different light and ultimately become the legendary Night Fury's mate, a 'wife' of sorts, betraying his own kind by fraternizing with the enemy.
Not something you could achieve overnight.

While Hiccup tried to figure out how to get out of this situation, suddenly Stoick appears in the doorway of his workshop. Hiccup jumped and quickly covered up his desk.

"Dad! You're back!" Hiccup skirted the bench, blocking Stoick's view of Toothless, the prosthetic fin, and other drawings. He struck an awkwardly casual pose, trying to cover up as much as possible. "Gobber's not here, so…"

"I know," Stoick replied. "I came looking for you."

"You…You did?" Hiccup felt caught in between a rock and a tight place somehow.

"You've been keeping secrets," Stoick's voice was stern, causing Hiccup's legs to give out. He slid, dragging the table's contents with him.

"I…have?"

"Just how long did you think you could hide it from me?"

"I don't know what you're…"

"Nothing happens on this island without me hearing about it."

Hiccup really felt very cornered right now.

"So," Stoick said as he put his hands on his hips. "Let's talk about that dragon."

Blood drained from Hiccup's face. How did he find out about Toothless? Had someone seen him together with Toothless? Had someone been following him? Or worse, had someone been seeing him having sex with Toothless? Stoick was going to kill him for sure, him and Toothless. No doubt about it.

"Oh gods. Dad, I'm so sorry. I was going to tell you. I just didn't know how to—"

Stoick started laughing out of the blue. The big, booming kind of laugh that genuinely showed that his father was happy. Hiccup stared, baffled.

"You're not…upset?"

"What? I was hoping for this!"

"Uh…you were?" Hiccup felt a little hopeful that maybe having Toothless as a mate wasn't such a bad idea for him after all.

"And believe me, it only gets better! Just wait till you spill a Nadder's guts for the first time," Stoick exclaimed, causing Hiccup's elated expression to sink as he realized they weren't talking about the same thing; he was talking about him being the village's so-called dragon whisperer, but Stoick was too excited to notice his face. "And mount your first Gronckle head on a spear. What a feeling!" Stoick laughed and smacked Hiccup on the shoulder, sending him into the wall. "You really had me going there, son."

Hiccup got back up, grimacing in the irony of it all.

"All those years of the worst Viking Berk has ever seen! Odin, it was rough. I almost gave up on you! In fact, I was tempted to the moment you were born with the curse, I must admit. And all the while, you were holding out on me! Oh, Thor Almighty!" Stoick grabbed a stool and sat before Hiccup, his massive frame nearly filling the tiny room. "Ahhhhh~ With you doing so well in the ring, we finally have something to talk about."

There was a slight pregnant pause. Hiccup averted his eyes nervously while Stoick adjusts, staring at Hiccup with anticipation, hoping to hear something from Hiccup about his escapades or thoughts during training while he was gone. Hiccup couldn't say anything. There was nothing to say. They weren't even in the same page. Stoick was hoping to hear of his son's exploits in the ring. Hiccup was hoping to tell his father his experience with Toothless and break the news that he was officially getting a dragon for a son-in-law of sorts. There was nothing in common between their thoughts. In fact Hiccup was dangerously on unfamiliar grounds at this point. After a long, uncomfortable silence, Stoick broke the ice.

"Oh, I, uh, brought you something," Stoick presented a horned helmet. "To keep you safe in the ring."

"Wow. Thanks," Hiccup replied sincerely. He had never had a decent gift from his father; this was the first. Hiccup accepted the helmet, looking it over.

"Ah, your mother would've wanted you to have it," Stoick said with a heartfelt tone. "It's half of her breast plate."

Hiccup almost jerked his hand away from touching the top of the helmet, trying to contain his grimace. Stoick tapped his own helmet and smiled.

"Matching set. Keeps her close, y'know? Wear it proudly. You deserve it. You've held up your end of the deal."

Hiccup saw that Stoick was beaming with pride. Hiccup squirmed uncomfortably at the look, his heart overridden with guilt. He forced a yawn.

"I should really get to bed, you know. Big training tomorrow."

Stoick started and got up, the both of them talking over each other.

"Yes! Good! Okay. Good talk…"

"See you back at the house…"

"We should do this again. I'm glad I stopped by…"

"Great. Thanks for stopping by…"

"I hope you like the hat…"

"Yeah, And for the…the, uh, breast hat…"

"Well…uh…good night."

