HTTYD: Friend

"-after all these years, the worst viking Berk has ever seen-"

Angrily he gathers up the parchment papers, crumbling them into his hands as he moves to go out the small doorway. His foot catches on the chair and he ends up sprawled on the floor; papers and pencils are brought down with him. He curses and brushes the thick locks of auburn away from his face as he drags himself up off of the ground not bothering to dust himself off. He regathers the thick papers in his arms and is out the door and into the dark blue night without another word-

"Every time you step outside disaster falls!"

It is late and there is no one up to stop him. He marches bitterly past the wooden houses, not even glancing towards his own. It is late and dark, and he is upset but knows where he is going; his steady pace never falters.

He reaches the opening of the woods and at last he stops but only for a moment, as his green eyes dart back and forth through the brush because he'd never walked through the woods at night before. But it doesn't matter he just really, really needs to get away from this, from everything and everyone, especially him-

"-so no more of all... This."

He crunches through the overgrown plants and a piece of parchment slips from his grasp; he doesn't bother to halt and pick it up. He can practically hear his own heartbeat as it thuds loudly in his chest and believes he is alone until an owl hoots in the distance; he curses at the bird as the scrolls tip precariously in his hands and he has to grasp them tighter against his tunic.

His walk continues for quite awhile but he knows the terrain well, even in the dark of night and who cares if he got lost anyway? But his hands begin to tire from holding the papers and he wonders if perhaps he did take a wrong turn when there it is, the opening to their private basin. He nimbly climbs through the narrow opening and down the large boulders that circle the place. He approaches the pond, watching it as the moon reflects off it, ignoring Toothless as the onyx dragon carefully approaches him, normally bright green irises dull with fatigue from their successful flight earlier that day-

"Deal?"

Hiccup screams out of spite, out of bitterness, out of anger, and flings the scrolls of parchment on which that he painstakingly took days to complete the sketches that littered their surfaces into the cerulean pond. For a moment many of them float calmly on the surface such as a leaf, before the water soaks into them and they sink. And he continues to shout and shriek incomprehensible words as he throws more objects into the water, striking fear into the dragon that watches silently. Feeling nothing but hatred and anger the youth grabs anything he can find: a rock, a twig, when out of nowhere a large wet nose bumps him gently from behind and he pauses with his arm raised, boot in hand- the next victim to be tossed into the blue lagoon -and he turns around to face his scaled friend.

"What do you want Toothless?" he barks out, but instantly regrets it as the dragon winces. But it does not turn away and settles for staring intently into his owner's eyes.

'I just wanted to make sure you were okay,' he seems to reply, crippled tail swiping sluggishly and innocently across the ground. The reptile gently nips his rider's hand and Hiccup slowly lowers his boot as guilt attacks his abdomen, and the shoe drops towards his now cold foot. The lad swallows hard once, twice, trying to apologize for shouting but can't get rid of whatever is blocking his throat.

But the Night Fury apparently understands the silence and settles for patiently waiting as the young viking struggles for words. In the end all he manages is a gargled whimper as he dives for the dragon and buries himself in the polished scales, wrapping his scrawny arms around the thick, sinewy neck.

Toothless doesn't mind Hiccup at all, even as the boy begins to sob, even as he clings too tightly and shakes uncontrollably. The distressed noise his rider is making is much too loud for the dragon's sensitive ears but he doesn't mind because he knows Hiccup needs this right now, needs someone to be there for him. Because he has heard the lad talk of his troubles before and often saw the look on his face, and even if he didn't understand exactly what he was saying, he understood that he was suffering. That he still is.

Hiccup doesn't deserve to be hurt.

So the dragon endures the too-tight embrace and the loathsome sniffling noises throughout the night until early morning because he loves Hiccup. He does it because he wants to, not because he has too. He loves him more than anything, and feels anxiety as the boy leaves just before early dawn- after a great many thanks -to venture back to his village, to face another day pretending to be something he's not. But his Hiccup is strong and he will come back later no matter what happens, but Toothless will be waiting and prepared just in case the boy has another bad day. Hiccup knows this too, and it is that reassurance of a friend indeed that keeps the young viking going throughout the day. So he can endure his father's painful comments and neglect a little longer, brush off the villagers mistaken belief that he is a dragon killer. For as long as he has Toothless, Hiccup feels less like a screw up and more like a god.