Stoick left the room awkwardly, leaving Hiccup looking more burdened than ever.

-:-

A Gronckle hovered above the ring, hunting victims as the teen recruits scrambled. Astrid ducked behind a barrier to find Hiccup already there. She forces her axe at his throat.

Stay out of my way!" Astrid warned. "I'm winning this thing."

"Please, by all means," Hiccup replied, actually meaning it, as he watched her darting off, closing fast on the dragon. The crowd above cheered her on.

It was the trials for the finals. Hiccup and Astrid were the best two so far throughout the training to excel and be in line to make their first kill as a proper Viking. As much as he didn't want to, Hiccup had to attend. He stood and looked around. Amidst the crowd of onlookers, Stoick watched keenly, beaming with pride. He locked eyes with Hiccup, giving him a nod of encouragement. Hiccup adjusted his new helmet and forced a half-hearted smile, hoping that he would somehow find a way to purposely fail in the trials so that Astrid can take the finals instead of him. Unbeknownst to Hiccup, the Gronckle spots him and makes a bee-line towards him.

He couldn't help himself. His fight-or-flight instincts kicked in and his hands automatically reached over to give the Gronckle the neck-scratch. Before he knew it, the Gronckle was already laid out, and Astrid was left with nothing to kill and nothing to show for. Hiccup shrugged, as unhappy with the situation as she was, and tried to step aside and let her come over to give the Gronckle the killing blow, but the trials was already over and Astrid ended up screaming in frustration and throwing tantrums.

"No! No! No! Son of a half-troll, rat-eating munge bucket…"

A loud clack rang out. From the crowd above, the village Elder stepped forward, tapping her staff. Everyone lit up excitedly, waiting for the Elder's decision.

"So, later," Hiccup attempted to leave but Gobber snagged him right back.

"Not so fast, boy."

"I'm kinda late for…"

"What?" Astrid shouted lividly as she aimed her axe at his throat again. "Late for what, exactly?"

"OK, quiet down. The elder has decided," Stoick said as he held out his hands to silence the jabbering crowd.

Thrilled, Gobber stands behind Hiccup and Astrid. He pointed to Astrid as the crowd waited in silent anticipation. The Elder shook her head 'no'. The crowd ooh-ed. Gobber then pointed to Hiccup. The elder nods an affirmative 'yes'. The crowd erupted in cheers. Astrid turned a seething, deadly glare on Hiccup.

"You've done it! You've done it, Hiccup!" Gobber exclaimed happily. "You get to kill the dragon!"

"Ha, ha! That's my boy!" Stoick beamed.

Hiccup was hoisted onto Fishlegs' shoulders and carried out to the cheering spectators.

"Heh, heh. Oh yeah! Yes! I can't wait," Hiccup cheered as well, masking his panic. "I am so…"

Leaving.

How To Love Your Dragon-Chapter 8

A lone, battered ship was pulled into a slip, overloaded with equally battered-looking men, the bruises and wounds and their ragged hair illuminated by the light of the dawning sun. They disembarked to a crowd of onlookers, looking like a team of hometown heroes who just had their butts kicked. Gobber hobbles through the mumbling crowd to find Stoick, who was last to disembark and glowering with battered pride.

"Where are the other ships?" Gobber asked a random Viking who moved past him.

"You don't want to know," he mumbled and moved on grudgingly.

Stoick lumbered past Gobber, leaving him staring at the trashed ship.

"Well, I trust you found the nest at least?" Gobber asked hopefully.

"Not even close," Stoick grumbled moodily as he swung his duffel bag over his shoulder.

"Ah. Excellent," Gobber replied knowingly, following Stoick up the ramp and snagging his duffel bag with his hook appendage, sharing the burden.

"I hope you had a little more success than me."

"Well, if by success, you mean that your parenting troubles are over with, then…yes."

Stoick stopped, raising a brow at his reply as if asking what does that mean. Before Gobber could explain what he just meant, a group of merry villagers rush past.

"Congratulations, Stoick! Everyone is so relieved."

"Out with the old and in with the new, right?"

"No one will miss that old nuisance!"

"The village is throwing a party to celebrate!"

Stoick was stunned, overwhelmed by the insensitivity. Had something happened to Hiccup? Had he run away from home? Had he been injured? Had he been killed during training? They didn't seem to have found out about Hiccup's secret, but he was still bothered by what might've happened to his son—his only son—to illicit this reaction. A million questions littered his mind as he turned to Gobber.

"He's…gone?"

"Yeah…most afternoons," Gobber shrugged. "But who can blame him? I mean the life of a celebrity is very rough. He can barely walk through the village without being swarmed by his new fans."

"Hiccup?" Stoick was doubly confused.

"Who would've thought, eh?" Gobber replied, beaming with pride. "He has this…way with the beasts."

It took all of Stoick not to behave like a child being denied candy as he followed after Gobber, demanding an explanation

-:-

Toothless and Hiccup soared through a perfect blue sky, finally deciding to take their first step to fly into the open after months of training. Billowing clouds rose like mountains. The ground seemed miles below them.

"Okay there, bud, we're gonna take this nice and slow," Hiccup said as he checked his cheat sheet clipped onto his harness. After the long months of training, Hiccup had finally got down to confirming several tail positions and their pedal position equivalents that were suitable for their flights. Here we go. Here we go…position three, no, four."

He pressed the pedal, causing the tail to flare. They rolled off into an arcing bank, gloriously lit by the late afternoon sun. Hiccup tucked tight against his neck, thrilled that his new harness and vest are holding. The foot controls make the tail appendage quick and responsive. He watched Toothless' every fluctuation, trying to match it with the prosthetic. Hiccup sized up a target, which was a towering arch of stone, rising from the sea.

"Alright, it's go time. It's go time," Hiccup muttered as they dove toward it, lining up to pass through the arch. "Come on. Come on, buddy. Come on, buddy!"

They zipped through the arch. A perfect maneuver.

"Yeah! Yes, it worked!"

The triumph was short-lived. They smacked into one of several sea stacks as Hiccup tried to keep up with the turns.

"Sorry…" Hiccup said, then hurtled into another rock pillar, making Toothless grumble. "Sorry, that was my fault."

Toothless swatted him with its ear, as if to reprimand him to focus.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it," Hiccup grumbled, referring to the cheat sheet. "Position four, no, three."

They soon pierced the clouds. For the first time, Hiccup could see the whole of the island below them. It shrank with every passing second, and it was an amazing scene before him. He swallowed hard and tightened his grip on the handles.

"Yeah! Go baby!" Hiccup shouted excitedly as they went higher and higher. "Yes! Oh, this is amazing! The wind in my…cheat sheet!"

In his excitement, Hiccup didn't realize his cheat sheet coming loose from his harness and tearing free in the turbulence until it brushed past his face. Panicking, he commanded Toothless to stop as he grabbed frantically for it and managed to nab it before it was carried out of reach. Toothless, however, obeyed the command and suddenly stopped beating its wings, causing Hiccup to go weightless as they slowed to a stop. The rings of his vest floated off of the harness hooks and Hiccup suddenly found himself detached, free-falling.

"Oh gods! Oh no!"

Without Hiccup, the tail lost control. Hiccup and Toothless soon started spiral downward like a speeding bullet. Toothless fought to get back under Hiccup.

"Alright, okay. You just gotta kinda angle yourself…" Hiccup tried to calm the dragon down, he himself having tons of 'I don't wanna die' thoughts racing through his mind. "No, no…come back down towards me. Come back down…"

Hiccup extended his arms and legs, giving himself as much surface area as he can. He angled back towards Toothless as the tumbling dragon accidentally whacked Hiccup with its wing as it continued to spiral. After a few more misses, Hiccup finally grabbed hold of the harness and manages to lock in just in time to pull Toothless out of his dive, barely shy of the tree tops. They careened past the wooded cliff and directly into a treacherous slalom course of jutting sea stacks. Hiccup pulled the cheat sheet from his teeth and attempted to check positions, but unfortunately it flapped violently in the turbulence, making it impossible to even see a picture, let alone concentrate on a position.

With no time to think, Hiccup threw the cheat sheet away and decided to steer Toothless' tail on his own. Instinct kicked in along with intuition somehow as together, they manage a tight, hair-raising series of split-second turns around the rock pillars. There were a few close-calls, but finally, after what felt like forever, they made it to the open water unscathed. Hiccup took a breath and glanced back at the death-defying obstacle course, now safely behind them, and beamed, relieved.

"YEEAHH!" Hiccup hollered as he sat back and threw his arms up in victory.

Toothless concurred his triumph with a happy squeal and a fireball. Hiccup's glee turned to dread as he saw that they were flying directly into it.

"Ah, come on…"

-:-

Hiccup and Toothless lounged on a sprawling, deserted beach on a tiny island just a couple of miles away from the Wild Zone, snacking of freshly caught fish after a long day of more test runs. Hiccup's hair was a little singed and blown back by the fireball that Toothless shot out, but at least he wasn't burnt into a crisp, though he didn't really appreciate Toothless' amused look whenever it caught a glance at his hair. As Hiccup cooked his fish over the fire, Toothless regurgitated a fish head for him. He learnt that it was something dragons do for their friends and companions as a sign of goodwill, as Toothless had demonstrated a few times when he fed him fish after a long day's training. Hiccup smirked with forced politeness.

"Uh…no, thanks," Hiccup said as he gestured to his fish on a stick, trying to resist looking a little disgusted. "I'm good."

Out of the blue, several Terrible Terrors landed before them like seagulls, hissing and nipping at each other as they approached Toothless' pile of fish. Hiccup was a little nervous at seeing them; he had seen only one during training, he had never seen a whole flock of them and it made him worry about what they would do and how would they behave in such sheer numbers. Thankfully they were more interested with Toothless' hoard rather than Hiccup, though Toothless was not too happy with sharing, growling at them threateningly. One Terror managed to grab the regurgitated fish head and dragged it away. Another attempted to steal it from it. They face off and blasted fire balls at each other to settle the fight.

Hiccup and Toothless watched them bickering, amused. That is until Toothless spotted one of his fish leaving the pile, exposing a stealthy Terrible Terror as the thief. They tugged on the fish, and it snapped back into Toothless' mouth, leaving only a small piece of the fish's tail in the Terror's mouth. Toothless swallowed it back tauntingly. Irate, the little dragon pawed at the ground and tried to blast Toothless. It opened his mouth, the gas hiss came, and an un-amused Toothless fired a tiny flame straight into its mouth, causing the gas to backfire into the little dragon. It coughed up smoke and staggered away, looking ill.

"Not so fireproof on the inside, are you?" Hiccup laughed as he threw the hapless Terror his freshly cooked fish. "Here you go."

The appreciative little dragon gulps down the meal and approached Hiccup cautiously. Slowly it curled up next to him. Hiccup was amazed. The Terrible Terror who was known to violence at the slightest provocation and can chew off almost anything without even trying was right there, sleeping beside him, nestled docilely like a home-bred cat without a care in the world. Hiccup carefully reached over to pet him and it didn't turn to tear his hand off. Instead it let out a purr and nuzzled Hiccup even closer.

"Everything we know about you guys…is wrong," Hiccup said pensively, surprised at this revelation.
Seeing their companion snuggled so comfortably against this human, the other Terrors soon closed in, crowding around him and settled themselves happily on his lap. One of them somehow boldly leaned close to Hiccup's crotch and started sniffing about him, as if picking some sort of scent. Hiccup blushed as he tried to stop the Terror and wriggle away from it, but the other Terrors soon followed, suddenly very interested at Hiccup's lower half of the body. Toothless suddenly reacted by roaring at the Terrors, smacking them off Hiccup and curled around him protectively, growling as it did when it was trying to protect its hoard. A few verbal altercations between Toothless and the Terrors and the flock of little dragons soon hissed and flew away, leaving them alone.

"Woah…What was that about…?" Hiccup tried to cover his blush as he got out of Toothless' embrace, in which Toothless growled and held him back down, eyeing warily around as if worried that the Terrors might return. Hiccup sighed, "I know, I know. You're the only one who can punish me. No one is allowed to touch me, is that what you're trying to say?"

Toothless, after looking around some more, eased up and let go of Hiccup, returning to its meal. Hiccup took a smaller fish from the hoard—making sure that Toothless was OK with it—and cooked it over the fire, which was almost dying out.

"You do realize that I'm male, right?" Hiccup, after taking a small bite from his cooked fish, broke the silence between them. "Even though you have been…doing these things to me?"

Toothless responded with a pitched purr, as if questioning him.

"I'm sure you noticed that I don't…look like the other guys from my village, right? I'm smaller and weaker and slower than most of them…and I…" Hiccup sighed in resignation. "I suppose…I owe you an explanation as to why I…look like…this."

Toothless gulped down its last fish and poised itself towards Hiccup, as if listening to what he had to say, a pose he always did when Hiccup would try to tell him about his day.

"I'm…I'm cursed," Hiccup blurted out. "Well, to be precise, my mom's side of the family is cursed. She came from a very poor village back up South, and where she came from, there was almost always famine at certain times of the year, because they were living within trespassing territories of an ancient clan of demons of the woods. The village was too poor to move out of that place or invade and pillage other places to live, and at the time, that was the best affordable place they could settle in.
"After praying to the gods for a miracle, her village elder decided that every family, including the village head, who's my mom's ancestor, must hand in their first-born daughter every year as a sacrificial bride to the demon of the woods to pacify them and curb the famine. I dunno the details, but basically they drew lots to see who was the unlucky family to sacrifice their girl, then they would dress the girl up in Viking bridal clothes, give her a few well-wishes and a basket of offerings for her to bring along for the demon, and they would watch as she slowly disappeared into the darkness of the woods. What happened to her was anyone's guess.

"It worked for a few generations and my mom's village prospered for a while, before finally my mom became the luck of the draw. You see, my mom was the only child in the family. My mom's dad—my other grandpa and then Chief of her tribe—wanted to merge tribes to escape poverty, and chose Berk as his best option. He thought that if he married my mom to my dad and move out of the place, everything would be a-OK. But the demons of the woods weren't too happy about letting this good ol' tradition die out when they were getting it so good, and they were not about to be denied a bride that year. Rules were the rules and my mom has to become the next sacrificial bride, until her dad got sick of it and decided to cook up a plan to destroy those demons once and for all.

"He gathered all of the village's best men, snuck into the woods while watching over my mom's back as she walked in, then when the demons showed up, they slay them one by one until not a single demon was left. You might think it was a happily ever after ending, but my grandpa's stunt came with a price. My mom's village was cursed with a mysterious illness that caused every woman in the village to become barren. None of them could have kids and they were dying out faster than the famine. When Mom married Dad after their dads signed the merger treaty, she had given birth to so many stillborns; I wasn't even expected to survive.

"But I did, at the cost of my mom's life when she gave birth to me…and her curse was brought down to me," Hiccup sighed as he crossed his legs a little. "I…I'm born with girl parts, that's why you could…do whatever you did to me. I still have my boy parts, but it's useless, it's only for peeing. I'm born with the curse of 'a son who will never be truly a son', and I know my dad hates me for it. Sometimes I think he believes that I was the reason Mom died, and sometimes I think he's right. So far only Dad and I and the midwife who delivered me knew about my secret—my dad made her swear to secrecy—and we have been hiding it ever since," Hiccup let out another huge sigh of relief. "Phew! Well, that felt pretty good, to get everything off my chest. So now you know…"

Hiccup's voice trailed away as he saw Toothless really close to him, looking at him with glazed eyes. It almost looked like it was going to cry after listening to his story. Hiccup tried to laugh it away.
"Oh, come on, it was so long time ago. Anyway, I'm used to it already. I'm really good at keeping secrets and…Ack…!"

Hiccup was suddenly thrown back as Toothless lunged towards him, curling tightly around him. He tried to push it away but it curled even tighter, letting out strong, deep purrs that rumbled at his ears. He felt Toothless' giant paws wrapped around him and he realized that he was being hugged. The dragon actually felt sorry for him and was trying to make him feel better.

"It's OK, Toothless. I'm fine, I'm just…just…"

Hiccup finally couldn't hold back as he hugged Toothless back, letting sobs of agony and pain that he had kept bottled inside him for years since he learnt about his family secret. Sobs led to whimpers, whimpers led to whines, whines led to wails and finally wails led to screams as he let everything out in Toothless' chest. He cried long and hard, tears streaming down his cheeks as he cried for the death of his mother, the disappointment of his father, the annoyance of his peers and the ignorance of his villagers. All the years of pain and suffering he felt as the burden of being the disgraceful son of the Chief and the curse of being a freak that weighed him down burst out of him through his cries. Everything that he felt, everything that he endured, everything…was released right there and then, in the arms of the most unlikely yet needed companion he had ever had in his life.

By the time he calmed down from his crying, Hiccup realized that he was warmly snug in Toothless' embrace and the dragon had not stopped licking his tears away since he started pouring his heart out. Sniffling, he pressed his head against Toothless' muzzle.

"Punish me. Make me pay for what I've done. Please punish me," Hiccup couldn't believe he was actually saying that, but he wasn't lying either. He needed the punishment. He needed something, anything, to make him forget all the pain he had felt for all these years.

Toothless looked down at him for quite a long while, then growled a little with a gentle shake of its head before leaning down, nuzzling Hiccup's collar until it could see his neck. It then reached down and bit Hiccup, drawing blood and leaving a mark with its two front teeth. Hiccup hissed at the sting but before he could ask what it was doing, Toothless moved to Hiccup's lips, licking them to part them open before pushing the tip of its tongue in, encouraging him to reciprocate. Hiccup did so and realized that he was doing a sort of tongue dance with it, like a dragon kiss, and it got more and more sensual to the point where Hiccup actually felt aroused.

"W…Wha…What are you doing, Toothle—ahh…!"

Toothless was not in the mood for idle chatter as it nuzzled Hiccup's clothes, pushing his shirt up to reveal his bare chest as its tail worked to push his pants down. Hiccup unconsciously raised his hips to allow the pants to slide off as he moaned at Toothless' tongue roaming around his naked body, flicking at his nipples and licking at an area that was near Hiccup's belly button that made him hitch and moaned even louder and higher. Hiccup was a little scared at this turn of events; Toothless had never done this before. Usually it would just force Hiccup to take off his pants and he would let it have its way with him. This was different, more intimate, more sensual, as if the dragon was trying to prepare his whole body for the punishment.

"P…Please…T-Toothless…I'm scared…"

Toothless purred as it leaned up and licked Hiccup's lips again. This time Hiccup responded and returned the kiss quite eagerly, and while he was distracted, Toothless soon probed its member around Hiccup's crotch until it found what it was looking for and pushed in.

That was when he suddenly felt a burning sensation on the area where Toothless bit him. It wasn't painful, but it was uncomfortable nonetheless, and that heat surged through his whole body for a moment or so before it settled into his chest where his heart was. Without warning, he was bombarded with feelings and images that were not his own. The images were cloudy, as if surrounded by mist, but not that thick that he couldn't see. He saw himself being violated on the first day they met, followed by a strong feeling of anger, hatred and vengeance.

He saw the days that followed as he tried to get to know Toothless, followed by a feeling of apprehension, suspicion, wariness, then slowly a mix of curiosity, wonder, amazement and acceptance. He then saw the day he helped Toothless to fly with his prototype fin—along with the feeling of relief and freedom—and the moment they both fell into the pond. He saw himself dripping wet, his hair matted onto his freckled face, the clothes so wet it stuck onto his skin and pronounced every single detail of his body within it. The feeling that came with it as he saw himself being punished was…lust? Passion…? And…love…?

As Toothless thrust deeper into him, he suddenly felt those feelings too. Every lick it gave him, every thrust he made, every purr and rumbling moan that came out of its mouth, was filled with those emotions. All the hatred and anger and vengeance were gone. It no longer held those feelings towards Hiccup. It had already stopped a long time ago. It was now replaced with such passion and love and need that Hiccup could almost feel his heart bursting with it. He felt everything that Toothless felt, and deep down inside, he knew Toothless felt his own too.

They were bonded. Heart and soul.

Toothless, from that bite, had taken Hiccup as its mate and they were tied together now with a bond so close, not even Thor's hammer could break it apart. Whatever fleeting feelings Hiccup had for Astrid was long gone, and was replace with the carnal need and desire to be one with Toothless, the dragon he defeated, the dragon he conquered…the dragon he loved.

"Yes…Yes, right there, Toothless…" Hiccup whined as he felt Toothless thrusting him right this time. "Right there, don't stop…!"

Toothless gave him a gentle dragon smile and did just that. The odd reaching sensation came again, and Hiccup soon found himself moaning and whining in pleasure, begging Toothless to keep going, to not stop, to let him reach that point he had never reached before. As Toothless hit him harder and deeper than ever before, the sensation got stronger and stronger. He was almost there, almost right there. He just needed to reach, just a bit more…

"OH GODS, TOOTHLEEEEEESSSS…!"

Toothless let out an equally loud roar as it climaxed long and hard into Hiccup, feeling Hiccup's inner muscles squeezing him like a vice as Hiccup finally reached that point and felt like he had just exploded into a million pieces and been put back together again. That was it. That was the feeling he had been dying to reach all this while. And when he felt what Toothless felt, he finally understood that reaching sensation. It was a climax, an orgasm. His very first orgasm ever.

And it felt amazing.

Hiccup blushed hard as he finally found his brain and his voice, and couldn't believe the next thing that came out of his mouth.

"C…Can we…do that…again…?"

The Night Fury didn't need to be asked twice.

How To Love Your Dragon-Chapter 7

Ever since that stunt with the Zippleback, the daily routine for Hiccup had gone pretty well. He would do his training in the morning, visit Toothless in the afternoon (which includes either skipping afternoon training or between training breaks) and perfecting the prosthetic tail and other gadgets at night. Sometimes if there were no training, he would be with Toothless all day, getting it used to the prosthetic fin as well as the saddle and harness, complete with handles and foot pedals, that he built along with the fin since they came to an understanding (forced on Toothless' part) that Toothless cannot fly without Hiccup controlling the fin.

And while he was perfecting the fin, the saddle and the harness for Toothless and training Toothless to fly with him and gaining his trust, he in turn learnt quite a few things about dragons that helped him out greatly during his own dragon-training. For starters, he figured out the reason dragons hate eels like rats hate poison was because it is poison to dragons. Eels have a natural gooey secretion on their bodies that made them so slimy and icky even after they're cleaned and cooked thoroughly, and that secretion, while not dangerous to humans, was very dangerous to dragons. Hiccup found a dead baby dragon in the woods while he was on his way to visit Toothless and found out the poor dragon learnt that the hard way. It turned out that dragons' stomach acid not only was unable to break down and dissolve the secretion of the eel, it actually made the secretion thicker and gooier and would expand until it literally suffocated the dragon from the inside-out, thus the aversion of eels for all dragons.

Hiccup then found out that there is a certain type of soft grass that makes dragons react to it as cats would to cat-nip when he found Toothless rolling around it during one of their flying sessions. It was soft and had a certain euphoric smell that only dragons can pick up and it made dragons like Toothless writhe on its back, tongue wagging, in complete bliss and completely at the grass's mercy. He tried it during dragon-training by holding a handful of it at a Gronckle and it immediately went putty before him, though at everyone else's point of view, he was controlling it with no more than a limp arm.

He also discovered from Toothless that dragons love to be given a neck-rub, or in their case, a neck-scratch, especially behind the ear. He managed to try that on a Nadder during training and he soon caused it to relax and fall over within seconds. He also discovered that dragons are curious and slightly gullible by nature. He found that out quite by accident when he was polishing his hammer and when light caught onto the hammer, the shimmer was reflected onto the grass as a light patch and Toothless was instantly intrigued. It kept them both entertained for hours as Toothless clawed and chased the light patch like a cat chasing a laser pointer. He tried that with a Terrible Terror using his shield and it worked wonders without even needing to fight it with axes and spears at all.

Needless to say, Hiccup's feats during dragon-training had drawn quite a bit of attention, especially when the village Elder caught sight of what he did the first time with the Zippleback and spread the news. He was soon the talk of the town as his peers flock over him like die-hard fans and random villagers giving him praise and admiration. His table at the Great Hall, which was always empty before, now was crowded with people young and old asking about his day during training and what tricks or magic he used to subdue those dragons so easily. He was now the apple of Gobber's eye and he (unintentionally) outshone Astrid, who had been the best recruit so far during training before Hiccup started learning all of Toothless' secrets. He managed to avoid telling them the truth by making feeble excuses or avoiding them, and he almost barely managed to avoid getting caught when Astrid found him in the woods with his harness when he was on his way to visit Toothless, but all in all, he knew he owed it to Toothless to be able to get through training without being mauled to death, and he felt quite bad for Astrid for stealing her spotlight, as this was not exactly the way he wanted his crush to notice him.

The only thing he couldn't avoid was Toothless' carnal demands. Whenever Toothless let out that distinctive growl or that nudge between his legs or against his ass with its muzzle, or whenever it deliberately made him fall on all fours, or its latest trick where it wrapped its tail around his waist and giving it a squeeze until he was closely pressed against its crotch, he knew that it was time for his ritual punishment. If he ever tried to get away or fight him, the 'neck-brace', as he called it whenever Toothless tried to subdue him with its jaws around his neck, would be onto him like clockwork.

He would resist at first, trying to push him away or verbally refuse him, but after almost a week of fighting a losing battle, he would just sigh and give in whenever it was time. His body had slowly gotten used to stretching and accommodating Toothless' size and it no longer hurt that bad when it entered him. In fact, he found himself actually enjoying it a little when the time came, despite his mind telling him that this was not something to be enjoyed, but something to be endured, since this was his punishment. Toothless would occasionally give his crotch a few licks to ease in a little better, and that made Hiccup felt a little good, especially when Toothless thrust right, it would hit that spot that made him see stars and feel the tremors like before. The only thing that slightly disappointed him was the fact that sometimes he would feel that odd reaching sensation again but it was always gone before he could actually 'reach' it, and he still couldn't understand what that meant.

Not that he would dare to mention it to anyone or admit it to Toothless anyway.

-:-

The streets were empty save for the village lighter who crossed Hiccup's path. He greeted Hiccup, in which Hiccup nodded, trying to look casual. Once the coast is clear, he covertly steered Toothless into the blacksmith's stall. Thankfully, Toothless' hide was black enough to be blending in the darkness of the night, which showed how true the legend was about Night Furies never getting caught.

Hiccup and Toothless were practicing on their flying that day, concentrating on what sort of pedal footwork matches what sort of flying, maneuvering or landing style. Hiccup was writing down the pedal numbers on his cheat sheet when the wind broke the rope that hovered and held Toothless in place against the wind and sent them crashing. It in turn broke his saddle hook and crushed it to the point where he couldn't free himself from Toothless and the only tools and extra spare parts to fix this were in his workshop. He had no choice but to drag Toothless along to the workshop to get it fix and separate them, thus the night skulking.

While Hiccup went about searching for his tools and spare parts, Toothless pressed itself inside, rooting through stuff and making a bit of a racket. Hiccup had to shush him a couple of times.

"Quiet, Toothless! Do you want to get caught?" Hiccup hissed, in which Toothless accidentally swung his tail onto the bag of tools Hiccup barely held onto. "Oh, look what you did, Toothless! Now stay still! Ugh, where is it? Where is it…?"

Hiccup went on all fours, searching in the dark for his tool bag. He dare not light a candle for fear of people finding out that he had a Night Fury hidden away in his workshop, but navigating around the dark with eyes yet adjusted to it was not easy. Suddenly he felt something slick and long rubbing against the seat of his pants, then his pants being lowered down to reveal skin underneath before feeling the slick and long member rubbing between his legs, rubbing against his crotch in a humping movement. Hiccup realized that his position on all fours was inviting to Toothless and he was going to give it what it wants, whether he liked it or not.

"N-Now…?" Hiccup whispered nervously as his pants was lowered even more. "B…But we can't…! We're at my guardian's place…we'll be caught…!"

Hiccup let out a yelp as Toothless soon pushed into Hiccup, ending the discussion. It was hard for him to keep upright as the dragon thrust into him over and over again, the cramped space of the workshop forcing him at a weird angle. He didn't know whether to be sprawled on the floor or laid flat across the work table, whether to scream out loud or to hold his moans in, whether to stop Toothless or get it over with. All he knew was that this time, Toothless was doing it right and he felt the familiar odd reaching sensation again and was getting closer and closer to reaching it…

"Hiccup?"

Hiccup froze. The owner of the voice outside belonged to Astrid. She must've heard sounds from the workshop and came to investigate. Trying hard to resist the reaching sensation, he forced Toothless to pull out while frantically tries to pry the ring off the saddle hook. It wouldn't budge.

"Are you in there?" Astrid's voice came again, sounded like she was right outside.

Hiccup had no choice. He hastily pulled up his pants and jumped out the window, closing the shutters behind him. Hiccup's harness line was stretched through the window, still attached to Toothless' saddle, but he tried hard to act casual about it.

"Astrid. Hey! Hi, Astrid. Hi, Astrid. Hi, Astrid." Hiccup barely realized he was stammering.

"I normally don't care what people do, but you're acting weird," Astrid started a little when Hiccup jerked from Toothless trying to drag him back inside the workshop. "Well, weirder."

Toothless was getting restless as he pulled harder. Hiccup could tell that it had not been satisfied and was not going to let anyone else get in the way of finishing what it started. As a result, Hiccup was suddenly pulled tight against the window shutters. He struck a pose to compensate before he got pulled through them and landed onto Toothless. The dragon wanted to continue but Hiccup was not about to be caught by his crush Astrid doing the hanky-panky with Toothless and have another person find out about his family secret. The fixing would have to wait as he tugged hard at the harness line, forcing Toothless to follow his lead and make a clean getaway before Astrid opened the shutters to investigate.

Hiccup had to spend the night at the cove, no thanks to the broken harness, and compensate for that workshop stunt with an all-nighter with Toothless though.